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Luck Luke Meets…Well,It Ain’t Paul Newman!

Terry — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:32:28 +0000

Lucky Luke – The Judge

Authors: Morris & Goscinny
Age: 8 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages
Paperback
Publication: August 2010
ISBN: 9781849180450
£5.99

On a cattle drive to New Mexico, Lucky Luke travels through Langtry, home of self-appointed judge Roy Bean. A crook and a cheat who invents laws and concocts offences, Bean arrests Luke and confiscates his herd. But he doesn’t count on the arrival of another crook and cheat intent on poaching the old man’s game. It will be up to our favourite cowboy to sort it out and bring real law west of the Pecos River at last.

The page title refers,of course,to the fact that Paul Newman played Judge Roy Bean in a great movie.

Volume 24 already? Wow. Who is going to complain since the last English translation of Lucky Luke,published by Dargaud in 1974 only got up to 7 [?] volumes and are not as crisp and clean as the Cinebook new releases –printing has progressed so far in over 30 years!

Oddly,heard a woman on the bus the other day saying she had just ordered three Lucky Luke books from a store as her husband was a big fan –“but he says it’s for the kids!”

So,as noted before,Christmas is on its way. I’m sure more than a few birthdays are as well so..[I don’t need to continue do I?].

Still hoping and wishing that one day we’ll see the original 1940s LL adventures.

Fun.

Bahadur?

Terry — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:13:51 +0000

No one ever heard of Bahadur?

Created by Aabid Surti in the 1970s and currently drawn online by Shri Govind and Pramod Brahmania. Bahadur means “The Brave”. The series is a bit cult in India and I have some old issues thanks to the wondrous Vineeth Abrahim!

A little info on Aabid Surti from the website:

National Award-winning author Aabid Surti has won critical acclaim for multiple creative talents. The list of his creative accomplishments befits half a dozen people rather than one individual.

As an author his output has been prolific, his oeuvre spanning fiction as well as non-fiction, travelogue as well as children’s literature. He has written around 80 books till date, which have been translated into almost every Indian language.

As a screenwriter he has been associated with directors like Raj Khosla and Raj Kapoor on film projects and as a playwright, he has penned seven plays. An accomplished painter, he has held 16 exhibitions in India and abroad. In his early years, he invented an innovative technique called ‘mirror collage’ which won critical acclaim in Japan. In 1971, the Indian government commissioned a short film to showcase his creative work.As a cartoonist, he created the lovable simpleton ‘Dabbuji’. The highly original and popular cartoon strip has been one of the longest-running comic strips in India, running without a break for over 30 years. Reprints of the original series continue to entertain millions in various languages. Dabbuji’s fan following includes Ex Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, singer Asha Bhosle and Osho.

Aabid has also created another popular comic book character, ‘Bahadur’, which achieved cult status in the 1970s. In 1993, the Indian government conferred a National Award upon him. He lives in a quiet suburb of Mumbai and continues to explore painting, writing and meditation.

So why am I telling you this? The clue is that the series is now continuing online:

http://www.bahadur.in/

Worth checking out to get a little education on Indian comics I think!

Ever Heard Of Pothi?

Terry — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:46:44 +0000

As I’ve mentioned before,Black Tower Comics & Books are available now via Pothi.com in India. They are fast and very helpful [more than certain services I won't name]. The titles are cheaper but there is a problem if you want to buy from the UK in that international postal charges cost more than the item you are ordering. That to me is a great pity as this company deserves success.

That said,as last week saw CBO get 7000+ hits from Indian comic fans the postal rates won’t be so high. Also,with others from Asia visiting CBO Pothi is the best choice to order from.

There is a link to Pothi.com on the blog roll so why not give it a try -especially if you want to publish your own books.

And those in India already publishing:PLEASE send a copy of your book and I’ll review it!

Over Use Of The Term “Staggered”

Terry — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:03:52 +0000

The new WordPress dashboard is quite interesting and it tells me a lot that I normally do not bother with such as days with the highest number of hits:

March 26, 2010 ……8463
June 25, 2010 ……8081
July 11, 2010 ……7466
June 7, 2010 ……7077
March 17, 2010 ……7061

Now that is certainly an increase on the old 200-300 per day! I have to admit I’m staggered. But even more staggered at the international readership CBO gets:

Country/Number visits

CO 273092
NE 191199
RU 164946
OR 27283
UK 18091
DE 16811
IT 14714
BR 12525
MX 11082
CA 10063
FR 10003
IN 7841
AU 7259
NL 6265
TR 6139
PL 6095
AR 5080
ED 5016
ID 3728
MD 3370

Perhaps it’s just as well that not everyone comments on CBO posts!! I am staggered. I’ve not seen these stats before and if you add all the sites taking feed from CBO the total number of people reading what I write here is..can I say “staggering”?

My gods -if each visitor just hit one of the ads on home page I’d be earning money!!!

Obviously does pay to advertise via CBO.

But to all of you -where-ever you are- my sincere thanks at least I know that I am not alone here!!
Terry

Be Honest -Do NOT Bull****

Terry — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:10:17 +0000

About 4-5 times a week I get an email from someone “Wowed” by my work and how they saw it at such-and-such a place..then they add how their service can really help me!

Got this one today:

“Hey there I was looking around Dragonberry and I came across your art-site.

A quick note to let you know I work with SIPSComics and Books; we specialize in printing fine art books, ‘snazzy’ catalogues and limited edition-high quality comics and graphic novels…higher than standard quality paper or printing with unique specs. Perhaps smaller runs of 100 to 1000: Books that can get some specialized attention. We’ve done well supplying these for many publishers and self-publishers.

If you have an interest, please let me know. I’ve found they’re great for selling and/or getting attention in galleries, expos, cons, stores etc. The limited edition, perfect bound books are an amazing, and stylish way, to get your art out there. Of course, we also do posters and prints, cards, bookmarks and ‘regular’ comics, b/w and colour.”

As I’d had several such emails today I was brusque. It turns out that I am on Dragonberry -as an unpublished artist!!!

But I much prefer someone saying they’ve seen I produce comics -would I like to see the services they offer? I don’t like this crappy bulls*** approach and I ignore them. Besides,this emailer was in Australia -I have a printer in India that can do my comics.

Up front and honest is best.

Versace Does Archie -If I commented On That Title I’d Never Get Another PR!

Terry — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:21:01 +0000

VERSACE DOES ARCHIE

New York, NY (Sept 2, 2010): Archie Comics–home of worldwide teenage fashionistas Betty and Veronica–has been honored in the art of Donatella Versace as Archie Comics’ newest addition, Kevin Keller, dons his own personal Versace style.

Yesterday in an article for The Daily Beast’s Entertainment & Fashion segment, Sexy Beast, Archie Comics’ first gay character received the privilege of walking the runway in a personalized fashion designed by Versace herself to celebrate his official debut Wednesday, Sept 1st in VERONICA #202.

“It’s a thrill to watch Kevin Keller rock into the world of Archie and his friends in true Versace style” remarked Jon Goldwater, Co-CEO of Archie Comics.

An homage to one of Kevin’s original character designs released back in April the Donatella Versace drawing features Kevin Keller in his best western. The design features Kevin in snug fit cropped black skinny jeans, black western boots with silver rodeo-style accents, matching side sling belt and custom modern frontier jacket. The spectacular white fitted high-collar modern motorcycle jacket is accented extensively across the chest with black fringe. As labeled by The Daily Beast, Kevin’s look is designed to tackle the “Final Frontier.”

To view Kevin Keller in his killer Versace look visit The Daily Beast online. For more information on Kevin Keller and his introduction or for your own copy of his premier book VERONICA #202, visit ArchieComics.com

The Archies Make A Come-Back…Or Do They?

Terry — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:54:59 +0000

Archie Digest #267
“Band Aid,” “Snooze Alarmed”

The Archies comeback plan falls on deaf ears as their manager tries to give them some help with a little “Band Aid.” Then, Archie is “Snooze Alarmed” when he stays up late to work on a paper and finds out the real test is if he can stay awake in school!

SCRIPT: Mike Pellowski

ART: Jeff Shultz, Bob Bolling, Al Milgrom, Jim Amash, Phil Felix, Teresa Davidson, Barry Grossman

On Sale at Comic Shops: 9/9/2010

Newsstands: 9/21/2010

80-page, full-color digest

$2.69 US

Are You Ready For Pandora’s Box?

Terry — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:16:01 +0000

Pandora’s Box vol.4 – Greed

Authors: Juszezak & Alcante
Age: 15 years and up
Size: 18.4 x 25.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages
PAPERBACK
ISBN: 9781849180474
Publication: August 2010
£5.99

John Midas is a financial genius. For years he’s made a killing on the stock market. He’s one of the richest men on earth… and on Wall Street, he’s a legend. The only thing he loves more than money is his daughter, who lives a simple life away from his gold-plated world. Now Midas has his eye set on Brazil and its currency–but fate may not let him pull off his scheme without extracting a steep price.

The proud boast is:”One Author for one series. Seven Artists for Seven Sins”. So far this has been a pretty grim series of books –but then we are talking about the Seven Deadly Sins!

Alcante has provided another modern example by taking the story of King Midas and the twists and turns are very well done. John Midas being what we might call “filthy rich” and looking for the next fortune while his daughter,Goldie,tries her best to help the poor and needy by diverting daddy’s money. It’s when Goldie tries to foil one of her father’s money-making schemes that things fall apart.

Nice twist at the end.

Eric Juszezak turns in some great art and it’s given more atmosphere by the colour work of Usagi.

With Pandora’s Box what Cinebook has done is expand the genres it publishes and to be honest I know people out there who’ll grab this series. Volume 5,Envy,looks interesting.

This is The Cinebook Age Of Comics!

Archie & Friends #147

Terry — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:49:58 +0000

“Twilite: Part 2”

The intense conclusion to the thrilling tale of mythic teen romance! When Ivan is exposed as a vampire, Veronica’s feelings for him only deepen. But Jared, the one responsible for exposing Ivan, has a terrifying secret of his own! Can mere mortals like Archie and Reggie compete against supernatural Casanovas?

SCRIPT: Angelo DeCesare

ART: Bill Galvan, Jack Morelli, and Digikore Studios

On Sale at Comic Shops: 9/9/2010

Newsstands: 9/21/2010

32-page, 40 lb glossy stock, full-color comic

$2.99 US

Silent Thursday

Terry — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:43:27 +0000

Hi all!
A new dashboard and new look Word Press has churned up a few problems so no more posts til tomorrow when I hope it’ll all be sorted!