Local SF artist Matt Salidy has been nominated for an Eisner award.  For those who don’t know Eisner awards are the “Oscars” of the comic book world.  Being nominated is an honor and it is also an opportunity to get exposed to a larger audience.  I was exposed for a number of different reasons.  Matt works part-time at Isotope Comic Lounge in San Francisco so there have been many days when Matt grabbed my pull list and rang me up.  Once I read that he was nominated I picked up a copy of his book.  You can pick one up from Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Homeless-Channel-Matt-Silady/dp/193205149X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209601510&sr=1-1.

The first thing that jumped out at me was the unique use of photo realism and real “actors”.  The second thing took a while to set in but I was finally able to put my finger on it after a recent conversation with Matt.  Matt explained that one of the things he tried to do with this book was to somehow articulate the range of emotions he had regarding the homeless.  I learned from our talk that he was working on the book back during a period of especially aggressive panhandling by the homeless in the San Francisco Bay area.  San Francisco and Berkeley are known for their somewhat acceptance of the homeless and support for municipal programs for the homeless.  Good weather and plenty of corners made that summer 2 years ago a hell for those of us that lived or worked in San Francisco.  I mean you hate to be cold and heartless but I also won’t react positively when some of the homeless yell and berate me as I walk into my building.  If I do give a few dollars will it help or just encourage more begging and badgering?  I asked Matt if he experienced some of the situations in the book.  In a case of reverse irony Matt explained that his real nexus with the book occurred well after he completed it.

Apparently Matt had exchanged one his books for the cash while on the street.  At that moment a homeless person noticed the transaction and approached Matt for a handout.  This situation is an example of the dilemma the homeless often present.  Matt had just published his first book and with $12 earned in hand for the sweat of his art he looked at the sad face with his hand out.  The amount of money wasn’t important it was how it was earned and Matt had to think hard about parting with it.  Matt’s book The Homeless Channel wrestles with everything from compassion to frustration, that and a cable channel.  How?  Well you’ll have to read it yourself to find out.  Besides being a fine comic creator Matt is also an all around nice guy who lives his art and passions in a way that makes me jealous.  He is a teacher, creator, participator, and to my knowledge never a manipulator.  Congratulations Matt!

Links: 

Eisner Info: http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_eisners_main.shtml
MATT SILADY dot COM: http://web.mac.com/msilady/Pro_2.1/Welcome.html
Isotope Comics: http://isotopecomics.com/

Sean Wheatley has been reading and collecting comics for over 35 years.  Send comments and suggestions to: Seanwheatley1@earthlink.net

Here are the details for the contest in issue 1
misadventures-contest-new.pdf 

If you are curious about the magazine, how it got started, and what its goals are, you should listen to a recent Comic Geek Speak episode where the guys talk all about the magazine.Here’s a link:http://www.comicgeekspeak.com/episodes/comic_geek_speak-489.aspThanks, Bryan   

I recently had the opportunity to visit Milan, Dublin, and Barcelona.  The trip was for business but I did have enough free time to explore the comic shops in each of these cities.  The experience is very different in each city but the shop owners and customers are very much the same.  Conversations centered on late shipping books and crossover events in US comics that have been translated into the local languages (when English is not the primary language).  Each country also had its own comics and these books were the treasures I sought out.  I did pick a few translated US editions but I spent time with locals and shop owners to understand the local favorites.

Milan - In Milan comic books are sold on the newsstands.  Fortunately for me one of my business counterparts in Italy is also a comic book collector.  Andrea took me to the newsstand and showed me the various Italian titles and the Marvel/DC titles that have been translated and repackaged.  The Spider-Man title I picked up was much thicker than its US counterpart.  Besides the featured story this books also contained an additional two full stories from other current Marvel titles.  In my case I also got a Thunderbolts and New Avengers issue included with the main Spider-Man feature.  The interiors are exactly the same as their US counterparts but the covers are new and created just for the Italian edition.My friend Andrea recommended Gea.  This is a comic book that is published in manga style volumes with black and white interiors.  I had to use Wikipedia to get the plot synopsis since I don’t read Italian.  But once I understand the basic story I was able to enjoy the interesting line work and I was also able to follow the story through this last volume of the series.

Dublin - This city provided the richest comic experience (and largest hangover) of all the cities I visited on this trip.  Dublin has four comic shops; one chain store and three shops that are closer to what we in the US consider local comic shops.The first store I visited was Forbidden Planet (the chain store) and while the staff was friendly and welcoming they weren’t interested in getting to know me or doing more than pointing the walls and walls of books they have stocked.  Forbidden Planet had the largest store and the most inventories of US comics but ranked last in my list.  Next up was Crow Corner owned and operated by Liam.  This shop is a back issue mecca with stacks and boxes of all sorts of US, UK, and Irish comics.  Liam spent a significant amount of time digging out some early Grant Morrison books for me and he also was the best at pointing me to Irish comics.  Liam even found some comics published in Gaelic, these were perhaps the most interesting of all the comics I purchased on this trip.  Next stop was The Third Place run by Bruno.  Bruno is a Portuguese transplant and he and his customers were perhaps the friendliest and most entertaining.  I spent at least an hour in this shop talking comics and pop culture. The last shop of my Dublin tour was Sub-City.  Sub-City had a great selection of both current and back issues.  I picked up Gene Colan penciled Daredevil #59 for a mere $10.  This shop is really small but not on inventory or customers, I had to wait in line to get in but it was well worth it.  The favorite local comic artist is Gerry Hunt and I managed to get two different books created by him.  His books take place in Dublin and feature scenes and people that actually exist.  His style is hard to describe but is closer to Derek Robertson than anyone else I could think of.  The stories and art are rich in detail and now his stuff is available in the US so if you get a chance pick one up and let the world of Dublin draw you in.

Barcelona - The last stop on this trip was Barcelona and I was able to find one comic shop.  This shop was located in an area I probably shouldn’t have been in by myself but I managed to navigate the tiny streets and find this gem.  The owner didn’t speak much English but he was able to point me to Blacksad.  From what I could I make out he explained that this book was created by a Spaniard but it was originally translated to French and published there first.  It became so popular and acclaimed that the fans demanded to see it in its intended language and format.  I snapped up one of the hardcover editions and again I had to rely on other sources to get the storyline but once I had that the art pulled me in and I really enjoyed this edition.

Comics and comic fans exist all over the world and I am grateful that my business allows me to travel and meet them.  The languages and styles may differ but the enthusiasm and passion of the fans and owners seems to be universal.  I learned a lot and made a few new friends that hopefully I will get to see again one day.

Sean Wheatley has been reading and collecting comics for over 35 years.  Send comments and suggestions to: Seanwheatley1@earthlink.net

If you spent the last few weeks cataloguing new species of fish in an ocean trench, and for whatever reason came to this website ahead of all others as soon as you got back to shore and a wifi-enabled coffeehouse, you should prepare yourself for a shock.

(Spoilers for Spider-Man’s One More Day)

Spider-Man made a deal with the Devil to save Aunt May’s precious little life at the cost of his wedding to Mary Jane. Not only did Mephisto erase his marriage from the timeline, he also apparently decided to do him a solid and make everyone forget his secret identity (even those who knew about it years before Civil War), get rid of his creepy organic webshooters in exchange for the original manufactured ones, and bring his best friend Harry Osborn back to life. That Devil really is a swell guy, isn’t he? And all he asked for in return was a nagging feeling of unexplained loss in the back of Spidey’s head for him to feed off of like some kind of personal house demon.

As you can imagine, hypothetical marine biologist, the internet spontaneously combusted. We all knew Marvel, and in particular Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada, wished the marriage would go away, but even so the avenue they ended up moseying down to accomplish this disturbed many, even those who thought they’d braced for the worst. But wait, the worst is yet to come.

Adding fuel to fire, in a possible last-ditch effort to save himself permanent pariah status with traditional-minded Spidey fans, J. Michael Straczynski, the writer of One More Day itself, came out against the ending. He said he wanted to take his name off of it. He said the ending was put together by editorial. He even retconned Gwen Stacy sleeping with Norman Osborn into being Quesada’s idea. Maybe he’s annoyed the last several years of his life as Amazing Spider-Man writer were just erased from continuity? The readers are feeling the same way…

When editor’s seize the reins of the story they’re editing, we all lose. Even if the editor has the best intentions, even if they’re a brilliant writer in their own right, there’s a boundary between editor and writer that should not be violated. The best stories ever told were forged by the strength of the teller’s personal vision, and while comic books may be commodities designed to make money, they still, in the end, can be art. When said stories are crafted by committee, however, they can never be more than products.

The term “vocal minority” refers to the common conceit that people who take the time to make their opinions known (especially loudly) do not necessarily speak for a proportionate amount of the entire population. It’s basically the opposite of the way Nielsen ratings work, where the opinions of a few thousand are considered to be the opinions of a few million. The vocal minority represents only itself. Even The Internet’s Pal, Steve Wacker, said “all of us [on the message boards] know deep in our hearts that nothing said here represents a “large portion” of the readership.” Et tu, Steve?

Because that was the point of One More Day, wasn’t it? They knew the internet fans would be in a tizzy, but they did it anyway because the non-internet fans—a subtle implication here: the normal fans—would appreciate a Spider-Man back to his 1970s status quo. And those future fans, those unmarried ten and eleven-year-olds, would be confused and bewildered reading about a hero who’s more like their dad than their older brother. Marvel wrote One More Day, in essence, for the children.

I can almost see the children now, comic books grasped tightly in one fist, while the other hand tugs on Mom’s skirt as she puts the pot roast in the oven…

“Mommy, can I make a deal with the Devil like Spidey-Man did?”

Dante Kleinberg writes Vocal Minority exclusively for Comics Now! magazine.
Contact Dante at dantebk@hotmail.com or at his website dantebk.blogspot.com.

Here you go: DEC074051 

If you want to see the future of comics then look no further than the local kindergarten class.  Forget the crossover events and hot artists and all the other industry noise.  It’s cliché but the kids are the future of our hobby.

At the recent Comic Geek Speak 300th episode I had the pleasure of watching Luke Satterlee busting out sketches while his dad Chuck signed books and chatted with friends.  I was amazed at how much Luke understood about the characters and how he was able to articulate it in two dimensions.  I asked Luke for a sketch of Mr. Fantastic and he was happy to oblige.  Most artists (yes I’m calling Luke an artist) would have sketched Mr. Fantastic in some funky pose on a flat page.  Not Luke, instead he started his sketch on the front of the page and continued it onto the back.  It was like Reed Richards was stretched around and over the sketch page.  Luke already understands that the characters live in a 3-D world that has to be rendered in 2-D.  Luke has also taken up inking and I point you to his YouTube video as proof.  His understanding of the medium and characters is scary great for such a young mind.  Now obviously he enjoys all this and I would bet that we are going to see more from this young artist in years to come.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cVd153LUfs

Another example of youth gone wild on comics is my nephew Justin.  I sent him the “Learn to Draw Comics the Marvel Way” book and although he can’t yet read or understand all the text he did pick up on the illustrations.  He is now using panel layout and splash pages as he creates his own comics.  He proudly sent me his hand drawn first issue and I was again floored by how much he was able do all on his own.  Justin shares my love of Spider-Man and he is also the son of a firefighter.  This might explain the combination of Spidey and flames in “SuperHero”.

These two boys have done more to restore my faith in the future of the hobby than any “crossover event” of the last year.  I think we lost a generation of fans in the 90’s but if Luke and Justin are examples of the next generation to pick up the joy of visual storytelling then we are in good hands.

Sean Wheatley has been reading and collecting comics for over 35 years.  Send comments and suggestions to: Seanwheatley1@earthlink.net

Previously…

Last year the New York Times published an article about the new wave of minority characters in comics, with the Hispanic Blue Beetle, the Chinese Great Ten, and the lesbian (also: Jewish) Batwoman leading the pack.  Given that no one outside the comics community has ever heard of the Blue Beetle, the news of a homosexual Bat-character was the only bit of the story to be picked up and carried away by the rest of the mainstream media.  The comics community responded to the media coverage with its usual mix of flattered outrage.  Many in the Vocal Minority decided, before Batwoman had even been introduced in 52, the whole idea of a new “sexy lipstick lesbian” Batwoman was a shameless editorially-mandated attempt to steal media attention while titillating their young boy fanbase, with the added bonus of desecrating yet another beloved/forgotten character from “a simpler time.”

This week in Vocal Minority

In a recent Lying in the Gutters, Rich Johnston broke the news that Greg Rucka will write and J.H. Williams will draw a new Batwoman monthly.  While not exactly a ‘Net-Cracker, this has sparked some debate on the comics forums. 

Full of sound and fury

Does Batwoman deserve a monthly?  Can J.H. Williams draw a monthly?  Has the Bat-family of books become too large for its own good?  Is Batwoman even a legitimate character?

Be reasonable

First, let’s get this out of the way:  J.H. Williams probably can’t draw a monthly. But with enough lead time, maybe he can get out the first arc in a timely manner and then have a fill-in for a few months.  His work is pretty enough we can forgive the time it takes.Does Batwoman deserve a monthly?  If the creative team has a great story to tell with her, then yes.  What the debate here is really about is not whether or not a Batwoman title will be a good read, but why does Batwoman get a book and not XYZ-favorite obscure character (e.g. Cassandra Cain Batgirl, original Firestorm, SuperBuddies, etc.)?  It’s all about the story.  It’s very possible no one has any good ideas for the female Dr. Light at the moment, but when that perfect pitch comes along – look out!Has the Bat-family of books become too large for its own good?  There are three secret arguments here.  One, I like Batman but can’t afford to buy everything and am afraid I won’t be able to keep up with what’s going on.  Two, I don’t like Batman but enjoy peeing on the parades of others.  Three, why Batman and not XYZ-favorite obscure character (that argument comes up a lot amidst the Vocal Minority)?  The thing is we live in a capitalist society, and we vote with our dollars.  If you really want a book to go away, you’ll do your part by not buying it.  If it insists on sticking around anyway, that means other people are buying it, but you’re still free to ignore it.Is Batwoman even a legitimate character?  I’ll skip right to the answer on this one:  Yes, all characters are legitimate, it’s the treatment of said characters that makes the difference.  The Vocal Minority was up in arms at the notion that DC would kill off Nightwing for his seeming redundancy, but still can’t seem to find room in their hearts to give this possibly redundant character a chance to make her own way in the fictional world.  10 years from now when Captain Boomerang Jr. is getting a monthly from Bendis and Joe Madureira, you may find yourself complaining: why him and not Batwoman?  No one’s known what to do with her since Rucka and Williams…

Until next time…

Dante Kleinberg is a superhero geek from way back.  Check out his blog or send him an e-mail, particularly if you have a topic you’d like to see covered in a future edition of Vocal Minority.