Commentary

The funny thing about the Internet nerds is — and I say this with love and a certain amount of suspicion and caution — no matter what you do, there's a certain type of Internet dweller that's going to piss and moan about it.

With the Garrity Doctrine igniting uproar all over the intertubes, Webcomic Overlook's El Santo presents a rebuttal of sorts, Ten Things To Know About the Future of Webcomics. While any kind of manga-vs-webcomics fight is silly -- they are parallel and non-competitive -- lists are always fun. He admits a lot of the list is quite off the cuff, but a couple of points strike us as especially pertinent:

Shaenon T. Garrity, as she so often does, sums up all the things we've been talking about with a piece called Ten Things to Know About the Future of Comics. A sample:

It's taken a few days to recover from this year's New York Comic Con, and recovery has been slowed by the vast number of out-of-towners who have stayed on to hang out and make merry with New York friends. It is a real thrill to know your hometown show has become an attraction for colleagues around the world, and it definitely inspires one get gussied up and make everyone feel welcomed and well lubricated with social beverages. The time has given me a bit more perspective and enabled me to read and listen to more experiences from the show, and I have to say that when I pegged it as "a complete success" the other day, I was incorrect. NYCC '10 was a SUCCESS, no question, and from talking to comics exhibitors and New York-loving visitors you might conclude that it was a "complete" success as far as their goals went -- exposing their wares to as many potential customers as possible, and drinking as much free alcohol as possible, respectively. I would not gainsay that these are worthy goals, and their accomplishment is praiseworthy, but there were so many other logistical and conceptual problems with the show that its success is almost baffling.

o “Nothing Dramatically Broken at DC Comics” At Comics Alliance, David Brothers takes the temperature of DC Comics, about half a year into the most recent management shake-up that replaced longtime publisher Paul Levitz with...

This brief video of creator Darwyn Cooke, captured at the Fan Expo Canada last weekend, managed to capture all the "grumpy old Eisner winner" complaints of those who would wish comics to return to a more noble time. Coming out swinging against anal rape, Cooke also had some sharp words for Kate Kane's reboot as a beautiful lipstick lesbian. This has understandably gotten some heat, especially from gay comics bloggers, but in a statement at 4th Letter, Cooke explains himself:

In his “Emanata” column at Techland, Douglas Wolk looks at the promotional efforts for an upcoming Marvel story by Jonathan Hickman, singling out Fantastic Four as a series that particularly finds itself in the shadow of its creators:

“As Lee and Kirby established the FF, their premises are inflexible: they're a family. They're explorers. They have adventures together. […] If you stick to those axioms, you're not just making a Fantastic Four story, you're making one in the Lee/Kirby tradition […]. If you ignore any of those axioms, then it's not really the Fantastic Four any more, and the question becomes how, and how quickly, it's going to get back to being the ‘real’ Fantastic Four.”

Although the bus sped off before we could get a good picture, this ad for HSBC Bank had a pretty snappy blurb that went something like "Japanese adults buy more comic books than American children do" with a picture of a Sumo wrestler reading a manga. VERY TRUE.

This week: Kieron Gillen on the prospects of more PHONOGRAM; Axel Alonso on that X-Men crossover with the vampires; and the conclusion of EX MACHINA.

o “Batman Can Take It” Grant Morrison talks to Los Angeles Times blogger Geoff Boucher about his plans for Batman: “Supple is the word. It's really weird. Batman can take anything. You can do comedy Batman,...

This week: Brevoort and Alonso redefine "distinct"; Kirkman talks turkey; get your very own 2.5' adamantium souvenir; collections we need; and more.

This week: Neil Gaiman and the continuity courtroom; Kurt Busiek on track to get the first good superhero movie made; Frank Miller surrenders; WildStorm's new publishing niche; and more.