Comic Book Dorks Unite!

[metalprof]

You are all now my comic book mentors, so here is another question for the sages:

How do you read comics? Do you look at the picture in a frame first to get the setting and then read the words? Do you focus on the words in the frame first, and then "zoom out" to the art? Or can you absorb both at the same time? It seems like reading comics is a lot like watching subtitled movies, because after a while you may learn to take in words and the corresponding images at the same time.

Ken

 

[DuchessOfDork]

Huh.. good question. I never really analyzed it, before! I think I go for dialogue first, then pictures. I read pretty quickly.

 

[Cheiron]

Depends on the comic. Typically I take it in as a whole, probably reading before looking. But if the art catches my eye, I might look at it before reading the words.

 

[TheLongshot]

I guess it has never been an issue for me. It must be all the subbed anime that I watch.

 

[J. Golden]

The trend started in the 90s probably around the time when Image was created. As you say, there was Fathom, but before that there was Witchblade. Then with the independents with Dawn, Lady Death, etc.

To be honest, that trend never got me to buy comics. I always felt they were trying to pander rather than write a good story. (Course, that was the story for most of Image's books.)

The first I ever saw was Razor. I remember running into it in a mall in Hickory. I was taken by this chick who kicked ass and the violence but the writing was not so hot. Things rapidly got worse with stuff like Lady Death and it began to bring in a ... well much different crowd into the comic shop.
Dawn however I found to be a little different from the rest .

 

[J. Golden]

So far think every X-Men movie has been pretty bad. But next to Green Lantern they are works of art... Man that was so f@#kin terrible.

 

[Corsair]

For those avoiding it because it doesn't follow any comic continuity, get over it and go see it..

I never fully understood why the comic continuity is important anyway. If I want the comic continuity, i'll read the damn comic. Different writers want to do different things. Most of the time they're bad ideas, but sticking strictly with the already established plot points, characters and events we all know entirely too well would,in my opinion, be rather boring. What would be the point, aside from seeing the panels in the comic book move?

 

[Justin G]

I never fully understood why the comic continuity is important anyway. If I want the comic continuity, i'll read the damn comic. Different writers want to do different things. Most of the time they're bad ideas, but sticking strictly with the already established plot points, characters and events we all know entirely too well would,in my opinion, be rather boring. What would be the point, aside from seeing the panels in the comic book move?

I think that was one reason the Watchmen movie - which was painstakingly accurate to the comic pages - failed overall.

 

[TheLongshot]

So far think every X-Men movie has been pretty bad. But next to Green Lantern they are works of art... Man that was so f@#kin terrible.

I will admit that the first three films were never quite as good as they could have been. Probably because Wolverine was way too much of a focus, to the detriment of other characters. Maybe it is the lack of Wolverine that helps things breathe a little more in First Class that finally starts to fulfil the promise. As I said, I would love to see a direct sequel to actually see the formation of the team.

I never fully understood why the comic continuity is important anyway. If I want the comic continuity, i'll read the damn comic. Different writers want to do different things. Most of the time they're bad ideas, but sticking strictly with the already established plot points, characters and events we all know entirely too well would,in my opinion, be rather boring. What would be the point, aside from seeing the panels in the comic book move?

You haven't seen manga fans bitch about anime adaptations. You'd think any deviation was sacrelege. (Given that many times shows are developed while the manga is ongoing, deviations are a fact of life.)

I think that was one reason the Watchmen movie - which was painstakingly accurate to the comic pages - failed overall.

Even then, people complain about the changes he did make.

I think after watching it, I agree that the story was just too big for a simple movie. It really should have been a miniseries. Also, I think it was a product of its time and it is harder to relate to if you didn't live through the cold war.

That being said, I would have been interested in Paul Greengrass' take on it, since he was looking to modernize it. That possibly would have been more interesting than a straight adaptation, tho I don't know if it would have worked.

 

[caex]

So far think every X-Men movie has been pretty bad. But next to Green Lantern they are works of art... Man that was so f@#kin terrible.

It was better than x-men: first class

 

[DuchessOfDork]

It was better than x-men: first class

Strangely enough, I liked the GL movie. I think it's because it was so cheesy, I didn't mind the plot holes. XD

Although I did cry a little when Guy Gardner didn't make a cameo..

 

[Justin G]

Strangely enough, I liked the GL movie. I think it's because it was so cheesy, I didn't mind the plot holes. XD

Although I did cry a little when Guy Gardner didn't make a cameo..

Just watch some Three Stooges episodes through green-tinted plastic. Moe is Guy Gardner.

 

[DuchessOfDork]

Teehee!

 

[J. Golden]

Strangely enough, I liked the GL movie. I think it's because it was so cheesy, I didn't mind the plot holes. XD

Although I did cry a little when Guy Gardner didn't make a cameo..

"Wholes", was there a plot?

 

[metalprof]

A quick update on my comic newbie status (crossposted with PM: Pub at PM Rising):

It seems like now is a good time to get into comics: in the Marvel Universe, Ghost Rider, Daredevil and Moon Knight have rebooted and started with Issue 1 again, all within the last few months. The Venom series recently started. The Fantastic Four morphed into "FF" (Future Foundation) which is only at Issue 6. And a limited series Mystery Men is hopefully going to go into continuation.

The entire DC universe is about to relaunch, all 52 titles are resetting to #1 in late August & September. So I haven't bought any current DC comics, what's the point?

Of course, to comic purists, talking about Marvel and DC may be a bit like talking about Twilight and Harry Potter for book fans. Some of the other not-big-2 comics I've tried are Magnus Robot Fighter (Dark Horse), Elric: The Balance Lost (Boom!) and Kirby Genesis and The Last Phantom (Dynamite). I'm about to check out BPRD and Turok: Son of Stone from Dark Horse when my next haul arrives.

Getting started has been pretty expensive, but it is fun, and I really like the anticipation of "new comic Wednesdays". That sort of anticipation has been missing for a long time for me in the worlds of music and books. Once I figure out which series are my favorite, I can start following them and not worrying about going backwards to find good starting points.

My favorite series so far is Amazing Spider Man. It has a lot of good humor. I would imagine as a kid it would have bored me because there seems to be more talk and interpersonal stuff than beating up bad guys. But now I like it a lot.

I do find that I wish there was more suspense and intrigue in all the stories I've tried. Events are presented very matter-of-factly, and information is too readily available to the characters who are trying to find something out. I wish more time was spent developing specific events or providing actual mystery / suspense.

A complete list (comics are ideal for people like me with the collector bug!) of what I have so far is at:

https://sites.google.com/site/metalprofessor/home/comics

Ken

 

[DuchessOfDork]

It's not so much a Twilight vs Harry Potter thing.

I switched from Marvel to DC because Marvel changed so dramatically that I felt bad when I read X-Men. My favorite characters either died, or had their powers removed, and were quickly forgotten. So I loved on to DC, which had a sufficient amount of superhero cheese and enough drama to keep me entertained.

..and now they're rebooting, too.

SO MUCH FRUSTRATION.

 

[J. Golden]

Just saw Captain America and although it does not top Superman as my favorite comic book movie it is certainly at the top of the list. By far the best Marvel movie thus far. And it is about time that on the fourth attempt at a Captain America movie someone has finally gotten it right.
The Avenger teaser at the end looks good but could not tell if Wasp and Antman were in it. And still can't stand Samuel Jackson.

 

[Justin G]

Yes, Captain America was really well done. It was a good origin story, it acknowledged the character's innate cheesiness and set the stage for things to come. Marvel has done a fantastic job of weaving their stories - at least the Avengers family - together.

 

[Cheiron]

Can you elaborate on why you liked it? I thought it was okay, but disappointing. My strongest issue with it, is that any attempts at character development were lacking. I understood Rodgers, and his drive. Some of the action was fun (though the montage was a bad moment, as it reminded me of 80s action flicks). I enjoyed the moments with Hydra the most. It has none of the qualities that make the Nolan Batman movies so great. Nor did it have the charisma of Iron Man. This one ranks similar to Green Lantern. Some nice moments, but did too much in too little time. Not enough time spent on the nuances, the characters, the inner and outer struggles. The movie felt more like an intro for the Avengers movie, than a complete movie of its own merit. Perhaps the problem is that I haven't read Captain America comics, and I don't know that much about the character. Perhaps I just don't care for the character.

I agree this is one of Marvel's betters, but it doesn't rank up there, for me, with Iron Man or Spiderman. I enjoyed X-Men: First Class more.

 

[Justin G]

I thought it worked on multiple levels. It payed homage to the original Simon and Kirby character as well as the Millar and Hitch revamp from the Ultimates. The casting was great too, in that a lot of new faces got a chance to shine, rather than a Hollywood who's who (Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson aside). The story was fun, the pace was perfect, and it had a great mix of nostalgic adventure (think The Rocketeer and Raiders of the Lost Ark) and modern blockbuster elements. I even got a little Inglorious Basterds vibe from Cap's version of the Howling Commandos.

It wasn't some Dark Knight-style brooding or cereberal film, but that is obviously not what it was supposed to be. I tend not to expect high art from my superhero flicks.