“We want the platonic ideal of Blade from from the moment you see him, which is in an RAF aircraft that just about makes it to Britain, having lifted Blade off from Manhattan, and been fired on by Skrull ships all across the Atlantic… He made a dangerous journey all the way from the States, in the middle of a war, to join up. So he must think some aspect of Pete’s [MI-13 leader Pete Wisdom] project is worth getting involved with, mustn’t he?”

Plus: Check out Geoffrey Thorne’s new project, Genre 19.

Nat Turner HC, SC
Kyle Baker website

The collected edition of the four-time Glyph Comics Award winner is released to the direct market this week (of course, you’ve probably seen it in the major bookstores by now).

Also this week:
Archie & Friends #121. Written by Simmons.
The Omen: Positive Issue. Story and art by Robert Walker.

Also notable:
Final Crisis: Requiem. The death of Martian Manhunter gets explored in more detail.
New York Four GN. Brian Wood’s new graphic novel.
Captain America: White #0. Loeb and Sale reunite for another new mini.
Secret Invasion #4 (of 8)

Despite mostly crappy reviews, Will Smith’s Hancock took home over $100 million over the holiday weekend. Here’s a review that draws parallels between Smith and Barack Obama. (Thanks to Fred for the link.)

Speaking of Obama, there’s a cartoon of him that has been misappropriated by certain unsavory elements of society.

There’s a new black comics magazine on the scene called Gritz ‘n’ Gravy.

Here’s an interview with the creator of a new book called Knight Seeker.

Eleven volumes? I wonder who’s gonna write this.

In Chicago this weekend, Todd McFarlane introduces the new creative team for the book, which begins with issue #185.

“I want to push the book in a new visual and storytelling direction. I can’t do that from a distance, so I’ll need to be involved in the plot, in the way the pages are laid out, in guiding the artwork and doing some of the inking on it, in having control over the way the color blends with the art, and even in the way the letters co-mingle with the art. When I was doing it all myself years ago, I looked at each page as the end result all of those skills, not any one piece of it. So I’ll have my fingerprint on every single one of those aspects.”

Spawn

ICV2 has the story of how the Dabel Brothers are being sued by games and literature distributor PSI.

This June, NBM will release the hardcover edition of the critically-acclaimed Bluesman series of graphic novels. They also made a promotional video to go with it.

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY IS SATURDAY MAY 3RD 2008

Midtown Comics
Times Square: 200 W. 40th Street, corner 7th Avenue.
Grand Central: 459 Lexington Avenue, corner 45th Street.
Contact: Gerry Gladston
gerry@midtowncomics.com

A FREE DAY OF FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
Worldwide Free Comic Book Day Comes to New York City with Comics for All Ages!

New York, NY, April 30, 2008- Midtown Comics in New York City celebrates the comic book art form on Saturday, May 3rd, on Free Comic Book Day by offering free new comics including every title from every publisher participating in this event. Some of the hottest titles from Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Dark Horse and Image Comics will be available with no purchase required. Over two million comic books will be given away by participating stores, introducing as many people as possible to the wonders of comic books!

The wide array of comic books being published today ensures that readers of all ages — children, teens, and adults – can find something appropriate that will stir their imaginations.

Now in its seventh year, Free Comic Book Day has proven to be a smashing success, spreading the word that comics are terrific reading. “Even if you have never picked up a comic book before, stop into Midtown Comics, because you never know what you will end up finding”, said Gerry Gladston, co-owner and CMO of Midtown Comics.

Regular updates, information about comic books, and a list of participating publishers and their free comics are all online at www.midtowncomics.com.

Free Comic Book Day kicks off at 11:00AM and runs until 9:00PM (while supplies last) at
Midtown Comics.

Comic Books have rocketed to the front ranks of pop culture, and this summer will see an unprecedented number of Hollywood films adapted from comics, starting with Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk in May and June, with Batman: The Dark Knight and Guillermo Del Toro’s Hellboy II following in July. Gladston continues, “With all this mainstream exposure, we want to remind people of how great comic books can be.”

Ayre Force HC
B&N link to buy How to Draw Noir Comics by Shawn Martinbrough
Wizard interview with Joe Illidge (and co-writer Adam Slutsky)
Bodog Entertainment website

Bodog honcho Calvin Ayre stars in this graphic novel co-written by Illidge and illustrated by Martinbrough.

Also this week:
Justice League of America #20. Written by McDuffie.
Spawn #177
Thor #8. Art by Coipel.
Gold Digger #95, GD Peebo Tales Special #3, GD Sourcebook #16. By Fred Perry.

Very little news from the New York Comic-Con that’s of relevance to this blog, except for this: it was announced on the Image panel that two founding members of Image would take over Spawn later this year. Can’t help but think that if one of them was Todd McFarlane, they would’ve said so…

Still looking for a report on the Black Panel. Hopefully one will surface sometime this week.

Hunter’s Moon TP

The two-time GCA nominee gets a trade paperback this week.

Also this week:
Batman and the Outsiders #6. Cover by Braithwaite.
Tangent: Superman’s Reign #2 (of 12). Jamal Igle joins the book as regular penciller.
Perhapanauts #1. The first issue of the new series, now at Image.
The 99 #7
Archie & Friends #118. Written by Simmons.
Great Figures in History: Nelson Mandela GN

I had an unbelievably busy weekend, so I wasn’t able to write a Sunday Review. But I am a little more than a third of the way through The Hole, the graphic novel I told you about a few weeks ago, so I expect to finish it and write a review of it for next Sunday.

I won’t be able to attend the New York Comic-Con this year due to other plans, but I hope you have a great time if you’re attending. And don’t forget to bring your kids on Sunday, which will be Kids Day, an event made possible by Kids Comic Con founder Alex Simmons.

This year’s Eisner Award nominations are up. Complete list is here, but of interest to us:

Best Continuing Series and Best New Series
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, by Joss Whedon, Brian K. Vaughan, Georges Jeanty, and Andy Owens (Dark Horse)

Best Publication for Teens
Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow, by James Sturm and Rich Tommaso (Center for Cartoon Studies/Hyperion)

Best Reality-Based Work
Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow, by James Sturm and Rich Tommaso (Center for Cartoon Studies/Hyperion)
Sentences: The Life of MF Grimm, by Percy Carey and Ronald Wimberly (Vertigo/DC)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material
Aya, by Marguerite Abouet and Clement Obrerie (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Writer
James Sturm, Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow (Center for Cartoon Studies/Hyperion)

Best Writer/Artist-Humor
Kyle Baker, The Bakers: Babies and Kittens (Image)

Best Lettering
Jared K. Fletcher, Catwoman, The Spirit (DC); Sentences: The Life of MF Grimm (Vertigo/DC)

Congrats to all the nominees. The Eisner Awards will be held July 25 during Comic-Con International in San Diego.

Here’s a new Raven Gregory interview.

First look at Samuel L. Jackson as the Octopus in Frank Miller’s The Spirit.

And oh, by the way - the votes for the Glyph Comics Awards are in. This year was an incredibly competitive race, and that is definitely reflected in the big winners. Expect a surprise or two.