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05.30.07 - INDY PICK OF THE MONTH
The most recent Comics Buyer's Guide (#1631) has a nice review of Antigone on page 74. Ray Sidman gives it four stars out of four stars, making it the "Indy Pick of the Month".
The comic does in 32 pages (all story) what most adaptations of such plays don't manage in far lengthier productions: tell the story adeptly. Not only does it cover the main points and convey the themes, it also maintains a pleasant and page-turning pace -- and it does all of this while keeping the entertainment goodness. As someone who has studied and taught Sophocles (including Antigone), I give serious kudos to the creative team here, especially writer David Hopkins.I've been kudo'd. Thanks Ray.
A study on the significance of not-so-subtle imagery.
As you might be aware, there's been controversy over the Heroes for Hire #13 cover, drawn by Sana Takeda. Here's the original, courtesy of Heidi MacDonald and The Beat. I find it highly inappropriate, especially for a publisher who supposedly wants more female readers and to reach a younger audience, but apparently not with this comic. Hey, outrage isn't limited to one gender or demographic, I'm a 30 year old male and I'm offended by this! Especially the semen-like ooze on Black Cat's chest. I mean, seriously, did no one at Marvel think this was a little too much? Joe Quesada's response went like this: (a) If you see something perverse, get your mind out of the gutter! They're fighting slimey aliens. (b) It was drawn by a woman, so how could it be sexist? Quesada's logic is flawed, but typical of a person trying to save his ass. Point A: Being able to recognize perverse material doesn't make you a pervert. It makes you observant. Point B: The content is the issue here. No matter who drew it, the image is still exploitive. I'm amused by Lea Hernandez's response (click here). In particular, her remixes of the cover: version 1 -and- version 2. Line up the original with version 1. Small changes make a huge difference. Is the controversy a double standard on the freedom of expression, i.e. you can do whatever you want as long as it's not sexist or racist? I get the irony. Trust me. Though it's more about acting responsibly with your readership. Say whatever you want. Do whatever you want. Be responsible with what you say and do. Maybe this cover says more about the culture of the comic book readers than it does about the mainstream comic book companies? It can be awfully frustrating to a small press guy like myself. Is this what I have to do for people to buy my book? Let's hope my audience is out there, somewhere, and that they have better sensibilities.
My students finished their final exams. A teacher work day tomorrow, and after, it's summer vacation. Thank god. I can get work done on our yard. Spend time with Kennedy. Write a little more. The great golden perk of being a teacher, beyond the thing about shaping young minds and all that.
Movies that look good... Paprika Superbad Across the Universe Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Paris, Je T'Aime (Makes me want to write a love story, something unashamedly uplifting.)
Important reading...
http://whedonesque.com/comments/13271
This weekend, I'm working on another pulse article for D Magazine. I interviewed my friend Leah Wilson, editor at BenBella Books. They publish the Smart Pop Series. These books target various pop culture fan groups. With her permission, I've posted the entire transcript of our interview, where she talks about the nature of fans.
What makes someone a fan? Leah: I think of a fan as someone who is intensely emotionally involved with something, with which they are not involved in a material, creative sense-- a sports team, a television show, an artist's or writer's or musician's body of work. Is marketing to fans a growth industry or a "find your niche" industry? Leah: I'd say a growth industry, but not one that's growing at an extremely high rate. I do think that as the quality of television shows has increased, and as the frequency with which the creators of those shows engage with their audience (via new technologies) have increased, the potential for greater fandom has emerged. Look at Grey's Anatomy-- they've taken excellent advantage of the growing popularity and awareness of blogging and built an unexpectedly devoted (for such a "mainstream" successful show) base of fans through it. The rise of social networking online has been a big factor as well-- being able to talk to other fans feeds fandom, in large part because being a part of fandom becomes a socially rewarding experience. When the show you love ends or its fandom fizzles out, you want to find another one, another group to belong to. The ability to "catch up" with shows via DVDs or online downloads is part of the growth as well. So is the increasing validation of popular culture's worth. Fandom used to be associated with, when it comes to things like television and other media, Star Trek fans, Trekkies, and they weren't exactly considered cool. The term "Trekkie" ended up with such negative connotations that even Trekkies don't use it anymore-- a lot of Trek fans prefer "Trekkers." Is there any correlation between the commercial success of a property and success of the related Smart Pop Book? Leah: Less than we wish there was! Passion is a much more reliable indicator. Plenty of people I know watched and enjoyed Everybody Loves Raymond, but I can't think of one who *loved* it-- who would talk about it in depth with friends the next day. A show like Veronica Mars, on the other hand, doesn't have a lot of commercial success, but the people who do watch it are deeply devoted. The nature of Smart Pop books is to go *deeper* into a particular property-- to be like one of those next-day discussions you have with your friends, only if you friends were bestselling authors or psychologists or scientists-- and that doesn't sell unless the show's fans are wanting to go deeper on their own. What do you do to learn about a property before starting the anthology? Leah: We try to look for indicators that there *is* that kind of engagements-- that people are talking about the show (or comic, or book series) in a serious way. Online activity is a good way to get a sense of that-- message board activity, fan sites, fanfiction archives, blogs and livejournal and MySpace. So, for TV, are DVD sales; often high DVD sales mean you have viewers looking to watch the episodes of their favorite show multiple times. Clearly they're getting more out of the show than just "entertainment." From a content standpoint, I try to immerse myself as much as possible in the property in question, to understand what the compelling questions are, what's interesting to discuss further-- something more easily done with a two year old TV show, of course, than with 50 years of comics! What are fans wanting from their beloved property (be it Grey's Anatomy or Spider-Man)? Leah: In a general sense-- *more*. More ways to be involved, more ways to be engaged. More information. To know something about the property they love that they didn't before, whether it's more insight into a character or when a piece of set dressing first showed up in the background. What can businesses and publishers learn from fans and fan culture? Leah: That your audience-- whether viewers or readers or customers-- is smart. If you treat them like they're intelligent, they'll reward that, they'll reward your product-- with respect, with time, and with energy. Which fans are the most obsessive? Are Grey's Anatomy, Survivor, and Desperate Housewives fans any less geeky? Leah: I think obsessiveness is about even across the board, at least among the people I'd really categorize as *fans*. (There are many people who watch Grey's, for instance, that aren't engaged enough to really warrant the term.) "Geekiness" is really more a matter of mainstream approval than level of obsessiveness-- take sports fans. Painting your face and chest and going shirtless at a winter football game is way more insane than anything I've ever seen a fan do (well, *almost* anything) ... but it's way less likely to get strange looks.
Tim Leong's Comic Foundry Magazine has been rejected by Diamond Distributors for rather curious reasons (read here).
According to Diamond: "a B&W title at the price you're using just won't work well in the current market we believe." Fact: our cover price is $6.25 for an 80-page B&W magazine. Now they might not think that will sell, but it isn't consistent with what they're already approving. Such as Issue 14 of Draw! magazine, that's 80 pages, B&W and retails for $6.95. Same with issue 15 of Write Now! Both same specs, but 70 cents more.I'm a fan of Comic Foundry and level of quality they consistently bring to our market. This magazine would fill a niche that other comic-related publications do not, offering reasonable competition in a limited field. It's a shame Diamond has made such an error. However, I'm encouraging everyone to e-mail Diamond's Tim Huckelbery and request they reconsider this decision.
Best wishes to Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie on their wedding this past weekend. (Photos taken by some guy.) I can only hope I look so crazy when my beard gets that long... the blue bowler hat helps.
Speaking of Moores, my favorite comic book creator and personal hero Terry Moore just finished his Strangers in Paradise series. Congratulations! I read SiP in Pocket Book format, so I can't begin to tell you how anxious I am for the 6th and final volume. Other things worth mentioning: I read Ed Brubaker's Coward this weekend. No other way around it, you must get this book. Got a call from Brent Schoonover today. He and his wife Nicole have been searching antique shops throughout Minnesota as part of our master plan for Astronaut Dad. We're doing a photo cover for both volumes. A press release to showcase the covers should be coming by the end of May.
It's Kennedy's birthday today. She's three years old, and absolutely wonderful. Tomorrow, we're going to some crazy chicken place (it's a restaurant... can't remember the name) for her birthday party. Photo by Castle Photography.
 A more recent Emily Edison review by the respectable Sean Kleefeldt: The writing was good. Solid characterization throughout, smooth and natural dialogue. Most importantly, I think, writer David Hopkins let Brock Rizy's art stand on it's own when it came to telling the story. He didn't bother with an overly expository narrative when the art conveyed what was happening. He also didn't fall into the standard superhero trap where the hero spouts witicisms and one-liners while battling whatever foe he's up against. Emily largely kept quiet during the fight scenes, and only spoke up once she had a chance to breath. (click here to read the whole review)Photos from CAPE http://www.flickr.com/photos/8149901@N07/ http://www.flickr.com/groups/zeuscomics/pool/ http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/photos/
Stuff I've read this week:
The Walking Dead Vol. 6 by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard, Houdini: The Handcuff King by Jason Lutes and Nick Bertozzi, Shenanigans by Ian Shaughnessy and Mike Holmes Stuff I've listened to this week: The Mouse and the Mask by Danger Doom, Songs of Murder Pain and Woe by 100 Damned Guns Stuff I've watched this week: The Wire Season One, Smoking Aces, Brick (again) Still drinking Diet Coke. Bought Kennedy's birthday present yesterday. She turns 3 tomorrow. Scripting the second chapter of Bolivar. Working on a new pulse article for D Magazine.
Plans for the weekend: Tonight, I'm celebrating my birthday at St. Pete's Dancing Marlin, live art show. Tomorrow, it's Free Comic Book Day. I'll be at Zeus Comics all day for CAPE. Then on Sunday, I'm going to the Big Gay Brunch at Ciudad.
Right now, I'm at home working on a new script, listening to Danger Doom's The Mouse and the Mask. I won't allow myself to leave the office until I get to page twenty. (I'm on page eight.) Kinda hungry. Still drinking Diet Coke.
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