Thursday, September 27, 2007

Survey continuation

The comments on the first survey post were getting a bit long as well as getting pushed into the background by the newer posts. So, to expedite things ('cause some people prolly wouldn't take the time to actually SEARCH FOR the original post), I'm including Copy J's most recent comment as well as my response as a new post. Comment away on this one until it too gets buried.

Copy J's comments:
Absolutely that would be a logical starting point. We could do a "Pulpy Issue" reprinting (digitally) the winners and have everyone submit a "Best of 2007" list of whatever they choose; music, movies, tv, etc.

Archiving the old issues needs to be done as well. Seth mentions it every once in a while at assembly, we talk about it, then we don't do anything about it (imagine that). It takes lots of time for a project of that scope. But it could be done over a period of say, a year. We could release "season 1" first to much fanfare, maybe do presale on "season 2"... ok, maybe not.

Likely everyone will have some issue with any change that is made or not made. I have my opinions, I voiced them earlier today. In my mind, there are 3 main questions to the digital/not digital discussion:

1. TIME - is there ever enough?

2. COST - the price of everything is going up, always has, always will, where do we draw the line?

3. NEW MEMBERS - what do we have to offer them?

This is getting long-winded, so I'll stop for tonight. Let me just leave you with this thought, "Some days, you just can't get rid of a bomb." Adam West as Batman

My comment:
Actually, I like the Season 1 idea (assuming of course, we can find copies of all those issues)...I keep all my issues of my 'zine archived and I'm fairly positive that everyone types theirs up on some type of computer or word processor that is connected to the Internet, so emailing them shouldn't be a problem. So archiving each 'zine shouldn't be that hard to do (starting it up, yes...once we've got the ball rolling, not so much). Perhaps we could compile them into a PDF file and upload them somewhere? (Jason, is this possible?) Or, have someone (I will tentatively raise my hand and volunteer) compile all the issues digitally and burn them to disc. Then if you want a copy, you send whomever is running the show a few bucks to cover shipping and CD costs and you've got Season whatever of PL.

I really do think that we should do a Best of the Year digital issue. If nothing else it will be a "put up or shut up" moment. If the response is overwhelming then it certainly would give an impetus for going digital. But I still have two arguments against going completely digital that I can't overcome: 1) I like to show off the anthology at school and to my friends. If the issue were completely digital, it would be far more difficult to say, "Here's the new issue, take it home and load it onto your computer and let me know what you think". That's more effort than most people will do. 2) Tying into the first argument is the fact that I've gotten more people interested in PL from them spying the cover and asking questions than I have with conversations about what my hobbies are. I've even starting taking the newest issue to school and leaving it on my station 'cause almost everyone who sits in my chair for a haircut will browse through it and make comments (plus it serves as a conversational piece...it gets hard to talk about the same inane topics every day, five to six times a day). I know that the covers are expensive, most especially with the production values going up with them, but since we are a creative bunch, surely there is something we can come up with to negate the costs to a more reasonable price? Thoughts?

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Thor's a Pokes fan!

If you haven't been reading the new Thor title (and shame on you if you haven't) then you missed the fact that Asgard is now located smack dab in the middle of Oklahoma (actually it appears to be located in the western part of the state, near Elk City...like you know where that is).

That's right, Oklahoma. California only rated the West Coast Avengers but we get an Asgardian God. See, good things happen to people who shoot rock salt at propane tanks...

http://newsok.com/article/3130459

Anyhoo, here's the article in case you care to read it. I also wrote up a short review in my latest 'zine.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Sweeten's MC's

I thought I would post the MC's online this time. Several reasons go into this, but the foremost reason is immediacy, which is one of the reasons I started this blog, to remove obstacles from creating a better back and forth between members. That, and I've got an axe to grind with some things. Let's have fun, shall we?

Cover: Very cool. You know, if there is one thing that has been upgraded to the point of near perfection over the years, it's been the covers. I can still recall the embarrassment in Seth's voice before he sent me a copy of issue #14 for use in compiling Pulpy nominations. The cover merely read "Pulp Legacy May/June (or some such) #14". That's it, no artwork, no nothing. We've come a long way baby!

EIC notes: After Arnett's and Zaric's tenure, I'm relieved to see that Seth can take a break and not have everything fall to pieces. Not that I thought they would, but you always worry when the driving force behind the anthology for so many years suddenly hands the reins to someone else. You two have done a masterful job. Marlan has some big shoes to fill.

Savitski: (I'm going to include both of his features with this one) It's good to see you back, man. I was worried that you had disappeared into the abyss like so many others. I still love watching the original Highlander. Of course, you have to suspend the disbelief with that movie a bit (more for some of the special effects, especially at the end) but the storyline simply kicks ass (Sean Connery too!) I stopped watching the Highlander movies after the third one but I might give Highlander: The Source a try after your review, if only to fill the midnight hours when the kids get up.
The Yankees are coming through again! Write them off at your peril! And you are exactly right in that they are one of the more inconsistent teams in the MLB, let alone the AL. Especially considering their roster payroll could fund most third world countries. But, as I said previously, it all comes back to the pitching, which the Yanks finally seem to have rolling. Bring on the post season! (by the by, when are we going to see a 'zine out of you? You have great chops)

True Journal Comics: I've never been into web based comics (or comix or khammeqz or what the hell ever we're calling them these days). My argument against them is the same one I have against taking PL completely digital. I like to hold what I'm reading in my hands. Touch it, feel it, caress it like a comely women (yeah, that's a bit perverse...I didn't say I wanted to have sex with it). For me, there will always be a link between reading and having something tangible in my hands. Which is why I still buy a newspaper, even though I read, on average, 5 to 6 news websites daily.

Johnston: Welcome aboard. I'm not sure who recruited you (I know it wasn't me and it's supposed to be my job but I ain't bitchin') but you've definitely got the goods. I just might put some of your organizational concepts to good use (I'm always losing track of things).

Roemmele: Another new member. I'm assuming that Will brought you on board (and congrats to him for doing it). I find it a bit interesting that the two members we have that are confessed "free spirits" both wind up in Southeast Asia. What is it about that place? Anyhoo, welcome aboard!

Arnett: Find your niche, man. I am inspired by the fact that you refuse to let go of your passion for creative writing even when the door doesn't open far enough to be slammed in your face. I know that I have aborted my attempts at cracking the comics world for the moment, but it's nice to see that you still keep trying..

Heitmeyer: One day, you and I will sit down to a long conversation about the evils of being a Sooner fan. It's my mission to help you see the light. Hopefully, this marks your return (for good) to these pages. You have some very stunning visuals. And we are top heavy with prose writers (I can't draw more than a stick figure, a bad one even at that). Plus, I get a good laugh out of your stuff (in a good way).

Baxter: Have you seen Sicko? It didn't make it to conservative Enid, but I'll be first in line to rent it at the local video store (I don't do Netflix). The American health care system is on life support right now and I firmly believe the next president will be elected on the strength of their health care reform policies (I also believe they won't be Republican, but that's a different debate).

Sweeten: Hey, it's me! Sorry 'bout the pinup. If you are that interested in seeing it, let me know and I'll email it to you (if you are REALLY interested, I have about 75 shots that didn't make it...this girl likes to take off her clothes)

Jones: The Con that didn't happen. Man, am I kicking myself for missing this one. But you know why (if the rest of you don't know, it's a bit personal and I'm not going to go into it) and thanks for not cursing my name to whatever God you pray to (at least not to my face) for having to bail at almost the last minute. You do raise some valid points with the "why can't comics get published on time" argument. However, I wouldn't have used a traditional newstand magazine as your counter argument. For one, there are a staff of dozens working on these mags, with an equal, if not greater, amount of freelancers and staff writers to fill up the pages. With most comics, it's 3 people on the creative side (writer, artist, inker) to turn in the pages. If one link falls, there isn't much time to get another. Which leads to my next point. Most artists that I've read about over that past few years (Jae Lee being a notable exception) have stated that they can only churn out a good quality page a day, sometimes two pages. That's awfully slow. How long does it take you to type up a feature length article? Surely not 3 weeks (I'm using the equation of 1 page = 1 day, 22 pages = 22 days). Let's say that you're the artist on Zap-man. Let's say you get sick, or your kids get sick or whatever. A few days off and you're behind. So you can phone it in and be on time, in which case comic book geeks everywhere will be screaming for your head because "this wasn't your best work" or you can take the time to turn in quality work and be late (in which case, they will prolly still be screaming for your head but for different reasons). 52 was closer to your counter argument in that a larger number of people had their hands in the pot to get it done (and I think they had that thing mapped out like a year in advance). With all of that said, however, you are right in that there has been an increasing acceptance of fandom with late issues, most notably The Ultimates and All Star Batman and Robin (that thing comes out quarterly at best and its supposed to be bi-monthly). The only way to make a change (beyond storming the offices of DC and Marvel) is to stop buying chronically late books and telling the editors why you aren't buying these books.

Zaric: I've had similar PC problems myself. I think the desktop computer industry is in collusion to purposefully make their PC's expire after 5 years or so (although my last one made it ten years). I've always wondered what happens to all those old PC's. And then a friend of mine showed me his set up: He bought a bunch of used PC's for pennies on the dollar and ran them parallel (He linked them together to combine their computing power for the non-geeks out there). The overall computing power wasn't "Oh my God" impressive, but considering that he spent less than $600 on the whole thing (including a kick ass 22 inch widescreen monitor), it was a hell of a deal. You know, I don't know why you are so vehement against Transformers. Did you not play with them as a kid (okay, teenager...okay, twenty-something...how old are you again)? Sure the movie had it's weak points, but I found it far and away a much better movie than Spiderman 3. I'll take Jon Turturro's hamming it up over Tobey Maguire's jazz hands any day of the week.

Harris: Ah, and now we come to it. I'm generally one to let comments slide, but I really do feel that I must address some things Marlan has said. Before you think I'm attacking him, let me clear the record by stating that I love Marlan to death. He's unique, sometimes witty, and never afraid to voice his own opinion, even if it is the proverbial "lone voice in the woods". With that said, (to quote Robert Jordan before he died) "I'm feeling viperish today".

"Man, you need to stop giving opinions about music because every time you say (or type) something, you just keep making yourself look bad and lose any credibility you have (which has already been precious little after you picked STP over GnR)"

Ahem. Why do you listen to the specific music or musicians that you listen to? Because there is something within the words, chords, or whatever that you like, right? A song came over the radio and you found yourself connecting to it in a way that separated it from everything else you heard that day. "Hey," I'm sure you said, "I like these guys." Or whatever. Your own personal tastes, life experiences and alcohol of choice lead you to prefer one group over another and there is nothing wrong with that. Everyone likes something different, it goes without saying. However, what the FUCK gives you the right to lambaste me over my musical preferences? Music, just like most other forms of creative expression, is appealing to each person for their own reasons. You like non-mainstream music (if such a thing still exists) because it appeals to you. My personal preferences are chosen for the same reasons. If I don't care for GnR, that's my opinion. If you think GnR is the best thing since sliced bread, that's yours. In no way does my opinion invalidate yours and vice versa. And since tastes in music are based more on opinion than anything else, what gives you the right to say that my opinion is somehow less worthy than your own? That's elitist and terribly condescending (as well as arrogant and supercilious). Yeah, I said Morrissey sucks, that's my opinion...it doesn't mean you still can't enjoy listening to him (although why in God's name you would is beyond me). You don't like the bands I listen to? That's fine by me, I'm not holding a gun to your head, making you listen to them on repeat. But don't say that because I choose a certain band over another that I do not have any "credibility" when it comes to offering my opinion on which band is good or which band isn't. The same thing applies to comics, art, beer or porn. Which brings me to my next rant...

" The worst is that [Joe Madureira] was a rip-off of all the McFarlane/Lee/Scott Campbell (shudder) imitators at the time...he was still ripping off bad art"

I could reiterate my previous argument here, but I'll try a more...tackful...route. Joe Mad himself has stated that one of his earliest influences was Art Adams, hardly a "clone". While there is an "Adam-sy" quality to some of his line work, the predominant influence comes from Masamune Shirow (Ghost in the Shell) as well as most Japanese Manga in general (take a look at Rogue's hair in the "Age of Apocolypse" storyline for a direct influence). If you go back and look at his earlier work, the artistic "style" that Joe Mad brought to the table was a very "Americanized" manga style, notably speed lines and facial expressions. It wasn't until his later Battle Chasers series that he began to incorporate more Japanese storytelling effects (e.g., beginnings of fight scenes with long horizontal panels where one person would be to the extreme left of the panel and the next panel would stacked directly underneath the previous one with the other combatant to the extreme right). All of the imitators that you are referring to (of which there are several) drew four or five pinups on a page and passed them off as panel progression. Madureira would focus on the storytelling first and foremost. There was never any trouble reading a story he drew and following it from panel to panel and page to page (I make no claims for the writers of said stories, considering that for most of his tenure he was paired with Scott Lobdell).

"That it seemed to take him so long to get any issue out...is just humiliating on the part of comics readers."

I'm sure that you are referring to his Battle Chasers series. After all, the man was on Uncanny for over 3 years and he maybe missed a handful issues. Yes, Battle Chasers was chronically late (actually, it stopped being published around issue 8 I think) and he does have a lot of trust to recoup for that. But to say that he amassed a small body of work is laughable. 30+ issues of work in three years is not small, especially by today's standards (If you want to see laughable, look at Frank Quitely. The man can't draw two consecutive issues to save his sorry ass and yet a goodly number of people hail him as a "good artist").

Okay, that was a lot of venting. I hope Marlan doesn't take it personally but some of these things have been boiling to a crescendo point for some time. This was a really good issue and I hope that we can keep it going.

Travis

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Issue 37... is on the way!


Hi gang,


Just an FYI, Pulp Legacy # 37 should be in your mailbox soon. Some of the issues went out Friday, while the rest went out on Monday.


Special thanks to Jason, Copy J, and new to the assembly party, Bart, for their help assembling. We killed a few beers, talked comics, music, movies and had a good ol' time at my new place.


One note about the new issue -- we had to kill the centerfold. No, she's not dead in a trunk somewhere (that I know of), I mean "management" (me, Zarko and Copy J) decided not to print it at this time. Travis did come through with photos, but the logistics of it (read: COST) was not in the cards. I'll talk to Travis more about this in-between issues, and perhaps we'll see this in a future issue, but not in this issue. (But don't be totally crestfallen... the best photo from the shoot did make it in Travis' zine, so you'll still get to see her). But we'll discuss alternative methods to make it a reality. My apologies, Trav, and everyone.


Let me know when you get the issue... feel free to post here to say, "I got it!"

Changes to the Pulp Legacy roster

All,

I've made some changes to the Pulp Legacy roster page in the newest issue of PL. I thought it'd be wise to note these changes here.

The changes are:

-- Brad Heitmeyer's address has been updated.
-- Danny Pumpelly has a new address.
-- John Gerdes has dropped his membership (per his request).
-- Ande Parks has dropped his membership (per his request).

These changes will be reflected in issue 37 of Pulp Legacy.

Thanks,

Seth

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Feature Essay

I may regret this, but this here is the 'secret surprise' I promised last week. Since we're not assembling tonight, it's finally finished and now, without any further ado, here it is:



Please be kind...

APA assembly update


Hi guys,


APA assembly was scheduled for tonight, but we've got a few loose ends we still need to tie up. Apologies, but we're going to push back a few more days.


Thanks for your patience!


Seth

Monday, September 3, 2007

Damnthetech

I had meant to have something to post today, but I'm having more trouble than I thought I would and so I don't have the post I thought I would. I'll try to have it up before assembly Thursday night.

I've got my 'zine done, and the Features are in the can, I just have to get them printed.

I kind of agree with Brad's comment in the post below about going digital. You'll see why I think that might be a good thing in my printed 'zine when you get it.

Hope you American-types had a good holiday. Off to see Halloween in a bit.