It can't be a good sign that "Ankle turned 90 degrees while playing basketball with co-workers*" doesn't even rank in the Top 5 of things that annoyed me today. Heck, "Wow, this morning air is so cold and dry, my nose has started to bleed!" didn't even make the top 3. Now that I've bored you with tidbits from my life, I'll get to the matter at hand.
I'm not quite sure how to phrase this, so I'll pose it thusly: Do you prefer when your comics serve as the cherry on top of a peachy keen day, or when your comics serve as the one glimmer of sunshine on what's been an other wise crap day?
I'd imagine most people would opt for the former, if for no other reason than it means you were already having a fine day. That would be my choice, though there is something to be said for "At least I get to read comics today". The problem I see is it puts an awful lot of pressure on your comics. They have to redeem your entire day. The mind-numbing work, the irritating commute, the depressing weather, whatever. That is, perhaps, quite a bit to ask of our comics. Sometimes they can come through for us, and sometimes they don't. I'd say that on some occasions, just getting to take the time to read them makes the day a little better.
Even so, I'd still rather be happy before I buy my comics, just because I think it makes me more appreciative of them, just because my frame of mind is better.
* What I found hilarious about this situation was it happened around the basket, I got up and started trying to walk it off, heading towards the other basket. As I turned and came back, still sort of hopping, and still definitely cursing, the ball bounced to me, and I put up a shot from maybe 18 feet. Swish. This after I hadn't been able to hit a shot more than 6 feet from the basket through 2+ games up to that point. I may have freaked out my co-workers when I started cackling about that, I'm not sure.
Showing posts with label fandom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fandom. Show all posts
Monday, February 23, 2009
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Nothing Like The Exploration Of A New Comics Store
Though it's not new in the sense of "just opened", but new in the sense of "I'd never visited it before. As far as I can discern, Dirt Road Comics* is the closest store to my current location, and I'd never been there before, and you know what that means. That's right, the limitless possibilities of long boxes filled with back issues that will fill those gaps in {insert Series title} I've been searching for! Of course, there's the inevitable disappointment when you actually get there and X, Y, Z isn't there, the opening of the box rendering the cat dead, so to speak. Look at me, trying to sound intelligent, you'd think I'd have learned by know.
It took some time to get there (over an hour), but it takes some time to get anywhere I'd actually want to travel, storewise**, from where I'm at, so I'm growing accustomed to that. Given the size of the town, I was surprised by how large the store was.
I suppose I should address some of the negative stereotypes people associate with comic stores. One, it was not dirty or smelly, not to my eyes and nose anyway. The staff was not rude or anything of the sort, and seemed to quite enjoy interacting with the regular customers (I'll get back to that later). There were people playing Magic, but they were on the second floor, and they weren't being loud or distracting or anything of the sort. Though I tend to get a bit focused when it comes to searching through back issues, so I might not have noticed, but I didn't feel bothered. The store was darker on one side, though the upstairs and the side with all the back issues was very well lit. They might have simply been saving electricity. Also, they have large storefront windows, which probably help on sunnier days. They might need to work on labeling and arranging their back issues. For example, the end of the box might say "Batman and the Outsiders", but there aren't any issues in there, they're actually two or three boxes over. Maybe use labels that can be removed from the end if they need to be updated, or dry erase boards or something. I don't know. How much it would bother someone probably depends on how much they enjoy looking through long boxes.
OK, I mentioned I'd get back to the customer service. I didn't actually interact with any employees until I headed to the checkout counter. That probably sounds bad, the employye ignoring the potential customer, but let me offer two caveats. First, my philosophy when it comes to stores and customer service is 'If I need assistance, I will seek you out and ask.' I understand they're just trying to do their job, and I appreciate that, but I don't go to a store without some general purpose, even if it's just a trip to, say, Best Buy to investigate the cost of DVDs I'm interested in. I know what I'm after, so I don't feel I need help, and some part of me bristles a little when I get distracted from my goal by conscientious employees. Yes, I have problems, I know, but I'm polite about it. So in a lot of ways, this was ideal for me. I just went about my business, digging through the boxes, no pressure, just seeing what was there and calculating how much I would be spending. So that's caveat the first.
Secondly, looking back, I think the employee (and I think there was just the one, though there was an old fellow sitting in a back corner that might be the owner) was keeping an eye on me. Possibly because he didn't know me, and was worried about shoplifting, or because he wanted to be nearby in case I did ask for assistance. All I know is he ended up in the area where the back issues were a few minutes after I did, and stayed there, conversing with people he clearly knew (customers, employees, I have no idea) about their Magic decks, until shortly after I finished my hunting, at which point I meandered in the direction of the register, and so did he. I think he recognized I had something specific in mind, and just let me go to it. And when we did converse at the register, he was a pleasant fellow, so it's all good in my perspective. He wanted to check the price tags on all the comics, and one of them even ended up 50 cents cheaper than the tag***, and none of them wound up more expensive than they were listed. Plus, 25% off all back issues, sweet! They might want to put that on a sign somewhere, because I had no idea until he mentioned it. Unless they did have a sign, and I just didn't see it, which is possible, though I felt I was being pretty leisurely and observant in my search.
I'd rate it as a highly positive experience, especially combined with the nice lunch I had on the way home, decent weather (not spectacular, but at least it wasn't cold or precipitating), and not much traffic, allowing for a relaxed drive both ways.
So that was my Saturday.
* Though it should be noted it does not, in fact, sit on a dirt road, but on Main Street.
** Like I mentioned last fall, there's lots of parks and natural areas to visit nearby, but sometimes, I'm just not in the mood to commune with nature, you know?
*** That'd be Chuck Dixon's Marvel Knights #8, bringing me one issue closer to having all of that series. Slowly but surely, I'm getting there.
It took some time to get there (over an hour), but it takes some time to get anywhere I'd actually want to travel, storewise**, from where I'm at, so I'm growing accustomed to that. Given the size of the town, I was surprised by how large the store was.
I suppose I should address some of the negative stereotypes people associate with comic stores. One, it was not dirty or smelly, not to my eyes and nose anyway. The staff was not rude or anything of the sort, and seemed to quite enjoy interacting with the regular customers (I'll get back to that later). There were people playing Magic, but they were on the second floor, and they weren't being loud or distracting or anything of the sort. Though I tend to get a bit focused when it comes to searching through back issues, so I might not have noticed, but I didn't feel bothered. The store was darker on one side, though the upstairs and the side with all the back issues was very well lit. They might have simply been saving electricity. Also, they have large storefront windows, which probably help on sunnier days. They might need to work on labeling and arranging their back issues. For example, the end of the box might say "Batman and the Outsiders", but there aren't any issues in there, they're actually two or three boxes over. Maybe use labels that can be removed from the end if they need to be updated, or dry erase boards or something. I don't know. How much it would bother someone probably depends on how much they enjoy looking through long boxes.
OK, I mentioned I'd get back to the customer service. I didn't actually interact with any employees until I headed to the checkout counter. That probably sounds bad, the employye ignoring the potential customer, but let me offer two caveats. First, my philosophy when it comes to stores and customer service is 'If I need assistance, I will seek you out and ask.' I understand they're just trying to do their job, and I appreciate that, but I don't go to a store without some general purpose, even if it's just a trip to, say, Best Buy to investigate the cost of DVDs I'm interested in. I know what I'm after, so I don't feel I need help, and some part of me bristles a little when I get distracted from my goal by conscientious employees. Yes, I have problems, I know, but I'm polite about it. So in a lot of ways, this was ideal for me. I just went about my business, digging through the boxes, no pressure, just seeing what was there and calculating how much I would be spending. So that's caveat the first.
Secondly, looking back, I think the employee (and I think there was just the one, though there was an old fellow sitting in a back corner that might be the owner) was keeping an eye on me. Possibly because he didn't know me, and was worried about shoplifting, or because he wanted to be nearby in case I did ask for assistance. All I know is he ended up in the area where the back issues were a few minutes after I did, and stayed there, conversing with people he clearly knew (customers, employees, I have no idea) about their Magic decks, until shortly after I finished my hunting, at which point I meandered in the direction of the register, and so did he. I think he recognized I had something specific in mind, and just let me go to it. And when we did converse at the register, he was a pleasant fellow, so it's all good in my perspective. He wanted to check the price tags on all the comics, and one of them even ended up 50 cents cheaper than the tag***, and none of them wound up more expensive than they were listed. Plus, 25% off all back issues, sweet! They might want to put that on a sign somewhere, because I had no idea until he mentioned it. Unless they did have a sign, and I just didn't see it, which is possible, though I felt I was being pretty leisurely and observant in my search.
I'd rate it as a highly positive experience, especially combined with the nice lunch I had on the way home, decent weather (not spectacular, but at least it wasn't cold or precipitating), and not much traffic, allowing for a relaxed drive both ways.
So that was my Saturday.
* Though it should be noted it does not, in fact, sit on a dirt road, but on Main Street.
** Like I mentioned last fall, there's lots of parks and natural areas to visit nearby, but sometimes, I'm just not in the mood to commune with nature, you know?
*** That'd be Chuck Dixon's Marvel Knights #8, bringing me one issue closer to having all of that series. Slowly but surely, I'm getting there.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
The Lips Are Moving But No Sound Is Coming Out
I like watching television with the captions on. I have had roommate's who can attest that, in fact, the closed captions are always on with my TV. Oh, I do turn them off occasionally, usually during football games, when they have an annoying tendency to run at the same level as the scoreboard, meaning I can't see how the other games are going. For the most part though, they stay on.
I can't say why exactly I started doing that. I think it might have been so I could watch TV and do homework simultaneously. I can get pretty easily distracted by noise, and the captions eliminate that issue. Except sometimes, I keep the sound and the captions on, like when I've watched foreign films, or animes, but also just for your everyday shows like the Simpsons.
Sometime yesterday afternoon, it occurred to me that maybe comics are related to it. Comics have pictures and words, together on the same page, but no sound. So maybe it's a mixture that I'm comfortable with based on those past experiences? I'm used to having to try and distinguish emotion, or intent, based on the illustration that accompanies the words, so perhaps it's not that big a deal to read the words on the screen and try and interpret meaning from what the actor is doing as they speak (gets a little harder when the captions are running noticeably behind the actors).
On the other hand, my friend Alex enjoys comics (or he used to), but he's not the overall reader that I am. And unlike me, he's not a big fan of reading while watching TV, as I learned when we tried to watch Excel Saga together. The English voice for the main character makes my head hurt, so I wanted to watch it in Japanese, but he had no interest if he had to read subtitles, and it's hard for me to do anything else with that sqwaking going on in the background, so we eventually agreed to watch something we could both enjoy in English instead. So maybe it's less a comprehension of words and pictures together, and more a reading thing.
I can't say why exactly I started doing that. I think it might have been so I could watch TV and do homework simultaneously. I can get pretty easily distracted by noise, and the captions eliminate that issue. Except sometimes, I keep the sound and the captions on, like when I've watched foreign films, or animes, but also just for your everyday shows like the Simpsons.
Sometime yesterday afternoon, it occurred to me that maybe comics are related to it. Comics have pictures and words, together on the same page, but no sound. So maybe it's a mixture that I'm comfortable with based on those past experiences? I'm used to having to try and distinguish emotion, or intent, based on the illustration that accompanies the words, so perhaps it's not that big a deal to read the words on the screen and try and interpret meaning from what the actor is doing as they speak (gets a little harder when the captions are running noticeably behind the actors).
On the other hand, my friend Alex enjoys comics (or he used to), but he's not the overall reader that I am. And unlike me, he's not a big fan of reading while watching TV, as I learned when we tried to watch Excel Saga together. The English voice for the main character makes my head hurt, so I wanted to watch it in Japanese, but he had no interest if he had to read subtitles, and it's hard for me to do anything else with that sqwaking going on in the background, so we eventually agreed to watch something we could both enjoy in English instead. So maybe it's less a comprehension of words and pictures together, and more a reading thing.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Some Heroes Stick, Some Don't
If you read the Comics Should Be Good website, you may recall Brian Cronin's "Top 50 Marvel and DC Characters" list, where people sent in their top tens, and Mr. Cronin did yeoman's work sorting them out, and getting everything organized, and eventually expanding the lists to Top 100, then Top 200, then finally "Here's All the Votes!" I didn't participate myself. I couldn't think of 10 DC characters (I was just going to list my favorites, since he said you could use whatever criteria you wanted), and with Marvel I couldn't narrow it down to 10. I do have a DC list now, still haven't figured out that Marvel one yet. During the countdown, there was some discussion that the lists were more a reflection of what characters were prominent currently, rather than what characters were "best", however you would define that. There were some charges of elitism thrown around (because that always happens), before everyone pretty much agreed that the lists were just a generally good gauge of what characters were well-liked (or well-written, or prominent) right now, and that has merit in of itself.
I was thinking about that list recently, and thinking about the discussions in the comments about who might have ranked a decade ago, or will rank a decade from now. Then I thought there might be a way to guess, in the form of trading cards. I figure what characters get cards would probably reflect who's "in" at the time, and I just so happen to have my Marvel Universe Series 3 set, circa 1992, here at the digs (all my other sets are stored elsewhere, with most of my comics), so I'm just going to flip through, and see what jumps out, kay?
- It should surprise nobody that Totally Awesome Team of the '90s X-Force! is prominently featured. Of the 70 card labeled as "Heroes", seven are listed as members of that team (Cannonball, Domino, Shatterstar, Cable, Warpath, Siryn, and, sigh, Feral). Why no love for Boom-Boom?
- Somewhat more surprising (to me, anyway) is Excalibur's strong showing. Phoenix, Captain Britain, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, and Meggan amongst the heroes, Cerise and Kylun listed under "Rookies". I hadn't figured that team to be that big a draw. I wonder, was Claremont off the other X-Books, and this was his only title back then? I know this is from after the X-Men split into "Blue" and "Gold" teams, for what that's worth. His association might explain it.
- The New Warriors were apparently yesterday's news by then, since Namorita, Night Thrasher and Nova were the only "Heroes" listed, and Silhouette got a rookie card. Even back then, Speedball got no love (though he did get a Marvel Universe Series 4 card). That puts the Warriors on equal ground with the Guardians of the Galaxy (Major Victory, Charlie-27, Starhawk, and Talon as a rookie). Color me surprised.
- The Wasp and Hank Pym got shut out. Scott Lang (Ant-Man) did not.
-Captain America got a card, U.S. Agent didn't. At least there's some justice. Xavier got a card, and Jubilee didn't. Weird. You'd figure with the number of X-People already in here, Jubilation Lee could have gotten hooked up. She was on the team by then (on the Blue team's "Teams" card, she's in the group shot).
- The Hardcore Era was in full swing. Ghost Rider, Blaze, Punisher, Deathlok, Morbius, Silver Sable, Nomad with his baby(?!), and Weapon Omega (!!!!!!) all get cards. Hawkeye - freaking Hawkeye! - gets nothing. And for the record, he didn't get a card in Series 4, either. Friggin' Doc Samson got a card in Series 4, but Clint Barton can't get no card love? The West Coasters as a whole got stiffed, except Iron Man. he probably didn't tell the rest of the team when to show up for their trading card photos, that's what it was.
- Ghost Rider villains I've never heard of (Zodiak, Blackout) are represented. Excalibur villain Necrom, and the New Warriors foe the Sphinx (the female version) both show up, and I guess they had both been big movers and shakers within the previous year. Doctor Octopus? Nothin'.
- For that matter, none of the Sinister Six got cards (unless you count Hobgoblin, which I guess you can), but you better believe the Slug has a card. Woohoo, the Slug! A crime boss in Marvel hotspot Miami, that can't even stand. Yeah boy, bet the kids were desperate for the Slug. I know I was back then*.
*I was not. In fact, I recall being befuddled by this card. 'Who the hell is this?', my elementary school self wondered. The card helped, but not enough to make me figure he was worth the card.
- At least Dr. Doom and Magneto made the cut. Got to respect the old masters.
- Infinity Gauntlet's effect shone through, as Adam Warlock and Thanos showed up. So did Magus. Has he appeared since Marvel got past the whole "Infinity Whatever" phase?
- I'm sure it will surprise no one that Venom and Carnage were there. I'm sure I actually was glad about that, may I be forgiven for youthful imbecility. Harry Osborn Green Goblin got a card. Good for him. Oddly enough, so did the Rose, and a cyborg version of Silvermane. But no Mysterio or Electro. I am befuddled.
- Oh yeah, Mephisto got a card, too. Booooo!
- That program that goes into killer robots, Shiva, got a card. Prior to Wolverine: Origins #1, had Shiva even appeared since Wolverine trashed it back in Wolverine #50 (first series)? They also included the Destroyer Armor, which unless someone's life force gets sucked into it, is inert. No Ultron though. Odd. He must have been taking some time off. The Mad Thinker got some love, that was nice. And so did Dracula. Did he ever fight Ghost Rider?
- Amongst time travelers, Zarrko, the Tomorrow Man was honored, but Kang was not. If I recall, Immortus was showing up in West Coast Avengers around then, which may explain that. No Fitzroy, either. I'm not complaining mind you, but they included Bishop as a "Rookie", you'd think they would include the guy that was his arch-foe, the fellow who "killed" the White Queen the first time I saw him.
- There was a "Cosmic Entities" section, which had the usual suspects like Galactus and the Stranger, but also Death and the Celestials. The fun thing was, Series 3 cards all had a quote from the characters, some more memorable than others. On Death's card it says 'Death speaks through actions, not words', and the Celestials got 'The Celestials do not speak when lesser beings are present'. Nice. Celestials are real jackasses, won't even give a quote for their trading card. Must have been a pain for their high school's Yearbook Committee.
- There was a section of cards devoted to "Teams". It was all heroes, with one exception: The Serpent Society. I know Marvel villains don't have the track record of consistent partnerships like say, Flash's Rogue's, but there weren't any other teams to include? Some iteration of the Masters of Evil, or the Sinister Six? They'd appeared in Spider-Man throughout the first half of '92, and the middle of '90, so it's not like they didn't have recent exposure. I guess I mostly just can't figure choosing the Serpent Society. Maybe they had a consistent roster, I don't know.
- Just for kicks, I want to mention that the last few cards are labeled "Milestones". One of which happens to be the "Marriage of Spider-Man", a scant five years old at the time. I can't decide what would be a better representation of that One Story: To throw that card away, or tape it to the Mephisto card. For the record, I plan to do neither, I'm just musing.
- Also listed was the Human Torch finding out he married a Skrull. I'd imagine that one is out these days. The Fall of the Kingpin. I liked that story, but it didn't really take for another 15 years, did it? Fisk (who did get a card, fyi) just kept hanging around, or setting up shop in Asia, if I recall that issue of X-Men that also told us Sebastian Shaw wasn't dead, correctly. Man, a lot used to happen in a single issue. Most of the rest are still in effect, though. Coming of Galactus. Death of Gwen Stacy. Kree/Skrull War. Operation Galactic Storm (I know they referenced that in Civil War). Not sure about Inferno, Atlantis Attacks, or "All Hulks Unite" (the story that created the really big, really smart Hulk that worked with the Pantheon and used guns). That story said that Hulk was a combination of Hulk and Banner, but now it's just considered another manifestation of the Hulk, right? I guess it could still count.
- One thing I want to investigate is if the more recently introduced characters demonstrated staying power, using characters introduced within the five years prior to these cards (1987-1992). Are they still big names? Are they bit players? Do they just show up in the back of team photos? Did they die a horrible death and haven't returned yet? But it looks like there might be quite a few of those, so I'll save that for tomorrow.
I was thinking about that list recently, and thinking about the discussions in the comments about who might have ranked a decade ago, or will rank a decade from now. Then I thought there might be a way to guess, in the form of trading cards. I figure what characters get cards would probably reflect who's "in" at the time, and I just so happen to have my Marvel Universe Series 3 set, circa 1992, here at the digs (all my other sets are stored elsewhere, with most of my comics), so I'm just going to flip through, and see what jumps out, kay?
- It should surprise nobody that Totally Awesome Team of the '90s X-Force! is prominently featured. Of the 70 card labeled as "Heroes", seven are listed as members of that team (Cannonball, Domino, Shatterstar, Cable, Warpath, Siryn, and, sigh, Feral). Why no love for Boom-Boom?
- Somewhat more surprising (to me, anyway) is Excalibur's strong showing. Phoenix, Captain Britain, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, and Meggan amongst the heroes, Cerise and Kylun listed under "Rookies". I hadn't figured that team to be that big a draw. I wonder, was Claremont off the other X-Books, and this was his only title back then? I know this is from after the X-Men split into "Blue" and "Gold" teams, for what that's worth. His association might explain it.
- The New Warriors were apparently yesterday's news by then, since Namorita, Night Thrasher and Nova were the only "Heroes" listed, and Silhouette got a rookie card. Even back then, Speedball got no love (though he did get a Marvel Universe Series 4 card). That puts the Warriors on equal ground with the Guardians of the Galaxy (Major Victory, Charlie-27, Starhawk, and Talon as a rookie). Color me surprised.
- The Wasp and Hank Pym got shut out. Scott Lang (Ant-Man) did not.
-Captain America got a card, U.S. Agent didn't. At least there's some justice. Xavier got a card, and Jubilee didn't. Weird. You'd figure with the number of X-People already in here, Jubilation Lee could have gotten hooked up. She was on the team by then (on the Blue team's "Teams" card, she's in the group shot).
- The Hardcore Era was in full swing. Ghost Rider, Blaze, Punisher, Deathlok, Morbius, Silver Sable, Nomad with his baby(?!), and Weapon Omega (!!!!!!) all get cards. Hawkeye - freaking Hawkeye! - gets nothing. And for the record, he didn't get a card in Series 4, either. Friggin' Doc Samson got a card in Series 4, but Clint Barton can't get no card love? The West Coasters as a whole got stiffed, except Iron Man. he probably didn't tell the rest of the team when to show up for their trading card photos, that's what it was.
- Ghost Rider villains I've never heard of (Zodiak, Blackout) are represented. Excalibur villain Necrom, and the New Warriors foe the Sphinx (the female version) both show up, and I guess they had both been big movers and shakers within the previous year. Doctor Octopus? Nothin'.
- For that matter, none of the Sinister Six got cards (unless you count Hobgoblin, which I guess you can), but you better believe the Slug has a card. Woohoo, the Slug! A crime boss in Marvel hotspot Miami, that can't even stand. Yeah boy, bet the kids were desperate for the Slug. I know I was back then*.
*I was not. In fact, I recall being befuddled by this card. 'Who the hell is this?', my elementary school self wondered. The card helped, but not enough to make me figure he was worth the card.
- At least Dr. Doom and Magneto made the cut. Got to respect the old masters.
- Infinity Gauntlet's effect shone through, as Adam Warlock and Thanos showed up. So did Magus. Has he appeared since Marvel got past the whole "Infinity Whatever" phase?
- I'm sure it will surprise no one that Venom and Carnage were there. I'm sure I actually was glad about that, may I be forgiven for youthful imbecility. Harry Osborn Green Goblin got a card. Good for him. Oddly enough, so did the Rose, and a cyborg version of Silvermane. But no Mysterio or Electro. I am befuddled.
- Oh yeah, Mephisto got a card, too. Booooo!
- That program that goes into killer robots, Shiva, got a card. Prior to Wolverine: Origins #1, had Shiva even appeared since Wolverine trashed it back in Wolverine #50 (first series)? They also included the Destroyer Armor, which unless someone's life force gets sucked into it, is inert. No Ultron though. Odd. He must have been taking some time off. The Mad Thinker got some love, that was nice. And so did Dracula. Did he ever fight Ghost Rider?
- Amongst time travelers, Zarrko, the Tomorrow Man was honored, but Kang was not. If I recall, Immortus was showing up in West Coast Avengers around then, which may explain that. No Fitzroy, either. I'm not complaining mind you, but they included Bishop as a "Rookie", you'd think they would include the guy that was his arch-foe, the fellow who "killed" the White Queen the first time I saw him.
- There was a "Cosmic Entities" section, which had the usual suspects like Galactus and the Stranger, but also Death and the Celestials. The fun thing was, Series 3 cards all had a quote from the characters, some more memorable than others. On Death's card it says 'Death speaks through actions, not words', and the Celestials got 'The Celestials do not speak when lesser beings are present'. Nice. Celestials are real jackasses, won't even give a quote for their trading card. Must have been a pain for their high school's Yearbook Committee.
- There was a section of cards devoted to "Teams". It was all heroes, with one exception: The Serpent Society. I know Marvel villains don't have the track record of consistent partnerships like say, Flash's Rogue's, but there weren't any other teams to include? Some iteration of the Masters of Evil, or the Sinister Six? They'd appeared in Spider-Man throughout the first half of '92, and the middle of '90, so it's not like they didn't have recent exposure. I guess I mostly just can't figure choosing the Serpent Society. Maybe they had a consistent roster, I don't know.
- Just for kicks, I want to mention that the last few cards are labeled "Milestones". One of which happens to be the "Marriage of Spider-Man", a scant five years old at the time. I can't decide what would be a better representation of that One Story: To throw that card away, or tape it to the Mephisto card. For the record, I plan to do neither, I'm just musing.
- Also listed was the Human Torch finding out he married a Skrull. I'd imagine that one is out these days. The Fall of the Kingpin. I liked that story, but it didn't really take for another 15 years, did it? Fisk (who did get a card, fyi) just kept hanging around, or setting up shop in Asia, if I recall that issue of X-Men that also told us Sebastian Shaw wasn't dead, correctly. Man, a lot used to happen in a single issue. Most of the rest are still in effect, though. Coming of Galactus. Death of Gwen Stacy. Kree/Skrull War. Operation Galactic Storm (I know they referenced that in Civil War). Not sure about Inferno, Atlantis Attacks, or "All Hulks Unite" (the story that created the really big, really smart Hulk that worked with the Pantheon and used guns). That story said that Hulk was a combination of Hulk and Banner, but now it's just considered another manifestation of the Hulk, right? I guess it could still count.
- One thing I want to investigate is if the more recently introduced characters demonstrated staying power, using characters introduced within the five years prior to these cards (1987-1992). Are they still big names? Are they bit players? Do they just show up in the back of team photos? Did they die a horrible death and haven't returned yet? But it looks like there might be quite a few of those, so I'll save that for tomorrow.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Shall We Discuss Discussing Comics?
There's no hope of stopping the Patriots fairly now, is there? Then again, if there was ever a franchise that could host the Super Bowl in their year-old stadium, only to have it hit by a meteorite during said sporting event, it would be the Arizona Cardinals. So there's that, at least.
But that's not really what I was going to talk about today, I just needed to get it out there.
What I wanted to ask about today is what you try to get out of other people's reviews of comic books. Or TV shows, movies, video games, books, whatever. Is it to see whether there's something out there that's really good that you should check out, or conversely, something that's really bad that you should avoid (say, that Wolverine story Jeph Loeb did last year)? Do you use them as a cheap way to keep up on titles you once loved but no longer wish to financially support (*cough Amazing Spider-Man cough*)? Is it a way to get a different point of view on something you've already read (or watched, or played)? An opportunity to see if there's something you missed when you read it, or maybe just to see if someone else interprets things differently? Or is it all three, depending on what we're talking about?
I think it's all of those things for me, since I can get introduced to something I need to consider purchasing, or save myself cash by not buying something I don't feel is worth it, and I never know when someone more astute than me is going to point out something I missed, that will cause me to rethink my opinion of a work. One of the Savage Critics did that with Punisher: The Tyger once, since I had initially felt it was good, but fairly pointless, and whichever one it was mentioned that it seemed to be Ennis building on what make Frank Castle who he is. Viewing it from the perspective, it was a lot more interesting of a comic to me, and it changed the way I was looking at Ennis' Punisher work as a whole.
But that's not really what I was going to talk about today, I just needed to get it out there.
What I wanted to ask about today is what you try to get out of other people's reviews of comic books. Or TV shows, movies, video games, books, whatever. Is it to see whether there's something out there that's really good that you should check out, or conversely, something that's really bad that you should avoid (say, that Wolverine story Jeph Loeb did last year)? Do you use them as a cheap way to keep up on titles you once loved but no longer wish to financially support (*cough Amazing Spider-Man cough*)? Is it a way to get a different point of view on something you've already read (or watched, or played)? An opportunity to see if there's something you missed when you read it, or maybe just to see if someone else interprets things differently? Or is it all three, depending on what we're talking about?
I think it's all of those things for me, since I can get introduced to something I need to consider purchasing, or save myself cash by not buying something I don't feel is worth it, and I never know when someone more astute than me is going to point out something I missed, that will cause me to rethink my opinion of a work. One of the Savage Critics did that with Punisher: The Tyger once, since I had initially felt it was good, but fairly pointless, and whichever one it was mentioned that it seemed to be Ennis building on what make Frank Castle who he is. Viewing it from the perspective, it was a lot more interesting of a comic to me, and it changed the way I was looking at Ennis' Punisher work as a whole.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Artist/Audience Relationship?
You ever get a headache where it feels like hammers are pounding on your forehead, and there's an icepick being jammed into the base of your skull, simultaneously? I got that right now. I even know what the problem is, but I can't loosen my neck up enough to give it a good "snap, crack, pop!" to sort everything out. In other news, I enjoyed the beginning of PTI today, when Kornheiser said the first thing that should be on his "Bucket List" would be to tell Stat Boy TK is his father, if only for Reali's anguished "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" It made me laugh, even through the pain. Good times.
OK, enough skylarking.
I'm not sure where this post originates from. I think it's a general thing that I've been thinking about recently, based on different people's reaction to the same comics. I think it may have actually began with Diamondrock's post about his general disinterest in manga, and his comment that part of the problem was the art felt static, lifeless. In the comments, I had mentioned that with the manga I had read, it wasn't an issue of lack of motion, but perhaps of too much motion, or a lack of clarity in representing said motion. I don't have any idea if Diamonrock and I have looked at the same stuff, but I was curious about the different reaction. There have been a few other things that contributed, including Brian Hibbs description of the art in Punisher War Journal #15 as 'pretty stinky' (I'm too lazy to do any links, the issue came out last week, the review's part of a clump of reviews). In the comments, Tim Callahan expressed the opinion that PWJ #15 was one of the best-looking comics of the week. I've also seen people debating Stuart Immonen's work on Ultimate Spider-Man compared to Mark Bagley's. There are people who feel Immonen's lacking, that Bendis has had to add more talking because Immonen's art can't carry emotions as well, and there are others that think there's no difference, no dropoff from Bagley to Immonen. Personally, I don't think Immonen conveys the more subtle emotions as well, and his fight scenes aren't always as clearly laid out as I prefer, especially compared to Bagley, but there are obviously other people who feel differently.
So here's the point to all this. When reading a comic book, how much of the burden for following or understanding what is going on falls on the penciler/inker/colorist, and how much falls to the reader's ability to interpret the pictures in front of them? I know that with comic books, the writer plays a large role, since they can provide expository dialogue, caption boxes, or comments that shed light on what's happening, but for now I'm going to try and leave them out of it (good luck with that, right?)
When I really started to wonder about this, I started looking at my volumes of the Rurouni Kenshin manga and wondering if, when Sanosuke rears back to headbutt his opponent, the art was giving the sense of Sano throwing his head back in preparation, or if my mind was projecting/inserting the motion into the panel. Obviously, if I'm seeing actual motion, it's in my head because we're dealing with 2 dimensional drawings of things moving, as opposed to actual movement, but is the artist drawing in a manner that suggests the motion, or is the reader making that leap themselves? Is it possible for someone to illustrate in a manner which would evoke the proper response (assuming that the creative team is going for a specific reaction/emotion/image) in all people? Or do we, as the audience, each have our own blind spots, where certain styles simply don't mesh well with our minds, and so to our eyes those styles fail to achieve their desired effect, leading us to label the art as "ineffective", "poor", "ill-suited for the subject matter" or whatever adjectives we want to apply?
And if we do have "blind spots", then how much of the failure for the art to connect with the viewer is on the artist? Is it a case of them choosing the method or approach they think is best, and hoping that by and large, it strikes the right chord? I know there are basic rules that are generally followed (though I'm not real clear on what those rules specifically are), unless not following them serves a purpose in the story. I figure things like perspective, and not changing line-of-sight in odd ways, abrupt ways are kind of supposed to be observed, but beyond basic rules of art, how much are the artists responsible for?
As you can tell, I have no answers, just a bunch of questions. I figure somebody out there knows Art Theory better than me, and hopefully they'll speak up. Even if you don't know Art Theory, if you've got something to add, please do so. I'm gonna go lie down.
OK, enough skylarking.
I'm not sure where this post originates from. I think it's a general thing that I've been thinking about recently, based on different people's reaction to the same comics. I think it may have actually began with Diamondrock's post about his general disinterest in manga, and his comment that part of the problem was the art felt static, lifeless. In the comments, I had mentioned that with the manga I had read, it wasn't an issue of lack of motion, but perhaps of too much motion, or a lack of clarity in representing said motion. I don't have any idea if Diamonrock and I have looked at the same stuff, but I was curious about the different reaction. There have been a few other things that contributed, including Brian Hibbs description of the art in Punisher War Journal #15 as 'pretty stinky' (I'm too lazy to do any links, the issue came out last week, the review's part of a clump of reviews). In the comments, Tim Callahan expressed the opinion that PWJ #15 was one of the best-looking comics of the week. I've also seen people debating Stuart Immonen's work on Ultimate Spider-Man compared to Mark Bagley's. There are people who feel Immonen's lacking, that Bendis has had to add more talking because Immonen's art can't carry emotions as well, and there are others that think there's no difference, no dropoff from Bagley to Immonen. Personally, I don't think Immonen conveys the more subtle emotions as well, and his fight scenes aren't always as clearly laid out as I prefer, especially compared to Bagley, but there are obviously other people who feel differently.
So here's the point to all this. When reading a comic book, how much of the burden for following or understanding what is going on falls on the penciler/inker/colorist, and how much falls to the reader's ability to interpret the pictures in front of them? I know that with comic books, the writer plays a large role, since they can provide expository dialogue, caption boxes, or comments that shed light on what's happening, but for now I'm going to try and leave them out of it (good luck with that, right?)
When I really started to wonder about this, I started looking at my volumes of the Rurouni Kenshin manga and wondering if, when Sanosuke rears back to headbutt his opponent, the art was giving the sense of Sano throwing his head back in preparation, or if my mind was projecting/inserting the motion into the panel. Obviously, if I'm seeing actual motion, it's in my head because we're dealing with 2 dimensional drawings of things moving, as opposed to actual movement, but is the artist drawing in a manner that suggests the motion, or is the reader making that leap themselves? Is it possible for someone to illustrate in a manner which would evoke the proper response (assuming that the creative team is going for a specific reaction/emotion/image) in all people? Or do we, as the audience, each have our own blind spots, where certain styles simply don't mesh well with our minds, and so to our eyes those styles fail to achieve their desired effect, leading us to label the art as "ineffective", "poor", "ill-suited for the subject matter" or whatever adjectives we want to apply?
And if we do have "blind spots", then how much of the failure for the art to connect with the viewer is on the artist? Is it a case of them choosing the method or approach they think is best, and hoping that by and large, it strikes the right chord? I know there are basic rules that are generally followed (though I'm not real clear on what those rules specifically are), unless not following them serves a purpose in the story. I figure things like perspective, and not changing line-of-sight in odd ways, abrupt ways are kind of supposed to be observed, but beyond basic rules of art, how much are the artists responsible for?
As you can tell, I have no answers, just a bunch of questions. I figure somebody out there knows Art Theory better than me, and hopefully they'll speak up. Even if you don't know Art Theory, if you've got something to add, please do so. I'm gonna go lie down.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Getting Somewhat Serious Here For A Moment
So this is the post I've been hinting at since Wednesday. Hopefully you won't be too disappointed. I'm going to start by outlining the situation as I understand it, then give my thoughts, and then hopefully you'll chime in as well.
The Situation: This past Wednesday (Sept. 19), I was in the comics store I shop at, looking through my copy of Annihilation: Conquest - Quasar #3, when a customer steps in. The store's owner was quite eager to see this customer, because they needed to discuss something. This customer had set up a pull list in early August, and purchased the comics on the list that had been released that week. The customer had not been in the 5 or 6 weeks since then, until the previous day (Tuesday the 18th). The customer had appeared and purchased some of the titles that had been set aside for them, and had returned on this day to purchase any new comics that had come out this week, but not those titles they had left behind the day before. The retailer wanted to know why the customer had only purchased some of the issues waiting for them.
The customer's response was that they are a traveling salesperson, that they are on the road for 5 or 6 weeks at a time, and as they travel, if they happen across a store that sells comics, they stop in and purchase the titles that came out that week from that store. I'm not sure as to the size of the customer's pull list, though I think it's about equal to mine (10-15 titles), nor do I know whether they have pulls at these stores they see along the road. I think it's just random as to where they were stopping. The customer didn't show any interest in having two copies of the titles they had purchased elsewhere, so the retailer was left with the comics.
The store owner said they weren't really comfortable with this situation, while the customer explained that every other store they had done business with had been fine with it, including the other comics store in town. The owner stated that they would love to have the customer's business, but they just were not comfortable with holding titles for someone, for weeks at a time, when the customer might simultaneously be buying those titles elsewhere, and so would not ultimately buy the comics at this store. At that point, both sides concluded they were at an impasse, the customer left, the owner tossed the pull list (not the comics, just the paper the list was written on).
Statement of Bias: The use of neutral pronouns and no names was intentional. See, I don't know anything about the customer other than what I heard in the conversation, but I do know the owner of the store, and consider him to be a friend (I swing by the store most every Friday just to talk), so I wanted to try and be neutral in describing the scenario, then give my totally biased opinion. Also, I know nothing about business or economics other than that you want to make more than you spend, and so this is me talking from a personal standpoint, rather than from any kind of business perspective.
Totally Biased Opinion: Right up front, I'm on Ken (the owner's) side. I think when you set up a pull at a store, there's an agreement between the customer and retailer. The retailer agrees to do everything in their power to make sure you get the comics on your list when they come out, or as close to it as possible. So it isn't their fault if Jim Lee or Frank Quitely can't meet deadlines, or that the publisher canceled the book, or that Diamond didn't ship all the copies they ordered. But if the book came in, and there are enough copies, then there should be one waiting for you when you show up (since I think pull-listers should probably have priority over random walk-in customers that might otherwise take all the issues. Yeah, I'm a bad person, perpetuating the exclusivity of the comic shop environment, sue me).
At the same time, I think the customer, by making a pull list - thus getting the retailer to agree to get them the titles they want - is agreeing to buy those titles from that retailer. If you're just as likely to buy the comics in East Lansing, Michigan as you are in Casper, Wyoming, then why bother setting up a pull list in Cape Girardeau? This doesn't mean you can't drop titles if you aren't enjoying them, but if you do still enjoy the title, then I think you ought to buy the new issues from the place that is setting aside a copy especially for you.
And honestly, I don't know that I buy that every other store the customer had used was cool with him setting up a pull-list, with the understanding he might show after a month and not buy half the comics they'd set aside for him, because he purchased them elsewhere. Maybe that is common, I don't know, this is the first time I've heard of such a situation. An employee at the store I used for about six months in Columbia, was pretty annoyed with me because I abruptly canceled my pull (because I was leaving town to begin grad school down here), and they wanted two weeks notice on something when you did that. Which I can understand, I just wish someone had mentioned that when I started the list (if they did, I totally forgot, and that's all on me, but I really don't recall being told that rule). Conversely, the first time I canceled my pull with Ken (which is why I started the pull in Columbia), he didn't seem all that bothered when I informed him I'd have to end my pull (as I was moving 250 miles away). He was sad to lose my business, but he wasn't annoyed or anything, so maybe what stores consider unacceptable just varies from place to place, and person to person, I really don't know.
Anyway, I'm going to stop there, because all I've got left at this point would just be me talking up how good of a store I think Ken runs, and that's not terribly pertinent to this, is it? So, I know there are bloggers who work in comics stores, and I love to hear from them about whether they've had similar situations, or what their store's rule is on pulls, but I'd also like to hear from the folks who are just customers like me, whether those of you with pulls yourself think there are any sorts of rules/agreements between the customers and the retailers, or any similar situations you've seen.
The Situation: This past Wednesday (Sept. 19), I was in the comics store I shop at, looking through my copy of Annihilation: Conquest - Quasar #3, when a customer steps in. The store's owner was quite eager to see this customer, because they needed to discuss something. This customer had set up a pull list in early August, and purchased the comics on the list that had been released that week. The customer had not been in the 5 or 6 weeks since then, until the previous day (Tuesday the 18th). The customer had appeared and purchased some of the titles that had been set aside for them, and had returned on this day to purchase any new comics that had come out this week, but not those titles they had left behind the day before. The retailer wanted to know why the customer had only purchased some of the issues waiting for them.
The customer's response was that they are a traveling salesperson, that they are on the road for 5 or 6 weeks at a time, and as they travel, if they happen across a store that sells comics, they stop in and purchase the titles that came out that week from that store. I'm not sure as to the size of the customer's pull list, though I think it's about equal to mine (10-15 titles), nor do I know whether they have pulls at these stores they see along the road. I think it's just random as to where they were stopping. The customer didn't show any interest in having two copies of the titles they had purchased elsewhere, so the retailer was left with the comics.
The store owner said they weren't really comfortable with this situation, while the customer explained that every other store they had done business with had been fine with it, including the other comics store in town. The owner stated that they would love to have the customer's business, but they just were not comfortable with holding titles for someone, for weeks at a time, when the customer might simultaneously be buying those titles elsewhere, and so would not ultimately buy the comics at this store. At that point, both sides concluded they were at an impasse, the customer left, the owner tossed the pull list (not the comics, just the paper the list was written on).
Statement of Bias: The use of neutral pronouns and no names was intentional. See, I don't know anything about the customer other than what I heard in the conversation, but I do know the owner of the store, and consider him to be a friend (I swing by the store most every Friday just to talk), so I wanted to try and be neutral in describing the scenario, then give my totally biased opinion. Also, I know nothing about business or economics other than that you want to make more than you spend, and so this is me talking from a personal standpoint, rather than from any kind of business perspective.
Totally Biased Opinion: Right up front, I'm on Ken (the owner's) side. I think when you set up a pull at a store, there's an agreement between the customer and retailer. The retailer agrees to do everything in their power to make sure you get the comics on your list when they come out, or as close to it as possible. So it isn't their fault if Jim Lee or Frank Quitely can't meet deadlines, or that the publisher canceled the book, or that Diamond didn't ship all the copies they ordered. But if the book came in, and there are enough copies, then there should be one waiting for you when you show up (since I think pull-listers should probably have priority over random walk-in customers that might otherwise take all the issues. Yeah, I'm a bad person, perpetuating the exclusivity of the comic shop environment, sue me).
At the same time, I think the customer, by making a pull list - thus getting the retailer to agree to get them the titles they want - is agreeing to buy those titles from that retailer. If you're just as likely to buy the comics in East Lansing, Michigan as you are in Casper, Wyoming, then why bother setting up a pull list in Cape Girardeau? This doesn't mean you can't drop titles if you aren't enjoying them, but if you do still enjoy the title, then I think you ought to buy the new issues from the place that is setting aside a copy especially for you.
And honestly, I don't know that I buy that every other store the customer had used was cool with him setting up a pull-list, with the understanding he might show after a month and not buy half the comics they'd set aside for him, because he purchased them elsewhere. Maybe that is common, I don't know, this is the first time I've heard of such a situation. An employee at the store I used for about six months in Columbia, was pretty annoyed with me because I abruptly canceled my pull (because I was leaving town to begin grad school down here), and they wanted two weeks notice on something when you did that. Which I can understand, I just wish someone had mentioned that when I started the list (if they did, I totally forgot, and that's all on me, but I really don't recall being told that rule). Conversely, the first time I canceled my pull with Ken (which is why I started the pull in Columbia), he didn't seem all that bothered when I informed him I'd have to end my pull (as I was moving 250 miles away). He was sad to lose my business, but he wasn't annoyed or anything, so maybe what stores consider unacceptable just varies from place to place, and person to person, I really don't know.
Anyway, I'm going to stop there, because all I've got left at this point would just be me talking up how good of a store I think Ken runs, and that's not terribly pertinent to this, is it? So, I know there are bloggers who work in comics stores, and I love to hear from them about whether they've had similar situations, or what their store's rule is on pulls, but I'd also like to hear from the folks who are just customers like me, whether those of you with pulls yourself think there are any sorts of rules/agreements between the customers and the retailers, or any similar situations you've seen.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Take The Bad With The Good
When I was in the comic store on Wednesday, I happened to run into Len, and he asked what I'd picked up that week. I showed him Amazing Spider-Girl #10, with Carnage there on the cover, and grimaced as I explained that DeFalco seems to think any character can be part of a good story. Len wisely opined that it isn't a necessarily bad idea to think that, and the more I've thought about these last few days (and I've thought on it a lot, as I've been trying to piece this post together since about Thursday), the more I agree with Len, and by extension, DeFalco.
Of course, the tradeoff to for the "every character can be the star of a good story" belief is that it may not be true. The character may be so poorly conceived or thought out, that they aren't capable of being the focal point of a good story. I can't think of any examples off the top of my head, but they're probably out there. Or the writer isn't capable of writing that good story. Much as I like Tom DeFalco's work, that is certainly something to consider, since he does have his limitations.
It seems like a fair trade, though. Because you never know, at any time a writer could put together a story that gives a hitherto unappealing character a second chance with you, where you can learn to appreciate them in a way you hadn't before. Or perhaps it's a character you've never seen before, and the story makes you go "Hey! I like Character T! I want to read more stuff about them!" I've kind of had this reaction to Busiek's Prankster in Superman, though I haven't yet bought any issues yet (buying Superman comics goes against my general nature, I guess). But I didn't know anything about Prankster, now I think he's a pretty interesting fellow.
I can't really think of a good way to wrap this up, other than to say I do prefer the "all characters have potential" to the the "lower-tier characters are primarily useful as dead bodies for Big Events" that you see sometimes. After all, if you want a body count to indicate how dire the threat is, that's what generic characters - civilians, cops, SHIELD, AIM, etc., - are for. No times been invested fleshing them out, so they can be offed rather neatly, and if you want to create someone like say, Bob, Agent of HYDRA, then you would just have to say that he survived the Massacre of Many HYDRA Guys That Shows This Is Totally Serious. And if you're do want to off an established character, at least do it in a way where it needed to be that character that died. For example, I'm not sure the Death of Harry Osborn works with many characters other than Harry Osborn, given all the set up DeMatteis had invested in exploring Harry's inner struggle with his demons, how it mirrors Peter's self-doubts, how Harry's troubles hurt affect those around him. It was a story basically built specifically for Harry Osborn, and probably would have needed major alterations to work for almost any other Spidey character.
I guess what I'm getting at here is that even though I wasn't sure I was glad to see Carnage again, I do appreciate the effort on the creative team's part.
Of course, the tradeoff to for the "every character can be the star of a good story" belief is that it may not be true. The character may be so poorly conceived or thought out, that they aren't capable of being the focal point of a good story. I can't think of any examples off the top of my head, but they're probably out there. Or the writer isn't capable of writing that good story. Much as I like Tom DeFalco's work, that is certainly something to consider, since he does have his limitations.
It seems like a fair trade, though. Because you never know, at any time a writer could put together a story that gives a hitherto unappealing character a second chance with you, where you can learn to appreciate them in a way you hadn't before. Or perhaps it's a character you've never seen before, and the story makes you go "Hey! I like Character T! I want to read more stuff about them!" I've kind of had this reaction to Busiek's Prankster in Superman, though I haven't yet bought any issues yet (buying Superman comics goes against my general nature, I guess). But I didn't know anything about Prankster, now I think he's a pretty interesting fellow.
I can't really think of a good way to wrap this up, other than to say I do prefer the "all characters have potential" to the the "lower-tier characters are primarily useful as dead bodies for Big Events" that you see sometimes. After all, if you want a body count to indicate how dire the threat is, that's what generic characters - civilians, cops, SHIELD, AIM, etc., - are for. No times been invested fleshing them out, so they can be offed rather neatly, and if you want to create someone like say, Bob, Agent of HYDRA, then you would just have to say that he survived the Massacre of Many HYDRA Guys That Shows This Is Totally Serious. And if you're do want to off an established character, at least do it in a way where it needed to be that character that died. For example, I'm not sure the Death of Harry Osborn works with many characters other than Harry Osborn, given all the set up DeMatteis had invested in exploring Harry's inner struggle with his demons, how it mirrors Peter's self-doubts, how Harry's troubles hurt affect those around him. It was a story basically built specifically for Harry Osborn, and probably would have needed major alterations to work for almost any other Spidey character.
I guess what I'm getting at here is that even though I wasn't sure I was glad to see Carnage again, I do appreciate the effort on the creative team's part.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Audience Requests, Provides Assistance
In last night's post, Kolbyirish asked for some help. She's looking for some good comics with Storm in them, and her main exposure has been from TV and the X-Movies. Also, she'd like to know about any other black, female characters out there.
I suggested Uncanny X-Men post-#200, when Storm is pretty much the undisputed leader of the team, and they're up against Nimrod, the Hellfire Club, the Marauders, etc. I haven't read a all those issues, but the ones I have looked pretty good, and Storm seems a commanding presence, even without powers.
As for other characters, I mentioned Monica Rambeau in NextWave, because the more people that read NextWave, the better. Beyond that, I really wasn't much help. So I'm sure you can see where this is going. Yep, I'm looking for you to chip in with any Storm-centric stories you think are enjoyable, and to chime in with any other characters you think Kolbyirish would like.
I suggested Uncanny X-Men post-#200, when Storm is pretty much the undisputed leader of the team, and they're up against Nimrod, the Hellfire Club, the Marauders, etc. I haven't read a all those issues, but the ones I have looked pretty good, and Storm seems a commanding presence, even without powers.
As for other characters, I mentioned Monica Rambeau in NextWave, because the more people that read NextWave, the better. Beyond that, I really wasn't much help. So I'm sure you can see where this is going. Yep, I'm looking for you to chip in with any Storm-centric stories you think are enjoyable, and to chime in with any other characters you think Kolbyirish would like.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Now Let's Talk Conventions
Hi everybody, it's me, Faceless CalvinPitt! I hate to do that, but some of you may be axe murderers, and I don't want my face recognized. So, some general thoughts from the weekend.
- I'd say that Ken got a much bigger crowd this year, but by moving to a larger locale, it seemed less crowded. A lot more vendors, an entire wall for various creators, and even with gaming being deemphasized from last year, still there was more than enough room to accomodate them. Best of all, I never got that claustrophobic feeling I get when I feel like there are too many people around me.
- On Saturday, there was a small child who apparently has the same name as me, and the kid tended to get too far away from his mom, which lead to a lot of me looking up from a longbox when I heard some lady call my name sharply.
- I expect Ken to take the week off. The man was constantly on the move both days, checking with the guests, greeting the fans, making announcements. I have no idea how he does it.
- Had two Darth Vaders prowling around on Saturday, several Sith/Jedi, a Imperial officer (also known as Vader's Crushed Throat Whipping Boys), and a Chewie, plus a guy trying to pull of brooding Anakin in Episode 3. He did pretty well, certainly had the poofy hair. I enjoyed seeing a little kid walk up to one of the Vaders and proclaim him too short to actually be Vader. I was polite enough not to laugh then, but faux Vader ain't here, so I now say, with full impunity, ha ha!
- Having been someone who rarely pays attention to who was making the comics I was reading (until about two years ago), I don't know much about creators, including what they look like. That being said, I was still surprised that Denny O'Neil reminded me of former Clinton adviser James Carville. Or was it Agent Skinner from the X-Files?
- After making a comics purchase, the vendor I bought from threw in a Roy Thomas written Conan the Barbarian for free. Sadly, Mr. Thomas was on lunch break at the time, and I was called away to meet some friends before I had an excuse to go up and talk to him. Still not sure what I would have said, since I don't know how much of his work I've read. Missed opportunities.
- While perusing the longboxes, I came across something I had to have. Curses, I was two dollars short! I rushed out of the convention, desperate to get to an ATM. Naturally, I had the entire SEMO campus between me and my vehicle. Let that be a lesson kids: Parking far away because you enjoy walking is stupid. Fortunately, I was able to get to a cash machine and return before my prize was gone. What did I purchase, you ask? Oh, not much just...
-The entire run of NextWave!!! Can you feel the Earth tilt off its axis? Can you feel the power? Upside-Down Puppy feels it, see!
-Ah, Warren Ellis, I don't know what your beef is with Tom DeFalco, but I do know that in the afterlife, when you find out your maker likes Spider-Girl and Speedball, NextWave is going to be what saves you. Joe Quesada will likely not be so fortunate.
- I can't really think of anything else to say. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, I enjoyed myself, so it all works out. So let's end with a picture of a stormtrooper just kicking it.
Monday, April 02, 2007
Again, A Wandering Post
So I'll start at the beginning. I've decided to part ways with Ultimate X-Men. I read the issue that came out last week, and despite all the potentially interesting developments, I was left cold. I did some thinking about that, and concluded that I don't really expect the ending to live up to the build-up. It's a problem I seem to be having with Kirkman's run on UXM. The reveal of who Cable appears to be hooked me, but for some reason the big fight scene between the X-Men and Cable's Wild Pack, culminating in Xavier's apparent death didn't work for me.
It isn't a new problem though, so maybe it's me. It was the one problem I had with Paul Jenkins' run on Peter Parker: Spider-Man. He'd do a multi-issue arc, building up the tension and the stakes, we'd get to the end and... blah. The endings weren't bad, they worked pretty well, didn't bollix up any characters, but they felt flat after everything that had led up to that point. So yeah, maybe it's me. I wonder if on a deeper level, the endless hype has affected me to where I expect that every arc really will produce some deep and awesome change (which I will probably not approve of), and when the arc only rearranges the board a little, to try and introduce some new ideas to build on later, I'm disappointed somehow.
It could possibly be my awareness of the impermanence of changes to comic characters in general. Sure Wolverine left the X-Men to find out about himself, but he'll be back eventually. They all come back eventually (in my head I'm trying to say that in the creepiest voice possible. No idea why).
Hmm, either possibility suggests I'm growing jaded in my later years. Well, Iron Fist is coming out this week (about time!), so that should bolster my spirits, don't you think?
It isn't a new problem though, so maybe it's me. It was the one problem I had with Paul Jenkins' run on Peter Parker: Spider-Man. He'd do a multi-issue arc, building up the tension and the stakes, we'd get to the end and... blah. The endings weren't bad, they worked pretty well, didn't bollix up any characters, but they felt flat after everything that had led up to that point. So yeah, maybe it's me. I wonder if on a deeper level, the endless hype has affected me to where I expect that every arc really will produce some deep and awesome change (which I will probably not approve of), and when the arc only rearranges the board a little, to try and introduce some new ideas to build on later, I'm disappointed somehow.
It could possibly be my awareness of the impermanence of changes to comic characters in general. Sure Wolverine left the X-Men to find out about himself, but he'll be back eventually. They all come back eventually (in my head I'm trying to say that in the creepiest voice possible. No idea why).
Hmm, either possibility suggests I'm growing jaded in my later years. Well, Iron Fist is coming out this week (about time!), so that should bolster my spirits, don't you think?
Saturday, February 24, 2007
I'm Being Self-Indulgent Here
Open Letter To Disillusioned Marvel Fans In A Post-Civil War World:
How are you doing? Pull up a chair, have a seat. Want something to drink? I've got soda and water. What'd I ask you here for? Right to business, huh? OK, here we go. I've seen you there in the forums, message boards, Newsarama Blog comment threads. You're depressed, frustrated, ready to give up. You say you're done with Marvel, maybe even done with comics entirely.
First, let me say I'm not going to criticize that decision. I'm depressed by Civil War too, and it is your money, which means you can spend it (or not) as you see fit. And I'm not going to say you aren't 'a fan of comics' if that's your final decision. Arguing about what a true fan is doesn't get us anywhere. All I wanted to do was remind you that there's lots of stuff out there that hasn't been touched by Civil War.
You say, "Well I knew that! Do you think I'm stupid?" No sir or madam, I do not. I think you are feeling kind of down, and ready to chuck the whole game console out the window because one of your games doesn't work anymore (I'm tired of that 'baby and bathwater' metaphor, so I've made a new one). Let's take a look at the landscape:
Marvel Adventures: I haven't read much of this, but from what I have, it's done-in-one stories, the good guys and bad guys are pretty clearly delineated, and while things are resolved with violence, there's no "lightning bolt through the chest" stuff. Iron Man's even getting a Marvel Adventures book, which means he would have to be an actual good guy. No more punching Captain America or sending supervillains after Spider-Man. MODOK Avengers, anyone?
OK, maybe you want it a little more gritty than that. Howzabout the Ultimate line? No Civil War there. OK, that's because the government already seems to have a policy regarding superhumans (you join when you're 18, or you go to jail), but it doesn't seem as pushy as it did in Civil War. Plus, once Millar finishes Ultimates 2, he'll be out of this line entirely, so that might be something you'd enjoy.
If you want gritty, non-registration stories, there's the MAX line. I guarantee you won't hear diddly squat about Civil War in The Punisher (watch Garth Ennis make me a liar next month). You'd have to ask Mallet about Son of Satan, but I think it's safe.
But maybe you want less graphic violence, but you still want some sort of continuity. There's the MC2 Universe, home of the Amazing Spider-Girl! That's all there is to it right now, but there could be other mini-series in the future. It's superheroics with a Bronze Age mentality (I think; I'm not really sure what that means). Or there's The Exiles. Everybody likes Chris Claremont! Or maybe not. But it's set outside of any particular universe, so it can just be all sorts of wacky alternate realities! One of those two might even make fun of Civil War. Spider-Girl did it with Disassembled.
And I didn't even mention DC, Image, Top Cow, IDW, Dynamite or any of the other comic publishers out there. Look, this has probably been kind of annoying for you, what with me sitting here, telling you the obvious and all, but I was feeling kind of bummed out that Civil War was ruining comics for people, and so I really wanted to remind you that there has to be something out there you would enjoy, and more than likely it needs your financial support.
Have a nice day,
CalvinPitt
How are you doing? Pull up a chair, have a seat. Want something to drink? I've got soda and water. What'd I ask you here for? Right to business, huh? OK, here we go. I've seen you there in the forums, message boards, Newsarama Blog comment threads. You're depressed, frustrated, ready to give up. You say you're done with Marvel, maybe even done with comics entirely.
First, let me say I'm not going to criticize that decision. I'm depressed by Civil War too, and it is your money, which means you can spend it (or not) as you see fit. And I'm not going to say you aren't 'a fan of comics' if that's your final decision. Arguing about what a true fan is doesn't get us anywhere. All I wanted to do was remind you that there's lots of stuff out there that hasn't been touched by Civil War.
You say, "Well I knew that! Do you think I'm stupid?" No sir or madam, I do not. I think you are feeling kind of down, and ready to chuck the whole game console out the window because one of your games doesn't work anymore (I'm tired of that 'baby and bathwater' metaphor, so I've made a new one). Let's take a look at the landscape:
Marvel Adventures: I haven't read much of this, but from what I have, it's done-in-one stories, the good guys and bad guys are pretty clearly delineated, and while things are resolved with violence, there's no "lightning bolt through the chest" stuff. Iron Man's even getting a Marvel Adventures book, which means he would have to be an actual good guy. No more punching Captain America or sending supervillains after Spider-Man. MODOK Avengers, anyone?
OK, maybe you want it a little more gritty than that. Howzabout the Ultimate line? No Civil War there. OK, that's because the government already seems to have a policy regarding superhumans (you join when you're 18, or you go to jail), but it doesn't seem as pushy as it did in Civil War. Plus, once Millar finishes Ultimates 2, he'll be out of this line entirely, so that might be something you'd enjoy.
If you want gritty, non-registration stories, there's the MAX line. I guarantee you won't hear diddly squat about Civil War in The Punisher (watch Garth Ennis make me a liar next month). You'd have to ask Mallet about Son of Satan, but I think it's safe.
But maybe you want less graphic violence, but you still want some sort of continuity. There's the MC2 Universe, home of the Amazing Spider-Girl! That's all there is to it right now, but there could be other mini-series in the future. It's superheroics with a Bronze Age mentality (I think; I'm not really sure what that means). Or there's The Exiles. Everybody likes Chris Claremont! Or maybe not. But it's set outside of any particular universe, so it can just be all sorts of wacky alternate realities! One of those two might even make fun of Civil War. Spider-Girl did it with Disassembled.
And I didn't even mention DC, Image, Top Cow, IDW, Dynamite or any of the other comic publishers out there. Look, this has probably been kind of annoying for you, what with me sitting here, telling you the obvious and all, but I was feeling kind of bummed out that Civil War was ruining comics for people, and so I really wanted to remind you that there has to be something out there you would enjoy, and more than likely it needs your financial support.
Have a nice day,
CalvinPitt
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Make Reservation Now
Man, it's getting late. I should have gone with my first instinct and done this post this morning. Oh well.
Today I wanted to let you know that spring is around the corner, and that means it's time for a convention. Ken Murphy, owner of Marvels and Legends, has got his first annual Cape Girardeau Comic Con planned for April 21st and 22nd. That's a full two months away, which means you've got plenty of time to clear your schedule. The exact locale is still up in the air, but it'll be in town, and you can count on me to let you know, so that's covered.
C'mon, you can visit Cape Girardeau, the only city in the world with an inland cape! Well, the cape isn't technically there anymore, they got rid of it because it obstructed shipping or to build a railroad or something, but it used to be!
And you'll get to meet me (If I'm there when you show up)!
Oh, and some guys named Denny O'Neil and Roy Thomas (among others).
But mostly, you get to meet me!
Ken's got a web page with some other pertinent info here. All the cool kids are gonna show up, so give in to the peer pressure!
As the announcers in the "Bart Jumps Springfield Gorge" episode of The Simpsons once said 'If you miss this, you better be dead... or in jail! And if you're in jail, break out!'
Today I wanted to let you know that spring is around the corner, and that means it's time for a convention. Ken Murphy, owner of Marvels and Legends, has got his first annual Cape Girardeau Comic Con planned for April 21st and 22nd. That's a full two months away, which means you've got plenty of time to clear your schedule. The exact locale is still up in the air, but it'll be in town, and you can count on me to let you know, so that's covered.
C'mon, you can visit Cape Girardeau, the only city in the world with an inland cape! Well, the cape isn't technically there anymore, they got rid of it because it obstructed shipping or to build a railroad or something, but it used to be!
And you'll get to meet me (If I'm there when you show up)!
Oh, and some guys named Denny O'Neil and Roy Thomas (among others).
But mostly, you get to meet me!
Ken's got a web page with some other pertinent info here. All the cool kids are gonna show up, so give in to the peer pressure!
As the announcers in the "Bart Jumps Springfield Gorge" episode of The Simpsons once said 'If you miss this, you better be dead... or in jail! And if you're in jail, break out!'
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
People Need To Speak Up
Before I get to the primary point of this post, I just wanted to ask, does the comicsblogowhatchamafloogle seem kinda angry lately? Seems to be more sniping back and forth going on than usual.
When I was in the comics shop last week, Ken mentioned an article he'd read in a magizine for/about comics' retailers. In it, there were a couple of store owners discussing the sales on Onslaught Reborn, and they brought up that Liefeld is generally disliked by their customers, but man, his stuff sure does sell. Ken added that Liefeld seems to have a pretty lengthy line for his table at conventions as well.
This struck me as kind of odd. It's one thing when people in the blogworld rag on Liefeld. If Civil War has shown us nothing else, it's that bloggers rarely reflect the opinions of the greater comics buying population. But given the retailers were discussing their customers in general, that would seem to suggest a more representative sample. A smaller sample, but perhaps more diverse.
So why might this be happening? My two theories are as follows: One, Liefeld works mostly on mini-series and "events" these days, and those seem to draw in readers for at least a looksee, getting high sales early, then declining gradually as the issues progress. Going by this, one would predict that a Liefeld-drawn ongoing could not sustain sales (putting aside matters of getting issues out on time), as it's easier to hold a completist for only seven issues, rather than for an ongoing. We'd have to see a Liefeld-drawn ongoing, that came out on time to determine that, so it may not be testable in the present. Maybe past numbers could tell us, but I don't know how much comics buyers have changed in terms of likes and dislikes in the interim.
My other theory is that Liefeld really is still popular amongst comic buyers, but that they don't make themselves heard. Reasons could be that people seem more inclined to vocally complain than vocally praise, and so the pro-Liefeld legions simply don't feel like mentioning they like his work. Or, they could be tired of explaining why they like his work. Given how frequently he gets trashed, it's entirely possible that his fans are just tired of dealing with it, and choose to quietly support Mr. Liefeld. Defending him doesn't accomplish anything, so they've stopped trying.
I personally prefer the second option. It implies that Liefeld books sell because he has a large contingent of quiet fans who buy projects he works on. The first option implies people are buying his work, even if they don't like it, because it's an "event", and so they buy at least the first issue.
Your thoughts, insights, theories?
When I was in the comics shop last week, Ken mentioned an article he'd read in a magizine for/about comics' retailers. In it, there were a couple of store owners discussing the sales on Onslaught Reborn, and they brought up that Liefeld is generally disliked by their customers, but man, his stuff sure does sell. Ken added that Liefeld seems to have a pretty lengthy line for his table at conventions as well.
This struck me as kind of odd. It's one thing when people in the blogworld rag on Liefeld. If Civil War has shown us nothing else, it's that bloggers rarely reflect the opinions of the greater comics buying population. But given the retailers were discussing their customers in general, that would seem to suggest a more representative sample. A smaller sample, but perhaps more diverse.
So why might this be happening? My two theories are as follows: One, Liefeld works mostly on mini-series and "events" these days, and those seem to draw in readers for at least a looksee, getting high sales early, then declining gradually as the issues progress. Going by this, one would predict that a Liefeld-drawn ongoing could not sustain sales (putting aside matters of getting issues out on time), as it's easier to hold a completist for only seven issues, rather than for an ongoing. We'd have to see a Liefeld-drawn ongoing, that came out on time to determine that, so it may not be testable in the present. Maybe past numbers could tell us, but I don't know how much comics buyers have changed in terms of likes and dislikes in the interim.
My other theory is that Liefeld really is still popular amongst comic buyers, but that they don't make themselves heard. Reasons could be that people seem more inclined to vocally complain than vocally praise, and so the pro-Liefeld legions simply don't feel like mentioning they like his work. Or, they could be tired of explaining why they like his work. Given how frequently he gets trashed, it's entirely possible that his fans are just tired of dealing with it, and choose to quietly support Mr. Liefeld. Defending him doesn't accomplish anything, so they've stopped trying.
I personally prefer the second option. It implies that Liefeld books sell because he has a large contingent of quiet fans who buy projects he works on. The first option implies people are buying his work, even if they don't like it, because it's an "event", and so they buy at least the first issue.
Your thoughts, insights, theories?
Saturday, February 10, 2007
This Cuteness, However, Must Be Stopped
So, it's Wednesday in Marvels and Legends. I'm downstairs, chatting about this and that with Len and Jack. I think we were talking about how "Slade's hypos" are a better explanation for weird stuff than "Superboy-Prime punched a wall", and who might have been a better choice as the architect of Marvel's "No more mutants".
Somehow, we get to a point where Jack mentions a set of Marvel Legends figures that each come with a piece of Mojo, who Len very much dislikes. I don't have much of an opinion about Mojo one way or the other, only having read a couple of comics that prominently involved him. He's a character that sounds kind of interesting in theory, but may be lacking in execution. Whatever, not the point. So Jack mentions that along with the Mojo piece, there was originally going to be included something that would have really bugged Len - an X-Baby.
At this point, I was forced to cry ignorance, as I've understand the general concept when someone says X-Baby, but I've never really seen one. Except for one time, when Jean was telepathically linked with Dazzler, and there was an X-Baby version of Apocalypse, or something like that. It was the last story before Morrison and Casey started writing the X-books, so let's just forget it.
Anyway, Jack and Len explain the idea, Jack describing them as "chibi X-Men", I agree it sounds horrific, so on and so forth. Then, Len mentions something about how they certainly shouldn't try the X-Baby concept with the current X-Men roster. So we get a chuckle out of the idea of X-Baby Sabertooth, then I bring up the idea of chibi-Cable, with a gun bigger than he is. That got a laugh, especially when Len suggested Cable would take a page from Wade's book and just kill it as soon as he saw it. Or that Wade would pick it up and give it a big hug, until it blew a hole in his chest. Then he'd snap it's neck, all while babbling about how cute it was.
This tomfoolery lead to somehow a discussion of Wade with telepathy, with the theory that he'd slap on that Marvel Girl outfit he took from the X-Mansion (the one she was wearing when the X-Men tried to defend her from execution by the Shi'ar, the one with a skirt), and cruise around in a wheelchair, fingers to his temple shouting "To me, my X-Men!!!"
Yes, we're all completely insane. What of it?
Somehow, we get to a point where Jack mentions a set of Marvel Legends figures that each come with a piece of Mojo, who Len very much dislikes. I don't have much of an opinion about Mojo one way or the other, only having read a couple of comics that prominently involved him. He's a character that sounds kind of interesting in theory, but may be lacking in execution. Whatever, not the point. So Jack mentions that along with the Mojo piece, there was originally going to be included something that would have really bugged Len - an X-Baby.At this point, I was forced to cry ignorance, as I've understand the general concept when someone says X-Baby, but I've never really seen one. Except for one time, when Jean was telepathically linked with Dazzler, and there was an X-Baby version of Apocalypse, or something like that. It was the last story before Morrison and Casey started writing the X-books, so let's just forget it.
Anyway, Jack and Len explain the idea, Jack describing them as "chibi X-Men", I agree it sounds horrific, so on and so forth. Then, Len mentions something about how they certainly shouldn't try the X-Baby concept with the current X-Men roster. So we get a chuckle out of the idea of X-Baby Sabertooth, then I bring up the idea of chibi-Cable, with a gun bigger than he is. That got a laugh, especially when Len suggested Cable would take a page from Wade's book and just kill it as soon as he saw it. Or that Wade would pick it up and give it a big hug, until it blew a hole in his chest. Then he'd snap it's neck, all while babbling about how cute it was.
This tomfoolery lead to somehow a discussion of Wade with telepathy, with the theory that he'd slap on that Marvel Girl outfit he took from the X-Mansion (the one she was wearing when the X-Men tried to defend her from execution by the Shi'ar, the one with a skirt), and cruise around in a wheelchair, fingers to his temple shouting "To me, my X-Men!!!"
Yes, we're all completely insane. What of it?
Sunday, December 10, 2006
It Can't Just Be Me, Right?
Boy, there's nothing like the old "Check Engine" light coming on to bring Annoyance and Agitation back from their vacation. They ditched Anger, but must have picked up Fretful at a emotional mixer somewhere. Naturally, they weren't too happy to see Mellow, so that poor bloke got thrown out on his butt. So things are pretty much back to normal.
So last week I was in the store, glancing through an issue of Black Panther that had shown up on Thursday. It's the one where he and Storm get to America, and stuff starts happening, and Iron Man acts like a jerk, and so on. I thought that wasn't supposed to show up until the end of December, but there you go. As is usually the case with Civil War-related comics, there was a moment that kind of annoyed me.
Stark tells Storm to not throw lightning at him, because that would just make him angry. Personally, I think Storm could throw enough lightning to do more than that, provided Stark is even in the armor, and not controlling it long distance like the freaking pansy he is. But assuming he's right, it sure is a good thing Storm couldn't oh, I don't know, create a hurricane to pick up a house and drop it on him. What's that you say? Oh, well, whatever.
Of course, T'Challa loves his wife, so he's not going to stand for anyone threatening her, and he leaps into the fray, defeating Iron Man with the Invincible Ebony Blade. The same one Dane Whitman is swinging around right now in New Excalibur. You know me well enough to see where I'm going with this, right?
Now, in the interests of full disclosure, I have to admit that Reginald Hudlin wrote his story where the Black Knight helped invade Wakanda about 18 months before Frank Tieri had Whitman time travel with Excalibur, so he does have seniority. However, I tend to think that the fairly out of character portrayal Whitman received in BP (which I previously griped about here) cancels that out.
Anyway, I pointed this inconsistency out to Jack, and he responded that more people probably care about Black Panther more than New Excalibur. I haven't looked at non-Civil War inflated sales figures, but he's probably right. New Excalibur has this rep as the book Marvel puts out because it knows Claremont sells books. I do get the feeling sometimes that I'm the only person reading this who isn't doing it because Claremont was the writer. The fact the sales have declined since his health issues tend to bear it out.
OK, so I'm not the only one reading it for other reasons. There's Kalinara and all the other Pete Wisdom fans to consider. They are legion, you know. But the concept of reading a comic based on the creative team seems a bit odd to me. There isn't any writer that could make me pick up Batman, not even John Ostrander, who I owe so much to for GrimJack. Of course, to those who operate that way, reading a comic because you think a team with Dazzler and the Juggernaut on it sounds interesting, probably seems pretty weird, too.
So last week I was in the store, glancing through an issue of Black Panther that had shown up on Thursday. It's the one where he and Storm get to America, and stuff starts happening, and Iron Man acts like a jerk, and so on. I thought that wasn't supposed to show up until the end of December, but there you go. As is usually the case with Civil War-related comics, there was a moment that kind of annoyed me.
Stark tells Storm to not throw lightning at him, because that would just make him angry. Personally, I think Storm could throw enough lightning to do more than that, provided Stark is even in the armor, and not controlling it long distance like the freaking pansy he is. But assuming he's right, it sure is a good thing Storm couldn't oh, I don't know, create a hurricane to pick up a house and drop it on him. What's that you say? Oh, well, whatever.
Of course, T'Challa loves his wife, so he's not going to stand for anyone threatening her, and he leaps into the fray, defeating Iron Man with the Invincible Ebony Blade. The same one Dane Whitman is swinging around right now in New Excalibur. You know me well enough to see where I'm going with this, right?
Now, in the interests of full disclosure, I have to admit that Reginald Hudlin wrote his story where the Black Knight helped invade Wakanda about 18 months before Frank Tieri had Whitman time travel with Excalibur, so he does have seniority. However, I tend to think that the fairly out of character portrayal Whitman received in BP (which I previously griped about here) cancels that out.
Anyway, I pointed this inconsistency out to Jack, and he responded that more people probably care about Black Panther more than New Excalibur. I haven't looked at non-Civil War inflated sales figures, but he's probably right. New Excalibur has this rep as the book Marvel puts out because it knows Claremont sells books. I do get the feeling sometimes that I'm the only person reading this who isn't doing it because Claremont was the writer. The fact the sales have declined since his health issues tend to bear it out.
OK, so I'm not the only one reading it for other reasons. There's Kalinara and all the other Pete Wisdom fans to consider. They are legion, you know. But the concept of reading a comic based on the creative team seems a bit odd to me. There isn't any writer that could make me pick up Batman, not even John Ostrander, who I owe so much to for GrimJack. Of course, to those who operate that way, reading a comic because you think a team with Dazzler and the Juggernaut on it sounds interesting, probably seems pretty weird, too.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Sweet, Sweet Air Of Elitism
I was looking over IcV2's sales figure for September, and was a bit disappointed by what I saw. There in first place, was what has generally been agreed upon (in the blogosphere at least) as an unmitigated disaster, Civil War #4, at 272,573 issues sold.
By contrast, Annihilation #2 sat in 44th place, with 44,537 issues. So yeah, I'm a little sad more people aren't buying Annihilation, but what's with the sales for Civil War? I mean, this is over two and a half times what Infinite Crisis was pulling in. I suppose Civil War, with it's general disregard for previously established characterization, is more accessible to casual fans, while Infinite Crisis felt like something where you really need to know DC history to get the importance of what's happening. Probably wouldn't have gone that way if they hadn't made it revolve around the Pocket Dimension Four (well, three really. Old Lois was mostly a plot device to make Earth-2 Superman grumpy, desperate and stupid).
But back on topic. The sales of Civil War, which I suppose constitute a success in this day and age, lead me to three possible conclusions. 1) The opinion of the majority (certainly not all) of the comics' blogowhatchamafloogle does not jibe with the rest of the comics buying populace. 2) The bloggers' opinions do synch with the other readers', but everyone's still buying it, even though they hate it. 3) The sales are driven by casual readers, who want big explosions, action movie cliches, and death. I'm leaning towards 3 myself, which leads me to 4) - people are dumbasses.
That was mean. I apologize, and Lord, be with the starving children across the world.
After all, there's nothing wrong with enjoying dumb entertainment, is there? Heck, I'm watching Home Alone as I type this, because sometimes I just want to see Joe Pesci hit with paint cans. Still, it's depressing to think these sales are going to encourage Marvel to do more stuff like this, the thought of which does not bring a smile to my face.
Yet the question remains: Does enjoying Annihilation give me the neccessary cred to be one of the snooty, art-house types that sneers at the public for swallowing popular tripe?
Uh, not that I would, of course. I was just curious.
By contrast, Annihilation #2 sat in 44th place, with 44,537 issues. So yeah, I'm a little sad more people aren't buying Annihilation, but what's with the sales for Civil War? I mean, this is over two and a half times what Infinite Crisis was pulling in. I suppose Civil War, with it's general disregard for previously established characterization, is more accessible to casual fans, while Infinite Crisis felt like something where you really need to know DC history to get the importance of what's happening. Probably wouldn't have gone that way if they hadn't made it revolve around the Pocket Dimension Four (well, three really. Old Lois was mostly a plot device to make Earth-2 Superman grumpy, desperate and stupid).
But back on topic. The sales of Civil War, which I suppose constitute a success in this day and age, lead me to three possible conclusions. 1) The opinion of the majority (certainly not all) of the comics' blogowhatchamafloogle does not jibe with the rest of the comics buying populace. 2) The bloggers' opinions do synch with the other readers', but everyone's still buying it, even though they hate it. 3) The sales are driven by casual readers, who want big explosions, action movie cliches, and death. I'm leaning towards 3 myself, which leads me to 4) - people are dumbasses.
That was mean. I apologize, and Lord, be with the starving children across the world.
After all, there's nothing wrong with enjoying dumb entertainment, is there? Heck, I'm watching Home Alone as I type this, because sometimes I just want to see Joe Pesci hit with paint cans. Still, it's depressing to think these sales are going to encourage Marvel to do more stuff like this, the thought of which does not bring a smile to my face.
Yet the question remains: Does enjoying Annihilation give me the neccessary cred to be one of the snooty, art-house types that sneers at the public for swallowing popular tripe?
Uh, not that I would, of course. I was just curious.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Comics. Sports. Brace Yourself.
I suppose this'll fall under the heading of "I'm Not As Clever As I Thought", but oh well. So yesterday I read this post, and it got me thinking about why fans don't give up on books sooner. I'm all set to do a post, when I notice that Mike Sterling at Progressive Ruin touched on the topic on Monday. Damn and blast! But screw it, I'm running with my post anyway, because I think I go in a slightly different direction from him.
So the question remains, why do we keep reading books we're not liking? Being a bit of a pessimist and cynic when it comes to people, my first thought was we enjoy suffering. So basically we'd rather read a book we hate and complain about it, than read a book we like and rave about it. I don't think that's true because a) I don't think you take up a hobby or interest with the goal that it will hurt you (with some exceptions) and b) that's depressing, even for me.
I think Mike hits on part of it in his post, that we form attachments to characters or titles, and we hang on because we believe things will turn around, they'll get better again. I've looked through my comics, I know this. By all rights, I should have dropped JLA after the story where J'onn unlocks his true Martian and nearly destroys the world, because it's the last one I enjoyed, but I kept going another 20 issues, because I figured things would get back to that level. Oops. At least I got out before that Harras story. The trick is, that's a case of there being a previously established enjoyment level that the reader wants to see reached again. What's the deal with a book like New Avengers, which granted, I thought had a good premise, but never really got into it strongly? I think the answer lies in similarities in the mentality of comic readers and sports fans.
In sports, there are the fans who have that one team that they root for. They've followed it for years, whether because it was the local team, or the one their parents cheered for, or whatever, and they have a strong attachment to it, no matter how bad things go. Look at Cubs fans. I read their blogs, there are people who've been suffering with that team since World War 2. Heck, look at me. This year marks the 13th season I'll be rooting for the Arizona Cardinals. Talk about your exercise in futility. Like the New Avengers, there was never really a moment of awesomeness to make you believe this was really something good. I mean, the first year I rooted for them they went 7-9, and they've only beaten that record twice in eleven seasons since. I've seen them win a playoff game, only to see the QB throw 24 interceptions the next season as they crash and burn. There isn't really that past reservoir of goodness for me to draw hope from. Just like with New Avengers. So what keeps us coming back?
I think it's a matter of pride. I've been asked, usually by my father who rooted for the Cardinals when they were still in St. Louis, why I stay with them, and I tell him that I know that one day the Cardinals are going to be good, and when that happens, I want to be able to say I never bailed out on the team, that I stayed through good and bad. Let's be honest, that's just idiotic. I mean, why would it matter? What, I don't want to be lumped in with the bandwagoners, who would have started calling themselves "fans" in the last two months? It shouldn't matter, but it does.
Comic fans, develop that kind of strong connection to a character, or a team, or a writer/artist, and we refuse to give up on them. We want to continue to give our support, even when they aren't really earning it. It distinguishes us as 'true' fans, and not the *rolls eyes sarcastically* trend-followers, who just buy whatever Wizard tells them to. We're the ones who can sit there and say 'Yeah, well I kept buying the book even through the Ronin arc.', and get the suitably impressed gasps and nods. Which is probably pretty dumb, since the people following the "hot" books probably find it much easier to drop what they don't like, saving themselves considerable distress and annoyance.
So, that's what I've got. Thoughts? Impressions?
So the question remains, why do we keep reading books we're not liking? Being a bit of a pessimist and cynic when it comes to people, my first thought was we enjoy suffering. So basically we'd rather read a book we hate and complain about it, than read a book we like and rave about it. I don't think that's true because a) I don't think you take up a hobby or interest with the goal that it will hurt you (with some exceptions) and b) that's depressing, even for me.
I think Mike hits on part of it in his post, that we form attachments to characters or titles, and we hang on because we believe things will turn around, they'll get better again. I've looked through my comics, I know this. By all rights, I should have dropped JLA after the story where J'onn unlocks his true Martian and nearly destroys the world, because it's the last one I enjoyed, but I kept going another 20 issues, because I figured things would get back to that level. Oops. At least I got out before that Harras story. The trick is, that's a case of there being a previously established enjoyment level that the reader wants to see reached again. What's the deal with a book like New Avengers, which granted, I thought had a good premise, but never really got into it strongly? I think the answer lies in similarities in the mentality of comic readers and sports fans.
In sports, there are the fans who have that one team that they root for. They've followed it for years, whether because it was the local team, or the one their parents cheered for, or whatever, and they have a strong attachment to it, no matter how bad things go. Look at Cubs fans. I read their blogs, there are people who've been suffering with that team since World War 2. Heck, look at me. This year marks the 13th season I'll be rooting for the Arizona Cardinals. Talk about your exercise in futility. Like the New Avengers, there was never really a moment of awesomeness to make you believe this was really something good. I mean, the first year I rooted for them they went 7-9, and they've only beaten that record twice in eleven seasons since. I've seen them win a playoff game, only to see the QB throw 24 interceptions the next season as they crash and burn. There isn't really that past reservoir of goodness for me to draw hope from. Just like with New Avengers. So what keeps us coming back?
I think it's a matter of pride. I've been asked, usually by my father who rooted for the Cardinals when they were still in St. Louis, why I stay with them, and I tell him that I know that one day the Cardinals are going to be good, and when that happens, I want to be able to say I never bailed out on the team, that I stayed through good and bad. Let's be honest, that's just idiotic. I mean, why would it matter? What, I don't want to be lumped in with the bandwagoners, who would have started calling themselves "fans" in the last two months? It shouldn't matter, but it does.
Comic fans, develop that kind of strong connection to a character, or a team, or a writer/artist, and we refuse to give up on them. We want to continue to give our support, even when they aren't really earning it. It distinguishes us as 'true' fans, and not the *rolls eyes sarcastically* trend-followers, who just buy whatever Wizard tells them to. We're the ones who can sit there and say 'Yeah, well I kept buying the book even through the Ronin arc.', and get the suitably impressed gasps and nods. Which is probably pretty dumb, since the people following the "hot" books probably find it much easier to drop what they don't like, saving themselves considerable distress and annoyance.
So, that's what I've got. Thoughts? Impressions?
Sunday, June 25, 2006
When Did The Bloom Fall Off The Rose?
Friday, Scipio posted a review of a discussion he and Devon attended. To me, the most interesting comment, on a personal level, was what Scipio labeled an Unpleasant Unfortunate truth, courtesy of Tom DeFalco. Basically, that the Big Two will do certain storylines with the idea that it will piss off readers, because impassioned fan outcry seems to boost sales. I guess it's part of that "slow down and watch the car wreck" mentality. Technically, DeFalco was only speaking from personal experience, which would probably limit it to Marvel, but I've read enough to know DC pulls the same crap, so I'm tossing them in as well.My first instinct was to make a snarky comment, something like 'I am shocked - shocked! - to hear that comics companies are intentionally trying to anger me to boost their sales figures!' But, that wouldn't have really added anything to the discussion (Scipio does snark in a much better manner), and I didn't feel much like channeling Claude Rains. Besides, I found myself wondering, when the hell did I get like that? That my reaction to such a statement is sarcasm, rather than actual surprise?
It wasn't in the '80s, because that's when I started reading comics, so everything was new to me, and I didn't totally understand how the world of comics worked. It wasn't even the '90s, which was mostly just me feeling lost as massive X-Crossovers and Clone Sagas roamed across 40 books, leaving me unable to keep up. Heck, when I made a serious return to comics in fall of 2000, I was still fairly upbeat and I suppose, naive.
I honestly don't think that there was any one event that brought it home, this realization that the people in charge at DC and Marvel were screwing with us. Rather, it was a combination of four: 1) Spider-Man gets organic web-shooters, courtesy of Disassembled. It made no sense, other than the fact it matched the movie, which seemed like a stupid reason to do something. 2) War Games, and the Stephanie Brown death. Pointless, occurred only because certain characters were written massively out-of-character. 3) Jack Drake's death, which combined with #2 to bollocks up Willingham's run on Robin, for the purposes of some P.O.S. mystery, and I use that term loosely. 4) The fact that pretty much all the characters in Avengers I really liked either died (Scott Lang, Hawkeye), or were knocked into near-oblivion (Kelsey Leigh) by Avengers Dissassembled.
All of it fostered this massive anger in me, but also left me picking up books to see if maybe the characters would have turned out to have survived after all, or they were injured, but now they're back. Books that, given my frustration, I shouldn't have been buying. And thus I realized I was being duped.
So here's my question: Have you reached a point where you feel you care for the characters more than the people in charge of them? And if so, what was the event that left to that?
Saturday, May 20, 2006
The Pull of Childhood
And so we who still read Marvel's comics of today bid a sad farewell from our ranks to the Fortress Keeper, and we hope that one day Marvel will put out new stories that he can enjoy like they once did. But this left me wondering, why don't I give up on Marvel?
I'm distinctly aware of the fact I'm not happy with a lot of what they've done lately. Just since the start of the year I've dropped Ultimate X-Men, Wolverine, Sensational Spdier-Man, and Wolverine:Origins after just 1 issue. New Avengers is on my chopping block. Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man isn't friendly, and I'm actually grateful to Civil War for the simple fact it made JMS stop writing magic-themed Spidey stories. And yet, it's never even crossed my mind that it might be time to stop giving Joey Q my money. Heck, I'm a lot closing to telling DC to take "long walk" and "short pier", add a dash of "man-eating sharks", and mix well. But I think it relates to timing (brief sports analogy, bear with me).
I have a tendency (maybe you do too) to remain faithful to things from my childhood. My football team of choice is the Arizona Cardinals. Been that way for twelve years. Since that time, I've followed numerous other teams, usually because of some player I liked. I was a Chiefs fan, then they let Rich Gannon go the Oakland, so I rooted for Oakland. I watched Buffalo because of Doug Flutie, then San Diego. I've followed Rickey Proehl from Chicago to St. Louis to Carolina. All those team alliegances were damaged by me knowing it's a business, and teams don't care about loyalty, and so why should I be loyal to a team, if they're just going to dump a player because he's too expensive? Better to simply follow the players I like and hope for their teams to do well. But through all that, I've stuck with Arizona, because when I started rooting for them, I didn't know this was how the NFL worked, and so even though I know it now, the intial anchor is still set firmly in a simpler past.
And that's the difference between Marvel and DC. Marvel's been a fixture for me since 1987. Even all the crap of the '90s (Clone Saga, 17 million giant X-Crossovers) didn't destroy my preference for Marvel over those "lame" heroes at DC, who'd I'd first seen in the early '90s from my dad's comics from the '60s (what? I didn't know Superman of 1963 was any different from Superman of 1993). Because when I think of Marvel, the memories that dominate are from the time before all that. I didn't start reading DC on a monthly basis until 2000. By that time I knew all about characters being killed to spike sales, selling the same comic five times, only with different covers, characters being changed on a whim to try and make them "trendier". So I look at DC with that more jaded eye, always, because that's the only DC I've ever bought. I'm aware that's it's equally true for Marvel, but I remember reading their comics when it wasn't, and so I hold tight to that.
Cripes, I'm now old enough to have nostalgia. Where's my Social Security check?
I'm distinctly aware of the fact I'm not happy with a lot of what they've done lately. Just since the start of the year I've dropped Ultimate X-Men, Wolverine, Sensational Spdier-Man, and Wolverine:Origins after just 1 issue. New Avengers is on my chopping block. Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man isn't friendly, and I'm actually grateful to Civil War for the simple fact it made JMS stop writing magic-themed Spidey stories. And yet, it's never even crossed my mind that it might be time to stop giving Joey Q my money. Heck, I'm a lot closing to telling DC to take "long walk" and "short pier", add a dash of "man-eating sharks", and mix well. But I think it relates to timing (brief sports analogy, bear with me).I have a tendency (maybe you do too) to remain faithful to things from my childhood. My football team of choice is the Arizona Cardinals. Been that way for twelve years. Since that time, I've followed numerous other teams, usually because of some player I liked. I was a Chiefs fan, then they let Rich Gannon go the Oakland, so I rooted for Oakland. I watched Buffalo because of Doug Flutie, then San Diego. I've followed Rickey Proehl from Chicago to St. Louis to Carolina. All those team alliegances were damaged by me knowing it's a business, and teams don't care about loyalty, and so why should I be loyal to a team, if they're just going to dump a player because he's too expensive? Better to simply follow the players I like and hope for their teams to do well. But through all that, I've stuck with Arizona, because when I started rooting for them, I didn't know this was how the NFL worked, and so even though I know it now, the intial anchor is still set firmly in a simpler past.
And that's the difference between Marvel and DC. Marvel's been a fixture for me since 1987. Even all the crap of the '90s (Clone Saga, 17 million giant X-Crossovers) didn't destroy my preference for Marvel over those "lame" heroes at DC, who'd I'd first seen in the early '90s from my dad's comics from the '60s (what? I didn't know Superman of 1963 was any different from Superman of 1993). Because when I think of Marvel, the memories that dominate are from the time before all that. I didn't start reading DC on a monthly basis until 2000. By that time I knew all about characters being killed to spike sales, selling the same comic five times, only with different covers, characters being changed on a whim to try and make them "trendier". So I look at DC with that more jaded eye, always, because that's the only DC I've ever bought. I'm aware that's it's equally true for Marvel, but I remember reading their comics when it wasn't, and so I hold tight to that.Cripes, I'm now old enough to have nostalgia. Where's my Social Security check?
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