Links: Maximum Ride, math manga, and Twilight!

Johanna Draper Carlson looks at several of the Manga Math Mysteries put out by Lerner Publishing and finds them to be a mixed bag.

Brian Warmoth of Comic Book Resources covers the Disney Kingdom Comics panel at Chicago Comic Con, in which Christian Beranek had plenty to say.

Deb Aoki interviews NaRae Lee, who is illustrating the manga version of James Patterson’s Maximum Ride YA novels, at About.com.

The Twilight Treasury blog talks to Ryan Burton, the writer for Bluewater’s Stephenie Meyer bio-comic. (Via Twilight@Comicopia.)

At Wired’s Geek Dad blog, Alex Kardon takes a look at BOOM! Studios’ kids comics line. (Via Robot 6.)
Creator Alex Simmons, the organizer of Kids Comic Con, is now blogging for Graphic Novel Reporter, and he starts out with a post on the importance of comics.

Also at GNR, John Hogan interviews Kazu Kibuishi, the creator of Amulet and the editor of the Flight anthologies.

Are you excited about the Archie-Veronica wedding yet? The Archie Comics folks are offering a free online preview. (Spoiler: Archie majors in history in college, which makes me love him even more.) The Archie News blog is also keeping tabs on comics stores that will be celebrating the wedding. (Here’s someone who is not too thrilled, though.) And check out this first look at some other upcoming Archie comics.

At The Graphic Classroom, Tracy Edmunds talks to Josh Elder about a new research initiative to develop curricula for using comics in the classroom and determine what is the best way to use comics for educational purposes. Elder is the creator of Mail Order Ninja and executive director of Reading With Pictures, a nonprofit that will initiate the study along with researchers from Northwestern University.

The Chicago Tribune cultural critic Julia Keller feels she has to be sheepish about her love of graphic novels, partly because of the criticism she received after praising several of them. John Hogan has a good response at Graphic Novel Reporter:

Back in the ’80s, I remember Harvey Pekar making his case for comics (if I recall correctly, it went something like this: "Comics are words and pictures put together. There’s no limit to how good the words can be, and there’s no limit to how good the pictures can be."). I hope I haven’t misquoted Harvey too gravely; the gist is we’re talking about an artform that can be good, bad, mediocre, and all ranges of the spectrum in between. We don’t have to apologize for it.

Word.

New blog alert: Rich Watson, founder of the Glyph Awards, has started Great Black Comic Books, a blog that will cover comics (including graphic novels and trades) by black creators. It’s not limited to children’s comics but could prove a valuable resource nonetheless.

Jay Piscopo reports on the Children’s Book-Fair-by-the-Sea at the Camden (Maine) Public Library.

Reviews

Xaviar Xerxes on The Amulet, Book Two: The Stonekeeper’s Curse (ComixTalk)
Tangognat on vol. 1 of Bloody Kiss (Tangognat)
Brigid Alverson on Happy Hooligan (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Brigid Alverson on Knights of the Lunch Table: The Dragon Players (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Xaviar Xerxes on Knights of the Lunch Table: The Dragon Players (ComixTalk)
Chris Wilson on Luke on the Loose (The Graphic Classroom)
Krissy Henderson on vol. 1 of Pokemon Adventures (Manga Xanadu)
Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of Rin-ne (Manga Xanadu)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on Skim (i heart manga)
John Hogan on Ultimate Spider-Man vol. 1: Power and Responsibility (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Chris Wilson on Unit Primes (The Graphic Classroom)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 1 of Vampire Knight (i heart manga)

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