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graphic stories to tell Coming in October, a comic book writer's dream Jul 16, 2007
But more significantly, comic books have been going through a creative evolution from simple storytelling with pictures to a true genre of literature with the evolution of the graphic novel. That evolution has been propelled in part by Hollywood, which now regularly dips into the genre in its search for blockbuster movie topics. But also driving it is the internet. In this era of user-generated content, amateur comic creators are rushing onto the web to post their work. That makes Zudacomics.com seem like a pretty smart idea. The site, being developed by industry giant DC Comics and debuting in October, will invite amateurs to post their submissions for judging by the public. The competition is more than a gimmick to attract visitors. With the growing interest in comics, there's now a real need for product, so to speak, for new stories and new writers to tell them. “This is one of the best times that comics have had in America in my lifetime," says Paul Levitz, president and publisher of DC Comics. “Comics are more interesting to a wider group of people in America than they have been in previous times.” But beyond that wider interest, Levitz points out, technology plays a crucial role. A site like Zudacomics would not have been possible even a couple of years ago. It took a spurt in technology to bring computers up to the speed of the human imagination to allow writers and illustrators to post their work in the first place. What's behind all the interest in comics? One need look no further than the arrival of the Manga, the Japanese black-and-white graphic novel that comes as a book rather than serial issues, as American comics do. That's encouraged bookstores to stock them, taking them off the back street and out of dingy collector shops to the main highways of American consumer tastes. Manga has also led to a more diverse subject matter being covered, including works on 9/11 and autobiographical accounts of a father-daughter relationship. Yet another factor, pointed out by Levitz, has been the increasing acceptance of sci-fi and fantastical storylines that have long been a major theme of comics. He believes these are areas easy for many people to relate to now, in these times of cars that can talk to us and cell phones that can do just about everything. Behind all this, of course, is Hollywood, which in recent years has been way ahead in appreciating comics as a true pop culture phenomenon. This year alone it has released "Ghost Rider,” “300” and “Transformers,” among others. “I remember 10 or 15 years ago when comic books seemed like a dead end. Now every studio in town wants to own those properties,” says Jeff Bock, box office analyst at Exhibitor Relations, a box office tracking company. Zudacomics.com will feature many ongoing comics but also encourage the development of new ones by aspiring comic book creators, and visitors will vote on their favorites. Winners will receive commissions to create a year’s worth of comics for the site, and their work will also be published in print. Meanwhile, elsewhere in popcult, the new release “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” was No. 1 at the box office over the weekend, raking in $77.4 million in ticket sales. That pushed “Transformers” to No. 2 with another $36.0 million brought in. In DVD rentals for the week ended July 8, according to IMDb.com, “Shooter” and “Black Snake Moan” finished in the top two spots for the second straight week, with “Bridge to Terabithia” jumping from No. 4 to No. 3. On iTunes for the week ended yesterday, The Plain White Ts’ “Hey There Delilah” held on to the top spot for the second week in a row, while Rihanna’s “Umbrella” spent a second week at No. 2 after six weeks at No. 1. In books, “The Quickie” by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times hardcover fiction bestseller list for the week ended July 7 and also topped USA Today’s chart for the week ended July 8. Khaled Hosseini’s “A Thousand Splendid Suns” was No. 2 on both charts.
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