"Put that on your perv tape."
Feb 13If someone hasn’t sent this to Sarah by now, they probably should have. I’ll do it! In fact, if you haven’t seen it yet, watch soon, as I wonder how long it will take before it’s yanked prior to the season 3 DVD release. On the other hand, it’s so full of odds and ends that would normally require various permissions outside of a wrap party, that it may never make it to DVD. Which means all the more reason to watch it now.
Besides the excellent use of old footage of the vetran cast (watch for Colonol Tigh in 1978’s High Ballin’ – hoooly shit) there’s an insane amount of editting love put into this blooper reel. Like, heads and shoulders more than you usually find. Blooper footage and final takes are editted together to even greater effect. There are a handful of musical montages. And what I thought was going to be the BSG equivalent of The Farting Preacher turns into film evidence that the cast, particularly Edward James Olmos, have occasionally played havok with the air quality on a closed set. If you know what I mean.
Go. Watch. Now.
Let's Kill the Prestige Format
Feb 13When Young Matt first got going in the realm of collecting ye olde comicke bookes, playing with formats was all the rage.
Remember the “New Format”? Slightly better paper, slightly higher price tag? Wasn’t there a “Newsstand Format” too, which was basically “Same Old Crappy Comic Book Format”? And of course, WAY back in the day, the Baxter Format, whatever that means.
Part of me misses the format fun, especially since today’s comics seem to arrive with haphazard formats that have nothing to do with anything. One month, you get glossy paper and a so-so cover; the next month, it’s matted paper and a cardstock cover.
One thing I do not miss–one thing I think the Big Two especially need to stake through the heart–is the Prestige Format.
You know of what I speak. Heavy stock cover, high-end paper, square bound spine, but not so many pages–like 48 or so. And a hefty price tag to go with its name.
Back in the day, the Prestige Format made sense. Trade paperbacks were the exception, not the rule. Comics needed a format to tell a more evolved story with longer chapters. It became–dare I say?–a more ADULT format, at first. Then it just became an excuse to sell crap at a high price.
Today, paying $5.99 for just one chapter in a longer story, and a short chapter at that, is a RIP-OFF and exploitation. Plain and simple. For $6.99, I can get a Marvel digest with four complete issues. For $7.99, I can get a bigger digest. Add just four more dollars–$9.99–and you’re in the range of a low-end trade paperback, or if you shop online, a $14.99 price-point trade at a discounted price.
And then, when the prestige books are collected, how do you price that? Is it like $19.99 for a four-issue series? I guess that’s not too bad…but who would actually bother to buy the “floppies” (which actually don’t flop all that much, thanks to the heavy stock cover) when they could just wait for the trade?
The Prestige Format: Lacks the value of a trade, with a higher price tag than your average monthly book. SUCKY.
Now That's Sixy!
Feb 12I forgot to mention another especially thoughtful gift I received on my birthday, which is a copy of the Playboy featuring Six. My friend knew I would want it for the article, I’m sure. Tricia looks quite fantastic — not too airbrushy — but why oh why did they not put her in some sort of awesome sci-fi setting? Like maybe a pseudo-cheesy Buck Rogers kind of thing? Is that too on the nose, maybe?
Cheezit! The cops!
Feb 12In honor of the Police reunification performance at the Grammys last night, and especially because no punches were thrown, I’d like to share my favorite Police tune, as performed by my favorite non-Police band, The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets;
Dilemmas, Solutions
Feb 08I know you have all been on the edge of your seats since I announced my dilemma re: whether or not I should just give in and buy a brilliant Lea Hernandez Prickle bunny. Basically, I “solved” this one by dropping copious hints to a certain someone and also by having a big birthday (rhymes with “schmirty”) that required that someone to buy me presents. Thus, Husband Jeff heroically ordered me the last Prickle of the first wave, Happy Birthday to meeeee! I can’t wait to see what she looks like cozying up to Icebat and Gloomy Bear.
OK, so now a New Dilemma, suggestions most welcome. Husband Jeff and I just moved and it was all very painful and annoying and many of our happy fun activities just kind of fell off the map for a while. One of those activities is regular comic book buying, and now I’m way behind. Do I take this opportunity as a clean slate: ie, forget about the issues I’ve missed, re-evaluate my pull list and start anew with just a few titles? Or maybe use this time to convert to trade paperbacks, which has been discussed a few times in my household? Or attempt the arduous task of catching up on everything, which feels a bit like a chore at this point? I just don’t know! I feel bad that I’m so behind on Civil War, especially after Matt’s stirring post. On the other hand, there is something liberating about heading into the comic shop with fresh eyes, almost like a new customer, and deciding which titles I actually want to commit to. My nice friends gifted me with Hi De Ho currency for my schmirtieth birthday, so at least I have some seed money.
