a little Free Comic Book Day manifesto
This past Saturday was Free Comic Book Day. As I understand it, Free Comic Book Day’s purpose is three-fold:
1. It is meant to encourage new readers to try the medium, read a comic, and possibly become a regular consumer.
2. Secondly, it is meant to encourage current comic-book readers to come to the store, support the shop that they refer to as their Local Comic Shop (LCS in twitter speak), and buy a few comics, books, toys, shop-local etc.
3. Lastly it is a celebration of the rich history of the four-color graphic sequential art form known as comic books.
This all sounds great, right?
The Local Stores that I call home in the fine state of NJ both did a great job. They both had half-off sales, and as a result I picked up a ton of books that I have wanted for some time.
Also, I brought my son! This was his second Free Comic Book Day. He dressed as Batman and remained in character all morning! In a gravelly voice he asked “Where are the free comics bub?”
And here comes the problem—–> Free Comic Book Day is not for children. You’d think it would be, right?
Nope. Not for kids.
Free Comic Book Day is for grown men that get in line at midnight the night before Free Comic Book Day. Free Comic Book Day is for men who don’t have set bedtimes, or need a good night rest. Free Comic Book Day is for men that like to grab as many of these free comics as they can and flip them on Ebay.
My son, I’m sorry, I mean Batman, and I, arrived at our LCS at about 9:15AM. They opened at 8AM. To Batman’s dismay pretty much all the free comics were gone. One of the employees said “Yeah, Man. It was nuts. They were all gone in 15 minutes. There was a line at 5AM.” Another person chimed in and said the line began at 3AM.
My son, (dang it, I keep doing that) I mean Batman, was not happy.
Batman and I entered anyway. We wanted to check out the sales.
The sales were so good, that the store was handing out short boxes (Each holds about 200 comics) to carry your comics in, which were 50% off! The store was packed with grown men carrying heavy boxes, one of which immediately hit Batman in head. There was an instant apology. The man asked Batman if he was “okay?” Batman was fine, because, y’know, he’s Batman.
We found a Joker figure, I grabbed one comic, and we got on the very long line. My… Batman waited patiently. The line ran along dozens of bins of comics. After 20 or so minutes we were two people from the front of the line. A full comic-box-carrying-grown-man in his late 50’s/ early 60’s shoved past my son, and at least three other super heroes in training, as he lumbered to the front of the line and placed his booty on the counter.
Comic Book fans have a tendency to be a little, shall we say meek? I, however, am not going to be meek when I’m Batman’s dad! I opened my mouth, and lets just say this pillager of Free Comic Book Day was shamed to the back of the line.
Batman and I left. I asked Batman if he had fun.
Sadly, in his gravelly voice, he replied “Batman did not have fun.”
We had about an hour until Batman had to be at a Birthday Party, (which as a tangent was a lot of fun!) so we decided to stop by a LCS that was even closer to our house and opened at 10AM. There was a small line as we pulled up.
I unbuckled Batman from his car seat and he hopped to action! This second store was organized, had a large collection of kid friendly books, a policy of one copy of each free comic for each customer, and a very friendly atmosphere.
Long story short, Batman was able to enjoy some lakeside comic book reading later that day while sitting in a lovely Tipi.
Photo Credit Apryl Lee https://instagram.com/aaaprylleee/
So, I don’t want to whine about this, but something is rotten in fandom.
Who is Free Comic Book Day really for? Kids or grown-up fan-boys? Both? Can it be for both?
Should retailers dissuade fans from lining up 24 hours before the doors open, so there are enough books for all the fans? Or should we all accept the state of things and encourage this mob mentality culture which I’ve seen at the cons too often, where the fans just shove, grab, and scream for all the freebies that the publishers offer. Anybody who has attended NYCC on a Sunday and wandered past the Marvel Booth knows exactly what I’m talking about.
A Solution: (?)
Digital Redemption codes. My son—- Batman, finds it completely natural to read on an iPad or other mobile device. Publishers could distribute codes at Free Comic Book Day participating stores to get the free content on your mobile devices. To get the code, you would still need to visit the physical store on Free Comic Book Day, celebrate the history of comics, perhaps pick up a toy or book, thus supporting your LCS. Everybody wins!
It’s just an idea. Digital distribution is the future for all entertainment. There is no denying that. Well, I suppose you could, but you’d be wrong. Free Comic Book Day should get on board and embrace it, even as it encourages us all to get up off our $@#%s and shop locally at our LCS.
Thanks for reading.
A WIFE ALONE a film by Justin Reichman
I go through these periods when I fall in love with independent film all over again. I’m currently head over heels for a few films. One of them is A Wife Alone.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of watching A Wife Alone, and being a person that has spent some time on film sets I sometimes find myself jealous of the cheats committed by a production in the name of budget, schedule, and practicality, especially when the cheats work and add something to the overall film. What are these cheats you ask?
1. A limited number of locations – After all, it costs money to keep moving a film crew around! 🙂 A Wife Alone, manages this very nicely though. The primary location is a cabin in the woods, which allows for a human game of chess as the characters move around the board. The locale allows for tension building and the seclusion needed to introduce the conflict.
2. A smaller cast than your typical studio film – A Wife Alone features, for the majority of the film, four brilliant actors. There is a definite Noir tone to the film, however it never presents itself as an overdone Whodunnit exploring a cast of unsavory suspects, Wife is more of a when-are-they-gonna-do-it?! – but in a good way as they build to a very satisfying ending.
3. A relatively unknown cast – When you go to the movies to see a Brad Pitt film where he saves the world from Zombies, no matter how bad it gets, you can count on Brad still being counted amongst the living when the credits roll. With an indie film, there is no such security. All of the characters are fair game. Getting out of the studio system provides the opportunity to make films which are not created by committee or focus groups who have filled our theaters with the same old formulaic celluloid which we’ve endured year after year. Of course, a cast like this won’t remain unknown for long. Catherine Curtin, for instance, is on the hit show Orange is the New Black, which I keep telling my wife “I’ll watch it. I’ll watch it. I promise.”
Independent film allows freedom to tell a story worth telling, freedom to feature characters that aren’t the most likeable ladies or fellows, freedom to be original.
The director , Justin Reichman, had this to say about “A Wife Alone”
The selfishness present in A Wife Alone is an expression of American drive. In making this film, I wanted to uncover the dark side of that determination. To that end, the characters are not all-together likeable and there is a sense of bleakness and a lack of true love. The characters epitomize the devilish side of capitalism and male dominance.
You can’t get much more Noir than that.
A Wife Alone is available on Video on Demand on various platforms now, and I highly recommend checking it out.
Available to watch now on these providers!
Its been a while since I’ve done a Blogging Dead post. I have my reasons, of which there are many. The primary reason is that there haven’t been any zombie centric projects that crossed my path which caught my eye, and made me say “YEAH!!!” Yes folks, this means I was bored by the last season of the Walking Dead. I watched it, but it really didn’t do it for me. As a result, ZOMBIES were dead to me. Pun definitely intended. They were dead, at least until this past week (week and a half?) when I heard about the next project coming from comic-book creators Matt Miner and Sean Von Gorman, Toe Tag Riot!
According to the description on Kickstarter, Toe Tag Riot is:
A hilariously gory mash-up of rad stuff like Night of the Living Dead, a GWAR live show, and hardcore punk rock, TOE TAG RIOT is a tongue-in-cheek, lighthearted torrential downpour of blood and guts sure to please anyone who LOVES FUN and HATES JERKS like Million Moms, Nazi Skinheads, Dudebros and the Westboro Baptist Church!
Toe Tag Riot is LGBTQ-positive, and inclusive to everyone except bigots. Bigots are zombie food. Toe Tag Riot is a fun book with a positive message and a diverse cast of wacky characters.
Matt Miner is accustomed to telling stories which are worth telling. Everything he writes contains a positive message that we can all stand to learn from. He wants the world to be a better place, and you can clearly see that in his work. In a world filled 99% (I totally made this figure up) with comics featuring ridiculously proportioned men and women fighting the utterly pointless never-ending battle, Miner’s books stand out as masterfully crafted graphic novels. Liberator, from Black Mask Studio, tackled the subject of Animal Rights through the eyes of an activist, and it happens to be available as a collection on Amazon right now. Go grab a copy for yourself—–> HERE.
Sean Von Gorman, artist of Toe Tag Riot, is a bit of a renaissance man. One of the few times I bumped into him was at the New York Comic Con in 2013 when he was performing escape artistry for a large crowd. Along with his real-life ability to perform these feats, Von Gorman performed the art duties on The Secret Adventures of Houdini, a wonderful telling of the ” untold stories of the final years of Harry Houdini’s life.”
In the hands of these two creators, this fun take on Zombies as protagonists might just be the new blood that the genre needs.
The Kickstarter offers packages for every budget level from the $7 “Digital only Package” where you get a copy of the first issue emailed to you upon availability, all the way to the “Have Your Likeness Drawn Into the Book A Lot as a Punk Zombie” for a cool $1000, and come on, who among you hasn’t dreamed of seeing yourself as a punk rock zombie? There are many other tiers of awards, including comic collections, digital comics, t-shirts, original art commissions, etc.
I backed it right away. You should go back it too. Go. Do it. We need more zombie tales that are worth reading.
Kingsman – the Real Kickass Sequel?
Watch Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Caine in Matthew Vaughn’s new trailer for Kingsman!
Kingsman is the second collaboration from director Matthew Vaughn as he adapts material from comic book creator Mark Millar.
Being someone that read the comic, it seems to, more or less, be a faithful adaptation.
I could go on analyzing the trailer, but I won’t. It’s just a trailer. We’ll look closely at the film this fall.
Enjoy this first look at Kingsman from 20th Century Fox!
Francis, you can finally have Pee-Wee’s bike!
- The original Charlie Chaplin “Tramp” cane from Modern Times
- A Judy Garland screen test Dorothy dress from The Wizard of Oz
- A mid-grade type 2 Phaser pistol from Star Trek: The Original Series.
- Harrison Ford’s signature fedora hat from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade as well as the iconic whip from all three films of the original trilogy.
Pee-wee Herman’s elaborate custom bicycle from Pee Wee’s Big Adventure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The catalyst that set in motion a crazy cross-country adventure can be yours for an estimated $15,000 – $20,000!!!!MONDO Makes Monster Movie Magic at SDCC
My gateway prints…
I stumbled upon Mondo a few years ago, when a friend brought Olly Moss‘ art to my attention. I was so blown away by his minimalist style as he applied it to what I consider to be cinematic masterpieces that I needed to own one immediately. I googled and googled until I found Mondo. That very week, I was lucky enough to get a set of Moss’ Star Wars prints. You know the ones. They sold out in what seemed like seconds. So after acquiring those beautiful prints, I was infected with the collecting bug. Since that time, I’ve put together a nice little collection of about 15 Prints. (Shaun of the Dead by Jock, Dark Knight Rises by Olly Moss, Rear Window by Kevin Tong, Iron Giant by Mike Mitchell, and a few others)
Why did I feel compelled to purchase these prints though? That’s easy. Mondo, along with the Alamo Drafthouse theaters have endeavored to keep us looking into and respecting the past even as we barrel into a future full of 3D HD CG craziness. They consistently remind us that movies are meant to be enjoyed again and again in the comfort of a theater.
This Year at San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) Mondo will be releasing a collection of prints inspired by Legendary Pictures’ Pacific Rim from director Guillermo del Toro, which will be in theaters on July 12. The Mondo booth will be set up on the main conference floor in booth #936 Wednesday July 17 through Sunday July 21.
Below are the gorgeous Pacific Rim prints that will be available for sale on preview night, Wednesday, July 17th when doors open. If you are there and want one, you better grab it quickly. They are very limited.
PACIFIC RIM by Kevin Tong
Size: 24″ x 36″
Edition: 375 Regular, 200 Variant
Price: $45 Regular, $75 Variant
Regular
Variant
PACIFIC RIM (Kaiju) by Ash Thorp
Size: 24″ x 36″
Edition: 350
Price: $50
PACIFIC RIM (Jaeger) by Ash Thorp
Size: 24″ x 36″
Edition: 350
Price: $50
PACIFIC RIM by Vania Zouravliov
Size: 24″ x 36″
Edition: 145
Price: $50
As a semi-new parent (my son just turned 2), I’m constantly faced with a dilemma; how do I find the time to pursue my creative endeavors while I have a 9 to 5 job which pays our bills and I want to be the best dad I can be? The answer(s) are never really simple, but the following are a few fairly obvious tricks I use to continue to live my life in a creative manner.
1. Talk to your spouse. Let them know that this is important to you. Work with them to find the time, because if you are happy with yourself, it will be evident in your parenting, your marriage and will undoubtedly rub off on your child. The act of pursuing goals that are important to you will encourage your child to be optimistic, happy, and pursue their own dream. Facing challenges head-on will make you an inspiration to your child.
2. Give up sleep 🙂 If you want to be there for your child and take part in their life, then you can’t be on the iPhone, tablet, or computer during the soccer games, the school concerts, or the doctor visits. That would be cheating. You might as well not go if you’re not going to pay attention and cheer your child on. You need to be present in whatever you are doing. When you are parenting, be a parent. Leave the project at home. When you are creating, do that. Sit at your desk. Go to your workspace, your garage, wherever it is that you do what you do, and go create. I’ve found that the time that I can sit for the longest period of time and really immerse myself in my work is when everyone else is asleep. So, if you can handle the vampire life, and you don’t need a lot of shuteye, you could work nights on your projects.
3. Find motivation in your life – The day I decided to write a comic was the day my son was born. I’ve always enjoyed the medium as a fan. I had been assembling a library of my favorite books inscribed by their creators with words of encouragement to my son about embracing creativity in life. I began the collection a few months before he was born, but when I saw him face to face I realized it wasn’t enough to gather words of wisdom from other people. I want to impart those words, so I decided I’ll create a comic specifically for him.
4. Avoid distractions – Twitter is fun. Facebook is good for keeping up with friends. You can tumble through tumblr all day, but don’t. Social networking can be a great tool for exactly that, networking. Just don’t let it suck you into never-ending conversations about the social ramifications of an individual scene in the latest Star Trek film. You may feel the need to get your two-bits out there into the twittersphere, but just do it and get out. There is an inherent danger in social networking; it never closes. It’s not like a bar that shuts the doors at eleven. It’s always open, and there are always conversations to join, but you don’t have to. You have a choice. You can argue about Game of Thrones, or you can go write your own Fantasy epic.
These are simply a few of my techniques. I need to be inspired, an inspiration, a loving dad and husband, sleep deprived, and wear social networking blinders. Maybe you agree. Maybe not. Maybe you have very different ways of going about it. I’m going to go write something now, and leave you with a fun two panel comic example of how my son and I like to have fun and be creative together.
Pull Yourselves Together. Damian Wayne is not DEAD!
Just give him a second. He’ll be fine.
Well, maybe he’s dead in the literal sense, because he did have a sword driven through him and he did cease living due to horrific injuries, and he did die. But that is without a doubt not the end of his story. Grant Morrison still has three more issues, and if there is one thing that is perfectly clear about his career other than that he is a pretty amazing writer, it is that he cares for his creations the same way that a parent does their children.
Through a series of precedents established in other Morrison books, I will hopefully convince you beyond a shadow of a doubt that Damian Wayne will live again before the last page is turned in Morrison’s epic Batman run.
I present my case:
“Are you my dad?” “Yes. Yes I am.”
Exhibit 1 – Buddy Baker’s family is brutally murdered in Animal Man #19, leaving the character depressed and shattered. Morrison’s next few issues feature explorations of what reality actually is, in a revenge fueled trip through the limbo of forgotten characters and abandoned story-lines. Ultimately Buddy actually crosses over into our reality and meets and converses with Morrison tête-à-tête. Morrison explains the whys and wherefores of the torture that Buddy has gone through, and how it is all for the sake of drama. His last act as the writer, whether it be an act of kindness to Buddy or to the next writer who took over the book, Morrison resurrects Buddy’s wife and kids and erases all memories of his crazy trip through the backstage of reality, comics, and both of our universes. Morrison can be a brutal man to his creations, but he can also be very kind and nurturing.
Exhibit 2 – All Star Super Man – the entire story hinges on the looming DEATH of Superman, which never comes to pass. Yes, he disappears into the heart of the sun, seemingly for all time, but he’s alive, and where there is life there is hope.
uh-oh
Exhibit 3 – Batman in Final Crisis issue 6: Batman is seemingly killed by Darkseid’s Omega beams and experiences the “Death that is life!” BATMAN IS DEAD!?! Yes. For one whole issue Batman was dead. At the end of issue 7 Bruce Wayne turns up in Prehistoric times drawing on the wall of a cave. (I’ve heard that Morrison didn’t want to end it that way, but don’t recall where, but the fact is that the ending took back the death, and Batman was alive.) Morrison let the character cool off for sometime before penning the Return of Bruce Wayne, in which the character actually fights his way back home through time and space.
You can’t keep a miracle down!
Exhibit 4 – Mister Miracle in 7 Soldiers: Shilo Norman, super escape artist, seemingly dies more than once over the course of 7 Soldiers. The first time was when trying to escape an artificial black hole. The second, after surrendering himself to Darkseid in exchange for the ancient hero, Aurakles. BUT, once again, at the last moment, Morrison can’t help but offer the audience a last sliver of hope with an image of Mister Miracle clawing his way out of his own grave, escaping death itself (again) in the last image of the series.
Exhibit 5 – Zauriel in JLA: Zauriel is killed in JLA #38 (page #21 Which I own the art of!) when the watchtower is destroyed by a series of nuclear missiles launched by Lex Luthor. Zauriel remained dead for less than half an issue. His story picked up immediately in Heaven, where he hoped to enlist divine assistance in the fight against Mageddon. He was denied and offered the option to stay or return to Earth. He returned to Earth and had a few more adventures before fading into obscurity and is probably now a resident of character limbo.
Exhibit X – New X-Men: Morrison brought the merry mutants into the new millennium by discarding their silly costumes and embracing the soap opera-y aspects of Marvel’s flagship mutant book. Over the course of his run we would see at least three main characters (Some of their names rhyme with Green Gray and Lag-Neato!— sort of) seemingly perish, only to be re-born bigger, brighter, and more dangerous than ever.
Exhibit 7 – One last piece of evidence, unrelated to precedents established by Morrison’s prior work: Doesn’t anyone find it suspicious that Batman is currently telling the “Zero Year” storyline? I’m sure Snyder and Capullo will tell a fantastic origin in the new 52, but the timing seems pretty convenient. Maybe they’re excusing themselves from continuity for 11 issues so they don’t spoil anything, or be forced to play by whatever crazy rules and plot lines that will be established in the coming 3 issues of Batman Inc?
In closing, I’d like to point out that the trick that Morrison likes to pull again and again is convincing you that all hope is lost, and then he goes one step further and shows you that hope is never lost. Even though it is a hard fought journey, and quite a few characters go to hell and back, when the dust settles good always wins. And you can rest assured that by the end of Batman Inc. #13, out this July, SOMEHOW Damian will be among the living, because Morrison likes to see the good guys win.
In years past, do you remember sitting in a theater as the lights came down, and being gleefully unaware of what trailers might be screened ahead of the feature film? I do, and I miss it. Social networking (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.) has ruined that wonderful ignorance. There’s no room for surprises anymore. Everything gets Spoiled.
Newsfeed when googling “Man of Steel TV”
When did the ‘dropping’ of a new trailer become news? Why is the premiere of a TV spot for a movie that won’t be in theaters for six-months news? Isn’t the trailer publicity enough in itself? Why does every blogger on the planet jump when the next trailer for Star Trek, Star Wars, or Superman is released and provide millions of articles, Facebook posts, and tweets all over the internet stating the same thing “Click HERE to see the new trailer for (Insert Film title here)”
Why do we allow them (The Entertainment Powers that be) to do this to us? Because we (myself included) are all looking for the same thing, recognition for being the first cool kid to realize it’s been released. We really just want to be liked, and we camouflage that need with our incessant articles, FB posts, and tweets as we gather our followers, and link to official YouTube feeds showcasing the big budget film trailers, video games, and next big thing brought to us by the global conglomerate marketing machines that tell us what is cool. We are worker ants getting the word out for Hollywood films, and they don’t even ask for the help. We willingly provide it free of charge every day via our social networking platform of choice.
In a world where the majority of us have already drank the Kool-Aid, I ask what about the little films? Small press comics? Self-published books? Bands trying to cut their first album? What about the stories which that need to be told, which are ignored as we all discuss the latest Tom Cruise vehicle?
Let’s switch gears! Rather than continue whining, I’d like to take a step in a positive direction and offer an alternative to giving more free advertising to films that don’t need us. If you ever find yourself “Mad as Hell, and not willing to take It ANYMORE,” then there are places you can go on these inter-webs which provide the opportunity to support some truly independent artistic endeavors:
www.kickstarter.com – “Kickstarter is a new way to fund creative projects. We’re a home for everything from films, games, and music to art, design, and technology. Kickstarter is full of projects, big and small, that are brought to life through the direct support of people like you. Since our launch in 2009, more than 3.8 million people have pledged over $559 million, funding more than 39,000 creative projects. Thousands of creative projects are raising funds on Kickstarter right now. “
www.indiegogo.com “Everyone should have the opportunity to raise money. Now everyone does. People all over the world use our industry-leading platform to raise millions of dollars for all types of campaigns. No matter what you are raising money for, you can start right now with no fee or application process.”
www.rockethub.com – “You want your crowdfunding project to be successful. Period. You want your project to be where it belongs, and you want it to be noticed. You’re busy and you need this to be worth your time. You want to do nothing less than to dazzle your supporters.”
http://www.pledgemusic.com/ – Is a crowdfunding site entirely dedicated to assisting new emerging talent which seeks to break into the music industry.
Now go help an artist that needs a boost up. The chances are good that he or she will even thank you, while unfortunately Warner Bros. will never thank you for re-tweeting their latest Superman trailer.
Deconstructing a Tweet: The Middleman!
Who? What? Where? When? Why? And (W)How?
Who? Javier Grillo-Marxuach, creator of the Comic book the Middleman and former writer of Lost!
What? There will be more Middleman! For those of you unfamiliar with the Middleman, it was a short lived show on ABC family, and prior to that it was a comic book series created by Grillo-Marxuach. The Middleman tells the story of the eponymous character as he saves the world from precious-gem-eating-aliens, Alternate reality doppelgängers gone bad, ventriloquist dummy vampires, Lucha Libre wrestlers, etc. etc. with the assistance of his faithful sidekick Wendy and his A.I. the Haydar.
Where? On Twitter! Keep up!
Why? Because the Middleman TV show and comic were “Sheer elegance in their simplicity.”
HOW?!?!?!? “It will not be a movie like VM (Veronica Mars).” Veronica Mars, the mid-aughts cult favorite TV program, recently raised over $2 million over night on Kickstarter.com for the purpose of creating a one-shot Veronica Mars film. This will not be like that. What could it be though?
Another Comic book series?
A Web Series with the original actors?
A web series of the Middlemen of the past?
A TV Pilot?
What else can be gleaned from this post?
“There may be a kickstarter involved. Figuring it out”
There may be a kickstarter involved. He is figuring it out.
There is still the most important question though, WHEN?!?!?!?!?!?! He signed off with a simple “Stay tuned” which is brilliant in its simplicity.
Cinema Fantastica! 