Monday Link Blog

Otherwise known as it is Monday, I'm tired and irritable about a lot of things and at certain people.

Greg McElhatton has done his Previews rundown for Ninth Art. He has a hilarious comment about how bad a name "Chocolate Thunder" is for a comic. While doing his usual great job of some of the lesser known titles from the smaller companies.

He's also made me curious about Morrison's Doom Patrol, which given that I've never read any of it and have never been a big Morrison booster surprises me.

Johanna Draper Carlson has also posted her Previews rundown and snarky comments. She's got a shrewd eye for what's good and bad in the industry, and her recommendations list always makes me think "that's the type of stuff people would be reading if comics were a bit more normally populated medium."

John Jakala has announced the winners of his Street Angel fanfiction contest. Congratulations to the winners, and good for John for showing such activism spirit in support of a small press book.

Tokyopop is also getting into the activism spirit, by starting their own Manga Force group of fans. From what I read on the site, the fans in the Manga Force will be given assignments to help spread the word about various Tokyopop products. And in exchange will get exclusive behind the scenes access to upcoming projects, and well as be able to enter exclusive contests.

Newsarama has a strange article that points out the ultimate bandwagon jump on of some of today's comic creators. As Rand Queen is bringing back his Darkchylde creation, this time in manga form as a very young girl.

Interesting to read the responses in the thread, of the fans of his old T&A style, professing either no interest or feelings of betrayal about this new less blatantly sexual look.

Marvel Publisher Dan Buckley has a great quote in an article on the new "Spider-girl" type character in the "Amazing Fantasy" series in the Omaha World-Herald. Saying "The thing that we've noticed is that manga sales have proven females will read graphic-novel fiction," Buckley said. "If we can develop the content and get it into the right retail, we'll have a chance."

Okay number one, that they didn't know women would read GN fiction is sort of mind boggling. Did they really have no faith in the medium itself, or just think they were too dumb to "get it"?

Then the second, I can agree that if you get the right content in the right retail outlet you have a chance. Yet since when is yet another superhero type character the "right content"? If you really want the different audience, you have to make what they want to read. Not expect them to adapt to what you produce.