Archive for the ‘Commentary’ Category

Trey Garrison called me on Saturday. He had a pass for an advance screening of the new STAR TREK movie. I got to be his “and guest.” This would be our third date. Trey and I first met when he read my essay in MAN FROM KRYPTON. He liked it, and invited me to write for D Magazine. We had lunch at La Duni to discuss, and it just happened to be Valentine’s Day. We had another meeting to introduce me to Tim Rogers, and set up the comic with D Magazine. The meeting happened to fall on my wedding anniversary. Obviously, the universe was telling us something. We arrived at the North Park AMC an hour early with Joshua Warr, his friend, and my friend (who I happen to see everywhere) Jennifer Meehan. Already, the line wrapped around the lobby. We had decent seats when it came time to rush the theater in an organized manner. Trey bought some snacks, while I saved the seats from the slower guests still looking for a place to sit. Trey and I shared nachos. While waiting for the movie to start, Mark Walters from bigfanboy.com gave out some free swag. Trey, Joshua, and I all got matching Star Trek ball caps.

Let’s talk about the movie. Read more →

I live in Arlington, and it’s almost time for City Council elections — a good time to email my representative in Place 5, Lana Wolff. I feel uninformed and disconnected from these officials. And it’s a shame, because they have a huge impact on us.

I thought I’d share the email I sent to Mrs. Wolff a few hours ago.

Dear Mrs. Wolff,

I realize you may be very busy with the upcoming election. I am one of your constituents. I have lived on Ravenwood Drive for the past five years. I’m an English teacher at Martin High School. I fully intend to vote, and I wanted to make you aware of my concerns for Arlington. I contacted you with similar concerns in 2007.

1. Developing business in central Arlington. We have the Arlington Highlands along I-20, and the new Stadium along I-30. I’m worried about the economic health of central Arlington, especially with the growing troubles at the GM plant. We cannot abandon this area to economic ruin.

Oak Cliff has done well with the Bishop Arts District, developing what was previously an impoverished area. Central Arlington may not be able to attract the popular franchise retailers, nor should it, but it would be a wonderful place for artsy/locally-owned establishments. Bishop Arts District could serve as a model.

2. Public transportation. Arlington is too big to not have some form of public transportation. Without it, Arlington is disconnected. We do not reap the benefits of commercial growth, if people cannot move easily throughout the city. Making Arlington more friendly to bicycle commuting would be a great improvement (http://bikefriendlyoc.wordpress.com).

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely, David Hopkins

So, I guess the general statement is that I love Arlington — but if I could move to Oak Cliff, I would.

I wrote this a week ago, and forgot to post:

When the series finale to Battlestar Galactica aired two weeks ago, I was worried when everyone started twittering and blogging their resentment at how it ended. I don’t watch the show when it first airs; I watch it on DVD, and I didn’t want anything spoiled. So I rushed through the Season Four, Part 1 on DVD — and then downloaded the remaining episodes from iTunes. Thus, at around 1 AM, I finished Battlestar. In true hypocritical form, now that I’ve seen it, I feel perfectly okay with blogging about it myself. I would recommend not reading this blog post until you’ve seen it yourself. (Josh Howard also has a good commentary on the finale.)

I’ll admit when someone tells you “You need to watch Battlestar Galactica,” the last thing you want to do is watch something called “Battlestar Galactica.” I can’t think of a more geeky pairing of words. Fans, step back and listen to yourself: “Battle. Star. Galactica.” This is the burden we bear: great series, geeky name. In contrast, the show’s concept is very cool. Humanity has been wiped out by robots (aka cylons), and the surviving remnant of the human race is looking for a new place to call home, while being chased by the cylon forces. Add to it some interesting scenarios: A prominent scientist, a traitor responsible for naively giving important security codes to the cylons, is among the survivors. Many of the cylons look like humans, and can live among the humans undetected. The education secretary, by way of constitutional succession, is now the President. She’s also dying of cancer. The fleet is protected by a recently retired “battlestar” vessel where most of our main characters live. What I like best about this series is the procedural stuff, i.e. how are they going to survive out in space, produce food, find fuel, rebuild the government, manage the balance of power between the military and the government, deal with unruly citizens, religious zealots, mutiny, and a host of other social issues associated with people trying to survive on a journey. Think Noah’s ark, Moses and the Israelites wandering in the desert, the Trail of Tears, and Grapes of Wrath. Read more →

Despite the subject line, Alan Moore doesn’t need anyone to defend him. Moore speaks his own ideas and opinions clearly. Unlike Andy Warhol or Salvador Dali, there’s little need to spend your time interpreting what he’s all about. Moore is fairly what-you-see-is-what-you-get. However, last Friday, Paul Milligan and I got into a friendly debate/discussion/bar fight over recent statements made by Alan Moore. The argument could be broken down into basic point/counter point. Paul: “Alan Moore is a genius, but he’s a douchebag.” Me: “Alan Moore is a genius. He is not a douchebag.”

The douchebag camp presents two bits of evidence (1) Alan Moore makes anti-American statements even though the American comic book industry helped launch his career. (2) Alan Moore willingly accepts Hollywood’s money, then he continually complains about Hollywood.

The non-douchebag camp (me) offers this in response: (1) From interviews on Fanboy Radio, Indie Spinner Rack, and various ones throughout YouTube, he comes across as a kind-hearted, even fatherly, individual. (2) I really want to believe he’s not a douchebag.

I’ll admit the friendly debate did not go my way. It ended with me plugging my ears and saying, “La, la, la, I’m not listening. La, la, la” until Paul gave up. Now that I’ve had a few days to think on it, I’d like to elaborate.

Concerning the anti-American statement:

“And I wonder—perhaps this is being too simplistic, I don’t know, but I wonder if the root of the emergence of the superhero in American culture might have something to do with a kind of an ingrained American reluctance to engage in confrontation without massive tactical superiority. I mean—does the term 7/7 mean anything to you at all?

During the 7/7 bombings over here, it was announced a couple days later that as soon as the first two trains had gone up, all of the American forces that were in London were recalled to safe distance outside the M24 orbital motorway. After a few days, when they realized that it was safe to go back into London, they realized also that it looked kind of bad, sort of rushing out of the capital at the first sign of any trouble when the main reason for the bombing was England’s support of America in the Iraq war.

It does seem to me that massive tactical superiority might be a key to the superhero phenomenon. That, if it’s a military situation, then you’ve got carpet bombing from altitude, which is kind of the equivalent of having come from Krypton as a baby and to have gained unusual strength and the ability to fly because of Earth’s lesser gravity. I don’t know, that may be a simplistic interpretation, but that’s the way I tend to see superheroes today.”

In another interview (cited here), he says…

“America has an inordinate fondness for the unfair fight. That’s why I believe guns are so popular in America – because you can ambush people, you can shoot them in the back, you can behave in a very cowardly fashion. Friendly fire, or as we call it everywhere else in the world, American fire.”

Alan Moore admits his own understanding may be too simplistic, and he does have a legitimate complaint about the 7/7 bombings.

I’d be the first to point out that if we’re digging through America’s culture and history, we could just as easily point a finger at our paternal origins, the British Empire. Massive tactical superiority? (ahem) We learned it from watching you.

But this isn’t really the point, I don’t want to debate the cultural impact of our military history. The issue is Alan Moore’s critique of America. But why focus on the statement he made to WIRED? What about the statement he made with Watchmen itself? Watchmen is one huge frickin’ critique of America. Why should the interview make him a douchebag, but the comic book make him a genius? While we’re at it, Huckleberry Finn is a critique of America, so is Grapes of Wrath, Crucible, and the Great Gatsby.

A critique doesn’t automatically make him anti-American or a douchebag. It makes him a writer with an opinion. To dub him “anti-American” is too broad a stroke. Unless we can quote him as saying something a little more hostile, I see his statements as pretty standard from any politically-minded European.

What about his apparent hatred of American-based publisher DC? Is he showing douchebag levels of ingratitude? I’d say it’s okay for him to hold a grudge. From always reliable Wikipedia:

Moore says he left DC in 1989 due to the language in his contracts for Watchmen and his V for Vendetta series with artist David Lloyd. Moore felt the reversion clauses were ultimately meaningless, because DC did not intend to let the publications go out of print. He told The New York Times in 2006, “I said, ‘Fair enough,’ [...] ‘You have managed to successfully swindle me, and so I will never work for you again.’”

Of course, when Jim Lee sold Wildstorm to DC, Alan Moore was working for DC again whether he liked it or not.

To his credit, he loves Top Shelf.

I guess whenever someone achieves his level of acclaim we expect them to be so gosh darn grateful. All the time. Isn’t that why people love the Oscars? To see successful people gush their humble appreciation for every single person who ever helped them along.

The Hollywood issue. The argument goes like this: if you directly or indirectly benefit from Hollywood, you have little room to complain. It’s hypocritical. Here’s a quote from Alan Moore:

“Originally I was content to just simply accept the money, that was offered when people had adapted my comic books into films. Eventually I decided to refuse to accept any of the money for the films, and to ask if my name could be taken off of them, so that I no longer had to endure the embarrasment of seeing my work travested in this manner. The first film that they made of my work was ‘From Hell’ Which was an adaptation of my ‘Jack the Ripper’ narrative… In which they replaced my gruff Dorset police constable with Johhny Depp’s Absinthe-swigging dandy. The next film to be made from one of my books was the regrettable ‘League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’… Where the only resemblance it had to my book was a similar title. The most recent film that they have made of mine is apparently this new ‘V for Vendetta’ movie which was probably the final straw between me and Hollywood. They were written to be impossible to reproduce in terms of cinema, and so why not leave them simply as a comic in the way that they were intended to be. And if you are going to make them into films, please try to make them into better ones, than the ones I have been cursed with thus far.” – From the BBC2 show The Culture Show (9 March 2006)

I don’t know. I can sympathize with Moore. I have little interest in Hollywood. If I wanted to be part of the movie industry, I’d write a screenplay, but instead I write comic book scripts. Still, if a producer offered me money, I’d probably take it. From one standpoint, it can’t take away from what I’ve done with the comic — but then again, if it’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, it might feel like a slap in the face to have them ignore so much of the source material. These Hollywood types are always convinced they know how to best adapt a comic book or novel. In the case of a comic book writer, it’s not just you turning down or accepting the option check from Hollywood. You have a publisher, and you have an artist — both with gaping mouths, wanting to be fed. The pressure to say “yes” must be tremendous. He got his money. He requested his name be removed from the credits. If he wants to complain about a movie, why not? Just because you vote a guy into office, doesn’t mean you have to agree with everything he does.

Is Alan Moore a douchebag? Maybe this blog did more to prove Paul’s point than mine? (“La, la, la, not listening…”) I call it THE LENNON FACTOR. John Lennon was a genius. He was quirky and outspoken. He had an awesome beard. He’s also been accused of being a douchebag. However, in my heart of hearts, I think it’s too easy to label him as such.

Paul, we may have to agree to disagree on this one, especially if you’re right.

Boom! Studios through iVerse Comic Reader Software made Hexed #1 available on the Google phone. I downloaded it out of curiosity, even though I already bought the comic. After trying the program, I’ve decided I don’t mind reading comics on my phone. Using the touch screen to move the panel along is nice. The graphics look good. It reads easily. With all the things I like, my main complaint is a big one: I want a general iVerse application icon that when selected would list the comics I’ve downloaded. I don’t want an individual icon for every comic download. You can see the problem. With an mp3 player on my phone, I don’t have thousands of songs scattered throughout the phone’s application listing.

My other complain might be a deal breaker. Yes, I like reading comics on my phone, but I don’t like reading an entire 24 page comic on my phone. I need short stories. 8 to 12 pages. The content needs to adapt to the medium. Posting stories from anthologies like PopGun, Flight, MySpace Presents Dark Horse, Postcards et cetera would be much better than reading of all Hexed #1 or the Complete Bone.

iVerse doesn’t want to be in the business of producing original content, but I think creating iVerse-specific (and exclusive) comics would be an improvement.

Last Friday, I bought a Google phone (G1). I was able to renew my two year contract. Also, I had a $120 credit. Both helped to make the phone fall within my price range. The monthly plan will be about $25 more than what I normally pay, which includes unlimited internet access. If I cut a few impulse buys here and there, it won’t affect my budget too much.

People have asked how it compares to the iPhone, and that’s a difficult question to answer. I’ve had a chance to play with both.

From what I’ve observed, it’s easier to pick up a G1 and know what to do. With the iPhone, you need to get a feel for how the touch screen works, how to type, move around, etc. With the G1, I like the QWERTY keyboard. Although, I prefer the iPhone having no movable parts. Stuff that slides and flips worries me; it only increases the possibility of damage. The touch screen on the G1 makes the roller ball unnecessary. If I wanted a Blackberry, I’d get a Blackberry. The battery life is crap for both phones. At least with the G1, the battery is replaceable. You can add memory to the G1, which I will need to do eventually.

The G1 requires Wifi access to download Amazon mp3′s, which is a pain. (The Amazon mp3 site? Not bad at all.) Those Tmobile/AT&T hotspots are not nearly as hassle free as they should be. Fortunately, I have Wifi at home. I opted for the G1, in part, because I already have an iPod. I don’t need another. I’d give the advantage to the iPhone for screen size and mp3 player, but I can live with that.

The G1 fits in your pocket easier than the iPhone, and feels better in your hand. This stuff matters.

Obviously, my gmail addiction is satisfied on the G1. The G1 Android operating system is open source, which allows for developers to create more programs for the phone. In this area, though, iPhone and G1 seem equal. Both have nifty applications.

The latest iPhone may still be superior, but the G1 isn’t very far behind — and for what I need, it’s the best phone for me. How’s that for diplomatic?

Indy Comic News asked me and a few other independent creators for our opinion on Diamond’s new policies. (If you are unfamiliar with the changes in distribution, read here.) The Beat also pulled my quote on the matter.

“The new policies will certainly affect which publishers I work with in the future. I’m very grateful for the opportunities I had with Viper Comics and Silent Devil. It was a great place to start. However, I’m concerned that such ‘smaller’ small press companies won’t be featured in the catalog, and that’s a shame. These companies take greater risks on new talent, and our industry needs that. At the same time, my graphic novels received slightly more pre-orders through Baker & Taylor than through Diamond.

That means, the regular book stores carried more copies of my work than the comic book stores. We did some promotion in the direct market, and none with the book store market. It’s hard to justify being in the Previews catalog if the comic book retailers aren’t ordering much beyond Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, IDW, Boom!, and Image. I don’t fault them. The retailers have their reasons, and they know their market. It might be better to go straight to Baker & Taylor, and then directly solicit to the handful of indie-friendly comic book stores like Zeus, Austin Books, Titan, Star Clipper, Isotope, Rocketship, and Meltdown. I don’t know if that would work. We need a business model to give the comic retailers access to the little guys.

For me, I need to start looking at other more established small press companies to publish the kind of stories I tell. I’m not too worried (maybe a little), but I’m concerned for the newest wave of up-and-comers. If I was them, I’d be at a real loss on where to go.”

I understand Diamond’s desire to make a distinction between “small press” (wiki) and something that amounts to a “vanity press” (wiki). In a bad economy, they want to feature only those publishers who have sales that justify placement in their catalog. The monthly Previews catalog can get too large to be useful to a retailer. There should be another way to allow retailers the final choice on what they want in their store. Indie comics can have their market, small but still profitable. Your thoughts?

I was listening to the Diane Rehm Show on KERA. Topic was the role of libraries in economic hard times. It got me thinking, and I wanted to bounce an idea off some people.

Problem: I’m running out of shelf space for my graphic novels, and every week I keep buying more. In class, we’re reading Thoreau, and his admonition to “simplify, simplify” led me to a possible solution.

Donate all my graphic novels to the nearby library. I’ve heard some people put their massive comic book collection in public storage. The library is certainly cheaper, and it would give me the opportunity to share my books with others. I could visit my books whenever I want. Bonus: If I could convince others to do it, I expand the number of graphic novels I have access to. Possible drawbacks: (1) Library may not take all my books. Sometimes they get diverted to a book sale, and now they’re gone. (2) I will have to assume a few will get lost, stolen, and damaged. (3) The library may take my books, but they may not keep them for as long as I would. I’m afraid they might throw them away to make way for other books. (4) I can’t access the books on a whim. It’s 2 AM. I’m bored, and I want to flip through chapter 10 of FROM HELL. (5) If I move, I’ve lost my books.

I don’t think it would work unless I went all in. To some degree, I need to get over my sentimental attachment. I read them. I keep them. And now, I have no room for anything else. How often do I re-read comics anyways? Sometimes, sure, but enough to justify permanent archival? This way, I’m just moving them down the street. The moving issue wouldn’t affect me for a few years. With Kennedy and Melissa in Arlington, I’m locked into this zip code. I have about 14 years before Kennedy is college bound.

What are your thoughts? Am I crazy? Is it just crazy enough to work? I don’t know. If any of you have a library background or experience, I would love your thoughts.