Eater Nerd Squad Discussing Guys in Tights

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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 4:16 pm

Should you be able to tolerate a story without the pictures, I highly recomment the Pulitzer winning The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon.

Edited to correct formatting.

Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 8:39 pm

Fat sweaty men bending over in tight spandex pants = NFL Rolling Eyes

Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 5:29 pm

To continue bware’s theme of “Con Stories From Hell”, I’d like to share a few observations on a certain Mr. John Byrne.

John is undoubtedly one of the most gifted comics creators to work in the 70’s and 80’s. Not only did he collaborate with Chris Claremont on what is probably the best X-Men run ever but he also wrote and drew the best Fantastic Four since Kirby and Lee. Way back when, before comic reboots occurred about as frequently as Windows 2000 reboots, who did DC call when they decided to revamp the Big Blue Boy Scout? John Byrne. Byrne also has the distinction of being the only creator ever to work on a She-Hulk title that anyone gave a damn about. Point is, the guy is undeniably talented.

The problem, however, is that the guy has an ego the size of a small planetoid and, by almost all accounts, he is notoriously unfriendly towards fans. When John killed off Jean Grey in the landmark “Death of Dark Phoenix” saga, many fans quite understandably had questions for John when he appeared at cons. How did John handle it? He had a T-shirt made that read “SHE’S DEAD AND SHE’S GOING TO STAY THAT WAY” and would wear it at cons.

There are many unsubstantiated stories about Byrne-Baby-Byrne’s behavior during his heyday. Reportedly, Byrne would refuse to sign certain titles or beat-up copies and I have heard (but never actually seen proof) that he used to have a rubber stamp of his signature that he would use on reprint issues.

Hearsay aside, here is what I can tell you about my firsthand experience with John. For many years, John was a regular at the Mid-Ohio Con in Columbus, OH. While he was usually not billed as the Guest of Honor, Mid-Ohio was known as “his” con. What this meant was that, even if he made no other con appearances that year, he would appear at Mid-Ohio and the con took great pains to keep him happy.

What kinds of pains? Whereas everyone else appearing at the con had booths or tables or whatnot, John had a dais. This dais was usually set up at the end of the conference hall or in a large open space at the entrance. At the appointed time, John would step up to his dais, put up his list of rules (maximum number of books, no multiple copies of the same book, etc.) and then stand behind a podium to do his signing.

What this meant for the fans was that they needed to approach the dais and hold the books up to Byrne, who would take them, sign them, and hand them down. Many fans referred to this as “praying at the altar of Byrne” and, given that the setup made communication rather difficult, it really did feel like you were an initiate trying to supplicate some deity.

Since I’m not too bright and pretty bad at taking hints, I actually tried to start a conversation with the guy. Since I wanted to ask him his opinion on modern comics, I started off by saying “I’ve been reading comics for a long time” to which Byrne replied “Too long, if you ask me.”

I gave him the benefit of the doubt and assumed he was just making an ill-timed joke so I continued with my question. While I didn’t learn much about comics that day, I did get a great view into Byrne’s psyche. According to the Great One, too many comics were being written for current fans and no one was trying to bring in young readers. He also didn’t like the proliferation of “boob-and-butt” comics precisely because they were pandering to young readers by selling them porn. He also felt that comic publishers spend too much time worrying about fans who know the minutiae of continuity but comic publishers also shouldn’t forget the work previous creators have done. To make a long story short, in between all of the contradictory statements he made, I got the impression that Byrne feels that there are two kinds of comics out there: good ones (i.e. those Byrne worked on) and everything else.

So where is he today? As I understand it, Marvel won’t touch him. When he does work for DC, it’s for C-list characters that bring to mind the zen koan about a tree falling in the woods with no one around to hear it. The majority of work he does, sadly, is for indy (or indie) companies where he puts out thinly-veiled retreads (Next Men, Danger Unlimited, Trio, Babe) of his greatest hits (X-Men, Fantastic Four, She-Hulk). In a way, it’s almost as sad as when the bass player from some defunct band hires a couple of studio musicians and tries to pass himself off as fronting a reformed band.

I have met many, many comics creators and the majority of them are gracious, happy to meet their fans, and even seem appreciative that someone thought highly enough of their work from 20+ years ago to bring it to them for their signature. Thankfully, the John Byrnes of this world are few and far between.

Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 11:56 pm

Will Ant Man be worth watching?

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2015 12:29 am

^Yas should be able to answer that. I'm more of an expert on Crabs but that is a Topic for another Thread I suppose....

Not quite a Newb Joined: 14 Jul 2005 Posts: 41

I always thought that Ant-Man was kinda lame.....not as lame as Aquaman, but close.

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2015 4:02 am

^^^Yeah, I know and see what you mea...oh, wait a minute. No, No, I don't!

Not quite a Newb Joined: 14 Jul 2005 Posts: 41

^^

Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2015 2:17 pm

Officially released by WB at San Diego Comic Con

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Comic-Con Trailer [HD]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WWzgGyAH6Y

Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2015 2:28 pm

Meh, Darth Vader could kick either of their arses :8

Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 12:54 pm

Bware the San Diego Comic Con..

No parking for miles..

I missed it this year, but I do have my pass for the Long Beach Comic Con in September.

And as a bonus, Long Beach is closer to Hollwierd. No Safari hotel. Laughing

Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 1:07 pm

Father Moleman wrote:

Meh, Darth Vader could kick either of their arses :8

Isn't he dead and wasn't he a bit of a cry baby?

WillEater, I'm sure it is quite an event!

Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 1:20 pm

oscarpiles wrote:

^Yas should be able to answer that. I'm more of an expert on Crabs but that is a Topic for another Thread I suppose....

Please explain!

Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 1:24 pm

^^^Just guessing, but you were answering questions for a loooooong time. Then someone went and started charging money for it...

Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 1:38 pm

Do we have to pay now?

Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 1:59 pm

@Bware- Isn't superman a deadbeat cliche whose character seems to be just cobbled together? The name says it all and he only ever saves one person who can't seem to not get herself into danger all the time, at least Clark Kent is always mysteriously around with every super power ever!!!

Besides Emperor Palpatine would also kick not just their arses but every other superhero's Cool

Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 2:19 pm

Quote:

WillEater, I'm sure it is quite an event!

Yes indeed.. "People Watching" taken to a new level..

My buddy Marc is producing a movie and spent the last week in San Diego Comic Con holding forth with a panel discussion on SciFi movies.
http://spacecommandmovie.com/

Last year in the Long Beach CC, every Cosplay female for 1000 miles around arrived butt forgot most of their clothes.. Rolling Eyes

Cameras are a must.. I'm just sayin'...

Edit to add : Diversity Discussion For Star Wars.

http://www.cnet.com/news/director-j-j-abrams-weighs-in-on-diversity-in-the-star-wars-universe/

Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 6:19 pm

My best friend and I were regular attendees at SDCC from 1998/99 through 2005. We saw it grow from a comic book show that attracted 40,000 people to a movie insider trade show that attracts upwards of 125K folks.

The tipping point that really brought home to us how big things had gotten was around 2003. As always, my buddy and I made our hotel reservations earlier in the year so we had no idea that, as the show drew closer, San Diego had run out of hotel space and those places with availability were charging $500 and more a night. That was the same year that the line to buy tickets (for those who had not pre-registered) was literally wrapped around the convention center.

But, yeah, it is a great time, whether you are into comics, SF, movies, anime, gaming, people-watching, whatever. And, as a bonus, San Diego is just a great city to explore and there are any number of awesome restaurants within walking distance of the convention center. Even though my buddy and I would come home sleep deprived and with our muscles aching, we always enjoyed our annual pilgrimage to Nerd Mecca.

A few prank phone calls to scammers · Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 7:15 pm

If you couldn't tell by my name and avatar, I am a bit of a comic nerd. It didn't start until later in life though. I loved to watch the Spiderman and X-Men cartoons from the 90's, but never really read the books. I missed out on a lot of quality comics as far as I can tell!

I was one of the ones bitching that Ben Afflek was playing Batman... but after seeing the trailer I think he might actually do a decent job.

The Deadpool trailer was also leaked from Comic-Con. It is poor quality but looks awesome. According to Ryan Reynolds an official trailer should be released in about 3 weeks!

Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 7:52 pm

Soooo ... Ant-Man gets released this coming weekend. Anyone have any thoughts/opinions?

So far, except for the Thor movies, I've enjoyed all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films but I've got my doubts about this one. Not only is Ant-Man (at best) a C-lister in the Marvel U but the trailers haven't really impressed me. Even though I had doubts when the Guardians movie was first announced, the silliness/pulpiness of that first trailer immediately sold me.