Awards | Danica Novgorodoff has received the Yoto Kate Greenaway medal — “the UK’s longest running and best-loved book awards for children and young people” — for her graphic novel adaptation of Jason Reynolds’ novel Long Way Down. According to the press release, it’s the first time since 1973 that a graphic novel has received the prize. The book features hundreds of “stunning” watercolors depicting the decision that 15-year-old Will must make when his brother is shot.
“Long Way Down is a book that asks us to empathise with a character who is planning to harm another person, and endanger his own life, out of grief and revenge,” Novgorodoff said in a statement. “He’s in a complicated, difficult situation, and he needs to make a very hard decision. Through the illustrations, I wanted to show this emotional torment, to make his internal feelings come alive on the page. The book doesn’t preach, but it asks readers, ‘What do you feel, and what would you do?'”
Along with the medal, Novgorodoff also received £500 worth of books to donate to a local library and a £5,000 Colin Mears Award cash prize.
Passings | The Hollywood Reporter reports that Everett Peck, creator of Duckman, passed away at the age of 71. While best known for his animation work on Duckman as well as Rugrats, The Real Ghostbusters and other programs, Duckman actually came to life as a comic created by Peck and published by Dark Horse before it was picked up as an animated series by USA Network in the 1990s.
Original art | With the cover for The Dark Knight Returns fetching $2.4 million in a recent auction, the New York Times looks at other high-priced original art pieces, including the Mike Zeck Secret Wars page where Spider-Man’s black costume debuted, a Frank Frazetta Eerie Magazine cover and a Bernie Wrightson double-page spread from Marvel’s adaptation of Frankenstein.
Publishers | The Embracer Group, the owners of Dark Horse Comics, have now released a statement on their website about the recent influx of cash they received from Saudi Arabia.
Digital Comics | Publisher’s Weekly looks at the growth of Comics Plus, the digital comics platform available to schools and libraries, talking both to Comics Plus staff as well as librarians about the service.
“I love how much they’ve grown in just a few years,” said Adam Wall, librarian at Prince George’s County Memorial Library System in Maryland. “We used to have access to hoopla comics, but we could only allow six checkouts per month and customers became frustrated because they would blow through all of their checkouts in one day. With Comics Plus our customers can get the titles they want and they can access them as much as they like. There’s usually something new to check out and read.”
Creators | Creative Review looks at Dave McKean’s work on The Gormenghast Trilogy by Mervyn Peake. McKean created 142 new pieces of art for a limited edition version of the trilogy.
Interviews | Grant Morrison talks with Rolling Stone about their upcoming novel Luda, the dominance of superhero movies and a song they wrote after trying to summon the ghost of John Lennon. The article shares the song for your enjoyment.
Interviews | Popverse talks with Liam Sharp about his upcoming Image Comics series Starhenge.
Retailers | Cincinnati’s WLWT news has a fun feature up on local comics retailer Cosmic Gorilla.
Lists | Cultured Vultures offer up 10 comics to read on Father’s Day.
Reviews | boingboing reviews Brian Doherty’s new book about the underground comix movement, Dirty Pictures.
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