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Qpeeples

Name: Quinton Peeples

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Qpeeples's Recent Comments
May 17, 2013 2:10 pm It's important to remember: you have a choice. Don't assume that just because information is out there (about an author, actor or artist) that you are "required" to seek it out. One of the worst things that ever happened is that we now have access to artists who feel it's "important" to their fans or supporters that they share every bit of info from their lives. (Brand yourself!) This is terrible for people and its detrimental to their work. I much prefer avoiding any info about creators so that they disappear behind their creation. I'm paying to indulge in fantasy, I don't want their reality to get in the way. (And I have read Morrison's book and loved it, but his interests and predilections were easily ignored for me.)
January 10, 2013 1:56 pm Yeah, I'm an old dude, I guess. But it's got to be Dick Sprang for me. The Smiling Batman is the one I want to rescue me from a burning building. Not the cranky, scowling, emotionally unstable taskmaster that slinks around and makes his "friends" feel generally uncomfortable. Who wants to hang out with that guy? Sprang made him fun and bright and imaginative - it was Adventure TIme before Adventure Time. The panel to panel action is clear and forthright, exciting and compact story-telling. Cartooning at its best.
December 6, 2012 12:55 pm While I don't cosplay, I want to chime in here because so much negativity has been laid out on those who do. As someone who attends conventions, I have to say that I admire and enjoy every cosplayer I come in contact with. You provide so much joy, excitement and happiness to the environs. There isn't enough FUN in the world and you guys and gals provide it in abundance. I also have to add that I bring both my kids along (one boy and one girl) and to see their eyes light up when they see you is something that is priceless. Don't let anybody knock you off your horse - you rock. And we thank you!
April 10, 2012 2:25 pm I've said it before and I'll say it again - it's not the character that is the problem - it's the writer. As much as I admire Grant Morrisson, he did his thing on All Star. Time to move on. This also requires some guts from the company to empower a writer to do something original with the character. But, sadly, we see the same names changing chairs on a regular basis. Straczinski, Johns, Levitz, Morrisson, et al over and over. The company has gotten its biggest creative boost lately by giving books to Jeff Lemire and others. It's time to move on and let new voices take a crack at these characters and hope for something more original than "Superman walks across America" or "Superman with a superiority complex".
September 9, 2011 12:46 pm Anybody remember independent record stores? How about video stores? Yeah. Right. That's exactly where local comic shops are headed, and for all the reasons you identified. The product is widely available in lots of formats now. Why should I come into your store? That's a question retailers must answer definitively or risk closure. Even the good stores struggle with this. Brick and mortar outlets must present a compelling reason to come in, one that can't be duplicated by downloading the book onto a digital device, or going to the mailbox. It boils down to two things DCBS and Comixology and their ilk can't provide - Personal service and community. Human connection. Owners and managers have to realize that they and the people they employ are the equivalent of the wait staff at a restaurant - they will make or break your business. They must be courteous, knowledgeable and passionate about what is on the menu. If comics retailers don't get this together, and fast, then we can say goodbye to another retail institution.
February 3, 2011 1:11 pm It's as simple as you've stated here: People don't want what is being sold. It is up to the publishers to change their product and change quickly to recapture the market.  The delivery system (digital vs. paper, etc.) is ancillary.  It's not either / or - it's both / and.  But the consumer does not see the value of the product (it's entertainment!) and so, they don't buy.  In a marketplace as competitive as this one, you must present something compelling.  The quality is just not there.
October 22, 2010 1:27 pm

The idea that Comic Book Movies will create Comic Book Readers is fundamentally flawed and should be abandoned.  Here's why: They demand completely different things from the audience.  The movie is a passive experiene that only lasts two hours and then I'm done.  I don't need to seek out a special venue for it, track multiple storylines, wait when it isn't delivered when promised, etc. (all of which are common in Comic Book Reading).  So, can we set that theory aside as ridiculous once and for all?

The drop in sales for comics, I believe, is rooted in all the previous comments here - the 15 minute reading experience is too expensive for the entertainment delivered, the current creative climate is stale, (except for a few exceptions), and the delivery system is changing - digital, bookstores, etc.  My pull list has collapsed over the past six months as Blackest Night malaise drifted into Brightest Day boredom, vampires invaded the Heroic Age and nothing compelling happened at Image (on time).  I have found great things in the corners, but they have been minor pleasures.  We're in a plateau time and the sales figures reflect that.

October 11, 2010 2:00 pm Jimski hits it out of the park again.  This "new adjective" and renumbering strategy just puts me deeper into the tradewaiting catagory. Bad idea.  But look at what is happening: how many Avengers books are there?  Now we'll have several different Cap's, a Bat corporation - and no energy given to investing in newer characters that a new generation of readers can embrace as their own.  I'll just let the dust settle and pick up those collected editions after all the reviews are in.  This undermines the monthly purchase, which I imagine is still important.  Maybe not.  The market is getting flooded with overlapping titles that are poorly executed.  Is there a real reader groundswell for Ultimate Captain America?  If so, I've missed it.  Pass.
September 24, 2010 11:49 am Would reading James Joyce's "Ulysses" or Cormac McCarthy's "No Country For Old Men" turn you off novels?  Hardly.  The argument here is based on a broad false generalization - all comics are basically the same.  They are not.  Each title, each page, is a personal expression (somewhat) of the collaborating artists.  Now, subjectively, you may like or dislike the expression, but it shouldn't turn you away from an entire art form just because you didn't like a particular book.  But comics suffer a unique self-image problem.  We're always trying to legitimize our art form.  It is legit.  We need to stop whining - "Watchmen is genius, you guys!  Really!"  - and just get on with it.  If you really feel compelled to recommend something to new readers, recommend what you love and explain why.  Don't try and justify why it's important.  Your love for it is what sells it.
September 17, 2010 12:40 pm

As much as I love Mr. Katers take on things, I think he overstretches a little here: "The guys who wrote books thirty years ago are just as smart as the writers today. The artists are just as talented."

 One need only to flip through the wonderful "Official Marvel Index" and read any entry to see that most of the books 30 years ago were created to meet a deadline.  The standard of creative story-telling was pretty low.  And for every Kirby, Kane or Buscema, there ware ten Heck, Perlin's and Colleta's.  I would argue that the level of sophistication has risen in thirty years and that we are all the better for it.

And yes, Watchmen should never be recommended to a first time comic reader.  It is necessary to understand the context in order to enjoy its mastery.