eldarwannabe

Watching all of X-Men Evolution on Hulu, mostly because I can. It's also the X-Men animation I most enjoy (no, I haven't seen the newest one yet. Shhhhh.) because of the higher production value as compared to the older stuff. What can I say? I like my animation somewhat smooth. I also like the stylization - it's amusingly not the same as Batman: TAS, and yet the comparison is inevitable for so many reasons.

I also caught up on the Astonishing X-Men action comic. Gosh, I remember when I first saw these, when the Crossgen company was promoting Sojourn on AOL. (I feel old) I used to watch them avidly. This was before I was really reading comics seriously, so I don't think I totally understood Crossgen at that point, and I didn't totally get everything, but I enjoyed it. It's kinda funny that the form seems to be making a sudden surge now, but they do translate better to portable platforms (iphones, anyone?) better than real comics ever could.

So, remember when the Amazon Kindle was talking about putting manga and comics up on their e-book selections? The screen is the wrong size, and it would be limited to black and white, but it was looking pretty cool. Then, of course, I heard nothing about it at all. The idea just disappeared...

Well, Barnes and Noble just put out their new e-book reader: The Nook

It's certainly very shiny. Decent storage space options, same look-it-will-be-readable-in-sunlight! screen, a touch screen, which is very in right now, etc.

And it's in color! Suddenly, the full world of sequential graphic literature is open to e-readers!

Part of me is giddy with excitement. If Nook 2.0 (or maybe even this one, I barely scanned the specs) can support image formats, (CBR/CBZ being good options as they are already pretty standard, but I'm sure anything with decent quality would work) Marvel and DC should cut a deal, straight up. I'm not sure who should pay who, because it could be crazy beneficial to BOTH sides of the arrangement.

You see, DC and Marvel could offer their comics at a reduced rate to buyers. Say, $1.50 a pop for a new monthly issue (I think they should go lower, but I don't know how much of the cost is publishing vs. everything else). Now, as a side, they could put up the new issues on Friday instead of Wednesday, so the people going into the stores will still have an incentive. Or maybe they can post the new issues a week late. I'm sure they could work something out.

Meanwhile, the Nook has a monopoly on the comic-buying market! Any comic fan that would prefer to use the a digital device and save themselves a LOT of trouble (besides traveling to the store and back, storage space can become a big problems for comic fans!) will be stuck buying the Nook to do it. There won't be another device that supports the option. And the page will only go through some shrinkage, not a ton. They will have to find a way for people to back up their purchases, though. I personally would want to back up a comic collection on a hard drive or something, and not just leave it in the device, in which storage might run out, or it could get lost. Or maybe Barnes and Noble could remember your purchases for future re-download if something happens. Whatever, a backup system should be put in place regardless of e-comics anyway.

To stop illegal sharing, Marvel and DC make it that the ONLY way to download the files is directly to the e-reader, or something like that. Barnes and Noble could set it up like podcasts, you sign up to have it delivered monthly or weekly, pre-paid unless you cancel!

And why stop there? Old archive issues, put at a discount rate! Offer discounts for people who buy a year of Detective Comics in advance! Offer an entire run of Young Justice for $25! It's not like your making any money on it now anyway! Offer certain comics for free/crazy cheap to try and attract new readers! Hey, I would pick up all the old Legion of Supherheroes comics, if offered to me at a reasonable price. It would save me time, space and money from hunting them down across the country.

My mind is literally exploding with possibilities. I think this could be the best thing to happen to comics since the word balloon. The 21st century is here guys, let's get with the picture and explore the options!

(Plus, I haven't even talked about how this could impact the smaller/totally independent publishers! If the reader will support their formats, their audiences could explode! Plus, manga can jump this bandwagon as well! If the picture formats are already supported, it doesn't matter that it's in black and white! Tokyopop, Viz, Random House/Del Rey, not to mention CMX, would all lend their bargaining clout and considerable libraries to the Nook deal. And don't even get me started on webcomics!)

The other part of me knows that, yeah, this is completely unlikely. But if Marvel can premiere their newest motion comic in Union Square, why not this? The comic book industry in America needs innovators and big ideas these days, and no, I'm not talking about major crossover events (which e-readers would be perfect for!). I'm talking about risks and rewards and crazy ideas if it wants to survive to sell my kids Superman and Fantastic Four. Which I am totally in favor of, by the way.

I understand that in the internet, people tend to only read opinions that they agree with. This is particularly notable in politics, where you will get together with all of the other people that agree with you, make a website, promote a candidate, get lots of hits and think that you're really reaching out to people when it's really just all those other people who agree with everything you say finding your website to make themselves feel better. Internet phenomenon.

I totally understand that. So while I don't agree with everything I read in the various forums and communities that I lurk at, I certainly agree with most of the common sentiments. And I'm mostly involved in comic book fandom, so it's mostly me reading about the horrible decisions of Didio and Quesada and how they're managing to turn off a lot of readers with some of their antics.

But clearly, there are still people buying these comic books. Clearly not everyone agrees with all of the forums I'm following. So I've somehow managed to dig myself into an internet trench, where I'm only seeing the same opinions over and over.

So where are you, forums that disagree with me and are willing to spend money to prove it? Where are the people who think Battle for the Cowl was the highlight of their year, who find newly-singly Peter Parker the best plot line this side of Earth 616? Where are you, fanboys and girls that think that the emotion of love should be ladies-only? Where are you, hordes of consumers, that think Supergirl doesn't really need kidneys?

Really, I want to see what you have to say. Where are you?

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/040916-Didio20.html

DD: "And my question this time – it’s the classic monthly book versus trade discussion: what gets you to pick up a trade over the monthly issues?"

Gosh, that's a funny question. There's LOTS of reasons to favor trades over monthly. I'm thinking of more as I type this. Ok, here goes.

Price!

Let's break it down. Individual issues tend to cost anywhere from $2.99-$3.99. Trades tend to cost from $15-$20. (I'm ignoring specials, Absolutes, collections, special shiny editions, and so on. This is just the average story that is coming out right now in a run-of-the-mill title that will be collected in a run-of-the-mill trade.) If you shop around for a price almost anywhere (amazon.com being the easiest, but B&N member discount, ebay and overstock.com, are all options) you can almost always save a few dollars. And when you plan to buy lots and lots of comics, it makes a difference.

Complete Story

I can't speak for the rest of the world, but I find that waiting a month for the next chapter tends to disrupt the flow of the story for me. Especially these days, when stories are more tightly scripted and the overarching story is emphasized, sometimes at the expense of individual issues, it is simply easier to read the whole story all at once. When I went through my years of collecting monthly, I would sometimes find myself totally unmotivated to read the comic I just bought because it would involve digging out the old issues. I would wait a few months, then read them all in one go. Some writers weren't like this, but I found mini-series ESPECIALLY suffered from this, so why bother when you can just grab the mini in a nice trade that collects the whole story very neatly?

Storing

I don't know if you've ever tried to store comics, but it's tough! And sometimes expensive. They're an odd shape, too tall for normal bookshelves, and too thin to hold themselves up even if you rearrange the shelving. Basically, fans are expected to buy these very specific boxes in the right size, then store each comic in it's own plastic sleeve with a cardboard backing to keep them in pristine condition. I don't mind going through the whole maze for a few very good issues, but comics were produced on the format originally to be a disposable, easily transportable medium! When I'm spending all this money on keeping them pristine, it's more bother than it's worth, really. I managed, and even alphabatized the whole collection, but really, it's much easier with trades. I can just stick them in a bookshelf after moving the shelves, and the spines conveniently display the titles so I don't have to pull up issues to find what I'm looking for.

Less Fragile

To continue the previous comment trades are generally less fragile than comics themselves. I have yet to tear any of my comic trades, and they bend far less easily. Comics are so thin that I'll try to stick it back in the box and it'll bend badly as I put it back. Drives me nuts. Again, comics are simply too expensive to be the same disposable medium they once were, so I'm forced to be super-duper-extra-careful, and I frankly don't need the stress. Trades are much better at taking care of themselves.

Travel Value

Again, due to the durability of trades, I can just grab 'n go. For someone who spends time on public transportation, goes on family trips, visits friends on the weekends, etc., I put a lot value in how portable something is. My ipod more convenient for music than my laptop. I buy most books in softcover so I can stuff more in my backpacks. While individual issues are lighter, it's true, they just can't take the same beating in my bags and suitcases. Plus, trades have the whole story when I travel, unlike individual issues, which I have to keep careful track of because they're so easy to misplace. Not that I haven't done it. I dragged the Arsenal mini-series on a family trip because I wanted to, but I was neurotic about the issues, reading them one at a time, and sliding them into the sleeves like spun glass. A trade would have been much, much easier.

Rereading Value

To combine many of my earlier arguments, you can't even compare rereading a trade to individual issues. For individual issues, I have to dig them out of boxes, trying to get the whole story arc together in once place, without disrupting the rest of the comics too much. Then you read each issue individually, pulling them out of the plastic, reading them, putting them back in. Then you have to put them BACK. Trades, you grab, read in one shot, and slide back in. I happen to store a lot of trades the same way I store my comics (which is similar enough to a box that it might as well be.) and I don't keep them organized in the slightest and it's still less of hassle to read them. That's why I know my trade stories very very well, but I'm pretty fuzzy on the issues I bought.

Extra Content

Not the reason to buy trades, but it must be considered. Trades typically come with some kind of extra content. An introduction, some preliminary sketches, alternate covers, a full comic script, all sorts of stuff can just be casually stuffed in the back. I can't say why certain things are chosen over other, but I love the extras. A little peak into the minds of the writer, artist or even just another opinion in the case of introduction gives me a thrill. I just love that kind of stuff.

And finally, the last thing I can whip up off the top of my head....

Lending Value!

This one is PRICELESS in my opinion. As someone who is constantly trying to get her friends into comics, trying to prove the value of the medium and maybe attract one or two followers, nothing can beat actually reading the stories. And the durability and travelability of trades allow them to pass hand much more easily then individual issues. I got one friend hooked on H-E-R-O (way to drop the ball there, DC) by lending her the first trade. I convinced a friend to like BoP with a trade. I offer my Watchmen trade to EVERYONE. Even when friends come to visit for an extended length of time, and they're IN MY HOUSE, they'd rather read a trade then issues. Come on, for a medium and genre with a high barrier of entry, this is especially important. Don't hand out issues, hand out trades. Libraries aren't offering issues for a reason.

Anyway, that isn't to say issues can't be great. This isn't to say that issues can utilize tools that NO OTHER MEDIUM has at their disposal. This isn't to say that those flimsy pamphlets don't have a future, because I truly believe they do. But come on. I, and I'm sure many other, are totally comfortable waiting for the trades.

For all those people who whine, "oh, when a character gets married to their love interest, the story is not longer interesting," need to just shut up.

Marriage is not the end of a relationship. It's another stage. Stop complaining that Superman got married to Lois Lane, all the interest is gone, blah blah blah. That doesn't need to be true, and it shouldn't have to be.

And yes, I'm looking at you, Marvel. I realize I'm a bit (WAAAAY) behind the ball, but I'm a DC girl, and last I checked, Peter Parker was unmasked, public ID, and jumping the fence in the Civil War event. Of course, I knew it ended and what not, but I really didn't follow the details (2008, remember?) so when I'm catching up on events now (Wikipedia and scans_daily, what do you want from me?) I find out that he pulled a Flash and had the universe mind-wiped of the memory of his face and altered the universe in other ways as a trade off? Wha, huh?

And of course, one of these universe-altering events is ending the marriage with M.J. WHY!? You're just reinforcing the Austinian stereotype of the chase being the whole story! Hysterically enough, this ideal in feminine literature seems to be shared among the testosterone-fueled male fantasies. The great relationship is in the chase, the foreplay. Once the deal is sealed, it seems like there is nothing left to say.

Lies! All of it! Read some Bujold! Miles gets married, and you know what? He is still awesome! Perhaps even more so! Even better, go out and meet some real married people. The ones with marriages that have lasted a while, that want to be in it for the long haul. Life is still happening to them! They have conflicts, they have romance, and yes, they are married. Why must this make you "aged" Quesada? I know lots of people married in their 20s, they're not old.

I'm going to go study for a bunch of midterms now, and possibly buy tickets to go to the circus. I need to see some people fly.

So, comic book characters are being drawn by different people all the time. I mean, everyone has a Superman sketch stashed away somewhere, but in the comic books themselves, artists are rotating, changing, running around with pencils flying...

Anyway, so different characters develop different looks depending on who is drawing. Costumes remain pretty consistent, along with hair color and eye color (most of the time) to help the readers identify the characters. And some physical characteristics are part of the character - Bouncing Boy will always be on the heavy side (even though some artists have problems with that. When people are overweight, they don't have perfect physique and a round stomach. It's an full-body experience). Power Girl is always...hmmnm, noticeably well-endowed. And so on.

By default, most characters seem to fit into an archetype, with the costumes and hair stapled on. Guys are well-muscled, well-proportioned and good looking. Women tend to have less noticeable muscle, if any at all, and are have ridiculously sized breasts for their jobs. I will take this opportunity to point out that most female athletes are nearly flat-chested. Some artists make attempts to differentiate between the characters physically while they are drawing them, some don't. For example, some artists will give Superman and Batman noticeably different physiques while drawing them next to each other. Some don't bother. It is extremely difficult to do properly, and I frankly can't blame anyone for just drawing "classic superhero body" and just adding the features, they working on crazy schedules in a fast-paced industry.

And sometimes trends develop. Enough artists seem to consistently draw a character a certain way, and it might not be cannon per say, but it might as well be.

So, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson seem to have developed like this. These days (or at least recently, before he died) Bruce Wayne/Batman has always been drawn very solid and big. He's heavily muscled, and he's very...straightforward in his actions. Decisive, correct and firm. This is, or course, all in comparison with his first partner-in-justice, Dick Grayson/Nightwing. Dick seems almost totally opposite. A little thinner, and much more about the action, the motion of crimefighting. It makes total sense for Dick to be like that - he comes from a gymnastic background, not a martial arts one. Much of Dick's style comes from his constant motion, his flips and twists more then his punches (not that he can't fight, mind you. It's a style difference.) I think the costumes help enforce this, Bruce's being a bit bulky, with a cape and cowl. Dick's outfit is more streamlined, very easy to draw in flips 'n spins.

So now that Bruce is dead, my money is on Dick to replace him. (Frankly, they don't really have any other reasonable choices, even if I'm not sure that's the direction Dick should be going. And if they choose someone else BECAUSE everyone thinks it's going to be Dick, well, that would be ridiculous.) My theory seems pretty supported. (Major Spoilers spotted a leak and IGN talks about the new Batman and Robin. IGN actually takes a little more explaining. Morrison is quoted, "This is a very different Batman and Robin team from any that we've seen before. It's almost a reverse of the traditional dynamic, with a more light-hearted and spontaneous Batman and a scowling, badass Robin. Expect fireworks and violence." Light-hearted and spontaneous? Dick all the way. Duh. But if Robin is going to be Damien, I must know what they did with Tim.)

Now I'm a little worried about Dick. All the drawings available make him look...well, they make him look like Bruce. No one seems to be designing a costume to allow Dick the freedom of movement he depends on in his line of work. Not good. And all of sudden, Dick is way bulked up, more solid, more thick. Those are no longer acrobat muscles. And I think that a lot of artists are going to be drawing Dick-as-Bruce during his reign as Batman. This is gonna be something I definitely look out for.
_________

Follow Up Notes:

Everyone must check out the designs at Project Rooftop. I only got a chance to glance through it for a minute, but it looks like these designs did take Dick into account when designing his look as Batman. Wonderful!

TIIIIIIIM! WHERE ART THOU? Hmmm, maybe he could be Oracle when Barbara gets use of her legs back. He's got the detective knack for it, at least.

DC? NOW would be a very very good time to reprint the Batman: Prodigal trade paperback (in which Bruce asks Dick to take up the Bat-mantle for a while while Bruce is unavailable.) In face, it's a little late to send that particular story to the printers, because it's such a wonderful tie-in to what's going on, and it would be a good idea to reference it once or twice in the Battle for the Cowl storyline.

I would just like to say: WTF? Is Garth's kid a girl or a boy? Considering the fact that the unsexed child was born YEARS AGO, you think the current staff would just stick with the whole "Well, he was a boy for years, lets just stay with that."

Retcons. Grrrr. Comics have some MAJOR issues to work out, this being one of them.

Well, I've been ignoring my comics fandom recently, as I was too involved in other stuff to be keeping on top of comics news (which can be a chore).

So I'm a little slow in finding out that Mike Wieringo died on August 12. He was easily one of my favorite artist (Hey, I knew his name! Even though I'm definitely pronouncing it totally wrong) His stuff always had the motion I like in a comic book, his characters didn't look like they were posing in every shot, but that they were really moving around. (Which is my biggest complaint about Alex Ross. His drawings frequently suffer from looking too stuck in place.)

But Mike's stuff, from his run on Flash (which I haven't read all of, but I really enjoyed what I did read) through his absolutely amazing run on the Fantastic Four, was just wonderful. His backgrounds and characters belonged together, and he always worked to achieve consistency from page to page. And he had the amazing ability to have large background casts while making every character look distinct.

It's also a little eerie that he dies mere weeks after Impluse/Bart Allen, a character he co-created for DC comics.

If Booster Gold doesn't pull a Hiro Nakamura, I'll throw a fit!

( Explanation in Layman's Terms. )

I'm basically "publishing" this now, because it's an idea I want to come back to, at least when my writing skills imporove.

So, comic books. I don't want to call them a failing medium, but they're certainly not doing as well as they once were. There are many, many reasons for that, but at least a part of it has been the loss of the female readership.

Don't get me wrong. I'm part of the current comic book female readership. And there's certainly a whole group of us. And there are lots of comics that appeal to us just as much as guys, like SANDMAN, for example. But reality is that most of the comics published by the BIG TWO (DC and Marvel) are aimed at boys. Or men, these days. Now, there has been success at Marvel among the female readership with titles like RUNAWAYS and SPIDER MAN LOVES MARY JANE (everyone should pick up that title. I'm considering buying a bunch for my school library) But DC? You ask us to read more Supergirl? Why would I want to? She's obviously designed for boys; busy, long legs, no internal organs.

But they are trying Minx. No comment for now, but I'm doubtful. I'll still probably check out at least some of the titles, but you see me? This is my doubtful face.

Now, there's manga, or Japanese comics. In Japan, girls are a HUGE part of the readership. They buy shojo AND shonen, and when that's not enough, they check out shonen-ai, hardcore yaoi, josei, etc. And now that manga is big in the states, girls are a big part of the readership. Just looks at Fruits Basket, for heaven's sake!

So here's my idea - Take Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld. It's a great title, with massive girls appeal. And publish an OEL (Origional English Language) manga using the basic story ideas from the begining. (see: http://www.sequentialtart.com/archive/june00/art_0600_2.shtml) I think there's tons of potential in the story, if handled correctly. And screw this Minx line of books. Publish it under CMX, sticking it smack in the middle of your manga section. Tokyopop is doing it!

I'm currently trying to figure out the best way to do this on my own. I think I might reread Rayearth, as it has many of the same themes (and it's written by CLAMP for heaven's sake. Get more manga-y then that. I dare you.)

So there's my idea. I'll probably touch on some of the other issues I addressed at a later time, because I think it's worth talking about. But, yeah. Amethyst! She has more potential then a cameo in Crisis, DC!

Ugh.

I just read about the new DC series, Countdown that's going to start at the end of 52. It's going to another year-long weekly title. Now, I happen to be enjoying 52 a lot. Mostly Booster running around (Not dead yet! Although we know he dies in costume, which is kinda creepy...) and the Animal Man, Starfire, and Adam Strange Adventures in Space! is tons of fun. But I find the constant hints at other characters and comics that are obviously meant for the people reading them frustrating much of the time. I simply cannot afford to buy that many comics, plus I wouldn't even want to if I could.

Plus, I'm going off on my own next year and I can't just keep getting money from the 'rents to pay for comics and such.

But I miss how it was when I first started reading comics. There was a general status quo, and I could pretty much pick up any book and figure out what was going on in a few issues, or with a quick web search. I was excited by big crossover events, first War Games in the Batman books (though I was sorely disappointed with the whole let's kill Steph because we can! subplot and I'm thankful I didn't read most of the follow-up issues, such as the destruction of Leslie Thompkins as a nice wholesome character) and I tried to keep up with the going-ons in as many books as possible. Crossovers, after all, are something pretty much exclusive to the comic book medium. There aren't many places where two basically independent series' can just visit each other whenever they want. I must admit, the idea still thrills me, and I really like mini-crossover events, like Teen Titans/Outsiders and Robin/Batgirl and such.

But DC is totally abusing the privilege. In the old days (read:1989) when the first Crisis hit DC, it was a company-wide event, but it was ONE series, coming out ONCE a month, that would briefly touch on other series'. Admittedly, I wasn't really up to reading at that point (I probably didn't master my first word by the time it was over) but I know for a fact that they had handy little boxes at the bottom of panels to indicate which comics one would have to read to keep up.

But once the series was over, DC slowly retconned itself into a new status quo, and stuck with it! (At least until Zero Hour)

Now crossover events are the new big thing, although I see some differences between the way DC handles them and Marvel handles them, the fact remains that they happen more frequently then pre-1989. But the genral trend seems to have been: Big crossover event, stuff changes, stuff settles down, continuity get messed up again, then a new big crossover event, etc.

But jeez DC, give it a break! First Identity Crisis, then Countdown to Infinite Crisis, then Infinite Crisis, then The Omac Project, Rann/Thanagar War, Day of Vengeance, Villains United, then 52, now this Coundown? Plus, I've ignored things like Green Lantern: Rebirth and Adam Strange: Planet Heist! (or whatever it was called), plus upcoming stuff like Amazons Attack! It's getting a little annoying, DC. When do you settle down to this new, Superboy-Prime-punched status quo and just let the reader figure stuff out for a while? I'm thrilled that some lesser-known characters are getting a chance to shine, but really. Give me a couple of years where comics don't change at the drop of a hat and characters don't keep dying left and right. Please? Just for a little while? Then you can let Supergirl misplace time or have Darkseid bowl with the planets to explain your bad retconning, but give me a couple of years to get used to the aftermath of Superboy Prime for a while, kay?

"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people."

Dude.

Ok, fine, I saw it. And maybe Alan Moore didn't want his name attached to it, and all his loyal fans are boycotting it and maybe it didn't translate his vision properly and maybe it was too political.

But dude, you cannot beat the crescendo.

(And now I have to go read the original comic.)