Comicbookland

For the first time since 2005, cartoonist and 'Calvin and Hobbes' creator Bill Watterson has responded to emailed interview questions.

Over at Cleveland.com the reclusive artist gave another interview. He made it clear that he didn't regret ending his popular strip 15-years ago at the height of his popularity.

Here's an excerpt: "It's always better to leave the party early. If I had rolled along with the strip's popularity and repeated myself for another five, 10 or 20 years, the people now 'grieving' for 'Calvin and Hobbes' would be wishing me dead and cursing newspapers for running tedious, ancient strips like mine instead of acquiring fresher, livelier talent. And I'd be agreeing with them."

Five years ago, Watterson was interviewed over email by fans about his work for "The Complete Calvin and Hobbes" (pictured, via). Here's a quote: "The Internet may well provide a new outlet for cartoonists, but I imagine it's very hard to stand out from the sea of garbage, attract a large audience, or make money. Newspapers are still the major leagues for comic strips...but I wouldn't care to bet how long they'll stay that way."

Twitter has been buzzing all morning with news that "Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1" will be on sale March 16, 2010. Amazon now has a pre-order page for the highly anticipated graphic novel version of Stephenie Meyer's vampire bestseller.

Here's more about the illustrated novel: "Beautifully rendered, this first installment of Twilight: The Graphic Novel is a must-have for any collector's library ... About the illustrator: Young Kim graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in painting from the College of Fine Arts. She has worked on numerous animation and cover illustration projects and currently makes her home in Yongin, Korea."

Entertainment Weekly has a page from the graphic novel as well. According to Publishers Weekly, the book will be published by Yen Press, a graphic novel and manga imprint at Hachette Book Group USA.

Marvel will adapt a comic book version of "N," a short story from novelist Stephen King's recent "Just After Sunset" collection. The 4-part series is scheduled for a March 2010 release.

The series (first issue image pictured via) will be handled by Marc Guggenheim and Alex Maleev. In 2008, they developed a "motion comic" version of the H.P. Lovecraft-influenced story for Simon & Schuster.

Ruwan Jayatilleke, Marvel's Senior VP of development & planning, print, animation and digital media, had this statement: "It's absolutely thrilling for Marvel to be working on 'N.' again and having the honor to publish it as a comic book miniseries ... Both as a fan of the story and a producer on the 'N.' motion comic, I am absolutely psyched for the terrifying ride that Marc, Alex, and the editors have planned for readers!"

In October, King announced that he would pen a five-issue cycle for Vertigo Comic's upcoming series, American Vampire. That series will also launch in March 2010.

The very first issue of X-Men #1--sold for $101,000 at a Missouri rare comic book auction--apparently setting a world record for comic book pricing.

The 1963 comic was penned by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby. According to Digital Spy, the auction sold 3,000 comics for more than one million dollars, auctioning off an epic collection of comics inherited by an anonymous relative of a deceased comic book collector.

Here's more from the article: "According to Tina Weiman of Mound City Auctions, it is unknown whether the original owner knew how much the comics are worth. 'I don't think he necessarily knew the value of them,' she said. 'I don't know when he looked at them last. I know that that were pulled out from underneath the basement steps.'"

Novelist Stephen King has penned his first comic book, a five-issue cycle for Vertigo's upcoming series, American Vampire. The series launches in March 2010.

According to an article at The Daily Beast, the series' creator Scott Snyder met King when the author blurbed his short story collection, "Voodoo Heart." King was so inspired by "American Vampire" (art sample via Vertigo) that he asked if he could write a few issues.

Here's Snyder explaining his unique writing experience: "I start getting these emails from him that are like, how much he's enjoying Skinner, and maybe he'll actually do a little more, and finally a little ways in he's like, 'Do you mind if I go off the res a little bit? ... Steve took that story and took it to so many places that were not in the original script, and it was just amazing to watch. He added terrific story twists--he added incredibly scary and wonderful gore."

Thanks to UnBeige's Stephanie Murg for giving us a heads-up on mediabistro.com's upcoming online course on writing comic books and graphic novels, which will be led by Disney Comics co-founder (and Simpsons Comics scribe) David Seidman. For those of you who live in Los Angeles, Seidman will also be teaching a one-night version of the same material—at $65 compared to $350 for the 4-session version, it sounds like a good deal if you can get to the classroom!

To celebrate the 70th birthday of writer Harvey Pekar, best known for the autobiograpnical comic book American Splendor, last week, the Pekar Project at Smith magazine assembled a gallery of Pekar portraits by close to 100 artists, some who've collaborated with him (like Dean Haspiel) but many more who are simply fans. And apparently there's room for more—artists are invited to contact Smith comics editor Jeff Newelt if they want in on the action.

(While you're looking at the birthday gallery, check out some of the all-new Pekar stories with artwork by Sean Pryor, Tara Seibel, Joseph Remnant, and Rick Parker.)

Today the comic book publishing industry pondered the dramatic news that Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) has struck a $4 billion deal to acquire Marvel Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:MVL).

The merger will bring 5,000 comic book characters into Disney's massive collection of popular cartoons and films. On the Morning Media Menu, we discussed the merger as well, quoting some of the best Disney/Marvel crossovers from around the web.

More importantly, Publishers Weekly reminded readers that in addition to film and licensing, Marvel has carved out a strong place in the publishing industry: "Marvel's periodical comics line has been the industry leader for most of the past decade, and graphic novel sales have also surged with such titles as the homegrown Marvel superhero series, Civil War and 1602, and graphic novel licenses from bestselling prose novelists Stephen King and Laurell K. Hamilton."

In a deal that will rattle the very foundations of the comic book industry, the Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) has struck a deal to acquire Marvel Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:MVL).

The company press release valued the cash and stock transaction at $4 billion, based on stock prices on Friday. Disney now owns the rights to more than 5,000 Marvel characters, an nearly endless supply of spin-off possibilities. Hardboiled author and Marvel writer Duane Swierczynski proved this point on Twitter: "I want to write a Punisher/Jiminy Cricket team-up."

Disney CEO Robert A. Iger had this statement, laying out the huge swath of imaginary territory now controlled by Disney: "This transaction combines Marvel's strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney's creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories."

As Julia Child's recent bestseller status proved, a popular movie can always drive blockbuster book sales. But today, the NY Times recorded what may be a first for publishing--a video game pushed sales higher for a classic comic book.

Grant Morrison and Dave McKean's dark, psychologically-complex book, "Batman: Arkham Asylum," was released in 1989, but a special edition just debuted at #10 on the paperback Graphic Books Bestseller List. A brand new video game by the same name debuted in stores this week, sending a new generation of video game fans scrambling to the bookstore.

Here's more from the article: "[It is] an electronic adventure which pits the Dark Knight against his deranged foes. The game has received many positive reviews and boasts some incredible graphics. A confrontation between Batman and Harley Quinn can be previewed here."