- @steevbishop One can't deny Schumacher's achievements, but I've always found him to have far too smackable a face for me to enjoy him… in reply to steevbishop #
- @Sulman I remember the peculiarity of King Kong being that parts of it seemed almost too short. Fewer dinosaurs, less mugging, more KongNY! in reply to Sulman #
- Oh, happy birthday, @thatswedishgirl! #
- Oh blimey, Greg Rucka at Twitter? For reals?: @ruckawriter #
- @steevbishop Heh… well, I guess it'd be boring if we weren't all a bit different! in reply to steevbishop #
- @Wossy Oh god, how depressing. Lost dog flyers when walking ours are the saddest thing in the world. Hope @Flamuna finds Wallington. in reply to Wossy #
- @steevbishop Agreed, kind of. It's not a regular viewer, for sure. Remember when standard movie length was around an hour twenty minutes? in reply to steevbishop #
- Hi, @ruckawriter! #
- This is a bit of a non-story, & I think the Guardian has it the wrong way round: Sharks behave like serial killers – http://is.gd/194QT #
- … Surely the sharks have been doing it for quite some time longer than humans have? #
- Nice weekends are a bit rubbish, because they make work that little bit harder to bear on Monday… #
- @james__buckley Just watched last episode of 1st series Inbetweeners…your stuff in particular is bloody awesome. A belated well done, sir! in reply to james__buckley #
- @idsharman Nice! in reply to idsharman #
- @idsharman Ah… didn't think that one through… possible an image with so much black negative space on that particular site wasn't smart! in reply to idsharman #
- @jamiesmart I take it there WAS actual pain, & you aren't just taking them in the spirit of adventure? in reply to jamiesmart #
- @RedMummy Can you do ours, too? The dog may snarl at you – in Dalmatian terms, that means she's happy to see you… in reply to RedMummy #
- @bremxjones Cary Nord? Oh, NICE. Been fond of him since Daredevil. He's an artist, like Cully Hamner, who only sometimes gets their due. in reply to bremxjones #
- @idsharman I did wonder if it was a little conceited of me to bandy around my own drawings like that. But they do look the part, I guess…! in reply to idsharman #
- @mrtonylee @georgelondon has been extolling the virtues of Eli Stone for many months… So I should be paying attention, huh? in reply to mrtonylee #
- @RedMummy Ah. Suspect that by 2026, issue of dog may be redundant. Going to go off and start crying, now… in reply to RedMummy #
- Ah balls… I can't believe the "Curious Case Of Forrest Gump" trailer got taken off YouTube. STUPID MOVIE COMPANY! #
- @RedMummy Well, at some point we do intend to take the dog out to the New Forest for an epic walk again…
in reply to RedMummy # - @jamiesmart Ow! I really do need to think about dentist soon. You know that feeling where you can feel your teeth deteriorating day by day? in reply to jamiesmart #
- Oh dear god this is easily the most scary thing I've seen in years: http://is.gd/197O1 – Remco's Baby Laughalot! (Via @andydiggle) #
- @Groonk Is it old…? It has given me the wiggins… in reply to Groonk #
- @GlossalTwinster This is going to be a problem with the amount of followers you've got. Law of averages dictates there's be meanness… in reply to GlossalTwinster #
- @GlossalTwinster … "there will", not "there's". Sorry! in reply to GlossalTwinster #
- @GlossalTwinster I suppose it'd be easier to block the people who do? #
- @GlossalTwinster Well, eventually you'll get to a point where you can direct your defiant streak at that stuff, I'm guessing. Fuck 'em… in reply to GlossalTwinster #
- @GlossalTwinster … or, you know, if at some point you start hearing the same things over & over from people you respect, start to listen. in reply to GlossalTwinster #
- @GlossalTwinster (I chose not to do so much of that second one, but then, I'm a desperately unhappy individual…
) in reply to GlossalTwinster # - @GlossalTwinster A, but I don't think enough of people. Me in charge would be a terrible thing for the middle class. & the upper class… in reply to GlossalTwinster #
- @GlossalTwinster … & the Lower class. in reply to GlossalTwinster #
- @Emmavieceli Well… LOT of people are obsessed with a man who may or may not have lived & died over 2,000 years ago, so I'd say you're ok. in reply to Emmavieceli #
- http://is.gd/19apd – Mike Huckabee scares me a bit. But these 2 rappers are really good.</pained irony> #
- @caitlinmoran Ah, but not in Japan. Over there, it is as nothing to have a title repeated over several properties… in reply to caitlinmoran #
- Besides which, the actual Japanese title of Mork & Mindy was "Happy Time Alien Mork", Metal Mickey was "Super Robot Crazy Mickey"… #
- @caitlinmoran … & as I recall, they just broadcast Alf as "Alf". But they broadcast it with no sound except for Alf's voice. in reply to caitlinmoran #
- @caitlinmoran … It made for pretty surreal viewing. in reply to caitlinmoran #
- @rhodri Heh. Guessing he probably had a worse day than she did, n'all. This country does better mob-mentality than Springfield… in reply to rhodri #
- @caitlinmoran On the tiny Greek island of Engadalavo, thanks to poor TV reception in the 80s, Alf is worshipped as a saint. Saint Alf. in reply to caitlinmoran #
- @richjohnston Oh sweet… I have never noticed Amazon gold-box deals… are there plans for a UK equivalent? in reply to richjohnston #
- Hmm… The Road & Let The Right One In, both only £2.99 each, at the mo. That's not right, is it? Bit skint, but do I need to order now? #
- @marcellerby Hah! That IS cute… Girls are funny… in reply to marcellerby #
- @nixsight That actually WASN'T a new blog post… it was scheduled from last night. It is a VERY late post about the Star Trek movie… in reply to nixsight #
- … Heh. I TOTALLY just created & used the tag "John Cho motherfuckers" for the first time ever… #
- @davidbaillie It's LOVELY. in reply to davidbaillie #
- Tongue Of The Dead, by the inimitable @davidbaillie, serialised here & onwards: http://is.gd/19gwv #
- I like John Hodgman – http://is.gd/19hg7 – he's arch rather than confrontational… It's nice. #
- Rebecca Front is great, so it'll be good to see her in The Thick Of It… #
- … Still, though, the likelihood that Langham's career is done makes me sad. #
- @davidbaillie Oooh… sounds interesting… in reply to davidbaillie #
- @RedMummy Good lad…! in reply to RedMummy #
- @Sulman @steevbishop Thing about DK, you can very clearly spot the point at which it goes from being good fun to being obverblown silliness. in reply to Sulman #
- @Sulman @steevbishop The main similarities are the length & the self-indulgence, I think. I can see where you're coming from… in reply to Sulman #
- … To be honest, if there was a reason I wouldn't watch King Kong again, it's that it's just so damn sad… #
- … Andy Serkis annoys me in interviews, but fair play to him, his puppetry is excellent. #
- @rainnwilson I don't know, but watching your tweets with interest. If it turns out that they are, I have to reverse some life decisions… in reply to rainnwilson #
- … And knowing that (Spoiler Warning) Kong is going to die at the end only makes it worse… #
- @douglasnoble Heh. in reply to douglasnoble #
- @steevbishop The oddest thing about PJ's KK is that in some scenes it's laconic, but in others it's too spare. Very unnerving… in reply to steevbishop #
- @steevbishop … I think I said the 1st time I saw it that I could see why PJ fell in love with some shots, but he should have killed them. in reply to steevbishop #
- @steevbishop …As lovingly put together as the action set-pieces with TRex & stampedes are, they are TOO DAMN LONG. Relentless is the word. in reply to steevbishop #
- @steevbishop …A few moments too long on the screaming natives, too much writhing with the bugs, twice as much time on the ice with Kong… in reply to steevbishop #
- @steevbishop … Those are all charming scenes, but PJ should have been harder on himself. in reply to steevbishop #
- @douglasnoble I don't think I have EVER seen that one. Is it a sequel to the first talkie version? in reply to douglasnoble #
- @andydiggle I'm… uh. Was the plan to be in the back garden? Cos I'm here in @ruckawriter's crawlspace… feeling stupid, now. in reply to andydiggle #
-
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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