Comic Book Resources - Master of the Obvious. Steve Grant has a very lucid essay about the impact of digital comics books. Bonus points for using the term “enlightened self-interest”, and treating the comic book distribution model as, well, a business.
I’d thought that Marvel writer Mark Millar couldn’t descend further into self-parody.
Then I read his Newsarama interview, with sparkling gems of insight like “Like all my pals, the TV and movie people have come calling and even the computer game people (which is weird because games are for pedos and I have no interest).”
Y’know what? I’m calling this one on Bad Waiter Syndrome. I got nothing.
Bags and Boards: All the rest of the NYCC news: Digital comics. Looks like Top Cow is putting a trio of truly 90’s-tastic comics up on Direct2Drive, and Marvel and DC wave their hands around a lot. D2D provides “proven Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology“, so even if it was a collection of comics that I had some interest in purchasing, that’s a deal breaker for me. Pullbox Online continues to offer up DRM free comics, though. Unfortunantly, it looks like none of the big boys want to play in that sandbox right now.
For the next time someone says you should stop playing all those violent video games, Game Politics talks about a study that found a correlation between violent scripture and real world violence. So you kids, stop reading that Bible and go play Guitar Hero 2!
Brawny Man Innocent Escapes might just be the funniest thing I have ever seen.
Jeff Parker, author of the super fun internet hit Agents of Atlas recently stumbled upon a mininova torrent of the series.
» Blog Archive » Okay, I’m Not Showing You This Link, Right?
Do any of you download BitTorrents to help you decide whether to buy a comic? Because to me, reading a comic book online just isn’t as enjoyable an experience (and I’m not talking about webcomics so don’t even, I’m talking about stories formatted for books) and I can’t imagine feeling like I actually had the book this way. But it wouldn’t bother me that someone was trying to use it to decide whether to part with cash. And of course I’m intrigued about anything that might get the word out on a book I want to write more of. Or, is it evil? I’ve really given it little thought, so I’m asking.
The comments are both nearly homogeneous and supportive of the idea that pirating leads to better sales for lower rung comics.
Um… yeah. I have looked at pirated books to determine whether or not I’ll buy the paper copy. Particularly with writers or artists I’m not familiar with, or I haven’t enjoyed in the past but want to give another chance.
I read every issue of AoA in electronic form before buying a paper copy.
I’m more readily able to try-before-I-buy. And I also prefer to have a quality book on a bookshelf than a pile of pamphlets in a box in the closet…Now I spend zero dollars a week, and buy the trade, usually from Amazon or Chapters, when it’s worth owning. In the end, I’m not putting any less cash into the hands of publishers than I was before, but the quality of what I purchase is significantly greater.
I’ve talked to a lot of comics pirates in my life, and as someone who pre-ordered AoA, will likely get the hardcover, and tried to get people to give it a shot and do the same, I can safely say that I think that the pirate community does nothing but good for a book like Agents of Atlas.
I think it hurts a book like Ultimate Spider-Man or even Civil War, except for in how it helps people try it out and catch up. But you pretty much know if you’re going to buy those books already.
And they go on and on. Not everyone feels the same way. Check out the post by someone “in the IP field”. Jeff has a follow up post today. He has a few well thought out comments, and actually acts like a rational human being. It’s great. For a second, I thought I wasn’t on the internet. He even talks about considering releasing an upcoming project in digital frormat.
Now that a new patch is out for Supreme Commander that, among other things, has an option for a minimal interface, I feel comfortable recommending it for anyone who enjoyed Total Annihilation.
And this is my open challenge to Rhadamanthos to meet me on the field of battle, if he dares. Maybe to try to get back some of his own for all those humiliating defeats in Dawn of War.
Post is at work, and can’t access Zod. I’m at home, and can. Chris’s Invincible Super-Blog — Civil War in 30 Seconds.
I’ve found this website to be the best wrapup of the reaction on the internets.
THE BEAT » Blog Archive » How low can you go
Basically, a “promoter” set up an anime con, promising the extra profits would go to breast cancer research, and the whole thing was a scam. The “promoter” cancelled the event and made off with all the money.
You seriously should not watch this. That is probably the only shock-factor video that’s ever caused me to scream in terror and turn it off.
Penny Arcade! - The Home Of The Gods, Part One
So there you go. There’s the real story. This kid was broken. He’s decided to use videogames as a scapegoat because as crazy as he is, he’s not stupid. He knows exactly what he’s doing. The sad thing is that it will probably work.
Japan is attempting to brighten up their military with a cute mascot.
As one commenter asks, “Can fruity oaty bars be far behind?”
We may live in a strange and terrible world, but it’s a world where things like this get picked up by television networks.
I don’t know who the target audience for that is. But it’s so surreal I may just watch.
Jim Butcher’s series “The Dresden Files” has been upgraded to Buy In Hardcover, following the last book (Proven Guilty) and previews of book nine, White Night.
They’re not the most tightly written or best plotted books I’ve read, and I think a couple of the characters suffer from badly one- (or at best, two-) dimensional portrayal. But to be honest, modern urban occult is one of my favorite genre, and I will accept a multitude of sins from it, and these are a reasonably high quality example of same.
The TV series based loosely on the books continues to improve noticeably from episode to episode. And any time I start complaining too loudly, I recall the first seasons of Buffy and Babylon 5, neither of which were setting any quality records. The recent burst of shows with strong first season showings right out of the gate (specifically I’m thinking of Veronica Mars, Battlestar Galactica, and Heroes) is… unusual. So the series has its full season and a half to get me on board.
I setting out to promote EconLog this much, though it is a good blog if you’re into that sort of thing, but I thought this was hilarious. EconLog, “Pro-Gamer Groups Oppose Dungeons & Dragons”, Bryan Caplan: Library of Economics and Liberty
When I was a young nerd, a local busy-body told my mom that I shouldn’t be allowed to play Dungeons & Dragons because “It’s devil worship.” Such complaints continue to this day. But I do have one thing to say on behalf of these folks: At least they had the decency to not label themselves “Pro-Gamer Groups.” In lashing out at nerdy pleasures, at least they never pretended to “represent us.” We never had to read absurdist headlines like “Pro-Gamer Groups Oppose Dungeons & Dragons.”
Typical canine reaction
In the history of mankind, bubbles have always been a nearly perfect phenomenon, not considered to be lacking in any obvious regard. However innovative scientists have thought of a way to IMPROVE the bubble, shocking citizens all around the globe.
Introducing… the chicken-scented bubble machine
Speaking of hilarious net parodies, especially SCIENCE! related ones, check out Hot Blue.
The hottest young stars, exposed.
I tend to avoid news on Iraq, feeling slightly guilty about it, because the total weight of bullshit just feels like it might suffocate me. However, I did… ‘enjoy’ is not quite the right word… appreciate Hugh Hewitt’s recent interview with retired General William Odom.
Not reading most of the news, I cannot claim to be the most informed person when it comes to foreign affairs, but Odom’s sentiments ring true to me.
Here is an example, regarding nuclear proliferation in Iran:
HH: Do you believe that Iran is intent on acquiring nuclear weapons?
WO: Sure. They’re going to get them.
HH: And should we do anything to stop that?
WO: No.
Odom essentially says that on many foreign policy fronts (primarily remaining in Iraq) we are pursuing an impossible goal, terrified of our inevitable failure.
People sometimes talk about making “hard choices” when presidential elections come up. I’m sure Bush will try, implicitely at least, to argue that pushing forward in Iraq is the “hard, but correct choice,” when the reality is that it’s the other way around. We can accomplish nothing by staying. When we leave, most probably a huge number of people will be killed. But we will have to live with that, because we can’t do any better by staying. There isn’t a glamorous choice left to make here. I think a lot of Americans realize this now.
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