Weekly Watch Wind: 06/25/2010

Scott Pilgrim/ Me: hey, look! Its my personal Scott Pilgrim Avatar. I'm really skinny!

Batman/ Dr. Who!: This is just funny.


Webcomics: A list of ten webcomics. I am adding all of these to my list for the time being.


Tron/ Jeff the Cat: I have found a new way to drive my cat insane. New Tron toys can drive up walls.


Comics Business: In case you missed it (what with all the announcements about digital), music and media retail chain, Hastings, is looking to become a chain of comic shops. There hasn't been a Hastings in Austin that I can remember since the location on Guadalupe closed when I was in high school. But the shops still exist in mid-size towns across my part of the US of A. Lawton, Oklahoma gets listed! I am unsure how this will shake out, but it looks like they're going to give it a real try, versus the half-baked efforts I've seen from Tower and other media retailers.

Having a chain involved is GOOD. It gives a wider outreach to untapped audiences, but it also means someone on the retail side of the table might actually have some bargaining power. And if print comics want to survive, they need to escape the direct market model and return to locations where the public will find them.


Superman/ Don't Ask, Just Buy It!: DC Comics has released Chip Kidd's intro to the upcoming "All Star Superman, Absolute Edition". It's one hell of a sales pitch for one of my favorite comics of all time.


Superman/ Contest: In the upcoming Superman series, Superman is walking America from East to West Coast. You can nominate your town to be one of the spots Superman wanders through during his journey. He's staying north of Texas, so, alas, I can't pitch Austin. I think DC was focusing on a path through the US that's a bit more populated that the southern route, which... once you pass Austin, its a long walk between towns when you're headed west.


Sweet/ Horsies!: An adorable moppet of a girl is setting out to make her life amazingly ready for adaptation into a made-for-TV movie. She loves a really homely horse, and that is going to save this pony's life. Apparently, being an ugly horse will get you executed.

Superman/ Theatre! #1: Our non-existent readers in New York should go to the Upright citizens Brigade theater to see So, I Like Superman: A One Nerd Show.


Superman/ Theatre! #2: Dallas-dwelling Superman fans can catch the revamped Superman musical! Just head on down to the Dallas Theatre Center!



Disney/ Lifestyle: Now you can just up and live at Disney World. Pretty nuts. Especially as all the animals in your yard will be able to wear clothes, emote and sing. No more glue traps for mice, I suppose.


DC Comics/ Politics/ Editorial: Oh, geez, Didio. Even when I sort of agree with you, you manage to botch things. Recently DC came under fire when character "All-New Atom", Ryan Choi, featured in the Batman: Brave and the Bold cartoon and who was the featured star of his own comic for more than two years, was unceremoniously killed off in a 3rd tier series. In responding to questions about criticism regardng DC's treatment of non-anglo/ white characters, Didio insisted that it isn't us, it's you, you stupid readers.

It's a complicated issue as DC relies on legacy characters developed during a far WASPier past, and its not just minority characters who don't seem to sell. Its anything introduced after 1965. At some point, DC sells what people buy. Unfortunately, DC is a company that relies upon nostalgia, and newer characters can't seem to get much of a foothold. So, in many ways, you kind of have to point the finger back at the fanbase and what they seem willing to support.

I suspect that's what Didio is trying to say, but... you know, he doesn't always do great when challenged in an interview.

And, Dan... that peer sitting next to you? Your co-publisher sharing the interview? He's Asian-American. Let him answer the "did DC kill Ryan Choi because you hate Asians?" questions next time. Schniekies.