Articles by elayne-riggs
Wed Dec 12, 2007 — by Elayne Riggs
Things to come, by Elayne Riggs
It's All Good #43
This is the time of year when people usually start to compile "best of" lists and recaps. But as 2007 has been more "the worst of times" for me than "the best of times," I prefer to look forward. After all, as Criswell once "predicted" in a hardly-memorable Ed Wood film, "We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives!"
Crystal ball gazing also helps if you have the retention level of a hyperactive gnat, which I'm afraid is the case for me. I don't tend to get worked up over details in comic books or TV shows or movies because most entertainment is ephemeral to me; I just don't feel I need to keep all the minutiae in my head. It carries the added advantage of making rereading the same book a lot more fun to me, a constant surprise as I encounter things again that I didn't remember from the last time I read them.
In the land of graphic literature, at least in this country, Diamond's magazine Previews is the only consumer choice in terms of moving from baseless speculation about what may or may not happen in monthly story installments months down the line (that's more the realm of comics "news" sites, which often busy themselves in breathlessly extolling events yet to happen to the detriment of examining current comics) to actually planning out and ordering one's reading of choice for the foreseeable future (say, two months down the line). Time was, order forms were the sole purview of retailers. Of course, time was when Previews wasn't the only game in town. Not that the disappearance of competitors like Capital City and Heroes World constitutes anything like a monopoly for Diamond! At least not according to the antitrust investigation, which didn't consider comics as separate from other literature. In any case, with all the major companies sewn up with exclusives and treated as Premier customers (some pigs being more equal than other pigs), Previews is the only choice now for readers who wish to support their local retailers, as well as for publishers who want to reach audiences they can't afford to grow on their own (even in this age of online ordering). Unfortunately, Diamond doesn't accept every comic published into the hallowed pages of Previews, so now more than ever it pays to see what's out there in the virtual world, but online content distribution is another column entirely.
Tue Dec 11, 2007 — by Elayne Riggs
Round yon donuts, mother and child
ComicMixers celebrate the season
Much thanks to Media Goddess Martha Thomases for inviting me and fellow ComicMixers to her annual Chanukah donut party on Sunday. Here are a couple of happy guests, Liz Glass and Madeleine Grace Baker.
More pictures (expandable to larger sizes, yet) on my blog.
Sun Dec 9, 2007 — by Elayne Riggs
ComicMix columns burn brightly
Tasty literary latkes for everyone!
As some of us celebrate the Festival of Lights, it's time once again to catch up with our ComicMix luminaries and see what they've brought us this past week:
- Mike Gold - Whizzy's Wazoo #43: Speaking Ill Of The Dead
- Dennis O'Neil - The Four-Color Answer #43: Nudity and the Editorial Process
- Me - It's All Good #42: Burning the candle
- John Ostrander - Tales From The O-zone #43: I'm Dreaming of a Celluloid Christmas, Part 1
- Michael Davis - Straight, No Chaser #43: Jasmine
- Martha Thomases - Brilliant Disguise #34: I Pity the Poor Immigrant
- Michael A. Price - Forgotten Horrors #34: Tippy Tacker's Yuletide Travails
- Ric Meyers - DVD XTra #28: Bourne Potter
Remember, don't fill up on too many latkes and donuts!
Wed Dec 5, 2007 — by Elayne Riggs
Burning the candle, by Elayne Riggs
It's All Good #42
This column is finally up to installment #42. As you well know, that's said to be the answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything. And now that I'm 50 years old, I'm supposed to be ever much smarter than I used to be, and ever so much closer to achieving the enlightenment that's supposed to help me understand the questions to that answer.
Don't you believe it. It's a good thing life is a constant learning experience, although it's a bit disheartening that the more I live the more there remains for me to learn. I can't be the only one who constantly feels like I'm treading water, or running in place just to keep up.
Last night many Jews began the annual commemoration of Chanukah (or Hanukkah or Channukah or Throat-Warbler Mangrove), the Festival of Lights, not to be confused with Diwali, the Festival of Light marking the victory of good over evil, and uplifting of spiritual darkness, which seems to predate it by a good many centuries. Chanukah marks the rededication of the Second Temple (after it was desecrated by Antiochus IV Epiphanes at the time of the Maccabee rebellion, a couple hundred years before that Jesus guy came along) and the miracle that one day's worth of consecrated olive oil wound up burning for eight (the length of time it took to process a new batch). So instead of celebrating something cool like the uplifting of spiritual darkness, in the hands of the Jews the festival became the glorification of frugality, of making a little go a long way.
Then the Christians came along and, within another few centuries, had converted massive populations and co-opted their festivals so that Midwinter (the winter solstice) practices became part of Christmas, which grew and grew into a general celebration of plenty and excess and cheer (except for those people who insist on missing the point by suggesting Santa is a "bad role model" because he's fat and jolly; no no, can't have any happy large people around during the months when it's customary to fatten up to stave off cold and hunger!). And you know, given the choice between a whooping it up over how fortunate one is to have enough to eat and how dire one's circumstances are that one has to burn the midnight oil for a week -- well, let's just say it's easy to see how one can become so popular it's no longer solely Christian or even pagan but practically secular, where the other is forever relegated in the public consciousness to second-place status and an excuse to teach lessons in multicultural inclusion.
Sun Dec 2, 2007 — by Elayne Riggs
Oh, the weather outside is frightful...
But ComicMix colums are delightful!
It's snowing, albeit gently, here in the Northeast, and the temperatures are definitely of the stay-indoors variety, so why not do what I'll be doing, catching up on ComicMix columns from this past week?:
- Mike Gold - Whizzy's Wazoo #42: Raiders of Lost Knowledge
- Dennis O'Neil - The Four-Color Answer #42: Is Iron Man Mike Hammer?
- Me - It's All Good #41: Comics, community and The 99
- John Ostrander - Tales From The O-zone #42: Medium Rare
- Michael Davis - Straight, No Chaser #42: Is it me, or are they just stupid?
- Martha Thomases - Brilliant Disguise #33: Baby, It's Cold Outside
- Michael A. Price - Forgotten Horrors #33: My Cousin Vinnie vs. the Vampires
- Ric Meyers - DVD XTra #27: Superbad Tiger Gate
May all your hot chocolates be filled to the brim with peppermint schnapps!
Wed Nov 28, 2007 — by Elayne Riggs
Comics, community and The 99
It's All Good #41
One of the things I mentioned in a previous column is how frustrating it is to many readers that reviewers have so many negative things to say about comics and so few positive ones -- one of the reasons being, of course, that it's simply easier (and, for many, more fun) to slag on someone else's hard work than to praise it, to pick at the missteps rather than examining the story as a whole. I still suspect this ties in with why so relatively few reviewers discuss the art in a comic book; as they're writers, it's easier to concentrate on just the writing, which one can then proceed to negatively nitpick to one's own standard of personal amusement, rather than learning about how to talk about the main thing that separates comics from prose work, from movies, from just about any other form of entertainment. But I digress.
I've had the first four issues of a comic book series in front of me for months, wanting to talk about them. This was before the series even debuted in the US, and now the first two issues have already appeared in stores. And with one thing and another in my crazy life, I haven't had the time nor the wherewithall to actually sit down and review anything. And it's become, as these things do, rather an albatross 'round my neck that I haven't gotten to it. After all, a wonderfully talented, amazing woman who happens to edit the books sent them to me in good faith that I'd get to reviewing them sooner or later. And after all, wasn't I the one who did over four years' worth of weekly reviews on Usenet, covering at least a dozen comics during some of those weeks? What, besides life's vicissitudes, was preventing me from sitting down and doing this review?
Sooner or later we all have to face our own procrastinating natures. For me, the approach of the year's close and the feeling of community that means so much to me in this industry prompted me to finally get down to it. After three introductory paragraphs, naturally. Has the time finally come for me to say a few words about The 99 from Teshkeel Comics? Well, yes and no. I'm not going to do a structured, formal review per se, but discuss the series more in terms of its inspiration and ideas.
Mon Nov 26, 2007 — by Elayne Riggs
Comics gives back
'Tis the season to help our own
Comics folk are known for their generosity year-round but, as the seasons turn and the nights turn colder, the spirit of giving seems to kick into overdrive.
Out in Portland, OR, Floating World Comics is all set to hold their Spacenight tribute to Bill Mantlo on Friday, December 6 (coincidentally, the birthdays of at least four comic book creators of which I know). As many people are aware, in 1992 the longtime Marvel mainstay was struck by a hit-and-run driver and suffered a closed-head traumatic brain injury from which he has never recovered, so as you can imagine the medical bills are formidable. If you can't make it out to Oregon, you can always donate to the Spacenite - Bill Mantlo Fund via the above link. The Oregonian has more information about the event. And of course you can still order Mantlo: A Life in Comics from David Yurkovich's Sleeping Giant Comics.
And the Hero Initiative blog features a very touching story about the latest recipients of that organization's largesse. As Laura Gjovaag says, read the whole thing including the comments, "Then go to CBGXtra.com and click on the banner ad to donate a dime to HERO." Or more, if you can spare it!
Sun Nov 25, 2007 — by Elayne Riggs
Giving thanks for good columns
ComicMix thanks all our readers!
I find it nothing short of astounding that ComicMix columns continue to get stronger as the year goes on. Here's the past week's worth of what's shaping up to be a great legacy of reading:
- Mike Gold - Whizzy's Wazoo #41: Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, and the High Price of Irony
- Dennis O'Neil - The Four-Color Answer #41: King Arthur, Iron Man, and Brooks Brothers
- Me - It's All Good #40: The days of miracles and wonder
- John Ostrander - Tales From The O-zone #41: Persons of story
- Michael Davis - Straight, No Chaser #41: Thank you. Thank you very much...
- Martha Thomases - Brilliant Disguise #32: Shopping Bag People
- Michael A. Price - Forgotten Horrors #32: And Now for Something Completely Honky-Tonk
- Ric Meyers - DVD XTra #26: I Know Paprika Killed Me
Thank you again to all our readers for your participation via the comments!
Sat Nov 24, 2007 — by Elayne Riggs
That BoingBoing Bounce
Featured comics from politics to science
It's common knowledge that once a comics-related site appears on BoingBoing, its hits rise exponentially. So congratulations to both Ward Sutton, whose recent New York Times slideshow analyzing political posters and campaign logos (see example at right) got a mention this morning, and the very amusing Comic Book Periodic Table, saluted last week. BoingBoing notes that the latter site, a projeect from two chemistry profs at the University of Kentucky, "provides a cross-reference to mentions of various elements in a wide variety of funnybooks." Naturally there are a lot of Metal Men pages involved, but also Spidey comics, Richie Rich refs, even Tintin! And if anybody out there knows of a comic book page that mentions cerium or cesium, do contact them!
Fri Nov 23, 2007 — by Elayne Riggs
Advice from the pros
How-to tips from Dave to Davis
Congratulations to Dave Roman on approaching his 10th year editing at Nickelodeon Magazine! To celebrate, as many others in the comics blogosphere have noted, Dave has put together a comprehensive review of "advice for building a career as a freelance artist and/or paid cartoonist" based on a number of SVA panels and portfolio reviews he's done through the years. Lots of nice practical points in there, check it out!
And earlier this month, our friend Alan Davis gave an art class to a group of French children at the Lille Comic Art Festival, captured on video by the good folks at Comic Box. Here's part one:
And part two:
Also confirmed at Lille, the first issue of Alan's long-anticipated ClanDestine revival will debut in February of 2008.
Fri Nov 23, 2007 — by Elayne Riggs
Your Black Friday geek viewing
Comics by the Num3ers
A heads-up, folks, that tonight at 10 PM Eastern, the TV series NUM3ERs will present its "Graphic episode," much of which takes place at a fictional comics convention featuring lots of work by very real creators, like Colleen Doran, Dan Brereton and Tony Fleecs, among many others. Wil Wheaton, who guest stars on this episode as fictional comics superstar Miles Sklar, has a Flickr stream of photos from the set, and promises a post on the experience at TV Squad sometime this afternoon.
Am I the only one who looks at the show's title and mentally pronounces it "num-three-ers"? Just checking.
Wed Nov 21, 2007 — by Elayne Riggs
The days of miracles and wonder, by Elayne Riggs
It's All Good #40
I've taken a break from my promised sequel about comic book artists whose current work I like because (1) I still haven't made it through the most recent DC comp box, (2) it's not like there's a huge clamor for it. and mostly (3) I've been in a sort of weird transition mode and needed to write about that because it's never far from my mind, but is thrown into special relief during the upcoming holiday season.
In truth, I feel like this entire year has been a transitional one for me. Losing my best friend then my father in rapid succession threw me for such a loop it seems doubtful I'll ever fully regain my equilibrium. Then there was The Job Thing. I'd been looking for a new position for awhile but the timing never worked out. Every time my job search gained momentum, my boss would return from Europe and I had to put everything on hold. Meanwhile, lots of little downturns became bigger ones and, to make a long story which I'll be happy to tell you in a bar sometime short, on November 9 my employer of ten years and I officially came to a parting of the ways.
I have enough severance pay for awhile and am still interviewing for a new position back in Manhattan, so this isn't a lamentation on my lack of current employment. It's more a realization of how lucky I've been again this year. Even with deaths in the family and among my circle of friends, I have so very many blessings in my life. And with my half-century mark looming ever closer (a week from Sunday, in fact) I thought it would be a nice and perhaps inspirational idea to count those blessings.
Continue reading The days of miracles and wonder, by Elayne Riggs ›
Mon Nov 19, 2007 — by Elayne Riggs
ComicMix Goes National, Part 2
More Photos from NYC
Where were we this morning? Ah yes, it was actually noontime on Saturday, where we headed upstairs to the Hotel Penn's Sky-something ballroom for the Mark Evanier-moderated panel "Marvel in the 60s and 70s."
Just look at those luminaries. Gary Friedrich; Dick Ayers (in his old Army outfit that still fits!); Herb Trimpe; Joe Sinnott. Truly amazing gentlemen, with the usual stories you'd expect. But the best anecdote may have been one in the making, as Mark received an email from Stan Lee during the panel, emailed him back that he was currently moderating a panel and did Stan have something to say...
...which of course, about a half hour later, he did. It went something along the lines of "Tell those gentlemen they need to get out of that hick town and come to Los Angeles, where they can join me for a real Marvel panel!" Mark should have the exact text up on his blog shortly, I'm sure.
"But," you say, "you promised us purple pants!" Well, here's a Wizard to warm you up:
The bearded gent on the right, come in all the way from Israel, is Mike Netzer. Or is he the one on the left? I'll never tell. Purple pants aplenty below!
Mon Nov 19, 2007 — by Elayne Riggs
ComicMix Goes National, Part 1
Photos from NYC
It's always nice when a convention takes place in your own backyard, a mere express bus or train journey away, and despite the weather turning chillier this is a great time of year to be out and about in NYC. Michael Carbonaro has been running his bimonthly Big Apple comics and media expos for at least a dozen years now, and every November he gathers industry luminaries and showbiz greats together in his signature extravaganza, the National. Naturally, ComicMix was there this year, and although I could only make it on Saturday I snapped plenty of photos and talked to lots of friends!
ComicMix Media Queen Martha Thomases knows how to keep her hands busy at the booth; the pink cashmere layer in her latest knitting endeavor felt absolutely gorgeous!
Here was the view of the left side of our row, with Bob McLeod in the foreground, then my husband Robin Riggs (I shuttled the few feet between the CM table and our location for much of the day), then Scott Roberts, and in the background Rodney Ramos. More on those two below. In fact, more of everything below!
Sun Nov 18, 2007 — by Elayne Riggs
Time Crashes On
The new Two Doctors
I've been told to try to keep news bits to only one Dr. Who reference a day, but as we all know Time Crash premiered at this year's Children In Need special, and naturally it's now all over the YouTubes. Here's the grab we're passing along. Intro by Terry "Tight Pants" Wogan and John "Captain Jack" Barrowman from Who spinoff Torchwood:
Le sigh. Peter Davison was my favorite Doctor before David Tennant came along. Now for your happy dance:
Whorythmics iPod spoof via Laura Gjovaag.
