In our year and a half or so of life, we here at Panel Bound have always been huge fans of just about anything put out by comic publisher Archaia.  Their next graphic novel will be no exception.

The highly anticipated The Reason for Dragons  by Chris Northrop (colorist for Oni Press) and Jeff Stokely (Fraggle Rock) is rapidly approaching its May 15th release date.  It’s ready for pre-order over at Archaia.

I may be a little biased as I still can’t get over “Skyrim,” but anything having to do with dragons rocks my socks more than two awesome things.  The preview art that I have seen for this book looks fabulously whimsical.  If you take a quick look at the description on Archaia’s page, then you can see how easy it’ll be to get hooked on The Reason for Dragons. Abandoned Renaissance Fair grounds?  Coming of age stories?  Count me in.

The Reason for Dragons has another huge named attached to it — Sean Murphy with concept credits. With Murphy being attached to stories like Punk Rock Jesus and American Vampire, it is safe to say that you can keep your expectations high.

To keep your mind off of the crippling anticipation that is waiting for The Reason for Dragons, take a look at some Panel Bound exclusive art, and a quote from creator Chris Northrop about future projects:

I’d like to do another creator owned book or limited series. One is about a burnout private detective in Burbank who has been scrapping the barrel, resorting to finding lost dogs for quick cash rewards. And there is a really large conspiracy about the missing dogs. It’s a comedy, but there is a lot of pathos to the protagonist. So I’m shopping it around. I started talking with Archaia about doing it with them after Dragons maybe. And I’ve be working with penciler Kevin Castaniero on that one.

As I was perusing Tumblr the other day, I stumbled across a post by comic guru Ryley St. Batman with this alarming piece of information:

“In not so great news Captain Marvel is apparently not selling too hot and there’s legitimate worry of it being canned. Marvel will probably keep it on the shelves a little longer than they usually would a series because it’s fans (no matter how few they are) really adore it, and they want to try and keep more female lead books on the shelves, but unless something happens to boost sales it seems like it might not last too much longer.”

When I asked him where this information was coming from, he responded:

“When I wrote about it for Population GO I used Bleeding Cool as a source because they’ve been reporting on the rumor, but there’s also the trends of how Marvel functions when cancelling series and whatnot. Look at the numbers for series they’ve canned in the past and you can see that CM is around that same number or below. “

I just about lost my mind.  Captain Marvel (written by Kelly Sue DeConnick) is a well written book, with a strong female lead.

Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel is a refreshing female character who isn’t all about sex appeal. Nor is she meant to be an overtly feminist figure.

She’s just an Avenger doing her job, and that’s what makes her character compelling.
The fact that she’s a woman is not a plot point (other than the fact that the previous Captain Marvel was a man), and so what you get is a wonderfully well-rounded character flying around and fighting giant robots made of WWII fighter planes.  It is fully brought to life by a series of wonderful artists, all with completely different styles, and cover art so good it makes me want to curl up in a ball and cry

You may be asking yourselves. “What are you so mad about, Eastyn, I understand that you’re sad it could be cancelled, but what’s the big deal?”

I am mad because I hear rumors of Captain Marvel being cancelled due to low readership, but the New 52 Catwoman is still in print.

I don’t even know where to begin my list of complaints. But, let us start with the terrible writing.  I started reading Catwoman a little bit ago, and realized it was a big waste of my money.

I kept reading in vain hope of it getting better, but it actually just got worse.  The writing is confusing, there’s no continuity, the language in it is appalling not to mention Catwoman is reduced to an over sexualized party girl (being sexy is one of Catwoman’s things but in this series, it’s her only thing) who has none of the intellect that one would expect from a master thief who manages to steal the heart of Batman.

Honestly I would watch Halle Berry as Catwoman rather than read this comic again.
Here is a gem from a Batman News review of the most recent Catwoman issue, #16:

“I don’t want to waste a lot of time talking about this comic. It’s garbage.”

I could definitely go on as to why it’s so terrible and why it makes me so sad that this comic is continually in production, but I won’t, because then I might be arrested for how negatively I feel towards Ann Nocenti’s writing.

A side note, Nocenti is also set to write Katana, which is a character I would be interested to learn about, but since she’s writing it, I just won’t even bother.

Now that you know how I feel about both comics.  It is difficult for me to not draw my own conclusions about the reasoning behind Catwoman having a larger readership than Captain Marvel.  It is no big surprise that the world of comics is heavily dominated by men (not to say that there are no ladies reading comics, but come on, let’s get serious here), and in a male dominated readership, what is going to be picked up faster?

This:

Or this:

I can’t just blame the men either.  What girl doesn’t want to be Catwoman?  Who doesn’t want to flip around in tight black body suits, stealing shinies, throwing out quick-witted quips and having a crazy romance with the one and only Batman?

Honestly, I picked it up regardless of the reviews because I wanted it to be good, I wanted to love Catwoman, but I just can’t justify purchasing this comic anymore.  I promise you that I am not the only one, there’s probably a good handful of ladies who pick it up for the exact same reason.  Catwoman is cool.  She’s edgy, and compared to her, Captain Marvel is a huge ‘L’ ’7′.

So here’s what I am suggesting.  Marvel, DC, are you listening?  I’m about to give you the best advice you could ever receive.  Marvel: Keep Captain Marvel.  Do some promoting of her.  Get her name out there.  She’s quite honestly the best, and I’m stoked with this comic in more ways than one.  Get the word out there!  Appeal to younger girls. She’s a great role model, and tell male readers that they aren’t going to be sold some feminazi insanity either.  She’s a super hero, her boobs just aren’t hanging out all the time, and it’s a wonderful world!

DC: Fire Ann Nocenti.  Get rid of her, just do it.  She’s ruining a wonderful character.  Hire me instead.  I’ve done the research, I even have a storyline planned and the first issue completely written out.  I did this out of pure rage for how the series was headed, so you know there’s heart behind it.

Anyways, how do you feel about this, dear Panel Bound readers.  Any fans of the new Catwoman? Captain Marvel?

In the spirit of our brothers and sisters from Canada, we wanted to highlight some of the best comic writers and artists from the True North. So, if you’re trapped indoors by 17 inches of snow or just a vampire, here are a few titles to keep you occupied straight from Canada’s best.

Orc Stain

From Canadian artist and writer James Stokoe, Orc Stain has become one of Image Comic’s breakout hits. The book has had a fairly inconsistent release schedule with the newest issue coming out earlier this year. It is a testament to Stokoe’s ability as a creator that even with the sometimes year long wait in-between issues, people are still racing to buy this book.

Batman/The Spirit

When any cultural icons crossover in television, movies or film, the result is typically pretty rocky, I’m looking at you Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Space Rangers. However, when the Spirit and Batman got together in Batman/The Spirit the result was a 2007 Eisner Award for Best Single Issue. With art by Canadian artists J. Bone and Darwyn Cooke, Batman/The Spirit became one of the best comic crossovers in recent memory.

Swamp Thing

If you haven’t been reading Scott Snyder and Yanick Paquette’s run on Swamp Thing, things must be going terribly for you. Paquette has really made this book shine with some of the best penciling to come out of DC’s New 52.

The Underwater Welder

Jeff Lemire, in terms of Canadian comic creators, is one of the countries best. His work on DC’s Animal Man and Sweet Tooth has been brilliant. The Underwater Welder is no exception. A frightening story of loss and haunted pasts, this comic is an incredibly beautiful contribution to modern graphic novels.

1. Northlanders – Brian Wood:

Happy Kwanza, here is an axe to the face!

These are nothing new, and they have definitely been around for quite some time, but stop rolling your eyes and listen to me.  I am from sunny Southern California, where the coldest time of the year means I throw on a beanie and a scarf over my bikini and rainbow sandals.  Nothing says “Holiday” like reading something that is about a land just covered in snow.  The vikings are pretty festive.  I can’t find a way to spin the violence at all, but it can’t all be fun in games.  You don’t need to start from the beginning with this series, but I definitely recommend picking up the first installment: Sven the Returned.  Or anything by Brian Wood for that matter.

2. Any Manga by Yayoi Ogawa:

My favorite Sumire and Momo.

I have written a recommendation on Kimi wa Pet, a beautifully written story about an ambitious working woman who keeps a young professional dancer as a pet (not a porn I swear).  She has other mangas that are all loosely connected by similar characters, so you will recognize names from and characters as you skip from series to series, creating a wonderfully deep and complex world.  You can check out the complete list at Yayoi Ogawa’s MyAnimeList.  These are perfect for the holidays because they have that wonderful thread of romance throughout and nothing says “Comfort Read in my Pajamas and Fuzzy Socks” like cuddling up with some characters and mentally cheering them towards getting it on.

3. Supermarket – Brian Wood and Kristian Donaldson:

This is going to turn into a Brian Wood fan girl post (I really need to get him for an interview).  Brian Wood wrote this wonderful one shot comic about a near future world that is run by some super hot Swedish Women mafiosas and the Yakuza.  It is set in the hyper rich community of the Supermarket, and you know where I’m going with this, you can’t think of the holiday season without thinking about consumerism.  Nothing wrong with that, but this is an interesting look at what our future could be like, and if it’s a future written by Brian Wood, I want in!

4. Captain Marvel – Kelly Sue DeConnick and Dexter Soy:

I have said this before, and I will say this again, I am very new to American comics.  Up until now I have not had a chance to become acquainted with any super heroes on the Marvel end.  Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel as written by Kelly Sue DeConnick is the best thing to happen to me since I first discovered manga.  It’s that good.  Oh wait, this has nothing to do with holidays.  Who the heck cares, go out and get it. Girl Power!

5. Punk Rock Jesus – Sean Murphy:

We can’t forget that the holiday season is more than just snow and consumerism to some people.  It’s also about religion and the birthday of sweet 8lb 7oz (I hope I got that quote right) little baby Jesus.  So why not read a story about a reality tv company who clones Jesus and has him birthed from a virgin?  It’s a wonderfully told and illustrated story filled with some great history about the Irish Mob and resonates with many people’s love for reality shows.  Honestly, I can’t think about the holidays without imagining what Jesus must have been like as an angst ridden teen.

These are the comics I have been enjoying as of late, and I think they will keep you warm and toasty during this nice holiday season.  So curl up with a nice cup of tea or some Eggnog with a little something extra in it, and get to reading.  It’s a wonderful excuse to be anti social.

Also keep an eye out on the official Panel Bound MyAnimeList.  I will be trying to keep it as updated as possible, so you can know what I am into and then you can recommend some things for me to read!  I’m always looking for something new.

We interviewed the wonderful Paige Warren of Busty Girl Comics a little bit ago, and it was truly a delight to do so. She is proud to announce that today her THIRD self published book is out today.  Buy it here:

Paige Warren’s CreateSpace!

Here is a recent one panel comic of hers, that made me literally laugh out loud!

I am 100% biased, she is a great lady and deserves all the support she needs from her fandom and our own.

This past weekend, Matthew and I (Eastyn) attended something simply fantastic.  It was put on by an organization called So Cal Creators Unite, headed by Maryann, a wonderfully sweet lady.  You might have seen our announcement about it.  It was inspired by an event that Maryann had gone to at SDCC, she loved the idea so much she decided that it was time she took action and made it into a reality.  We advertised it as speed dating but for artists and writers, and that is EXACTLY what it was.

The entire event was put on at the Emerald Knights Comic Shop in Burbank, California.  There were roughly twenty artists and twenty writers there, and the writers moved over seat to seat to talk to each artist.  Matt and I were lucky enough to be a stop along the way and got to speak with some of the writers about what they were looking for in an artist, and what their projects were.

People came from literally all walks of life.  One man drove three hours to Burbank just to have the opportunity to speak with artists about making his dream of being a comic creator come true.  We saw people working as a team, looking to bring another person into their little comic family, we saw people who were simply looking for somebody to hire for both short and long term projects.

The varieties of story and art that were there ranged from dark horror stories to light hearted comedies, but everybody had one thing on their mind– comics.

We found this event to be a wonderful tool and resource for people to utilize.  It is a way for them to connect locally with people in their community and to build upon projects that would otherwise not be realized.  When working in a profession that could easily pull somebody into the depths of crazy cat lady introversion, it is a great excuse to get out, talk about something you are passionate about, and connect with other human beings.

Most writers were concerned with the fact that they could write, but could not draw. They were looking for a way to hook an artist and pull them into their projects, they needed something to make their projects appealing.  We didn’t have much time to speak to many artists, but the few we did talk to were looking for people to enhance their work, and were maybe hoping to get paid.

The event, in my opinion, was a huge success.  Everybody was happy, talking, and sharing stories.  We had the unique opportunity to speak Matthew Davis–an aspiring comic writer–before and after he making the rounds.  When asked how the “speed dating” went, Davis told us that he “ran out of fucks to give” and just went for it.

We were so happy to have the opportunity to go and we had such a great time.  Maryann also felt the event was a success and we all hope to see more in the future.  Thank you to Creators Unite for having us and to all of the people who took the time to speak with us!

Note From Eastyn: I will upload pictures onto my computer after I figure out how, or get Matt to do so.

“The first thing I do is brainstorm a series of point form ‘things’ – facts that need to be relayed to the reader so the story makes sense – character traits, settings, antagonists, goals, character changes or revelations. It’s a giant jumble of story ideas, characters and key moments – the raw story ingredients all piled up.”

Skullkickers is a wonderful comic that has some of the best writing on shelves right now. Zub is a master of the comic script and his advice is certainly something you will want to look into. Zub’s tutorials are on their fifth part right now and range from pacing to scripting.

Going over all of this advice again while writing this post, I can tell you that pound for pound this is some of the best comic writing advice on the Internet. The whole reason we started Panel Bound was to find more information about creating comics for both writers and artists. Zub’s advice is some of the best out there especially for writers. Check out all of the writing tutorials at Zub’s blog here.

You know you want to go!