* The opening brief in Gary Friedrich vs. Marvel Comics has been released. The Australian blog "20th Century Danny Boy" posts the entire document, along with a tantalizing bit of business that the blog's author picked up on, regarding the fact that Marvel published the 1978 Silver Surfer graphic novel with the copyright assigned not to Marvel, but to the book's creators, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
* That book has always seemed like an oddity to me, retelling the origin of the Silver Surfer without any mention of or appearance by the Fantastic Four, and even at the age of 12, when I first read it, I was both baffled and intrigued by the fact that Lee and Kirby held the copyright, rather than Marvel Comics, as was the case with virtually every other thing they had published up to that time. Perhaps the FF was absent because Lee and Kirby felt that they characters were owned by Marvel, but how were the Surfer and Galactus (who also appears in the GN) any different? Did Lee and Kirby create the book simply to make some extra cash or was it intended as a statement of ownership, or at least a declaration of their creation of these characters? Did they intend to do more books like 1978's Silver Surfer? Or did they intend to use it as a lever against Marvel in some way? Probably not Lee, at the time, but what was Kirby's motivation? What did he want to happen as a result of the book's existence and his co-ownership of the copyright?
* I find it even more intriguing now, as it clearly shows that Marvel's copyright was not something that was enforced 100% of the time. And I know from talking to creators who worked for Marvel in the 1960s and 1970s that they were not always working under the understanding -- never mind the legal requirement -- that the writing or art they created was necessarily copyrighted by Marvel or wholly owned by the company. Things were pretty vague and undefined back in those days, but I'm pretty sure at least some creators never intended to assign Marvel 100% ownership of their work, and the only thing that has prevented most creators from asserting their rights or trying to reclaim their work is the fact that Marvel can afford much better lawyers, for far longer periods of time, than the average Marvel Bullpen veteran now likely in their 60s or even older. Keep in mind those writers and artists are living (those of them that are still living, of course) with whatever financial reality one lives with as a result of throwing in your lot with a corporate superhero publisher and hoping they keep whatever promises they made to you when you were giving them the best years and best work of your life.
* So I would not be surprised if the Silver Surfer graphic novel copyright assignment to Lee and Kirby becomes significant in the months and years ahead. The fact of the matter is that Marvel is decades in arrears in making things right with hundreds, if not thousands of writers, artists and others who created comics for them before work-for-hire was codified into law in the U.S. in the mid 1970s. A little goodwill and a moderate reward would have gone a long way toward assuaging a lot of justified bitterness, and might have prevented many, many lawsuits that could be coming down the pike, depending on how Friedrich vs. Marvel pans out.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - July 31st, 2012
* At Comics Alliance, David Brothers presents four mini-essays on League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century 2009 (link via Tom Spurgeon). I love Alan Moore, and I love his work with Kevin O'Neill on LOEG overall, but I think Brothers make some fair criticisms of this most recent volume. Like Moore's Neonomicon, Century 2009 feels informed as much by Moore's disaffection from modern-day pop culture as it does by his pure desire to entertain. Like Brothers, I loved the humanity and humanism in the book's best sequences, but the meta-commentary, particularly the Harry Potter skewering (and please be aware I don't give a shit about Harry Potter at all -- never read a Harry Potter book, never seen a Harry Potter movie, and I am probably more in Moore's camp on the Harry Potter craze than most comics readers) feels vague and somehow off-target.
* It really threw off the balance of the entire Century mini-series for me, because the end result, instead of an exciting conclusion filled with resonance and depth, turned out to be a bunch of stuff I was quickly flipping past to get back to the LOEG stuff. Maybe someday I'll realize Moore was really delivering something awesome and brilliant in the form of a commentary on Harry Potter, and I am willing to be convinced, so bring it on if you've got a point to make, but overall that part of the book really detracted from my enjoyment of what had been the most-anticipated new comics release of the year, for me.
* Speaking of Alan Moore, here's a question that was probably rhetorical, but I answered it anyway. My answer is not hyperbole, by the way, I was being literal.
* The Comics Journal reviews Gloriana, the new collection from Kevin Huizenga. It seems like I haven't read anything new by Huizenga in a couple of years, and yet this collection appears to reprint nothing but stuff I've read before. I do miss Or Else appearing regularly.
* I would watch a SHIELD series set in the same universe as the Avengers movie, at least to see if it was any good. If Whedon is involved, I don't see how it couldn't be.
* One of the things I like about IDW's ongoing Star Trek series, set in the new timeline established in the 2009 movie, is that it's in continuity with the movie series. At Newsarama, writer Mike Johnson explains how that works.
* Uncomics: Author and social critic James Howard Kunstler shares his online reading habits.
* It really threw off the balance of the entire Century mini-series for me, because the end result, instead of an exciting conclusion filled with resonance and depth, turned out to be a bunch of stuff I was quickly flipping past to get back to the LOEG stuff. Maybe someday I'll realize Moore was really delivering something awesome and brilliant in the form of a commentary on Harry Potter, and I am willing to be convinced, so bring it on if you've got a point to make, but overall that part of the book really detracted from my enjoyment of what had been the most-anticipated new comics release of the year, for me.
* Speaking of Alan Moore, here's a question that was probably rhetorical, but I answered it anyway. My answer is not hyperbole, by the way, I was being literal.
* The Comics Journal reviews Gloriana, the new collection from Kevin Huizenga. It seems like I haven't read anything new by Huizenga in a couple of years, and yet this collection appears to reprint nothing but stuff I've read before. I do miss Or Else appearing regularly.
* I would watch a SHIELD series set in the same universe as the Avengers movie, at least to see if it was any good. If Whedon is involved, I don't see how it couldn't be.
* One of the things I like about IDW's ongoing Star Trek series, set in the new timeline established in the 2009 movie, is that it's in continuity with the movie series. At Newsarama, writer Mike Johnson explains how that works.
* Uncomics: Author and social critic James Howard Kunstler shares his online reading habits.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - July 30th, 2012
* It's Monday, and I wish I had more for you, but in my eagerness to go seven-days-a-week with these newsbriefs, I think I used up all my Monday on Saturday and Sunday. I'll try to pace myself better next week. But I'll probably fail.
* Why buy (really, why read) Steve Gerber's Defenders. Back in 2008 when I wrote a brief remembrance of Gerber (and I can't believe he's been gone that long), I should have talked more about what drew me to Gerber's work on this title when I was a young comics reader. He had a grand feel for alienation, which is no secret to anyone who's ever read a Steve Gerber comic book, but he also was lucky to have some very strong superhero artists on the title during his run. That was probably where I first recognized Klaus Janson's inking, and more importantly the gravitas and energy he brought to everything he inked. The "Why Buy" piece linked above delves a little into the visual side of Gerber's Defenders run, and that's a good thing.
* Peter David explains what's good, what's bad, and what's ridiculous in The Dark Knight Rises. This might be the review I most agree with when it comes to this movie, which I think shows pretty well where the intersection of Nolan's creative instincts and the needs of the company that owns Batman result in a compromised vision and a flawed end product.
* Uncomics: Lefsetz on creativity.
* Why buy (really, why read) Steve Gerber's Defenders. Back in 2008 when I wrote a brief remembrance of Gerber (and I can't believe he's been gone that long), I should have talked more about what drew me to Gerber's work on this title when I was a young comics reader. He had a grand feel for alienation, which is no secret to anyone who's ever read a Steve Gerber comic book, but he also was lucky to have some very strong superhero artists on the title during his run. That was probably where I first recognized Klaus Janson's inking, and more importantly the gravitas and energy he brought to everything he inked. The "Why Buy" piece linked above delves a little into the visual side of Gerber's Defenders run, and that's a good thing.
* Peter David explains what's good, what's bad, and what's ridiculous in The Dark Knight Rises. This might be the review I most agree with when it comes to this movie, which I think shows pretty well where the intersection of Nolan's creative instincts and the needs of the company that owns Batman result in a compromised vision and a flawed end product.
* Uncomics: Lefsetz on creativity.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - July 29th, 2012
* Christopher Allen takes the time to think his way through retailer Brian Hibbs's opinions, which is more than Hibbs usually does. Hibbs is a prominent retailer and longtime writer-about-retailing, but his blinkered and often provincial views (believe it or not, the Direct Market is just one province in the United States of Comics) frequently grate on me like parmesan cheese.
* I don't care about Kickstarter one way or the other. My eyes glaze over when I read anything about it, but I don't begrudge people trying to get their comics published that way. (Although I do think if your comics are good enough and you shop them around, there's enough of a diversity of publishers that almost any work of quality should be able to find a home somewhere, even with the economy in a shambles it may never recover from.) All that having been said, Dan Nadel's got some opinions about Kickstarter and comics and poorly written press releases. Now, poorly written press releases? Those REALLY annoy me.
* At A Criminal Blog, Bubba considers what the Eisner win for Criminal: Last of the Innocent might mean for Brubaker and Phillips in the future.
* Are you some kind of joker? You're fired.
* Video: Fake Stan Lee vs. Comicon 2012. This made me laugh out loud at about the 42 second point; I think even Jack Kirby would have laughed at that line. Plus, the guy's vocal impression is priceless.
* I don't care about Kickstarter one way or the other. My eyes glaze over when I read anything about it, but I don't begrudge people trying to get their comics published that way. (Although I do think if your comics are good enough and you shop them around, there's enough of a diversity of publishers that almost any work of quality should be able to find a home somewhere, even with the economy in a shambles it may never recover from.) All that having been said, Dan Nadel's got some opinions about Kickstarter and comics and poorly written press releases. Now, poorly written press releases? Those REALLY annoy me.
* At A Criminal Blog, Bubba considers what the Eisner win for Criminal: Last of the Innocent might mean for Brubaker and Phillips in the future.
* Are you some kind of joker? You're fired.
* Video: Fake Stan Lee vs. Comicon 2012. This made me laugh out loud at about the 42 second point; I think even Jack Kirby would have laughed at that line. Plus, the guy's vocal impression is priceless.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - July 28th, 2012
* Tom Spurgeon unpacks that fawning ICv2 interview with DC co-conspirators Jim Lee and Dan Didio in a way that I am sure seems more reasonable than the way I talked about it yesterday. I can't help the fact that these noxious assholes at DC make me want to break something. Tom's whole post is great, but the last sentence is killer, and absolutely 100% correct.
* Newsarama's goodwill-testing click-through format is used to reveal what are, in the site's opinion, the 10 best superhero resurrections. Perhaps the only such list at which you'll see Batman stall out at #5. Oops. Spoilers. Note: If this was 1983, Elektra and Wonder Man would have made the list; Elektra would have come in at #1, and the word "Zuvembie" would have appeared in the Wonder Man entry along with an image of his garish original costume, which I have an unreasonable affinity for. Go ahead and tell me I'm wrong, I don't care. I'm not.
* Retailer and comics advocate Christopher Butcher celebrates the decline of the gatekeepers in comics; you know, those who want every comic book to be about superheroes, preferably male ones. I agree with him that it's a good thing that there's a portion of the industry creating comics for people of all ages, genders, orientations and reading interests. But part of me wishes DC and Marvel had had more of a role to play, as I think it's actually possible for there to be good comics like that about the thousands of characters in their stables who are not Spider-Man or Batman, or clones of Spider-Man or Batman. I also think the gatekeepers are, sadly, continuing to thrive in 85 percent of comic book stores, the ones I call "superhero convenience shops."
* Uncomics: William Shatner talks about his new documentary, Get a Life.
* Newsarama's goodwill-testing click-through format is used to reveal what are, in the site's opinion, the 10 best superhero resurrections. Perhaps the only such list at which you'll see Batman stall out at #5. Oops. Spoilers. Note: If this was 1983, Elektra and Wonder Man would have made the list; Elektra would have come in at #1, and the word "Zuvembie" would have appeared in the Wonder Man entry along with an image of his garish original costume, which I have an unreasonable affinity for. Go ahead and tell me I'm wrong, I don't care. I'm not.
* Retailer and comics advocate Christopher Butcher celebrates the decline of the gatekeepers in comics; you know, those who want every comic book to be about superheroes, preferably male ones. I agree with him that it's a good thing that there's a portion of the industry creating comics for people of all ages, genders, orientations and reading interests. But part of me wishes DC and Marvel had had more of a role to play, as I think it's actually possible for there to be good comics like that about the thousands of characters in their stables who are not Spider-Man or Batman, or clones of Spider-Man or Batman. I also think the gatekeepers are, sadly, continuing to thrive in 85 percent of comic book stores, the ones I call "superhero convenience shops."
* Uncomics: William Shatner talks about his new documentary, Get a Life.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - July 27th, 2012
* Everything that's wrong with DC in the Geoff Johns era, in one tweet.
* Retailer Brian Hibbs wrings his hands over Marvel NOW! Oh dear, oh dear. While I can usually get behind exasperation that one of the corporate comics publishers is shuffling the deck chairs rather than engaging in real improvements to their line, I'll say it again: Bendis off Avengers is exciting news to anyone who wants readable Avengers comics. Hickman writing Avengers has a very good chance of being fun and selling well. And the worst-sounding Marvel NOW! title announced so far sounds much better than the best DC's New 52 initiative has had to offer. Right now Waid's Daredevil, Rucka's Punisher and Slott's Amazing Spider-Man are fun, dependable reads that keep me coming back despite my reservations about Marvel in terms of its corporate ethics. So, far from thinking Marvel is driving own the wrong road, I'm curious about Marvel Now! and even wondering what Bendis will do with his idea for X-Men. At least this time he has one. Hibbs accuses Marvel of not "having their head in the game." This from the guy who once told me that everyone who buys Love and Rockets also buys Superman. So, grain of salt and all that.
* Speaking of which, it's kind of amazing to me that anyone could interview DC's Jim Lee and Dan Didio and not ask them "How the fuck do you sleep at night?" But ICv2 manages to pull it off.
* Tucker Stone calls sequels like Before Watchmen "a way of attacking literature." That's a sentiment I can get behind. Before Watchmen, it should be remembered, is also an attack on Alan Moore, and creativity, and I honestly mean this, me. And you. And everyone who cares more about human beings than profit margins.
* Tony Isabella explains how to have a successful comics garage sale. As he notes, it helps if you're Tony Isabella, but many of his tips are applicable to general garage sales, or selling comics on eBay. He also posts his summer garage sale schedule, so if you're anywhere within driving distance of Medina, Ohio, go check out Tony's vast accumulation of stuff available at low, low prices.
* The aforementioned Mr. Isabella also looks at recent Marvel comics and notes his distaste for the direction Captain America's character has been headed in. I haven't read any Cap comics in a while, so I don't know exactly what he's talking about, but I have a pretty specific idea of what Steve Rogers will or won't do, and I'm pretty sure Tony and I would be on the same page on that one, so I'm curious how Marvel's been mismanaging one of their greatest characters.
* I guess Ultimate Cap has found his way to the 616. At least his costume design.
* In the wake of All-Star Superman, could there have been a more disappointing Superman series than Grant Morrison's Action Comics? Probably. But here's Himself talking about the book anyway. Never one to miss an opportunity to kick Alan Moore in the nuts, Morrison notes "No one can do 'Before We3' but me and Frank Quitely! No one can do 'After Seaguy' except me and Cameron Stewart. I never signed a contract I regretted, and I never felt cheated by DC. My own experience proves they can be reasonable and honorable, if you deal with them in an adult fashion and I have to take that into account before I condemn anyone working there today over decisions made in the past." Yes, Grant, Alan Moore dealt with DC in a childish fashion, I'm sure that's the case. Thank you for finally explaining it in a thoughtful, nuanced manner that we can all not only understand, but fully agree with. Morrison=Adult, Moore=Child. I guess that's how someone with Morrison's alleged intelligence justifies continuing to work for a company that has gone out of its way again and again to screw Alan Moore, Tony Isabella and other creators.
* Online music piracy is not the main way in which people get music for free. That's interesting. I'd imagine there's not a lot of people burning their favourite comics to CD to share with their pals, though.
* Uncomics: Oh, my God. Poor David Letterman.
* Uncomics: Roger Ebert is the wisest, most reasonable man on Earth.
* Uncomics: Bruce Springsteen profiled in The New Yorker. Warning, it's long and really well-written.
* Retailer Brian Hibbs wrings his hands over Marvel NOW! Oh dear, oh dear. While I can usually get behind exasperation that one of the corporate comics publishers is shuffling the deck chairs rather than engaging in real improvements to their line, I'll say it again: Bendis off Avengers is exciting news to anyone who wants readable Avengers comics. Hickman writing Avengers has a very good chance of being fun and selling well. And the worst-sounding Marvel NOW! title announced so far sounds much better than the best DC's New 52 initiative has had to offer. Right now Waid's Daredevil, Rucka's Punisher and Slott's Amazing Spider-Man are fun, dependable reads that keep me coming back despite my reservations about Marvel in terms of its corporate ethics. So, far from thinking Marvel is driving own the wrong road, I'm curious about Marvel Now! and even wondering what Bendis will do with his idea for X-Men. At least this time he has one. Hibbs accuses Marvel of not "having their head in the game." This from the guy who once told me that everyone who buys Love and Rockets also buys Superman. So, grain of salt and all that.
* Speaking of which, it's kind of amazing to me that anyone could interview DC's Jim Lee and Dan Didio and not ask them "How the fuck do you sleep at night?" But ICv2 manages to pull it off.
* Tucker Stone calls sequels like Before Watchmen "a way of attacking literature." That's a sentiment I can get behind. Before Watchmen, it should be remembered, is also an attack on Alan Moore, and creativity, and I honestly mean this, me. And you. And everyone who cares more about human beings than profit margins.
* Tony Isabella explains how to have a successful comics garage sale. As he notes, it helps if you're Tony Isabella, but many of his tips are applicable to general garage sales, or selling comics on eBay. He also posts his summer garage sale schedule, so if you're anywhere within driving distance of Medina, Ohio, go check out Tony's vast accumulation of stuff available at low, low prices.
* The aforementioned Mr. Isabella also looks at recent Marvel comics and notes his distaste for the direction Captain America's character has been headed in. I haven't read any Cap comics in a while, so I don't know exactly what he's talking about, but I have a pretty specific idea of what Steve Rogers will or won't do, and I'm pretty sure Tony and I would be on the same page on that one, so I'm curious how Marvel's been mismanaging one of their greatest characters.
* I guess Ultimate Cap has found his way to the 616. At least his costume design.
* In the wake of All-Star Superman, could there have been a more disappointing Superman series than Grant Morrison's Action Comics? Probably. But here's Himself talking about the book anyway. Never one to miss an opportunity to kick Alan Moore in the nuts, Morrison notes "No one can do 'Before We3' but me and Frank Quitely! No one can do 'After Seaguy' except me and Cameron Stewart. I never signed a contract I regretted, and I never felt cheated by DC. My own experience proves they can be reasonable and honorable, if you deal with them in an adult fashion and I have to take that into account before I condemn anyone working there today over decisions made in the past." Yes, Grant, Alan Moore dealt with DC in a childish fashion, I'm sure that's the case. Thank you for finally explaining it in a thoughtful, nuanced manner that we can all not only understand, but fully agree with. Morrison=Adult, Moore=Child. I guess that's how someone with Morrison's alleged intelligence justifies continuing to work for a company that has gone out of its way again and again to screw Alan Moore, Tony Isabella and other creators.
* Online music piracy is not the main way in which people get music for free. That's interesting. I'd imagine there's not a lot of people burning their favourite comics to CD to share with their pals, though.
* Uncomics: Oh, my God. Poor David Letterman.
* Uncomics: Roger Ebert is the wisest, most reasonable man on Earth.
* Uncomics: Bruce Springsteen profiled in The New Yorker. Warning, it's long and really well-written.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - July 26th, 2012
* At Comic Book Galaxy's sister blog Trouble With Comics, Christopher Allen delves deep into his recent comics reading: My Comics July. If I'm reading him right and we get one of these massive missives monthly (true believer, etc.), I will be a very happy comics blog reader indeed. Chris talks about what he does and doesn't enjoy in the New 52, what's good from Marvel right now, and puts a cherry on top with a lengthy look at the Daredevil: Born Again David Mazzucchelli Artist Edition, which I also reviewed not that long ago.
* I want to call out one part of Chris's post, because I've been working with him and occasionally writing with him since the end of the Clinton era, and had never really realized this. But talking about Born Again, Chris notes "The only book to really excite me was IDW’s Artist Edition of David Mazzucchelli’s Daredevil: Born Again. I’m not like ADD—I don’t read even my favorite comics over and over again, so it had been probably 20 years since I read this story." That really stopped me in my tracks, as it's something I had never considered before, that there are comics readers -- and Chris is one with about the the best taste of anyone I've ever known -- who read even the best comics and never again pull them off the shelf. That's a Wow Moment for me, as I can't imagine not returning every couple of years to re-immerse myself in the very best comics ever. Born Again, From Hell, Ghost World, Waid and Garney's Captain America, Lee and Ditko's Amazing Spider-Man, these are books that never get old to me, that I return to again and again and always find something new in. I re-read Ellis and Raney and Hitch's Stormwatch maybe once a year, sometimes extending it into the first twelve issues of The Authority, and it's a thrill and a wonderment every time. I'm not disparaging Chris's approach in any way, I'm just fascinated that we could have fairly simpatico tastes and interests in comics, and yet have such a very different approach in how we curate our own experience of them as entertainment, as art.
* For me the return-to-the-greats is a pattern in other artforms, too. Rare is a year that goes by without a re-watch of Dark City, or Citizen Kane, or Glengarry Glen Ross. These movies, like the comics I return to regularly, create worlds and people I can't leave behind. They represent places, and ideas, and feelings that mean a lot to me, and that I cannot envision ever not wanting to revisit from time to time. Not as much for the comfort of the known, but more for the thrill of discovering some new aspect I had never noticed before (I find the older I get the more I see that I could not at a younger age). The very best comics, like From Hell, always offer something new, and may in fact be too complex and too layered to ever be absorbed in just one reading.
* It looks like Ed Brubaker's pretty great run on Captain America will influence the next Cap movie. While that's good news in terms of the possible quality of the movie versus its just-okay predecessor, I do hope that Brubaker is well-rewarded for whatever contribution he makes, either from here on out, or in the form of his existing work being adapted. Pro tip, Marvel: Reward Brubaker for the good work he brought to your stable of titles, and maybe he'll do some more stuff for you some day. Just an idea.
* I'm glad to hear Alternative Comics is returning. There was a time when almost everything they published was pure gold, and the feel of (apparently not-returning publisher) Jeff Mason's line of books was not quite like anything else from peers Top Shelf, AdHouse or whatever other small-press off-beat comics house you might compare them to. If the return of Alternative is half as good as the publisher was in its heyday, that's great news for comics all around. Names like Kochalka and Henderson are being mentioned, so, yeah. Cool.
* Mark Evanier champions readable book design. Goddamned right, Mark. Anyone with a keen interest in learning more (or an obsession with AMC's Mad Men) might read David Ogilvy's books on advertising. Google 'em.
* Bob Temuka joins the number of comics bloggers talking about Harvey Pekar's Cleveland.
* As a reader, I fairly despise Newsarama's click-through top 10 lists because of the format, but here's their list of the ten worst Avengers, anyway. It's a pretty solid list of misfires from what has, from time to time, been my favourite Marvel comic over the course of my comics reading life. (It hit me recently that this year marks 40 full freaking years of my reading comics, and I feel every minute of it.) I was nerd-relieved to see Wonder Man not on the list, but then I remembered he isn't a bad Avenger, he's just been written that way by Bendis. Man, there's an Avengers era that can't end fast enough for me.
* Uncomics: A report by someone who actually went to see Star Trek: The Next Generation in a movie theater recently. I might have gone if they'd shown "Best of Both Worlds Parts 1 and 2." Or some other of the series' best episodes.
* Really Uncomics: 25 words English borrows from German. I love throwing foreign words into conversation, because it's fun and it keeps people on their toes.
* I want to call out one part of Chris's post, because I've been working with him and occasionally writing with him since the end of the Clinton era, and had never really realized this. But talking about Born Again, Chris notes "The only book to really excite me was IDW’s Artist Edition of David Mazzucchelli’s Daredevil: Born Again. I’m not like ADD—I don’t read even my favorite comics over and over again, so it had been probably 20 years since I read this story." That really stopped me in my tracks, as it's something I had never considered before, that there are comics readers -- and Chris is one with about the the best taste of anyone I've ever known -- who read even the best comics and never again pull them off the shelf. That's a Wow Moment for me, as I can't imagine not returning every couple of years to re-immerse myself in the very best comics ever. Born Again, From Hell, Ghost World, Waid and Garney's Captain America, Lee and Ditko's Amazing Spider-Man, these are books that never get old to me, that I return to again and again and always find something new in. I re-read Ellis and Raney and Hitch's Stormwatch maybe once a year, sometimes extending it into the first twelve issues of The Authority, and it's a thrill and a wonderment every time. I'm not disparaging Chris's approach in any way, I'm just fascinated that we could have fairly simpatico tastes and interests in comics, and yet have such a very different approach in how we curate our own experience of them as entertainment, as art.
* For me the return-to-the-greats is a pattern in other artforms, too. Rare is a year that goes by without a re-watch of Dark City, or Citizen Kane, or Glengarry Glen Ross. These movies, like the comics I return to regularly, create worlds and people I can't leave behind. They represent places, and ideas, and feelings that mean a lot to me, and that I cannot envision ever not wanting to revisit from time to time. Not as much for the comfort of the known, but more for the thrill of discovering some new aspect I had never noticed before (I find the older I get the more I see that I could not at a younger age). The very best comics, like From Hell, always offer something new, and may in fact be too complex and too layered to ever be absorbed in just one reading.
* It looks like Ed Brubaker's pretty great run on Captain America will influence the next Cap movie. While that's good news in terms of the possible quality of the movie versus its just-okay predecessor, I do hope that Brubaker is well-rewarded for whatever contribution he makes, either from here on out, or in the form of his existing work being adapted. Pro tip, Marvel: Reward Brubaker for the good work he brought to your stable of titles, and maybe he'll do some more stuff for you some day. Just an idea.
* I'm glad to hear Alternative Comics is returning. There was a time when almost everything they published was pure gold, and the feel of (apparently not-returning publisher) Jeff Mason's line of books was not quite like anything else from peers Top Shelf, AdHouse or whatever other small-press off-beat comics house you might compare them to. If the return of Alternative is half as good as the publisher was in its heyday, that's great news for comics all around. Names like Kochalka and Henderson are being mentioned, so, yeah. Cool.
* Mark Evanier champions readable book design. Goddamned right, Mark. Anyone with a keen interest in learning more (or an obsession with AMC's Mad Men) might read David Ogilvy's books on advertising. Google 'em.
* Bob Temuka joins the number of comics bloggers talking about Harvey Pekar's Cleveland.
* As a reader, I fairly despise Newsarama's click-through top 10 lists because of the format, but here's their list of the ten worst Avengers, anyway. It's a pretty solid list of misfires from what has, from time to time, been my favourite Marvel comic over the course of my comics reading life. (It hit me recently that this year marks 40 full freaking years of my reading comics, and I feel every minute of it.) I was nerd-relieved to see Wonder Man not on the list, but then I remembered he isn't a bad Avenger, he's just been written that way by Bendis. Man, there's an Avengers era that can't end fast enough for me.
* Uncomics: A report by someone who actually went to see Star Trek: The Next Generation in a movie theater recently. I might have gone if they'd shown "Best of Both Worlds Parts 1 and 2." Or some other of the series' best episodes.
* Really Uncomics: 25 words English borrows from German. I love throwing foreign words into conversation, because it's fun and it keeps people on their toes.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - July 25th, 2012
* Last night I explained in a little detail why I'm here and what you might be able to expect in the near future: I Got A New Sensation.
* I didn't mean for it to be, but today's Newsbrief is dominated by the Aurora, Colorado shooting spree. So let me just say a little bit about that. As ambivalent as I am about superheroes in general and as hostile as I feel toward the abusive, immoral and unethical way DC Comics treats the creators that made it possible for it to exist, Batman doesn't have anything to do with the killings in Colorado. If the gun-wielding psychopath had let loose at a showing of The Muppets, whatever their last movie was called, would Miss Piggy fly to Colorado to meet with the families of the victims? Did Christian Bale ever meet with the guy who he went all OH GOOD FOR YOU on during the shooting of the previous Batman movie? I bet that poor bastard was pretty traumatized too.
* Look, it's not about Batman. The media and the fundamentalist Right want you to think it is, because for the media it gets ratings and for the Right it's a distraction from their real agenda, which is that murdering psychopaths like the one in Colorado should continue to have access to all the assault weapons and ammunition they want. I heard a fundamentalist guest pretty much come out and say that yesterday afternoon on The Sean Hannity Show, and you can bet Hannity didn't argue. You see, psychopathic gun nuts are a large portion of the Right's constituency, and don't let yourself think otherwise. Don't listen to their claims to have the victims and their families in their "thoughts and prayers," rather, pay attention to the laws they do and don't want on the books, and how they continue to deliberately and with bad intent misinterpret the second amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
* In the end, Aurora Colorado is just another shooting in a country that has grown accustomed to them. Another shooting does not and cannot surprise in a nation that has done fuck-all to prevent easy access to guns, the only purpose of which is to kill. Taking away the right to own assault weapons won't stop determined would-be killers from killing, but it will make it harder and slower for them to do, and give decent people a better chance at stopping them, or at least running away when all hell breaks loose at the movies, which it inevitably will again, although next time "the movies" may be Wal-Mart, or a bowling alley, or McDonald's, or anywhere that someone crazy might happen to turn up. Which, wake up, America, that's everywhere.
* Why Batman's gun was taken away.
* Actor Jason Alexander talks sense about America's senseless tolerance of guns and the people who love them, who love them more than the human life they claim to care so goddamned much about. Mark Evanier has some points, too, and he sometimes writes comic books.
* Uncomics: Dmitry Orlov on why shooting sprees like last week's Batman massacre keep happening. Orlov is a sharp observer of the unraveling of civilization here in Los Estados Unidos, and you should be paying attention to him.
* I didn't mean for it to be, but today's Newsbrief is dominated by the Aurora, Colorado shooting spree. So let me just say a little bit about that. As ambivalent as I am about superheroes in general and as hostile as I feel toward the abusive, immoral and unethical way DC Comics treats the creators that made it possible for it to exist, Batman doesn't have anything to do with the killings in Colorado. If the gun-wielding psychopath had let loose at a showing of The Muppets, whatever their last movie was called, would Miss Piggy fly to Colorado to meet with the families of the victims? Did Christian Bale ever meet with the guy who he went all OH GOOD FOR YOU on during the shooting of the previous Batman movie? I bet that poor bastard was pretty traumatized too.
* Look, it's not about Batman. The media and the fundamentalist Right want you to think it is, because for the media it gets ratings and for the Right it's a distraction from their real agenda, which is that murdering psychopaths like the one in Colorado should continue to have access to all the assault weapons and ammunition they want. I heard a fundamentalist guest pretty much come out and say that yesterday afternoon on The Sean Hannity Show, and you can bet Hannity didn't argue. You see, psychopathic gun nuts are a large portion of the Right's constituency, and don't let yourself think otherwise. Don't listen to their claims to have the victims and their families in their "thoughts and prayers," rather, pay attention to the laws they do and don't want on the books, and how they continue to deliberately and with bad intent misinterpret the second amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
* In the end, Aurora Colorado is just another shooting in a country that has grown accustomed to them. Another shooting does not and cannot surprise in a nation that has done fuck-all to prevent easy access to guns, the only purpose of which is to kill. Taking away the right to own assault weapons won't stop determined would-be killers from killing, but it will make it harder and slower for them to do, and give decent people a better chance at stopping them, or at least running away when all hell breaks loose at the movies, which it inevitably will again, although next time "the movies" may be Wal-Mart, or a bowling alley, or McDonald's, or anywhere that someone crazy might happen to turn up. Which, wake up, America, that's everywhere.
* Why Batman's gun was taken away.
* Actor Jason Alexander talks sense about America's senseless tolerance of guns and the people who love them, who love them more than the human life they claim to care so goddamned much about. Mark Evanier has some points, too, and he sometimes writes comic books.
* Uncomics: Dmitry Orlov on why shooting sprees like last week's Batman massacre keep happening. Orlov is a sharp observer of the unraveling of civilization here in Los Estados Unidos, and you should be paying attention to him.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
I Got A New Sensation
It's difficult to imagine now, but at one time Comic Book Galaxy had tens of thousands of daily visitors,
competed directly with CBR and Newsarama, and occasionally got into kerfuffles that had the Comicon.com
message boards burning up with outrage, obfuscation, and innuendo. We pissed off the pros by reporting news they wanted buried, and pissed off the fans by telling them their taste in comics was worse than the taste of sweaty donkey balls on a hot August night.
Hell, as editor and publisher I even pissed off many of the scores of contributors we had; some justified, due to my immaturity and unevolved people management skills (you've come a long way, baby!), and some
unjustified and unreasonable, as when we asked our dozens of contributors to try to expand their horizons a
little in what they chose to cover. I think the straw that broke the camel's back was when three or four writers all felt the need to write at length about that week's issue of Defenders by Busiek/Larsen. Hey, I enjoyed the kicky, neo-retro stylings of that series as much as anyone, but how many reviews of the same Marvel book does one website need every week?
Admittedly, to get CBR-sized readerships, you have to cover the hell out of Marvel and DC to the detriment of all other publishers, and our failure to genuflect at the corporate comics publishers' dirty, stinky feet may have played some small role in the diminishing size of CBG's readership over the years. But the main factor in the leeching off of readers lays squarely at my own dainty, highly-pedicured tootsies. Over the past twelve years, my interest in comics has waxed and waned, my broadcasting career has had spectacular highs and devastating lows, and my children have grown up. All of those factors and more we'll file under "personal matters" that have sometimes made it impossible for me to give Comic Book Galaxy the attention I have always wanted to give to it. When longtime CBG buddy/partner/pal Chris Allen and I launched Trouble With Comics a few years ago, it attained a popularity that almost immediately made Comic Book Galaxy seem obsolete. And then TWC kind of petered out, and, and...
I'm not here to make excuses. I have a bunch of websites that I've been passionate about, then neglected, then gotten excited about again, or just gave up on. I've been writing about comic books on the internet since Bill Clinton was president, and in internet time, that's like two hundred years. I'm not even sure who I am writing this explanation/declaration of principles for, because I'm not even sure how much of an audience either CBG or TWC has left. I have about 150 followers on Twitter, and some are real-life friends, some are internet pals, and some, I have to assume, are interested in some way in what I have to say.
And lately, I have the itch to say a bit more. I don't know that either CBG or TWC will ever have the amount of news, reviews, interviews and columns that they did in their heyday. Probably not. Almost certainly not. But, and this is not the first time I've done this, I feel like it's time to raise my hand and say "Hey, if you are interested in what I do, what we've done, all of us who have written for CBG/TWC since September 1st, 2000 -- well, I am still here, and I hope to do some more of that, in some way."
I love Twitter, I'll admit it. I like how it allows me to stay connected to and converse with people who I am interested in. But 140 characters allows you to thumbnail one thought, not explore the universe of them that we all have inside ourselves. So I'm starting small, with a little daily news/commentary update, and we'll see if anything else at all materializes from this effort. My thinking at the moment is that my daily Galaxy Newsbrief will appear at CBG, and any longform commentaries or reviews will, as they have for the past few years, be posted to Trouble With Comics, where Chris and I are still cranking out the occasional piece. If more ambitious ideas begin to present themselves, I'll lay down and take a nap. If upon awakening, those ideas are still hanging around, maybe I'll do something about it.
All the old CBG archives are still there, by the way. See where it says "Old CBG" in the sidebar on the right? Click on that. Click on the reviews, interviews or commentary buttons on the menu bar. There's a lot of broken links, unfortunately, but there's also a lot of great old content, not only by me and Chris, but by award-winning names that you know, great writers who once hung their hat here.
So, for now, look for something here every day. Subscribe to the feed, tell your friends. The message isn't so much "We're back!" as "We're not dead yet." And I know that's not sexy. But for anyone who cared enough to read this far, I just want to be honest with you, and thank you for still being around. I appreciate it.
Galaxy Newsbrief - July 24th, 2012
* Having endured many years without new quality Avengers comics -- Bendis's run started off bad for me and never rose above mediocre, often sinking to disastrously bad (Secret Invasion), and having pretty much loved Joss Whedon's movie, and The Avengers as a concept since the early 1970s, I have to admit I am cautiously optimistic about Jonathan Hickman's new Avengers titles, debuting in a few months. The writer, whose Fantastic Four run frequently bordered on awesome in just the way that title should be awesome, talks about his upcoming stint on Avengers at Comic Book Resources. It sounds like Hickman is really thinking his way through the structure and identity of the comic book, which is something even the biggest Bendis Avengers fan would have to bend over backwards to claim the departing writer ever evinced.
* Here's a video about using comics for journalism, notable for the inclusion of Chris Butcher, whose opinion on just about everything is worth considering. I don't have the time or patience for videos like these, but maybe you do. If there's ever a transcript, chances are I would read it.
* Tony Isabella talks about Harvey Pekar's Cleveland, among other comics. Me and some other folks looked at Cleveland back in January, which seems like it wasn't that long ago, and yet.
* Uncomics: Christopher Allen reviews the movie Contagion. I liked the movie when I saw it a few months ago, but Chris's criticisms are valid, and his final point is killer. Somebody make that movie.
* Here's a video about using comics for journalism, notable for the inclusion of Chris Butcher, whose opinion on just about everything is worth considering. I don't have the time or patience for videos like these, but maybe you do. If there's ever a transcript, chances are I would read it.
* Tony Isabella talks about Harvey Pekar's Cleveland, among other comics. Me and some other folks looked at Cleveland back in January, which seems like it wasn't that long ago, and yet.
* Uncomics: Christopher Allen reviews the movie Contagion. I liked the movie when I saw it a few months ago, but Chris's criticisms are valid, and his final point is killer. Somebody make that movie.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - July 23rd, 2012
* Longtime comics industry figure Rich Buckler, known primarily for drawing comics in the style of Jack Kirby and/or Neal Adams, has begun Rich Buckler's Secrets Behind the Comics. By clicking over to his first column, you'll learn such secrets from his time in comics as "Conceptually every cover was a tough nut to crack," and "Surrealism is not an art style." How long before the shadow cabinet that covertly rules the comics industry puts a price on Buckler's head for revealing such long-held secrets? Bonus: Buckler illustrates his points with mediocre comic books covers he has drawn.
* Over the weekend I reviewed the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises. So did Tim O'Neil. Spoiler alert: It's doubtful either of us will be going to see it again. In other reviews, Christopher Allen reads Captain Marvel #1 so you don't have to; Bob Temuka reads Invincible Vol. 14; Nick Jones talks about Alan Moore: Storyteller by Gary Spencer Millidge.
* Tom Spurgeon's long-running Sunday interview series yesterday focused on Jessica Campbell on the occasion of her leaving employer Drawn and Quarterly. Best of luck to her in all her future projects.
* Over the weekend I reviewed the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises. So did Tim O'Neil. Spoiler alert: It's doubtful either of us will be going to see it again. In other reviews, Christopher Allen reads Captain Marvel #1 so you don't have to; Bob Temuka reads Invincible Vol. 14; Nick Jones talks about Alan Moore: Storyteller by Gary Spencer Millidge.
* Tom Spurgeon's long-running Sunday interview series yesterday focused on Jessica Campbell on the occasion of her leaving employer Drawn and Quarterly. Best of luck to her in all her future projects.
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