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Honestly I think a lot of the hate he recieves is more from his decisions such as that to remove Krypto from the continuity or rebooting the long dead Doom Patrol as if they'd never appeared before.
Comics Fans — Page 19
Honestly I think a lot of the hate he recieves is more from his decisions such as that to remove Krypto from the continuity or rebooting the long dead Doom Patrol as if they'd never appeared before.
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Originally posted by: Darth Chaltab
I can't say personally, but I've heard some things about Byrne.
Honestly I think a lot of the hate he recieves is more from his decisions such as that to remove Krypto from the continuity or rebooting the long dead Doom Patrol as if they'd never appeared before.
I can't say personally, but I've heard some things about Byrne.
Honestly I think a lot of the hate he recieves is more from his decisions such as that to remove Krypto from the continuity or rebooting the long dead Doom Patrol as if they'd never appeared before.
But Krypto was not essential to the Superman universe!
But I've heard that Byrne is very controlling and difficult to work with, and I've heard that he's bad mouthed other writers and artists in addition to bad mouthing the late Chris Reeve and saying that the USA should go "old testament" on Iraq and what not.
Red heads ROCK. Blondes do not rock. Nuff said.
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On a side note I find it interesting and a bit heartening that several older comic creators have been brought back into the fold! When I last was reading comics (up to about '98) it seemed as if the punk artists had taken over (McFarlane, Liefield, etc) and instead of creating better comics it was all about splash pages and alternative covers, etc. I know that and more (speculation and so on) led to the crumble of the industry for awhile. Its a bit frightening though that, as I look through a current issue of Wizard, the 'hot' books are not so much story-driven ones but... *gasp*... alternate covers! Now the comics I've been picking up lately are entirely for the stories and to see what's been going on and I have no desire to 'collect' per se anymore (wallet won't allow it) but I hope that I didn't come back just in time for another useless speculation boom.
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Article
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Originally posted by: JediSage
I'm not sure if anyone's heard of this or not, but it's pretty much one of the most depressing things I've ever heard:
Article
I'm not sure if anyone's heard of this or not, but it's pretty much one of the most depressing things I've ever heard:
Article
Yeah I had read about this- I'll be sure to pick it up to help, albeit in a small way, their cause. Sad but I'm glad the creators came together like that.
While back on comics, who'd like to step up and give me a brief history of just what the heck Marvel is doing right now. I don't mean story-wise but more what's going on with their various 'imprints'...
I get what DC is doing:
Regular continuity titles.
'All-Star' titles (outside continuity tales)
The usual Elseworlds, Vertigo, Wildstorm, etc (same as they've been for awhile)
But with Marvel I'm not exactly as clear. IS there a 'REAL' Marvel continuity any more?
I see:
Ultimate titles (alternate continuity I guess, do they all have to 'match' ie do all the Ultimate titles follow same cont.?)
Max titles (adult oriented titles?)
Marvel Knights (???)
House of M 'titles'? (all one big What If? story? Regular cont.?)
anything else I've missed?
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Originally posted by: greencapt
Yeah I had read about this- I'll be sure to pick it up to help, albeit in a small way, their cause. Sad but I'm glad the creators came together like that.
While back on comics, who'd like to step up and give me a brief history of just what the heck Marvel is doing right now. I don't mean story-wise but more what's going on with their various 'imprints'...
I get what DC is doing:
Regular continuity titles.
'All-Star' titles (outside continuity tales)
The usual Elseworlds, Vertigo, Wildstorm, etc (same as they've been for awhile)
But with Marvel I'm not exactly as clear. IS there a 'REAL' Marvel continuity any more?
I see:
Ultimate titles (alternate continuity I guess, do they all have to 'match' ie do all the Ultimate titles follow same cont.?)
Max titles (adult oriented titles?)
Marvel Knights (???)
House of M 'titles'? (all one big What If? story? Regular cont.?)
anything else I've missed?
Originally posted by: JediSage
I'm not sure if anyone's heard of this or not, but it's pretty much one of the most depressing things I've ever heard:
Article
I'm not sure if anyone's heard of this or not, but it's pretty much one of the most depressing things I've ever heard:
Article
Yeah I had read about this- I'll be sure to pick it up to help, albeit in a small way, their cause. Sad but I'm glad the creators came together like that.
While back on comics, who'd like to step up and give me a brief history of just what the heck Marvel is doing right now. I don't mean story-wise but more what's going on with their various 'imprints'...
I get what DC is doing:
Regular continuity titles.
'All-Star' titles (outside continuity tales)
The usual Elseworlds, Vertigo, Wildstorm, etc (same as they've been for awhile)
But with Marvel I'm not exactly as clear. IS there a 'REAL' Marvel continuity any more?
I see:
Ultimate titles (alternate continuity I guess, do they all have to 'match' ie do all the Ultimate titles follow same cont.?)
Max titles (adult oriented titles?)
Marvel Knights (???)
House of M 'titles'? (all one big What If? story? Regular cont.?)
anything else I've missed?
Wish I could help. I'm a Marvel neophyte, myself. I'm waiting for the House of M TPBs to come out so I can get caught up. I have a feeling that they're going to start cleaning house soon and getting their act together. Gut feeling.
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Originally posted by: greencapt
Chaltab? Can you help out?
Chaltab? Can you help out?
Well, I know that Marvel Knights is going in a similar direction as DC is taking with All-Star, meaning short arcs done by rotating creative teams. Also, you are correct about MAX. There's another imprint called ICON, I believe, which is "Creator" owned but pub'd by Marvel. I didn't think Ultimates were still being published, but who knows.
As far as House of M, there's now Decimation which was a follow-up, and next there's 4, four-issue minis coming out called Annihilation that is yet another follow up to M.
In speaking to the owner of my local shop, we pretty much were in agreement that it seems DC is much better at planning out their "event" arcs. For example, IC has been in the planning for over 4 years, whereas it seems House of M was just a scattershot reaction to it.
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Er yeah.
Thanks for the reading suggestion too- I just read the Superman Sacrifice TPB and enjoyed it. I'm also catching up on JLA and some of the minis that lead into Infinite Crisis. I have the Supreme Power maxi-series on it way to me in the mail.
Kinda like revisiting old friends.
And Moon Knight is coming back! I love that guy! And DC has a new Warlord series- another book I followed back in the 'buying from the Quickie-Mart' days.
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Originally posted by: greencapt
Thanks JS. I'm a pretty logical guy but Marvel just seems so... out there now. And I used to be a Marvel reader primarily (well except for the years I managed the comic shop... then I could read *everything* Mmmhhwwhaaahahahahahahahaaaa).
Er yeah.
Thanks for the reading suggestion too- I just read the Superman Sacrifice TPB and enjoyed it. I'm also catching up on JLA and some of the minis that lead into Infinite Crisis. I have the Supreme Power maxi-series on it way to me in the mail.
Kinda like revisiting old friends.
And Moon Knight is coming back! I love that guy! And DC has a new Warlord series- another book I followed back in the 'buying from the Quickie-Mart' days.
Thanks JS. I'm a pretty logical guy but Marvel just seems so... out there now. And I used to be a Marvel reader primarily (well except for the years I managed the comic shop... then I could read *everything* Mmmhhwwhaaahahahahahahahaaaa).
Er yeah.
Thanks for the reading suggestion too- I just read the Superman Sacrifice TPB and enjoyed it. I'm also catching up on JLA and some of the minis that lead into Infinite Crisis. I have the Supreme Power maxi-series on it way to me in the mail.
Kinda like revisiting old friends.
And Moon Knight is coming back! I love that guy! And DC has a new Warlord series- another book I followed back in the 'buying from the Quickie-Mart' days.
I remember being....14, I think, when on a rainy day in November I was home for some reason from school, I walked about 1/2 mile to the local store (Convenient Food Mart, was the name I think) and seeing a copy of Batman #400. My brother had collected for a long time, but I never really had any interest. Well, when I saw it I had to have it, especially with the foreword by Stephen King. That's when I fell in.
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Originally posted by: JediSage
I remember being....14, I think, when on a rainy day in November I was home for some reason from school, I walked about 1/2 mile to the local store (Convenient Food Mart, was the name I think) and seeing a copy of Batman #400. My brother had collected for a long time, but I never really had any interest. Well, when I saw it I had to have it, especially with the foreword by Stephen King. That's when I fell in.
I remember being....14, I think, when on a rainy day in November I was home for some reason from school, I walked about 1/2 mile to the local store (Convenient Food Mart, was the name I think) and seeing a copy of Batman #400. My brother had collected for a long time, but I never really had any interest. Well, when I saw it I had to have it, especially with the foreword by Stephen King. That's when I fell in.
Those *were* the days, eh? At around the same age I went out one bitterly cold morning and walked about a mile to the shop that I usually bought mine at. I was freezing but it was worth it- I got comics, man!
My best friend growing up (who now has an 8 year old who is starting to get into comics) and I used to bug relatives into driving us to the nearest city (which was 40 miles away) that had a real comic shop. Those were magic places. Everytime I went on road trip vacations with my family it was a given that one of the first things I'd do was hit the phone book looking for comic shops and end up begging to be taken to them. Luckily I had a supportive family.
And for you youngins, this was before the days of the internet... we had to look for comics the old fashioned way- slowly! - Time
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Originally posted by: greencapt
Those *were* the days, eh? At around the same age I went out one bitterly cold morning and walked about a mile to the shop that I usually bought mine at. I was freezing but it was worth it- I got comics, man!
My best friend growing up (who now has an 8 year old who is starting to get into comics) and I used to bug relatives into driving us to the nearest city (which was 40 miles away) that had a real comic shop. Those were magic places. Everytime I went on road trip vacations with my family it was a given that one of the first things I'd do was hit the phone book looking for comic shops and end up begging to be taken to them. Luckily I had a supportive family. And for you youngins, this was before the days of the internet... we had to look for comics the old fashioned way- slowly!
Originally posted by: JediSage
I remember being....14, I think, when on a rainy day in November I was home for some reason from school, I walked about 1/2 mile to the local store (Convenient Food Mart, was the name I think) and seeing a copy of Batman #400. My brother had collected for a long time, but I never really had any interest. Well, when I saw it I had to have it, especially with the foreword by Stephen King. That's when I fell in.
I remember being....14, I think, when on a rainy day in November I was home for some reason from school, I walked about 1/2 mile to the local store (Convenient Food Mart, was the name I think) and seeing a copy of Batman #400. My brother had collected for a long time, but I never really had any interest. Well, when I saw it I had to have it, especially with the foreword by Stephen King. That's when I fell in.
Those *were* the days, eh? At around the same age I went out one bitterly cold morning and walked about a mile to the shop that I usually bought mine at. I was freezing but it was worth it- I got comics, man!
My best friend growing up (who now has an 8 year old who is starting to get into comics) and I used to bug relatives into driving us to the nearest city (which was 40 miles away) that had a real comic shop. Those were magic places. Everytime I went on road trip vacations with my family it was a given that one of the first things I'd do was hit the phone book looking for comic shops and end up begging to be taken to them. Luckily I had a supportive family.
And for you youngins, this was before the days of the internet... we had to look for comics the old fashioned way- slowly! Amen. My town could never support one on it's own. So, I used to drag my father to the next city with me. It was indeed magic to get up there and inhale the acid-free air!
My dad has always remembered those times fondly as we used to bond a lot on those trips. He used to stop for me when I'd get sick and pick up my monthly issues. That was back when they cost 75 cents. Back-issues were actually worth something then.Now I bring my kids with me when I go every other week. They love it, especially my son. I wish he could read better as right now he can only look at the pictures.
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Also despite my hating the concept of Wikipedia I checked the Marvel section and got the low-down on all their different lines/imprints. Wow- Marvel really took a 'who the hell cares about continuity as long as we can sell some comics approach to publishing. I don't know if I like it. Seriously oe of the cool things (to me at least) about the big two publishers was the great sense of history. I read a few press releases and statements from Joe Quesada and gee- he really sounds like a prick to me!
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Glad you made a good pickup. I've got to go on Wednesday and get my subs. Just finished Spider-Man "The Other" maxi-series, which was quite good, IMO (again thanks to Straczynski) and also IC #4. Got to keep my eyes open for the crossovers as I see them. Way too much going on.
On a gaming note for DC fans, looks like they're going with a MMPORG set in the DCU: Article
This could be cool, IMO. Especially if I get to play Bats.
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Originally posted by: JediSage
Never heard of that one. You ever read Kingdom Come?
Never heard of that one. You ever read Kingdom Come?
Got the hardcover edition, my friend. Luckily I *didn't* miss THAT one!
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Originally posted by: Darth Chaltab
Kingdom Come and New Frontier were both excellent books. It's too bad Dan Didio (head honcho of DC) doesn't like Darwyn Cooke's style, because that guy rules.
Kingdom Come and New Frontier were both excellent books. It's too bad Dan Didio (head honcho of DC) doesn't like Darwyn Cooke's style, because that guy rules.
Yeah it does- its like seeing still images from a good animated film or something. Why doesn't Didio like his style?
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I read this month's Amazing Spidey by Straczynski, and I must say, the new costume I think will require a little time to grow on me. Not sure about it yet. Also, while I do think DC is CLOBBERING Marvel right now with the IC arc, I believe if JMS handles everything well Marvel is going to be in great shape come the end of Civil War and hopefully the continuity issues will be resolved. Looking forward to reading the next issue of The Sentry mini, also, as he is one of my new favs.
I also want to recommend Book of Lost Souls again, by JMS. This book is fantastic and anyone who liked Sandman I believe will enjoy it. There are subtle nods in the artwork to Sandman, IMO.
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I *will* be picking up Book of Lost Souls soon as it does look really good. Plus Colleen Doran is a cutie.
(I'll have to post a pic from when a group of us went drinking with the indy press guys and gals about 10 years (and for me about 50 lbs) ago. Fun night!I think I am as officially caught up on IC as I will be, having read:
Return of Donna Troy
Day of Vengeance
Villians United
The OMAC Project
Rann-Thanagar War
Prelude to IC
Countdown to IC
Superman Sacrifice
and finally last night reading IC issues 1-5!
***possible spoilers for those who haven't read Infinite Crisis 1-5 yet below***
Overall I am very much enjoying it with, imho, the weakest parts being the 'magic' and the 'space war' story elements. I dig the magical parts of the DCU but the whole thing seems wasted or just tacked on. I know I'm probably missing something out of the whole pile of crossovers that I haven't read but so be it. I AM looking forward to the 'Shadowpact' ongoing series but mainly because I'm a long-time fan of Bill Willingham and it'll be great to see him writing AND drawing a title again.
The 'space war'... meh. Other than positioning a bunch of heroes at 'the center of the universe' I don't see much point for it yet. We'll see.
The issue of IC that had Superman confronting Batman- wow. Powerful. The 'last time you inspired anyone was when you were dead!' line.....
I can smell what they're going to do with Superman of Earth-2 and... well... I just hope its suitably heroic. I like him- a lot. Though I've never been a Superboy (in any incarnation) fan I hope they go into more about why he went ape-shit. I guess being caught in a bubble would do it but he IS the same person as the other Supes, with the same upbringing. I also liked Alex Luthor in COIE so its a shame to see him become yet another Luthor villain (even if his intentions seem just, which comes more and more into question). I'm guessing *our* Lex will end up helping to save the day, no matter how reluctantly.
As far as Flash goes... they damn well better leave Barry alone. Was that him? Dunno. But leave him dead. PLEASE. His was the most valiant part of COIE and should, again INHO, but the pin that keeps all Flashes if not all DC heroes who knew him anchored.
I also hope that Ted Kord, aka Blue Beetle, gets the props he deserves. 'Countdown' was really sad in as much that he really was always underappreciated and everyone just blew him off and dismissed his opinion. The best humanization of a character I've read in a mainstream book (outside of an Elseworlds, What If, etc) in quite some time and of course... BLAMMO! Even the cover on 'Countdown' was a tease as of course his body was cremated and all that was left was his mask. I actually wish that cover scene would have taken place- it would have really galvanized the heroes.
I didn't pick up any of the OYL titles this week. Its funny- I'm just getting re-interested in where they all are *now*, and then the editorial staff at DC mandates that everyone has to change after IC.
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I was browsing online for pics from the 1994 Diamond Comics Retailer Seminar in Baltimore and found some folks who had written up a blow-by-blow of the seminiar. For me, the most enjoyable evening was spent at Dave Sim's indy comics hotel bar party. The following document gives you a good feel for the night. I'll try and post some of my own pics from the event as soon as I dig them out, but for now this is an amusing read:
More reports from the seminar HERE.
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.info,alt.comics.alternative
From: fuy1@umbc.edu (Francis A Uy)
Subject: CON: Diamond Seminar Report, Dave Sim's Radisson Party
Date: 22 Jun 1994 22:55:29 -0400
Diamond Retailers Seminar, day two, part three
Sunday June 12
Dave Sim's Radisson Party #1
9:15
After cruising by the parking garage to drop off the day's freebies
& pick up more signables, we wander to the Radisson Hotel bar. The
atmosphere is smoky but very comfortable and friendly. There is a
large wide oval, with Dave Sim at the center of the far wall.
An approximate seating chart: ^^^^^^^^^^ [to Wizards -->
| [to the bar] of the Coast]
| +--+ Rick
| fans | |Veitch (jeff mason)
| fans +--+
| fans fans fans (patman) (me) +
| Brad +---+ +---+ Mark +--+ |
| Moore | | fans | | Hempel | | Colleen|
| +---+ +---+ +--+ Doran |
| Batton Jim Steve Dave James Mark |
| Lash Valentino Bisette Sim Owen Wheatley (george z) fan |
\--------------------------------------------------------------/
Of course, everyone ended up moving around for signings & booze.
I'm about to hit the bar, so I ask Colleen if she wants anything.
Several people express interest in seeing Colleen drunk. She yells
at Dave for his 'bunny in the headlights' picture. Someone produces
a copy for her. "This is my best known photo, and I look terrible
in it! Besides, I don't drink! It was a setup!" Dave is laughing,
pleased at his success.
Food arrives, Patman & I help Colleen with her cheesesteak & reuben.
Colleen is easily the most bouncy non-drunk person in the room.
She's also making a bundle of money right now by selling original
art. She mis-estimated her taxes, and needs the cash to pay for
next issue's printing bill.
James Owen swings by with a box full of comics -- several issues of
Starchild & A Distant Soil, ready to be signed. I'm waiting for
the TPBs.
Jeff & Pat sent their sketchbooks into the loop a while back, and
are getting a look at the preliminary results -- damn good. As
Dave Sim has said in the past, the higher the artist to fan ratio,
the better the sketches. Jeff shows me some interesting jams.
I finally take a time out & pass my Jaka's Story up to Dave. He
signs it for my girlfriend.
Jim Valentino seems like a decent guy. Up until the moment I watch
him draw a Captain Everything, I didn't realize he is the creator
of normalman. Wow! To get his start under Dave Sim, this explains
why he donates Shadowhawk's back cover to small press books. I
suppose everyone already knew that. :-\
Mark Hempel is skimming through a copy of _Comic Book Artists_, and
is rather annoyed that he isn't in it. Mark Wheatley tries to
console him. It's really just a mainstream listing. Mark is
taking a break from standard comics after The Kindly Ones ends.
Mark is designing a humor comic called Tug-n-Buster, and hopes to get
it printed in Details magazine. The rate per page as a magazine
cartoonist is high multiple times that of a comics artist. Also,
"DC pays better than Vertigo pays better than Pirhana." So there
will definitely be no new Gregory unless a story really grabs him.
Mark *would* like to do Tug-n-Buster as a creator owned comic, though.
He's not really ready to self publish, so he's looking at Blackball,
maybe Dark Horse. Who are Tug-n-Buster? "They're just these two
dumb guys, but they're MY two dumb guys! I think they'll be really
funny, with more mainstream appeal. Sort of my Simpsons to Gregory's
Life in Hell."
At 10:45 the Fantagraphics crew arrives. They take a corner booth
near the bar and snicker a lot. Not the friendliest atmosphere; I
don't think they were expecting all of us to be here. Peter Bagge
reluctantly signs my Bradleys TPB. They leave within an hour.
I'm hanging out with some friends from Geppi's when I hear someone say
"Jim Lee is here." I look around, saying "where?" when I realize he's
walking right past the booth. "Hi, Jim!" He smiles & replies "Hi",
but it's obvious that he wasn't expecting so many of us. He retreats
from the bar for a minute, then regains his composure and wades in to
the crowd to sign. Nice guy.
Rob Liefeld is behind him, but I don't see him signing anything.
Shortly after that, Larry Marder corrals the Image guys, including
Jim Valentino, and takes them back to their suite for a staff meeting.
At 11:10 Jeff Smith & Vijaya Iyer pull up to the bar & get some drinks.
Apparently Jeff Mason has been chatting with them regularly by phone,
so he monopolizes conversation for a bit. Jeff Smith is pretty goofy,
but a nice guy. As various people point out, he's Fone Bone with hair.
Vijaya is friendly & quite articulate, an excellent choice for chief
executive. They are moving back to Columbus Ohio & buying a house, to
save on taxes & cost of living.
Jeff moves into a back to back position with Dave Sim. A pair of lines
snake towards them, apparently they are deeply engaged in a sketch war.
Neither one looks up much.
Next on my schedule is James Owen, who is experiencing a lull at 11:40.
He's still working hard to stay on schedule & win Dave Sim's bet. Last
night he did new pages in his hotel room. Starchild seems to be paying
off, because he's planning to buy some land in Ireland & establish
residency there. Irish law says artists & writers pay no income tax.
"Summer in Ireland, winter in Arizona." Good life.
Swinging around the room again, I hear Colleen ranting about how clerical
errors at Diamond screwed up the release of her ADS starter packs by
four months. Most of the delays ADS has experienced over the years were
due to the publisher or the distributor, not due to slow art. And now
that she's the publisher too, her only problems are Diamond & Capital.
At midnight Scott McCloud shows up. He chats with James for a bit, then
Dave. I get a cute signiature/sketch in Understanding Comics, with
Scott spouting a word balloon full of icons.
I ask "When did you start working on UC? How long have you thought about
this stuff?" A lot longer than I expected. Scott has been researching
the comics medium since at least 1983, before he even started Zot! He
never stopped studying, and eventually he had enough material for a
serious book. Gee, that sounds easy enough.
Back at my Baltimore locals table, we share beers with Jesse Falcon, a
sales rep for Toy Biz. Jesse got into the comics biz by writing random
applications to companies. One of his letters was mislaid on the right
person's desk at Marvel, and they gave him a job. Now he plans to
accidentally put other people applications on his boss's desk, and
continue the cycle.
Jesse was at the Marvel table during Frank Miller's speech. He wanted to
laugh his head off, but was afraid for his job. He suggests a slogan:
"Toy Biz: we're not the Evil Empire, we're just their sister."
About 1:00 I'm starting to fade away, and I really want to catch Scott
McCloud's talk tomorrow at breakfast.
On the way out I hear one more Colleen Doran rant -- she's been making
them all night, a multitude of reasons why self publishing is the best.
"I make more money from 10000 copies of A Distant Soil than from 100000
copies of Silver Surfer. Marvel's royalty program, excuse me, Marvel's
incentive gift program, is a joke." She explains the myriad conditions
and limitations that Marvel puts on its artists. Original art is not
returned because they have to, it's returned out of generosity. She
says DC isn't much better.
As I head through the lobby, I stumble across Wizards of the Coast.
They've been hanging out all night, playing Deckmaster & other games
(not necessarily their own) with passers-by. It turns out they won
the 'Best Game Product' award, but TSR maintained its sweep of 'Best
Game Company'. Nevertheless, they're damn happy, and why not? Magic
has made them rich.
I decline to play, and claim apathy to The Addiction. One of them
wishes he were immune to it, and asks me for a blood transfusion.
Another hands me a rulebook & some brochures, lest I escape their
spell. This week I bought my first starter pack...
-F
From: fuy1@umbc.edu (Francis A Uy)
Subject: CON: Diamond Seminar Report, Dave Sim's Radisson Party
Date: 22 Jun 1994 22:55:29 -0400
Diamond Retailers Seminar, day two, part three
Sunday June 12
Dave Sim's Radisson Party #1
9:15
After cruising by the parking garage to drop off the day's freebies
& pick up more signables, we wander to the Radisson Hotel bar. The
atmosphere is smoky but very comfortable and friendly. There is a
large wide oval, with Dave Sim at the center of the far wall.
An approximate seating chart: ^^^^^^^^^^ [to Wizards -->
| [to the bar] of the Coast]
| +--+ Rick
| fans | |Veitch (jeff mason)
| fans +--+
| fans fans fans (patman) (me) +
| Brad +---+ +---+ Mark +--+ |
| Moore | | fans | | Hempel | | Colleen|
| +---+ +---+ +--+ Doran |
| Batton Jim Steve Dave James Mark |
| Lash Valentino Bisette Sim Owen Wheatley (george z) fan |
\--------------------------------------------------------------/
Of course, everyone ended up moving around for signings & booze.
I'm about to hit the bar, so I ask Colleen if she wants anything.
Several people express interest in seeing Colleen drunk. She yells
at Dave for his 'bunny in the headlights' picture. Someone produces
a copy for her. "This is my best known photo, and I look terrible
in it! Besides, I don't drink! It was a setup!" Dave is laughing,
pleased at his success.
Food arrives, Patman & I help Colleen with her cheesesteak & reuben.
Colleen is easily the most bouncy non-drunk person in the room.
She's also making a bundle of money right now by selling original
art. She mis-estimated her taxes, and needs the cash to pay for
next issue's printing bill.
James Owen swings by with a box full of comics -- several issues of
Starchild & A Distant Soil, ready to be signed. I'm waiting for
the TPBs.
Jeff & Pat sent their sketchbooks into the loop a while back, and
are getting a look at the preliminary results -- damn good. As
Dave Sim has said in the past, the higher the artist to fan ratio,
the better the sketches. Jeff shows me some interesting jams.
I finally take a time out & pass my Jaka's Story up to Dave. He
signs it for my girlfriend.
Jim Valentino seems like a decent guy. Up until the moment I watch
him draw a Captain Everything, I didn't realize he is the creator
of normalman. Wow! To get his start under Dave Sim, this explains
why he donates Shadowhawk's back cover to small press books. I
suppose everyone already knew that. :-\
Mark Hempel is skimming through a copy of _Comic Book Artists_, and
is rather annoyed that he isn't in it. Mark Wheatley tries to
console him. It's really just a mainstream listing. Mark is
taking a break from standard comics after The Kindly Ones ends.
Mark is designing a humor comic called Tug-n-Buster, and hopes to get
it printed in Details magazine. The rate per page as a magazine
cartoonist is high multiple times that of a comics artist. Also,
"DC pays better than Vertigo pays better than Pirhana." So there
will definitely be no new Gregory unless a story really grabs him.
Mark *would* like to do Tug-n-Buster as a creator owned comic, though.
He's not really ready to self publish, so he's looking at Blackball,
maybe Dark Horse. Who are Tug-n-Buster? "They're just these two
dumb guys, but they're MY two dumb guys! I think they'll be really
funny, with more mainstream appeal. Sort of my Simpsons to Gregory's
Life in Hell."
At 10:45 the Fantagraphics crew arrives. They take a corner booth
near the bar and snicker a lot. Not the friendliest atmosphere; I
don't think they were expecting all of us to be here. Peter Bagge
reluctantly signs my Bradleys TPB. They leave within an hour.
I'm hanging out with some friends from Geppi's when I hear someone say
"Jim Lee is here." I look around, saying "where?" when I realize he's
walking right past the booth. "Hi, Jim!" He smiles & replies "Hi",
but it's obvious that he wasn't expecting so many of us. He retreats
from the bar for a minute, then regains his composure and wades in to
the crowd to sign. Nice guy.
Rob Liefeld is behind him, but I don't see him signing anything.
Shortly after that, Larry Marder corrals the Image guys, including
Jim Valentino, and takes them back to their suite for a staff meeting.
At 11:10 Jeff Smith & Vijaya Iyer pull up to the bar & get some drinks.
Apparently Jeff Mason has been chatting with them regularly by phone,
so he monopolizes conversation for a bit. Jeff Smith is pretty goofy,
but a nice guy. As various people point out, he's Fone Bone with hair.
Vijaya is friendly & quite articulate, an excellent choice for chief
executive. They are moving back to Columbus Ohio & buying a house, to
save on taxes & cost of living.
Jeff moves into a back to back position with Dave Sim. A pair of lines
snake towards them, apparently they are deeply engaged in a sketch war.
Neither one looks up much.
Next on my schedule is James Owen, who is experiencing a lull at 11:40.
He's still working hard to stay on schedule & win Dave Sim's bet. Last
night he did new pages in his hotel room. Starchild seems to be paying
off, because he's planning to buy some land in Ireland & establish
residency there. Irish law says artists & writers pay no income tax.
"Summer in Ireland, winter in Arizona." Good life.
Swinging around the room again, I hear Colleen ranting about how clerical
errors at Diamond screwed up the release of her ADS starter packs by
four months. Most of the delays ADS has experienced over the years were
due to the publisher or the distributor, not due to slow art. And now
that she's the publisher too, her only problems are Diamond & Capital.
At midnight Scott McCloud shows up. He chats with James for a bit, then
Dave. I get a cute signiature/sketch in Understanding Comics, with
Scott spouting a word balloon full of icons.
I ask "When did you start working on UC? How long have you thought about
this stuff?" A lot longer than I expected. Scott has been researching
the comics medium since at least 1983, before he even started Zot! He
never stopped studying, and eventually he had enough material for a
serious book. Gee, that sounds easy enough.
Back at my Baltimore locals table, we share beers with Jesse Falcon, a
sales rep for Toy Biz. Jesse got into the comics biz by writing random
applications to companies. One of his letters was mislaid on the right
person's desk at Marvel, and they gave him a job. Now he plans to
accidentally put other people applications on his boss's desk, and
continue the cycle.
Jesse was at the Marvel table during Frank Miller's speech. He wanted to
laugh his head off, but was afraid for his job. He suggests a slogan:
"Toy Biz: we're not the Evil Empire, we're just their sister."
About 1:00 I'm starting to fade away, and I really want to catch Scott
McCloud's talk tomorrow at breakfast.
On the way out I hear one more Colleen Doran rant -- she's been making
them all night, a multitude of reasons why self publishing is the best.
"I make more money from 10000 copies of A Distant Soil than from 100000
copies of Silver Surfer. Marvel's royalty program, excuse me, Marvel's
incentive gift program, is a joke." She explains the myriad conditions
and limitations that Marvel puts on its artists. Original art is not
returned because they have to, it's returned out of generosity. She
says DC isn't much better.
As I head through the lobby, I stumble across Wizards of the Coast.
They've been hanging out all night, playing Deckmaster & other games
(not necessarily their own) with passers-by. It turns out they won
the 'Best Game Product' award, but TSR maintained its sweep of 'Best
Game Company'. Nevertheless, they're damn happy, and why not? Magic
has made them rich.
I decline to play, and claim apathy to The Addiction. One of them
wishes he were immune to it, and asks me for a blood transfusion.
Another hands me a rulebook & some brochures, lest I escape their
spell. This week I bought my first starter pack...
-F
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Then we graduated to the Sci-fi/Trek conventions in the EARLY days, before TNG came on. I remember meeting James Doohan at a car parking lot. Then when TNG started to air the cons got a LITTLE bit bigger, but still quite intimate. I waited in a LONG line to meet Mark Leonard, who portrayed Spock's father in the Trek incarnations. He was a great guest, very nice, great stories, took time to talk with people in line and pose for photos. Then I remember meeting Denise Crosby (Tasha Yar) right as she was leaving after the first season of TNG. She and my father talked (my dad was hitting on her, I think) and I remember her telling him she was getting ready to do a movie based on a Stephen King book. Then we started going out of state for the cons as TNG REALLY started to take off. I met Michael Dorn (Worf), Marina Sirtis (Troi), John DeLancie (Q), William Shatner, Chase Masterson (Lyta from DS9...got my pic taken with her!), and a host of others. As the cons got bigger, the sense of intimacy was lost and it became all about getting autographs, which had a tendency to irritate the stars, I think. We haven't been to one for quite some time, and the last one was a travesty to say the least. Stayed about 2 hours then left in disgust, having travelled 90 minutes one way for it.
Whatever the occasion, I think the smaller the better, and they are indeed great times.
http://ttrim.blogspot.com
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War does not make one great.