Claypool has recently made public the news that they told me in confidence some weeks ago: That the print end of the line would cesae to exist.
Personally, I think this should send a serious chill through the industry. For the first time that I can think of, an entire publishing line has been canceled, not by the publisher, but by the distributor. The distributor should theoretically be the middle man. In this instance, however--again, for the first time that I can think of--the middle man has taken the lead position and shut down the publisher.
And any publisher who thinks he is immune from this monopolistic maneuver is kidding himself.
And the real killer is going to be the chorus of fan voices saying, "Claypool Comics? What's that? Never heard of it."
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While out in San Diego, Ariel and I took in "My Super Ex-Girlfriend." I have to admit going in, I'm a sucker for Uma Thurman and Eddie Izzard. So I was predisposed to enjoy it, plus we had a good audience, plus my leg was hurting so I was doped up on Vicodin and probably would have applauded a Bush press conference. Thus I have to cop to the fact that I liked it, or at least I think I did.
But--and I'm probably going to do a more detailed "But I Digress" on this later--I find it interesting that fans deplored the scene in "Superman Returns" wherein our hero uses his X-ray vision and superhearing to spy on Lois and her family. "He's stalking her" was the cry, and that was universally seen as A Very Bad Thing. But Thurman's G-Girl not only stalks the boyfriend who dumps her because she's a controlling, needy flake. She harasses him, destroys his property, and damned near kills him. And it's a comedy. It occurred to me that if you flipped the genders--if it was a girlfriend being harassed by an unrelentingly angry super boyfriend--there is absolutely no way it's a comedy. It's...I dunno...a thriller. A horror film. Anything except a comedy, because pissed off girlfriend goes after guy = comedy, unless, y'know, the ex is Glenn Close. But if it's pissed off boyfriend going after girl, the threat aspect will completely overwhelm whatever comedy you're going for.
You can do a comedy with a girl going after a guy (Super-Ex). You can do a comedy about a group of girls going after a guy (John Tucker Must Die). You can even do a comedy about a girl going after another girl or group of girls (Bad Girls). But a guy going after a girl who done him wrong? *Is* there a comedy--at least a successful one--ever made on that theme?
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FNSM #10 wraps up the three part Uncle Ben Returns storyline, while X-Factor finishes out its Civil War crossover.
Whad'ja think?
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A message buried deep in the Bush thread asked me to comment on Dan Didio's various assertions about "Young Justice" in a Heroes Con interview quoted on Newsarama. First he complained about the quality of the book's sales, stating that a book which features such iconic characters should have far higher numbers. And second he asserted that "Slobo" ruined the character of Lobo.
The aspect that Dan perpetually leaves out of his two-part evisceration of "Young Justice" is that YJ was specifically designed to appeal to a younger readership. That was the mandate from editorial. That's what I was asked to write. YJ was intended to skew young--in its stories, in its subject matter, in its readership--with the notion that it would draw in younger readers who would eventually "graduate" to the older-skewing titles. I was told at the outset that DC neither expected nor needed the book to sell huge numbers; it was aiming at the long-term goal of bringing in new, younger readers. So his complaining about the quality of the sales is irrelevant...not to mention that YJ outsold "Impulse" and "Superboy," both of which were also cancelled, and even he admits the book was turning a profit. So pointing to these iconic characters--characters so "iconic" that DC did away with them--and complaining that sales didn't reflect their presence is really beside the point.
As for Slobo, I wanted to introduce a Wolverine-esque character to stir things up. Since the book featured junior versions of Superman, Batman, and the Flash, a junior version of Lobo seemed perfectly appropriate. A character who was, in his execution and handling, far more serious than Dan remotely gives him credit for (because, y'know, having Slobo go slowly blind was such a knee-slapper of a storyline). And, frankly, I think that a company that raped and murdered Sue Dibny, murdered Blue Beetle, tortured and crippled Batgirl, and had both Superman and Wonder Woman at various times cold-bloodedly murder opponents, doesn't get to say that *I* ruined one of their characters.
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So I'm out here along with Ariel, who is thrilled that people are recognizing her from my blog and congratulating her on her bowling achievements. I have some panels over the course of the weekend, and am set up for regular signings at the Impact Books/CBG table today and tomorrow at 3 PM, and at the Claypool booth from 10:30 to 11:30 Saturday and 10 to 11 Sunday.
Ariel attended the Marvel/DC softball game yesterday, where Marvel clobbered DC 22-11, which sounds more like a year than a score.
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So he said that Syria has to get the Hezballoh/Hizballoh/Jew-hating bastards to "knock this shit off." So what? Syria SHOULD get them to knock this shit off. Leaders of terrorist countries and organizations use vile and hateful speech to denounce Israel and describe their intentions, and the media is making a cause celebre because the president of the United States said they should knock this shit off? I can just see the presidential apology: "I'm sorry for saying that Syria should get Hezballoh to knock this shit off. That could possibly have been misinterpreted since they treat the Israelis and human lives like shit, so they might have thought that I was encouraging them to kill Jews. What I should have said is that Syria should get Hezballoh to knock it the fuck off."
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(Edited 12:16 PM to get the quote right)
I know it's seemed like the Middle East has been spiralling out of control in the past. But the Israelis are now looking to be fighting a multi-front war, and that's never good. At least they're going about it methodically and correctly, severing the supply lines and airports to hinder troop movements. And at least Bush isn't criticizing them (at least not at the moment) for taking action against the cretins of Hezballuh who see land give-backs, not as a sign of a desire for peace, but a show of weakness. Although he *has* stated that the Israelis should show "restraint," and considering the actions of Bush et al in regards to Iraq, I think we've pretty much thrown away the "show restraint" card.
I think this thing is either going to die down very quickly or tip over into full-blown, multi-nation war very quickly. No half-measures here.
PAD
"Monty Sauron's Flying Nazgul," the short play/sketch/performance piece that tells the LoTR trilogy via Monty Python sketches, is now available for sale via mail order. They were being sold at "Shore Leave" and were literally moving as fast as they could produce them. This is purely a not-for-profit venture. They are $20 apiece, with 25% of the proceeds to be donated to the Motion Picture Country Home and Hospital, and the remaining money going to supplement the income of Farpoint Convention which is a fan-run con held every February. There will be a $5.00 shipping and handling charge.
Checks can be sent to: Farpoint Enterprises, Inc, 11708 Troy Court, Waldorf, MD 20601. For further information, you can e-mail: trekcontact@comcast.net
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This is from Jon Manzo, a friend of mine who's put on some of the best conventions I've ever gone to:
I'm looking for crash space at the San Diego Comic Con; non-smoker, can bring my own bedroll. I'll be in San Diego Wednesday, 7/19 until Sunday, 7/23. E-mail Jon Manzo at Voiceodoom@aol.com
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You have to love Stephn Colbert's interview with Congressman Lynn Westmoreland, who is sponsoring a bill that would require the ten commandments in government buildings and court houses. When Colbert asked him the leading question as to whether there was ANYplace more appropriate to see the ten commandments, Westmoreland couldn't think of any (like, oh, say...churches.) And when Colbert asked Westmoreland to name all ten, Westmoreland wasn't able to come up with more than three. Maybe that's why he thinks they should be posted in more places: So he can learn them.
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We left at 4:15 AM and made the drive down to Shore Leave in Maryland in a crips four hours, thirty minutes. No traffic between New York and Towson; definitely the best way to go.
A number of fine guests this year, including William Schallert (Patty Duke's dad) and Gigi Edgely from "Farscape," although decidedly less blue. Actor Corin Nemec has gamely agreed to participate in the opening sketch for Mystery Trekkie Theater, which will be Sunday afternoon at 5 this year, so that should be fun.
My schedule is surprisingly light, probably due to the abundance of Trek authors. I have a panel in the kid's track on Saturday and a solo hour on Sunday, during which I plan to do a reading of the script for Spike vs. Dracula #5, so that should be fun. Also, for the first time ever, a DVD of one of my sketches is being made available for purchase. Yes, you can obtain "Monty Sauron's Flying Nasgul" at the Farpoint Table right here at Shore Leave. I'm taking no cut of it; all proceeds are going to Farpoint, with the exception of 25% which will be donated to the Actor's Fund. After the convention's over, I'll provide details on how you can purchase it mail order.
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The Mets beat the Pirates today by a score of seven to six. Considering it happened on July 4th, I'm wondering if any newspapers will headline it as, "SPIRIT OF 7-6."
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Since the 4th of July is one of the worst days for traffic accidents, we tend to hang around the house. I'm celebrating in my usual style: Working while "1776" plays in the background on my DVD player. The John Adams bear (signed by William Daniels) that I won at the Broadway Bears auction is watching as well.
I still find it fascinating that the entire song "Cool, Considerate Men," a hymn to right-wing thinking, was cut from the release at the behest of Richard Nixon who told his pal, Jack Warner, that he thought it made conservatives look bad. Truth hurts, I guess. At least the song was properly restored in the laserdisk and DVD versions.
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So I stopped by a local bowling pro shop to pick up a bowling ball that I had some work done on. And there were two guys there, and the TV was tuned to "Mindfreak." This was mildly surprising since the Mets were playing the Yankees in the Bronx, and had just taken an 8 to 2 lead. Whenever you go into a bowling alley, and either the Mets or the Yankees are playing, a TV is tuned to it (unless the people there are avidly supporters of the other team, and even then they might tune in just to see if the NY team they don't like is losing.) If the Mets are playing the Yankees, then it's pretty much a given that it'll be on. And I said, "You guys aren't watching the game?" ( Note that I didn't have to clarify which game I was referring to.)
And one of the guys said, "Nah. They're losing 8 to 2."
And the other guy, who clearly wasn't in charge of the TV but was grinning nonetheless said, "No. They're WINNING 8 to 2."
Like I said, Mets/Yankees fans in microcosm.
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Finally had a chance to go back and finish up with the questions from the "What'cha wanna know?" thread. The problem was that, in going through the comment responses, I had to slog through all the junked/spam comments that are hidden from view. Believe it or not, there was--on average--twenty to thirty junked/spam comments between each actual comment. So it was slow going for a while until I finally figured out a way to work around them.
No more questions or follow-ups on that thread, please.
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