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Jay

Name: James Stringer

Bio: Born in 1980, not dead yet.Wannabe writer, rambling over at jaystringer.comI'm on twitter too, just so y'know.I'm obsessed with music, comics, books and films...and makers mark. My girlfriend doesn't find any of my jokes funny, but i live in hope of one day making it. I'm always ouzzled about when John Constantine's name changed to John Constan-teen...but i'm picky like that.


Reviews
Jay's Recent Comments
July 17, 2012 5:11 am To be honest, I think the general public, the casual fans who make up the difference in ticket stubs between "okay" and "hit," are still confused by comic book reboots. The comparison point here would be BATMAN BEGINS. Time may have dimmed our memories, and the huge success of THE DARK KNIGHT makes us think the NolanBat has been a cultural phenomenon from the start, but BB was much more of a slow burn. It did well, and took in decent box office over the length of it's run, but it was a slow and steady film that built more through word of mouth. And most of my conversations with non-fans at the time centred around explaining that it was not a prequel, it was a reboot. Then a polite pause before explaining what I meant by reboot. In fact, even yesterday I had that conversation, when someone asked if DKR was going to tie into the 90's films. I haven't seen the new Spidey, so I can't speak to it's quality, but the reboot issue is going to be playing a major part. A sequel would probably make more money, once this first one has built through word of mouth and dvd.
May 16, 2012 3:55 pm I've been lucky enough to read a little of it, and it's a very strong first issue. People who pre-order this are in for a treat.
February 17, 2012 8:44 pm Exactly this. These kinds of thorny, complex issues are what makes a story and reveals character. We could take Hank Pym out of this conversation and replace him with the comedian from WATCHMEN. We can judge his actions, his character, his integrity, but thats part of what makes for interesting story. To give up on something like that would be to relegate comics to the kind of simplistic story telling that many non-readers seem to think dominate the art form. Frank Castle is a serial killer, but folks don't want that aspect of his character washed away. Tony Stark is more interesting because he's an addict. Matt Murdock is more interesting because...well...because of about a million flaws. Including cheating on his wife, and on ex-girlfriends. In novels, L.A. Confidential would be a much less interesting book if we took out all of the pretty nasty people, or the people trying to live down bad deeds from their past. Same with films and TV. Do we hold comics to a different standard? I disagree with Josh on this. But I also think it's a good debate to have, I think this post today proves exactly why it's good to not wash this history away- it keeps a conversation going.
February 14, 2012 8:46 pm It's stating the obvious at this point, but any time you're agreeing to work with someone else on an IP, you need to write up a collaboration agreement. That will cover not only the basic ideas of who owns what, and how royalties will be shared, but who's agents would handle negotiations, etc (if any of you have agents). You can find templates by searching "Collaboration Agreement," in the googlebox. Five minutes doing that at the start, before you know if the IP will go anywhere or if you can invest in legal advice, might save a world of trouble later on. I've got a few CA's for projects that never went anywhere, but it was better than having a project that went somewhere and not having the protection.
January 13, 2012 12:54 pm Cursed when I got to the SCALPED bit, because i'm a trade waiter too. However, if we're going to read a page that's "panels of the week," and we've not read all the books listed, it's not really fair to moan at the guys for our mistake. This is a spoiler thread by default. So yes, i'm angry, but at myself, not ifanboy. I'm swearing like Clay Davis right here.
December 20, 2011 5:55 am (And i wish i'd proof read that, yikes.)
December 20, 2011 5:52 am There is a strange sense of entitlement on the internet. It's like extreme libertarianism. I think it's from the fact that we're all sat in a room typing into a metal box, without having to face up to the people we're talking too. But people have an expectation that they should be able to say what they want, when they want, however they want. And of course, people have the right to say what they want. But, as Ian Malcolm said, that doesn't mean you SHOULD. Any time i've politely asked people on the net to be sensitive about spoilers, or about the way they discuss things, or about leaving the 'constructive' out of 'criticism,' they react as of you're taking away some basic human right. Once i asked (as a Brit myself) another Brit on twitter to hold off on discussing Doctor Who for the seven hours it took for our U.S. friends to have seen it too, and I was told that I was bullying that person, that I was "telling them how to behave" and that I was "censoring them." Quite a bizarre reaction, that can only come from this warped sense of entitlement that the net has created. I'm with Jim on this. And I think the net would be a much nicer place of people had to face the people they were being snarky to. And none of us are immune. It's easy. We've all given in to the easy shot at some point. I'm know I have. And I know there are people who like to come into these comments and point out the VERY rare occasions when Ifanboy staff have done it. But the reason i still come to this site after all these years, and when i've given up on comics discussion everywhere else, is because the conversation here tends to be adult, friendly, and mindful of others. And I see nothing wrong in people asking for it to stay that way. (there was probably an easier and quicker way for me to say this, maybe just "I agree with Jim.")
October 2, 2011 11:32 am To be honest, I'm not sure this is the place to judge how successful the relaunch has been at bringing in new readers. This is a site for comic book fans, run by comic fans, read and supported by comic fans. All of our conversation is going to be based either around what we already know, as already established comic book readers, or on guesswork as to what the "other" folk think of the books. Whether or not the relaunch has attracted new comic book fans is something we'll find out further down the line, as we see new people coming to sites like this and joining in the conversation. For now, we don't know.
July 6, 2011 7:52 pm Have to side with Josh in this.

These terms are not set in stone rules. Thats just the comic geeks in each of us wanting to define things.

The only solid fact is that ReBoot was a fun TV show.
June 20, 2011 12:45 pm Spot on. great stuff.