I’m looking through the iTunes store, and something catches my eye. It’s a featured album, it’s only $7.99, and seems to be some sort of benefit for a charity.
The title? “AHK-toong BAY-bi Covered”.
The contents? Every song from U2′s “Achtung Baby”, covered by a different artist. Some of the names I recognized. Others, I have no idea who they are. Most of them — even the names I recognized — were performers that, even though I had heard OF them, I had never heard. NIN and Jack White and Gavin Friday being the expections.
But they were all much more well known that the bands on that old cover album I bought years ago. And I like U2. And it was for a good cause.
And hey, I bought and liked Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark.
So I bought “AHK-toong BAY-bi Covered”. And you know what? It’s not bad. How’s that for a blazing review. My entire review might as well be “it could be worse”.
Truth is, it COULD be worse. I know, I’ve bought worse.
So this gets me poking around a little bit more, and I find iTunes has the Achtung Baby remastered album. Now, I already have the album. I already have most of the b-sides from the singles of this album. But there were a few I didn’t recognize. A look back at my library and I find that, indeed, I do not have two of the tracks.
Well, I do now.
Then I looked at the Joshua Tree remastered album, and there are some tracks there that I don’t have.
Again, I do now.
Some of these are tracks I have heard of, and others of them I didn’t know existed. But here were these songs, songs I will enjoy over and over again, available to me for the first time. Yes, just $1 a piece for a song and a smile and a legal way to listen to what, up until know (to my knowledge) has only been available conveniently and cheaply as illegal downloads. I can;t say for certain, because the truth is I haven’t looked.
What a world we live in! A world of technology and wonder!
And this is where digital comics need to start catching up! For just yesterday, I was looking for a way to read (again, legally) an old storyline from the Justice League of America series. It’s a long story, but basically I heard some guys on a podcast talking about the story, and I realized they were talking about a comic book I owned when I was a kid! I had always wanted to know what happened — I had part one of the story, and it ended on a cliffhanger. I thought it was a two part story, but here I find out it was actually a five parter! A mini-series. A graphic novel length story involving time travel and alternate universes.
I wanted to read it.
ebay had the other four comics I was missing for $5 each, plus $5 shipping. And that was the cheaper sellers. I wasn’t paying $40. Mile High Comics was more reasonable, with the comics coming in at $3 to $6, and My Comic Shop had about the same pricing.
Then I had an epiphany. What about digital downloads? How cool would that be? Just look it up in DC Comics’ Comixology app! Download and read ‘em on my iPad.
No luck. The catalogue just doesn’t go that deep. And then I thought about the pricing. For this storyline, I probably would have paid the $1.99 they are charging for old comic issues. But as I started digging around and looking at some of the other, older comics they had, I just wasn’t inclined to buy a digital file for $1.99 to $3.99. I don’t know if that says more about me than it says about them.
With U2, I made an impulse buy. I didn’t think twice about buying a small handful of songs for $.99 each. These are things I will be going back to, maybe not over and over again intentionally, but they are now in my U2 playlist, and they will get randomly played when I’m in the mood for some U2.
With the comics? Am I just a cheapskate? But the truth is, unless a comic makes a big, big impression on me, I’m not going to go back and re-read it. That $1.99 price (or $2.99 or $3.99 for new comics) is just high enough to keep me from making an impulse buy of something I'm never going to read again. And their catalogue is just limited enough (“limited” to well known characters and stories — it’s just not deep enough to get to the obscure kinds of things I like) to keep me from finding the things I would pay more for. (I do understand there are technical details that set price tag and content where they are.)
Meanwhile, in other media, we have movies. Netflix is a science fiction lovers dream, with complete series like Dr. Who and Stargate and every single Star Trek episode from every single series. But for movies and television, with much more dollars at stake than anyone else, they still seem to be dragging their feet in fully embracing the brace new world of digital media. (I can’t speak to books, because I really haven’t bought any books to read on my iPad, so I haven’t searched or browsed. But I do know that my own books from Zondervan are available as digital downloads.)
As for the story? Justice League #s 207, 208, and 209 and All-Star Squadron #14 and 15 (I think)? I can live without them. But maybe I can find them on the cheap at a comic convention in the near future . . . maybe even for less than a dollar . . . and on paper!
What do you say?How has your “media consumption” changed in the new frontier of the digital age?
~ Ben
For $15 and $13, I honestly recommend both of these albums, even if you already have the albums, because of the extra 14 tracks of rare material they come with. These are two of the greatest albums ever, so if you don't have the albums, well, you should. Or, do like I did and get the individual tracks you may not have through iTunes . . .
Well, DC is in month two of their "new 52" initiative, in which they have completely, only not really, rebooted their entire universe to start over at the beginning.
Unless the character was popular. In which case, they aren't starting over from the beginning and instead they are continuing with their popular elements.
So Superman? Starting over from the beginning. Green Lantern? They just finished an epic storyline with him, so that still happened. Same with Batman.
I find it interesting how they are trying to make things less confusing by making things more confusing . . . but, snark aside, this really seems to be a good thing.
First, comic shops are having a hard time keeping titles on the shelves. Orders for the second month of the New 52 saw their second issues in the top one hundred sales rankings, side by side with REPRINTS of their first issues.
Second, it seems that people are mainly buying them to READ, not to COLLECT. I'm not sure if this is industry wide, but the owners of BuyMeToys.com, my local shop, said that unlike other "events", people are buying one copy of the books. For reading, it seems.
Third, some of the characters were in need of a little more than a facelift. There comes a time when trying to cover up aging results in something like you'd find in Terry Gilliam's Brazil:
No one really wants their heroes to look like this, even metaphorically, do they?
Besides, Superman has a movie coming out and he needs to be more hip and happenin'. While I don't agree with some of what they're doing to update the characters, the truth is every single one of these books is more accessible. Mostly.
Fourth, Aquaman! Yes, I know, with that one word I have destroyed ALL credibility. But it's good to see Aquaman in his own book. And I'm buying it. For a few issues, anyway.
The first issue of Aquaman illustrates exactly what DC is trying to do. In trying to pull in new audiences, but satisfy old audiences, they start a new storyline with new enemies.
At the same time, Geoff Johns tells a story that introduces the character nicely, and sets up his place in the DC universe. It's a little bit tongue in cheek, wink and nod, but all the things that people make fun of the character for are addressed.
It's a low key issue, meant to bring everyone up to speed enough so that when the story really gets going, readers care about the character. Whether this succeeds or not is up to the reader, of course, but I felt like it succeeded. I want to see where this goes, so I'll be buying the next two issues to see if I like where it's going. It was a good start.
I only bought two other comics from the new 52. People who know me should not be surprised that I bought Aquaman. And I mentioned in my digital comics post that I had bought the Justice League #1 that came with the print comic and the download code for the digital copy.
What I didn't mention was that I wasn't all that impressed with the actual comic. It was serviceable, but it was meant to be a "how we met" story, and how do Batman and Superman meet? Well, they fight, of course!
I won't be buying any more Justice League. As impressed as I was with Geoff Johns' writing in Aquaman and other books I've read of his, this didn't do anything for me. I get that the book is a "how they met" thing, but I'd rather the book had opened with the team together and looked back at the other stuff over time. This is a team book, and at the end of the first chapter there's still no team, just the cliched "heroes meet, there's a misunderstanding, so they fight". I mean, honestly, this plot is the reason I don't like romantic comedies.
If Aquaman comes as no surprise to people who know me, Swamp Thing should do the same.
I love swamp monsters.
Especially in well made movies and comics.
Now, first off, let me say: I have never, ever seen a good swamp monster movie. "Creature from the Black Lagoon is as close as I've gotten, and that doesn't count.
But there have been some very good swamp monster comics. What makes a good swamp monster comic? Interesting characters doing interesting things that involve a swamp creature of some sort. (This is the same criteria I use for swamp monster movies . . .)
So is this a good one? I don't know. Why? Because I had no idea what was going on. For a comic that was supposed to be an accessible story, I found myself really, really confused. I felt like I was coming into the middle of the story. I don't like giving bad reviews, so I'm just going to leave it at this: issue one and two left me cold, and I'm going to give it one more issue. I don't expect everything to be explained in a story, but I would like to have some idea of what's going on. This book seemed to tie into plot lines from before the "new 52" relaunch, which I am not familiar with.
I almost picked up Animal Man, but flipping through it I was reminded of '90's Vertigo comics. That's not a knock. I really, really liked '90's Vertigo comics. But it's not for me right now.
There is a western title coming out, from the team behind Jonah Hex. When the second issue comes out at the end of the month, so will a reprint of the first issue. I plan to buy both, give those a try.
The bottom line: the new 52 has a wide variety of different titles and styles. If you want to get in on the ground floor, this is the time to do it. Most of the titles have first and second issues in comic shops now, or first and second issues available through the Comixology app. I was skeptical, but DC seems to have hit the right notes.
I got an e-mail this morning from Comixology and Marvel telling me that they were running a "half off sale" until 11:00 AM.
That's half off $1.99. So already, Comixology is offering these comic book issues at a low price compared to current new issues ($2.99 to $4.99). This price covers almost all old issues -- issues that are collector's items in print and may run $10, $20, $50, or more in comic shops and on eBay; issues that were originally $.35 on the newsstand; and issues that are only a few years or months old and originally were $1.99 to $3.99 or whatever.
Comixology is a nice "equalizer" in that way. In digital comics, there is no collectibility. You can't invest, buying a $3 book featuring Obama with Spider-Man and hope that you can resell it sometime for a tidy profit. But on the flip side, you aren't spending $100 because you want to finally read that issue about Spider-Man meeting Obama and you realize that the only way that's going to happen is to buy it from one of those people who want to make that tidy profit. Again, though, because prices are so fixed, you're not going to be able to find that issue on eBay for $.25 starting bid because they finally understand that, really, they aren't putting their kid through college because they bought a comic book with Obama and Spider-Man inside and now they just want to get rid of them.
So prices are "fixed". Sort of. You can buy any of DC Comics' new books the same day they arrive in comic shops, but you will pay full cover price for them for a period of time, before the price drops to that magical $1.99.
And then there are the sales. DC Comics was running some fairly regular weekend sales, with a selection of half off comics. When the Green Lantern movie came out, you can bet that they had a bunch of Green Lantern comics for just $.99. When their big Flashpoint crossover was hitting stores, they ran a sale on Flash comics.
They also frequently have sales for the smaller publishers titles.
And now this e-mail from Marvel. This is the first sale from Marvel that I remember seeing, and like the DC sale, it has a time limit. For this one, all twenty-seven issues of Immortal Iron Fist are $.99 each. If you were to buy these at cover price, that would be about $100 you'd drop. If you were to buy the collections on Amazon, you'd be spending $42 (they have some of those "bargain priced" right now).
And I find myself in a quandary. As of this writing, I have one hour if I want to get in on the sale. This is a series I wanted to read, but my local comic shop didn't have the entire series by the time I realized I might like it (that's the way of things for me -- I'm late to the party, always). But if I'm going to spend the $27, why not spend the $42? I have birthday money, right? And I'll have the entire story on my shelf, in nice and tidy graphic novels. Then again, if I get it for my iPad, I don't have to worry about using shelf space. And really, am I going to read it again?
The truth is, while I have the comic apps, I haven't bought any comics on them. In fact, the only comic on any of those Comixology apps that I have on my iPad right now that I paid for, I bought at a comic shop! It's Justice League #1, the digital edition. Cover price $4.99, it came with the comic book and a code to put in to allow you to download the issue as well.
The clock is ticking. Just under an hour now. There's something else they are getting right: that sense of urgency.
In the end, I think I know what I'll be doing. I'll probably put off the choice . . . not do either . . . and then, if I think of it I'll get them from the library.
If I think of it.
What about you? Are you on the digital comics bandwagon? Or is it paper only for you? Or are you like me, hanging somewhere in-between?
How's THAT for a title? I couldn't POSSIBLY really mean THAT, could I?
Well, I could. And do. I'll admit, there's a twinge of jealousy whenever I read Will Eisner's Comics and Sequential Art (a book anyone who wants to make comics should read) and I get to the part where he says (paraphrasing here) the best comics are made by artist/writers. In other words, artists who write and draw their own comics will usually have a better end result than writer/artist TEAMS because the artist who works on his own project knows exactly what he wants, whereas the artist working from someone else's script can never put on hte page exactly what was intended by the script.
Generally, that's true. Some exceptions, of course. For example, not all artists understand story structure or dialogue. And, obviously, many writers can have an image in their head that they would never be able to put on the page because they just don't have the physical dexterity. I firmly believe that writers can learn artistic principles and artists can learn storytelling principles, but storytelling is easier to learn than art because storytelling is strictly a mental discipline while art is a mental and physical disciple. Just like some people will never be able to play drums as well as other people or dance as well as other people or hit a golf ball as well as other people, some people will never learn to draw as well as other people. That doesn't make writing an easy task to learn, just an easier task to learn.
But back to Eisner's statement, there is a qualification: a talented writer/artist individual will do a better job than a talented writer/artist team. But if an individual is not gifted as a writer or as an artist, that person not going to suddenly be able to create a brilliant comic just because he or she is doing both.
So why do I give this post this title: "Comic Writers Should Be Comic Artists"?
Here's why: if you want to be a comic book writer, you need to train yourself as a comic book artist. You need to go ahead and draw some comic book pages to give yourself an idea of how sequences can flow on a page. To give yourself an idea of what can and cannot appear in a panel. To give yourself an idea of and appreciation for the time a pages takes to be drawn. To understand what you are asking for when you write a complex page layout or a huge battle scene (which sometimes cannot be avoided, but still must be understood).
I've taken part in three 24-Hour-Comic days. I've succeeded twice (once went OVER the page limit!) and failed once. Here's one of them (a successful one -- Ballad of the Freak was actually placed in the 24 Hour Comic Day book for that year, in the publisher's words "not because you can draw, but because you actually told a story" -- like he needed to tell me I couldn't draw). Even when I failed, the experience itself was not a loss because each time, I stretched myself creatively and learned a lot about writing for comics.
So I'm not saying that the only people who should be writing comics are people who are artists. The fact is, some artists really are talented as writers and artists and some artists should stick to drawing.
What I'm saying is that if you are a writer, even if all you can draw are stick figures, you should carve out some time to actually draw some comic book pages. Maybe draw a stick figure version of the script you're writing. Maybe just have some fun drawing something no one will ever see but yourself. For me, right now (and this is what made me think to write this blog posting) I'm drawing a comic called Broken Trident:
This is me, in public, exercising those artistic muscles. Laying out pages. Lettering. (Writers, you can't really appreciate how important it is to keep your word counts down until you've lettered a page yourself.) Drawing characters and actions.
They say that if you want to be a writer, you need to read. But I'll add to that from my experiences. If you want to be a comic book writer, you need to read. Read some comics, yes, but read lots of books without pictures. And draw.
What do you think? Am I way off base? Artists, would you suggest it goes the other way round as well? That comic book artists who take the time to write actually become better comic book artists? Let me know what you think in the comments below . . .
Those of you who know me, know I've spent much of my career working on all ages comics. (Shameless plug: coming soon -- The Oz/Wonderland Kids!!! Stay posted as I can give more details.)
So I was reminded yesterday while at the comic shop that there was a series on the shelf that I've been talking up with everyone I can talk it up to. (Did that sentence make sense? I need an editor . . .) And that series is Fraggle Rock, by Archaia Comics.
Fraggle Rock, Free Comic Book Day issue
Now, i had no idea that there was going to be a Fraggle Rock comic. Or maybe I did, but I heard about it so long ago that I completely forgot. But when I helped my local comic shop, BuyMeToys.com (also publisher of The Oz/Wonderland Chronicles and The Oz/Wonderland Kids), with their Free Comic Book Day event, The Archaia free comic caught my eye.
"Fraggles?" I said. "Really? Fraggles?" Guess what the first comic in my take home pile was. Guess what the only comic in my take home pile that I've actually read was.
Fraggle Rock #1
I've made no secret how much I admire Jim Henson. Dark Crystal and Muppets and Labyrinth and The Storyteller and Fraggle Rock. These things all helped shape me creatively. Not only that, puppets are a huge part of my life, between the work I do with children and some of the film work I'm looking at doing in the near future. When I was a child, my parents would travel to work at camps and Bible schools and stuff like that, and those puppets were passed down to me.
So, armed with the knowledge that Fraggle Rock is a comic book, but cautiously optimistic (it's EASY to write for a license, NOT easy to do it well) I flipped through the free comic. It looked AWESOME. I read it, and it read AWESOME. They got it.
And I got the next issue. Paid for that one. (And eventually, the other two issues as well.)
Fraggle Rock #2
The Fraggle Rock comic series is an anthology. I don't know how they selected the different artists and writers for the series (but I'm jealous of them), but each issue of the books has three or four different short stories, each one by a different team. There are a number of different styles, but amazingly each style is able to capture the character design without following a "house style".
These books are, simply put, gorgeous. I mentioned in some previous posts about how much I love to flip through concept art. These comic books are similar. I could stare at this artwork forever.
Essentially what you have here is an anthology on the level of Flight . . . except all the stories are about Fraggles.
Not one story looks "wrong", even though each story looks different.
Fraggle Rock #3
But on to the topic that made me post this in the first place: these books are TRULY "all ages". Like the TV series, these Fraggle stories are "for the young and young at heart" (to use an apropos cliche). They are fun. They are energetic. They are sweet. They are even a bit edgy. Just like the TV show.
A hardcover collection is coming out in September, I believe. You can order the Fraggle Rock Hardcover from Amazon for just $10. (That may just be a pre-order deal.) I believe that means that it would be in last month's Previews. I'm going to be ordering mine through my local comic shop (although that means paying more for it) (it also means I'm buying it twice, but I can live with supporting it like that). But for any fan of all ages fantasy and whimsy, this is a must have.
~ Ben
PS -- I understand Archaia is developing both Dark Crystal and Labyrinth comics. Very interested to see what they do with those . . .
Here's an article I wrote for Comic Book Digest, back in 2004.
With the announcement that DC was canceling Brave and the Bold (although I expect they'll be relaunching that one) and Shazam, leaving only one all ages superhero title in their stable (Tiny Titans) I was reminded of this old article.
It's long, but it still reflects my feelings on the subject of all ages comics. In a nutshell, we need more "all ages" comics -- that truly are for all ages. You know, the kind of thing that Pixar does: make a GREAT movie that can be enjoyed by children and adults. In other words: ALL. AGES.
The bottom line is this: kids DO like to read comics. So what're you gonna do about it, partner?
Oh, and if there are any talented artists out there who'd like to work on some all ages type material, let me know. :)
Anyway, here's that long article . . .
“All-Ages Comics?”
Why We Need More All-Ages Comics and What We Can Do About It
by Ben Avery
I worked the better part of a year recently in a residential treatment center for children who had been removed from their homes for various reasons -- mostly due to behavioral problems. The particular kids I was working with were abuse victims who had, in reaction to their own abuse, acted out against other children. They ranged in age from nine to thirteen, and the children I dealt with were exclusively boys.
You can imagine their excitement when I told them I wrote comic books. Their excitement dwindled slightly when they realized I couldn’t DRAW comics, of course. You don’t know how disheartening it is to have a ten-year-old patronizingly say to you, “No, no, Mr. Avery, you did a great job drawing Superman. Really. Or is that Wonder Woman?” However, I’ve been very blessed in some of the very talented artists I’ve worked with. They loved the drawings I would bring in to them. “What’s that?” they would say. “That’s (insert my latest project here), from a comic book I’m developing.”
The problem? None of these were completed projects. I was able to give them a preview of a book I had just finished, and I was able to give them peaks at the “creative process”, and that was all well and good. They loved that. But they wanted more. So I tried to give them more.
I searched through my old comics -- the ones that weren’t still packed away after our latest move. I found some cool comics I thought they would like. First I brought in a JLA story arc, thinking that these kids were big fans of the Superman and Batman and Justice League cartoons, so they would love reading about these iconic superheroes that everyone can recognize, right?
Wrong. “Why isn’t Green Lantern black?” “Isn’t Hawkman supposed to be a girl?” “Who’s that guy with the fire on top of his head?”
They just didn’t enjoy it. Too much back-story that they weren’t privy to. A plot that went over their head. I found myself explaining everything, from plot points to character back-story essential to the plot.
So I changed my approach. I began looking specifically for the elusive all-ages comics. And the pickings were slim.
I brought in Pakkins’ Land. Pakkins’ Land is a fantasy comic by Gary Shipman that started back with Caliber Comics. It’s been collected into four trades, and it ends on a cliffhanger that will be resolved in number five. They loved it. They could not get enough and were sorely disappointed that they would have to wait for the next volume.
I wanted to bring in Hero Bear and the Kid. I loved that series -- what a beautiful comic book. But I had given it away to someone . . . hey, their slogan is “Remember your childhood and pass it on”, so I did! Turns out not everyone feels that way about it passing it on, though, especially comic dealers, and, well, the collectors market being as it is . . . I just wasn’t going to be able to buy back issues any time soon.
Archie we received well by them. They were familiar with Archie’s Weird Mysteries, which they sometimes watched during breakfast before school, so they knew the characters. The short gags, while sometimes confounding them (I had to explain to them that sometimes, they couldn’t understand the joke because it wasn’t that funny), amused them.
Then I discovered the DC animated adventures reprints. My local comic shops helped me track them down. I read them myself and found that I really enjoyed them. The stories were told with emotion and energy. Respect for the characters (by reflecting the back-story) and the readers (by not getting bogged down in the back-story). And I picked up the Marvel Age stuff. These books were directly aimed at the kids I was working with and I got to see first hand that, for the most part, they succeeded. These boys loved the adventures of May Parker in Spider-Girl. And they enjoyed the classic-but-new-to-them Spider-Man and Fantastic Four adventures retold in the Marvel Age books.
But I ran into another problem when I ran out of material. Frankly, I hit a brick wall.
So I tried an experiment. I brought in some Marvel Essentials. Old? Yes. Anachronistic? Probably. Un- relatable? No. The only problem they boys had was that they were in color. I spoke to one boy’s mother who was so amazed that he was actually READING something. What was he reading? Essential Human Torch. Then I got him started on Essential Fantastic Four. His only problems with them were: 1. Ben Grimm called Alicia “Babe” too much and 2. Johnny Storm was a player. He would look forward at the covers that were coming up and get excited about a Sub-Mariner story -- ‘cause Sub-Mariner was such a bad dude. He wanted to read more . . . and more.
This all caused me to sit back and think about some things. As a creator and as a father. Because I want to write comics that kids and adults will want to read and I want to be able to give my children comics I feel good about, not that I have to worry about. (A friend of mine who owns a comic book shop is very careful about what the kids are allowed to pick up because even in mainstream comics you really never know what’s going to show up. Like a severed head or a rape . . .)
I had to be doubly careful, considering the issues the kids I was working with were dealing with. I had to be very careful about the visuals I was giving to them. Especially concerning women. And I became VERY aware of the treatment of women in comics as I looked for materials suitable for these kids. Some things were pretty obvious -- I mean, you just don’t hand a copy of Lady Death or Vampirella to a nine-year-old. But looking even closer, I realized that the only “strong” women in comics seem to be the ones I call the “scanty panty vigilantes” -- they fight crime in little more than their underwear. What kind of a message does that send? (In two of my own recent projects, one an all ages book, the female protagonists were wearing much less than I’d let my own daughter wear.)
And then there’s the violence. Again, sometimes it’s pretty obvious. Nekkid Zombie Blood Fest will probably not be the most appropriate title for a kid. And some comics are about just how much they can shock the reader -- with creative killing and trying to outdo what has gone before. But look closer -- many superhero comics essentially boil down to solving the problem with their fists. That’s what’s attractive about many comics: cool fight scenes.
Part of this is the medium itself. Comics are a visual medium. Duh. So you need cool visuals, and brightly colored costumed, perfectly muscled people zapping other brightly colored costumed, perfectly muscled people is a cool visual. The ideal female body is a cool visual.
Literature has one purpose, to make an emotional connection. To make someone laugh. Or cry. Or gasp. The easiest way to do this is through shock, not through characterization.
But there’s something more needed. What’s missing? The easy, and most condescending answer, is a moral compass. But it’s not far from the truth. Right now, the people buying comics tend to be kids who have grown up. They bought comics from the corner store with their allowance, and now they’ve grown up. Now they are more mature, so their comics need to be more mature. Unfortunately, “For Mature Audiences” tends to mean it’s got boobies and the f-word . . . lots of the f-word.
And, just as unfortunate, “All-Ages” has come to mean kiddy comics. But true “all-ages” comics have many things in common. First, adults and kids like them. "All-ages" is a hard moniker to live up to. The best Disney movies do it. The best Looney Tunes cartoons do it. Many old comics do it. It appeals to everyone, because it’s not created by talking DOWN to kids. It’s just a good story that resonates with kids, and therefore resonates with the young at heart. They focus on nobility. Honor. Friendship. Positive things.
But these days Superman is commonly referred to as a Boy Scout -- and it’s a BAD THING.
I would say we need more positive affirming stories. Stories that are about what it means to be a hero. That are about nobility. That show that we are human and have our “bad” side, but that also show that we can overcome that.
We need stories that go beyond solving problems with fists . . . or swords . . . or guns . . . or monkey wrenches . . . or steam rollers . . . you get the idea. Stories that focus on characters instead of characters serving the story. I’m not talking about preaching to kids or adding on that “knowing is half the battle” moral, although those things have their place. I’m just talking about fun, positive stories.
A 70's/80's retro comic released recently really excited me because it was something I had grown up on. It portrayed the youngest member of the group -- a kid -- hiding pornography in his room. Here I was so excited about introducing my kids at work to this piece of my childhood. But again, the book was not written for people the age of the kids who originally enjoyed the show, it was written FOR the kids who originally enjoyed the show. Grown up kids who now have disposable income. The tone was violent and bloody. It was decently written, though, and the art was good. I found myself wondering how much it would have hurt to make the comic book all ages? Suitable for younger readers while at the same time appealing to adults with mature well written stories.
This, of course, is more difficult. It means self-censorship. It means a lot more thought in every step, from plots to costume design to format to font size. It means more work.
We’ve had the deconstruction of the superhero. It’s been going on for almost twenty years now. And it reflected the times we were (and are) living in, to a degree. Art emulating life, or the other way around? Who knows? Most likely, a little bit of both. It’s now time for what I would call the re-construction of the superhero. In both life and art, I would say, although that goes a little beyond the scope of what I’ve writing about.
As I said, there are some titles out there. You have to look hard, but they can be found. I told an interviewer last year that the big companies were really missing the mark when it came to kids. Since then (not because of me, of course) that situation has changed. It is becoming much more common, in all different genres, not just superheroes. Bone. The Marvel Age books (although be careful, a Marvel Age label does not equate to all-ages) and heck, even the Essentials (especially the old Spider-Man and Fantastic Four). Herobear and the Kid or The Lab or for that matter anything by Astonish Factory. Astro Boy. Pakkins’ Land. Star Wars. Paul Dini and Alex Ross’s tabloid graphic novels (especially Shazam! Power of Hope). Opposite Forces. Some of these books you may never have heard of, and you owe it to yourself to check them out. They are comic books that appeal to mature sensibilities and resound with youthful optimism.
This doesn’t mean don’t write or draw or buy the stories that deal with mature subjects. MAUS is a powerful piece of literature that I would not hand to a child, but it definitely has worth -- Pulitzer Prize worth. There are many, many worthwhile mature comics out there. (Truth is, some of my own work is not for kids.) But there is also a void that needs to be filled. It’s a statistically proven fact that kids love comics. The best selling Disney Adventures magazine issue is the special all comics one. Archie is the best selling comic out there because parents recognize it, know it’s safe, and it’s visible (in the check out lanes at super markets) and it’s being purchased. But there’s almost a whole generation of kids out there who have missed out on comics. There’s a whole generation of parents who aren’t as likely to buy their kids comics now, because of the misconception that all that’s out there is blood and bullets and T&A.
The future of comics depends on whether we can take Astonish Factory’s advice -- “remember our childhood and pass it on.” But do we pass on ultimitized visions of heroism -- people who are “more real” because they abuse their power, or have perverted sexual appetites, or have dark secrets -- or do we pass on portraits of true heroism. Yes, I know that comics aren’t real and that in real life sometimes people just aren’t like that. But is there anything wrong in aspiring to be like that? Why is pessimism more acceptable than optimism?
We’re just coming through an election, and the battle cry from both sides has been, “Every vote counts.” That is especially true here. We can vote with our pocket books. Buy comics that are all-ages and give them our children or the kids down the street or our nephews or neices (after we read them ourselves, of course!). We need to create a new speculator’s market, where we invest not in the future price of a comic, but instead in the future of comics itself. The young readers who are just around the corner from having their own disposable income but still depend on Mom to buy them stuff right now.
And if you can’t find enough of these books, you can do what some friends of mine (and I) are doing.
Create your own.
Please.
Because I’m running out of reading material for those kids . . .
***
Ben Avery, the script adapter of the critically acclaimed The Hedge Knight, the creator of Hero TV and ArmorQuest from Community Comics, and the co-creator/writer of Lullaby and Mike S. Miller’s The Imaginaries, is a father of three and a seventh grade teacher who wants nothing more than to tell stories . . . many of which he hopes will be enjoyed by people of “all ages”.
I'm not a big fan of big events, mainly because I don't have money to follow them. So, halfway through I find out that Blackest Night might be awesome . . . but I'm just going to have to hope my library gets the collected editions.
But I like the characters. I like Hulk . . . I'm just not going to buy the latest run of Hulk crossover event stuff. (Speaking of, I have the entire run of Planet Hulk and World War Hulk, including Amazing Fantasy #15 which debuted Amadeus Cho -- is that the kid's name? -- and the four issue storyarc that led to Hulk getting launched into space, I'm willing to part with it . . . cheap. Any takers?) I like Green Lantern and the Corps, I'm just not going to buy five titles a week to keep up with the storyline.
So, on the opposite end of the spectrum, we get One Shots. I like One Shots. A lot. They are single, self-contained stories (or a group of self-contained stories . . . or a group of stories that add up to a self-contained story . . . or, in some cases, a trick because they're really a prologue to a big event . . .).
Last month, Dark Horse put out a bunch of one shots -- two Star Wars ones, a Buffy one, a Conan one, Hellboy, Good, etc. -- and used the tagline "Suffering from crossover fatigue?" Nice! "One-shot wonders", they called them. I like it. A lot. I only bought one (although I plan to buy the second Star Wars one-shot), but I love the sentiment. And I'd love to see more stuff like this.
So here's some quickie reviews of some recent one shots and why you might like to buy them too:
Marvel Comics, Black Knight One Shot -- This was a fun superhero fantasy that feels like they might be rebooting the character a bit to start some sort of new series. It's an origin story, and really it's one of those stories that when you get to the end you realize it's really "the beginning", but from end to finish it's a fun romp with some fun twists and turns, that takes place in a medieval fantasy period. I like the character Black Knight, although I don't understand much of his backstory (because I don't know much of his backstory) so this was, as I said, a fun read. I have no idea how much was added to the backstory for this presentation, but reading it felt like much had been added to the mythos that may not have been there before, or at least much that had not been organized like this before. There's some interesting struggles with the concept of good and evil and how that battle works in our own life . . . and a cool sword! Written by Tom DeFalco, so you know it's going to be good (although, with limited space, you can see where he wished he were writing a four issue limited or something).
Marvel Comics, Hulk: Winter Guard -- This is exactly the kind of one-shot I like, although I think it should be retitled "Winter Guard: Hulk". It's really more about Winter Guard dealing with Hulk than Hulk dealing with Winder Guard . . . but who cares? It's a good story, it cleverly weaves a classic Hulk story into it, reprints said classic Hulk story as a flashback, and delivers a couple nice twists that let you look at the classic story slightly different and also make for a fun ride. David Gallaher always delivers exactly the kinds of stories I like to read and write, and consistently does so much better than I could ever do.
Dark Horse, Star Wars: Purge "Seconds to Die" -- This is a quick little story taking place between trilogies, as Darth Vader is tracking down some of the Jedi who may have fallen through the cracks when the Jedi were mass-murdered in Revenge of the Sith. The story follows her and her desperate plan in the aftermath. It's an interesting little story with a concise beginning, middle, and end, although it may resound more with fans of the original trilogy.
Like I said, I'd love to see more of these kinds of one shots. I can't buy all of them, but the ones that interest me are far more likely to make it into my "buy pile" than the big, grand crossover event type things. At $4 a pop, it's a good read, and a little longer than your usual comic book.
So what did new comic day (Wednesday) bring to me?
The latest issue of X-Men? The newest development in the ongoing soap opera that is Superman . . . or Batman . . . or Spider-Man? The comic book adventures of Star Trek, Transformers, or Terminator perhaps?
No, all of those things were brand spanking new and on the shelves, but nothing appealed to me.
So I took a look at the graphic novels shelves at my local comic shop and found this gem that I had considered getting a long time ago. I was casually acquainted with the story inside, and decided that this would be my new comic for new comic Wednesday: a collection of stories between 30 and 20 years old.
Like Iron Man's Doomquest and Sword of the Atom (another collection I hope to review soon), Heart of the Atom takes the Incredible Hulk and drops him in a land of swords and sorcery. And for that, it's a cool concept. It's also developed a little further than Doomquest, as Hulk returns there a number of times over the years of publishing. (The collection alone contains ten issues from the Incredible Hulk, and one stand alone What If? issue.) Like many fantasy stories (John Carter of Mars especially comes to mind) we have a hero dropped into a strange alien landscape. This time, though, the hero is more than equipped to handle the challenges thrown at him. He is, after all, the Hulk.
Launching off with a story by Harlan Ellison (if you know who he is, you know why that's pretty incredible to begin with), the Hulk is shrunk down to microcosmic size where he comes to rest on a world smaller than an atom. This world is populated by creatures and people who seem to come straight out of Middle Earth or Narnia or Hyperboria and they use primitive weapons and magic and what technology they once possessed is now long gone, save some artifacts here and there used by evil people. Oh, and they're all green.
I expected this to be a "Hulk smash puny dragons . . . and medieval armies . . . and magicians". But while that was an element, I was surprised to find out as I read through this thing last night, it was really a romance, as Hulk fell in love with the (green) queen of this world. A parallel storyline develops on earth as Betty Ross, Bruce Banner's one time lover, falls in love and gets married as well.
But Hulk's relationship, and the consequences of it both in her world and his, form the spine of these stories. Since these stories develop over numerous intermittent issues of a monthly comic, taking years to come to a conclusion, I'm surprised how well this holds up as a straight narrative (although, there were a couple points where they had a page of text to tell the story of the fifteen issues between the ones they chose to put into this volume). This story is a tragedy, of course, but it ends on just the right note. Judging from the notes between stories, it seems there have been a couple more recent stories with Hulk returning to that world, but from their description I'm glad they weren't including in this collection. That would have ruined the satisfying conclusion of this storyline.
Bottom line, it's a love story. A love story set in '70's and '80's era Marvel comics, with a fantasy background. I enjoyed it and was surprised how emotive it was. Normally, I associate Hulk with anger and rage (and there was plenty of that in this volume), but because of the magic of the fantasy world Hulk's humanity is allowed to come into play, and his other emotions. I mentioned above that Hulk was more than equipped to handle the challenges thrown at him by this fantasy world, and that almost makes this a boring story. Except for one thing: he's not equipped emotionally to deal with what happens.
WRITERS: David Michilini, Bob Layton ARTISTS: Bob Layton, John Romite, Jr. (Doomquest), Ron Lim (Iron Man: Legacy of Doom) PUBLISHER: Marvel
I’d heard of the Doomquest issues of the Iron Man series a while ago, and I was interested in reading them, but never really looked for them. They were issues 149 and 150 and 249 and 250 of the Iron Man comic series.
What got my interest was seeing a paperback copy of the collected edition of “Iron Man: Legacy of Doom” mini-series on the new comics shelf at my local shop. I peeked at the back and saw that it was a sequel, of sorts, to those two Doomquest mini-story arcs. And that those two Doomquet story arcs were about King Arthur and time travel and . . . well, I was hooked.
A quick glance at the old comics shelf revealed a collected edition of Doomquest and the hardcover edition of Legacy of Doom. Cool. I just hoped it was worth it.
Long story short, they were. The first Doomquest story (issues 149 and 150, from 1981) has Iron Man and Dr. Doom thrust back in time, to the time of King Arthur and all his knights. Iron Man allies himself with Arthur, Doom with Morganna, and conflict ensues. It’s exciting seeing Iron Man and Dr. Doom’s technological armor amidst the knights of the round table and the crazy creatures of evil, and the story resolves itself nicely.
The second Doomquest story (issues 249 and 250, from 1988) pushes Iron Man and Doom into the future, where they must once more team up with Merlin to save the Camelot of the future, and the future king of Camelot -- Arthur. There’s some funny twists with Arthur and his legacy and upbringing. Now, Iron Man and Doom are outclassed when it comes to technology, and ultimately this is a fun comic book trip to the future and a nice counterpoint to the first Doomquest story.
Iron Man: Legacy of Doom, a four issue mini-series from 2008, reunites the creative team from those two Doomquest stories and takes up the themes (technology vs. magic) and tropes (time travel, although not as far flung into the future; along with the whole Arthurian thing) and wraps the story up neatly. (And like all good time travel stories, it wraps the story around as an element from the past that shows up in the future is preserved because of decisions in the present. Just read it, you’ll appreciate it.)
I liked these two volumes because it’s a good Iron Man story and a good Dr. Doom story, using these character archetypes in a way that you don’t need to know the convoluted backstories of the characters. If you’ve heard of the characters, you’ll get into the story. I also like the time travel themes that get used, and the technology vs. magic argument is explored in ways that aren’t just conflict, but philosophical concepts.
When the Iron Man movie came out, one problem I had was that there were no comic stories that were as good as the movie. These come close.
"Waiting for the Trade" is a term that was coined to describe people who, instead of buying monthly comics, waited for them to be put into collections. On my Myth Understanding blog, I have used the term to be the umbrella for my comic book reviews. My reviews aren't ALL about bound collections of comics -- some will be about comics I wish were collected, and some will be about comics I may not have waited for. For the most part, my reviews will be positive: the point here is to point people to works I enjoy, not point out things I disliked (unless I change my mind).
My first review:
STAR TREK: COUNTDOWN
Writers: Mike Johnson, Tim Jones (script); Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman (story) Artist: David Messina Publisher: IDW
This comic book series basically bridges the gap between the FAR future world of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager and the NEAR (or nearer, anyway) future world of Star Trek, the new movie.
Spoilers abound in the following review . . . so if you haven’t seen the movie, you may want to skip reading this review. Maybe. So here’s the END of my review: I recommend this book if you are a fan of Trek or liked the movie and want to know more. Fans of Trek should read this before seeing the movie. People who aren’t fans should watch the movie first, and if they want more Star Trek this would be the first place to start.
Let the spoilers (for the movie, not the comic so much) begin.
First of all, the story of this comic was told in Spock’s mindmeld with Kirk on the ice planet. This comic fleshes that part out, though.
I knew the comic was coming out, but my local comic shop sold out of the first issue before I could get a copy because I didn’t know WHEN it was coming out. So I patiently decided to wait for the trade. A four issue mini-series, it tells the backstory of Nero, the villain from the film, and really gives more weight to his anger against Spock. Also, the scientific plot hole from the film is explained with some classic Trek-ish technobabble.
The story takes place after all the Next Generation movies have occurred. We get to see where some favorite Next Generation characters have ended up, and the whole story really serves two purposes: set up Spock and Nero’s backstory, while giving the Next Generation era a proper send off. Fans who believe the Star Trek timeline has been changed to much so that all the original stories never happened, you can be reassured when you see that last page.
The storyline is great, the art is cartoony while retaining enough detail to make the characters recognizable, and not just as caricatures. There were moments in the script that felt just a bit too . . . cute? A clever line, slightly out of place, inserted just for the sake of being clever -- that sort of thing.
But overall, as a Star Trek fan I found this to be a fun comic.
It was also interesting, because it gave insight into the backstory material that the writers of the movie intended for their characters. I like seeing the artistic intentions of creators, and reading this comic book you can see that Orci and Kurtzman, when wrtiting the script for Star Trek, truly did not want to invalidate what people loved about Star Trek. Instead, they embraced it -- all the legacy, all the history, all of what had gone before.
Okay, so all the moral implications of my earlier postings still apply, but it's an interesting footnote . . . in one arm of the Spider-Man publishing universe, he's happily married.
With all the new technology, there's a lot of exciting stuff happening . . .
And a lot of depressing stuff . . .
Because of the economy and digital competition, print publishing is on life support. It's not dead, and won't die soon (I don't think paper publishing will EVER die). But it's hurting. Mom and Pop shops are closing left and right, unable to stand under the pressures of the economy, when combined with competition from Wal-Mart (and stores like it) and Amazon. Amazon and Wal-marty type stores equal convenience and low prices -- you can shop for just what you want in the privacy of your own home, or while you're at a store you're already visiting every week. Those bookstores that are staying afloat are doing so because they manage to offer something else: unique service or coffee or atmosphere. But even the chain stores aren't immune. I'm not sure about Barnes & Noble, they seem to be doing well, but Borders has been on the cusp of bankruptcy for what feels like a long time. In the comic book realm, there's been a number of shake ups, including much higher price points on products and distribution difficulties.
These factors also make small press publishing harder. Wal-Marty-type stores aren't going to carry something with no history or "hotness" to it. Mom and Pop Shops that are still in business can't afford to take a chance on a book that they might not sell -- it's a financial risk. Amazon will carry anything, but in all of these scenarios the end result is the same: people are not likely to stumble on your product if they are browsing the shelves.
Print publishing and its future looks bleak.
But, there are some exciting things happening as well. Because while all those doors are closing to small press publishers, and increasingly to larger publishers who are trying to promote new material, the same factors that are causing the problem are actually opening new doors.
Amazon's Kindle DX is an incredible machine, a nearly paper-like book reader. The iPhone and iPod Touch are making some pretty interesting book applications and readers in a much more compact (and diverse) format. (Games, music, internet, social networking, communication -- all on a device that can fit in your pocket.) (Not to mention the Google Android and the other iPhone-like devices . . . I'm just partial to Mac stuff.)
Publishers who are not thinking digitally are missing the boat. Every hardcover a publisher sells in a store should come bundled with a disk that has the book in a format that the Kindle, Sony e-reader, etc. can read (at least, it should be a PDF -- although that makes piracy easier), so readers get the digital book but also the paper book. I don't know why no one is doing this, but they are foolish not to. (Licensing fees may be the reason, and in that case publishers can't be faulted.)
I predict, though, that in the next year or two we will be seeing a new product from Mac. I'll even go so far as to name it. They will call it the TouchBook. (Laugh at me when I'm wrong; but admit it, it's not a bad name.) It will basically be the iPod Touch, with a screen about the size of a small laptop. But it will be a touch screen, that you can use a stylus with, with optional plug-in keyboard (although it will retain the touch-style keyboard). It will be an artistic canvas, a desktop publishing composer, a video viewer, a music player, a book reader, and an internet connection. I don't know much about how Mac reveals stuff to the public, or their development process, but I wouldn't be surprised if it happens soon.
That's all pretty specific, but even if they don't do exactly that, a product like that will be available soon . . . and these types of things break down all sorts of walls that used to be in the way of publishers. Suddenly, printing costs aren't as much of a factor. In comic books, I see comics being made available in two formats: one strictly digital, and one strictly collectible in that it comes in paper with a digital format. Just like my hardcover book publishing idea.
The only factor in this equation that has to change is price. When the reader prices finally come down, more people will buy them . . . and more people will use them. And more publishers will be able to find their niche audience easier.
Yeah, it's not all "sunshine and gumdrops" . . . but it's also not all "rainy days and Mondays".
They have your audience, if you are a comic book creator.
Just so you know that.
What? You've sold some comics at some conventions? Great!
But most people's money is tied up in buying Marvel and DC. It's just the way it is.
So why go head to head with them? "Because those are the comics I read, and I want people like me to read my comics."
Understandable. But with the price of comics going up and up and up . . . we creators have to be thinking of ways to get around the fact that DC and Marvel are snapping up those dollars. We've got to be all "kung fu" about things, and use the giant's strength against itself.
How?
By innovating. Not copying.
By looking for different audiences. People who don't buy comics, but might buy yours.
By giving content away.
I think, unfortunately, too many of us are stuck trying to be the people we looked up to in 1986 . . . or 1996 . . . or, for some, 1976 and 1966.
But back then, we were the audience. Now, we're aspiring creators. We simply cannot try to emulate the past. Not now.
We have to look forward. Bring our product to the audience. If we were Marvel or DC, we could expect the audience to find us. But, hate to break it to you, we aren't.
The time has come. If you are a creator, you have to stop thinking about what it was like back in the day when you were the audience, and start thinking about tomorrow and where you're going to FIND your audience. And then grab 'em! Give 'em awesome content that they've never seen before! Hook 'em! And then make 'em glad they came, and look forward to coming back.
Because the 22-28 page comic is not dead. Not like people predicted. But it IS strangling the comic book industry. Just killing it. How?
Well, let's just get the whole "graphic novels are the wave of the future" thing that has been the mantra for years now.
And the whole "webcomics are the wave of the future" thing that has been the mantra for fewer years now, but still years none-the-less.
Those ideas are great in theory, but let's face facts. Theory is only good if it leads to some sort of action. And so, some people have been trying to ride those ideas, focusing on graphic novels and webcomics.
But the 22-28 page comic book format continually rears it's ugly head. Don't get me wrong, the format is not evil in and of itself. And it is a financial viable method for DC and Marvel and a few select others.
But.
Because of that success, many, many people who would be able to produce a wonderful webcomic are focused on trying to be Marvel and DC. That's the way the big boys do it, that's the way it's gotta be done.
22-28 page comics aren't going anywhere. The comic industry is too dependent on them, comic shops rely on the comic collector who will come in every week to get the latest installment of whatever comic characters they follow, and it's worked great for the last 80 years. Why mess with a good thing?
Because it's not the ONLY thing. And it's not even the BEST thing.
Too many creators are stuck looking backward, at an outdated model of publishing that can only work if you have lots and lots of money to throw at it. And they get burned. It tears me up to see so many small start ups waste so much money. Some of us (yes, I say "us" because I've been involved in this) were able to dust ourselves off from the mistake, and try looking in other directions. Others of us just plain lose everything.
It's not pretty.
The sky is the limit these days, for anyone with an idea, some time, and some talent. So why are we getting so many people who are producing material that, if you overlook the glossy paper and the lack of comic want ads and Sea Monkey ads, looks just like something they were selling in 1986.
In fact, those two books are the Golden Standard for what comic books are. Or should be. Or want to be. Or whatever.
The broke the mold, subtly and not-so-subtly poking holes at the conventions of supeheroes, deconstructing the idea of modern heroes, and presenting archetypes in a new light.
Watchmen and Dark Knight. Top of many, many lists of best comics ever.
Still.
It's 2008, people. Where's the next Watchmen or Dark Knight?
Everything about comics these days seems to be looking back in the rear-view mirror. Looking back at this two comics.
That's not to say they aren't great . . . they are. But where is the next breakthrough? The next "changes everything" story?
The answer: it's come. And it's gone. And we didn't notice. Because our collective eyes were on those two masterpieces, in the rear-view mirror . . . instead of looking ahead.
Okay, so the Clone Wars movie didn't excite me much. At all. Although I hear rumors the television series is better than the movie . . .
But here's something that got me excited about Star Wars again.
It's called "Vector" and it's a miniseries that crosses over a number of different Star Wars comics from Dark Horse. The different series all take place in different time periods, and that's what initially attracted me to the story. From a purely analytical POV, I wanted to see how they went about doing it.
But I stopped reading from an analytical POV with the first issue.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #25 Vector Part 1, written by John Jackson Miller
I looked at that first cover and I saw Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, and two dudes I'd never heard of (although I assumed one of them is Luke's ancestor, because I at least knew enough about Star Wars: Legacy, one of the titles the crossover went into, to know it was about the grandson or grand-nephew or whatever of Luke).
In this first issue, we're introduced to a bunch of characters that have been established in this series: Knights of the Old Republic, which takes place generations (I think) before the movies. But the writer does a fairly good job of introducing the characters to new readers (like me).
But what gets me excited in this issue is the opening prophetic dream that has Luke, Darth, and the new Skywalker . . . and makes it known that something terrible is going to happen.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #26 Vector Part 2, written by John Jackson Miller
And something terrible DOES happen. It's a plague, and it has something to do with the force, and I'm not going to get into the details too much because I recommend people read the series and enjoy and experience it for themselves.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #27 Vector Part 3, written by John Jackson Miller
Now, other than the initial prophetic dream sequence, the characters I know and love don't appear in these first three issues of this story. And that's okay. The characters who DO appear are likable, and the story itself is intriguing.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #28 Vector Part 4, written by John Jackson Miller
The first four issues of the "Vector" story make for a great first act. I really enjoyed it. I'm curious about the further adventures of those characters, and I'm curious about earlier adventures as well. The old pocket book may not let me actually read them, but I was pretty happy/satisfied with the story. And I was ready to get into some of the characters I DO know . . .
Star Wars: Dark Times #11 Vector Part 5, written by Mick Harrison
"Dark Times" is Dark Horse's Star Wars comic series about Darth Vader, during the time between Episode III (when he is "created") and the original Star Wars movie (still can't bring myself to call it Episode IV).
Again, I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but generations have gone by and Darth finds the ancient plague . . . and some other ancient evils . . .
Star Wars: Dark Times #12 Vector Part 6, written by Mick Harrison
. . . and we get to see Darth in some good old fashioned Jedi fighting.
There's much more to it than that. Again, I don't want to give too much away. But the writers of this crossover series do a nice job of finding a natural device, that makes sense in the context of the story, to move the action (and even some characters -- again, don't want to give too much away) generations ahead in time.
But as cool as it is to see Darth in action, he's not who I was waiting for.
Star Wars: Rebellion #15 Vector Part 7, written by Rob Williams
I was a pretty big fan of the Star Wars comics when they were being published by Marvel. In those days, we didn't have a VCR, so the Star Wars comics were all I had to fuel my Star Wars excitement between movies. As a result, I did get pretty fond of and attached to the original trilogy characters. (And I still think, as I said in my Clone Wars movie review, an animated series featuring those characters would be fun, but I'm biased.)
Star Wars: Rebellion #16 Vector Part 8, written by Rob Williams
Again, a nice, natural device is used to move the story from Darth's early years to Darth's later years is utilized. And it works. Putting on my analysts hat, this is one of the better crafted crossovers I've seen, and not a lot of absurd concepts have to be put into play to make it work. The Rebellion chapters and the Dark Times chapters flow together so seamlessly, you almsot don't notice it's two different titles the story just passed through.
Getting away from looking "under the hood" as a writer, and switching over to being a reader and a fan, I'm just enjoying seeing Luke and Leia in action again.
Sadly, Luke's chapter in the story is only two issues long out of the twelve. So far, that's my only complaint about the crossover.
Star Wars: Legacy #28 Vector Part 9, written by Rob Williams
What will the future bring? That's my only concern. Like the first four chapters, which dropped me into a series revolving around characters I know nothing about, these final four chapters are about the future "Legacy" of the Skywalker family -- and again, these are characters I don't know about.
Will the story sustain itself? I don't know.
But man, I've not gotten excited about reading a new Star Wars story in a while.
Ah, but here's the difference:
With Clone Wars, it felt like they were just doing a story with the Star Wars label and expecting you to like it because it's called "Star Wars", it has lightsabers, spaceships, and explosions.
With "Vector", it feels like they're trying to tell a good story and using Star Wars characters to do it. And they succeeded.
Dark Horse, and those four writers plus whatever editors and story consultants worked on this story have done a great job. This is how a crossover should be done.
I’m looking through the iTunes store, and something catches my eye. It’s a featured album, it’s only $7.99, and seems to be some sort of benefit for a charity.
What a world we live in! A world of technology and wonder!
(a book anyone who wants to make comics should read) and I get to the part where he says (paraphrasing here) the best comics are made by artist/writers. In other words, artists who write and draw their own comics will usually have a better end result than writer/artist TEAMS because the artist who works on his own project knows exactly what he wants, whereas the artist working from someone else's script can never put on hte page exactly what was intended by the script.
from Amazon for just $10. (That may just be a pre-order deal.) I believe that means that it would be in last month's Previews. I'm going to be ordering mine through my local comic shop (although that means paying more for it) (it also means I'm buying it twice, but I can live with supporting it like that). But for any fan of all ages fantasy and whimsy, this is a must have.
