Comics – Page 4 – The Designer Monologues

October 14, 2010

Us vs Them

As I attended NYCC last weekend, I was struck by the massive difference between the comics audience and the tabletop gaming audience. There’s a lot of cross-over in various geek-niche interest groups, but the contrast between the comics fans and professionals that I spoke with, and the gamers and professionals at GenCon in August was profound.

Both industries are having a hard time of it in this economy, and have been on a decline for a long time. Both hobbies are losing fans to other pursuits at a fairly regular rate, and not really experiencing an influx of new blood from any source. Both have fans prone to orthodoxy and “nerdrage”, driven to expressions of negativity on the internet with unfortunate regularity. Yet the comics crowd seemed far more energized, positive and hopeful than the gamers — even at the relatively positive GenCon.
Continue reading “Us vs Them”

October 13, 2010October 13, 2010

Digital Comics

This past weekend I went back home to NYC. Aside from a much-needed refill of city life, the trip was an opportunity to see family and friends, and to attend the NY Comic Con. I was attending the show as a publishing professional — using the opportunity to scout artists for Adamant’s various transmedia efforts — and had a great time. The best part of the trip, from a business standpoint, was ICV2’s Conference on Comics and Digital, held the day before the show opened, which featured a white paper presentation on the state of the comics industry presented by Milton Griepp, followed by three breakout panel discussions with industry figures representing retail, creative and publishing.
Continue reading “Digital Comics”

March 27, 2010April 19, 2010

Planet Comicon

Spent the day at Planet Comicon today and scored the following loot:

1) Al Williamson’s Flash Gordon: A Lifelong Vision of the Heroic.

2) Captain Britain and MI-13, Issues 8, 12, 13 and Annual 1, continuing to fill in gaps in my collection.

3) Doctor Voodoo – Avenger of the Supernatural, Issues 1 and 3 (and a special reprint of his origin from the 70s).

4) Kevin Smith’s Green Hornet #1 — Smith’s unfilmed script, turned into a comic…. so I can properly bitch about what could have been when the Seth Rogan monstrosity comes out.

5) The Essential Dr. Strange, Vol. 3 (collecting the beginning of his Bronze Age run, which I read way back when).

6) Howard Chaykin’s American Flagg, Vol. 1 HC — collecting one of the first adult/independent comic series I ever got into….

and the Biggies:

7) TOMB OF DRACULA Omnibus, Vol 1 (variant cover) — I’ve been looking for this sucker for a LONG time, and it’s damn near impossible to find without spending BOOKOO bucks. I’m very, very pleased. This was my main goal for the Con.

I was completely unprepared to find this, however — and grabbed it as soon as I saw it:

8) Brush WIth Passion: The Art and Life of Dave Stevens (Ltd. Edition Hardcover). This sucker went out of print the DAY it was released. I had resigned myself to never getting one. WOOT!

Not a bad haul at all.