Blog @ Canadian Geek

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I was fortunate enough to go to the San Diego Comic Con this past summer and unlike my first trip there in 2006, I decided to do this more as a “working” vacation than a “fanboy” one. I spent more time waiting to talk to vendors and distributors than I did waiting for sketches and signatures. In turn I had quite a different experience (natch).

Out of the several things I did was to make sure I attended more panels that discussed the craft of making comics; writing classes, discussions on theory and religion and so forth. At one very unique panel discussing religion, featuring Christian, Jewish and Witch followers, I came across a sample of a comic book on the chairs in the room. It was a flip book featuring “Serenity” on one side and “Goofyfoot Gurl” on the other.

“Serenity” I had encountered before as a sample copy had been sent to the store in 2006. Shawna and I reviewed the book and decided that the quality just wasn’t there in the writing or art that we could justify purchasing copies. I won’t get into detail but we know our customers and we judge ALL books against the fancies of our clientele.

“Goofyfoot Gurl” intrigued me more as the art style, while unpolished, was neat and I liked it. But as I read the story I quickly realized that it was pretty typical North American, decompressed storytelling and I was less impressed. However, the thing that really turned me off was the fact that “Gurl” and “Serenity” were both billed as Manga.

Now I am not an expert on Manga but I’ve learned quite a bit recently as it’s an essential part of my business and one of the first things I’ve learned about Manga is that it comes from Japan. Realbuzz Studios, the company home to both comics and a few others, as near as I can tell is American based. There’s no information about the writer or artist but I suspect they are American also.

Bucking the Manga trend further, these comics are in colour and read left to right. Seeing all these things countering my knowledge of what Manga is supposed to be, I went to Realbuzz’s booth and decided to talk to the company why they thought their books could be considered Manga. Sadly none of the talent was there but the woman working the booth was kind enough to engage me in the conversation which lead to her asking me, “What do you think Manga is?”

“Well, at a basic level it’s black & white, read right to left and it’s usually made in Japan.” I went on to say that the art in “Goofyfoot Gurl” was far more NA than Asian except for one page that had a chibi character on it. The people at the booth couldn’t wholly grasp what I was saying and said I would be better to contact the company and discuss it with them.

Now, why does this bother me? I mean, it’s not the first time a company, ANY company, has branded a product as something not quite what it was. Marketing is an ugly, tricky, corrupting being that often makes good people say misleading things and I fall into that category as well. Kid Drew has on more than one occasion challenged my wording of certain events that I put on the sandwich board outside the store. “That’s not entirely correct,” he would say. “We’ll educate them once they get upstairs,” I would reply. I need to bring people in or pique their curiosity and sometimes I use selective wording that may seem misleading with the hope that people will want to know more. Sneaky? Maybe. Effective? Usually.

In my mind, Realbuzz Studios is clearly making “comics” and labeling them as “Manga from Heaven”. Oh yeah, they’re a Christian publisher. That’s kinda making it a bigger issue for me.

So, what makes Manga? Is it colour vs b&w? The storytelling? Speedlines and big eyes? Direction for reading? What do you think? According to Wikipedia, Manga refers to comics published in East Asian countries with certain other criteria that none of Realbuzz’s books seem to follow.

Do you think that this Christian publishing company is out to lunch, unknowingly crediting their product as Manga or did they sink to the capitalist level in naming their product something it isn’t just to help sell books? Or, is it actually Manga and I just missed it?

The Shepherd

I’m about to share some info I got from a seminar at Comic Con put on by Douglas Neff. It’s all about goal setting! (as my catchy title lead you to believe )

He talks about ten (why is it always ten? ) magic coins. They are as follows….

1. There is no magic.

2.Make a clear goal.

3.Get some help.

4.One step at a time.

5.Play to your strengths.

6.Do your homework.

7.Expect breakdowns.

8.Know your nemesis.

9.Find your balance.

10. Never ever give up.

Over the next little bit, I’m going to share with you what he said on each of these points along with how I’m trying to work them into my own life.

1. There is no magic.

Any teacher or author who tells you there is a “magic” solution to reaching your goals is lying! There is no such thing. People who achieve their goals on a regular basis have learned that success always comes down to one thing, HARD WORK. The good news is that hard work doesn’t need to be hard, if you follow some simple guidelines and are willing to put in time and effort, you’ll have a good chance of making your dreams come true.

Well, there it is. The first step to making your dreams come forth is to understand that wishing for it and hoping for it won’t make it happen. Putting in the “hard smart work” is the only way in which you’ll have a chance. The flip side (and therefore good news) is that your dreams ARE in your control. They are not just up to the fates. (boy I sure hope your dream isn’t for a Captain Ultra live action film, some dreams should never come true)

So hold on to that! Every time you find dreams slipping away, it’s not fate or the stars “stealing” it from you. You have control.

Unless your trying to make that Captain Ultra film, then your just doomed!

Stay plugged in for more.

Bri

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Happy Harbor, in it’s mad idealism of trying to do things that no one else does, publishes a semi-annual anthology called “Tales from the Harbor”. The book allows anyone to create anything they want and see it in print while working under the guidelines and deadlines of a publishing schedule. It even comes with the added bonus of being just like a real publishing company in that no one gets paid. HA! Zing!

Anywho, the first volume of “Tales”, released in Dec 06, did well. 200 copies of the 290 page book were printed and at this time, more than 160 have sold. Not bad. It did take some work to encourage many customers to try it out and many obliged. Some even commented on the stories on CG.

Volume 2 of “Tales” had a page count pushing 340 with the same $19.95 price tag so more bang for the buck should sell much better, right? Wrong. Out of the 200 copies released in June of 07, sales are currently under 75 copies. Granted, Volume 1 has had more time to sell but with both, the vast majority of sales came in the first couple weeks to months. Volume 2 doesn’t appear to have the legs to match 1 after 8 months of sales.

So what went wrong? Was the format of publishing anything and everything to much of a deterrant for some? Was the length to lengthy? Was the “quality” not there? Was the lack of a big, corporate logo a factor?

Last December, ICv2 columist Steve Bennent comment on the death of the anthology, stating that he believed most fans just don’t want anthologies any longer, even though they could easily produce more bang for the buck. But a compnay spending money to put top talent on a book that probably wouldn’t have any impact on that companies universe (Jimmy Olsen would never die in any book other than “Superman” or “Action Comics”, right?) doesn’t seem viable and the modern method of decompressed storytelling seems to work against the concept of short storytelling in an anthology.

Has the nature of storytelling evolved to a point that short stories aren’t wanted any longer? Has the demand from modern audiences for every story to have impact negated the desire for fun, off-the-cuff tales? Can the anthology come back and survive in today’s climate?

I won’t use “Tales” as a true gauge since it’s nature of being independant creator-owned material already puts it at a disadvantage but with Marvel returning their long running “Marvel Comic Presents” title this September, we’ll see exactly how the publisher approaches what material to print and excatly how the fans will react. Hopefully the book will be company supported for long enough to work out the bugs and bring the anthology back to the forefront of comicdom.

As a retailer who, even with all the space we have, is running out of room, I would be more than happy to see the end of the dozens of mini-series taking up shelf space and replaced with one book showcasing four different titles. Maybe it’s just me.

Shepherd

This has been a rather emotional week for me. Quitting my job at Safeway — last two days, tomorrow and thursday! — and worrying about whether or not I’ll have another job to fall on. I quit without having another job lined up, so it’s been kind of a mad dash to find something else.

But, I’m fairly certain, assuming I don’t flop around like a chicken during the interview on Friday, that I shall have a job at Future Shop in the entertainment section. Seems like the perfect fit to me, doesn’t it to you?

What does this have to do with the trailers? Well, they’re… entertaining! ha-cha!

IRON MAN

If the geeks out there haven’t seen this trailer yet, I’d have to ask what star they’ve been orbiting for the last week or so, because it sure as heck isn’t the Earth’s Sun. This trailer hit the internet and every fanboy glee’d. And for GOOD reason. This is an amazingly well done trailer; when you add the fact that it is a trailer for a movie based off a comic-book, it only gets better. Robert Downey Jr. proves that he IS Tony Stark with every syllable he speaks.

The armor looks PERFECT. It translates VERY well to film. I am incredibly excited for this film, without a doubt.

If the trailer had to have a negative .. it’d be that they went the cheese route and used Black Sabbath for the music. It isn’t .. unwelcome, but at the same time, you’re thinking, “Yeah.. didn’t see THAT coming.” It’s an iffy line. They’ll probably drop it for future trailers.

VIEW THE HIGH DEFINTION TRAILER HERE

HATCHET

My senses were kind of shaken up when I watched this trailer — and I imagine yours will too. Horror films in general have taken a turn as of late — in fact, I’m not even sure there’s BEEN any. Most of them are thrillers, or just.. violence. Not to say it’s a bad thing, but there certainly is a difference. The SAW series of films are not horrors, for example.

But Hatchet? It’s a horror. It’s a horror that reckons back to .. before horror films became thrillers. It’s very subdued for most of it, explaining where the new “horror” came from, how he was created — if you assume he exists at all. It’d be an easy film to dismiss, but, something about it makes me want to see it. How simple it is, but, also how much potential there is to be truly scared.

VIEW THE HIGH DEFINITION TRAILER HERE

Also, I just wanted to point out, for the HECK of it, this trailer. Incredible cheese, semi-decent special effects, and a laughable storyline make this a MUST WATCH film for some strange reason. Couldn’t find a Youtube version of it, so just posting it here. Go look.

I have a cold, or the flu, or something. My brain is rather mushy and my body isn’t that far behind. So I figured this week I’d post a trailer that is mush. Horrible. This trailer is just about everything that shouldn’t be done in a trailer.

HITMAN

First thing, I have never played the video game that the movie is based on. I do vaguely know what it’s about — I mean, it’s kind of obvious. It’s about a Hitman. Got that. But seeing as I know nothing about the game, the trailer should work extra hard to inform me, to draw me into the world of the movie .. and it fails MISERABLY.

I haven’t been this bored watching a trailer since Shindler’s List.

The first half of the trailer features (and wow, do I ever use that word lightly) some of the worst exposition I could handle. Then when you figure they’ll actually get into the action, they play this slow operatic crap that does nothing to get your blood pumping like an action film should. And the scenes they show .. these days if you wanna do an action film, you gotta give us something that hasn’t been seen before.

This? I could barely contain the yawns.

VIEW THE HIGH DEFINITION VERSION HERE

(Or, y’know.. don’t. Because it’s that bad. I’m afraid your eyes will singe out.)