Links: I Yam What I Yam

The digital comics distributor iVerse Media will launch a digital comics service for libraries in July, and I interviewed account director Josh Elder (also the creator of Mail Order Ninja) about the details. Besides offering what looks like a deep list of graphic novels, the service has a model that libraries may find more attractive than current e-book services. Martha Cornog has more at Library Journal.

Elder is also spearheading a Kickstarter drive to raise funds for a graphic textbook. Elder has lined up an impressive array of talent, including Chris Schweizer (Crogan adventures), Mike Lee and Janet Lee (The Return of the Dapper Men), and Roger Langridge (Snarked, The Muppet Show) to work on the book, and the Kickstarter, while ambitious, offers an impressive set of awards to donors, from copies of the book to portfolio reviews and the opportunity to have themselves drawn into a comic. For a bit more background, I talked to him about it for Publishers Weekly.

“Popeye, whatever else you might say about him, never had the handicap of cuteness holding him back,” says Roger Langridge, who is writing IDW’s new Popeye comic (see multiple reviews below). USA Today’s Brian Truitt talks to him about the challenges of resurrecting the venerable—yet timeless—character.

Variety has the details of the new DC Nation magazine which is based on the Cartoon Network animated cartoon, and DC Nation app that is sort of one-stop shopping for DC’s kid-friendly comics.

Jason Cipriano has a pretty detailed conversation with Mega Man artist Ben Bates about how he draws the comic.

Comics Alliance has a generous preview of Play Ball, the new girl-plays-baseball graphic novel from veteran comics writers Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir.

Attention Shonen Jump fans: Viz is running a SJ trivia contest, and the top prize is two tickets to Comic-Con in San Diego.

Reviews

Young Readers (Ages 4-8)

Travis Jonker on The Shark King (100 Scope Notes)
Doug Zawisza on The Shark King (Comic Book Resources)
Richard Bruton on Zig and Wikki in The Cow (Forbidden Planet)

Pre-Teens (Ages 9-12)

Drew McCabe on vol. 1 of The Best of the Three Stooges, vol. 2 of Fluffy Fluffy Cinnamoroll, and Ice Age: Playing Favorites (Comic Attack)
Emily (year 6) on Dinopopolous (Forbidden Planet)
Doug Zawisza on I’m Not a Plastic Bag (Comic Book Resources)
Connie on vol. 5 of Itsuwaribito (Slightly Biased Manga)
Gavok on Mega Man (4thletter!)
Chad Bowes on Popeye #1 (Multiversity Comics)
Gavin Lees on Popeye #1 (Graphic Eye)
J. Caleb Mozzocco on Popeye #1 (Robot 6)
Sharayah Read on vol. 1 of Super Dinosaur (Comics Forge)

Teens (13+)

Johanna Draper Carlson on vols. 1 and 2 of A Devil and Her Love Song (Comics Worth Reading)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 2 of One Piece (Blogcritics)
Philip Anthony on vol. 3 of Sailor Moon (Manga Bookshelf)
Connie on vol. 27 of Skip Beat! (Slightly Biased Manga)
Andrew Shuping on T-Minus: The Race to the Moon (Comics Forge)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 3 of Twin Spica (Blogcritics)

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