- @Plustenstrength Ha, guessed as much. Can't EVEN remember what I was responding to now… the wonder of Twitter & a few cans of Stella. Tut. in reply to Plustenstrength #
- @steevbishop Oh, it's just a lovely, lovely film. Glad someone else I know is watching it. Reviewed it a while back for Nixsight. in reply to steevbishop #
- Jesus, it's hot. #
- BTW, this sounds tenuous, but strictly speaking this year Elephant Words paid for itself… #
- …1 of those 2 lectures I gave last month was based on my experiences of creating the site, & half of fee just covered my hosting costs! #
- @RivkaJacobs Oh man… hope it feels better soon! in reply to RivkaJacobs #
- @ourman Do u mean: Are people who go on about being "soooo busy & all about business" just disorganised & unimaginative linear thinkers?
in reply to ourman # - @thepetshopboy Officially? Do you have a badge and everything?
in reply to thepetshopboy # - @erikamoen I think it only works if one is as photogenic as you. Today, I have saggy face. in reply to erikamoen #
- @GeekSyndicate I'm not, but I think Yahtzee's review of it made it sound pretty fun: http://is.gd/1iU7B in reply to GeekSyndicate #
- @ourman Those people don't know how transparent they are. Seen from above, they probably look competent: Their subordinates see different. in reply to ourman #
- @steevbishop That reminds me… did you get my DM? It was just confirming that you got my text… in reply to steevbishop #
- @steevbishop Chupa Chups! They've gone downhill since old man Chupa passed on. Young Chup Chupa's heart's not in it. He just wants to dance! in reply to steevbishop #
- @bremxjones Oh man… is that just a deliberately confrontational name designed to stir up debate, or did you really dislike it…? in reply to bremxjones #
- @danwellman S'abit infectious, isn't it? in reply to danwellman #
- Some mornings, other people's coffee smells a bit like yuck. #
- @danwellman Ayup. They look like they're having fun, which is something I can get behind in even the silliest of music. Sometimes! in reply to danwellman #
- @mrtonylee Oh, didn't know! Happy Birthday, you! in reply to mrtonylee #
- @thoughtmecca Actually, thinking it was the combined scent of coffee & Red Bull. Smells a bit like poo. Which is odd because I like both. in reply to thoughtmecca #
- Hah… Twitter Tweets & Bios & What They Really Mean – http://is.gd/1iYeQ #
- @budgie You've simplified that a tad! Once I started seeing it go anti-clockwise, I've not been able to go back to seeing it the other way! in reply to budgie #
- @SamShepherd Don't mind doing it if it's easier for you! in reply to SamShepherd #
- @budgie Oh fine! Show off! in reply to budgie #
- @SamShepherd It's a shame just doing an RSS feed would be too risky, with those foul-mouthed contributors of ours! How long does each take? in reply to SamShepherd #
- @Sulman The reviewer's voice is sending me to sleep, but luckily he's not saying anything important, anyway! in reply to Sulman #
- http://is.gd/1iZXX – There is so much to dislike about this photo series, I don't really know where to begin. So I won't. #
- @SamShepherd Heh… sounds good…! in reply to SamShepherd #
- @Sulman Heh… actually, so would I! Apparently these are "the issues she sees in women around her every day"… in reply to Sulman #
- Flippin' 'eck, woman! Repeating your petty concerns over & over again doesn't make them any less ill-informed or redundant… #
- @Sulman But isn't that what all the GOOD wars are about, really? in reply to Sulman #
- @Wossy Not sure about album… want to say Graceland by Paul Simon, but memory hazy. Since then, I have lost & rebought it about 3 times… in reply to Wossy #
- @Wossy 1st record, tho, was DEFINITELY Neil the hippy's Hole In My Shoe. Of that there is absolutely no doubt or haziness. in reply to Wossy #
- @purseonality Hi! I… help me out here, because I've taken many drugs in my time… Where do I know you from? It's, like, RIGHT there… in reply to purseonality #
- @Sulman They don't remember her asking them, but I do. 1st time they were watching their favourite show & she mentioned it from doorway… in reply to Sulman #
- @Sulman …2nd time it was framed as a question: "Do you think the shrubbery needs sorting out?" "Maybe." "M-hm." in reply to Sulman #
- @ourman Not at all! in reply to ourman #
- @sarahditum Aww, man… don't be glum! There's loads of awesome stuffs about… Look! What's this behind your ear? Wow, a pound coin!! in reply to sarahditum #
- @sarahditum Eating disorder? in reply to sarahditum #
- @douglasnoble Yes… that is exactly the sequence of events…! in reply to douglasnoble #
- @purseonality Have DM'ed you… Will not rest until I get to the bottom of this…! in reply to purseonality #
- @james__buckley Was just talking about that devastatingly funny restaurant opening with the chef with tourettes, last night. VERY funny! in reply to james__buckley #
- @marcellerby That middle drawing actually tempts me into getting a couple-portrait commissioned by you as well. Hm… in reply to marcellerby #
- @marcellerby I mean, I already loved your work, but something about that image clicked for me. in reply to marcellerby #
- @marcellerby Hmm… this bears more discussion… Should I email you, or DM you? (Not sure if you're following me, so DM might not work.) in reply to marcellerby #
- @VeryShortStory That could have gone somewhere different ENTIRELY! in reply to VeryShortStory #
- Gosh, sometimes @erikamoen's Darcomics make me feel more sex-positive just READING them. Nicely done. http://is.gd/1jezA #
- @RedMummy Darcomic is ALWAYS worth a read… in reply to RedMummy #
- @RedMummy Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt, learning a sex-positive attitude from someone as honest & cool as Erika. (Note. It COULD hurt) in reply to RedMummy #
-
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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