- @douglasnoble Actually, disturbingly I look almost the same… just with a slightly more skittish hairline! in reply to douglasnoble #
- @georgelondon Well, you WOULD say that, you bloody foreigner…!
Beautifully put, by the way…! in reply to georgelondon # - Oh, smart… Garret Dillahunt in Criminal Minds… he’s got himself about a bit this year, hasn’t he? #
- I was just asked where I’ve been for the last few months because I didn’t know Madness had a new album out. Madness have a new album out? #
- @Sulman Um… not sure if the desired effect of that article was arousal but… that missile sounds fucking cool… in reply to Sulman #
- @Mykx APPARENTLY! I know, where have we been living? Somewhere different to the England of the middle-aged, obviously…! in reply to Mykx #
- Just overheard an excellent exchange between 2 male co-workers while on a quest for a mini-phillips screwdriver… #
- “I don’t wear pink shirts, because when I do people say I look gay.” “… That’s because of your hair.” #
- @Mykx Wow… these are the records that the world was waiting for, obviously…! in reply to Mykx #
- @belle_lulu I’m surprised anybody still has people TO FF. Surely there’s a finite number of potential candidates for each Tweeter. in reply to belle_lulu #
- Follow Friday leaves me even colder in light of Twitter’s continued unwillingness to #fixreplies. My timeline is a ghost town. #
- I should clarify that I’m not against a new Madness release…just a little perturbed that not knowing about it is somehow a badge of shame! #
- Unfortunately, now it’s actually WORK to get even a fraction of the lovely experience we used to have… @steevbishop, on #fixreplies #
- … & part of why that experience was lovely was that it happened organically/ambiently. #fixreplies #
- Jesus, I was only asking for a small screwdriver! Didn’t think it’d be that controversial. #
- Yes, monitors are getting bigger. But more people are using space-limited mobile devices, too. #
- Have Twitter fixed the random unfollows problem? Because if they haven’t, this #fixreplies issue is even more problematic… #
- I am kind of enjoying Quirk’s Evil Little Webcomic: http://is.gd/ITDT. More random/uncertain than A Softer World, but it has potential. #
- @steevbishop Actually not sure – just remember people talking about it before as an issue, wondering if it still sometimes happens… in reply to steevbishop #
- @steevbishop …For me, there were odd times when I turned out NOT to be following someone that I thought I was, but unsure what happened. in reply to steevbishop #
- @RedMummy @SorenLorensen Oh I don’t know: Course there are other problems, but B’mouth is NICE in this sort of weather, surely? in reply to RedMummy #
- @davidbaillie Well, a party is still PRETTY awesome… How’d you swing that? in reply to davidbaillie #
- @therealdevil People here are talking fixed width designs, to almost rapturous applause… I am not so sure. Granted, both my sites are… in reply to therealdevil #
- @therealdevil … but those aren’t service sites. in reply to therealdevil #
- “People here are talking fixed width designs, to almost rapturous applause… I am not so sure. Granted, both my sites are fixed width…” #
- “…But those aren’t service sites.” Repetition thanks to #fixreplies. Want @steevbishop’s insight on this, but don’t think he’d have seen. #
- @SorenLorensen Oh god, hen party hounds are terrifying! Been stuck in more than one restaurant/bar pinned by hen parties… in reply to SorenLorensen #
- http://is.gd/IU4I – Teehee. #
- Oh gosh: http://is.gd/IU9l. And I will be playing this tonight: http://is.gd/IUa0 #
- @steevbishop There was a brief suggestion earlier of shifting one of our key web services onto a fixed-width design. Works for my sites, … in reply to steevbishop #
- @steevbishop …But those aren’t corporate/educational delivery services. My instinct says that if digital ubiquity is what’s aimed for… in reply to steevbishop #
- @steevbishop …fixed width designs don’t allow as much for diversity of delivery method. in reply to steevbishop #
- @steevbishop True enough. I’m far from certain on the subject, just the lack of question of its merit in this case seemed… odd to me. in reply to steevbishop #
- Another mother fucking kool aid moment… #
- Who is going to lunch with one of his favourite people, like, right now? That’s right, babies, me! #
- Seriously, sexy cleavage girl sitting in the park… You’re going with THAT ice-lolly technique? #
- @SorenLorensen She was a favoured barmaid years back, then a v.close friend. Then for about 5 minutes a girlfriend & now she’s just awesome. in reply to SorenLorensen #
- @steevbishop True enough. I’d LIKE to be surprised once in a while, though…! in reply to steevbishop #
- @douglasnoble I like Mr Cage… He seems to catch an awful lot of flack, but he’s one of few who CAN act, but can also STAR, too. in reply to douglasnoble #
- @JSCarroll That it’s all a joke. And that makes it funny. Even when it isn’t. in reply to JSCarroll #
- @georgelondon It’s an almost perfect film, barring the backtracking that goes on in the last ten or so minutes. Well worth another watch… in reply to georgelondon #
- @georgelondon Speak for yourself, old-timer! I’m TOTALLY up for this new one. She’s no Martha, but she’s MUCH more my cup of tea than Rose. in reply to georgelondon #
- If @douglasnoble will insist on practicing blow-job technique on his lunchtime ice-lolly, he’s going to get stares. Work it homegirl! #
- @steevbishop @georgelondon Good points all, and VERY well made. Especially about the jeans… in reply to steevbishop #
- @laineyw Well, it’s all fine here… in reply to laineyw #
- @georgelondon Now there is an idea… in reply to georgelondon #
- @georgelondon Or maybe this time, he could crush on the companion but she could be not interested. Or have NO lovin’ at all! in reply to georgelondon #
- Oh hell yes! 9? – http://is.gd/J6s2 #
- Ha! RT @CollingsA: New Dr Who companion “beat off dozens of hopefuls to land one of television’s most coveted roles.” Who’d be an actor, eh? #
- Oh for fuck’s sake it’s hard work sometimes. #
-
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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