* Spurred by this week's release of Miracleman #9 by Marvel Comics, part of its ongoing reprint of Alan Moore's landmark 1980s superhero series, Mike Sterling reports on the warnings to dealers that the Eclipse version of Miracleman #9 inspired.
* Miracleman #9 was controversial in its time -- and Marvel apparently fears it still is, since they polybagged the issue -- because it depicts Miracleman and Liz Moran's daughter Winter being born, with anatomically-correct views of the crowning and actual birth. In the 1980s we as a society were apparently terrified at the thought that children might learn where they came from, and the polybag on this week's issue indicates we haven't progressed very far. (Pro tip/spoiler warning: Babies usually come out of vaginas.)
* I'm amazed at how little the ongoing Miracleman reprints, set to lead up to new issues by Neil Gaiman, completing his unfinished run, are being talked about. This week's re-release of one of the two most controversial issues in the series didn't even merit a mention in the most prominent weekly new releases rundown on a site dedicated to reporting on comics. It's a curious omission by a site that has been curiously silent about this title, given how rich a topic of discussion it has the potential to be, combining overall narrative excellence with creators right issues, and how Marvel is handling not only the reissuing of one of the most important superhero comics in history, but how they are handling such elements as Winter's birth. There's a slight buzzing in the back of my head that tells me Moore's penultimate issue, in which the destruction of London is vividly, violently depicted (resulting in Miracleman #15 being the other hugely controversial issue in the run), might actually get talked about by major websites that purport to report on comics. If that's the case -- that the vagina issue is ignored while the BIG DEATH ISSUE is deemed worth talking about -- man, comics as a culture is even more fucked than I already figured it is.
* Meanwhile, just to report on some interesting comics news this week, since no one else seems up to the task -- Miracleman #9, reprinting the controversial childbirth story, is out this week in comic book stores, published by Marvel. Go get one before all the publicity winds up causing the issue to sell out, won't you?
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Galaxy Newsbrief 080514: Where is Everybody?
* Cartoonist Mike Dawson, who I first encountered when he was drawing the late, lamented Gabagool series, talks in a brutally honest manner about his struggle to maintain an audience. (link via The Comics Reporter.)
* I think this piece is really important. Dawson is absolutely upfront about his sales, citing actual numbers for each of the graphic novels he's published. I imagine these numbers will shock some, depress others. But it's good that a well-known cartoonist is speaking truthfully about how his works sell. Having known many cartoonists for the past couple of decades, the numbers Dawson cites don't surprise me at all. Many have experienced similar lack of interest in their work. Why have his numbers so declined? Why did they never reach the stratosphere to begin with? Dawson is a good cartoonist and a witty storyteller. But he has plied his trade at a time when superheroes are all most comic book stores care about, working in genres that require a great deal of finesse, skill and effort to bring to a mass audience. More than anything, you can rest assured that Diamond, the monopoly North American comics distributor, is not at all interested in the type of work Dawson is doing, and they're not much interested in the stores that would be passionate about carrying it, either.
* The only Dawson graphic novel I have ever seen in a comic book store is his Freddie Mercury one. I think I read excerpts of that online, and found it not my cup of tea. This is another problem Dawson faces that all cartoonists need to understand -- even your biggest fans -- and man, I loved Gabagool -- is not necessarily going to be attracted to everything you do. I loved James Kochalka's autobiographical and magical realism comics, but Super-F*ckers and his children's books don't resonate with me at all. That doesn't mean anything other than that not every work a cartoonist creates will work for everyone who has liked some of their work.
* Dawson discusses social media at length in his piece. That's a part of the puzzle, although none of us really know how big a part. Dawson clearly regrets throwing away 1,200 Twitter followers at one point, and well he should. Like it or not, if you create any art these days and are not supported by a massive corporate publicity machine, you're on your own when it comes to promoting your work. Dawson, and every cartoonist like him, needs a strong social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest at a minimum. He should be posting sketches and strips and panels and interacting with the public every day. Will it make him a best selling cartoonist? Probably not. Will it help raise awareness that he's out there working and creating comics and help grow his audience a little? Almost certainly.
* I think this piece is really important. Dawson is absolutely upfront about his sales, citing actual numbers for each of the graphic novels he's published. I imagine these numbers will shock some, depress others. But it's good that a well-known cartoonist is speaking truthfully about how his works sell. Having known many cartoonists for the past couple of decades, the numbers Dawson cites don't surprise me at all. Many have experienced similar lack of interest in their work. Why have his numbers so declined? Why did they never reach the stratosphere to begin with? Dawson is a good cartoonist and a witty storyteller. But he has plied his trade at a time when superheroes are all most comic book stores care about, working in genres that require a great deal of finesse, skill and effort to bring to a mass audience. More than anything, you can rest assured that Diamond, the monopoly North American comics distributor, is not at all interested in the type of work Dawson is doing, and they're not much interested in the stores that would be passionate about carrying it, either.
* The only Dawson graphic novel I have ever seen in a comic book store is his Freddie Mercury one. I think I read excerpts of that online, and found it not my cup of tea. This is another problem Dawson faces that all cartoonists need to understand -- even your biggest fans -- and man, I loved Gabagool -- is not necessarily going to be attracted to everything you do. I loved James Kochalka's autobiographical and magical realism comics, but Super-F*ckers and his children's books don't resonate with me at all. That doesn't mean anything other than that not every work a cartoonist creates will work for everyone who has liked some of their work.
* Dawson discusses social media at length in his piece. That's a part of the puzzle, although none of us really know how big a part. Dawson clearly regrets throwing away 1,200 Twitter followers at one point, and well he should. Like it or not, if you create any art these days and are not supported by a massive corporate publicity machine, you're on your own when it comes to promoting your work. Dawson, and every cartoonist like him, needs a strong social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest at a minimum. He should be posting sketches and strips and panels and interacting with the public every day. Will it make him a best selling cartoonist? Probably not. Will it help raise awareness that he's out there working and creating comics and help grow his audience a little? Almost certainly.
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Galaxy Newsbrief 072614: Dark and Strange
* Top Shelf Productions has launched its biggest digital comics sale yet, but it only lasts through tomorrow, so act fast and get in on the bargains.
* The Eisner awards were handed out last night. Behind the Panels has the list of winners.
* Uncomics: Firefly is returning as an online game, and the trailer looks like a whole lot of fun. Stay til the very end.
* Uncomics: The Simple Dollar runs down 9 ways to find free music online.
* Uncomics: I watched David Lynch's 1986 masterpiece Blue Velvet last night for the first time in many years and was blown away all over again by its intensity and the directness with which Lynch channels his obsessions. Its innocent high school girl, charming hometown diner, giant rumbling lumber trucks, an inquisitive Kyle Maclachlan and many other elements obviously prefigure the more polished and TV-friendly (if still weird and demented) Twin Peaks (which is out on Blu-ray next week), but the demented Frank Booth, the despair of Dorothy Vallens and the random moments of chaos suggest darker works like Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire. I popped Blue Velvet in as part of an informal film series I am sharing with my daughter's fiancee, and I warned him it was the darkest, strangest one I'd sprung on him yet. Some of the other films we've watched recently include Dark City, The Man from Earth, Synecdoche, NY, Ghost World, Donnie Darko, Glengarry Glen Ross, Citizen Kane and Touch of Evil.
* The Eisner awards were handed out last night. Behind the Panels has the list of winners.
* Uncomics: Firefly is returning as an online game, and the trailer looks like a whole lot of fun. Stay til the very end.
* Uncomics: The Simple Dollar runs down 9 ways to find free music online.
* Uncomics: I watched David Lynch's 1986 masterpiece Blue Velvet last night for the first time in many years and was blown away all over again by its intensity and the directness with which Lynch channels his obsessions. Its innocent high school girl, charming hometown diner, giant rumbling lumber trucks, an inquisitive Kyle Maclachlan and many other elements obviously prefigure the more polished and TV-friendly (if still weird and demented) Twin Peaks (which is out on Blu-ray next week), but the demented Frank Booth, the despair of Dorothy Vallens and the random moments of chaos suggest darker works like Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire. I popped Blue Velvet in as part of an informal film series I am sharing with my daughter's fiancee, and I warned him it was the darkest, strangest one I'd sprung on him yet. Some of the other films we've watched recently include Dark City, The Man from Earth, Synecdoche, NY, Ghost World, Donnie Darko, Glengarry Glen Ross, Citizen Kane and Touch of Evil.
Friday, July 25, 2014
Galaxy Newsbrief 072514: Is It Art?
* One of my favourite bloggers, Bob Temuka, looks at art and artifice in the comics of Joe Matt, Chester Brown and Seth at The Tearoom of Despair.
* When I was a tender lad in my early teens, tentatively exploring the wild and wooly world of underground comics, Vaughn Bode was a legend spoken of with admiration and wonder. He still is. Fantagraphics has announced a major new push to get his weird, fantastic and surreal comics back into print. The Comics Reporter has details.
* I mentioned in my last post that I was suspending this blog because I was involved in some pretty intensive training for my job. That's over and done with. And here I am on the Friday of the San Diego Comicon with this modest little post. If you're at the show, I hope you have a wonderful time and buy lots of comics. I'm not at the show, and just as well pleased because I don't think I'd actually enjoy the scope and scale of it. I did visit a local superhero convenience shop yesterday and walked out annoyed at the lack of variety and the truly ludicrous prices. It's not worth naming them, as there are plenty of good comic book stores within a 50 mile radius of my house, and I should have known better than to bother with the one ten minutes away.
* Right now the only comic I am regularly buying is Marvel's Miracleman single issues, for the gorgeous recolouring and the fact that they honoured Alan Moore's wishes in how he is credited. I am looking forward to getting the new League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century hardcover by Moore and artist Kevin O'Neill, out this week and collecting the third volume of the series (you can get it from Top Shelf here). I really like IDW's Star Trek: City on the Edge of Forever original screenplay adaptation, although their ongoing Star Trek title has had its ups and downs recently. I will probably check out Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips's new Image series The Fade Out, and am open to other comics attracting my attention, but I am one fickle bastard these days.
* When I was a tender lad in my early teens, tentatively exploring the wild and wooly world of underground comics, Vaughn Bode was a legend spoken of with admiration and wonder. He still is. Fantagraphics has announced a major new push to get his weird, fantastic and surreal comics back into print. The Comics Reporter has details.
* I mentioned in my last post that I was suspending this blog because I was involved in some pretty intensive training for my job. That's over and done with. And here I am on the Friday of the San Diego Comicon with this modest little post. If you're at the show, I hope you have a wonderful time and buy lots of comics. I'm not at the show, and just as well pleased because I don't think I'd actually enjoy the scope and scale of it. I did visit a local superhero convenience shop yesterday and walked out annoyed at the lack of variety and the truly ludicrous prices. It's not worth naming them, as there are plenty of good comic book stores within a 50 mile radius of my house, and I should have known better than to bother with the one ten minutes away.
* Right now the only comic I am regularly buying is Marvel's Miracleman single issues, for the gorgeous recolouring and the fact that they honoured Alan Moore's wishes in how he is credited. I am looking forward to getting the new League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century hardcover by Moore and artist Kevin O'Neill, out this week and collecting the third volume of the series (you can get it from Top Shelf here). I really like IDW's Star Trek: City on the Edge of Forever original screenplay adaptation, although their ongoing Star Trek title has had its ups and downs recently. I will probably check out Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips's new Image series The Fade Out, and am open to other comics attracting my attention, but I am one fickle bastard these days.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Galaxy Update
Just a note that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. I recently began an intensive training program in my job that requires pretty much all my attention at the moment. Regular blogging will resume as soon as possible; thank you for your patience.
Monday, February 3, 2014
Galaxy Newsbrief 020314: Most Keenly Anticipated
* Five for Friday's results are up at The Comics Reporter. This on almost made me a little misty for the days of mail-order comics buying. Of the five I listed, the biggest impact on me was by Bud Plant and FantaCo, but I'll never forget that giant box of dirt-cheap comics from the Passaic Book Center. Someone mentioned Russ Cochran -- I didn't think of that, because I think of him as a publisher, not a dealer, but of course he was that too. I bought almost the entire EC Library from him in the early 1980s. Those were packages most keenly anticipated, let me tell you.
* Johanna Draper Carlson has details on the 10th anniversary reissue of Bryan Lee O'Malley's Lost At Sea. It's a great work of O'Malley's that's been overshadowed by the lengthier, more audacious Scott Pilgrim series. Hopefully the new edition brings it some new attention; it deserves it.
* Johanna also reviewed the new Justice League direct-to-video movie War. She liked it better than I did. She observes that "Older teens may find it a blast. They’ll likely find the personalities of the heroes, all somewhat juvenile and pouty, easier to relate to, too." Sadly, she's probably right; I think I prefer that superheroes, just sort of generally, don't act like jerks and call each other "douchebag" right after they've met for the first time. Perhaps it could inspire kids in real life to not act that way as they grow older. JL: War, on the other hand, reinforces the idea that that's normal, acceptable behaviour. Which sadly, I suppose it is, more and more.
* Longtime writer-about-comics Randy Lander has posted his January update, about comics and more.
* The Simple Dollar has advise for how to invest in collectibles that is relevant to comics collectors. And sports card collectors. And Beanie Baby collectors...
* Uncomics: Jim Kunstler on the end of the Yankee Dollar chain of dollar stores.
* Johanna Draper Carlson has details on the 10th anniversary reissue of Bryan Lee O'Malley's Lost At Sea. It's a great work of O'Malley's that's been overshadowed by the lengthier, more audacious Scott Pilgrim series. Hopefully the new edition brings it some new attention; it deserves it.
* Johanna also reviewed the new Justice League direct-to-video movie War. She liked it better than I did. She observes that "Older teens may find it a blast. They’ll likely find the personalities of the heroes, all somewhat juvenile and pouty, easier to relate to, too." Sadly, she's probably right; I think I prefer that superheroes, just sort of generally, don't act like jerks and call each other "douchebag" right after they've met for the first time. Perhaps it could inspire kids in real life to not act that way as they grow older. JL: War, on the other hand, reinforces the idea that that's normal, acceptable behaviour. Which sadly, I suppose it is, more and more.
* Longtime writer-about-comics Randy Lander has posted his January update, about comics and more.
* The Simple Dollar has advise for how to invest in collectibles that is relevant to comics collectors. And sports card collectors. And Beanie Baby collectors...
* Uncomics: Jim Kunstler on the end of the Yankee Dollar chain of dollar stores.
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Galaxy Newsbrief 020114: January is Gone
* Tom Spurgeon linked to this on Twitter, and it's a fantastic piece of comics history: Real examples of old mail-order lists from people selling comic books. I'm pretty sure Tom found this while researching this week's Five for Friday, the answers to which should go live tomorrow. The question was, "Name five places you ordered comics from before the internet," or words to that effect. My answers hopefully will be among the responses. This question took me back to opening that amazing box from the Passaic Book Center, which offered 100 back issues of their choice for some crazy amount like 10 bucks back in the late 1970s. Anyone have a .jpg of the ad they used to run in Marvel and DC titles? I found so much stuff for the first time in that box, like The Demon and Kamandi by Kirby and other stuff now recognized as classics, but which apparently you could barely give away back then.
* Hey, Tony Isabella is blogging again. Looking forward to hearing all the details of his L.A. adventures.
* Did you see what Neil Gaiman has to say about online piracy? In my experience, he is exactly right. Hear him out.
* Have a good weekend. See you Monday.
* Hey, Tony Isabella is blogging again. Looking forward to hearing all the details of his L.A. adventures.
* Did you see what Neil Gaiman has to say about online piracy? In my experience, he is exactly right. Hear him out.
* Have a good weekend. See you Monday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)