I had a thought

In the midst of a discussion regarding how manga is treated differently by most 'comics reviewers' and 'comics pundits', a point was made that manga (meaning in this context, "Comics From Japan or possibly Korea") is unique and is informed by different cultural mores and history, and does not necessarily need to be considered if one is considering comics as a whole. Or, say, you have a blog that purports to talk about 'comics' but instead is focussed with laser-beam-like precision at the North American Superhero Publishing Industry, As It Relates Only To Marvel And DC (And The Occasional Creator From The Ghetto Who Makes Good By Deciding That Beta-Ray Bill Needs A Make-Over).

To which I say 'bullshit'. Because I'm crude.

If you walk into a bookstore, you don't find the prose fiction ('novels') of folks like Haruki Murakami, Koji Suzuki, or Banana Yoshimoto is a separately cordoned-off area of the store with a big "HON" sign ('Hon' being the Japanese word for books, just as 'manga' is the Japanese word for comics.) They are integrated into the general fiction section of your neighborhood bookstore. Can you imagine, other than perhaps as a sales display, a bookstore segregating all the books of Japanese origin? It'd be considered xenophobia at best, and racism at worst.

dot dot dot

- Christopher

From The Comments Section in Response to my Time.comix Post Below:

"Apparently Arnold changed his choice of Jeffrey Brown work... this was
from the day the article was posted on time.com:
10. UNLIKELYBy Jeffrey BrownOne of a growing sub-genre of comix artists who
create art out of their (often failed) sex life, Jeffrey Brown's work has stood
out as among the best. Part of a remarkably prolific year for Brown, "Unlikely,"
his second graphic novel, arrived just months before a third, "Bighead," along
with several shorter works appearing in disparate publications. Drawn in an
appealingly unpretentious scrawl, "Unlikely" focuses on Brown's failed
relationship with Alysin, a cute but careless heartbreaker. Working in a kind of
comix verite, Brown removes virtually all editorializing and just presents the
facts as he remembers them. The result is a very appealing, highly sympathetic
and funny portrayal of young love in the aughts."

Interesting...

- Christopher

We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Blogging time will be sparse over the next couple of days, but I did want to take a second and wish everyone reading here a Merry Christmas, as well as a happy holiday of your choice. :) I'm really looking forward to settling down and finding some time to read, if possible, over the holidays. Although the holidays are down to "Friday night, Saturday during the day" so it's looking a little doubtful...

Andrew and I did our first Christmas in the new apartment tonight, and I'm pleased to report that he got me the two things every swinging gay pad needs: A Food Processor and a Disco Ball (complete with rotating motor and spotlight). Is he great or what? :)

Anyway, I hope your Christmas (Holidays, whatever) is as good or better. Thanks for reading!

- Christopher

Time.Comix's Best of 2004

In this world of zero-day comics news and pre-releases and pre-breaks, I'm kind of shocked that Time.com's BEST COMIX OF 2004 list has been up for over 24 hours with no one commenting on it.

The list is here: http://www.time.com/time/bestandworst/2004/comics.html


And briefly, here's the top ten in order from 1-10:

McSweeney's #13, Phoenix: Karma, Bone: One Volume Edition, Kramer's Ergot 5, Locas, Clyde Fans Book One, Amy & Jordan, Eightball #23, Mother Come Home, Bighead (Worst Of Year: Jimbo In Purgatory).

Rather than just linkblogging, I'd like to comment (if I might).

The list is a good one (I'm not just saying that because I own 8 of the 10 books either). Almost all of the books there are definitely in my top 50 of the year, though not all of them would make my top 10 (I really can't get into Amy & Jordan at all, and I wonder if it's just entirely a product of its time and if the new hardcover collection is winning any new converts. Regardless, Chip Kidd and Co. thought it was worth reprinting, so...).

It's also a sort of predictable list. I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way though. Last year's Time Best Comix list evoked a reaction from someone I can't name in a place I can't mention that essentially equated to "Why doesn't he love superheroes like I do? I just don't understand!" I'll wager $10 I see the same reaction again this year. But the point is, as much as I liked NEW FRONTIER it wasn't one of the ten best books of the year (though I am very pleased that David Fiore hated it, and in the way he did too. All his biases and insanity laid bare. Wonderful!) But yeah, it's a predictable list. As an 'artcomix' reviewer, Andrew Arnold picked the best of the books he was inclined to cover anyway and Time Magazine sponsored his list. I have no problem with this, and to be honest this is the list of comics that I _want_ presented to Time Magazine readers. While I'm surprised to see the very-challenging Kramer's Ergot 5 listed, I don't want anything either more obscure (see: The Comics Journal) or more mainstream (see: Wizard) presented to civilians coming to comics for the first time.

The only thing that anyone can agree on is that for 2004, the story was MANGA. While Arnold has decided that Phoenix: Karma is a Japanese-produced comic worthy of everyone's attention (accurately, and following on last year's pick of BUDDHA 1+2) it's pretty obvious that he's not interested in engaging manga, in much the same way that he isn't interested in making honorary mentions of above-average superhero works just to get one on the list (Although maybe BIGHEAD counts? I actually thought Brown's WOLVERINE comic was better than BIGHEAD though...). This goes back to something that Tom Spurgeon said at The Comics Reporter this week:

"I'm still curious that if manga has been the story three years in a row now, why are the particulars of American comics industry maneuvers more worthy of analysis than the specifics of manga company strategies? There was a time in the 1990s when DC was treated less as their own company and more as "Not Marvel"; are we becoming guilty of treating manga more and more as "Not Comics"? "

I think that there are very few people in the entire comics industry, let alone people writing for the public in any meaningful way, that are either willing or able to engage the entire medium of comics and all that represents. It requires moving outside of your comfort zone for starters, and I think we're all aware how 'fans' (let alone commentators) prefer the familiar and comfortable. The thing that gave me a little blink of happiness this year was seeing Dirk Deppey become the (acting) Editor In Chief of The Comics Journal. His work on Journalista showed a real willingness to compare apples to apples to apples, rather than talk solely about Macintosh Apples and NotMacintosh Apples, if you catch my meaning. The Journal end-of-year review for 2004, at least what I know of it, already sounds significantly different and much better than last year's, and that makes me happy.

(The flip-side being, of course, that while The Journal is getting more diverse and inclusive, it runs the risk of alienating their long-time clientelle comprised mainly of assholes who think that both nothing will be as good as it used to be, and things are only good if no one else likes them. I'm hoping Dirk interviews Morrison at some point actually.)

Anyway, this all ties together. I think lists like these need to be a little predictable, as TIME and WIZARD (and maybe even The Journal...) act as endzone markers, or something? Something like that, I'm not so good with the sports. Anyway, they define the boundaries of what we expect when it comes to recommendations and comics reporting. We need to know that Paul O'Brien willingly subjects himself to every X-Men comic every week, at the expense of works that are actually good, and that this has irrevocably damaged his critical facilities, to realize why he'd rather just call manga the story of the year and then not talk about it. He's our goalpost, and it's up to the rest of us, the 'progressive' types, to define ourselves against those. That does mean that I (and others) actually have to do the work (posts like these) rather than just linkblogging all the time (posts like the one preceeding this). But yeah, interesting list. I wonder what the blogosphere will make of it?

Me, I'm waiting for 2004 to be over before I actually decide to engage it much more than I already have. It's one thing to answer someone else's questions, it's quite another to write your own. Besides, Blue Spring is out next week and I'm expecting that to be one of my favorites of the year :). There MIGHT be two new Fanfare/Ponent Mon books too...!

Manga Manga!

Some recent manga release news courtesy of folks like Irresponsible Pictures:

"Viz to start new SHONEN JUMP ADVANCED line of titles [Editor's Note: This already started with Viz's release of ULTIMATE MUSCLE] will include EYESHIELD 21, HUNTER X HUNTER, and I''S. The trio of titles are each rated "T+" for older teens and will hit store shelves in April of 2005 with an MSRP of $7.99." at http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/pressrelease.php?id=747

ADV announces lots of manga, including Orphen, something called "Noodle Fighter Miki" which sounds like it could be fun, and the sequel to Full Metal Panic, FMP: Overload!. at http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/article.php?id=5886. No announcement of GANTZ!, which a fellow in the comments section was asking after. Considering that ADV has the manga rights on that, it's unlikely that anyone else will be picking it up. Sorry!

Viz announces LEGENDZ, which sounds like a week Beyblade-type thing, and the much-anticipated precursor to DRAGONBALL from Akira Toriyama, DR. SLUMP! at http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/pressrelease.php?id=741. Time.COMIX spoiled The DR. SLUMP surprise earlier this month, and also confirmed that Viz would be releasing the FULL METAL ALCHEMIST manga, as well as something called "HAPPY HUSTLE HIGH" which is sure to be misinterpreted by an overly sensitive mother or retailer somewhere. at http://www.time.com/time/columnist/arnold/article/0,9565,956125,00.html.

Worth noting that at that same Time.COMIX article, Tokyopop chose solely to promote their WARCRAFT adaptation and four of their new manga by North American creators...

According to http://www.boxofficeprophets.com/column/index.cfm?columnID=8725 apperantly the film based on Taiyo Matsumoto's BLUE SPRING (coming next week!!!) is out on DVD in North America. I didn't think this was the case. If anyone can find it and post it in the comments section, that'd be awesome.

...and kudos to Drawn & Quarterly, who (quietly) have picked up a series of manga, and a stand-alone graphic novel set in North Korea. The manga 'series' will be a high-quality prestige-format release of (presumably) the complete works of Yoshihiro Tatsumi. Many fine-comix fans got a taste of Tatsumi's work in last year's DRAWN & QUARTERLY VOLUME 5 anthology, are or long-time fans of his realistic stories from the 1960's and 70's. We stumbled onto a cache of some of his previously-translated English work, a long out-of-print book called Good Bye, and Other Stories, at the store and I've since become a great fan. D&Q's attention to detail and re-write and editorial work from Adrian Tomine should ensure a spectacular series of books. The other work from Drawn & Quarterly is PYONGYANG, by French cartoonist Guy Delisle. According to my French-language reading boss, it's a spectacular book and one of his favourite comics of 2003. God bless D&Q.

Apologies to Irresponsible Pictures, I promise I'll link you on the sidebar soon. :)

Best,

- Christopher

So Here It Is - Merry Christmas!

Thanks to my friends David & Kiko (you rule), and all of you nice people on the internet, I got two early Christmas presents today. I am giddy with joy over them, and I wanted to share/brag a little bit.

Gift #1:


This is Taiyo Matsumoto's first hardcover art book, a collection of colour artworks and original full-colour manga short stories (wordless too!). It's really, really wonderful. I've flipped through it two or three times in the last hour. It's very inspiring, and there are a number of art pieces from BLACK & WHITE which is very cool. I'd like to know where I can find that double page colour spread art of Black looking over treasure-town with the red-orange sky though. They reproduced it in b&w in the English translations and that kinda ruined it. Hopefully it's in the sequel artbook 101 or the Japanese editions of the manga...

Gift #2:


IKKI is a 'cool' monthly manga magazine running 490 pages or so. Of particular note to North American comics fans, IKKI is where the series SHADOWSTAR from Dark Horse is (seems to be?) serialized, and it's also where Taiyo Matsumoto's NO.5 is serialized. Of particular note to me, this issue of IKKI features a brand new postcard set/calendar from Matsumoto's NO.5 series! It's 12 new pieces of art, and they're nifty. I'll be hanging mine up, and when I get to work on Monday I'll try and scan some of the images to post here. :)

Thank you Dave & Kiko for getting these. And thanks to the nice folks on the internet, wherever that conversation was, for telling me about the calendar offer and showing me the Taiyo Matsumoto Website as well.

Merry Christmas!

- Christmastopher

DC COMICS REVEALS NEW COLLECTED EDITIONS TO ARRIVE IN STORES IN APRIL AND MAY

DC Comics looks ahead to April and May 2005 with new collected editions
and original graphic novels from the DCU, WildStorm, VERTIGO, CMX,
Humanoids, 2000 A.D. and more.

DCU titles scheduled to reach stores in April include:

BATMAN: THE GREATEST STORIES EVER TOLD TP
Writers: Bill Finger, Frank Robbins, Dennis O'Neil, Steve Englehart, Mike W. Barr, Mark Millar and Devin Grayson
Artists: Neal Adams, Bob Kane, Lew Sayre Schwartz, Sheldon Moldoff, Dick Giordano, Sal Amendola, Vin Amendola, Marshall Rogers, Frank Miller, Alan Davis, Steve Yeowell, Roger Robinson, Charles Paris, Steve Mitchell, Paul Neary, Dick Sprang and Alex Ross
Collecting stories from DETECTIVE COMICS #33, 439 and 574, BATMAN #5, 62,
156, 250, 251, DC SPECIAL SERIES #15 and 21, BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK
KNIGHT #79 and BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #32
192 pages

BATMAN: SCARECROW TALES TP
Writers: Bill Finger, Gardner Fox, Dennis O'Neil, Elliot S. Maggin, Gerry Conway, Mike W. Barr, Peter Milligan and Devin Grayson
Artists: Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson, George Roussos, Joe Giella, Ernie Chua, Dick Giordano, Irv Novick, Tex Blaisdell, Don Newton, Dan Adkins, Alan Davis, Paul Neary, Duncan Fegredo, Roger Robinson, John Floyd, Arthur Adams, George Pratt, Jim Balent, Bill Sienkiewicz, Mike Mignola and Dermot Power
Collecting stories from WORLD'S FINEST #3, BATMAN #189 and 262, THE JOKER #8, DETECTIVE COMICS #503 and 571, SCARECROW #1 and BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #23.
176 pages

BATMAN: YEAR ONE DELUXE EDITION HC
Writer: Frank Miller
Artist: David Mazzucchelli
One of the all time greatest Batman stories returns in a deluxe edition designed by Chip Kidd that collects the now classic BATMAN #404-407. Bonus material includes new introductions by Miller and Mazzucchelli, original pencil and promotional art, character designs, unseen and rare development material, color samples, script pages and more.
144 pages

DCU titles scheduled to reach stores in May include:

BATMAN COVER TO COVER: THE GREATEST COMIC BOOK COVERS OF THE DARK KNIGHT HC
Commentary by: Neal Adams, Jim Aparo, Neil Gaiman, Geoff Johns, Chip Kidd, Jim Lee, Paul Levitz, Jeph Loeb, Brad Meltzer, Christopher Nolan, Alex Ross, Mark Waid, Adam West, Mark Hamill and others
Artists: Neal Adams, Brian Bolland, John Cassaday, Darwyn Cooke, Alan Davis, Dick Giordano, Michael Golden, Carmine Infantino, Dave Johnson, J.G. Jones, Michael Wm. Kaluta, Bob Kane, Gil Kane, Joe Kubert, Jim Lee, David Mazzucchelli, Scott McDaniel, Ed McGuinness, Mike Mignola, Frank Miller, Jerry Robinson, Alex Ross, Tim Sale, Walter Simonson and others
Collecting covers from DETECTIVE COMICS, BATMAN, WORLD'S FINEST and other series
240 pages

BATMAN: BROKEN CITY TP
Writer: Brian Azzarello
Artists: Eduardo Risso, Dave Johnson
Collecting BATMAN #620-625
144 pages

THE BATMAN STRIKES! VOL. 1 TP
Writer: Bill Matheny
Artists: Christopher Jones, Terry Beatty, Jeff Matsuda
Collecting THE BATMAN STRIKES! #1-5
104 pages

GOTHAM CENTRAL: HALF A LIFE TP
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artists: Michael Lark, Jason Pearson, William Rosado and others
Collecting BATMAN CHRONICLES #16, GOTHAM CENTRAL #6-10 and DETECTIVE
COMICS #747
168 pages

HAWKMAN: WINGS OF FURY TP
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artists: Rags Morales, Jos� Luis Garc�a-L�pez, Michael Bair, Scot Eaton
and Ray Kryssing
Collecting HAWKMAN #15-22
192 pages

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED VOL. 1 TP
Writer: Adam Beechen
Artists: Carlo Barberi, Ethen Beavers, Walden Wong, Ben Caldwell
Collecting JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #1-5
104 pages

NIGHTWING: ON THE RAZOR'S EDGE TP
Writer: Chuck Dixon
Artists: Greg Land, Rick Leonardi, Mike Lilly, Drew Geraci, Jesse
Delperdang and Mark Farmer
Collecting NIGHTWING #52, 54-60
192 pages

SUPERMAN: THE WRATH OF GOG TP
Writer: Chuck Austen
Artists: Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Marc Campos, Jon Sibal and Arthur Adams
Collecting stories from ACTION COMICS #812-819
160 pages

SUPERMAN: ACTION COMICS ARCHIVES VOL. 4 HC
Writers: Jerry Siegel, Don Cameron
Artists: John Sikela, Ed Dobrotka, Sam Citron, Ira Yarbrough and Jack Burnley
Collecting stories from ACTION COMICS #53-68
224 pages

THE WRATH OF THE SPECTRE TP
Writer: Michael Fleischer
Artists: Jim Aparo, Ernie Chua, Frank Thorne, Mike DeCarlo and Pablo Marcos
Collecting ADVENTURE COMICS #431-440 and WRATH OF THE SPECTRE #4
200 pages

WildStorm title scheduled to reach stores in May:

THUNDERCATS: ENEMY'S PRIDE TP
Writer: John Layman
Artists: Joe Vriens, Sacha Heilig and Roberto Campus
Collecting THUNDERCATS: ENEMY'S PRIDE #1-5
128 pages

America's Best Comics title scheduled to reach stores in May:

TOP TEN: THE 49ERS HC
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: Gene Ha
An original graphic novel
96 pages

VERTIGO title scheduled to reach stores in May:

100 BULLETS: THE HARD WAY TP
Writer: Brian Azzarello
Artist: Eduardo Risso, Dave Johnson
Collecting 100 BULLETS #50-58
224 pages

Y: THE LAST MAN VOL. 5: RING OF TRUTH TP
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artists: Pia Guerra, Jos� Marz�n, Jr. and Massimo Carnevale
Collecting Y: THE LAST MAN #24-31
192 pages

SPIRIT ARCHIVES title scheduled to reach stores in April:

THE SPIRIT ARCHIVES VOL. 16 HC
Writer/artist: Will Eisner
Collecting SPIRIT stories from January 4 to June 27, 1948
196 pages

ElfQuest title scheduled to reach stores in April:

ELFQUEST: THE SEARCHER AND THE SWORD SC
Writers: Wendy and Richard Pini
Artist: Wendy Pini
A softcover edition of the original graphic novel.
96 pages

CMX title scheduled to reach stores in April:

TENRYU: THE DRAGON CYCLE VOL.1
Written and illustrated by Matoh Sanami
200 pages

CMX titles scheduled to reach stores in May:

GALS! VOL. 2
Writer/artist: Fujii Mihona
192 pages

MUSASHI NUMBER 9 VOL. 3
Writer/artist: Takahashi Miyuki
192 pages

SWAN VOL. 3
Writer/artist: Ariyoshi Kyoko
208 pages

TENJHO TENGE VOL. 2
Writer/artist: Oh! great
184 pages

Humanoids titles scheduled to reach stores in April:

MEGALEX TP
Writer: Alexandro Jodorowsky
Artist: Fred Beltran
112 pages

MEMORIES TP
Writer/artist: Enki Bilal
144 pages

THE FOURTH POWER TP
Writer/artist: Juan Gimenez
136 pages

Humanoids titles scheduled to reach stores in May:

DIFFERENT UGLINESS, DIFFERENT MADNESS TP
Writer/artist: Marc Mal�s
128 pages

METABARONS VOL. 3: STEELHEAD & DONA VICENTA TP
Writer: Alexandro Jodorowsky
Artist: Juan Gimenez
136 pages

OLYMPUS TP
Writers: Geoff Johns & Kris Grimminger
Artist: Butch Guice
112 pages

2000 A.D. titles scheduled to reach stores in May:

A.B.C. WARRIORS: THE BLACK HOLE TP
Writer: Pat Mills
Artists: Simon Bisley and S.M.S.
136 pages

JUDGE ANDERSON: ANDERSON - PSI DIVISION TP
Writers: John Wagner and Alan Grant
Artists: Brett Ewin, Cliff Robinson, Barry Kitson and Will Simpson
192 pages

SINISTER DEXTER: SLAY PER VIEW TP
Writer: Dan Abnett
Artists: Greg Staples, Alex Ronald, Simon Davis, Andy Clarke, Calum Alexander Watt, Paul Johnson, David Millgate, Marc Wigmore, Julian Gibson, Steve Samplson, Sean Phillips, Patrick Woodrow, Stephen Baskerville and Steve Yeowell
240 pages

--

I should take 10 minutes at some point and combine this with the other list... Although again, there could be stuff missing here. 100% (in the new catalogue and due March 9th) wasn't announced through this either...

Still, GOTHAM CENTRAL trade paperback=good.

- Christopher

Hope & Mal

I <3 Hope & Mal. I also just noticed two things, because I'm sort of slow and have been a little absorbed with work and moving and myself and Andrew for the past few weeks. These are the two things:
1)

Hope and Mal did a piece of Jam art as a housewarming gift for Andrew and I at the new place. I'm trying to decide how to frame it right now. I was really happy to stumble across it at Hope's Site, because it's cool and I like sharing art. I'm really happy to have received it.

2)

There is a 5-page preview of Scott Pilgrim 2 now available at the Oni Press website. Sweet. Also, and I don't know if it's really made it 'out' anywhere, like if Newsarama ran the press release (or if there was a press release?) but the price for the second volume will be the same as the first, US$11.95, despite the addition of 30 extra pages or so. It was solicited at $14.95 but the nice Oni people have got it back down at twelve bucks, which is great. I hope you all pre-ordered it.

So that's two cool things today.

- Christopher

For Mal: Merry Christmas

At Mal's shaming of me, I have fixed my site design. I hope you all enjoy it. I wanted to do something Christmasy and easy (re: animated snowflakes), but I figured I'd just bite the bullet and spend the hour fixing it. For the record though, I'm not really a Krazy & Ignatz fan, they were just handy graphics I had that fit.

Content: I was directed to a very interesting blog yesterday called BOOKLUST, put together by a Toronto illustrator and comic-strip fan. Her most-recent entry yesterday was about her dissatisfaction with graphic novels, and she has a few complaints that I had heard before but that were previously expressed... ineloquently at best. She put together an interesting and convincing post:

"When graphic novels first began to really gain momentum a few years back, I often thought that there was something wrong with me, because I just could not get into them the way so many people did. I tried to get into them, and I am still trying, but I am only having a modicum of success. So far, for me, it's only been Art Spiegelman who really has impressed me. I'm drawn to his raw, dynamic, earthy drawing style, and his wonderful ability to put humour into some very dark subject material. Artists like Seth and Chris Ware, as talented as they are (and they are very talented and skilled), are for me, missing something in their artwork and storytelling. There is some basic human connection that I am just not getting with these guys. Other than this overwhelming dark shadow of gloom, I don't pick up any other emotions from these guys. And so whenever I read their work, I am left feeling cold and empty. Does anyone else feel this, or am I out in left field alone here?"

She isn't alone, and I had a very hard time getting into Seth's It's A Good Life If You Don't Weaken for much the same reason. Seth, as a character, is enormously unsympathetic. Granted, he has enough detractors on the CJ board right now so I don't need to dwell, but I greatly enjoyed CLYDE FANS BOOK ONE particularly for its 2, slightly-more-disguised protagonists. That said, here was my response in the comments section:

"...while I'm afraid of having this denegrate into a recommendations thread, I just want to say that while I disagree with some of your assertations about graphic novels, I can see the point you're making. I'd wager that many of the gn's you've been exposed to are the ones getting mainstream literary attention, and they're getting that attention particularly because of their dark, serious, 'introspective' (rather than navel-gazing) nature -- which is considered to be at odds with the normal consideration of what comic books are. What's been lost in the rush to seriousness is the fact that there's a real breadth of experiences to be found in the medium, and solemn semi-autobiography is only one example of "it's not just superheroes or manga". If you ever get the chance to go to a good comic book store and are looking for something that decidedly isn't vaguely-morbid, the staff are likely to be able to point you in the right direction. And if I can put a few ideas in your head beforehand? Look for Promethea Vol. 1-3, Street Angel #1-4, Scott Pilgrim Vol 1, or the beautiful and excellent "100%" coming March 9th. There are plenty more besides to cheer you over the holiday season."

I just wanted to expand on that a little. It seems that, moving along from the dichotomy of comics press from years back ("Bang, Pow! Comics aren't for kids anymore!" or "Boy, aren't those superhero comic collectors wacky/sad/scary?"), we've now got three, or maybe even four stock stories. One of them, probably the most prominent these days, is "Hey, you, this is a work of sterling genius and artistry and it happens to be a comic book, got a problem with that?" It's bordering on critical bullying, and to be honest I think it's marvelous. I'd much rather have a well-spoken and respected writer loudly proclaiming their love for comics to a sleazy expose' on how comic shops are selling RAPEMAN to little Billy. By all means, keep LOUIS RIEL and PERSEPOLIS on the best-seller lists.

But, I'm hoping 2005 sees the critical eye wandering out a little bit further from the staid and stolid art-comix output. The 'midlist' where many of the favorite books of the Blogosphere seem to exist (although TBH as a whole we're not that great at recommendations, with positive reviews seemingly easy to procure through the promise of free comics or 'exclusive' content in many cases...) has gotten the shaft when it comes to mainstream attention, mostly because it's much harder for someone unfamiliar with the medium to write a review or an article. This leads to two conversations I've had in the last week. 1) Many Journalists Are Lazy And Want You To Do Their Job For Them, as a creator. If your story 'writes itself', then there's a better chance it will get written. 2) Many people define works by what they are not, rather than what they are, because it's easier and more familiar. I'm not just talking about anti-Marvel, anti-DC, anti-Manga, or (unfortunately) anti-Artcomix stances. I was trying to convince someone to read Street Angel the other day and they wouldn't budge as soon as I mentioned the lead character seemingly having superpowers. Nevermind that it's got a great deal more in common with Transmetropolitan than the Teen Titans, he wanted an experience different than Superheroes, and wouldn't hear otherwise.

Of course, perhaps I'm just a poor salesperson.

Anyway. The point being, and this goes back to the cultural myopia post from last week, perception is a hard thing to combat, and you've got to really open your eyes (and I believe you've got to work to open the eyes of other too. Did I mention Scott Pilgrim yet today? I did? Good.). Particularly in comics, where the industry leaders are constantly spinning every event so hard that even many of the participants don't know what their positions are supposed to be. Particularly when every difference of opinion is seen as an attack because everyone's been attacked for so long.

The perception of our industry is splintered, with tons of positives and negatives floating around (maybe if DC would stop raping, strangling, and immolating women we'd have a few less negatives...). That splintering though is a hell of a lot better than what we had 5 years ago, and I'm predicting perception is going to get even more splintered, diverse, and vociferous (positive and negative) before we plateau. Although it's taken nearly 70 years, and we've been bypassed by things like the video game and the internet-industries, comics might just finally be coming into their own. I'd much rather hear "I've read a bunch of comics and only found a few that appeal to me" than "Comics? You mean people still read those?"

How about that? Comics really aren't just for kids anymore.

- Christmastopher

Go win yourself a great free comic book

Over at Cognitive Dissonance, Johanna is giving away a free copy of the excellent all-ages graphic novel OWLY by Andy Runton (Published by Top Shelf) to the two people who send her the cutest Owl drawings. Sharpen your pencils and head on over:

http://www.comicsworthreading.com/blog/2004/12/owly-contest.html

- Chris

Myths of the comics industry: EXPOSED

I wanted to post some meaningful content while I'm grumpy (very congested, hepped-up on medication). So, in the spirit of everyone talking about how much they like Dorian's blog (I like Dorian's blog too) because he lays it on the line about retailing, I would like to dispell some myths for you.

Kids Don't Buy Comics

Yes, they do. We have a pretty regular, and rapidly expanding, clientelle of young readers. Popular titles almost entirely fall within the realm of manga (shock!), with the Shonen Jump titles, Dot Hack Sign, and Kare Kano (among other romance titles) leading the way. The kids range from about 7 all the way up to 15 or so. Other popular titles include X-Men, Tintin, Asterix, and the Disney and Archie among the really little kids. We've got a few kids who're into the horror stuff (older boys mostly) and war comics, and the classic DC reprints and EC reprints sell really well too. If you scroll down a few entries, you can see one of our younger customers espousing the virtues of the store in the cities highest-circulated newspaper. Believe me, kids like comics, but they prefer choice.

Variant Covers Are A Good Thing

No, no they're not. I can't stress enough how ultimately damaging this bullshit is. Even if you refuse to believe that people budget for comics and buying 2 copies of the same book (with a different cover) doesn't AUTOMATICALLY mean that they won't buy 2 different books, more often than not, that's the case. I would rather sell ten different books to someone, or ten different books to ten different people, than ten of the same book to the same person. Despite the extra work involved. Despite it going against was might appear to be a basic tenet of business. Why? It's short term gain. The trickle-down doesn't work, retailers who have 'extra' money from selling lots of New Avengers #1's don't turn around and take risks on Street Angel, they buy more New Avengers #2. And when that fad wears off? When the person that's been buying 10 of the same book decides that they don't like that book and stop? That's 10 sales lost. The person who was buying ten different books, or the ten different people, if I lose half of those sales to attrition, that's still an extra 5 books out the door. 5 books being read and followed, month after month.

Listen, I love Graeme to death, but the most ignorant things I've read in the past week have been in the FR comments section. "The worst thing is that [customers] keep buying [variant covers]" was meant sarcastically, but it really is pretty terrible. If you want to know what's wrong with giving people what they want, I'll tell you: It's the same reason we don't let children smoke or drive cars, put child-proof tops on asprin, or let business' pollute wherever the fuck they want (without paying a massive kickback first). It's the same reason that many legitimate, intelligent business favour steady and incrimental growth over a scorched-earth policy of sales: Because people need to be protected from themselves, a lot of the time. And unless you're a dyed-in-the-wool Anarchist or a stereotypical-militia-fuck, I really don't want to hear differently from you. Just because you want something doesn't mean it's good for you.

The only sales increases I've seen, the only new customers in the store due to variant covers, are the bottom-feeders from other shops within walking distance who're coming scouring for 'hot' books. Here's a secret: I've got first printings of every issue of Green Lantern Rebirth and Identity Crisis out on the racks right now, for cover price. Why? Because we didn't mark them up. I know that if I want to sell out of something, I'll take all but 2 copies of it off the racks, bag-and-board it, and triple or quadruple the price. I'd sell both of them within 24 hours and then do the same thing with the next 2 copies. It's easy, any number of retailers (or 'pundits') will tell you the same from their experience, and we don't do it because it's not ethical.

My personal plea: Spend the money you would spend on a variant on another comic. Do us all a favour and contribute to a healthier comics medium. Ask yourself why you feel you need to have three copies of the same comic (other than the obvious fuck/marry/kill joke). Don't Believe The Hype.

Street Angel Is Overly-Praised

It really isn't, Johanna. That you took Jim Rugg's comments personally is unfortunate, but he's got a number of good points. You and I have bitched at length about the terrible state of reviewing, and I'm sure we'd have a fun conversation about blogging too. He's bang-on about all of it, and rather than just be pissed-off I'd recommend you engage him on his thoughts. He's a remarkably intelligent person, we've had interesting discussions about reviewing that you might really appreciate.

Besides that, Street Angel is good stuff.


Don't Post On Medication

Well, clearly.

- Christopher

Here's something...

The American bookstore chain Powell's has released their employee picks for 2004. The comics content is really depressingly sparse, though (and only one person seems to have picked David Sedaris' Dress Your Family In Courdoroy And Denim? Heresy!) But, going by the lists, here's what the best comics of the year were:

Carnet De Voyage, by Craig Thompson
Samurai Executioner Volume 1, by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima
Chris Ware, by Daniel Raeburn (not technically a comic)

- Christopher

First!

I'm jumping the gun a little bit (sorry), but I just wanted to post a quote from Alan David Doane's end-of-year round up over at ComicBookGalaxy. It's funny, I actually thought that this was going to run at Newsarama so I tailored my responses a little more to that crowd. On reading this, I kind of wish it was running there, just to get some great hate-mail out of it :)

Jim Rugg: "Slapping variant covers on their shit books is the equivalent of putting air-fresheners in port-o-johns. Marvel and DC (especially Marvel) remind me of those older-middle-aged men who try so hard to be �hip� but just come off as old and pathetic. It could be entertaining if they had a shred of self-awareness and a sense-of-humor, but they don�t and it�s like watching a very boring train wreck."

Jim Rugg is a very smart guy.

This article should be up tommorow morning. The similarity of responses is eerie. Enjoy!

- Christopher

Kudoriffic

The Toronto Star (newspaper) launched a new section for the teen-tween demographic a while back. This morning/this week they ran this article, and it was really nice to wake up to I gotta say:

The Beguiling: A cool haven for comic lovers
http://www.brandnewplanet.ca

JAKOB TANNER
PLANET REPORTER

On Markham St. just behind Honest Ed's and around the corner from the Bathurst subway station lies the best comic book store. It's called The Beguiling. I have been going to The Beguiling most of my life and it's a great place to get books, anime and manga, superhero comics, graphic novels, alternative comics and much more, including DVDs and videos. Two floors just packed with stuff.

The first time I went to The Beguiling was when I was around 7 years old and I bought a movie � in VHS I might add. I thought the store was amazing and over the years I have discovered new things about it, such as being able to write your own comics and sell them there.

If you are wondering what's the difference between a comic book and a graphic novel, here's what owner Peter Birkemoe has to say:

"We like to think that graphic novels are just a fancy name for comic books that people who are ashamed of the word `comic book' like to use. Almost everything we sell here is a `comic' of some kind. People often use graphic novel to mean thicker, book-length comics."

The store opened in 1987, and switched owners in 1998. The current owners are Peter and Shane Chung. These guys are really great and they treat all customers with the same respect, unlike other stores, who aren't very nice to kids.

The Beguiling hosts great events such as the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, and author appearances and book signings so you can meet your favourite authors. You can sign up for free e-mails telling you about events they are hosting and the "secret" sales just for people who have signed up. That means that not just anybody can walk in and get 50 per cent off because you can't tell that there's a sale. You have to KNOW the sale is on. That's the secret part.

If you were wondering what things you can buy at The Beguiling that are suitable for ages 9 to 14, here's what the owners suggest:

The bestsellers are manga (Japanese for comics). Some manga titles are One Piece and Whistle. Also, North American comics such as Bone, which I have read and it's a great story and everyone should read it. It's the adventures of the Bone cousins and what happens to them when they leave Boneville. There are also European comics such as Tintin, Asterix and Little Vampire.

- Jakob Tanner, 13, Grade 8, Toronto

Yay!

- Christopher

Thanks, Ed

So since it seems everyone I know is reading my blog now, and since James brought this to my attention, I figured I'd share it. Found via Fanboy Rampage, who took the time and energy to parse everything into easily quotable chunks, which I now steal and highlight the parts that make me feel fuzzy inside:

At Millarworld, someone finally defends the ignorant comics fan. It all spins out of a European retailer's perspective on We3's poor sales:

"I'm sorry, but there's no other way to say it: this goes to show the american market is a joke. A very bad and tasteless joke. This is a fabulous book by one of the top 2 writers in the industry and THE top artist, bare none, in the field. And it sells this miserable global numbers. I know: this is going to sell much better in GN form, but even though... As a small european retailer, WE3 is my number 2 'monthly' best-seller, only surpassed by Astonishing X-Men. It's a book I heavily promote and much sought after by customers. This is really a surreal situation and I better stop right now, otherwise I'll say some very unpleasant things..."

This doesn't go down well:

"Yeah, but it's Homeward Bound meets the Terminator... Not really my thing. Now if they would have done Superman, Batman, or even another JLA mini..that would have sold much better. I can't speak for anyone else, but I'd rather read super hero titles than a mini about animal assassins."

"I think it's more of a joke that you think you are so cultured, that you should decide what's taseful and what's not... Do you always go around insulting an entire country like this , and is this approved of here? If so, where are you from? I'm sure I could insult the hell out of you and your countrymen for not liking what I like. Jeez..."

Ed Brubaker pops in to try and calm things down:

"Hey, why don't you chill out and actually read what he said. He said the 'American Market' not America, John Wayne. And he's got a good point, when the biggest artist in comics does a book that ISN'T superheroes and it only sells around 30 thousand, that's showing how limited our market is, especially the American Direct Market. It's essentially a one-genre market, and on a pure business level, even, that's just wrong. And this from a guy who writes Captain America. Our TPB market is better for non-superhero stuff, at least, but still not nearly so good as Europe's. And lets not even get started on Japan. ;)"

And that's when things get fun:

"He's insulting every American who willingly supports the market with no complaints, and called us tasteless and a joke. Don't you think there's a damn good reason why we don't support a market for the other stuff? You may like the other genres, and he may like the other genres, but these are comic books, not deep literature, and most people aren't trying to convince themselves that comics are something that they're not, and choose to get our other genres from other mediums. Ones that do them better. We are the entertainment capital of the world, and we have lots of choices on how to spend our entertainment dollars, and buying comic books that deal with anything other than superheroes is not most people's thing. That doesn't mean it's wrong or that we're dumb, but the market is a reflection of the buyer's wants, and insulting the Amercan market is insulting the American buyer who wants to buy that stuff."

Brubaker again:

"The fact is, the Direct Market is not that accurate a reflection of what the buyer wants. It's a reflection of what the retailers on the whole are willing to carry. When stores carry a wider variety of product, the way bookstores usually do, the non-superhero stuff generally sells better -- look at stores like the Isotope or the Beguiling, who carry the full range of genres, they sell as many Eightballs as they do X-Men. [Editor's note: Actually, we sell far more Eightball than X-Men.] Saying the Direct Market reflects what the buyers want is like saying the sales at Mystery Bookstores prove that no one wants to read anything but mysteries. The point being that the majority of comic stores have basically become Super-hero boutiques, not even racking anything outside the top 20 or 30 books, with the rest left to subscription services only. It's a sad situation for those of us who want to see a more diverse market for the medium, such as they have in Europe and Asia. Thankfully, TPBs are starting to have more of an impact through bookstores, and as I said, when presented with more options, buyers are choosing to try more diverse material."

Cue defensive fanboy:

"Kind of a biased opinion coming from the guy who writes Gotham Central and Sleeper (Your babies), so I can see why you would want more non-super hero books out there and succeeding. The American markets as good as it's going to get. If you guys think that books other than super heroes are going to explode here...you're living on the wrong planet. Maybe manga in bookstores, but that's about it. Half the stuff that gets nominated for Eisners, I have never heard of."

The American market is as good as it's going to get, okay? If you're not with us, you're against us, you dirty stinking Communist no-goodnik!

Heh, there's so much more to write, but I'm at work :(. Maybe later.

- Christopher

Cultural Myopia

One of my msot closely-held beliefs about comics, both the industry and the medium, and one that I am most reluctant to express, is that most of the people involved in the medium, at any level, have an intense and often-deliberate cultural myopia. Superhero fans whose only interests outside of comics are superhero-influenced or inspired (Smallville, Kevin Smith Films, Toys, Paedophillia), superhero artists that learned to draw by copying Neal Adams, or Art Adams, or Jim Lee, retailers that were fans in the first place with no specific business acumen or experience... People who eat, sleep, and breathe their chosen field and in doing so become the snake eating its own tale. Thankfully every once in a while something new will come along, someone will crib from Katsuhiro Otomo or discover photoshop or something, and it'll be a new set of genes added to the melting pot, but even then there's a large section of comics-conservatives who are out there trying to defend the style of Western Superhero comics like the National Front talks about racial purity: It's more than a little creepy.

So yeah, I think about these things and don't talk about them because, for the most part, no one wants to hear them (and I was joking up top there about the Paedophillia thing, no angry letters please...). But every once in a while, I think it's important to link to something different or new, in the hopes of not only taking it at its own worth, but also how it might affect comics (either the medium or the industry or whatever, really).

I've come across a very nifty article from the end of October, from the UKs Guardian newspaper, wherin a music journalist decides to listen to and review every album released in the month of October. It's a great little read. I was particularly impressed with this:

They are always telling us that the forces of darkness are massed on their shores - legions of illegal internet file-sharers, downloaders, pirates, CD-burners and bootleggers, poised to invade and lay waste to the industry as we know it. Yet here they are, with oblivion breathing down their necks, carrying on like Corporal Jones of the Warmington-on-Sea Home Guard, incapable of putting some CDs in an envelope without asking exactly what you want five times, then getting confused and sending you some biscuits and a cigarette lighter instead.

When the CDs start to turn up, I'm struck not just by the sheer quantity - 25,793 CDs were released last year, over double the figure produced in 1994 - but also by the variety. "The cost of entry into the market is lower than it ever was before. It costs less to manufacture CDs, and it costs less to record an album," says Steve Redmond. "At the same time, the gap between those albums that sell in huge quantities and those that don't is probably greater than ever."

You can say that again. Given that Britain currently boasts six major music periodicals, a host of secondary specialist titles, extensive pop coverage in every newspaper, innumerable digital radio stations and more music TV channels than anyone in their right minds would want to watch, you would be forgiven for thinking that everything released gets covered somewhere.

You would be wrong. Forget unknown bands - there are whole genres you have never heard of.

Neat stuff, and I don't think you even have to squint to see paralells. Anyway, these are just lazy Sunday afternoon thoughts, inspired by flipping through Marvel-previews to see another 10 new series or one-shots...

Best,

- Christopher

More Cool Stuff

http://www.shogakukan.co.jp/taiyo/

:)

- Christopher

No One Seems To Have Caught On.

From today's stupid fucking Marvel Press Release:

"Upcoming work for the amazing artist includes a 4-issue arc of Amazing Spider-Man with Mike Deodato, and some work for Marvel�s new �Age of Apocalypse� event. Brooks has another special ongoing project - providing the covers for the ultra-hot new series Arana: Heart of the Spider."

--

Raise a glass to the death of innovation.

- Christopher

God Bless That Man

Thanks to AK, here is a new Taiyou Matsumoto comic online:

- Christopher

Advent: Day One

Stealing the idea wholesale from Polite Dissent, might I present you with my own 'Advent Calendar' of sorts? Not comics related, mind you, but still good. You see, I will present to you song lyrics to "excellent" Christmas tunes, at the rate of one per day. Then, if you haven't heard the song, you can get irritated, which will lead you to finding the song or merely hating me. And if you have? You get to have it rattling around in your head all day! My gift to you!

Our innaugral selection is what I like to consider a contemporary classic.

Christmas With The Devil
Sung in the style of Spinal Tap

The elves are dressed in leather
And the angels are in chains
(Christmas with the Devil)
The sugar plums are rancid
And the stockings are in flames
(Christmas with the Devil)
There's a demon in my belly
And a gremlin in my brain
There's someone up the chimney hole
And Satan is his name
The rats ate all the presents
And the reindeer ran away
(Christmas with the Devil)
There'll be no Father Christmas
'Cause it's Evils holiday
(Christmas with the Devil)
No bells in Hell
No snow below-
Silent Night, Violent Night
So come all ye unfaithful
Don't be left out in the cold
You don't need no invitation, no...
Your ticket is your soul!

My Christmas Wish

How many fucking failed superhero universes do we need? How many Crossgens before it all sinks into place? STOP FUCKING PUBLISHING NEW SUPERHERO UNIVERSES. NOBODY FUCKING CARES. If you've got an idea for one really spectacular superhero book, by all means, take your shot! We need another INVICIBLE, or POWERS, or even THE AUTHORITY. But if you've got it in your head to create a new superhero universe 'brand' from scratch, just don't, okay? Save us all a lot of time, money, and heartache.

...and while I'm making friends, can I just say that a pledge drive to raise money to publish more goddamned HE-MAN comics is fucking disgusting. I don't care how nice Val Staples is, Tom Spurgeon hit the nail on the head when he said we should all chip in five bucks to ensure that someone stops publishing He-Man. It's embarassing for all of us for there to be a He-Man comic for 'adults'. My only regret is that Crossgen's bankruptcy didn't somehow manage to halt the publication of more mature takes on Children's programmes from the 70s and 80s. Although time, the market, and some spectacular financial mismanagement seems to be taking care of that quite nicely.

Love,

Christopher