Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Best Buy, Comics, entertainment, walmart

Monday Morning Runaround – Walmart And Best Buy Go Manga Crazy

It's a while since we've done this. But I've missed it and the bosses at Bleeding Cool have asked if I'd try it again. So, here we go, an early morning runaround of comic book stuff that may not merit a headline in itself, be being covered elsewhere, or is just looking for a home. If you see anything that might suit, feel free to send it in to richjohnston@gmail.com….

Walmart And Best Buy Go Big On Manga

US manga publisher Viz Media is doing deals with Walmart and Best Buy to increase the visible availability of manga, in a big way,

The Walmart program is through one of the company's book wholesalers in just over 2000 stores, or a little under half the chain's total.  The program placed newer titles Tokyo Ghoul, Yokai Watch, and One Punch Man in the book department at Walmart prior to holiday, and "sales have been splendid," according to Viz Senior Director – Sales and Marketing Kevin Hamric.  The titles have streaming anime tie-ins supporting sales.

Image And Substance

The Image Comics documentary has hit Amazon.

Art Imitates Science

Rosemary Mosco is a scientist/cartoonist with a mission to explain.

"Science communicator" is a pretty new term, but I think it's absolutely necessary. Not all scientists have the time and resources to communicate their findings. Science communicators have some training in both science and communication, and they can move between the two worlds and help get information across. It's challenging but so rewarding. I split my time between comics and communication work at an environmental nonprofit, and I love the endless variety.

Attack On Illiteracy

A Japanese businessman living in Dubai is supporting a national programme to encourage reading with comic books.

"It's a great initiative," said Koichi Yokoyama, who has lived in Dubai for nine years.

The Japanese businessman tweeted: "Building reading skills via language of comics is one of the ways. It has worked well in Japan. #ReadingYear."

He explained that as a child, he was not so keen on reading until he was introduced to comic books.

"Whenever I read the comics, that kind of triggered my curiosity to read more in other books," said Mr Yokoyama. "Because in comics, of course, there are not many details. They're easy to capture an idea, easy to also accept and digest. "One way to understand deeply is just to read the books. Comics are kind of like a gateway to the field that I would like to understand more."

He hoped that the nation's leaders would support Emirati comic book illustrators and writers .

King Of Theatre

Fred Van Lente's play, King Kirby, written with Crystal Skillman, about the life of Jack Kirby has been playing in Seattle.

Four ramps spoking out from center stage, and outsized silk-screen prints of famous comic-book champions, define Brandon Estrella's crafty scenic design. The set allows the role-switching cast smooth access as they exit and reappear in a variety of guises and eras.

"King Kirby" opens with the canonization of its subject at a high-level sale, where an auctioneer recounts the artist's pictorial achievements and begins the bidding on each Kirby illustration at thousands of dollars.

Panzo's Scheme

Ex-Marvel editor Will Panzo has a new novel deal at Random House with The Burning Isle.

After working in publishing and as an editor for Marvel Comics, Will Panzo found his true calling as a physician assistant for an emergency department. The Burning Isle is his first novel. He lives and works in New York City.

Superego

Is Up, Up And Away in Blue Ash the best comic store in Cincinatti?

Up, Up and Away comic shop has original artwork decorating the building, created by owner Kendall Swafford.

Swafford put a great deal of effort into making the shop a comic reader's dream.

"I personally believe that my store is the world's greatest comic shop," Swafford said. "It definitely is the largest in the Midwest anyway."

The store spawned from the original Up, Up and Away in Cheviot last October where it had been for 10 years.

"The owner thought it would be a good idea to branch out his business for customers and open a store with broader variety," said Justin Pence, an employee at the Blue Ash location.

Mid-Sighs

CNBC runs a comic industry marketshare interactive chart comparing year to year, in a promo piece for mid-size comic book publishers IDW, Boom and Dynamite and licensing that somehow manages to miss out Dark Horse ….

The publishers have proved successful at identifying licensed characters that would move about 5,000 or 10,000 issues per month in comic book stores, said Jonathan Jackson Miller, a writer who analyzes comic book sales.

The Oracle

The Guardian has two looks ahead at comics being published in 2016.

Rolling Blackouts by Sarah Glidden (October, Drawn & Quarterly): An exploration of the legacy of the Iraq war and its impact on peoples' lives throughout the region. Rolling Blackouts is author and reporter Glidden's account of her own travels to the Middle East with a journalist collective. As they visit Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, Glidden depicts her observations and experiences alongside the portrait of a relationship between two childhood friends; one who is a journalist staunchly opposed to the Iraq war, and the other a Marine who fought in it.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!