Another reason why digital comics suck

I'm speaking mostly of the Big 2 publishers, and higher tier ones. Another reason why digital comics at full cover price is unthinkable is that the publisher is not distributing these books through Diamond and eventually through the retailers. The basic idea behind retail sales is that the retailer pays a certain amount that is less than the selling(cover) price. By selling the comic at the cover price, the retailer makes a small profit. The cost that the retailers pay for all of the orders and preorders needs to cover the cost that the publishers pay to produce and print the comic. When the publisher doesn't need to print the comics, it costs less to produce them, and when they don't need to sell the comics to a distributor that, in turn, needs to sell the comics to a retailer, it costs even less than less to get the content to the consumer. To charge more than you charge the distributor for product that you can provide directly to the consumer, is milking us for more money.
My point is, publishers make more money by providing digital content to consumers by charging full cover price. So why not be satisfied with making the same amount of money by spending less to get that content to the consumer and pass that savings onto them? Because they are greedy bastards that think that we can't figure out this simple derivative.
I will continue to buy my comics at a retailer and enjoy owning a physical product until digital content can be made worth my while. I don't mind waiting.

Avengers #19 - Prelude to rehash of Dark Avengers

The Good:
Daniel Acuna

The Bad:
Everything else.

Now, maybe I'm being a little critical here, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Bendis has officially become a broken record. During Fear Itself, we had to buy three books full of interview-style talking heads. Now we are finally out of that garbage and we get a prelude to Dark Avengers. Again. Also, Vision's back. Wait, what? Yeah, surprise Cap. Tony's secretly been repairing one of the two most powerful androids on the planet between the panels. Getting back on the sauce must really be helping Stark to focus! let's hope those repairs you made to his AI won't make Vision a lush, as well.

So Cap tries to get T'Challa back on the Avengers, but apparently Hell's Kitchen is more important than, you know, the Earth for The Black Panther to bother considering his offer. Incidentally, daredevil and Panther must be terrible superheroes. The real world version of Hell's Kitchen has apparently gone through so much urban renewal, that it really doesn't resemble the comic version in the slightest, and that was done without the aid of a superhero. So anyway, Panther is all like 'I'm busy motherfucker, go ask my wife!' So Storm, like any proud woman would, stops making sandwiches and flies in to join The Avengers. I really hate Storm as a wife. She's to strong to need a husband, unless it was me, of course. So Wolverine is all like 'Haaaay 'Roro! So super to see you! You been biz-ay? Just hangin' with that team I left a couple weeks ago to start a school that I will never be at because I'm on 4-5 super-teams at a time? Big ups ta all mah haters!'

The Worst:
Hawkeye's movie costume. Just. No.

I give this comic one of Ms Marvel's ass cheeks up for Acuna's art, and two of Red Hulk's ass cheeks down for all the gobbledegook.

X-Factor 227

X-factor is a book that I love. I love it because Peter David writes it. I will stay on board as long as Peter David is writing it, and I will probably drop it when he leaves the book. Another thing I love about it is that there is not one A-List character in it. Really! It doesn't need Wolverine, or Spidey, or Thor(except in cameo) to sell books. I am happy to see characters that don't appear regularly in other books. This used to be a thing that Marvel and DC would do. They would get together a bunch of C-list characters that couldn't star in their own title, and run with it. It's pretty rare now to see a team book like this anymore. It's like X-Factor is our reward for being long time X-book readers. We have Guido, Madrox,  from the 'All New, All Different' X-Factor days. We have Syrin(Banshee) and Shatterstar from the Rob Liefeld X-Force days. We have Rahne who has been in both X-Factor and New Mutants, and Rictor from both X-Force and New Mutants. Then we have Monet from Generation X, and Longshot from even deeper into the Uncanny X-Bag. Layla is a shot of freshness from House of M. Every X-Men fan liked and or loved at least one of those titles at some point, and I loved them all.
That's why this comic is so fun. I have to say that I am honestly not looking forward to Havok and possibly Polaris coming back to the pages of X-Factor. I really don't care for them, and I feel that it's going to start feeling like too many cooks in the kitchen, but I felt that way when Star and Longshot joined the fray, and they are welcome characters now.
This particular issue is just full of various surprises. I really hate talking about X-factor because I want people to buy it and find out for themselves, which you should do. Right now.

Happy Franksgiving!

We did Thanksgiving with Paige's family on Sunday, so we did a small dinner today with just the two of us and her mom. We had a Cornish hen each stuffed with portabellos, which turned out to be wonderfully juicy and delicious after the brine that I did, and we had roasted Brussels sprouts with chopped pecans and her mama's au gratin potatoes. With a pear/pecan/feta/bibb lettuce salad and a bit of Laughing Cat Riesling, makes for a fantastic dinner. We haven't even had the hazelnut tort yet. Today, my to-do list will have visual aids.

Now I plan on snuggling up with my new X-Factor that came in yesterday. Goodbye!

Comic sales

This is fascinating:
http://enterthestory.com/comic_sales.html

In other news, Power Horse page illustration has slowed due to the holiday. At least, that's what I'm blaming it on. My lack of motivation this week is abysmal. I'll leave you with this:

Uncanny X-Men #1

You know, of all the comics I read, I am truly an X-Men fan. I have every issue of X-Men volume 2, and many of Uncanny. I also have collected all of the various other X-titles from the late 80's up until now. I am not pleased by this relaunch.

It's not because I am mad that the first X-Men series is being renumbered for no apparent reason. It's not because I'm mad that it's being reset in aftermath to an event that wasn't even seen on the pages of this particular title. It's not because of any separation anxiety that I am feeling and how depressing Utopia seems now that most of the heart has left the building. It's not even because it looks like Cyclops has an enormous erection on the front cover.

It's because I'm just not feeling inspired by this team. This is a big deal and it's just boring. I like Sinister as a focal villain of the first post-Schism arc. I love what Kieron Gillen has been doing with Uncanny. I love most of the team members. I love that Greg Land isn't "illustrating" this title anymore. It's just, after the fun I had with Wolverine and The X-Men #1, I'm just burnt out on this. I hate to say this, but I'm team Logan. This comic was boring. I had no fun. I don't feel like the dynamic of these team members is being represented in an interesting way. It's almost as if they are too powerful. I know that's kind of the point, but this first issue just felt disjointed.

So, now that the 'school' part of the X-Men is out of Cyclops' hair, he is free to pursue his dream of becoming the premier super-team on the planet. This is clearly a case of penis envy with Captain America and The Avengers. I want to say that I belive that Cyclops' team could take The Avengers. I think Colossonaut would be able to hold off Rulk. Magneto would crush Iron Man. Danger would probably have some type of defensive measure to deal with The Protector, Storm and Namor could take Spider Woman and Ms. Marvel, and Cyclops has the strategic skills and combat skills to go head-to-head with The Cap. Factor in that Scott is probably willing to play dirtier than Steve. I don't know, maybe Spider-Man could save the day in his usual unlikely fashion.

So what do we need to make this book interesting? The inevitable return of, arguably, the X-Men's most dangerous rogue and team him with the tech of a Celestial. right off the bat we have pretty much the most powerful threat they could face. It can only go downhill from here. I'm not blaming Kieron Gillen. He has so much to juggle with Uncanny, not to mention Gen Hope and Journey Into Mystery. All very story-heavy books. I just feel like this is not working. They will sell because it's the flagship X-book, but I'm not very impressed.

Prediction

I have a prediction. I have seen the future. My precognitive abilities have picked up what may be the conclusion of the Dark Angel arc in Uncanny X-Force. We saw Deadpool get fragged last issue. I predict he is actually going to save the day. Everything will be fucked and everyone will be about to die, then he will jump in and throw his decapitated head at Archangel. The head will say 'heads up!' and then Archangel will be knocked onto a spike or something. I could so have Rick Remender's job.

There. I've posted in all four of my blogs tonight. I'm going to get some desperately needed sleep.

Jeff Lemire's Blog: ANIMAL MAN#1 GETS THIRD PRINTING!

Jeff Lemire's Blog: ANIMAL MAN#1 GETS THIRD PRINTING!: Monday, October 24th, 2011 By David Hyde DC COMICS Some books are so good you want to talk about them with your family, your co-workers, yo...

Yeah, I saw this coming. I guess we can count on Animal Man sticking around for awhile! Thank goodness. I'm sick of seeing good comics that get canceled after 12 issues because they don't have Batman or Wolverine in them. Kudos, Mr. Lemire and Mr. Foreman. Major kudos.

100th Post!!! All-Star Superman DVD

If you traveled back in time to last November, you would find me making my first post. At that time, you couldn't tell me that my 100th post would be something DC related without being laughed off. I would say "Begone future-person, and leave me without your lies tainting these ears of mine! HAHAHA!"

Well let's talk about a movie I watched today by the title of All-Star Superman!

I rented this DVD from the Blockbuster Express kiosk at the grocery store near my humble abode. I was actually hoping to find Batman: Year One, but I had heard that All-Star Superman was good. I don't know if this is the same story as the comic story arc of the same name, but I wanted to give it a try.

The first thing I noticed was that it wasn't Bruce Timm animation. I have a love-hate relationship with Bruce Timm. I hate his male characters with gigantic shoulders and teeny-tiny legs. They look like tops. That being said, I can't deny his contributions to the animated comic-book medium. This movie, was not Bruce-Timmy, however. The animation was pretty good in the main action sequences, and wasn't terrible in the in-between scenes. If you've watched many comic-book related animated films or anime in general, you've probably taken note of the fact that animators are told to spend more time on the key action scenes and less on the talky scenes. This movie suffers from that ailment, but not as badly as I've seen before. I would say that the visual quality of this film is pretty above-average.

The story was enjoyable and I feel like there were alot of sequences to keep me entertained throughout. It felt like several short episodes put together, which kept it from a hazard of action based movies that have a main story and only two or three big action scenes. We have Superman saving scientists from burning up in the sun, then it moves to Superman and Lois in the Fortress of Solitude,  then it's about fighting Lizard people, then it's about the center of the Earth and riddles, then it's arm wrestling with other superheroes, then it's Clark having to save security guards from some energy absorbing monster at a high-security prison while protecting his identity, then etc...

It just keeps going, and every part was pretty fun.

I haven't read alot of Superman, but I understand the key points of his lore and the movie doesn't insult it's lay audience by trying to explain all the backstory. We can fill in the blanks and still enjoy it.

Overall I really liked it.

I give All-Star Superman two arrogant Kryptonians up and one Red Sun for all the world to enjoy.

Comic books day! - Quick reviews

Journey Into Mystery #630
Anticipation: 6/10

I'll be honest. I loved the entire Fear Itself run of these comics, but near the end I was so fed up with Fear Itself that it was a pretty laborious read. I will say that this title has been one of the only relevant tie-ins to the event and you could basically read Fear Itself #1, Fear Itself #7, and then all the Journey books to get the full story. In addition to being burnt out on Fear Itself, the art in the last three issues has been Whilce Portacio. So that's been hard to get through. This one was a refreshing recap of the event through the bardic storytelling of Volstagg to his many children that I just learned he had. It was a nice way to end the event.

Justice League Dark #2
Anticipation 6/10

This title will hold me for two reasons. The first is that it gathers different characters that wield arcane arts as opposed to the standard superpower team book. I'm not used to reading books like that. The second reason is pure curiosity. The art is fantastic and I want to see where all this is going.

The Flash #2
Anticipation  9/10

This is one of the New 52 that surprised the hell out of me. I expected to take some interest in the more obscure titles, but not any of the A-list superhero comics. This is a classic superhero/everyday guy story. It's like classic Spidey. That alone is reason to interest me, but the visual quality of this title is jaw dropping. When you can get me to look at a page without words for more than a few minutes, you've done something amazing with visual storytelling. Manapul continues to astonish me with each issue. I read this back-to back with the Daredevil book I picked up and they each spoke to me in the same way. There is a several-page sequence in which Barry figures out how to literally think faster. Over the course of about 4 pages, you are told about so many things that happen in about one second of story-time.
You have to see it to understand. I really enjoyed this.

Animal Man #3
Anticipation 10/10

This title has knocked my socks off and made my eyes bleed from the first issue. This is a wonderful book. Jeff Lemire is just hitting it out of the park with the story and Travel Foreman is making me so creeped out by the horrific and grotesque visuals. This is a perfect horror book. It's making me think of the Vault of Horror books I used to pick up at the grocery store when I was eight. I haven't read much horror since then, but this is making me crave it. Truly a visual feast of horrific delights!

Daredevil #5
Anticipation 9/10
I'm finding myself drawn to the more small-scale heroes lately. Daredevil is surely one of Marvel's A-listers, but he battles street thugs and corrupt corporations instead of global and cosmic threats. It doesn't hurt that, like The Flash, the visual storytelling is unique and exciting. We "see" the world through Daredevil's "eyes", so to speak. The way he experiences his environment is through sound is expressed with such care and subtlety, that we can really understand his radar sense. I personally love it when he hears the guys moving up the stairs and can tell they are wearing nightvision goggles by the hum of the device. Then we see a narrative box that says, "Six armed mercs with nightvision. Whatever shall I do?". Then we see him turn on the light switch and blind them all. Brilliant. Another subtle sound cue is found when we see a series of R's scrawled across the panels gradually getting larger. Then we see that it was a speed boat approaching. So cool! Pick up this book. I don't care who you are. Just...buy this.

Wolverine and the X-Men #1
Anticipation 8/10

I'll be honest, I was a little hesitant about this. It's only because I love the X-Men and any changes in the status quo scare me. Jason Aaron has proven that he can write Wolverine, but what of an X-Men team book? Well, I am happy to say that this book was fun as hell and I'm excited for the series. It's opening day of the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, and the faculty have to deal with a couple of state inspectors. I'm glad to see Logan and Kitty in charge, and Beast is a refreshing sight. Chris Bachalo's art is always fun. He has always been one of my favorite artists. It's also great to see the X-men in a school again. I get so burnt out on the constant battling happening on Utopia and like seeing the characters be characters and not just fighting. I'm happy with this and hope the book maintains this mood. Did I not call that Krakoa would be showing up? Yeah, I did.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3
Anticipation 8/10

IDW bought all the comics rights to my favorite childhood passtimes; Godzilla, Ghostbusters, and of course TMNT. With the creator of the Turtles on writing duties I don't really give a crap that the origin is different. I love reading Turtles again. All-red-bandana Turtles, at that! This is a great throwback. I don't mind the $3.99 cover price. In fact, the pages of this book feel heavier. I feel like they are printed on sturdier stuff than the Marvel and DC books I've been reading. Anyway, if you loved TMNT in the 80's and 90's, check this book out. It's got good art and is really worthwhile.