tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294499213897153104.post1597027468939678933..comments2024-03-27T09:00:32.195-05:00Comments on The Signal Watch: TL;DR: Balancing the Dark and the Light - Getting Real About How We Were Okay with "Dark" ComicsThe Leaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04836241071795980225noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294499213897153104.post-10835395928913595882016-05-30T23:32:26.199-05:002016-05-30T23:32:26.199-05:00I know the Big 2 have story conferences for their ...I know the Big 2 have story conferences for their particular books and offices and plot things out to some extent. What I can't wrap my head around is that I'm often left thinking "this? This is the only story you could think up? And this was what you decided should go to print?" Part of me feels it's a product of the need to feed the beast and stay on schedule for 12 issues per year per title, and sometimes "good enough" is all you can ask for, especially in a collaborative medium where writers, artists and editors are working things out on the fly behind the scenes. It can be worth the effort if they bring their A game, and what scares me most is that this IS the A game for the folks who are willing to put up with all the nonsense it takes to make it to the Big 2. They've outlasted, not necessarily been the best talent.The Leaguehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04836241071795980225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294499213897153104.post-29653403624110995202016-05-30T18:04:25.313-05:002016-05-30T18:04:25.313-05:00I distinctly remember the moment I got sucked back...I distinctly remember the moment I got sucked back into the world of comics, my sister got me the Ennis/Dillon issue of HellBlazer in which Constantine turns 40 for my own 19th birthday. She knew nothing about it, but figured I’d like it based on the cover. I was stunned, as I hadn’t read comics regularly since about 7th grade. You might recall that this issue featured Zatanna (who wasn’t really a Vertigo character) getting high on weed that the Swamp Thing had magicked up.<br /><br />Then of course, the Ennis/Dillon move to Preacher, which consistently sells out at my LCS, so just like that I’ve got a box with the following pull list: Hellblazer, Preacher, Sin City. This quickly expanded with many Vertigo titles: Y, Fables, Outlaw Nation, etc.<br /><br />So, from my own standpoint, this outreach was entirely effective. I wouldn’t add a “big two” title to my pull list until the Punisher featured the creative team of (you guessed it) Ennis and Dillon.<br /><br />OTOH, I’m with you when it comes to traditional superheroes. I vastly prefer Batman ’66 to any of the New 52 stuff. Silver Surfer is currently the only Marvel title I read. I get that writing within the traditional confines of the genre is harder than thinking up some new atrocity, but when you look at works like Cooke’s New Frontier, or Baker’s Plastic Man, the effort really pays off. <br />Fantomenoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02943650057872740425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294499213897153104.post-85683411400626697172016-05-25T22:15:46.818-05:002016-05-25T22:15:46.818-05:00And, yes, I was both entertained and confused by t...And, yes, I was both entertained and confused by the Preacher pilot. But I've mostly quit trying to tell how a show will work by the pilot, so I want to give it 3 episodes before I make a call - but, otherwise - yeah. Made me basically want to just go read the whole series over.The Leaguehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04836241071795980225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294499213897153104.post-48659804235201635762016-05-25T22:14:32.869-05:002016-05-25T22:14:32.869-05:00I'll not lie - I'm giving Rebirth a shot w...I'll not lie - I'm giving Rebirth a shot with Superman, Flash and WW. Those are the characters I feel like checking in on until they quit dicking about with Martian Manhunter and let him just be MM. <br /><br />Yeah, we'll have to see how all this goes. But i share your concerns.The Leaguehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04836241071795980225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294499213897153104.post-26943419751897554262016-05-25T10:11:01.954-05:002016-05-25T10:11:01.954-05:00On Preacher – I was worried the show would remind ...On Preacher – I was worried the show would remind me just how kind of base and mean-spirited that book was at its core, and ruin my nostalgia for it. But so far (just one episode in) my appreciation for the book has only increased, as the show seems neutered and bland in comparison. Jesse just doesn’t feel like Jesse to me, at all. So, that could’ve gone worse.<br /><br />I think, at least speaking for myself, there was a mental firewall between stuff like Preacher/Invisibles and superhero comics. I read both concurrently, and appreciated both for different reasons. I would never have expected then the Watchmenification of the entire genre. I mean, that’s just nuts. You can’t turn satire into the thing itself and expect it survive, right? <br /><br />The Killing Joke is a great book. On a craft level, it’s just a fantastic achievement. But… I just can’t enjoy it anymore without thinking about what it leads to. I bring too much baggage.<br /><br />Identity Crisis is where I put the pin as far “they went too far.” DC even sold that book at the time on the premise that “this will change everything,” which is said often and usually just marketing, but in this instance they were right. It did change everything. It brought so much seediness and moral ambiguity to a foundational premise of the genre as to effectively break the spell. <br /><br />No longer could I see secret identities as a charming, innocent metaphor for social masks; now the whole idea just seemed kind of corrupt and sinister. Why are you hiding yourself from the people in your life? What does that say about your ability to have intimacy and trust in your relationships? Isn’t it really kind of a profound violation of to do that to someone?<br /><br />I’ve quit comics more times than I can even remember. I tell myself that there are decades of great comics I can go back to, that I don’t even *need* the new stuff, so good riddance. <br />But the truth is that there’s some base comfort in the thought that the story goes on, that you can always check in on these characters and see what they’re up to – even as I lament the frustrating limitations of serialized storytelling (there’s never any meaningful payoff or conflict, it’s all just running in circles, etc.)<br /><br />With Rebirth, DC is at least giving lip service to trying to course-correct. Despite the fact it’s the same people who fucked everything up to begin with. As I am a true addict, that’s probably enough to get to at least give it a shot. Again. <br /><br />But, it’ll different this time. Right?Stuarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16334865373173505274noreply@blogger.com