Given that today is "Nice Day" here at the JBF, I thought I'd post this thread in the spirit, so to speak. List here what you love about today's comics. No backhanded "At least Jemas isn't at Marvel" or "It's nice that X got his book out on time last month" kind of stuff. What is it that brings you to the shop (or racing to your mailbox) every week?
I'll kick it off:
1) The "can't wait" feeling of being able to write TW's actual name down on my pull
2) People talking about JB/Claremont's JLA in excited tones I haven't heard about the title since it was rebooted with Morrison at the helm
3) Interacting with JB here on the board, talking with a wide variety of folks across America and abroad, and going into the shop looking for something I would have otherwise passed up had it not been mentioned here
I love that I get to work in a business that I love.
What I love about today's comics:
That there are still people out there like Geoff Johns, Kurt Busiek, and, of course, JB that care about the past and still are able to go into the future of comics and produce exciting stuff!
1. How it's so easy for a fan to get involved in the field. Just as easy as underground films. The supplies are readily available and inexpensive.
2. The community has become closer as now we can "virtually" talk to professional creators. With this type of connection, the readers feel a bit more personal about the titles.
3. The wide variety of genres in comics today. Not since the re-birth of Super-Heroes at the dawn of the Silver Age have we had so many choices.
4. That "flash-in-the-pans" still are "flash-in-the-pans", and substance still prevails.
5. Old stuff is reprinted rather than forgotten. And what's not reprinted is generally cheaper than new comics.
6. The Batman Adventures, Superman Adventures, Justice League and Teen Titans cartoons. A great accomplishment.
-Backissues are easier to find (and even somewhat cheaper) than ever and I can finally build the collections I dreamed of as a young adult.
- We have the JB Forum to talk about things. It's been so great to find this forum and know that I am not the only person who still likes to discuss Dark Phoenix and Alpha Flight as if they had just been published. Also, meeting some of the guys from the Forum and having a really good time, even though I left at 11 that night.
- The fact that JB and George Perez, my two favorites, are still working hard and are better than ever.
- the big thrill of getting a package from a comic store and since they are mostly JB work, seeing cover after cover and feeling like a kid again.
Things I love about comics:
1. Comics! The look, feel, and smell of them.
2. Current comics offering me so much more (in terms of quality of art, sophistication of storytelling, and diversity of material) than the comics I grew up with
3. The fact that comics bring my (20 year old) son and I together - so much else about his life simply emphasises the generation gap between us
4. The ability of the internet to give me access to comics I thought I would never see again
5. The ability of the internet to enable me to hold in my hands the actual original art produced by artists whose work has, for years, touched something deep inside me
6. The ability of the internet to put me in touch with people the world over who will talk to me about comic-related matters in a way which does not make me feel that they see me as slightly sub-normal (NB please note that I see this as some sort of flaw in them rather than me, and I approach it extremely positively, by trying to convert them!)
7. The ability of the internet to enable me to have some sort of dialogue, however limited, with a man whose work I hold in the highest regard
* that JB invited me to his birthday party last year
* that i hung with Geoff Johns recently and will again in April, and that i now consider him a friend (a friend whose ass i kicked at ping pong and will again)
John Byrne. It is so cool to be able to pick up a comic that he has written and drawn and still get that same Giddy, Excited feeling like I did reading comics back in my youth. There are many other writers and artists whose work I really enjoy, but bar none, JB is the reason I still read comics.And the fact that I can post here and interact with everyone on this board and JB himself, is just icing on the cake.
- Getting to the last page of a Geoff Johns title and going "Aughhhh!!!!" because I have to wait 30 to find out how he gets the character(s) out of the mess he just put them in.
- The creativity and love here for the Moon Patrol!
The fact that not only is JB still here and going strong, but that I can read his wit and wisdom every day on this forum! He's even answered questions that I've had in my head for over 20 years!
Hellboy - a great idea, and just as good execution.
Dan Clowes - I think he tends to waste a lot of time on the minute details of being some sort of emo hipster, and I didn't like Ghost World till the last chapter, I have to say that he's still one of the most intellegent creators working today, and his Ice Haven was one of the best comics of all-time.
Evan Dorkin - Always a treat - from his indy stuff in the 80's, to DORK in the 90's, and now he's responsible for some of the best good-natured humor at DC - ("World's Funniest" & "Bizarro Comics" were comics I will cherish for the rest of my life!)
Dark Horse - They deserve much credit for doing licenced stuff RIGHT! For the first time in my life, I'm really enjoying both KISS and Star Wars comics - something I never did when M***** did them - and that was back when M***** was readable! (Let's be fair to M*****, the last, say, 20 issues or so of Star Wars, the Jo Duffy issues? They were pretty ok.) Both were huge parts of my childhood, and it's great to finally be able to enjoy them in comic book form!
DC Comics - whereas I really don't care too much about comics these days, and tend to only buy the few items that really mean a lot to me (Whatever JB's doing, and the other things I've mentioned here) DC has actually got a few more bucks out of me with quality publishing - I've been picking up Teen Titans, Superman/Batman, some random JSA stuff, and one-shots here and there. My wallet liked it better when there wasn't so many quality books being published!
>>2. The community has become closer as now we can "virtually" talk to professional creators. With this type of connection, the readers feel a bit more personal about the titles.<<
This is the only one that I didn't agree with.
I think this is a problem. It tends to.
1.Inflate the fans sense of self-importance. And leads them to beleive that they actually play a bigger part in the creative process than they really do.
2.Leads to rumour mongering
3.Creator A sniping at Creator B from across their respective message boards.
4. Feed the already incredible sense of entitlement felt by most fans who feel that they have been reading comics for X amount of years and have there own site where they dabble in fan fiction so they "should" be given the chance to write Spider-Man as well.
5. Wipes out any sense of mystique the industry may have left
What I love about today's comics is the accessibility to yesteryear's comics. The Essential line from Marvel is a great thing for me. I grew up as a DC kid and only rarely crossed the borders to see what was going on at Marvel. Now, for less than $20, I can get a couple years + of a Marvel series in one shot and see what the hype was all about.
DC has been publishing the Batman and Superman in the 50s, 60s and 70s collections for a couple of years. Some of those stories are pretty sweet and I'm looking forward to the 40s sets coming out in a couple months.
That even as an adult I get all excited when I get the chance to go to the comic shop. Especially if something is there that I am looking forward to getting. Its also wonderful to see Mr. Byrne answer questions about almost anything. I really don't read much anymore except Mr. Byrnes work.
1. I love that after 10 years away from comics, that JB is still cranking 'em out and they are still a LOT OF FUN to read!
2. That talent like Geoff Johns, Mike Oeming, Darwyn Cooke (I think that's how you spell it), Robert Kirkman, Phil Hester, Ethan Van Sciver and a few others are making superhero comics that are as good as the comics I grew up reading as a kid.
3. That the FLASH is FANTASTIC!
4. That the comic book talent is accessible. I don't mean for spoilers or to abuse, but I love knowing what JB intended to do during his Captain America run, or reading about Rob Leifeld's opinion on drawing feet or hands...seriously! That part of the web involving comics is great.
5. That DC of today is alot like DC of yesterday.
6. That comics are not seen as geeky anymore by most of my friends (wife NOT included, sigh).
7. That much of the original graphic novel work is very, very good (Interman, Box Office Poison, JINX, Blankets, White Out, etc.).
8. That George Perez is even better than in the past!
9. That I can still be entertained on a weekly basis!
>>Anthony, how does that not contradict your presence at this message board?<<
It doesn't. I love the fact that we can instantly get in touch with so many comic creators. But a part of me says that maybe being so available might not be such a good thing. Sometimes it leads fans to beleive that the creators owe them something other than there work.
Frank Cho
Geoff Johns
John Byrne
George Perez
Alan Davis
Kurt Busiek
Jose Ladronn
Karl Kesel
Warren Ellis
Chris Ware
Jon Adams
Jim Lee
John Romita, Jr.
Mike Allred
Darwyn Cooke
Karre Andrews
...and several others I'll regret inadvertantly omitting from this list hours later.
What do I love about comics? Let me count the ways:
1) The "can't wait" feeling for Title Withheld's actual name to be announced and then getting to read it. The anticipation is killing me!
2) People talking about JB/Claremont's JLA in excited tones. This run is going to be great and the sales figure news JB posted is good to hear.
3) JB and The John Byrne Forum. Getting to see preview art and having JB answer questions and all the other great people who are here makes this place special.
4) Geoff Johns - especially on The Flash (my all-time favourite character)
5) The diversity and quality in what's available: Y, the Last Man, Human Target, Age of Bronze, Strangers in Paradise, Hellboy etc.
6) Gotham Central - everyone should be buying this comic!
7) The escape from the real world they give me while I sit back and relax takes me back to my youth.
(Thanks to all the previous posters who helped remind of all the reasons )
It is comforting to know that there are still some kids out there reading comics and getting the same kind of excited feelings I got when The Hulk fought the Thing or when Wonder Woman teamed up with Superman.
That if one looks hard enough, one can still find a title/series that one will enjoy.
That creators/artists such as John Byrne, Chris Claremont, Jim Starlin, George Perez, Frank Miller, and Keith Giffen are still working in the medium.
That John Byrne and Chris Claremont can work together again. I'd like to think that time heals all wounds.
That a dream such as JLA/Avengers could finally come true.
That Kurt Busiek, Geoff Johns, and Mark Waid are carrying on the tradition and love the medium. Unlike the corporate outsiders who see nothing but dollar signs.
Merchandising. The sheer volume and variety of toys, sculptures, posters, t-shirts and various other bric-a-brac that I can now decorate my home with is truly astonishing, thanks mostly to DC Direct.
As a kid, I would have sold a kidney to have action figures of Timber Wolf, or Ultra Boy, or the original Green Lantern. The fact that I now walk past these treasures on a daily basis makes me happy on a very primal level.
In second place, I would have to say having the opportunity to communicate directly with the man responsible for some of the most entertaining comics of the last 25 years. I'm not ashamed to admit that I still get a little giggly every time JB responds to one of my posts. Participating on this board is an abolute treat.
Brian Michael Bendis and ALL his comics. Mark Millar , Warren Ellis. That Alan Moore is still active. The Swamp Thing relaunch, and the entire Ultimate line, my favourite "imaginary" universe. Who needs What If, when youn got the Ultimate line?
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After I hear back from you, I might send you something wet.
1) Love that Dc is comitted to its archive program and has released so many Golden Age gems.
2) Love that Dc has started putting some of its classics into trades, like Man of Steel and JB's early Superman stories instead of just putting new material into trades.
3) Love that Byrne is doing so much DC work, as I grew up wityh the Justice League.
4) Love that DC lets Alex Ross play with Silver Age characters and has released a coffe table book of his material.
5) Love how far comic related toys have come
6) Love that characters on the OC actually are seen reading comics
7) Love that Marvel seems to be turing things around
8) Love JLA/Avengers both in theory and in execution
9) Love the Elseworlds concept
10) Love the fact that George Perez is still out there and still at the top of his game.
11) Love that independent books are still available
12) Love that Marvel is finally getting out another JB fantastic four book....
Current Topic - What Do You Love About Today's Comics?
