“Analysis: Disney-Marvel Deal Brings Changes”: I’ve tried avoiding putting Marvel/Disney news in these little link-blogging posts I do, since a) chances are you’ve read most of ‘em or seen ‘em linked to elsewhere already and b) I’m kinda sick of the topic myself for the time being, but I thought this piece from Adweek was well worth pointing out, if only because the headline is pretty much as generic as a headline can get.
I am shocked and appalled at USA Today’s book critics: This list labeled “Our critics can’t wait to read these” includes a single graphic novel, and it’s the adaptation of World War Z*. Don’t they know what a potentially astounding fall publishing season this is gonna be?
What Would Stardust, The Super-Wizard Do?: That’s a question “Crap Archivist” Alan Scherstuh thinks people in the business world are better off asking than what Spider-Man’s oath or Green Lantern’s patrol schedule can teach them about business. Scherstuh slaps down 2008 book How To Be a Business Superhero and gives it a good kicking in this post.
“It’s not even racism. It’s mathematics”: David Brothers responds to Tom Brevoort’s “whenever your leads are white American males, you’ve got a better chance of reaching more people overall” comment from earlier in the week.
“I’m not Frederick H. Moral Relativism or anything, but I’m pretty sure that when your Glowing Green Space-Cop is losing the moral high ground to the…Punisher, there’s a problem with your story”: Invincible Super-Blogger and the comics blogosphere’s leading expert of Bring It On direct-to-DVD sequels Crhis Sims responds to Cry For Justice’s torture scene a lot more elegantly (and humorously) than I did, in the course of reviewing his weekly purchases.
*Is it an adaptation, or a new comic book branded with the same name as the original book? I don’t know. Commenter Alan points out that it sounds like new material below.
September 5th, 2009 at 9:05 am
I like the Adweek piece because I felt it approached the Marvel purchase from a different perspective — everyone was talking about how it would help Disney appeal more to boys, so I liked that someone acknowledged that it may also allow Marvel to appeal more to women.
I also made fun of the headline. I understand sometimes you just have to write a headline (it’s part of my job, after all) but it was incredibly generic.
September 6th, 2009 at 12:05 am
The fall/winter publishing season this year will be spectacular and anyone who cares about comics should read/buy as many of the titles on Tom Spurgeon’s list as they have time for/can afford.
Two criticisms:
“The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks” by Max Brooks is not technically an adaptation of World War Z. I can’t guarantee that, not being in publishing and the book not yet released, but based on the description, it’s pretty obvious it’s not. (Unless you know something about the book that the rest of us don’t and that the actual book is not like the description at all…)
“Making Mischief: A Maurice Sendak Appreciation” by Gregory Maguire, while not comics and while not the appreciation of a comics artist is a book about a man so hugely influential and important to this field that it should perhaps be mentioned or at least acknowledged.
Having said that, I agree. Bunch of snobs. All those titles and not only are there not any good comics, but they didn’t even mention the new John Irving novel in November…
September 7th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
I wanted to get mad at Brevoort’s comments as a Black comic book fan but you know it has been proven true time after time after time. Blue Beetle, Capt. Britain, Black Panther several times, Firestorm, Various female lead titles like Manhunter etc. No matter how good they are, they have felt the axe….
For a medium based on imagination, how brutally ironic is this?