This is just a reminder that my new Facebook Friend Cheryl Myfanwy Morgan informed me that as of next year there will be a Hugo Award for Graphic Story-telling.

Although Cheryl is not a fiction writer, she is very interested in this development. She states that the new award is on a trial basis, and that there needs to be strong interest in the new category for it to be continued.

Cheryl has a Science Fiction Awards Watch web site as can be seen at:

http://www.sfawardswatch.com/?page_id=1099

You can go there to recommend your favorite Sci-Fi Graphic Novel.

Cheryl also told me the following:

"For 2009 the Montreal Worldcon is using its right to add a single one-off Hugo category to trial Graphic Story. 
 
A proposal to make Graphic Story a permanent category from 2010 onwards passed in Denver this year and goes to Montreal for ratification (changes to the Hugo rules are subject to vote by the members of the World Science Fiction Society). 
 
The proposal includes a sunset clause that allows WSFS to drop the category in 2012 if it is not attracting sufficient interest. 
 
The result of all this will be as follows: 
- if there are not enough good nominees next year then the proposal may not get ratified 
- if we don't continue to get good nominees from 2010 onwards then the sunset clause may be invoked 
- so we need to drum up interest in the category. 
 
The official definition of a Graphic Story used in the Hugo rules is as follows: 
 
" Any science fiction or fantasy story told in graphic form appearing for the first time in the previous calendar year." 
 
This can include a single issue of a comic, or even a one-off newspaper strip, though we are expecting graphic novels to dominate the category. Electronic distribution is allowed, so web comics are eligible. 
 
A major issue is the requirement for first publication in the eligibility year. Reprints are not allowed. This causes issues with serial works and collections. So, for example: 
 
- A reprint collection of 1970s X-Men would not be eligible 
- A single issue of a comic is eligible in the year in which it is published 
- A complete story arc is eligible in the year in which the final episode is published (this parallels rules for TV series, and for novels serialized in magazines) 
- A graphic novel collection of a story arc is not eligible because it is a reprint 
 
And to give some concrete examples, Girl Genius Vol 8 is eligible in 2009 because the final story in that arc was published in 2009. Girl Genius Vol 7 is not eligible in 2009. The collection was published in 2008, but that is just a reprint of a serial story whose first publication ended in 2007."

I realize that this Blog of ours does cross-over into several areas of pop culture, so if you do have an interest in the above new Hugo Award category, be sure to recommend your favorite literature at her web site:

http://www.sfawardswatch.com/?page_id=1099

BTW, the above photo at the top of this blog post is one of the several different Hugo Awards that have been presented during the many decades this award has been presented.

An interesting point is that the base of the Award trophy changes in looks, because each location that is chosen to present the awards is allowed to design their own base that the Rocket Spaceship is affixed to!

Paul Dini’s JINBLE BELLE comes to Top Cow in a special “Halloween collides with Christmas" one-shot written by Dini and drawn by Stephanie Gladden (POWERPUFF GIRLS, CHOWDER, HOPSTER’S TRACKS). In years past, Santa has triumphed over a variety of enemies, including the Devil himself. Now, St. Nick gets ready to face his greatest challenge ever in JINGLE BELLE: SANTA CLAUS VS. FRANKENSTEIN! !

Inspired by Mary Shelley’s original novel (sort of), the story of Frankenstein’s monster takes a new twist when he is found by Jingle in the Arctic wastes and “rehabilitated” to fit in with the elves at Santa’s Workshop. All goes well until an ultra-PC city declares Santa Claus taboo and awakens Frankie’s monstrous side in a misguided attempt to help his friend. It’s up to an ailing Santa and a reluctant Jingle Belle to stop their monstrous “apprentice” before he destroys the town and ruins the reputation of Christmas forever!

Since I have enjoyed the previous one-shot issues featuring Paul Dini's Jingle Belle, I'm going to have to check my LCBS to see if there are any copies left!  If there are none left there, I'm sure someone on eBay has a copy for sale!

 The News Of Bettie (Betty) Page's passing became known the night of December 11th... and I wondered what to say about the passing of this legend at the age of eighty-five.

I waited till the mid morning of December 12th to blog about her death, after seeing so many news entries and blog entries about her...

In the meantime I had been watching our Blog's stat counters steadily rise to almost 5,000 visitors in that time period, almost all due to bloggers wanting to know more about this woman and what she meant to so many. There were several Bettie Blog posts that readers were finding that I had posted in the past...

So instead of trying to say what she meant to me, I just posted a complilation of links to just a few of the multiple blog posts I had blogged during the past 2 & 1/2 years about her, her contributions, her relationship to 'Jenny' in Dave Steven's The Rocketeer, and more.

Here they are again in case you missed the first posting:

Bettie Page's Passing...

She Was Notorious !

So Who's HOT In Our Archived Blog Posts Right Now? 07-09-08

So Much Interest In Our Bettie Page Blog Posts...

Dave Stevens, Creator Of The Rocketeer

Notorious Bettie Page Transformed Into Jenny!

This Is Our 'Notorious' Post...

What Do the Notorious Bettie Page & The Rocketeer Have In Common ?

Adam Black... whom I just got introduced to via Facebook, was the writer and artist for the Kiss 4K webcomic. (Yeah, THAT Kiss Super Rock Group.)  Adam has left the world of Kiss for the world of HoRRoR.

Adam Black's Locus is a three-issue miniseries introducing readers to a world where the inhuman walk among the human, preying on mankind like wolves among sheep.

A word of warning... this mini-series contains B---s, Blood and Bad Language! Not necessarily in that order, but still in this series...

So now you ask... who is Locus?  Well, Anna Goodman is Locus, the Lili'tu--born of a human father and succubus mother. She tears through the American Southwest, taking brutal revenge on her father's killers. Armed with a magic pistol, an otherworldly sword, and her Uncle Spook, Locus leaves no one standing. But is there a trap waiting for her at the end?

Locus is updated Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at locus.keenspot.com . Fair warning for those who are faint of heart... Adam does state: "Don't read this comic at work, or in front of your Mom!"

Plus Adam Black will be adding bonus features into the printed version of his mini-series when printed.  So if you are okay with the 3 B's mentioned above... you might want to take a look at the series. I have read the first 17 pages online before blogging about it...

For those of you that are new to our blog today, we also have an ongoing 'Comic Con and Pop Culture Convention'  here at "Make It So Marketing Inc.", what with our daily blog posts and new listings of items for sale in our online eBay Featured Store! 

Thanks for reading this blog post today, and please join us again for more!  BTW, besides blogging, we have over 465 Reviews that Tina and I have placed in our eBay Reviews Section. Just click here to see our latest reviews!