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COMICS! #8 / January 2012 - Happy New Year, Comic Book GAF!

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Owzers

Member
I've been reading some Amazing Spider-Man Slott issues on MDU, it's pretty good and has me debating jumping on the single issues at #680. I do have the Spider Island OHC ordered too from dcbs since it's packed with content and i passed up the singles. Ramos' art doesn't always work for me but in ASM it really captures the charm of that book. Only downside is the price of following it, double shipping 2.39 screws up my wanting to buy more image/dark horse books.
 
Wow!

Kind of glad I didn't restrain myself and bought the Bruce Timm art book.

Lots of bush, and some solid Power Girl images.

Plus it just illustrates (HAW!) why Timm is the only guy who can ever draw Harley Quinn.
 

Jedeye Sniv

Banned
Wow!

Kind of glad I didn't restrain myself and bought the Bruce Timm art book.

Lots of bush, and some solid Power Girl images.

Plus it just illustrates (HAW!) why Timm is the only guy who can ever draw Harley Quinn.

Waitasec... bush like a ladygarden or like Gavin Rossdale?

B-But he draws all cartoony! That's like paedophilia!
nah, Bruce Timm draws some sexy ladies. I remember getting all kinda mid-pubescent aroused at a Batman Black and White story he did, I must have been about 13 at the time. And lengerie-Harley in Mad Love.
 

ReiGun

Member
Make sure you RIP Mr. Terrific and Static!
And Black Panther!

Why am I still reading Justice League? This is really taking forever, considering how little is actually happening.
And how does Hal not know who Bruce Wayne is?

On the plus side, Aquabro was cool.
 

Dance Inferno

Unconfirmed Member
The Take Out Bandit said:
Alternately, stop fucking strangling the market. You make your fans wait a year to maximize sales of your shitty format. Give me the TPB the same day or a month later. Not this year later horse shit.

This isn't just a comics thing, it's a book publishing thing. When new books are coming out, publishers will release the hardcover first at an elevated price so that the hardcore fans who are not willing to wait will shell out the dough to get the latest, greatest story. Then they release the paperback a year later at a much lower price so that the mass market will be enticed to purchase it, squeezing a little bit more revenue out of a product. If they just released the paperback from the get go, they would make less money.

So, if you want comics to make money, I would assume you would support this strategy. Yeah it sucks for hardcore customers, but it's good for the market as a whole.

Fun fact: Guess how much more it costs to make a hardcover book vs a paperback? If you guessed anything higher than $1 you would be wrong.

And Black Panther!

Why am I still reading Justice League? This is really taking forever, considering how little is actually happening?
And how does Hal not know who Bruce Wayne is?

On the plus side, Aquabro was cool.

You know what, I'm really enjoying Justice League. Maybe it's because I'm still a new comics reader noob, but I find this book really enjoyable. Although Green Lantern is a tool.
Him not knowing who Bruce Wayne is meant to show just how self-centered he is.

My favorite book this week though was Mighty Thor. A lot going on in that issue, the story progressed nicely, there was some great exposition, and we hit quite a bit of the characters in the world. I'm considering picking up Journey into Mystery based on how much I'm enjoying the Thor stories.

Also is there a good Avengers book out right now? Or should I just wait for Avengers Assemble?
 

Dance Inferno

Unconfirmed Member
Thanks for the suggestion, I'll check that one out too. I think I'm going to drop The Dark Knight, so looking for something else to pick up in its stead.
 
Waitasec... bush like a ladygarden or like Gavin Rossdale?

B-But he draws all cartoony! That's like paedophilia!
nah, Bruce Timm draws some sexy ladies. I remember getting all kinda mid-pubescent aroused at a Batman Black and White story he did, I must have been about 13 at the time. And lengerie-Harley in Mad Love.

Man, you're a baby! :|

Survey says!

*ding*

Ladygarden

This isn't just a comics thing, it's a book publishing thing. When new books are coming out, publishers will release the hardcover first at an elevated price so that the hardcore fans who are not willing to wait will shell out the dough to get the latest, greatest story. Then they release the paperback a year later at a much lower price so that the mass market will be enticed to purchase it, squeezing a little bit more revenue out of a product. If they just released the paperback from the get go, they would make less money.

So, if you want comics to make money, I would assume you would support this strategy. Yeah it sucks for hardcore customers, but it's good for the market as a whole.

Fun fact: Guess how much more it costs to make a hardcover book vs a paperback? If you guessed anything higher than $1 you would be wrong.

The problem is it didn't used to be this way. Hardcover just seems like the phoniest way to legitimize a ghettoized art form when you view it from this perspective.

And dust jackets suck a dick.

Here's how I support the comic industry: By buying single issues of independent books to ensure they'll eventually make it to trade format, because funnybooks is a thankless business for dirty poors.

My income fluxes like crazy, and has since I stopped working fulltime in animation. For example, in 2010 I had my best year ever, actually making a really good income, above $30,000! I was pretty blown away. But in 2010 I also got an $8,000 grant from the Nova Scotia government to write and draw Friends With Boys. So in reality I only made about $22,000. But that was still a ton of money! I had a lot of unexpected freelance jobs in 2010, like Girl Comics for Marvel and an illustration job for the Girl Scouts of America which paid very well. These were one time only jobs and I have not had repeat work from these clients.

In 2011 I made about half what I made in 2010.

How do I survive?

No insurance and barely making more than a burger flipper. :(
 
I actually DO enjoy Matt Wagner's Trinity. I can understand the hate for it from certain WW fans, when they peg Diana as a third wheel or say that her role was just to "job" to everyone; I just don't see it like that, though. Honestly, it's the best story I know of its kind -- the first time DC's three most iconic heroes came together and saved the world.

Adapted, I think it would make a great animated feature.

ESPECIALLY THAT KISS
 
My experiences; drawing a webcomic for five years and also being part of a group of writers who collectively put together a real live grown up book based on our wildly popular Twitter feed; yeah, there's no way to support yourself creatively in any stable capacity.

I remember when I was in Grad School for Creative Writing thinking "Man, once I get a book published? Smooth sailing."

No way. I decided this year that aside from The Rack, I'm done trying to build a career as a cartoonist. The time/compensation ratio for a creator at my level is just absurd. At least focusing on prose is less of a time constraint and it's what I'm best at. But having a book published, I realized that isn't even the answer either. I'll probably always need a job, which is fine. I mean, talk about First World Problems, but no. Unless you have three roommates, no. You cannot support yourself as a creative unless you're a 1%er. (I love that Heidi put those two together. That's absolutely perfect.)
 
Also is there a good Avengers book out right now? Or should I just wait for Avengers Assemble?

I'm reading Avengers, New Avengers, Secret Avengers, and Avengers Academy. The only one consistently good is Academy. I'm not sure why I keep sticking with the other three but I sort of feel like finishing them out. All I want is a status quo team for a few stories. Avengers gained new people every arc it seamed like and Secret doesn't even have a roster half of the time. Academy is the only one pulling it off.
 
All I see is a woodpecker.
This isn't just a comics thing, it's a book publishing thing. When new books are coming out, publishers will release the hardcover first at an elevated price so that the hardcore fans who are not willing to wait will shell out the dough to get the latest, greatest story. Then they release the paperback a year later at a much lower price so that the mass market will be enticed to purchase it, squeezing a little bit more revenue out of a product. If they just released the paperback from the get go, they would make less money.

So, if you want comics to make money, I would assume you would support this strategy. Yeah it sucks for hardcore customers, but it's good for the market as a whole.
The critical difference between regular books and comics is that comics are ongoing; to pick a particularly extreme example, GL: Brightest Day comes out in paperback in May. I think Blackest Night was over by the time Agent Orange was in hardback.

Also, most of the time when a book is released in HC the HC will have larger font, bigger spacing, etc while the mass market paperback (and to a lesser extent the TPBs) will cram things as small as possible to save on costs, so there's some value to getting the HC. Most of the time the hardcover-trades for comics (instead of the rare "Deluxe" edition from DC or the somewhat more common OSHC from Marvel) are exactly the same size as the eventual TPB.
 
I'm reading Avengers, New Avengers, Secret Avengers, and Avengers Academy. The only one consistently good is Academy. I'm not sure why I keep sticking with the other three but I sort of feel like finishing them out. All I want is a status quo team for a few stories. Avengers gained new people every arc it seamed like and Secret doesn't even have a roster half of the time. Academy is the only one pulling it off.

Remender is taking over Secret Avengers so that may increase the quality of Secret. Also the Ellis issues are good one and doners.
 
Wow!

Kind of glad I didn't restrain myself and bought the Bruce Timm art book.

Lots of bush, and some solid Power Girl images.

Plus it just illustrates (HAW!) why Timm is the only guy who can ever draw Harley Quinn.
Just got my copy in the mail from Amazon, yay! I've only had a few minutes to flip through it on my lunch break, but so far:

1) NAKED!

2) Surprised and happy to see a section for the DC girls; I wasn't sure if any licensing issues were going to preclude their appearance. But...

3) No Wonder Woman? Unless I flipped through it too quickly to spot her. Harley and Peej can rub elbows with seductive naked chicks but not Diana?

4) NAKED!
 

Chiave

Member
Batman #5 is the stuff of nightmares.

I'm not looking forward to this Night of the Owls crossover. I'll probably buy into it just to get some closure on the current story line.

Anyone know what the deal is on Batman Beyond?
 

Satch

Banned
Batman #5 is the stuff of nightmares.

I'm not looking forward to this Night of the Owls crossover. I'll probably buy into it just to get some closure on the current story line.

you don't have to get the other books to know the whole story. it's not like Flashpoint
 

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
Batman #5 is the stuff of nightmares.

I'm not looking forward to this Night of the Owls crossover. I'll probably buy into it just to get some closure on the current story line.

Anyone know what the deal is on Batman Beyond?

It's coming back in late February as Batman Beyond Unlimited which will also include Justice League Beyond. It's a 48 pager.

As I recall that book was supposed to be premiering earlier in digital before hitting print. Not sure what's going on with that.
 
I'm reading Avengers, New Avengers, Secret Avengers, and Avengers Academy. The only one consistently good is Academy. I'm not sure why I keep sticking with the other three but I sort of feel like finishing them out. All I want is a status quo team for a few stories. Avengers gained new people every arc it seamed like and Secret doesn't even have a roster half of the time. Academy is the only one pulling it off.

For me the only Avengers books are written by non-Bendises. ;)


Man, reread Batman 1-5 and just wow....Snyder/Capullo on all MFing cylinders!

Number 5 was The Prisoner intense. This and Uncanny X-Force are the best supers books going IMO right now.
 

Dance Inferno

Unconfirmed Member
I was reading some of the older Avenger books last week (the stuff from before Civil War) and that stuff was really good. Like, page-turning cliffhanger good. But I read some of the newer ones and they're very meh.

Still working my way through the original X-Force, hopefully I can get to Uncanny X-Force soon. The first TPB of X-Force was amazing, and the art was fantastic, but it looks like the second TPB doesn't have that cool pseudo-realistic coloring style the first arc did.
 

Satch

Banned
i don't know why but i really like when ilnadmy posts the new things he's been reading in here

it's like watching a baby take his first steps :)
 
I understand that in the latest issue
Batman strips off his costume and reveals his secret identity to Green Lantern -- after knowing the guy for, what, an hour? Maybe two, tops? Oh, and Johns immediately uses the reveal as a gag by having Jordan respond with "who the f*ck is Bruce Wayne?"

So yeah. That happened.
 
I understand that in the latest issue
Batman strips off his costume and reveals his secret identity to Green Lantern -- after knowing the guy for, what, an hour? Maybe two, tops? Oh, and Johns immediately uses the reveal as a gag by having Jordan respond with "who the f*ck is Bruce Wayne?"

So yeah. That happened.

He
Keeps it off and goes to Apokolips too. Just walking down the street with his Batman costume on and no mask (although he does take the Batman symbol off...still it seems remarkable out of character)
 
It's basically the end of the world and he does this to make GL focus, showing him they they two are the same (human) and surroinded bu gods, and do what he needs him to do rather than charge off after Superman. His identity as te world ends in the least of Bruce's concern.

His next step was to follow to Apocalypse where his identity was again meaningless.

So yeah that did happen and it rocked.
 

Dance Inferno

Unconfirmed Member
Regarding Batman in Justice League:

I thought about it as him taking the mask/cape/emblem off to fool the flying demons into taking him into the tower. If he looked like Batman they would try to fight him instead.

Not saying he should have revealed his identity to GL (who hates his guts so far), but at least it makes some semblance of sense.
 
It's basically the end of the world and he does this to make GL focus, showing him they they two are the same (human) and surroinded bu gods, and do what he needs him to do rather than charge off after Superman. His identity as te world ends in the least of Bruce's concern.

His next step was to follow to Apocalypse where his identity was again meaningless.

So yeah that did happen and it rocked.

he didnt know he was going to apokalips though
 
He
Keeps it off and goes to Apokolips too. Just walking down the street with his Batman costume on and no mask (although he does take the Batman symbol off...still it seems remarkable out of character)

Sounds like the perfect treatment for a Hollywood movie where IT Guy/Gal actors like Toby Maguire, Robert Downey Jr., Christian Bale, etc. refuse to keep their f*cking masks on. The only reason I didn't list any women is because we haven't run into that crap yet.

Remember the days when maintaining a secret identity were integral to a character?

Reading that shitty Spiderman Return of the Goblin story just reminded me of why I hate the open identity crap in modern comics. Peter and Norman bitterly sniping at each other in their civillian lives. I came here for super powers, not the god damn Jerry Springer show. >:|

Read Cap Annual #8 on MDCU today.

Damn that was fun. Mike Zeck and Cold War fears. <3

Plus Wolverine pre-vagina and last name.
 
Sounds like the perfect treatment for a Hollywood movie where IT Guy/Gal actors like Toby Maguire, Robert Downey Jr., Christian Bale, etc. refuse to keep their f*cking masks on. The only reason I didn't list any women is because we haven't run into that crap yet.

Remember the days when maintaining a secret identity were integral to a character?

Reading that shitty Spiderman Return of the Goblin story just reminded me of why I hate the open identity crap in modern comics. Peter and Norman bitterly sniping at each other in their civillian lives. I came here for super powers, not the god damn Jerry Springer show. >:|

Read Cap Annual #8 on MDCU today.

Damn that was fun. Mike Zeck and Cold War fears. <3

Plus Wolverine pre-vagina and last name.

One thing I really dislike is Batman and Superman calling each other Clark and Bruce all the time. I haven't read that many World's Finest issues so I'm not sure how much they used to do it but authors love to do it now. It probably wouldn't bother Superman but I don't think Batman (even pre Frank Miller Batman) would like someone calling him Bruce all the time while he's dressed as Batman.
 
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