Stuart Moore's A Thousand Flowers: Storms

[MattBrady]

A THOUSAND FLOWERSComics, Pop Culture, and the World OutsideInstallment 41by Stuart Moore

Storms

By far the most-read and most controversial installment of this column was “MY CITY IN RUINS”, an early-2003 piece about New York City, the horrors of the Bush administration, and why the then-imminent Iraq war was a very, very bad idea. I appreciated the heated debate that followed; frankly, the country could have used more of that in the runup to the war. But some readers argued that politics had no place on a comics news/entertainment site.

I disagree -- and a couple of installments ago, I promised to explain why. But, as usual, the road will be a little bit indirect.

The comics internet, particularly the blogosphere, exploded a week or so ago when Wildstorm announced the cancellation of some of its Eye of the Storm titles. Some people bemoaned the end of intelligent comics, or at least of intelligent superhero comics.

Only a few weeks before, Jamie Rich -- one of the sharpest guys in the industry -- posted an editorial about the decline of the industry, particularly manifested in the tendency for indy creators to live their lives waiting for “the call” when DC or Marvel asks them to write Batman or Spider-Man. Warren Ellis -- one of the industry’s other sharpest guys -- replied with “Jamie doesn’t want to admit that it’s Game Over for a diverse Direct Market. We lost. That’s it. Move on.”

But that’s just not true. The direct market is more diverse than ever -- it’s just the top of the charts that are dominated by superheroes. They always were, but the gulf in sales levels has grown.

What’s finished, or at least badly endangered, is the concept of the single page rate.

Simple fact: There’s not a single creator in the field whose creator-owned material sells at the level of his Batman or X-Men stories. You can rail about that all you want, but it’s a fact of life. It’s nothing new, either -- fifteen years ago, Grant Morrison’s Arkham Asylum outsold Doom Patrol by orders of magnitude, despite the former’s $25 price tag. But as single-copy sales of less-commercial titles have dropped, it’s gotten to be more of a problem for publishers.

Given this fact, major comics companies are faced with a choice. Option One: You subsidize the lower-selling, more personal material because (a) it’s inherently worthwhile and/or (b) you want to keep star creators happy. Option Two: You find a way to pay less for the lower-selling books.

Option Two was the good idea at the heart of Marvel’s recent, aborted Epic Comics experiment. If you accept as given that not every book is going to sell 80,000 copies a month, you have to figure out a way to make the lower-selling ones commercially viable. Of course, you have to want to be in that business in the first place. Lower-selling books mean an inherently lower profit rate, even if you work out the arrangements so nobody’s losing money. Not every publisher wants to bother with that.

But let’s assume there are reasons for publishing lower-selling books. Given that: Unless you believe in government and/or big-company subsidies for art -- another big can of worms -- why should a writer be paid the same amount for a book that sells 12,000 copies as he is for one that sells 100,000?

Freelancers don’t like to bring this up, because nobody likes to suggest lowering their own page rates. It’s also a bigger problem for artists than for writers; a popular writer can juggle several books, while an artist usually has to concentrate on one at a time -- so the difference in money is absolute and definite. Besides, writers’ rates are lower anyway, so they’re a less tempting target when companies need to trim costs.

But freelancer rates are, by far, the biggest part of the cost of publishing mainstream comics. Whenever sales are disappointing or books are on the chopping block, that’s the elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about.

Understand: I’m not arguing that companies are evil here. They have to figure out how to profitably, continually, publish comics. And I’m not arguing that freelancers are greedy, either. Writing and drawing comics is hard, unsteady work. You’ve got to push for what you can get.

This is just one of the bumps in the road as we transition from a periodicals-only business to a multi-stage, multi-format economy. One solution, already practiced by many smaller companies, is to offer less money up front but a greater share of profits down the line. Of course, when you’re going after a prominent creator, that usually puts you in line behind a publisher willing to front more money.

I’m sorry about the cancellation of the Wildstorm titles. I know a lot of the creators, and they’re good people who work hard to put out good books. But let’s keep this in perspective. Acclaimed comic books have been getting cancelled since the beginning of time! Remember Jim Starlin’s Warlock? John Ostrander and Del Close’s Wasteland? Hempel and Wheatley’s Mars? The Counter-X titles?

So why is the collective internet convinced that the Direct Market is in its death throes? At the same time that ICV2 reports that, in the first year-on-year comparison of Diamond’s new orders-tallying system, direct-market sales of new comics are up 17% and trade paperbacks are up 2%? (For more on the long-term steadiness of the direct market, see Installments 33 and 34.)

This subject came up recently in conversation with Matt Brady, Newsarama’s Grand Master of All He Surveys (Via Phone and E-Mail). And we came up with a possible answer. Actually, he came up with it -- but it’s so obvious and fits so well with the overall theme of this column, I’m happy to steal it here.

It’s the World Outside.

I don’t think I’ll get a lot of argument if I say that we’re living in chaotic times. And this country in particular is as polarized, as divided down the middle, as I’ve ever seen it. I highly recommend a recent Washington Post article (free registration required) on the subject, which builds off of an Austin American-Statesman analysis of the 1976 and 2000 election results.

Speaking only to the Americans here: Half of you believe that the President is pursuing the only possible course to deter terrorism and keep our nation safe, and that his team is courageous, on the ball, and willing to make the necessary tough decisions. You fear that a Democratic president would be soft on terrorism and lead to more deaths and a weaker United States.

The other half of us believe Bush is deluded, possessed of inherently bad judgment, and that his team is an incompetent group of political hacks who’d rather spend time on TV, defending their policies by splitting semantic hairs, than actually doing anything. All this, while Cheney and his cronies systematically shift more and more wealth to the world’s richest men, and distract us with ill-advised tax cuts and scare tactics about terrorism.

To put it simply: We’re all a little worked up.

We think of comics as an escape from the real world. But when we discuss comics -- particularly the ins and outs, the business end of it -- we bring our baggage with us.

It reminds me, in a roundabout way, of the Death of Superman. You remember the DoS: one of the biggest outside-media events this field has ever seen. But it didn’t start out that way. DC intended it as a little sales-boosting stunt through the direct market. He’d be dead a couple months, then come back. No big deal; couple ads in Previews.

But the story became national news -- on its own. Political and social columnists all over the nation wrote about it. It became one of those odd controversies that isn’t actually about anything real: Should DC Comics really be killing Superman? Don’t we need him in these trying times? Never mind two things: (1) Superman isn’t real; and (2) Nobody really believed he wasn’t coming back!

Why did the media all pick up on this? Because of the timing. The stunt hit at the end of 1992 -- right after one of the most bitterly-fought, ideologically important presidential elections in modern history. Political pundits had been dealing with the Bush/Clinton divide for months, and the fallout from Gulf War I. They loved the Death of Superman because it was a lighter story than the Fate of America, but one that nonetheless let them riff on America and its future. If Superman could die, what did that say about all of us?

That time, non-comics journalists picked up on something in comics because of the baggage they were carrying around. Comics became a vehicle for reflection on the Outside World.

This time, we’re bringing our Outside World anxiety into the Comics field.

Comics will survive the recent Wildstorm cancellations. And, hopefully, we’ll survive George W. Bush as well.

Now if you’ll excuse me: I have to get to work on a stunt for the end of this year.

**

Stuart Moore has been a writer, a comics editor for Vertigo and Marvel Knights, a kitchen worker, a book editor, and various other, less glamorous jobs. He has won the Will Eisner award for Best Editor 1996 and the Don Thompson Award for Favorite Editor 1999.

My current comics work: LONE #6, the final issue (for now) of my future-western series from Dark Horse, just came out. The final showdown with the zombie army, and a few deaths. (Hey, it’s a western -- you think everybody’s gonna survive?) The award-winning Jerome Opena turns in his best artwork yet. As always, you can read the entire first issue, free, right now at [url-http://www.darkhorse.com/zones/rocket/downloads.php?did=273]Dark Horse.com[/url] (if you get the main page, click the “downloads” link); and catch up on the plot here.

The second issue of PARA, my high-tech/supernatural thriller from Penny-Farthing Press, is also out now. More strange phenomena in the wreckage of the world’s largest particle accelerator, and a major character dies. Don’t worry if you missed issue #1 -- I’ve designed this book so every issue catches you up instantly. Steven Grant says: “This is reminiscent of the little pleasures of DC's old STRANGE ADVENTURES comic under Julie Schwartz's aegis, but played as a movie and given room to breathe…I'm hooked; it's intelligent, controlled work.” You can see art from issue #1 at The Pulse. Issue #3 should be out in a week or two.

JUSTICE LEAGUE ADVENTURES #30, featuring the Flash and Kamandi, is likewise out now. No big deaths in this one -- they wouldn’t let me waste Batman, for some reason -- but plenty of killer apes, time paradoxes, and pirate cheetahs. The official solicitation, and cover, are at DC Comics.com.

And apropos of politics: check out GIANT ROBOT WARRIORS, a graphic novel drawn by Ryan (LUCIFER) Kelly, available now from AiT/PlanetLar. BOOKLIST calls it a “wild satire…a graphic novel-sibling, brilliantly-drawn, of Dr. Strangelove”; Variety.com says it’s “a real hoot…Grade: A-.” More info at:
here. And you won’t believe the new project I’m planning with the evil masterminds at PlanetLar…

[Nerby727]

Well said. It is unfortunate that good books have to get cancelled but that is the nature of the beast. It's happened before and God knows it'll happen again.

[gOgIver]

To me, subsidies are a bad idea for comics. Yeah, it sucks when a comic you love gets the axe due to low numbers but that happens within the natural order of the comic world landscape. Remember, bad things happen when you try to fool Mother Nature!

[shakey]

Good stuff Stuart. Hopefully, the Oni's , Drawn & Quarterlys, etc
are making enough cash to keep churning out the alternatives to the standard superhero fare.

Every move the Bush administration makes in Iraq gets me mad. It seems we need more troops to give those national guardsmen the chnace to get home ,and more funding for the people stationed out there . Of course the administartion seems scared to act, fearful of how it will play during election season.

Then they have the nerve to run ads saying John Kerry is soft on defense.

[clerk976]

Stuart,
I generally enjoy your columns quite a bit, but something about this one seemed off to me. I'm not sure what it was, considering you adequately addressed the counterargument. I'm one of those that believes politics don't belong (overtly) in mainstream comics. Kinda strange considering I just bought the Storwatch:TA trades and that book is rife with political overtones (just Wright's style). I guess my beef with this particular column is that you promised to explain how politics fit in today's comic world, but you didn't deliver. You were right about our views on Bush, but not about Superman. It felt like someone reading something into a film, but the director explains that there was no symbolism, they just ran out of money and had to use a [insert object here] instead of [another object]. This is in no way meant to be a slight to you or the column, I just think that, for my money, you didn't really give me enough information to be able to adequately consider your side of the coin. I hope no one on the boards tries to kill me.

[from the gutter]

Could comics like Power Pack and Quasar see the same run that they did originally. Hell no. This is a different industry. Im not even sure they are catering to fans at all anymore. IVe seen statements like,(paraphrase) if you dont like what im doing in X-Men then write it yourself. Thats feasable. Im not sure who the CEO's of Marvel and DC are making comics for, Hollywood execs, stockholders, or fans.

As far as politics go, what! They have no place in comics. Then you definately dont like the Golden Age because they were fighting Nazi's left and right. And if the Pentagon had been attacked then you can bet Captain America, The Original Human Torch, and Namor would have been on that too. Hell the personall IS political so you just cant get away from it. And there are plenty of comics that don't deal with governmental politics. So to say that there should be no forum in the comic world for politics is just denial and censorship. I think indy comics tackle government politics a bit better than the big two do though, cause if your xeroxing your own comic you dont have to worry about pissing off your fan-base, hell you probably want to.

Edit- I forgot to give my usual pat on the back for another great column. Thanks for these columns Mr. Stuart Moore, and keep them coming.

[Tue Sorensen]

Interesting column as usual. I don't quite agree with your Outside World theory, though. There may be *something* to it, but I also think a lot of the crying about the decline of the comics industry is done by "old school" readers who don't think the new stuff measures up (I know *I* think so - although I will grudgingly admit things have been improving *slightly* of late). Simple comparison between the old and the new. This is indeed about escapism. But it always were. Before and after the Gulf/Iraq wars. Back in '92 (-ish), we did have certain ramifications of Desert Storm (such as Galactic Storm!), but nobody thought the industry per se was in trouble. Why were we concrete about it then (i.e. real-world developments reflected in the stories), and abstract about it now (i.e. real-world developments reflected in how we look at the state of the comics industry)?

[Philldogg]

I have to disagree with the statement about comics being an escape from the "real world". Comics are art. At least most of them are trying to be. And Art is never truly about escape, it's about confronting these issues and re-stating them in a way such as to present your audience with a different point-of-view or a different way of thinking. Of course the current political landscape affects comics creators, and I for one hope it continues to. When these guys ignore the outside world then the comics lose meaning and relevance.

[Stuart Moore]

A few miscellaneous replies:

Clerk: You're absolutely right about the question of politics within the comics themselves. I have notes on that subject, but it just didn't fit within the framework of this column. We'll see if I can get it into the next one, as I wind up toward the conclusion of A THOUSAND FLOWERS.

(And I doubt anybody would try to kill you for such a reasonable reply. If they do, I got your back.)

Tue: Similarly, I'm not sure the shift has been from real-world elements in the comics to real-world elements in our reaction to them; the latter is, again, just the point of this particular column. If anything, I think there's more overt politics in comics now. (I don't remember "Operation Galactic Storm" having anything particularly cogent to say about the Gulf War, regardless of its entertainment virtues.)

Philldogg: I agree with you, of course. I was overstating the case to make a point about our reactions to current comics. Some people do look to comics only for "pure escapism"; for myself, I try to make sure there's something more in even the simplest eight-pager I write.

Best,
Stuart

[Brian Garside]

You missed out on something fairly significant with respect to your polarity argument.

You said 50% supports the current government, and 50% is against.

While that's true of those who actually care, there's a good 50% of your population that's apathetic, and who cares more about the war that's going on in their front yards than what's happening a million miles overseas.

Less than half of your population voted in the last election, and I'd say that's probably a pretty good indication on the political views of these people. They're neither offended, nor supportive of the government's actions, and to them, political satire is just satire about something they really don't care about.

So that really means that a political comic is aimed at a percentage of the 25% of the population that actually leans that way.

The moral majority is neither moral, nor a majority...discuss.

[Vacuumboy9]

Originally said by Stuart Moore

The comics internet, particularly the blogosphere, exploded a week or so ago when Wildstorm announced the cancellation of some of its Eye of the Storm titles. Some people bemoaned the end of intelligent comics, or at least of intelligent superhero comics.

Only a few weeks before, Jamie Rich -- one of the sharpest guys in the industry -- posted an editorial about the decline of the industry, particularly manifested in the tendency for indy creators to live their lives waiting for “the call” when DC or Marvel asks them to write Batman or Spider-Man. Warren Ellis -- one of the industry’s other sharpest guys -- replied with “Jamie doesn’t want to admit that it’s Game Over for a diverse Direct Market. We lost. That’s it. Move on.”

But that’s just not true. The direct market is more diverse than ever -- it’s just the top of the charts that are dominated by superheroes. They always were, but the gulf in sales levels has grown.

Thank you for those words, Stuart. I think it is very sad that certain comics creators such as Ellis cannot see that the industry is in an upswing at present, and I thank you greatly for pointing out that the game is not over, that we're still out there fighting and the tide is turning.

I’m sorry about the cancellation of the Wildstorm titles. I know a lot of the creators, and they’re good people who work hard to put out good books. But let’s keep this in perspective. Acclaimed comic books have been getting cancelled since the beginning of time! Remember Jim Starlin’s Warlock? John Ostrander and Del Close’s Wasteland? Hempel and Wheatley’s Mars? The Counter-X titles?

And people who look at the problems Crossgen is having and say to themselves it's a sign of the industry's failure need a similar history lesson. Comics survived the loss of Kitchen Sink, Tundra, Comico, Eclipse... all the way back to Charlton, EC, Quality, Fawcett... comics companies come and go ALL the time.

So why is the collective internet convinced that the Direct Market is in its death throes? At the same time that ICV2 reports that, in the first year-on-year comparison of Diamond’s new orders-tallying system, direct-market sales of new comics are up 17% and trade paperbacks are up 2%? (For more on the long-term steadiness of the direct market, see Installments 33 and 34.)

And I'd add here that these examples of upswings in sales... only represent the direct market. Sales in bookstores are going very well indeed right now.

[Garjones]

Originally posted by Philldogg
I have to disagree with the statement about comics being an escape from the "real world". Comics are art. At least most of them are trying to be. And Art is never truly about escape, it's about confronting these issues and re-stating them in a way such as to present your audience with a different point-of-view or a different way of thinking.

Comics are a medium. They may be art, they may be propaganda, they me deep, they may be shallow. They are words and pictures combined - that's all - you can say what you want inbetween.

I agree that to say comics and politics don't mix is rubbish. It's like saying TV and cookery don't mix or cinema and pop music. You can do what you want. Judge Dredd is a deeply political and satirical comic, I read it for 7 years as a kid without even realising that but it's been pretty succesful for over 25 years.

Comics can be Maus, or Betty and Veronica, or Doom Patrol or Asterix the Gaul or Dilbert. Succesful political comics? Depends on what you count as political? The X-Men has been almost nothing but...race, religion, AIDS, ethnic cleansing, sexuality. They've all been there in allegory from day one. Xavier and Magneto as MLK and Malcolm X - not a big jump at all. If people just want escapism and action then why have a million and one escapist comics been cancelled?

People buy what they want for a variety of reasons. I didn't buy Wildcats v.3, not because it was political or deep but because I didn't like what I read from Casey before and a limited budget means sometimes you don't buy everything.

Gareth

[Hannibal Tabu]

This has been the smartest ATF yet, IMNSHO. Nicely done.

[Chris Ekman]

Stuart:

Your new column- at least the first half- doesn't make sense. You start by addressing the common online lament that the direct market, despite all the efforts made to broaden it in recent years, is actually getting less diverse. You counter that "the direct market is more diverse than ever," but then go on to admit that "single-copy sales of less-commercial titles have dropped, [and] it’s gotten to be more of a problem for publishers" that aren't in the business for art's sake. So, if direct market patrons and the dominant direct market publishers are doing less to support diversity, doesn't it follow that the direct market is indeed getting less diverse?

Then, perhaps realizing you've refuted your own point, you move the goalposts. "So why is the collective internet convinced that the Direct Market is in its death throes?", you ask. That's not the question you set out to answer, and it's not the position of Rich or Ellis or the people lamenting the failure of Wildstorm.

Direct market sales may be up, as you go on to note, but as you yourself say earlier in the column, they're up on the traditional standbys, at the expense of lower-selling titles. That's a net loss for diversity, not a gain, isn't it?

Chris Ekman

[shadow]

Wow, talk about not making sense (or at least ignoring what Stuart actually SAID for what you wanted it to mean... Oh, and I'm not sure if I did the "quoting the other guy" thing right, so I typed in "he said, I say" bits just in case I mucked it up)

You say:

Originally posted by Chris Ekman
Stuart:

Your new column- at least the first half- doesn't make sense. You start by addressing the common online lament that the direct market, despite all the efforts made to broaden it in recent years, is actually getting less diverse. You counter that "the direct market is more diverse than ever," but then go on to admit that "single-copy sales of less-commercial titles have dropped, [and] it’s gotten to be more of a problem for publishers" that aren't in the business for art's sake. So, if direct market patrons and the dominant direct market publishers are doing less to support diversity, doesn't it follow that the direct market is indeed getting less diverse?
Chris Ekman

Me say: Uh...no, he said that comics from "publishers that aren't in the business for art's sake", which means, basically, the big business corporations of Marvel and DC, which have to continually cancel those comics which don't find a large enough fan base to support the costs of printing them. However, that doesn't mean they don't TRY and don't START new, diverse series every single month (have you SEEN an issue of PREVIEWS lately? It takes me HOURS just to flip through the major publishers sections!!!) Just because their runs are somewhat brief, doesn't mean they never existed in the first place, nor that they aren't then replaced by yet another new, innovative series. PLUS: this doesn't include most indy publishers that AREN'T in the business just for the bottom line, though they do have to try to stay afloat. Regardless, such companies as ONI, AP, FANTAGRAPHICS, (dare I say it?) CROSSGEN (hey, they're TRYING!), offer up new series all the time and more than a few never make them a dime.

Then you say:

Originally posted by Chris Ekman
Stuart:

Then, perhaps realizing you've refuted your own point, you move the goalposts. "So why is the collective internet convinced that the Direct Market is in its death throes?", you ask. That's not the question you set out to answer, and it's not the position of Rich or Ellis or the people lamenting the failure of Wildstorm.
Chris Ekman

At which me say: Yes, but he DID say he would get to the point of the column INDIRECTLY, ergo: he broached some out-of-the-way topics to GET to the question he set out to answer. And it was an exaggerated statement, though more or less, yes, that IS the position (Ellis stated: "We lost. That's it. Move on.", which refers to trying to create comics that aren't for the mass public. I admit I'm not sure about Rich, though.)

Finally, you say:

Originally posted by Chris Ekman
Stuart:

Direct market sales may be up, as you go on to note, but as you yourself say earlier in the column, they're up on the traditional standbys, at the expense of lower-selling titles. That's a net loss for diversity, not a gain, isn't it?
Chris Ekman

To which I reply: But, again, the NUMBER of titles attempting to be published is still at an all time high and definitely diverse in cencept. And even though they're failing money-making-wise, the Direct Market is still showing a profit all-around, and therefore is not in its death-throws, and nor is the diversity lessening, even if the diverse titles are not finding the proper fan base (again, they don't last, but they keep on comin'!!!)
Hokay, peace out, brother-man!

[NerveTonic]

Stuart, check this out:

Let's agree comics sales did collapse a few years ago.

Let's agree the number of comics shops was decimated, or pretty close.

When that happened, fans and retailers and publishers noticed for the first time that direct sales to specialty stores had driven newsstand sales into near extinction ... which meant reduced sales to children and "newbies" ... which meant few new readers ... which meant an aging readership, and no new generation of readers to replace them.

And -- EUREKA -- that meant the death of comics!

When I figured out that proposition, it came as a brilliant "V8" moment to me. Everything suddenly grew so clear. Dang me! I had graduated from the Kubert School just in time to enter the comics field as it went the way of the the ViewMaster.

This realization was the first clear insight I had into the comics field as a whole system -- creators, publishers, retailers and consumers all interacting as a system. Suddenly, I was more than a fan. Suddenly, I UNDERSTOOD SOMETHING. How THRILLING. How ENLIGHTENING.

The thrill of enlightenment is captivating! Nobody wants to lose the thrill of enlightenment. No one who ever climbed all the way to the Top of The Mountain and spake unto the guru -- no one like that wants to admit when the guru's reply loses its currency.

So we overlook the (modest) recovery of comics, because we grieve the brilliant understanding we're losing.

Mike Brisbois

[NerveTonic]

Or to put it more simply, fans like to feel "in the know."

It was a mindblower when we recognized that the collapse of comics sales was systematic, not just a lag.

Those of us who grasped the Big Picture cling to that big picture, even if it no longer accurately represents conditions. We prefer to feel "in the know," even if what we know is no longer accurate.

[NerveTonic]

I propose this solution:

Let's all get fat, and grow little ponytails and wee beards; and let's walk around in t-shirts and flip-flops; and then when a comics reader says "The comics industry is in the dumper," let's make fun of him and tell him his insights are no longer accurate. And let's do so using "quips" that refer to obscure episodes of DARK SHADOWS.

THAT's how to make a change in this crazy business, bay-BEE.

(Have you heard they're bringing DARK SHADOWS back? How exciting is that?)

Mike

[Tue Sorensen]

Stuart said:
>I don't remember "Operation Galactic Storm" having anything
>particularly cogent to say about the Gulf War, regardless of its
>entertainment virtues.

Well, I think it did, but I'm usually challenged on that opinion! :-)

As for escapism in general, I think all fiction is a theory of reality. That is, an attempt to make sense of reality by reducing it to a coherent microversion that we can use as a launch pad for a subsequent larger understanding of the real world. So while a lot of fiction is "escapist entertainment" engaged in for leisure purposes, it is *also* an intellectual pursuit that ensures our continued philosophizing about the nature of reality; of the real world.

[sgauthier]

I have to admit that I was one of the people who responded badly to the original column you wrote. I think at the time I was just sick of hearing about the dooms of the world and everybody politicking everywhere you turned. So when I turned to the funny pages for escape I was shocked to find the same there as well.

I would like to take this chance to apologize for my charge that you were using your soapbox inappropriately. A knee-jerk reaction. Plus I’m a conservative that lives in Massachusetts so I was probably just used to arguing with everybody around me.

Of course some real life issues allows seem to seep into all forms of entertainment. I believe that the core of good science fiction is a distorted view of real life. Unfortunately lately a lot of creators seem to be skewing this principle to push their own political agendas and as a result I feel the work suffers most of the time. Don’t focus your story on an extreme and exaggerated view of your opposition’s points of view. It comes across heavy-handed and obvious. Instead tell the story of an individual or event that even though it was founded in good intentions so polarized an advance culture as to eliminate all tolerance or middle ground. To me that is an interesting pitch.

I guess I’m afraid that current sci-fi is becoming like most of the local news outlets. Don’t spoon-feed me somebody else’s ideas or agenda. Just give me the facts and let me reason it out on my own – or if you’re really good give me something that actually challenge the way I look at the world. Classic Sci-fi did this for me. I miss it.

With that said I would like to ask the following. I purchased the two recently canceled WS titles. I found StormWatch to be a little heavy handed for my own individual tastes but found that I really enjoyed WildCATS 3.0 more. With that and what I have written above in mind, does anybody (especially Stuart if he reads this) have any titles they would recommend that I check out?

[shadow]

Originally posted by sgauthier

With that said I would like to ask the following. I purchased the two recently canceled WS titles. I found StormWatch to be a little heavy handed for my own individual tastes but found that I really enjoyed WildCATS 3.0 more. With that and what I have written above in mind, does anybody (especially Stuart if he reads this) have any titles they would recommend that I check out?

Well, unfortunately, there really isn't anything quite like WildCATS 3.0 out there, but you say you like well written Sci-Fi morality plays that don't spoon feed you and challenge you?
Not sure about the comic front (nothing directly fitting that nitch comes to mind) but a Sci-Fi novel I just finished called CITY OF PEARL by Karen Traviss was ASTOUNDING! It completely changed my outlook on moral dilemma, and, like you said, that hasn't happened in a LOOOONG time!!!
Basic premise is a group of humans having to live and adapt to an alien culture, with their own alien customs, beliefs, and morals which are FAR out of normal human understanding of those terms. It really made me question just what IS a solid moral base and how can we ever know that OURS is the right one? That ANY of us have the "right" one?
Anyway, great novel, and beyond what I took form it, VERY well written and, while the first half is a slow build up, the second half in extremely intense and very satisfying!
Some comics I would recommend however:
-NEGATION (check out the trades on these! It's good sci-fi, great characterization, and you honestly don't need to know a THING about the rest of the Crossgen universe [since, technically, it doesn't take place in it])
-HELLBLAZER (either find the Ennis trades ["DANGEROUS HABITS" being the first and very best of these!] or track down the Jenkins, Azzarello, or Mike Carey runs. Perhaps one of the most quinntessential antiheroes ever. A good man with good intentions whose very nature keeps him walking a very gray line [and occasionally steps over to pitch freakin' black!])
-SWAMP THING (as always, Swamp Thing is the perfect story struggle of "power and security" vs. "peace and trust". It's nature vs. humanity and, thankfully, it never becomes a simple "tree-hugger" type story. Both sides are vicious, creul, petty, and selfish, yet somehow they have to learn to live in harmony. The current series is only on issue #2 and it is seriously a good read!)
-THEIVES AND KINGS (read this comic!!! There are GN collections for ALL the issues out there and it's high fantasy but it is [no pun intended] fantastically original and unique!)
PLUS: COLONIA, BONE, and BONEYARD - Three GREAT comics that also have trade compilations and are high fantasy/horror/humor.
And those are the best of the best "non-superhero" wise [which I assumed you were looking to avoid].
Hope you find some of those to your liking!

[Stuart Moore]

SG: Thanks. I'm pressed for time right now but will make one incredibly self-serving recommendation, since it fits in with your comments so well: my own graphic novel GIANT ROBOT WARRIORS, drawn by Ryan Kelly (LUCIFER). It's political but light-hearted -- check out this brand-new quote from a review by Todd Allen in New York's free paper THE RESIDENT:

"An amusing mix of political and pop culture satire with an especially well done turn on the cliché of the long-suffering and prone-to-screaming work supervisor/government suit. Perhaps the most interesting feat is keeping a light, nonbitter tone with the subject matter when so many other treatments of presidential politics and Mideast policies have devolved into name-calling."

It's out from AiT/PlanetLar, and available from Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books .

I owe a longer reply on this, and to Chris Ekman, too. Hopefully later...

Best,
Stuart

[Shawn Fumo]

Well, while I'm sure the political climate has some effect, I think the bigger issue is that of bookstores, manga, etc. While I don't think the Direct Market is going to suddenly go away any time soon (and I certainly see more diversity in many shops than I did in the 90s), it certainly does have its share of issues. People have always complained about the status quo, but I think there is greater examination happening lately because of something else to compare it to.

Take for example the female half of the population. It has been years and years since there was a significant female readership in the DM. What was the explanation? "Girls just aren't into comics". Occationally someone would try something and of course it'd fail, re-inforcing everyone's opinions. Trouble would be the latest example..

But then comes along the manga boom and suddenly titles for girls are selling like crazy, with ladies lining up at bookstores to buy them every month. At least half of that market is now driven by female sales, which links pretty well into the percentages of the actual population.

The same kind of argument applies to attracting kids. Now Tokyopop is doing a TV ad campaign, something comic people have said wasn't practical. Jump is selling even at supermarkets and has now teamed up with Dr. Pepper... etc..

So, IMO it isn't that the DM is really doing worse. It is more that other things seem to be doing a lot better, things that the DM has said weren't really possible. It makes the status quo look bad in comparison to excitement happening outside..

Shawn

P.S. As for sci-fi with some morality plays, might want to check out Planetes. The second volume especially gets into the battle between humanity and the drive for space at any cost.

[zombiekid]

how can politics not have a place in comics? surely comics, like films and books and pretty much any other kind of expressive medium, can be about anything the writer/creator wants. not all comics have to be based on superpowered people and even the ones that are can be political (watchmen for god's sake). i do think it's sad that not enough people in america are bothered with what their president is doing (isn't he supposed to be an elected representitive of the people and their views?) and are so apathetic about it that they don't want it to creep into their precious comic books because they might actually have towise up and pay attention. guess what, just because ostriches bury their heads in the sand, doesn't mean they don't get bitten in the ass.

[sgauthier]

"isn't he supposed to be an elected representitive of the people and their views?"

He does - or at least about half the people in the country anyways.


i do think it's sad that not enough people in america are bothered with what their president is doing and are so apathetic about it that they don't want it to creep into their precious comic books because they might actually have towise up and pay attention.

Just for the record this is a perfect example of the heavy-handed, one-sided commentary that I don't need in my funnies.