Kyle Garret's Blog, page 31

Destroying Comic Books: Hollywood Will Save Us

I know how you feel, too, Cap.As rumored for some time -- as mentioned just the other day int his blog -- Steve Rogers is retaking the mantle of Captain America, just in time for the release of the Captain America movie.  Marvel, to their credit, have actually come right out and said that they realized there would be no better time to bring Steve back as Cap than when the movie was released.  They are making a publishing decision based upon a movie.

And I'm actually fine with that.  But it's not all they're doing.

The latest issue of Iron Man sold more than 41K copies.  This is actually 6K more than the final issue released before it was restarted the month that the movie came out.  In defense of that series, though, it had sales of around 40K earlier in its run, so it's not like this new run is blowing it out of the water.  In other words, the new version, which was started the month the movie came out, isn't really doing any better than the last version...it hasn't picked up any new readers.

But, that first issue of Iron Man that came out the same month as the movie sold over 100K copies.  That's crazy.  It's crazy to think that it sold that many because it was a) a new #1 and b) had a movie out.  It's also crazy to think that it has dropped 60K in under 3 years -- and that's with a creative team that is, by all accounts, doing a hell of a job on the book (I don't read it; I can't get past the fact that Tony looks like Sawyer from Lost -- I know it's minor, but it bugs the hell out of me).

What does this tell us?


It tells us that making a publishing decision based on a movie is a good business move.  Heck, had Marvel NOT made this move, I would have been confused.  Yes, make your money where you can, Marvel.  I applaud you.  Go to town.

It also tells us that it's not a solution to the real problems the industry faces.  A new number one featuring the iconic version of the character may generate a ton of initial sales, but eventually those sales drop off to where they were before, which is a pretty good indication that this move did not create any new comic book readers (or at least not many).

But here's the thing about the Iron Man move: it didn't change the story.  Tony didn't boot his sidekick to the curb for this new first issue.  The creative decisions of the book were dictated by the story.  Were there connections to the movie?  Sure, but nothing as big as replacing the main character.

And that's why this Captain America announcement annoys me.  I'm fine with the money grab if that money grab actually led to something more, but it doesn't -- or at least it hasn't.  And so we're getting Steve Rogers back now, when perhaps we wouldn't have, for the sake of ramped up sales that won't last and won't do anything to help comics' real problem.

You know what?  If the new Captain America series features previews in the back of a diverse selection of Marvel titles, I might let this slide.  Because then at least we'd be seeing a concerted effort to win new readers, aside from the myopic view we keep getting.

Destroying Comics: The Return of CrossGen

My whole "Destroying Comics" series fell apart after a few entries, basically because life got in the way.  But I realized that I write about comic books so often that perhaps approaching these topics as if they are finite is a bad move.  So this is the first, non-sequential episode of "Destroying Comics."

After all my railing against corporate comic books, it would seem strange for me to say anything positive about CrossGen, a company that was, perhaps, the epitome of corporately owned comic books.  It was also seem strange for me to say anything positive about the return of some of their properties, this time from Marvel, one of the Big Two I so frequently attack.

And yet...


When I first moved to Los Angeles, I didn't really have a comic book store that I could call my own.  I also didn't go out of my way to find a store, as I felt pretty removed from that world.  So I signed up with an online service, which meant that not only were my comics shipped to my door, but that I ended up paying less for them.  It was nice to get a big box of new books once a month.

I was looking for bang for my buck back then, and CrossGen was offering exactly that with their compendium series.  Up until that point, I had never read a single issue of a comic book that CrossGen had put out.  It's not that I didn't appreciate a new publisher making their mark on the industry or the fact that they were doing something other than superheroes, I just wasn't a fan of the core concept of that universe, and none of the creative teams particularly moved me (not back then, at least).  But something like 200 pages of full color comics on glossy paper for what, after my pre-order discount, was like $6?  How could I pass that up?

Perhaps not surprisingly, CrossGen slowly began falling apart just after I started reading their compendium series; I was actually a pretty faithful reader of those two books.  And why not?  Like I said, it was a great value for a guy on a limited budget.  Not only that, but they were stories that I couldn't get from the Big Two.  It reminded me that I was a nerd for sci-fi, fantasy, and horror, not just for superheroes.

When CrossGen eventually went under, I wasn't surprised.  I had read enough about the CrossGen system to know that it was destined to fail, regardless of the egos as play.  Yes, comic books are a business, but comic books are a business, but they're also an art form, and you can only monetize art so far.  Both Marvel and DC have been smart enough to realize this; CrossGen was not.

The lasting legacy of CrossGen was ultimately its attempt at diversifying the types of comic books we see on the shelves each week.  CrossGen actually said, hey, people who read comic books also like science fiction and fantasy and pirates and spies and kung-fu, so maybe we should try to give that to them.  And who knows, maybe that would have worked had these comics been produced in a different way.

And that's exactly what is happening now, at least on a small scale.  Marvel now owns the CrossGen concepts and they have decided to start publishing some of those titles, initially as four issue limited series' (a smart move, I will admit).  So far, they're publishing Sigil and Ruse, but rumor has it that more are to come.

I love that Marvel are doing this for the very obvious reason why I would love it: diversity.  And, as a man who tries to put his money where his mouth is, I'm buying both of them.

Subjectively speaking, Ruse is the better book, as it's basically the original concept minus all the shared universe business that weighed it down originally.  Sigil is a fairly complete revamp, and a strange one at that.  The creative team is great, but the story so far hits on all the stereotypical YA beats, complete with what feels like a mandated teenage girl as the lead.  I've got no problems with a title featuring a teenage girl in the starring role, but Route 666 wouldn't have to be changed at all to fit that mold, so why not just go with that?  Meridian wouldn't have to be changed at all, either.  Why not use a series that already exists?

I have no idea if the CrossGen titles coming out from Marvel are going to bring in any new readers.  I have no idea if they'll even do well with people who already shop in comic book stores.  I hope they do.  But at the very least it's something different than everything else we see on the Marvel shelf, and at this point that's all I can ask for.

Nightwing Might Break Me

From the Newsarama.com write up of the DC Nation panel at WonderCon today:

"When asked about Dick Grayson, DiDio unbuttoned his overshirt to reveal a Nightwing t-shirt."
This might sound insane, but this news -- or at least what was implied -- had me pretty annoyed.  Fear my nerd rage, DC, fear it!
Why did this bother me so much?  Because it was, yet again, a reminder that mainstream superhero comic books thrive on the allusion of change, but nothing ever will -- particularly when dealing with a corporately owned character.
I love Dick Grayson as Batman.  I am currently reading more Batman books than I have ever read in my entire life and 2/3 of those start Dick Grayson as Batman -- and I'm only reading the Bruce Wayne book because Grant Morrison is writing it.  Dick Grayson as Batman and Damien Wayne as Robin are a fantastic Dynamic Duo.  There's so much to like about them, it's hard to even know where to begin.
But let me just cut to what I liked about them thematically: change.  Growth.  Forward motion.  The former sidekick actually grew up and took on the mantle of his mentor (even if the mentor stuck around).  It was a glimpse of a DC universe in which things actually happen -- and have consequences.
I know how you feel, Nightwing.The revelation -- or the implied revelation -- that Dick Grayson will be returning to his role as Nightwing is a joke.  It completely undermines the growth of the character...and it's a horrible reversal of a great story.
I have no doubts that Grayson's return to being Nightwing will happen as a result of DC's big summer event, not unlike the way that current Captain America Bucky Barnes will hand over the mantle to his mentor Steve Rogers by the end of Marvel's summer event.  Because this is the way that comics at the Big Two work.
I've gotten to the point where I firmly believe that I could quit reading comics from Marvel and DC today and go back to them in 20 years and nothing will have changed.  But, really, why would I think otherwise?  They have to stay the same because they're not comic book characters, they're brands.
Believe it or not, I'm so annoyed by this news that I'm on the verge of dropping all the Big Two books I read.  I know, probably ridiculous, this is how I look at it: the money I save on Big Two books could be spent on creator owned, small press titles where decisions are made by creators whose bottom line is the story, not, well, the bottom line.  I want to read books that make money because they're good, not that are good because they make money.
I don't actually read that many comics by the Big Two, but it's enough that the money I do spend could support some more deserving titles.
I have no doubts that I'm being something of a nerd drama queen.  Then again, the idea of dropping all the books I buy by the Big Two feels...liberating.

2011 Cleveland Indians

Here's your dose of optimism: the Tribe should be better than they were last year.

Granted, that's not going to take much.

This is a make or break year for the Indians.  It's not a matter of contending, because no one really thinks they'll contend.  No, this is the year where this team either makes real strides towards being competitive again or they decide they need to "reload" yet again.


ROTATION

1. Fausto Carmona
2. Carlos Carrasco
3. Justin Masterson
4. Josh Tomlin
5. Mitch Talbot

Pity poor Fausto Carmona.  There's every possibility that Fausto's fate will be determined by those around him.  Unless he suddenly reverts to '07 status, he could end up on the trade block at mid-season if the rest of the Tribe don't show progress.  If "reload" becomes our only option, Fausto will be a big time chip to trade away.

In Carmona's defense, he's turned into a nice #3 starter on a team full of #3 starters.  And while that role would be enough if Carrasco and Masterson have good years in the majors and Alex White and Drew Pomeranz have good years in the minors, it won't be enough if...well, if most of that doesn't happen.

Carrasco is slotted in at #2 to break up Carmona and Masterson, but that's more or less where he's predicted to end up, anyway...assuming he gets his two major issues out of the way: giving up the long ball and giving up big innings.  From what I've read, Carrasco has the raw stuff to be a front of the rotation guy, there are just questions about his mental make up.

Masterson, on the other hand, has physical problems, more specifically issues with his mechanics.  This is the year that will decide whether Masterson is a starter or a reliever, although I take comfort in the knowledge that we'll at least get something out of him.  When he's on, he's really on, but when he's off...

The JakeJosh Tomlin is an enigma.  I constantly hear about how he doesn't really have the secondary pitches to be a successful big league pitcher, and yet here he is.  At the very least, we can hope that Tomlin's attitude rubs off on the others, since the man appears to be fearless and is a strike throwing machine.

Mitch Talbot is also something of an enigma, given he had a great first half last year and a horrible second half.  Part of that can be chalked up to an injury, but how much can be chalked up to people figuring him out?

It's interesting to note that I don't think either one of these last two guys are in the Tribe's future plans, not with all the talent they have in the minors.

BULLPEN

Chris Perez
Tony Sipp
Rafael Perez
Chad Durbin
Vinnie Pestano
Frank Herrmann
Justin Germano

I can't help but feel like the signing of Chad Durbin is going to end up being a head scratcher.  I can see why they did it: they wanted a veteran presence in the bullpen who could protect the youngsters from having to throw too many innings.  And that's fine.  But he hasn't really looked great this spring and there are definitely guys in Columbus that are ready for the show.

In fact, being a veteran might be the only thing to get certain people into this bullpen.  Supposedly, one of these guys will get dropped when Joe Smith returns, but who?  It's going to be someone who deserved to be in this bullpen, when there's a glut of relievers in AAA ready to say the same.

Bullpens are mercurial things, though, and it's always better to have too many solid relievers than too few.  I would expect the Tribe's bullpen to be a strong point this season, which is incredibly hard to believe.

LINE-UP

1. Michael Brantley, CF
2. Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
3. Shin-Shoo Choo, RF
4. Carlos Santana, C
5. Travis Hafner, DH
6. Orlando Cabrera, 2B
7. Austin Kearns, LF
8. Matt LaPorta, 1B
9. Jack Hannahan, 3B

This is obviously not going to be the line-up for much of the season, given that Grady Sizemore and Jason Donald are due back at some point.  Although, honestly, if Jack Hannahan plays well and hits well, he could win that job regardless of Donald's health.

And let's also accept the fact that Hannahan and Kearns (again) are trade bait come mid-season.  Depending upon how well Jason Kipnis is doing in Columbus, Cabrera may be as well.  Actually, scratch that, if Donald is back and healthy, I think O. Cabrera is definitely headed out the door before the trade deadline.

So that's 1/3 of our opening day line-up that will most likely be gone by mid-season.  The upside is that at least we'll keep our 1-5, perhaps even our 1-6, depending upon where Sizemore is slotted in.

Obviously, this is the year that Matt LaPorta and Michael Brantley have to prove themselves.  Brantley has shown us more so far, but neither of them have made the jump to quality, every day players.  That has to happen this year, or else the Tribe might start leaning towards the "retooling" I mentioned earlier.

I would expect Kearns to move to the bench when Sizemore returns.  I think we'd all like to see Grady moved down in the order, too, although at this point I'm not sure where -- mostly because I don't think anyone really knows what kind of a hitter Sizemore is these days.  But I don't think putting him back in the lead off spot is wise.

BENCH

Travis Buck, OF

Adam Everett, INF
Lou Marson, C

The decision to go with Marson as the back-up instead of sending down to Columbus where he could get more ABs is an interesting one.  What it says, ultimately, is that they want to focus on pitching and defense in the majors, even if it means putting up with Marson's anemic bat...and possibly a chance at turning Marson into a viable every day catcher.  That's fine, given that Santana is going to be the guy for a while and Chen is moving his way up the minors.

The strange thing about this bench is that Buck, Duncan, and Everett are on borrowed time.  Sizemore will push Kearns to the bench and one of these guys off the 25 man roster; Donald's return will do the same.  The problem for Buck is that, even though he had a good spring, Duncan can play 1st, and LaPorta needs some protection.  Then again, Santana is going to get a few starts there and Hannahan has played there a few times, so perhaps Duncan's experience at that corner isn't as much of a leg up as it appears.


Everett's in a tighter spot.  Even if Donald loses the starting 3rd base job to Hannahan, there's a good chance the Tribe will want him as their utility infielder.  Then again, I believe Donald has options left, and Everett has experience, something the Tribe is focusing on for their infield.


Honestly, it's all going to depend on how these guys perform over the first few weeks.


PREDICTIONS


The Tribe makes progress.  They hold on to Carmona.  They deal Kearns, Hannahan, O. Cabrera, Everett, and Durbin by the trade deadline.  Chisenhall and White get the call at mid-season.


The end the year in 4th in the Central, at 82-80.

Brand Building or, "Porno Bantering"

I know this is hard to believe, given that I only mention it every other day, but I have a book coming out.

I don't know much about promoting a book, so I contacted a writer that my publisher had put me in touch with.  His wife is his business manager, so she generally answers all his e-mails.

I got some great feedback from her as far as tips for promoting my book.  It was invaluable stuff, really, although I'd actually thought of some of it.

But that was just the first half of her e-mail.  It would not be an overstatement to say that she spent the second half of the e-mail scolding me.

Her first complaint was that she had to type the URL for my web site into her browser or she never would have found my site.  This, I thought, was a legitimate complaint, until I did a search on Google and found that all of the results on the first page for a search for "Kyle Garret" are about me, and almost all of those are for my site.  I even tried using AOL and got similar results.

Her second complaint was that I should have a web site dedicated to my book, not one dedicated to, well, me.  A totally valid point, but I actually DO have a web site dedicated to my book, it's just not done yet, so I haven't been adding it to my signature in my e-mails (which, by the way, is how she knew about my personal site).

So far, I was right there with her.  These seemed like legitimate issues, even if they both had explanations.

And then she started in on the content of KyleGarret.com.

I should point out that, estimating the age of her husband, she is probably around my parents' age.  If you look around this web site, you could probably see that she isn't remotely my target demographic; she's obviously not a nerdy white guy in his 30's.  So I can understand visiting this site, expecting one thing, and being put off by the reality.

She suggested that I set aside my book from the rest of the things on my site, which she referred to as "political viewpoints, comics, music and porno bantering."

Yes, "porno bantering."

Now, go ahead: look around this site.  Take your time.  You will not find a single instance of anything involving pornography.  You will, however, find a review of the latest album by the band called The New Pornographers.

She went on to imply that I wasn't honoring my grandparents (whom the book is about), and that I should wrap my head around it being about them and not me.

You can probably understand why I was a little annoyed by all this.

After my initial shock and awe, I began to wonder why it was that this woman's e-mail bothered me so much.  Aside from being accused of a number of things of which I'm not guilty (not taking my book seriously, not honoring my grandparents, and, of course "porno bantering"), I kind of wondered if maybe there wasn't another reason why I was so upset.

The answer was obvious: this is exactly the reaction I worry about getting.

"I Pray Hardest When I'm Being Shot At," aka "my book" is non-fiction.  It's covers 3 wars.  It's about my grandparents, who are much older than me.  There are no superheroes in it.  There's nothing supernatural about it.  There's no swearing and no sex.  Aside from some tricky narrative devices, it's pretty straight forward.

In other words, it's absolutely nothing like anything else I've ever written, or anything I'm writing now.

People who write a book like "Pray," write it because they have a story to tell; I have a LOT of stories to to tell.

I have always worried about my first major foray into publishing being a book that is an anomaly, because it is.

The other day I went to Meltdown, my local comic book store.  I ran into my old comic book writing class teacher, who was there with his current class.  He introduced me to his class and mentioned that I had a book coming out.

I was in a comic book store, surrounded by other nerds, talking to people who wanted to make comics about a book that probably didn't appeal to them on any level.

If I had another book coming out, I could have a signing at Meltdown, or use them to help promote it -- I could go on Meltcast, their weekly podcast, to talk about it.  But "Pray" has nothing to do with that world...a world I feel most comfortable in.

I know that I'll have to put on a specific face when I promote "Pray."  It's not a false face by any means, but it's not the one I feel most natural in.  I also know that, aside from family and friends, there's not going to be a lot of cross pollination between "Pray" and any of my other works.  I can only imagine what those who buy "Pray" and then buy my short story collection are going to think.

In some ways, it makes me feel like a fraud, even though I know that's not the case.  But promoting this book is going to be something of a mind twister.

Then again, "Pray" does have at least one thing in common with the rest of my work: heart.  And perhaps that will be enough.

Look for the "Pray" web site to be up by the end of this week.  Look for "Pray" to be in stores about a month after that.

My grandparents bought me my first comic book; I'm honoring them just fine.

Radiohead Makes Complicated Music That's Starting to Annoy Me

Dear Radiohead,

Stop it.

xoxo,

Kyle


I have been a Radiohead fan for a long time.  Even before Sally Oldham told me in study hall that she thought of me whenever she heard "Creep," I'd dubbed a copy of "Pablo Honey" from my friend, Rob.  While I enjoyed songs like the aforementioned "Creep," as well as "Stop Whispering," and "Lurgee,"  it didn't completely knock my socks off.  Radiohead was just another good alternative band.

Then came "The Bends."  I suppose in some circles, "The Bends" is probably a litmus test for Radiohead fans.  If you were to ask someone who has listened to Radiohead for a long time which album marked a turning point for the band, they would point you not to "OK Computer," but to "The Bends."  There might not be a more solid Radiohead album from start to finish.  And while it stands fantastically on its own, it shines even brighter when you see it as the evolution of a band from their first record to their second one.

And then everything went insane.  "OK Computer" was released and something was in the water.  Suddenly, Radiohead became the biggest band in the world.  I'll admit that I wasn't enamored with "OK Computer" when I first heard it.  I didn't dislike it, but I didn't love it.  This was entirely because of how much I loved "The Bends."  That's what I was expecting: more of "The Bends."  After all, that's what every other band in the world did -- they made consecutive records of music that generally sounded the same.  But it was clear that Radiohead wasn't going to do that.  It took me a little while, but eventually I was able to embrace "OK Computer" as the amazing album that it is.  And, yet again, it's even more amazing when you consider the progression from "Pablo Honey" to "The Bends" to "OK Computer."

As hard as it was to believe, Radiohead wasn't done yet.  "Kid A" was, yet again, the perfect next step in their progression as a band.  Sure, you could lay it down as something as simple as "Pablo Honey is full of guitars and Kid A is full of machines," but even the songwriting was different -- but not unnatural.  That was the beauty of following Radiohead: you felt like you were a part of their evolution, like you were getting to experience it first hand.  It made their music all the more exciting.

"Amnesiac" wasn't a particular departure from what Radiohead had done before, but with good reason: the songs were recorded at the same time as "Kid A."  It was more of a collection of b-sides than anything, which is a particularly nice way of looking at it if you're inclined to view things the same way that I do.  It also came out less than a year after "Kid A."  It's a wonderful album on it's own (particularly "Pyramid Song" and "Life in a Glass House") but was the first full length Radiohead album that didn't show any movement from the last one.

And that's when things started getting weird.

I liked "Hail to the Thief" well enough, but it felt insubstantial to me, like it wasn't important.  And it's easy to see why I would feel that way: it was stylistically redundant.  There was nothing on that record that could not have shown up on an earlier Radiohead album.  And while that's perfectly fine, it's not what I'd come to expect from this band; honestly, it took away a bit of their shine.

Then again, when was the last time we saw a band transform like that over time?  The fact that they put out an album that wasn't particularly breaking new ground for them could be forgiven; that's a pretty high standard to hold them to.

Four years later, we got "In Rainbows," an album whose quality was overshadowed by the way it was sold.  And while perhaps more focused on electronic music than "Hail to the Thief" had been it was, ultimately, more of the same from Radiohead.  Of course more of the same from Radiohead is generally better than more of the same from any other band, but you can see where I'm going with this.

And that leads us to their latest, "King of Limbs."  Internet hyperbole aside, "King of Limbs" is disappointing to me for one main reason: there's nothing new about it.  I feel like I can take the last 3 Radiohead albums and insert them into the albums that came before.  It seems like they've gotten complacent.

I miss not knowing what to expect from Radiohead.

I realize that it's unreasonable to expect a band to change from album to album, but Radiohead did that...and now they don't.  And that's kind of disappointing.

Wonderful World of Whedon

Later today I'm going to write about how I first discovered the works of Joss Whedon and what they've meant to me over the past eventful 15 years of my life.  But for now, I just wanted to point out that the fine folks at Pop Matters are running a spotlight on Mr. Whedon which will feature a new essay every day for over a month.

You can find all that Whedon goodness here.

And because I'm not entirely a saint, I should point out that I contributed two essays to the cause.  My first, on everyone's favorite second fiddle, Xander, was posted today.  My second is about casual sex, so be sure to keep an eye out for that one in the next few weeks.

I don't know any of my fellow contributors personally, but the essays I've read so far have been great, and the titles for those coming down the pipe suggest they will all be of the same high quality.  I'm thrilled to be a part of it and extremely grateful to Robert Moore at Pop Matters for putting it all together.  I guess there's even talk of a book of some sort...

Crossing that line.

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Cling

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