- Oh god, Farraday is pulling a real Jack in this episode. Enough with the Jears already! #
- Suddenly it’s all clear! The nationality/accent continuum totally bends around Daniel Farraday! #
- At this point, the real mystery of the island is how I can want to shag both Kate & Julia at once… #
- … While simultaneously wanting to throttle them both. #
- “It only ends once… anything that happens before that is just progress.” #
- Oh fuck. People keep getting shot in vital spots, these two or three episodes. It’s all a little much. #
- Oh god I fucking hate you Lost. #
- It’s not like I had anything better to do with the next however many months than waiting in pain for the next fucking season. #
- RT @caitlinmoran: Have now written six columns in five days. Taken so many “wry, sideways” glances “at life” I look like Marty Feldman. #
- @Bournemouthecho That story really demands video, doesn’t it? VERY cute, though. My moment of zen for the morning I guess! in reply to Bournemouthecho #
- Both @Sulman & @steevbishop are making full use of Twitter for awesome comedic timing this morning. Brilliant. #
- Oh, MARVELLOUS. So while BOURNEMOUTH’S Echo tells THIS story: http://bit.ly/AjDS8 – OUR one goes with this: http://bit.ly/Lqc3J. PERFECT! #
- Mind, @Bournemouthecho did just wish us all a good morning on a lovely sunny day, & skip straight on to OAP torture & death… #
- I guess the news of the day is a fickle mistress, as willing to spit in your eye as lift and flurry her skirts in your general direction. #
- @SamShepherd Huh. That’s the sort of story that sends my sympathies into a bit of a whirlwind tailspin. in reply to SamShepherd #
- Am I being naive if I say that possibly, we’d ALL be better off if newspapers didn’t print stories that were sold to them by the public? #
- @Specsneedaclean LOT of that going around! in reply to Specsneedaclean #
- @Sulman Hah… it’s possible that the Lost marathon I sat through last night has broken my sensibilities… in reply to Sulman #
- @Bournemouthecho HAH! I find THAT difficult to believe!
But I meant the News itself, not the news media… in reply to Bournemouthecho # - @Bournemouthecho Ah… So it’s ME that’s being slow, too. Well, I’m glad I didn’t see it then, & depressed about it now! in reply to Bournemouthecho #
- @Sulman Incidentally, not going to discard my notion of where they might go next season – but that finale did hold big surprises for me. in reply to Sulman #
- @Sulman … & think it was really canny that the final big reveal for this season was EXACTLY the same as last season’s! in reply to Sulman #
- @Sulman Ah, you remember that? Ok… the joke you’re right about, but EVERYTHING ELSE is just false memory syndrome… in reply to Sulman #
- @apatheticmike I’ve set to automate my own blog post tweets, but I think the issue has a bit to do with ratio of auto-tweets to real ones… in reply to apatheticmike #
- @danwellman She does have something of the wild-eyed about her. in reply to danwellman #
- @Bournemouthecho OH GREAT THANKS! Now I’ve got THAT to worry about, too… in reply to Bournemouthecho #
- Bristol Expo 09: Does anyone know whether the video of people saying “D’rectly” is around anywhere? That… actually sounds stupid out loud. #
- @Emmavieceli You haven’t been trying hard enough. Experiment with foodstuffs that expand with fluid, like porridge & such. in reply to Emmavieceli #
- @Emmavieceli (Sorry, thought I should check – the cat is alright, right?) in reply to Emmavieceli #
- http://www.fumblog.com/?p=505 – And now, a message from Lost’s John Locke… #
- Steve Coogan already beat us to it with “Four Fights, Three Weddings, And A Funeral”… #britflicks #
- Krankies #britflick #
- Seaside Story #britflick #
- (I HATE comedy Twitter threads, because I can’t help trying to think of tweets for them, but they always feel lame once I do…) #
- Drag Me To Hull #britflick #
- @mrtonylee Thanks for the comment, btw. Not sure if e-mail notification working, but have responded! in reply to mrtonylee #
- @davidbaillie How hard did you walk into him exactly? in reply to davidbaillie #
- Gah, I have become weak for a hashtag. Have found myself wanting to retweet so many of the #britflicks ones that I’m seeing … #
- Good work, @Sulman, @georgelondon & @steevbishop. Some of these #britflicks made me snarf. #
- RT @Sulman: Eternall Rainfall of the British Kind #britflicks #
- Oh my… This is one of those themes you wouldn’t always think of, but recognise the second you hear it again. ♫ http://blip.fm/~6qo7i #
- http://bit.ly/VwJTN – & here’s a game that’s going to be breaking my heart on release, because I’m not buying a PS3 for one damn game… #
- … Even though playing Shadow Of Colossus was one of the ONLY unreserved joys I’ve experienced in my tawdry, wasted life. #
- @steevbishop HA! Awesome! in reply to steevbishop #
- & while we’re on the subject… The beautiful score to probably my favourite film. ♫ http://blip.fm/~6qoh9 #
- Huh. Apparently Elephant is one of those words that totally looks wrong with exposure. #
- E… L… E…. P… H… A… N… T, right? Elephant. Elephant. ELEPHANT. It’s just ridiculous. #
- @belle_lulu I don’t know what that word you just used is. Are you sure it’s english? in reply to belle_lulu #
- (Hey, everyone, I’m totally hoaxing @belle_lulu… ssssh… snigger… This is going to rock!) #
- Dai Hard #britflicks #
- Casino Royal #britflicks #
- A Very Small Amount Of Comfort #britflicks #
- Jurassic Centerparcs #britflicks (Ok, Ok, strictly speaking #euroflicks) #
- RT @belle_lulu: Sorry the train’s delayed so it will have to be a Brief Encounter #britflicks #
- Jade #britflicks #
- Bell, Book And Giro #britflicks #
- An English Tale 2 – Fievel Gets Knifed #britflicks #
- TravelSick #britflicks (Oh, for… it’s like Vertigo, almost, alright?) #
- Oh god, I’ve got one more, but feel like I’ve already done too many. Plus, this last one requires some work. #
- @nikkicook God I love your art. in reply to nikkicook #
- @sarahditum Hah! Does anyone I know write for the excellent official mag? in reply to sarahditum #
- I use “Hah!” as an explosion of unrestrained mirth, but now that I think of it, it looks like a derisive snort. Whoops… #
- Oh, waaah! I thought they’d released Ico on a budget label deal thingie, but no! #
- Video at Blip.fm seems to be asking for trouble, to be honest… #
- Oh but that reminds me… At lunchtime Starbucks with @Sulman, I am certain 2 girls next to us were on blind-lunch-date. Or a job interview. #
- Sorry, I mean THIS reminds me: http://tinysong.com/4dRc. I once got into an argument with a colleague because of this song. #
- Well, @Sulman & I ARE pretty difficult to resist, @steevbishop. Especially when we are geeking out @ Lost. & transparently looking at girls. #
- RT @douglasnoble: @nixsight “Hah!” is the exclamation I use when I punch a tramp in the neck: “Take that, lady!” #
- @blazingshark Hmm… You don’t sound like you’re having fun at the moment. Last I noticed, you were paired off & semi-retired… you okay? in reply to blazingshark #
- @granulac But… But punkybird sounded punky! Granulac sounds kind of grainy… in reply to granulac #
- @douglasnoble Hmm… Not a bad idea, though… in reply to douglasnoble #
- Outrage In Balham #britflicks #
-
Found Objects
We need comics. We don’t need the comic mainstream – certainly not as much as it needs us. And we wouldn’t even be having this argument about Watchmen if that book wasn’t part of that industry. It couldn’t have existed without it, it wouldn’t have been relevant without it, and most of us wouldn’t have even had the chance to read it without it.
We don’t have to give a shit about Watchmen, or Before Watchmen. We choose to.
We don’t have to fight about issues that we really have no skin in. We choose to.
We should really grow out of it.
Last Friday I wrote a really long post over at my site about Before Watchmen. It was probably too long, fence-sitting and unstructured to get as much widespread attention as some of the more aggressive pieces out there, but I still feel everything in it.
This is the tiniest part of it - a sentiment that I feel is pretty important - you can read the whole thing here.
I AM IN CONTROL OF MY EMOTIONS!
The Newly Announced Before Watchmen Is a Prime Example of What's Killing Mainstream Comics
“I have no idea whether this project will be any good or not. But it sits as a shining example of the fundamental flaw that exists in the comic industry, especially within DC Comics. They spend most of their time chasing the readers that grew up with their iconic characters rather than attempting to attract new readers who are growing up right now.”
Totally agree with this - though I think DC52, being a company-wide initiative, was more indicative of it, and I said as much at the time.
However, that backward looking trait in comics isn’t unique to publishers. Comic readers - many of whom are also comic retailers, which is a bigger issue - run wild with entitlement on either side of any comic-related debate, and stand ready to jump on anything that they perceive as a deviation or affront to comic texts or characters that they feel shouldn’t be touched. It all adds to the stupidly binary way any comic-related issue is handled.
The huge amount of brilliant work that goes un-discussed, unsupported and unbought in-between those two dominant cultures is the only genuine ongoing tragedy in comics today, I reckon. The rest is just semantics and negotiation of contracts.
Yup, yup, yup…the fact that people are wasting their time arguing about the merits of Before Watchmen while amazing books like The Interactives go largely ignored is, quite frankly, criminal.
Not least because it means that yet again we’re all having a conversation about Watchmen. I came to Watchmen a little bit late - like, a year after publication - and loved it at the time. It encouraged me to go on and read so many more other books, to read them critically, and work out why they work and don’t work etc etc etc. But the more people hold it to this impossible standard in such a hyperbolic and aggressive way, the more I find reasons to chip away at it.
If you love Watchmen that much, write about how good Watchmen is in it’s own right. Don’t use it as a stick to bash everything that’s come since. Don’t use it as a way to try and win an argument about whatever your pet comic issue is that week. I think Alan Moore’s biggest issue is that his book isn’t regarded enough in it’s own right, and it’s an important enough work to be handled without gossip-context and all the other bollocks that passes for adults-who-read-comics-talking-about-comics.
Show Alan Moore and Watchmen a bit of respect, and don’t try and impose your fucking context on it. It’s a work of art. It genuinely can’t be ruined by any art that follows, but it can be ruined by every third word spoken about it being bleaty, entitled shite.
Sorry, you said something? The Interactives? What’s that? I have never heard of it, therefore it must not be worth bothering with.
Yep, I completely agree with you here. As great as Watchmen was it has been a big part of what has utterly ruined comics (and I know that Moore agrees with this himself) as so many people have spent the years since using it as a template for what comic should be. It was a work of satire! It was never intended to be a “How To” guide for aspiring comic creators.
And The Interactives is this - http://theinteractives.com/
Huh. That looks ace, actually.
The Newly Announced Before Watchmen Is a Prime Example of What's Killing Mainstream Comics
“I have no idea whether this project will be any good or not. But it sits as a shining example of the fundamental flaw that exists in the comic industry, especially within DC Comics. They spend most of their time chasing the readers that grew up with their iconic characters rather than attempting to attract new readers who are growing up right now.”
Totally agree with this - though I think DC52, being a company-wide initiative, was more indicative of it, and I said as much at the time.
However, that backward looking trait in comics isn’t unique to publishers. Comic readers - many of whom are also comic retailers, which is a bigger issue - run wild with entitlement on either side of any comic-related debate, and stand ready to jump on anything that they perceive as a deviation or affront to comic texts or characters that they feel shouldn’t be touched. It all adds to the stupidly binary way any comic-related issue is handled.
The huge amount of brilliant work that goes un-discussed, unsupported and unbought in-between those two dominant cultures is the only genuine ongoing tragedy in comics today, I reckon. The rest is just semantics and negotiation of contracts.
Yup, yup, yup…the fact that people are wasting their time arguing about the merits of Before Watchmen while amazing books like The Interactives go largely ignored is, quite frankly, criminal.
Not least because it means that yet again we’re all having a conversation about Watchmen. I came to Watchmen a little bit late - like, a year after publication - and loved it at the time. It encouraged me to go on and read so many more other books, to read them critically, and work out why they work and don’t work etc etc etc. But the more people hold it to this impossible standard in such a hyperbolic and aggressive way, the more I find reasons to chip away at it.
If you love Watchmen that much, write about how good Watchmen is in it’s own right. Don’t use it as a stick to bash everything that’s come since. Don’t use it as a way to try and win an argument about whatever your pet comic issue is that week. I think Alan Moore’s biggest issue is that his book isn’t regarded enough in it’s own right, and it’s an important enough work to be handled without gossip-context and all the other bollocks that passes for adults-who-read-comics-talking-about-comics.
Show Alan Moore and Watchmen a bit of respect, and don’t try and impose your fucking context on it. It’s a work of art. It genuinely can’t be ruined by any art that follows, but it can be ruined by every third word spoken about it being bleaty, entitled shite.
Sorry, you said something? The Interactives? What’s that? I have never heard of it, therefore it must not be worth bothering with.
The Newly Announced Before Watchmen Is a Prime Example of What's Killing Mainstream Comics
“I have no idea whether this project will be any good or not. But it sits as a shining example of the fundamental flaw that exists in the comic industry, especially within DC Comics. They spend most of their time chasing the readers that grew up with their iconic characters rather than attempting to attract new readers who are growing up right now.”
Totally agree with this - though I think DC52, being a company-wide initiative, was more indicative of it, and I said as much at the time.
However, that backward looking trait in comics isn’t unique to publishers. Comic readers - many of whom are also comic retailers, which is a bigger issue - run wild with entitlement on either side of any comic-related debate, and stand ready to jump on anything that they perceive as a deviation or affront to comic texts or characters that they feel shouldn’t be touched. It all adds to the stupidly binary way any comic-related issue is handled.
The huge amount of brilliant work that goes un-discussed, unsupported and unbought in-between those two dominant cultures is the only genuine ongoing tragedy in comics today, I reckon. The rest is just semantics and negotiation of contracts.
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