Broken Frontier

Okay friends, let's shake off those Monday blues and hop into a hearty pile of Comics Stew! It's what your mother would want!

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Richard Alf (1953 - 2012)

Today's Comics Stew is dedicated to Richard Alf, who passed away this past week at the age of 59.

Alf was a co-founder of the ever-popular San Diego Comic-Con (first known as the Golden State Comic-Con), which grew from modest roots into the single-largest and most popular comic book and media convention in the country. In the early days, Alf contributed thousands to keep the GSCC running for the first three years, as well as his VW Beetle for ride-share purposes with the other founders.

"In those early days," said Mike Towry, a friend and fellow founder of the Con, "it was all about Richard's VW."

Alf's passing leaves only Mr. Towry behind as the last of the four founders of the San Diego Comic-Con. Shel Dorf and Ken Krueger both passed in November of 2009.

We will remember a man who was instrumental in bringing something special into the lives of comic fans everywhere, and helped to change the face of the convention scene.

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Marvel Trumps DC in December

This past December has been a real turn-around for Marvel Comics. According to Diamond Comics Distributors, Marvel Comics was the top-selling publisher last month, knocking DC out of the top spot after three months.

Though this is good news to Marvel and its fans, it hasn't helped Marvel as far as top books go. The majority of top sold books last month still belong to DC, with Marvel only squeeking by with two (Defenders and X-Sanction).

Check out Adam Bernstein's article on the Examiner for more info!

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Cthulhu Swallows the World

Yeah, basically the title sums it up.

This beautiful drawing was done by Eddie Sharam, an artist and designer that has worked in both the video game and the comic industry. Check out more of his work by following the link.

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Best Art of [Last] Week

ComicsAlliance posted a series of fan art pieces last week, each more awesome than the next.

The Best Art Ever (This Week) section is a new ongoing series for CA. I look forward to seeing their hodgepodge of the coolest and oddest drawings on the internets.

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When in Gnome...

Finnish designer Tom Engström's comic "Gnome Trouble" is a beautiful and playful piece that is fun and well-paced. The overall motif of Engström's storytelling is a dynamic coupling of reality and fantasy, making for a read similar in thought and heart to Scott Pilgrim.

The comics themselves are actually pretty crazy long, so head on over to his site to check them out.

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Video: Batman Interrogation

I believe I posted the Batman/Riddler piece from CollegeHumor here already. Well, Front Page Films made another video as a follow up. Batman's here to interrogate the Joker, but there's been a slight mix-up when it comes to the room numbers. Enjoy!