jokingofcourse

October 16, 2018 10:09 pm ...glut of "comic book" movies? you guys, of course mean "super-hero" movies, common mistake, I make it myself all the time. It does point to a reason, however, for your other error from the podcast (which, I guess, is my new pet peeve that I'm stuck posting about ever month) that the "comic book market is shrinking". You, of course, also meant the "comic book shop" market is shrinking. And since that market is dominated by super heroes... The book market (graphic novels) and digital (web comics of all types(webtoons, etc.), not comixology) are growing: Raina Telgemeier's new book "Guts" was recently announced with a 1 million book first print run: Dav Pilkey's "Dog Man"...3 million print run and selling. What you guys keep referring to when you speak about capital "C" comic books (i.e. kinda things reviewed on your podcast), are now just a part of the total overall comic book market (especially when looking at units sold). The comic book market isn't shrinking, per se, it's changing.

September 9, 2018 10:36 pm To add another anecdote to yours: under a decade ago, due to a job on the west side & god making me defective, my cardiologist was in Beverly Hills. Being half the age of most people there, I paid no attention to the nurse and old man waiting next to me at the elevator as I left, until we stepped on and it was Stan Lee. They were heading two floors down where the tests are preformed and the nurse was explaining to him which tests he was having and answering his questions, he was hunched over a bit, speaking in a low voice and asking mildly anxious questions. The nurse was mid reply to Stan about when he should expect his results when “I’m sorry I just gotta interrupt, Stan Lee. I gotta shake your hand and say thank you. You are so great. I just love all your work. Thank you so much for everything you do.” The only other occupant in the elevator, a woman about my age, decided that was the time to thank him. There was a long pause, a stunned Stan Lee just said in normal flat voice. “Uh. Well, Thank you.” The elevator dinged open on their floor and he and the nurse stepped off. No “true believer” no “Excelsior” just a regular old man on his way to get possible bad news. The doors close, the woman bouncing around excitedly asks me, “Do you know who that was?” And before I could reply that yes, having gone for a decades worth of San Diego Comic Cons I have waited in line for his autograph and sat in the audience of his panels for years, but perhaps that when Stan Lee is on his way to strip half naked and have electrodes placed on his chest is not the time for a meet and greet; she answered her own question and began telling me who Stan Lee was in a way that was perfectly clear she’d never read one of his comics in her life. As a Ditko fan, that encounter did give me a new found respect for Stan Lee, a normal guy with boundaries that wasn’t always the self-serving showman he puts on to be. yikes. that was a long ass story.

September 3, 2018 1:20 am I would also urge folks to add into your thinkboxes the external forces acting upon the industry separate from story and aesthetics, that have shaped the medium as well: WWII Senate Subcommittee Hearings /Wertham "Seduction of the Innocent" Ubiquity of TV Creation of the Direct Market. Invention of the trade paperback reprints Manga invasion Influx into book market and libraries YA boom *** With sales at comic book shops now totaling only 60% of total comic sales, the "era" descriptions we commonly talk about are just relating to those sales. With the book market and digital rounding out the rest of total sales, a million book selling author (like Raina Telgemeier) doesn't fit anywhere in that equation. We're probably moving into a more bifurcated industry of equal size: with NYT art comics & YA graphic novels book market on one side, & Escapist monthly genre IP producers on the other. dang its bedtime. I'll leave it for smart people to think about.

August 4, 2018 1:16 am Well I guess I gotta come out of retirement to put in the word for My Favorite Thing is Monsters. A cursory glance and dismissal? Tsk tsk. Gentlemen, come on, expand your horizons a bit. The future mainstream storytelling techniques are always found in the edges first. For any listener open to trying something different..the book is worth the effort. The book is basically a mystery and coming of age/family drama story combined, all set in the seedy streets of 60's era Chicago. The characters and their lives are so specific and well realized you walk away feeling like you experienced what life was like on the extreme fringes at that place and time. The story follows a little girl who would rather envision herself as a monster out of her favorite horror films than accept herself for who she is and the discoveries that come from the mystery surrounding her investigation into the death of her neighbor. The art in the book, that the boys bristle at, is presented as if you're reading this girl's diary, but that conceit is fast dropped so hang onto it only if it helps you keep reading. So as a result there's not your traditional panel breakdowns that you'd find in your Marvel or DC books. The art bounces from crazy detailed colored pencil drawings to cartoony pencil sketches and even collage but always full of emotion. You'll keep flipping the pages to watch the mystery unravel but its a pretty dense and layered story that's sad and uplifting and quite human as the characters all grow in complexity as the story progresses. (I mean you get WW2 Germany history and a guided tour of the art institute museum) If you want something a little more than another hit of entertaining distraction from your daily despair, this book can give you an authentic feeling respite. The one thing to know is: that this is book one, so don't expect a complete resolution come the last page. Oh wait its late Friday night.... never mind no one will read this post anymore anyway.

December 31, 2017 9:14 pm Not that it will change your opinion but it was reported that the actor playing Akbar died during the filming which was the reason for the off screen death.

December 29, 2017 2:41 am Perhaps I'm just able to compartmentalize the feelings of the child i was; watching the first run of the original trilogy in the theaters and memorizing 100 pages of Star Wars trivia book while driving highways in multiple cross country moves or creating endless carefully staged adventures with as many action figures as my paper route and lawn mowing money could afford; with the guy in his forties that I am today, but I can see no possible way that The Last Jedi has "destroyed" my childhood or created some sort of moral rift that one cannot step back from. That sentiment is just preposterous. Riffing off the top of my head I could spit out hundreds of plausible offensive outcomes for the characters to spoil my enjoyment of the brand and The Last Jedi contained none of these. I mean, did Rey turn out to be the illegitimate love child from an affair of Luke and Leia? No. As an adult, I enjoyed Last Jedi. And the concepts that people aren't perfect, they make mistakes, they do selfish things, things don't always work out as you plan, life often subverts your expectations and you should just try to be better and more understanding. I'm not sure what sort of transcendence one was wishing for from this film, but what is The Last Jedi's great sin? It followed some trivial new characters around a few boring sequences ignoring some more screen time for Luke, before his fitting end? and for this, you cast your gaze away forever? I mean what were your expectations for this film really? Obi-Wan dies like 45 minutes into A New Hope and we all still came back for Empire.

December 29, 2017 1:59 am Last Jedi seemed to try to be adding that impossible thing into the Star Wars Universe...nuance. Also original trilogy may have seemingly been very "good" & "bad" guy divided, however each episode is about the larger idea of redemption and being able to overcome the history of your past bad actions through choice. Star Wars=Han Solo forgos his selfish ways to assist Luke in the Death Star battle; Empire= Lando assists with the escape after selling out the heroes; Jedi= Vader turns against the Emperor. so your place in the "good" or "bad" camp was neither permanent nor held there by your past actions.

June 19, 2017 8:41 pm Also RE: Twin Peaks comic First need to second Ron's pick of "Black Hole" by Charles Burns. That was always my go to book for arty comic snobs who I knew were Twin Peaks fans to lure them into comics. The tone and mood of suburban disillusionment in that book is very Lynch. And my next choice is of course "Stray Toasters" by Bill Sienkiewicz Crime. Check. Surreal. A big talking pink elephants check.

June 19, 2017 8:29 pm Is this post your plan to endear yourself into my secret organization and bring it down from within... Because it worked. Shade the Changing Man was my favorite book when it came out. Everyone should not be indoctrinated into the iFanboy Preacher love cult and instead escape over to Shade and enjoy the testosterone free madness. Good book. Not a cult.

March 29, 2017 9:22 pm Sounds like Josh just listened to This American Life. Sadly though in criminal law, mistake of the law is not a defense. Intent would only determine the degree to which you broke the law. As long as you intend your action, you broke some law. Killing someone without intending to is still manslaughter as long as you intended to juggle those chainsaws. And pretending to be a non profit to dupe an eccentric millionaire into avoiding taxes by donating to you is still fraud. You'll just have to earn your money the old fashion way...marrying the millionaire and kill them so it looks like an accident. Wait...unless your comment just a very very subtle #trypod month participation then nevermind.