I suspect y'all animation revelation members have a lot to say about this subject. I've only been a comic book fan for 4 years so I don't have much to say myself.
How prints of single issues still exist, really. I mean, by this point, you'd have expected DC and Marvel to have done webcomics. But, no. Indeed, we've only seen 3 famous comic writers (Ellis, Waid, Rucka) go towards making free comics on the internet. You'd think they'd take more advantage of this to make sure more than a hundred thousand people read their work.
The best thing for Marvel and DC would be for each of them to create a site and upload all of their old comics online into a huge organized archive and charge a general subscription fee for anyone to read their comics online. Then they could have a separate service for their newer releases that could require its own subscription. I'm not sure if that would work out, but I could guarantee that they would have much more people subscribing to a service like that than buying individual issues of comics which just wouldn't appeal to anyone who isn't already a long-time reader of any currently running series.
Yeah, even when they try, it's just "one step forward, two steps back" with crap like Comixology. The Big Two, hell, even savvy companies like Dark Horse and IDW need to know that in reality, tons of people read comics, it's just that very few actually buy them. And they need to try to change the playing field if they want to make money from the former.
I can't believe people hate Waid's Daredevil.
Crappy redesigns. (http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/JoshWildingNewsAndReviews/news/?a=85866)
Why is Lobo a bishounen now?
How about how they highlight every other phrase?
http://www.businessinsider.com/its-astonishing-how-far-disney-is-going-to-bury-the-x-men-2015-4 (http://www.businessinsider.com/its-astonishing-how-far-disney-is-going-to-bury-the-x-men-2015-4)
X-Men has been given the shaft for quite a long time. But let's be fair, the last decade of stories for them have been pretty terrible as a whole. There were of course a few bright spots, but compared to how good they used to be? Not even close.
The same could be said of all comic books!/Dracula.
QuoteAnd just remember, Alex Garland planned to take us in to the Cursed Earth in a sequel to Dredd (2012).
This ruined my entire evening. :srs:
So, this is coming out of nowhere, but I've had this on my mind for a while. I haven't read a whole lot of Alan Moore's work, but what I have read has genuinely been great (Watchmen, V For Vendetta, and I'm currently working my way through my brother's copy of From Hell), and I plan to read more of his work eventually. However, I wanted to bring up that Alan Moore as a person has always struck me as a pretentious dick. He comes off as one of those obnoxious people who think that their work is the only thing that matters, and every interview that I've seen or read featuring the guy shows him as a self-absorbed elitist prick. Perhaps he's more chill in real life, but anything I've seen regarding the man himself has always been a major turn-off for me.
Yet, I almost never see anyone else point that out. Am I alone on this? I understand that most of his work is praise-worthy, but that doesn't mean that the guy behind it is necessarily a great person.
Oh, tons of people believe that, but are afraid of expressing it because Alan Moore's a crazy magician who dug up a cave underneath his house. I'm not even kidding. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS0r3VNdV_k) And that's from a guy who's cordial with him. There are tales about how Jim Lee genuinely feared Alan Moore bludgeoning him with a cudgel after he sold his stuff to DC. There's a reason why it was only until recently people were brave enough to say The Killing Joke might have had some issues with Barbara's characterization.
Well, I can certainly believe people being afraid of him. Dude looks pretty fucking creepy. He also has a ton of weird quirks, when he's not bitching about how much he hates any adaptations of his work, and how the world of comic books has lost all relevancy without his contributions.
He has his good moments though. Every halloween, he gives money to the trick-or-treaters. And despite all that's said and done, he still reads some comics (http://kierongillen.tumblr.com/post/132288976707/so-you-may-or-may-not-know-alan-moore-in-his)(albeit those from the only publishing company he's willing to work with at the moment).
Moore seems crazy as hell but I can't say that I care. :D
Moore being a looney ass has been known for as long as I can remember.
Well, it's more that I had a problem with him being a genuine dick about a lot of things rather than him being crazy on top of it.
Speaking of Moore, here's a recent interview from him. (http://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/02/08/has-the-human-centipede-taught-us-nothing-alan-moore-answers-questions-about-cinema-purgatorio-for-bleeding-cool/)
Quote from: Dr. Insomniac on May 14, 2012, 04:40:39 PM
How prints of single issues still exist, really. I mean, by this point, you'd have expected DC and Marvel to have done webcomics. But, no. Indeed, we've only seen 3 famous comic writers (Ellis, Waid, Rucka) go towards making free comics on the internet. You'd think they'd take more advantage of this to make sure more than a hundred thousand people read their work.
Yeah, I've pretty much stopped buying single issues (Atleast new ones, I buy old single issues since not all of them have been compiled) and just wait for the trades. I'm still a newbie to Marvel and for now want to read their 90's works since I missed out on them as a kid (Comics weren't popular at my school) so I am in no hurry to read their newer stuff.
I buy a few single issues each month to support the series I enjoy most. I wish they were cheaper, but eh, the current Deadpool and Howard the Duck runs are worth it to me. I also enjoy the look and feel of reading them, which is mostly nostalgia, I suppose. And though there are some webcomics I really enjoy (the first comic I truly loved was online, after all), I hate reading things on a computer screen. Give me paper or give me death. :P
I prefer reading things in hard copy to computers as well, but I'm not keen on spending roughly $5 for something that takes me roughly 5 minutes to read through.
I like to take my time looking at the art and admiring the craft behind the whole thing, so it usually takes me about 20-30 minutes. I realize that this probably makes me weird, but knowing how much work goes into creating a single comic issue really makes me appreciate and want to support the hard work people do on their books. I don't mind spending $3-4 for 24 pages of quality writing and artwork, especially since it helps other creators put food on the table.
Quote from: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on February 28, 2016, 06:19:58 PM
I prefer reading things in hard copy to computers as well, but I'm not keen on spending roughly $5 for something that takes me roughly 5 minutes to read through.
This is why I preferred physical game mags over game sites for so long.
Quote from: Foggle on February 28, 2016, 07:32:16 PMI like to take my time looking at the art and admiring the craft behind the whole thing, so it usually takes me about 20-30 minutes. I realize that this probably makes me weird, but knowing how much work goes into creating a single comic issue really makes me appreciate and want to support the hard work people do on their books. I don't mind spending $3-4 for 24 pages of quality writing and artwork, especially since it helps other creators put food on the table.
There's nothing wrong with admiring great artwork. I myself love to revisit many comics specifically as an excuse to view a gallery of excellent art from some of my favorite artists, without even paying much attention to the dialogue. In comics this is true of the classical styles of Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby, both of whom have simplistic but incredibly fluid and easy to follow art styles which I appreciate and feel holds up remarkably well. I also really love Jim Lee's work as far as moder comic book art goes. Even in bad comics like ASSBAR, his art is the only legitimately good thing about it. I also particularly liked Graham Nolan's art in the KnightFall issues which he illustrated. And as far as manga go, Osamu Tezuka, Tetsuya Chiba, and Akira Toriyama have some of the most unique and lively art in the medium. Meanwhile, Tsugumi Ohba never fails to wow me with how well he excels at any style which he chooses, and Inoue Takehiko has some of the finest detailed art that I've ever seen, surpassing even Naoki Uraswa whom I already admire greatly as it is. And that's just to name a few examples.
Even so, as much as I adore great art, I still feel that the content really matters, and for me personally, it's hard to justify spending $5 for roughly 20 pages of material, even if I'm making a full-time salary. I much prefer to go for collection bundles or omnibus format releases. It's still supportIng the series which I love, but also without completely raping my wallet. But that's just me, and my particular financial situation. :sweat:
Lately, what I've been doing is buying a random single issue here or there (preferably a first issue or stand-alone story), to decide if it's worth a later investment to buy the graphic novels. Free comic book day is a especially nice day for stuff like this, too.
I used to just read some of the series that I wanted to discover at Barnes & Noble, but I don't really have the free time for that anymore, unless I'm really unsure if the series is worth the money. Buying is nice, since I can read at my own pace.
Quote from: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on February 29, 2016, 12:06:52 AM
And as far as manga go, Osamu Tezuka, Tetsuya Chiba, and Akira Toriyama have some of the most unique and lively art in the medium. Meanwhile, Tsugumi Ohba never fails to wow me with how well he can excels at any style which he chooses, and Inoue Takehiko has some of the finest detailed art that I've ever seen, surpassing even Naoki Uraswa whom I already admire greatly as it is. And that's just to name a few examples.
Hiroki Endo of Eden It's An Endless World! and All Rounder Meguru really stands out as well. He has a good level of realism and obsessive detailing that makes you want to revisit his works over and over again. Yukito Kishiro of Gunnm is also pretty damn good. I love his robot designs and his character expressions are fun to watch. And of course we all know Hirohiko Araki.
Light novels:
The Chronicle of the Male Virgin Who Travels to the Alternate World Chiirem [cheat + harem] and Gains Healing Magic. (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2016-07-08/light-novel-contest-overwhelmed-with-alternate-world-entries/.103996)
(https://animationrevelation.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FxJDmyqm.jpg&hash=7faac3fc92655b0cb047f7f9808f71b329ba1456)
:-\
Weird. Fox just partnered Marvel. You'd think the mutant genocide and forcing Inhumans as their replacements woukd stop
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DJxnwGTVwAAw-_J.jpg)
First they gave us unsolicited opinions on Israel, and I did not speak out, because my opinions on Israel were also unsolicited. Then they canceled all my favorite series except Duggan's Deadpool, and I did not speak out, because that shit has happened constantly since the 90's (at least) and I have better things to do with my time. Then they made Captain America a Nazi, and I actually did speak out, because that was fucking stupid (but they kept it going anyway). Then they made a deal with a private military company/weapons manufacturer to release a children-targeted comic about a plucky, diverse group of warmongers teaming up with the Avengers and
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DLekKU9XUAEDJlf.jpg)
Go fuck yourself, Marvel.
Seriously, why Northrop Grumman? Why not Tesla or NASA or wherever the hell Neil Tyson works? Why the company that the very first MCU movie satirized?
Quote from: Foggle on October 06, 2017, 10:52:21 PM
First they gave us unsolicited opinions on Israel, and I did not speak out, because my opinions on Israel were also unsolicited. Then they canceled all my favorite series except Duggan's Deadpool, and I did not speak out, because that shit has happened constantly since the 90's (at least) and I have better things to do with my time. Then they made Captain America a Nazi, and I actually did speak out, because that was fucking stupid (but they kept it going anyway). Then they made a deal with a private military company/weapons manufacturer to release a children-targeted comic about a plucky, diverse group of warmongers teaming up with the Avengers and
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DLekKU9XUAEDJlf.jpg)
Go fuck yourself, Marvel.
That's part of the reason why I'm torn up tonight. I already said everything I felt like saying on Twitter. I didn't know the company they made a deal with is also a pmc..ugh.
It's comfy being a DC fan. We might have shitty movies, but at least we don't have Batman giving the thumbs up to war profiteers.
It's nice that Disney bought Fox properties but Disney, Marvel, Miramax, Star Wars, etc., etc., etc. are all still dead to me.
Quote from: gunswordfist on November 07, 2017, 02:56:21 PM
It's nice that Disney bought Fox properties but Disney, Marvel, Miramax, Star Wars, etc., etc., etc. are all still dead to me.
Why?
Quote from: gunswordfist on October 06, 2017, 11:49:15 PM
Quote from: Foggle on October 06, 2017, 10:52:21 PM
First they gave us unsolicited opinions on Israel, and I did not speak out, because my opinions on Israel were also unsolicited. Then they canceled all my favorite series except Duggan's Deadpool, and I did not speak out, because that shit has happened constantly since the 90's (at least) and I have better things to do with my time. Then they made Captain America a Nazi, and I actually did speak out, because that was fucking stupid (but they kept it going anyway). Then they made a deal with a private military company/weapons manufacturer to release a children-targeted comic about a plucky, diverse group of warmongers teaming up with the Avengers and
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DLekKU9XUAEDJlf.jpg)
Go fuck yourself, Marvel.
That's part of the reason why I'm torn up tonight. I already said everything I felt like saying on Twitter. I didn't know the company they made a deal with is also a pmc..ugh.
They pulled out of that partnership though, and according to some Marvel execs like Quesada (http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/10/07/marvel-faces-fan-backlash-over-deal-with-arms-manufacturer), they were just as surprised as everyone else was. All signs point to Perlmutter being an asshole and going behind everybody's back to push some stupid deal again.
Quote from: Dr. Insomniac on November 07, 2017, 06:01:09 PM
They pulled out of that partnership though
Nice, I didn't hear about that. Great news!
I don't know if anybody at Marvel except for Perlmutter, Nicieza, and everybody else who made that comic knew about the Northrop Grumman deal beforehand.
I've gotten really sick of seeing all of these videos and articles popping up in my feed about how bad the American comic book industry has gotten because of how "woke" it is, and at that it's usually just people griping about modern DC and Marvel stuff and applying that to all comic books as a whole. I mean, it's not like there aren't a plethora of indie comics or comics from other reputable publishers that have nothing to do with superheroes....:imnothappy:
Don't get me wrong, I have my own set of issues with a lot of current practices from both of the big two publishers, so I'm not going to say that there aren't plenty of legitimate things to complain about in that regard. Still, I tend to value the individual authors and artists and their work over who puts it out, and in both cases, there are great titles that have been released in the past few years, like Tom King's Mister Miracle and Tomasi's Superman (among other titles), as well as stuff like Ewing's Immortal Hulk and Zdarsky's Daredevil (again, among quite a few others). And when people try to use sales figures as a way to determine something's quality (because we all know how much something sells is directly indicative how how good it actually is....), I can't help but think of how some of the best titles that I've ever enjoyed in any medium have historically not been that financially successful. Johnathan Hickman's House of X/Powers of X is maybe one of the best comic books (and I include manga in that discussion) that I've read in the past several years, and it's not exactly a household name as far as I know.
I especially hate it when people bring manga sales into the discussion and use it to berate comic books for trying to be too socially conscious and that manga sells better because it's not "woke" like comic books are. I'm not going to pretend like there aren't horribly misguided efforts at social politics that come out of the comic book industry today (though, I'd argue that's honestly nothing new given the long history of the medium), but using that to apply to the industry as a whole is rather ridiculous. Likewise, as someone who absolutely loves manga and has for just about two decades now, it both amuses me and simultaneously annoys me that some of these people seem to believe that there aren't tons of manga that make very bold and very clear social commentary of their own. I tend to think that the people making these sorts of claims don't really read much beyond whatever the most popular Shonen Jump titles are and even then can somehow miss the obvious subtext in even some of those series. To be clear, I'm very happy that manga sales have increased over time and it has slowly but gradually progressed as an excepted artform in the west. I just hate how, for lack of a better description, stupid people use it as a way to lash out at another artform that happens to produce content that has some key titles with themes and messages that they don't agree with.
This has honestly bothered me for a while, but up until now I have tried my best to just ignore it. Yet, I still see shit like that popping up everywhere without me even trying to look for it, so I had to kind of vent out my frustration here.
I just blame it on stupid people letting grifters on Youtube do the thinking for them, and letting their own critical thinking skills atrophy. Saw one of those assholes having a meltdown that a District 9 sequel might be political, when District 9 was already about apartheid. Or that time a guy said they used to be a Rage Against the Machine fan until they bothered to pay attention to the lyrics.
I do have to agree with the criticisms for New Warriors and Children of the Atom. Daniel Kibblesmith said he never read the original New Warriors because they were "too cool" for him. Seriously, who says that? And he was chosen to write the title? Children of the Atom was advertised about young mutants cosplaying, having Tik-Toks, and having Reddits, things real humans can already do. Dan Slott put a bad taste in my mouth for telling people who wanted to vote for Trump again "fuck you". Sure, I don't like Trump but you are alienating people who could potentially buy your comics. Saladin Ahmed's constant slagging of white people also made me not want to buy anything from him.
The only times I really get annoyed with the "woke crowd" is when they accuse me of being a Donald Trump Jr., that liking Japanese culture somehow makes me "fetishize" it or that reading manga in English or watching dubbed anime somehow is racist, and that liking fighting games is somehow sexist.
I do agree it's silly to dislike a band after you found out later you don't agree with their lyrics. When KMFDM supported the NWSL, a right wing leaning person on Facebook wrote an angry message saying he was throwing out his KMFDM CDs for being "left wing". He clearly never understood what KMFDM was about.