Digging into Digital: Image Comics Re-Launches their Website

Adding new creators like Brian K. Vaughan to their list of creator-owned comics isn't the only thing that Image Comics is up to these days. Earlier today, they announced on Facebook a major face-lift to their primary website. Partnering with Comixology, one of the major players in providing digital comics, Image's new site is designed to be user-friendly, geared towards getting readers to find books by their favorite creative teams, learn about new projects, and purchase Image books digitally through Comixology (natch).

Here's a snippet from the Press release on Facebook:

Berkeley, CA – 29 July 2011 -- Image Comics is pleased to introduce a completely redesigned Website, which includes many additional features and improvements. ComiXology, who created and continues to maintain the Image App for digital comics, has once again partnered with the publisher for the redesign of their Website.

Some of those exciting features and improvements include:

A new online database which will help fans search for their favorite comics and discover new favorites by allowing them to search by creator, series title, or even genre.

A live RSS feed, inviting fans to keep abreast of the latest Image Comics news and participate in the Image Comics community via Twitter and Facebook.

A section devoted to digital comics for sale, including some downloads that are even available for free! Read all of Images Comics digital comics at comics.imagecomics.com.

The Image Comics Forums, which will continue to give creators, retailers, and fans alike an online home for questions and discussion.

Some of these things already existed, of course, but they were clunky. The new site puts them in a cleanly displayed format (contrast this with Marvel, whose site I avoid except to read their digital comics library), with only the content you requested scrolling down to the bottom of the page as you go along. The following are my impressions of the features on the new Image Comics website.

• It's a very pleasant experience. I enjoyed looking at the news articles without clutter all around me, and it actually made me want to linger and see what I might be missing. In this online world where there's so many things calling for my attention, I think it's key that this redesign keeps me interested instead of annoyed.

• From the news page, I moved over to the blog, which I found was not only active, but it had items that were not covered in news. It's nice to see them separate from each other. Use news for press-release type stuff and the blog to feature things relating to Image comics more generally. I like that, and I hope it continues.

• You can't really have Image without thinking of Rob Liefield (even if he's not an active Partner, per the FAQ), and it looks like he's going to get his own blog-like space on the new website. Right now, there's an interview with him, where he admits deadlines are tricky and thinks he could have made it in the sports talk world. It's very conversational. I'll be curious to see what happens with this part of the site over time.

• Speaking of the FAQ, I think it's a nice idea that you don't see a lot of these days---well, at least I don't. After covering the usual subjects, such as who runs Image and how it got started, there are detailed instructions on how to submit and how submissions are handled, which doesn't do much for me but should help aspiring artists (writers without artists need not apply, BTW). Perhaps most interestingly, Image has several comic book terms broken down for new readers. It's another small touch that makes this site very user-friendly for new comics readers.

• The best part of the site, in my opinion, is the comics section, though it definitely need some work before it can live up to its full potential. The comics section is broken down several ways. First of all, there is a place for new and upcoming releases, perfect for interested parties who may not know all that Image produces. You can search alphabetically for just about every comic ever published by Image, as well as by every creator that did work for them. I clicked around on a few creator pages and found them rather lacking, so I hope this gets up to speed soon. (Todd McFarlane's only lists Haunt, and has no biographical details. You'd think his would be one of the first to be filled in, but I guess he's less important to Image these days than Kirkman.)

• In this era of blogs and Twitter and now G+, the inclusion of forums struck me as the one odd note in the whole mix. The forums seem to have some new postings, but I question how much they're actually used. Do people in the comics world still feel attracted towards forums? I'm genuinely curious, and would love to know.

• The last link on the site is for the Image Comics digital site, which will be instantly familiar to anyone who uses Comixology for their digital reading purposes. It even accepts my regular Comixology login, and allows me to read any Image comics I've already purchased through the main Comixology site when I am on the Image-only site. (Naturally, I cannot read my non-Image comics there.) It's a very nice job of cross-pollination that Comixology seems to specialize in, making the reading experience as easy as possible, no matter where you happen to run into their service.

Overall, I was extremely impressed. This is a website that's clearly learned from the experiences of other comics sites, and I think it's a real winner. Image is definitely stepping up its game on a number of levels, and I think they're positioning themselves well both to be a major digital player (Image has been doing day and date digital before it became a big thing for the Big Two) and a user-friendly place for new comics readers.

Well, done, Image! My digital cap is off to you and Comixology for this one. What do you think of the new Image site? Tell me in the comments!

Beasts of Burden Volume 1

Written by Evan Dorkin

Illustrated by Jill Thompson

Dark Horse

Humans aren't the only creatures who have to deal with issues of the supernatural. It seems that dogs and cats are plagued with spirits both friendly and otherwise, too, at least in the town of Burden. Watch as this pack of dogs and their stray cat friend try to keep a lid on the evils that plague not just the animal world, but that of the humans as well. Facing off against witches, ghosts, rats, and other terrible things, they are perhaps the only line of defense against those who would harm us. They are the Beasts of Burden, and these are their stories...

I first encountered this group of animals (and the first four stories in this collection) in the excellent series of Dark Horse horror anthologies, "The Dark Horse Book of...", where Dorkin and Thompson generally closed out the volume with a beautifully illustrated and creepily crafted tale of horror using talking animals as the protagonists. I was well aware of Thompson by that point, but ironically, this was (and remains) my only exposure to Evan Dorkin. If this is any indication of his writing skill, I really need to fix that at some point.

Dorkin says that he wanted to do something a bit different with a horror story, and that shows here. Rather than focusing on the usual human issues, these stories are set firmly in a universe where animals can talk to each other--but not to ordinary humans. That's a crucial distinction. because instead of the "Dark Scooby Doo" stories these could have become, we are operating in a world that is closed to humanity. Thus if a dog is caught killing a boy, that dog can't explain by wagging its tail or communicating to a sympathetic teen or something of that nature. Nope--if you're caught doing something bad in this world, you as the animal are going to die. That's exactly how it should be, because the best horror stories pit a few humans against the supernatural world who might be punished for taking bad--if necessary--actions. Dorkin gets this, and uses the same logic for his dogs.

Despite Thompson's light touch on the painted comics, they are extremely dark in nature. We have witches conjuring up horrors, puppy-drowning sadists, zombie dogs that don't feel like it's exploitative of the genre bandwagon, and shambling horrors made up of various dead things, to say nothing of the natural creepiness of rats. Dorkin is writing sheer horror here, right up there with the worst that King or Straub or Moench or Gaiman or anyone else you are more likely to associate with horror can conjure up in their own works. Dorkin gets that the best horror occurs when you aren't afraid to have terrible things happen to your favorite characters. Otherwise, the terror seems false. I'm fully convinced that Dorkin is going to off animals in these books and that means I turn every page with trepidation.

Most of the stories here are not breaking any new horror ground, but that's okay because I don't think there's a lot of new tropes to be explored in the horror genre. We have of course seen zombies and ghosts avenging their deaths and vast supernatural conspiracies before. On the other hand, using animals to tell these stories is quite a new twist, one that I think Dorkin nails and gives the material a fresh enough spin that even the most weary horror-reading veteran will enjoy. It's really cool to see how dogs deal with, say, a demonic possession, given their pack mentality.

I also like how Dorkin put a cat into the story. It allows him to show fear and suspicion because of difference in a way that would seem rather ham-handed or inappropriate if he tried it with humans. There's no legacy of racism involved in having dogs think a cat might have led them astray in a way that having, say, an African American character run away or an Asian act suspicious might dredge up. The dogs themselves are also of different breeds, allowing for variety both visually and in personality, though I do think Dorkin was a bit shallow in his choices: The pug is pugnacious, the most wolf-like dog is pack-oriented, etc. But that's an extremely minor complaint.

Given how much I'd enjoyed the four short stories that formed the basis for this new series, it didn't shock me that I liked Beasts of Burden. However, what I was not expecting was how much I liked it. Dark Horse has so many good horror comics in its stable, from Hellboy to Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, and it's great to see them continue to develop and support horror comics that aren't knee-jerk zombie knockoffs. Beasts of Burden are a welcome addition to the fold and worthy of taking their place beside PBRD and the Goon.

I'm a little late to the party in reviewing this series, but if for some reason you are a horror fan and haven't read Beasts of Burden yet, go out and get it right away. You'll be glad you did!

Opinions on Some San Diego Comi-Con Announcements

So the San Diego Comi-Con wrapped up a few days ago, and while I wasn't there despite my best efforts to get my astral form to float all the way there (best I could do was reach Peoria), I did spend much time as I could following the efforts of my comics-writing friends who were there.

This is the second of my two follow-ups to the Comi-Con, where I look at a few of the many, many non-digital announcements. (You can read the digital article here.) Thanks so much to all the comics bloggers who were out there providing information to the rest of us. I couldn't have written this without you, even if I don't directly link to something you posted.

For a pretty-good general roundup, may I recommend Comics Alliance?

Overall, the biggest news for me was Viz going digital for all web browsers. But a close second was Fantagraphics' announcement that they not only have the rights to EC Comics, they're going to release them by artist instead of in a chronological order. This is incredibly awesome, and while my wife was teasing me about collecting them like they were Pokemon, I love the idea of being able to pick and choose. While I love reading old comics, not all of them are awesome enough to need to be on my bookshelf, ya know? Can't wait for these to start arriving, so I can start buying them.

Image also had great news, with a new series by Brian K. Vaughan that might be a bit too fantasy-oriented for my normal taste, but after loving Runaways and digging Ex Machina on the second try, I am all about new Brian K. Vaughan. If Image does this as day and date digital, I might even spring for full price to read it as it happens, a first for me.

Image, by the way, is sure working hard to make themselves a player in the comics world. Maybe I've been napping a bit in this regard, but when I was hearing about Vaughan, Chaykin, Hickman, and others, along with the prolific Kirkman, it occurred to me that Image is not a company to be laughed at anymore. Probably hasn't been for years, I just wasn't paying attention. It does seem to me like they're taking some of the stuff Vertigo might have gotten in the past. It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few years. Ifanboy called them the publishing star of the show, but I think that might be pushing things a bit too far.

Holy Holy Terror, Batman Batman-looking dude! Frank Miller finally gets this out before it becomes completely irrelevant. I'm hot and cold on Miller's work, so I'll reserve judgment until I can see it for myself. My favorite comment on this is still my friend Ben Towle's, in which he asks how long it's gonna take someone to Photoshop Bat-ears on the thing and send it out into the torrenting world. My guess is on about an hour.

Neither DC nor Marvel had any news that really wowed me. It's not that I don't read capes comics anymore (as a matter of fact, I'm reading more than I did in years thanks to digital comics and a routine of reading one Marvel or DC trade every week from the library), it's more than I no longer really care about the big events they're perpetually coming up with. Once they became a never-ending affair written basically by one person for each company, they stopped being at least different. (I mean, giving Chuck Dixon a company crossover might not have been a brilliant idea, but at least he had a different take on the same old game-changing concepts, ya know?)

Also, seems like the heads of DC are jerks, but some of their creators are not, with Paul Cornell standing out in particular as being a nice guy who really does care about the concerns fans have with the books as they've been pitched. I can't see any world in which I'm not sitting on the sidelines for the DC reboot, given that I don't plan on paying 4 dollars per digital comic. Overall, it feels like DC is really losing the PR battle here left and right, to go along with losing the sales wars and the movie wars. Is Warner Brothers paying attention? Because it strikes me as a recipe for regime change.

Drawn and Quarterly had some good indie stuff for me to pick up at SPX this year, assuming they aren't priced too high, including Kate Beaton's new book and work from Anders Nilsen and Daniel Clowes.

Finally, maybe I'm just not in the loop in the manga world, but this time around, there was nothing announced that really wowed me. It seemed rather subdued in terms of coverage and buzz, which makes me wonder if the translated manga market is in worse shape than we--or at least I--thought.

Okay, that's probably more than enough. Thanks again to everyone from Chris Sims to Laura Hudson to Paul Cornell to Daniella Orihuela-Gruber to the teams of things like Comics Beat and Comics Alliance for helping those of us who weren't at the Con to feel like we were in the loop the whole time. Can you do it again for me next year? Thanks!

Karakuri Odette Volume 4

Written by Julietta Suzuki

Illustrated by Julietta Suzuki

Tokyopop

Odette might have a new friend, if she can break down the barriers of a human heart turned robotic by years of isolation. Can these two young women who haven't experienced the world in the way that most of us have form an alliance in their everyday lives and find their way to humanity together? From going out with friends to experiencing the great outdoors, it's another set of life experiences for our protagonist android in Karakuri Odettte.

I have to admit, this is the first volume of Karakuri Odette that really let me down. It's not bad by any means, but I'm not a big fan of this new character, Shirayuki. She would have been okay as an occasional character, but Suzuki uses her so often she's basically the co-lead in this volume, and I think that's a mistake. The focus of this title should always be on Odette and her troubles adapting to life as a teenage girl, exposing both the wonder and the pain of growing up. Shirayuki deflects from that everytime she is around, because now there's yet another character who is similar to Odette. Things are getting entirely too diluted for my taste here. I don't think the premise works nearly as well in an ensemble setting as it does with a primary character.

I definitely get what Suzuki is trying for here, in terms of creating Shirayuki. Here is a human being who might as well be a robot because she's been shut out of all the things that make up a life. I think we all know people who have that background, though obviously not to this degree. It makes for an interesting comparison: Who is more human, the flesh and blood person or Odette? The problem for me is that seeing them side by side takes the focus off either of them, so the impact of, say, visiting someone's home for the first time is blunted.

There's also another big problem with Shirayuki, and that's Suzuki's decision to make her filthy rich. I hate the flunky sidekick bought for her, I hate that she can be helicoptered out of any problem, and I don't see how we're supposed to sympathize with a girl who has that much money. She may be poor in friends and life experience, but the money factor just turns me off caring about her. That might just be my bias showing, but overall, I thought it took away some of the potential for strong storytelling moments.

One thing that I noticed about Odette here that *is* interesting to me is that she's far more likely to be cruel to Shirayuki than her other friends, and is generally more aggressive than we've seen in the past. In the case of the former, it's hard not to think that Odette considers Shirayuki less than human (a good plot point that I'd like to see followed up on, though not at the expense of everything else). In the case of the latter, is it possible her programming has been tweaked after so many technical issues? I guess I'll just have to see how things progress in the next volume.

Suzuki's artwork continues to be extremely strong, with every character being distinctive and expressive. It's not easy to make a robot look like she has feelings, but Suzuki pulls it off quite well, I think. There's a lot of posing, frowning, smiling, and shouting that helps the reader understand how Odette and her friends feel about their lives. Karakuri Odette is neither flashy nor exploitative, and that's part of what makes it work so well.

Though this was not my favorite volume of the series, I still like Karakuri Odette a whole lot, and I'm so glad it was finished here in the US before Tokyopop went under. It's a female robot story that's based on the desire for humanity rather than the desire to titillate, a rarity in comics both Eastern and Western in nature. If you can find this series somewhere, definitely pick it up!

Digging into Digital: Thoughts on Some San Diego Comi-Con Digital Announcements

So the San Diego Comi-Con wrapped up a few days ago, and while I wasn't there (and honestly, it's unlikely I'll ever make that show because of the lead time needed to attend), I did follow the events as closely as I could without seeming so obsessed that I did nothing but check my Twitter feed all weekend.

I also checked Google+.

Anyway, here's the first of two posts about stuff from San Diego. This one is of course related to digital comics, with a second to follow about more traditional announcements. Thanks so much to all the comics bloggers who were out there providing information to the rest of us. I couldn't have written this without you, even if I don't directly link to something you posted.

To me the biggest news of the entire Con was that Viz is opening up its access to non-Apple users by following the Dark Horse model and adding the ability to use your web browser to read their online manga offerings. Up and running immediately after the announcement, you can now use Viz Manga to purchase and read quite a few of their popular comics, including One Piece (which has 37 volumes digitized so far) and Naruto (which is at volume 45). Those comics tend to run $5 for a volume, which I think is about right. Viz is also offering several of their Signature titles this way as well, such as House of Five Leaves (3 volumes) and Children of the Sea (just the first volume for now). These are a bit pricier, but not by much.

All of the Viz offerings are of course cloud comics, which I know tends to put some folks' noses out of joint, but I don't think we'll ever see major publishers allow PDF downloads of their comics, at least not without DRM (which seems to be even less popular than clouding) or charging entirely too much for something that's not tangible (my personal pet peeve). I like love getting manga online for the price of a used copy, as it's much easier to find and doesn't take up endless shelf space in my apartment. For those who think $5 is a bit much--keep in mind you're getting roughly 200 pages of comics for that virtual Lincoln. Even at 99 cents for a Western comic, that's usually only about 100 pages of story for the same price. This is a good value and a great way to open up to some new titles without the investment of a lot of money for those who don't have a good, manga-friendly local library system.

I'm really happy about Viz's decision to reach out, and I hope they keep adding titles as they go along. I haven't had the chance to play around with the system just yet, but I will be sure to do so as soon as I can and report back. For now, though, the news had me gushing to anyone who would listen, usually my poor wife.

Continuing the digitizing of manga, San Diego also offered some hints into Jmanga.com, which is supposed to open up in August, from what I understand. I find the idea intriguing, especially based on what Deb Aoki was tweeting from the panel. Apparently, the goal is to make the site a place where English-speaking folks can interact more with the Japanese creators, something that can only happen on an extremely limited basis at this time. I really think that's cool. As Deb points out in this roundup post on manga-related items, JManga might be a game-changer, if it's done right, especially for those of us who would like to legally access manga online.

Less cool is that we don't know what titles are going to be offered (though I believe Deb tweeted this might be a way for us to get at least some legally translated licence rescues), how that's going to jive with existing translated manga in print and online, and how much all this is going to cost. I would hate for such a great idea to end up with a ridiculous price point because it's "fair" in the eyes of the Japanese publishers. That's just going to give people a "reason" to pirate more comics. Keep it affordable, Jmanga folks! (Please?)

Moving into a galaxy far, far away, Dark Horse adds Star Wars to its digital stable, having apparently worked out whatever issues they had with Lucas and company so that people can read these popular tie-in comics. It's a cool addition for them and for fans of the Star Wars universe. I'm not all that into adaptations of licensed properties, so it's not all that interesting to me personally, but if it's your thing, I'm as happy for you about this as you can be for me about Viz going to web distribution.

In news that does not impact on me because I don't own anything Apple, Marvel is going day and date digital, starting with Amazing Spider-Man and some of their X-Men stuff. I haven't been able to find out any details about pricing, but my guess--and that of the people commenting on this news--is that they'd be $3,99, not unlike DC's plans for the New 52. I long ago gave up reading comics as they happened, but if you want your weekly dose of Spider-Man and are tired of longboxes (I don't blame you--I jut culled all the way down to two), this is great news. If you are a paper retailer however, it has to be a bit chilling. I think the tide is really changing against paper comics being the norm as now the other big player starts to get in on the act in a big way. It will be interesting to see how that plays out.

Also, I spent 30 minutes trying to find an official release on Marvel's site for this.

I failed.

I love Marvel comics, but their online site is so hard to navigate. There's a lot there, but finding what you need is often like going to a flea market. The effort to get what you need just might not be worth it.

Finally, in news that tempts even me to *get* an Apple product, Top Shelf announced that they, too, are moving into the digital world starting at iVerse. The initial offering is "only" 70 titles, but I believe I read that Top Shelf's goal is to get just about everything they've ever published up online. (My apologies for no link to that. I can't find where I read it, and I failed to throw it in Evernote.) Getting access to all of Top Shelf's amazing books through the web, from Jeffrey Brown to James Kochalka to Robert Vendetti, would be not only awesome, but might just require a second job for me. :)

That's the digital news that stood out to me from the San Diego Comi-Con. Thanks again in particular to Deb Aoki, Laura Hudson, Chris Sims, the rest of the Comics Alliance team, Heidi McDonald, the rest of the Comics Beat team, and everyone else, from creators to attendees, who helped keep me informed.

Tomorrow, I'll post my thoughts on some of the general announcements at San Diego. There's a lot of good stuff in the comics world, and I can't wait to talk about it!

Dharbin! 1-2 Collected Edition.

Written by Dustin Harbin

Illustrated by Dustin Harbin

Self-Published

Dustin might be best known in the wider comics world right now as the man who letters Casanova, which is pretty cool in and of itself. But there's another side to Mr. Harbin, one that involves an eclectic mix of autobiographical comics, history comics, crude jokes, and thoughtful reflection, all of which is on display here in Dharbin! 1-2 Collected Edition.

Harbin notes that these comics date back to 2008-2009, which means they tend to make him wince a bit at their quality (or lack thereof) in his opinion. But while there are definitely a few rough edges here and there, especially in the early going, Harbin's incredibly fine line details shine through from the start. While Harbin himself might be critical of his craft and works constantly to better, I find his artistic style to be impressive and find it to be above average in the world of mini-comics. I would easily recommend his work to a person looking to get into the mini-comics genre who placed a greater importance on art than story.

Part of the fun of this collected edition is that there is no rhyme, reason, or particular theme to the comics included. We get some recurring ideas, such as "This Day in History" where Harbin blends historical accuracy with clever satire or stories of Harbin's youth. These latter place the author in a sort of Charlie Brown/Calvin mode that works quite well and reminds me that we all have funny stories from our childhood that are great fun once you're old enough for the embarrassment to fade. At other times, we just get a comic about what Harbin was thinking about at the time, from a hatred of phones to cool cartoonists.

The whole thing holds up together incredibly well in my opinion. Though there are definitely echoes of other mini-comics creators in here, such as Harbin's friend Kate Beaton, the voice is uniquely Harbin's. His tone is a mix of optimism for what the world can be and pessimism about how the world actually is. That's a beat I can relate to strongly, which is probably part of why I liked this collection so much.

I'm not sure who originally got me following Dustin Harbin (might have been Rob Ullman--does that sound possible, Rob?), but I am very glad they did. Not only are his collected comics worth picking up, they're also reproduced in a high quality that's also affordable. This collected edition has a shiny, multi-tone cover and is 45 pages for only $5.00. I really appreciate it when creators give their work a nice presentation but also make it something I can buy without feeling ripped off or deciding, "thanks but no thanks." Harbin also does cool prints--two of which I just picked up for myself--that are also available at a reasonable rate. This is a man who does things right--good comics and good value. It's really hard to go wrong there!

You can pick up Dharbin! 1-2 Collected edition (as well as other items) at Harbin's store. In addition or if you prefer, you can get a feel for Harbin's style by following along with his frequent online postings. Either way, I strongly suggest you do so. I think Dustin Harbin is going to break out in a big way very soon. Why not be one of the cool people that says you were around for the early days? I think you'll be glad you did!

Cat Paradise Volume 5

Written by Yuji Iwahara

Illustrated by Yuji Iwahara

Yen Press

It's the climax of our story as the spirit animals are on the verge of being loose in the world once more, and while our heroes are damaged, they're determined to save humanity no matter what the personal cost. But is there an even more sinister scheme at work, one that puts the entire world at greater threat than evil monsters ruling the earth. Can our band of school children find a way to save the day? Find out in the finale to Cat Paradise.

If you'll recall, I wasn't planning to continue this series after volume one, and if I had it to do all over again, I definitely would have given up back then and moved on to other things. This final volume continued the trend of confusing visuals, plot elements that seemed to skip around on a whim, unnerving changes in the goal for the protagonists, and, perhaps most importantly, the introduction of an evil boss that completely upends everything we've been working towards.

I just don't see how this gets translated to an American audience, with all due respect to Iwahara. From beginning to end, there's so many leaps in the story that it feels like a ten volume story was condensed into five. I can forgive the somewhat confusing art, because shonen doesn't seem to put a priority on quality linework, but when I'm mouthing aloud "you've got to be kidding me" multiple times within about 20 pages, there's a problem.

From the beginning, we've been told the Spirit Animals are evil and must be stopped. But here in the final volume, that's no longer the case, and the monsters go off to protect their kind (I think?) without so much as a "we'll still be there to stop you" from the group of teens who seem to have been nothing but pawns this entire time. Did I miss something along the way because I started to lose interest? I'm not seeing how these homicidal shadows are suddenly not worth pursuing or that they're no longer interested in the mass murder of children they were planning on eating only a few moments before. It's like they all got hit with a falling beam of closure or something and changed their motivation like an old screwball comedy.

I also don't get why we needed to go down the trope of "evil old man must abuse a cute girl" trope when we had the spirit animals as villains. Wasn't it enough to have these kids going against the odds to face the primal rage of creatures? I liked that story, even if it was a bit confusing now and again. I am not a fan of the generic girl in danger theme, and once we break down into that plot point, I'm more or less checked out.

By the end of the story, people seem to have forgotten everything that happened, except for our little band. The problem is that there's no sense of completion. It was like a bad dream, complete with dream logic that shifted from volume to volume. The characters involved won't remember what happened, and those that do don't even seem to be better for it. The spirit animals are hiding and there seems to be no hint that anyone will be ready if they decide to attack again. For me, that's inexcusable. Characters should never leave a story acting just as they did at the beginning, especially not when you are using your own intellectual property. It's like Iwahara hit the reset button on his own universe, which bugs me. Why should I read this--or recommend it to others--if in the end, there's no growth, no development, and no real point?

I was extremely disappointed by Cat Paradise. There's a lot of good manga out there and this isn't one of them. My recommendation is to skip it.

Sunday Readings Captain America Edition

Good Morning, and welcome to another edition of my Sunday links-blogging, Sunday Readings. This week, we'll put the spotlight on things related to Captain America, in keeping with my theme this weekend.

First off, Bully, everyone's favorite little stuffed bull, reads the adaptation for the terrible 1990 Captain America movie, written apparently by none other than Stan Lee himself, who must have wanted to exact punishment for not getting a cameo in the direct-to-video release. As usual, Bully is a master of mockery. If you only click one link today, click this one! You know what would have been awesome? Someone asking Lee about this at Comi-con!

Much as I enjoyed the Cap movie, the movie of the year for me almost certainly will be the new Muppet Movie. Never ones to shy away from parody themselves, here's Sam the Extremely American Eagle getting ready to cosplay. Using the word extreme just gave me a nightmare vision of Rob Liefield drawing a muppet comic. Then again, it might be perfect for him--no feet!

Michael Lynch does a corner homage to Cap in this post from the Cornered blog.

Jemma Salume proves that anyone can channel the spirit of Captain America.

Finally, one more potshot from Bully, this time at Colletta's expense. I'd be thirsty, but the much-maligned inker kinda erased my mouth. Oops.

What Captain-America related links are you reading this weekend? Share them with me!

Looking for More Captain America? Some Ideas for You!

It's Captain America Weekend here at Panel Patter! By this time, I'm sure at least some of you reading this have seen the Captain America movie. It was pretty awesome, right? But we shouldn't forget that Cap started out as a comic book character, and the best Cap adventures are right there within the pages of trades or, as I mentioned yesterday in my Digging into Digital post, on Marvel's Digital Comics Unlimited site.

The following are some comics with Cap in them that I reviewed on Panel Patter. This is by no means a comprehensive list or even a good list. It's just a personal list. I hope it can help point you in the right direction!

Ed Brubaker's Captain America

I'm always a bit unsure about how Brubaker's Cap would work for someone who's new to the character. Sometime soon, I need to ask my wife to take the bullet and be my test dummy. The stories are pretty good as long as you don't look at long-term characterization and get past the fact that they resurrected Bucky. It's an impressive body of work, but it also relies heavily on prior knowledge of Captain America, from his relationships to people like the Falcon to who Nomad is (and why we should care about him) to Faustus's complex history as a Marvel villain. I tend to think that the learning curve might be a bit too steep.

There's also the problem of the way Cap is kept off-balance. I tend to think of Steve as having a handle on the world, and he doesn't here. But I will admit, the series grew on me over time, even if I'm not actively reviewing it trade by trade anymore. Here's my review of the Winter Soldier Arc, Red Menace Arc 1 and 2, and the first and second parts of the Death of Captain America arc. I've read all the way up to Reborn now, and I have to say that I think the Death arc is probably the crowning achievement, so it might be a good place to jump off if you like but don't love the stories Brubaker is telling here.

If you want to see someone play in this sandbox, who better than Alex Ross, who works within this time period and has some cool Cap-Bucky time traveling issues in the Avengers-Invaders crossover. I liked this one quite a bit, and while it's not Cap only, it's still a nice piece of writing for those who want to see more Captain America in a group setting.

Kirby's 1970s Cap

I can't urge you strongly enough *not* to read these. I was warned, I read them anyway, and my eyes still weep now and then. Trust me on this. Here's my review of Bicentennial Battles, which features Ben Franklin as a troll and Cap inspiring domestic terrorist mass murderer John Brown, amongst other atrocities against good taste. The other volume of Kirby stuff isn't much better.

Cap as Social Activist

There's a lot I could mention here, but the only one I have a full review on is the Secret Empire story, where Cap and the Falcon fight a conspiracy that uses quite a few contemporary political tactics to possibly take over the country. It's a great read that holds up even to this day.

Cap from Different Perspectives

I liked this anthology, which collected a bunch of little Cap stories together, showing the range of Steve Rogers. I wish Marvel did more of this kind of thing. It's got some great talent involved, too, from Jim Mahfood to Alex Ross to Mark Waid.

Other Caps, Not Reviewed

Some other good Captain America stories include the 1960s stuff where Stan Lee and company try to find a place for Steve in the Marvel Universe. They're a bit hokey and entirely too gung-ho American, but I still have a soft spot for them. It's also fun to see Cap become the leader of the Avengers, so I'd recommend Essential Captain America 1 and Essential Avengers 1. Don't get the second Avengers book, though. Roy Thomas is not at his best, and the stories suffer from terrible art.

If you can find the trades where Marvel collects the Roger Stern-John Byrne Cap, grab them. (There might only be one, I don't remember.) Those are also some great stories, especially the one where Stern single-handedly takes down the idea of a celebrity candidate for President.

I'm pretty sure that Marvel just re-released some of the Mark Waid Captain America run that comes just after Rob Liefield butchered the hell out of him. They're solid stories from one of the best in the business and include the first hints of the Secret Invasion. Waid's Cap is heroic but reflective, which is a nice take on the Sentinel of Liberty.

Finally, the new Captain America and the Falcon series by Christopher Priest which I could have sworn I reviewed but I guess not, is a great contemporary take on the relationship between Steve and Sam. These are two men who arguably could not be more different, yet they stick together through thick and thin. There's racial tension in these pages, just like there are in the Kirby and Englehart stuff that precedes them--it's just more nuanced and therefore stronger. Really good stuff, that I have a feeling has slid out of print.

So those are some Cap recommendations for you. What did I miss? What am I wrong about? Why not tell me in the comments?

Digging into Digital: Captain America on Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited

The Panel Patter spotlight on Captain America continues!

As regular readers know, I have a Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited subscription. Just for fun, I thought I'd see just how many comics they have listed under Captain America.

The answer?

439, or just about as many as the number of times the Red Skull has turned out to not, in fact, be dead after all.

Seriously, though, it's an embarrassment of comics for anyone with access to the program. Not all of them are Cap solo adventures, either. There are plenty of appearances elsewhere, though strangely, none of his team-ups with Spider-Man, which are either not digitized yet or not coded as such. You'd think that pairing would get a higher priority.

Anyway, while I can't go over everything in the digital cloud, I do want to highlight some things of interest that are there:

Classic Cap

There are 11 issues of All Winners Comics, in a format that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. If you thought the Cap comics sequence of the movie was cool, or like Golden Age stories or just want to see how they handled Cap during the war, here's a great place to start. Marvel also has the first 8 Captain America Comics available as well, including the one with the cover of Cap punching out you-know-who.

1960s Cap

Curious to see how Stan Lee and company brought Steve Rogers back into the modern world (of the time, at least)? The digital site has Cap's early adventures in the pages of Tales of Suspense and later Captain America.

Cool Cap Creators

Marvel has some of Cap's adventures at the hands of 1970s Jack Kirby (not as good as it sounds), the Stern-Byrne team, and Mark Waid, all under the 1960s-1990s Captain America title. All of those are worth sampling in my opinion, though beware of the Kirby.

Brubaker Cap

There is a ton of Brubaker Cap on the digital cloud for Marvel. Pretty much every issue of Brubacker's run is available here for you to try. Make sure you go by title and not by character, though--once Steve is not in the issues per se, searching by character reveals tricky results.

The First Avenger

That's not technically true, of course, but it's a great tag line. The Marvel DCU site has a little over 100 issues from the first run of Avengers, and just about all of 'em are from times when Steve was in the group.

Prefer New Avengers? Cap's appearances are here, too, as are the first issues of the Heroic Age.

Crossover Cap

Wanna see Cap within the larger Marvel U? There's many a guest appearance, but most notable are probably Secret Wars, Secret Wars II, Operation: Galactic Storm, and Civil War.

I am really impressed with Marvel's digital Cap collection. Check it out and see what you think!

Some Quick Thoughts on the Captain America Movie

I saw the Captain America movie with my wife this morning, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. The Marvel studio is doing great work with these Avengers films, especially in relation to linking them together. Usually, I don't post anything about the movies I see, but since this is a Captain America theme weekend for Panel Patter, I thought I'd make an exception.

Spoiler-filled comments follow, so be forewarned!

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Okay, that should be plenty of room.

Overall, while I enjoyed this movie a lot, and I think it was about as good as a Captain America film can be, I don't think it's the best of the bunch so far. It's a movie that revels in being a comic book movie, and I think that actually hurts it in places. We've got disintegration rays and people flying all over the place when they're hit and hero-villain patter that's right out of the Stan Lee-Jack Kirby playbook. There's nothing wrong with that at all, mind you, but after the quiet grace and Shakespearean tragedy of Thor, it's a bit harder to swallow. I think Cap suffers by not being Thor, much the same way that Iron Man 2 gets flack because it wasn't Iron Man 1. Your mileage may vary on this, I know some folks were less in love with Thor than I am.

Whoever did the casting in this film should be nominated for something. Tommy Lee Jones was perfect as the scenery-chewing, wise-cracking military foil. "I'm not kissing you" might be my favorite moment of the whole thing, with "Find me two more" being a close second. Excellent choice, and I'm so glad he had a nice big part. Skull and Zola also played their parts as really bad guys quite well and the Howling Commandos looked and felt like they leaped out of Kirby's pen.

Speaking of the cast, Evans nails the enthusiasm and well-reasoned patriotism that Steve Rogers stands for when he's being written well (I'm looking at you, Englehart-Grunwald-Waid) as opposed to the loyal soldier that some like to make him, like Jenknis did in a series of stories so bad I had to quit reading. (For what it's worth, I'm not sure where I put Brubaker on this continuum.) He has a lot of help from the script in this regard. But everything I think of when I think of Cap was here, though perhaps just a bit stiffer than I'd liked.

One continuity nitpick: How can Tony Stark's dad be about 35 in World War 2, then have a 35 year old Tony in the 2000s? I guess he was a lady killer right up to Tony Randall age? I admit that kept bothering me. Wish it had been his grandad instead.

This is now officially my 2nd favorite Stan Lee cameo.

I liked the idea of Cap as being a figurehead at first, but I think they played it out too long. The punching Hitler joke was cute, but the sequence went further than it needed to. It's one of the times where I felt like they were trying too hard to touch the comic book roots, given that cute inside gags are about as old as the medium itself.

I know people said the Thor movie tried to shoehorn a lot of history into one movie, but it felt worse here. The downside to being the setup for the Avengers movies that there's no time to bring non-MMMS people up to speed gradually. It seemed like there was so much we needed to know, but not enough time to tell it.

The worst casualty of this speed? Bucky. While I don't think anyone suffered by being rushed in Thor, Bucky's "death" is cheapened by not properly establishing his relationship with Steve.

I use quotes for death, because we all know he's coming back. No matter how acclaimed Brubaker's Cap run is, I will always hate it for taking away the power of that death, and I am sure the movies will follow the comics because that's what they do (see War Machine).

One last Bucky note: Anyone else catch him wielding the shield, however briefly?

I liked how the Red Skull is played as being unmitigated evil. He's so bad Zola even flinches. And that's exactly how it should be. This is not Magneto or Loki or even Doctor Octopus, who have some redeeming qualities. The Skull is evil incarnate, and they let it fly here. I was worried we might get a tortured child or something. Nope! Just a rat bastard. Well played.

Was it just me, or did anyone else think the guy playing Zola was channeling Truman Capote? It was fun, if only in my head.

The closing credits are awesome, and worth watching more than once when this hits DVD. It's not as good as the ones that opened Watchmen, but it's close. I loved the use of war posters and how they blended them together seamlessly.

That's my take on things. How about you? It's definitely a great film, well worth seeing on the big screen, and I highly recommend it. It's not perfect, but it's still so much better than we as comic book fans have a right to expect. Can't wait for Avengers next year!

Captain America Man Out of Time

This is the start of my weekend special focusing on Captain America! While the Cap movie might be cool, remember, he got his start in the world of comics. Come read about them with me!

Written by Mark Waid

Illustrated by Jorge Molina, Karl Kesel, and Scott Hanna

Marvel

Ever wonder what it must have been like for Steve Rogers coming out of the ice and into a world that's unlike anything he ever imagined? Join Mark Waid as he explores the time just before and after Captain America is lost in the ice. Can the Sentinel of Liberty handle 21st Century America? Only time will tell...

It's always interesting to me when books like this get made. We've seen this type of story before, going back into at least the Bronze Age, where creators decide to fill in information about something that relates to an older story, updating it as need-be. The Justice League of America did it with a hidden case back in the day that teamed up everyone but the kitchen sink, an idea Darwyn Cooke took up in New Frontier. Kurt Busiek perhaps did it best with Untold Tales of Spider-Man, but everyone from John Byrne to Waid himself have done this over the years, whether it was with Year One stories (an idea that is frankly outplayed by now) or something similar.

Given that Cap is about to get his own movie, and that the Avengers are going to be a bit part of the follow-ups to that movie, it's no surprise to me that Marvel got Waid to come in and update this bit of classic history. Of those who look backward, Waid is definitely one of the best, and it shows in this story that, while honestly not necessary (even by comic book terms), is still an enjoyable read that I think does a good job of looking at the concept realistically while still understanding this is a fictional world.

In the book itself, we have the retelling of the "death" of Bucky, followed by Cap waking up and not understanding what's going on. Instead of the Lee-Kirby man of action, this Rogers is far more unsure of what's going on. He thinks he's dreaming, right up to the idea of a Martian trying to attack New York. The reality that sets him straight makes perfect sense, too, in the context of this character and his world.

Once Cap understands he's in a different time, it's up to two figures (Stark, the futurist idealist, and General Simon, the retrospective cynic) to show him the reality of the modern world. This is both the book's greatest strength and biggest weakness. Life in America is complex, and Waid tries to show that by giving the two views. The problem is that Rogers has to choose one, and of course he's going to opt for the one that makes him be a hero. This part of Man Out of Time shows the problem with trying to fit comics into modern times. The realism inserted into the narrative just shows how out of touch a person like Steve Rogers is, let alone why his powers would matter in a world with Iron Man and Thor.

Luckily, we don't dwell on this too long. After meeting Obama (and I hate to be *that* guy, but using Obama means Cap is around for less than two years, which makes me wonder how he could have so much clout in the superhero community by Civil War), Cap is thrust into battle against Kang, who can grant him his fondest wish--going home. There's only one price to pay, however. Kang gets to rule the future, but who cares when you'll be dead by then?

Cap saves the day, of course, and solidifies his place in the Avengers by leading the battle against Kang, and showing that by following his heart, he can fit in during any era. It's all very uplifting and positive, perfect patriotic reading. The ending shows Cap giving Bucky what he always wanted, if only symbolically. It's a true Hollywood ending for a book that's bound to be part of the movie marketing.

The trouble is that it's all just a little too pat. Part of the key to Stan and Jack's insertion of Cap into the world of the 1960s was to show that he was out of his element. He joins the Avengers quickly, but they don't just defer to him in all things. (Heck, Stark chews him out at the end of their first battle.) He is welcomed as a hero, true, but there's tension in the air. Cap's solo adventures are full of doubts, arguments, and problems. I don't feel that from Waid's interpretation. Once Rogers decides to be a hero in this time, it all fits as comfortably as one of his gauntlets. Sure, 1960s Marvel might be a little too heavy on the angst, but I feel like Waid made a misstep here in trying to clean up the story just a bit too much.

What I do appreciate is that while working within continuity, Waid neither does anything outrageous to change history nor bogs any new reader down so far they can't figure out what's going on. Waid's most notable change is having the Fantastic Four help out against Kang, which is logical and harms nothing. On the other hand, new readers get a story that's steeped in history yet has almost no crippling backstory. Anything you need to know (like who Giant Man is) is explained quickly and quietly. This is why Waid is the perfect man for the job--he understands comic history, respects it, and uses it here--all while making sure you don't need a doctorate in comics to get the point of the story, namely that Cap has to find his way in a new era.

While Captain America Man Out of Time is far from perfect, it's a solid read that new and experienced comics readers can enjoy. It's a far better choice than, say, Essential Avengers or dumping people into the good but continuity-heavy Ed Brubaker run that has little to do with the movie or the upcoming Avengers film. I'd have easily read something along these lines for Thor, if they made one. This is a story that doesn't have to be told, but it's fun to see imagined in the hands of one of the great comic writers still active. I'd recommend it despite its flaws, especially to newly-minted Cap fans looking for more of their hero.

Digging into Digital: Three Digital Short Comics from Ryan Estrada

Z

Sci-Fi Drive By

The Kind You Don't Take Home to Mother

All Written and Illustrated by Ryan Estrada

Self-Published (and some Zuda tries)

After basically not knowing who Ryan Estrada even was, though I'd apparently encountered him in one of the Flight anthologies, it seems like he's everywhere in my comics reading these days. And that's definitely a good thing.

All of this started at Heroes, when I grabbed some Gray Gunter comics and thought Ryan Estrada did some great work on some of them. Then I noticed he had a new comic out that he offered for free online, and then the whole Google Plus thing happened and now I've been exposed to a man who is both versatile and talented. With a style that's both freewheeling and yet nicely detailed within character designs, Estrada has a lot to offer the comics world, even if he is having some trouble getting a publisher due to the variety of projects he likes to work on.

The three comics I'm reviewing here are just a small sample of works available either on Google+ or on Ryan's website. I picked them because I think they show off his talents and give new readers a good idea of whether or not they'd like to read more of his stuff. My guess is on yes, by the way, but I'll let you be the judge.

Most cartoonists work on an autobiographical story or two over their careers, and Estrada is no different. In Z, we learn how a casual dismissal of a fast food contest is not always such a good idea. I'm not entirely sure how true Z is, but it tells the tale quickly, efficiently, and humorously. Who hasn't gone nuts trying to find that last piece to win big? I think my favorite panel is when he's declining the free refills. Truly, that's the last act of a desperate man.

Sci-Fi Drive By is a silly little story that, according to Estrada, has seen a few different incarnations. (If he has them, it would be cool to see for comparison.) An alien race is about ready to conquer the earth, using about the dumbest infiltration process possible. The jokes here are a bit on heavy-handed side, which Estrada readily admits in the alt text, but it's fun to see him draw a squiggly alien who is definitely a hu-man because he wears a hat. I love the punchline towards the end, speaking as a person who likes to write in public places. This is not Estrada's best work, but it's colorful and fun.

The Kind You Don't Take Home To Mother almost won a Zuda, and it's a real shame it didn't, because I love the comedic premise. A young man has found the love of his life--a werewolf. Naturally, his parents aren't pleased, leading to fun, sitcom-like situational comedy that has the twist of the supernatural. Alas, despite plenty of plans, it doesn't look like we'll ever get more of this, as Estrada thinks its too similar to Twilight. It's totally not--this story I actually liked! Assuming there are no rights issues, this might make for a good Kickstarter--see if there's interest, then draw the comic if the demand is there. I know I'd chip in!

As you can see, Estrada's range is quite varied, so there is a bit out there for anyone. I really hope he continues to work in comics, because I'd love to be reading his work for a long time to come. After you get a chance to read his stuff, I think you'll agree!

Sunday Readings 7-17-11

Let's see what this Sunday brings, shall we?

Everybody's getting on the G+ bandwagon. (somewhat NSFW)

On a more serious note, Lori Henderson talks about what's out there for kids in the all-ages department and Brigid Alverson has the more general manga round-up for MTV.

Lori also wants to know why comics go out of print in odd places within a longer run.

If you're looking to get more specific with a title that's definitely in print and available, Ed Sizemore provides a good review of Vertical's 7 Billion Needles, a series I need to read soon, based on Ed's excellent work here.

Meanwhile, Johanna Draper Carlson, Ed's partner in crime at Comics Worth Reading, pretty much covers everything I might have said about this Diamond Digital debacle if I'd sat down to write a post, so please make sure you go read it. As she states, this is a solution in search of a problem. I'm sorry to the retailers, but I don't need you to get my digital comics and the idea of needing a "reading copy" is almost as 1990s as the DC revamp, if I might adjust slightly a joke Johanna makes to me in the comments. The only thing I think I can add here is that the comics industry seems to want digital, but not realize what wanting digital actually means in the medium term. It's going to be interesting to see how this all plays out, but let's just say I wouldn't buy an ownership stake in a pure comics store right now.

Speaking of the 1990s, everyone's favorite little stuffed bull, Bully, takes down Marvel's clear priority on sucky new characters when they made their 1990s trading cards. No classic Norse figures, but plenty of Gambit. 'Nuff said!

Sometimes looking at how art is created is boring. Not in the case of Dustin Harbin, who breaks things down here so well that even I, a non-artist, could easily understand what he was doing. Mr. Harbin needs to have a bit more self-confidence in himself, though--he's a good cartoonist in his own right and is not living in the shadow of others.

I love when people on the Covered Blog aren't afraid to take chances with the original. He's a version of Tin Tin that Joe Quesada wouldn't like at all.

I also love monsters. So, apparently, does Chris Samnee.

Why isn't this a movie yet? Seems right up Mike Bay's alley.

Lastly, I know I keep posting geisha drawings, but Bristolwhip keeps putting out awesome geisha sketches. They might have been saving one of the best for last, courtesy of Calamity Jon.

Have a great Sunday!

Digging into Digital: The Google+ Comics Explosion

I joined Google+ about a week or so ago, because I wanted to see what it was like. One of my friends, who happens to be in the world of comics, was kind enough to hit me up with an invitation.

While I certainly wasn't in from the beginning, I did get about the time the entire thing was blowing up with people--and one group of people in particular, it seems: comics folks.

Now there could be a huge number of refrigerator repairmen on G+ that I don't know about or maybe bird watchers or the National Jaywalking Society, but it sure seems like cartoonists and their ilk have taken to this new social networking system in a way that others haven't.

From what I've seen on my personal feed, the general consensus is that G+ makes it extraordinarily easy to share entire comic stories with a group of interested people. The seamless integration of Picassa with G+ provides users with a way to make accessing a comic or drawing that the artist is willing to give away for free online with a minimum of fuss for the person who wants to read it. In addition, the use of circles means that artists can share different things with different people, giving them a chance to be both inclusionary and exclusionary--all at the same site--and without breaking terms of service or upsetting anyone.

Google+ is not perfect, of course. Its default image size makes certain comics harder to read than others, for instance. Images can get put together in the wrong order. Some folks are still suspicious that Google might try to take their content. Sharing is a mixed bag because you have to do some work to ensure posts are not re-shared. In addition, people who have comics friends in common right now do tend to get spammed with the same post, due to sharing.

Also, due to the explosion of people getting on, whether its true or not, there's an overwhelming feeling to the entire process that might turn people off. It's one thing to get hit with a bunch of stuff at 140 characters or to see you have hundreds of new RSS posts on your feed reader. It's another to see post after post of comics and images, all wanting your time and all from different people. One of the things that everyone involved in G+ will need to do in time is to figure out how best to both provide as much content as possible to a hungry, comics-wanting audience while not making it seem like you just walked into a room with scores of attention-seeking artists all trying to get you to read their stuff at once.

In some ways, I imagine G+ might be the closest thing I (and others who are consumers rather than producers) get to the experience of the slush pile of an editor for a major publisher. I am hit with a ton of potentially good content, but there's just so much out there, it's hard to stop and really read any one thing. This is not meant in any way to slight the creators who are on G+ and posting actively and frequently. I'm just trying to think of the best way to make people understand the situation if they aren't on G+ yet or have not started to really use it.

Of course, I'm choosing to create this situation by following anyone any everyone who looks interesting right now. One of the most interesting things about G+ is because it's new and because it's unlike anything else in the world of social media right now, no one quite knows what to do with it yet. People who think G+ is just Facebook with easier filtering are dead wrong. Google+ has elements of all that have come before it, just like Google's other products. They're good at sensing how to make things better, or at the very least, more useful for those who are particularly web-savvy.

To some extent, Google+ is a bit like the mythical Wild West of the 1800s. Those who can see the potential of G+ and make it work are going to hit a gold mine. Right now, I'd single out Ryan Estrada as one of the best at using G+ from a creative perspective, of the people I know and follow. Others are slowly catching on, with folks already in the webcomics/sharing to get people hooked model having an edge, I think. Eventually, the system will settle in, as its predecessors have, but for now, watching people figure out to use G+ to its fullest will be a fun process. I'm usually slow to the party, so being here as it happens is cool.

In the future, I--and others on G+--will know what we're doing. For now, from a digital comics perspective, if you are a reader, I would suggest the following:

1) Get a Google+ account as soon as you can. It's free, there's no rule saying you have to post anything, and you get a chance to see what you might be missing.

2) Give it a chance before you dismiss it. I'm seeing some people give up on G+ without really seeing what they might get out of it. Yes, I know the internet is full of instant gratification, but I think you have to spend a few days on G+ to really see its potential.

3) Don't worry too much about circles just yet. I'm sure I'll want to refine my circles as I go along, but for now, "comics folks" is all I need as a reader.

4) Make sure you say something about yourself. Mine is quite simple: I'm the brains behind the Panel Patter review blog. You might say you love comics or you review things or whatever it is that you do, but make sure you tell people. That way, they can add you back.

5) Don't be offended if you're not added back. G+ is a bit like Twitter in that regard. Not every creator is going to follow your back. They're busy people, and if all they did was read social networking feeds, we'd never get good comics. Be flattered when they do, but remember that the idea here is to see what they're working on and sharing, not necessarily to discuss why you hated the season finale of Glee.

6) Use +1 liberally! One of the nice things about Google+ is that you don't have to write the useful but annoying to scroll through "I liked this" or "good stuff" comments that are all over the internet. Liked that comic or pin-up but don't have much to say beyond that? Hit it up with a +1 and keep on going. The +1 icon is one of the best things on G+ in my opinion and has made me start reading comments again.

7) Enjoy the comics and support the creators. Artists who are giving their work for free do it because they want you to like what you read, but they also need to eat. Definitely read as many free comics as you can or want to, but don't forget to click around and see what they have for sale, especially if you really like them. From an artist's perspective, things like G+ help them get their name out. It doesn't do any good, if name value is all they get. Find them at shows and tell them you got into their work online. Make comments when you want to say something. Share when it's so awesome the world needs to know. Support your favorites, and they'll reward you with more work. It's as easy as that!

Are you on Google+ yet? What are your impressions? Am I on the right track, or totally off-base? Let me know in the comments!

Sunday Readings 7-10-11

Good Morning! Here are some Sunday readings for your viewing pleasure.

Comics Alliance starts off our Sunday with a spotlight on the quality linework of the under-appreciated Mike Zeck.

Meanwhile, Dustin Harbin shows off his chops in a salute to Britain's best import.

And now for something completely different: Brigid Alverson shows us how to be a manga fan on a budget.

Allan Harvey has some words on Steve Ditko, one of my favorite older artists. Ditko is actually still making comics, though they're so buried in his crazed philosophy I doubt if they're readable. Harvey's point about Ditko phoning it in at times is clear if you ever see him draw the Fantastic four anytime after 1966.

Michael Nimmo peers in at where digital sales are coming from for the comic In Maps and Legends. I am quite surprised to see how the Kindle and Nook (presumably color) factor in to the sales numbers.

Back to sketches and stuff, here's Mike Maihack doodling a Star Trek woman.

Comics Cavern spotlights a Bob Layton Iron Man.

Hungry enough to savage a homeworld? Grek Pak shared this via 4th Letter.

Michael Doran of Newsarama wants to know why DC doesn't just turn its comics into television seasons.

Lastly, if you're missing Fantasy Football, why not give Fantasy Literary Comics a try?

Have a great Sunday, everyone!

Digging into Digital: Looking at the Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited System

I've been meaning to give a review on Marvel's Digital Comics Unlimited, their cloud-based subscription service that debuted a few years ago. Since Marvel is currently offering a discount to subscribe that lasts through Monday, I figured this was as good a time as any to do so.

While Marvel comics had put out some CD-roms of their older material over the years, I don't think anyone took them particularly seriously. I know I didn't. However, when I first heard several years ago that they were starting a digital database online, I was intrigued. I love comics, and I have a special fondness for older Marvel comics, so the idea of a digital database intrigued me. The fact that they also had some of Marvel's newer material online as well also caused me to kick the tires a bit when Marvel debuted its service.

However, the early offerings were not terribly appealing, especially at the price point. There were some nice runs of Amazing Spider-Man and Fantastic Four, along with a few new treats (Marvel Adventures Avengers comes to mind), but nothing I either didn't already have or could easily pick up at the library. In addition, the interface was very clunky, and the panel-by-panel technology that we almost take for granted now in digital comics was there, but done poorly.

Over time, however, the database grew, comics started getting more expensive, I had to move and got rid of a lot of single issues, and my new library was less likely to carry Marvel's new trades beyond initial volumes. When a sale came up, I decided to give it another try.

While the Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited is not the best way to read comics online, it has definitely improved significantly, enough that I'd easily recommend it to fans of Marvel Comics. In this post, I'll talk about what I like, what I don't like, and why ultimately, it's worth your time and money.

Things That Are Mr. Fantastic

The database of comics is now up over the 10,000 mark, according to the page urging you to sign up with the service. You could spend all of your reading time doing nothing but reading Marvel Comics online, and end up having well over 2,000 hours of comics entertainment. I don't think anyone would want to read each and every comic, but with 10,000 or so in the system if you are a fan at all of Marvel comics, you are going to find more than you could possibly want to read for quite some time.

Every week, Marvel adds more comics. Marvel is committed to growing this database as much as possible. They have loosely themed daily releases Monday through Friday, such as Spider-Man Monday, X-Men Wednesday, and Fantastic Four Friday. Roughly about twenty-five comics are added every week, which means that even if you managed to read everything you were interested in reading, there's liable to be something new for you on a monthly, if not weekly or daily, basis.

It's not just extremely popular comics, either. While there are certainly quite a few newer comics, like Jeph Loeb's Hulk or Doomwar, Marvel is also giving us 1950s issues of Journey Into Mystery or Tomb of Dracula because Gene Colan just passed away. I have been extremely impressed by the wide variety of comics Marvel has chosen to include.

For new fans, there are ways to search for comics by character or comic book event. Want to know what to read to enjoy (if you can call it that) Secret Invasion? Marvel's got them sorted out for you. Only want to read about Deadpool (I'm so sorry)? You can look for all of his digitized appearances. I'm being a bit flippant here because these tools are used primarily to focus on parts of Marvel's history that I'm not fond of. However, they also spotlight Acts of Vengeance, Secret Wars, and other crossovers from days past.

Loading times are no longer an issue. When I first tried Marvel DCU, comic pages took forever to load, at least compared to reading a page. Now it scrolls smoothly, or at least I'm more used to the scroll. Anyone who reads their comics online already should have no problem.

Marvel's panel viewer has improved a lot. As with the page turns, the panel view was slow, clunky, and often with unreadable text. The scroll is clean, the panel/panels shown make logical sense, and it's rare that a piece of text is unreadable, though it does still happen.

Many new comics are added roughly six months after their street date. While this is not entirely true, it's a pretty close measurement for most comics. Not unlike waiting for a movie to hit Netflix, if you don't mind being a bit behind the times, you can get just about anything you wanted to read in print via the digital cloud in time. Not everything, of course, but definitely a lot.

At five dollars a month regular price if you buy yearly, it's an extremely cheap way to read a bunch of comics. Basically, if you read two modern comics a month, you've paid for the service. And I guarantee anyone who likes Marvel comics will read more than that.

Things That Might Doom Your Interest

No, you don't own these comics. None of the Marvel DCU comics are downloadable. That means you are paying five dollars a month to access a database, like having a New York Times subscription.

Marvel has a maddening habit of missing issues. There are 9 Agents of Atlas comics from the ongoing series for instance. Issue 3 is MIA, and I have no idea if they'll get around to adding it. The same is true for breaking up some runs of Fantastic Four or Spider-Man.

The online database has *not* caught up to the Essentials. Right now, on average, they're roughly at the same level as Volume 3 of your given Essentials series. I really think this is a failing. Obviously, they have scans of these comics available, and they should be paying an intern to start digitizing them.

While 10,000 comics is a lot, there's certainly a lot of Marvel history that's missing. If you are a big fan of the 1980s Marvel, you're probably going to be disappointed for instance. The digital comics database is a treasure trove, but it's not bottomless.

Selection is at the whim of the Marvel marketing department. It seems like Marvel digitizes anything that best helps their current marketing plan, which is good if you like Thor, not so much if you're hoping for more Cloak and Dagger.

The viewer, while better, is still not as good as it could be. As far as I'm concerned, Comixology is the gold standard of digital comics. Marvel has a partnership with them on the Apple side of things, and they need to work with them on making Digital Comics Unlimited better. There are still times when I have to squint to read things or when panels are semi-skipped in smart view.

You need to be online to use the system. There is no way to read offline, so anyone who pays for internet use would definitely have an issue.

As with anything online, there are no guarantees this will be there forever. Marvel could pull the plug any day they wanted, leaving its subscribers holding the bag with nothing physical to show for their payments.

Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited renews by default. Seems to be the norm, but I don't have to like it.

The Living Tribunal Says...

Ultimately, the cleverly named Marvel DCU is not for everyone. Personally, I look at it like having Netflix for comics. I pay an extremely small fee (that I admit I wish was monthly, not yearly, to get the best rate) and have access to full-color versions of thousands of comics filled with characters I've been following since I could read. When you are paying so little to get so much in return, I think worrying over ownership is troublesome. It's not like I can't get these things at the quarter bin if I ever must have them when/if Marvel opted to take this program away.

The Marvel DCU system is not perfect. I wish they'd make sure that they were digitizing comics in order, and also that they went back and filled in any holes that are currently standing. I'd also love it if there was a definite policy on when new comics were added, whether it's 4 months, 6 months, or even a year after publishing date. Maybe they'll make some of these changes in the future if people ask for them. It seems like, based on watching the system change over time, as though Marvel is genuinely trying to make the Marvel DCU experience a positive one for readers.

Right now, however, you have a system that provides a quality reading experience for fans of Marvel superhero comics. It is not for the collector, it's for the *reader.* I've always preferred being the latter. If you want a chance to read a boatload of Marvel comics for pennies on the page, you can't do any better. Just be aware there are some quirks. I love Netflix, but it occasionally gives you a bad disk or is missing a volume or two here and there of series they carry. Marvel DCU can also fail its readership now and again, but certainly not enough that I'll be doing anything other than renewing next year when my time is up.

If you can get past these flaws, a great set of comics awaits you (and some not so great comics, too, but that's the nature of the capes-comic beast). The good definitely outweighs the bad in my opinion. This is a system that I strongly believe Marvel comics fans should subscribe to. If you've been on the fence, this is a good time to dive in, as there is a 30% discount through Monday, July 11th, using the code 2MILL2011.

If you do subscribe, let me know what you think! I'd love to do a follow-up column sometime on Marvel DCU subscribers and their experiences.

Digging into Digital: Bring Your Wallet!

Happy Wednesday!

I used to love Wednesdays. They were the day I'd go to the comic book shop and blow my allowance or my part time job money or later, my full time job money. Just because I've moved away from paper single issues into digital doesn't mean Wednesdays aren't important anymore. Far from it! There are plenty of new comics on digital Wednesdays to be had, each and every week.

In fact, today there were so many interesting digital things announced that I thought a round-up post was in order. So get out your checkbooks credit cards and start reading! You're bound to find a comic (or two or three) that interest you in this list...

While DC is getting a lot of press for making their comics day and date digital, it should be noted that Boom! Studios has been doing that periodically for a few years now. Today, they announced that Elric, the latest adaptation of Michael Moorcock's creation, would be a day and date digital release. For those who can't wait for later to read this series by Chris Roberson and Francesco Biagini, you can pick it up now on the various Boom! Studios digital platforms for $3.99. I liked the FCBD story quite a bit, even if I'm not huge fan of the character. If you liked P. Craig Russell's various takes on Elric, definitely grab this as soon as you can.

If fantasy isn't your thing, how about time traveling and westerns? Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti's Trailblazer is also a day and date release. Comixology has this Image Comics production from the prolific team with a special edition that includes the script for $5.99.

Comixology also has Alex Ross's Project Superpowers on sale for 99 cents an issue until tomorrow, July 7th. This attempt to revive the golden age public domain heroes was quite a bit deal when it debuted. If you're curious about it, you can't beat the price here.

Meanwhile, Archaia and Graphicly have teamed up to run some summer specials on a few of their comics. This means that Fraggle Rock and Mouse Guard are on sale, among other things. If you're a bit concerned about the interface, I can tell you that Graphicly has greatly improved the reading experience on their web platform.

Last but certainly not least, Dark Horse is doing an awesome job with their own digital store, providing new comics and specials on a regular basis. The big news from them is a 17 comic Hellboy bundle for only $20. They promise that these comics prepare you for the new comics upcoming from Mignola and company, but even if they don't, reading Hellboy for the price of a McChicken each? That's digital comics at its best, people. Dark Horse is also staring to digitize Bride of the Water God, which makes it (I think) the only non-Apple place to get legal manhwa. Bride is incredibly pretty, too, so if you've never read a Korean comic, you are in for a treat.

Whew! I certainly hope you weren't planning on saving money this month, because here I am spending it all for you in just one day!

There are so many good digital comics out there. If you end up getting any of these, tell me how you liked them! Know of any other digital comics specials? Tell me!

Scenes from an Impending Marriage

Written by Adrian Tomine

Illustrated by Adrian Tomine

Drawn and Quarterly

I need to start this review off by giving the disclosure that my wife and I opted to elope, which up until I read this book I held as one of the best decisions we ever made.

Now that I've finished this cute little collection from Tomine, I am now prepared to consider upgrading that decision to "best decision we ever made" without the qualifier.

Everything that my wife and I wanted to avoid when we got married is brought up in this funny and frank series of quick cartoons by Tomine. From worrying over the guest list (which leads to one of the best jokes in the book, given the book is public) to hiring the right DJ to overpaying for clothes, Tomine shows that getting married might be the most stressful thing a couple ever does together.

The honestly with which Tomine portrays himself is refreshing. He doesn't attempt to make himself look good at the expense of others, nor pretend that he and his wife agree on everything. There are several points of subtle commentary, such as when the couple almost books a place with one-way glass to avoid seeing the poor neighbors or their extensive discussion of money use for the wedding even as they try to help at a food kitchen.

Despite all the pressures, Tomine and his now-wife pull through. They navigate the waters of getting married, and we get a few good laughs in at their expense. There's even a charming coda at the end that reminded me of something that could very well have happened to us had we opted for the more traditional route.

As far the book itself goes, this is a very slight volume. It reminds me of a gift book like they used to sell at Hallmark (perhaps they still do) where Charles Shultz would re-purpose a dozen or so of his strips under a theme like "love" or "friendship." I can easily see this being given out as a gift to prospective couples who like well-reviewed indie cartoonsts or who can appreciate refined and safe humor such as one might find in a literary magazine. Tomine's art is quite similar to Clowes, right down to imitating newspaper strips here and there with a running gag about stopping certain things after marriage. The whole thing strikes me as feeling very safe, which isn't a bad thing per se but if you prefer your comics edgier, you're going to be disappointed.

I had fun reading Scenes from an Impending Marriage, and I'm sure it will register (no pun intended) with many, many married couples as they read it. Just make sure you understand going in that unlike a good marriage, this book is over before you know it. I hope Tomine's relationship is a far more lasting experience!