Boing creator, author and agent provocateur Cory Doctorow has posted a lengthy missive on
Boing Boing pointing out all of the reasons he (and by extension, you) will not buy an iPad. Some of the reasons I agree with and some I don’t, but since this is a comic book blog I thought I would take Doctorow to task regarding his stance on the upcoming Marvel iPad app from Comixology.
One of Doctorow’s major points is that the Marvel app has locked down content so that a user cannot freely share comics with friends. This is of course true, but the problem is that I don’t see a sustainable model for digital comics that doesn’t impose SOME restrictions on user sharing – at least not until the notion of buying comics online has become as ubiquitous as, say, iTunes. Every digital distribution
method I’ve seen for comics thus far (and this includes several iPhone apps such as Comixology’s, Longbox and others) involves some measure of DRM. I don’t like it, but I can see the necessity of it until digital comics become the mainstream.
Doctorow also waxes nostalgic about the mom and pop comic book stores that have been the mainstay of many comic book geeks (myself included) over the years. Yet there are many details left out of this fond remembrance. Ever seen how much a direct market comics store marks up books just a week or two after they have been released? Ever seen a speculator clear the shelves of books before anyone else can get their hands on a single copy? Ever walked into a comics store to buy an issue, only to find out that you have to have a subscription with the store to get a copy of what you want? At my local store, the shelves are clear of most new issues by the time they arrive. The stores can’t afford to hang onto back stock, so there’s no room for issues that might attract a casual or even a new comics fan. These so-called mom and pop shops have been mistreating customers for decades. Is it any wonder, then, that more and more fans are looking to purchase digital comics – where prices aren’t arbitrary (and generally are lower than the skyrocketing prices of print comics) and where issues are available when they want them?
Like Cory Doctorow, I’ve been reading comics for a long, long time (going on close to 30 years now) and I’m more excited about the future of comics than the past. Maybe he likes musty, ramshackle stores with rude and often dismissive (if not strangely elitist) employees, but I don’t. I don’t have room for that kind of business in my life any more than I have room for dozens of comics-filled longboxes in my house.
Bring on the digital age!
Posted via email from skinnerbox’s posterous
There’s not much that surprises me, but I was taken aback that Paste Pot Pete is making a comeback via the Marvel Superhero Squad cartoon on the Cartoon Network. Is there a toy version? If so, I haven’t seen it. Gotta have it. Gotta.
Posted via email from skinnerbox’s posterous
Ok, so I guess by now everyone thinks the whole Mr. Potato Head-Movie Tie-in is overplayed, and maybe they're right. Still, you gotta hand it to them – the Iron Man 2 Potato Head is nicknamed "Tony Starch"? Brilliant!
Posted via email from skinnerbox’s posterous
There are two types of collectibles that I just don’t get (and probably never will). They are the bobblehead and the bust. Both are “B” words and both are completely unnecessary.
Let’s look at the bobblehead first. According to the aptly named Bobbleheads.com, this trinket of idiocy was first mentioned in print in 1842 and has seen its popularity ebb and flow over the years. Most frequently remembered as dogs or baseball players standing in the rear windows of 1960’s-era Chevy’s and Buicks, these yes-men of doom have now spread out into virtually every facet of our pop culture driven society. When I saw the Ozzy Osbourne bobblehead I finally knew for sure that the human race was winding down.
So what exactly do I hate about these big headed nodders? Just that. We already have the far superior Super-Deformed aesthetic thanks to those awesomely crazy Japanese so why must we also have bobbleheads? Why do they need to nod? Is anyone actually buying up all these SKUs of crap merchandise? Who exactly looks at a bobblehead in the package and mutters, “I must have that” under their beer-soaked breath? Why aren’t the cool SD figures good enough for Americans? WHY MUST WE BOBBLE?! I see absolutely no point to it. The central load bearing structure of the bobbleheads’ bodies mean that design aesthetics must be sacrificed for the bobble function. I say, NO MORE!
The other item that bugs the hell out of me is the bust and it’s angry cousin the mini bust. Want to know why these exist? Licensing agreements, my friends. When Lucasfilm sells Hasbro the rights to make action figures, they do so in an explicit contract. Then some yahoo over at Gentle Giant thinks he could make a better Ponda Baba (AKA Butt Face) sculpt so he decides that GG must make action figures too. Oh no, says LFL. You may not. Hasbro owns that right. So the minions at GG think and think and think and then probably drink a lot and eventually come up with the idea that they could get a different license if their figures had no legs! BRILLIANT, says LFL. Fork over the dough. Thus opens another portal to hell as figures end up buried to the waist in Geonosian rock and Star Wars fans by the thousands pay their hard-earned cash for the upper halves of characters they cherish.
Is there a case when a bust would be cool? Only if it’s in marble and on display in a rotunda of some sort. So far I’ve yet to see a film character worthy of that sort of adulation but I haven’t given up hope for Ah-nold just yet. We may eventually see the Austrian Republican immortalized in stone.
Look, just please stop buying these. It’s the only way we can discourage their manufacture. Sure, a few old Chinese women will have to move over to the Triumph dog toy production line, but it’s a small price to pay for the sanity of our great nation.
So….I’m not too hyped up about Transformers 2. Actually, that’s more than a small understatement. I see absolutely no reason to see Transformers 2, as everything I’ve seen thus far looks exactly like the first movie (thanks, Michael Bay). That doesn’t stop me from lovin’ the toys, though, and the one pictured above is just full-on awesome. Constructicons are cool enough on their own, but combined into Devastator they make the must-own toy of the summer, if I can figure out how to put it together…
Via www.toybender.com :
Fans of the Marvel Universe line (me) may look forward to seeing or most likely not seeing Wave 4 revision one at their local toy shoppe. Not only does it offer some of the more popular characters in the line that you may have missed before, but there’s some nice newer ones as well. May I direct you toward the awesomeness that is Moon Knight? Sweet chickens in heat, I’m going to need to get my hands on him. I’ve always been a fan of Moon Knight, but not really a dedicated reader of his comics until a few years ago. Even if you don’t like the character or what they’ve done with him, you’ve got to love that sweet ass costume.
Other figures I am on the look out for include black Spider-Man as well as the Hand Ninja, both of which I’ve passed on already. Seriously, the combination of not having steady income and these things being around eight dollars makes these purchasing decisions a lot harder. I know I’m a repeating parrot on this issue, but seriously eight dollars is too damned much for a three inch piece of plastic. I’m guessing that army building is a bit on the decline these days due to price and the economy. Anyway, I’m glad that I still have a little time before good old Captain America classic version is available.
[From Marvel Universe Wave 4 Revision 1 is Coming to Town]
From www.afhub.com:
Looks like someone might actually make up for the horrendous, repugnant idiocy that was the movie series of Dick Tracy figures. I’m not too keen on the overly-visible super-articulated joints on these, but the likenesses are Chester Gould retro-cool, and the black and white doesn’t hurt either.
BIG HUGE TREMENDOUS props to a LEGO builder supreme who completed this Battle Cruiser Yamato replica. If you think this image is impressive, wait until you see the other views.
Head over to Hasbro.com in the next few days and place a vote for the five obscure Marvel Comics characters you’d like to see turned into action figures. Sadly, there’s still no love for Paste Pot Pete (*sigh* is there ever??), but there are some other interesting options. My current favorites are:
1. Lady Bullseye
2. Nighthawk
3. Brother Voodoo
4. Captain Marvel (aka Marvel Boy)
5. Paper Bag Spidey (if we can’t have P.P. Pete, at least give us this lame-o)
