Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Trade Waiting List for the Month of Febuary

Each month I plan to highlight the books I intend to pick up.  Some might get reviewed early, some late.  Some maybe none at all.  But as part of reviews of Trades and Hardcovers I'll be scudding reviews of not just the content but the artifact itself.  In between releases I might post reviews of elements of my collection that I haven't read in a given format.  For example I read IronMan month to month, but just got the second Oversized Hardcover(OHC) and so reading it in that format will be interesting.
This month's first item is the Hawkman Omnibus by Geoff Johns.  Being a rather Large volume, it might take a bit before I have time to review it. 

The other items that are currently on tap for February include American Vampire Vol. 3, Fables Book four.
  But I could see the TPBs of Manhunter showing up as reviews. 
Overall this month appears light, but a handful of books slipped from February to March so let us see if any slip back.

Two Returns - Me and Before Watchmen

Well it's been a while. 

First off for those who somehow don't know, Before Watchmen was announced today.  This is a series of miniseries and an epilogue that all together will form a story together.  You can find the exact details and creative teams both Here and Here.  But that isn't why we are here today.

I want to talk about my thoughts.  Here's what I've been posting as a reply:

"Here's how I look at it. DC has been continually trying to drag the mainstream kicking and screaming into this industry. They NEED to increase the core audience; the fact that they appear to care about the stories they are telling and have gotten some talent involved is icing on the cake. If you look at the overall numbers, the New 52 is failing to bring in overall new readers. At least in the numbers DC had hoped for. Before Watchmen could theoretically bring in enough outside, original readers in that we might not have to worry about losing this entire industry to something cheaper. I know that I'm at least checking out the first issues to see if they are worth reading."

We can't pretend like the comic industry isn't dying of cancer.  It has an audience, but that audience is barely holding these companies up.   If we do we could see a real and true collapse of the mainstream comic lines. 
Yes, there are reasons to not support this endeavor.  But hear me out.  First Off, I'm a huge supporter of creators having control of their creations.  I get scared when writers who aren't Greg Rucka start using Renee Montoya.  But I also accept that these are characters owned by other creators.  But if no one else ever got to play with these toys, then we'd never get great stories.  Imagine if Frank Miller had never gotten to take on Daredevil.  What if Claremont never got to touch X-Men, or Bendis never got to create Ultimate Spider-Man.  But  characters do not belong to their creators.  They belong to everyone.  So I understand that we live in a capitalist society that everything must be MINE MINE MINE but we never consider what else could be done.  I don't want this to become a giant ad for the public domain, but man, without it we wouldn't have Fables or League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.  We need to let go of this sense of ownership. 
Next we need to stop condemning DC and Marvel for trying to make more money.  These aren't tactics to bring in more money.  Well, yes, they are.  But that isn't the key part.  They are trying to bring in more people.  Our industry needs a bigger audience.   The Dark Knight made a billion dollars.  Comics should be able to make One percent of that.  And yet they don't.  Not anywhere close.  So when you think comics, what is the single most critically acclaimed piece that DC owns?  Watchmen.  Of course they should try and tap this vein.  But that isn't why I support it.  These creative teams are good creators.  Hopefully together they will form some fantastic works.  But I don't think DC will let them be bad.  For two reasons. If they go bad, any potential new audience they've drawn in using this and the New 52 will fly away and this will be for naught.  Two, I don't think they want 8 million emails and letters telling them they screwed the pooch. 
This all goes back to my favorite lesson comic fans can't seem to get:  wait until it comes out before you judge it.  At the very least give it a shot and go in with an open mind.