Friday, March 2, 2007

Two requests for help and/or suggestions, other stuff also

-The hate poll is technically still open, but I don't see Mark Millar making a comeback. As much as you hate Millar, you really, really hate Quesada. Which brings us to a new question: who on earth can compete with Quesada? I don't think even Satan himself could win because, (a) most of you care more about Iron Man than your souls, (b) I think some of you believe the two are actually one and the same, and (c) let's admit it, Satan is a pretty popular dude, especially if you're the type who read Gearhead and carries a zippo. So anyway, I'm going to hold off on another poll until Monday, and hopefully I'll figure out who, if anyone, will give Quesada a run for his money. Suggestions are welcome.

-Now I like Silver Age comics quite a lot, largely because I really did grow up reading them (and yet I'm not bald or even grey--take that, baby boomers!). And I did enjoy the first issue of the new Brave and the Bold series quite a lot, for many of the same reasons noted in this review. But a "perfect" comic? Naaah. Actually, that's what made it so enjoyable--it had no particularly deep message to convey, yet it wasn't a self-consciously "fun" comic. (Also, I think almost everyone had trouble following the action scene in the Batcave.)

-While we're on the subject of recent DC comics, did anyone else think Ken Lashley looked exponentially better on Firestorm than Flash? This is almost certainly because Lashley was pencilling over Dan Jurgens' layouts. Add in Jurgen's rather poor pencils on this week's 52 and I'm thinking that Jurgens should abandon pencilling and go the Keith Giffen route. Then again, a new class of dedicated layout-ists might lead to the further assembly line-ification of Marvel/DC. And you could certainly make an argument that any artist who can't handle layouts probably isn't ready for the intense spotlight of a mainstream superhero book.

-Jesus, I just looked at Chris Allen's (er, make that Christopher Butcher's...oops) preview for next week's books, and there's too much stuff. I mean, yes, in any given week I would probably buy a lot more if I had unlimited time and money, but this week has a number of things I would make a special trip to the store to buy. Two Brubaker books, the new issue of Morrison and Ha's Authority, a new Castle Waiting, another volume of Dungeon (I haven't read the last one yet, but thankfully this appears to be apocrypha--I'll still get it, of course), and, lest I forget, the second volume of Smith's Shazam. Goddamn.

-With any luck, I'll be starting a feature here next week that will actually be of some use to those of you interested in the business end of the industry. I just need to figure out how best to record the interviews (yes, I am fishing for advice).

20 comments:

Christopher Butcher said...

DUDE, I AM SO NOT CHRIS ALLEN. THANKS FOR THE LINK THOUGH.

- CHRIS

Dick Hyacinth's Ghost said...

Oh Christ, am I stupid. I know the difference, too.

Dick Hyacinth's Ghost said...

Also, I deserved those all caps.

Anonymous said...

I liked Brave and the Bold as well, for being a Mark Waid comic that wasn't oppressively about his daddy issues or women issues for once. It only took him seven years!

(The Official Handbook of the Dan Coyle Universe notes Flash #159 as the last known appearance of a readable Mark Waid comic)

Dick Hyacinth's Ghost said...

I like his LSH pretty well, but that's partly because I like the subject matter.

James Meeley said...

Who to put Quesada up against in the hating? I'd say why not just use Dan DiDio? Let us see who folks really hate more as "the top cheese."

My money is that it'll still Be Joey Da Q, but the race will be closer than the one with Millar.

Anonymous said...

3 potential candidates come to mind; the already mentioned Dan Didio, Bendis, and comicdom's favorite punching bag, Rob Liefeld.

Tamora Pierce said...

Your first paragraph busted me up. Like the Blue Meanie, "I haven't laughed so hard since Pompeii"! Thanks for a fine Saturday bit of truth and cheer!

Dick Hyacinth's Ghost said...

Thanks for the kind words, Tamora.

I was planning on feeding Didio to Quesada next, but that should be an absolute slaughter. Didio still has supporters, plus he's a little more low-key than Quesada. Paul Levitz might be a slightly stronger opponent.

Liefeld--yes, although I think fans feel something more like contempt rather than outright hatred for him. But it's worth a shot. Bendis would lose easily; I think Millar beats him at this point.

A few others that are occurring to me now: Chuck Austen, Bob Harras, Todd McFarlane, and Pat Lee. Maybe Rick Olney as well, but I think he's a flash in the pan. Nobody will remember him in a few years, and I don't want to pad Quesada's record with a bunch of tomato cans.

Guy LeCharles Gonzalez said...

Yes, Levitz is whom I'd put up against Quesada, though I think DaQ would still win in a landslide. I've always had the impression that he has a lot more power than Didio, with Dan Buckley more focused on the business side, while Levitz employs a firmer hand in running the show over at DC.

I think DC's eclectic variety speaks more to Levitz' old school roots combined with a new school awareness that's been forced upon him, while Marvel's more limited slate is a reflection of Quesada being a myopic fanboy who's surrounded himself with like-minded colleagues. (His recent comment about not really being into Annihilation said a lot.) Didio, on the other hand, is kind of like the short-order cook at Cheesecake Factory.

Anonymous said...

Guy: And considering how long it's taking for a lot of the more popular DC books to come out these days, that Cheesecake Factory analogy is more apt than you know.

Anonymous said...

John Byrne maybe? He's the only frequent target of blog anger I can think of who hasn't already been named.

Anonymous said...

Well, it's webcomics instead of print, but I think Fred Gallagher might be able to give Joey Q a run for his money, given the utter contempt most webcomic readers seem to have for Megatokyo.

Frank Miller might be another possibility, given how goddamn much the blogosphere seems to hate DK2 and ASBAR.

Aside from that, seconding Byrne, Austen and Liefeld as possible competitors.

Anonymous said...

I second (third?) Liefeld, Byrne, Austen, Satan himself. I also nominate: Hitler, George W. Bush, Osama bin Laden, Hurricane Katrina, and/or the looming sense of one's own mortality and ultimate worthlessness.

But I guess none of those nominees technically work in the industry. So instead I suggest the man who proudly proclaims himself comics' greatest pariah: Dave Sim.

Just make sure you get the poll linked at When Fangirls Attack, and then you'll have a real contest on your hands.

Dick Hyacinth's Ghost said...

My current plan for the Hate Polls is to retire anyone who can win five of them consecutively. Then maybe I'll bring them back for a Jeopardy Tournament of Champions style thing. So Quesada has a maximum of four more opponents to beat. I'll increase the difficulty of his opposition with every poll, culminating in someone like Byrne (who I should have thought of immediately). If JB wins, as I strongly suspect he will, I'll then need four more opponents for him. That's when I might have to rely on the great monsters of history, abstract forces of evil/destruction, or even Ann Coulter.

Anonymous said...

Dave: Actually, I've never understood who hates Fred Gallagher more: Webcomic Fans, or webcomic creators.

Anonymous said...

ooh, I just thought of another possibiloty, although it's expanding into Comic Book movies rather than the books themselves:
Joel Schumacher

Woodgate Farmer said...

So I'm reading up on what and who is saying what and where about me for legal reasons, and... I spot the following:

"A few others that are occurring to me now: Chuck Austen, Bob Harras, Todd McFarlane, and Pat Lee. Maybe Rick Olney as well, but I think he's a flash in the pan. Nobody will remember him in a few years, and I don't want to pad Quesada's record with a bunch of tomato cans."

"Flash in the pan?" Who knows. Maybe. Anyway, thanks for the chuckle. Apologies to Austen, Harras, McFarlane, and Lee ... as their popularity numbers will no doubt climb after I've posted this.

Thanks Dick!

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