“I might jump an open drawbridge, or ‘Tarzan’ from a vine…”
So, I haven’t written about this in some time, but I used to work in the comic industry. More precisely, I was a buyer for Diamond Comic Distributors, the largest comic distributor in North America. Basically, I looked for new talent in the industry, while helping to compile Previews, the monthly catalog that was sent out to retailers. The bottom line of it, though, is that I acquired a LOT of comics. I mean, more comics than a person would probably be able to read in a lifetime. Some of these were from new creators, while the majority are from the major publishers. In any case, I have about 2 IKEA Buddy Bookcases worth of graphic novels and trade paperbacks that need to be read. I figure, now that I’ve got some time on my hands, it would be a good chance for me to get through a good deal of them. Since I love attention, and need to further my goal of more regular posts, I figured I’d half-assedly review them here.
It’s my belief that there’s too much highbrow journalism these days when it comes to comics. Sure, everyone’s tired of the hamfisted “Bif, Bam, Pow!” articles from the mainstream press, but I’m going to kill a hobo if I read one more thing about Dash Shaw or Paul Pope. There’s just not enough fanboy journalism. If you like Rob Liefeld, despite his inability to draw realistic anatomy, good on you! If you’re a sucker, like me, who buys everything put out by The Big 2 just so you can understand the lastest Big Event, welcome aboard! I don’t claim to know everything there is about the medium. I was honest about that when I worked in comics, and I’m honest about it now. I just know what I like. I also know what I don’t like. You’ll get doses of all of that here.
But wait, there’s more! I didn’t want to just treat these like any old posts. My friend, Marcus, has taught me the importance of columns and titles. So, these posts will carry the banner:
Any old school Marvel fans will get the reference. Yeah, my design skills suck, but I don’t have Photoshop for this computer, so I used what I could get!
So, come back next time for the 1st installment, and your input is always welcome!
Once you get past Marvel's Civil War, you should have a rotating banner for each state. Cause of the initiative, and all.
But it sounds like a cool idea; since you're reviewing more than just (imagine a fancy font) The Big 2, so that'll be pretty good. Of course I hear about the occasional not-mainstream series but for the most part smaller publishers are overlooked (by me) in favor of "zomg Messiah Tea Party" and "wowzo Super-Mega Crisis in Downtown Detroit!" It'll be awesome to have the ole' noggin opened back up to some new ideas and influences.
Shoulda stole me some Manga!