COMICS!!! |OT| June 2020 | How are you going to adapt that into a thread title?

tim1138 · Jun 6, 2020

jph139 said:
I think they had some of the Arrow show writers do a brief stint after Lemire, but it didn't really work and they only lasted a volume or two. I've always been sort of curious about Percy's New 52 run, because I love his Rebirth run but I hear it's mostly crappy.

But yeah, Lemire's run is top notch, easily one of the best eras for Green Arrow. I'd say it's second only to Grell, honestly... and maybe O'Neil.

Percy's DCYou run on Green Arrow was not great, but apparently a lot of that came from editorial. He's said in the past there were a lot of restrictions on what he could actually do with the character and a lot of his ideas were rejected. Rebirth was so good because all of those restrictions were gone and he could bring Dinah in and have Ollie in costume and things like that.

Vic_Viper · Jun 6, 2020

I was just curious if Lemire's run ran all the way until the end of the New 52. I didnt want to continue, at least not until Percy's run on Rebirth.

Was debating between getting the HC for Lemire's GA or Avengers No Surrender. This is what happens when the Gov gives me money and all the other books are delayed till who knows when.

Vic_Viper · Jun 6, 2020

How was the JLA run after Grant Morrison left? Someone has a custom bound set of JLA omnis that covers the Mark Waid stuff, through the Joe Kelly stuff, but I dunno how that stuff is. I kinda want them just for the Mark Waid issues thatll be missing from the Morrison JLA omni.

SpaceSong · Jun 6, 2020

Mark Waid did the Tower of Babel. So yeah, JLA was in capable hands after Morrison. Good stuff!

whatsinaname · Jun 6, 2020

Thinking more about whether the organizations were progressive, I have a feeling maybe they never were. Someone like Kirby or Lee or Claremont or writers bigger than the pubs were allowed to write what they want. But the rank and file editorial directives always seem fence sitting.

Even now, maybe Morrison or Gaiman have control but Sejic's Harley/Ivy won't get permission.

Gary Groth in that interview said till recently, Marvel/DC would not work with any writers or artists who involved their agents. It took till Gaiman for that to happen and even then, creative control was agreed upon at a tiered level. Not all creators had the same leeway. And people had to be content with what they get.

So anything progressive we got out of the big 2, came in spite of the pubs, not because of them.
Look at what Berger was trying with Sandman Mystery Theatre or Shade the Changing Man. But then she got silently demoted sideways and eventually driven out of the org.

Vic_Viper · Jun 6, 2020

The site is starting to finally come together!

What is the best Photoshop alternative? Not trying to pay monthly lol.

I made these with the Wix logo maker, but im not paying them for just 1 design I made myself lol.

Wait, nvm here it is:

bluexy · Jun 6, 2020

Vic_Viper said:
The site is starting to finally come together!

What is the best Photoshop alternative? Not trying to pay monthly lol.

I made these with the Wix logo maker, but im not paying them for just 1 design I made myself lol.

Wait, nvm here it is:

i use gimp. lots of tutorials, even if it can be cumbersome at times.

Teenage Fansub · Jun 6, 2020

Vic_Viper said:
How was the JLA run after Grant Morrison left? Someone has a custom bound set of JLA omnis that covers the Mark Waid stuff, through the Joe Kelly stuff, but I dunno how that stuff is. I kinda want them just for the Mark Waid issues thatll be missing from the Morrison JLA omni.

Joe Kelly's is my favourite JLA (or maybe tied with JLI.) It's a must read.

Astro Cat · Jun 6, 2020

Vic_Viper said:
How was the JLA run after Grant Morrison left? Someone has a custom bound set of JLA omnis that covers the Mark Waid stuff, through the Joe Kelly stuff, but I dunno how that stuff is. I kinda want them just for the Mark Waid issues thatll be missing from the Morrison JLA omni.

Waid did Tower of Babel after which is one of my favorite JLA stories ever. Then Joe Kelly did the Obsidian Age stuff which was also really, really good and uses a lot of lesser known characters. I think overall I liked post Morrison JLA more then when he did it which now that I think of it is insane.

Tyrant Rave · Jun 6, 2020

I only read Morrison's run on JLA, but yeah common consensus is it stays great even after he leaves. It ran for a long time too so that's really impressive.

Eleriu · Jun 6, 2020

Vic_Viper said:
The site is starting to finally come together!

What is the best Photoshop alternative? Not trying to pay monthly lol.

I made these with the Wix logo maker, but im not paying them for just 1 design I made myself lol.

Wait, nvm here it is:

GIMP is okay if you're doing very simple edits. I used it for a number of years, but it's pretty cumbersome in many areas. If you want to throw some money away then I recommend just buying Affinity Photo. There's no subscription service, you pay $50 (or in this case $25 since it's on sale right now due to the pandemic happenings) and that's it.

Teenage Fansub · Jun 6, 2020

Vic_Viper said:
The site is starting to finally come together!

What is the best Photoshop alternative? Not trying to pay monthly lol.

I made these with the Wix logo maker, but im not paying them for just 1 design I made myself lol.

Wait, nvm here it is:

Here's the logo:

Tyrant Rave · Jun 6, 2020

Vic_Viper I'm not sure if it's still around, but Paint.NET was the only freeware image editing program I cared for back in the day. I absolutely hate GIMP's interface and found it to be a miserable experience because of it. Paint.NET was kind of like Photoshop with its UI so it was much more pleasant.

*I switched to Photoshop over a decade ago so I'm not sure what the non-PS scene is like these days. But back then, there was no competition.

bluexy · Jun 6, 2020

Teenage Fansub said:
Here's the logo:

it's beautiful

SpaceSong · Jun 6, 2020

Teenage Fansub said:
Here's the logo:

I can feel my brain wiggle looking at this.

BKatastrophe · Jun 6, 2020

Teenage Fansub said:
Here's the logo:

Perfection

Eleriu · Jun 6, 2020

Teenage Fansub said:
Here's the logo:

Best logo ever.

Vic_Viper · Jun 6, 2020

Teenage Fansub said:
Joe Kelly's is my favourite JLA (or maybe tied with JLI.) It's a must read.

Astro Cat said:
Waid did Tower of Babel after which is one of my favorite JLA stories ever. Then Joe Kelly did the Obsidian Age stuff which was also really, really good and uses a lot of lesser known characters. I think overall I liked post Morrison JLA more then when he did it which now that I think of it is insane.

Ok, thanks for the feedback lol. After the thread about Kelly's Superman I wasnt sure how his JLA run was received.

Valdei said:
GIMP is okay if you're doing very simple edits. I used it for a number of years, but it's pretty cumbersome in many areas. If you want to throw some money away then I recommend just buying Affinity Photo. There's no subscription service, you pay $50 (or in this case $25 since it's on sale right now due to the pandemic happenings) and that's it.

Yea I was wondering about Affinity. Whats the difference between Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo? Like, which one would I use the most for stuff like Logos? Photo is what I would want for making banners and just all around editing photos, but does it also do text?

SeanShards · Jun 6, 2020

Vic_Viper said:
What is the best Photoshop alternative? Not trying to pay monthly lol.

Get the Affinity suite. One-off payment, 50% off sale and they have 90 day free trials atm because of Covid.

Affinity – Professional Creative Software

From the smoothest photo editing and design software to next-gen page layout, Affinity is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with creative technology.

affinity.serif.com

There's also GIMP (Graphic Image Manipulation Program, get your mind out of the gutter!), which is free and I use it a bit myself, but the learning curve is much steeper.

GIMP

GIMP - The GNU Image Manipulation Program: The Free and Open Source Image Editor

www.gimp.org

Vic_Viper · Jun 6, 2020

SeanShards said:
Get the Affinity suite. One-off payment, 50% off sale and they have 90 day free trials atm because of Covid.

Affinity – Professional Creative Software

From the smoothest photo editing and design software to next-gen page layout, Affinity is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with creative technology.

affinity.serif.com

I dont see an option to buy Photo and Designer in like an all in one bundle, but I can just buy both.

I used to use Photoshop years ago, but when they switched to a subscription type model I said nope.

Thanks for the help everyone!

Aurica · Jun 6, 2020

Teenage Fansub said:
Here's the logo:

This is brilliant hahahaha

Vic_Viper · Jun 6, 2020

I want to make sure I have all my bases covered before I launch the site. I need to look into the legal stuff to make sure im protected lol. I think I just need to setup an LLC, but I need to do some research to find out for sure.

Looks like Marvel is liquidating a bunch of Omnis. Both of the Frank Miller Daredevil Omnis are on the list. I wonder what that means, I still need the Companion Omni.

Avengers By John Byrne Omnibus

Avengers: The Vibranium Collection Slipcase

Captain America Omnibus Vol. 1

Captain America: The 75th Anniversary Vibranium Collection Slipcase

Daredevil By Frank Miller & Klaus Janson Omnibus

Daredevil By Frank Miller Omnibus Companion

Deadpool Classic Omnibus Vol. 1

Deadpool Minibus

Elektra By Frank Miller Omnibus

Fantastic Four By Matt Fraction Omnibus

Guardians Of The Galaxy By Abnett & Lanning Omnibus

Guardians Of The Galaxy Solo Classic Omnibus

King-Size Kirby Slipcase

Marvel Firsts: The 1990s Omnibus

Marvel Now! Omnibus

Marvel Universe By John Byrne Omnibus

Marvel's Agent Carter: Season One Declassified Slipcase

Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD.: Season Two Declassified Slipcase

Marvel's Avengers: Age Of Ultron – The Art Of The Movie Slipcase

Marvel's Captain America: Civil War – The Art Of The Movie Slipcase (Movie Cover)

Marvels: The Platinum Edition Slipcase

Muppet Babies Omnibus

Oz Omnibus

Squadron Supreme Classic Omnibus

Stan Lee: Marvel Treasury Edition Slipcase

Star Wars: Droids & Ewoks Omnibus Droids Cover

The Amazing Spider-Man: Behind The Scenes & Beyond The Web Slipcase

The Marvel Legacy Of Jack Kirby Slipcase

The Muppets Omnibus Langridge Cover

The Road To Marvel's Avengers: Age Of Ultron – The Art Of The Marvel Cinematic Universe
Slipcase

Ultimate Marvel Omnibus Vol. 1

X-Men: The Adamantium Collection Slipcase

The Amazon listing is for a 3rd party seller and they already have the Companion listed at 50% off. Wonder if it will go down because of this.

Aurica · Jun 6, 2020

I was gonna make a ShortBox order a few months ago, but Sobek was out of stock. Looks like everything is in stock now, so I'm looking at getting these:

Minotaar by Lissa Treiman
Cry Wolf Girl by Ariel Ries
Don't Go Without Me by Rosemary Valero-O'Connell
Sobek by James Stokoe

Anything else great from them/everything on this list worth it?

bluexy · Jun 6, 2020

Vic_Viper said:
I want to make sure I have all my bases covered before I launch the site. I need to look into the legal stuff to make sure im protected lol. I think I just need to setup an LLC, but I need to do some research to find out for sure.

Looks like Marvel is liquidating a bunch of Omnis. Both of the Frank Miller Daredevil Omnis are on the list. I wonder what that means, I still need the Companion Omni.

The Amazon listing is for a 3rd party seller and they already have the Companion listed at 50% off. Wonder if it will go down because of this.

liquidation just means that they're selling remaining stock to retailers at a discounted price, with no current plans to reprint. retailers can discount those books if they choose. liquidated books tend to drop in price before skyrocketing, since reprints of liquidated books are somewhat rare.

Aizō said:
ShortBox order

I'm a big Emily Caroll fan and I think Beneath the Dead Oak Tree is a ShortBox jam.

Aurica · Jun 6, 2020

I was buying issues of the zine, Frontier, for a couple years. ShortBox gives me a similar feeling, but I think its focus is more the kind of stuff I wanted out of Frontier. A few too many Frontier issues were like collections of random art from artists. Although it was interesting, I much preferred the issues that were real comics, like Jillian Tamaki's SexCoven (later published in Boundless).

bluexy said:
I'm a big Emily Caroll fan and I think Beneath the Dead Oak Tree is a ShortBox jam.

Added.

Tyrant Rave · Jun 6, 2020

Aizō said:
I was gonna make a ShortBox order a few months ago, but Sobek was out of stock. Looks like everything is in stock now, so I'm looking at getting these:

Minotaar by Lissa Treiman
Cry Wolf Girl by Ariel Ries
Don't Go Without Me by Rosemary Valero-O'Connell
Sobek by James Stokoe

Anything else great from them/everything on this list worth it?

Let me know what you think of Don't Go Without Me. I really loved it. The Making Of book that came with the Kickstarter edition was pretty nice too. Has some interesting commentary by Rosemary and shows some of her thumbnails and sketches. Also has some playlist recommendations for each story. She recommends the Kaiba OST for What is Left for example. Figure you might find that interesting!

Vic_Viper · Jun 6, 2020

bluexy said:
liquidation just means that they're selling remaining stock to retailers at a discounted price, with no current plans to reprint. retailers can discount those books if they choose. liquidated books tend to drop in price before skyrocketing, since reprints of liquidated books are somewhat rare.

I'm a big Emily Caroll fan and I think Beneath the Dead Oak Tree is a ShortBox jam.

Ok thanks lol. Glad I was able to get the Frank Miller DD omnis then. I had been putting them off for years.

Freezasaurus · Jun 6, 2020

Vic_Viper said:
The site is starting to finally come together!

What is the best Photoshop alternative? Not trying to pay monthly lol.

The best Photoshop alternative I've seen is Affinity Photo. It's a one-time cost of $50, and it entitles you to all future iterations as well. And it's on sale for 50% off right now. So $25.

Vic_Viper · Jun 6, 2020

Sounds like the Netflix Movie for The Last Days of American Crime is a dud. Which tbh was to be expected. I just had hope that they were turning things around after Extraction, along with having Remender helping on the script. But of all the action movie directors, they chose the Taken 3 guy lol.

Freezasaurus said:
The best Photoshop alternative I've seen is Affinity Photo. It's a one-time cost of $50, and it entitles you to all future iterations as well. And it's on sale for 50% off right now. So $25.

Yea im gunna go with that, thanks!

Astro Cat · Jun 6, 2020

Vic_Viper said:
Sounds like the Netflix Movie for The Last Days of American Crime is a dud. Which tbh was to be expected. I just had hope that they were turning things around after Extraction, along with having Remender helping on the script. But of all the action movie directors, they chose the Taken 3 guy lol.

My exact thoughts. I loved Extraction even if I had low expectations. I watched 10 min of Last Days before I figured it was bad since I didn't see anyone talk about it then I looked at reviews and that was enough. Netflix should've picked up Deadly Class instead. Cowards.

ElNarez · Jun 6, 2020

this, by former DC CEO Diane Nelson as reported by the Beat, may be as good a word on the DC/Diamond split as we're gonna get and as such let me post it in full:

I'm afraid I've not been privy to this recent decision. I can say purely as a private individual that Diamond has, for a long time, been unwilling or unable to modernize and support and grow the biz as needed for a healthy direct channel. And may not even be solvent. It would be imprudent for any publisher to not have a distribution contingency plan. I am disappointed by the communications roll out if the decision, as it seems (from my admittedly removed and limited POV) not nearly robust enough and to not have offered retailers sufficient notice and explanation as to what I'm sure is a reasonable and probably even advantageous decision for them. It's never good for any company to have a monopoly on a business and Diamond has for too long. I'm optimistic DC will help retailers understand how to navigate the transition. And I'd almost guarantee (I would guarantee but as I say, I'm not privy to this) that there's no way DC or WB have a financial stake in these distributors.

kmfdmpig · Jun 6, 2020

The LCS relationship with Diamond seems fundamentally broken to me. They mostly acknowledge that Diamond sucks but then go on to say that leaving them would be a disruption. It's language reminiscent of a hostage or someone who wants to leave a bad relationship but talks them out of doing so.
Diamond should have been dumped long ago.

Hellers · Jun 6, 2020

I've been digital only for a while now but the singles prices for digital are just a joke. I mostly buy trades and even then prefer to wait for the (Not as good as they used to be) sales. I fill in the gaps with Marvel U and Manga which at least give me good value for money.

And I still end up spending a fortune every month. WHAT IS WRONG WITH US? :)

But my 2000AD and Megazine subs are definitely worth the money

Aurica · Jun 6, 2020

Hellers said:
I've been digital only for a while now but the singles prices for digital are just a joke. I mostly buy trades and even then prefer to wait for the (Not as good as they used to be) sales. I fill in the gaps with Marvel U and Manga which at least give me good value for money.

And I still end up spending a fortune every month. WHAT IS WRONG WITH US? :)

But my 2000AD and Megazine subs are definitely worth the money

All about them sale prices.

Hellers · Jun 6, 2020

Aizō said:
All about them sale prices.

They used to be amazing sales on Comixology in the UK but now the prices are much higher :( They used to be super impulse buy territory too.

whatsinaname · Jun 6, 2020

lol, Rintrah is great fun.

Aurica · Jun 6, 2020

Hellers said:
They used to be amazing sales on Comixology in the UK but now the prices are much higher :( They used to be super impulse buy territory too.

Ooh... UK... yeah... That's definitely rough.

On the topic of digital comic pricing, my friend who I share a CMX account with seems to have fallen out of comics. We used to talk weekly every Wednesday morning and pick out which comics we were buying, and then we'd split the cost. Since the pandemic halted lots of weeklies, we haven't been doing that, and before that, we weren't really reading as much as we had been. I'm worried that I'm gonna be back on my own to buy comics, which I can't afford. Maybe have to go the Marvel Unlimited route and try to be patient ;_;

R0b1n · Jun 6, 2020

Aizō said:
Ooh... UK... yeah... That's definitely rough.

On the topic of digital comic pricing, my friend who I share a CMX account with seems to have fallen out of comics. We used to talk weekly every Wednesday morning and pick out which comics we were buying, and then we'd split the cost. Since the pandemic halted lots of weeklies, we haven't been doing that, and before that, we weren't really reading as much as we had been. I'm worried that I'm gonna be back on my own to buy comics, which I can't afford. Maybe have to go the Marvel Unlimited route and try to be patient ;_;

The MU route is a good one, I use that for almost all minis/limited series. Plus there's a lot of older stuff on there

Now if only DCU can come to my region...

Hellers · Jun 6, 2020

DC releasing 79p (Insert your own currency there) singles during lockdown has been interesting. They seem to be about 17 pages each and I would consider that a very much more realistic price. Has anyone read these? Are they reprints or new stories? Maybe that's an experiment from DC as a possible future direction. At that price I'd certainly be buying more singles.

Hellers · Jun 6, 2020

R0b1n said:
The MU route is a good one, I use that for almost all minis/limited series. Plus there's a lot of older stuff on there

Now if only DCU can come to my region...

Yup. I love my Marvel U sub. I'd kill each and everyone of you without remorse (Maybe a little) for a DC U. I love me some silver age DC.

Aurica · Jun 6, 2020

R0b1n said:
The MU route is a good one, I use that for almost all minis/limited series. Plus there's a lot of older stuff on there

Now if only DCU can come to my region...

I can imagine waiting six months, but I do like being part of the zeitgeist, y'know? If I read DC comics a year out, I dunno... I guess it would be good, because even if I bought a couple things monthly, it would make me seriously reconsider which series I believe are super worth reading.

SeanShards · Jun 6, 2020

Hellers said:
DC releasing 79p (Insert your own currency there) singles during lockdown has been interesting. They seem to be about 17 pages each and I would consider that a very much more realistic price. Has anyone read these? Are they reprints or new stories? Maybe that's an experiment from DC as a possible future direction. At that price I'd certainly be buying more singles.

They are reprints, but of material that would've only been available in the Walmart 100-Page Giants before now.

Hellers · Jun 6, 2020

The market has to change at some point surely? Physical retail is dying on its arse and comic book stores by their very niche nature are even more at risk. Add in a pandemic and a probably damaged economy afterwards and an already stagnating comic market could be in serious trouble if it doesn't plan for the worst.

I don't follow the sales figures? How were they doing before we all caught the plague?

When I bought physical I used to spend £30-40 a week just on floppies that took me no time to get through. I can't justify that these days. I think the best value for money I used to get were the black and white DC and marvel collections of stuff on toilet paper.

Hellers · Jun 6, 2020

SeanShards said:
They are reprints, but of material that would've only been available in the Walmart 100-Page Giants before now.

Oh cool. I've never been able to read those. I think I'll start buying a few and see what they're like. 79p is back in impulse buy territory.

I'm hyped for next week though. The new volume of my fave comic is out. Komi Can't Communicate vol 7. KOMI HYPE TRAIN

Najimi's sudden declaration of a Christmas Eve party at Komi's house sends the friends into a flurry of last-minute gift shopping and Komi into a fit of worrying. But when her friends all turn up with good cheer and a giant stuffed animal for her, it turns out Najimi wasn't just being impulsive -- there's a special surprise for Komi too!

LOOK AT HOW NICE IT IS

Freezasaurus · Jun 6, 2020

Aizō said:
On the topic of digital comic pricing, my friend who I share a CMX account with seems to have fallen out of comics. We used to talk weekly every Wednesday morning and pick out which comics we were buying, and then we'd split the cost. Since the pandemic halted lots of weeklies, we haven't been doing that, and before that, we weren't really reading as much as we had been. I'm worried that I'm gonna be back on my own to buy comics, which I can't afford. Maybe have to go the Marvel Unlimited route and try to be patient ;_;

COVID really put a damper on things for a lot of people. I don't read nearly as many comics as I did before. I can't say I dislike spending so much less on books, though. I'm definitely going to try to keep buying under $10/wk in comics.

Shonen Jumps don't count.

Hellers · Jun 6, 2020

I find I'm reading just as much but it's almost all in Marvel U. I'm going through Thor from the start. A character I'd never much been interested in but it turns out he's loads better than I thought. It's starting to suck a bit now though. I think I must be hitting the 90s. The early stuff (Especially Lee and Kirby) is just fantastic and a real hoot compared to Iron Man of the same period where every week the useless sod runs out of power and nearly has a heart attack.

Vordan · Jun 6, 2020

Hellers said:
The market has to change at some point surely? Physical retail is dying on its arse and comic book stores by their very niche nature are even more at risk. Add in a pandemic and a probably damaged economy afterwards and an already stagnating comic market could be in serious trouble if it doesn't plan for the worst.

I don't follow the sales figures? How were they doing before we all caught the plague?

When I bought physical I used to spend £30-40 a week just on floppies that took me no time to get through. I can't justify that these days. I think the best value for money I used to get were the black and white DC and marvel collections of stuff on toilet paper.

Marvel was rebounding thanks to Hix-Men and other creators. DC was in the toilet and were planning a relaunch of their own post-Death Metal, which is still the plan just radically reshaped with Didio out.

Hellers · Jun 6, 2020

Vordan said:
Marvel was rebounding thanks to Hix-Men and other creators. DC was in the toilet and were planning a relaunch of their own post-Death Metal, which is still the plan just radically reshaped with Didio out.

I was more talking about pricing stuctures and what you get for your money rather than the stories. I was definitely interested in Death Metal and 5G but I never held out any hope that DC were capable of actually pulling off a relaunch. I'm onboard for the Hickman X-Men stuff and stuff like Immortal Hulk though.

*Edit* Ah sales. Yes. Can understand totally. Most of my life I've prefered DC but that's definitely changed over the last few years.

Freezasaurus · Jun 6, 2020

Vordan said:
Marvel was rebounding thanks to Hix-Men and other creators. DC was in the toilet and were planning a relaunch of their own post-Death Metal, which is still the plan just radically reshaped with Didio out.

I think we're all better off without DiDio in the picture, honestly.

Hellers · Jun 6, 2020

I do occasionally spend a lot on singles

COMICS!!! |OT| June 2020 | How are you going to adapt that into a thread title?

One Winged Slayer

Thanked By SGM

Thanked By SGM

Thanked By SGM

Comics Enabler & Freelance Games Journalist

Has A Pretty Cool Jacket

The Fallen - Teyvat Traveler

Has A Pretty Cool Jacket

Comics Enabler & Freelance Games Journalist

The Fallen - Teyvat Traveler

Thanked By SGM

Thanked By SGM

音楽オタク - Comics Council 2020

Thanked By SGM

音楽オタク - Comics Council 2020

Comics Enabler & Freelance Games Journalist

音楽オタク - Comics Council 2020

Has A Pretty Cool Jacket

Thanked By SGM

Thanked By SGM

音楽オタク - Comics Council 2020

音楽オタク - Comics Council 2020

音楽オタク - Comics Council 2020