Monkey Covers

Sunday is Monkey Covers day here at YACB. Because there's nothing better than a comic with a monkey on the cover.

All September we've been featuring Jungle Girls vs. Apes--a very common theme for comic book covers!

For our final Jungle Girl vs. Ape cover we're going back to 1948 for Zoot Comics #15 and witness Rulah the Jungle Goddess ready to stab an ape as she gazes into its eyes.

(standard disclaimer about apes not really being monkeys applies)

Image courtesy of the GCD. Click on the image for a larger version.

Me, Live, on The Internet

This Saturday morning, at 10:30am EDT, I'll be part of a panel discussion at the "Internet Public Library Symposium: A Global Standard for Digital Librarianship". If you have QuickTime 7, you'll be able to watch it live over the Internet at http://www.ipl.org/div/symposium/video.html. (The whole symposium will be broadcast live. Many good things, but if you can watch only one, I'd recommend tuning in for Joe Janes' talk Friday morning at 9:30am EDT.)

New This Week: September 21, 2005

Based on the NCRL list for this week's comics shipping from Diamond, here are a few things to look for at the local comic shop later today:


The pick of the week is Strangehaven: Conspiracies, the third collected volume in Gary Spencer Millidge's excellent series. Given the slooow pace that the comic comes out, it's good to have several issues all collected to be read at once.


In other comics:

Speaking of comics with a long time between issues, Amaze Ink/Slave Labor have a new issue of Lenore (#12).

Antarctic have a new issue of Gold Digger (#69).

Dark Horse have new issue of Conan (#20) and The Goon (#14), plus a collection of BPRD: The Dead.

DC have the final Sleeper collection (vol. 4: The Long Way Home); the debuts of Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle and Green Lantern Corps: Recharge; and new issues of Birds of Prey (#68), Hellblazer (#212), JSA: Classified (#3), Lucifer (#66), and Manhunter (#14).

Del Rey have the first volume of Gacha Gacha.

El Capitan have a new issue of Stray Bullets (#39).

Illusive Arts have a new issue of Dorothy (#4).

Image have a new issue of Gødland (#3).

Marvel have the second Hulk Visionaries: Peter David volume; the first volume of The Essential Ghost Rider; the debut of Supreme Power: Hyperion; and new issues of Captain America (#10) and Runaways (#8).

Speakeasy have the second issue of Rocketo (although I got mine last week...)

Viz have the latest issue of Shojo Beat (#4).


Okay, that does it. Don't forget to save a few bucks to donate to hurricane relief!

Yet Another Fantasy League: Week 2 Results

Here are the results from week 2 of Yet Another Fantasy League:

www.rickgebhardt.net 48
Kickers Inc. 46

Inferior 5 plus 6 80
The Inferior Five 50

Nine Pound Hammers 87
Moon Knights 32

Danger Unlimited 67
B.P.R.D. 101

Secret Six 60
Power Pack 54

The Maxx Squad 69
Tomorrow Syndicate 39


Current Standings:

   Team                 W-L-T  Pct    Pts  Streak
   -------------------  -----  -----  ---  ------
1. B.P.R.D.             2-0-0  1.000  171  W-2
2. Inferior 5 plus 6    2-0-0  1.000  139  W-2
3. Nine Pound Hammers   2-0-0  1.000  129  W-2
4. Power Pack           1-1-0   .500  140  L-1
5. Secret Six           1-1-0   .500  123  W-1
6. The Maxx Squad       1-1-0   .500  109  W-1
7. Moon Knights         1-1-0   .500   97  L-1
8. Kickers Inc.         1-1-0   .500   80  L-1
9. www.rickgebhardt.net 1-1-0   .500   72  W-1
10.Danger Unlimited     0-2-0   .000  113  L-2
11.Tomorrow Syndicate   0-2-0   .000   95  L-2
12.The Inferior Five    0-2-0   .000   78  L-2

Week 3 Games:

Moon Knights (1-1-0)
vs.
Kickers, Inc. (1-1-0)

www.rickgebhardt.net (1-1-0)
vs.
The Inferior Five (0-2-0)

Nine Pound Hammers (2-0-0)
vs.
B.P.R.D. (2-0-0)

Danger Unlimited (0-2-0)
vs.
Power Pack (1-1-0)

Secret Six (1-1-0)
vs.
Tomorrow Syndicate (0-2-0)

Inferior 5 Plus 6 (2-0-0)
vs.
The Maxx Squad (1-1-0)


Good luck to all!


(In my other Fantasy Leagues, I lost 78-68 in my friends & family league, lost 77-49 in my public league, and scored 358.00 points in my Pass & Kick league, which moved me up to first place. I also reached the finals in the playoffs in my fantasy basebell league.)

Manga Math

So I'm reading over Sarah Glazer's article on Shojo manga in yesterday's New York Times, and a little throw-away line in the lead paragraph catches my eye: "Last year, Del Rey sold a million copies of its first 16 releases combined."

Okay, let's pull out our calculators: That's 1,000,000 copies divided by 16 volumes, or an average of 62,500 copies per volume. That's of an $11 book, or $687,500 in sales per book.

The top seller via Diamond for August 2005 was Justice #1 with $190,400 copies of a $3 comic, or $571,200 in sales.

Which means that, dollar for dollar, each release from Del Rey--a second-tier manga publisher--is right up there with the most that Marvel & DC can do. And they're doing it completely outside of the direct market.

(Dollar figures are calculated here as if the books actually sold for cover price, which of course is not always the case. But I think it makes for a fair comparison.)

Monkey Covers

Sunday is Monkey Covers day here at YACB. Because there's nothing better than a comic with a monkey on the cover.

All September we'll be featuring Jungle Girls vs. Apes--a very common theme for comic book covers!

Jungle Girl vs. Ape covers weren't just restricted to the golden & silver ages, as you can see by today's cover: Cavewoman: Rain #4, featuring Meriem vs. Klyde, is by Budd Root and hails from 1996.

(standard disclaimer about apes not really being monkeys applies)

Image courtesy of the GCD. Click on the image for a larger version.

This Week on YAMB

This week on Yet Another Media Blog:


I kicked off my annual preview of the fall television season, looking at new and returning shows: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday (Sunday will come tomorrow).

I also watched celebrity poker, distressed at the state of Big Ten Football, and revealed my cyborg name.

This week's program on Yet Another Music Radio is Live Tracks 2, bringing you over 3 hours of great live performances.