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.


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Panelology

by Brandon

Welcome to the latest edition of Panelology. I've been neglecting this column for a few weeks now, but it should be back into quasi-regular rotation now. What's been happening in the world of comic collecting? Besides the fact comic books are now officially too damn expensive, not much. Many companies seem to be pulling their punches in order to reveal some "big" items for the San Diego Comic Convention going on right now. Marvel are promising something big at today's convention. Who knows what it could be? It may even live up to the hype too. Maybe. But that's for another time and another column. This week, I stay focused on $3.99 comics, bid farewell to Ultimatum, discuss changes in Frank Castle land, and I report on my continuing education into DC Comics.

Singing the $3.99 Blues
Paying $3.99 a pop for your fix of whatever title getting you down too? I'm starting to feel it despite Mail order Comics having a great discount on books. The oft-grumbled about hottest trend in comics looks like it is here to stay for the long run. I've got to start seriously looking at my pull list for some fat to cut. The Ultimate Books are going to have to prove themselves to me once again after this dreadful Ultimatum business (more on that below). Uncanny X-men is wavering quite a bit these days with Matt Fraction's decent, but not over-the-top writing on that title. The same goes for Fraction's Invincible Iron Man; just how long can this "Most Wanted" story drag on?

One title I know that isn't going to make it is Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. I am confident that this book is a goner from my monthly reading list without having read the first issue. How do I know this? This book from Boom is a good idea. What's not to like about bringing Philip K. Dick, arguably one of the best science fiction writers of his time, and his stories to the comic book medium? It's a natural fit. However, directly adapting the book word for word is not a good idea. I liked the concept at first, but at $3.99 an issue on the newsstand, I found that is isn't worth it. I pay $2.99 an issue through Mail Order Comics. That's still $71.76 for the entire twenty-four issue run. That's a ridiculous amount of money for a straight up adaptation of a book I bought in 1996 for five bucks.

Ultimatum: The End... and thank God!
Last week, Marvel released an ominous image promoting "The End" for the Ultimate Line. The date for the image was 7/29/09, the same day the final issue of Ultimatum hits the stands. The image set off speculation that someone would be meeting their doom. Fan consensus is centering on Wolverine right now, though others believe Magneto might be another plausible candidate. After all, Magneto has become quite a bit of a bastard since the storyline of Ultimates 3 involved knocking off his daughter Scarlet Witch. Some fans have even speculated that this could be the Ultimate version of M-Day since no Ultimate X-title has been announced since the revamping of the Ultimate Line. Having a title like "The End" does tend to send people into a bit of speculative tizzy.

Big whoop, right? It's not as if Ultimatum hasn't had its fair share of gruesome deaths. Who cares if they are going to kill anyone at this point? Anyone who cares what is happening in the Ultimatum books right now should pretty much leave their fanboy or fangirl I.D. card on their way out the door. The way characters have been treated and killed off in this series has been borderline insulting to fans who have kept up with the Ultimate Universe over the last nine years. I don't mind retooling the line. That is Marvel's prerogative. However, it needs to be done in a way that makes sense and doesn't slap fans in the face. I think fans of the Ultimate Universe need someone to blame for this poor storytelling choice. For some reason, Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Millar, founding fathers and creative heavyweights of the line, have somehow remained blameless in all of this.

Instead, the blame has fallen to Jeph Loeb. I hate to put all the blame on Jeph Loeb. This was a team effort, but he works so well as a lightening rod right now. Any fan wishing to cruise through any comic book message board can find anti-Loeb threads aplenty. I don't like or dislike Loeb. As a creator, his work often doesn't raise a blip on my radar screen neither in a good or bad way. He and I just don't cross paths often in my comic buying patterns. But let's face it, Ultimatum has been a stinker of a story from day one. He could have chosen an infinite number of ways to deal with retooling the line. The fact that he felt the need to wipe out half of the characters was wrongheaded. But that's what we Ultimate fans are stuck with; useless carnage and ineffective storytelling. The end can't come soon enough. I hope the new beginning finds the Ultimate Universe far removed from the business of Ultimatum.

Punisher Changes
Marvel also seem to be in the business of shaking things up for Punisher both in the Marvel and Max Universes. Punisher Max, or Frank Castle: Punisher, or whatever it's being called these days is about to be rebooted as PunisherMax. That's right, PunisherMax. No space between those words is necessary because, you know, that's cool. Despite the exceeding lame title, the creative teams looks kick ass. Jason Aaron will be lending his writing talents to the rebooted title, while Punisher-fan-favorite Steve Dillon will be handling art duties. I couldn't think of a better creative than this for the Max title. I have actually really enjoyed the rotation of writers the Max title has seen since Garth Ennis left, but I think the title needs a bit of stability in terms of direction. A stable creative team will go a long way in bringing back some of the fans who may have given up on ol'Frank when Ennis left. Plus, Aaron intends on introducing the Max versions of Kingpin and Bullseye, which sounds great. This could revitalize the Max title.

Over in the Marvel Universe, Rick Remender's Punisher title also appears to be going through some changes. In a press release Tuesday, Marvel revealed that "Rest in Pieces", or "R.I.P." for short (get it?), will be the next story arc in the ongoing Punisher series. Not familiar with it? Oh, you know the series I'm talking about. The one where Punisher has been relegated to taking on/out D-List villains no one cares about? Anyway, the "Rest in Pieces" promises to have Punisher put through the ringer by promising to change his life FOREVER!!! I know, I know. Marvel Comics aren't know for their advertising hyperbole. But there it is. You can check out a Marvel Q&A session with Rick Remender here. This sort of thing just smacks of the 1990s angel/demon storyline. And things were going so well for Punisher lately. Before becoming the D-Lister paradise, Remender started the series off strong. Like many titles in the Marvel Universe now, it has gotten too bogged down in this Dark Reign business to really be effective.

DC Education Update
My education in DC Comics is still ongoing. In terms of my buying habits, I'm still relying on the back issue bins for much of my re-education. Recently, complete runs of Captain Atom, Vigilante, Booster Gold, and Blue Beetle have found homes in my welcoming long boxes. I've found most issues of those comics for less than buck each, which is killer. I can get a stack of old school books at least four or five times higher than my modern books for the same price. Not only are they cheap, but they are providing some good reading time too. If you can't tell, I'm digging 1980s DC. These comics aren't mind blowing or anything, but they are a lot of fun. Next on my 1980s DC reading list will be Marv Wolfman's Teen Titans from the same era.

Just because I've been trolling the back issue bins for DC bargains does not mean that I have ignored modern DC. I've been checking out the Batman reboots and have enjoyed them thus far. Batman, Detective Comics, and Batman & Robin have all entered my buying habits for the near the future. I haven't added them to my pull list, but if I can find them on the newsstand at Books-a-Million I'll pick the issues up. Booster Gold is still a lot of fun even if the premise is wearing a bit thin. I'm avoiding the Blackest Night titles, but positive buzz may pull me into buying a trade down the road.

Help a fanboy out, though. Any other DC recommendations I should check into while I'm in the mood?



The end for now!
That's it! I should be back later this weekend with more reviews in my continuing Summer Reading series. Panelology will be back next week with a review of all the big time news out of San Diego.

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