Month: July 2006

Claypool has recently made public the news that they told me in confidence some weeks ago: That the print end of the line would cesae to exist.

Personally, I think this should send a serious chill through the industry. For the first time that I can think of, an entire publishing line has been canceled, not by the publisher, but by the distributor. The distributor should theoretically be the middle man. In this instance, however–again, for the first time that I can think of–the middle man has taken the lead position and shut down the publisher.

And any publisher who thinks he is immune from this monopolistic maneuver is kidding himself.

And the real killer is going to be the chorus of fan voices saying, “Claypool Comics? What’s that? Never heard of it.”

PAD

While out in San Diego, Ariel and I took in “My Super Ex-Girlfriend.” I have to admit going in, I’m a sucker for Uma Thurman and Eddie Izzard. So I was predisposed to enjoy it, plus we had a good audience, plus my leg was hurting so I was doped up on Vicodin and probably would have applauded a Bush press conference. Thus I have to cop to the fact that I liked it, or at least I think I did.

But–and I’m probably going to do a more detailed “But I Digress” on this later–I find it interesting that fans deplored the scene in “Superman Returns” wherein our hero uses his X-ray vision and superhearing to spy on Lois and her family. “He’s stalking her” was the cry, and that was universally seen as A Very Bad Thing. But Thurman’s G-Girl not only stalks the boyfriend who dumps her because she’s a controlling, needy flake. She harasses him, destroys his property, and dámņëd near kills him. And it’s a comedy. It occurred to me that if you flipped the genders–if it was a girlfriend being harassed by an unrelentingly angry super boyfriend–there is absolutely no way it’s a comedy. It’s…I dunno…a thriller. A horror film. Anything except a comedy, because pìššëd øff girlfriend goes after guy = comedy, unless, y’know, the ex is Glenn Close. But if it’s pìššëd øff boyfriend going after girl, the threat aspect will completely overwhelm whatever comedy you’re going for.

You can do a comedy with a girl going after a guy (Super-Ex). You can do a comedy about a group of girls going after a guy (John Tucker Must Die). You can even do a comedy about a girl going after another girl or group of girls (Bad Girls). But a guy going after a girl who done him wrong? *Is* there a comedy–at least a successful one–ever made on that theme?

PAD

FNSM #10 wraps up the three part Uncle Ben Returns storyline, while X-Factor finishes out its Civil War crossover.

Whad’ja think?

PAD

A message buried deep in the Bush thread asked me to comment on Dan Didio’s various assertions about “Young Justice” in a Heroes Con interview quoted on Newsarama. First he complained about the quality of the book’s sales, stating that a book which features such iconic characters should have far higher numbers. And second he asserted that “Slobo” ruined the character of Lobo.

The aspect that Dan perpetually leaves out of his two-part evisceration of “Young Justice” is that YJ was specifically designed to appeal to a younger readership. That was the mandate from editorial. That’s what I was asked to write. YJ was intended to skew young–in its stories, in its subject matter, in its readership–with the notion that it would draw in younger readers who would eventually “graduate” to the older-skewing titles. I was told at the outset that DC neither expected nor needed the book to sell huge numbers; it was aiming at the long-term goal of bringing in new, younger readers. So his complaining about the quality of the sales is irrelevant…not to mention that YJ outsold “Impulse” and “Superboy,” both of which were also cancelled, and even he admits the book was turning a profit. So pointing to these iconic characters–characters so “iconic” that DC did away with them–and complaining that sales didn’t reflect their presence is really beside the point.

As for Slobo, I wanted to introduce a Wolverine-esque character to stir things up. Since the book featured junior versions of Superman, Batman, and the Flash, a junior version of Lobo seemed perfectly appropriate. A character who was, in his execution and handling, far more serious than Dan remotely gives him credit for (because, y’know, having Slobo go slowly blind was such a knee-slapper of a storyline). And, frankly, I think that a company that raped and murdered Sue Dibny, murdered Blue Beetle, tortured and crippled Batgirl, and had both Superman and Wonder Woman at various times cold-bloodedly murder opponents, doesn’t get to say that *I* ruined one of their characters.

PAD

So I’m out here along with Ariel, who is thrilled that people are recognizing her from my blog and congratulating her on her bowling achievements. I have some panels over the course of the weekend, and am set up for regular signings at the Impact Books/CBG table today and tomorrow at 3 PM, and at the Claypool booth from 10:30 to 11:30 Saturday and 10 to 11 Sunday.

Ariel attended the Marvel/DC softball game yesterday, where Marvel clobbered DC 22-11, which sounds more like a year than a score.

PAD

So he said that Syria has to get the Hezballoh/Hizballoh/Jew-hating bášŧárdš to “knock this šhìŧ off.” So what? Syria SHOULD get them to knock this šhìŧ off. Leaders of terrorist countries and organizations use vile and hateful speech to denounce Israel and describe their intentions, and the media is making a cause celebre because the president of the United States said they should knock this šhìŧ off? I can just see the presidential apology: “I’m sorry for saying that Syria should get Hezballoh to knock this šhìŧ off. That could possibly have been misinterpreted since they treat the Israelis and human lives like šhìŧ, so they might have thought that I was encouraging them to kill Jews. What I should have said is that Syria should get Hezballoh to knock it the fûçk off.”

PAD

(Edited 12:16 PM to get the quote right)

I know it’s seemed like the Middle East has been spiralling out of control in the past. But the Israelis are now looking to be fighting a multi-front war, and that’s never good. At least they’re going about it methodically and correctly, severing the supply lines and airports to hinder troop movements. And at least Bush isn’t criticizing them (at least not at the moment) for taking action against the cretins of Hezballuh who see land give-backs, not as a sign of a desire for peace, but a show of weakness. Although he *has* stated that the Israelis should show “restraint,” and considering the actions of Bush et al in regards to Iraq, I think we’ve pretty much thrown away the “show restraint” card.

I think this thing is either going to die down very quickly or tip over into full-blown, multi-nation war very quickly. No half-measures here.

PAD