tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89012109957416656452024-02-20T07:52:21.665-08:00EARTH THREETalk about comics of all types.
Brought to you by <a href="http://www.odessasteps.com">ODESSA STEPS MAGAZINE</a>.odessastepshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14797641063451326980noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901210995741665645.post-84103009834924240842009-10-04T00:31:00.000-07:002009-10-04T00:32:37.636-07:00New IssueNew Issue of ODESSA STEPS.<br /><br />Not a hoax. Not an imaginary story.<br /><br />Debuting at the Baltimore Comic-Con.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901210995741665645.post-1829548884259482602009-08-16T18:30:00.001-07:002009-08-16T18:30:28.973-07:00NOT SD 09: Charles Schulz Museumnew article at the Beat<br /><br /><a href="http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2009/08/16/not-sd09-charles-schulz-museum/">http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2009/08/16/not-sd09-charles-schulz-museum/</a>odessastepshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14797641063451326980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901210995741665645.post-54445120775515443262009-08-02T23:34:00.000-07:002009-08-02T23:35:35.110-07:00NOT SD09: Miyazaki at Cal-Berkeley(cut and posted from BEAT)<br /><br /><img src="http://img.listal.com/image/706457/600full-hayao-miyazaki.jpg" alt="Miyazaki " /><br /><br />During our high-powered breakfast (maybe brunch by the time Ace and FMB got there), The Beat requested that I try and write more for the site. So, here's the first article about the non-SDCC portion of my travels recently.<br />I had always planned on only doing one day of San Diego, but for a while, wasn't sure what to do for the weekend before coming back to the muggy Mid-Atlantic states. There were many possibilities: baseball games, futbol matches, even going to see Monument Valley. The deal was sealed when I found out that the legendary Japanese animation director Hayao Miyazaki was going to be in Berkeley doing a Q&A in conjunction with receiving an award from Cal's Center for Japanese Studies.<br />When I told friends at the Con that I was only staying for a day (plus Preview Night), most were dumbfounded that I would make the trip for so brief a trip. But when I said that I was going to see Miyazaki, almost everyone immediately said, "Oh, that's understandable" or "I wish I could go." One unnamed Eisner winner said they were jealous and wondered how they could pull strings to maybe meet Miyazaki while he was briefly at the Con Friday.<br />It was certainly worth the trip. I haven't watched his SDCC panel with Pixar's John Lassiter, but I presume it didn't have the coziness of his Berkeley talk. It was not in a small room, but a 1000-seat auditorium on a college campus likely beats trying to watch a cramped and sweaty panel in Room 20 or Hall H at the Con. And there was thankfully no one dressed as Ashitaka or Kiki. The closest we got was a number of people carrying Totoros in with them to the talk.<br />It's always intersting to go to a panel where a translator is involved, because often, Miyazaki would make a joke and about a quarter of the room would laugh and the rest of us would have to wait for the translation to understand what was so funny. And Miyazaki made plenty of jokes during his 90 or so minutes on stage.<br />Miyazaki, prompted by moderator Roland Kelts, talked in a mostly-playful manner about some of the elements most associated with his films, such as nature vs technology and the use of female protagonists. He expressed dismay for how disasters are seen as "evil," even though they are just part of nature and often have a cleansing aspect to them.<br />When asked about good and bad characters, Miyazaki he often doesn't have true villains in his pictures, since he did not like to make his animators draw evil people.<br />There was also discussion about Studio Ghibli's animation practices and Miyazaki's desire to continue making traditional animation films done with cels and not CGI, even though it was like "being in a raft in a sea full of speed boats."<br />The Q&A session, both the moderator's inquiries and the audience question portion, quickly sped by and Miyazaki was soon off the stage and a very satisfied audience poured out of the building, with a lot less pushing and shoving than one probably found in San Diego.<br />Considering this was likely a once-in-a-lifetime event (how often does Miyazaki appear in public in the US, now, if ever), it was certainly worth skipping out on SDCC.odessastepshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14797641063451326980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901210995741665645.post-88452579423434269802009-07-18T00:43:00.000-07:002009-07-18T00:54:21.953-07:00Jamie S Rich talks "You Have Killed Me" and Criterions<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3122/2763253344_41c156eb30.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 361px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 500px" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3122/2763253344_41c156eb30.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />(future cover of ODESSA STEPS MAGAZINE, by Joelle Jones, done for this interview)<br /><br /><br />In honor of "You Have Killed Me" debuting next week at San Diego, here's a long-delayed interview with the book's writer, former Dark Horse and Oni editor Jamie S. Rich. This interview was originally conducted via email in summer 2008.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Q: What's the current status of You Have Killed Me?<br /><br />A: About half of the art is completed. It's been a painstaking process<br />for Joëlle, who set a high standard for herself at the start and has<br />been a champion maintaining it. The downside of a high standard is<br />that it's been taking longer than we hoped. She's doing the tones by<br />hand, using Japanese zip-a-tone that isn't as easy to come by as it<br />once was, but it's giving the book a real classic appeal. We both<br />loved the Dark Horse reprint of It Rhymes With Lust, and the tones<br />look a lot like that. I haven't really seen anyone use this process<br />since Guy Davis on The Marquis. Even Steve Lieber has gone digital for<br />the third Whiteout series. Joëlle is very exacting, cutting even<br />individual bricks for brick walls. Though, amusingly, every time she<br />does a sign by hand, she misspells the name. So, we have clubs and<br />hotels and things that will need some fixing.<br /><br />I think we've missed at least two publication dates at this point, but<br />we've been managing ourselves, whereas her work for Minx had a much<br />more concrete schedule, and eventually an unmovable deadline demanded<br />that her book Token get done first. The plus side of all the delays,<br />though, is that Oni has done some mass market hardcovers in the<br />interim and has had success with them, and it means that now You Have<br />Killed Me will be a hardcover comic book.<br /><br /><br /><br />Q: I know there have been mini-collections of Love The Way You Love. Is there going to a big book collecting all six issues?<br /><br />A: Not at this point. Oni actually suggested doing that at one point, but<br />I wrote the six issues to be split down the middle when collected. My<br />ultimate goal was to have it be a very manga-like series and so I was<br />thinking in terms of how I wanted people to read them over time. The<br />first book, Side A, is the courtship, and Side B is about a couple<br />making sure they really know what they want, and I like having that<br />pause between. I am not sure if there will be more stories in our<br />future, so the point may be moot as far as this being a big series<br />thing, but you never know.<br /><br />Q: Is there a particular skill set you need to translate manga?<br /><br />A: I don't actually translate, I do the English rewrite--or as some call<br />it, adaptation. I think a fundamental understanding of manga helps,<br />and an ability to not be precious about your own work. With each<br />project I have to find a style that fits the tone of the book, and in<br />general I am in service to that more than I am my own ego. I don't<br />look at it as my own writing, but more like I am taking a trip in<br />someone else's car and I can't abuse their machine the way I would<br />something I hold the pink slip to. I also have to be adaptable to<br />different situations, because I don't always work in the same genre<br />and since the CLAMP books changed publishers, I haven't worked on many<br />series that have had repeat creative teams. In the end, I think it<br />ends up being good work for me to do as it challenges me to think<br />about the ways I approach dialogue, how to toss words around and make<br />decisions about how to best get the meaning of a sentence across.<br /><br />Q: Do you ever miss being a full-time editor?<br /><br />A: Not even for one single second. It was never something I was meant to<br />do, and it warped me as a person by the end. I was like a piece of ice<br />struggling against the sun, and the sun was winning.<br /><br /><br />Q: As of this writing [Summer 2008], what's the best Criterion you've watched lately?<br /><br />A: I had a weekend where I watched Yukio Mishima's Patriotism and then<br />Mishima, Paul Schrader's biopic of the Japanese author, back to back.<br />In terms of packaging and content, both were excellent, and though I'd<br />had some limited contact with Mishima in years past, these films made<br />me realize I probably should delve deeper into his library. As a<br />person and as a writer, he had a lot of similar concerns to what shows<br />up in my work, including a romantic yearning to stand against the tide<br />and to, essentially, stand for something rather than caving in to<br />modernity. He was also preoccupied with suicide, as are many of my<br />characters. If you watch Patriotism, which he wrote, directed, and<br />starred in, and you see him playing a Japanese solider disemboweling<br />himself, it's quite powerful, particularly when you chase it with the<br />Schrader picture and all the extras that come with it and hear about<br />how he ended his own life the same way. It's easy to see why his widow<br />demanded the movie be buried while she was alive. The scene in<br />Patriotism where he slices his belly open is gruesome, and not just by<br />1960s standards, but any standards.<br /><br />Q: Here's the obligatory Desert Island question. What five Criterions would you take with you? Feel free to cheat and name box sets as one entry.<br /><br />A: In the Mood For Love, dir. Wong Kar-Wai<br />The Cranes are Flying, dir. Mikhail Kalatozov<br />Days of Heaven, dir. Terrence Malick<br />Contempt, dir. Jean-Luc Godard<br />Sullivan's Travels, dir. Preston Sturges<br /><br />The first three are pretty rock solid. Godard would also always take<br />the fourth slot, though there are a couple of others I might debate<br />over. I'd also be able to change the last slot a million times before<br />walking out the door, but I figure I needed a comedy in there.<br /><br />Q: Can a boatload of cool extras on a DVD make an average movie worth watching/renting/buying?<br /><br />A: Not really. I'm pretty sick of most DVD extras, particularly on studio<br />releases. If you watch bonus features on those, it's like an endless<br />parade of perfect people making perfect choices. Every decision made<br />on the movie was always the exact right decision, no one hated each<br />other, the world is a golden paradise. It's all bullshit. I'm also<br />sick of this endless compulsion to have everything explained to us,<br />and so most commentaries are painful for me. I think it's infecting<br />everything, this demand that there be extras. You see it in comics<br />even, where a trade paperback collection has to have bonus material<br />and now even some single issues are sticking things in the back, too.<br />What just happened to getting what you get and enjoying it and<br />figuring out what it means for yourself? I've seen people complain<br />that a DVD has no extras, completely oblivious to what that word<br />means. It's extra, it's no compulsory. The movie should be enough.<br /><br />Now, granted, there are exceptions. I like documentaries about the<br />people involved in a production when the movie has aged. Something<br />like the recent Bonnie & Clyde reissue, for instance, where we got<br />reminiscences from the cast and crew as well as supplements about<br />Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, the real people. That film is also 40<br />years old, and so there is some perspective to be had. We've got<br />commentaries being recorded now before a movie even hits theatres, by<br />participants who have sometimes not even seen the finished, final edit<br />yet. What insight am I going to be getting from that? One exception<br />would be the tricked-out editions of Judd Apatow-produced movies,<br />because the nature of how he makes those, the improvisation and the<br />boundless creativity that even inspires his troupe to make fake DVD<br />documentaries, really adds something.<br /><br />And I can say there is one DVD in my collection that I own for the<br />extras even though I didn't really care for the movie. One From the<br />Heart, the Francis Ford Coppola musical, has a really great<br />documentary about his Zoetrope Studios experiment that made me respect<br />him and what he tried to do with the movie a lot more.<br /><br />Q: Are the stories in 12 Reasons in that order for a particular reason?All the times I've read it, I've never really seen a pattern.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />A: I wouldn't say there is a pattern so much as just trying to time howinformation is unveiled, like slow-release capsules that give the medicinewhen it's required. It's mildly haphazard, but also planned so that anyrepetitive kinds of anecdotes weren't right next to each other, things likethe shorter and more esoteric pieces dropped in between the longer ones. Idefinitely wanted there to be some levity surrounding the heavier chapters,and the final chapter was completely by design. My main concern was just how to tell a conventional story in anunconventional way, to examine it differently in order to make the readersview it differently. There is a false tension in most romantic stories."Will they or won't they?" isn't really an honest fear in yourstraightforward lovefest, people have assumptions about how they will go.Whereas from reactions I have received, in *12 Reasons*, the audience reallydoes wonder how these two end up. There is a choice the reader can makeabout how the pieces are fit together. For some, it's even not "Will they orwon't they?" but "How *could *they?" As an author, I've been fascinated tohear how some people are very unforgiving with Evan. Men in particular.Maybe the mirror reflects too much, I don't know.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Q: After Love the Way You Love, are there going to be more "jamie-verse" stories (which is what I've always called things in the Cut My Hair universe)?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />A: Not immediately. I have one novel in the can that we're about to shoparound, and I purposely made sure to steer it out of those waters, justbecause I felt it was necessary to do. Part of it was that it's my firstagented fiction, and I wanted it to be free and clear to be its own thing.More important, though, was that at some point, I needed to flex thosemuscles and show that I could work in prose and have it be separate fromthis larger personal mythology I've created. It's important to me to keepchallenging myself and not fall into easy currents. I probably won't combover the past too much anymore, not unless I do more *Love the Way You Love*.I think anything I do with those characters, it will be more present day. And by those characters, I really mean Lance, he'll be the lynchpin for thatuniverse, and I've always seen him as the character I would return to. He'slike Rabbit for John Updike or Zuckerman for Philip Roth. There's a goodchance I'll be checking in with him very soon.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Q: How did you and Joelle [Jones] originally start working together?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />A: We met through Diana Schutz at Dark Horse, when the early promotion on *SexyChix *with the photo cover had started circulating. Joëlle's was the onlyface I didn't recognize, and so I asked Diana, who was my old boss and wasediting the anthology. She had nothing but good things to say about Joëlle,and I needed an artist, so I asked her for Joëlle's contact. I hadn't seen aline she had drawn at that point, but I just hoped that she would be good.Something about the look in her eyes in that photo, I don't know, I had agood feeling going to meet her, but I was also really scared that she'd showup and the portfolio would suck and I'd have to make a hasty exit. As it turns out, we live only two blocks apart on the same street, so we metat a coffee shop in our neighborhood. I was immediately wowed by her work,and we were instant friends. We spent that whole day hanging out andtalking, and I sent her home with the script for *12 Reasons*. I said thatshe had to consider it as much of an audition for me as I had considered itfor her, and so there were a few really nervous days of hoping she'd likethe script and say yes. I just knew that she was the right one for the job. Thankfully, she lowered herself to my level, and it's been smooth sailing ever since.odessastepshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14797641063451326980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901210995741665645.post-59734854125189621512007-10-02T15:16:00.000-07:002007-10-02T15:17:20.126-07:00Rucka answers QUESTIONSnot from us, but from the Vic Sage website.<br /><br />http://www.vicsage.com/wp/?p=6odessastepshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14797641063451326980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901210995741665645.post-70677647827312516742007-09-07T14:29:00.000-07:002007-09-07T14:30:26.832-07:00Buffy talk<a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=11765">CBR</a> has an interview up with Joss Whedon and new Buffy writer BKV. Funny stuff.odessastepshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14797641063451326980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901210995741665645.post-21188357718732566832007-09-06T16:22:00.000-07:002007-09-06T16:26:42.306-07:00Up at the BEAT<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1049/1271158500_7f208c95a5.jpg?v=0"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1049/1271158500_7f208c95a5.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />an <a href="http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2007/09/06/another-wrestlercomics-connection/">article</a> about CHIKARA's wacky comic book-themed DVD covers.odessastepshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14797641063451326980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901210995741665645.post-42445106221975146742007-09-04T11:46:00.001-07:002007-09-04T15:55:29.438-07:00First of Many Baltimore Comic-Con postsProgramming Schedule<br /><br />http://www.comicon.com/baltimore/programming.htmodessastepshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14797641063451326980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901210995741665645.post-60871222980510268322007-08-27T16:09:00.000-07:002007-08-27T16:10:37.642-07:00Gideon II websiteCheck out this <a href="http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2007/08/27/viral-sites-come-to-comics/">article</a> at THE BEAT about the new viral website tied into the new issue of CHECKMATE. Pretty cool for all us hardcore DC nerds.odessastepshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14797641063451326980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901210995741665645.post-75440186528714370422007-08-16T17:16:00.000-07:002007-08-16T17:17:28.120-07:00It's Over. It's All Over!The settlement of the infamous Harlan Ellison vs Fantagraphics lawsuit has been posted on the net.<br /><br /><a href="http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/wp-content/2007/08/SDOC3759.pdf">here it is.</a>odessastepshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14797641063451326980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901210995741665645.post-1174521507655352992007-08-13T14:37:00.000-07:002007-08-13T14:38:48.103-07:00RIP Mike Wieringohttp://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2007/08/13/mike-wieringo-dead-at-44/<br /><br />I had just finished reading Ringo's Spidey/FF book that he did with Jeff Parker.<br /><br />I was a big fan of TELLOS back in the day.odessastepshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14797641063451326980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901210995741665645.post-20574260601191724502007-07-31T12:05:00.001-07:002007-07-31T12:05:56.209-07:00Who’s on first? Spider-Man??Minor league baseball teams are always doing wacky stunts or having fun giveaways to try and get people into the ballpark. The <a href="http://www.memphisredbirds.com/">Memphis Redbirds</a> are targeting the nerd audience with an upcoming giveaway. <p>The first 1500 fans through the turnstiles at the August 10 game between Memphis and the Omaha Royals will receive a Marvel comic featuring Spider-Man, the Hulk and Iron Man sharing the cover with the Redbirds’ mascots and outfielder Rick Ankiel.</p> <p><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1200/964732007_bf2d67955f_m.jpg" alt="Redbirds comic" /> </p> <blockquote><p><i>“Baseball and comic books - the perfect partners; boys and girls, for generations, have spent hours reading comic books and passing countless summer hours playing baseball,” Redbirds President/GM Dave Chase said.</i></p> <p><i>“Today’s children are watching super heroes on movie screens, but the heart and soul of the big screen version is the paper and ink of comic books. Triple-A Baseball would be hard pressed to find a more perfect partner.”</i></p></blockquote> <p>The Redbirds certainly appear to be a popular culture-friendly ballclub. In recent weeks, the club has sponsored both a Harry Potter Night and pro wrestling featuring local icon Jerry “the King” Lawler. And, the night after the comic book giveaway, they are supporing another local legend: Elvis Presley.</p>odessastepshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14797641063451326980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901210995741665645.post-53362890470956558052007-07-26T16:29:00.000-07:002007-07-27T13:05:05.887-07:00Zero Hour<span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 51);font-size:180%;" >SD is here!</span><br /><br />Most of my comics writing will probably be done at <a href="http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/">the Beat</a> during the Con, since Heidi is there "in country" and I am (thankfully) not.odessastepshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14797641063451326980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901210995741665645.post-73600550711355036882007-07-24T16:59:00.000-07:002007-07-24T17:33:17.549-07:00SD Countdown2 days.<br /><br />No, I'm not going this year.<br /><br />It really was too much for me the last time I went. Plus, if I went, I'd much rather be watching the Padres or going to TJ to see lucha.<br /><br />for what it's like for A-level pro, read <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i78ed7fdd05f8f5f51af605f7b2d35446">this interview with Neil Gaiman</a>.<br /><br />I'll just make do with Heidi's reports on the Beat and the inevitable podcasts that will turn up.odessastepshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14797641063451326980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901210995741665645.post-68426043339709211912007-07-18T17:56:00.000-07:002007-07-18T17:58:04.346-07:00Aide de CampIf you haven't heard, I'll be helping out Heidi MacDonald on <a href="http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/">The Beat</a>.odessastepshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14797641063451326980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901210995741665645.post-44921015798205152402007-07-05T14:26:00.000-07:002008-12-11T07:13:19.291-08:00Cue nelson<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc_JdjdX0XKnFqmVuLiQxR2AWb8aBTOxKDPwJnIg4rWdii1xgNf7XQnLuan1r2bq5772JY4B3rfrie7f10vc9jP75lL69mnacNWh0r5CDkIz5YNHG_1-o4bP1JnbmLkai5drI8CSCbkuaM/s1600-h/simpsons.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc_JdjdX0XKnFqmVuLiQxR2AWb8aBTOxKDPwJnIg4rWdii1xgNf7XQnLuan1r2bq5772JY4B3rfrie7f10vc9jP75lL69mnacNWh0r5CDkIz5YNHG_1-o4bP1JnbmLkai5drI8CSCbkuaM/s200/simpsons.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5083827553539294226" border="0" /></a><br />From the Simpsons Movie website, create your own avatar.odessastepshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14797641063451326980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901210995741665645.post-72937774088713381962007-06-18T13:20:00.000-07:002007-06-18T13:22:58.177-07:00It's Not a Lie if You Believe It<span style="font-style: italic;">(note: We hope to have a follow-up article later tonight and tomorrow discussing this topic with some noted comics creators. Stay tuned.)</span><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">When it is okay to lie? And, if not lie, how about engage in “Misdirection” and “Obfuscation?” Those are questions that comics fans should be asking themselves today in the wake of DC Comics announcing this past weekend that they had done some of those things regarding “The Flash.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>For those too busy with Fathers’ Day or the US Open to hear the news from Charlotte or Philadelphia, “The Flash” will be ending with issue 13 (shipping this week) and re-starting (again) with former “Flash” writer Mark Waid at the helm. Good news all around, right? </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>Well, it would be, except that DC Comics had already put out solicitations for issues 14 and 15, knowing that they would be cancelled, presumably as soon as they announced news about the book’s future this weekend at Heroes Con and Wizard World Philadelphia.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>Okay, you say, comics companies have always played fast and loose with the solicitations, especially in this Era of Spoilers, when every Tom, Rich and Harry are trying to find out what the next crossover is going to be or who will die in this book or that book. Recently, Marvel did some of that with their Civil War and Fallen Son titles, but did they run a solicit for “Captain <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>” # 25 that lied about the ending? </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>It’s one thing to run no solicitation at all or just write “a surprise so shocking that we can’t say what will happen in this issue.” And that’s just what the solicits for “Flash” 14 and 15 say. Fourteen says “<span class="displaycopy">Fastest Man Alive's world changes forever!” and 15 says “Continuing the storyline so explosive we can't give anything away — and it's destined to be one of the most talked-about tales of 2007!” There’s nothing wrong with being vague, if those books were every going to come out, that is.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="displaycopy"><span style=""> </span>Admittedly, before this was announced, DC Comics had planned on making those issues returnable, provided retailers double their usual orders. But, since Waid’s first issue of “All-Flash” comes out in July and regular “Flash” series (back to the pre-reboot numbering) comes out in August, those issues are presumably going to be cancelled. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="displaycopy"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>The bigger issue here would seem to be that current “Flash” writer Marc Guggenheim did a number of interviews when he took over the book and deliberately gave out false information about the future of the book, when he knew that he would only have a short tenure on the book. According to what DC head honcho Dan Didio said at Heroes Con this weekend, this plan has been in the works for over a year, which would predate Guggenheim’s entire run. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="displaycopy"><span style=""> </span>Maybe this is an inside baseball issue that would only concern people in the media, but there’s something very disheartening about an interview subject deliberately putting out false information. Play the “it’s only comics” card if you want, but that’s not really the point.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="displaycopy"><span style=""> </span>Didio apologized to fans for what they did, but that doesn’t really put the cat back in the bag. Many creators already have reservations about doing interviews about up-coming work, wanting things to be as spoiler-free as possible. And that’s completely understandable in this hyper-mediated world. But there now be a little tickle in the back of fans’ brains now, one that says “I hope this is true and not some fake-out.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="displaycopy"><span style=""> </span>Popular culture critics love to talk about the similarities between superhero comics and professional wrestling – the gaudy costumes, the larger-than-life costumes, the knock-down brawls. It looks like we can add another to the list: those in control of the product willing to swerve the audience if it suits their needs. Wrestling is a business built on a lie. That is not something to which the comics industry should aspire.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="displaycopy">xxx<br /></span></p>odessastepshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14797641063451326980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901210995741665645.post-17778535055723991202007-05-17T16:40:00.001-07:002007-05-17T16:40:50.197-07:00COMING SOONreviews of<br /><br />CRIMINAL<br />ROCKETO<br />AGENTS OF ATLASodessastepshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14797641063451326980noreply@blogger.com