Category: questions

Online Comics QUESTIONS

I get e-mails:

Lacking for material to write about? No, of course not. But I’d be interested in your take on this subject. Do you think Cory Doctorow is right?

The main point of the story, titled “Boom! comics’ new series available as downloads on the same day as in stores” is that “comics publishers should — at a minimum — put up downloadable comics after they disappear from the stands, so that people who are coming to the serial after it starts can catch up. The trade paperbacks help here, but usually there’s a 2-3 issue gap between the collection and the singles.”

Well, I have no idea. In my days of retailing comics (1980-88 and again in the early 1990s), the business model was very different. I do know that a customer coming in in the middle of a story was/is maddening. I do know that dealing with back issue comics was often a pain. But does the online page of back issues solve the problem?

There seems to be an overriding premise in the piece that almost everything that comes out as singles (his term) or floppies will turn up in book form eventually, which I don’t believe to be true, any more than every TV show eventually coming out on DVD.

I also don’t buy the premise that the “publisher could spend approximately $0.00 and post downloadable singles 30 days or even 60 days after they hit the stands.” To do a quality job online does not cost nothing, assuming you have to pay someone to do it. And what of the creative team? How are they getting paid for this, beyond the flat page rate? Or should it just be considered “promotional? (Shades of the AMPTP!)

I would really like to know, from comics collectors and especially retailers: does the online model stimulate new readers, and more importantly, new spenders, or are folks just reading product online for free? What is the general quality of the existing products – easy to use or not? Of readable quality or full of eyestrain? What’s the best of the current crop, and what’s a must to avoid?
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Last weekend, the Wall Street Journal gave a plug for HowToons, an interesting site. It does have a link to a book for sale on Amazon, but I don’t know how else it makes money, if in fact it does.

ROG

ROG

"The Line" QUESTIONS

Wrestling Boxing Day, I’m coming out of a convenience store. A young woman is coming in, so I hold the door open for her. A young man, coming from a different direction, follows her in, saying “Ummm, sexy THAT!”

This led me to posit several questions:
1) Was he talking to her, or more to the universe at large?
2) Was she offended, delighted or what? (I was waiting for a bus, and I could have gone and asked her, but thought the better of it.)
3) Does that kind of line actually work on some people?

I never had a “line”, as far as I am aware. Sometimes I would do stuff (throw peanuts in someone’s beer, play air guitar), but smooth talking, I didn’t do.

So, I’d like you to answer question #3 above (and #1 and/or #2, if you have some insight). Additionally, I’d be interested in what kind of lines you’ve tried, and whether any of them actually worked.

I’m interested to know your gender, approximate age, and sexual orientation to see if it differs.
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a guy I know and his brothers singing in three-part harmony.

ROG

ROG

Golden Compass QUESTIONS

I was having a conversation online with someone about an upcoming movie, suggesting a backlash against it. I’d just received this e-mail:

THE GOLDEN COMPASS, a new movie targeted at children, will be released December 7, 2007.
This movie is based on the first book of a trilogy by atheist Philip Pullman. In the final book a boy and girl kill God so they can do as they please. Pullman left little doubt about his intentions when he said in a 2003 interview that “My books are about
killing God.”
The movie is a watered down version of the first book and is designed to be very attractive in the hope unsuspecting parents will take their children to see the the movie and that the children will want the books for Christmas.
The movie has a well known cast, including Nicole Kidman, Kevin Bacon, and Sam Elliott. It will probably be advertised extensively, so it is crucial that we get the word out to warn parents to avoid this movie.
You can research this for yourself. Start with this article on Snopes.com, then go to Google.

This letter went on to distinguish it from the Harry Potter books, which were derscribed as having a Christian subtext(!).

I was vaguely familiar with the Golden Compass books, but haven’t read them, so I’m trying to find out:

1. Whether you think the books are anti-God/anti-religion, and if so, how did that affect your enjoyment of the books?

2. Do you plan to see the film? Does a potential boycott make you want to see the movie more or less? Given the limited number of films I see these days, I wasn’t planning to see it at all – it’s just not my kind of flick – yet a boycott somehow makes it somehow more intriguing.

ROG

ROG

Writers Guild Strike QUESTIONS

Much to my surprise, I have found myself utterly fascinated by the WGA strike. I freely admit my sympathy for the writers, who are getting ripped off on DVD sales and streaming video broadcasts. I’ve watched the WGA videos on YouTube; while The Office Is Closed is the most entertaining, Why We Fight is the most useful in understanding the situation. Oh, and here’s info about an episode of The Office you may not see for a while, scheduled for only a couple weeks out.

I’ve added to my webroll the United Hollywood website, where I found out about an online petition, which I signed (#1018); I never know the efficacy of online petitions, but what the heck. I’ve been also following Writers Strike, Ken Levine and Mark Evanier’s posts. In fact, Mark answered my strike-related questions; how did he know I was specifically interested in JEOPARDY!?

1. What do you think of the strike? Do you side with the writers, with management, a pox on both of their houses, or you just don’t care? (Gordon cares.)

2. Has the strike already affected your viewing? (Maybe Lefty can finally catch up with The Daily Show and Colbert.)

3. If it is a prolonged strike, what will the networks use to fill up the time? Reality shows and repeats, sure. Old movies? Unaired episodes of Viva Laughlin?

4. What will you do with all that found time? (After I catch up with MY backlog of programs, I’ll read more.)
ROG

ROG

VOTING Questions

Election Day is Tuesday, and you’ll be sure to discover on Wednesday that fewer people vote in off-year/non-Presidential years than will vote next year, as shown here (PDF), here and here. It’s ironic, I think, because one has a much greater voice in municipal elections than in the Presidential race. Even next November, more people will vote at the top of the ticket, and ignore the “lesser” races.

I’ve been involved in “get-out-the-vote” pitches before. My last strategy, sort of a reverse psychology thing, was “don’t vote – mote power for me”. So:

1. Are you voting on Tuesday? Why or why not/ I am, just so I can kvetch about the results.
2. What would it take to get more people to vote? (Electronic voting, instant runoff voting, bribery – somewhere in the Southwest, they offered a random voter a cash prize for voting, which turned out to be of dubious legality.) I think IRV’s a good idea in multi-candidate (3 or more) elections, but it won’t solve the ennui problem.
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Pulse Poll of the Democratic candidates for President, with videos delineating a couple of their positions.


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