BT07 – The ground rules

Okay, the rules of the Blogathon are pretty simple.  Post something every half-hour between the start and end times — that’s a minimum of 48 posts.  Doesn’t have to be fancy or anything, just a live post …

Here’s what I’m going to be doing — reviewing comic book trade paperbacks (at first) and monthly issues (later on).  From experience, I can kick out a number of those over the course of a half-hour.  I’ll take some breaks in there — within the bounds of the half-hour time requirements — but that’s pretty much how I’ll occupy the next 24 hours.

In-between, or as a refresher, I’ll touch bases on some other blogs I’m following during the ‘Thon.  Some people get very much into the whole social network of the thing — me, not so much.  But I’ve discovered some interesting places online through this effort, so it’s worth sharing the love.  Besides which, I have a couple of folks I’m sponsoring, too …

Comics have increasingly been available in the last decade or so as trade paperback (TPB) collections  — squarebound volumes of usually about 7 issues of a particular monthly title.   This has become so common, in fact, that a lot of comics writers have taken to structuring their story arcs around seven issues, for easy (and, thus, profitable) collectability.  This has both constrained and distorted some storytelling (not all stories are large or small enough to fit into seven issues), but it has encourage more long-range writing.

There’s often a question of, “Well, if you’re buying the TPB, do you need to buy the individual issues?”  And the answer is, not really, but it’s worth considering.  First off, while TPBs have the advantage of rereadability and not forgetting details between monthly issue releases, they also miss some of that OMG what next? cliffhanger feel to them. TPBs also represent a big chunk of change — it’s often worth trying out a couple of issues of something new to see if you like it — then, if you’re pre-ordering, you’ve likely already got the rest of the first TPB in the pipeline.

But there are also other numbers to consider.  Publishers still bank on the monthly issues to determine the health of a comic.  TPBs are a big investment for them.  If a lot of people eschew the monthlies to wait for the trades. the publishers may think the book is dead and cancel it (and may not even do the final TPB).  Catch-22.  I’ve been burned that way before.

I’ve been reviewing comics for nearly as long as I’ve had this blog.  Looking back over the last year, though, I realized I hadn’t done any comics reviews — probably because I was holding onto my TPBs for the next Blogathon.  So I have a full two feet of trades to review for this little get-together, plus another foot or so of August and September 2007 monthly issues.  Plenty of material.

I’ve read a lot of comic reviews, and done a lot, and the following are the criteria by which I end up ranking them:

1. Art:  This is a graphics medium.  If the pictures don’t do the job, buy a novel. 
2. Writing:  But it’s not just about pin-ups.  A book has to tell a good story, have solid characters and engaging dialog.  I’d say that art is a scosh more important than writing, but you really need both to make something great.
3. First-time readers:  Is this something you could hand to a fellow comic reader (or pick up yourself) and dive right in?  Is there a massive, unexplained backstory, mysterious characters from two years ago that the writer expects you to recognize, etc.?  This is a secondary consideration, more informational.  The last issue of a big story arc, or of a series, is probably the wrong comic to start with.
4. Non-comics readers:  This is a subjective call, but … if you have a friend who is not a comics reader, who finds the underwear-on-the-outside spandex crowd ridiculous or insulting, who wouldn’t be caught dead reading “a comic book” — is this something they might enjoy?  These are usually character-driven tales about something other than metahuman adventurers punching the lights out of bad guys.  If you fit into this category, look for a high rating here.

And currently I rate things on 1-5 stars.

1. Bleah.  Ecchh.  Totally awful.  The art is grotesque, the writing is insulting, first-time readers will be utterly lost, and non-comics readers will call the cops on you.
2. Poor.  I mean, yeah, it beats a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, but only just ..
3. Fair.  Tolerable, middle of the road, undistinguished, but worth reading.
4. Good.  Something worth telling your friends about.  Probably encourages you to go and get more by the same writer, artist, or publisher.
5. Faboo.  OMG, this is awesome!  The art is collectable quality, the writing is profound and exhilerating, first-time readers will look for all the previous issues, and non-comics-readers will bewail having never read comics before ..

Unlike past years, I’m going use the colorful stars that you guys have noticed on other reviews I’ve done here of late — for the TPB collections, anyway.  It takes up a bit more room, but it’s easier to read than just the numbers strung together.

Oh, for those coming along later, all the official Blogathon entries will have “BT07” prefixed to them, for easy searching and spotting later.

And … let’s get started …

(listening to: Beatles, “With a Little Help from My Friends” from Blue Album 1967-1970)