I’m still recovering from the flu, however, here’s a curtailed Scroll to help keep the conversation moving.
GUFF INTERVIEWS. The Get-Up-and-over Fan Fund (GUFF) ballot for the 2019 race is available online. Voters will choose an Australasian delegate to attend Dublin 2019 in Ireland (August 15-19). There is an option for the delegate to also attend the Eurocon (Titancon, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on August 22-25).
The candidates are Lynelle Howell, Simon Litten, and Nicole Murphy.
GUFF co-administrator Marcin Klak has posted interviews with all three candidates
NASA AFFECTED BY SHUTDOWN. Cnet points out that space mission press coverage will be handicapped if the government shutdown continues — “NASA shutdown: Agency could be dark during historic New Year’s missions”.
NASA’s live stream is currently offline, however, and the agency is redirecting people to NASA TV, which it states will show live events. The NASA public relations team is unable to publicize the events and send out press releases during the shutdown because they aren’t exempt from the furlough.
Previous government shutdowns, in January and February this year, lasted no longer than three days. But this shutdown could continue into the new year. As recently as Thursday, at least one US senator suggested there’s “no end in sight”.
LEARN TO RUN A COMIC CON. Ithaca College will offer the “First College Course on Running a Comic Convention”.
Ithaca College, a mid-size nationally-ranked private college, will offer a course on running a comic convention in the Spring 2019 semester, the first time we’ve heard of a college course on the topic. Students taking the course will plan and manage Ithacon, the second-longest-running comic convention in the nation. The course, Creating and Promoting Ithacon, will be co-taught by Ed Catto, formerly of Bonfire Agency (see “Rotterdam, Catto Start Bonfire“) and Reed Exhibitions, currently a lecturer in the Department of Management; and English professor Katherine Kittredge, who’s the coordinator of Ithacon.
Students will plan, manage, and market the convention, and do post-event analysis. Other topics of the course will include publishing, filmed entertainment, licensing, collectibles and fan communities.
BLEEDING COOL TOP 100 POWER LIST. This week Bleeding Cool has been dribbling out its “Top 100 Power List” of the comics industry’s influential figures. The list came to my attention because Vox Day is grumpy that he’s not on it — despite having (unintentionally) managed to get a Bleeding Cool editor fired this year for publishing an interview with him – which he figures represents some level of industry power….
This attempt to list the most powerful people working in the English-speaking comic book marketplace is, of course, flawed. It is judged by all manner of attributes, the ability to influence what comics exist and sell, but also the willingness to use that power in the industry to affect things, and the ability to retain said power if a job is taken away. Which is why you will see a number of people on a higher spot than their bosses.
…It does not measure talent or likeability, respect or fairness, and it does not intend to represent diversity or balance. All it does is note power, used for betterment — or detriment — in the English speaking comic book world.
96. Eddie Ibrahim
Director of Programming at San Diego Comic-Con – it may come but once a year but Eddie holds the fortunes and plans of many comic book publishers and creators in his hands. His whim can see a publisher given the chance to expose the world to what they are working on. Or denied the chance and remain in relative obscurity. Also, it may be down to him to see if the panel you have arranged will be full of your fans or people waiting to see Critical Role.
- “The Bleeding Cool Top 100 Power List 2018 Countdown: #95-91”
- “The Bleeding Cool Top 100 Power List 2018 Countdown: #90-86”
- “The Bleeding Cool Top 100 Power List 2018 Countdown: #85-81”
- “The Bleeding Cool Top 100 Power List 2018 Countdown: #80-76”
- “The Bleeding Cool Top 100 Power List 2018 Countdown: #75-71”
74. Ethan Van Sciver. Leaving DC Comics after prominent creators refused to work with him anymore, he used the usual mixture of Comicsgate virtue signalling, identity politics and mocking hater videos to raise over half a million dollars on Indiegogo, for his still-upcoming Cyberfrog comic revival. The highest amount raised on crowdfunding by any comic creator in the year, it helps that he can actually draw. This helped him take the position as leading Comicsgate figure as Richard Meyer stepped back, due to his legal case with Mark Waid, and not wanting to give the defence further ammunition.
- “The Bleeding Cool Top 100 Power List 2018 Countdown: #70-66”
- “The Bleeding Cool Top 100 Power List 2018 Countdown: #65-61”
- “The Bleeding Cool Top 100 Power List 2018 Countdown: #60-56”
- “The Bleeding Cool Top 100 Power List 2018 Countdown: #55-51”
53. Gail Simone. Leading comic book writer, advisor, social media presence and whose Women In Refrigerators continues to impact all over the place, Simone has also become showrunner of the Lion Forge line of superhero comic books. With a massive social media following and an uncompromising attitude, Simone always brings a lot to the party.
54. Ta-Nehisi Coates. Writer of Black Panther, as well as a literary activist, he has brought attention to this comic alongside the release of the movie, and has created a small but new fanbase for Marvel comic books.
46. Kelly Sue DeConnick. Writer of Bitch Planet and Pretty Deadly, a strong voice in the comics industry fuelled with the Captain Marvel movie based on her take on the character, she remains a font for advice, support and comradeship, and her production company with Matt Fraction, Milkfed, continued to develop new comics and adapt and represent them for other media.
[Thanks to JJ, John King Tarpinian, Chip Hitchcock, Cat Eldridge, Mike Kennedy, Martin Morse Wooster, Carl Slaughter and Andrew Porter for some of these stories Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Daniel Dern.]