Sessa17

She is the on-going writer of Action for the near future, she left BoP for this, so given how long she was on that, she will probably stick to Action for a while. She is only doing 2 fill-in issues on Titans, which IMO is a total waste b/c Rob Liefeld is doing the art (if it can be called that).

bishop2knight

No, get out of here. She did not leave BoP. Are you sure? I hadn't heard. Oh man, if that's the case.....

boredsilly

Yeah, I hope you're mistaken. If not I must of had my head in the sand as I hadn't heard anything about this at all.

Glad to see her getting to tackle one of the trinity (though I would love to see her tackle Wonder Woman some day).

I'm with you on the Titans deal. I commend her for being so gracious about having to work with Rob, but she's really getting a raw deal. Did you see how he drew Kid Flash? Bart looked like he was 29 years old. Sooooooooo bad.

fujishig

Well, since her storyarc in Titans is about the new Hawk and Dove, I guess it's some kind of full circle thing to have Liefeld draw it. Although the characters had been all but ruined by Armageddon (and I don't remember what happened to them in JSA), they were featured in JLU,and even though this is a different form of them, I guess I'm glad they're back in some way (and not the dumb hawkpeople that briefly held the names).

So did Youngblood Bloodsport actually ever come out?

Sessa17

OK, don't worry BoP fans, I was wrong Simone is not leaving anytime soon. I remember reading something a while back abou the creative team moving on to Superman backs & it was just Benes that was leaving, not Simone.

Superboy

There's no way Simone would leave BOP right now the way that it is. Not for at least another year.

And yes, i'm well aware of the "Good Superman" that Byrne wrote. I feel dirty just admitting that he wrote a good story or two in his lifetime. I also enjoyed many stand alone Superman stoires as well:

Superman for All Seasons: Good, not great. Art is really weak at times as per Sale's style. It's also confusing - retcon of history, or stand-alone story apart from the DCU that they respected enough to drop the Elseworlds label?

Secret Identity: Wow. Just, wow. Great Superman story. Best since...I don't even remember Superman ever being this good. Someone actually managed to give Superman a real voice. Kinda like Spider-man, only without the rediculous villains. Kinda puts all those stupid stories with him fighting a giant red lobster to shame. Great art too.

Distant Fires: Anyone else really scared by Chaykin? quite the apocalyptic craftsman he is. Ok art and it's not too gimmicky like other Elseworlds. I'm also sick of the whole "Superman's Rivals" stories that he seems to write.

Son of Superman: It's good, although at times I felt that it was a little too ham-handed. Chaykin also writes everyone as if they're bitter. Maybe he's just bitter. The story is half-decent with some it chopped up into that Brett Ratner Superman movie treatment Masterpiece. But yeah, whenever I see J'onn punch Superman I just roll my eyes, my friend.

Superman/Batman: pure comic joy my friend, pure comic joy. Who cares about "explaining things". This is back when villains did evil things just for the sake of being evil, and good guys beat them up.

Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? Great story my friend, great story. Everyone's gotta go out sometime...might as well be with a bang. Um, except for that part at the end. I mean are we really to believe that, as Kevin Smith would insinuate, that the kid won't kick right through her stomach?

Invincible: Great Superman archetype book. Way better than Mr. Majestic ever was. Makes you wonder if someone that powerful showed up and acted benevolent...whether we could really trust them or not. And maybe there's no stopping him. Hurm.

bishop2knight

So, people, I thought I'd let everyone know: I'm considering going all trade!

Chew

Given your new website, I wouldn't exactly call that shocking news.


Over 150 posts in a monthly comic thread and the month isn't even half over?? Sweet.

Chew

At the rate they're going though, you'll have to wait nearly four years before the Gotham Central trade comes out covering issues you don't have if you stopped now (in the 30's).

Trade #1 covering #1-5 came out 04/28/04
Trade #2 covering #6-10 came out 05/25/05

I don't think I could wait that long.

bishop2knight

Well, when I said I was going to go all trade, I didn't mean ALL trade.

I'll still need my monthly Brubaker fix. And my MKVaughan fix. And Simone. And Adam Hughes and Frank Cho.

Hmmm, this might be tougher then expected.

Sessa17

Booooooooooo !!!!!!

This is probably my biggest pet peeve. Except for the big books like Bats, Supes, X-men etc etc. Comics need to be supported in their monthly format. Trades don't help the sales of the books & the creators don't get a thing from the trade format. Do not, JP, as a fan of comics & good comics which I know you are, do NOT, & cannot stress it enough, switch to trade for books like Gotham Central, or Invincible, or any book that is not in ithe top 50 in sales. Good comics beloe the 50 mark NEED to be supported in their monthly format. Even books like Birds of Prey every sale you give them, means the quality will stay the same. Too many books are cancelled b/c of the "wait for trade" mentality. Bloodhound, Fallen Angel (thank god it is coming back), Hard Time, just a few books where the creators have all said it was people waiting for the trades that cost the book to be cancelled. The trades sold great on FA & Hard Time, but nobody was buying the monthlies. And if it is a monetary issue, any decent store should give you a discount that matched what the trades would be.

bishop2knight

Ah, so the debate begins. Being devil's advocate here....

As a comic buyer, is it my responsibility to ensure that a title continues to be published? I'd think that DC or Marvel or whoever would just want to promote their books better.

I actually don't like the phrase "wait for the trade" anyway. As a reader, all I want is a good story. If I prefer to read my story in one sitting with a book with a spine, then I have every right to read 'em that way. It's not that I'm waiting for the trade as much as I'm waiting for the story to be available in the format that I prefer.

I care about the comics community very much. I want to see stores, publishers, fans, and creators all get what they want. But I can't stand it when people blame trade readers for the lack of support for a particular book. I'm supporting it in my own way by shelling out $15 for the collected format.

And we certainly can't expect the mainstream audience (those people who are yet to get into the whole comic thing) to start reading the monthlies...I can assure you that most of them will prefer the whole chunk at one time.

With that all said, I'll never completely stop reading the monthlies. Vaughan is the master of the cliffhanger, so most of his stories need to be read in the serialized format. And Brubaker, well, he's Brubaker and I could never stop reading his books.

fujishig

I'm sorry, what is Adam Hughes working on currently? Besides covers, that is...

I know we talked extensively about the trade/monthly issue last month. For me, I buy a lot of DC monthlies because A) I like the stories and B) I'm not sure if they're going to come out in trades anyway. But I'll avoid miniseries, special events, etc., because undoubtedly these will be collected someday, and I don't have to hunt down 20 different titles and then figure out how to sort them in my collection. Marvel, however, is a different story, because it's almost an editorial mandate for their stories to be written for the trade.

I also try out a few number ones every once in a while to see if they'll appeal to me. Of course, I'm also buying more and more manga every month, as they start flooding the market, and that takes up a good half of the box of comics I get through the mail every month (hopefully I haven't started up the mailorder/local store debate again too... )

bishop2knight

fujishig, what are some good manga titles? I've been thinking of trying them out, but man oh man, there are so many. I like the idea of the ones that are more mature. No, not for the sex necessarily, but I don't want anything toned down.

Oh, and as for Adam Hughes, he's only doing covers (that I know of). But man, they are usually worth forking over $3 for.

Liquid Death

If companies and the creative team want people to continue buying monthlies, then they need to STOP writing for TPBs. Stretching out arcs, long delays, rotating artists on one arc - all that does is encourage people to either drop the book or wait for the trade. And if you don't want people buying the trade, then don't SOLICIT the HC/TPB before the series is even over.

bishop2knight

Amen.

What's worse, is the comic companies learning from the DVD studios. Sell it in paperback, then double-dip in hardcover with a bunch of supplemental material. Grrrr!

Jackskeleton

Marvel is terrible with this. DC atleast keeps you in the dark on when the trade will be coming out. Shit, IC still is set for a september release. That's a good long stretch after it was released. ensuring that folks will buy the single issues.

And I totally agree with the stopping of writing for trades. Look at new avengers. The book has TRADE written all over it. The arc is 6 issues deep and still pretty much leaving anyone in the dark. GET TO THE FUCK'N POINT MARVEL!

Sessa17

I COMPLETELY agree with publishers, especially Marvel writing for trades & the fast solicitations are even worse. It drives me nuts. But all I'm saying is if you like a book, esepcially someone like you JP that appreciates good comics, & you want to support the book & DO NOT want it to be cancelled, you are doing a disservicie by waiting for the trade. ONLY, monthly sales help the success of a comic. The perfect example of this is Sleeper, I know you love the book, but the reason it is over is b/c the trades sold but the monthlies didn't. Brubaker has said this himself.

And what I don't get it so many people say they wait for the trades, b/c the stories are written to read better collected. I don't get this, then just don't read them until the store is finished. That is what I do with a lot of books & mini-series. And like I said, the discount your store should provide usually is just as cheap as the trade. And should the day come where you go piss broke & nead some money for some bizarre reason, at least you could probably get something for the issues, & not for the trades.

And Jack & others, you guys are complaing Marvel is ruining there stories b/c they are padded/written for trades. Then I hope you guys are not buying the trades. B/c it is through there sucess that has caused this trend.

Sessa17

You know I'm good with my recommendations so trust me on this one. I HATE Manga, can't stand the stuff. But I cannot get enough of Blade of the Immortal. The only Manga I'll ever read. It sucks you in & you will want to run out & pick up every single trade. Mind-blowing art & a deep dark story with loads & loads of gore & cool characters.

Liquid Death

For the most part, I read everything in monthlies and then "upgrade" them to HC later on. The only two books I'm reading in TPB format are PVP and Walking Dead. That's because I joined both titles after the first few were difficult to find. I'm not paying $25 for Walking Dead #1 just to "support the monthly." I buy the occasional TPB to try something out if DCBS runs a good special - like I did with She-Hulk Vol. 1. And again, with Marvel's waaaay early solicits, I was going to buy Phoenix: Endsong, couldn't find #1, and before I could buy #2, the HC is announced for $20 (so...pay $8 for #1 or $10 for the entire series in HC from DCBS...hmmm).

Many series seem written for a TPB, and therefore, read better in that format. Sure, you could pay cover and wait till the arc is finished to read it, but if you're going to wait, you might as well get the trade if you know its coming. Better presentation (binding), no ads, no wait/delay between issues, no worrying about if it will sell out, cheaper price, less space in collection, etc. I'm behind on a BUNCH of my monthlies, but that's not because I was waiting for an arc to end - I'm just behind.

Sessa17

Yeah I do that too, there is nothing I love more than a sweet HC, especially DC's Absolute Editions.


This is what I don't get. No ads? This seriously bothers people, it's too much to sit through a commercial, now people can't even turn a page with an ad on it. Cheaper price? For someone who doesn't read much I agree, but everyone here seems to read a LOT, & in cases like that, a subscription to the monthlies at you LCS should be cheaper than the trades & that same subscription also takes care of the worry of it being sold out. And no/wait delay? Again, I don't get this. There is more of a delay if you wait for the trade. The issues come out once a month, as soon as you get them you can read it all. But if your waiting for the trade you have those 1 month waits b/c issues & then the 2+ month wait for the trades.

I'm not saying trades are evil. It's just the idea of what JP posted of "only" buying trades that bothers me & people that wait for trades of REALLY good books that have low sales. That literally kills those titles.

Jackskeleton

I don't buy the marvel trades. And frankly, I have stopped buying all but one or two marvel books BECAUSE of the change to trade format for a lot of the comics and because of the oh so quick turn around for trades. As stated, why pay 10 bucks for an issue 1 or a variant cover when only the 2.50 will be going towards the support of the comic and the rest goes into the pocket of the overpriced dealer?

I picked up all of For Tomorrow even though it reads better in trade. I picked up the trade of it because DC really does a nice job on hard covers. I disliked the story, but I couldn't turn down the look of the HC.

I see "Writing for trade" in Bendis books mainly. New Avengers is a perfect example of this and I keep using it as that whenever someone ask about it.

Sessa17

Everyone disliked it. I thought it was one of the best & most intelligent Superman stories in years. To me it is a great example of a drawn out story, but not for padded reasons, b/c it purposely slow.

Absolutely, Bendis is my least favorite writer in comics & IMO takes advantage of the reader. I honestly think he has ideas for just 1 issue, but then Marvel knows he name will sadly sell anything, so they will literaly turn his plot for one issue into 5-6 issues, this way they can get not only a quick trade out of it, but then he can also writer about 6 or more different titles a month. I'd bet anything this is true. Daredevil is the perfect example of this.

fujishig

I agree, Blade of the Immortal is one of the best titles out there, and one of the only ones still coming out in a monthly comic book format (the trades are available, but they come out late, and are more expensive than the usual 9.99 manga goes for nowadays). It's ultraviolent, samurai-era fare that has an evolving storyline.

James, what kind of comics do you like? action, comedy, over the top stuff, romance? That'll give me an idea of what to recommend...

bishop2knight

fujishig, I like the darker side, perhaps, with a decent amount of action. Definately something of a thinker. Good character development. Maybe some mystery. Sleeper, Y The Last Man, Ex Machina, Gotham Central. All at the top of the list. I also like big boobs, but that's something else entirely.