Upcoming Comics - Michael Zulli's FRACTURE

Update on one of the books on my 11 anticipated comics of 2011 post, Michael Zulli's FRACTURE OF THE UNIVERSAL BOY.  The softcover edition solicited to comic shops through Olympian Publishing was canceled, if you ordered that.  There will be a hardcover edition from Eidolon Fine Arts.  Right now you can order a signed copy with a signed print for $45 from the book's Kickstarter page (which has already reached its funding goal), along with getting your name in the book, with other editions and premiums for higher prices.  I assume ordering information for an unsigned edition without the print will be announced soon.

Several pages of art from the book at the Kickstarter page. Still really looking forward to this, glad it's managed to come back from whatever setbacks there were. Steve Bissette and Neil Gaiman both report having read advance copies from Zulli and speaking highly of it.

Upcoming Comics - Joe Simon autobiography

Upcoming from Titan, who have been publishing some great golden age S&K reprints authorized by Joe Simon and the Jack Kirby Estate, Simon has a 256-page hardcover autobiography coming out. 

Joe Simon: The Man Behind the Comics

In his own words, this is the life of Joe Simon, one of the most important figures in comics history and half of the famous creative team Simon and Kirby. Joe Simon co-created Captain America, star of this summer’s anticipated movie blockbuster, and was the first Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics (then known as Timely, where he hired Stan Lee for his first job in comics). He recounts the near-death of comics, the Congressional witch-hunts of the 1950s, and the scramble for creators to survive. In the process he reveals what it was like to bring comics out of their infancy, as they became an American art form.

Dwayne McDuffie, R.I.P.

Just heard that writer Dwayne McDuffie passed away.  I first heard about it from J.M. Dematteis's post, and it's confirmed just about everywhere else.

While I read a few earlier things from him, the first time I really noticed McDuffie's writing was on the 1993 launch of the Milestone comics line, where he was one of the co-creators, co-owners and head writer of the launch books (writing ICON and HARDWARE solo and co-writing the first few issues of STATIC and BLOOD SYNDICATE). That was a great launch, with all four of the books being very good, with frequent moments of excellence throughout their runs.

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Sugar&Spike - Valentine Cards 1967

Valentine Card feature page from SUGAR AND SPIKE #69 [1967], by Sheldon Mayer.