Happy New Year.

Well as I promised I'm back to tell you about a few more libations for the Holiday season. If your Just tuning in this year's theme is Whiskey. And today I'm going to tell you about some old and storied Whiskey drinks to make you new years really merry.

First is one of the oldest cocktails in existence, it's so old that it is in fact called the old fashion. Now I'm not sure if the old fashion is really that old or if the old fashion is called that because it has the basic components of a classic definition cocktail. You see by definition, most cocktails we drink today are in fact not cocktails, they are slings, highballs or mixed drinks. The original definition of a cocktail requires the drink to have; water, sugar, spirit, and bitters. And it's that last part, the bitters, that modern cocktails lack. Even classics like the Manhattan are often made without them in the modern bar, which is a shame as the drink is much sweeter, and lacking in depth without them, but I digress. The old fashion...

You'll need...

An old fashion glass.

A mixing spoon.

Muller

Ice.

Ingredients...

Rye or Bourbon Whiskey 2oz.

2 Sugar cubes.

water 1oz.

Bitters (I prefer Angostura for this one) Dash.

Place the sugar cubes in glass and dash the bitters. and water onto them. Mull the contents of the glass until sugar is diffused. Add ice, pour in Whiskey. Stir and take a sip, then feel free to quote your favourite Wayne's World joke about "(the) coke being rotten"

often in the modern bar the water is replaced by seltzer and the sugar by simple syrup. These are good too, and since this cocktail is so simple the sky's really the limit.

Next is an old nearly lost drink that I foresee coming back as one of it's ingredients, Absinthe, is making a comeback. It is the Sazerac. It is from the Sazerac hotel in New Orleans a town I often think of when I drink anything with Rye and Peychaud's bitters. This is where I tried the drink for the first time, New Orleans not the hotel. Before I go on I'm hearing you guys go "Isn't that the drink that made the old timey hipsters go crazy and Obi Wan Kenobi see Kylie Minouge as Tinker bell" the answer is yes, yes it is. Absinthe is an Anise flavoured liqueur, That was very popular amongst the "Bohemians" at the turn of the last century. It's famous for it's green colour and multistage drinking ritual, and infamous for being aged in wormwood casks, which allegedly led to madness amongst drinkers. It turns out that this was a turn of the last century version of Reefer Madness, and the stories of absinthe's dangers, and potency are mostly urban legend. It was actually most likely the opium fortified wines that made the OG Hipsters go crazy. But due to it's reputation Wormwood aged Absinthe was not allowed into the US until last year, and many recipes for this cocktail call for a substitute, including the Sazerac whiskey website, which recommends Herbsaint (most likely since they own it). There is only one brand of Absinthe that I know you can get outside of New Orleans, and that is Absente from France. Absente as the name would indicate was not aged in wormwood. But as of this year they now make a wormwood included version. I've actually never tried the full octane version, but it's on my to do list. So there's the history lesson, and if you're scared, of the possible negatives of Absinth use one of the substitutes. The one I had very well may have been made that way...

You'll need...

2 Old Fashioned glasses.

Ice.

Muller

Ingredients...

1 cube sugar

Sazerac Rye Whiskey 1½ oz.

Absinthe or Herbsaint ¼ oz.

3 dashes Peychaud's Bitters

Lemon peel

Pack one of the glasses with Ice. In a second Old Fashion glass place the sugar cube and add the Peychaud's Bitters to it, then crush the sugar cube. Add the Sazerac Rye Whiskey to the second glass containing the Peychaud's Bitters and sugar. Empty the ice from the first glass and coat the glass with the Absinth, then discard the remaining Absinth. Empty the whiskey/bitters/sugar mixture from the second glass into the first glass and garnish with lemon peel. Drink and enjoy, if you do in fact see Kylie Minouge as Tinker Bell Really Enjoy.

And finally the Mint Julep. I know it's really a summer drink, but how can you write about Whiskey drinks as an American without writing about the classic American Whiskey drink.
I think this drink is going to be making a comeback, with the Vodka Martini trend dying down and rum and whiskey drinks becoming more popular again, including the Julep's kissing cousin the Mojito, it's only a matter of time for this stately old man of a drink to return...

You'll need...

Ice.

A tall Glass or julep cup

Muddler.

The ingredients...

• Bourbon 3ozs
  
• 4 to 6 sprigs of mint
• granulated sugar, to taste

Put mint, sugar, and a small amount of bourbon into the bottom of a mixing glass. Muddle the mint and sugar, then let stand for a bit to allow the muddled leaves to release their flavor. Strain and pour into a julep cup (or similar vessel), rotating to coat the sides. Fill with ice, then add the rest of the bourbon whiskey. Garnish with a twisted mint sprig. Sit back pretend your Colonel Sanders and enjoy.

Well I hope you all have a happy New Year, and enjoy yourselves and be safe.

David

Merry X-mas and a Happy New year.

Hello, I'll start by wishing everybody a wonderful holiday season. And I hope everyone has a good one. Please enjoy my annual Neuropsychosis Christmas Illustration

... and since it's the holiday season it's time for another drinks post. first of course the disclaimer.

Drink responsibly, and if your under the legal age don't, but you know that already I know your all smart people but gotta say it anyway.

Today I'm going to talk about whiskey drinks. those who know me know that I like me some whiskey. So i figured for my first drinks post. I'd write a few recipes for yummy drinks, that have been a hit around my house and parties.

But first a little bit about whiskey or whisky (depending on where your from) Whiskey is a spirit made from grains, and aged in oak. It's pretty much agreed that modern whiskey comes originally from Ireland and the name derives from ouesca beatha which is Gaelic for water of life. Different parts of the world have different definitions on what constitutes a whiskey, the Scots use only barley, Americans use corn and rye, Southerners call rubbing alcohol in jars whiskey, but I'm going to go with a few traditional types.

Irish, The OG whiskey if you will, made of barley aged in oak for a variety of times (usually 12 and 18 years) and almost always blended (at least what you can get in the states) Irish whiskey is very smooth with a straw like colour, and has a crisp slightly bitter taste, very good for drinking and savoring on it's own. Famous makes are J Jameson and Son, Bushmills, Tullimore Dew.

Scotch, the Whisky from Scotland has achieved much fame, is recent years to the point that the Whiskey aisle of your local shop could very well be considered a fief of Scotland. Made from barley, and aged in oak, traditionally Spanish sherry casks but now you'll see it aged in Bourbon casks. Scotch gets it's unique flavour from the peat moss that is used in the malting of the barley. This gives the drink a bitter herbal flavour. It's colour varies between straw like to deep amber, and it's drinkablity varies from make to make. Scotch Whisky is blended and also made as single malts. Blends are easier drinking (and my actual preference) but single malts, made from a single malt and never blended are known for a broader range of flavours and are the choice of the aficionado. Some of my picks Johnny Walker, the Macallan, Chivas Regal.

Canadian, Canada's whisky, is my personal favourite, it is most famous in this country as a mixing whisky, and it excels at this use. Typically made of Rye, Barley and some corn, Canadian whisky is aged in a variety of casks, and almost always blended, however some single malts do exist. Most Canadian whisky is 80 proof due to Canadian law, this adds to it's smoothness. I personally think the fact that Canadian Whiskies are often blends adds to their depth and character. Like Scotch Canadian Whisky has a wide varieties of colour from straw to amber, and have a bitter sweet flavour and a smooth creamy feel. It's a deep realm of whisky that is seldom truly explored. famous examples, Seagrams, Crown Royal, Club.

Bourbon, The United States' indigenous spirit. Made in the northern south. Bourbon is by law made out of a mash that is majority corn with barley and occasionally rye. They are made with a "sour mash" this is where a bit of the previous mash is added to the new whiskey. It is then aged in charred white oak barrels that are only used once. Most Bourbons are what is called Straight whiskies, it's like a single malt but since they are made of a blend of malts they are called straight. Many of these whiskies are 80 proof but, 90 and 100 proof whiskey is not at all uncommon. These Whiskies are often amber coloured and have a smokey bitter sour taste. Famous makes, Makers mark, Jim Beam, Elijah Craig. A kissing cousin to Bourbon is Tennessee Whiskey. it differs from bourbon in that they take their charcoal very seriously, instead of aging in charred oak they are also, filtered through charcoal and sometimes, even have charcoal placed in the casks. This makes for what is essentially a much bolder Bourbon. this type is literally defined by Jack Daniels.

Rye. Rye is like Bourbon, but made mostly of rye. They are straight whiskies, and have a deep colour and a bitter sweet flavour. Not to be confused with Canadian Whisky, which is called Rye in the great white north. Rye is the classic blending whisky (probably why Canadian with it's high rye content is so often used now) , but it has fallen out of favour, a casualty to prohibition, and is very hard to find. Jim Beams Rye is widely available. and if you have a BevMo you should be able to find Sazerac and Rittenhouse.

Also if you where wondering about the Whiskey / Whisky thing. The original spelling of the spirit was whisky. But when the Scots started to export their Whisky, Irish and American (except Canada) distillers began to call their drink Whiskey to differentiate it from the coarse inferior Scotch. Buy how times and perceptions change.

The first drink I'm going to teach you to make is a Washington Apple, this is a drink introduced to me by a co worker and it has gone over very well. I believe it is traditionally served in a glass on ice, but I like to make it up.

So you'll need

A Shaker.

A Mesure.

Ice.

The ingredients are.

Cranberry Juice 1.5 oz

Canadian Whisky 2 oz.

Apple pucker 1 oz.

Place all of the ingridients into the shaker filled with ice and shake until the shaker gets foggy. then strain into a Cocktail glass. Enjoy.

The second Drink I'd like to mention is the Rusty Nail. For this you'll need.

A Old Fashion Glass full of Ice.

A spoon.

The ingredients are.

Blended Scotch Whisky 2oz.

The Cordial of Drambue 1 oz.

Cocktail Cherry

Build the drink by pouring the Scotch into. Ice filled glass. Then float the Drambue, stir and add cherry. Taste the awesome.

Now I'll end this Article with one of my favourite drinks. The Manhattan. This drink is made Up and on the rocks, I'm telling you how to make it up. If you want it on the rocks, just build it in an old fashion glass. This Drink is traditionally made of Rye, but is commonly made today with Bourbon, or Crown Royal. All of these options are good.

You'll need.

A mixing glass.

A spoon.

Ice.

The ingredients.

Rye 2oz.

Sweet Vermouth 1oz.

bitters, Angostura, Peychards, or Orange. couple of dashes.

Make by dashing the bitters onto the Ice in the Mixing cup. Add whiskey and vermouth. Stir briskly, and strain into Cocktail Glass. Add Cherry and taste the awesome.

The stir vs. Shake debate. Despite what James Bond Movies may tell you the "proper" way of making cocktails is to stir drinks that are entirely liquor and Shake drinks that have a mix of ingredients. but If you like shaking them all who am I to say who's wrong!

Come back on New Years When I'll tell you how to make a few more Whiskey Drinks.

Into the Breach! David Reads Digital Comics

I recently got an iPhone. I resisted for quite a while but the time was right. And since I got an iPhone and with the whole comics community going on and on about digital distribution, I figured I'd down load the top two digital apps (I've no interest in single company apps) and give it a go. Both out of curiosity as well as a future avenue for the distribution of my own comics. But first a bit of a disclaimer, I am very fond of print, I like the act of holding a book in my hands, the size of it, the smell of it, and all of that. Also I've never had much love for reading comics on a screen, and despite being a web comic artist, I've never been able to really get into reading them, unless of course it is a trade of a web comic. So there you know my biases.

Comics X by Comixology.

The first comics reader app that got was Comics X. This if all the chatter is to be believed is the most popular comics reader. And it shows their library of comics is extensive and deep. And the shop is easy to navigate taking it's cues from the iTunes mold. And as easily as I could think it, I had found the free sample comics and had downloaded a couple. I downloaded the first Wonder Woman story as well as Chew and Supergirl Cosmic Adventures in the Seventh Grade. These where chosen for their variety as well as being comics I've been wanting to check out. And then came the first hurdle, Guided View. Comixology Has created an interactive feature that guides you through the page, zooming between panels. And I hated it, at first. At times it was so touch sensitive that I’d be going to the wrong panel and other times I wouldn't be able to get it to change, This would not be a problem at all if I was using a tablet, I'd just turn the damned thing off. But without a good magnification function, guided view was the only way to go, on a phone. After a while though I stopped being an old phogey and came to terms with Guided View and am now working it like a pro. As to the reading experience, as mentioned before I don't care for reading from a screen, but the line work was represented well and the magnification that Guided View provided was big enough for a good reading. And the colours where of a richness I am totally unused to in comics. I'd say it was quite good not for me but I can see the appeal, plus I have some cool comics with me all of the time. The only flaw with Guided View is you can't really take in the page as a whole while reading it, but this more of a iPhone screen size problem than a problem with the app. If I was using a tablet, there would be no issue at all I'd turn Guided View off. With the comics I chose, I found that the reader worked best with the old and children's comics, due to their use of a stricter grid. I found many of the nuances of the modern art of Chew to be lost in Guided View, again only a problem on the Phone.

Graphic.ly

I also tried the increasingly popular Graphic.ly. This reader was of interest to me as it is the big time reader for Indie comics (aka me). I'll admit that I haven't really tried out this one as much. Firstly it's a social network as well as a store and I didn't find the search functions quite as user friendly as I'm accustomed to, but after a while of trying to find something good that was free (didn't want to be bothered with signing up credit card info I have no issues paying for comics) and having a hard time finding anything, I remembered my table mate from last year at A.P.E. Tom Ramirez had his first issue on Graphic.ly for free, So I downloaded Fighting Yamako Chan. And well I didn't really like Graphic.ly very much, on an iPhone. To be perfectly honest I loved a lot of things about the app. It presents itself in landscape as two page spreads. But there is no magnification feature other than the iPhone two finger technique. And I just found it a cumbersome read. And since I found it unpleasant on the Phone I left it at that. That said if I was using a tablet I think Graphic.ly would be my preferred app. As it presents comics the way I like to experience them.

So that's my opinion of the top two comics apps (at least as far as I hear about them) I probably won't fully embrace them, but they are good products, if you are inclined to use them. And I probably would if I didn't have access to good comics shops. I also checked them out to see if they where good at representing the comics themselves, and both did that in spades and I would be more than willing to put any of my comics onto either of these apps. In fact after using them especially Comics X, I'm willing to believe the hyperbole that “digital is the new newsstand.

Remember These.

Hey remember these, it's a "DC Comics Blue Ribbon Digest" I used to love the crap outta these when I was a kid. I had a number of them, the infamous Superman Red and Blue, a Batman villain collection, and one where Batman supposedly killed some chick (edit note I have since found out it was Tahlia Al Ghul), They where awesome. You used to buy them from the grocery store, y'know by the weekly world news and Cosmo. I'm also pretty sure that people especially kids would love the crap outta them today. But only Archie still makes them. Why they're brilliant, relatively inexpensive to buy, and inexpensive to make. They where the best deal in comics, usually re print material, and priced and placed for the impulse buy, perfect for the mythical "new reader" hell it's where I started. So why on earth aren't DC and Marvel making these!

Just something to think about.


Edit: Changed picture from that old chewed up Warlord to the cool beans Supergirl Blue Ribbon Digest I scored at Wondercon.

How to Make Mainstream Comics Mainstream Again. Part 4. Continuity and Fans.

Another thing that excludes new readers is a slavish devotion to continuity. I've been over this in an earlier post so I won't harp on about it. But Mainstream comics today, spend a devastatingly inordinate amount of time on what has happened in the past. Often at the expense of the current story. And if mainstream comics wish to be relevant this needs to stop. Comics don't need to have re boots like The New 52 to “clean up” continuity. They just need to keep moving forward instead of back. Look at the other major form of serialized storytelling TV. You only ever see a TV show go on and on about what happened before when it's relevant. If even then. Comics should do the same. If you keep the story moving forward every book will be a “jumping on point” I'm not saying comics shouldn't be consistent, you should be able to keep consistency of character and plot without a million call backs to the past. Forget continuity aim for consistency.

The overuse of story continuity has led to an epidemic in the world of mainstream comics. Potential (usually adult) readers fearing that they will need to read a lot of comics before getting on board the current story. These fabled “jumping on points” have been a rallying cry of both large publishers. This used to never be a problem. Part of it I think is that new readers in the past where children, and children don't tend to need explanations of characters and motivations. If Batman punched the badguy it was good. Well as mentioned before new readers aren't kids these days. Another part of this is that back in the day both companies had editorial policies like Marvel's “Every comic is someone's first” policy. That is the reason for the famed expositional “comic book style dialogue” (I'll blast him with my optic blasts for example) but as comics grew more adult and sophisticated, the readers didn't want this “clunky” dialogue. The results are “mainstream” comics that are impenetrable to a reader with no familiarity with character or concept. To go back to my three tier publishing approach. Use expositional dialogue on kids and all ages books, and leave naturalistic dialogue for the sophisticated adult offerings. Believe me adults read comics when they where all written that way they probably will today. True some fans will complain which leads me to.

Comic publishers need to stop caring what fans think. It may be hard to believe, in this day of message boards and twitter feeds that there was once a time when the only thing the comic companies knew about what fans thought was how much a book was selling. They made their books sold them and the readers read them. And we call the comics from this time classics. Today, the creative teams, editors and publishers Are constantly hearing and thinking about what the fans want, and the comics from today are considered mediocre at best. You can see where I'm going with this. Today mainstream writing comes mostly into two camps, writers that pander to fans and writers that try to piss off fans. Neither one is good storytelling, because they are both made for a very specific demanding, to the point of impossible to please, audience. Mainstream comics should be made for a mainstream audience. Write good stories regardless of what the fans may think. Fans respond to pandering but they will always appreciate care, why do you think indie books sell so well to comic fans?

Pandering to fans also has a marked affect on new readers as it pushes away diversity. In both it's readership and it's creators. Fandom of mainstream comics is largely white and male. And it doesn’t take a genius to see that pandering to this base will largely exclude women and minorities. The depiction of women and minorities in comics has become a hot button issues that are to big for this post but I recommend the excellent DC Women Kicking Ass blog for much better coverage of women in comics than I can give. Now I'm not saying to make quotas and token characters. What I'm saying is when writing and drawing a comic just think. Would a woman find this depiction of Catwoman offensive and off putting. Would a person of color like to see a hero nobler that Luke Cage. And if a potentially racist or sexist depiction of a character where right for a story. Is it worth the backlash to proceed, I'm sure there are places were it would be. It won't fix all of the problems but it will be a better start than what we have now.

So here we have just a few ways to make mainstream comics strong again, There are other problems that are more far reaching. Lack of a variety of good female and minority characters. The lack of the same females and minorities in the creative teams. Creative teams that are consistent and on time, a broadening of Genre, the list goes on. But the thing is all of the ideas I put forth in this series are things that can be done today, with the system that exists now. None of these ideas are changes of the business, but changes of attitude. Mainstream comics are struggling today but the companies that make them have all the tools at their disposal to make them great. They just need to use them.

How to Make Mainstream Comics Mainstream Again. Part Three: Readership

But the business is just a part of the problem, mainstream comics are also suffering on the creative side.

People are still reading Comics in droves, and the super hero genre has held the movie box office as it's plaything for years now, but for some reason mainstream Comics have been on a decline. Both the medium and the genre are currently winners but the comics are floundering, partially this down to the economics mentioned above. But partially it comes down to content, mainstream comics are no longer made for a mainstream audience. And they totally ignore new, especially young readers.

I like most of my comic reading peers began reading comics when I was young. Super hero comics where for kids, though in the early eighties that was changing. As super hero comics move form the newsstand to the comic shop. More and more emphasis was place on making super hero comics more mature. This I believe was a misstep. Now I'm not saying that there should not be super comics for adults or that they should be made exclusively for children. But I have to note that Comic fans when I was growing up had no problem reading and enjoying kids books, in fact I believe that comics being kid's books was a great deal of their appeal. And times have not changed as far as adults enjoying good kid's books, look at the success of Harry Potter. But in the last decade, mainstream comics have gone from being Kids books that adults could enjoy, to books I have to think long and hard over whether I'd let a kid read. And this I think is bad for business. Engaging comic books for adults mainstream and independent, require a knowledge of a sophisticated visual language, a language that used to be learned at younger age by reading mainstream super hero comics. Sadly the primary titles in mainstream comics today all are engaging comic books for adults. With kids series' being the exception not the rule. It's too late to make comics for kids again. This would also be a stupid move as there are so many adult readers. But I think that the main titles of a line should be for as broad an audience as possible, Make the stories for that lost idea of a family audience. Think PG, super heroes have kid appeal, but they can work on an adult level, and best yet there are many adult elements that could be put into the books that would go completely over kids heads. And the thing is both parent companies of the big two already are doing this to great success, with the same characters, in the form of DC and Marvel animated shows, learn from your own people guys. DC is so good at it that the DC Animated Universe is the definitive version of these characters to many people. With this all ages line in place with full advertising force behind it. Adults only and kids only comics can fill in the gaps and every audience can be pleased, which isn't that what mainstream means?

Next week Continuity and fans

How to Make Mainstream Comics Mainstream Again. Part Two Distribution

A huge problem with mainstream comics is their current form of distribution and sale. Mainstream comics are sold virtually exclusively via an scheme called the direct market at comic specialty stores. Traditionally a publisher sells their books to book stores and newsstands, the books then stay the shelves of the store for a prescribed time after which the unsold books are sent back to the publisher for credit or replacement. If you've ever seen the folks at your local bookstore piling up books this is most likely what's happening. The direct market is a system that came about in the '70s. The comics publishers noticing that Comic specialty stores where popping up all over the place decided that they would strike a deal with these stores, they would buy the comics direct at a lower price, but the stores could not send unsold books back for credit, the books where theirs for good. Everyone came out a winner, the publishers got some guaranteed sales, and the comic shops got a better profit. But it didn't last. The direct market began to be handled by distributors and as comic shops became more prevalent. The comic companies began to focus solely on the comic shop and less on the newsstands or markets that where once it's bread and butter. Eventually the direct market distributors came and went leaving a single direct market distributor, Diamond, which rules the comic shops and publishers with it's strict ordering and selling rules. Even mainstream books stores use Diamond now to stock their comic books.

So by clinging to the direct market for their sales the major comics publishers are limiting themselves to selling primarily in comic specialty stores. Now the problem with this is twofold, one the modern comic book store is often a very uninviting place. Sure there are many good ones, don't get me wrong but the cliché of the “Simpsons” Comic Book Guy didn't spring from thin air. Comic stores are often smelly dark dens of geeks that actively exclude “outsiders” and can sometimes be quite rude to their customers. These shops tend to sell to collectors and not readers so having a flip through the comic that your interested in buying is vehemently frowned upon. Which leads to the secondary problem. Few people other than active comic book readers can impulsively buy a comic book. Periodicals sell primarily two ways impulse and subscription. Impulse being the primary, this is why markets and books stores place their magazines on the way out. Comics companies have done themselves the “service” of eliminating what should be their primary source of income.

So comics need to get out of the comic shops and back into regular stores. The direct market needs return to being an option of how to sell comic books not the option. True the mainstream publishers don't have a distribution apparatus, but the big two comics publishers are owned by two of the largest media corporations on earth (Marvel by the Walt Disney Company, and DC by Time Warner) they in fact already own traditional publishing arms (Hyperion and Time Life respectively) So this should be a no brainier.

Another option which we have seen take it's next major steps with DC's New 52, is digital distribution. The publishing world is changing and the change is occurring on hand-held devices such as Kindle's and Nooks, and that is the digital distribution of books. And this is a perfect way to make mainstream comics more mainstream. One it circumvents the direct market all together, and it also enables the reader many options of reading. Downloading a single chapter, subscribing, or buying the final collection. It has all of the benefits of direct market, you can by an old issue at any time, and a newsstand, you can check it out on a whim. The only problem right now is price point. Most same day digital releases are price the same as a print issue, and if a single issue is overpriced on paper it's criminally overpriced in pixels. Digital distribution is possibly the answer to comics returning as a great option for cheap entertainment. The comics companies should price them lower, and take in the close to pure profit possible with digital. Apple made millions if not billions by selling songs at 99 cents, Marvel and DC could easily make that much by doing the same.

Next Friday: Readership

How to Make Mainstream Comics Mainstream Again. Part One: The Comic Book Business

Recently DC comics has had a company wide reboot re numbering scheme, the so called “New 52”. Although it has in the short term raised the profile of so called mainstream comics in the short term. I believe that it has brought to people's attention many of the problems of the current comic book industry. The major problem is that “mainstream” comics aren't mainstream anymore. They are a niche hobby enjoyed by a small elite that tends to keep any but those fans out by catering to them and them alone and to top it all off, you can really only get them in specialty stores for the most part. So here my idea's as to how “mainstream” comics can be brought back to mainstream entertainment.

Note I have never worked a day in my life for a mainstream comic publisher or for a comic store or a distributor. All of my knowledge on how these things are run is from other peoples experiences, and all of my ideas come only from common sense thinking, and my experiences as a comic fan.

The first aspect to look at is the business side of things. Mainstream comics has to have one of the worst business plans that anyone who has taken 12^th grade economics has ever seen. The most visible problem is the comic book itself. A modern “mainstream” comic book is a 20-35 page color pamphlet that sells for between $3 and $4. And a comic book with a modern sensibility takes about 20 minutes to read. Now I'm no math whiz but that does not exactly scream bang for buck. The mainstream publishing houses really need to address this disparity. They need to make the books longer or make them less expensive. And I believe the second route is the way to go, because, most mainstream comic companies do not have the periodical comic as their ultimate goal. The ultimate goal now a days is the trade paperback, a collected edition of an entire “story arc”. Trade paperbacks have been selling well, so the companies have been emphasizing them. And who can blame them, the value to entertainment ratio is great, you have the whole story, and it allows the writers to really stretch out. Since the end goal is a slick high quality book, then why does the periodical serializing the book need to be? Comics weren’t printed on good paper or with fine printing until the late nineties and no one seemed to care then, why is it so different now? My suggestion is to print comic books on a lower stock of paper, and get that per unit price down. With this idea, simple economics tells us, that more people would be willing to check out a comic book on impulse. That is if they could.

Next post Distribution.

The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony.

Last night I attended The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony at the Pantages Theater, and it was spectacular. It was a concert that will be put on in three cities, Tokyo, Los Angeles, and London. It featured the Orchestra Nova from San Diego, under the baton of Eimear Noone.

My brother had found out about this concert in passing one day while perusing the internet on his iPhone. And we knew we had to go. "The Legend of Zelda" has been a very important part of my life, and one of the few video games I truly and thoroughly love. It was also the first game I ever owned for the NES. Being the only concert of the symphony in the US it was a bit tough to get tickets and we did end up paying a lot to go. But it was worth it.

We took the LA Metro to the theater and on board we saw a met a number of people who where going to the concert. It was easy to tell us gamers dress up in unique ways. We met people who came from as far as Pennsylvania and Seattle to attend. Upon leaving the Station we got our first view of the theater decked out in banners showing Link's history over the 25 years. Inside the lobby of the theater was the biggest crowd of people I have ever seen at the Pantages, it was like a Convention, there where Cosplayers and lines for the swag. As well as a number of Wii Systems where people where playing a preview of Skyward Sword. I didn't play the preview but I thought it was neat that Nintendo gave Zelda's biggest fans the opportunity to try out the game.

The Theater was packed and the stage was flanked by Hylian standards. And there was a screen where clips from the games and I-mag of the Orchestra was shown. There was a brief introduction by Eiji Aonuma (producer of the Zelda series for 13 years), He joked that it should have been Shigeru Miyamoto (creator of Zelda and Mario), but "he's gotten old now and can't come to America any more" in fact there was an imortant project he couldn't leave. Then Ms. Doone was introduced and the concert began with the majestic "Hyrule Castle Theme".

Eimear Doone acted as our MC for the evening and seemed to enjoy and relish it the whole time. introducing each piece of music. Highlights for me where the "Ocarina Melody suite" which served as introduction to all of the sections of the Orchestra, with each taking a melody. The "Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Medley" which comprised of action themes, a great cheer was had at the beginning of the theme of the dark world from a Link to the past. Another highlight was the "Shorts Suite" a collection of pieces from the early games that where not quite long enough to make into movements of their own, and where presented as a geography of Hyrule. It included many of my favourite bits from the Original and SNES Zelda games including the dungeon themes. It was probably my favourite bit of the night. The two harpists got the spotlight in the "Great Fairy Fountain's Theme", and the evening's main program concluded with an epic "Main Theme Medly".

For the encore we where given the treat of composer Koji Kondo's piano performance, of the grandmother's theme from "Windwaker". Mr Kondo then gave us his heartfelt thanks for the love we have given his work I bet that he never thought he'd be doing something like this 25 years ago as he worked on the synthesizers in his studio. Then finally Mr. Aonuma returned to plug skyward sword and as and introduced the final piece, the "Main Theme From Skyward Sword". Then the evening was done.

The Concert was a great night and the music of the series sounded amazing as interpreted by the orchestra. It was grand, grander than I ever would have thought video games would ever be treated all those years ago when eight year old me had his first adventures with Link. But it is interesting that the memories that stirred in this grand performance where all intimate. The first time I ever put in that gold cartridge and saw the waterfall, playing the game with my brother and grade school freinds, those afternoons at my grandmother's including that day where I defeated Gannon for the first and only time, "Link to the Past" with my friends in Boy Scouts, and most recently my chosen in flight entertainment on the DS. I was amazed at how many points in my life where touched by these silly games. And how all of this flooded back during the performance. Which I guess makes the games not so silly after all.

A.P.E.

Well I just got back from the Alternative Press Expo (A.P.E.) it was a fun time, I released my first CD rom collection "Neuropsychosis: Killer Cheeps and Neurotic Weeks" as well as promoting my comic Neuropsychosis. I shared a booth with my friend Jason who was promoting his photography and his lovely wife Dior, who was selling her knit goods. The con was slow but we met a lot of people and promoted well.

A fun part for me was the party held by the comic distributor Last Gasp. I mean free booze and food how can an artist refuse. But seriously it was real cool, Last Gasp opened up their warehouse and we all got to look at the cool stuff that they had and get to know our fellow artists. Neato burrito fails to capture the ultimate coolness of it. Also all the books where for sale (I see the logic of the party now) I am enjoying the great book about Jaime Hernadez now.

So all in all it was a cool trip, not successful financially speaking, but it was a good experience. I would also like to thank my friend Ross for coming out on Sunday, when your far away the more friendly faces the better.

Cool Picture.

This is a picture of the landing site of Apollo 17 taken recently by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). Pictures of the Apollo landing sites have been taken since the probe entered orbit, but these are the clearest yet. I just think pictures of human presence on another planet are neat.

The other pictures from the LRO can be found at nasa.gov

The New 52.

In just a few hours, the world ends. Well not really, but the DC universe, which has stood as "cannon" (I hate that term) since 1986 is coming to an end and in it's place shall rise the so called new 52. And I have to say I have not been more excited about DC comics in a long time. It is a great opportunity to throw off the shackles of extremely convoluted continuity, and start new and fresh and allow new ideas of these Iconic characters flow. That said I also have misgivings. I as a reader don't give two shits about continuity, true I know a lot of it as a comic reader for at least 26 years, but I really don't care if my continuity is gone, or as some fans (melodramatically) put it none of it counts. I am a little miffed that my beloved Supergirl has ended just as I believed it was getting good. My worries are one, they won't go far enough and two they'll get just as convoluted just as fast. As for one, they only seem to be going bold with Superman and by extension Supergirl and boy. And a lot of he differences seem to be in the "darker and grittier realm" which I don't go for in super hero books. But I promised myself I won't prejudge any more than I would with any new comic. As for two, it seems that they are picking and choosing which character's are getting new origins, for instance Superman is all new, Wonder Woman seems to have newish bits, but Batman isn't changing at all except a condensed timeline, oh and Barbra Gordon can walk again and is going to be bat girl pissing off handicapped people the world over. This bothers me because I've seen it all before.

Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time there was this comic company that told stories about guys and girls in tights that saved the world. this company was of course DC and they didn't really care about. how these stories fit together. Then one day they found out their readers did. And to preserve the old stories people liked without getting in the way of the new stories they wanted to tell, they had an easy answer. "it happened one Earth 2" for years after DC had what came to be known as the Multiverse. And in retrospect I thought it was a good way of handling continuity the writers got to tell cool engaging tales and the continuity nerds got to keep track of their well ordered "Cannons". But later, I don't know DC history well enough to know if it was editors or Fans, but the Multiverse was deemed too complicated. I don't get why people are so scared of continuity a comic is just like any other book you read it if you like it keep reading it if you don't try something different, but I digress. It was determined that something had to be done to simplify it. So they destroyed the Multiverse in the epic "Crisis on Infinite Earths". leaving only one continuity, made of elements of all of the "earths" tailored to fit together. Sound familiar? Well it worked quite well at first, Most notably in the updating of the characters it's never a bad idea to do that in fact I believe that the big characters need a shake up every ten years. But after a while the continuity got just as convoluted if not more than it was before "Crisis" leading to a number of events in the last decade that where completely about continuity. It was a mess, and it didn't even last half as long as the Multiverse. So here DC is again re starting their line and streamlining the continuity.

Like I said I think this is a good idea, but I'm hoping this new continuity stays cleaner and easier for the easily daunted new reader than the "Post Crisis" era was. Look at Ultimate Marvel that's what this could easily become. I have high hopes and a lot of excitement.

So here's the books I'm looking forward to.

Batgirl: Even though I'm not fond of oracle not being around anymore, Gail Simone was the best writer ever on Birds of Prey and it's worth the $2.99 just for her writing Barbara Gordon again. Plus it looks like it's gonna be a lot of fun.

Action Comics: It's always neat to see new takes on Superman, and Grant Morrison is just batshite crazy enough that even if it sucks it'll be worth the look.

Supergirl: though I hate her new costume and the aggro "all his powers and none of his compassion" stuff in the press releases. Supergirl is my favourite DC superhero if not favourite superhero so y'know hopeless fanboy.

All Star Western: I'm interested in what a 21st century western comic will be like.

Swamp Thing: He's been gone for a while it's time.

Wonder Woman: though it still seems that the people at DC still don't have a handle on what Wonder Woman is, they are at least giving her a niche having her fight the paranormal/ macabre. It looks like it'll be fun. As long as they don't portray her as a "man hatin' bitch"

Though not interested in "Grifter" "Stormwatch" or "Voodoo" I am really stoked that the Wildstorm stuff is being brought into the DCnU.

well happy Wednesday and welcome to the new world.

Boobs.

Probably the most talked about attribute of comic art is the "most common super power", I'm of course talking about boobs and how they are drawn. Of course unless you live under a rock you know how they are drawn. Big or Huge.

There is a lot of talk as to why the most common answer is most comics are drawn by men and men are pigs. While true, I don't like generalizations, even if they hit the mark pretty well. I'll give in to the fact that some artists, Frank Cho and Jim Balent come to mind, just love drawing girls with big boobies. But I think it's deeper. In our culture, I won't bore people with sexual anthropology, big breasts equal beautiful. they are after all one of the most visible secondary sexual characteristics and one of the only ones that a person can't hide. I'm not saying this view is right or wrong it's just a fact. But as an artist myself, I know a third reason, one that I've worked against for most of my career. Big boobs are easier to draw. Large breasts mean that the artist doesn't have to get the upper torso, shoulders, or underarms right in many views... the boobs cover it up (the same goes for long hair). Also the artist doesn't have to worry as much about placement on the chest when the breasts are big they fit where they have to. I discovered this when I was designing Darcy Anderson in "Neuropsychosis" for those of you who don't know my comic (shame on you) Darcy is a small flat chested character. I had to really work much harder on my upper torso and Shoulder joints so she didn't look like a man. You are probably thinking geez how lazy. But bear in mind a typical cartoonist draws their character's many many times, quickness is of the essence.

Now large breasts in comics are not a problem in and of themselves, and if you look into it you will seldom see a feminist writing about comics that complains of large boobs. The application of the boobs is the problem. It's a matter of the "girl with the boobs" and "the boobs on that girl" dichotomy. On the surface both sound like a less than polite observation about a girls looks, but the difference is in the subtleties. The former sees the girl, the latter only sees the breasts. The goal of the artist that cares about their work should be the "girl with the boobs" because that is the one that actually is a character. If you make a good rounded defined character it shouldn't matter how they look, like a real person they will be more than their appearance.

That said there is a boob problem in comics. It's not that they are big. It's that they all are big! A great part of beauty in the real world is the variety of looks that men and women have. Artists should be mixing it up! make large breasted women sure, but fill the cast out with small and mid sized women, or women whose appearance defining features are hips or legs, or even that seemingly out of fashion concept of the face. How I "behave myself" when it comes to this is I allow myself one really large breasted character. And then everyone else has to have more humble bosoms. I also like to think about how the character's lifestyle affects their breasts. To bring up Darcy again, she is a gymnast (in earlier drafts a dancer) so large breasts where not appropriate to her. Jessy from the same comic is tall and thin so again large was not right. If you decide on a design before a character is finished think about how boobs will affect their life. If you have a character with a DD bra she has no business being an acrobat (I'm looking at you Jim Balent). That is why my large breasted character Stef leads a more sedentary life.

Another thing, as an artist, use the power of boobs. Breasts tend to be "read" with two meanings. "sexy'" and "Maternal" and you can use this, the sexy is obvious that's how breasts are used 90% of the time. But if you really wanted to do something fun you can subvert it. Make an attractive character with large breasts who isn't a sexual character. Make a character whose breasts actually make them unattractive Beto Hernandez is a master at this. Then there's Large breast angst. You can also use large breasts to give a character a more maternal feel. For instance with my character Stef, I decided to use her breasts (and the figure that goes with them) as well as her long hair and homespun like clothing to make her a visually comforting figure. As her place in the story is a sort of big sister to the cast. Likewise don't be afraid of the power of smaller breasts. If you want an energetic character you cannot go wrong with a small to flat chest. Not only will i make your drawing of the character more believable a small chest also reads in our culture as "youthful" (again not saying it's right or wrong it's just the way it is).

Of course the bottom line is that bra size like all other aspects of the comic needs to be done for a reason, other than titillation, and it all comes back to character, and story. There needs to be a reason or a result for a character's boobs, or for that matter any aspect of her appearance. The real world may be random but fiction is not, every little detail is done for a reason and as long as the who and why of the comic read true. The how and what will follow.

Art by Adam Hughes Power Girl (C) & TM DC Comics

The Hard Work of Having Fun. Episode Six

This is the sixth episode of a series of interviews that my cousin Ruben and I did at Comic-Con 2011 a couple of weeks ago. In this clip we interview the lovely Tayla from comicongirl.com

You can read my cousin's blog at http://doctorjiggawho.tumblr.com

Of course Tayla's site is http://comiccongirl.com/

And they where helping promote Jay Company Comics http://www.jaycompanycomics.com/

The Hard Work of Having Fun. Episode five

This is the fifth episode of a series of interviews that my cousin Ruben and I did at Comic-Con 2011 a couple of weeks ago. In this clip we interview the lovely Haley from comicongirl.com

You can read my cousin's blog at http://doctorjiggawho.tumblr.com

Of course Hayley's site is http://comiccongirl.com/

And they where helping promote Jay Company Comics http://www.jaycompanycomics.com/

The Hard Work of Having Fun. Episode four

This is the fourth episode of a series of interviews that my cousin Ruben and I did at Comic-Con 2011 a couple of weeks ago. In this clip we interview the lovely Shannon and the industrious Morgan from Minimates.

You can read my cousin's blog at http://doctorjiggawho.tumblr.com

you can find out about Minimates: at http://www.artasylum.com/

The Hard Work of Having Fun. Episode three

This is the third episode of a series of interviews that my cousin Ruben and I did at Comic-Con 2011 a couple of weeks ago. In this clip we interview four cosplayers, These folks are so serious about their craft that they only ever told us their character names.



You can read my cousin's blog at http://doctorjiggawho.tumblr.com

The Hard Work of Having Fun. Episode two.

This is the second episode of a series of interviews that my cousin Ruben and I did at Comic-Con 2011 a couple of weeks ago. In this clip Roger from Comic Outpost talks to us about their life sized super hero Statues. And what goes into their upkeep.

You can read my cousin's blog at http://doctorjiggawho.tumblr.com

Comic outpost can be found on the web at: http://www.comicoutpost.net/

The Hard Work of Having Fun. Episode one.

This is the first episode of a series of interviews that my cousin Ruben and I did at Comic-Con 2011 a couple of weeks ago. In this Episode we interview the lovely Paige, who was portraying master cartoonist Dean Yeagle's character Mandy, to promote his booth. Ruben and I where amazed by how much she resembled the character.

You can read my cousin's blog at http://doctorjiggawho.tumblr.com

Dean Yeagle's site is http://www.cagedbeagle.com/

Happy Birthday Fantastic Four.

Fifty years ago today the Marvel Universe was born. On August 8 1961, Fantastic Four number one, Marvel's first superhero title of the silver age, hit the newsstands. At the time the company that would become marvel comics was foundering a bit, making excellent if not overly impressive "monster books" and editor Stan Lee was (as the legend goes this is Stan so g.o.s.) was getting fed up with being a comic writer. He and artist extraordinaire Jack Kirby had been wanting to get superheroes going again. Since Stan was going to leave, he decided to go for it. Fantastic Four was a big hit pretty early on and led to the creation of many more comics by "Stan and Jack". And these comics later would come to comprise the Marvel Universe, arguably the most famous lineup of superhero characters ever created.
If you have never read Fantastic Four number one, the most shocking thing about it is how unlike a superhero comic it is. The story goes that the publisher didn't want any costumes and there had to be a monster on the cover. And the story with the exception of Superpowers has more in common with the Sci-fi and monster books. With renegade, astronauts getting powers, and a Mole Man and his subterranean creatures. With a hit on their hands Fantastic Four would continue and gain more of the characteristics of a Superhero book. But the Sci-fi Angle would remain to this day.
The Fantastic Four is also attributed as the forerunner of the "Marvel Method". Since Marvel had such talented artists. It was decided to merely give them an outline of the story and let (usually) Jack Kirby get on with drawing it. After the art was done Stan Lee (or a staff writer) would put in the dialogue. This arrangement gave marvel it's distinct edge, for the first time the art was allowed to be the star as much as the writing. This arrangement would last for the rest of the decade for 102 plus one unfinished issues, one of the longest runs for one creative team in mainstream comics.
So if your a fan of Marvel comics know that this is the 50th birthday of your beloved universe and that it all started with "The worlds Greatest Comics Magazine"

Art by Jack Kirby Fantastic Four (c) & TM Marvel Comics

Discovery's Flight Deck in 360 Degrees.

This is a link to a 360 degree view of the space shuttle Discovery's flight deck. I thought it was pretty cool. Thanks for user name Eric Morin at the John Byrne Forums for the tip.

http://360vr.com/2011/06/22-discovery-flight-deck-opf_6236/i ndex.html

Comic-Con 2011

Well another Comic-Con has passed. And I had a great time. There's really nothing this year that I have to complain about that wasn't true last year. But I had a good time saw a few Comic related panels including Jeff Smith's Bone Retrospective, the Fantagraphics 30th anniversary, and a debate on the future of "floppy" comic books. So I'll have a lot to talk about on the ole wonder blog. Starting tomorrow I will be posting David's Wonder Blog's first V Logs that I filmed with my cousin Ruben. They are a group of interviews that we call "The Hard Work of Having Fun" in the six episodes we speak with Booth Babes, Cosplayers and Exhibitors. We're just starting out but they came out well.

But that said there is one aspect of Comic-Con I have to rant about. Pre Reg for 2012. For years Comi-Con has had pre reg available on site. I always operated smoothly. But this year someone decided "there's a problem here this pre reg thing works let's change it" So instead of pre reg being available in he sails pavilion on Saturday and Sunday. They had 2300 badges for sale from 9:00 to 11:00 at a neighbouring hotel. And it was a clusterfuck. The lines where closed at 5:00 am most days. Now my problem isn't that I couldn't pre reg, that sucks, but I'll live if I can't go to Comic-Con. My problem is that they took a system that worked and worked very well, and replaced it with one that didn't. In the old system I never waited in a line longer than 15 minutes, they scanned my badge, picked my reg option and paid. This year the ballroom where they where selling looked like a nightmare day at Disneyland and the only way you can get in this line, would be to be staying near by or spending the night waiting to cue up. It is bull.

But other than that great time.

The End of an Era.

Hello this post should have been earlier, but I was at Comic-Con (more on that later) when Atlantis Landed and I didn't have a computer with me.

Last Thursday the space shuttle Atlantis landed at Kennedy Space Center. It was the 33rd flight of Atlantis, and the 135th flight of the Space Shuttle program, it was also the programs last. At 30 years the Space Shuttle program is by far the longest space exploration program undertaken by NASA.

It's too soon to really know the legacy of the Space Shuttle, but as of now there are a few things that are clear. On the positive it filled the dreams of an entire generation, myself included, who have never known a world where people weren't going to space in a gleaming white bird. More people of different walks of life have gone to space than would have been possible without the relative ease of use and safety of the shuttle. And lastly it kept America in space, believe me despite all it's problems, we would have abandoned space long ago if we had stayed with disposable spacecraft.

Of course there always is a but. And the big but is that the Space Shuttle never completely delivered. First it took nearly ten years from, the issuing of the first contracts and the first flight of Columbia. The craft was also oversold, with claims of one week turnarounds, between flights. There was probably no way that the shuttle could have ever made this, but it captured the public imagination and gave it's detractors instant ammunition. It cost more than anticipated. And while it still had a better failure rate than most jetliners, When it failed it did so spectacularly in the loss of Challenger, Columbia and their crews.

But it was not the death of the crews, the overruns, and the failure to meet oversold expectations that killed the Space Shuttle. It was us. The danger of space travel is so great that it's almost a miracle that NASA only lost two of the Space Shuttles, no disrespect to the crews. And the cost of the entire program is a fraction of the cost of our millitary action in Iraq, and i'd be willing to say we've gotten more value for our money with the Shuttle. No we doomed the shuttle with our apathy. Space travel became ordinary, more so than ever because of the Shuttle's dependability and reusability. With minor exceptions we don't know the names of any astronauts any more and until the last few what the shuttle crews where doing in Space didn't even warrant a second on the news. Even as an advocate of space travel, I found myself not caring anymore. Was it because it wasn't as exciting as the day's of the moon? Maybe. But I hate to think that we're that cynical that Human's in space are boring.

The official reasons for the end of the Shuttle are going to forever be listed as cost and safety. But it's us and our lack of interest. I know this because in 1986 when we lost Challenger, the same issues where brought to the forefront, but back then we believed in space travel and the program returned. Too bad that spirit was gone when the next dark day came.

The Antelope Valley of Neuropsychosis

Neuropsychosis takes place in my home town of Lancaster California, and the adjoining town of Palmdale and the non incorporated community of Quartz Hill, an area known as the Antelope Valley (A.V.). It's a group of aerospace towns about 60 miles north of Los Angeles to which it also serves as a bedroom community. Many of the places in my comic actually exist or have existed in the past, some have pseudonyms others are portrayed in their accurate glory. But to keep things interesting, I've made the A.V. of Neuropsychosis a hybrid of the A.V. Now and of the past. Kind of a greatest hits version in order to make a more interesting town for the setting of my comic.

Today I talk about the primary setting of the now legendary "Attack of the Killer Cheeps" the Antelope Valley Mall. The AV mall opened in September of 1990, to much fanfare, and after it's first decade kind of started to go into a decline (loss of diversity of shops etc). By the mid Naughties it was Back on an upswing.

I did my Photo Safari of the mall in late 2001 which you probably guessed was not the best choice in times to be going around taking pictures of public buildings, And I used the Photos as reference a year later in "Killer Cheeps" As far as accuracy goes, I got the mall pretty much right, though I did use a fictitious Business Cutie Pie, as the teen store Aphy was tormenting Melissa with. As well fictitious fronts for the food court (which to me is ironic since I had them name drop Subway in the book). I got most of the geography right, the two Jewelry Stores, the (then) software etc. and the tobacconist. the food court and mall have proper proximity as well. But I messed up with Cutie Pie, it was supposed to be in the place that Wet Seal takes in real life By drawing one of the Jewelers in the background of the scene, I accidentally placed it where See's Candy is. Oh well, it was a fictitious business anyway.

Soon after I finished "Killer Cheeps" in 2003 the mall underwent a major refurbishment and many of the locations have changed. The theater which was the story reason why the gals went to the mall moved out about two years later, to be replaced by a Claim Jumpers and the soon to open Yard house restaurants. The food court is no longer the back wall of the concourse as it was extended to more shops, and a Dillard's department store. The food Court also lost it's topiary (which I'm sure your all "topiary... oh that's what those crosshatched blobs where supposed to be") and now has a playground in the center of the seating. And the fountains have all been taken out, except one that is in an area not featured in the comic. The changes, will be reflected in future comics that use the mall as a setting.

Of course I've always been wary of having "Teen Girls at the mall stories" but while writing "Killer Cheeps" I couldn't figure out a better place that would serve as a good stage for it. And while I'm still trying to not write "teen girls at the mall stories" There will come a time again I'm sure that the Mall will be a convenient location. Also the AV mall was the first full on environments I ever drew for Neuropsychosis and that was almost ten years ago, so I'm really eager to see what I can do with it now.

*photos will be added later please bear with me*

Atlantis Sets Off on it's Final Mission.

The space shuttle Atlantis set off this morning at just after 11 am est. on the final mission of the Space Shuttle program. The mission led by the first four person crew since the early eighties is to bring final supplies to the ISS. For thirty years this vehicle has been the way an entire generation of Astronauts has gone space and soon it will be all over. The time for reflection will come but the final mission has just begun so as always I wish the crew of the Shuttle Atlantis well and that their mission be a success.

Critiquing the Critics: Green Lantern.

Hidy Ho neighbour.
Every so often there is a movie that just pisses off film critics, for whatever reason. And it never seems to make much sense me the slightly more than average filmgoer.* When this happens it seems almost as if the critics are colluding to destroy said movie. And despite what everyone says about how much they trust critics, it works. I don't think there is a great conspiracy or anything but when critics are unanimous it creates buzz. That is how a godawful peice of bovine droppings, like "Dances with Wolves" is considered a classic, and a movie that did the crime of being just okay, Like "Revenge of the Sith" is considered irrevocably awful. This is currently happening to the, until last weekend, biggest movie of the summer "Green Lantern"

Well your humble narrator, has just seen, this supposedly awful movie and you know what? It was pretty good, I would also say I liked it. I wouldn't say it was Damn good like earlier in the month's "X-men First class" but I thought it was at least "Thor" good (though it didn't have the Foo Fighters but I digress). Sure it had plot holes, but unlike some action movies, they never took away from my enjoyment of the movie. As I said above this movies only crime it that it was just okay, and I think it's pretty good which last I checked was a step above okay. It was a good entertaining superhero movie, that my brother whom is a bigger Green Lantern fan than me thought was true enough to the book, in fact he also likes the movie more than me.

I think the thing with the critics is two fold. Chritics Hate computer animation in live action movies, it's a fact just live with it. And this movie had a lot of computer animation. And second, I think critics are tired of superhero movies. Many have felt that superheroes where gaining critical mass this year with so many superhero and movies based on comics coming out the bottom had to give at some point and I think "Green Lantern" with it's more outlandish premise gave the critics their opening to express this subject fatigue.

So here's what I thought worked about it minor spoiler warning though I'll try not too. Ryan Reynolds was good, and he made this lighter Hal Jordon a joy to watch, in fact I kinda wish he was lighter like this in the comic as well. I in fact liked all of the casting especially Hector Hammond. I liked that they kept Sinestro as a good guy for the entire film, something that is very hard for super hero movies to do. I wish "X Men first class (the movie that will definatley have a sequel) did the same. The Action was good the constructs imaginative and fun, and yes the famous fist does make an appearance. I thought OA was cool looking as where the Gaurdians.

Now what I didn't feel worked. The computer animated costumes. As well designed and executed as they where, they never quite got to the point where you believed them, especially the mask. I also thought (and this is true of many summer movies) that the sub plots about the corps. would have made a better movie. Like many first superhero movies, it took a bit to get started, and wasn't particularly interesting until he met Abun Sur, (who was played by Jango frikkn Fett BTW).

Above all I think it's a good start up film that would probably have a bitchin' sequel. Kinda like how the abysmal "Batman Begins" led o the "Dark Knight". But will it get one? the actors are attached, but if the box office keeps going the way I hear it is (I don't watch figures I just hear about them in the abstract) it's unlikely and that makes me sad. But back to the present, if you wanted to see this movie don't let a bunch of pissed off critics, deter you from seeing it. If you want to see it, go see it! and make your own decision if it is good or bovine excretions.

That is all.

* Before you brand me an egotist for my slightly more than average filmgoer line, I call myself this because, I have written for comics and screen (student work when it comes to screen), and have been a storyboard artist. So I know a bit of what it takes to craft a film. I was not saying I was some sort of superior film viewing being.

image of course (c) 2011 Time Warner and DC Comics.

Star Tours 2.0

In 1987 a great theme park attraction opened. It was the first of it's kind a motion simulator, themed to the most popular movie series of the day, it became a classic. I'm of course talking about Star Tours at Disneyland. Words cannot express how awesome it was to ride that attraction as an eight year old boy in the summer of '87 even after an hour long line that went all the way to Main Street. But as time went on the attraction lost a bit of it's luster, like a movie you'd seen many times you knew all the jokes every bit of the adventure and even the bumps. It was still great but it was old. Then after many years Lucasfilm and Disney got back together to re make the attraction. It closed down last year, and we all rode one last trip to Endor, and hoped for the best. And on June third the best was delivered, Star Tours the Adventure Continues.
I actually didn't go on the attraction on opening day, I actually went to an annual passholder preview, held on the first of June. Myself and my family got to ride it four times and it was a rare case of catching lighting in a bottle twice, it was just as awesome as that day in 1987 except the line was no where near as long. The ride is so much the same yet completely new. For the Star Wars geeks the ride takes place between Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars, which is great since it can now use the whole breadth of the Star Wars Saga and it does. The Attraction is sort of a prequel to the original Star Tours ride. Star Tours is a brand new service that has been started, and the destination board now shows all of the wonderful places Star Tours can and will take you. The queue that used to take you through the garage now takes you through security, where there are many in jokes, as well as some good airport security humor. my favourite bit is our old pilot Rex being unpacked. Then your on to the ride, and here is where the promise of Star Tours comes to. There are 54 possible "trips" that can happen with a random selection at three (I think) points of deviation, and on my rides we went to Kasshykk, Tatooine, Geonosis, and Coruscant. As well as having run ins with a few favourite characters. The story which I will not spoil basically involves an unexpected pilot, an unwanted passenger and the adventure that follows. The films are great, much like the effects work in the prequel trilogy a mix of computer and miniatures and the look splendid. And did I mention it's in 3D, the 3D is great and does not "fall apart" when you tilt your head like on those 3D simulator rides that littered Vegas in the '90s the 3D is of the Avatar "looking out a window" variety and really helps to sell the immersiveness of the ride. I really think Walt Disney Imagineering and Industrial Light and Magic did a great job, and it's definitely worth going to Disneyland for. Now if the can just get the PeopleMover working again Tomorrowland will be great again.

Photo of course (c) Walt Disney Company and Lucasfilm ltd.

Continuity Strikes Again.

DC comics has recently announced their plans in August to reboot 52 of their titles. Doing this, they are re-numbering them all to 1, and re starting the continuities of the books even giving some characters (unannounced yet who) revised origins. The reason the continuity is out of hand, and new readers need a jumping on point.

And the fanboys are freaking out.

"What where all of the crises, countdowns, 42s, 52s, and zero hours for then!" they say.

Well, the comic companies have gotten rather touchy about continuity lately. And have been trying to find new and interesting ways to give the legendary "new reader" a place to jump on. And this is just DC's new way of doing it.

What Do I think? well it pretty much is a "meh", I am pissed that it looks like Supergirl, my favorite DC comic is being canned, but really with DC it doesn't matter. Because this has all happened before. DC comics has been into re setting their continuities for years, hell they used to have a whole bunch of continuities going on at once, and if anything, the persistence of this is making continuity less and less important to the casual reader. It's already started if fact, if I where to ask you what are some of the greatest books by DC? you'd probably list... Dark Knight Returns, and All Star Superman in your top ten. And y'know what these are out of continuity books, in fact their better because of this. We won't even mention the countless film, radio, and television versions of the same characters. As I mentioned in an earlier post mainstream comics needs to get away from this enslavement by continuity, so this can be a good thing. Because all that should matter is that the stories are good.

Of course what of the fan boys? Fanboys like continuity because as well as the fiction itself we err they like to make lists of things, and when the books get rebooted all the work was for naught, for naught!!! err sorry. The same goes for re numbering. But really these things don't matter, because above all else it's the stories and characters that lure all of us, casual reader and fanboy alike. And the fact that DC has a chance of putting story first again is also good, and I won't worry about those fanboys as soon as they realize they can start another list and compare it to the old list they'll be pleased as punch.

And what of the ever elusive "new reader", I think that all comic companies are fretting way to much over this creature. We all where new readers at one point of time and if your under 50 years old you started with a book with a rich continuity already but because we liked something in the book we kept reading even though we didn't know everything that was going on. And not to get to deep into a "when I was your age" rant it was a lot harder then, or more fairly it's easier now, the new comic reader has two great tools, the trade paperback and wikipedia. The new reader can now pick up virtually any recent relatively self contained storyline, and many classic ones at their local bookshop and if they need to fill in any blanks look up the stuff on Wikipedia, and trust me as a recovering fanboy I can tell you their mostly correct. It's been said in many places around the blogosphere, if you want to find a good starting point on a comic go to a shop, Comic or otherwise, find a book that appeals to you read it, if you need to find out more fire up the wiki, if not just enjoy it. You are now a comic reader.

It'll be interesting to see what becomes of this experiment that DC is doing. It can be great, they can back pedal in six months, or it can be the beginning of a brand new era. As long as the stories good nothing else should matter.

So Long Tokyo Pop

It's actually a bit old news but, as of May 31 Tokyo Pop manga is no more. They've closed shop after 14 years, in which they nearly defined the market for manga in the United States. Tokyo Pop began in 1997 as Mixx Publication, they launched in a bold fashion with Mixx Zine an attempt to make an Japanese style manga anthology for america, down to the paper stock (they upgraded to glossy on issue 2) and colored pages. The big coup was that Mixx had procured the rights to Sailor Moon, then the biggest thing in Anime and Manga. Though manga had been published in the America since at least the 1980's Tokyo Pop changed the model of sale from the standard monthly comic book, to the now standard first run trade paperback model. This is the model of comic sales that it still changing the face of comics to this day.

The official line, is that Tokyo Pop suffered from two major things. One was the bankruptcy of Borders, the other was the loss of their licenses with the publisher Kodansha the owner of many of their titles. Borders bookstore has been in a lot of trouble for years, and apparently they where Tokyo Pop's biggest merchant. The falling of Borders led to mass layoffs including many key people. Last year I had heard that Tokyo Pop had lost all of it's Kodansha titles. I thought then "whoa that sucks we'll never see the end of (X) series" but little did I know of Kodansha's motives. You see Tokyo Pop made manga Mainstream. In fact they did so well at this that Kodansha the largest publisher in Japan decided, "if manga is mainstream in america, why do we need a middle man". Thus Kodansha is launching it's own line of manga in the States later this year. Starting with ironically enough, Sailor Moon.

But I have a few reasons that I think came to play in Tokyo pop being the first to fall from the first manga boom. First as mentioned above they are a victim of their success. When Mixx became Tokyo Pop and discontinued their magazines and comics in favor of first run trade paper backs. They took comics out of the comic book shops and the direct market, and put them into the mainstream book store. This led manga to higher exposure and it also led to the Graphic Novel sections in bookstores to increase. And the publishers noticed. Starting with Del Rey, mainstream publishers with all of their power and knowledge of the book store system started publishing comics as well. Leading up to Kodansha's decision to publish in america for themselves.

Next, Tokyo Pop wasn't actually that good at what they where doing. They may have been one of the biggest publishers of manga in the United States but, they where largely held up by the massive fad that manga had become in the first decade of the 21st century. As much as you like manga you have to admit it was a major fad, and as it has gone back down to just another form of entertainment Tokyo Pop has just not delivered as good a product as their competitors. The print quality is okay at best, the translations are known to be a bit off (more on that later), and Viz's Shonnen Jump line has been doing far better in terms of schedule. Also from the very beginning, one never felt that Manga was what they where interested in promoting, in fact they called it "motionless picture entertainment", not manga for most of their early days. Not that long into the first year of Mixx Zine, they where already branching out into dating sim video games with "Graduation 2", as far as I can remember it bombed, correct me if I'm wrong. Then MIxx Zine started to evolve into a Japanese and asian pop culture magazine with manga. Then the magazine took the name Tokyo Pop and the manga was demoted to a second feature, presented in landscape two comic pages to a page. This is where I ended my subscription, I hated seeing the manga anthology being changed into a low rent teen magazine, but I could not forgive having to turn my the magazine on it's side to read miniaturized versions of the comics I was getting the magazine for. Some leading light in manga publishing. However it was around this time that they began their publishing of first run trades we forgave them a lot because hell we didn't have to wait for serialization to finish to get the next book. But just as they where getting good at this they branched into Anime, fair enough, but they where no where as good at this as at manga so the video label faded relatively quickly. But what happened is that they stopped looking back as well as forward when choosing titles to license, a problem in all of american manga, and instead of publishing the classics that fans where after as well as the hip and new, they chose to make a market out of the burgeoning Original English Manga (OEL). I have no problem with OEL in fact many of my favorite comics have been OEL. But it distracted from their supposed agenda of bringing us the best manga. Tokyo Pop then got into Television with "Worlds Greatest Otaku" basically Tokyo Pop Became a Lifestyle company and manga got left behind.

And last was Scanlation. Scanlation is where fans scan, translate and post Manga on the internet. And this argument is not about the right and wrong of downloading, it's about the fans and Tokyo Pop's relation to them, and the way the world is changing. Tokyo Pop has been plagued since the beginning by "loose" translations. At the very least they Americanize the shit out of everything they publish. Usually in the form of colloquialisms. In the case of Sailor Moon they chose to keep the much maligned American names of the characters, and with Initial D a much anticipated series at the time actually got into censorship. These things combined, and fans no longer "trusted" the integrity of Tokyo Pop's translations. To the point where it was assumed that Tokyo Pop would "ruin" any series that they would bring out. So these fans turned to Scanlators for these series' out of a belief that their translations where better or at least truer to the original. Now a cynic would say that they just did this because the scanlations are free, but I personally know many people that would read them for this exact reason and would still buy many dollars worth of books from other publishers. Now this was not a problem for Tokyo Pop when Manga was a fad, but once the fad had died down and the fans where the backbone of their market. It had to have hurt.

Another effect scanlations had and still have is that, they dull the cutting edge of many a manga. You see, since manga is a translated and repurposed product, many of the series already have a following when they arrive in an "official" capacity in the US. As scanlators don't have to worry about publishing rights or print houses, as soon as they've bought scanned and translated it, it's up on the inter-web for all to see causing "new" series' to be old hat buy the time they "oficially" come out.This has recently been exemplified by the series Hetalia. Hetalia, has been the darling of fan sub Scanlation series' for the last couple of years, it's been huge. But now as the trend surrounding the series has been winding down, Tokyo Pop has finally gotten the series out "officially". Because the speed of the internet, Tokyo Pop has released one of the biggest new books, after it's audience has moved on! Maybe it would get big again after a mainstream audience reads it, but that's all academic now. It's cancelled now that Tokyo Pop has closed shop. Of course scanlation is going to be a big problem for anyone planning to make money off of manga for the above reason, but it should not be the end for any of them as long as they pick good series' that have "legs" and can be bigger than a trend. Scanlations and what they mean for comics will have to be and deserves to be a subject for another day.

But all that said. The late great Tokyo Pop manga deserves our gratitude. because it was they that redefined how manga was perceived and sold in our country. And as a direct fallout, the position of comics in bookstores was greatly improved, helping to lead us to the current age of the comic business.