Kossori's Newsfile Kossori's NewsfileWelcome to Kossori's Newsfile. What follows is my (slightly unbiased) view of the current goings-ons in the world of comics. This week we'll focus on the push to get comics to the masses with free and almost free comics, and the advance of online comics (also considered "free" -in more than one way). We'll also take notice of some things that are going on in our world... Okay, now on to the news...
As the New Year rings in we hear news of comic publishers trying to get new readers. With the ten cent Batman, DC started an attempt to draw people from outside the comic shops in. Following suit, Marvel will (not to be outdone) offer Fantastic Four #60, Mark Waid's first issue, for nine cents (one penny cheaper- which means you can buy eleven FF's for the price of ten Batmans...). All this competition between the two is just the beginning, for coming on May 4, 2002 will be Free Comics Day, a cross-company event. The day will see one comic from each customer offered for FREE! Now, before everybody gets greedy and "buys" as many as they can, to sell later on e-bay as "hot collectors items", know that these are not for you and I. They're for those that don't already read comics. As a reflection of this, most of the books offered will be reprints of already published stories. Each comic will also feature several ads showcasing their respective company.
The books reportedly on the schedule are: DC: Justice League Adventures#1- DC hopes to lure people (mostly kids) in by focusing on their animated franchise. Marvel: Ultimate Spider-Man #1- Marvel will be trying to tap into the excitement generated by the movie released around the same time. Image: either Tomb Raider/Witchblade #1/2 orTomb Raider #1/2- Image is counting on Lara Croft's mass appeal to generate new comic awareness. Dark Horse: a 16-page, all-new Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones story- Dark Horse is offering the only new content, so far, drawing from the Star Wars franchise with the movie just around the corner.
Online comics have been growing steadily, as creators who want to express themselves without compromising their work to appeal to the masses have found a much more receptive outlet. Most creators of web-comics would not survive in the paper-comic world. They would only lose money trying to get an audience that would probably never even see their comics. That's all changed. With web-comics, they save on production, never producing too many copies... And they're always readily available. And free. Add in message boards for letters pages and you have a more intimate connection with the creator(s).
Here's a listing of some of the better online comics- Astounding Space Thrills Femme Noir- with art by Joe Staton! Brother Grimm Nightmark- Parental Advisory-Mature Content! Damnation Gambit Modern Pulp Comics The Gemini Solution And if that's not enough... here's a very well done directory of onlime comics.
From the "I thought we were beyond that!!" department: A church in Alamogordo, New Mexico burned Harry Potter books, ouija boards, AC/DC records and the works of Shakespeare in hopes to rid their community of those nasty little things. You can read the whole story here.
From the "I can't believe it's true!" department: George Lucas has integrated pop into his Star Wars franchise. In the second film, due out in May, five well known boys will be in the jedi/clone battle... Nsync! According to news reports, they won't be billed in the credits and they are only "extras". You can read about this
here.
