Wednesday, December 02, 2009
The Death of Captain America
One of the things that I think is important when reading any long-running series is to enjoy the run for what it is. We know that when the Captain America movie comes out, Steve Rogers will be Captain America, and that the Avengers movie will put Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man in the same film. For any character that is on-going, there is a "default" status so you know that changes aren't really permanent.
And if you're a fan of a long running series, you should accept that -- and enjoy each run on the series for the quality of how the make that series appropriate for that time. While continuity is valuable -- it's what the creators do with the series to make it fresh and appropriate for today that counts.
And that's exactly what I enjoy about Ed Brubaker's work on Captain America - I've picked up Captain America Omnibus, Vol. 1
and The Death of Captain America Omnibus
collecting the first 42 issues of this series and it's by far one of the best runs on Captain America that I've had the pleasure to read. One of the things that I love about it is that it's part spy story, part super hero fantastic action, and part political parable. It is a Captain America appropriate for our time.
I don't want to go into plot details -- and really, it's that wonderful mix of heightened reality that you might get in a James Bond film or Alias [the tv series]. But the book also isn't afraid of being relevant for our time -- but without being preachy, which can so often happen when a comic is trying to be "relevant".
And I love the art on this run -- Steve Epting and the rest of the art team does a fantastic job and it gives the book a cinematic look that I think is just fantastic. I can just look at the pages again and again.
One of the things that is good about the recent batch of Marvel films (when they are good) is that they're happy to use the most recent examples of the characters to make successful films. And I can see challenges to bringing Captain America to the film is making a movie that is accessible, especially to a global audience. But if they make a Captain America film that uses Ed Brubaker's work as an inspiration, they will be well prepared and I will be very excited by the film.
Definitely recommended!
And if you're a fan of a long running series, you should accept that -- and enjoy each run on the series for the quality of how the make that series appropriate for that time. While continuity is valuable -- it's what the creators do with the series to make it fresh and appropriate for today that counts.
And that's exactly what I enjoy about Ed Brubaker's work on Captain America - I've picked up Captain America Omnibus, Vol. 1
and The Death of Captain America Omnibus collecting the first 42 issues of this series and it's by far one of the best runs on Captain America that I've had the pleasure to read. One of the things that I love about it is that it's part spy story, part super hero fantastic action, and part political parable. It is a Captain America appropriate for our time. I don't want to go into plot details -- and really, it's that wonderful mix of heightened reality that you might get in a James Bond film or Alias [the tv series]. But the book also isn't afraid of being relevant for our time -- but without being preachy, which can so often happen when a comic is trying to be "relevant".
And I love the art on this run -- Steve Epting and the rest of the art team does a fantastic job and it gives the book a cinematic look that I think is just fantastic. I can just look at the pages again and again.
One of the things that is good about the recent batch of Marvel films (when they are good) is that they're happy to use the most recent examples of the characters to make successful films. And I can see challenges to bringing Captain America to the film is making a movie that is accessible, especially to a global audience. But if they make a Captain America film that uses Ed Brubaker's work as an inspiration, they will be well prepared and I will be very excited by the film.
Definitely recommended!
Labels: captain america, comics
Monday, May 25, 2009
Changing How I Get Comics
I've been a comics collector for almost my entire reading life. It's been my hobby reading for a long time for a wide variety of reasons. I've got wardrobes and bookcases filled with comics and comics collections.
So one of the things that I'm realizing is that I'm slowly moving away from buying regular issues -- and I suspect that for Marvel especially, I'm going to be moving almost exclusively to collecting in trade publications.
Recently I've been enjoying a number of big collections -- Captain America Omnibus, Vol. 1 is one of the best Captain America stories ever, and I can't recommend it enough.
I'm also enjoying other collections that I'm picking up -- sometimes new, sometimes used. Over the weekend I picked up the first
two
New Avengers collections and am enjoying them enough that I will probably get the the third
.
And even for older comics, I'm preferring collected issues -- perhaps with the cheaper Essentials versions, but then various Absolute or other collected editions as well.
The sad part of all of this is I'm not sure how pure comics stores survive in the future -- I'm more likely to pick up these books in different venues -- Half Price Books, Amazon.com, or Comics Conventions are just as likely to see me pick them up. I'm not quite in as much of a "weekly comic store" habit as I used to be. I see more deals when I'm looking around in the collection market -- and more options.
And the "neighborhood comic store" has some virtues that I'm sad to see being more difficult. It's a community center -- you can have a friendly conversation with your "dealer" a couple of times a month, and get recommendations of useful things. You can run into other people on a regular basis; people that you collaborate with on your additional projects -- I've discussed CONvergence business more than once over a comic book rack.
I don't know how that stays around, or if it doesn't, what takes its place. It's a challenge.
So one of the things that I'm realizing is that I'm slowly moving away from buying regular issues -- and I suspect that for Marvel especially, I'm going to be moving almost exclusively to collecting in trade publications.
Recently I've been enjoying a number of big collections -- Captain America Omnibus, Vol. 1
is one of the best Captain America stories ever, and I can't recommend it enough. I'm also enjoying other collections that I'm picking up -- sometimes new, sometimes used. Over the weekend I picked up the first
two New Avengers collections and am enjoying them enough that I will probably get the the third.And even for older comics, I'm preferring collected issues -- perhaps with the cheaper Essentials versions, but then various Absolute or other collected editions as well.
The sad part of all of this is I'm not sure how pure comics stores survive in the future -- I'm more likely to pick up these books in different venues -- Half Price Books, Amazon.com, or Comics Conventions are just as likely to see me pick them up. I'm not quite in as much of a "weekly comic store" habit as I used to be. I see more deals when I'm looking around in the collection market -- and more options.
And the "neighborhood comic store" has some virtues that I'm sad to see being more difficult. It's a community center -- you can have a friendly conversation with your "dealer" a couple of times a month, and get recommendations of useful things. You can run into other people on a regular basis; people that you collaborate with on your additional projects -- I've discussed CONvergence business more than once over a comic book rack.
I don't know how that stays around, or if it doesn't, what takes its place. It's a challenge.
Labels: comics
Friday, April 17, 2009
The "Let's Rebuild Len Wein's Comic Book Collection" Project
One of the things that I realized when Len Wein was a guest of honor at CONvergence for the first time was that he wrote the first issue of The Fantastic Four I ever purchased. And he turned out to be one of those people that was as great to meet in person as you would want to have, and was one of my favorite guests at CONvergence. So when I heard that his comic collection burned down with his house, I was especially saddened.
I really want to see
The "Let's Rebuild Len Wein's Comic Book Collection" Project succeed. And if you are in Minnesota, you can bring any comics to the MCBA Spring Comics Show, and hand them to either Christopher Jones or Melissa Kaercher. They will both have table space at the show.
I really want to see
The "Let's Rebuild Len Wein's Comic Book Collection" Project succeed. And if you are in Minnesota, you can bring any comics to the MCBA Spring Comics Show, and hand them to either Christopher Jones or Melissa Kaercher. They will both have table space at the show.
Labels: comics, convergence, x-men
Monday, April 06, 2009
Len Wein's home burns down
I'm greatly saddened to hear reports that Len Wein’s home burned down.
He's been a guest of honor at CONvergence twice. One of the reasons why I was so thrilled to have him as a guest was that the very first issue of The Fantastic Four I ever picked up was written by him, and many of the comics that I was hooked on were ones he either created the characters for, edited, or wrote for.
My thoughts are with him and his family.
He's been a guest of honor at CONvergence twice. One of the reasons why I was so thrilled to have him as a guest was that the very first issue of The Fantastic Four I ever picked up was written by him, and many of the comics that I was hooked on were ones he either created the characters for, edited, or wrote for.
My thoughts are with him and his family.
Labels: comics
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Saturday Morning Watchmen
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Science of Watchmen
From CONvergence regular Dr. James Kakalios, in one of the more fun YouTube videos coming out in the lead up to Watchmen coming out...
Labels: comics, movies, youtube
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Ka-Baam!
I went to see Huge Theater's production of Ka-baam!! at the Bryant Lake Bowl tonight. It's a lot of fun, especially if you're a comic book superhero fan and enjoy improv comedy. It'll be going on for several more weeks at least -- and I hope to make another show, as I think one interesting thing will be how the show changes from week to week.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
I'm a Marvel...and I'm a DC
I thought Iron Man was fantastic -- and I'm looking forward to and have very high expectations for The Dark Knight -- so I love this little YouTube clip:
Labels: comics, movies, youtube
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Lock-in
Garrick van Buren's thoughts about how Free & Open Is Its Own Lock-in triggered some of my own thoughts about lock-in that have been going in my head for a while about lock-in.
The simple fact is, we always are locked in to some extent -- we learn a tool set, or a technology, and we want to continue to use it. And we don't want to throw away an investment of years.
I've primarily been developing on the Microsoft platform for most of my post-collegiate career. And we're locked into Microsoft technology all the time -- C#, VB.Net, Microsoft Office, or SQL Server. There are downsides to that, as well as positive sides.
It is tempting to go and say that there would be no lock in if you were in the Linux utopia and then not be sharecropping. And that may be true from a developer perspective -- but the final end user, in most cases, won't be a person with a software development background. And they're really going to be more "locked in" to what their software providers give them in any case.
So unless you're constantly willing to develop and maintain all of the software yourself as an individual --- and very few organizations are willing or able to do that. You're going to outsource pieces of your IT infrastructure. From Operating Systems, to office productivity tools, to database management systems, to enterprise applications like ERP, CRM, Financial Software, or whatever -- organizations are going to have someone else built those pieces. And they should. And as most people aren't devloping software for themselves, but they're devloping it for other people, they're dependent on other people for their work. And you can always have the land whipped out from under you.
It is the investment of energy and effort learning how a tool works, understanding the quirks that any system has -- that's the real lock-in. So perhaps one thing is to focus on the pieces that make something unique -- how can you get to a solution for your unique problem as quickly as possible? It might need to go away eventually -- and so can you built what you need as high on the stack as possible? You want to find ways to be as agile as possible, to use the buzzword in the general sense -- how can you get to a result quickly?
In a related observation, I realized what much of this conversation reminded me of. It's like the work-for-hire debates that I've seen in the comic book industry, especially from people like Dave Sim or the founders of Image Comics. It's perhaps especially relevant as we look at what happens with the the rights related to Superman. I think some of the issues related to lock-in here are similar to the decisions to self-publish or do work-for-hire work in comics. Work-for-hire is really what we're talking about here -- but it is also what most of us are going to end up doing, most of the time, and is frequently what you want to do. To use the comics comparison, if you want to work on an established character, you're not going to have complete control over the situation.
The simple fact is, we always are locked in to some extent -- we learn a tool set, or a technology, and we want to continue to use it. And we don't want to throw away an investment of years.
I've primarily been developing on the Microsoft platform for most of my post-collegiate career. And we're locked into Microsoft technology all the time -- C#, VB.Net, Microsoft Office, or SQL Server. There are downsides to that, as well as positive sides.
It is tempting to go and say that there would be no lock in if you were in the Linux utopia and then not be sharecropping. And that may be true from a developer perspective -- but the final end user, in most cases, won't be a person with a software development background. And they're really going to be more "locked in" to what their software providers give them in any case.
So unless you're constantly willing to develop and maintain all of the software yourself as an individual --- and very few organizations are willing or able to do that. You're going to outsource pieces of your IT infrastructure. From Operating Systems, to office productivity tools, to database management systems, to enterprise applications like ERP, CRM, Financial Software, or whatever -- organizations are going to have someone else built those pieces. And they should. And as most people aren't devloping software for themselves, but they're devloping it for other people, they're dependent on other people for their work. And you can always have the land whipped out from under you.
It is the investment of energy and effort learning how a tool works, understanding the quirks that any system has -- that's the real lock-in. So perhaps one thing is to focus on the pieces that make something unique -- how can you get to a solution for your unique problem as quickly as possible? It might need to go away eventually -- and so can you built what you need as high on the stack as possible? You want to find ways to be as agile as possible, to use the buzzword in the general sense -- how can you get to a result quickly?
In a related observation, I realized what much of this conversation reminded me of. It's like the work-for-hire debates that I've seen in the comic book industry, especially from people like Dave Sim or the founders of Image Comics. It's perhaps especially relevant as we look at what happens with the the rights related to Superman. I think some of the issues related to lock-in here are similar to the decisions to self-publish or do work-for-hire work in comics. Work-for-hire is really what we're talking about here -- but it is also what most of us are going to end up doing, most of the time, and is frequently what you want to do. To use the comics comparison, if you want to work on an established character, you're not going to have complete control over the situation.
Labels: comics, computers, intellectual property, it
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Ambush Bug Returns!
I'm very excited to see that DC comics is finally doing another Ambush Bug series -- the original mini-series were hysterical, and extremely overdue for being republished in a graphic novel collection. I hope that this is a sign that it finally happens, because I'll be first in line for that!
The original comic was hysterical, and definitely ahead of its time and a true classic.
The original comic was hysterical, and definitely ahead of its time and a true classic.
Labels: comics
Monday, January 28, 2008
Beyond Shinders
I was looking at the end of Shinders a while ago, and so it's interesting to see that a new store is starting up called Beyond Shinders. I think there's definitely a hole around malls where Shinders used to be -- so I'm glad to see some stores opening up that fill that sort of role.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Challenge of the Super-Duper Friends
It's an amusing mix of 1970s Superhero cartoons and 21st century politics in the Challenge of the Super-Duper Friends.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Project Rooftop
Project Rooftop is an interesting site filled with redesigns of classic DC and Marvel characters. They have most notably done a run of different Supergirl costumes.
I'm not sure that I can always see the designs they have translate into traditional "mainstream" DC or Marvel universe titles, but I think they frequently show some interesting takes on characters that sometimes have decades old designs. And perhaps it's far more a criticism of the range of art styles allowed in the traditional books (which is thankfully expanding) than a criticism of the redesigned outfits.
I'm not sure that I can always see the designs they have translate into traditional "mainstream" DC or Marvel universe titles, but I think they frequently show some interesting takes on characters that sometimes have decades old designs. And perhaps it's far more a criticism of the range of art styles allowed in the traditional books (which is thankfully expanding) than a criticism of the redesigned outfits.
Labels: comics
Saturday, March 03, 2007
The end of Shinders?
I had noticed that the Eden Prairie Shinders had suddenly closed a couple of weeks ago, and now I know why. And in retrospect, I had noticed that the quality of the store had been declining over the last couple of months.
It's more that it complicates my comic-buying schedule on busy weeks -- the Eden Prairie Shinders was convenient on my current commute home, and while Dreamhaven isn't that far for me, it's really a whole additional drive.
It's more that it complicates my comic-buying schedule on busy weeks -- the Eden Prairie Shinders was convenient on my current commute home, and while Dreamhaven isn't that far for me, it's really a whole additional drive.
Labels: books, comics, minnesota
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Dreamhaven
Neil Gaiman reported some alarming news about one of my favorite stores, Dreamhaven. They suffered a break-in, and it has been rough for their business.
The small bookstore is a very rough business, especially in our internet and big box bookstore age -- but one of the nice things about stores like Dreamhaven or Uncle Hugos is that they provide a center of gravity for our local fandom. They are the heart of our community. When out of town visitors that are science fiction fans come into town, I've always made sure that they visit these stores.
The small bookstore is a very rough business, especially in our internet and big box bookstore age -- but one of the nice things about stores like Dreamhaven or Uncle Hugos is that they provide a center of gravity for our local fandom. They are the heart of our community. When out of town visitors that are science fiction fans come into town, I've always made sure that they visit these stores.
Labels: comics, fandom, minnesota, scifi
Friday, February 09, 2007
Shazam!
One of the books I picked up this week was the new Shazam book created by Jeff Smith, who previously created Bone. It just struck me as a really, really natural combination of a character and a creator -- Captain Marvel is a character that is iconic, but has never really fit into the traditional modern comic universe. This new book has some wonderful art and looks like it'll be a lot of fun. It's a first issue -- but I think it'll have a lot of potential. And it looks like Jeff understands the Captain Marvel character in a real back-to-basics way that is frequently missed when he's presented just as a childish Superman.
It's good fun, and I can't wait to see future issues.
Labels: comics
Friday, January 12, 2007
you'll never die:
you'll never die is a web comic by a fellow Minnesotan that looks quite good and interesting so far. I'm excited by the idea of seeing the internet as a platform for comics, especially in forms that might be more difficult to discover in a comic store environment, and this is a good example of that.
Labels: comics
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Absolute Sandman
I got The Absolute Sandman, Vol. 1 and was entranced by the start of Neil Gaiman's epic all over again.
With the high quality presentation, larger pages, and recolored work this is quite the definitive presentation of one of the greatest works in the comic form. And while I've re-read the issues dozens of times over the last decade and a half, this was one time where I was seeing things and understanding things for the first time.
If you've only ever seen Dave McKean's covers as the front of individual issues, you haven't really seen them at all -- they're all individual works of art, and at the larger size, and without the logos, they shine out more than ever.
It's perhaps a pricier approach to The Sandman than just getting the trade paperbacks -- but it's a gorgeous book, and the presentation is so amazing, this is definitely the way to approach this series. It's a series that you can go back to and discover new shades and meanings that you missed -- for whatever reason -- the first time around.
I am anxiously awaiting the next volumes -- the Seasons of Mist storyline blew my mind when I first read it, and I vividly remember when I first read it.
With the high quality presentation, larger pages, and recolored work this is quite the definitive presentation of one of the greatest works in the comic form. And while I've re-read the issues dozens of times over the last decade and a half, this was one time where I was seeing things and understanding things for the first time.
If you've only ever seen Dave McKean's covers as the front of individual issues, you haven't really seen them at all -- they're all individual works of art, and at the larger size, and without the logos, they shine out more than ever.
It's perhaps a pricier approach to The Sandman than just getting the trade paperbacks -- but it's a gorgeous book, and the presentation is so amazing, this is definitely the way to approach this series. It's a series that you can go back to and discover new shades and meanings that you missed -- for whatever reason -- the first time around.
I am anxiously awaiting the next volumes -- the Seasons of Mist storyline blew my mind when I first read it, and I vividly remember when I first read it.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Comicspace
I signed myself up and am looking around comicspace, a myspace-for-comics fans and professionals.
I'll be interested to see what sorts of features they add -- the "follow your favorite comics" interests me a great deal.
I'll be interested to see what sorts of features they add -- the "follow your favorite comics" interests me a great deal.
Labels: comics
Friday, December 01, 2006
Merry Marvel Marching Society
When I saw this entry concerning the original group of Marvel Comics creators back in the 1960s I had to follow through.
For me the original group of creators of Marvel were still a part of my original enjoyment of comics even though I started reading comics a decade and a half or so later -- I spent a fair amount of time paging through Origins of Marvel Comics and its dozens of spin offs as well as reading the latest issues. And that combination probably is what led me to read more Marvel comics than DC comics for a very long time.
For me the original group of creators of Marvel were still a part of my original enjoyment of comics even though I started reading comics a decade and a half or so later -- I spent a fair amount of time paging through Origins of Marvel Comics and its dozens of spin offs as well as reading the latest issues. And that combination probably is what led me to read more Marvel comics than DC comics for a very long time.
Labels: comics
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
City Pages and Boots
I haven't read the full article yet, but Neil Gaiman is interviewed in the latest City Pages. I'm always amused that he's local to our area -- while intellectually I know that, there's a part of me that feels that he should be far away and removed from my reality.
In other comics news, I'm somehow very comforted that Dave Cockrum died in Superman pjs. One of the things that's great is when you discover that creators share the passion for the history of the form and the material -- and in my mind, that's dying with your boots on in the best sense.
In other comics news, I'm somehow very comforted that Dave Cockrum died in Superman pjs. One of the things that's great is when you discover that creators share the passion for the history of the form and the material -- and in my mind, that's dying with your boots on in the best sense.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Dave Cockrum
As someone who grew up reading X-Men comics in the 1980s, I wanted to pause for a moment and give tribute to Dave Cockrum. He was the first artist for the "New" X-Men, and he drew many of the issues that were a vital part of my youth.
I think the issue that immediately springs to mind is The Uncanny X-Men #153, entitled "Kitty's Fairy Tale". In this issue Kitty Pryde retold much of the Dark Phoenix story in a fantasy setting filled with pirates and humor. It could have been little more than one of those standard "refresh the readers on the backstory" issues that you would get in comics from time to time, but it was able to present it in a fresh way that could still be entertaining and moving.
I think the issue that immediately springs to mind is The Uncanny X-Men #153, entitled "Kitty's Fairy Tale". In this issue Kitty Pryde retold much of the Dark Phoenix story in a fantasy setting filled with pirates and humor. It could have been little more than one of those standard "refresh the readers on the backstory" issues that you would get in comics from time to time, but it was able to present it in a fresh way that could still be entertaining and moving.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Physics of Superheroes
Several videos of Dr Jim Kakalios giving his CONvergence talk about the Physics of Superheroes have shown up on YouTube.
(of course, it already got a Boing Boing plug by ubergeek Cory Doctorow -- so you should already know about it..)
(of course, it already got a Boing Boing plug by ubergeek Cory Doctorow -- so you should already know about it..)
Labels: comics, convergence
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Pete Wisdom
Doctor Who writer Paul Cornell is doing a comic for Marvel
Don't know exactly when it'll come out...but cool!
Don't know exactly when it'll come out...but cool!
Labels: comics
Thursday, July 12, 2001
Hollywood talent giving comic books a boost
I've been following most of the creators mentioned who have been moving into comics -- but then, I was a fan of Buffy, Babylon 5, and Kevin Smith's movies partially because of the clear influence of comic books on them, so seeing them do comics is all for the best.
I've been following most of the creators mentioned who have been moving into comics -- but then, I was a fan of Buffy, Babylon 5, and Kevin Smith's movies partially because of the clear influence of comic books on them, so seeing them do comics is all for the best.
Labels: comics
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