More comic-related fun!

Ok, two more things to discuss today:

1)I took a hike last week to a place some of you might find a bit...familiar.


(Please forgive my oh-so fashionable Sunday afternoon workout gear. I wasn't really thinking about how this would play on the web. I'm not really a hobbit, I promise!)

Anyone?

THE BATCAVE!



It's actually in one of the most famous places in L.A., Griffith Park, about a 5 minute hike from the parking lot. (Super-easy!)

It's nothing fancy when you get there, just a cool looking cave, but still. My nerd-dar was all over the place.

Also, it's a pretty close-up view of the Hollywood sign (which we hiked to later on that day)


Also, another topic I'd like to discuss:

Warren Ellis, where did you get the idea for the Snowtown brand? For those of you who are unfamiliar, here's a quick shot of the protagonist of Fell wearing one.



Hmm. Interesting that it looks eerily familiar to some *ahem* monthly pills that I take for, um, babylessness.



Coincidence?

Multimedia!

Ok, so the first thing I want to discuss today is one of the things I've been busy with. This video doesn't do it any justice at all, but unfortunately I haven't been able to get my hands on any of the pictures that were taken yet.

I'm completely inept, and can't seem to find the embed code, so you guys are going to have to live with a link:

My Video!

To explain: my company (to keep up employee morale) hosts a mini-golf tournament every year, where people can create holes with obstacles and themes, and then the hole office (pardon the pun!) plays the course. This was my contribution, a "Choose your own Adventure" superhero themed hole. What it doesn't show is a large portion of the decorations-there's 50 classic comic covers posted around the course, as well as some narrative signs, a comic art collage, and some toys (including a pair of Hulk hands!)

This is just one of the things I was busy with, more to come!

Of course, I'm a loser and haven't had a chance yet to post pictures of what I've been busy with, mainly because I've been so busy. But what I can tell you is I'm AWESOME. And the things I've made (descriptions don't do them justice) are worth the wait.

In the meantime, I would like to share this little bit of fun. While I was *ahem* "working" today, I stumbled upon this article from NY Magazine's website. While amazing and hilarious in and of itself, what intrigued me more was the link to the site of the article which read, "The Comics Page: Excerpts from new graphic novels". How cool! I had no idea that NY Magazine supported comics at all, let alone devoted a whole section of their site (since April 2007!) to the medium. While of course I'd prefer some devotion to actual issues and not bound books, I understand that complete stories have a much longer shelf life and work better for their means. Besides, any attention is good attention, especially ones that give a taste of what the work is like!

Thanks, NY Magazine-what a cool site.

Read more here!

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/the_comics_page/

Treasure!

I found this hilarious little bit of Warren-rambling on another site today, and thought it completely awesome:

@BrianReed Unearthing old characters for Marvel to see if they’re worth reactivating will clip five years off your life. Trust me.

Because six hours later you’re all “ah, yes, Flying Coyote Whore who some drunk invented for Luke Cage to fuck in 1975, I see potential..” And a day later you’re, “geezer, that guy who used to deliver the mail to The Fantastic Four, there’s totally a miniseries there…”

And then your kid starts calling you “Scary Daddy” and your girl won’t let you touch her and you see Stan Lee when you try to jerk off. But you can’t jerk off and suddenly you’re living in the woods and you don’t remember why and someone seems to have pissed in your clothes.

But you really want to write that story about the voodoo chicken guy from those old Marvel comics but old women are flinging turds at you. And cops are beating you up every night and you get raped by a hobo with a face like Roseanne who keeps saying “Cough on it, John.”

And why? Because you decided to research old Marvel comics. Just walk away, Reed. Or you may never walk the same again.

Oh Warren, you're the best person ever.

I know I've been AWOL lately, some pictures detailing why soon!

Oh man, I am maaaaaad...

So I went to my shop today, super excited because not only was the last issue of Local coming out, but new issues of Locke & Key, AND Doktor Sleepless were coming out today! (Among other things, of course.)

So what happens when I finish BOTH of these issues?

I see on the bottom of the last page "To Be Concluded".

WTF?

Oh man. I mean, I understand the concept of a miniseries-you have a finite story in your head, and it only takes a few issues to tell it. I understand that, and I'm not upset about that. Some of my favorite things I've ever read have been told in less than 10 issues. HOWEVER, there is an expectation there that you let us know when this is the case, so we don't get all heartbroken when we find out there's only one issue left.

Mr. Ellis, why didn't Doktor Sleepless say "Issue _ of 8"? And Joe, same question to you, but even less! 6 issues in total!

What am I going to read in August, hmm? It's your job to make more, because you slackers forgot to tell me that you were quitting.

Shame on you.

EDIT: Oops, looks like that's a false alarm on Doktor Sleepless, after all. Turns out the "To Be Concluded" was in reference to the conclusion of the furst volume of the story, but there will certainly be more issues. Whoa. Next time, let's be more sparing with the word "concluded", hmm?

This really made me laugh today:

Oh, you comic-related references in comics, I never tire of thee!

You can read more funny stuff at Inktank.com!

Wow, emails!

So, on a whim today I checked the email account for this page, and OH MAN! MESSAGES! I am totally a slacker and haven't checked that account in a month, not thinking that this site gets anywhere close to the number of views that would actually generate emails for me.

How wrong I was. Sorry that it's taken me so long to get back to all of you, you should all be receiving shiny new responses in your inboxes soon, if you haven't already.

Thanks so much for reading the blog-I had no idea so many people were reading it (who aren't personal friends, anyway), and all of the reccommendations I'm getting are great.

I hope you all keep reading, and don't take my month-long silence to mean that I don't care about you. I love each and every one of you, my beautiful and unique snowflakes.

Keep the feedback coming!

-Dina

Oh man, this week was awesome!

Have I mentioned how much I love Brubaker's Criminal? Ugh, so good. This is the most consistent comic I'm currently reading, hands down.
I also happened to pick up issue #1 of Brothers In Arms, which I actually really liked. I expected to hate it, mainly becuase it looks like an old WWII throwback-and I hate those. But then I read the issue. I was so engaged, oh man-I already care about the characters, and I was only halfway through the issue! I can't wait to see where this goes. THEN I get to the end of the issue and find out it's based on a video game?!? Man. Good thing I didn't know that in advance-I never would have picked this thing up. I'm not entirely keen on the art, but the writing is strong enough to have this make the list for #2.
Then I moved onto The War that Time Forgot, which I mainly picked up because of the dinosaurs on the cover (have we discussed my love for dinosaurs?), but it's still sustaining itself enough that I'll pick up #3.
THEN. OH MAN. House of Mystery. Have I mentioned that I wasn't going to buy the first issue of this series, but my always on duty comic book guy made me? Well, i owe him a huge debt of thanks. Not only is this line shaping up to be one of the most interesting things I'm reading nowadays (although the cover is a bit misleading...), but if it weren't for this issue, I never would have gotten a sneak preview of Air. So stoked for this to come out. STOKED.

(And I still haven't even gotten through Kick-Ass #3, The Boys 19, and Helen Killer #2!) Best week ever!

Whose responsibility is it?

So, one of the topics I've noticed come up again and again in online forums, blogs, and con panels is that of the financial status of the comic industry. Many times over I hear the discussion about how reading comics online is bad (duh, just like listening to music or watching movies), and that trade-waiting just a terrible thing to do, since they don't help the continuation of the series and generate less revenue.

I'm honestly sick of this argument. If you don't want people to buy one of your products, then why do you even have that product? It's stupid to offer a version of your work but then complain (or even SCOLD) your fans for purchasing it. I don't buy the trades of any comics I currently read, mainly because I'm too impatient to wait. However, I don't think I should be made to feel guilty if I did. Trades have many selling points to them that single issues don't. For starters, they contain a whole story. Instant gratification. They're also more durable and conducive to sharing. When I want to show one of my friends a comic that I think they'd like, I certainly don't feel comfortable handing them single issues, but I have no qualms about loaning out as many trades as they'd like. (Which actually, when this happens, brings you more people who are exposed to your work and might even buy something!) Not to mention they simply look better on a bookshelf, which leads me to believe they're the better long-term investment.

I understand that most comic creators, artists, and all around employees aren't rolling in the dough. But let's face it, neither am I. I empathize that you'd like to have as much of my money in your pocket as possible and that it costs a significant amount of money to create a comic. I'm all about you guys turning a profit and living comfortably while entertaining me. However, I honestly don't think that people buying trades instead of singles is going to fix this industry. Comics are the only medium I've heard of that can SELL ADVERTISING in the product itself, and yet can't manage to maintain a reasonable price while remaining a profitable venture.

I truly believe that it's the industry itself and its monetization schemes, rather than how many of us wait for the collected works, that needs to be under the microscope here. Not to mention the fact that making your fan feel bad for being the kind of fan they are is certainly not the way to gain more fans.

To be honest, it's situations like this that make me regret ever doing anything more than reading the issues. I enjoy reading creator blogs and hearing opinions on forums and getting a much more in-depth experience on the books that I read each month. However, if you told me that one of my favorite bands was at a concert and telling people that they're not real fans if they bought the general admission tickets rather than the much more expensive front row seats, I guarantee you I'd never be going to one of their shows again.

Buck up, and fix your company. It's not my responsibility to spend more money on an equivalent product just because your endeavor can't figure out to how to make its financials work. I have a budget to balance, too.