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Comics, a dying industry?

aeclasik — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:37:49 +0000

The Walking Dead Issue #27 by Robert Kirkman, art by Charlie Adlard

So the other day I was looking around for some ‘The Walking Dead‘ and found it hard to find a consolidated place to download them. I would go buy comics, but the shops are at least 40 minutes drive both ways. Though I don’t think you should pirate things that are worth the money, but then again who am I kidding, piracy is such a common thing these days it’s hard to find someone who doesn’t do it and I could go on about that, but I’ll leave that for another time. Now I’ve only recently got into comics books, about a year ago when Watchmen released, yes I know I am late to the party, but there seems to be so many amazing comics out there to explore. I’ve grown quite fond of the medium mainly because books are way too long for me to bother with and who didn’t like picture books growing up? Read more below…

Back on track…so as I kept Googling for a place to download this comic and I thought, do people even read comics anymore? Over the last few months, I have ventured to the closest comic book shop to my house and upon arriving each time I started to notice a common trend, mostly, if not all of the customers were around my age (23) or older. Which made me think the enjoyment of going to the comic store every Wednesday isn’t really there anymore, especially among the younger generation. Sure I had never really experienced this when I was a kid, cause I’ll be honest I was too poor, but all my friends would. I remember growing up, they would eagerly await the newest issue of Spider-Man, the McFarlane edition and each Wednesday they would crowd the shops like buzzing bees.

With that in mind, I had posted this question on my forum, and one of the members replied “Where do they get the money to even start a new saga if no one bought their comics? Why is DC and Marvel still in business if no one like their stuff?”. I think the only reason comics are making a “comeback” is because of the entertainment industry. In the last few years Hollywood has taken a big leap into the comic industry to pull out new stories for the big screen, because lets be honest, they’ve run everything else dry. But because of Hollywood the comic industry doesn’t seem to be spiraling down anymore, or at least to me. Personally, I welcome the movie & TV studios to bring some of the lesser known comics to the screens. And on that note…

/end

Web comics that probably couldn’t be improved with lens flare – #1

rtbox — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:20:29 +0000

Scout Crossing

Every now and again in my trollings I come across a web comic that’s of particular quality. Scout Crossing has a quirky indie feel to it that is seldom pulled off this well. For anyone looking for something to do for the afternoon, or anyone looking to buff up their RSS reader portfolio; Scout Crossing is likely to be a steady option.

Scout Crossing

“Locke” It Down & “Key” It Shut

aeclasik — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 22:29:24 +0000

Locke & Key

If you’re like me you can’t be bothered to read books, unless you have to for school or you’re doing to impress a girl, but let’s not get into that. I generally find books to be droning and quite laborious to actually get through. So what’s the next best thing? Picture books well… not just any picture book, graphic novels specifically. Now I don’t want to lead anyone on so I’m just going to say it up front: I don’t read a lot of graphic novels and I have only started reading them a year ago. Through this past year, I’ve tried to find some of the more popular titles and marathoned through them. To name just a few, Watchmen & Y: The Last Man (I was told everyone who reads comics/graphic novels have read these at one point) some others being Batman: Year One, The Killing Joke, Dark Knight Returns & Arkham Asylum. Of all the graphic novels I have read, Y: The Last Man (only $4.50CAD on Amazon right now) is easily at the top of my list, and I highly recommend anyone who is remotely interested in graphic novels to check this out immediately. Anyways, I don’t want to drag out this introduction any longer than it already is, so I’ll get to the meat of this article.

Over this last year, I realized that I have never actually tried to keep up with a comic but instead always leaned towards graphic novels. So over the last few weeks I’ve been searching far and wide and finally decided on a comic to start reading, and I must say… I believe I’ve found a gem, this being Locke & Key by Joe Hill and artwork by Gabriel Rodriguez. Those who are unfamiliar with the name Joe Hill might be surprised to find out that he is the son of the famed Stephen King. Personally, I have never read any of Joe Hill’s novels; by doing a quick Amazon search it seems that he is a horror novelist and Wikipedia says he has won a few awards for his publications, but this is his first attempt at writing a comic.

Panelling

After the sudden murderous act of their father by one of his former students; the Locke family decides to move into their old estate, the Keyhouse in order to leave everything behind and start afresh. Mostly told through the three main protagonists, Tyler, the eldest son who lives through the guilt of not trying to prevent the murder of his father; Bode, the youngest son, a very curious and inquisitive little guy, and finally, the daughter Kinsey who wants to stay anonymous and keep out of trouble. We soon find out the house holds a lot of secrets along with an evil force lurking around trying to retrieve a few “keys”. Soon enough, the curious Bode stumbles upon one and gives the readers a quick tour around the Keyhouse while trying to figure out what the key opens. It is revealed that, hidden around the house are keys that open doors which allow the people who pass through them to inhibit some sort of supernatural power.

Locke & Key brings something new to the supernatural genre, by blending the strong mystique of the Keyhouse with the constant drama of the protagonists and a very cunning antagonist. Locke & Key proves to be something on the “must-read” list and for a first time comic writer, Joe Hill really utilizes his experience as a novelist. Readers will notice the comic flows much more like a novel than anything else, and with the drawings by Rodriguez, the art leaves an impression. Hill leaves us clinging on to each panel desperately wanting to turn the page, yet fearful of what we will see.

Ratings

Plot Development: 9/10
Character Development: 9/10
World Building: 8/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Art Style: 8/10

Overall: 8.6/10

Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb

rtbox — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 02:46:03 +0000

Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb

I like books, I like to read, I like to collect, I like to write horrendously poorly written reviews and then put them on the internets (yep, you fell for it buddy). So what does this mean to you? Well, it’s simple, if you’re not smart enough to leave (or if you’re one of the many people I’ve payed to visit this blog) then you have to listen to me go on about the book I’ve just finished reading. Ship of Magic is Robin Hobb’s first book of The Liveship Traders trilogy. It’s set in the world from her first series The Farseer Trilogy. However while the Farseer books are great they’re in no way essential to read before starting this book (though you should give them a read simply because they rock!).

Written in 1998 the book has a very dark feel to it that highlights futility and celebrates despair. The overlaying message seems to be about coming out on the other side of darkness as the characters seem to somehow rebuff all attempts to break them (well obviously, otherwise the characters would all die and the book would end in four chapters ). It actually reminds me a lot of The Watercourse Trilogy by Philip Athans which I did not like at all, however despite that unfortunate comparison I thought this book was quite a good read (perhaps that’s because Robin Hobb has the sense to pick you up before she drops you back down again).

Ignoring the prelude, the book kicks off through the eyes of Athlea Vestrit of the Vestrit Family – A noble trader family fallen into debt. Athlea is a young, willful girl slated to inherit her family’s ship: Vivacia. Ship of Magic follows Athlea’s struggle to inherit, the family’s will to keep from going under, a boy’s journey to become a priest, and a pirate’s goal to become king. It contains very strong themes of slavery and the morals behind it and blurs enough lines on the way to make an poorly focused snapshot look sharp.

The closest this book gets to a finish is to end on a high note with the promise of more to come, and judging by the current pattern of ‘things-must-go-bad-after-they-go-good’ the next book will get pretty glum pretty fast. Though I predict it’ll still be a strong, compelling read.
Note: Despite generally hating cliche, I tend to prefer books with a happy ending.

Ratings

Plot Development: 6/10
Character Development: 6/10
World Building: 7/10
Writing Style: 9/10

Overall: 7/10