Northwest Press

The Magic of Comic Books

// January 19th, 2012 // // Misc

A new DC Comics logo has been unveiled, replacing the one that was introduced in 2005, and my first impression is that it’s getting a better reception than that one did. General consensus is that it’s at least more clever and has some character to it when compared to the swooshy star.

But I’m also seeing comments from people who aren’t happy with it, and they mostly center on these things: it’s not a “page turn” but a “peel”, it’s designed to encourage fancy digital effects treatments, and isn’t iconic like the classic “DC Bullet” logo that debuted in the late seventies.

The people who are upset about the logo change also seem to be part of the group who complained about the massive company-wide book relaunches that DC did a few months ago. The company jettisoned the bulk of the characters’ long histories and started fresh, irritating these longtime fans in the process.

I was trying to figure out why I wasn’t feeling that same reaction to this new logo and the relaunches, and I think I might have nailed it down.

A lot of comics fans feel a strong nostalgia for classic comics that I don’t seem to, maybe because I came relatively late to the medium, at 13. The first comic book I bought for myself was Power Pack #12, from the spinner rack at my local 7-Eleven. I’d read a few old Little Lulu and Superboy comics, growing up, but nothing captured my attention like these young kids—who seemed like kids I might know—with super powers! (And it was an X-Men crossover, so I became a mutant junkie in short order as well.)

And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I started picking up a ton of DC titles when I started reading comics in the mid-80s. They had just relaunched several their books as a result of the Crisis on Infinite Earths, which simplified the DC Universe and “cleaned up” a lot of conflicting or just plain weird histories for their characters. (And when you’re creating fantastic tales about superheroes every month for fifty years, you better believe that things are going to get weird and conflicting.) The 1985 relaunch gave me an “in” to start reading Wonder Woman and Superman from their first issues and feel like I was there at the start of their journey.

The comics I devoured from then through high school were magical, and I loved them in a much more intense way than I love comics today. But even though that was the period that I was most blissfully in love with comics, I very rarely think, “comics should always be like that.” That magic I felt had nothing to do with company logos or particular costumes or the fact that they were in print not digital. I felt it because being 13 and discovering a whole new world is magical. I’m sure young people getting into comics today are feeling the same magic I did and are excited to be in on the ground floor of something new.

I don’t want comics to be frozen the way I remember them and risk becoming irrelevant to new readers, even if that means that sometimes I won’t always “get it” or agree with the direction things go in. How many people are going to see these unfamiliar logos, either printed on a comics book or animated and glowing on a screen, and be enticed to discover a whole new world unfolding before their eyes?

I can pull my old issues out any time I want, and those logos will never change. I’ve had my magic, and now it’s time for someone else to have a turn.

“Diary of a Catering Whore” now available from Northwest Press!

// January 4th, 2012 // // Misc

Northwest Press has just released its second digital-only graphic novel through Apple’s iBooks, and its first that is exclusive to digital. Diary of a Catering Whore is a collection of Sean Seamus McWhinny’s web series of the same name, which chronicled the author’s time as a catering waiter in San Francisco, with all the celebrities, frustrations, behind-the-scenes drama that came with it. The book collects the three limited-edition comic books of the series as well as a fourth that has never been available in print.

“The fourth year is almost a summation of the previous three,” says author McWhinny. “Touching on issues of class, politics and showcasing San Francisco as its own character in the series. Whether experiencing the modern day ‘Downton Abbey’ at the Getty house, negotiating through the contentious mood of the SF mayoral race, enjoying a surprising cameo at the Folsom Street Fair, or contending with wine-spitting drunks at a wine show at Fort Mason, there’s a little bit of the glamour and the gutter to be found in the life of the catering waiter.”

Some highlights of the series include run-ins with Björk, Olympia Dukakis, and Rita Moreno, gluttonous guests and the dangers of Sterno™. Along the way, McWhinny manages to explore sexuality, relationships and politics from the other side of the hors d’oeuvre tray.

“Not only was I wooed by his vocabulary,” writes Lacy Telles in a review on PrismComics.org, “but I loved his casual way of talking politics. It isn’t in an ‘above my head’ sort of way, nor in a ‘let me explain this to my buddy’s grade-schooler’ kind of way, but rather in a matter of fact, ‘Seamus assumes you know what he knows about politics’ sort of way.”

“But don’t get me wrong, people,” Telles continues. “Not every strip, not every story, is a jab at San Francisco high society. In ‘Morning after’, McWhinny shows a more serious side. Sure there are still smile inducing, relatable instances like the stranger from the night before blabbering away about chirping nothingness. But there is sincerity in his statement about class difference and the likelihood of a return phone call or a proper date. I appreciate these odd glimpses into the world of a catering whore outside of his catering jobs, especially when they show a slightly less acrid view on life.”

Diary of a Catering Whore is available exclusively on the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch through iBooks. You can download a free preview before purchasing the book.

Last Minute Gift: “Happiness is a Boy Who Swallows” T-shirt!

// December 21st, 2011 // // A Waste of Time

You’ve been holding out for this! Rick Worley’s cute and insatiably affectionate bunny from A Waste of Time proclaims his love of twink dedication on soft and supple black American Apparel shirts. Show that special someone in your life (or that special someone you want in your life) how you like it. Perfect for a night out on the town!

Available in sizes from Small to XXX Large for just $20. Might not make it in time for Christmas, but tell them you saw it and that it reminded you of them, and they’ll forget all about that.

Northwest Press on the iPad… for $5!

// December 16th, 2011 // // A Waste of Time, Glamazonia, Rainy Day Recess, Teleny and Camille

• Jon Macy’s Teleny and Camille, an adaptation of an anonymous Victorian erotic novel attributed to Oscar Wilde
• Justin Hall’s Glamazonia: The Uncanny Super-Tranny, a collection of tales about a hard-drinking, sexy superheroine with a bad attitude
• David Kelly’s Rainy Day Recess: The Complete Steven’s Comics, a complete collection of the 90s newspaper strips with a foreword by “It Gets Better” founder Dan Savage
• Rick Worley’s A Waste of Time, the first full-length collection of Worley’s semi-autobiographical webcomics about a misanthropic, sex-obsessed bunny
• Tim Fish’s Cavalcade of Boys Volume One, a collection of Fish’s soapy and sweet gay romance series

A Waste of Time Reviewed in the Bay Area Reporter

// November 22nd, 2011 // // A Waste of Time

Rick Worley’s new book A Waste of Time gets a favorable review from Roberto Friedman of the Bay Area Reporter in the latest issue.

Worley populates his cartoon world with characters we may well recognize from contemporary gay society: there’s a closeted fundamentalist teddy bear with a drug habit, Prester; oversexed sly fox Truckstop; and unlucky-in-love robot Rickets. Somehow having these sometimes naughty characters take the form of cute furry animals (or a robot) takes the sting out of all the waspish social satire.

Check out the whole review of Rick Worley’s A Waste of Time on the Bay Area Reporter.

The Feast of Fun Goes Inside the Out 100 with Zan

// November 22nd, 2011 // // The Power Within

I had the great pleasure of appearing on the Feast of Fun podcast the other day, fresh off my trip to New York to go to the OUT 100 gala. We had a lengthy conversation about that and a lot of topics, and whiled away an hour-and-a-half before we knew it. Check it out!

Listen to Charles “Zan” Christensen on the Feast of Fun podcast.

Christensen and Brill Named Two of Out Magazine’s OUT 100 for The Power Within

// November 17th, 2011 // // The Power Within

OUT Magazine revealed today that Charles “Zan” Christensen and Mark Brill—creators of the anti-bullying comic THE POWER WITHIN—have been recognized as two of 2011′s “OUT 100″, described by the magazine as an “annual salute to the year’s most inspiring people”. Other notable honorees this year include Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Sandra Bernhard, Justin Bond, Dustin Lance Black, David Mixner, Harmony Santana, Chaz Bono, and Tim Gunn.

Christensen and Brill started work on THE POWER WITHIN in October of last year for 24-Hour Comics Day, an event where artists and writers attempt to create a complete 24-page comic book in 24 hours. Their story focused on a boy named Shannon who deals with bullying at school by escaping into a super-powered alter-ego but ultimately has to find the strength to face the harassment in real life.

The decision to do a comic that tackles antigay bullying was prompted by the previous month’s numerous reports of teen suicides linked to bullying and harassment. Those reports spurred Ellen Degeneres to speak out to raise awareness and Dan Savage to start the It Gets Better Project.
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Northwest Press Helps It Get Better

// November 1st, 2011 // // Rainy Day Recess, The Power Within

Today, I’m proud to let you know we made our first contribution to the It Gets Better Project from proceeds from the sale of David Kelly’s book, Rainy Day Recess. A portion of the sale of each book goes to help the organization which was started by Dan Savage in October of 2010 in response to a rash of teen suicides.

Funds collected by the It Gets Better Project benefit The Trevor Project, a 24-hour suicide prevention hotline, and GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Educator’s Network, which works with educators, policy makers, community leaders and students on the urgent need to address anti-LGBT behavior and bias in schools.

In addition to our contribution to It Gets Better, today we sent out over 300 more free copies of our anti-bullying comic book, The Power Within to more than 20 schools, youth groups, and community centers around the country (and around the world!) These organizations work directly with kids, and contacted us to ask for copies of The Power Within to use as a teaching and outreach tool. We’re glad that the book is getting into the hands of kids who need its message the most.

We’re a little startup publisher in a niche market, but we’re digging deep to keep giving back to the community we love. We urge you to do the same and make a donation if you can.

• Make a donation to the It Gets Better Project
• Make a donation to The Trevor Project
• Make a donation to GLSEN

Tell us how you’re pitching in in the comments section!

LGBT Section in Your Shop?
Feedback for the CBLDF

// November 1st, 2011 // // Misc

So I had a lovely dinner with Charles Brownstein from the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund when I was in San Francisco for APE last month, and agreed to work on an article about creating LGBT sections in comic book stores. I’ve been trying to do retailer outreach over the past year on that very same subject, and it seemed like a natural fit.

I have a background in marketing and advertising and have some ideas already, but I’m sure there are a lot of pressures and concerns that retailers have that I’m unaware of, or underestimate. I’d love to create an article that can really be a good resource for retailers and help them reach out to new audiences in a constructive way, and maybe avoid some pitfalls that you’ve experienced.

If you’re a retailer and want to share your thoughts on the subject, I would be really interested to hear. Or, if you’re a customer at a shop that could benefit from an LGBT section and have some ideas on how they might implement it, that would be great, too.

Here’s some questions to get your gears turning; if any of these strike a chord with you, please post Facebook comments in reply, or email me directly with your thoughts.

• Do you have any success stories to share about creating a section in your store?
• What works, and what really hasn’t?
• Do you have an “unofficial” section (perhaps adjacent to the indies), or do you do a seasonal PRIDE display?
• Have any customers had issues with your implementation? Had any issues with parents?
• Has the section increased business? Changed your customer demographic?
• Has the fact that you have an LGBT section gotten you any press?
• Do you have customers who might be well-served by an LGBT section? or who have asked for one?
• Are you interested in reaching LGBT audiences but aren’t sure how to do it? afraid of doing it wrong and offending people?

Any and all responses would be appreciated, even if you haven’t created an LGBT section and have limited experience on the subject. I would welcome your concerns and ideas, as a retailer, on how you might go about it if you did.

Thank you!

Northwest Press Goes International!

// October 29th, 2011 // // A Waste of Time, Glamazonia, Rainy Day Recess, Teleny and Camille

What do these countries have in common: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom?

Why, you can buy Northwest Press graphic novels on iTunes in all of these countries, of course! Click the links below to visit iTunes and download previews of these fine books for your iPad (or for your iPhone, if you’ve got excellent eyesight and don’t mind a lot of zooming…):

• Teleny and Camille
• Glamazonia: The Uncanny Super-Tranny
• Rainy Day Recess: The Complete Steven’s Comics
• A Waste of Time