- @ourman Aww… that's too cute. in reply to ourman #
- Despite getting to bed at a decent time, I didn't sleep well. Anya was sick a little before bedtime, & my dreams were full of vomit. #
- @jhewlett @jhewlett Oh, nice. Well done @TeeshMgray, I say. in reply to jhewlett #
- Someone in my office just said "It's pay day Pandamonium". I'll give you 3 guesses who. (It was @samwisemoss) #
- @jhewlett Well, then, you, sir, would be wrong.
in reply to jhewlett # - BTW, that would have made more sense if I'd said it properly. It's Pay Day PANDA-Monium. #
- @georgelondon He meant that there was no point him using the hashtag, cos he's got a private account. in reply to georgelondon #
- @Sulman Oh, nice! No point asking whether YOU'RE around for Starbucksing, then! in reply to Sulman #
- @Sulman Oh, very droll… in reply to Sulman #
- Apparently Portsmouth has gone into administration. Sigh, we were only there the other night & the place looked fine. A little quiet, maybe. #
- Watching This Week on iPlayer. Oh, Jesse… I like the sentiment, but I'd be surprised if ALL of those people really WERE necessary. #
- @jowadsworth I really, really haven't ever understood it. in reply to jowadsworth #
- Teehee. Michael Portillo just said that there was a big black shadow over the economy, in front of Jesse Jackson. My inner PC Monkey winced. #
- Photo: The eye of the earth, via bicpen http://tumblr.com/xi56tyax3 #
- Photo: fuckyeahfantasticfour, says retconpunch http://tumblr.com/xi56tye1d #
- This Alice In Wonderland theme on This Week is really painful. #
- @JamesMOMB What's going on? in reply to JamesMOMB #
- @georgelondon There you go! in reply to georgelondon #
- Are Michael Portillo and Diane Abbott a couple? They act like a couple! I kind of want them to kiss. #
- @loscampesinos Oooh, Microserfs! Who's reading that? in reply to loscampesinos #
- @loscampesinos It's a great book… it was my primary route into enjoying Coupland – I never got on with Generation X. (Sigh.) in reply to loscampesinos #
- @steevbishop Well, it's not me. Mine are still working, look… Oh, hang on. Fuck, busted. in reply to steevbishop #
- @JamesMOMB Haven't looked – have the stats dropped? in reply to JamesMOMB #
- Watching This Week with @belledejour_uk. I mean, she's on. I'm not watching it with her here. That would be a bit peculiar on a work day… #
- @belledejour_uk …Problem with Portillo's notion of teen pregnancy as a lifestyle choice is that horrid as it is, it's not hard to come to. in reply to belledejour_uk #
- @belledejour_uk …tho idea that it's entirely financial is simplistic, it's an observable behaviour, at least in some places. in reply to belledejour_uk #
- @belledejour_uk I think Abbott's point is closer, but it's enabled by the situation Portillo described. Some teens DO make that choice… in reply to belledejour_uk #
- @belledejour_uk (It's the difference between a calculated decision & a smart, educated one, of course!) #
- Is that really why Carnivale got canned? Hm. #
- Ok, no, scratch that… it WAS because of low viewing figures. #
- @steevbishop Have you looked at @glasses_direct? They're pretty quick… though not immediate, if that's what you need… good value though. in reply to steevbishop #
- @Butwin
in reply to Butwin # - Video: Well, this is all very exciting… Dr Who new series trailer! mayweed: http://tumblr.com/xi56u344q #
- @acheverton Is this a trick question? in reply to acheverton #
- @Butwin But… who does that make me? I'd like to be whossname – Michael Bien – but suspect I'm actually Dyson. in reply to Butwin #
- @Sulman "Had some proximity" sounds more loaded than I'd like… in reply to Sulman #
- @Butwin Yup! in reply to Butwin #
- http://is.gd/9f0hu – MOMBcast #23 – listening to it now. COMICS! #
- #MOMBcast #23… @JakeMOMB introduces the show… peculiarly, because @JaneMOMB is ALSO in the room. Hm. Can there be an explanation? #
- #MOMBCast #23 Jake sounded a little different this week… #
- @Sulman Hah… I fully expect to read about this in the local papers… in reply to Sulman #
- …Oh, yeah, there apparently IS an explanation. It's just not a very good one. #MOMBcast 23 #
- Oh, apparently that WASN'T @JakeMOMB. It was one of @JamesMOMB's cuckolding cockheads… #MOMBCast 23 #
- Yeah, you can tell I was in an odd mood because my voice went all high-pitched for most of these first few minutes. #MOMBcast 23 #
- Oh yeah, this was the bit where I mentioned that I stinked at the @loscampesinos gig. I kind of wished I hadn't brought it up. #MOMBCast 23 #
- Things I've learned about @loscampesinos from listening to the #MOMBcast 23: There are 50 of them. They are all so young & pretty. #
- How many James Bond films have ski chase bits in them? I need to know! (From anyone who isn't @JamesMOMB or @RichMOMB) #MOMBcast 23 #
- @acheverton I meant that the "Anyone Knew Why?" bit sounded like something a teacher might say to find out if class has been listening… in reply to acheverton #
- @acheverton …It wasn't meant to be taken seriously.
in reply to acheverton # - #MOMBcast 23…I'm absolutely right about effing & jeffing in films. Films with big budgets tend to not be that explicit any more. #
- Teehee… @JamesMOMB made a Queen joke. #MOMBcast 23 #
- "Are you suggesting that the Green Lantern is a lesbian?" – #MOMBcast 23 – we think that the Green Lantern is… http://tumblr.com/xi56u4275 #
- I'm SO glad that @JaneMOMB chose to pick up a small-press book for one of her reviews in this week's #MOMBcast 23 #
- #MOMBcomics – Friend to small press comics! – http://is.gd/5LWa9 #
- @acheverton S'alright, youse! in reply to acheverton #
- .@RichMOMB talking about Choker #1 – I think Rich is really hitting his stride with his #MOMBcast reviews, now, which is lovely. #
- GoldMAN, not GoldSMITH, @JamesMOMB. Thought as much! #MOMBcast 23 #
- Getting tangled up about truth and fiction and stuff on #MOMBCast 23 http://is.gd/5LWa9 #
- @SamShepherd I feel your pain on that one. in reply to SamShepherd #
- Poor @JamesMOMB, taking the full weight of my despondency on #MOMBcast 23 #
- @belledejour_uk Will look forward to that blog! Agree with what @Sulman just said, but also think it ties into what you said on show… in reply to belledejour_uk #
- @belledejour_uk Part of problem is there's little to no emotional value placed on the whole milieu for many kids, by education OR society. in reply to belledejour_uk #
- @belledejour_uk It's no surprise to me, but should be noted by others, that you've got these particular opinions on these subject… #
- @belledejour_uk Problems with sex culture aren't promiscuity or quantity – it's the opposite extremes of hollowness & hysteria on subject… in reply to belledejour_uk #
- @belledejour_uk Your comment about faith schools caught me by surprise at 1st, but then made PERFECT sense to me. in reply to belledejour_uk #
- "You have to put Jesus out of your mind." Also: "Tina Fey is like Jesus". @JamesMOMB, ladies & gents! #MOMBcast 23 #
- "I'm James Insert Surname Here Can I Have My Standing Order Please. Can I have my standing order please?" @JamesMOMB #MOMBCast 23 #
- Oh, I think I really tear into Mark Millar in a second. I got a bit more fired up than I meant to. #MOMBcast 23 #
- You can't believe a single word he says, though. #MOMBcast 23 #
- Oh, forgot about @JamesMOMB's endless notebook. #MOMBcast 23 #
- Oh god. @RichMOMB sounded a bit like Ricky Gervais for a brief second there, & now I can't hear anything but! FUCK. #MOMBcast 23 #
- YES, @JAMESMOMB, THAT WAS MY POINT! The whole thing about @butwin THAT WAS MY POINT. JESUS. #MOMBcast 23 #
- @belledejour_uk I think people don't give some organised religions enough credit for some of the more moderate attitudes expressed in them. in reply to belledejour_uk #
- @belledejour_uk I… am probably not explaining myself particularly well, as the end of the day approaches & requirements bundle together! in reply to belledejour_uk #
- @belledejour_uk OH FINE! Go off to bed, when some of us have hours to go before sleep… in reply to belledejour_uk #
- @belledejour_uk Or, I mean, bed. Hours to go before bed. in reply to belledejour_uk #
- Was Tintin a baddie? #MOMBcast 23 #
- FFS… @JamesMOMB is INSISTENT that Seinfeld invented "Yadda Yadda Yadda". He's an IDIOT! #MOMBcast 23 #
- http://is.gd/9flpK – #MOMBcast 23 Timings up! If you are @wossy @kierongillen @breagrant @Templesmith listen to your bit without the rest! #
- #MOMBcast listeners/contributors… Timings up! And that's me out of here… #
- @JamesMOMB You don't get to have a say in this. You are clearly a fool. A SEINFELD FOOL! #MOMBcast in reply to JamesMOMB #
- Right, hometime! Peterborough here we come! YAY! #
- @JamesMOMB, enjoy your birthday drinks, buddy. It's your time! #
-
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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