Welcome to the forum / Introduce Yourself

[JohnMayo]

Welcome to the Comic Book Page community!

My name is John Mayo and I'm a long time comic book fan who started the Comic Book Page website back in 2001 to share my passion for comics.

Forum ground rules
The ground rules for the forum are simple:

-Be nice.
-This is a family friendly website/podcast. No profanity or other offensive behavior. This includes any and all images that could possibly be construed to be offensive. Best to err on the side of caution on this one. If you need profanity to make your point, the point probably isn't worth making.
-While this should go without saying, don't do anything that could get me as the owner of the website into trouble. I have no idea if giving away the code for the bonus digital copy of a Marvel Comic is illegal and I have no interest in finding out. If in doubt, email me and ask.
-Use spoiler tags. (See the Spoiler Policy below for more details.) Talking about story details is great but spoiling stories isn't.

I'm running this website and podcast for fun. I make no money from this and what little that has been donated of the years doesn't even scratch the surface of the costs of running the website/podcast. This is my website and my forum and therefore my rules. Since I'm funding the entire costs of the website and podcast out of my own pocket since it launched back in 2001, I don't think this is unreasonable. (Anybody that disagrees is welcome to donate to Comic Book Page.)

Be nice, be polite and all will be well.


Spoiler policy
The core of the spoiler policy for this forum is simple: don't spoil stories for people.

In order to do this, if you are revealing key story points or something that might spoiler the story, use the spoiler tag.

To use the spoiler tags, type in something like this:

Code: Select all

[spoiler=Spoiler free text]The actual spoiler goes here.[/spoiler]

And it should look something like this:

PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER: Spoiler free text

The actual spoiler goes here.

If you are starting a topic to discuss detailed story points, add "(Spoilers)" to the end of the topic header so people know that before going into the discussion.

Do not assume that everybody reads every solicitation or interview and therefore "already knows" about things that haven't been published yet. Even if something makes it into the mass media (like the events in Captain America #25 did), don't assume that everybody has seen the coverage and that the story has already been spoiled for them.

I don't believe in a time limit for spoilers. Every story is new to someone that hasn't read it yet. Let people experience the story as it unfolds. Be respectful of the fact that not everybody reads everything right when it comes out. I get dozens of new issues each week and it takes me a bit of time to read all of them.

For more on my views on spoilers, listen to this episode on spoilers.

While some people don't mind spoilers, I find it kind of rude for someone to spoil a story and rob me of the chance to enjoy the story as it unfolded the way the storytellers intended. The forum has spoiler tags and they are easy to use.


Listener Survey
Tell us about yourself: who are you? what do you read? and why are you here?

Here are some springboard questions to help out. Answer as many or a few as you want and don't feel limited by these questions:
What is your real name? (Forum handles are good but I like to know at least the first name of the person I'm conversing with.)
How old are you?
What do you do for a living?
What kinds of comic books do you like?
About how many comic book issues a week/month do you buy?
Do you buy mainly issues, trades, digital?
How many do you read every week/month?
How long have you been reading comics?
How long have you been listening to the Comic Book Page podcast?
Do you submit clips to the Previews Spotlight episodes? (If not, why not?)

[JohnMayo]

Hi, my name is John and I read comics. Lots of comics. Possibly too many comics...

I have a degree in Radio-Television-Film but my career has been as a computer programmer, business analyst and database administrator. At my current job, I've been doing database programming in SQL Server but have learned C# and now Java. Collecting, organizing and reporting on data is not only what pays the bills for me but also what allows me to indulge in comics as much as I want.

I read some comics as a young child but my addiction didn't really kick into high gear until the late 1970s. I started out many getting DC comics. It was titles like (Supeboy and the) Legion of Super-Heroes, All-Star Squadron and New Teen Titans that got me hooked. I branched in to Marvel with John Byrne's work on Fantastic Four and Alpha Flight. After Secret Wars, I was getting most of the Marvel Universe titles. I've been a hardcore reader of both universe and a number of ones published by other companies ever since.

I'm currently all-in with the New 52 atDC, the Marvel Universe, the Valiant Universe and get around 200 new comics a month. My collection is somewhere over 52,000 comics in size and I track it using a Excel. I've been tryin to cutover to Comic Collector from CollectorZ.com but only have a small percentage of my collection in it. About a third of my collection is from DC, another third from Marvel and the rest from other publishers so I consider myself an informed and well rounded comic book reader.

I have been running the Comic Book Page website since 2001 and hosting the Comic Book Page podcasts since the start of 2007. I started the Comic Book Page website in late 2001 at which point it featured the comic book sales estimates data and the thousands of photos I took at San Diego Comic-Con. The website has since grown in size and scope to include the podcast and this forum. I am a staff writer for Comic Book Resources and do the monthly comic book sales analysis over there.

I'm also a fan of the Japanese Super Sentai shows (which are the basis for the Power Rangers television show).

[fudd71]

What is your real name?
Sam

What do you do for a living?
My schooling is in mathematics and physics. I worked at a record store while I was in school. I worked for NASA for a short time right out of school and then did some market research and consulting mainly in the television business. I now help run a small computer accessories manufacturer with several other people.

What kind of comic books do you like?
I still love super-heroes first and foremost in my comic reading. While I do love comics as a medium, my enjoyment of comics primarily comes from my love of serialized story-telling and super-heroes. While there are many great comics in other genres I tend to enjoy mysteries and science fiction in prose novels and procedurals and horror in both prose novels and television. Comics are however my preferred medium for super-heroes.

About how many comic book issues a week/month do you buy?
I average somewhere from 15-20 comics a week

Do you buy mainly issues, trades, digital?
I mainly buy and prefer single issue comics. I have been reading more digital book of late, mostly digital first releases and older comics I missed the first time around. I don’t buy or read many print trades.

How many do you read every week/month?
I still buy my comics in person at a local shop. I go in once a week between Wednesday and Saturday. I have usually read all my books for the week by Monday if not earlier.

How long have you been reading comics?
My first comic was G.I. Joe: Real American Hero #20. I bought it off the spinner rack at the 7/11 in Eagle Rock, CA sometime in late 1983 I believe; it may have been early 1984, the issue is cover dated Feb 1984. Within a few months I had gone from the 7/11 to the comic shop (conveniently) located just across the street. For the first six or seven years I read G.I. Joe, Batman, Teen Titans and Amazing Spider-man, not a whole lot else. Starting around 1989 I began expanding my reading until I was buying most books published by 1992. X-men books were the one thing I never bought, they seemed impenetrable to me even then. This continued until around 1998. Around this point I stop reading all comics with the exception of Batman. I continued reading Batman via a mail order subscription until late 2008. At this point with Batman R.I.P. I walked into a comic shop to checkout Final Crisis. When I walking into the shop I discovered G.I. Joe was making a return with IDW and Spider-man had been recently relaunched as well (Brand New Day). Within several months I was reading most of the DC universe, about half the Marvel universe and IDW’s G.I. Joe books. I have continued to read from 70-100 books a month ever since. I dropped most Marvel books with the introduction of the $3.99 price point and that is how I have arrived at the current state of my comic reading.

How long have you been listening to the Comic Book Page Podcast?
I began listening to the Comic Book Page podcast somewhere in mid-2009

Do you submit clips to the Previews Spotlight episodes?
Yes

[drew]

Hey, it’s Drew and I am a lapsed comics reader (hello drew…)

First comic book I ever purchased was Moon Knight #1 at Dog-Eared Books sometime in the 80s, I loved Amazing Spiderman, Secret Wars, Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns and all things Batman, Sandman and most of Vertigo.

I stopped reading during the hologram/foil/3d cover days of image and valiant during the early 90s and forgot all about comics…

Until the Walking Dead premiered on AMC in 2010, which I discovered was based on a comic, then I read the first trade which led to the next which led to the next…which led to visiting a new LCS to get all the current and back issues I could.

I heard about the upcoming New 52 launch while there and was intrigued…thought maybe I’ll just buy a Batman comic again…

And now I read 15-20 comics a week (digital and floppy, no trades) and review comics on the weekly comics spotlight with John, host my own weekly comics podcast and recently held a panel on comic book podcasting at Wizard World Ohio for tens and tens of people…

So I took 20 years off between reading comics… did I miss anything?

[SpideySavestheDay]

Hey everyone! My name's Brandon and I am a 'rebooted' comics fan. I'm an educator by trade in my mid-30's.

I started reading comics in the late 80's. First comic was a GI Joe Special Missions; I read it until the cover came off. From there I grew into a Marvel fan collecting Amazing Spider-man, X-men, Punisher, etc. When Image came around, I jumped on that bandwagon too. In 1994 I stopped buying books. I recall going to a local mall and buying Spawn 13 and 14. McFarlane and Spawn didnt' cause me to walk away, but I never realized that would be my last comic for over a decade.

Fast forward to 2011, two events re-sparked my interest. The first is DC's New 52. The event felt like the right time to get back in with the launch of all new stories. Second was the closing of the LCS Atomic Comics. I occasionally shopped there as a kid but the closing made me realize that other comic shops I knew were gone too. Both made me more aware of how much I missed reading and collecting comics.

Currently I'm reading anywhere between 20-25 a month; some are new releases and others are back issues. Comics just feel right as individual issues and it is hard to enjoy them any other way. I do read Thor and Spidey digitally. The superhero genre dominates most of my reading but I will dabble in sci-fi, western, steampunk, and noir.

First time I heard about the podcast was by reading John's article on CBR. Now look at me - a weekly listener who partakes in the Previews Spotlight. I've rebooted.

[drew]

That's great, lot of us rebooters out there...

[SvenCarlson]

Good day! My name is Ben Truax.

I got into reading comics at the young age of 5. My first comic was an issue The Incredible Hulk (issue 3xx) where the Avengers attempt to take out Hulk. I was hooked, not only on The Hulk, but Marvel of in general. Over the next few years I fell in love with The Fantastic Four, The X-Men and hand full of other random titles.

In my teen years I read mostly Image and collected most of what they put out.

In my early-mid twenties I started switching over to DC with Geoff Johns.

Now, in my mid thirties I read 50% DC, 45% craft (Indy) comics and only 5% or so Marvel.

I work as a Business Analyst/project coordinator bringing automation and modernization to the government or NY.

I also just started my own podcast called The Craft Comics Cast where we focus on reviewing Craft (Indy) comics and also cover craft news, media and merchandise. Its a work in progress, but a labor of love. Feel free to check us out on Facebook at The Craft Comics Cast, our website www.tcccast.com or on Twitter @CraftComix.

Our goal is to build a strong, supportive community around Craft comics.

[drew]

Welcome to the comic book page forum interesting mix of comics I look forward to hearing your podcast

[JohnMayo]

Our goal is to build a strong, supportive community around Craft comics.

What exactly is the definition of "Craft comics"? I've been reading comic for decades and I haven't come across that term before.

[SvenCarlson]

John,

I'm glad you asked. I'm sure you are aware of the subjectivity for what is inclusive of indy/indie comics. Furthermore, the term indy, in and of itself, has some connotations that may be equally exclusive as they are inclusive to audiences. Here is some good reference material on this, http://www.romangraebsch.de/downloads/TheIndieGame.pdf

The term craft, as in craft publishers, refers to smaller publishers who don't own the majority of market share in the industry. It is inclusive of all publishers, minus Marvel and DC. Hence are motto "Comics Review, without the big two". In this way, it could be said there are many analogies between the Craft Publishing industry and the Craft Brewing Industry.

I believe one way to introduce people to the smaller publishers is by changing the dialog. Words are power and using them wisely and with purpose can bring about great change. Again, I would direct ones attention to the boom in craft brewing over the last decade or two.

In regards to our podcast, I just want to forewarn everyone that while I believe the content is very good, the audio quality is suffering a bit from equipment issues. If you do check it out and find the quality lacking, check back with us from time to time as I do have a better audio interface on the way and we will be switching from our condenser mic to 3 separate dynamic mics sooner than later.

[JohnMayo]

I'm still a little confused. The PDF you linked to seemed to be about video games, not comics. I understand the concept of "craft publishers" but have never seen it applied to comics. I don't follow brewing so I hadn't come across the Craft Brewing term either. My confusion is around if you are trying to introduce the concept of "craft pbulishers" into the comics hobby or if it is already in use prior to your podcast.

[SvenCarlson]

John,

I'm unaware of its prior use and it is something I'm trying to introduce to add more clarity than the term Indy/indie. The link was to provide reference on the term Indy.

[JohnMayo]

John,

I'm unaware of its prior use and it is something I'm trying to introduce to add more clarity than the term Indy/indie. The link was to provide reference on the term Indy.

That makes sense. I can see the need for a term to refer to all of the publishers other than the top dogs and "indy" is a somewhat inaccurate term.

[Royal]

Hey guys. Let me chime in here on the "craft" discussion. I'm not sure that it brings much clarification in defining or differentiating certain kinds of comics, one from the other. And there's the unintended consequence of the use of "craft" or "crafted," as well. To use that work instead of "indie" -- and you could substitute other words here, as well, such as "alternative" or even (I cringe) "literary" -- really gives you nothing that the other words don't already provide. Does it mean more refined? More specialized? More personal? More skillfully done or hands-on? I've seen and listened to what you discuss on the Craft Comics podcast, and I welcome you to the world of comics podcasting and wish you the best of luck! But given the titles you've brought in for discussion, mostly from Image and the like, I can't really see how "craft" could apply any better than "indie," despite the vagueness and openness of the latter. To me, the word "crafted" would be better apt for small and really indie publishers, the kind of comics coming out of Uncivilized Books, Nobrow, Conundrum, AdHouse, Kilgore Books, and the wonderful esoteric stuff you find distributed through John Porcellino's Spit and a Half. And then of course there are the larger "craft" publishers of Drawn & Quarterly and Fantagraphics. And if you really wanted to apply a more specialized word -- "crafted" or otherwise -- to comics, then why not reach down into mini-comics? My point is, that just substituting another word for "indie" doesn't bring you any clarification, at least not in this case.

And the unintentional consequence of "craft" or "crafted" is that once applied to a particular title or author, what might that mean for other texts? Are you saying that titles from other publishers, especially the Big Two, don't contain the same kind of "craftedness" that other might? So in calling Nameless a "craft comic," what does that say about Morrison's work in Multiversity? Or his earlier run on Animal Man? Does the fact that the latter two are published by DC make it less "crafted"? And would you call all indie-like or indie-leaning comics "crafted," even if there doesn't seem to be much craft there? (Admitting, of course, that as far as these are aesthetic issues, there is a great deal of subjectivity involved.)

I don't mean to harp on this too much, but definitions and terms are a big thing for me, especially as they apply to comics. I have a hard enough time wrestling with words and terms like "alternative" and "graphic novel," so using the right words for our chosen medium is helpful...even if it is an Sisyphean endeavor. On our inaugural episode of The Comics Alternative http://comicsalternative.com, we started by immediately problematizing "alternative comics," "indie comics," and the like, and we continue to problematize those terms, and others, over 140 episodes later. But by constantly wrestling with them, we keep them alive, and more importantly, we keep the conversation on comics going.

[SvenCarlson]

Derek, I greatly appreciate what you bring to this conversation, not simply in terms of academic knowledge, but also in terms of fandom and podcasting experience. I believe there is a great conversation(s) here to be had. I could certainly see why in general people might prefer one word over another and all for multitudes of reasons. Some of those reasons maybe the comfortability of the chosen word based on experience, for some it may be a related connotation, and yet for others they may use the only word they know and for them that's good enough.

While I have a number of reasons why I believe craft to be a word better serving the small publishing industry, from Image on down. My reasons range from denotation, connotation, cultural/societal considerations and branding for the industry.

Not only would an expert in linguistics tell you that choice of words is important, but so to would an expert in marketing. While there is certainly overlap in what the two experts would be looking at in their analysis of choosing a correct descriptor, there is also a marked difference as well. One looks to define and express a correct meaning, while the other intends to influence.

I greatly appreciate your engagement in this conversation and to be honest I was hoping to eventually get your thoughts on this matter. There was a point you made above that would like to share my thoughts on. You asked what the difference would be between Morrison's work for DC as compared to a smaller publisher. In my opinion there is an analogy that can be made to help clarify. An accomplished brewer takes a job at Miller Brewing Company. He later leaves to work for a craft brewery. He did make beer that was not considered craft beer, but now he does. In my opinion this analogy says a few things. It says the type of beer produced has less to do with the man than the brewery. Also, the man will have varying degrees of greater creative freedom at a craft brewery and the opposite at a big brewery. So, I would make a distinction that Morrison's work for the big two is not in the production of craft comics. That's not to take away anything from his work with DC or Marvel, but simply to draw a categorical distinction.

I would love nothing more than for this to be a larger conversation and with contributors from many backgrounds and viewpoints. I would like to call out Sam to join in the conversation as well. I believe consensus is not only possible, but also valuable to the producers, retailers and fans.

With the greatest level of respect,
Ben