Raina Telgemeier’s dental drama is about to drop, and it now has a trailer.

Prepare for Greg Heffley. Based on Jeff Kinney’s best selling series of graphic-hybrid books, the movie opens April 2.

Parents confused about whether to go take their kids to this or to KICK-ASS should know that Chloe Moretz appears in both films — she is the new Seth Rogen or something. Also starring Zachary Gordon, Rachael Harris, Steve Zahn, and Robert Capron. It’s a cute trailer that replicates the kid-level humor of the original.

The Young Adult Library Services Association has released a list of 73 Great Graphic Novels for Teens

The list of 73 titles, drawn from 127 official nominations, is presented annually at the ALA Midwinter Meeting. The books, recommended for those ages 12-18, meet the criteria of both good quality literature and appealing reading for teens. In addition, the Great Graphic Novels for Teens Committee created a Top Ten list. “There was a wealth of great titles to choose from this year,” said Eva Volin, committee chair. “This allowed the committee to create a well-rounded list that includes everything from European comics to manga, superhero titles to adaptations of classic literature. We think librarians will find this to be a very useful list.”

The Top Ten Graphic Novels are as follows:

Hardison, Jim and Bart Sears. The Helm. Dark Horse. 2009.

Igarashi, Daisuke. Children of the Sea, vol 1. VIZ Media. 2009.

Jensen, Van and Dusty Higgins. Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer. SLG Publishing. 2009.

Kelly, Joe and J.M. Ken Nimura. I Kill Giants. Image. 2009.

Lethem, Jonathan and Farel Dalrymple. Omega the Unknown. Marvel. 2008.

Love, Jeremy. Bayou, vol 1. DC Comics/Zuda. 2009.

Neufeld, Josh. A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge. Pantheon Books. 2009.

Siddell, Tom. Gunnerkrigg Court, vol 1: Orientation. Archaia Studios Press. 2009.

Urasawa, Naoki and Takashi Nagasaki. Pluto. VIZ Media. 2009.

Yoshinaga, Fumi. Ooku: The Inner Chambers, vol 1. VIZ Media. 2009.

These ten picks are emblematic of pretty much the whole list — one worth analyzing a bit in terms of the breadth of the selections — this is “the new mainstream” or whatever you want to call it now, a mix of manga, non-event superheroes, licensed adaptations and YA graphic novels from mainstream publishers. While it encompasses a few critically acclaimed titles, it’s really more middle-of-the-road, and suggests that if this is what today’s comics-reading teens are reading, the next decade of comics may be even better than the last, at least in terms of being open to a wide variety of material.

Over at his blog, Kean Soo reports that the first volume of his Jellaby series has gone out of print.. Published by Hyperion, Jellaby, a lovable monster who has adventures with a little girl, had appeared in several Flight anthologies and Soo’s own website. Ironically, tThe second volume, Monster in the City is being published in April, still available and Soo worries that the unavailability of Volume 1 will hurt its sales
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Both Kevin Melrose and David Pepose note that the March solicitations state that Marvel will be ceasing publication of its last two Marvel Adventures titles — MARVEL ADVENTURES SUPER HEROES and MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN — in their kid-friendly line of all-ages comics. However, it appears that it’s just paving the way for a revamp. Melrose notes:

Paul Tobin, who writes both books, acknowledged on Twitter that “it’s a ’stay tuned’ sort of announcement.” Meanwhile, a company spokesman would only say that “Marvel has some exciting announcements relating to the future of Marvel Adventures.”

Katherine Dacey at School Library Journal’s Good Comics For Kids blog lists their Best Comics for Kids for 2009. Paging Buddy Saunders! Paging all comics retailers — librarians say these are good comics for kids, so check ‘em out! The post has lots of commentary and reviews but here’s a raw list:

Adventures in Cartooning (9781596433694)
Bayou, Vol. 1 (9781401223823)
The Big Adventures of Majoko, Vol. 1 (9781897376812)
The Big Adventures of Majoko, Vol. 2 (9781897376829)
Binky the Space Cat (9781554533091)
Cat Burglar Black (9781596431447)
Children of the Sea, Vol. 1 (9781421529141)
Children of the Sea, Vol. 2 (9781421529196)
Dinosaur Hour (9781421526485)
A Family Secret (9780374322717)
Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom (9781416964841)
Gunnerkrigg Court, Vol. 1: Orientation (9781848561755)
Happy Happy Clover, Vol. 1 (9781421526560)
Happy Happy Clover, Vol. 2 (9781421526577)
Happy Happy Clover, Vol. 3 (9781421526584)
Jellaby: Monster in the City (9781423105657)
Kimi no Todoke: From Me to You, Vol. 1 (9781421527550)
Kimi no Todoke: From Me to You, Vol. 2 (9781421527567)
Kit Feeney: On the Move (9780375856143)
Little Mouse Gets Ready (9781935179016)
Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers (9780785142713)
Luke on the Loose (9781935179009)
Maximum Ride: The Manga, Vol. 1 (9780759529519)
Maximum Ride: The Manga, Vol. 2 (9780759529687)
My Mommy Is In America, And She Met Buffalo Bill (9788496427853)
Ninja Baseball Kyuma!, Vol. 1 (9781897376867)
The Photographer: Into War-Torn Afghanistan with Doctors Without Borders (9781596433755)
Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Vol. 1 (9781421519180)
Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Vol. 2 (9781421519197)
Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Vol. 3 (9781421519203)
Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Vol. 4 (9781421519210)
Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Vol. 5 (9781421525839)
Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Vol. 6 (9781421527215)
The Search (9780374365172)
The Storm in the Barn (9780763636180)
The Toon Treasury of Classic Children’s Comics (9780810957305)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (9780785129219)
Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane: Sophmore Jinx (9780785130048)

As someone who spent the entire decade of the ’90s trying to convince comics industry players that kids liked to read comics — while editing comics featuring the world’s most popular characters, no less — I can only nod and smile tightly at Chris Butcher’s latest blog post. Butcher has mostly been on blogging hiatus of late but he comes back with a 40 megaton bomb on the recent retailer discussions about whether there are enough kids’ comics. The entire essay must be read in full, but Butcher’s main point is that what most retailers are asking for isn’t comics for kids, but comics that they read as kids:

I’ve seen this happen myself, and with both moms and dads and daughters and sons, when it comes to getting kids some comics. Sometimes it’s because the parent liked comics as a kid and wants to share that with their children, sometimes it’s because the teacher told them it’ll get them reading. Sometimes it’s just to keep them quiet on a long car ride or plane trip. But the only time I’ve ever encountered someone who wants to buy their kid a comic exactly like they read as a kid? Die-hard superhero fans. It’s that defensiveness again, not only are superhero comics awesome and modern mythology and whatever, but they’re the only comics that they want their kid reading. I’ve seen some pretty appalling behaviour too, parents outright refusing to buy a young reader something they’re actually interested in (Simpsons, Disney, NARUTO) because the parent used to Looooove Spider-Man as a kid and hey you liked the movie didn’t you champ remember we saw all three come on get a Spider-Man comic. It’s upsetting, but it’s how they choose to raise their kid and that’s fine, I’m not going to be paying their therapy bills.

Indeed, I had the same kind of reaction when reading the various laments over the lack of comics for young readers. Bongo’s Simpsons comics collections are barely ever mentioned in polite direct market company, but have years of sales totals that anyone but Alan Moore would die for, to cite but the most obvious example.

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Doug Gray posts a vintage Frankenstein story by Dick Briefer: “The Return of the Mummy”, with commentary, even:

This story, The Return of the Mummy, really highlights some great cartooning. The composition in each panel is nice and clean: the characters are nicely posed, there is no clutter and very few tangents. The information in each shot is processed quickly on first sight. Backgrounds appear where background detail is necessary, and are abandoned where it is not (especially page 4, where aside from one lone column, there are no backgrounds at all). The other side of the coin is demonstrated by the last two panels of page 2 and the first two panels of page 3: the backgrounds quickly establish location and a sense of the distance traveled from the boat to the tomb.

To which we’d add a few of our own — note the gentle characterization, and easy evocation of Moise the Mummy’s nostalgia over long ago Egypt. And the unselfconscious denouement, crammed into the very last panel, as if Briefer just ran out of panels, which he probably did.

AND ALSO, as we’ve noted here a few times, while reading old comics like this on the web and the recent sublime Toon Treasury of Children’s Comics — in which Briefer is represented — these comics were colored with a LOT more care than you’d think, given the primitive nature of color seps at the time. Check out the cover alone — a great use of primary colors, simple, bold, direct, and even a little wee gradient on the sun rays. There were some sophisticated folks making comics in the ’40s and ’50s.

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) has their nominations for their annual great Graphic Novels for Teen list up. The list of recommended graphic novels and illustrated nonfiction for those ages 12-18 is prepared yearly. A shorter list of recommended titles will be made later in the year, with a Top Ten list released later in the year.

There are over a hundred titles on the list, covering all major genres, from manga and literary to mainstream.

2009’s list can be read here.

Another giant IP deal unfolded yesterday, as Viacom/Paramount/Nickelodeon acquired the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for $60 million.

Created in 1984 by two New England indie cartoonists, the Turtles have gone on to be an enduring kids brand, with movies, cartoons, cereals, toys and probably something everyone who was a kid in the ’90s owned at one point. Most recently, 4Kids Entertainment was producing an animated show, giving the Turtles yet another run near the top.

Now, Paramount plans a NEW show for Nick in 2012 as well as a new feature film that same year. The Turtles’ very successful toy license with Playmates will also continue.

The Nick deal included nearly $10 million as a buyout for 4Kids, which owned the TV rights for the franchise.

The rest — $50 million — went to Mirage Group, the previous owners, including co-creator Peter Laird, probably best known in this space as the funder and organizer of the Xeric Grants for deserving indie comics.

While it’s not quite clear who else is involved in the Mirage Group, Laird had been the sole creator involved in the franchise since buying out his co-creator Kevin Eastman in 2000.

On his blog, Laird explains his reasons for the sale, mainly burnout at running a global franchise — Laird is 55 — and the desire to get back to drawing. The entire statement should be read for context, but it does get into such interesting territory as how his take differs from Nickelodeon’s and more. But it is certainly not the end:

One comment — which I have seen online several times — expresses the sentiment that this sale will mean “the end of TMNT”. This baffles me. Unless I am completely naive, the sale to Viacom could very well mean a brighter future for the TMNT property than was previously feasible.

On a final note (at least for this statement), please understand that I sold the TMNT property, not Mirage Studios. Mirage still exists, and it’s still my company. It just doesn’t own the TMNT intellectual property anymore. I’m not sure what its future will be. For a little while, it will be helping with the transition of TMNT over to its new owners. But after that…? I don’t know. What I am hoping, however, is that this little core group of creators sticks together, both as friends and collaborators. And I think that is certainly possible.

Eastman and Laird remain the only two indie comics creators who ever got filthy rich from their creations, and they did it by holding on to the copyright and having a very, very savvy agent who made them terrific deals. Eastman spent an awful lot of his money, and it’s believed that the Laird buyout actually bailed him out of a lot of debts he’d run up. However, even allowing for the other entities of the Mirage Group, $50 million is a nice payout after having already made millions and millions of dollars.

Congrats to Peter Laird, and here’s hoping he enjoys his newfound spare time.

Mykal the Dog’s The Big Blog of Kids’ Comics! is what you’d expect. Jack Bradbury! Al Fago! Good stuff.

Via PR, the news that Wimpy Kid is really, really big, with a four million copy initial release for the next volume in the series. Author Jeff Kinney will also be on tour on the West Coast (dates in the jump) and be making many media appearances. Although whether the text-heavy Wimpy Kid series counts as a comic at all is often a subject of some dispute, as we’ve often said, Kinney self-identifies as a cartoonist, and we should welcome him to our clan.

On October 12, 2009, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, the fourth title in #1 bestselling author Jeff Kinney’s series published by Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams, releases with a 4-million-copy one-day laydown. The printing is the largest of any children’s book release this year. The additional pre-publication printings reflect a surge in demand for the newest book in the middle grade series and Abrams’ commitment to the increasing popularity of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. 

“We are poised to ship additional books as demand warrants, and we expect the sell-through to be extraordinary. Our first printing and lay down are unprecedented for Abrams and indicate how hugely successful and popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid has become,” said Michael Jacobs, president and CEO of Abrams. “It’s exciting to see the impact these books have on readers. Even more interesting for our industry is how Dog Days will bring people into the stores and give fans of the series an impetus to shop for and buy books and help kick off the holiday season at retail.” 
The national lay down of the book has been supported by a pre-sell campaign implemented by more than 3,000 stores across the country. Custom-made items provided by Abrams kept the message consistent and in support of in-store events on the day of sale and throughout the fall. More than 2,000 event kits that have materials created by Jeff Kinney were shipped. These include reproducible sheets with Wimpy Kid games and trivia, a T-shirt to be raffled off, and temporary Dog Days tattoos. 

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Edited by Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly, The Toon Treasury of Classic Children’s Comics is perhaps the most seminal historical comics anthology since A Smithsonian Book of Comic Book Comics, and a powerfully persuasive document arguing for a more linear, storytelling-based tradition of comics. It’s also full of comics by Harvey Kurtzman, Walt Kelly, Jules Feiffer, Carl Barks, Andre LeBlanc, Sheldon Mayer, and more that is so mouth-wateringly gorgeous that you will just sit and stare at it for hours on end. To wit, a few sample pages, provided by Abrams. Click for full sized versions.

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This press release is a little long, but it’s worth it just to see Sergio Aragonés’s accomplishments laid out in one very very long paragraph. In the time it takes to read it, he probably drew a whole page!

Bart Simpson teams up with Sergio Aragonés beginning in Bart Simpson #50.

Matt Groening, creator of “The Simpsons” and “Futurama,” has announced that Sergio Aragonés (MAD Magazine, Groo the Wanderer) will become a regular featured artist and writer in Bart Simpson comics beginning with issue #50. Sergio Aragonés will provide the entire contents of Bart Simpson #50 as well as the cover art. The issue will include an eleven-page main story entitled “The Simpson Project.” Mr. Aragonés will also contribute a new and ongoing feature entitled “Maggie’s Crib,” a series of pantomime stories much in the vein of his classic three-page “A Mad Look At…” feature found in MAD Magazine. Sergio will also be a contributor of stories to the Bart Simpson title as well as other Bongo Comics Group titles on a regular basis.
 
Bart Simpson #50 will be released on October 28, 2009 in direct market comic book stores and at newsstands. Bart Simpson is a bimonthly comic book aimed at younger comic book readers and was launched in 2000.
 
“I have been a Simpsons fan from the very beginning,” says Sergio Aragonés. “I watch the show, read the comics, and collect everything that has come out, so imagine the pleasure to now be writing and drawing my favorite family…I couldn’t be happier!”
 
Bill Morrison, Bongo Comics Creative Director, says, “We’ve put some of the funniest characters ever created in the hands of the world’s funniest cartoonist. This is unprecedented in the world of humor comics, and it may result in more comedy than the average reader can safely handle. I predict it’ll be just like that movie The Perfect Storm, only hilarious.”
 
“Sergio’s the best,” says Matt Groening, Bongo Comics founder and publisher, “and it’s an honor to work with him.”

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The Joe Shuster Award nominees in the kids’ comics category have been announced. The nominees were chosen by a panel of teachers:

The Comics for Kids Award / Prix de Bandes Dessinées pour Enfants recognizes creators who have produced works which capture the attention and fascination of young readers, and help to create a passion for life-long reading. Works considered for this award are comic books and graphic novels by Canadian creators that are targeted at readers 14 and under.

Clayton Hanmer, CTON’s Super A-Maze-ing Year of Crazy Comics! (OwlKids)

Susan Hughes and Willow Dawson, No Girls Allowed (Kids Can Press)

Karl Kerschl and Serge Lapointe (with Amy Wolfram, USA), Teen Titans: Year One (DC Comics)

Liam O’Donnell and Michael Deas, Ramp Rats – A Graphic Guide Adventure (Orca Publishing)

Paul Roux, Ariane et Nicolas Tome 5: Les tours de Babel (Editions Les 400 Coups)

Chad Solomon (with Christopher Meyer, USA), The Adventures of Rabbit and Bear Paws Vol. 2: The Voyageurs (Little Spirit Bear Productions)

Kean Soo, Jellaby Book 1 (Hyperion)

Mariko Tamaki and Steve Rolston, Emiko Superstar (DC/Minx)

While Marvel and DC are apparently shipping enough comics to choke a rhino today, may we recommend the quality cartooning of Jill Thompson and the final book in the Magic Trixie trilogy? If there is a finer comic for sale this day, we’d be very, very, very surprised.

It looks like kids’ comics licenses are the new hot thing, as two new licenses were revealed yesterday: BOOM! Studios will be picking up the Disney Comics license formerly at Gemstone, and Archaia has just signed a pact with the Henson Company.

§ Disney first. As revealed by the online September previews, BOOM! will publish WALT DISNEY’S COMICS AND STORIES #699 by Riccardo Secchi and Stefano Turconi, and MICKEY MOUSE AND FRIENDS #297 by Stefano Ambrosio and Lorenzo Pastrovicchio. This is picking up the numbering right from where Gemstone left off. But it also looks like BOOM! will be marketing these books in a more kid-friendly format, like its successful launch of the Pixar books, THE IINCREDIBLES and CARS. Arthur de Wolf at the DCW website (a dedicated source for Disney comics news) gives this a bit of perspective:

It looks like Boom! is completely abandoning the collector’s concept and going a different route. The first new issue of Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories will have only 24 pages and will sell for $2.99, the same price and size as its Pixar titles. And that’s not all, it will have the first part of an Italian-produced multi-part series titled Ultraheroes. These three-tier stories (stories with three rows are usually used in smaller pocket-sized books, while full-sized comics have four rows) aren’t anything like the material that has been published in WDC&S in recent years. Ultraheroes is a series with a total of 240 pages, so it looks like this is going to be the new style of WDC&S for at least its first 10 issues.

Gemstone always published Disney Comics more for the extremely niche adult collectors market that’s more numerous in Northern Europe than here; a switch to a kid-friendly line could make for a larger potential audience.

§ The other news was Archaia picking up the Henson license, with such properties as FRAGGLE ROCK, THE DARK CRYSTAL, LABYRINTH, MIRRORMASK, and THE STORYTELLER. PW has more details. With Archaia recently refinanced and revitalized, this is their first significant licensing deal, and shows that they’re fitting right in with the model of the modern comics publisher.

Unanswered questions from THIS announcement: what about Toykopop’s license for manga-esque versions of things like LABYRINTH? According to a post by author Jake Forbes at Comics Worth Reading, the fourth volume of RETURN TO LABYRINTH is still coming out.

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The Beat has confirmed an LA Times report that Nickelodeon Magazine, the last studio kids magazine, has been canceled:

Viacom is shutting down Nickelodeon Magazine this week and will lay off about 30 staffers. Launched in 1993, the magazine, with a circulation of more than 1 million and a total audience of more than 6 million, was for many years an important promotional platform for the children’s cable network and provided a steady stream of cash. The magazine even once was a National Magazine Award finalist and also led to a few spin-off products.

The fate of comics editors Chris Duffy and Dave Roman isn’t specifically known yet. The loss of the magazine comes as a blow to the comics community — in addition to developing such popular comics properties as SpongeBob and Avatar: The Last Airbender, Duffy and Roman hired the cream of the crop of indie cartoonists, from Sam Henderson and Johnny Ryan to Laura Park and Jason Lutes. It was one of the few places where cartoonists of this ilk could get paid decent rates for their work, which makes it all the sadder. In addition, they published stand-alone comics collections and sponsored the first Kids Comics Awards.

While this leaves an obvious gap for kids comics, it leave a gap for comics in magazines in general — once a key way for cartoonists to make money and gain exposure, the implosion of the magazine market has taken this avenue with it. Or as Ryan Sands tweeted:

Nick Mag was a great venue 4 indie cartoonists: Laura Park, Jason Shiga, Johnny Ryan, Elio, Kupperman. Now there’s just vice, GR & arthur

GR means Giant Robot.

Above: A Richard Thompson drawn cover for Nick Mag’s comics section. Much more art and history of the magazine can be seen at the Nick Mag Comics LJ, which we urge all to visit as a token of remembrance of a great magazine. There is a post up just from yesterday with a LAURA PARK 3D COMIC.

Award-winning cartoonist Gene Luen Yang (AMERICAN BORN CHINESE) leads a double life: he’s a teacher as well as a ‘toonist. But he puts both skills to use in this edu-comic titled FACTORING WITH MR. YANG AND MOSLEY THE ALIEN, which covers factoring, a basic skill in algebra that involves breaking down numbers into their components.

Confession: We did okay with the first coupla lessons, but when it got to that Trinomial Expression stuff we just quietly went back to playing Wesnoth.

On the plus side, we are now totally up for using expressions like “When you factor that in…” and “Among the many factors affecting this are…” because now we can sound authentic!

Via Lee’s Comics newsletter.

Hugh Jackman is joining the multi-comic club with a planned starring role in GHOSTOPOLIS, based on a graphic novel by Doug TenNapel. The book is upcoming from Scholastic.

The story centers on a man who works for the government’s Supernatural Immigration Task Force. His job is to send ghosts who have escaped into our world back to Ghostopolis. When a living boy accidentally is sent to the other side, the agent must team with a female ghost (and former flame) to bring him back.
[snip]
TenNapel’s graphic novels are in high demand as movie projects, with nearly all of them set up at studios. His dinosaur tale “Tommysaurus Rex” is set up at Universal, “Creature Tech” at New Regency and “Monster Zoo” at Paramount.

TenNapel talks about the book a teensy bit in this thread at his forum. We couldn’t find any art so we were forced to run another picture of Hugh Jackman.