So Sad

It's one thing when someone cracks open a Free Comic Book Day offering before the embargo is over and starts talking spoilers.

But having it scanned and up on torrent sites?


Just terrible. It is stuff like this that confirms that someone who would seem to have their livelihood revolve around people PAYING for their comics is involved in their online piracy.

So sad.

I'm No Good At Voting With My Wallet

So the Wolverine movie comes out this week.

1. Leaked copies have been SAVAGED by fans.
2. From what watchers of the leaked copies have indicated, they've turned one fan favorite character into a walking, talking (?) cluster fuck.
3. Rumors of multiple endings (ala CLUE) are somewhat worrisome when used as an indicator of quality.
4. Swine flu epidemic doesn't exactly encourage one to attend a packed showing of a blockbuster movie.

What will I be doing at 12am Thursday night/Friday morning?

Watching X-Men: Origins: Wolverine.

So, you know, they'll think I'm voting for them to do something exactly like this again. Sorta like X-Men 3 & Spider-Man 3.

Ugh. My addiction to seeing summer popcorn flicks

If You See Wade Wilson, Give Him My Condolences

Bea Arthur has died.
(image found here)

At What Point Will It Stop?

Putting a public figure into your story is one thing. You can argue for fair use and parody. Great.

But at what point do people realize a line is being crossed and a backlash start up?

Lucas Has Inspired Me

Lucas Siegel put up an AMAZING blog post about how fucked up "comic book journalism" can be. If you haven't read it yet, please do so immediately and then please come back.

(in borrowing from Mr. Siegel's opening, though he inspired me to post this, nothing I say in this post is officially endorsed, corroborated or agreed upon by Lucas)

Let me add an example to just how fucked up the kind of control that companies want to have over content.

I was covering a panel at a convention. Let's say it was in NYC. It was a pre-public opening panel where the top dogs at major publishers were talking about the state of the industry.

One particular big wig made mention of plans to offer comics digitally online in the not-so-distant future. Someone nearby to me asked me to confirm that I had just heard the same thing (which, of course, I did). They, also, checked with a gentleman sitting behind him, who just so happened to be a marvelous PR representative from the same publishing company that was currently being represented at the podium.

And so it was established that three people heard the exact same declaration from a major publisher about their upcoming Digital Comics. Unbelievable, right?

What? You don't think it is unbelievable that three people confirmed hearing something that was clearly said?

Oh...I forgot to tell you: it wasn't said. Nope. I was informed by a third party hours later that what we heard said ON MIC AT THE PODIUM OF A PANEL ONLY FOR INDUSTRY INSIDERS AND MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA wasn't said. Nope. Damn that tinitis. I never knew it could make me hear imaginary statements of a publishing plan that didn't exist.

One of the worst things about this incestuous set up? That when, miracle of miracles, a site defies a request to pull something, because they received the info from a reliable source that was not part of any privileged information they received directly from the publisher...some publishers spread false accusations of that site breaking an agreement to some true believers that then take that info and Beat it like a drum.

That's right: there are plenty of people out there that are all too happy to shit on the next site on behalf of a publisher, both for how it might make them seem better in comparison and stave off the publisher from putting the screws to them for something in the future.

By the way: while I'm sure you can divine which publisher the particulars above refer to, I am in no way suggesting that other publishers don't pull the same garbage. I just don't have first person experience with it from them.

I'm A Dumb Ass (A Review Of CAIRO)

Yup. I make no argument against it. I really am.

Before getting too happy about that admission, you might want to know why I'm saying such a thing about myself.

I just finally finished reading CAIRO. I bought it shortly after it came out. I think I pre-ordered it purely on the basis that it was written by a muslima.

Sometimes I procrastinated in reading it. Other times, it got lost in piles of stuff in the living room or bedroom (I live in a cluttered hell of my own creation).

I found it to be an enjoyable read. Not all of the characters get a chance to be fully fleshed out, but they all get at least enough to serve the story.

One of the difficulties I had with it is, as a muslim, I've often thought about writing stories that use the fantastical elements of Islam. But I always cringe at how it tends to come out so weak.

I say weak because the concepts are not my own, as they come from Islam. I say weak because it often feels like I'm writing an Islam Primer, because I'm explaining concepts to a hypothetical reader that are so basic and common knowledge to any muslim.

Ms. Wilson shows me, with CAIRO, that it is my thinking on the subject that was weak. I was looking at it as if I was representative of the majority of the audience when I'd clearly be in the minority. Being a muslim, I believe that I may not have been as wowed by some of the elements of fantasy on display in CAIRO as a non-believer may have, but it did clearly demonstrate to me that what many would refer to as Islamic "mythology" can be utilized for a story sold to a mainstream audience without it being filled with cringe moments.

I was still pretty conscious of the moments where the reader had to be brought up to speed on some basic ideas regarding spirituality and mysticism in Islam. That's where the "I'm not really the intended audience" realization has to kick in and get me to get past it without losing/wasting any of the story's momentum.

Morality plays are another thing that often make me cringe. They're so hard to pull off with any subtlety. When they involve faith (and particularly your readers' chosen faith), the degree of difficulty is increased. And here's why I felt the need to write about this book (however ineloquently) tonight and felt like a dumb ass for having waited this long to get around to reading it.

I wept.

I wept at the same moment that tears streamed down Ali Jibreel's face.

I wept at the minimalist (yet direct) way that a talented muslima articulated a wish that so many a believer has had.

I wept as I had, in no small measure, my faith renewed. Inshallah, I'm not the only one.

It was then that I realized that maybe I was more this book's audience than I thought.

A Must Buy This Wednesday

The second part of the Gaiman/Kubert "Whatever Happened To The Caped Crusader?" comes out on Wednsday. Finally. I hope to review the completed story sometime this week. Putting up some reviews on this damn blog is long overdue.

By the way: is it me or doesn't the above cropped panel look like it could have been drawn by Rags Morales? I know it wasn't, but I don't know that I'd bat an eye if I saw it in a Rags book.

Len Wein Update: Not Exactly What I Had In Mind...

I pledged to post an update as soon as I heard of anything organized to help Len Wein recover from the house fire that has taken so much away from him and his family.

Rebuilding his comic collection is a start, even if it isn't exactly what I was thinking of. But, the more you think about it, the more you realize that it is sometimes the little, intensely personal things that make the most difference to your mental health after such a loss.

Mark Evanier is doing the honors of handling the donation process. Take a gander over at the page dedicated to the project and see if you have any books on the list to send.

Josh Middleton On Cover Creation Process

It's pretty fascinating to see the different steps in the progression of a cover for Middleton and his advice to aspiring artists.