10/16: You Can't Go Home Again

This is not even remotely webcomics.

For ten years, there has been no one comic I have wanted to see published more than Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew, Volume 2, Number 1. I've pitched it twice. I worked with Jim Keplinger and Ross Andru on one version of it and with Cat Garza on another. I've co-written two fanfics, wrote a set of essays about it, and considered a book. And I promised myself that if anybody got to revive the Captain instead of me, I wouldn't be petty about it. I'd just enjoy seeing my old friends, brought back to life.

My prayers have finally been answered. And really, I'm not sure my feelings could have been anything but mixed. At one moment I'm lost in nostalgia, Shaw's art and the nice little character bits worked in around the edges, at the next I'm obsessing over problems with tone, continuity errors (I spotted at least five) and odd "choices of moment" (the stuff that Captain Carrot only tells us about in soliloquy seems like it would have been a lot more interesting to see than some of the scenes that we got).

(Are we ALLOWED to complain about continuity errors in DC Comics any more? I know this is Earth-26 and not Earth-C and it's all because Mister Mind ate the Earth-Prime Superboy or something. As far as I can tell, this has thrown DC into a state of quantum uncertainty, where it both does and does not have years of continuity at its disposal, depending on what is most convenient at any particular moment. I'm not asking for the moon here, but when the series' main villain goes from a solar-powered robot slave to his very own ecoterrorist and NO ONE SEEMS TO NOTICE, I get a bit confused.)

What this means is that I am no longer eight years old. I've traded in my ability to enjoy something completely, warthogs and all, for the kind of analysis that makes my own scripts better. Most days I don't regret that trade-off. Today I do, a little.

Geez, I hope I'm not just being jealous.

At least the story is a lot more enjoyable than the Zoo Crew's Johns-Shaw Teen Titans appearance. But it'd almost have to be.

A Couple Non-Webcomics

I never hear anybody talk about Tank McNamara. I always think I'm gonna quit it, because sports is way down on my list of interests. But I do like comics that take my mind places it wouldn't ordinarily go, and if the strip's going to keep being topical, outrageous and occasionally downright angry, I'll at least stick with it a while longer.

I really wanted to write the ultimate Transformers spoof at one point last year. Wednesday White and I had a long talk about it. Congratulations to Jeffrey Brown, who seems to have beaten me to the punch.

Self-Promo: T Campbell's Avengers

I guess I can go ahead and make this official: I've got a ten-page story in the newly solicited Giant Size Avengers #1, along with my friendly colleagues Daniel Merlin Goodbrey and Roger Langridge, among others. Edited, and edited well, by my one-time collaborator John Barber.

(Update: Daniel mentions that the contributors also include his comrade-in-arms at Serializer, Douglas Noble.)

My story pitch: "Henry Peter Gyrich becomes an unlikely hero on an unlikely world." I had a lot of fun with this! Hope you do, too!

Too Soon

As reported elsewhere, Mike Wieringo passed away this weekend from what seems to be a sudden massive heart attack. He was 44.



Like many of his readers, I met Mike all of once and for about two minutes, but I'm pretty sure he had The Right Attitude: "It's a blessing that anyone wants to pay me to have this much fun, and I owe each and every one of you the best I can possibly do." A warm, friendly style from a warm, friendly man. I'll miss knowing he's around.

Not Quite As Terrible As Advertised.

My bud Joey Manley snarks a little about the Archie Comics weekly contest. Or more specifically, he snarks about some advertising copy for it that now seems to be removed: "Many legendary creators like Mark Waid, Neal Adams, and Tom DeFalco got their start at Archie Comics."

The actual contest is a kid's fanfic challenge, nothing less, nothing more... and there's nothing terribly wrong with that. It was only the copy that made it sound like Archie was falling all over itself to join the Zuda/Platinum axis.

Of course, Archie's online efforts continue to show the naked desperation of a middle-aged father's hip-hop video. (Fanfic contests? How cutting-edge... for 1995. But wait! There's hope! Archie has a Typepad blog now! Updated twice monthly!)

Trinoc*coN

Whaddaya wanna know? Compared to San Diego, this convention was like meeting three guys for a game of Parcheesi. Comics panels were so sparsely attended that the guests often outnumbered the audience. But that allowed for a much more personal, one-on-one interaction than what I've experienced this year, and I found it refreshing.

One More Otakon Report

Jamie Noguchi has a lot of war stories from Sunday. It's kind of a funny coincidence that he's giving con sex advice at more or less the same time as Rich Johnston is.

You're A Myspace Virgin? Oh, Myspace/Virgin!

MySpace and Virgin have teamed up to destroy the profession of comics scriptwriting.

Okay, not quite. Coalition Comix promises to let the readers vote on every plot twist, creating a story plotted by its readers... and hopefully redeemed by the writers' concepts, characters and dialogue, because MySpacers and comic book fans are not exactly known for their literary skills.



Putting in Mike Carey as writer... er, "story master"... is a good start. But I'm skeptical. Interactivity seems to work best when the interaction is limited to the truly arbitrary decisions (should we kick out Sanjaya this week?) instead of every plot twist, or when the stories are simple (Choose Your Own Adventure, Interplanetary Spy). Virgin doesn't do "simple," and neither does Carey. These stories seem like they can't help but be watered down: the setup forces the writer to give the audience what it wants right that second, not what is best for it. Remember how awkward and forced the writing was in the reader-determined battles in DC vs. Marvel? Even moreso than in the average superhero crossover, I mean?

But let's check back in a couple months and see how they've done once the hype cycle is over. That's a good rule for Zuda, too. Good rule for life.

Alan Moore Trivia Question

Anybody remember this exact quote from Alan Moore? In the book Comic Book Rebels, he talks about the collaborative process and calls it "cultural sex."

Paraphrased: "It's like some kind of cultural sex for me, this cross-fertilizing of different imaginations."

I'll probably have to track down a copy of the book and nail this down. It's a metaphor that's always stuck with me.

(watches all my artists back away slowly)

Oh, Dear

If you think I've been mean to For Better or For Worse, you absolutely should not click this link.

The Day Hope Died

No, I didn't really think that the odd little mix of speculative fiction, roman a clef, criticism and satire published here was going to make Lynn Johnston do a 180 on a story idea she's been setting up for at least three years. But I did hold out hope that the groundswell of similar criticism might have some effect on the plot's final stages-- or just be proven wrong. Naive, I know, but I'm like that.

Liz might consider Anthony but go her own way. One partner might pursue the other but have to overcome reluctance and resistance, thereby showing strength in both characters. At the very least, Anthony might man up and earn Liz, the way Ben Stone earns Alison in Knocked Up, just by showing an ounce of spinal fluid in real-life situations. (A rape-and-rescue scenario doesn't really count.)



Or maybe we could just give Anthony a shave and call it a day. Oh, well.

Best Wishes and Prayers to Steve Gerber.

One of the most inventive comic-book writers of the 1970s has announced several health problems. One of said problems, ulcerative colitis, is "the nuclear equivalent of irritable bowel syndrome." Another, pulmonary fibrosis, is ultimately fatal.

"Above all, just in case anyone's tempted, do not accuse me of courage in the face of adversity. I'm scared shitless. (And no, it's not because of the colitis.)"

The HERO Initiative is helping to pay Gerber's medical bills. If it upsets you to think about the comic-book writers and artists of the 60s and 70s and how little payback they've received, you could do worse than to look into this organization.

Homeless Comic-Book Artist.

Unusual perspective.

Via Eric Millikin.

Intriguing Storytelling Previews From Doonesbury

Some of these seem to be jokes, but it looks like at least one of them is not: Celeste saves B.D. from himself, again. I kind of hope they all turn out to be true. Even though the Hilton jail story ended sooner than we thought. "Time again for our Doonesbury Planner" implies that Trudeau has done this before, but I must have missed those strips. Anybody know if he has a history of following through?

The Name Keeps Making Me Think "Coffee." This May Be Intentional.

You probably already know this, but the MoCCA festival is becoming a real hotspot for webcartoonists and other interesting folks. If you're in the vicinity of New York, it's a good way to spend a weekend!

Shaenon Knows How To Tribute.

I could do a lot worse than link to Shaenon Garrity's blog. It makes me learn things.

This time out, she has a tribute to Carl Gustav Horn, prolific manga editor. Among Horn's gifts, apparently, is the ability to bring lively English to his translations. Among Shaenon's gifts is picking samples that make Horn's ability clear, even if you don't speak a word of Japanese.




Much more at the link.

Blowing Bubbles: Top Cow

A few weeks ago, we spoke to Filip Sablik of Top Cow, about Top Cow's partnership with IGN and their resulting online store. Top Cow is a direct-market company taking its first steps into the digital marketplace.

More.

When Will I Stop Linking To David Willis?

When he stops being this damn on target. Almost everything that I didn't like about Civil War and the aftermath, condensed into six panels.

Companies Are Not Moral.

Mike Sprang airs his bitter disappointment in Platinum's work-for-hire policies here, Joey Manley responds with artful metaphor here.

I still work for Platinum, and Tokyopop for that matter, so I obviously don't think quite like Mike and Joey do. But I think it comes down to one question. The question is: Can you live with losing control of this work?

I long ago decided my answer was "yes," as long as I had other work that remained my own. Now I have some projects like Divalicious of which my creative partners and I have surrendered some or all control, because there are other benefits, financial and creative. (We never could have gotten Diva into bookstores under our own power at that point in our careers and the market.) Others like Penny and Aggie are all ours.

But if your answer is "no," then don't work for hire. Nothing personal against Platinum, or Tokyopop, or Marvel, or any publisher. Companies are not moral.

"Holy Crossword, Batman!"

Naturally I was pleased to see The New York Sun playing with comics tropes in a crossword, even if it is focused on their unrepentantly cheesy side. Check out the puzzle for yourself (PDF, answer on page 2). Congrats to cruciverbalist Craig Kasper and editor Peter Gordon.

Farewell to Strangers in Paradise

Having recently given Lynn Johnston a very hard time, I thought I should say a few nice words about Terry Moore, another cartoonist who's ending a work that represents a now-bygone publishing era of cartooning.

I began reading Strangers In Paradise twelve years ago. My attitudes toward romance and writing have changed since then, but the series still resonates, because it was part of my development. Its second volume, number 11 (or was it 10? Sorry, it was twelve years ago), contained one of the most powerful sequences I had read at the time, and it was a huge influence on how I developed the character of Rikk. Moore's approach to characterization in general was something I studied closely and tried to emulate. And his shameless mixing of drama with melodrama (bisexual love triangle, meet global Mafia!) opened my mind to new story possibilities.

I kept some distance from the series in its later years, checking in every few issues. Hard to say why, because in most ways it seemed about the same as it ever was-- but maybe that was the problem. Moore had set up a large-scale story with a beginning, middle and ending, and at some point, he sidetracked into a cycle of plot twists and countertwists that seemed to change everything but, in the long run, changed nothing that couldn't be changed back. If that sounds familiar, it should: it's a narrative weakness that DC and Marvel have fallen into almost out of necessity. Call it "direct market's disease."

But that problem has melted away in the series' last year. The final installment, on sale now, is the very definition of dramatic payoff, and I have a hunch those middle installments will look a lot better to me when I reread them knowing a payoff is coming.

Last issue highly recommended, if you know the series. If not, start with the second volume (much better than the first), and work your way back, then forward, from there.

Foobetter 'r Foowurse!

Disgruntled newspaper comics fans, this one's for you.



Obligatory footnote: Amy Mebberson and I have also worked together on Divalicious, as well as the Penny and Aggie story "Weights." You can see more of her early work at this site, and most of my stuff at this list o' links.

Obligatory disclaimer: We have no real insider knowledge about the dynamics of the Johnston household. The above is speculation based on what we do know.

(And unrelated: regarding the Sopranos finale, Sore Thumbs speaks for me.)

RIP Jay Kennedy.

We met once, when I was trying to get Penny and Aggie into newspapers. He was nice. Very encouraging.

I'll miss knowing he's around.

Treecomics?

Actual quote: "What better way to pay tribute to Cap than to have his Marvel Zombies counterpart taking the battle to a group of evil fascist Zombies! Take that, Zombie Hitler!"

...I'm speechless. Movin' on.

Great new interview with a couple of cartoonists whose new strips I hadn't even heard of three months ago: JJ Naas and Elanor Cooper.



My business final went well, too.

Hm. Think webcomics will become so widespread that the word "treecomics" will go mainstream? Probably not, but why should that stop us from using it?

Hey, Job Seekers...

Want to work at United Media alongside Ted Rall?

This could be your shot.