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Originally published January 22, 1993, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1001

Well, I’ve just had the pleasure of seeing noted actor Patrick Stewart performing one of the best pieces of science fiction I’ve ever seen.

Not Star Trek: The Next Generation, of course. No, most episodes are little more than wastes of Stewart’s time and talent. No, I’m talking about that science fiction classic that has been part of world literature since the middle of last century. Yes, that’s right: A Christmas Carol by master science fiction writer Charles Dickens.

What’s that you’re saying? A Christmas Carol is not science fiction? It wouldn’t make anyone’s list of top 10 SF stories?

I don’t see why not.

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At long last, the entirety of the original DC “Fallen Angel” run is coming out in a single volume next month, courtesy of IDW. Here is the brand new cover as rendered by Dave Lopez.

Cowboy Pete will be waiting until the conclusion of the current “River Song” episode before discussing the new incarnation of “Doctor Who,” but in the meantime, here’s a brilliant tribute to Matt Smith’s predecessor which I first saw over on Bleeding Cool. Enjoy. (Warning)–sung profanity at one point, if that makes a difference in terms of where you’re watching it

Originally published January 15, 1993, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1000

(As a bold experiment here at BID, we have decided to withhold the column intended for the 1000th issue of CBG and instead go straight to the column for the 2000th issue of CBG–which, by our rough calculation, will see print some time in the year 2012. Once we actually get to 2012, we will then run the column originally slated for the 1000th issue–currently in a time capsule buried in the back yard–to serve as a testimony to the current state of affairs.)

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So what did Kyle actually say?

See, in watching the 201st episode of “South Park,” I just figured the over-the-top use of bleeping out dialogue, up to and including Kyle’s lengthy “I learned something today” speech, was a brilliant meta-commentary by the “South Park” creators on the nature of censorship run amok. Turns out, no, it actually WAS censorship run amok. Kyle delivered an entire summary of what he had learned regarding the nature of hatred and intolerance, and the entire thing really was censored by Comedy Central even though it made no mention of any inflammatory names.

So I’m really curious to know what he said.

PAD

Remember the Deletionists? The ones who go around targeting random Wikipedia entries and declare that the subjects of those pages aren’t important enough to warrant inclusion in Wikipedia? They targeted actor Kristian Ayre, declaring that she wasn’t notable because she’d only been a supporting cast member of a TV series (“Space Cases”) that had run only one season, and had no other roles of note. This despite the fact that Kristian has in fact starred in a number of films and TV shows, and “Space Cases” ran two seasons, not one, that Kristian was a co-star and not a supporting cast member, and by the way, Kristian’s a guy.

According to author Kevin J. Anderson, they’re at it again, and their accuracy rate has only gotten worse. Kevin reported:

“In my work compiling the 25-year retrospective book for Writers of the
Future, I’ve been doing spotlights on some of the past author winners who
have gone on to publish multiple novels. One of those is Rod Garcia, who
writes as R. Garcia y Robertson. Rod was a familiar figure at west coast SF
conventions in the 1990s, published several novels from Avon and Tor, but
pretty much disappeared after about 2006. He doesn’t have email, as far as
I know.

“When gathering some basic information about him, I went to his Wikipedia
entry only to find the odd notation that his entry is being considered for
deletion because someone named “Deb” says there is “No evidence of
notability. All books appear to be self-published through a variety of
companies such as Avon Books.” (more…)

Originally published January 8, 1993, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #999

It would seem that the pages of Comics Buyer’s Guide Price Guide will be carrying a new column–or rather, a revival of an old one from Comic Collector–called Ask the Experts, in which fans will be invited to write in questions that will be answered by pros in the industry. The esteemed Don and Maggie asked if I would be interested in contributing to it, with the first question being “What is a day in a writer’s life like?”–which had previously been answered by Marv Wolfman. (The Marvelous One’s example was sent along.)

Now I figure, what the heck, I’ll probably participate. I mean, heck, I’d donate a kidney if Don and Maggie asked me to (not one of my kidneys, mind you).

But it occurs to us here in the skyscraper headquarters of But I Digress that experts’ answers frequently pale compared to the thousands of experts out there in the world of comics.

Yes, I’m talking about those authorities who wander through comic stores or conventions or letters columns, giving the latest inside information that they swear is absolutely true. Undeterred by facts, they cite mysterious sources and claim full knowledge of the innermost workings of every aspect of the comics world.

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And I don’t want it to take over the other thread:

Yes. A “Young Justice” animated series has been announced. I look forward to watching it.

Discuss.

PAD

What I found most buoying at C2E2 was the number of young fans in attendance. Babies in strollers, sure, but there were also quite a few youngsters who were genuine comic book enthusiasts. At a time when young readers seem in short supply–when kids wear Spider-Man shoes and shirts and backpacks but would never come near the comic book–that was great to see. And the fan enthusiasm overall was high. I didn’t see as many people as I would have liked to, but it was a first-time convention, and not every city is capable of turning a first-time convention into a death trap that gets shut down by the fire marshal (New York is Number One!)

But I admit I find stark contrast between what I see in person and then what I read on the Internet. Panels that are well-attended and enthusiastically received in person are then dissed and dismissed by people who weren’t even there. Perhaps you get out of something what you put into it. To attend a convention requires time and effort, and you wear a badge with your name on it, and you’re spending money on it. So basically you’re invested in it, and you go into it looking to have a good time and thus seek out positives. By contrast on the Internet little time and no effort is involved, you’re cloaked in anonymity and it’s pretty much free of charge. With nothing invested, the default reaction is negativity.

And I just find myself wondering how many of those same young fans, so enthused in person, discover comic boards and think they’re going to encounter like-minded enthusiasts and instead find themselves sucked into a morass of negativity. How many of them have the joy and interest in comics sucked right out of them?

Indeed, it often seems that there are people who are not fans of books, but instead are fans of hating the books. What floats their boat isn’t anticipation of upcoming stories, but hating the upcoming stories. Hate fans dissing stories before they read them and slamming others who dare to have differing opinions.

Am I saying that such negativity is crippling the next generation of readers? No. Am I saying older fans need to muzzle themselves? No.

But I’m saying that when I was a young fan I existed in a bubble, judging stories on how they made me feel when I was reading them and oblivious of other fan opinions beyond what I read in the letters pages. In my ignorance, my enthusiasm for comics was blissful. And undiminished by adult negativity.

There’s something to be said for that.

PAD

X-Factor #39. Jamie Madrox absorbs his child. One of the most talked about single-issues of the previous year. Ignored for the Eisners. Harvey nominations are due end of this week.

Just sayin’.

PAD

Originally published January 1, 1993, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #998

Art by Richard Howell. Characters TM and © 1992, 2010 Walt Disney Productions

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Presenting a special “Radio Edition” of But I Digress. Originally broadcast December 25, 1992 on the Destinies – The Voice of Science Fiction radio show, WUSB 90.1 FM in Stony Brook, NY. Special thanks to Howard Margolin for making this file available.

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The worst gig in the world for someone doing their civic duty:

Juror on a case where the defense attorney is Perry Mason.

Why? Because you’re wasting your time. The case is never going to get to the jury since some asshole always breaks down and confesses to the crime. So if you’re sitting on the jury and you find out Perry Mason is defending the guy, you’re thinking, “Man, this is gonna be a week of my life I’ll never get back. This is going to end with a sobbing confession on the witness stand and the judge thanking us for our service and sending us home. I should have just burned the damned jury summons.”

PAD

Several hundred people showed up at the Best Buy for the Coheed & Cambria Q&A and musical set. I did a reading from the novel as what was, effectively, the opening act. I have to admit, I was worried that about thirty seconds in they’d start shouting, “Bring on the band!” But no, they seemed to be listening and laughed at all the right places, so that was good.

Friday morning, off to Chicago.

PAD

Progressive rock group Coheed and Cambria will be doing a live appearance at the Best Buy in Union Square in NYC to promote the release of their new album & novel package, “Year of the Black Rainbow.” Since I co-wrote the novel, I will be there as well and will do a reading from the book while C&C perform an accoustical set. It starts at 6 PM tonight. If you’re one of those who can’t make it (and you know who you are) you can watch it live-streamed here:

Live Streaming for Coheed and Cambria Here

UPDATE: If you missed it, it’s going to be repeated tomorrow, Wednesday at 3 PM.

PAD

Originally published December 25, 1992, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #997

It seems that Disney keeps upping the stakes with every animated release. The animation crews look at the success of the previous film and must bite their fingers nervously, because they don’t want to be the ones who blow the current roll that the features are on.

It started with The Little Mermaid, of course, and the advent of Broadway-quality standards to the world of the animated film. It bypassed The Rescuers Down Under, which drew some accolades for some interesting computer tricks but not much beyond that.

Then it took a quantum leap forward with Beauty and the Beast, upping the stakes tremendously with not only audience and critical adoration, but the unprecedented Oscar nomination for “Best Film”–and quite a few people (myself included) felt it deserved to win.

So now the focus shifted to Aladdin, Disney’s 31st animated release. The pressure was on. The heat was turned up. Not to mention it brought with it the fact that it represented the final collaboration of composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman, the latter having succumbed to AIDS prior to the release of Beauty and the Beast.

The verdict?

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Originally published December 18, 1992, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #996

There’s definitely something wrong with me.

I’m missing the boat. I’m out of the loop. I’m just not with it.

Why? Because I’ve gone beyond the saturation point with the marketing surrounding the death of Superman. I am now solidly repulsed by it.

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I heard an oldies song on the radio called “I’m Your Puppet.”  Has anyone done a video of it using “Smile Time” from “Angel” as the source material?  Because it seems perfect.  I could see it in my head.

PAD

Originally published December 11, 1992, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #995

And so we continue rolling with the first official But I Digress state-of-things-to-come poll.

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Originally published December 4, 1992, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #994

Douglas Kass, the author of the notorious Barrons article that set off a firestorm of negative publicity for Marvel–even though it was loaded with misinformation–was one of the earliest respondents to the “Future of Comics” survey. On his poll, he jotted down the question, “Are we having fun yet?”

The answer is, yes, we had a lot of fun.

From the tongue-in-cheek nature of the survey, I wasn’t certain how many people would take it seriously enough to respond. The answer was: 219. For a first-time effort that doesn’t result in plaques, awards, banquets, or anything except a few laughs and some intriguing insights, we here at BID were extremely pleased with the turnout. Heck, I thought if we topped fifty, we’d be lucky.

Apparently there are quite a few folks out there who want to be able to look for the future and say, “Ha! I saw that coming back in 1992.”

Here, then, are the responses, compiled with the use of Survey Tabulator, software from issue #9 of Big Blue Disk. We present, in each case, the total number of responses and the percentage they represent. In several instances, the percentages will add up to more than 100% since multiple responses were available for some questions.

Some of the replies were–curious. There was the fellow whose responses were primarily anti-Japanese and anti-Semitic. And then, of course, there was the respondent who wrote “Who cares?” to every single question. Imagine spending 29¢ to mail that in. It’s rare that you find apathy quite that contentious.

Any entry that got more than one vote is listed, as well as some of the more interesting single-vote getters. My (inevitable) comments follow some entries.

Here we go:

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