Grok #5: Retcon
Dec 16So here we are: decking the halls, jingling the bells, fa-la-la-la-la-ing ourselves into a slightly manic frenzy of holiday cheer. But before we stuff our gaping maws full of festively-sculpted cheeseballs and fall into a massive lard coma, we’re giving you a little gift: a brand-new issue of Grok.
If you’ll recall, this is our PDF zine you can read on your computer screen or print out and tote wherever you desire. Within, you will find fiction, essays and other general hilarity dedicated to geek culture and the nerd experience, all centered around a delightful theme. This time ’round, we’re all about…Retcon.
In this issue…
Slimed in Klutziness, by Rob Bloom: Rob calls upon his all-powerful “spazzbrum” to recall — in hilariously excruciating detail — the time he got his entire family to try out for the greatest game show ever, Double Dare. Sliming, singing, screaming, and a whole mess of Nickelodeon-sponsored hijinks ensue.
Lunch of Two Worlds!, by Daniel R. Faust: Two of Earth’s greatest heroes convene over a cup of soup. But which “Earth” is it, exactly?!
My Epic Win, by Sarah Kuhn: Julie, Braidbeard, and the whole frakkin’ gang return in this holiday-themed mini-sequel to One Con Glory! Have they developed into socially mature, well-adjusted people who do not have stupid fights about things like All-Star Superman? (SPOILER ALERT: No.)
In honor of this little sequel and mushy-gushy romance-type things, we’re also giving away two copies of One Con Glory. Details here!
The Letter Home, by Matt Springer: What do you get when you mix disgruntled employees, social awkwardness, and a whole shitload of fried chicken? Nothing good, we’re betting.
Inside a Writers’ Room Attempting to Retcon My Life, by Ivan Sian: Ivan’s life is perfect. Sort of. Almost. Or it will be once network television’s finest hacks are done with it.
The Tale of the Gallant Sailor, Part II, by Matthew Walden: Embattled Navy officer Northrop Glitten returns…only to be haunted by ghosts both real and imagined.
Plus: Startling new storylines resulting from J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek retcon! Ten little-known Marvel universes! Shout-outs! Extensive corrections involving Magneto-based continuity! You will love every moment!
The Perfect Kiss Panel
Dec 15
To me, there’s nothing more sublime than a perfect kiss panel.
Yeah, yeah, I know — I’m a big, mushy girl with big, mushy feelings about big, mushy romantic things. In my adult years, I have finally accepted this distinctly uncool, ‘shippy part of my geek profile. (For so long, I concealed it within the classic armor of a cynic/closet romantic, carefully avoiding the topic of Riker/Troi’s latest near-dalliance in public discussion while secretly sending away for whatever marginally dirty fanfic I could get my hands on.)
Anyway, executing the perfect kiss in storytelling — the one that takes place at the exact right moment between the right people, the one that provides an emotional center to whatever tale you’re trying to tell — is one of those things that always thrills me, maybe even provokes a “squee” or two. (Two’s the limit, though, totally — I’ve accepted my hopeless romantic ‘shippiness, but I still try to stay away from shrieking like a spazoid stereotype. Try.)
Draw Star Wars: The Clone Wars–We Have Winners!
Dec 09That’s right, WINNERS in our Draw Star Wars: The Clone Wars book giveaway contest!
Though you are all “winners” in our book. Just not real winners, so you don’t get a prize. Except our undying appreciation for your readership, which isn’t much of a prize cause you can’t hold it or read it or use it to draw Yoda.
WINNERS!
1. Robo
2. Sarah
3. Angel
4. Clare Jordan
5. Tenya
We just sent an e-mail to each of the winners to set up mailing the prize, so watch your inboxes, folks! And thanks for playing, everyone! We love you each dearly, in a platonic and unique way.
More on Earth One
Dec 08I was gonna put together a follow up to Jeff’s post from yesterday but Chris Butcher said it far better than I could.
For the purposes of discussion, this is almost two announcements: The “fanboy bait” we got today, and the publishing and marketing details that will indicate at some point whether DC has designs on reasonable success in the non-direct market, or whether this is some insane new DM scheme that on its face makes no sense, OR whether the first of the two preceeding theories is correct AND they have the strategy that Butcher discusses worked out.
I think Butcher’s most salient point may be that there are already so very many Superman and Batman collections at your average Borders that unless there is significant thought put into how to design and truly SELL these books into an essentially “new” market, this thing will die on the vine.
For whatever reason, as a publishing move, it intrigues me. We’ll see.
Is OGN-Only The Right Move For Earth One?
Dec 07Today, DC Comics announced its new, graphic novel-only ‘Earth One’ imprint, which is set to feature new interpretations of Batman and Superman by top-tier writers and artists. These graphic novels represent the creation of a new shared continuity and, predictably, begin with origin stories for the characters.
There are a couple of different ways to react to this news.
1. This imprint, just like All-Star and all the myriad other non-Vertigo imprints published by Time Warner (man, remember Impact Comics? Or Minx?) is going to mis-start and die on the vine, its full potential unrealized.
2. This is a proactive approach to the impending death of the direct market and a move to ingratiate itself to the Borders/B&N audience over the give me my floppies every Wednesday audience.
3. The Ultimate universe was pretty novel when Marvel tried it a few years ago.
While comparisons to the Ultimate books are certainly there to be drawn and pretty valid, to boot, the Earth One books are not simply Ultimate DC. At least, not from a marketing perspective. They’re a glimpse of the Next Thing – not digital comics (that’s already here for most publishers), but a philosophical change in how comics get delivered to us. Which is to say, at the bookstore, where we buy our Vampire Academy novels volumes of convoluted and intellectual essays on current events as opposed to the comic shop, where we buy our Punisher t-shirts.
For at least a decade and a half, “new readers” have been the Little Redheaded Girl to the industry’s Charlie Brown. It’s tried every way it knows to lure them in en masse, to court them, but none of them stick. Part of that is the medium itself, yes, but more significantly, new adult readers do not want to come in to Batman 690-some issues into it. They don’t want or need to know about Krona and the Guardians and the Fourth World and The Haunted Tank and all of the rest of the ancillary material that stands on Batman’s and Superman’s shoulders.
The Ultimate U was a new reader-friendly experiment that wasn’t position to bring in new readers. Earth One takes the concept to its natural conclusion, making these new stories about these iconic characters acessible physically as well as in terms of their content. Which was, if you will remember, the stated purpose of the now as-good-as-defunct All-Star imprint, which gave us the best Superman story ever and the most divisive Batman of all time. Hopefully, and the attachment of JMS and Geoff Johns gives me hope, DC has learned from Frank Miller’s liberties with All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder.
Now, the question remains, can DC actually market to the bookstore? That was its goal with Minx, and Minx was a commercial failure despite its critical success. I feel like this can be a big success for DC, but it’s not a ‘build it and they will come’ kind of project – it needs to be promoted well in-store.
What do you think about DC’s Earth One gambit? Will you be reading it?
