mongo

May 22, 2012 2:46 pm This is an example of cheap marketing and lackluster storytelling. From many examples of the comments the character Northstar hasn't really had much impact on readers and to try and give Astonishing and Northstar some type of heat by doing this announcement on the View just looks and feel very cheap. Have they really tried to make this relationship deep and significant prior to this announcement? I haven't felt it. So by trying to just plop a media announcement to make this title have a little sizzle and then most likely let it flounder because let's be honest the character Northstar hasn't been a really compelling character who hasn't been a driving force for plot in any of the books that the character has been in.

May 7, 2012 5:53 pm Ha! I plead the fifth the same way.

May 7, 2012 5:04 pm Was this post created by the EW article and the frustrating desire to get lunch, Connor? Because I know I could use a good Schawrma/Gyro/Kebab with a nice little serving of baklava right now.

May 7, 2012 4:24 pm Gary, I think that iFanboy does a great job covering comics in the format that they have given us. I'm the person who called in about how some mainstream news/culture media can be frustrating when they cover comics or movies based on comics. iFanboy actually fills a really great niche of the comics related media. Its not a news site and its definitely not a follower of PR for the comics genre. They bring their own take on what's going on in comics. They bring thoughtful articles like the post about the Chris Roberson situation, and they cover a good spread of the comics from their perspectives and the general community on the iFanboy site. I'd rather spend time enjoying what these guys bring to the table each week because they are pretty damn good.

April 27, 2012 3:03 pm John, I loved that Word Balloon of the Marvel press conference. I was thinking something more in the line of another Rucka Debrief, but I can see how that would be going over old ground again. I just think that it would be pretty cool to get the dynamic of Waid, Rucka and Wacker in a regular Word Balloon format. I also would love to see Waid and Rucka do the next Marvel event because I think they are so good.

April 26, 2012 9:33 pm No I haven't I just remembered that I did like it better than Secret Invasion, but liked Siege better than Civil War. I agree that the tie ins were excessive, but I didn't read the ones that I wasn't interested in. Execution is the major factor in any attempt in storytelling. Short or long if you can't do it right it will leave the audience with a bad experience. Its a very tricky skillset and I wouldn't criticize any method of storytelling I just try and get something out of the creators I enjoy. I like Grant Morrison, Geoff Johns and Brian Bendis, but I've dropped some of their books because I wasn't enjoying it. Doesn't mean I hate them I just couldn't keep going with some of their stories, but I've also gone back to their books when I see that their story changed and I enjoyed them. I've also dropped Millar after Kick-Ass 2 #2 and won't go back to his work unless I hear that he has gotten better because I couldn't take his stories anymore.

April 26, 2012 8:06 pm Rob is definitely a unique personality. I'm not a fan of his work and his comments hasn't raised my level of respect for him. The disparagement about decompression is a little off base. Any writing method isn't good or bad its really up to the level of execution of the writer and the artist. So going off on how terrible and boring it is rather silly. His image books weren't all that great, but other books that has a similar style weren't always all that bad. Just like Millar's Civil War and Kick Ass was good, but I've fallen off his current work. I do have to say that Rob does have great points about the nature of some characters and the difficulty to get them do well in the market and you do have to admire that he isn't trying to take the big books, and rather trying to take some lower level characters and give them a shot. I'm not sure that he will be able to make them successful whether by his efforts or the difficulty to get readers to try something new. John does a wonderful job getting all kinds of creators on his show and its always a must listen for me. I love his interviewing skills and would love to see him get Waid and Rucka to do a joint interview on their latest crossover, and maybe even get Wacker to join in. That would be great, and Johnny we would be doing really good.

April 26, 2012 4:26 am I read the article by David Brothers on Slate a couple of months ago and read the interview from Roberson and all I see are people who have talked them out of corporate comics. If they feel more comfortable working at more indy comic companies then so be it that's the choice their actions have left open to them. I wrote earlier that the weakest part of the arguments that Brothers and Roberson have put out there is that Marvel and DC have screwed over older artists for their actions. How does that have any relevance to how Marvel and DC treated them right now? Did Roberson have any legitimate contractual grievances? From what I understand he objected to DC making Before Watchmen comics. Was he going to write any of those titles? Did they promise him that he was going to write one of the titles on his work for hire agreement? DC never did anything to him personally, but he lashed out at them publicly. This doesn't show any professionalism on his part and has closed a door for his career. We've all seen people flame out their career over some inconsequential grievance. The people who succeed over the long run learn the difference between personal grievances and the indirect boneheaded problems that any job will accumulate. Roberson will probably regret his actions in the future, but will not be able to take his actions back. I wish him luck and hope he will gain some wisdom at some point.

April 26, 2012 4:06 am Did anyone at either DC commit any act that was hurtful or illegal to Roberson personally? No, his complaint was that he felt that those companies that he had done business were wrong in his opinion. His opinion on the Before Watchmen and Superman issues has no bearing on his work or how DC had treated him. Did DC violate any part of the contractual agreements that Roberson agreed to? No they did not. So by making his remarks he closes a door to any relationship with those companies in the future. Now that is his decision and he will have to live with those results, but from the interviews and articles written about this situation he was never had any given cause to criticize the relationship he had with those companies. Did DC throw him under the bus over the Superman grounded storyline after JMS left? No, they did not from anything I saw. Any artist or writer can leave a project, or ask to end a contract if they so choose. Another choice is also to either leave gracefully or go out in flames. If Roberson was subjected to any illegal or ethical action then he does have the right to speak up and is obligated to do so to protect his integrity and work. I've been in situation where I could have left the same way that Roberson has, but I've kept my mouth closed because I wasn't wronged personally. I've also been in a situation where I've made my situation public because I was personally wronged. If someone burns the bridge down with me then I don't have any obligation to keep the truth to myself. I've also been able to take advantage of opportunity because I did keep my mouth shut.

April 25, 2012 6:02 pm After reading this article and going back to Josh's Making Comics podcasts I keep going back to the axiom about not being a jerk. Roberson is valid to have his opinions and choosing to leave working for the big 2, but I think that his comments are somewhat regressive to acting as a professional. You might not always love or have difficulties with the people you are working with, but you don't have to be make backbiting comments for the people you have to work with or work for. Go jog, have a drink, hang out with friends. Don't carry these burdens with you for too long. Things change and people change (you or the people you had worked with) so throwing a match to burn your bridges doesn't work progressively for you.