State of the Union
Well, not really the Union but the State of Comics is bleak my fellow fans. It’s bleak, and it doesn’t look like it’s gonna get any better. About ten years ago I had a moment where I felt like I was buying 90% junk just because I’d always bought it rather than any real redeemable quality the comics I was reading might have actually had. But it was only a moment. Now sure that moment did give me the chance to reevaluate the things I was reading and get rid of a bunch of dead weight, but I hung on to several of the old standby titles because I could still see the potential and the storytelling that was taking place. This week…I see none of that.
I went to the comic book shop yesterday. And don’t get me wrong, this is a GREAT shop. It’s the only one in Houston I really like, and the only one I’ll patronize. They’re good folks and they know their comics hands down. I like that. If you’re gonna sell comics, you should KNOW comics. But as I scanned across the shelves…it was like looking at a corpse. There was no life there. Nothing fresh or new or even exciting. Now sure, it’s winter and traditionally there’s a lull right now because they’re all gearing up for the next big summer event…but maybe that’s endemic of what I’m talking about. We’re stuck in a cycle of summer event/winter recovery that we can’t seem to break out of. And it’s boring as hell.
Now truth be told, I did buy two books. One was KICK ASS by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. That book quite honestly DOES kick ass! Best new book I’ve seen come down the mountain since Powers debuted way back when. Excellent stuff and getting better every month as both these guys dig deeper into the characters. Go now and get it. We’ll wait.
The other book was Echo by Terry Moore. I know many Moore fans are still pining for the loss of the Strangers In Paradise book and I’m among those. I loved that book. I bought every single issue that came out for over a decade. But we gotta move on. Terry got the story told like he wanted it told and he found a way to put it to bed and as a creator I not only respect that, I applaud it. Now he has a new book, very much in the sci fi superhero vein, called Echo, and it rocks the house. It’s one part X-files, two parts Rocketteer, with some Outer Limits tossed in there for good measure. And the best thing about this book is that it carries over that excellent characterization that we all came to love so well about SIP. The facial expression in his art, the body language, hell even the hair on these people just reaches out and grabs you. If you want the best book of 2008 not published by the majors, and in my opinion one of the top three overall, pick up Echo. You’ll be glad you did.
And that was it. I haven’t been to a comic shop since I was in Seattle in September and I walk out with two books. Time was I couldn’t have come out of there with less than a short box in my hand, and we’re down to just two books. Is it because I’ve matured beyond the super hero stuff? Please. I WRITE superhero stuff! I LOVE sueprheroes! But what I don’t like is the same heroes with the same stories shoved down my throat every single month like I’m an idiot who can’t remember that you told me this same story a year ago. No thanks. So I’m done. I’ll pick and choose from now on, getting the gems, but leaving the rest for the sheep. I’m feeling quite disillusioned today to say the least.
In other less tragic news, I got the FACEBOOK page up and running last night, linked the RSS to this very blog right to the page and got things kicked off quite nicely. We’ve even got some fans already! Over the next few weeks I’ll be updating that page with the new art we just received, and all manner of other cool stuff, so keep on the look out for that.
And yours truly has some other things not completely Red Handed coming out soon! Click on over to Nifty Comics and check out Cadre #6, out right now! Thsi issue starts my writing/scripting run on the Cadre series that runs through issue 9 and was a complete blast to do. Mat Nastos was awesome to work with and I think anyone who reads the books will see quite clearly how much fun we were having. While you’re over there consider checking out the rest of the Cadre series. It’s all available in trade paperback format and is well worth the cash.
What else what else…ah one of the other projects I’ve worked on is now nominated for the Project Fanboy awards! Sky Pirates of Valendor has been nominated for best title, best black and white title, and best rookie title and series writer Everett Soares has scored a nomination for best indy writer alongside series artist Brian Brinlee for best indy artist! one of the characters from the series Tobin Manheim is also in the running for best indy character! So yeah needless to say it was a blast being a part of the team for the first two issues (#0 and #1) and I wish that team all the success they can get because they certainly deserve it! Great work guys!
And that, at least for today, is a wrap. Been fun kids!
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