The Comic Book Dilemma.. May 30, 2007
Posted by 54071 in : Comics, Uncategorized , add a commentA question or quandary if you will…
What exactly is a comic book anyway?
Or more to the point what is your definition of a comic?
Let’s do some investigating shall we…
Here is Wikapedia’s definition of a comic book…
” A comic book is a magazine or book containing sequential art in the form of a narrative. Comic books are often called comics for short. Although the term implies otherwise, the subject matter in comic books is not necessarily humorous, and in fact its dramatic seriousness varies widely. The term “comics” in this context does not refer to comic strips (such as Peanuts or Dilbert). In the last quarter of the twentieth century, greater acceptance of the comics form among the general reading populace coincided with a greater usage of the term graphic novel, often meant to differentiate a book of comics with a spine from its saddle-stitched form, but the difference between the terms is ambiguous, as comics have become increasingly available in libraries and mainstream book stores. ”
Pretty succinct.
Pretty Dry also.
The real question for me is ” can a comic be a comic, if the story or the art is less than….lets use the term …..
GOOD?
For some, I would probably say, yes it can. I am sure that there are alot of people who read comics purely for the storyline. Maybe you are an aspiring writer and you have a favorite comic writer. This writer is your inspiration, the person you would most like to model yourself after.
That is fine.
I also know that there are some who feel that art is the thing, and that they have a favorite artist ( or artists ) who they aspire to style wise. And because of this, they will buy a comic featuring this artist’s work, even if the storyline is lacking.
That is fine also…I guess….
On the other hand, maybe a comic just isn’t a comic with out great art!
I mean look at the definition above again…
” book containing sequential art “
That pretty much sums it up right?
Thus the dilemma…I’m sure that everyone has their own preference as do I and I am going to share that preference with you now, thus also answering the aforementioned question…
For me, a comic cannot be a comic without the visual. That’s right, without great art that translates the writers script or storyline if you will, said comic is DOA!
I’m sorry, but this is a fact, if the art cannot convey the story visually, than the comic tanks!
I’m going to crucify myself here,but one of the greats in comics, Mike Mignola of Hellboy fame, is just not my cup of tea. I have never picked up one of Mignolas’s titles…why?
Because his artwork to me is just terrible!
And no, Mike is not the only one. I have no problem mentioning a Batman artist
( choke )…pardon me, named Norm Bryfogel, who was single handedly responsible for my not reading the Batman title for several issues back when he was responsible for the art.
So the real dilemma, for us, the readers of today’s comic book is why should I ( or you for that matter ) pay $2.99 and above for comics that do not have both of these essentials that make up what is defined as a comic book?
The answer is we shouldn’t, not at todays prices. I think that the big three, need to realize that we are tired of comics that do not contain both of these vital ingredients that make up the comic in the first place.
Oh and one more thing, while we are talking about what a comic is…a comic is not a comic if it isn’t in my hand….in other words if a comic is habitually late, or when the next issue of your favorite new title, doesn’t arrive at your local comic shop for several months past it release date, why buy it than!
Haven’t you lost interest at this point? I know I have!
In closing, what makes a comic….
A great Story that makes sense, is well written, and if said story lasts for several issues, doesn’t drag and lack substance.
In other words issue two of that three part storyline, isn’t just filler.It has a purpose in furthering the story.
And Art that compliments, and translates the writers thoughts and words into pictures, in this case art, and yes both of these should be of the best quality possible!
And the last factor to what is a comic…
it’s in my hand, on time, every month, not every few months.
Period.
Okay, no more dilemmas for the rest of the year!
The Long Weekend that wasn’t May 29, 2007
Posted by 54071 in : Uncategorized , add a commentMemorial day weekend was pretty much a bust for the wife and myself. A ride into brooklyn to visit my mom who wound up in the hospital on the 14th, was a problem from start to finish, and culminated with hitting a deer not more than 15 minutes away from home, my mom’s van breaking down, and us having to call 911, haing the an towed, and finally getting a ride back home by a State Trooper. Just not a great time all in all.
But it’s time to get back to blogging, so tonight I will start off with my post called ” The omic Book Dilemma ” where I ask the question of what a comic book really is?
DC’S Countdown #49 May 24, 2007
Posted by 54071 in : Comics , add a commentDon’t worry, there are no spoilers here other than the fact that DC is again wasting precious comic book space ( like they did in the previous 52 ) with a little history of the multi-verse.
Please note that I did not make a big deal of capitalizing the last little snippit of the above paragraph because I do not want to give importance to what I feel is just an unnecessary addition to the comic, and we are being robbed of good content.
At $2.99 an issue, I do not want a fluff piece filling a few pages of my comic, I want more of the actual story to fill those pages!
Countdown Week Three May 23, 2007
Posted by 54071 in : Comics , add a commentI’m not sure what’s more important here…the fact that this is the third week of the series
” Countdown ” from DC Comics, or that this is the third week in a row that I will be picking up this title.
I did not last past issue #6 in reference to their last weekly series 52, we shall see.
So far, I have not seen anything earth shattering about this series yet, and with the
new THOR series about to hit stores soon along with the ” WORLD WAR HULK ” storyline heating up over at rival Marvel Comics, I will definitely drop Countdown, if I decide it ’s not worth the semolians.
Gone due to Family Matter May 18, 2007
Posted by 54071 in : Uncategorized , add a commentHi to all.
Due to a family emergency, I will be away for several days and thus will not be doing any posts till I am back home.
The Post that I will be working on when I get back is about what I call the ” Comic Book Dilemma ” and the dilemma for myself anyway, is can a comic, graphic novel or other piece of art that is part of a narrative be ” BAD ” and the comic or other narrative that I mentioned above still be good?
Ponder that question, and when I get back, I’ll give you my thoughts about this matter and what comics books are suppossed to be, to me anyway.
Everyone have a great weekend.
Captain America’s Death and The Winter Soldier May 16, 2007
Posted by 54071 in : Comics, Uncategorized , add a commentComic Book Resources has a news item about the ” Death of Captain America ” storyline featuring an interview with writer Ed Brubaker, and while this is already old news, what I find interesting in this interview is Brubaker’s take on The Winter Soldier aka Bucky Barnes.
The following is a small piece of the interview…
“With the Winter Soldier, Cap wanted to save him and bring him back to who he used to be so he used the Cosmic Cube to give him his memories back. Bucky then crushed the Cosmic Cube and disappeared,” Brubaker continued. “Cap wants him to accept who he is and try and save himself but because Bucky’s got his memories of everything he did as the Winter Soldier he’s this really tortured on edge character; a sort of modern twist on the classic Marvel character. That’s why I think the Winter Soldier works as a way to bring Bucky back. If he was to team up with Cap and immediately go fight crime and got over everything I think it would be wrong. He’s a conflicted, weird, modern Marvel character that fits right into the Marvel U.”
I highlighted the last part in the above excerpt, to show the writers take on Bucky, and to just say that for myself, I see Bucky quite differently.
First, I don’t think Bucky is conflicted , but rather confused as to his place in the Marvel Universe.
There is no real difference between the two terms. In my mind, it is just semantics between the two words…at least for my use here.
But, I use the term confused, because in my perception of Bucky, he has to deal with the realization that after so many years of living a lie, remembering who he was again, after a botched attempt to murder Cap, and thru Cap’s repeated contact and never say die attitude when it came to getting thru to his friend…Bucky Barnes finds himself alone, without his friend, in a world he is still not familiar with…and working with ( supposedly anyway ) the unseen Nick Fury.
Bucky is still looked upon as the mysterious Winter Soldier by most of the Marvel Universe.
Witness Sam Wilson’s ( the Falcon, for the un-informed ) reaction to the Winter Soldier’s presence in the same room where a sniper, just moments earlier had shot his friend Captain America.
I am also pretty sure that Bucky never really took a stance in the ” Civil War ” that just ended, and maybe, just maybe… he was a little confused about Cap’s position in the conflict. I mean, Cap always stood for everything great about America.
This had to be a confusing situation for Bucky to try to deal with also.
The end result, for me anyway, is a confused Bucky Barnes, still considered the Winter Soldier, confused about the feelings he has to deal with, and finding himself still living in the immense shadow of a living legend, some thirty years after his own supposed death.
Comics Worth Reading May 15, 2007
Posted by 54071 in : Uncategorized , add a commentI want to give a shout out to Johanna Draper Carlson of Comics Worth Reading.
This is an excellent site with some great posts and intelligent writing by Johanna. Go and pay a visit to Comic Worth Reading and see for yourself.
What I’m working on…
Posted by 54071 in : Uncategorized , add a commentI have two posts that I am working on.
The first is about the Captain America Storyline and the Winter Soldier, and the other post will have to do with Art and the Comic, and just how important it is to a comic.
Spiderman 3 still owns the Boxoffice May 14, 2007
Posted by 54071 in : Uncategorized , add a commentWeek two of the May (unofficial Summer ) box office and Spiderman 3 still is on top with 60 million in sales in the US and another 85.5 million internationally. And I still do not feel the urge to go out and see this movie.
Oh well, anyway, it will be interesting to see the box office battle this coming weekend when ” Shrek the Third ” opens. My prediction: It’s a tough battle for first place, but Shrek will just barely edge the Spider out of the #1 position.
DC’s Countdown: Maybe I can actually follow this one!
Posted by 54071 in : Comics , add a commentWith last year’s mega, weekly event, 52, you were expected to get to your local comics shop and read every weekly issue of this offering from DC Comics, and hopefully you were able to. I on the other hand couldn’t do it. I lost interest after issue 6, and mostly due to the fact that I had to make decisions about what books I would pick up every week. After a few weeks of this ” what book do I not take this week “, so I can pick another issue of 52, I said enough. I just did not feel this storyline would be ” that Earth Shattering ” that I just absolutely had to have every issue.
But, I have decided to try to make the commitment to this storyline and try to pick up every weekly issue. Luckily, I didn’t make this a New Years Resolution, so if I falter and say I’ve had enough of this nonsense again, the rest of my year won’t be ruined by not collecting every issue.