Monday Morning Linkdump

Comic Books Legends Revealed #209: The Yellow Kid.

Comics are educational.

Eight ways that comic book fans and shops are stereotyped on TV. I'd only seen two of them, personally.

Want.

DRM turns users into pirates. It's pretty simple, really. If your product doesn't work because it's got some crappy "protection" on it, people will look for a copy that works.

Fixing a space telescope? No problem! Playing a DVD? Problem. One expects it wasn't a case of crappy DRM...

Just because a check has "cleared", doesn't mean it's actually a valid check. Oops.

There are monsters in the water.

Wired reports on hobbyists building "fully functional" Wall-E replicas. By "fully functional" do they mean they pick up garbage?

Yup, you can find anybody on Facebook.

LOLCat Theology.

Links

Drawing with water. Youtube, short. Wow.

I don't think I will try Bully's recipe, but I'm sure thinking about it. Yummmmmmm.

Yikes. I spent four years in Bellingham at school. I could see catching the mooners, but nearly beating them to death? Yikes.

Speaking of cooking, The Bad Astronomer points to Dalek Cake making and Blue Peter.

This is a surprisingly cool skull.

The Oldest Eye on Earth.

Uh, What??

Who on EARTH hands a loaded UZI to an 8-year-old and lets him fire it until the recoil kicks it up enough to shoot him in the head?

The 7 Types of Pet Costumes. Muppet driver.

Hot Pug (is this a repeat? I can't tell any more). Sad Pug.

Thursday, Post New-Comics Day

A note to start: my last linkdump began with a rant about spoilers being posted in the headline of an article on ComicList. I was extremely annoyed at the time, and I'm still a bit miffed about having the pleasure of the surprise ending ruined for me by that site. However, in the comments to my note, Charles LePage, the owner of the site in question, apologized and promised to do better in the future. He came across as polite and considerate, despite my snarky reply to him. While I still think I will not re-add his site to my feed (I have far too many sites to read as it is), I have pretty much forgiven Charles. Now, have I forgiven DC for releasing that information to the press before I could get the comic? Not really, but my opinion is worthless in that argument.

Fans are raising funds to help David Pirkola, a comic retailer who was robbed and then shot in his shop. As a small business owner, he has no insurance. If you have a couple of dollars to donate, please do. This guy needs the help.

Big Bird is a Dinosaur.

ComicMix points us to a fan video of scenes from the Christmas episode of Doctor Who. This is from the upcoming Doctor Who Christmas episode, not the previous ones.

How would LOL: The Gathering work?

I do believe that LEGO Wesley was made by David Oakes, who made my custom Aquaman LEGO minifigs.

I really wish I had the equipment to do this. I would love to be able to make my own chocolate.

Fashion... or gang sign?

I've always hated hard lemonade, because I don't drink alcohol and I hate having to make sure that what I'm ordering is actually lemonade and not alcohol. I suspect the father in this article dislikes hard lemonade even more than I do.

Blogging from Mt Everest during a crackdown on protesters.

I've always hand-coded my HTML, and I'm not the only one.

More LOLCat Theology.

No Comics For Me

The comics bound for our comic book shop are on the other end of this mess:

Associated Press via Seattle PI, December 4, 2007

Associated Press via Seattle PI, December 4, 2007

Some Links

I must be getting better, as I was able to read through the mega-Olney thread and pick out this, which ought to be spread far and wide to any Olney victims.

There's a hot girl in the Comic Shop (YouTube). Also via the Olney thread.

Anti-Female ads backfire.

A Day In The Life

I TiVo both "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" because I like to watch them, but don't like staying up late or relying on repeats. Plus, being able to skip through commercials or the unfunny bits is nice. So yesterday afternoon I was watching the first "Colbert Report" back from the break, and Stephen Colbert was happily eating his ice cream. And I wondered why I still haven't found the flavor at any of my local grocery stores. So I went to Ben & Jerry's website, clicked on "New Flavors" and found "Stephen Colbert's AmeriCone Dream". I love the description:

Stephen Colbert's AmeriCone Dream is a decadent melting pot of vanilla ice cream with fudge-covered waffle cone pieces and a caramel swirl. It's the sweet taste of liberty in your mouth.

Down at the bottom of the info page is a "Store Locator" and I put in our zip code to see if anyone local is carrying it at all yet. To my surprise, the only local grocery that is carrying it so far is the one grocery I never go to (because it's a little out of the way, not because I don't like them). I told hubby-Eric about my find (he's on Spring Break, sort of), and we went about our business until a few minutes later when hubby-Eric was at a loss for what he needed to get done. "What am I doing?" he asked rhetorically, and I responded, "Running down to the store to get me some AmeriCone Dream!" He immediately launched himself to the garage, and while I stumbled up from my chair to go after him, I heard the car pulling out and the garage closing. He was gone.

I stood in the garage in shock for a moment, never having thought he would take my joke even slightly seriously. I slowly went back to my computer, wondering if he was upset at me. When he got back a few minutes later, triumphantly brandishing the ice cream, I was grateful and a bit meek. We ended up having the ice cream for dessert last night. It was REALLY good. Nasty calorie level, but I planned for it, so it worked out.

...

This morning I got up at my usual time and jumped in the shower. I was rinsing my hair when it happened. I cleared the water from my eyes after the rinse and realized I couldn't see anything. Well, not clearly. The power went out while I was in the shower. I finished my shower, thankful that the water heater doesn't instantly cool the water when power outages happen, and went about my normal morning business as well as I could manage. No power means cold breakfast, which wasn't too difficult. No power means no internet, so I couldn't check my e-mail/blogs/comments. Annoying, but I could survive. No power means no heat, and that was a mild problem. The house was already chill because I hadn't turned on the heat yet, and work wasn't for another couple of hours. Light wasn't an issue, I opened the front windowshade and was able to read just fine. But I got more and more cold as I did so.

I considered driving to work early, but the van still has no heat (every time I get it fixed it breaks again) and if there was no one there I'd be no better. So I wrapped myself in a blanket and read "A Distant Soil", "Gone South", and "Unshelved Vol 1". Reviews coming. Along with a bunch of overdue reviews for Illusive Arts that I really ought to do soon before they think I don't love them anymore.

But this morning... no computer, no reviews. Just reading in the cold house. I finally left when I realized I could see my breath. The drive was uncomfortable because I started out cold and the van didn't heat up at all inside. I got to work a little early, but there were a couple of people already there. I stood in front of the heater until I'd thawed enough to start working while my co-workers expressed sympathy for my frozen state.

...

On the way home from work, I visited the comic shop as normal on Wednesdays. When I saw the stuff in my pull box I realized the shop had been shorted. Once again, a box "went astray" at UPS, and so over half the books hadn't arrived, including three of the four books I was in to get. However, the Doctor Who TARDIS 4 port USB hub had arrived! So at least the trip wasn't a complete waste (I can't get the freakin' twist ties out of the bottom of the hub, otherwise it ROCKS). I also turned in the Apr/Jun order form.

I intended to stop by McD's for lunch and get another Happy Meal toy for hubby-Eric, but once I was on my way to McD's I realized I couldn't stomach the thought, and headed home to make lunch instead. But I was still in a junk food mood to some extent, so I talked poor hubby-Eric into ordering out a pizza for dinner. Papa John's has a tax day deal, large pizza for $10.40, so we pre-ordered one for the time Eric gets home from his night job (which is why he's only sort of on Spring Break). All of which takes us full circle from yesterday's ice cream run.

Random Thoughts Continued

In memory of Leah Adezio, who baked a birthday cake for Aqualad every March 6th, I've continued the tradition. I think Leah would have enjoyed being remembered with a birthday cake devoted to Aqualad.

Galaxion updated, and there's a little extra something on the forum that Tara doesn't want you to go see.

New Supergirl Costume Design.

Mike Sterling has described the evil comic shop, which all comic book fans have been in at least once. And usually only once.

Unfortunate match up of Shazam! Monster Society of Evil and 52.

Artist Ryan Kelly is cleaning out his old artwork, and offering it to fans if they make a donation to his site.

Movies based on comic books are based on comic books, not graphic novels, and we should be proud to be fans of the form instead of embarrassed by it, so says Mike Gold.

A set-back for creator's rights?

Oh... Osvaldo Cavandoli, 1920-2007. I certainly recognize La Linea.

The strangest level of Counter-Strike ever made. I mean, really, Hotel Fawlty Towers?

We have started in on this year's set of Girl Scout Cookies. While my favorite type is the Tagalongs, hubby-Eric loves Thin Mints. We got a box of each type this year, most of which went into the freezer. I was asked to try the "Little Brownies" by some friends, as they are sugar-free. My initial reaction? Ok, but too dry.

On the topic of food, here's a way to communicate menus in condiments, used by the Waffle House.

Charles Bonnet Syndrome. It's D*mn Interesting.

Mel Gibson made a one-frame appearance in this Apocalypto trailer. I would make you watch it to find it, but instead, here's the screen grab:

I still don't have any need to see the movie, though I think I'd sit through it before I'd sit through some of his other movies.

Snow from Boiling Water.

A very strange comparison of private versus socialized health care. I've always been pro-universal health care, but right now, as I go day to day without any insurance, I'm even more for universal health care than I used to be.

Speaking of health, there's a way to find out if medicine will work for you, but most doctors don't use it, and insurance won't cover it. The technology has "the potential to significantly reduce the 2 million hospitalizations and 1 million deaths caused by adverse drug reactions every year". Isn't that a good enough reason to give it a shot?

Slate argues for the release of Holocaust Archives that have been closed since the War.

Boing Boing shows an anti-anti-piracy ad. As long as the companies that distribute movies and music treat their customers as de facto criminals, piracy will grow.

Oh No! There's a pug in Get Fuzzy!

Links

Free Pancakes, February 20th.

Wiki list of endless songs. AAAAAAaaaaaaaaa....

Paul Cornell on Gallifrey Sunday.

People Who Know Nothing About Schools Telling Us How to Fix Them.

Ok, here's a YouTube video that explains Web 2.0 in under 5 minutes. You don't need the sound to understand the video (music soundtrack).

According to several news reports, the robber who hit my local comic shop has been arrested.

I Suppose I Should Report This

Armed Robber Hits Comic Store. Yes, that is the store I go to. Yes, the owner and employees are ok. No, I don't have anything to report that the local news hasn't already covered. The robber is hitting a lot of businesses, so this isn't an isolated thing. He hasn't hurt anyone yet. We hope he doesn't go back to the comic shop. And yes, I hope he's caught soon before he does hurt someone.

Retailers, listen up!

If you are a comic book retailer, go right now to Peter David's Website and participate in The Poll of the Century.

Like Peter, I'm very interested in seeing the results of this poll.

Opinion Page Reprint

To make my life easier, I'm reprinting (and updating) some of my comic book industry essays from my now-defunct Opinion Page (which, seriously, was an early attempt at a blog).

When I first wrote this entry, I was pretty naive about the way comics work behind the scenes. I'm still quite naive, but at least now I know that there is a lot I don't know. And I believe I got some facts very wrong in the following article, including how well Archie sells. I also think it wouldn't be nearly as easy as I make it out to be for Marvel or DC to break into the grocery "digest" scene, nor as cheap to reprint older stories. I do, however, still think it's a good idea.

LET'S DO THE DIRECT MARKET TANGO
a stupid little rant by Laura Gjovaag
Have you heard of Archie Comics? Chances are good that you don't even see them in your regular comic book store. But almost every title from Archie consistently sells as many or more copies than almost any single title DC or Marvel puts out.

Why?

Because Archie doesn't concentrate solely on the Direct Market.

Archie sells comics to children. Because they know that children want and will buy their books, they focus on the places children are likely to be: in the supermarket, with their moms. Archie doesn't hide the majority of their books away in dark little comic shops that no mother in her right mind would set foot in. They display their wares proudly, in places where the money is spent freely and a comic book to appease a child is only one tiny purchase.

The direct market is killing the comic book industry. That isn't news. Every person who sells comics for a living or buys comics as a primary hobby understands that the industry is slowly dying, failing to attract new readers like it used to. A lot of adults out there aren't really aware that comic books are still made. They remember the Golden and Silver ages, when it wasn't a bad thing for kids to read comics, but there are new toys out there, video games and cheap movies... and comic books seem like a thing of the past.

So why don't Marvel and DC do something about it? Why don't they start selling comics in the grocery stores?

Well, they do. They just don't do it right. They put a small portion of their books out in a handful of stores. They don't market to the kids... they don't market to the moms who will buy comics. As a result, those sales are pretty weak, especially if you compare them to Archie's success.

What is the Direct Market?

Chances are you buy your comics in one of two ways. The most likely way is that you have a favorite comic book shop, which you visit on a regular basis to pick up your favorite books. If you are a sophisticated comic shopper, you probably have a pull list at the shop, and you might even order your books two months ahead of time through Previews magazine. The other likely way is that you get your comics through the mail, via a subscription, either direct from the publisher or through a reseller.

If you are buying your comics that way, you are buying through the Direct Market.

Basically, what happened was this... Back in the Golden and Silver ages of comics, years ago, comic books were mainly sold via "news stand". Various stores (grocery stores, five and dimes, drug stores) got shipments of comics which they put out on wire racks and sold as one tiny part of their massive inventory. Books that didn't sell were shipped back to the publishers for a refund. From the publisher's perspective, that was the big problem with news stand distribution. The refund they had to give for unsold books. From a fan's perspective, the problem was unreliability. They might not always get the books they wanted.

So when some of the early fans got old enough to run businesses, they started shops that sold mostly comic books. They didn't return unsold books because back issues could be stored more easily and sold later. This made it easier for the publishers to make a profit, and easier for fans to find the books. All of which probably saved comics in the short run: the birth of the direct market!

The problem with the direct market, though, is the failure to keep comics in the mainstream eyes. As the superhero comics became less and less visible in the stores, children stopped reading them. They became books written for fans only, that were sold through outlets that were run by fans (many of whom weren't businessmen), to fans and not kids. And as fans grew up and moved on, or got tired of the same plotlines used over and over, the audience started to shrink. And because the comic books no longer sold on the news stands, the audience didn't renew with new children.

How to Save the Industry...

Now that all that has been said, there is a way to save the industry. Unfortunately for the fans, it would take a considerable bit of risk on the part of Marvel and DC, and possibly some losses for a time until they could build up the audience again. And they won't do that.

Marvel and DC both have tons of stories, already written and drawn, that will appeal to a young audience. What they need to do is put together reprint digests that will fit on grocery store checkout displays. Fans don't like the smaller digest size, it reduces the art and often looks shabbier. But children who are just learning to read don't mind so much. They just want something to read and look at. So if the publishers put out cheap reprint books in digest size and market them for children, with covers that appeal to parents, the industry could start to bring in a new generation.

There would be steps beyond that, like getting comic book stores to improve their appearance and reputation. But the first step is to bring in new readers, and to do it NOW. Because at the rate the audience is shrinking, we don't have time to mess around.

This column is copyright 1999 by Laura Gjovaag. February 1999

FIGHT ON, CBLDF!

Peter David reports that the CBLDF is going to fight for Jesus Castillo. If you believe that comics are for everyone, not just kids, visit The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Website and help fight the battle against censorship.

If you haven't read about this story yet, Jesus Castillo was the clerk at a comic shop that was targeted in a very strange sting operation. He was convicted of obscenity charges for selling an adult comic book to an undercover police officer, an ADULT, even through the book did not meet the test for obscenity. He was convicted because the jury agreed with the prosecution that comic books are for kids!

In other words, all comic books should be aimed ONLY at children. It's apparently not legal to have any adult material in comic book form, even if you are only selling it to adults. Forget mature readers books like Powers, those are obscene! Not because they are really obscene, of course... but because they aren't aimed at kids.

If you run a shop, or even work at a shop like poor Jesus did, be really careful! You shouldn't be selling comics to adults!! Comics are only for children, according to the state of Texas.

I personally think that the jury is obscene, as are the higher judges who didn't overturn the ruling on appeal. The store in question was very careful with its adult material, making sure that no kid could get at it. They never sold adult materials to children. And yet they were still successfully taken down, even though they were being responsible citizens.

And that, my friends, is pretty sick.

A Quick Note

For many years, I've been very careful about what pages I linked to, since I didn't want to violate any of DC's policies and link to a commercial site, thus drawing attention to myself and getting my Aquaman page shut down. Yeah, I'm paranoid. Doesn't mean that they aren't out to get me.

Anyway, I've gone a little nutso with my links over there on the side, but they are all good sites worth a look. I'm particularly happy to be able to link to the comic shop that has supported my addiction for several years now - Corner Comics. Believe me, I'm not an easy customer to deal with.

That's all, thanks.

Random Nothings

So I got home today, checked my mail, and found a nice letter from Sea Fire Productions. I am going to a concert on October 26th by Heather Alexander, and the letter contains my ticket. I'm very much looking forward to it. Heather's music is quite good, and something I really enjoy. I'll definitely write a report after the concert.

Got my comics today. Almost everything came. I hung out at the comic shop and complained with the owner about Marvel's no overprint policy. I love my comic shop. It's like a safe haven. Good books, friendly people. The opportunity to look at the sneak preview pack if I want...

Anyway, got JLA. Haven't looked through it yet, but I plan to shortly. I need to write my review and get my website updated. Time for a modern review, instead of a Golden Age one.

Well, I'd better eat lunch and read JLA... can't eat, read, and type at the same time, so more later.