Conflicts
Comics
The more I think about it, the more this whole issue of comics expanding into bookstores through graphic novel sections bothers me. I’m not opposed to the idea at all; in fact, it’s something I’ve advocated for a long time. But now that it’s actually happening, I’m finding that it’s creating conflicts between several personal convictions.
On the one hand, living and traveling in a largely rural state that has seen the life of its small towns drained by Wal-Marts has pushed me to use local businesses when and wherever possible. My comic shop is a locally owned business. The staff is friendly. They know me by name, and they know my preferences. I have never received less than 100% courtesy and professionalism from them, whether I’m doing a special order or just browsing.
At the same time, it’s obvious to anyone with a brain that the comic market, as personified in the current direct market is in the kind of slow, steady decline that will ultimately lead to its demise. I’m not saying that’s a good thing and I’m not saying that’s what I want to see happen. But there’s only so long that this landlocked retail system, dominated and dependent on the sales of one moribund genre which survives in the face of an ever-dwindling and aging fan-base by manufacturing “events” to artificially spike sales and is treated by its own publishers as nothing more than licensing fodder, can survive. Even in my own fairly progressive and open-minded shop, the only way I can guarantee that I’ll get a copy of something as commonplace as Love Fights or Hopeless Savages is to pre-order. (It shouldn’t have to be that hard to get titles from an established, mid-size publisher with a proven track record by creators with established fan-bases, but that’s another ramble.)
I don’t think it’s going to happen tomorrow, next week, or even in the next five years, but it’s going to happen. If it happened this year, I know it would take most of the mid-sized publishers who comprise the bulk of my reading with it. Most of them still need the chunk of income that comes from the direct market, while they establish firm footholds in other markets. Given that these companies are what keeps me reading comics, I want to support their expansion into other arenas. But, in this day of steady market decline, I also want to support my shop to the fullest extent possible. And this is where the values collide. What it boils down to is this: Where do I get the next Drawn and Quarterly? Do I buy it in my comic shop, supporting them in their efforts to stay open? Or do I buy it in a bookstore, and support the publisher in their growing presence in other markets? It’s basically trying to be loyal to two opposing forces, both with honorable goals and objectives.
Complicating things quite a bit is the nature of the bookstore market, which is more and more dominated by the big box retailers. Can I support comics’ presence here, if it means going with a major corporation over the local guys, be they my locally-owned comic shop or a locally–owned bookseller?
Beyond that the big box book guys are trading in the super-hero myopia of the direct market for a shortsightedness that’s all their own: all manga, all the time, all over the place. I like manga and it’s great to have a place to get it, since the comic market is determined to remain manga-unfriendly. But I don’t like it at the expense of other stuff. I hardly blame the stores for going with what sells, but less than a month after Borders bought out the best of our locally-owned bookstores, all of the alternative/art material they had in the graphic novel section had shrunk to a half-shelf, while the manga had taken over a bookcase and a half. It’s the comic market all over again! I don’t know that this is a model that I want to support.
Locally-owned, independent booksellers remain an alternative, but the big box guys are putting them under fast. We’re left with one in Louisville, and while it has an expanding graphic novel section that’s rich in stuff from Fantagraphics and Drawn and Quarterly, it also pits two local businesses who need my dollars into competition against each other for them. Comic shop versus local bookseller: it’s not a choice I really want to have to make.
Maybe I’m over-thinking things a bit (which I’m always prone to do), but I don’t think it’s a bad thing to want to be as ethical a consumer as possible, particularly when it comes to the local economy. For the moment, I’m trying to split the difference by pre-ordering a few things from my comic shop and picking up other things from the local bookseller as they turn up there. I’m not sure if it’s enough to really support either side of the equation and keep it viable, and I may actually be canceling myself out by giving to both sides. But for the moment, it’s the best I can do.
Comments?
Friday, January 16, 2004
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Tidying Up
Blog Updates
I'm spending today going back through recent entries and cleaning them up. Yesterday's post had some errors in it, due to lack of sleep. (I know it's Bringing Up Father and not Father Knows Best!) Plus, I've been needing to add some links and such and just haven't had time. I'll put something new up tonight or tomorrow.
Comments?
Blog Updates
I'm spending today going back through recent entries and cleaning them up. Yesterday's post had some errors in it, due to lack of sleep. (I know it's Bringing Up Father and not Father Knows Best!) Plus, I've been needing to add some links and such and just haven't had time. I'll put something new up tonight or tomorrow.
Comments?
Monday, January 12, 2004
I've Had Three Hours of Sleep, Please Don't Ask Me For a Cute Title!
Personal, Comics, and Other Stuff
Keith and I went to the Flea Market last Saturday. It was the first time we'd gone in a while. There's a promo company based here in Louisville that puts on a large flea market at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center every few weeks-usually around holidays. This was a larger show than usual: two wings of the fairground and four days in length.
In the East Wing, we just kind of cruised through without bothering to look at every booth or go down every aisle. I picked up a used Nanci Griffith CD, a couple of books, and some alt-country compilations. Since the East Wing building is the one that's always used for flea markets, there's a pretty standard group of folks who exhibit and sell there, and they're usually in the same spots every time. Even though we don't go every time, I've still got a pretty good idea about who is where. So we just kind of hit a few of the folks we always like to check out and then moved on.
One thing I did notice was the lack of comics in the East Wing. Usually there are two or three folks who have them and I can count on getting some battered, cheap Silver Age stuff. This time, though, the only one of the usual comics dealers was this guy that I really don't like because he's over-priced and obnoxious. A couple of the other dealers were there, and they had other stuff from their shops (models, anime, cards, action figures), but no comics. I wonder if comics have just become too much trouble to mess with? Is the back issue market in trouble too? Or in this day of ebay, is it more cost-effective to sell them online and schlep other stuff to the flea markets. I would think that if that were the case, one would just stay home and unload the cards and stuff on ebay too.
We took more time in the West Wing. Since it's not always used for flea markets, the dealers who set up there aren't as familiar. They also tend to be antique dealers, and I like looking at old shit. I keep deluding myself that one day I'll stumble across a Bringing Up Father book from the pre-Golden Age days of comics. Yeah right.
In this wing there were lots of comics-really old and much more recent. I picked up a Preacher trade, some Vertigo back issues, and a couple of Silver Age DC's. Another dealer had another Nanci Griffith CD, but wanted too much for it. I also got some cool religious statues for way too cheap from a guy who delighted in telling us about his trip to Prague. It was weird, but fun. Kind of like the whole day. The next two-wing flea market is scheduled for September. I think we're planning to go again.
A couple of thoughts about the day:
Comments?
Personal, Comics, and Other Stuff
Keith and I went to the Flea Market last Saturday. It was the first time we'd gone in a while. There's a promo company based here in Louisville that puts on a large flea market at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center every few weeks-usually around holidays. This was a larger show than usual: two wings of the fairground and four days in length.
In the East Wing, we just kind of cruised through without bothering to look at every booth or go down every aisle. I picked up a used Nanci Griffith CD, a couple of books, and some alt-country compilations. Since the East Wing building is the one that's always used for flea markets, there's a pretty standard group of folks who exhibit and sell there, and they're usually in the same spots every time. Even though we don't go every time, I've still got a pretty good idea about who is where. So we just kind of hit a few of the folks we always like to check out and then moved on.
One thing I did notice was the lack of comics in the East Wing. Usually there are two or three folks who have them and I can count on getting some battered, cheap Silver Age stuff. This time, though, the only one of the usual comics dealers was this guy that I really don't like because he's over-priced and obnoxious. A couple of the other dealers were there, and they had other stuff from their shops (models, anime, cards, action figures), but no comics. I wonder if comics have just become too much trouble to mess with? Is the back issue market in trouble too? Or in this day of ebay, is it more cost-effective to sell them online and schlep other stuff to the flea markets. I would think that if that were the case, one would just stay home and unload the cards and stuff on ebay too.
We took more time in the West Wing. Since it's not always used for flea markets, the dealers who set up there aren't as familiar. They also tend to be antique dealers, and I like looking at old shit. I keep deluding myself that one day I'll stumble across a Bringing Up Father book from the pre-Golden Age days of comics. Yeah right.
In this wing there were lots of comics-really old and much more recent. I picked up a Preacher trade, some Vertigo back issues, and a couple of Silver Age DC's. Another dealer had another Nanci Griffith CD, but wanted too much for it. I also got some cool religious statues for way too cheap from a guy who delighted in telling us about his trip to Prague. It was weird, but fun. Kind of like the whole day. The next two-wing flea market is scheduled for September. I think we're planning to go again.
A couple of thoughts about the day:
- It's unbelievable to me the number of people who travel around to these things to set up their booth full of Avon products in a large room with LOTS of other people who have booths full of Avon products.
- The "upscale end" of the flea market is sort of freaky: leather sofas, $100 lamps, and hot tubs??
- It's surprising how many people still have tons of Beanie Babies for sale this long after that fad went bust. Of course, they're all going for something like 27 for a dollar.
- I keep wondering what the next craze that's going to have both kids and adults going like the Beanies did, but I can't figure it out. Maybe that's for the better.
- I got some fairly recent Vertigo issues for 50 cents or a buck each and there was a lot of recent DC and Marvel stuff available in that price range. I wonder if I'd be better off dropping what little mainstream stuff that's left on my pull list and getting it later and flea markets and cons for much better prices. I know I'd be a lot less disappointed in all the Vertigo titles I just dropped if I had been paying 50 cents for them instead of 3 bucks.
- And of course, there was the inevitable five dollar copy of Marvel's Battlestar Galactica in totally shitty shape. I've always found this kind of thing to be sort of endemic among antique dealers. Sigh.
- Ebay has really spoiled me. I looked at several things and could not help thinking about the nearly identical item I had gotten off ebay for much less, including postage.
- Coolest item: An antique wall crucifixion scene with statues of Christ on the cross, Mary, etc on a wooden plaque. Attached to the bottom was a paper scroll on two little spools that wound with a small crank. As the crank turned, the scroll displayed pictures representing the various Stations of the Cross! (Note to self: Bring camera next time.)
- Creepiest item: One dealer who sold those ugly-ass dolls that are supposed to be "realistic" (but actually look as if they're going to come alive in the middle of the night all demon-possessed and eat you and your family) had a granny doll that was about three feet tall and wore a stereotypical little old lady outfit, right down to the wire-rimmed glasses and sensible shoes. It was being displayed in a box that was exactly its size. It looked for all the world like a midget in a casket! Brrr…..
- Strangest sight: There is apparently a new movement in the flea market world, at least among the antique dealers. I'm calling it "dumping." There were several dealers that rented two or three booths together and literally dumped a bunch of junk out on some tables and sold it for a dollar an item. And people were pawing through it like mad, in search of some unseen valuable item, I guess. Some of it was nice, but most of it was cracked or damaged. I bought a small plastic nativity set that was missing all the sheep.
It seems to be the next big thing in flea market retailing. One dude didn't even bother to get any tables. He just poured all his shit out on the floor. Another went one better and didn't even bother to take the stuff out of boxes! But it didn't matter, because people were just pawing all over it. One guy had a short box of comics in the middle of his stuff. It was full of Image and Valiant glut crap. I had to resist the urge to ask if it was the comics that were a buck a piece or if the whole box was a one buck item!
- There was a time when we wouldn't have missed a single flea market. My how times have changed….
Comments?
Tuesday, January 06, 2004
Were there any good comics in 2003?
Comics
Since this is the New Year and all, I guess I really ought to play the ego game and pretend my opinions about things matter to anyone else and put up some best of 2003 lists.
I don't know that any of this should be taken as anything other than the rambling of a middle-aged gay man who likes to hear himself babble. It's not like civilization is going to rise or fall based on my opinion. (If that were true we'd have ditched Bush, Britney, and the X-Men ages ago.) At the same time, though, I enjoy reading other lists like this, if only for the sake of saying "I can't believe they liked THAT." Hopefully someone will get that same pleasure out of this set of lists.
Actually, I think the real reason people do these things is for the personal benefit of reliving the year one more time. Taking the time to say "wasn't that great?" or "man that sucked." one more time seems like a good way to lay the old year to rest. So with that in mind, here are some thoughts from me. I'll start with comics and do some other stuff later.
So what were the best comics in 2003? Damned if I know. I just can't recall that many stand-outs off the top of my head. Some of the more acclaimed works of the year (Blankets for example) are still sitting in my reading pile. I've thumbed through them enough to see that the buzz is more than just hype, but without reading them fully, I'm not going to be including them on any lists. Other than that small handful, nothing else leaps out at me. I'm guessing it just wasn't a banner year for comics.
The disappointments of the year stand out more strongly for me, and there were several of those. 2003 is the year I divested myself of almost all the Vertigo titles I was following. Lucifer and Hellblazer seem to be the same issue after issue. If there was ever an overarching plot, I've long since lost touch with it. Y the Last Man continually blows its promise and potential by failing to rise above the typical "last man on earth" clichés. Fables hangs on for the moment, but I'm wavering. I don't think that any of the Vertigo mini-series this year were worth the time and money I put into them. They all sounded much more interesting than they actually ended up being. Human Target is the only Vertigo title I am enjoying right now without reservation, but that hardly seems like a criteria for inclusion on a "best of" list.
The biggest let down of the year by far was 1602. The whole book is nothing more than a wet dream for anyone who does annotations on the web to tell people things about the book that anyone who had a decent world civ class in high school should know. Gaiman's laughing all the way to the bank on this one. So is Marvel.
Most of the stuff I enjoyed reading was the same old, same old: Bone, Finder, Age of Bronze. I guess it's nice that there are some reliable comics out there, but that doesn't say a whole lot about the newer stuff I tried, does it? (Sounds like I'm hitting that comics malaise thing about two months after everyone else…)
After typing all this up and giving the matter some more thought, I have been able to put together a small list of the better books of 2003. It's not much, but it's something.
Okay, that's the best I could do. I guess it wasn't that bad a year for comics, but it sure could have been better. Here's to 2004.
Comments?
Comics
Since this is the New Year and all, I guess I really ought to play the ego game and pretend my opinions about things matter to anyone else and put up some best of 2003 lists.
I don't know that any of this should be taken as anything other than the rambling of a middle-aged gay man who likes to hear himself babble. It's not like civilization is going to rise or fall based on my opinion. (If that were true we'd have ditched Bush, Britney, and the X-Men ages ago.) At the same time, though, I enjoy reading other lists like this, if only for the sake of saying "I can't believe they liked THAT." Hopefully someone will get that same pleasure out of this set of lists.
Actually, I think the real reason people do these things is for the personal benefit of reliving the year one more time. Taking the time to say "wasn't that great?" or "man that sucked." one more time seems like a good way to lay the old year to rest. So with that in mind, here are some thoughts from me. I'll start with comics and do some other stuff later.
So what were the best comics in 2003? Damned if I know. I just can't recall that many stand-outs off the top of my head. Some of the more acclaimed works of the year (Blankets for example) are still sitting in my reading pile. I've thumbed through them enough to see that the buzz is more than just hype, but without reading them fully, I'm not going to be including them on any lists. Other than that small handful, nothing else leaps out at me. I'm guessing it just wasn't a banner year for comics.
The disappointments of the year stand out more strongly for me, and there were several of those. 2003 is the year I divested myself of almost all the Vertigo titles I was following. Lucifer and Hellblazer seem to be the same issue after issue. If there was ever an overarching plot, I've long since lost touch with it. Y the Last Man continually blows its promise and potential by failing to rise above the typical "last man on earth" clichés. Fables hangs on for the moment, but I'm wavering. I don't think that any of the Vertigo mini-series this year were worth the time and money I put into them. They all sounded much more interesting than they actually ended up being. Human Target is the only Vertigo title I am enjoying right now without reservation, but that hardly seems like a criteria for inclusion on a "best of" list.
The biggest let down of the year by far was 1602. The whole book is nothing more than a wet dream for anyone who does annotations on the web to tell people things about the book that anyone who had a decent world civ class in high school should know. Gaiman's laughing all the way to the bank on this one. So is Marvel.
Most of the stuff I enjoyed reading was the same old, same old: Bone, Finder, Age of Bronze. I guess it's nice that there are some reliable comics out there, but that doesn't say a whole lot about the newer stuff I tried, does it? (Sounds like I'm hitting that comics malaise thing about two months after everyone else…)
After typing all this up and giving the matter some more thought, I have been able to put together a small list of the better books of 2003. It's not much, but it's something.
- Courtney Crumrin and the Coven of Mystics: Courtney still rocks! This series took a darker turn than the first one, as Courtney has to learn that hard lesson that people are people even if they do have magic powers.
- How Loathsome: Ted Naifeh and Tristan Crane bring transgender life to comics with this introspective and provocative mini. Surprisingly, GLAAD chose to recognize it with a nomination this year. I keep waiting for the apocalypse.
- Age of Bronze: The tension in the Sacrifice story keeps winding tighter and tighter as it moves to its horrifying climax: the sacrifice of Iphegenia by her father. We know it's coming and badly want it to be over with, but Eric Shanower is taking us there step by deliberate step, taking great pains never to rush. Each step closer ratchets up the drama and the tension and the reader is as involved in the story as the characters. Beautifully done.
- Maria's Wedding: It could be subtitled The Comic Most Likely to be Overlooked by GLAAD and Most Gay Comics Readers, but this one-shot OGN about the events and family interactions at a wedding was really good. It managed to deal with the issue of gay unions without being about the issue of gay unions, by making the issue just one of a revolving series of sub-plots swirling throughout the book. While it does have one bad TV movie of the week moment, overall it avoids the overly sentimental and maudlin approach.
- Same Difference and Other Stories: Derek Kirk Kim just blew me out of the water with this one. The lead story deals with the choices we make, their consequences, and how we address the regrets caused by past actions. It's a touching, engrossing coming of age story that was one of the best things I read last year. The art is a fascinating mix of European, manga, and American alternative comic stylings, which Kim manages to pull together using the storytelling strengths of each tradition, without letting any one dominate.
- Unstable Molecules: Best Fantastic Four story in decades because it wasn't about the FF! The central conceit of the story, that the FF were actually based on real people, is something that not many writers could pull off. James Sturm not only manages it, but in the process turns in a glimpse into American culture of the 50's. This is a prime example of the Jemas regime at Marvel at its best, and a prime example of the kind of thing we're not likely to see any more from Marvel.
- Forlorn Funnies: If there was a better comic published in America in 2003, I don't know what it was. Surreal storytelling devices and shifting art styles give this character study of a young boy watching his father slide into depression and despair after the death of his mother real emotional power and impact. If I had to point to one book that came out last year as the reason I still read comics, this would be the one.
Okay, that's the best I could do. I guess it wasn't that bad a year for comics, but it sure could have been better. Here's to 2004.
Comments?
Goals for 2004
Personal
I don’t do resolutions. Most resolutions tend to be too vague and, therefore, too easy to break or ignore. I set goals, trying to make them as specific as possible in terms of outcomes. I’ve been doing it for several years now. Around mid-year, I look over the list and cross off any that have been met. At year-end, I do the same. For things that did not get met, I try to look at how close I got and why I didn’t make it. Unmet goals usually go on the next year’s list, if they’re still applicable. If a goal seems like it’s not being met after a couple of years, I revise it or re-examine it. Is it really that important? Why am I not working on this?
My goals are organized by several categories: physical health, house, financial, emotional, family, spiritual, work. A goal may be relatively simple, like the several jobs that need to be done around the house or the new stove we desperately need to get. Having a few of those kinds of goals seems like cheating, but crossing them off the list gives me a boost towards working on things that will take more work and time, like getting my weight down under 200 pounds. (Again, specificity is important. I can’t for the life of me keep a resolution to “lose weight,” but I can work towards hitting a target number.)
This is an important year in terms of goals, because I’m hitting 40. (Fucking 40, as John Eddie would say.) There are some things I would really like to accomplish before that birthday. Will I make it? We’ll see, I guess.
Anyway, here is a glimpse at some of my goals for the year:
There are some more, but you get the idea. Some of them I’m not up to sharing just yet.
Comments?
Personal
I don’t do resolutions. Most resolutions tend to be too vague and, therefore, too easy to break or ignore. I set goals, trying to make them as specific as possible in terms of outcomes. I’ve been doing it for several years now. Around mid-year, I look over the list and cross off any that have been met. At year-end, I do the same. For things that did not get met, I try to look at how close I got and why I didn’t make it. Unmet goals usually go on the next year’s list, if they’re still applicable. If a goal seems like it’s not being met after a couple of years, I revise it or re-examine it. Is it really that important? Why am I not working on this?
My goals are organized by several categories: physical health, house, financial, emotional, family, spiritual, work. A goal may be relatively simple, like the several jobs that need to be done around the house or the new stove we desperately need to get. Having a few of those kinds of goals seems like cheating, but crossing them off the list gives me a boost towards working on things that will take more work and time, like getting my weight down under 200 pounds. (Again, specificity is important. I can’t for the life of me keep a resolution to “lose weight,” but I can work towards hitting a target number.)
This is an important year in terms of goals, because I’m hitting 40. (Fucking 40, as John Eddie would say.) There are some things I would really like to accomplish before that birthday. Will I make it? We’ll see, I guess.
Anyway, here is a glimpse at some of my goals for the year:
- Get weight under 200.
- Walk 2-3 days a week.
- Open a savings account.
- Save $500 by end of year.
- Get new stove and refrigerator.
- Have gutter, foundation and attic work done on the house.
- Take a photography class.
There are some more, but you get the idea. Some of them I’m not up to sharing just yet.
Comments?
2003 Year End Reflection
Personal
It wasn’t the worst year I’ve had, but it wasn’t exactly the best either. I consider myself lucky for things like my job and our house in these uncertain economic times, but at the same time wages were frozen, which meant no raise this year. Keith and I had some personal setbacks. (I can’t talk about them in detail, since they concern the two of us.) It was nothing that we cannot make it through, but we will be dealing with them for a while. All I have to say is that I would hate to go through it alone. I think being here for each other has made us closer. I am grateful for things like the cats, comics, movies and music for keeping me sane. My job feels less than certain these days, moreso since one of my co-workers has proven to be the psycho-bitch from hell. I’ve never had to deal with someone that could create so many vicious lies about someone else. The only way I can deal with it is not to have any contact with this person at all. In a unit of five people, that’s not easy. My mother and I had a falling out in the summer. It was something that’s been a long time coming and is far from resolved, although for the moment we’ve settled into the routine of not talking about it. That’s not going to work for long, but I haven’t had the energy to broach the topic with her and I’ll have to be the one to do it. I won’t hear about it from her again, until she’ feels it’s advantageous for her to bring it up. 2003 was the year that I really started dealing with my depression. It’s scary to me to be taking anti-depressants. It’s scarier to think about having to take them for a long time. I went off them in the summer and plummeted hard, so they’ll be with me for a while. I’m more and more afraid all the time that I’m actually clinically depressed, and will need to take something for the rest of my life. I need to get some counseling to go with the meds, but haven’t been able to come to terms with that yet.
But there was much more good to 2003 than bad. We took some nice little trips together and saw some great shows. I bought some cool CD’s, saw good movies and read good books. I started blogging, which has led me to start doing some writing. Nothing heavy yet, just some notes, but I hope to actually crank out a story soon. With creating CD’s, I’ve actually started looking for creative outlets again after far too long. Slowly but surely, the house is coming around to the way we want it to be. Keith’s mom brought some great furniture in the spring. I coordinated two major events for work that went incredibly well. The newsletter I do has gotten some positive attention. (Now if I could just get that deadline issue under control.)
It wasn’t the worst year, but neither was it the best. If 2004 could be even slightly better, I’ll take it. If not, we’ll just keep plugging along. One thing I have learned, as corny as it may sound, is that there is no way to over state the importance of my family to me. Without Keith and the cats, I honestly don’t think I could make it.
Comments?
Personal
It wasn’t the worst year I’ve had, but it wasn’t exactly the best either. I consider myself lucky for things like my job and our house in these uncertain economic times, but at the same time wages were frozen, which meant no raise this year. Keith and I had some personal setbacks. (I can’t talk about them in detail, since they concern the two of us.) It was nothing that we cannot make it through, but we will be dealing with them for a while. All I have to say is that I would hate to go through it alone. I think being here for each other has made us closer. I am grateful for things like the cats, comics, movies and music for keeping me sane. My job feels less than certain these days, moreso since one of my co-workers has proven to be the psycho-bitch from hell. I’ve never had to deal with someone that could create so many vicious lies about someone else. The only way I can deal with it is not to have any contact with this person at all. In a unit of five people, that’s not easy. My mother and I had a falling out in the summer. It was something that’s been a long time coming and is far from resolved, although for the moment we’ve settled into the routine of not talking about it. That’s not going to work for long, but I haven’t had the energy to broach the topic with her and I’ll have to be the one to do it. I won’t hear about it from her again, until she’ feels it’s advantageous for her to bring it up. 2003 was the year that I really started dealing with my depression. It’s scary to me to be taking anti-depressants. It’s scarier to think about having to take them for a long time. I went off them in the summer and plummeted hard, so they’ll be with me for a while. I’m more and more afraid all the time that I’m actually clinically depressed, and will need to take something for the rest of my life. I need to get some counseling to go with the meds, but haven’t been able to come to terms with that yet.
But there was much more good to 2003 than bad. We took some nice little trips together and saw some great shows. I bought some cool CD’s, saw good movies and read good books. I started blogging, which has led me to start doing some writing. Nothing heavy yet, just some notes, but I hope to actually crank out a story soon. With creating CD’s, I’ve actually started looking for creative outlets again after far too long. Slowly but surely, the house is coming around to the way we want it to be. Keith’s mom brought some great furniture in the spring. I coordinated two major events for work that went incredibly well. The newsletter I do has gotten some positive attention. (Now if I could just get that deadline issue under control.)
It wasn’t the worst year, but neither was it the best. If 2004 could be even slightly better, I’ll take it. If not, we’ll just keep plugging along. One thing I have learned, as corny as it may sound, is that there is no way to over state the importance of my family to me. Without Keith and the cats, I honestly don’t think I could make it.
Comments?
Hope You Had a Nice Gift-Giving Holiday
Personal
Whichever one it is that you celebrated, that is. Keith and I used to go on a two week trip every year, starting the weekend before Christmas. We’d set up camp in a cheap hotel in San Francisco, NYC, or Chicago and shop and sightsee to our hearts content. It’s been a while since we’ve done that. We just haven’t had the money in recent years, plus we’ve kind of enjoyed spending Christmas in the house. We moved in Christmas Eve two years ago, and it’s our first house, so this is kind of a special anniversary time for both of us. I bake cookies and make fudge. We decorate a tree. It’s the kind of domesticity I never thought I would go in for, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
We’ve started going to midnight Mass at a local church that has a great choir. Neither of us is that overtly spiritual any more, but the ceremony is beautiful, the music is great, and it’s a nice part of the routine. We get home a little after one, light the tree, make tea, eat desert, and open gifts. My family opened on Xmas Eve, while his did it Xmas Day. Doing it after Mass is a great compromise. It’s still dark, so I can think of it as Eve, while it is technically the 25th. Cheesy I know, but it really does all seem to fit together into what has become “our” holiday ritual. And, in the end, that’s all that matters.
This year, I went “old fashioned” and made many of my gifts. I’ve always loved holiday baking and usually do make gift boxes of goodies for some people, but this year, I stepped it way up. Family members got several tins of stuff (many new recipes), while others got a nice mixed plate. Plus, I spent several weeks ripping music and burning CD compilations for folks. (Old-fashioned with a techno-twist) I made an instrumental set that I gave to most everyone at work. My boss (who has music tastes similar to mine) got a roots music set and my clerical support person got a modern rock set. My mom, brother, and several friends all got CD’s. Keith’s mother did too. And I made Keith a 3-CD set, complete with the obligatory pontificating liner notes booklet! I had a lot of fun with it, rediscovering my own music collection, and thinking of which songs people would like. I tried to put things on everyone’s CD that might be new to them. Hopefully everyone found a new artist to check out.
I actually bought a few gifts for some folks, but really felt cool about doing so much baking and burning. Might be something I’ll continue in the future.
Of course, Keith was one of the folks I bought things for, but I didn’t do so well. One item I mail ordered ended up being out of stock (I’m holding on to the idea to use at Valentine’s Day), one arrived several days late (despite being ordered around Thanksgiving) and one he already had. Sigh! I haven’t had that much bad luck with gifts in a long time.
He, on the other hand, hit the jackpot. He gave me the Emmylou Harris Spyboy DVD, which I had been wanting for a long time. (It’s excellent!) Todd Snider’s Hotel Rooms and Naked Truths CD (Also excellent!) Townes Van Zandt’s Texas Rain CD (Beyond excellent!) and Nanci Griffith’s book Other Voices: A Personal History of Folk Music. Part memoir, part personal musical journey, part recap of the recording of her two Other Voices CD’s, it’s a great book. And I opened the cover to discover that it’s autographed! Wow!
All of that would have been more than enough, but he went one better and completely floored me in the process. He collected a bunch of photos of us, the cats, the house, the concerts we’ve seen and more and had a web publisher put them in to a hardbound book titled Making A House A Home. I cannot think about it without tearing up again. It’s the sweetest, most wonderful gift I ever could have gotten. He’s a treasure, that man.
Personal
Whichever one it is that you celebrated, that is. Keith and I used to go on a two week trip every year, starting the weekend before Christmas. We’d set up camp in a cheap hotel in San Francisco, NYC, or Chicago and shop and sightsee to our hearts content. It’s been a while since we’ve done that. We just haven’t had the money in recent years, plus we’ve kind of enjoyed spending Christmas in the house. We moved in Christmas Eve two years ago, and it’s our first house, so this is kind of a special anniversary time for both of us. I bake cookies and make fudge. We decorate a tree. It’s the kind of domesticity I never thought I would go in for, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
We’ve started going to midnight Mass at a local church that has a great choir. Neither of us is that overtly spiritual any more, but the ceremony is beautiful, the music is great, and it’s a nice part of the routine. We get home a little after one, light the tree, make tea, eat desert, and open gifts. My family opened on Xmas Eve, while his did it Xmas Day. Doing it after Mass is a great compromise. It’s still dark, so I can think of it as Eve, while it is technically the 25th. Cheesy I know, but it really does all seem to fit together into what has become “our” holiday ritual. And, in the end, that’s all that matters.
This year, I went “old fashioned” and made many of my gifts. I’ve always loved holiday baking and usually do make gift boxes of goodies for some people, but this year, I stepped it way up. Family members got several tins of stuff (many new recipes), while others got a nice mixed plate. Plus, I spent several weeks ripping music and burning CD compilations for folks. (Old-fashioned with a techno-twist) I made an instrumental set that I gave to most everyone at work. My boss (who has music tastes similar to mine) got a roots music set and my clerical support person got a modern rock set. My mom, brother, and several friends all got CD’s. Keith’s mother did too. And I made Keith a 3-CD set, complete with the obligatory pontificating liner notes booklet! I had a lot of fun with it, rediscovering my own music collection, and thinking of which songs people would like. I tried to put things on everyone’s CD that might be new to them. Hopefully everyone found a new artist to check out.
I actually bought a few gifts for some folks, but really felt cool about doing so much baking and burning. Might be something I’ll continue in the future.
Of course, Keith was one of the folks I bought things for, but I didn’t do so well. One item I mail ordered ended up being out of stock (I’m holding on to the idea to use at Valentine’s Day), one arrived several days late (despite being ordered around Thanksgiving) and one he already had. Sigh! I haven’t had that much bad luck with gifts in a long time.
He, on the other hand, hit the jackpot. He gave me the Emmylou Harris Spyboy DVD, which I had been wanting for a long time. (It’s excellent!) Todd Snider’s Hotel Rooms and Naked Truths CD (Also excellent!) Townes Van Zandt’s Texas Rain CD (Beyond excellent!) and Nanci Griffith’s book Other Voices: A Personal History of Folk Music. Part memoir, part personal musical journey, part recap of the recording of her two Other Voices CD’s, it’s a great book. And I opened the cover to discover that it’s autographed! Wow!
All of that would have been more than enough, but he went one better and completely floored me in the process. He collected a bunch of photos of us, the cats, the house, the concerts we’ve seen and more and had a web publisher put them in to a hardbound book titled Making A House A Home. I cannot think about it without tearing up again. It’s the sweetest, most wonderful gift I ever could have gotten. He’s a treasure, that man.
Monday, January 05, 2004
Back to the Blog in 2004!
(Or where the hell have you been?)
Personal
Well, I’m back if anyone is actually looking. I’ve been away from this blog so long that most folks probably thought I had joined the thousands of aborted blogs littering cyberspace. Ah well!
Just like my life too. I actually got a mention in Journalista and listed on a couple of blogrolls, and then totally went to pot. But, I do have a good excuse. No I wasn’t being lazy or procrastinative, or unproductive at all. Nosiree.
I was recovering.
Yes, recovering. It was right around my birthday last time I posted, which was also Election Day. As I mentioned in that last blog, any time Election Day falls on my birthday, the Republicans win. I don’t know why. I think it’s one of the ways the cosmic forces which guide the universe get their kicks. When I was 16, the people of this fine country gave me Ronald Reagan as a birthday present. For my 39th, my fellow citizens of the Commonwealth of Kentucky gave me Ernie Fletcher.
And since then, what have we seen happen in our fine state?
Well, the Louisville paper, the largest in the state was required for a while to submit any questions they wanted the governor to answer to him in writing in advance. The C-J being known as a bastion of the “liberal press” in Kentucky (in other words, they think and ask the hard questions), it was felt they weren’t being fair to the new gov. The C-J had such a fun time with the whole idea, that Fletcher had to drop the whole thing. They’d put their questions in writing by running them in the editorial section. It seems he didn’t like the idea that the voters could read the questions he was trying to dodge.
The man who campaigned on “restoring ethics to government” and “getting rid of the special interests” appointed lobbyists and corporation heads to his transition team, to “oversee the changeover to the new system” for the cabinets and departments who regulate the businesses these dudes own and lobby for!
Finally, the man who promised to restore fiscal credibility to state government has given all his new cabinet secretaries raises! This may actually be a violation of state law, since the Republican-controlled legislature (whose gridlock delaying tactics are more responsible for the budget mess than anything else) rammed through a law forbidding the governor from giving raises to his top staff. The fear was the outgoing gov would give pay hikes to his top people during his lame duck days. Their story now is that they think what the new gov has done is perfectly legal. Some laws were only meant to apply to Democrats.
But other state workers had raises they had received months earlier yanked. A budget-saving measure, see? Except that the handful of people who got tapped for the salary rollback is going to have almost no effect at all on the budget. Can taking a raise away from six or seven people in an entire CABINET make that much of a difference?
It’s taken a while to get used to the whole deal, let me tell you. So. Of course, blogging just hasn’t been in the stars for me.
Okay, so I was really just being lazy. I fell out of the habit and took my sweet time getting back into it again. Happy? I think the other story sounds better.
More later as our labor, environmental, and civil rights laws are weakened.
(Or where the hell have you been?)
Personal
Well, I’m back if anyone is actually looking. I’ve been away from this blog so long that most folks probably thought I had joined the thousands of aborted blogs littering cyberspace. Ah well!
Just like my life too. I actually got a mention in Journalista and listed on a couple of blogrolls, and then totally went to pot. But, I do have a good excuse. No I wasn’t being lazy or procrastinative, or unproductive at all. Nosiree.
I was recovering.
Yes, recovering. It was right around my birthday last time I posted, which was also Election Day. As I mentioned in that last blog, any time Election Day falls on my birthday, the Republicans win. I don’t know why. I think it’s one of the ways the cosmic forces which guide the universe get their kicks. When I was 16, the people of this fine country gave me Ronald Reagan as a birthday present. For my 39th, my fellow citizens of the Commonwealth of Kentucky gave me Ernie Fletcher.
And since then, what have we seen happen in our fine state?
Well, the Louisville paper, the largest in the state was required for a while to submit any questions they wanted the governor to answer to him in writing in advance. The C-J being known as a bastion of the “liberal press” in Kentucky (in other words, they think and ask the hard questions), it was felt they weren’t being fair to the new gov. The C-J had such a fun time with the whole idea, that Fletcher had to drop the whole thing. They’d put their questions in writing by running them in the editorial section. It seems he didn’t like the idea that the voters could read the questions he was trying to dodge.
The man who campaigned on “restoring ethics to government” and “getting rid of the special interests” appointed lobbyists and corporation heads to his transition team, to “oversee the changeover to the new system” for the cabinets and departments who regulate the businesses these dudes own and lobby for!
Finally, the man who promised to restore fiscal credibility to state government has given all his new cabinet secretaries raises! This may actually be a violation of state law, since the Republican-controlled legislature (whose gridlock delaying tactics are more responsible for the budget mess than anything else) rammed through a law forbidding the governor from giving raises to his top staff. The fear was the outgoing gov would give pay hikes to his top people during his lame duck days. Their story now is that they think what the new gov has done is perfectly legal. Some laws were only meant to apply to Democrats.
But other state workers had raises they had received months earlier yanked. A budget-saving measure, see? Except that the handful of people who got tapped for the salary rollback is going to have almost no effect at all on the budget. Can taking a raise away from six or seven people in an entire CABINET make that much of a difference?
It’s taken a while to get used to the whole deal, let me tell you. So. Of course, blogging just hasn’t been in the stars for me.
Okay, so I was really just being lazy. I fell out of the habit and took my sweet time getting back into it again. Happy? I think the other story sounds better.
More later as our labor, environmental, and civil rights laws are weakened.
Tuesday, November 04, 2003
Personal
Happy Birthday to Me!
For what it's worth, I'm 39 today. Whoopee.
I kind of took the weekend off and wasn't feeling well yesterday, so I'm behind on blogging. I'll start catching up right now and continue tomorrow. Tonight, Keith's taking me to dinner, so I might not get a chance to do any blogging.
Comments?
Happy Birthday to Me!
For what it's worth, I'm 39 today. Whoopee.
I kind of took the weekend off and wasn't feeling well yesterday, so I'm behind on blogging. I'll start catching up right now and continue tomorrow. Tonight, Keith's taking me to dinner, so I might not get a chance to do any blogging.
Comments?
Comics
Catching Up
Just a couple of items I wanted to mention:
First off, in the better I talk about it late than never department, James Kochalka had a cute little "Halloween treat" published at the Pulse.
And in a more serious note, a couple of releases from CBLDF about their latest doings: protesting the Patriot Act and joining the Media Coalition. I'm especially glad to see them joining forces with the Media Coalition. I think it's a good move on CBLDF's part, one which could really benefit them.
Comments?
Catching Up
Just a couple of items I wanted to mention:
First off, in the better I talk about it late than never department, James Kochalka had a cute little "Halloween treat" published at the Pulse.
And in a more serious note, a couple of releases from CBLDF about their latest doings: protesting the Patriot Act and joining the Media Coalition. I'm especially glad to see them joining forces with the Media Coalition. I think it's a good move on CBLDF's part, one which could really benefit them.
Comments?
Blogging
Look Ma!
I got a huge thrill Friday, when Journalista! mentioned Eddie-torial Comments. Dirk Deppey is one of my blogging heroes, so the thought that he's actually read some of my babbling still stuns me a little. That mention led to a mention and nice email from Shawn Fumo, which led to a nice email from John Jakala. John and Shawn also offered a couple of helpful pointers. Thanks for reading everyone! I appreciate it.
Comments?
Look Ma!
I got a huge thrill Friday, when Journalista! mentioned Eddie-torial Comments. Dirk Deppey is one of my blogging heroes, so the thought that he's actually read some of my babbling still stuns me a little. That mention led to a mention and nice email from Shawn Fumo, which led to a nice email from John Jakala. John and Shawn also offered a couple of helpful pointers. Thanks for reading everyone! I appreciate it.
Comments?
Blogging
Look Ma!
I got a huge thrill Friday when Eddie-torial Comments got mentioned in Journalista! Dirk Deppey is one of my blogging heroes, so I was a little stunned that he's been reading some of my babbling. That mention led to a nice email from Shawn Fumo and a mention in his blog, which led to a nice email from Jaihn
Look Ma!
I got a huge thrill Friday when Eddie-torial Comments got mentioned in Journalista! Dirk Deppey is one of my blogging heroes, so I was a little stunned that he's been reading some of my babbling. That mention led to a nice email from Shawn Fumo and a mention in his blog, which led to a nice email from Jaihn
Politics
Get Out the Vote!
Today is also election day. Be sure to get out and do your civic duty. I know things are in a mess right now, but the only way to change that is to turn out and vote. Yes, I'm one of those who still believes that my vote actually matters. I have to. It's the only was I can keep from packing up Keith, comics, computer, and kitties and becoming an expatriate.
It doesn't look good here in Kentucky. We're voting for the new governor, and our choices are a centrist Democrat who keeps trying to paint himself as a conservative and a Republican congressman who has done nothing in Washington but toe the BushCo. line of bull.
In the meantime, we're in a budget crisis brought on in large part by a Republican-controlled legislature who thinks it's more important to fight with the Democratic governor than actually do anything about falling revenues.
The Republicans took over the state legislature a couple of years ago, and everything has been going to hell ever since. If they gain control of the governor's office too, there's no telling what could happen. I picture rolling back the few laws that keep the coal companies from blasting every mountain in Eastern Kentucky to rubble, and that's just for starters.
They've already managed to start weakening the historic educational reform in the state and eliminate the vehicle emissions program here in Louisville that was actually making a difference for cleaner air. That smart move, by the way, is going to put us out of compliance with EPA regulations and will wind up costing us federal highway dollars.
There's a lot at stake, in other words. But it doesn't look good for the Dems. Our sitting governor was involved in a sex scandal of Clintonesque proportions last year, and it's sloshed over on to the Democratic candidate, who is the current Attorney General. The campaign has been ugly, with a lot of outside Republican special interest groups running nasty, inaccurate ads that manage to skirt the boundaries of Kentucky campaign finance laws. They can't give that money directly to the candidate, but they can use it to run inaccurate, deceitful advertising until the cows come home.
As if that weren't bad enough, the Republican party here in Louisville is placing "election challengers" in black precincts in the city to "prevent election fraud." Believe it or not, we have a state law here that allows these challengers, who can basically intimidate people into not voting. The ACLU sued to try and stop this return to the days of the poll tax, but was rebuffed by a judge who didn't see any racial bias in the plan, despite the fact that only largely black precincts are targeted. If the Republicans are that concerned about vote fraud, why aren't they placing challengers in all the precincts? The whole thing is the most blatant attempt to disenfranchise minority voters since the days of the civil rights movement.
It doesn't look good. The Democrats are trailing in the polls. Kentucky is not a wealthy state. We've been reeling from Bush's disastrous handling of the economy. We don't need one of his cronies driving nails in our coffin.
Republicans tend to win elections that are held on my birthday. It's a cruel, twisted irony, but it's true. For my 16th birthday, the American people gave me Ronald Reagan. I still haven't forgiven them. Now it looks like my fellow Kentuckians are about to give me another tacky, ill-fitting present that I won't be able to exchange for four years. Thanks a lot.
Comments?
Get Out the Vote!
Today is also election day. Be sure to get out and do your civic duty. I know things are in a mess right now, but the only way to change that is to turn out and vote. Yes, I'm one of those who still believes that my vote actually matters. I have to. It's the only was I can keep from packing up Keith, comics, computer, and kitties and becoming an expatriate.
It doesn't look good here in Kentucky. We're voting for the new governor, and our choices are a centrist Democrat who keeps trying to paint himself as a conservative and a Republican congressman who has done nothing in Washington but toe the BushCo. line of bull.
In the meantime, we're in a budget crisis brought on in large part by a Republican-controlled legislature who thinks it's more important to fight with the Democratic governor than actually do anything about falling revenues.
The Republicans took over the state legislature a couple of years ago, and everything has been going to hell ever since. If they gain control of the governor's office too, there's no telling what could happen. I picture rolling back the few laws that keep the coal companies from blasting every mountain in Eastern Kentucky to rubble, and that's just for starters.
They've already managed to start weakening the historic educational reform in the state and eliminate the vehicle emissions program here in Louisville that was actually making a difference for cleaner air. That smart move, by the way, is going to put us out of compliance with EPA regulations and will wind up costing us federal highway dollars.
There's a lot at stake, in other words. But it doesn't look good for the Dems. Our sitting governor was involved in a sex scandal of Clintonesque proportions last year, and it's sloshed over on to the Democratic candidate, who is the current Attorney General. The campaign has been ugly, with a lot of outside Republican special interest groups running nasty, inaccurate ads that manage to skirt the boundaries of Kentucky campaign finance laws. They can't give that money directly to the candidate, but they can use it to run inaccurate, deceitful advertising until the cows come home.
As if that weren't bad enough, the Republican party here in Louisville is placing "election challengers" in black precincts in the city to "prevent election fraud." Believe it or not, we have a state law here that allows these challengers, who can basically intimidate people into not voting. The ACLU sued to try and stop this return to the days of the poll tax, but was rebuffed by a judge who didn't see any racial bias in the plan, despite the fact that only largely black precincts are targeted. If the Republicans are that concerned about vote fraud, why aren't they placing challengers in all the precincts? The whole thing is the most blatant attempt to disenfranchise minority voters since the days of the civil rights movement.
It doesn't look good. The Democrats are trailing in the polls. Kentucky is not a wealthy state. We've been reeling from Bush's disastrous handling of the economy. We don't need one of his cronies driving nails in our coffin.
Republicans tend to win elections that are held on my birthday. It's a cruel, twisted irony, but it's true. For my 16th birthday, the American people gave me Ronald Reagan. I still haven't forgiven them. Now it looks like my fellow Kentuckians are about to give me another tacky, ill-fitting present that I won't be able to exchange for four years. Thanks a lot.
Comments?
Friday, October 31, 2003
Comics
More on Bookstores
Other comic blog sites have already noted this and passed on to other things, but I just got around to reading it yesterday. So I'm behind the times a little. Sue me.
Publisher's Weekly (October 20) did a really nice series of articles about graphic novels in bookstores. What impresses me most is the scope of the articles: small publishers, big publishers, manga, alternative titles, comics distributors working in the book market, book distributors branching out to carry graphic novels, book publishers putting out graphic novels, and even self-publishers!
PW has managed to create a fairly accurate picture of the vast array of diversity that exists within comics and hone in on works that would appeal to adult readers without resorting to the tired "Zap! Pow! Comics Ain't Just for Kids No More, Bobby Jean" cliches?s that have plagued so many articles about comics in the mainstream press.
Some quick thoughts:
At least two of the issues I raised in my other post about book stores are coming to the surface: appropriate shelving and attracting readers unfamiliar with this sort of material. Unfortunately, no one seemed to have any solutions to offer, but at least they are grappling with it. There seems to be an implication that a little more time will help the problems, which is true, but only as long as there's someone persistently chipping away at the issues. I'm not totally convinced yet that there's anything in place to do this.
The sales everyone is reporting are impressive, when you compare them to the comics shop sales for the same material. The big winners, far and away, are the manga publishers. Poor Marvel didn't have a single title on the top seller list, and DC only had two. I take a really perverse sort of delight in seeing the little guys blazing the trail and reaping the benefits, while the big guys scramble to play catch up.
I'm as annoyed with the phrase "manga format" as I am with "manga style art."
Is there anyone at DC or Marvel that doesn't think or speak of comics in terms of movie tie-ins?
There is a bunch of really interesting stuff coming up: More Persepolis! Rabbi's Cat! Mark Beyer! New Drawn and Quarterly stuff! I hate to sound like a Pollyanna, but maybe it's not such a bad time to be a comic reader.
I really think the Sandman Endless Nights thing is a fluke attributable more to Gaiman's status as a best-selling author than anything else. It's a little early to be trumpeting it as a watershed moment. Let's land some stuff without built in bookstore recognition in the New York Times Bestseller list first. I'll be really surprised if the inevitable 1602 collection enjoys a repeat performance.
I thought the religious comics article was especially cool for reaching beyond the Christian perspective to include Jewish-themed comics, Buddha, and even stuff dealing with the nature of faith without embracing a particular path.
It sounds like Diamond has someone working the bookstore trade who knows what they're doing. I just wonder if they rep their smaller clients with the same fervor that they do Image and Marvel? Their recent history in the comics market makes me skeptical. I'm assuming that they have to deal with bookstores on their terms and take returns.
I like Carla Speed McNeil's description of her wonderful series Finder: "aboriginal science fiction." It's the only short descriptive phrase I've ever heard for the series that fits. It's sad that the bookstore market is as hard a nut for self-publishers to crack as the comic market is. I wonder why Cold Cut doesn't take up bookstore distribution on behalf of folks like McNeil and Donna Barr?
Tokyopop's Stuart Levy engages in a bit of historical revisionism. They may have really pushed the right to left format and the standard size they're using, but they were hardly the first to do either. And they didn't blast out of the gate with that format either. Their first offering was an anthology called Mixxzine, followed by regularly published pamphlets featuring characters like Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura, which were aimed at the comic market. They started off following the long-established comic publisher routine: Put out a bunch of single issues, then publish the collected version. Needless to say, they weren't quite the success story in those days that they are now. It took them a few years to get their groove going in terms of format, style, and market focus. It's paid off for them, but they came from much humbler beginnings.
As far as the right-to-left format goes, that's a cost-saving measure as much as anything else. If they don't flip the art to read in the Western order, they save money on touch-ups that flipping requires.
All in all, it was a welcome and well-done set of articles. I can't shake the feeling though that we've got a long ways to go and some challenging hurdles to overcome before the bookstore market turns into the Promised Land. The goal has got to be creating new, long term readers as much as it is short term sales increases. The latter doesn't automatically lead to the former, and I still don't see anybody really talking about growing this market from any perspective other than dollars and cents. Still, it's encouraging to see so many publishers looking beyond the pamphlet format and the moribund comics market and, for the most part, doing it in a thoughtful, deliberate way with quality, diverse material.
Comments?
More on Bookstores
Other comic blog sites have already noted this and passed on to other things, but I just got around to reading it yesterday. So I'm behind the times a little. Sue me.
Publisher's Weekly (October 20) did a really nice series of articles about graphic novels in bookstores. What impresses me most is the scope of the articles: small publishers, big publishers, manga, alternative titles, comics distributors working in the book market, book distributors branching out to carry graphic novels, book publishers putting out graphic novels, and even self-publishers!
PW has managed to create a fairly accurate picture of the vast array of diversity that exists within comics and hone in on works that would appeal to adult readers without resorting to the tired "Zap! Pow! Comics Ain't Just for Kids No More, Bobby Jean" cliches?s that have plagued so many articles about comics in the mainstream press.
Some quick thoughts:
At least two of the issues I raised in my other post about book stores are coming to the surface: appropriate shelving and attracting readers unfamiliar with this sort of material. Unfortunately, no one seemed to have any solutions to offer, but at least they are grappling with it. There seems to be an implication that a little more time will help the problems, which is true, but only as long as there's someone persistently chipping away at the issues. I'm not totally convinced yet that there's anything in place to do this.
The sales everyone is reporting are impressive, when you compare them to the comics shop sales for the same material. The big winners, far and away, are the manga publishers. Poor Marvel didn't have a single title on the top seller list, and DC only had two. I take a really perverse sort of delight in seeing the little guys blazing the trail and reaping the benefits, while the big guys scramble to play catch up.
I'm as annoyed with the phrase "manga format" as I am with "manga style art."
Is there anyone at DC or Marvel that doesn't think or speak of comics in terms of movie tie-ins?
There is a bunch of really interesting stuff coming up: More Persepolis! Rabbi's Cat! Mark Beyer! New Drawn and Quarterly stuff! I hate to sound like a Pollyanna, but maybe it's not such a bad time to be a comic reader.
I really think the Sandman Endless Nights thing is a fluke attributable more to Gaiman's status as a best-selling author than anything else. It's a little early to be trumpeting it as a watershed moment. Let's land some stuff without built in bookstore recognition in the New York Times Bestseller list first. I'll be really surprised if the inevitable 1602 collection enjoys a repeat performance.
I thought the religious comics article was especially cool for reaching beyond the Christian perspective to include Jewish-themed comics, Buddha, and even stuff dealing with the nature of faith without embracing a particular path.
It sounds like Diamond has someone working the bookstore trade who knows what they're doing. I just wonder if they rep their smaller clients with the same fervor that they do Image and Marvel? Their recent history in the comics market makes me skeptical. I'm assuming that they have to deal with bookstores on their terms and take returns.
I like Carla Speed McNeil's description of her wonderful series Finder: "aboriginal science fiction." It's the only short descriptive phrase I've ever heard for the series that fits. It's sad that the bookstore market is as hard a nut for self-publishers to crack as the comic market is. I wonder why Cold Cut doesn't take up bookstore distribution on behalf of folks like McNeil and Donna Barr?
Tokyopop's Stuart Levy engages in a bit of historical revisionism. They may have really pushed the right to left format and the standard size they're using, but they were hardly the first to do either. And they didn't blast out of the gate with that format either. Their first offering was an anthology called Mixxzine, followed by regularly published pamphlets featuring characters like Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura, which were aimed at the comic market. They started off following the long-established comic publisher routine: Put out a bunch of single issues, then publish the collected version. Needless to say, they weren't quite the success story in those days that they are now. It took them a few years to get their groove going in terms of format, style, and market focus. It's paid off for them, but they came from much humbler beginnings.
As far as the right-to-left format goes, that's a cost-saving measure as much as anything else. If they don't flip the art to read in the Western order, they save money on touch-ups that flipping requires.
All in all, it was a welcome and well-done set of articles. I can't shake the feeling though that we've got a long ways to go and some challenging hurdles to overcome before the bookstore market turns into the Promised Land. The goal has got to be creating new, long term readers as much as it is short term sales increases. The latter doesn't automatically lead to the former, and I still don't see anybody really talking about growing this market from any perspective other than dollars and cents. Still, it's encouraging to see so many publishers looking beyond the pamphlet format and the moribund comics market and, for the most part, doing it in a thoughtful, deliberate way with quality, diverse material.
Comments?
Thursday, October 30, 2003
Comics
Bookstores: The Great White Hope?
Dirk Deppey and Brian Hibbs had a discussion on Journalista last week about the bookstore market. It was an interesting discussion, and both sides raised some good points, but I tend to agree with Deppey. I think it's past time for companies like Fantagraphics to stop wasting energy trying to talk sense to a comic store market system that's made it clear time and again that it doesn't want them.
The direct market is dominated by myopic retailers serving readers with tunnel-vision. Neither are going to change and it's time to stop expecting them to. Fantagraphics can use the DM to access and support that small core of stores and readers found there, but it's not a market that's going to grow, at least not the way things stand right now.
While I do think the bookstore market offers more opportunity, especially the independent bookseller market Eric Reynolds refers to in his response to the debate, there are some key issues that need to be worked out. Unfortunately, neither Hibbs nor Deppey addresses any of them. If anyone else has, I've not seen it.
RETURNS: One of the differences in the bookstore and comic shop distribution systems is returnability. Bookstores can return unsold books to the distributor, a privilege comic shops don't enjoy. I've got nagging doubts about the ability of most comic publishers, especially the smaller ones, to handle a huge amount of returns.
Has anyone had to deal with returns yet? I have to confess that I don't know enough about the bookstore system and the way returns work, but I assume that it's on some sort of cycle. It seems to me like the manga publishers have been working the bookstores long enough that they've surely had to handle some returns, but that's also not something they're talking about. It may be that folks are prepared for them and it's not really that big of a deal, but it would be nice to hear someone talk say so.
It could be disastrous to be expecting a check and get a crate of unsold books instead.
SHELVING: Most bookstores I've been in have no idea how to handle graphic novels, especially those that don't involve people in long underwear throwing cars at each other. While the science fiction section seems to be the typical place to look for them, I've seen them in the humor and children's sections as well. Even stores that designate a section for graphic novels tend to locate that section adjacent to (or within) the sci fi section. That may seem logical for Star Wars and even Spider-Man, but it doesn't work for James Kochalka and Dan Clowes. The kind of readers that would be interested in the newest Joe Sacco book aren't likely to wander into the sci fi section after it. I admit I've seen both the Larry Gonick books and Maus in the history section of a couple of stores, but that's the exception rather than the rule.
Essentially, bookstores need to be educated about graphic novels, but who's going to do it? And follow up on it?
MARKET/STORES: The small, locally-owned independent booksellers that Reynolds praises are a dying breed. The chains and the internet are killing them, slowly but surely. Here in Louisville, one local store was just bought out by Borders. In just a few weeks, selection and service have gone down the tubes to the point that I can hardly stand to shop there any more.
I agree wholeheartedly with Eric Reynolds that, for a publisher like Fantagraphics, these kinds of stores are logical markets. The last remaining local store here has been slowly cultivating a graphic novel shelf over the past two or three years. It started with Jimmy Corrigan, David Boring, and Palestine and has grown to the point that there's a whole shelf dedicated to them now, carrying nothing but stuff from Fantagraphics, Drawn and Quarterly and the like.
Borders, Barnes and Noble and their competitors do carry those kinds of titles, but they are much more strongly oriented to the DC/Marvel slugfest material and the rising tide of manga. Is there enough of a viable market for the alternative comics publishers or are they going to be stuck with a small and shrinking core of bookstores to match their small and shrinking core of comics shops?
MARKET/READERS: One of the failures of the American comics market is its inability to allow readers' tastes to mature. The mainstream is so rooted in juvenalia and the bulk of the stores are so locked into selling nothing but the mainstream that when a reader reaches the point where he/she feels they've outgrown the material, there's seemingly nowhere to turn. And we lose a comics reader.
There's nothing that helps that reader transition to comics that don't rely on stories designed to entertain 12 year olds. Retailers don't encourage it, because they won't carry non-mainstream comics. Even if that reader finds information about other kinds of comics, on the internet for example, if their local shop doesn't carry it, then they can't get it. I'm convinced we lose readers every year this way.
So I'm wondering what's going to happen when this teenage crop of manga-reading girls starts to feel they're outgrowing the material. How do they get directed to other stuff that might appeal to them?
I appreciate the sales that are being generated right now, but we need long-term readers as well. We've lost an awful lot of them in the past ten years.
PR: This is kind of a silly question, but how does the general public who doesn't read book trade publications or Previews find out about the range of gn's at their local bookstore? Are publishers ready and willing to do book promo tours and signings and all the other things that are required to really push titles into the public eye?
DISTRIBUTION: Fantagraphics is lucky enough to have a real book distributor who knows their material. An awful lot of other publishers are using Diamond as their bookstore distributor, having jumped on in the wake of other distributors going under last year. Does Diamond know how to distribute to the book market? And are they going to rep the small publishers any better than they do in the comic market? It was amazing to me how many of the smaller publishers signed with Diamond to be their bookstore distributor. I can only imagine how that sales meeting went. "Hi there. You know us. We screw you over in the comic market every month and we'd like for you to give us the opportunity to do it in the book market too."
Don't get me wrong. I'd like to see comics thrive in both the direct market and the bookstore trade, especially the smaller publishers who put out the bulk of the stuff I read. I've even altered my buying habits so I can support our remaining local bookstore for carrying graphic novels. The direct market is so fraught with deeply entrenched problems, some of them deeply rooted in the stunted tastes of most mainstream comic fans, that I think it's slowly but surely dying. I'm not at all sure how to go about fixing it. So it makes sense to look for other avenues, such as bookstores. And it looks like, for some publishers at least, turning to bookstores has been a good move. I'd hate for it to turn out to be replacing one problem-plagued market for another. I'd feel better about that if someone was talking about some of the things on the list above. (Returns at the very least.)
Comments?
Bookstores: The Great White Hope?
Dirk Deppey and Brian Hibbs had a discussion on Journalista last week about the bookstore market. It was an interesting discussion, and both sides raised some good points, but I tend to agree with Deppey. I think it's past time for companies like Fantagraphics to stop wasting energy trying to talk sense to a comic store market system that's made it clear time and again that it doesn't want them.
The direct market is dominated by myopic retailers serving readers with tunnel-vision. Neither are going to change and it's time to stop expecting them to. Fantagraphics can use the DM to access and support that small core of stores and readers found there, but it's not a market that's going to grow, at least not the way things stand right now.
While I do think the bookstore market offers more opportunity, especially the independent bookseller market Eric Reynolds refers to in his response to the debate, there are some key issues that need to be worked out. Unfortunately, neither Hibbs nor Deppey addresses any of them. If anyone else has, I've not seen it.
RETURNS: One of the differences in the bookstore and comic shop distribution systems is returnability. Bookstores can return unsold books to the distributor, a privilege comic shops don't enjoy. I've got nagging doubts about the ability of most comic publishers, especially the smaller ones, to handle a huge amount of returns.
Has anyone had to deal with returns yet? I have to confess that I don't know enough about the bookstore system and the way returns work, but I assume that it's on some sort of cycle. It seems to me like the manga publishers have been working the bookstores long enough that they've surely had to handle some returns, but that's also not something they're talking about. It may be that folks are prepared for them and it's not really that big of a deal, but it would be nice to hear someone talk say so.
It could be disastrous to be expecting a check and get a crate of unsold books instead.
SHELVING: Most bookstores I've been in have no idea how to handle graphic novels, especially those that don't involve people in long underwear throwing cars at each other. While the science fiction section seems to be the typical place to look for them, I've seen them in the humor and children's sections as well. Even stores that designate a section for graphic novels tend to locate that section adjacent to (or within) the sci fi section. That may seem logical for Star Wars and even Spider-Man, but it doesn't work for James Kochalka and Dan Clowes. The kind of readers that would be interested in the newest Joe Sacco book aren't likely to wander into the sci fi section after it. I admit I've seen both the Larry Gonick books and Maus in the history section of a couple of stores, but that's the exception rather than the rule.
Essentially, bookstores need to be educated about graphic novels, but who's going to do it? And follow up on it?
MARKET/STORES: The small, locally-owned independent booksellers that Reynolds praises are a dying breed. The chains and the internet are killing them, slowly but surely. Here in Louisville, one local store was just bought out by Borders. In just a few weeks, selection and service have gone down the tubes to the point that I can hardly stand to shop there any more.
I agree wholeheartedly with Eric Reynolds that, for a publisher like Fantagraphics, these kinds of stores are logical markets. The last remaining local store here has been slowly cultivating a graphic novel shelf over the past two or three years. It started with Jimmy Corrigan, David Boring, and Palestine and has grown to the point that there's a whole shelf dedicated to them now, carrying nothing but stuff from Fantagraphics, Drawn and Quarterly and the like.
Borders, Barnes and Noble and their competitors do carry those kinds of titles, but they are much more strongly oriented to the DC/Marvel slugfest material and the rising tide of manga. Is there enough of a viable market for the alternative comics publishers or are they going to be stuck with a small and shrinking core of bookstores to match their small and shrinking core of comics shops?
MARKET/READERS: One of the failures of the American comics market is its inability to allow readers' tastes to mature. The mainstream is so rooted in juvenalia and the bulk of the stores are so locked into selling nothing but the mainstream that when a reader reaches the point where he/she feels they've outgrown the material, there's seemingly nowhere to turn. And we lose a comics reader.
There's nothing that helps that reader transition to comics that don't rely on stories designed to entertain 12 year olds. Retailers don't encourage it, because they won't carry non-mainstream comics. Even if that reader finds information about other kinds of comics, on the internet for example, if their local shop doesn't carry it, then they can't get it. I'm convinced we lose readers every year this way.
So I'm wondering what's going to happen when this teenage crop of manga-reading girls starts to feel they're outgrowing the material. How do they get directed to other stuff that might appeal to them?
I appreciate the sales that are being generated right now, but we need long-term readers as well. We've lost an awful lot of them in the past ten years.
PR: This is kind of a silly question, but how does the general public who doesn't read book trade publications or Previews find out about the range of gn's at their local bookstore? Are publishers ready and willing to do book promo tours and signings and all the other things that are required to really push titles into the public eye?
DISTRIBUTION: Fantagraphics is lucky enough to have a real book distributor who knows their material. An awful lot of other publishers are using Diamond as their bookstore distributor, having jumped on in the wake of other distributors going under last year. Does Diamond know how to distribute to the book market? And are they going to rep the small publishers any better than they do in the comic market? It was amazing to me how many of the smaller publishers signed with Diamond to be their bookstore distributor. I can only imagine how that sales meeting went. "Hi there. You know us. We screw you over in the comic market every month and we'd like for you to give us the opportunity to do it in the book market too."
Don't get me wrong. I'd like to see comics thrive in both the direct market and the bookstore trade, especially the smaller publishers who put out the bulk of the stuff I read. I've even altered my buying habits so I can support our remaining local bookstore for carrying graphic novels. The direct market is so fraught with deeply entrenched problems, some of them deeply rooted in the stunted tastes of most mainstream comic fans, that I think it's slowly but surely dying. I'm not at all sure how to go about fixing it. So it makes sense to look for other avenues, such as bookstores. And it looks like, for some publishers at least, turning to bookstores has been a good move. I'd hate for it to turn out to be replacing one problem-plagued market for another. I'd feel better about that if someone was talking about some of the things on the list above. (Returns at the very least.)
Comments?
Wednesday, October 29, 2003
Comics
Couple of Quick Notes
I've not been hitting the blog the way I should lately, so I've let a few comics bits pass by. Consider this to be playing catch up.
A couple of days ago, the Pulse reported that DC was cracking down on staff who sold their comp comics to local comic shops. The whole thing is a bit silly actually, but I did have a few thoughts:
If the dude that got fired had all this stuff in his office related to his ebay selling, then he must have been running the operation on company time. Maybe that's the reason he got canned? I certainly wouldn't blame DC for being upset about that.
Doesn't it bother DC that the people who work for them don't want their comics, even when they're free?
I don't know which is more pathetic: staff coming to depend on the income from selling their freebies or a store coming to depend on the freebies as stock.
The saddest part of the whole story: Now DC staff won't be picking up any more alternative/independent titles, since they can't get them for free. Maybe I need to stop grousing about the limited vision of mainstream comics fans and start grousing about the limited vision of mainstream comics staff!
I guess that will put an end to the practice of randomly plucking up alt creators and offering them super-hero slots, huh? Maybe now Dylan Horrocks can get back to working on Atlas!
The Pulse also has a quick press release from NBM about their upcoming release from Christophe Blain. It's full of the typical hype and hyperbole of your averge comics-related press release, but it's still worth reading, as it connects Blain with Trondheim, Sfar, and others in this generation of French cartoonists whose work is slowly but surely trickling into this country, thanks to the efforts of NBM and Fantagraphics.
Plus, this line:
"The art might take a little getting used to. Deceptively simple and possibly even scratchy. Like life."
makes it sound too cool to resist. NBM has samples upon their web page. Looks great!
Newsarama gives me another name to add to my list of comics reviewers to avoid or else read only when I'm in the mood for a good laugh: Mike Sangiacomo. I'd never read his stuff before, but checked this one out because of the What's Michael? review. Apparently Michael is a "chick comic," but that's okay, Mike likes it anyway and is "secure enough" in his masculinity to say so. Seems to me that guys who are really secure in their masculinity (whatever the hell that's supposed to mean) don't find it necessary to trumpet the fact.
Augie De Blieck returns to the fray about Marvel's no overprint policy with an explanation and clarification. I can buy part of what he's saying, especially that retailers may be relying on DC a bit much to cover their reorders, but he still can't seem to grasp the situation retailers are in these days. If I had to order comics sight unseen months in advance based on the pitiful amount of info you get in Previews and hope to sell them to a shrinking customer base in a depressed economy knowing the whole time that unsold copies are non-returnable, I think I'd order conservatively too.
Beyond that, he's ignored all the speculation talk ("If the book is hot, you can mark up the back issues you over ordered and make a fortune.") that formed the basis of Jemas' early justification for the policy. Yes, it makes sense for Marvel to make a move that benefits their sales, but not if it destroys the market in the long run. How many more retailers can we stand to lose before the whole thing caves in?
Finally, back at Newsarama, there was a nice interview with Ho Che Anderson about his three-volume biography of Martin Luther King, followed by reader commentary trashing the books because they're "arty." Sigh!
According to the New Comics Release List, the first volume of Tezuka?s Buddha is supposed to come out today. Yay!
Comments?
Couple of Quick Notes
I've not been hitting the blog the way I should lately, so I've let a few comics bits pass by. Consider this to be playing catch up.
A couple of days ago, the Pulse reported that DC was cracking down on staff who sold their comp comics to local comic shops. The whole thing is a bit silly actually, but I did have a few thoughts:
If the dude that got fired had all this stuff in his office related to his ebay selling, then he must have been running the operation on company time. Maybe that's the reason he got canned? I certainly wouldn't blame DC for being upset about that.
Doesn't it bother DC that the people who work for them don't want their comics, even when they're free?
I don't know which is more pathetic: staff coming to depend on the income from selling their freebies or a store coming to depend on the freebies as stock.
The saddest part of the whole story: Now DC staff won't be picking up any more alternative/independent titles, since they can't get them for free. Maybe I need to stop grousing about the limited vision of mainstream comics fans and start grousing about the limited vision of mainstream comics staff!
I guess that will put an end to the practice of randomly plucking up alt creators and offering them super-hero slots, huh? Maybe now Dylan Horrocks can get back to working on Atlas!
The Pulse also has a quick press release from NBM about their upcoming release from Christophe Blain. It's full of the typical hype and hyperbole of your averge comics-related press release, but it's still worth reading, as it connects Blain with Trondheim, Sfar, and others in this generation of French cartoonists whose work is slowly but surely trickling into this country, thanks to the efforts of NBM and Fantagraphics.
Plus, this line:
"The art might take a little getting used to. Deceptively simple and possibly even scratchy. Like life."
makes it sound too cool to resist. NBM has samples upon their web page. Looks great!
Newsarama gives me another name to add to my list of comics reviewers to avoid or else read only when I'm in the mood for a good laugh: Mike Sangiacomo. I'd never read his stuff before, but checked this one out because of the What's Michael? review. Apparently Michael is a "chick comic," but that's okay, Mike likes it anyway and is "secure enough" in his masculinity to say so. Seems to me that guys who are really secure in their masculinity (whatever the hell that's supposed to mean) don't find it necessary to trumpet the fact.
Augie De Blieck returns to the fray about Marvel's no overprint policy with an explanation and clarification. I can buy part of what he's saying, especially that retailers may be relying on DC a bit much to cover their reorders, but he still can't seem to grasp the situation retailers are in these days. If I had to order comics sight unseen months in advance based on the pitiful amount of info you get in Previews and hope to sell them to a shrinking customer base in a depressed economy knowing the whole time that unsold copies are non-returnable, I think I'd order conservatively too.
Beyond that, he's ignored all the speculation talk ("If the book is hot, you can mark up the back issues you over ordered and make a fortune.") that formed the basis of Jemas' early justification for the policy. Yes, it makes sense for Marvel to make a move that benefits their sales, but not if it destroys the market in the long run. How many more retailers can we stand to lose before the whole thing caves in?
Finally, back at Newsarama, there was a nice interview with Ho Che Anderson about his three-volume biography of Martin Luther King, followed by reader commentary trashing the books because they're "arty." Sigh!
According to the New Comics Release List, the first volume of Tezuka?s Buddha is supposed to come out today. Yay!
Comments?
Music
Concert Review: John Prine at the Victory Theatre, Evansville, IN
October 24, 2003
It’s tempting to give into the urge to rank the John Prine concert we saw in Evansville according to the songs on the set list. His 30+-year career, combined with his quirky songwriting and his cult-like following, make it inevitable that people come to his shows with expectations. About an hour before the performance, Keith and I were developing our laundry list of the songs Prine would have to do for it to be a “good show.” Judging from the constant thunder of song titles being shouted from the audience at any quiet moment, I’d say we weren’t the only ones. Prine seemed to take it all in stride; after one particularly long and noisy round of requests, he grinned and said, “I know ‘em all.”
The October 24th show at the Victory Theatre in Evansville brought the paradox of Prine to life. On the one hand, he’s got a knack for writing silly, catchy tunes that stick in your brain. On the other, he’s produced profound and personal songs about social issues, love, the perils of relationships, and the struggles of every day living. He’s also got quite a few songs that actually combine the comedic and the personal. On the one hand, he’s an obscure performer, unknown to the public at large and shunned by major labels. On the other, he packed the theatre with fans, ranging from the twenty-something frat boys who sat in front of us to the aging hippies across the aisle, all screaming with enthusiasm and singing along with nearly every song.
Prine’s voice has gotten rougher over the years, but he’s still got the stamina to pull off a set that was over two and a half hours long, including a four-song encore and an extended solo acoustic set in the middle of the show. And he’s certainly not afraid to let people know where he stands either, changing the judge’s name in “Illegal Smile” to Ashcroft, and joking about paranoid patriotism after singing “Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven.”
If we were to judge the show solely based on our wish lists, we’d both have to say it was a good show. Between the two of us, there was only one “must play” song that didn’t get performed. But to leave it at that would be an injustice, since it would ignore the many other wonderful parts of the set: unexpected treats (“Speed of the Sound of Loneliness”); forgotten favorites (“Dear Abby”); a Carter Family cover; and a song from the album in progress. From the opening strains of “Spanish Pipe Dream” to the rousing version of “Paradise” (with special guest appearance by Prine’s brother Billy) that closed the show, every song hit home, resonating with the audience and usually sparking a passionate sing-along.
Opening act Todd Snider, another artist on Prine’s Oh Boy! label, was new to us, but not for long. His short, enthusiastic set was enough to convince us both that he’s another talent unjustly overlooked by the music business. I have a feeling there will be several Todd Snider CD’s making their way into the house in the very near future.
Comments?
Concert Review: John Prine at the Victory Theatre, Evansville, IN
October 24, 2003
It’s tempting to give into the urge to rank the John Prine concert we saw in Evansville according to the songs on the set list. His 30+-year career, combined with his quirky songwriting and his cult-like following, make it inevitable that people come to his shows with expectations. About an hour before the performance, Keith and I were developing our laundry list of the songs Prine would have to do for it to be a “good show.” Judging from the constant thunder of song titles being shouted from the audience at any quiet moment, I’d say we weren’t the only ones. Prine seemed to take it all in stride; after one particularly long and noisy round of requests, he grinned and said, “I know ‘em all.”
The October 24th show at the Victory Theatre in Evansville brought the paradox of Prine to life. On the one hand, he’s got a knack for writing silly, catchy tunes that stick in your brain. On the other, he’s produced profound and personal songs about social issues, love, the perils of relationships, and the struggles of every day living. He’s also got quite a few songs that actually combine the comedic and the personal. On the one hand, he’s an obscure performer, unknown to the public at large and shunned by major labels. On the other, he packed the theatre with fans, ranging from the twenty-something frat boys who sat in front of us to the aging hippies across the aisle, all screaming with enthusiasm and singing along with nearly every song.
Prine’s voice has gotten rougher over the years, but he’s still got the stamina to pull off a set that was over two and a half hours long, including a four-song encore and an extended solo acoustic set in the middle of the show. And he’s certainly not afraid to let people know where he stands either, changing the judge’s name in “Illegal Smile” to Ashcroft, and joking about paranoid patriotism after singing “Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven.”
If we were to judge the show solely based on our wish lists, we’d both have to say it was a good show. Between the two of us, there was only one “must play” song that didn’t get performed. But to leave it at that would be an injustice, since it would ignore the many other wonderful parts of the set: unexpected treats (“Speed of the Sound of Loneliness”); forgotten favorites (“Dear Abby”); a Carter Family cover; and a song from the album in progress. From the opening strains of “Spanish Pipe Dream” to the rousing version of “Paradise” (with special guest appearance by Prine’s brother Billy) that closed the show, every song hit home, resonating with the audience and usually sparking a passionate sing-along.
Opening act Todd Snider, another artist on Prine’s Oh Boy! label, was new to us, but not for long. His short, enthusiastic set was enough to convince us both that he’s another talent unjustly overlooked by the music business. I have a feeling there will be several Todd Snider CD’s making their way into the house in the very near future.
Comments?
Thursday, October 23, 2003
Cats
Consternation Abounds
Everyone is on a diet in my house. And some of them aren't happy about it.
Our vet has insisted that our cats are too fat for some time now. Her main concern is diabetes, as cats who weigh over 15 pounds are at higher risk. As luck would have it Basil is right on the borderline of 15 lbs. Kosh and Bennnie are in the 13 pound range, which means that 15 is right around the corner for them.
Since our choices were give cats insulin shots twice a day sometime in the near future or restrict their feeding now, we opted to try the diet. For all of their lives Bennie and Basil have been on open feeding. If the dish was empty, we would fill it. As you can imagine, this has been quite a shock to them.
We're now feeding them a mixture of Science Diet Hair Ball Control Lite and Science Diet Lite dry food. We put out 3/4 cup in the morning and 3/4 cup in the evening, the vet-recommended amount. It's been going on for about a month now, and I'm beginning to doubt they're ever going to get used to it.
Sitting and staring at the empty food dish has become a common pastime now. I've even seen Basil licking the bottom of the dish! And the looks! Basil can go from a pathetic pleading stare to an icy "you don't love me any more" glare in a matter of seconds. The worst has got to be the early mornings. Sometime between four and five, Basil will start trying to wake me up. Some mornings, she'll try once and give up, which is fine. However, the mornings where she comes back every 20 minutes to try again are a little bit much.
They don't seem to be following our line of reasoning very well at all. Apparently, cats just don't grasp the concept of "It's for your own good." Bennie's started sleeping on top of my computer monitor, so I've started turning it off whenever I leave, just in case she's harboring thoughts of emailing the ASPCA.
Basil has a vet appointment next month, and we'll see if this is working at all. I truly hope so. It might make those four o'clock wake up calls a little more bearable.
Comments?
Consternation Abounds
Everyone is on a diet in my house. And some of them aren't happy about it.
Our vet has insisted that our cats are too fat for some time now. Her main concern is diabetes, as cats who weigh over 15 pounds are at higher risk. As luck would have it Basil is right on the borderline of 15 lbs. Kosh and Bennnie are in the 13 pound range, which means that 15 is right around the corner for them.
Since our choices were give cats insulin shots twice a day sometime in the near future or restrict their feeding now, we opted to try the diet. For all of their lives Bennie and Basil have been on open feeding. If the dish was empty, we would fill it. As you can imagine, this has been quite a shock to them.
We're now feeding them a mixture of Science Diet Hair Ball Control Lite and Science Diet Lite dry food. We put out 3/4 cup in the morning and 3/4 cup in the evening, the vet-recommended amount. It's been going on for about a month now, and I'm beginning to doubt they're ever going to get used to it.
Sitting and staring at the empty food dish has become a common pastime now. I've even seen Basil licking the bottom of the dish! And the looks! Basil can go from a pathetic pleading stare to an icy "you don't love me any more" glare in a matter of seconds. The worst has got to be the early mornings. Sometime between four and five, Basil will start trying to wake me up. Some mornings, she'll try once and give up, which is fine. However, the mornings where she comes back every 20 minutes to try again are a little bit much.
They don't seem to be following our line of reasoning very well at all. Apparently, cats just don't grasp the concept of "It's for your own good." Bennie's started sleeping on top of my computer monitor, so I've started turning it off whenever I leave, just in case she's harboring thoughts of emailing the ASPCA.
Basil has a vet appointment next month, and we'll see if this is working at all. I truly hope so. It might make those four o'clock wake up calls a little more bearable.
Comments?
Wednesday, October 22, 2003
Comics News
A Couple of Quickies
I'm running late this morning, so I don't have time to do some of the things I had planned on doing. But over the last couple of days, there have been some things at various comics news sites that have caught my attention. Here's a look at a few of them:
Ninth Art has a nice overview of Lewis Trondheim and his work. Trondheim is probably my favorite cartoonist these days. (And has been for quite a while.) While you're there, check out the archives for other articles from Castrillon, who has been doing a series about comics from places other than America. His first one was a really good look at Alberto Breccia's work and tragic death.
The Ganzfeld has a sweet tribute to William Steig featuring various cartoonists. (I cribbed this one from Journalista!)
Alternative Comics has put out a press release for their February books. Some nice looking stuff, especially the second volume of Rosetta. The first was one of the few recent comics anthologies with a strong hit-to-miss ratio. With the second volume featuring work from folks like Edmond Baudoin, Santiago Cohen, Martin Tom Dieck, Anke Feuchtenberger, and Jason, it's hard to imagine it won't be phenomenal as well. Although it looks really cheesy for the first comment after their press release to come from Alternative's publisher. I know stories about alternative stuff tend to be ignored by people who go to the comics news sites, but this just smacks of desperation to me.
Lastly, Newsarama has a nice interview with the company that's releasing Tezuka's Buddha in English. Turns out they're not a comic publisher at all. Nice! I hope this works out for them, because I want to get all eight volumes.
Comments?
A Couple of Quickies
I'm running late this morning, so I don't have time to do some of the things I had planned on doing. But over the last couple of days, there have been some things at various comics news sites that have caught my attention. Here's a look at a few of them:
Ninth Art has a nice overview of Lewis Trondheim and his work. Trondheim is probably my favorite cartoonist these days. (And has been for quite a while.) While you're there, check out the archives for other articles from Castrillon, who has been doing a series about comics from places other than America. His first one was a really good look at Alberto Breccia's work and tragic death.
The Ganzfeld has a sweet tribute to William Steig featuring various cartoonists. (I cribbed this one from Journalista!)
Alternative Comics has put out a press release for their February books. Some nice looking stuff, especially the second volume of Rosetta. The first was one of the few recent comics anthologies with a strong hit-to-miss ratio. With the second volume featuring work from folks like Edmond Baudoin, Santiago Cohen, Martin Tom Dieck, Anke Feuchtenberger, and Jason, it's hard to imagine it won't be phenomenal as well. Although it looks really cheesy for the first comment after their press release to come from Alternative's publisher. I know stories about alternative stuff tend to be ignored by people who go to the comics news sites, but this just smacks of desperation to me.
Lastly, Newsarama has a nice interview with the company that's releasing Tezuka's Buddha in English. Turns out they're not a comic publisher at all. Nice! I hope this works out for them, because I want to get all eight volumes.
Comments?
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
Web pages
Silly fun
I've got a new place to go for time killing and stress relief:
Boohbah!
Apparently, it's the site for another kids' show from the folks who created Teletubbies. Like the Tubbies, it's pretty trippy. Follow the "enter" link and play some of the activities. There aren't any explanations, so just move your cursor over the various shapes, click, and see what happens.
Obviously, with all the color and silly sounds, this is a site for young kids to play around with, but I've found it to be the perfect antidote for a stress-filled day. It never fails to make me smile or laugh when I really need to.
Give it a whirl.
Comments?
Silly fun
I've got a new place to go for time killing and stress relief:
Boohbah!
Apparently, it's the site for another kids' show from the folks who created Teletubbies. Like the Tubbies, it's pretty trippy. Follow the "enter" link and play some of the activities. There aren't any explanations, so just move your cursor over the various shapes, click, and see what happens.
Obviously, with all the color and silly sounds, this is a site for young kids to play around with, but I've found it to be the perfect antidote for a stress-filled day. It never fails to make me smile or laugh when I really need to.
Give it a whirl.
Comments?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)