Shout Outs! and Scream Ats!

by Matt


Welcome to my first “Shout Out/Scream At!” column! With this column I will be taking a look at what makes me a happy fanboy (Shout Outs!) and what frustrates me (Scream Ats!) within the comic industry. With this column I will be covering being a Negative Nelly, Marvel’s Premiere Hardcover line and recent news involving the ClanDestine and Quasar.

SCREAM AT! Fan Negativity
As many of you know, I am a huge fan of Banshee (which is why I named the column the way I did) and this leads directly into my first Scream At! Generally, I am a happy comic fan, very rarely does something make me so mad that I lash out in a blog or some random message board. But there are some things that I don’t agree with or something that frustrates me. And what does this have to do with Banshee you ask? I love Banshee and I am proud and happy to admit it. What frustrates me, and especially in the ‘Internet’ world is the vast amount of negativity. I understand teasing but I cannot wrap my head around people just being outright jerks because I love Banshee.

Awhile ago, on the old X-Fan boards, there was a thread that asked who our favorite X-Man was and of course I listed Banshee. People poked fun and that was quite alright but there were one or two that called me an idiot for liking that character. I remember being lambasted on the old Joe Quesada boards because I said I liked a storyline running in X-Treme X-Men and the Earth X trilogy. I like those books; does bashing it make me change my mind? A couple of years ago or so, someone joined my Alan Davis message board (shameless plug) JUST so they can ask Alan why does he take assignments on books he reads. Cause now he has to quit X-Men because Alan is on it. I can appreciate that people have different tastes and I don’t mind discussing it but what makes me scream is when people come straight out and tell you that you are a fool for liking something. That is what makes me “me”. When you bag on something I like, you are really bagging on me. I am sure some of you are thinking, “Boy, this idiot sure needs to have a thicker skin.” But why should I be the one that has to change how I feel?

The Internet is a fantastic tool, if it was not for the Internet, I would not have tried a TON of books. I would have missed out on Love Fights, Blankets, X-Force/X-Statix, Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing to just name a few. You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. I am not saying that we should only be positive, all I am asking is that everyone should be respectful when expressing their thoughts. In fact, I encourage people to celebrate the ‘guilty pleasures’ we all have. Instead of trying to be cool and hip (what I really mean here is fake) we should just be ourselves. You don’t have to dislike and bag on everything that everyone likes to be cool. We can all see through it anyway. Be proud of who you are and take opportunities to say something positive about something you like. I’ll start, I admit that I like Quasar. (Which provides the perfect segway to my ‘Shout Out!’)

SHOUT OUT! Quasar!
Speaking of Quasar, I was in the middle of writing a different Scream At! directed at Marvel and DC for killing characters that I liked. I felt like they were totally picking on me. But then I heard that one of my favorite characters was coming back.
**SPOILERS**
I would like to give Marvel a great Shout Out! for bringing back Quasar! I didn’t collect the Annihilation crossover when it came out and I was saddened to hear that Wendell was killed. I was sad because Wendell felt like a real person to me, he made mistakes and I admit that he was a weenie at times but I liked him. Now I am going to have to start picking up Guardians of the Galaxy and Nova. And while I am on the subject of Guardians of the Galaxy, I would also like to give a small Shout Out! for bringing in StarHawk. I loved Valentino’s run on the first Guardians series and StarHawk was my favorite character so now I HAVE to pick up the new Guardians series, the Nova series and I will probably start picking up the Annihilation trades as well.

SCREAM AT! Marvel's Premiere Hardcover Line
Speaking of trades, Marvel’s recent addition of the Premiere Hardcover line has been a little aggravating at times. Marvel recently solicited the first collection of the new Guardians of the Galaxy but it was in the Premiere line and I doubt that I will now pick it up. If it came out in trade, I would have picked it up immediately. I usually prefer trades to hardcovers anyway so I guess I will have to wait until they put out a softcover of the book. I guess I should be happy, Marvel is collecting a ton of their old stuff but with it going to the Premiere line first, I am missing out on a ton of material because I don’t want to pay extra just to get it in hardcover. I would have bought the Kitty Pryde/Wolverine series, Longshot and the Magik miniseries if they were in softcover trades. I am hoping that Marvel will eventually put out what they do in the Premiere line into trade. They did it with the new Cable book so I am hopeful. I guess I shouldn’t complain, I did get the ClanDestine series in hardcover.

SHOUT OUT! More ClanDestine!
Speaking of ClanDestine, I would like to give Marvel another Shout Out! for giving Alan Davis’s ClanDestine series another try. First they published a short miniseries and recently Alan announced that he will be writing and drawing three of Marvel Comics' 2009 annuals. ClanDestine will be supporting characters in the Fantastic Four, Daredevil and Wolverine annuals and Alan's upcoming Thor: Truth of History will "sort of leak" into the stories as well. This will give ClanDestine its first major exposure in hopes of capturing new fans. I highly recommend this series, Alan has created some interesting characters that while they are family, and they certainly do not get along.

That's all for this time. I will be back shortly with a new set of Shout Outs! and Scream Ats!.