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Where Have all the Women in Comics Come From?

Tuesday, April 9th, 2013

women in Comics Interview vol 2

It is amazing to see the number of women that attend comic conventions these days. Maybe their inclusion is more pronounced to those of us that were attending comic cons thirty years ago when seeing a woman at a comic con was akin to spotting a Yeti on the beach.

Women abound at cons these days and though those that participate in cosplay seem to get all of the media attention because of their skimpy costumes and exhibitionistm portrayals of sexy characters, it is more than comforting to see the growing numbers of women that are comic creators, readers, bloggers, and collectors.

At the Asbury Park Comic Convention, two of the many highlights for me involved the presence of women at the show.

Meeting the extraordinarily talented illustrator, Stephanie Buscema was a thrill. She carries on the tremendous legacy of her grandfather, John Buscema, and great uncle, Sal Buscema, both gentlemen legends in the comic book industry. Though she bears the mantle of comic book royalty, she does so while maintaining her own individuality with her unique and refreshing retro style.

Lining up to meet Ms. Buscema was the other surprise of the show, a parade of female fans of all ages. They were not there just for her but her beautiful art was a magnet that attracted the ladies like a moth to a flame. Those same women soaked up everything at the show with the same enthusiasm that was once only expected from the old “boys club.” Mothers with children in tow, Grandmothers wearing Batman swag, teenagers, tweens and toddlers of the female persuasion were all there genuinely showing an interest in comics and not because they were dragged there by a dad, husband or boyfriend.

I don’t know why I am always surprised to see waves of women at conventions. I guess I fall prey to the stereotyping as easily as anyone because I do remember quite vividly those early days of comic conventions that were attended so sparsely by women. I am well aware, however, that women have played a significant role in comics for decades and it is about time that they share the limelight with the men.

Comics_Interview_Volume_2_Standard_cover

Our newly released second volume of David Anthony Kraft’s COMICS INTERVIEW The Complete Collection is a testimonial to the efforts of some of the women that played pioneering roles in the history of comics featuring a long list of interviews that were originally published in 1984 and 1985.

Harking back to the earliest days of the Silver Age,  Marvel Comics’ very own Gal Friday, Flo Steinberg gives us an intimate look at what life was like in the fabled Bullpen and talks about her own attempt at independent publishing with the anthology Big Apple Comix.

Maggie Thompson, one of the earliest pioneers of comic fandom along with her husband Don, describes the dawn of fandom through her experience evolving fanzines into trade periodicals as she chronicles the early history of the recently retired Comics Buyers Guide.

Marvel Sales Director, Carol Kalish, discusses Marvel’s role in the structuring of the young Direct Market and revolutionary marketing programs that she was responsible for implementing that impact the industry to this day.

A young Colleen Doran talks about the development her comic creation A Distant Soil that is still in publication twenty-eight years later!

Influential editors Karen Berger, Jo Duffy and Cat Yronwode give their take on their responsibilities guiding creators at DC, Marvel and Eclipse respectively.

Round it out with creative insight from T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents writer, Mary Bierbaum and American Flagg colorist Leslie Zahler and there is clear evidence to the significant roles that women played in comics for a long time.

Of course these special women are just a percentage of more than seventy subjects who’s interviews are packed into this one volume but they stand out dramatically among the scads of men that are generally associated with comics.

So next time the question is asked, “Where have all the women in comics come from?” Remember that their numbers have risen from a strong foundation of pioneers that have been in the trenches for a long, long time.

Making Comics Because We Want to,

Gerry Giovinco


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Posted in CO2 Comics, Creationism, Encouraging Comics, Latest Update, Making History, Reinvention, The Comic Company | 1 Comment »

DRM: Digital Rights Management or Manipulation

Tuesday, March 26th, 2013

Creative people, beware! What is worse, having your worked ripped off by pirates or being forced to channel your creative efforts through a labyrinth of laws and high tech security defenses that are supposedly intended to protect you and your creations but in reality herd you to a desolate pasture guarded by dogs whose only interest is to control and profit from your work?

Copyrights, trademarks, and patents are all jokes. They only protect those that can afford to enforce them.

“Hi! I’m a comic artist. I created a work and I have a copyright and a trademark on it but now it is viral on the web in torrent sites and a big company is publishing a comic just like it. They have plans to make a film. I can’t afford to go after all or any of the pirates so my trademark is naked leaving me unprotected. I’d love to go after the big company but I can’t afford representation. Any lawyer who will take my case will bleed me after settlement if I win.”

Sound familiar? It’s tough being a starving artist.

Oppose DRM-Click here and visit Defective By Design

Now there is DRM. Digital Rights Management programs are intended to protect creative works from being copied in this digital age.  Sounds good but for creative folks that consider themselves “the little guy” DRM becomes another hurdle that ends up costing money. You self-publish a comic and make an e-book out of it but now need to buy a different ISBN for every platform that it is on or become locked into a platform because of exclusivity contracts. Pick the wrong platform and your project is dead in the water.

We all got an eye-full when Marvel crashed Comixology. Headlines should have read, “Industry Giant Floods Market. Blacks Out All Competition.” What does the crash have to do with DRM? Apps like Comixology are intended to facilitate monetization of digital comics that formerly relied on the internet for “distribution” They are also intended to deter piracy by making legally paid-for,  digital content easily accessible the way iTunes did for music in the hope that inherently honest people would avoid torrent sites.

But DRM prevents you from owning what you have bought. It is more like a library card that lets you borrow a comic to view whenever you want to with certain limitations. Whatever you do don’t share it!

Marvel’s blackout of Comixology was more than a big reminder that we don’t really own what we plunk our cash down for. It also showed that Marvel had the power to prevent accessibility  to smaller works just like they do when they flood the Direct Market with a million popular titles.

According to a recent  article HTML5′s overseer says DRM’s true purpose is to prevent legal forms of innovation.

Seriously?

We really are being herded.

Controversy over creative ownership and sharing has to be as old as the earliest cave drawings. Imagine them arguing over copying each other’s stick figure, animal drawings. But those drawings  preserved stories that needed to be shared. Their value became measured by a culture that grew from their sharing. We are their ultimate beneficiaries. Copying was not stealing. it was sharing.

Before records, cassette tapes and mp3 players music was copied and shared by anyone with an instrument or a singing voice. Somebody whistling a tune they just heard could be considered a pirate in the strictest terms today. The person who wrote the tune could feel jeopardized that the whistler is entertaining others with the tune while returning no royalty. The whistler in reality is free advertisement for the song writer and the professional that originally performed the song.

There is value in sharing and a fine line to ownership when it comes to culture. We all want to be recognized and rewarded for our creations but do we have to protect them so dearly that only those that can afford to can have access to them. This stinginess ultimately hurts everyone including the artist.


Imagine where South Korean musician PSY would be today if his K-Pop single, Gangnam Style didn’t make him a world sensation by going viral on the internet. All that shared free publicity resulted in over $8 million in revenue from paid iTunes downloads and commercials.

People may settle for a copy if they have to but they will always value ownership of the original. As much as we hate the idea of knock-offs, the truth is they drive up the value of the original by increasing demand and simulating popularity.

Artists, don’t be manipulated by fear! Big companies and content providers will be the first cry foul and instigate unfettered fear among artists to justify radical defensive measures regarding laws and security plans like DRM. Behind the frenzy is a calculated plot to control the artists whose free thinking poses the greatest threat of all to the big wigs at the top.

The internet has provided us with the greatest, most fertile environment for creativity ever. The digital age has given power to the artist. Do not be fooled to hand over the keys to big business and their strangling tactics. Do not be manipulated.

Making Comics Because We Want to,

Gerry Giovinco


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Posted in CO2 Comics, Encouraging Comics, Latest Update, Making History, Reinvention, The Comic Company | No Comments »

Old School Comics

Tuesday, March 12th, 2013

Popular, classic and brilliant comic book artist, Jerry Ordway, whose work throughout the 80′s and 90′s defined the DC Universe recently wrote a heart wrenching essay, Life Over Fifty, describing his current professional situation which is unfortunately comparable to that of many of his peers.

If you are in the comics industry or aspiring to work in the field, this is an honest and fair observation of the  current state of the industry that you must be aware of and willing to change if you ever hope for  a secure career as a comic artist.

Jerry asks a simple question toward the end of the essay that is at the heart of his discontentment.

“Getting back to the beginning of this essay, and to the artists I loved as a kid, all I ask is for some of the same consideration my generation of creators and editors gave to the older guard in the 1980′s. My work is still sharp, my mind is still full of stories to tell, and I’m still willing to work all hours of my day to meet my deadlines. Why am I out of work from the publishers? Why are my friends, people who turned in great work, worthy of hardcover and trade paperback reprints, not able to get work? ”

The answer is simple and unfortunate. It can be summed up in a single word. Disrespect.

Disrespect in the comic book industry is a cancer that threatens to destroy the fabric of the industry that has now survived an average person’s lifespan. It is a cancer that has always been there and just as it seemed curable it mutated into a uglier threat.

The comic book industry itself struggled with disrespect from its inception. As a product, comic books were the bottom feeders on any magazine rack; cheaply made, poorly printed, sold to children. Comic books originated as a disposable, impulse purchase. Nobody expected the cultural impact they would have or the durability and value of the character trademarks in the market.

Early comic book creators and publishers had little respect for the industry, themselves. Work in the comic book industry was considered an underpaid stepping stone to a future in some other graphics or communication field. Few admitted to working in the field and fewer stayed to make a career of it.

Those were the few that had respect for comics as a medium and as an industry. Those few became legends and solidified respect for comic books and comic book art. In the 1960′s Julie Schwartz at DC and Stan Lee at Marvel created environments that, for the first time, made the idea of a career in comics attractive and secure.

The creative legends of comics came together and made DC and Marvel commercial powerhouses that propelled their trademarks into the forefront of popular culture. Writers, artists, editors and even production people gained respect and credit for their work. And they worked, well into retirement.

All was not perfect. Creator’s rights became an issue. Work for hire contracts were viewed as a necessary evil but the legends didn’t seem to care so long as there was work doing what they loved. It was just part of the industry they knew and had built. It supported them and their families.

As the legends grew old new generations of creators came in to fill their shoes and carry the mantle, insuring that the quality and integrity of the trademarks remained intact. The Big Two had distinctive “styles” that set them apart from each other.

When Jack Kirby defected to DC after establishing himself as “King” at Marvel, editors at DC would paste house style faces of Superman over his stylized work to maintain their preferred look of the character. Kirby understood.

There was respect for creators, the characters and the companies.

Jerry Ordway is from the last generation of creators that held that respect and he had hoped to retain it himself, but times have changed. Disrespect has gained a foothold again but different than before. Creators now are cut-throat and disposable. Editors have no loyalty. The companies have no respect for the trademarks other than the bottom line.

The style sheets that one time served as bibles have been tossed aside. Entire universes are rebooted from scratch establishing new versions of old characters that are barely recognizable. The comic books and to some extent the films, thumb their noses at classic, established trademarks that are cultural icons. Why wouldn’t the industry “flip off” the creators that for decades diligently maintained the integrity of those characters?

Those iconic trademarks are now derogatorily deemed “Old School” by the new elite powers of the industry and grown, snot-nosed fans, long weened from the classics, who prefer their superhero comics gritty, racy and violent.

Ironically, the old classic trademarks hold their value with licensees who plaster the images of them on every conceivable piece of merchandise. Images by Jack Kirby, Don Heck, Herbe Trimpe, Sal Buscema, Dick Giordano, Jonny Romita, and Jerry Ordway skim the surface of the list of classic comic book creators whose work continues to generate huge revenue in forms of royalties, royalties that neither they nor their heirs see a lick of.

In the meantime the trendy, “new look” reboots of the comics struggle to sell the most modest of numbers in a perpetually shrinking Direct Comic Book Market.

If DC and Marvel respected their product and their trademarks, there would always be work for creators like Ordway. They would be necessary as mentors to insure that the integrity of the trademarks is passed along to the next generation of creators.

Kevin Tsujihara

There is hope at Marvel, now under the wing of Disney which is rigorous about preserving the iconic looks of their trademarks.

Maybe DC, under the guidance of Warner Bros new, traditionalist CEO, Kevin Tsujihara, will see the light and re-embrace that which has stood the test of time. Maybe the Old School will get the respect it deserves.

Making Comics Because We Want to,

Gerry Giovinco


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Posted in CO2 Comics, Creationism, Encouraging Comics, Making History, Reinvention, The Comic Company | 1 Comment »

Making Comics is Risky Business: Part 4

Tuesday, January 8th, 2013

Over the years the business risk of making comics has shifted as has been outlined in the previous three installments of Making Comics is Risky Business.

Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3

As promised in this last article on the subject we will now take a closer look at the risky business of speculation and why crowd funding is the future for comics publishing.

When Phil Seuling developed the concept of the Direct Market in the late 1970′s he predicated it on the existence of comic book specialty shops that were springing up across the country, most of which depended on sales of collectible back-issues, the value of which were marked up considerably on many depending upon their rarity and conditions.

Though back-issues at the time were still generally affordable, they established a precedent for what would constitute speculative value. Premiere issues, popular creators, significant events and, of course, mint condition comics became sought after commodities by comic collectors who became the backbone customers of the Direct Market.

As the rising prices of collectible comics became a recognized investment, collectors began to buy multiple issues of their favorite comics, one to read and others to  squirrel away in mylar bags, preserving their mint condition and hopefully driving up their potential value.

The customers became speculators and took over the position of financial risk takers in the comic market. Professional speculators bought specific issues in quantity, artificially driving up demand and inflating aftermarket retail figures.

Retailers and publishers took advantage of the speculator market and a secondary market of collectible supplies like bags, boards and boxes sprang up.

Independent publishers benefitted greatly from the speculative nature of the market during the 1980′s as collectors feared missing the next “Holy Grail” guaranteeing that at least premiere issues of almost any title could receive respectable sales figures.

As Independent publishers began to proliferate in the market presenting themselves as serious competition for Marvel and DC, the Big Two, in defense of their reign, launched an all-out assault of first issues featuring popular characters and creators. Focusing on the speculative nature of the market they employed novelty devises like mini-series, variant covers, crossovers and events to successfully flood the competition out of the market.

By the mid 1990′s the Direct Market was a bloated mess of over-inflated and over-hyped product that nobody wanted or could any longer afford, crashing the market and even forcing Mighty Marvel into bankruptcy. Diamond stood as the only surviving distributor to a market that was once serviced by over a dozen.

Through it all the emergence of the graphic novel and the success of imported Japanese Manga paved a road into traditional bookstores challenging the Direct Market’s role as sole provider of comics to changing readership. Digital media, however was lurking in the background, poised to change how comics could be delivered to a world wide audience.

Eric Millikin's Art

The development of the web comic, which began with Eric Millikin’s Witches and Stitches as early as 1985, grew through the 1990′s and has flourished in the 2000′s, has changed the rules for creating comics completely and for the first time put the risk fully on the shoulders of the creators as, in most cases, they are the sole publishers and maintain complete autonomy of their works.

Though it requires minimal expense to post comics online, the true cost in publishing web comics is in the time it takes to create the material and cultivate the audience. Monetization of the web comics remains the biggest challenge as web comikers struggle to find ways to profit from their works. Most creators that have managed to bridge that gap have done so by rolling their web content into print product or digital downloads for mobile devices to be sold for retail.

Minimizing their investment risk, these unique independent publishers have taken advantage of today’s technology to put that risk into the hands of the consumer. Using Print on Demand suppliers like Lulu, CreateSpace, Comixpress, Ka-Blam, and others, they no longer need to sit on large quantities of expensive unsold books waiting for sales. Books are printed to order and shipped directly to customers, avoiding the need for distributors and returning a much larger portion of the profit to the publisher who is most often the creator themselves.

Steve Gerber

Finally, creators have found a way to control their properties which have been historically robbed from them by comic publishers for the last seventy years as wonderfully described by the late Steve Gerber in this recently resurfaced article Truth, Justice, & The Corporate Conscience, which I beg you to read and share with every comic creator you know.

The modern comic publisher also has a new tool at their disposal to minimize their risk and further enlist the consumer to share the burden. Crowdfunding through services like Kickstarter , and Indiegogo , capitalize on the strength of social networking and perks offered by campaign developers to essentially pre-sell comic projects.

Comic creators set a goal that represents the investment they will need to produce their project and they request financial support through pledges on these crowdfunding platforms. For various levels of financial support, rewards are offered as incentives. Though these rewards often vary considerably they generally include a printed copy of the project being promoted establishing a new form of marketing and distribution. If the established goal is not met, pledged funds are not collected and rewards are nullified.

Because crowdfunding does such a wonderful job predetermining the success of a project, some observers are viewing the phenomenon as a new form of market research avoiding the need for agents and pitchmen to sell a concept.

So, yes, making comics is risky business as has been proven over the last seventy-five years but it doesn’t have to be as risky as it has been. Now is the time for creators to take advantage of the resources available to them and take control of the direction of the industry so that they, themselves, can enjoy the riches provided by their creations rather than some domineering corporation that views creators merely as cheap disposable labor from which to capitalize on.

Carpe diem!

Gerry Giovinco

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Posted in CO2 Comics, Creationism, Encouraging Comics, Making History, Reinvention, The Comic Company | No Comments »

Making Comics is Risky Business: Part 2

Tuesday, December 11th, 2012

People don’t usually attribute the term risky to the art of making comics, at  least not in the way that it might be risky to sky dive or climb Mount Everest. Making comics is a rather sedentary and danger free process so it is hard to consider it risky until, as was detailed in Making Comics is Risky Business:Part 1, it becomes a business.

Any business is defined by risk that, in the most simple terms, weighs the possibility  of the venture experiencing profit or loss. This business risk is influenced by many factors including potential sales volume, unit price, production costs, competition, economy climate,  government regulations and changes in trends and technology.

1st publications from National, Timely and MLJ

How successfully these factors are managed can limit the risk. Since the first comic books were created in 1933 only a few publishers of comics have stood the test of time. National/DC since 1934, Timely/Marvel and MLJ/Archie Comics since 1939 are the only American comics publishers that can boast having survived over seventy years.

1st publications_from Denis Kitchen, Rip Off Press & Last Gasp

Underground comics publishers Denis Kitchen and Rip Off Press have been around in one form or another since 1969 followed by  Last Gasp Comics in 1970 leaving a roughly forty year gap where all other comics publishers were ultimately doomed for extinction.

Since the advent of these underground publishers a number of alternative comics publishing houses have managed to show some long term resilience.  Their achievement is due to  a notable change in how risk has been managed. More accurately, there has been a shift in who assumes the most risk in the process of how comics are created and sold.

In the beginning financial risk was always the burden of the publisher. The responsibility of all of the expenses fell squarely on their shoulders. They paid for the production of the content, including the color separations and the printing while maintaining any other operating expenses.

Comics were distributed on consignment which meant that any unsold comics were “returned” to the publisher. Publishers waited  for months to find out if their comics actually sold and only then did they receive payment. By the time a publisher saw revenue from sales they had already paid the writers, artists, printers etc.

To avoid the additional expense of shipping returns, publishers generally accepted affidavits from distributors, relying on blind faith to confirm their actual sales volume. Unsold comics were to be destroyed and often the top of the cover was torn and returned as proof of their destruction. Still many of these comic books would be sold at reduced prices by a third party and the publisher took the hit. Distributers and retailers assumed little risk regarding comics sales and in many cases took advantage of the vulnerable situation publishers were in.

To minimize the risk on their low priced product which was primarily targeted at children,  comics publishers, notoriously paid little to writers and artists and offered no royalties from sales. They printed on the cheapest paper and had minimal production values. They considered it a disposable product that was an impulse purchase and cut every corner they could to curb expenses.

Since comics were a low priced high volume product, publishers relied heavily on advertising sales to bolster their revenue. Comics created an opportunity for advertisers to sell to kids that could only be reached through radio and movie theaters before.

Publishers based advertising rates on the number of comics circulated, not sold which was an obviously inflated figure but comics had a shelf life that was invaluable to advertisers.  They realized that in a print product like a comic book their ad could be seen over and over for long periods of time. They knew that comics were shared with friends, guaranteeing that one comic would reach many potential customers before it ended in the trash. Publishers knew this too and found that advertising revenue was the keystone to their success more than actual sales.

Phil Seuling

This system of production and distribution supported the comics industry for over forty years before Phil Seuling approached the publishers with a different and unique distribution plan that lifted the burden of risk from the publishers and shifted it to the retailers with a promise of guaranteed sales and no returns.

Next week, in Part 3, we  will look at how the creation of the Direct Market changed the risk factor in comics forever.

Making Comics Because We Want to,

Gerry Giovinco

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Posted in CO2 Comics, Creationism, Reinvention, The Comic Company | 2 Comments »

Black Friday, Cyber Monday and CO Tuesday!

Tuesday, November 27th, 2012

The Holiday Season has begun and for many it also kicks off a shopping frenzy marked by two of the busiest shopping days of the year, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Black Friday, of course is the day after Thanksgiving when shoppers, enjoying the day off during a long weekend, line up in front of retail stores at ungodly hours so they can savagely storm the store for “doorbuster” deals. This has become a holiday tradition for many and usually results in flaring tempers, small riots and of course a lot of bargains for the not so faint of heart.

Cyber Monday is for civilized folks who have discovered that shopping online is the way to go. Perched in front of their computer, tablet or with cell phone in hand, they can shop for anything they want on the World Wide Web and have it shipped to their doorstep. Online retailers have taken note and offer their own deep discounts that Monday after Thanksgiving.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are not the only days with creative monikers. Religion has supplied some of the most notable like Ash Wednesday, Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Professional Football has given us Super Sunday, the busiest television day of the year where the world parties and gather’s around the tube to watch the Superbowl.

Let’s not forget Small Business Saturday, in this tough economic environment where small, local vendors are struggling to survive, Small Business Saturday is a wonderful reminder that they are out there and desperately need your business throughout the year. Small businesses, whether they are local or on the internet,  generally will offer you personalized customer service and genuine appreciation of your patronage. Remember that this group includes all those small press independent comic publishers and creators, your favorite web comics and your local comic shop!

Tuesday, however, has been earning its own nickname on the comic scene now for the last three years. Here at CO2 Comics, Tuesday is a big day!  We like to call it “C-O Tuesday!” It is the day that our weekly blog comes out pontificating on all aspects of the comics medium including history, technique, news and opinion. It is also a day when we take time to promote creators and projects that appear here on the CO2 Comics site.

Fans have discovered that CO2 Comics is a place they want bookmarked in their browser and to follow on facebook and twitter @co2comics. Updates are posted throughout the week as reminders for comics that are continually serialized on a weekly basis here but CO Tuesday has become our weekly kick-off and a chance to get into the heads of Bill Cucinotta and I as we direct the publishing duties of CO2 Comics.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday, of course, are all about retailers getting their hands on your money. Hey, we’d like your money too, but at CO2 Comics you can read tons of great comics for FREE! In fact, we hope that you will enjoy what we offer so much that you would love to own some of it in beautifully bound books available in paperback and hardback editions. Each book is delivered directly to you hot off the press in immaculate condition!

Right now you have four great titles to choose from:

The huge first volume of an eleven volume set of David Anthony Kraft’s COMICS INTERVIEW the Complete Collection, an incredible 680 page collection of the greatest interviews in comic book history. Volume two is in it’s final production stages and will be released shortly.


HEAVEN And DEAD CITY Cover

Heaven and the Dead City by Raine Szramski – This gothic fantasy is a tale of two cities, one beautiful and flourishing… the other, not quite as dead as it would seem. Raine Szramski lavishly hand-paints each panel in her unique style that brings both cities to life with a Victorianesque, Deco quality that will absorb readers into this world of magic, mystery, and adventure! 64 pages.


The Heavy Adventures of CAPTAIN OBESE Cover

The Heavy Adventures of Captain Obese! by Don Lomax - Finally collected in one handsome volume the adventures of Don Lomax’s favorite fat boy, originally published by WARP Graphics in the 1980′s, chronicles the amazing story of the world’s fattest super hero. Don Lomax is a long time veteran of adult comics, celebrated creator of Vietnam Journal and author of Marvel Comics’ The Nam. 108 pages.


Ménage à BUGHOUSE cover

Ménage à Bughouse by Steve Lafler – The highly acclaimed Bughouse trilogy of graphic novels, formerly published by Top Shelf Productions, comes together in one giant package! Bughouse, Baja, and Scalawag combine to paint a full picture of life as an improvisational jazz musician set in an obviously fictional world where all of the characters are insects living in early fifties era Manhattan. On their road to success, the members of the band are tempted by the music, sex, money and the ever addictive “bug juice.” Ménage à Bughouse is an authentic look at the lifestyle of musicians and the challenges they face in an effort to satisfy their desire to create incredible music. 408 pages.


Monkey and Bird… a Love Story by Joe Williams and Tina Garceau is another feature from the CO2 Comics site that has ventured into print as a mini comic, self published by the creators themselves! This tiny gem is lavishly colored, beautifully drawn, and  written with intelligent humor worthy of any inter-species relationship. It’s a small comic, 32 pages including cover and only 4″ x 5.5,” making it the perfect opportunity to support the “little guy.”

If you are already proud owners of these books ad still feel compelled to to support CO2 Comics with your hard earned cash you can purchase some of the slick Marvel and DC parody Death Fatigue T-shirts designed by Bill Cucinotta or a variety CO2 Swag available at our online store.

There are also handy little donation buttons on each comic page where you can choose to support the creators individually or toss a little coin the way of CO2 Comics in general. Here is an easy access donation button if you have the urge to contribute right now!

Enjoy the rest of the Holiday Season! Please be safe and responsible because we look forward to your visits and we want everyone to enter the new year happy and healthy.

Making Comics Because We Want to,

Gerry Giovinco

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Posted in CO2 Comics, Creationism, Death Fatigue, Encouraging Comics, Making History, Reinvention, The Comic Company | 1 Comment »

Belated Birthday Wishes to Bill Mantlo and Roger Slifer

Tuesday, November 13th, 2012

This weekend past, two influential comic creators celebrated their birthdays from the sterile comfort of their hospital beds, both victims of separate, near fatal, hit-and-run car accidents that resulted in severe brain trauma for each.

Bill Mantlo turned 61 this past Friday, November 9, 2012. Bill was struck by a car while rollerblading in New York on July 17, 1992 and after a long coma has lived in a healthcare facility ever since. He has been a shell of his former self for over twenty years.

Roger Slifer turned 58 on Sunday, November 11, 2012. Roger was struck by a car in Santa Monica, California while walking in the early morning hours of June 23, 2012 after spending an evening with his friends. It was recently posted by Jim Salicrup on Roger’s facebook page that after an induced coma Roger has been physically responsive and is awaiting surgery to replace part of his skull that was removed to take pressure off of his swollen brain. He has a long road of challenges in front of him and we can only hope and pray for his full recovery.

To this date, neither driver has ever been brought to justice but miracles do happen and should anyone who knows anything about either incident possibly be reading this, please leave a comment or contact us at info@co2comics.com and we will be sure to forward the information to the appropriate authorities. Very specific info regarding Roger Slifer’s incident can be found here.

As the holidays approach please remember both of these gentlemen that brought so much joy to our lives through their work. I am sure belated birthday cards will still be enjoyed as will Thanksgiving wishes and Christmas and holiday cards.

Mailing addresses for each men are as follows:

Bill Mantlo
c/o Queens Nassau Nursing Home
520 Beach 19th Street
Far Rockaway, NY 11691

Roger Slifer
c/o Connie Carlton (his sister – she will see that they get to his hospital in California)
815 E 1000 N
Morristown, IN 46161

Please DO NOT send money, clothes, gifts, original art or anything of value to the nursing home or hospital as they may be stolen, damaged or destroyed. Photocopies of fan art or comic covers would be fine and encouraged since both men seem to respond very positively to images of comics, especially ones that they worked on.

Adding to the coincidence that both of these men share similar comic careers as writers, frighteningly similar life altering tragedies and the same birthday weekend, their legacies may be mutually impacted by the recent rumor announced just before their birthdays on November 8th, 2012 that Disney has interest in purchasing the giant toy company, Hasbro.

Hasbro owns the rights to the Micronauts and ROM SpaceKnight, two properties that Bill Mantlo was the driving creative force behind when writing comics for Marvel (Not to mention his co-creation of Rocket Raccoon which is is rumored to be featured in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy film owned and produced by Marvel/Disney)

Hasbro also owns the rights to several properties that Roger Slifer had huge creative involvement in as writer, editor or producer through his relationship with the animation company Sunbow Entertainment where he worked after leaving DC Comics where he co- created Lobo. Roger worked on G.I. Joe, Transformers, Street Fighter and Jem and the Holograms.


Should Disney ultimately own Hasbro, along with Marvel and Lucas Films they will have spent presumably well over 12 billion dollars absorbing properties that have impacted the youth market of every generation since the 1940′s thanks to the fertile minds of creators like Bill Mantlo and Roger Slifer though few have befallen their personal tragedies.

Disney’s expenditures surely are only motivated by profit and expectedly will generate billions more just as the Avengers movie proved with its record breaking box office tote. Wouldn’t it be nice if Disney would use a tiny fraction of that enormous wealth and create a program to help creators in desperate need like Bill and Roger without whom there would be no cash cow to exploit?

We can only hope for miracles.

As we head into this holiday season, I would love to see  a heart grow in a corporation like Disney that wants to be recognized as a person when it comes time to declaring taxes. (To be fair they did just donate three million dollars to the victims of  Hurricane Sandy.) I’d like to see that heart grow ten times more and watch all the bean counting grinches share that wealth with the folks that are responsible for it.

But if I could only wish for one miracle it would be for Bill and Roger to be healthy again so that they can realize how much we, as fans, appreciate all the wonder that they brought to our lives with their brilliant talent. Thank you, men.

Happy belated birthday, Bill and Roger!  You are both in all of our thoughts and prayers.

Making Comics Because We Want to,

Gerry Giovinco

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Posted in CO2 Comics, Creationism, Encouraging Comics, Making History, Reinvention, The Comic Company | 2 Comments »

Superheroes Defenseless Against Porn Parodies

Tuesday, November 6th, 2012

There has lately been a rash of porn parodies featuring superhero characters stripped from the pages of comic books, television, and the multiplex. Now, it is safe to say that most of these characters have grown up and appeal to a much more mature audience than the 9-12 year old demographic that they were originally intended for. They reflect a darker, grittier motivation for their deeds and are far more fallible in their actions and judgement. They are no longer  the Dudley Do-Rights of a bygone era when their exploits were performed with a scout’s honor and a righteous smile.  Despite the graying tenant of fighting for “truth justice and the American way,” superheroes still represent a moral fiber that justifies them as heroic to audiences of all ages. So why are the owners of these characters allowing their trademarks to be tarnished under the guise of parody by pornographers?

Nothing against porn, but it is what it is, and for every person that enjoys it there is another that finds it offensive. Porn is entertainment that comes in the form of videos and magazines the same vehicles as comic characters and they currently share a similar demographic of sexually active young adults. Superheroes have run around in skin tight costumes since their inception and have always been accused of arousing some form of sexual fantasy of the reader. As the target age of comic readers has matured, sex has become a more significant theme in mainstream comics with major characters fornicating on rooftops and defining themselves with a variety of sexual orientations. Pornography featuring these characters may be less of the parody that they are described as being and more of a logical extension of the fantasies of the, now, more mature fan base of superheroes.

In the past few years, Porn Parodies of Superheroes has practically established an industry in and of itself. So why are porn companies able to produce video after video featuring “parodies” of these trademarks that are so accurately detailed to match feature films, television shows and comic books  with no contention from the trademark owners?

Superheroes are extremely valuable trademarks, each representing a character franchise for some of the biggest corporations in the world. These trademarks are worth billions of dollars and are licensed to endorse products sold to everyone from toddlers to adults. They are trademarks that generally avoid being offensive in any way, like the omission of Nazi Swastikas in the Captain America movie, in an effort to broaden their appeal. Marvel and DC even jointly own trademark of the word Superhero and variations of it in an effort to protect it.

Marvel, Disney, DC and Warner Communications are all pit bulls when it comes to protecting their valued trademarks most recently unleashing the dogs on a California birthday party company rented out characters wearing unauthorized, counterfeit costumes depicting their well known characters despite a disclaimer on the company’s site that read, “Look-a-like Characters are not officially licensed. We DO NOT USE OR HAVE COPYRIGHTED OR LICENSED MATERIAL, COSTUMES, OR NAMES. We also aren’t affiliated with any companies that hold copyrights so don’t ask for characters relating to copyrighted names.”

This disclaimer resembles the similar disclaimers used on the porn parodies that read,  “This movie is not sponsored, endorsed, or affiliated with any entity owning the rights to the characters parodied therein or the work being parodied. Specifically, this movie is not sponsored, endorsed, or affiliated with DC Comics, Warner Communications Inc., E.C. Publications, Inc. or Marvel Characters, Inc.”

The key word here seems to be Parody which protects the potential copyright or trademark infringer under the veil of “Fair Use” in copyright law. Does the claim of parody hand over the keys of a valued copyright or trademark to any Tom, Dick or Harry? No. Though the line that constitutes what is acceptable as parody is very shady, each case should be judged uniquely to determine if any harm is being caused to the trademark. Issues that weigh heavily on the court concern how much commercial value the trademark adds to the work of parody and does content that is sexual or distasteful potentially harm the trademark. Hmmm….you think someone might have a case?

Ben & Jerry’s did just last month when they tackled the “Ben & Cherry’s” series of exploitive porn films using parodied names of their famous ice cream flavors. The porn company chose to pull the series from the shelves and destroy them.

DC itself battled pornographers way back in the seventies when a company tried to produce a porn parody of Superwoman. Their challenge forced the pornographer to change the costume and the name of the character to Ms. Magnificent.

Also in the seventies Disney legally crushed the Air Pirates, a group of underground cartoonists that published comic book parodies of famous Disney characters exploiting sex and drugs.

Why the sudden hands-off position regarding these porn parodies now? Some say the big companies don’t want to create publicity that might promote the porn. One would think that their lack of action would appear to be tacit endorsement of the product, despite what the disclaimer on the films might state.

I have not seen these films but a quick look at the safe for work trailers shows impressive attention to detail, great costumes and props and decent enough production quality to make these films, at least momentarily, easily mistaken for the regular film or TV productions of the originals. Now there are even animated porn parodies to mimic the cartoons of superheroes.

Its hard to imagine that these films with all their special effects, production quality and hardcore sex don’t present a greater threat to the public image of the superhero trademarks than the unauthorized costumes of a party company who sends costumed performers to a five-year-old’s birthday.

Some might say, “Who cares? It’s parody, get over it! Don’t be a stick in the mud! Freedom of speech! Boo!”

Shut down for trademark infringement.

I’m sorry, but I’m offended. Not by the pornographers, but by Marvel, Disney, DC and Warner Communication because they have proven that they are willing to relentlessly pursue anyone else who would infringe on their trademarks to the point of ridiculousness as shown by this very  brief rundown of challenges:

DC’s assault on Fawcett Publications claiming that Captain Marvel infringed on Superman.

Disney going after Marvel arguing that Howard the Duck infringed on Donald Duck forcing Howard to have to wear pants forever more.

Marvel going after WWF for the use of Hulk Hogan.

Not to mention the millions of dollars that Marvel and DC spend on legal fees to guarantee that they will never have to pay royalties to writers and artists that created characters that have made billions for both companies.

If they do not go after the pornographers These trademark owners make a mockery of everyone else they ever targeted and they imply that they either condone the treatment of their characters or are somehow invested in the production of these pornographic films. I think they owe it to all the little guys that they have trounced over the years because they infringed by hand painting a bat on their shingle or Mickey Mouse on a daycare wall. They owe it to all the creators they have robbed of fruitful twilight years. They owe it to all the fans who have emotionally invested  in wholesome entertainment. They owe it to every little kid that went to bed in superhero pajamas to at least pretend to protect their IP from infringement from pornographers so that we can believe that they at least tried to preserve the integrity of characters that have idealized heroism for three quarters of a century.

If Ben & Jerry’s, ice cream manufacturers, can stand their ground, why can’t  Marvel, Disney, DC and Warner Communications, the stewards of iconic superheroes, grow a pair and at least TRY to defend their precious property?

Making Comics Because We Want to,

Gerry Giovinco

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Posted in CO2 Comics, Creationism, Encouraging Comics, Making History, Reinvention, The Comic Company | 5 Comments »

Collusion Over Creator’s Rights?

Tuesday, October 16th, 2012

Marvel Comics: The Untold Story by Sean Howe looks like an incredible read for any fan of comics. An excerpt from it that appears on Grantland certainly leaves your mouth watering for more.

I was hooked on every word especially since it dug into the skeleton filled closets of Marvel at a time when I was an avid fan of the House of Ideas. Though there is clearly tons of riveting kiss-and-tell moments, I was most taken by an account where Stan Lee and Carmine Infantino draft an agreement to share information regarding freelance rates to maintain some type of parity between Marvel and DC. Roy Thomas, Editor-In Chief of Marvel at the time considered the agreement collusion and was unwilling to enforce it. This drove him to resign referring to the agreement as “unethical, immoral, and quite possibly illegal.”

Bravo, Roy!

Collusion?

I began to wonder if this word could be the key to the emancipation of character rights back to their original creators.

The comics industry, according to Gerard Jones’ equally compelling book, Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book has a sordid history steeped in mob ties and unethical decisions. Many publishers including Marvel/Timely were subsidiaries of other publishing groups and were often one of many comics publishers  commingling under the same umbrella.

It was not uncommon for competing publishers to have distribution agreements with each other. National Periodicals, the parent of DC Comics, for instance, distributed Marvel in the early sixties restricting them to just six regular publications.

All of the comics publishers, historically, convened to create the Comic Code Authority in an effort to save the industry from abolishment during the Kefauver, Senate subcommittee hearings motivated by Dr. Frederick Wertham’s book Seduction of the Innocent.

The point being that comics publishers did talk and were known to conspire when it came to making money and self preservation.

Julius Schwartz, Martin Goodman

Stan Lee himself admits that the creation of the Fantastic Four was motivated by a discussion that Marvel publisher Martin Goodman had while golfing with DC editor-in-chief Julius Schwartz.

After reading that Stan Lee and Carmine Infantino were willing to conspire against creators to prevent a page rate war I had to wonder.

What is the possibility that work-for-hire and the practice of creators having no ownership in the rights of their creations was a mutually agreed upon and enforced system amongst conspiring publishers that was simply considered how things were done in comics?

If someone could prove that there was collusion regarding creators rights in those early days, would that deem the practice illegal, forcing the courts to readdress the copyright ownership of characters created under those pretenses?

I’m no lawyer and may be grasping at  straws, but it sure would be nice to see a practice that has proven to be, to use  Roy Thomas’ words,  “unethical and immoral” in the minds of fans and creators alike who feel that those who created the characters  that are now generating billions of dollars for the corporations that own them should receive at least some kind of residual compensation.

If you have a perspective on this, I’d love to hear it. If you are a lawyer, or investigative journalist, I hope you would sink your teeth in this. If you are one of those creators that feel screwed, cross your fingers!

Making Comics Because We Want to,

Gerry Giovinco

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Recreational Cartooning

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012

This weekend past Bill Cucinotta and I manned our booth at the second annual Asbury Park  Comic Con which for this year and last was held at an unusual venue, a bowling alley. Asbury  Lanes wears its retro heritage on its sleeve and and glorifies its half-century existence in vintage style throughout. A quick spin through their website shows that it is a teeming hotspot for the gathering of subculture enthusiasts. Punk Rockers, Hot Rodders, Burlesque Beauties, and Pin-up wanna-bees all make pilgrimages to the historic bowling alley that more accurately operates a a Rock club. Housing its own  bar and lounge, Asbury Lanes makes for a fun, casual, and quirky environment for those who enjoy life outside of the box.

Comic fans that climbed out of the longbox on Saturday were treated to a relaxing, one day event that featured a respectable list of indie creators and G.I. Joe legend, Larry Hama.  For us, the big surprise was a visit to our booth by John Workman who has done everything imaginable, production wise, in the field of comics. A tremendously talented craftsman and all around nice guy, John thrilled us with stories from his days at Marvel, DC and Star* Reach. Bill and I are big fans of comic history, our main reason for publishing David Anthony Kraft’s COMICS INTERVIEW the Complete Collection, and we were tickled to point out that Volume One of the collection did contain a wonderful interview featuring Mr. Workman.

John Workman in COMICS INTERVIEW: The Complete Collection Vol 1

Having had a chance to work my way around the convention, talking with creators, publishers and fans alike while savoring the atmosphere of the classic lanes I began to formulate a  new perspective regarding the creation of comics. Something I like to refer to as “Recreational Cartooning” became evident to me.

In what we consider the comics industry, there seems to be a prevailing sentiment that there is an overabundance of material competing for a limited audience which is creating a frustration for creators who are struggling to support themselves by making comics. A discouraged creator at the convention muttered the phrase, “Everyone and their mother is making comics.” as he rationalized poor comic sales.

The is no doubt that there are more people creating comics now than ever before in history. This is an extraordinary time for a medium who’s industry leaders, in the late 1970′s,  were so concerned that that there would be no successors to an aging creator pool that they instituted apprentice programs to cultivate new talent. Comic artists, at that time, were trained to create comics in a very specific way to satisfy the editorial needs of a very limited number of publishers.

Today, thanks to the internet, a wide array of independent publishers and an unimaginable number of people creating comics, there is more creative freedom and the output of comics could not come in a greater variety of styles, formats, and modes of distribution. More importantly, people are creating comics for different reasons.

Throughout the first half of the history of the industry I think it is safe to say that creating comics was specifically an end to a means. Creators made comics to make money. They cranked them out for a page rate and were not even concerned about residual income. Their original art was considered disposable once the films were made and there was no aftermarket for their art. The creators that made lifelong careers out of comics were the few that had a true affinity for the medium. Most others used the comics industry as much as it used them. To them it was a mere stepping stone to a career in creative media.

People who create comics now have a different connection to the work. I believe most of these comic creators make comics because of a strong personal attraction to the medium. They make comics, first, because they love to and secondly, hope to find financial rewards from their work. It is this paradigm shift that has many creators struggling to make sense of their place in the industry because the equation making comics = making money is no longer always true.

Dean Haspiel, Seth Kushner, George O'Conner

I had this discussion with Dean Haspiel. That creators, in order to maintain an income from creating comics, must be prepared to continually hustle to find ways to generate revenue with their work. Dean said, “the trick is to have your comics make money for you while you sleep.” This is done through royalties or what is known as residual income, something that was unheard of in the comics industry for decades but is the staple for success in other creative media and fortunately part of the current economic state of some of the current comic industry.

This is where my term Recreational Cartooning comes in.

Maybe it was because we were sitting in a bowling alley but I began to compare comic creators to bowlers.

I imagined casual bowlers who pop into the lanes occasionally to enjoy playing with their friends or bowling just because they liked to and found it relaxing.

Then there are bowlers who join leagues and play on a weekly schedule, some of them even own a ball or bowling shoes but they play more for the fun and social aspect of the sport.

Some bowlers join leagues that are highly competitive. They play to win, they take the sport seriously, but at the end of the day they go home to wake up to  a real job to support their bowling interest.

Finally there are bowlers who turn pro. They dedicate every waking moment to the sport. The search for sponsors, travel and compete against the best bowlers in the world for cash prizes that will support them as professionals. They must stay on top of their game at all times or risk losing it all.

Pro bowlers are rarely intimidated by recreational bowlers. They will encourage them and inspire them even train them. They appreciate that recreational bowlers represent the large portion of the pro bowler’s fan base and are necessary for the economic survival of the sport. They also appreciate that only a rare few will rise to the pro level with the talent and commitment to the sport that is required.

The pro knows and endures the struggles to maintain a career and may often find themselves creatively using their skills or accomplishments to generate income through appearances, lectures, teaching or merchandising. They understand that success can be fleeting.

With the recreational bowler in mind, Recreational Cartooning can apply to  anyone making comics because they love to but are not interested or able to support  themselves making comics. Like bowling, it should be OK to enjoy making comics just because you want to.

As an industry, comics should  support the recreational cartoonist as part of the complete landscape rather than be intimidated by them and their efforts. Their product may or may not not be distributed by Diamond but it is influencing trends that will impact the whole industry. Already they are driving forces behind many of  the small conventions springing up across he country and they are proving to be a niche market in and of themselves. The recreational cartoonist is necessary for the survival of the industry and the medium.

I will always make a point to encourage anyone interested in making comics to jump in ad give it a try. There are so many options to be able to create and publish comics. Budding comic artists don’t ever have to be the next greatest master of comic art but if creating a comic gives them a feeling of joy or accomplishment then I applaud them for trying. Who knows, they may someday be the next genius of the industry and I sure don’t want to be known as the guy who said they were wasting their time.

Making Comics Because We Want to,

Gerry Giovinco

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