tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618879740460069575.post2082109399973799088..comments2024-02-22T02:31:34.108+00:00Comments on Too Busy Thinking About My Comics: Resident Alien #1: Reader's Roulette 2:2Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618879740460069575.post-51986619487350232452012-06-04T02:02:43.176+01:002012-06-04T02:02:43.176+01:00Hello Paul:- Thanks for popping back with your vie...Hello Paul:- Thanks for popping back with your views on the next issue along. I fear, reading your words, that I may have given the impression that I thought the lack of local colour in a specific sense was a fatal blow to the book. I don't think that it seriously holed the comic below the waterline, and I did, as I say, enjoy it. And yet, I do still feel that it came across as if it had been designed to exist in a every-town rural USA. It's been many years since I visited America, and yet I was always amazed how the big networks produce series which are consistently "everytown" and "everypeople", and yet everywhere I went in the States had a specific and distinct character. <br /><br />Please do recommend away when you pop over this way. For one thing, I welcome your suggestions, and for another, and now that you've said, I rather like the idea of how an expert book-man putting his experience to good use!Colin Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15246781681702128600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618879740460069575.post-81363195372647988762012-06-03T15:42:12.481+01:002012-06-03T15:42:12.481+01:00Now that I've caught up with issue 1....
Conte...Now that I've caught up with issue 1....<br />Content wise I liked it fine, refreshingly straightforward and compelling. The scene setting is less of an issue for me simply because despite the generic-ness of the town it's the inhabitants that set it out as being a well observed 'real' place. The backdrop never quite falls into generic for me simply because Parkhouse has a visual reference memory that informs even the most standard of back drops. A little more 'colour' to the town the mirrors the detail of the residents would be nice, but at least it doesn't feel like the backgrounds have been forgotten. That said, I've been re-watching Northern Exposure and am aware that the setting can also be a key character, so who knows how much better Resident Alien could be if the setting was a bit more fully realised.<br />I'm afraid you version of Illegal Alien is not the version you would find, but it's close enough that I don't think/hope you'd be disappointed. I was a bookseller for 15 years and I just can't seem to break the habit of recommending things to read!paulhdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07927319711682494407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618879740460069575.post-30697768829748273182012-06-01T20:12:12.612+01:002012-06-01T20:12:12.612+01:00Hello Ed:- And thank you for continuing to nudge m...Hello Ed:- And thank you for continuing to nudge me in interesting directions. I do get there in the end :) Supermarket escaped me, as did the pre-publication news of The Massive. Yet the premise is, as you say, fascinating. <br /><br />OK. I'm in!Colin Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15246781681702128600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618879740460069575.post-21121165743631313562012-06-01T14:32:55.527+01:002012-06-01T14:32:55.527+01:00I have high hopes for The Massive. I've enjoye...I have high hopes for The Massive. I've enjoyed a previous Brian Wood and Kristian Donaldson collaboration (Supermarket) and the premise is one which immediately appealed to my political sensibilities and thematic tastes:<br /><br />"Set in a post-war, post-crash, post-disaster, post-everything world - the environmental action trawler Kapital scours the earth’s oceans for its missing sister ship The Massive, while struggling to redefine its core mission. What does it mean to be an activist after the world’s already ended?"<br /><br />Can't wait. If superheroes are swerving sharply towards the right it seems - when I think of comics like The Massive and Orchid - as though Dark Horse's creator owned comics might be heading leftwards (although reality has a tendency to resist such easy and sweeping generalisations).Ed Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08568510684843061962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618879740460069575.post-61365254923929337532012-05-31T19:46:22.136+01:002012-05-31T19:46:22.136+01:00Hello Ed:- You're right to label the "rea...Hello Ed:- You're right to label the "read the O issue first" business as "an error of judgment". It was a bad move, but it's hardly typical. Not that it made it feel any less irritating, of course. <br /><br />And thank you for the nudge in the direction of The Massive. Completely off my radar, and now well-placed on the check-out list. I guess there's no grudge being held, then :)Colin Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15246781681702128600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618879740460069575.post-86810704032885102372012-05-31T19:41:42.077+01:002012-05-31T19:41:42.077+01:00Hello Greg:- I'm with you on the value of cont...Hello Greg:- I'm with you on the value of contrary opinions, as I'm sure you know. And your opinions, contrary or not, are very welcome here. It does keep me on my toes in addition to be interesting to have the privilage of reading the comments here, and I'm keen to make sure that what I write on Mind MGMT isn't puzzling, I really am.<br /><br />Dark Horse I've always been fond of. Image was never my favourite comic because those early 90s comics werenever my cup of tea. But I've long learned that today's Image is something else entirely. An entirely admirable organisation, it appears.Colin Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15246781681702128600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618879740460069575.post-83856269162276309192012-05-31T15:31:52.295+01:002012-05-31T15:31:52.295+01:00Colin: Well, I do like reading contrary opinions t...Colin: Well, I do like reading contrary opinions to my own, no matter what book it is, because it forces me to consider my own response to a piece of work, so I do look forward to your writing about it!<br /><br />I like Dark Horse, too - I think DH and Image are the two best publishers right now and have been for some time - but of course, they're not perfect!Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05822896114716659640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618879740460069575.post-73690892541884944032012-05-31T15:01:20.089+01:002012-05-31T15:01:20.089+01:00Aside from your (entirely justified) anger at the ...Aside from your (entirely justified) anger at the #0 issue business (I would certainly lost my temper too) I'm pleased to see a comic which completely slipped under my radar receive such a generally positive review. <br /><br />Like you said to paulhd I too am going to wait for the TPB with this book and, like you said to Greg, I regard Dark Horse highly enough that such an error of judgement (a foolish presumption that we'd all read the hit-or-miss anthology that is 'Presents' or an irritating cash-grab) won't tarnish my opinion of their generally fine output. <br /><br />Hopefully we won't have any similar silliness with the new Brian Wood series 'The Massive' starting next month with issue #1 (there's a #0 issue in the works for that too which will also contain content from DHP).Ed Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08568510684843061962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618879740460069575.post-28203976846171643902012-05-31T07:43:50.772+01:002012-05-31T07:43:50.772+01:00Hello Greg:- I think everyone's taste is puzzl...Hello Greg:- I think everyone's taste is puzzling, and that includes my own. By which I'm not meaning to sound snarky, but rather expressing a belief that we all tend to hold opinions, great and trivial, which are at one point or another difficult for even ourselves to make sense of. And as far as I can see, unraveling my own tastes - or should I say 'prejudices' - is one of the three reasons why I've written this blog. (The other two being to (1) practise the habit of writing in a more structured manner and (2) to try to gain some small insight into how comics work.)So, I'd hope that I was being honest enough to admit to puzzling myself when it comes to the things I think and feel, even given that does run the risk of puzzling others who're generous to pop over at times.<br /><br />My opinion of Mind MGMT isn't in any way a straight-forward "didn't like". I thought that there was a great deal in the comic which was worthy of applause. And I don't intend to dish out a slapping of any kind in its direction. If nothing else, I hope to approach the book in a slightly different way to the reviews I've read, and I've tried to read every one that I could possibly find!<br /><br />What I will do - and I say this out of a desire not to puzzle you rather than any sense of self-importance, I do promise you - is try to explain why I think that Resident Alien was a more successful comic in certain key aspects. But in other ways Mind MGMT was an experience I enjoyed, and, as I'm sure we'd both agree, it's a question of apples and oranges anyway; they're not doing a similar thing in a similar way. I hope I can un-puzzle you even if I can't convince you. (Actually, if you liked Mind MGMT, I wouldn't want to convince you even if I could!)<br /><br />I'm with you in understanding the many advantages to a "o" issue. Reprinting already paid-for material and therefore generating extra revenue, filling in an audience which hasn't read DHP Presents, creating a measure of buzz; all sensible stuff. But as you say, there has to be a better way of doing it. A reader who thinks they're buying the first issue of a self-contained 3 issue series shouldn't be told - in an entirely unapologetic way too - that the movie's already started and the key back-story has already been established. I don't think Dark Horse is a stupid publisher in any way, but this wasn't a bright approach where it comes to being fair to the customer. I'm certainly not inclined to go back to the "0" issue or proceed to "2" and "3". I suspect I'll get the TPB. It's a good story that's well told. But there's lots of good stuff out there, and I feel, having had a good night's sleep, that my loyalty wasn't secured by the whole business. In a market-place full of terrific books from today and the long history of comics, publishers just can't afford to suggest that they're taking a reader for granted.<br /><br />Actually, I have a great deal of fondness for Dark Horse. I usually disassociate myself from any measure of warm feelings for publishers. It's the work and not the delivery system for me. But I must say, Dark Horse have printed so much that I've admired, going back to the days of Concrete et al. It's a shame to find such a presumptuous misjudgment in one of their books.<br /><br />Thank you for being my first comment this morning! As you may note in the above, I've been waking up while writing this :)Colin Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15246781681702128600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618879740460069575.post-68546407715204097672012-05-31T00:56:14.623+01:002012-05-31T00:56:14.623+01:00Dark Horse may be stupid, but the reason they publ...Dark Horse may be stupid, but the reason they published a "zero" issue is because it contained already-published stuff from a few issues of Dark Horse Presents, where this story debuted. So the zero issue was a reprint. It's wildly idiotic, but Dark Horse seems to have decided to court the trade market, and I suppose the "zero" issue will be collected along with the rest of it. There has to be a better way to do it, though.<br /><br />You really puzzle me, sir. As you don't review comics every week, it's hard to get a bead on you. I like the Resident Alien prologue that I read in DHP and plan to get the trade, but I didn't think it was better than, say, Mind Mgmt, which you appeared (from your tweets) to dislike. I hope you're going to review it here so I can get a longer explanation of why you didn't like it, but I thought it did everything a first issue is supposed to do. I don't mean you puzzle me in a bad way, of course - it's really interesting reading what you think of these comics. But you're still puzzling!Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05822896114716659640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618879740460069575.post-62827906006051152852012-05-30T22:37:21.536+01:002012-05-30T22:37:21.536+01:00Hello Paul:- I'm REALLY glad you didn't me...Hello Paul:- I'm REALLY glad you didn't mention that O issue. I'm fascinated by the way in which the industry sells its product just as I am about the storytelling itself, and I found the whole oh-we've-sold-you-a-book-and-now-we're-gonna-insist-you-buy-another business to be a real eye-opener. A fine example of how the industry just looses sight of what's the right thing to do. And a shame, because I'm sure no-one thought they were doing something daft and unfair. And perhaps they never will. But over at HQ, it read badly ...<br /><br />Obviously I can't speak for #0 as you can't for #1, but there was a particularly eye-catching scene of the mountains behind a funeral party in #1. And the storytelling, as you say, is always good. I did wish for a touch more on the page though, some sense that this was a, if not a real town, then one with its own unique flavour. None of which says that the story wasn't well worth the reading, but ....<br /><br />I will indeed go hunt out Illegal Alien. You're recommendations are obviously to be trusted :) And if you say "Ealing", then I'm going to imagine Passport To Pimlico with Klingons and that just sounds fantastic!Colin Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15246781681702128600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618879740460069575.post-14595759369732610902012-05-30T22:10:47.914+01:002012-05-30T22:10:47.914+01:00Ah. I should have mentioned the issue '0' ...Ah. I should have mentioned the issue '0' nonsense. That is a very poor introduction to an issue, particularly as 0 seemed like set up that a reader coming in at issue 1 would not need to have read.<br />That aside, I'm pleased you enjoyed it (not read 1 yet, so I'm basing this on 0), it features a level of craft that fools readers into believing it's effortless. Fair point about the lack of character to the location, Parkhouse can be very brisk, which works very well from a storytelling POV, yet it does shortchange in a way I don't recall him doing in, say, Bojeffries.<br />I mentioned it in the roulette recommends but if you ever spot 'Illegal Alien' by James Robinson and Phil Elliot then give it a look, it's a lovely comic and I found the hook of 'what kind of film would Ealing have made if they lasted long enough to do a sci-fi film' to be utterly charming.... which is why I'm sharing it!paulhdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07927319711682494407noreply@blogger.com