columns

With this being the 20^th month of the initiative, the question has to be asked of DC’s “New 52” – just how long can they keep calling it “New?” The shine comes off of everything eventually. The unpacking is done, the appliances are plugged in, the junk drawers filled, the bubble wrap popped, the new car smell expunged, the metaphor stretched beyond all credulity. Sure, the name is catchy – it rhymes and everything – but can anything really be “new” forever?
...

As if I hadn’t given Comixology enough publicity last week, with their big “submit” announcement, this weekend they partnered up with Marvel for something that would pretty much dwarf anything else they announced for a while: free digital comics. Not a big deal in and of itself. Lots of publishers give away free books from time to time – heck, Marvel usually gives away three or four a week. But this wasn’t three or four. This was 700. Not an autocorrect, as I said when I texted Erin and Kenny about this. Seven. Zero. Zero. Virtually every #1 issues the publisher had in their Comixology catalogue was free for the taking.
...

In a week where I was planning to bask in the sun and live the good life with a new game, this was not supposed to be the week where the crotchety old man made an appearance. Sometimes yelling at everyone from the front porch is not appealing. What's wrong with sitting down, enjoying some homemade fresh lemonade and reading the paper? For starters, well, that means I would not be playing video games. That, and I am pretty sure newspapers do not exist anymore. After all, I read that on the Internet.
...

If Digital Comics are your thing, clear the space off on your iPad... Marvel is making a bold move this week at the South By Southwest Expo. Blake also gives a short spoiler-free recommendation to Oz the Great and Powerful. In the picks, it's Animal Man #18, the epilogue to the Rotworld crossover. Contact us with comments, suggestions, or anything else at Showcase@CXPulp.com!
...

Remember a few years ago, when digital comics went from being a small, niche product into a mass market service that could be accessed from virtually any smartphone or tablet? Remember how some people, myself included, went straight into panic mode, fearful that the digitization of comic books might cripple comic shops, end the print distribution model, and crush our spirits? Remember how none of that happened? Yeah, me too. Instead, miraculously, print comic sales are healthier than they’ve been in years (if still not at the “Todd McFarlane buying Marc McGuire’s balls” levels of the 90s), and the evidence seems to indicate the rapidly-expanding digital audience is not usurping most current print customers, but instead is drawing in new and lapsed readers that otherwise wouldn’t be reading comics at all. There are exceptions, of course, but for the most part, there aren’t legions of print readers closing out their pull folders and going digital-exclusive, but instead, people who’ve read digital comics coming into the comic shops and buying print. Instead of killing the artform, digital comics may well be saving it.
...

This week, Blake starts to chat about what happens in Batman, Inc. #8 and instead gets sidetracked on a rant about spoilers. They're everywhere. They cannot be avoided. So maybe it's just time to give into the madness. WARNING: This podcast contains spoilers for... well... everything. In the picks, it's Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time #2. Contact us with comments, suggestions, or anything else at Showcase@CXPulp.com!
...

I’m sure a lot of people expect me to write about Batman Incorporated #8 this week, but I’m not going to do that. I’ve talked a lot about comic book death, what it means, how it can be used effectively. And I don’t think we can accurately judge how effective a death is until the story is over (three more issues, if I’m not mistaken). I’m also not going to talk about the fact that it was spoiled two days early in the pages of the New York Post, because what can I possibly say that I haven’t said already? What other way is there to say I think releasing information like this to the mainstream press ahead of time is a cheap stunt that results in a short-term sales boost and creates false scarcity at the expense of fans who have spent months – sometimes years – reading a series and would actually like a chance to turn a page and be genuinely goddamn surprised for once in their lives? Seriously, if you can think of another way to say it, let me know. The 17,000 ways I’ve tried so far clearly aren’t working.
...

Technically it is still relatively close to the beginning of 2013, both in time and in terms of all the things I look forward to writing about. 2012 saw several things come and go. In general terms, we finally get to stop hearing about the stupid Mayan calendar ending in 2012. Sorry, they went extinct a long time ago. 5 years ago the collective wisdom of this extinct race was largely ignored, so for now I will enjoy this brief hiatus in a pointless fascination over a dead calendar. In gaming terms, I get to set up a list of things to look forward to this year, taking into account the big disappointments of the past season.
...

This week, Blake and Kenny sit down to chat about comic book news -- the new Green Lantern creative teams, the return of Power Girl's classic costume, George Romero bringing his zombies to Marvel Comics, and more! Then, with a little help from our Facebook friends, we pick into big properties that are NOT currently being published in this age of licensed comics... James Bond, Gargoyles, Silverhawks... where are their comics? In the picks, Kenny is reading Geek Magazine and Blake is reading Locke and Key: Omega. Contact us with comments, suggestions, or anything else at Showcase@CXPulp.com!
...

I’ve been a teacher for several years now and I’ve covered a lot of different subjects. I’ve taught Shakespeare and Mark Twain, Ray Bradbury and O. Henry. I’ve had students read an essay by Bill Cosby and one by Stephen King, the most famous speech of Martin Luther King, and the good ol’ Declaration of Independence. I even taught a career preparation course for a year for some mind-bogglingly insane reason. But there’s one thing I’ve never really managed to incorporate into my classroom: a comic book.
...

It's a big week for Bruces and Blake and Erin take in Willis's newest film, A Good Day to Die Hard, and talk about the repercussions of Wayne's lastest battle with the Joker in the conclusion of Death of the Family. We also talk about the return of The Walking Dead, rejoice in the crapitude of Birdemic: Shock and Terror, and Blake recommends that if you're not reading Morning Glories, you go back and start at the beginning. Contact us with comments, suggestions, or anything else at Showcase@CXPulp.com!
...