Publishing | More than a dozen Yen Press titles set for July release have been canceled by Diamond, apparent victims of the distributor's minimum-order policy. According to Ken Hassler, publishing director of Yen Press, "the books are all still very much being published," and are available for order through other outlets. [MangaBlog]
Publishing | Creditors of Quebecor World have approved a reorganization plan that will allow the Montreal-based printing giant to emerge from bankruptcy in mid-July. Quebecor, the largest printer of comic books in North America, filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2008. [Publishers Weekly]
Publishing | Writer Kieron Gillen and blogger Andrew Wheeler delve into the possibilities for Longbox, the iTunes-style digital comics platform officially announced over the weekend. "Jamie [McKelvie] and I saw Longbox in an earlier demo at New York Comic Con in February and were impressed," Gillen writes. "In fact, I was so impressed I made sure that a clause related to this kind of sales was written into the next comic contract I signed. Clearly, I have no idea if it’ll take off. I hope it does. I also think that Longbox does so many things right that it’s got the best chance I’ve seen for a digital-comics-format system to do so. This would be a good thing. In fact, possibly a necessary thing."
This morning's installment of our "Slash Print" feature has a little more on Longbox. [Kieron Gillen's Workblog, The Post-Game Show]
Creators | Writer Larry Hama will receive the Henry Y. Kiyama Award on July 11 at the first Asian American ComiCon in New York City. The award is named in honor of the pioneering cartoonist and creator of The Four Immigrants. [press release]
Creators | Neil Gaiman discusses his novels, the broadening appeal of comics, and why he didn't return to The Sandman for the property's 20th anniversary: "I wanted to do a 20th anniversary story and it broke mostly because DC Comics would have loved me to do a 20th anniversary story at the same terms that were agreed upon in 1987 when I was a 26-year-old unknown. And my thought was, 'You know what guys, it really doesn't work like that.' I wasn't going to do a deal at the same terms we had in 1987 and they were not willing to do any better than that." [Canoe]
Creators | Brian Heater wraps up his two-part interview with Jason. [The Daily Cross Hatch]
Creators | Cartoonist Art Baltazar is briefly profiled, with the focus on DC's Tiny Titans. [Chicago Tribune]
Creators | Ben Morse spotlights the work of artist Paolo Rivera. [The Cool Kids Table]
Manga | Deb Aoki compiles her list of 12 great manga for grown-ups. [About.com]
Art | Letterer Todd Klein begins a study of Aquaman logos through the years. [Part 1, Part 2]
Pop culture | American Express cardholders can get a jump on everyone else today, as they can begin purchasing tickets for the musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark ... which doesn't actually open until Feb. 18. They call it "pre-sale," which makes Broadway sound a lot like the direct market. [Playbill]