Random Comics News Story Round-Up

* the arts writer Robert Boyd points out that at that recent Heritage auction the Frank King went for something like 1/2037th of the Todd McFarlane.

* historian, TCJ editor and PictureBox publisher Dan Nadel runs down to the post-alternative comics squared circle, clears the ring, takes off his shirt and flexes. That had to be the most entertaining thing to appear on the comics Internet all weekend (if you count Friday as the weekend). You should read it. If nothing else, "sell your boots" is an all-time Journal line, worthy of Groth and Co. in their bomb-throwing heyday.

* as for the arguments themselves, I think all of his criticisms have some merit -- well, maybe not any spinning off of that oddly put and ill-conceived observation about EC's influence on the undergrounds -- even if I'm not sure I'd follow them out to the place Nadel is suggesting we go. I think we'll know more when the work in question is actually published. What I hope right now is that a) people simply won't get mad at Nadel, and b) if they do get mad at Nadel, people won't use that anger to cast about for ways to discredit his arguments rather than engage them.

* the dialogue around kickstarter most reminds me of the early 1990s conversation about self-publishing in comics. Both DM-focused self-publishing and crowd-funding bring with them implied critiques of more traditional publishing strategies. My suspicion is that kickstarter advocates are doing what I feel DM-focused self-publishing advocates did: presenting their way of doing things in a distorted manner that may overstate the value and reach and eventual impact of doing things their way. It's understandable, but that has to get under the skins of those that are using a traditional model that doesn't have that novelty and excitement factor.

* I welcome as much dialogue on these matters as possible, whether it's as funny and explosive as Nadel's Friday rant or not. I imagine that crowdfunding is here to stay and that it will not only have a significant effect on its own -- building on what's already happened -- but will also have a long-term, likely positive effect on other ways of publishing in comics.

* David Brothers on League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century: 2009.

* not comics: I'm encouraged to see the New Orleans media scene in a massive state of flux because I think it should be fascinating to see what develops after the gutting of that major community's newspaper. I'm a little less impressed with the confession in the linked-to article that people are making announcements about publishing intentions to sort of get the word out and for general publicity purposes. That doesn't seem sober to me in the way that deciding you want to be a region's news voice maybe should be.

* I knew it.

* finally, I love the title here: "Shitty Moments In My Life."
 
posted 2:00 am PST | Permalink
 

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