DC Versus Marvel 2012

Lets do a comparison of how things are going between DC Comics and Marvel Comics.

So last year DC Comics launched the New 52 group of books. I think it's been average so far. No matter what the advertising says the majority of those books are average at best. It was supposedly a clean slate for new readers to come on board and not get lost in years worth of back story. Everyone had to follow that mandate, except Geoff Johns and Grant Morrison of course. Those guys books were already making money, so don't screw them up. Reading Green Lantern number 1 was really reading number 61 because thats where the story picks up from. And Batman Incorporated should have just not existed anymore and Damien should be gone as well. But nope Damiens still around and Batman Inc. returned. So what changed for the better? Lets find out.

This whole 52 thing was not meant to reestablish the upper echelon books of DC as more dominate books. Superman and Batman are always going to sell well. It was the middle of the road books that were supposed to get a boost from the relaunch. Some time in mid 2011 Dan Didio and Jim Lee stated that they wanted to broaden the line of less than high profile titles. So looking at the 52 line now, titles like Nightwing, Supergirl, Batgirl, Aquaman, the Flash, Red Lanterns and All Star Western get more attention from readers who may have passed on those titles had they come out within the old numbering system. So that helps the readers who have heard of these title and characters from before the relaunch. Has it helped new readers, we'll know that answer when we get to the 1 year mark for the new 52.

Aquaman is not a punchline. That's the subtle idea that Geoff Johns is trying to ingrain into that comic. I think its working but Ivan Reis has to get a lot of credit for making this work. I don't care for Azzarellos Wonder Woman. It's not cliche or boring, I just don't think that book works. Wonder Woman is not Kratos from God of War so she doesn't need to constantly be slaying monsters every issue. She's even stranger in Justice League. I like Geoff Johns work a lot but really she has ice cream for the first time and acts like its the greatest creation since the wheel. Next you'll have her staring at a DVR while holding a sword in her hand threatening it if it doesn't record the Jersey Shore for her. All while yelling that Siri is a demon spawn of Hades since it talks to her like she's a commoner and not a princess. Hawkman, I know better than to lose my sanity over that insanity so no more about that.

These and other titles have a take it or leave it kind of feel to me. I'll take Red Lanterns but I'll leave Firestorm. Sometimes a title might surprise you like Swamp Thing or StormWatch. Than you get Static Shock or Men at War and realize that you should expect a dud once in a while. Overall though the line is good. Just good not great and doesn't seem to be pushing for great but it's still kind of new so the new car smell is still there, sort of. Whatever else comes out of this at least most of the books are reasonably priced under $3 which is more than I can say for Marvel.

Now here's where I piss on Marvel.

Out of all the books that Marvel prints I only read three monthly. Captain America by Ed Brubaker, Winter Soldier also by Mr. Brubaker and the Mighty Thor by Matt Fraction. And I buy the Invincible Iron Man only in trade paperback form. I'll be stopping my reading of one of those titles when Mr. Brubaker leaves in the next few months. Why only these titles, simple they stick out because they don't suck and are easy to follow.

The majority of Marvel books are priced at $3.99 and above. That is too much. If you have $20 to spend on comics and have all those books come out on the same week you'll have a dilemma. Do you buy 4 books for about $16 or do you look at what DC has to offer? With most of the DC books you can probably go home with 5 to 6 comics and maybe have some money left. And since the relaunch are easier to follow while most Marvel books have no sense of direction. And with that make their books not worth the money.

When I started reading comics I started with Marvel because they seemed easier to get into. DC seemed too complicated except for Batman but even that was hard to follow. X-Men was the end all be all. As long as you read that you were fine. Avengers was an exclusive club of comic historians. The Fantastic Four was slowly losing its steam with John Byrne leaving but still had an ease to it. Spider-Man I don't care for but Venom was badass and Carnage was Venom if he was the Joker.

It took the Death of Superman to get me into DC. It was another 7 years before I before I become more of a DC fan than a Marvel fan. And than 1 year of Brian Bendis on Avengers and Joss Whedons Astonishing X-Men before I walked away from the House of Bad Ideas. I only stick with Captain America because of Ed Brubaker and because Cap is awesome. If Matt Fraction wasn't on Thor I wouldn't be reading that. And it all goes back to quality. Most Marvel books are poor quality stories with half decent art. And if you can't make both of those two elements come together in a decent manner than you can't have my money.

And now coming after Avengers versus X-Men finishes we'll get another reboot. This time new mixed up creative teams. And more books that will probably go nowhere. And of course with a higher price for the books with the more well known creative teams. I can't support this. So for me make mine DC, flaws and all. It has it's problems Teen Titans isn't that good. Batwoman has great covers but average story telling. And the Superman books aren't good. Even with those and other problems DC is winning 2012, so far. But it's not about how you start but how you finish but I don't think Marvel will finish strong.

L'Arc~En~Ciel at Madison Square Garden

Starting in the late 1980's there was a boom in the number of Japanese rock bands throughout that country. In a country known for tradition and respect the blazing guitars and thundering drums of the young edgy bands of that age was a shock to outsiders. The thing was though they were combining the American glam rock, with European pop along with their own sensibilities to create Visual Kei. Look it up and look at the pictures that says more than you'll need to know. One of the bands that came out of this era in the 1990s was L'Arc~En~Ciel, it's french for the Rainbow.

Along with bands like X-Japan, GLAY, Malice Mizer, Luna Sea and others they became famous. Throughout the '90s as the over the top look of Visual Kei wore down the music continued. After two decades of albums and tours and side projects they did something all of their contemporaries had not done. The worlds most famous arena would be the place that L'Arc~En~Ciel would perform in support of their latest album.

X-Japan is by far the most important and influential band to come out of Japan, ever. The bands frontman, the drummer Yoshiki has become such an icon in Japan that there is a Hello Kitty version of him. Take my word for it that's huge. But for all of X-Japans fame. For selling out the largest stadium in Japan, the Tokyo Dome nearly twenty times, L'Arc~En~Ciel did something they've never done play in the worlds most famous arena. That is probably the best thing that they ahve ever done. But maybe it may lead to X-Japan trying to achieve the same feat but better.

The show was supposed to actually take place at the theatre at MSG. Due to high demand it was moved to the main arena. The crowd was over 19,000 people from all over the world but mostly Japanese. Not a sellout but still very impressive and gives them something to shot for next time. And there will be a next time. Long stroy short that was the best concert I have been to just because of scale. I went to the X-Japan show in 2010. That was their first time in New York, but its was at the Roseland Ballroom. A ballroom for the most famous band in Japan and they played a ballroom. Still they made that place explode, but it was no Madison Square Garden.

My hope is that concert will lead to the return of L'Arc~En~Ciel and it will. But than X-Japan will come and raise the bar. Than GLAY, my personal favorite Japanese band of all time. Still mad that I missed them at Flushing Meadow Park back in 1998 I think. But playing at Madison Square Garden would make up for that. Than maybe Gackt, with Exist Trace opening would be cool. I've seen Dir En Gray four times but want to see them somewhere bigger maybe the theatre first and if that get the demand than the Garden. From there Ayumi Hamasaki maybe but that would cause minds to melt. Whatever the case this was the first of many and for that I say that you L''Arc~En~Ciel. And thanks for an awesome concert.

Women of Rock, J-Rock

So I get word that L'Arc~En~Ciel were finally coming to Madison Square Garden. That was great but that's another post. Something happened around that same time though. A friend of mine told me about another concert that would take place a week before L'Arc~En~Ciel. The band was a Visual Kei band but they were all women. Quick background on Visual Kei imagine the 1980's Motley Crue, Prince, and Gothic Lolilita crossed with some Beethoven and Guns and Roses with occasional power ballads. That's the style and sound of Visual Kei. Now imagine five Japanese women doing this, that is Exist Trace.

I go to the concert not sure what to expect but hope for a good time. What I got was loads of awesome from five ladies who are on their way to big huge rockstars. The place was called the Hiro Ballroom, easily missed and not very different from B.B. Kings in Times Square. The opening act was forgettable but I've seen worse, the band that opened for X-Japan still hold that crown. I missed the other band but heard they were good. Than comes the main event and man what show. The lead singer Jyou has the crowd from the opening lyrics. And than we're off and running.

The other girls Lead guitar Omi can just play flat out. Miko the cute one, does the second guitar justice and can play better than what someone would think just by looking at her. Naoto is the goth bassist but can keep everything together as a bassist should. Than Maiiy plays the drum as well as any man I've seen. Together they are Exist Trace. The music works. I expect at some point one of their songs will be part of some anime and when it is I'll be listening and so should you. The rest is pictures anymore is YouTube for you.

This is a stick up

Gonna hijack the blog this weekend with stuff thats supposed to to up 3 weeks ago. Pictures included and topics that go from one extreme to another.

No More Valuable Comics

This is something that has helped me be less apprehensive about buying digital comics. I see that now with digital slowly making its way to the forefront of comics readership owning one specific issue won't allow you to make a fortune on reselling it in the future. So I don't have to worry about a comic being unavailable because it sold out. But there is one problem though. It's not going to make me any money in the future though. So what reason do I have to be a collector? None.

I think back to Superman Vol.2 #75 (1992) the Death of Superman issue. That book sold so many copies that there was a new printing and than another and another so you had no reason not to have it. Looking back on it now you can't blame DC Comics for reprinting it. That practice had been done by book companies for decades. Now though that practice I think is hurting the value of comics.

The Walking Dead is a popular comic book which has been adapted into a television show on AMC. The first issue of that comic premiered in 2003. Now nearly 100 issues later that first issue has been reprinted only last year for the Walking Dead weekly comic. Now if you were looking to buy the first issue of the series it can cost you upwards of $100. And as time goes by you would think that the value of that issue would go higher. I don't think it will though. There is the tradepaperbacks to compete with it gaining value. Now if you add digital into it nearly anybody can have their copy of issue one.

Think about Action Comics number one, the first appearance of Superman from 1938. This comic had a large print run of over one million copies made. But back than people were encouraged to recycle those comics. Or at least put them in some box and forget about them. The books were of such poor paper quality eventually they would fall apart and rot anyway. Now decades later at good copy of that issue can sell for over five hundred thousand dollars. Now fast forward to today if that book had a second, third or fourth printing with an alternate cover on glossy paper I doubt if the first printing would be worth as much as it is.

I understand the argument of getting as many copies of an issue into as many hands as possible. That's what keeps the comic going and keeps companies in business. Now though we have digital, so the multiple printings, variant covers, alternate covers, signed covers, negative covers, foil covers, hologram covers, leather covers, or whatever excuse to print the same book with different covers can all go away. I have bought those sorts of things before I admit that. But I stopped once I realized, I never read the alternate cover issue if I've read the first cover issue already. It just takes up more space than I have, while not adding any value to my collection.

Sometimes a book surprises everyone. Action Comics Vol.1 #775 (2001) caught everyone by surprise because of how good that one issue was. There initially was no second printing but after some time there was. The price for the first printing was pushing past the $20 mark but once the second printing came out that slowed down. Now, I know DC Comics has no reason to care about the after market. They make no money off of it, so screw those resellers. That feeds into my post about comic companies not caring about how digital is going to affect comic retailers. They don't care about this, so they won't care about that in the future. But if there had been no reprint would that comic now be pushing the $100 mark, maybe.

Certain things happen that keep a story relevant and financially important to a comic company. One thing that has emerged into being very important to a companies bottom line is the collected tradepaperback. This keeps the stories available to potential readers. It allows collectors to go back to old stories without potentially damaging the original single issues. Thus making the original not lose any value. The value of the original issue can go up or down depending on different factors though.

Digital can take this into a higher level of discrepancy for collectors. Something like the Charlton Captain Atom comics are valuable now because there's not an availability of trades for those stories. How about for todays comic market? What book can possibly become more valuable if there is a constant supply? I think only the surprise books that have low print runs, with no reprints can become valuable. That will only go so far since there may also be a digital copy also available later. So as far as I'm concerned a collections value is only going to go down. It won't go up as it did so many decades ago with todays comics and that for me is just sad. That is risk of collecting though, a risk that will not payoff like many hoped it would.

Best Marvel Comic (ongoing) today.

I must start off by apologizing. I am sorry.

I was going to go into why Invincible Iron Man is the best Marvel comic going on today but someone else beat me to it. Check out this article.
(http://www.newsarama.com/comics/best-shots-extra-invincible-iron-man-120215.html)
I know its supposed to only be about the latest issue, number 513. The thing is that it sums up my thoughts on the book really well. So there's no point in me rehashing what he's already said. Well done George Marston, well done.

I usually buy and read it in tradepaperback form. If the price for the single issues was lower I would consider buying those instead. But their not so I'll just keep getting the trades.

So I'll just go onto the next best book, Captain America by Ed Brubaker. No big explanations why just understand that it's a great story that Brubaker has been weaving for years. If it had not split into two different books, Captain America and Captain America and Bucky. There might be a case for it being Marvels best monthly comic. I think it would still be second just because of inconsistent artists at some spots. But still Brubaker does a great job and will do so on Winter Soldier.

After that maybe Thor will start to be in the running for best Marvel book. All of the other books Marvel puts out are not worth buying. That's just my view on that subject. Not just on overpricing alone but also quality and consistency. Until next time.

Great athletes are NERDS.

Its true when you think about it. Look at athlete of the past 50 years that have achieved a level of greatness and respect in their career you'll find a nerd. By nerd I mean someone who learns as much as they can about their sport and uses that knowledge to succeed in that sport. So yes, I'm calling Michael Jordan a nerd, a basketball nerd, but a nerd none the less. LeBron James not so much, especially in the playoffs, in the fourth quarter.

Someone like Tiger Woods who is said to be near obsessive about his golf game is a nerd. Maybe not the same kind of nerd he was 5 years ago. I bet if you asked him why he plays a hole the way he does he wouldn't give you a simple answer. Jimmy Johnson is a NASCAR nerd, even though it's hard to imagine being a nerd making left turns all day. But the concentration needed to make those left turns at over 200mph. All while in a field of others nerds doing the same things is insane. Dale Jr. isn't yet as much of a nerd as his father was but he's getting there.

Whether it's a physically demanding sport like basketball. Or a mental battle like NASCAR nerds are proving  that even though on the outside they do not look nerdy in their sport it's all nerd. Maybe not every athlete but successful athletes sure have a lot of nerd qualities. Those I'll leave for you the reader to debate among yourselves. Peyton Manning master class in nerd returning in 2012?

Smart television coming soon, NOT really!

So following up on the last post about C.E.S. I see TVs the big thing. Massive sizes with incredible features dominated the conversation. So called, "smart" television was all the rage from nearly every television maker. This should be the year where the old way of making t.v. is changed for the better. Of course it won't be, and that shouldn't surprise anyone. If you want to change television into smart television than dump the cable box and buy a game console.

I look at my cable box and realize what a waste of space it is. It's too big, it get too hot, it'll freeze when its too hot, than I have to unplug it and let it reinitialize. It's basically outdated and fairly useless. The main reason I have one is because its mandated by the cable company that I have to have it to watch cable programming. Now in 2012 that has to start changing so that I can use something more advanced to watch my television.

I'm in favor of using a PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 to watch my programming. But the reality is that in the next two years those will be phased out for their successors. Also mobile viewing will grow so that change will be interesting to watch. You can't dump the subscription model for viewing channels. No, you can't because if you do only ESPN and HBO would make money. Live sporting events and movies would be the only things worth subscribing to in large numbers. So Oprahs channel wouldn't last a year because the audience would be too small to justify the cost.

The best option is to plug your television to the internet to have your cable and net surfing all together. So why hasn't this happened yet? The technology is there right now. And its been here since you had widgets and now apps on your television.

Lets treat this like we're the Jetsons. But it's not the near future of 2004 and the Earth isn't complete flooded, yet. So soon enough you'll walk into your home, no floor glide on whatever those fake escalators were. You'll go to your couch look at your living room television and than...?

You'll have already set your television to whatever option you wanted to use. Be it voice activated, motion sensor activated for when you walk near it. It'll turn to the appropriate channel for the time that you programmed from your mobile device. So for me the 6pm SportsCenter would come on right away, but in another screen box would be TV Tokyo for the latest episode of whatever the "it" anime is for that period. And it wouldn't even be whats playing live, it would have aired yesterday in Japan. And it would already have the English subtitles attached with it. Of course in the future international boarders won't stop good television from getting into your living room and neither will language.

So than I watch the first 15 minutes of SportsCenter, having paused the anime. And by the way I use voice command and gesture controls with a ten foot radius in my presets. Than I go to my clouddrive where my other shows are stored. I check which shows I have stored I need to catch up on. So the last episode of my favorite show aired two weeks ago. But I couldn't bear to watch it. Even though, I could have streamed it to my tablet while on the flight to Cairo, Egypt. I had it saved to my clouddrive to watch when I'm emotionally ready to handle the finale. So I watch the anime, delete it from my que than take a deep breath and prepare for the worst.

Now none of this is so out of the realm of possibility that it sounds like magic. Its just part of the natural progression of what is already coming. I didn't say the television was an Apple tv, or Sony, or Samsung, or any other manufacturer. It's a television in the future. So whats holding it back from some of this, cable and internet provider companies you say. Not really, my television does need that overgrown cable box. It's an old television that has only one audio and video input for an "advanced" feature. So obviously in 2012 its old by todays standards. Really it's the consumer that slows the process down. It's unfortunate, but true.

It's not just price, if you think about it that television I described sounds like it would be expensive if it were available today. So why wouldn't most people already have a television like that one. It's not just need, cause my current t.v. still works, I haven't rushed for a new one because of that. It's not just want because I really don't watch as much television as I possibly can. Even with internet capabilities I might not increase my viewing. It's just a combination of things. Options abound so why let a television screen in one place hold me down. Yes, it sounds like I'm saying mobile will rule, but I don't think so. It's just too complicated for just one thing to dominate all the other possibilities. So no matter how, "smart" the television I doubt it will be able to keep up with me or the whole world now or in the future.

New Year means New Toys

Hello, it's me again. I'd been away these few weeks with a little something called Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. You might have heard of it, since it only made about $63 million a day. And got to $1 billion faster than anything ever in the entertainment business. So taking a break from that, lets get ready for the Geeks first toy show of the year, the Consumer Electronics Show a.k.a. C.E.S. Yes, it's January and Las Vegas is the place to be not only for the gambling, girls, and gravitas but for electric grownup toys. What will be the product that will catch the eyes of the world? Which company will surprise and amaze? Which celebrity endorsed product will be the break out item of the show? Really all of that is found on day one, than everyone sneaks off to the porn convention. Honestly, that's what your really going to if you go to C.E.S., right?.

The way the internet is and the way C.E.S. is setup doesn't require anyone outside of industry specialist to be there. So why go to see toys when you can see naked ladies and gentlemen. It's because there is more to C.E.S. than meets the eye (yep Transformers reference).

The Consumer Electronics Show is built around the premise of being like an annual Worlds Fair. The things that you and I will be using tomorrow will be seen today. The pace that new technologies are coming out at require there be a place where investors and consumers can see what engineers have spent time and money creating. Somethings shown at the show this coming week won't be available for years. For example tablets were first shown at C.E.S., 10 years ago. But the iPad made them the must have item of today. The 3D technology craze has happened twice before at C.E.S.. So why go to C.E.S. and not spend your single dollars on those Asian chicks in the cage who'll take a picture with you, simple, imagination.

Steve Jobs is no longer alive and his company Apple do there own presentations apart from C.E.S.. But you have to guess that he kept a close eye on every single announcement, gadget, or gizmo that came out of C.E.S.. Than imaged what he could do with those technologies. Not everything coming out of C.E.S. is built around what will be great for this year or next year. Somethings are just tests or examples of things someone hopes to  have a better version of in 5-10 years. Steve Jobs knew this better than anyone. During the C.E.S. pre-show where V.I.P.s get to look around the floor and talk to exhibitors, I'm sure a lot companies that were later purchased by Apple were introduced to Jobs at C.E.S.. If your a venture capitalist C.E.S. is a "must go to", trade show. And if nothing else Steve Jobs was a great venture capitalist.

Big deal you say, rich getting richer, what's the point for the average person. Porn that's where its at, makeup kits, silicone, and g-strings right? Don't think for a second that the porn companies all hold there awards shows in the same city as C.E.S. by coincidence. First the Adult Entertainment Expo is held in Las Vegas because it's Nevada a state with workable laws on sexual practices. The taxation process is actually straightforward to a adult entertainment company. There's plenty of money going around and good weather. The non adult film industry awards season is starting. And of course there are plenty of customers in Vegas at one time to sample new products.

If your a provider of such services you'll still go to C.E.S. though. Why, because that's were you'll see places to potentially have your products shown. There are plenty of adult companies that want to know what new 3D devices will be coming out. Hopefully they can use those device to work with their products. Battery technology is get more attention from big tech companies, your imagination can figure out why that matters. And many others that today may not be suitable for consumer use but may one day change how we interact with or use certain things.

The toys that we'll play with in public or private are apart of our society. The word "iPhone" means a specific thing to people, so does "fleshlight". Though the idea for both may not come from C.E.S. part of the genesis is there. Not all the toys will be battery operated or wi-fi enabled, or even useful today. Somewhere down the line someone will use their imagination to make a use for them. It may not the one that was intended like the portable back massager. There might not even be a market for it today. I have no doubt though that someones imagination will find a way to make the toy that we didn't think we could use into the must have of tomorrow. And we'll probably get our first glimpse of it a C.E.S..

Be Immortal, See Immortal? (movie)

Being immortal can be what? Amazing, boring, mind altering, sad, those are some the themes movies have tried to pass on to movie goers for decades. Highlander jumps to mind. Who wouldn't want to have no rival and have one be their equal. That Queen song is still awesome to this day, Princes of the Universe on iTunes is worth a dollar. But how does anyone really be Immortal, through memories.

That's the theme of Immortals out in theaters today. King Hyperion wants to find the Epirus Bow to unleash the Titans so they can destroy the Olympians. And hopefully each other. Than with the bow he'll conquer the world (Greece) and have so many babies that the world (Greece) will be one inbred group of little Hyperions long after he is dead. Theseus on the other hand wants to cut wood and protect his mom. So what happens when these two massive egos clash in epic battle for an hour and thirty minutes. It's better than Clash of the Titans that's for sure. The rest is passable.

It's not a memorable film like Highlander. Connor McCloud was a likable if dull character. Theseus is a supremely skilled warrior who only wants to use his skills for family. The Kurgan was the absolute evil of man made flesh. King Hyperion is pure badass with an actual agenda that's believable. One is bad for bads sake, the other is out to make the world pay for his lose. Of course there's a girl involved, but Immortals wins that hands down because of one pair of buttcheeks. In the end the person who wins and becomes immortal does so by the deeds they do. And that is worth watching, in 2D NOT 3D. I heard this movie was made in 3D. But you only really see it one fire whip scene, which is actually pretty cool. Yes, it's worth seeing even a DVD buy later. But truly immortal like Highlander, 300,.or Spartacus maybe someday.

I miss Nintendo

So it's gaming season again. New, must play games are coming out quick. From Resistence 3, to Batman, Battlefield 3, Uncharted 3. And of course the monster Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Even remakes like Ico/Shadows of the Colossus and Metal Gear Solid Collection will be in game platforms across the board. Yet what does Nintendo offer, the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Now I LOVE THE LEGEND OF ZELDA. It's just the most wonderful gaming experience that you can have when a new one comes out. So for that week Assasins Creed, MW3, Batman, Uncharted all take a break. The Wii gets cleaned to get the thick dust off and the WiiMote gets new batteries. The game is on and I stop thinking about my life and live this game. So what do I do after I'm done.

There is nothing else I want to play for the Wii afterward. After Mario World (SNES) my Mario fix was done. I'm still playing Mario Galaxy 1 and haven't touched Galaxy 2. So whats my next Nintendo must play game? Professor Layton! I played the first one but so what. Where's my challenge? Zelda is awesome, it's a great story which has elements from a Michael Moorcock book about the Eternal Champion. Look it up. I know this Zelda will blow people away but after that the Wii goes off. So what happened too Nintendo.

There was a time when Nintendo meant games. There was a picture of an NES in the dictionary to show this synthesis of one to another. Keep in mind the Nintendo Wii is the most successful console of this generation outselling both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. The gap is at least 20 million units worldwide. But for most gamers the Wii is the third even fourth option when deciding what to play. I'll play solitaire on my Ipad before I play the Wii. So where did they go wrong?

Lets see was it the Nintendo 64, the Gamecube, or one of the handhelds. I used to get blisters on my thumb playing the Super Nintendo. The doctors at hospitals cam up with the term, "Push button finger ache", from so many kids coming into a hospital with blisters on thumbs. Look at Attack of the Show, in the Game Break logo. Thats a SNES controller between those broken thumbs as far as I'm concerned. Yes I know it's actually a Sega Saturn controller, but the SNES was the one where those thumbs started cracking. I miss that about Nintendo. The must play even if I can't play. Yes I did the index finger playing with Street Fighter 2 Turbo for the SNES. That was a long week before my thumb healed.

Some people say no online play is the issue. I don't believe that. A friend of mine asked me to talk to and investor friend of hers back in 2006. Just before the Wii came out. I told him that when Nintendo has the lead in any console generation they are never overtaken in terms of units sold. That still holds true today. But I didn't think that meant that Nintendo would be beaten in the must play department.

I don't care for the WiiU. Fuck that thing. If it's gonna be a $300 dust magnet I don't want it. I want something to turn on a go kick ass on. And sometimes do that with friends, not friend codes. Until than I don't need a 3DS my original DS works just fine. The WiiMot will stay behind the PS3 and 360 controllers. And Zelda will be on top of my Nintendo games pile until another Nintendo game worth my time comes out. I miss Nintendo, but this isn't the Nintendo that is gonna change my mind. WiiU more like WiiFU.

Hello digital, bye, bye physical (Comics)

So for the both of you who have not heard as of this September, DC comics is now offering there single issue periodical comics on the same day (Wednesday) in both a physical paper option and digital option. The price point for these books is either $2.99 or $3.99 as of now in the United States. To buy the physical comic you can visit a comicbook store, online, or anywhere that sells comics near you. These usually come out every Wednesday, barring a holiday with the next issue coming out one month later, unless a title works under a different schedule. Ok, so what? If your reading this you already know all of this what's the point. Just follow along I'm trying to build a story.

In September DC comics launched their comics with new books and renumbering of older titles all with number ones as the issue number. The price is the same for the digital as it is for the physical version, but now you don't need to go anywhere to buy it. All you need is a internet active device, whether it's a desktop computer, a tablet or mobile device. Most companies which distribute these digital comics also have a computer program that allows you to read these comics once you have made your purchase. Again, WTF! Yeah, you know this keep reading.

Now the main purpose of renumbering the books according to DC comics is to make the comics they put out more accessible to new readers. To go along with that they put their books not only in the traditional brick and mortar stores but online. Again you already know all of this, big whoop. Now my question is what does this mean for the future of the physical comic?

Now let me be clear on this. I've been buying and reading comicbooks on physical paper for almost 20 years. I've spent thousands, upon thousands of dollars on single issues, trade paperback, manga, and different variations on comicbooks. And for my spending and collecting I kept buying box after box after box to store all of it. But now there is the cloud. This seemingly magical place where things can be stored and found so long as you have an internet connection. This includes comics, as well other things that are digital. So why would I NEED to keep buying physical books?

I like many others have a Apple "I" device. I updated it to the latest version. But before I did there was a warning. If you do this update all of your previously stored information will be deleted from the device. Basically setting it back to its factory setting with only the most basic applications. So I did it but I wasn't worried about information loss. I signed back into my account which was still available. The apps were under my accounts, purchased section of the app store so I re-installed those. The cloud had some of the rest of the information.

Now lets apply all of this knowledge to what may happen in the future. Lets say your on your DC comics account looking to add new titles to your subscription. Your also looking to remove some titles as the creative team has changed and you don't like the book anymore. So while your going through your list you see that DC has added back issued digital versions of a trade you already own in a physical paper version. You really love this trade and would love to read it anytime you want. No more moving long boxes and digging through trades to pull out your beat up version which you can't buy anymore since it's out of print. What do you do, you download it of course?

Now that beat up copy never has to take anymore damage than it already has. And you get to read your trade whenever you like. Great, win, win right? 


Three days later your device falls to the ground at a weird angle and now the screens cracked and it won't turn on. Argh!!! What are you gonna do, will you freak out and panic. Throw your hands to the sky and scream, "why God, why?" 


You might do that, but after you've calmed down you'll go to the cloud or your account. That's right you'll remember that you set your device to automatically backup to the cloud everyday at a specific time. Yippie, your trade was backed up and is still in the cloud or your purchased account. So you get a new device, redownload what you need and there you go without skipping a beat.

So again why do I need to keep buying a physical comic? I can access what I want, whenever I want. I don't have to worry about damaging, losing or just the wear and tear that comes from reading a comic. The number of comics that I can save in the cloud depends on how much I'm willing to spend on cloud space. And knowing these comic companies they'll certainly put more older stuff on their site which will than make me think about downloading them so as to not go through my paper copies of those books. Plus there never is going to be anything sold out. I can get it even if I'm in another country.

You've got to understand that physical comics are going to become like music CDs. Their still useful but most people don't buy them. Yes, that's not completely true, but HMV, Tower records and many other outlets that sold music CDs as their primary product and now their gone. Even traditional paper books are going away. So what makes anyone think the same won't happen to comics. Sure people still buy a CD version of an album, they still buy the Hardcover version of a new novel but where do they get these from. Your best bet is online but you can find some stores. A Best Buy or Barnes and Nobles still has these but the stock now is usually one or two copies. Even the folks in the store will tell you to go online to find something because they don't carry much stock anymore.


Now how can anyone realistically say that they will keep buying physical for the next ten years? The comic companies don't want to keep making paper comics. They aren't selling hundreds of thousands of copies on a monthly basis. The cost to benefit analysis they do tells them that they will save more money by not carrying so much paper inventory. So come on. Let the physical paper go. Buy new bags and boards for your older stuff, to keep the books from turning yellow/orange. Use your computer if you don't have a mobile device. And most importantly embrace the change. It's a slow gradual change that can only get better with time. And keep in mind it's not like you have a choice. 

Hi everybody

Hello my name is Kurt. I'll be a new contributor to this blog. Yeah baby! So what will I be bringing to this blog? Well more than I'm bringing to my own blog, the Balancing Brain. That's more of a vent blog when I have something to unleash, for now. So on this blog I'll put stuff that I think a geek should or maybe is interested in now. Maybe even stuff their not aware of that is interesting, frustrating or just plain noteworthy. Not perfect or perverse I'll save that for my on blog and not ruin this one. I'm here by invite so I'll be nice (sometimes). Until than enjoy your... No wait that's taken. If ya smell what the... No,no that's taken too. Ah, we'll skip the catchphrases for now, bye,bye.