Author: Molly Jackson

Molly Jackson: NYCC is Bursting at the Seams

NYCC Bursting

Unless you are living completely off the geek grid (in which case, welcome back to civilization), you know that this past weekend was New York Comic Con. It was NYCC’s 10th year and over the past decade it has grown to one of the largest comic cons in the world.

I spent all four days at the convention, from open to close and occasionally even later. My one word summation is “OWWWWW.” Lots of walking and standing on concrete while carrying heavy books is equal to “OWWWWW” – and then some.

The biggest takeaway from NYCC for me is how big it has really become. It was wall to wall people. All ages, all groups just filling this too small venue for four days. In fact, it was the thing most people talked about. It replaced weather as the small talk of choice. Crowd management became a huge safety issue as the large mass of people made it almost impossible to move quickly.

With the growth comes a lot of perks though. More companies need to do something exciting to get your attention. DC Comics had Jim Lee signing three days in a row, Dark Horse had Frank Miller signing, and comiXology had paper copies of some digital only titles. Booths like DC and Image were telling people were to get their books signed by creators in Artist Alley. Some select panels were shown at the Hammerstein Ballroom a few blocks away. I predict as the area around the Javits convention center develops, we will see more and more convention events happens off-site.

Growth also meant most panels were packed. Some were insanely popular and some were just a good spot to sit down. (Chairs were at a premium all weekend.) I like to believe that this means a tired person got to test the waters on something new and maybe found a new book/tv show/website to try.

I remember when NYCC just used a portion of the Javits, and there might be a different show going on at the same time! Now the place is bursting at the seams with all the booths, creators, and cosplayers. Every year it morphs into something a little different but always bigger. Hopefully we can all keep up with the growth.

Molly Jackson: Wokka Wokka!

wokka wokka

New York Comic Con is this week, which means I have way too much to do and so not enough time to do it. Let’s be honest, I am so behind in my planning, I’ve decided to ignore it all, veg out and watch TV. So, I’m relaxing with The Muppets.

Have you watched the new Muppets TV show yet? It’s a fun diversion, especially with prep work looming overhead. Now, I am too young to have watched the first series, but I remember watching the reruns as a kid. This brings me back to those happy memories and feelings, mostly because I am still a kid.

The current series has been billed as The Muppets for grown-ups documentary style series, similar to The Office. We watch the whole Muppet family work together on Miss Piggy’s late night show. All the old favorites are there, plus a few of the lesser known characters get featured along with some new additions to the team. You have Electric Mayhem as the show’s band, Fozzie as the announcer, Kermit as the producer, and Statler & Waldorf as permanent audience members, but not in their skybox.

In this, we see another side of the Muppets. Yes, we still get some musical numbers and some physical comedy, we also get relationship jokes and workplace drama. (Animal is apparently a player. Who knew?) The show still has a ton of guest stars but they have meatier storylines and appearances in each episode.

In case you haven’t seen the news, there are family groups complaining about the kid-friendly characters being shown in a grownup environment. While the premise is not exactly kid-friendly, the show can be. Most of the “adult” jokes are delivered in a way that most kids would miss them. Like every really good kids movie, some jokes are only meant for the parents. If anything, I think most kids would find those storylines boring.

Check it out if you get a chance. Let your inner child and your outer adult both enjoy what The Muppets have to offer.

Molly Jackson: Autograph Dilemmas

autographsIt’s the fall con season! I love this time of year. It seems like there is a con every weekend and I can finally wear hoodies again. I really love wearing my hoodie while hanging with people on con lines. This past weekend was Baltimore Comic-Con, where I was sadly not hoodie in attendance but check out Emily Whitten’s recap! Over the weekend at BCC, what seemingly started as a small conversation eventually grew into a larger one on the Internet: Should comic creators be charging for their autographs?

It is a tricky conversation. A lot of people, including fans and creators, have very strong opinions on the matter. Many creators and fans think that charging is asking too much of fans, while others remark that charging for autographs is wildly done by many celebrities and no one complains.

The big argument seems to be that the creator already got paid when the book was bought and asking for autographs is too much. However, unless the book was bought at the show, the creator still needs to pay for a table and for attendance.

The other issue in all of this is the monetary gain for fans. Autographs add value to the book for the owners. Some creators only charge if they are signing for a CGC graded book; others charge for a large stack. In either case, the books signed might be resold for a higher price.

If I want their signature, it will cost me in some way. Every time I run for a signing ticket or sit in a line for multiple hours, it is costing me something. Time or money; I prioritize what it is worth to me. The same goes for the creator. They do not have to spend their time at a table in a smelly, loud, poorly ventilated, non-temperature-controlled convention hall. They determined why it was important for them to miss out on other things to pay for a table to be there.

Creators and fans have a symbiotic relationship. Creators give fans entertainment and fans give creators support. Yes, there is a monetary aspect. Fans buy product from creators. In fact, this is something I strive to do. If there is a book I want and I know I’ll see the writer or artist at a con, I do wait to buy the book. It seems like the right thing to do, plus I get the added bonus of telling someone how much I appreciate their work.

In the end, I guess I’m taking the non-committal way out from this conversation. Each creator should do what works best for them. As a fan, I will find a way to make it work for me. I am curious on everyone’s take though; what side of the fence are you on?

Molly Jackson: Saved By The Bell – Fun For All

Saved By The Bell
Last week I was browsing my way through one of my many NYC comic shops, Carmine Street Comics, when I spotted the Saved By The Bell graphic novel. This book is out from Roar Comics/Lion Forge and IDW, and written by Joelle Sellner, with art by Chynna Clugston Flores and Tim Fish. When they first announced it, I was more than excited. It was a huge piece of nostalgia for me.
It was short stories very Archie-esque based at Bayside High, featuring the original cast we all remember. Screech chasing Lisa, Zack and A.C. fighting over Kelly and everything else, and the gang banding together when someone needed them. The setting is updated, with better phones (bummer!) and the Internet even being featured in the story lines. Personally, I’m eagerly awaiting the beach club volume and the Kelly and Jessie disappear for most of it volume.
When I picked it up to buy, some of my friends teased me a little about it. It’s a kids (albeit marked for teens), licensed book from an old TV show. Piffle!
While not all licenses books are great, this one was exactly what I wanted. A fun read using some great characters I have warm fuzzy feelings about from my childhood. And frankly, what’s wrong with “kid” comics?
Way back when, almost all comics were all ages and were enjoyed by all ages. You could pick up and read Batman or Spider-Man no matter what age you are and still be entertained. The term “All Ages” now has the connotation of being for kids. As comics evolved and readers matured, a lot of franchises became too much for a younger reader to comprehend.
Well, that’s just bollocks. Pure and simple. Comics are entertainment. All ages comics are some of the most entertaining works on the shelf and shouldn’t be ignored. Don’t get me wrong; darker comics have their place in the industry. Just don’t ignore and belittle the fun stuff just because of the all ages label.
So all my ’80’s and ’90’s kids, go pick up Saved By The Bell. Read it, and then go share it with a kid. Or an adult. Or someone in-between.

Molly Jackson: Star Trek’s Broken Promise

Broken Promises

Yesterday was the 49th anniversary of Star Trek’s television premiere. In case you are a first time reader, you should know that I #Star Trek. Serious love of the Trek here. But as we reach this momentous occasion, I do have one serious complaint about the franchise. And it isn’t J.J. Abrams.

49 years ago, Star Trek promised a future filled with exciting technology. Over the years we have seen a lot of it come into existence. Want a communicator? Buy a cell phone. Want a hypospray? They actually existed before the show! Basic tractor beams have been invented, as well as a basic phaser. Federation Starships have inspired engine designs and the Prius was inspired by a shuttlecraft. But through all of this, the technology I want still hasn’t made an appearance. The future is here, 49 years later. Where is my damn replicator?!

That’s right, I want a replicator. In fact, I go on this rant every time I have to stop something interesting to cook a meal because I am so hungry. (My roommate is really tired of hearing about it.) Actually, this post was even paused to cook dinner. After a lifetime of watching Star Trek, I am just disappointed that I still have to cook rather than enter a disk or speak my current craving and poof! There’s my meal, all hot and steamy.

Yes, I realize that TV isn’t reality but Star Trek has broken that barrier through its impact on the science and technological development of the world. My one hope is at least some people are trying. There is a company in Israel that has something you could refer to as the world’s first replicator. It sounds more like a Keurig for food than what I’m looking for but baby steps. Maybe in my lifetime, I could order my dinner instead of having to cook it, not to mention the added benefit of feeding the planet.

Many of today’s engineers and scientists were inspired by watching Star Trek growing up. While I didn’t take on a career in the sciences, you can tell it obviously made an impression on my world. Maybe we will see a breakthrough for the 50th anniversary. If not, then we need to get Star Trek back on TV to inspire a new generation of thinkers. You know, for the benefit of science, the future… and my stomach.

Molly Jackson: The Good, the Bad(?), and the Interesting

Ashley A. Woods

The past few days of comic news has been a wowza of roller coaster articles and announcements. I spent hours trying to decide what topic to tackle. Which sucked. A lot. It was way too difficult to settle for one tidbit to chat about. Then I realized, “My column, my format!” I also realized that I’m adult enough to have chocolate ice cream for dinner. So here’s my personal favorites of the week.

In my good slot, we have the exciting announcement of Ashley A. Woods joining Marvel as an artist. I’ll be honest, I had never heard of Woods. Once I checked out her work, I’m just so eager to see what she can do with the Marvel characters. Her upcoming book Niobe is abso-freaking-lutely gorgeous.

That isn’t the only reason that this is big news. It is exciting to see a woman joining the Marvel team and even more exciting that this is a woman of color. If the word on the web is correct, this is the first African-American woman to be a creator at Marvel. That’s pretty big @#^%!* news. And, I’m sure that Woods could teach the guys over there a few things about female proportions.

In my bad(?) slot, I’ve got DC rumors that the head honchos have told everyone to “stop batgirling” or being creative. The reason I went with the question mark on the end of that bad is because this could be a bad thing or an ok thing. It really depends on how they do it.

Truth is, if they don’t do a complete 180 on everything they have done creatively, it could just trickle through their other books rather than tidal wave. Large universes tend to get muddled and crazy pretty quickly. Perhaps this could be a way to keep this world easy for new readers to follow. I just hope they don’t destroy all the innovative progress they have made.

And for interesting, I recently read about the Middle East’s rising interest in comics. Comic cons have been popping up all over the place and new comic creators are developing new characters and stories. Some comics are used to as a veiled way to fight sexism or explore Muslim traditions.

Comics are a great way to embrace the best and worst parts of your world, in an engaging and descriptive way.  Since comics are such a mainstay in the US, we rarely talk about other countries comic industries. While it may have been an American influence at first, it sounds like other cultures in the Middle East are using it to do their own thing.

So those are the three things I couldn’t decide between. I’m betting that there is at least one thing you hadn’t heard about. One thing is sure though. Comics, they are a-changin’.

Molly Jackson: Grasping at Wisdom

Grasping at WisdomBy the time this column posts here on ComicMix, I will be squirming in the dentist chair as my wisdom teeth get yanked from mouth. It doesn’t sound pleasant and I’m betting that I am correct on that. But right now, pre-tooth yanking, my concern is that I’ll be losing some of my wisdom. At least not all of it; just two teeth have got to go.

Yes, I know that is (probably) not how this works but I enjoy the whimsical side of life. It makes life a lot more fun and conversations with strangers’ way more entertaining. What’s nice about this is how free my imagination is.

Imagination is a big part of reading anything that isn’t grounded in reality. Without the ability to suspend disbelief, a flying boy scout in a cape might just not work for you. But within my mind’s eye, I can even imagine all sorts of crazy things while I am drugged up for the teeth yanking. Since you are reading this, I’m guessing you have a pretty active imagination. Comics tend to bring that out in people. Whether it is something in the story, characters, or art, it is always a way to wake up the mind and stretch it out a bit.

Without imagination, the stories we all love would never have touched our hearts. And anesthesia has never been so interesting. So until next week, with half my wisdom intact, keep stretching out that imagination.

 

Molly Jackson: Learning, YAY!

LearningLearning, YAY!

Last weekend, I was at LI-Con helping staff the Browncoats of NYC table.  It was great fun and I met a ton of browncoats and other fandoms the two days I was there.  At our meetup event, I got the chance to speak briefly about the Firefly comics from Dark Horse Comics.  The reaction I got from one attendee kind of surprised me.

After the meetup ended, she started quizzing me about the Firefly comics a bit.  I know, that isn’t surprising considering I was just talking at length about them.  The first thing that she said that got to me was (and I am paraphrasing here) “You don’t see a female talk about comics a lot.”  Well, if you have read even a fraction of what I have written, you must know how that chokes me up a bit.  She meant it as a good thing, which I was out there talking and hyping up comics.  Still, after all the female comic lovers that have come on to the scene, it is surprising that I stood out in this woman’s mind as a rarity.  It was a very good reminder that there is still a stigma to female comic readers.

After we got past that I am a girl who reads comics, she asked me for comic suggestions. Her teenage son is not a big reader at all, and while she has discouraged comic reading in the past, her hope was that reading anything might be a gateway to reading more.  And that broke me right there.  I have never understood the negative reaction to comics in general.  People still assume that they are only simple stories with pretty pictures.  Like an overdrawn version of Dick and Jane.

Like any art form, comics have evolved over the decades into an incredibly varied genre.  I was able to suggest books like March Vol. 1 & 2, which is written by Congressman John Lewis about his experiences during the civil rights movement.  Not a topic that is easily understood by some adults these days, much less a child.  I also touted Kill Shakespeare as a great way to introduce characters that every teen (with the exception of myself and a few others) loathes to study in high school.

As the Tweeks here on ComicMix have been discussing banned books this past summer, the overarching theme to me has been ignorance.  A lot of people make judgements about a book, or a topic, or even a genre without facts.  So many great books have been ignored and people have lost out because of that. 

I am happy that someone felt I was a good source of information and I was proud to help.  I learned a little something about myself and the world in the process.  Next time you want to know something, remember this.  All it takes is the courage to ask questions and the willingness to answer them. 

Molly Jackson: Hmmm

Hmmm

A few days ago on the subway, I was sitting and playing Injustice: Gods and Monsters to pass the time until my stop. It’s a great game; I totally recommend it. As I was fighting along, I noticed that guy next to me was playing the very same game. No, I wasn’t looking over his shoulder; he had his arms stretched all the way out. I unintentionally made an audible “hmmm” to myself, which of course he heard, so I lifted up my phone for him to see. He proceeded to look away and hide his phone from me.

Now I personally don’t think I was being creepy, although it could be taken that way. And yes, he is totally in his rights to ignore me. To be honest, I wasn’t trying to get his attention. However, this got me thinking that this is a pattern I’ve noticed lately in the world around me. More and more, geeks (and the country) have been haters. Over the past week for example, we have rejoiced over the failure of Fantastic Four. While I might have issues with the why and how this movie got made, there has been some serious hate.

Geeks used to have to hide from the world. We were shunned and ignored. There were a few safe havens to find like-minded souls, like the local comic book store. Now, being geek is cool and to find someone in common takes a few clicks of a button. Comic books stores are starting to close in respond to online outlets and digital copies can be bought or downloaded illegally from anywhere. Geeks, who are traditional technology junkies, no longer need to find people to interact with.

I’m not saying the Internet is bad, or that we need a group hug. Sometimes I wish that people were more open to the world in front of them rather than on the computer screen. Take a look around once and a while and remind yourself that there are other people out there, not just usernames.

If there were to be a moral to this story, it might just be smile to the awkward geek on the subway. Or maybe it is to smile no matter what.

Molly Jackson: Long Road Ahead

Long Road AheadDo you ever think that the mark from all those face palms will just become permanent? I’ve started thinking that is a really possibility. Here is why. Last weekend, Gen Con made waves with their Writing Women Friendly Comics panel. Originally, the waves were made from the fact they left women off the panel.

However, once female comic creators were added to a panel, it proceeded to get worse. Many attendees reported that the panel moderator Bill Willingham (you know him from Fables) spent the entire panel interrupting panelists and attendees to share his own views. From what I could garner from attendee reports, Willingham “played” devil’s advocate by channeling a misogynist.

Diversity in comics isn’t a new topic by any means. Every day, a new story or opinion piece comes out about how the diversity issues need to be addressed. Comics has been dominated by cisgendered, straight, white men for a very long time. These guys did create some fantastic stories for a really long time. They did a good job keeping the industry going when times were tough. However, the industry and fans are changing. People want to see more viewpoints from a diverse group of creators.

I used to think that change was happening around us. In some ways, it is. But that change is just us figuring out how we were being ignored. Now that we are speaking out, a brick wall seems to be falling into place, slowing change as these companies and creators try to figure out what is happening.

Fans need to keep speaking out, with words as well as with dollars. Go searching for minority creators and check out their wares. Support creative teams that are diverse. The only way to continue this fight is to speak the language of the companies.

The truth is, everything I’ve just said has been said before and probably more eloquently. This fight for equality isn’t a new one. I just wish it we didn’t have to fight for it anymore.