Panelology

by Brandon

It's time again for a round robin of topics on comic book collecting. This week I discuss bad behavior from fans, the comic news lull, Marvel second features, and a cool cover from Booster Gold. Let's get started.

Learn Some Respect!
I feel like an old man shaking my fist for the above title, but it fits so well. This could all be filed under the Fanboy Jerk of the Year category. Recently at the Chicago Comic Con, comic book fan Ryan Coons approached fan-favorite whipping boy Rob Liefeld. He wasn't a fan asking for an autograph or a fan attempting to talk with a beloved creator to show his appreciation. Instead, Ryan Coons approached Liefled for one reason: he wanted to berate him about his handling of Captain America. From a decade ago. Coons literally asked Liefeld for an apology. This didn't really take guts. It took a good dash of immature idiocy. He did not do this once. In fact, on his second round of insulting, he handed Liefeld a copy of How to Draw the Marvel Way. Awesome.

While some juvenile fans snickered, many fans and creators noted that this was at best the lowest form of fan behavior and at least improper behavior in general. It was nice to see tons of creators throw their scorn onto this yellow-hat moron.

Comic book fans have a stigma of being overly picky. While I think there are definitely some curmudgeon's in the crowd, comic fans are not all that way. Idiotic behavior such as Ryan Coons', however, reflects poorly on all of us. The next time you spy a creator you don't like, just walk and find someone you do respect. This all goes back to something we all should have learned in grade school: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. If a fan goes out of his way to insult a creator he doesn't like, it is time to get a life.

I guess comic fans should remember that we don't own these characters. They don't belong to us no matter how much we love them or how long we have collected them. Comic book publishers are bound to publish stores that we don't like. It's just going to happen. Insulting creators, even those we may not enjoy, accomplishes nothing. It's a matter of human decency. There is a way to let others know your displeasure without looking like some kind of nincompoop that doesn't get out of his parent's basement often.

I should point out that I'm not defending Rob Liefeld's work here at all. I'm not really familiar with his work as I was never a big fan. I am saying that fans should treat creators better. That goes for online work. Don't threaten to blow up Vertigo's offices or hand Rob Liefeld copies of drawing books. Again, I'm sure Ryan Coons or any number of indignant fans could find much better things to do with their spare time than become trolls.

I think most comic fans are good people. They are salt of the earth. But it's jerks like Ryan Coons who give us a bad name. Maybe we fans should be less tactful and accepting of such poor behavior.

Comic Book News Lull
Ever since the San Diego Comic Con blew out of Comic Book Town, comic news has been slow. I know it happens every year, but it seems like this year was especially bad. It seemed like news sites such as Newsarama and CBR ran on CCI fumes for around two weeks after CCI before they attempted to run anything new. That's a bit of an exaggeration, but more like the truth than actual fiction.

Chicago did bring a trickle of news, with the aforementioned moron Ryan Coon's taking the cake. But there wasn't anything Earth or Internet smashing. Marvel's big news about acquiring Marvelman still has fans buzzing, but more about the lack of news than anything Marvel has actually announced. DC is still heavily trumpeting their Care Bear's by way of Zombies with rings shindig Blackest Night.

That's pretty much it. Nothing to see. Move along.


Where are the Marvel Second Features?
Though DC routinely gets trounced in monthly sales, the grand old party of comic books realizes that offering a second feature makes $3.99 comics more palatable to fans. I think DC realizes that $3.99 isn't going to keep fans coming to the well if all fans are getting is 22-pages of comic book. At least it makes it easier for me to justify spending the extra dollar on a book with a second story.

As the DC program took off, rumors swirled about Marvel adding second features to their books. Yet CCI and Chicago passed by without firm announcements. So, where are they? Marvel's argument that they are just offsetting costs would be fine if they eased the financial strain a bit. Instead, Marvel keeps forking $3.99 books at us hoping we'll just keep buying them without any added content.

Instead of making crappy miniseries or ongoing series that get canned within six issues, why not add them as second features? Exiles, a recent cancellation, comes to mind. I'm sure there are several books that would love to adopt that little slice of comic book revelry. It's an opportunity for Marvel to make $3.99 books easier on our wallets, give some titles and characters another chance, and bring in more fans to already existing books. Maybe we'll something soon. Surely Marvel can't be in the dark about this, can they?

Cool Cover Alert
I saw this cover on the newsstand of a local comic book shop this weekend. Booster Gold covers never really strike me as being awesome, but I thought this one was great.



My attraction to this issue might have something to do with the fact that G4's Blair Butler (who is insanely beautiful) is featured on the cover. I'm not sure.