Reporting From Comic-Con: Prologue
by Doug TenNapelI’ve packed my car with books and posters to sell at the San Diego Comic-Con. As a comic-creator this is a mandatory part of the business that’s both fun and productive. It’s our journey to Mecca without all that obnoxious stoning and calls to the end of Israel.
In case you’ve been in an Afghanistan cave for the last thirty years, comics are big business. Comics to film projects are in demand at least partially because of the pre-visualization aspect of the medium. Fantasy is an expensive and risky genre and comics offer the cheapest glimpse into the depiction of on-screen events before one dime is spent on production.
Though the medium is gaining visibility, comics aren’t new. They’re simply words combined with pictures that communicate a sequence of events. They’re actually very similar to the silent film where an actor speaks, then his words appear onscreen to read. We’re Chaplin like that. But my favorite part of the medium is due to it’s power, and I love me some power.
What took James Cameron 200 million dollars to communicate on film with “Titanic” or his up-and-coming “Avatar” one could do for 20k in comics. You don’t get the sound, movement or music but the actual story, lighting, acting, character development the logos could be depicted by one man on the cheap. Can’t get your “Star Wars” made for 150 million? With a small group comprised of one writer, one artist and one colorist, we could depict events from the desserts of Uncle Owen’s vaporator farm to the Death Star without resorting to overseas funding. That’s power.
So why are comics so junky? Well, like all things that came into popularity in a post-modern era we don’t exactly have the most literate authors or audiences surrounding the medium. It’s not the graphic novel’s fault that Homer or Da Vinci didn’t made comics. I think we’re in a junk food phase of entertainment where we disrespect the greats of the past to explore our own personal expression and over-the-top stimulation. Comics came into popularity at a generally bankrupt time in entertainment, but this also helps the stand outs in the medium shine all the more.
While I can count the essential graphic novels on two hands the effect of comics on culture is cumulative. There is no single “Batman” that stands up as great literature, but Batman is more of a state of mind than any one book. Spider-Man is like a logo that might as well be an American flag it is so deeply engrained into our culture’s subconscious. When a rockstar wears a Superman shirt or my son wears Hulk underwear or Guillermo Del Toro directs a “Hellboy” movie, I get the feeling we’re stewing more than just ankle-deep in comics. In fact, you cannot separate comics from American culture. It’s where we’re at.
This will be my 20th year of attending the San Diego Comicon. My 10th year of having a booth with my books for sale. Every year, the crowds get bigger, more voracious in their appetite to buy. Now I get daily visits from every studio sending out tendrils looking for cheap IPs to buy and exploit. Hollywood is hungry for material, and this medium has helped me make a good living in a tough town.
I’ll be blogging from the convention all week. Stop by my booth at 1714 if you can find me in the sea of over 110,000 people. I’ll be the comic geek in the Superman shirt–oh, never mind.
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63 Comments
Have fun at Comic Con. I am saving my money and staying on the East Coast and going to Dragon Con in September.
http://www.dragoncon.org
As a self-publisher in the midwest, Comic-Con has always been beyond my means to attend. I'd certainly like to. However, the economy is really taking its toll on indy comics. When times are good, people wander the Artists Alleys at Wizard World with ample cash to throw at an oddball project that catches the eye and tickles the fancy. When times are tough, they conserve their cash only for the things on their Want List. At last year's Wizard World, things were slow and I sold maybe 15 comics (the table costs $100 and the hotel even more, so these are rarely profitable for the small guys). Worse, at FallCon in the Cities I unveiled my new backdrop and my ComicBookTrailers.com trailer for Metro Med playing on a computer screen… and I sold ZERO comics! It could be that Comic-Con is the one profitable con to attend, but the travel, hotel and expensive table space makes it a terrible gamble!
Is it time for Comic-Con already? I'm not a comic book person, but the TV shows and movies previewed there always interest me.
I hate to ask this, but are you Hutch of Hutch's Rare Books? And if so, I want to say thanks. I have made a couple of purchases from you in the past and been very pleased.
Sorry, no. I'm Michael Hutchison, writer of Metro Med ( http://www.metromedcomic.com ). I do have a comic books for sale web site, http://www.TooManyLongboxes.com , which I will be updating this week with a major inventory update, design and lower prices…but sadly, no Rare Books!
The reason for my asking is Hutch's Books is located in Minnesota and you mentioned FallCon which is also there so I thought you might be him.
Thanks for the quick answer..
"It’s our journey to Mecca without all that obnoxious stoning and calls to the end of Israel."
That's excellent.
If I could go (I live in the NYC metro area), my "must see" panels would be: NBC's "Chuck", Iron Man 2, Avatar, and "LOST". I would be a "kid in a candy store" walking that floor.
"It’s our journey to Mecca without all that obnoxious stoning and calls to the end of Israel."- Well said and have a GREAT TIME!
I have a question – and I realize Im speaking as someone who is rather naive about the world of comics – are comics only ever about superheros? Because as an aspiring writer, Ive been INspired by the medium of comics but I am not drawn to superheros, and the graphic novels I keep coming across are mostly Japanese in concept (nothing against the Japanese! I have NOTHING against the Japanese), much of which does not appeal to my taste for adventure, romance and mystery. I know that makes me look backwards to a lot of people, but I am wholeheartedly a Western Civ type of gal and would love to get into the comics at least as far as a better appreciation of them.
Neil Gaimon is one author I have on my "To Buy To Read Pile" – are there any other recommendations?
I'd argue that Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight" graphic novel can hold its own as great literature, actually.
I was in San Diego with my family in 06 on vacation and we realized that Comic Con happened to be going on at the same time. Since my daughter is an anime/manga freak and I have a fondness for Avatar, the Last Airbender and am an old Star Trek/Star Wars nerd she and I went. We had an absolute blast and got to see some sneak previews and get some cool t-shirts. It's still one of our favorite memories. We've never seen so many people dressed up in costumes in our lives and even though the crowd was huge everyone was very nice and there was so much to do that we had a hard time deciding on what to do next. If you can, I recommend going to Comic Con. You will have a good time.
I heard last year that the growth in attendance/exhibitors at Comic Con has been so drastic this decade that the event organizers are considering moving it to a location with more hotels (assuming they're going to keep it on the West Coast and in July, that either means up I-5 to Los Angeles or up I-15 to Las Vegas). Which would be a bad thing, because the more like a regular exhibitors forum it becomes, the less intimate and the more structured it's going to be.
Comics aren't just published anymore on paper and ink. There internet has spawned an entire new breed of comic, the webcomic, and it's fast supplanting the more traditional mediums. Further, the webcomic has even lower entry demands than the traditional ink and paper comics, allowing more people to put their ideas and stories out there.
Sadly, I ain't one of those people. I wish I was, but can't draw worth crap. I've got many stories to tell, and I think the comic is the best medium for many of them (though traditional print is also good for me), but many folks who do comics, especially webcomics, are more interested in their own stories than others.
Mu daughter is attending, and can hardly wait. This will be her 6th year. And of course, she dresses up. She made up her own alter ego, Jello-girl. And my personal favorite was when she went as a ghetto looking Gambit. Have a great time and lots of sales. She will probably stop by your booth, she's got the number. She also went to the tea party here on April 15 and met another couple who will be there. Fun to know there are people who think like you and love comics.
I noticed this comic-related parody just in time for Comic-Con: "Obama Appoints Bizarro Economic Policy Communications Czar" http://optoons.blogspot.com/2009/07/obama-appoint...
There is a web comic I have found that I do enjoy – found through the Steampunk community: Freak Angels.
G4 will probably be carrying coverage of Comic-Con, incase you can't make it.
Death Note is pretty good, the anime has a nice twist that the live action doesn't have. Somehow I think SciFi will end up with the live action airing, while Turner's Cartoon Network / Adult Swim block has aired Death Note in the past. Its almost like these two are at war with each other over the latest American release of anime.
Lady Death [Chaos! comics] was very good. I miss Steven Hughes' style.
The Gold 45 Revolver @ comic con last year!
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3664...
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?t... (halfway down)
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.125...
This "Gold 45 Revolver/Ideas Have Consequences/Moral Premise" Mod is based on the L4D Amazon.com description, and it could be easily implemented with a relatively small amount of funding: “Set in a modern day survival-horror universe, the co-operative gameplay of Left 4 Dead (L4D) casts four "Survivors/freedom fighters" in an epic struggle against hordes of swarming zombies/communists and terrifying "Marx Infected" mutants. A new and highly virulent strain of the Marxist virus emerges and spreads through the human population with frightening speed via words, both spoken and written. The pandemic's victims become grotesquely disfigured, violent psychopaths, attacking the uninfected on sight by handing them pamphlets and espousing Marxist philosophies while trying to bite/harm them. As one of the "lucky" few apparently immune to the sickness, as you have been reading F.A. Hayek, Ludwig Von Mises, and Thomas Jefferson, you, unfortunately, are trapped in a city crawling with thousands of the bloodthirsty Infected. Alone, you're dead. But together with a handful of fellow survivors, who you can identify and recruit via dialogue trees incorporating Hayek/Jefferson/the Constitution wherein you also assess the NPC's responses, you might just form a fellowship and fight your way to safety. Players can play as a Survivor or as one of four types of Boss/Marxist Infected, each of whom possess a unique mutant ability, such as a 50-foot tongue lasso, tenure at an ivy league university, an MBA, or a giant belly full of explosive methane gas. The gameplay of L4D is set across four massive campaigns. The zombie population of each mission is choreographed by an AI Director that monitors the human players' actions and creates a unique and dramatic experience for them on the fly. Zombies may be transformed back into humans by quoting Hayek/Jefferson/et al. to them; but the further they have devolved–the more collectivist literature they have imbibed and the more MBA groupthink classes they have taken–the harder it is to save them. Early on in the game, some Vampire/Zombies may appear to be normal humans, and the only way to find out would be to quote Hayek to them and see if they respond with Lenin or Mises. Some of them can be reformed via dialogue, but for others, they can only be reformed by death. And in the end–only those players who have done their best to reform the Vampires/Zombies in word and deed–only those who have acted morally throughout the game, can truly wield the Gold 45 Revolver and realize its true power as it shoots Zeus's Lightning while leveling the zombie masters and their hordes. Should you fail to reach and exalt your peers with classical ideals, the world will end as a zombie communist tyranny–"for the greater good of all.""
http://gold45revolver.com
Neil Gaiman's a definite lightning rod. Depending on whom you ask, he's either "the genius who wrote Sandman", "the bastard who ruined Beowulf"… or "the bastard who wrote Sandman".
The only two things Gaiman has done that I've liked were his novels Neverwhere (I should probably check out the TV series) and American Gods (although that one gave me nightmares for about a month). Sandman, for some reason, I could never get into.
Right now…I'd have to say Geoff Johns. He's doing "Green Lantern" and "The Flash" for DC currently. While I'm a bit iffy on "The Flash," his three year run on "Lantern" has been the talk of the comic world. While the big crossovers ilke "Final Crisis" and "Civil War" have been less-than-stellar, Johns' has put together two huge events, "Rebirth" and "The Sinestro Corps War," which were both nothing short of awesome.
His strength is long-term planning. Johns doesn't go for the big impact right away, but sets everything up months in advance, nursing the story along until the big payoff. Currently, the big DC event, "The Blackest Night," is his baby. Issue #1 just came out last week and it's the rare "event" comic that's gotten near positive reviews across the board.
I highly endorse "FABLES" by Bill Willingham. Pick up the trade paperbacks from the start and you will not regret it. Also – You could do much worse than picking up Doug's stuff!
Maybe I'll pop by and say "howdy." This will be my sixth year attending.
G4 carries coverage on Saturday. A lot of people/blogs/sites will be tweeting from the con as well, including me, but all I'll have is random Star Wars-related squeeing.
GREAT call. Johns' work on the Green Lantern is some of the best I've ever read. I jumped out of my chair when Hal was reborn in Rebirth.
I second that.
My guilty pleasure in long-term web comics.. is "Zap in Space!" (it's one of those that only gets updated every Monday) .. most of my other comics are more along the lines of the quick stories … DeltaBravoSierra, Evil Inc, Day by day, and Schlock Mercenary…
Full Metal Alchemist was my kids favorite but it was too dark for me. I'm more of an Inuyasha type. Death Note is huge at my daughter's high school though. I went for the Stormtrooper pictures and to people watch. Comic Con is a fabulous place to watch all types of folks acting like kids. And this crossed all economic and racial boundaries.
I have to say, Doug, my favorite work of yours has to be all the Five Iron Frenzy album covers you did. I was, at one young point in my life, proof that the youth are revolting.
I was reading Death Note online for a while until I realized how much less functional I am when I don't sleep. I don't know if it's so good or just so "I can't look away!" Probably both. I love Inuyasha as well – it's got that cute boy meets girl, boy is dumb so boy is a jerk, girl puts boy in his place, boy takes FOREVER to learn not to be a jerk thing, and some scary (for me, anyway) illustrations that remind us that hey, this stuff is pretty horrific. That chick lost an eye. It's not just, hey, that guy has cute ears! It's also like, "Welcome to the past! Now try to stay alive." Man, I need to read some Inuyasha now…
"we could depict events from the desserts of Uncle Owen’s vaporator farm to the Death Star without resorting to overseas funding."
"I think we’re in a junk food phase of entertainment "
Desserts? Junk food? Been skipping meals lately to go to the Con?
I used to go, but haven't been in several years… I mostly went for the roleplaying game events, though I did try to wander through the dealer room at least once or twice, though I usually only budgeted about $100 for purchases.
(One year I bought a couple of Episode I action figures… Obi Wan Kenobi and Jar Jar Binks. I took the cloak and lightsaber from Obi Wan and put them on Jar Jar, creating a Gungan Jedi. It was well worth the cost, seeing people's reactions to the idea…)
I agree completely and I question any blogger who dosen't cite it as one of maybe two seminal graphic novela. Does this guy know what he's talking about?
I think he's referring to overall "Big L" literature, i.e. Mark Twain and Dickens, as opposed to say, Steven King, but obviously many of us find the themes and character arcs in Miller's "Dark Knight" (I reflexively have to do that to differentiate it from the film these days) just as profound and moving as anything tackled in English 101.
I always thought that Inuyasha was underrated. It was violent in places but not to the extent that some anime/manga are. Full Metal Alchemist was at times horrific which I why I would not let the kids read the manga or watch the anime until they were older. It's amazing how deep some of the "comics" are these days. It beats the heck out of anything we had when I was a teen. These stories are often deep with lots of moral questions in them. That's one of the reasons I'm glad that Shymalayn (misspelled?) is making "The Last Airbender". I was amazed that this was a "cartoon" on the Nickelodeon channel and love that it's being made into a live-action movie. Finally someone recognized a good story when they saw it.
My list is to long to list (I've been reading webcomics pretty much as long as I've had internet access), but "Schlock Merc is" a great one, and I actually found "Day by Day" years ago due to advertising from the PlanetBOB webcomic community. Guess how I found BH? That's right, from DbD.
So webcomics led me here, go figure.
Well said, Doug. And here's a coincidence: I just read your piece and ran into you less than a hour later at the Con's registration booth, meeting you and lovely wife Angie for the first time! It is also my 20th Comic Con and my 15th as exhibitor. I wouldn't miss it for the world! I always say Comic Con is a Pop Culture Brigadoon- -a town that emerges once a year, where its citizens eat, drink, breathe and schmooze comics, movies, TV and cosplay!
And to all Big Hollywood readers who are attending Comic Con, please stop by my booth and say hello!
Batton Lash
Exhibit A Press
Booth 1909
Just to put in my two bits, Weapon Brown is a must see on the web. No it is not mine, I am but a lowly Deep Fried geek. SDCC is a dream of mine, but as many on the east coast, a red headed step child I be.
I love drawing comic books, for the reasons you explained. I'm the director, I'm casting, I'm the writer, etc.
I can say what I want, – on the cheap!
In today's computerized environment, I've noticed that people under thirty aren't used to the old fashioned Eisner/WallyWood pen and ink style, though, and that's a bit of a shame. They look at my work and think the technique is "new and different" when it's as old as Outcault. It's a fun way to tell a story, and they are missing out on a lot.
I envy the ingenuity that went into the design of Earthworm Jim, btw, so I secretly hate you on an artistic level.
Thanks Doug, looking forward to your posts. Do you twitter? If so I would definitely follow? I used to love G4 but since they don't really focus on gaming anymore I don't watch it like I used too. The only times I do watch is during E3 and Comic Con but givin that most of the hosts are lefty Obamabots it can be hard. I DVR the show so I can skip all the "crap" stuff. So it's good to get an insider perspective without all the lefty points of view.
Anyhow, looking forward to Comic Con. Oh please God, let the lefty, Obama overkill be gone. Amen.
Maatkare, exactly about Miller's Batman. It's a great book, and a wonderful read, but it's not Dickens. Now his 300…THAT'S some great lit! I'm splitting hairs here, but I don't consider any Batmans, SUpermans, Spidermans etc. that profound as literary works. But given how popular those icons are it's pretty amazing as a cumulative effect.
I still consider comics as being in its adolescence. Which is probably double the maturity of video games.
Great to finally meet you too after following your work for 20 years! When I saw you writing for Big Hollywood I about had a hard attack. *Secret handshake*
Have a great show!
Okay, that read "hard attack" which I'm sure Freud would have a theory about.
My daugher and my sister met you at the midway tea party. My sister took your picture and emailed it to my daughter so she could remember you. She is so looking forward to seeing you at Comic-Con. I was there but I was on the other side of where you were standing. Gosh, have a great time. My daughter always comes home so excited by the artists she meets.
Will be there Friday!
Good luck to everyone at the Con! And check out the premiere of my film about weird Euro photo comics called The Diabolikal Super-Kriminal, screening Saturday night at 8:45 PM. Trailer and music video at my website http://www.goSadistik.com Open bar after party at the Beauty Bar! /plug
Man I wish I was going to the Comic-Con this year. I do feel it's gone a bit, shall I say, "corporate" in recent years. I mean, of all people they had Dane Cook there to promote a romantic comedy he was in a year or two ago. What does that have to do with anything? And this year, there's a booth to promote a direct-to-DVD Road Trip sequel?!
I'd love to attend the DVD Producers Panel and the live reading of the unfilmed Middleman season finale. (The Middleman aired last summer on ABC Family – it was based on a comic and I can't recommend it highly enough. It comes out on DVD next week.)
Man I wish I was going to the Comic-Con this year. I do feel it's gone a bit, shall I say, "corporate" in recent years. I mean, of all people they had Dane Cook there to promote a romantic comedy he was in a year or two ago. What does that have to do with anything? And this year, there's a booth to promote a direct-to-DVD Road Trip sequel?!
I'd love to attend the DVD Producers Panel and the live reading of the unfilmed Middleman season finale. (The Middleman aired last summer on ABC Family – it was based on a comic book of the same name and I can't recommend it highly enough. It comes out on DVD next week.)
http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/middleman.php
Don't forget to add Johns JSA run to the list. (I cant' wait for Johns upcoming Superman:Secret Origin mini series.) Ed Brubaker is another writer I enjoy with his Captain America run.
I hear ya, but I swear I never read Dickens (and I enjoy Dickens a great deal, although perhaps not as much as Steinbeck) with the moist-palmed, anticipatory delight as when I was a kid and cracked that giant, tabloid-sized "Superman Vs. Spiderman." I fear comics are in late middle age and video games are the cocky adolescent. Kids don't follow comics they way they do video game trends, and the latter are the platform where kids socialize and trade, not so much the pile of dog-eared comics anymore. Overall I'd guess the median age of comics readers is much higher than it was 15, 20 or 30 years ago, whereas my friends' 6 year old girl whips through Nintendogs like a pro, and her 4 year old brother isn't far behind. (A big change–young girls are starting to game at a MUCH higher rate than when home consoles arrived in the 80's) And generally I think modern comics tend to be waaay more pretentious and dragged out than the story arcs require. Anyway, have a great time at ComicCon, and maybe you'll address the age makeup of the attendees for us in a future post?
*nods*
G4 isn't what it use to be. I think their mistake, several in fact, was taking over TechTV. Without them as competition, they've lost their base and mutated to what it is now; a channel that I watch less than 1 hour of during the week.
But E3 was given great, although could have been longer, coverage. x-play and dvduesday from aots is about all I've watch this week.
There are plenty of non-superhero comics. A lot of teh stuff that usually gets recommended bores me. But I really liek Bill Willingham's Fables, Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez Palomar (Love and Rockets) comics, you might want to check out The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman, a survivalist horror comic about a zombie Apocalypse that is very entertaining. Alan Moore has done a lot of non superhero books like From Hell or the Legion of Extraordinary Gentlemen (not to be confused with the awful movie), A lot of people like Bone and Chris Ware's books, or Harvey Pekar's American Splendor or Robert Crumb's comics. Many of my comics are non-superhero. You can get them from my website at http://jameshudnall.com
No, the city is expanding the convention center again and more hotels are going up in teh city all the time.
Echoing James, there is a LOT more out there than just superheroes. While I don't think the Western comics industry has quite reached the width of subject matter and genre that Japanese manga has, we're getting there. Dark Horse is probably the largest publisher of non-superhero material that comes to mind (they do a lot of licensed material like Star Wars, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Conan…though they also do some superhero stuff), but there are numerous smaller companies that cover various genres. The problem, of course, is finding these companies and finding a store that sells their material, but this is a situation that I think is improving. But definitely, absolutely look for independent comics companies: Dark Horse, Oni Press, Devil's Due, IDW Publishing, Boom Comics, Slave Labor Graphics, Fantagraphics, and others.
And if you're interested in some of the roots of the modern non-superhero comics movement (not to say that he didn't influence superheroes with "The Spirit"), look for works by Will Eisner, like "A Contract With God". He's widely recognized as a master of the medium, and showed people just how much could be done with the comics medium. Also, I would recommend Scott McCloud's book "Understanding Comics", which examines both the medium and the market in a graphic novel format, and mentions quite a few different authors and artists known for their genre work. I think it would serve as a great jumping-off point to finding books that you like.
There's also the European comics market, which (from what I understand) is larger and more profitable than the U.S. market. The artwork in the Euro-comics I've seen are, generally speaking, beautiful, and cover subject matter ranging from science fiction to modern political intrigue. I must admit that most of the actual writing leaves me a bit cold, but I keep looking back for the art.
And, yeah, "Fables" is a pretty cool series.
Hopefully you can find an artist to team up with. I imagine that's a bit of a feat in itself, but I wish you luck.
I've wanted to find a good webcomic with an ongoing storyline to read regularly, but for whatever reason, I've never been able to find one that kept my interest. So I might be inclined to agree with your assessment about comics makers being more interested in their own stories… Actually, now that I think of it, I have followed (more or less) some ongoing strips. "North World" is an old favorite, and at some point I'd like to sit down and catch up with "Girl Genius" and "Galaxion".
Most of the webcomics I read regularly are the daily humor strips. "PvP" is my favorite, and I also enjoy "Order of the Stick", "Dork Tower", and "Wondermark". I also like to read "Day By Day" and "Penny Arcade" from time to time.
Speaking of "PvP", I would recommend "How To Make Webcomics" by Kurtz, Straub, Kellett and Guigar if you have any interest in delving into this particular iteration of the comics medium. And, of course, "Reinventing Comics" and "Making Comics" by Scott McCloud.
Haven't read the manga story for Full Metal Alchemist, but have seen the anime.
There's a good reason it's aired on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim timeslot and not in the afternoon.
Real question:
Is Chris Muir gonna be there. Cause if he isn't, he damn well should be.
I've read the entire western literary canon including the complete works of Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and other major heavy writers and I can assure you that Miller's Dark Knight and Moore's Watchmen would pass the "big L" test described by the above poster. Comparing them to King (a ham- handed abuser of literary technique who's better suited to the comic form than Miller or Moore are) isn't fair at all. If you're using Twain as your yardstick, his Finn was in no way superior to Miller or Moore, except maybe for Twain's mastery of dialect and dialog. If it's Dickens you want to consider, the death of little Nell is just one example of comic themes- and proof that not everything Dickens produced was Literature- and if you're going to include some of his more ridiculous books in the big L category, you're as justified in including Watchmen and DK.
You've read the ENTIRE western literary canon? That's a lot of books! I put King in contrast to Twain/Dickens that way, because that's how they're commonly defined, and bookstores file them: T/D are in classics/lit, King's in fiction (or even more ghettoized into horror). It's all fiction, but some of it's considered more worthy. Despite his popularity (and I bet if you pulled all the Twain/DIckens that was assigned as opposed to bought for personal reading King would outsell them hands down) he may never be considered a 'literary' author, just as Dark Knight will probably not be filed under classics before "Life of Pi." (why do critics love that book so much???) I think we pretty much agree–DK has literary themes–we'll just have to wait out the academics who make up the canons!
You've read the ENTIRE western literary canon? That's a lot of books! I put King in contrast to Twain/Dickens that way, because that's how they're commonly defined, and bookstores file them: T/D are in classics/lit, King's in fiction (or even more ghettoized into horror). It's all fiction, but some of it's considered more worthy. Despite his popularity (and I bet if you pulled all the Twain/DIckens that was assigned as opposed to bought for personal reading King would outsell them hands down) he may never be considered a 'literary' author, just as Dark Knight will probably not be filed under classics before "Life of Pi." (why do critics love that book so much???) I think we pretty much agree–DK has literary themes–we'll just have to wait out the academics who make up the canons!
Doug TenNapel at the Comicon…
Graphic novelist and game designer Doug TenNapel writes more on the SanDiego Comicon International at Big Hollywood…
Of course Cartoon Network is now going to have real live people shows now, too! I hope they don't go the MTV route and just become a network of random garbage that has nothing to do with the name of the network. My friends are concerned that this might mean the end of Adult Swim.
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