Maybe adding color would be better? Or maybe the logo is just boring and dull. For a company that has so many amazing things going for it, this newest logo does not seem to represent that. It is a D peeling back to reveal a C. Somewhat. This new logo has been registered for trademark for all sorts of products: comics, food, household items, etc.

This is not the first time DC has changed it’s logo:

Personally, the current logo represents a comic based company brilliantly: dynamic blue and white colors; amazing, swooping star. It just screams action and excitement. This newest logo. Well. It just seems out of place.

Of course this could merely be a provisional trademarking, but from the looks of everything it covers (which can be found on The Beat), DC may very well be ready to use this logo.

And the war of the Digital Comics wages on.

Announced today by Marvel, Barnes and Noble’s newest NOOK device will launch with a selection of Marvel Comics including Civil War, Invincible Iron Man, and Marvels. The latest NOOK Tablet is a touchscreen device with a 7 inch screen, 1GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage. Retailing at $249, the device along with the Marvel Comics seems to be a retaliation at Amazon’s Kindle Fire, which is also on sale next week, retails at $199, and has the exclusives to DC Comics.

“We’re excited to bring NOOK customers the largest available digital collection of graphic novels from Marvel Entertainment. The high resolution of our VividView color touchscreen makes the action virtually jump off the page, and takes graphic novels to a whole new level of entertainment.” said Theresa Horner, Barnes & Noble’s Vice President of Digital Content

The NOOK Tablet is also slated to have the largest selection of digital titles available because, if you did not know, Marvel titles are also available digitally through comiXology apps.

Can’t we all just get along? All the exclusive deals for digital comics makes the tired and true print comics much more desirable and pleasing. Owning several devices for each comic company just because of these exclusive deals is ludicrous. However, I guess it all depends on which side of the Marvel vs. DC debate you place yourself on.

Publisher: Dark Horse
Release Date: November 16, 2011
Genre: Action/Adventure
Price: $24.99
Age range: 14

Valve has created some very strong fan favorites in terms of game IP. Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress and Portal are now the subjects for a collaboration with Dark Horse. The hardcover collection features stories from these worlds. The book is hefty at over 200 pages.

As a fan of Valve products, I was pretty excited to read this when Dark Horse sent us a copy to review. I love an opportunity to be placed back into the worlds of these games I loved so much. First thing I noted, was reading these comics did make me want to jump back into Left 4 Dead or start Portal 2. The comics themselves don’t read like a game, in fact, most tend to give back story for a deeper dive into the characters.

Left 4 Dead: The Sacrifice follows Francis; Bill; Zoey; and Louis, all characters in the actual game. Throughout the story you learn about their background and what happened in the beginning days of the infection. The comics were originally released to coincide with the DLC in 2010. In the comic Bill makes the ultimate sacrifice so the others can go on, but in the game, any of the players can choose to make the sacrifice. The artwork fits in with the game very well and delivers on the gore factor.

Team Fortress: Unfortunately I don’t have anything positive to say about the Team Fortress section in this collection. The story started in a very interesting way with the control center being upset that a guy on the blue team had become friends with a guy on the red team. I was really engaged in the story and watching how the guys were being played against each other, then all of a sudden the story was interrupted with lots of quick changing art styles and stories. I had trouble following it and in the end, really didn’t care to read it at all. Very disappointing.

Portal 2: Lab Rat: This comic covers the events between the first and second Portal games. The comic was previously released in April of this year. The story follows Doug “the Ratman” and we dive into how the AI robots were originally created. We also see Doug following Chell all while talking to his Companion Cube. The art by Andrea Wicklund matches the psychotic mood of the story. I loved it.

Dark Horse Comics sent over the image above today as a teaser for an announcement next week. The image is hauntingly beautiful and I had to post it. It looks like the girl in the picture is a warrior (maybe a little elvish?) with a dark passenger.

The art is beautiful and I’m looking forward to getting more information about this upcoming title. Caitlín R. Kiernan is known for her work in sci-fi and dark fantasy.

According to Caitlin’s livejournal, she’s been working on this for the past year. I also loved reading that she’s been playing Rift!

Looking forward to hearing more about this beautiful image and what Dark Horse and Caitlin have in store!

DC wants to know what you think of the new 52. Or at least appear like they care. DC has created a survey that is open from now until Friday, October 7. Nielsen will be conducting the survey online and in person.

The reason behind the New 52 was stated by DC as the following:

Their goal was to expand the market by appealing to new/lapsed readers.

The DCSurvey can be taken here. DC states that the findings will be released at some point early next year.

The survey is pretty long, but does seem to want to know more about if you purchased and what you purchased. With a couple of text areas to explain what you really feel about the New 52.

I do encourage you to voice your opinions. No matter where on the fence you are about the New 52. They need to hear from a female audience. Jill Pantozzi has a great article on newsarama about how the DC 52 has made her feel as a comic book fan.

When Archaia wrote us about the upcoming release of the English-language version of The Sign by the amazing Marjane Satrapi, I jumped on the opportunity to review it. Marjane Satrapi is best known for Persepolis and if you haven’t read it, get it now! (Persepolis is a coming of age story of a young Iranian girl).

“The Sigh is a timeless fairytale that promises to capture the imaginations of readers both young and old,” said Mark Smylie. “Marjane is one of those rare writers who has the ability to connect with readers on a global scale and we are proud to bring this story to the U.S.”

The Sigh is a 56 page hardcover novel that has text and beautiful hand-drawn color illustrations. While the illustrations might seem simple, they assist in the story and are just beautiful. The story of The Sigh starts with a father that always brings gifts for his daughters. We all know a father will do anything for his daughter. He is unable to find the gift that Rose asks for and when she releases a sigh she attracts The Sigh. The catch is she has to go away with The Sigh a year later.

The story covers what Rose’s experience is like and how she learns the cost of getting what you ask for. It’s a beautiful tale that only showcases what a great storyteller Marjane is. It’s a quick read and has a price of $10.95 . I think this is a must have for any graphic novel owner. I will be purchasing a hardcopy when it comes out in November.

Let’s hope that we’ll continue to see amazing storytelling from Marjane Satrapi. Archaia is doing a great job of bringing foreign titles to English-speaking readers.

A little background on the character:

“He was raised in a very small Mexican village called El Chilar.  He was very loved by his family and the village as well — and they were as accepting of his homosexuality as they were to his super powers when they first manifested.   To that end he grew up in an angst-free environment.   He was born out of the closet and so he has a very refreshing outlook on life,” said Scott Lobdell.

“Bunker’s homosexuality is a part of him. The character was created and designed in a way so that readers know he is gay once they see him. “I don’t think we even mention that he’s gay,” Booth says, “You see him, you know it, no need to harp on about it.”

The comics industry continues to push down walls like the superheros they write about and provide progressive characters within the colorful pages. Although there have been members of the LBGT community within comics before, Bunker’s flamboyant look and happy persona is very different then any that have come before him. The introduction of Bunker will be in Teen Titans #3 which is out November 23.

I am so impressed and excited about the Womanthology project on on Kickstarter.

It’s a massive undertaking headed by Renae De Liz, illustrator of The Last Unicorn for IDW Publishing (which was beautiful btw). IDW has offered to publish the book that features an assortment of over 140 female creators. You can see the full list here.

The project is on Kickstarter because the proceeds of the book will be going to a charity, GlobalGiving.org. So the Kickstarter is to run a small print run of 1500 copies for $25,000. It just launched yesterday and as of today has $23,622. Every donation has something you receive for your pledge. It varies with the larger amounts offering one of a kind rewards. I donated earlier today and I really encourage you to donate if you can. It’s great to see a project like this be made in a time where Women in Comics is a large issue in the comics industry.

For more information on Womanthology go to the official blog, Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook .

The city of Austin is super lucky as Disney goes rolling through there bringing Warren Spector and Alan Porter to town. The events also include a special Cars 2 screening hosted by Regal Cinemas.

Austin Books & Comics on Saturday July 2, is hosting a meet and greet with Ducktales comic writer, Warren Spector. He’ll be there signing copies of the Ducktales comic book. To RSVP for the event visit the Facebook page.

At the same time from 4pm-6pm, Alan Porter will also be there to sign and bring CARS giveaways. Cars 2 posters will be given out as door prizes. Click here to RSVP on Facebook.

Then on Sunday, fans will have a chance to watch Cars 2 with Alan Porter and attend a Q&A after. The screening is scheduled at 2:20pm and there will be door prizes available. Visit this Facebook page to RSVP for the event.

Great event for fans of all ages to have fun at the Austin Books & Comics store located at 5002 North Lamar Boulevard.