Why, exactly, are so many comics artists so much slower these days?
Let me hasten to say here that I don't mean any personal criticism, or any diminution of the the talent of anyone. Hell, I can't even draw a stick figure, so I'm the last one to suggest that any artist is inferior because of their drawing speed.
No, what I'm wondering is, why there seem to be so many more "slow" artists in the industry today than there ever used to be.
According to Mark Evanier, when Jack Kirby left Marvel, his contract with DC called for a minimum of 15 pages per week. Read that again. Can you imagine? Many of today's top pencillers can't seem to manage 15 pages per month.
Obviously, The King isn't a fair comparison. But unless the rose-colored glasses of youth are tinting my memory, it seems to me that a much higher percentage of artists back then could handle the monthly deadline than are able to now. Comparing unbroken artist runs in the 1970s to the 2000s makes for a pretty striking contrast.
So, my question is, why is that? Have the comic companies encouraged "slowness" by tolerating it for "popular" artists? Could some of the artists meet deadlines if editors "cracked the whip," and insisted that if they want to draw X, they'd better "git 'er done?" Or is it just some natural artistic evolution, where the prevailing "style" of the day requires slower work, for some reason? Could (or should) artists be better able to make monthly deadlines, drawing faster (while possibly sacrificing some quality)? Or should they insist on a "it takes as long as it takes to do it right" approach?
Given that the Big Two regularly have "co-pencillers" finishing issues these days so they can come out (relatively) on time, it seems they've decided to adapt to the slower pace of modern artists. And there's nothing wrong with that, if planned well (Batman & Robin being a good example...although there are many other less...elegant...solutions out there).
So, I'm just wondering about this huge shift in the industry over the past couple of decades. Any thoughts?
(Unless, of course, it's all the inkers' fault. Damned tracers!!)
Showing posts with label Just Askin'. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Just Askin'. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Just Askin'--JPV
So, finally, someone has laid out the ground rules (assuming, of course, that Barbara Gordon is qualified to lay out dead Bruce's ground rules):
What, Stephanie was Robin, hanging around in the Batcave, and never noticed Batgirl's case before? Some detective...
Anyway, now that all the furor has died down about why Stephanie didn't have a trophy case, can we get back to the real issue--why doesn't Azrael have one?
Jean-Paul Valley WAS Batman for a year. Not Robin, not Batgirl--he WAS The Batman.
After that, he continued to work for Batman. The last 53 issues of his mag were titled "Azrael--Agent of the Bat." Look, they even had a special logo:
And the little Batman cowl logo appeared on the cover, showing that he was part of the Bat team.
Frankly, he is far better qualified for a trophy case than Stephanie Brown ever was. Aside from from meeting all of the criteria Oracle lists--being murdered, becoming someone else, being shot--he also had the advantage of actually being, you know, dead. And he played a more significant role in the Bat family than Stephanie ever had.
So, everyone who agitated for Stephanie to get a trophy case--where's the outrage for Jean-Paul? Where's the internet petitions, the questions for Dan DiDio at conventions, the accusations of nefarious motives for the exclusion?
Just askin'...
Stephanie/Babs confab from this week's Batgirl #2
Anyway, now that all the furor has died down about why Stephanie didn't have a trophy case, can we get back to the real issue--why doesn't Azrael have one?
So, everyone who agitated for Stephanie to get a trophy case--where's the outrage for Jean-Paul? Where's the internet petitions, the questions for Dan DiDio at conventions, the accusations of nefarious motives for the exclusion?
Just askin'...
Stephanie/Babs confab from this week's Batgirl #2
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Dork Avengers
Questions, I have questions...
A) Man, if Bendis really wanted to write Thunderbolts stories that badly, why the hell not just write Thunderbolts? Why drag Norman Osborn et al into a whole new and unnecessary Avengers book???
B) Why the elaborate charade?
Remember, the premise is, the public saw Osborn being a hero against the Skrulls, and the public clamor caused the president to put him in charge of H.A.M.M.E.R. and the Avengers.
Well, the rest of the Thunderbolts team was there too, right? Moonstone was there, Bullseye was there, Venom was there. They fought and killed Skrulls live on TV. Wouldn't they then be regarded as heroes, just as much as Osborn?
So why the pretend game? Why pretend Moonstone is Ms. Marvel, or Bullseye is Hawkeye, or Venom is Spider-Man? Why would the public accept Osborn as the Iron Patriot, but not the rest of his team??
C) Spider-Man.
Let's check in with Peter Parker, and see what's up in his life.
Oh, right. He's wanted for suspicion of being the "Spider Tracer" serial killer. The police are shooting to kill on sight. The general public believes he's a killer, and is frightened to death of him.
Hmmm.
So having Venom disguise himself as a perceived serial killer is an advantage how??
Yet, in the very same city, here's the press and the public, wildly cheering for the man identified as Spider-Man.
So, the police and the people and the papers (especially the DB!!) have magically forgotten their vendetta against Spidey why?
Or has Osborn somehow pardoned Spider-Man, and the message just hasn't gotten through to the NYPD yet?? So instead of tweaking Spider-Man, he's actually doing him a favor?? And we can expect to Peter Parker receive some of this love in his own mag??
Or, more likely, is it that Bendis just doesn't give a damn what's going on in anybody else's books? That he can't be bothered to have his charade make sense because, dammit, he wants Venom to be an Avenger, and the storyline in Amazing Spider-Man can just go frell itself?!?
D) Ares and the Sentry?!?!?
Look, Bendis clearly has some deep liking for these characters, as they're the only ones he kept around from Mighty. But in heaven's name, why?!? In the Sentry's stint in New and Mighty Avengers, and Ares' in Mighty, have either one of them done anything even remotely interesting, or even memorable?!? If you like these guys so much, Bendis, why the hell don't you have them actually do something?!?
So what does the first real event of Purple Reign give us? Gussied up Thunderbolts, used in ways that make no sense, and a 7-page preview of Secret Warriors that had ALREADY been run in the Dark Reign: New Nation special. There's $3.99 well spent.
I guess it really is a dark reign...
Clips from Amazing Spider-Man 584 and Dork Avengers #1
A) Man, if Bendis really wanted to write Thunderbolts stories that badly, why the hell not just write Thunderbolts? Why drag Norman Osborn et al into a whole new and unnecessary Avengers book???
B) Why the elaborate charade?
Remember, the premise is, the public saw Osborn being a hero against the Skrulls, and the public clamor caused the president to put him in charge of H.A.M.M.E.R. and the Avengers.
Well, the rest of the Thunderbolts team was there too, right? Moonstone was there, Bullseye was there, Venom was there. They fought and killed Skrulls live on TV. Wouldn't they then be regarded as heroes, just as much as Osborn?
So why the pretend game? Why pretend Moonstone is Ms. Marvel, or Bullseye is Hawkeye, or Venom is Spider-Man? Why would the public accept Osborn as the Iron Patriot, but not the rest of his team??
C) Spider-Man.
Let's check in with Peter Parker, and see what's up in his life.
Hmmm.
So having Venom disguise himself as a perceived serial killer is an advantage how??
Yet, in the very same city, here's the press and the public, wildly cheering for the man identified as Spider-Man.
Or has Osborn somehow pardoned Spider-Man, and the message just hasn't gotten through to the NYPD yet?? So instead of tweaking Spider-Man, he's actually doing him a favor?? And we can expect to Peter Parker receive some of this love in his own mag??
Or, more likely, is it that Bendis just doesn't give a damn what's going on in anybody else's books? That he can't be bothered to have his charade make sense because, dammit, he wants Venom to be an Avenger, and the storyline in Amazing Spider-Man can just go frell itself?!?
D) Ares and the Sentry?!?!?
Look, Bendis clearly has some deep liking for these characters, as they're the only ones he kept around from Mighty. But in heaven's name, why?!? In the Sentry's stint in New and Mighty Avengers, and Ares' in Mighty, have either one of them done anything even remotely interesting, or even memorable?!? If you like these guys so much, Bendis, why the hell don't you have them actually do something?!?
So what does the first real event of Purple Reign give us? Gussied up Thunderbolts, used in ways that make no sense, and a 7-page preview of Secret Warriors that had ALREADY been run in the Dark Reign: New Nation special. There's $3.99 well spent.
I guess it really is a dark reign...
Clips from Amazing Spider-Man 584 and Dork Avengers #1
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Devolve Or Die?
Let's begin with the admission that when it comes to matters of comic book printing and comic book economics, I don't know a damned thing. So I'm just asking questions here, not making actual prescriptions here. And if what I'm asking is stupid, or doesn't make a lick of sense, well, I won't argue.
But as comics push harder and harder against the $2.99 barrier, we've got to ask these questions. Because if comics do go up to $3.99 as a matter of course, than even I will be forced to cut back, and that's saying something. Which means an awful lot of people who have actual living expenses (or more of a life) will cut back even more, and we'll quickly see a bloodbath.
So my question is, why not go, at least partially, back to newsprint? Or cheaper paper?
Right now the Big Two are eagerly pumping out a regular supply of phone book-sized Essentials and Showcases at ridiculously low retails, as compared to regular comics and trades. And readers don't seem to mind the cheaper quality of paper, as they sell.
Yes, I know those are black and white reprint reprint volumes, so it's hardly an exact analogy. But I also know that it would cost you about $150 of Archives or Omnibus to get the same number of stories you get in $17 worth of Essential or Showcase. And some percentage of that has to be the paper.
Plus, as newspapers vanish or see their circulation decrease, I would expect the price of low-end paper to come down even more in the immediate future.
So do current new comics have to be printed on glossier, sturdier paper? I know it was viewed as a huge leap forward as the transition was gradually made back in the day. But comic books survived for decades printed on low quality paper, and maybe the time has come to step back to the past, in order to keep the cost to consumers from crossing the Line of Death.
Hey, comics on the better paper last longer! Acknowledged. But then again, pretty much every comic I've ever owned over the past 30 years is still intact (except due to my ill care in a couple of cases). And these days, every series seems to be almost immediately collected in trade automatically, they'll still exist on good paper, right?
Hey comics on the better paper allow for more intricate artwork, more subtle coloring, etc!! Again, acknowledged. And even though I've griped about a lot of artwork being too mannered and dark and broody these days (especially at Marvel...you guys loose your crayons or what?), I would be the last one that would suggest that we flush everything back to the 80's. But...newsprint was good enough for Jack Kirby and Neal Adams and Steve Ditko and Jim Steranko and...you get my point. And I rarely hear people say that "Kirby was great but I wish his New Gods was colored more subtly, that Swamp Thing was illegible due to bad printing."
(Aside: And does the paper these days have to be so damn glossy? Do I need to keep finding new ways to hold the comics because of glare reflected from overhead lights? Just asking...)
And I'm not suggesting that everything go back to newsprint. There's no reason we can't have two tiers, like we did back in the 80's, right? Do The Titans or Rulk really need to be on paper shiny high class paper? Why not save the more expensive paper (and thus the more expensive price point) for the books that justify such treatment?
So, I'm thinking the Big Two could experiment here. How about doing their All Ages titles on cheaper newsprint, at a lower price point? Or try their weekly or almost weekly (Amazing Spider-Man)? I'm willing to bet many buyers would be willing to make the trade-off of some quality for a less cover price, and that if the Big Two could offer some books at $1.99 or $2.49, you'd see some increased sales. And if it was successful, they could consider some line-wide changes. Not only would being able to actually lower their cover prices keep readership from eroding, I think it would actually increase those numbers.
Am I right? Do I make any sense? Do my numbers add up? Because I fear that if everyone keeps doing the same old same old and just raises the price, we'll see a fairly large comic book depression.
But as comics push harder and harder against the $2.99 barrier, we've got to ask these questions. Because if comics do go up to $3.99 as a matter of course, than even I will be forced to cut back, and that's saying something. Which means an awful lot of people who have actual living expenses (or more of a life) will cut back even more, and we'll quickly see a bloodbath.
So my question is, why not go, at least partially, back to newsprint? Or cheaper paper?
Right now the Big Two are eagerly pumping out a regular supply of phone book-sized Essentials and Showcases at ridiculously low retails, as compared to regular comics and trades. And readers don't seem to mind the cheaper quality of paper, as they sell.
Yes, I know those are black and white reprint reprint volumes, so it's hardly an exact analogy. But I also know that it would cost you about $150 of Archives or Omnibus to get the same number of stories you get in $17 worth of Essential or Showcase. And some percentage of that has to be the paper.
Plus, as newspapers vanish or see their circulation decrease, I would expect the price of low-end paper to come down even more in the immediate future.
So do current new comics have to be printed on glossier, sturdier paper? I know it was viewed as a huge leap forward as the transition was gradually made back in the day. But comic books survived for decades printed on low quality paper, and maybe the time has come to step back to the past, in order to keep the cost to consumers from crossing the Line of Death.
Hey, comics on the better paper last longer! Acknowledged. But then again, pretty much every comic I've ever owned over the past 30 years is still intact (except due to my ill care in a couple of cases). And these days, every series seems to be almost immediately collected in trade automatically, they'll still exist on good paper, right?
Hey comics on the better paper allow for more intricate artwork, more subtle coloring, etc!! Again, acknowledged. And even though I've griped about a lot of artwork being too mannered and dark and broody these days (especially at Marvel...you guys loose your crayons or what?), I would be the last one that would suggest that we flush everything back to the 80's. But...newsprint was good enough for Jack Kirby and Neal Adams and Steve Ditko and Jim Steranko and...you get my point. And I rarely hear people say that "Kirby was great but I wish his New Gods was colored more subtly, that Swamp Thing was illegible due to bad printing."
(Aside: And does the paper these days have to be so damn glossy? Do I need to keep finding new ways to hold the comics because of glare reflected from overhead lights? Just asking...)
And I'm not suggesting that everything go back to newsprint. There's no reason we can't have two tiers, like we did back in the 80's, right? Do The Titans or Rulk really need to be on paper shiny high class paper? Why not save the more expensive paper (and thus the more expensive price point) for the books that justify such treatment?
So, I'm thinking the Big Two could experiment here. How about doing their All Ages titles on cheaper newsprint, at a lower price point? Or try their weekly or almost weekly (Amazing Spider-Man)? I'm willing to bet many buyers would be willing to make the trade-off of some quality for a less cover price, and that if the Big Two could offer some books at $1.99 or $2.49, you'd see some increased sales. And if it was successful, they could consider some line-wide changes. Not only would being able to actually lower their cover prices keep readership from eroding, I think it would actually increase those numbers.
Am I right? Do I make any sense? Do my numbers add up? Because I fear that if everyone keeps doing the same old same old and just raises the price, we'll see a fairly large comic book depression.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Questions For A Week When Nobody's Reading
A) Now that Geoff Johns has announced that he's leaving JSA--and DC has yet to announce the new team--what do you think the over/under is on the number of months until cancellation??
I'm certainly not rooting for that. But given the inability of almost anyone else to ever make the title sell, and the inability of DC to provide stable creative teams for almost any book not helmed by Johns, I'm not optimistic. So I'm guessing 7 post-Johns issues...and then another re-launch at some point.
B) Why can't I have a hedge maze for Christmas? Seriously, give me one good reason...
C) Is it just me, or is "Doctor Hurt" just Hush with a more respected creative pedigree??
D) Given the tremendous complications that it could produce for the ongoing Purple Reign story line, what is the likelihood that we ever get any answer to the question of exactly what Spider-Man's and the Green Goblin's history is post-Brand New Day?
Seriously, given the fact that Bendis has spent literally years building up to the moment where Norman Osborn takes over the world, did Quesada ever bother to let him now that they were going to frell up Osborn's memories and/or timeline?!? (Of course, Bendis could pull a little bit of plot jiu jitsu and say that Norman's so nuts because of Mephisto's machinations...)
I'm certainly not rooting for that. But given the inability of almost anyone else to ever make the title sell, and the inability of DC to provide stable creative teams for almost any book not helmed by Johns, I'm not optimistic. So I'm guessing 7 post-Johns issues...and then another re-launch at some point.
B) Why can't I have a hedge maze for Christmas? Seriously, give me one good reason...
C) Is it just me, or is "Doctor Hurt" just Hush with a more respected creative pedigree??
D) Given the tremendous complications that it could produce for the ongoing Purple Reign story line, what is the likelihood that we ever get any answer to the question of exactly what Spider-Man's and the Green Goblin's history is post-Brand New Day?
Seriously, given the fact that Bendis has spent literally years building up to the moment where Norman Osborn takes over the world, did Quesada ever bother to let him now that they were going to frell up Osborn's memories and/or timeline?!? (Of course, Bendis could pull a little bit of plot jiu jitsu and say that Norman's so nuts because of Mephisto's machinations...)
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Just Askin'--Dear Abby??
From Supergirl #34 (which launches the the 29th "new direction" since the character was resurrected):
So, the Daily Planet puts "Dear Abby" on the op-ed page? Man, Metropolis is such a cow town...
(and before anybody comments that maybe Cat was just ignorant of where Dear Abby appears in the Planet--Cat is the Planet's "Arts and Entertainment correspondent" ((read the credit for the story on page 1 of the comic)), and since that's where just about every big city paper puts the advice column, she should know if it appears there. So either Cat Grant is so incredibly stupid that she doesn't know what features appear in her own section, or the Daily Planet is a cow town paper that prints Dear Abby on the op-ed page, right next to the garage sales ads and recipes. I report, you decide.)
(and before anybody comments that maybe Cat was just ignorant of where Dear Abby appears in the Planet--Cat is the Planet's "Arts and Entertainment correspondent" ((read the credit for the story on page 1 of the comic)), and since that's where just about every big city paper puts the advice column, she should know if it appears there. So either Cat Grant is so incredibly stupid that she doesn't know what features appear in her own section, or the Daily Planet is a cow town paper that prints Dear Abby on the op-ed page, right next to the garage sales ads and recipes. I report, you decide.)
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Just Askin'--Doom Slang?!?
From Mighty Avengers #10 last week:
Doctor Doom says "Okay"?!?!?!?
Really?
Maybe it's just me, but somehow I don't picture Victor Von Doom, monarch of Latveria, possessor of a raging superiority complex over all things super-hero and American, indulging himself in American slang, especially when trying to prove his superiority to Tony Stark.
"Okay"?!?!?! Instead of "All right" or "Touche" or any of 50 other options that don't involve him talking like Spider-Man or Hawkeye or everyone else Bendis writes??
Of course, he could be a Skrull...that's the hidden beauty of the ridiculousness of the upcoming Skrullapalooza (aka Secret Invasion aka Millennium II): it's a cheap way to excuse any inconsistency or poor writing!! Although you'd think that if these Skrulls were any good at infiltration, there wouldn't BE that many inconsistencies to explain away...
Anyway, Doom saying "Okay?" I can't wait to see what Bendis has him saying next issue...
Really?
Maybe it's just me, but somehow I don't picture Victor Von Doom, monarch of Latveria, possessor of a raging superiority complex over all things super-hero and American, indulging himself in American slang, especially when trying to prove his superiority to Tony Stark.
"Okay"?!?!?! Instead of "All right" or "Touche" or any of 50 other options that don't involve him talking like Spider-Man or Hawkeye or everyone else Bendis writes??
Of course, he could be a Skrull...that's the hidden beauty of the ridiculousness of the upcoming Skrullapalooza (aka Secret Invasion aka Millennium II): it's a cheap way to excuse any inconsistency or poor writing!! Although you'd think that if these Skrulls were any good at infiltration, there wouldn't BE that many inconsistencies to explain away...
Anyway, Doom saying "Okay?" I can't wait to see what Bendis has him saying next issue...
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