Part of me would love to do a collection of the comments made here and at other blogs regarding our departure. But that would be way too self-serving. I have been blown away by the response to the news and it’s definitely a testament to the hard work the rest of the Blog@ gang does. While a part of the original Great Curve gang, my part here at Blog@ has only been this column.  It has been a fun effort for me to compile, given that the comic book industry and fanbase have a wealth of quotable people.  I only hope folks enjoyed reading the quotes as much as I relished finding them.

This week saw the conclusion to Batman R.I.P., and with that an abundance of quotable material. Please don’t read this week’s quotes if you’re trying to avoid spoilers.

“Is this issue a satisfying conclusion to ‘Batman R.I.P.’? Yes, as the events of recent issues are explained and put into context more explicitly. But yet we’re left with plenty of unanswered questions about the larger picture, and the final few sequences seem too abrupt, as if we’re flashing toward too many previews of things to come even as some of the dangling threads have been left unresolved.”
Timothy Callahan

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Quotes that caught my eye this week.

“She loves comics and loves sharing that passion.””
- John Givetz conveying the passion of Carla Hoffman, who along with her husband Lance, is recovering after suffering serious burns in the Tea Fire. To echo the sentiments of many, here’s hoping we’re all as passionate and dedicated in supporting the Hoffmans, through prayer or fiscal or whatever means we can spare.

“…if the last few years of DC’s publishing moves have taught us anything, it’s that they rarely do anything that makes sense anymore.”
- Stephen Gerding questioning the wisdom of cancelling the Blue Beetle comic with one corporate arm (DC) while raising the character’s profile by using him in the launch of the Batman: The Brave and The Bold show with another corporate arm (Cartoon Network)

“So many people have invested in me getting back on my feet; it’d be a betrayal of them if I didn’t keep going.”
- Bill Messner-Loebs explaining how much he respects the level of support he received from the industry and fans several years ago.

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An assortment of quotes that caught my eye over the past week.

“The cancellation of the Minx line of graphic novels aimed at younger, female readers strikes me now as even more unfortunate news, as the Shelly Bond-edited brand has brought us yet another compelling read.”
- Don MacPherson in praise of Alisa Kwitney & Joelle Jones’ Token

“But if you don’t like Kate Beaton’s comics—I mean, seriously, if you don’t like at least one of Kate Beaton’s comics—then you’ve got something wrong with you, and I hope that you never have children. You will raise them badly, and they will be humorless little bloodsucking ticks.”
- Tucker Stone

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I’m trying a new approach this week: Less me, more quotes.

“Also, when J.G. went out there and took the blame for lack of a better term for not being part of the book, that wasn’t really his call. It was my call, and my place to take the blame.”
- Dan DiDio doing the perceived right thing and not letting J.G. Jones fall on a Final Crisis sword for him.

” . . . there’s plenty to discuss in terms of how a book like this could have been put together, but this cover credit issue has been blown out of all reasonable proportion, and it’s too bad because the book is definitely, definitely worth owning.”
- Christopher Butcher aiming to be the voice of reason on a Chip Kidd cover credit “controversy”.

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Part of me really wanted to revisit last week’s Cage Match at Comics Comics, given that this week David Heatley replied to some of his critics. But it would have been all quotes linking to one page, a clear cheat in the process of quote collection. Plus, as passionate and cutting as the posts may have been, the comments got shut down due to an increased breakdown in civility. And yet, I find it’s still worth a visit for such interesting lines as: “The pink bars, by the way, are pretty much a non-issue outside comics circles.” (Heatley); “… sounds like something some goofy, ill-informed and hissingly defensive superhero fan would write on a CompuServe message board in 1995.” (Tom Spurgeon); “I’m so sick of diplomatic (or faux-diplomatic) defenses and rationalizations… ” (Jeffrey Meyer); and “On the other hand … it is very, very hard to respond to criticism without looking like a douchebag, and it’s even harder when your work is so tied up with your personal life.” (Noah Berlatsky).

Now having dismissed that which I did not quote but did quote, on with the actual quotes.

“So that people can afford to buy them. So you don’t have to be rich to own a painting. I think everybody should be able to own art and have it in their homes. I’m kind of against posters. I think people should have real art made by real human hands in their homes.”
- James Kochalka explaining why he creates 2-inch by 2-inch paintings

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The new wireless router that was supposed to be plug and play? It’s not so far (yea, I know blame the operator, I do.) Took the latest issue of Spidey into the bathroom, dropped it into the toilet fortunately at a point where it was still OK to retrieve it. (Yea, too much information and blame the operator, again) But I’m not letting these small snags get me down and I have a new bevy of quotes to entertain me (and hopefully you).

The one theme I focused upon was reaction to Flash Thompson’s story in Amazing Spider-Man 574 (and strangely enough, so many folks were caught up in the final reveal, few commented on the revelation of how Flash got his nickname…) Before following any of the Spidey-related quotes, be aware many are in reviews that give the whole story away. Don’t follow the quote sources if you intend to read the issue.

Amazing Spider-Man 574

“This could just be me being me, but this story was sad and hopeful at the same time and it just felt right frame after frame, all of which leads to a bit of a shocker ending for Mr. Thompson.”
- Mike Rapin

“God bless Marvel for trying to do a good thing. But I wish they’d think these things through a tad more.”
- Mart

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I was all geared up to make it a “beat up on Noah Berlatsky” collection of quotes, but everyone had to play nice and clear the air to the point it became a borderline mutual admiration society in our own blog’s comments section. Way to go all adult, people.

So instead I focused the Quote Unquote RSS-sniffer on Platinum Studios. Before I knew it, suddenly, the opening strains of They Might Be Giants’ old tune, Minimum Wage, started playing in my head. Sure, it’s a down economy, but things seem increasingly more down in some areas of the industry (compared to others) at present. For variety I worked in some other quote subjects as well.

Platinum Studios

“The employees of Platinum Studios, Inc. (the “Company”) have agreed to accept minimum wage cash compensation until further notice to reduce the company’s payroll obligations. Each employee will also be receiving a bonus commensurate with their position in the Company, in common stock, for accepting this payroll reduction. This arrangement will be reviewed on a bi-weekly basis by the Company’s management.”
- Platinum Studios’ Form 8-K, which was recently filed with SEC (as first noted by Steve Horton)

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Spoiler space.

Enjoy happier times at the Kent farm as shown at right.

Clark may want something stronger to drink after this past week’s plot.

Though really what I’m holding back, it would not take a Brainiac to have seen it coming.

Follow me to after the jump.

Where we can talk in private or something like that.

It’s worth it, really.

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Sorry about the lack of quotes last weekend, I was busy at Baltimore Comic-Con trying to get a lunch invitation from Dan DiDio . . . on with the quotes.

“Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch’s FANTASTIC FOUR #560 just continues their lackluster attempt at being imaginative without, you know, actually coming up with anything new. When The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine reads as if it’s stolen its plot from Heroes, which in itself stole its plot from “Days of Future Past,” then that’s not a good thing. It’s such a… dull book, now.”
- Graeme McMillan on the current level of excitement with Millar and Hitch’s Fantastic Four.

“I was a juvenile delinquent, basically.”
- Ed Brubaker providing a glimpse into his origin.

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This week I focus on two topics for the most part.

All Star Superman 12 came out this week, and as far as I can tell, everyone loved it. I mean some reviews were on the verge of claiming the book cured cancer. And here’s my challenge for the week, find me a negative review. I could not find one, except the one in my head. The last time I liked Frank Quitely’s art was on Flex Mentallo. Ever since then, his art style has always made me feel that to live in a Quitely universe is to live in a place where everyone is constipated. So, as much as I appreciate Morrison’s writing, I never really enjoyed this Superman take.

The second theme for the week is reaction to last week’s Bucket of Quesada (oops, I mean Cup o’ Joe) on the subject of work-for-hire. Not surprisingly, people reacted to it this week.

I also tossed in a few random quotes on other topics for good measure.

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Just as most worthwhile writers have a good ear for dialogue, the writer of a column like this one should have a good ear/eye for quotes. If you go back and look over the quotes that Kevin Melrose and JK Parkin culled in the period when they wrote this column, it is quite evident that both of them have a knack for finding effective quotes. My ears and eyes for quotes is vastly different than theirs. In fact, some weeks I come at this gig from an extremely strange mindset.

For example, this week, I toyed with the idea of trying to find quotes from comic book folks connected to suicide, in the wake of novelist David Foster Wallace’s suicide on Friday. I rejected this idea quickly for a number of reasons. It’s exploitative in a sense (”Hey, this man not connected to comics in the slightest took his own life! That got me a thinkin’…”) and in terms of topic relevancy, it’s nonsensical. Also, to the best of my knowledge, for the all the online abuse (amidst the fair criticism [I concede] as well) comic book creators have taken over the years, we are fortunate enough not to have any suicides in our industry (my knowledge is limited, but I am hoping no one proves me wrong in the comments section [this is a hope on many levels]).

I’m sure everyone realizes a column of this nature (like most any) is subjective as hell. My eyes and ears for quotes are not to everyone’s liking. It can’t be. That’s why I periodically ask for folks to submit their own nods for quotes they thought worth noting in the week. I’m genuinely curious to understand what might catch your eye or ear that clearly eludes mine. And with that inquiry made, I leap into the quotes.

“Yes, he’s a dick. But he’s got an exotic David Bowie quality that captures our hearts.”
- Rachelle Goguen admiring Prince Namor, the Savage Sub-Mariner

“I will do something yet that is purely for me but will create for someone in the future that passion that Blake and Keats did in me.”
- Maurice Sendak on his hopes for his future work, as well as its intended impact (in a piece where he talks of his heroes, such as “Mozart, Keats, Blake, Melville and Dickinson”, and quickly disabuses anyone of the notion he’s likening his work to theirs)

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So Sarah Palin survives another week where the US VP hopeful was not revealed to be a closet comic book collector. I’m not saying she is, but boy would it not be fun to find out she was totally pro-Tony in the Civil War debate? OK enough of political What If?, you’re here for quotes. And I have some.

“The gap between artist and consumer that was created in the ’80s has only widened, however, with many fans viewing both underlying and overt political messages as a personal assault. Perhaps its just a reflection of our divisive times, magnified by the nearly unlimited means of expression offered by the Internet, call-in radio and 24-hour cable news networks.”
- The Fortress Keeper on recent reaction to some subtle and some direct political messages in comic books

“If you’re looking for brutal superhero slaughter in your wholesome kid-friendly entertainment, then the direct-to-DVD Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow is for you. Next Avengers, which just came out on DVD, is full of adorable kids whose parents (the Avengers) were disemboweled by the android Ultron, and now he’s coming for the kids.”
- Meredith Woerner validating my decision to put this flick on the Netflix list for my son. Now to brace for the “why is Ultron so mean?” plot questions from aforementioned son…

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This week’s quotes could have been an amazing collection of tributes and shots at For Better or For Worse. It’s always mystified and annoyed me how much people have gotten into bashing Lynn Johnston’s strip, increasingly so in recent years. I just didn’t see the point. I liked the strip, and I was curious to see where she was taking these characters in the last days. But my god, the last few strips made me want to start mocking the work myself. For instance, ever faithful Iris is discussing Grandpa Jim’s health with new bride Elizabeth. But for whatever reason, Iris likens elderly Jim to a baby–prompting Elizabeth’s non sequitor of “I’d like to have a baby someday.” I was really hoping Iris would cold-cock Elizabeth and scream: “We’re talking about your grandfather, you self-absorbed moron!” Sadly it was not to be…for better or for worse.

But, no, I could not bring myself to gather such a collection of quotes. Instead, over the past few weeks, I’ve been bewildered by the active campaigns in some circles to deride Kramers Ergot 7. When the pricing on this anthology was first announced, I remembered thinking: “Don’t see myself buying the book.” But the way that some folks that I respect have seemingly gone out of your way to dismiss/deride/prejudge Kramer’s Ergot 7, I’m actively rooting for this book to succeed. And the backlash has made me more likely to buy the book. Fortunately for all the negative prejudgments just as many folks seem to be expecting great things of the book. Me? I’ll wait until I can read actual reviews of the book before making any final decisions.

“11 of those contributors are must-reads for me…33 pages for $125 bucks is a non-starter at my house; sorry, team artcomix. I know I’ve disappointed you terribly.”
- Alan David Doane in just one of his many reverse marketing posts about the book.

“Alan, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, no one gives a special shit about what you buy or don’t buy. Get over yourself, and move on.”
-Tom Spurgeon, in the same comments section, with a unique (for him) case of public potty mouth.

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Well, back on August 13 Robert Kirkman spoke his mind and it struck a nerve in some circles. Bossman Parkin covered some of the reaction in an August 15 post, but given that feedback continued on into this week, I thought I’d snag some further feedback. Plus, as always, other folks offered up items worth quoting.

“I haven’t commented on Robert Kirkman’s video screed on creator ownership for two reasons: [1] The pro-creators’ rights argument isn’t exactly news to most Journal readers, and [2] the notion that a bevy of original works, presumably genre works, that don’t star Wolverine or Batman are going to set the Direct Market on fire, change the buying habits of the Wednesday Crowd or even provide sustainable incomes in the majority of cases is just insane on the face of it. (Kirkman: There’s a reason that most alt-comics types — you know, the folks who’ve been putting their money where your mouth is for two decades? — have been quietly abandoning the DM ship for the past few years.)”
-Dirk Deppey, TCJ.com online editor, pussyfooting (yea, I’m kidding) around what he really thinks of Kirkman’s take.

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Is it me, or does every stinking TV channel seem to have the Olympics? Tell me this–in two weeks from now will anyone other than Momma Phelps have the new Mark Spitz on their mind? Not to be accused of being part of a group think mentality or anything … But the fleeting nature of celebrity makes me wonder–do some of the current big names in comics ever fear that their sometimes meteoric rise to the top must likely end with an equally fast trajectory into obscurity? My random contemplation has nothing to do with this week’s batch of quotes, however, so it may be best just to get on with them.

“So, remember…the only characters in comics who stay dead are the ones nobody wants to write about.”
- Todd Klein sharing his thoughts on Final Crisis 1 and the reason why some comic book characters stay dead (with thanks to fellow Blog@ co-hort Kevin Melrose for suggesting the quote)

“I think the subject has changed in my mind to ‘Will The Comics Industry Ever Grow Up And Act Like It Deserves The Respect It Craves?’”
- Dustin Harbin posing a question (of sorts) in the comments section for a post seemingly regarding the pricing of the upcoming Kramer’s Ergot 7. As for the subject that Harbin mentions, I’m fairly certain the answer is no.

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So this week, we found out that Lois Lane and abortion were once discussed in a very strange sense. And as much as I’d love to link to esoteric Grant Morrison hero worship (his writing just seems to attract this kind of praise), these are the quotes I chose to reflect the past week.

“You know, because you can compare a corporate franchise like Superman, a creator-owned property like Jesse Custer whose influence is limited to Preacher, and motherfucking ART SPIEGELMAN’S DAD.”
- David Uzumeri on the absurdity of top (insert number here) comic book character lists that have become the craze ever since AFI started the validation of geek list making

“I’d like to see Catwoman over the Penguin. Not as a prostitute, and not as the Tim Burton version — what, cats sniffed her back to life? — but perhaps the Adam Hughes design, with the goggles. That’s very realistic. I can imagine her in street clothes that are designed just right. I also like the idea of them creating villains just for the movies.”
- Steve Niles positing who would make a great villain for the next (potential) Nolan/Bale Bat-flick

“Quick aside: Wouldn’t you love to see AMERICAN IDOL open auditions in Gotham City? Paula would be mistaken for the Joker.”
- Ken Levine mixing the world of Gotham with the world of Idol. (Thanks to Blog@’s Tom Bondurant for leading me to this gem)

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Skip Carey is dead and I’m getting married in less than six days. The first bit makes me sad, the second part makes me very happy and busy. On with quotes of the past week.

“If you’re the sort of person who’s going to find Mary Jane sexist, why weren’t you disillusioned with her a long time ago? I mean, even if some other writers have made her more of an independent woman, there is this history of the character being a preposterous brain-dead male fantasy. Surely, were you a feminist, this might give you pause before you pledged her your undying loyalty.”
- Noah Berlatsky on Mary Jane Watson’s value/merits or lack thereof

“Sinatra didn’t become a great singer until his heart was broken, and Mauldin didn’t become a great cartoonist until the invasion of Sicily. There, along with the civilian dead in towns, he was witness to a horrific snafu where hundreds of U.S. paratroopers were killed by friendly fire, not that such an idiotic term existed then. Any gore or death was offstage in his cartoons, but his humor grew grimmer, his mud and zipping bullets more palpable. You can feel the rain and chill in the cartoon that won him the Pulitzer Prize: A news headline ‘Fresh, spirited American troops, flushed with victory, are bringing in thousands of hungry, ragged, Battle-weary prisoners’ is accompanied by his drawing of rain-soaked, exhausted, hangdog German prisoners, indistinguishable but for their uniforms from their sodden, exhausted, hangdog American captors.”
- Jim Washburn on Bill Mauldin

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Hey, is it me, or is everybody talking Watchmen these days? I’m fearful the Watchmen popularity wave will end with a new Cartoon Network show, Watchmen Babies. This week I snagged a few Watchmen-related quotes as well as tapping that San Diego gathering that I held in disdain last week.

“I’ve picked it up again to skim a few times, hoping each time that I would appreciate it, get into it, like I hadn’t before. I hated Shakespeare until my sophomore year of college, when a professor-prompted epiphany finally demonstrated to me how awesome King Lear was. I read both The Great Gatsby and The Catcher in the Rye in high school but appreciated neither until I read them on my own while in college; I reread Gatsby a year or so ago, and discovered it was even better.

I keep hoping I will experience something similar with Alan Moore.”
- Will Entrekin’s confession of his inability to enjoy Moore’s Watchmen

“I’m wondering if the reclusive British writer will be able to stay soured on the movie industry after Snyder is done borrowing the Owl Ship.”
- Geoff Boucher speculating on whether the expected success of the Watchmen film will change Alan Moore’s view of Hollywood

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As seemingly the only comics-connected blogger who is already sick of the letters “SDCC” and finding myself twitching whenever I see “San Diego” on my computer screen, I will make the best effort for this collection of quotes to be as San Diego-free as possible. Of course, in a few weeks I’ll probably be quoting post-SDCC-related comments, revealing myself for the hypocritical bastard that I am. In the meantime, enjoy this week’s round of quotes. One last thought to consider: Wertham as Skrull…discuss.

“Although, I have to say that when I found out that the story actually goes waaaaay back to FF#2, it began to worry me because the Skrulls in the early 60s were that wacky band of lovable intergalactic losers who just couldn’t put a workable plan together. (That was the issue where Reed Richards actually hypnotizes three captive Skrulls into thinking that they are cows who spend the next several years eating grass and passing gas until the Kree-Skrull War wakes them up. Not that Reed was much better in those early days. He completely forgot that the FF were originally attacked by four Skrulls - not three! Oops! See the Kree-Skrull War for details.)”
-KC Carlson tapping the depths of his Marvel knowledge while analyzing aspects of Marvel’s big Secret Invasion jamboree.

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Trying to get ahead of the Batman deluge that is sure to come with the new movie’s release, I opted to snag a selection of Bats-related quotes this week. OK, maybe the Batman coverage became oversaturated weeks ago, but I’m thinking otherwise for the sake of this column. And if you are sick of Batman already, skip to the end of the collection for a few non-Batman quotes.

“Sure, a lot of it may not have aged well - all of the Ronald Reagan scenes, for example - but no-one can deny how good it is to see Bruce Wayne come out of retirement to kick some mutant ass and save the world.”
- Graeme McMillan assessing Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns (1986) as well as compiling a list of Batman must reads

“For industry watchers, I suppose this provides another example of the theory that DC’s various editorial offices don’t much communicate, and even try to keep story points secret from each other.”
- J. Caleb Mozzocco noticing that, other than the Batman RIP logo slapped on the front, Detective Comics #846 has next to no connection to the Grant Morrison storyline in the main Batman book

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