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Doctor Whooch // Episode 071 // Wife Law

In which we are brimming with allegories and metaphors, and totally know the difference between the two.

This week, Brandon and Danica are watching “The Zygon Invasion” (Series 9, Episode 7 of Doctor Who) and end up being drunkenly riveted by the whole episode. I mean really, you guys – this was a crackerjack episode. There was Osgood! Jokes! Doctor Funkenstein! Seriously, what more do you want? Some Once Upon a Time chatter? Maybe. Probably not, but we don’t care. WE DON’T. (We do. We love you.)

Outro music is “Hello, My Treacherous Friends” by OK Go

Podcast picture is by GIRL NAMED SHIRL PHOTOGRAPHY

Yegs & Bacon // Episode 027 // What Is Snow

It’s time to wake up and grab a fresh plate of YEGS & BACON – Edmonton’s very own pop culture and comics morning show!

On this week’s episode, Brandon and Danica are discussing the new Star Trek announcement, and the Preacher trailer – along with some drama that happened with comics journalism over the weekend. Then it’s straight on to comic book recommendations!

Bonus Note: Here’s a link that features pretty much all you need to know about the comics journalism thing.

Deconstructing the Clubhouse

++ THE RETAILER’S VIEW
Here’s a thing I absolutely forgot to tell everyone: my latest retailer column for Comics Beat is up, and features a guest co-author – my lovely wife, Danica LeBlanc.

The article itself is slightly modified from a talk that we gave at an event quite a few week’s back. We called it Deconstructing the Clubhouse, and talked about how exclusionary walls were built around the comic book industry and how important it is to be mindful towards breaking those walls down. I’m really proud of what we put together, and I hope that you enjoy it to.

You can read it here.

Howard the Duck #1

++ COMICS RECOMMENDATION
HOWARD THE DUCK #1 // Out on Wednesday. We live in a world where there isn’t just a Howard the Duck ongoing book, but it is one of the funniest, most heartfelt books on the stands. While this issue picks up on the some of the threads and relationships formed in the previous volume of the title, the story functions beautifully on its own, taking you on a fun adventure while it builds in bits of mystery and tension. Then, there’s the Gwenpool back up story that… that really defies explanation. Just accept that the character exists (for reasons?) and strap in, because it’s a fun ride.

++ AFTERMATH
Yesterday I talked a bit about a some recent problems within comics journalism. Well, Heidi MacDonald has a great wrap up of the weekend’s events that goes a long way towards saying what really needs to be said.

++ STAY TUNED
Tomorrow is new comic book day, so I’m spending the night getting Yegs & Bacon ready, as well as reading some more number ones before the doors open at Variant Edition tomorrow. I can’t stress how important it is for a retailer to have a solid grasp on the stock that they carry. It’s infinitely more easy to connect products to people when you know the flavour of the contents.

Until next time…

Ethically Questionable

In which there will be much bellowing about the things that are happening.

++ EPHEMERA
I’m shamelessly pulling the style sheet of Warren Ellis’ great Orbital Operations newsletter for updates, because as always, Ellis knows how best to send out communications from dark hovels where no one can actually see or touch him.

Ellis’ life is a life goal – the ability to do projects and growl at humanity from hovels while generally being beloved. I am not doing the man justice in this description, but digging into the man would be a considerable post in and of itself.

burning-bridge

++ COMICS
This weekend had me thinking a lot about comics journalism and my place in the grist mill. As it stands, I do work for Comics Beat, and gladly so. It doesn’t pay, but that’s pretty much what I signed up for: a platform and the ability to retain the rights to all work produced, which suits my current purposes. For many people, that would not be ideal of feasible, and so the delicate dance of being a journalist in this industry, and finding sources of revenue begins. The biggest problem? Most of the money you’ll see comes either directly, or indirectly from publishers of comics. You can see where this might get a bit sticky ethically?

I feel a little sick about this phrasing, but ethics in comics journalism came up again this weekend when Hannah Means Shannon was announced as a new editor at Dark Horse Comics. Means Shannon used to be the editor-in-chief at a comics “journalism” site that I’m not naming here, lest the head honcho appear like a shitty vanity searching horror goblin, and through that outlet, may have participated in some slightly shady reporting. The Outhouse (the charmingly named site taking point on a lot of the back and forth) has a solid timeline of events listed at the end of this article, complete with a look at some leaked correspondence  that was released by the same party I refuse to name.

A lot of the side-discussion of this issue has many in the industry rolling their eyes as they talk in circles about the ways that comics journalism bathes in this kind of ethically questionable substance as though its occurrence makes it okay. I’m not exactly sure where I fall on this spectrum, but I do know that I’m bothered by the whole thing. I mean, is it really okay for comic companies to hold access and exclusives over various sites in exchange for puff? The site views and ad revenue will say yes, but my heart will always say no. Where does one draw the lines in this industry between love, integrity and money? At the end of the day, that’s something each of us has to come to terms with on our own. Honestly, I doubt the industry will ever change, but at the very least, the people inside of it can, and hopefully find what works best for them, whatever that means to any given person.

For my part, I’m considering a few different reactions to this. One of them might be a writing project. We’ll see if the time produces itself.

Seen & Heard in Edmonton

++ PODCASTS
This weekend, both Danica and I were featured on Karen Unland’s wonderful Seen and Heard in Edmonton podcast. The audio was recorded at the very first Edmonton Podcast Meet-Up that was held at Variant Edition, and despite having quite a few podcasts under our belts, we were still really nervous. You can almost definitely hear that in the audio. But hey, if you want to hear us talk about content creation and what that might mean for a business or community, definitely check it out.

++ SOMETHING DIFFERENT
The wonderful and effervescent Devin R. Bruce has another instalment of his regular This Column Has Seven Days column up at Variant Edition’s Something Different blog – this time talking about two different forms of Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice, amoung other things. 7 Days is always one of the pop culture highlights of my week as Devin routinely introduces me to amazing new things. I highly recommend you check it out.

++ STAY TUNED 

  • My plan to create 50,000 words worth of content will continue to run through the first… third? Of November before collapsing completely, so keep an eye out for that.
  • On Wednesday, I hope to be starting something quite exciting that will become even bigger in the new year. Hopefully. I’m going to need a lot of help to pull this off, but that’s kind of baked into the design. So let’s see if I can’t start that up sooner rather than later. More to come.

NoNaNo

It’s that wondrous time of year where brave groups of people band together in the sake of creativity and productivity to pound out 50,000 in just 30 days.

Every year, I consider doing this. Some years I do (and fail), most years I don’t (and fail through inactivity) – but I always try to hold myself to a similar challenge, which is this: attempt to produce 50,000 words in the month of November for all the projects I already ongoing. This year, that would include posts at places like here, Variant Edition, and Comics Beat, as well as work for a couple of super top secret places because I’m clearly not doing enough.

So once again, my Non-NaNoWriMo challenge. 50,000 words. I guess we start now.

Doctor Whooch // Episode 070 // Me, Myself and I

In which we don’t got nobody that we can depend on.

On this week’s episode, Danica and Brandon stumble through the hodgepodge of Doctor Who’s 6th episode of Series 9 – The Woman Who Lived. It’s a bit of a shambles, honestly but there’s also a fire breathing space lion king, so it’s not as though there wasn’t anything awesome to talk about. Oh, and also, there’s discussion of Once Upon A Time and The Mindy Project, because of course there is.

Outro music is “Did We Live Too Fast” by Got A Girl

Podcast picture is by GIRL NAMED SHIRL PHOTOGRAPHY

Subscribe to Doctor Whooch on iTunes

Doctor Whooch // Episode 069 // Majestic Buffalo Vodka

In which the secret ingredient is vodka.

On this week’s episode, Danica and Brandon are talking about the Series 9 episode “The Girl Who Died” (Episode 5) and the subject of jowls comes up. I guess. It was a long strange one. Also: lots of drinking! More talk about Once Upon A Time! And vikings! Not necessarily in that order.

Outro music is “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield

Podcast picture is by GIRL NAMED SHIRL PHOTOGRAPHY

Subscribe to Doctor Whooch on iTunes

Doctor Whooch // Episode 068 // Fistful of Pie

In which we totally know where Guinness comes from, you guys.

This week, Danica and Brandon talk about Before the Flood (Doctor Who Series 9 – Episode 4) and eat pumpkin pie, because it was totally Thanksgiving. And we gave thanks to alcohol. Also in this episode: some Buffy life tips, some disillusion talk, and uh… we’ve started our yearly binge of Once Upon a Time, so there’s that as well.

Fun!

Outro music is “Black Water” by Of Monsters and Men

Podcast picture is by GIRL NAMED SHIRL PHOTOGRAPHY

Morning Retail Thoughts // James Cameron’s Avatar Comics

Lots of comics retail thoughts brewing in my headspace these days, and not a lot of time to make full articles out of them. So? Occasional blog posts.

Whenever there’s a big comic convention, a lot of comic publishers like to unleash a few choice bits of news to ride at the top of the pop culture tidal wave – and this weekend’s New York Comic Con isn’t really different.

There’s been a lot of cool things announced so far (I’d keep an eye on my Twitter feed for some of the choice bits), but one of the biggest has been the news that Dark Horse will be cornering the Avatar comics market after nabbing a 10-year licensing deal for James Cameron’s Avatar series of movies. Naturally, the internet had some opinions – and so do I.

One thing that can’t be argued: this has the potential to be big. Whether you loved, hated or are indifferent to James Cameron’s Avatar, that movie was seen by a lot of people, and has become a part of the pop cultural landscape. The audience for this can, and should be ridiculously huge. The biggest problem the series faces? Marketing.

For all of the good product they put out, Dark Horse is pretty terrible at marketing. They announce books and completely discard any sense of marketing once the orders are in – and in some cases, they discard the marketing before that point. A new issue one came out from them this week. Can you name it? And what’s it about? I was surprised to see it in the shipment, and I order the damn things for a living and take special care to keep an eye out for new beginnings.

Honestly, a lot of Dark Horse’s books sell on the idea itself, and the creator’s ability to maintain and mobilize a fan base. Hellboy(which my autocorrect insists upon calling Shelby), Umbrella Academy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Avatar: The Last Airbender are all series that have fairly rabid and entrenched fans – and this has been cultivated by the creators, and how they’ve handled either the property as a brand, or themselves as a brand. Their success comes from people wanting to talk about the books, and not because there was any prompting from Dark Horse itself. It’s honestly why you’re seeing such a sizeable gap from what Star Wars is selling now at Marvel, and what Star Wars was selling under Dark Horse. Even with high profile books like The Star Wars, which adapted George Lucas’ original bonkers Star Wars script, the needle didn’t rage ping off the charts. The books were always good (Dark Horse books usually are), but the efforts always stop there.

If this new Avatar venture is to be successful, Dark Horse is going to have to dig in deep. They’re going to have to find some marketable names, and form a solid publication plan – but more than that, once they have that in place, they have to do a full court press on getting word out. Not just “look at who we have writing this, isn’t that cool?” They have Greg Rucka writing an upcoming Dragon Age book, and I’ve forgotten about it’s existence several times over – and I love Greg Rucka. And let me tell you: Marvel hasn’t offered me one opportunity to forget he’s writing a Star Wars tie-in right now. Both are properties I don’t normally care about otherwise. See the communication gap?

This could be huge. It could bring in a lot of eyes – but people need to be aware. And yes, it is my job as a retailer to make people aware, but it’s always hard when a publisher doesn’t make the effort to keep noise going and build interest.

And yes, there’s absolutely more to explain here, but work is about to start. Must go off and sell comics to the wonderful people.

Hey, did you know that Greg Rucka will be writing an upcoming Dragon Age book? That’s pretty cool.

Doctor Whooch // Episode 067 // We’re Probably Lucky We Aren’t Dead

In which Brandon and Danica are running on two (?) hours of sleep and then get drunk. Because… yeah. Yes.

Series 9 keeps rolling on, and we’re keeping up… mostly. It was a weekend of store events (including a 24 hour event) but there’s always time to get crunk and watch The Doctor pal around on a base. Nothing EVER goes wrong on bases, you guys. NOTHING.

Marvel as they don’t actually pass out. Tremble as we… as we actually really, really like Series 9. Because SERIES 9, you guys. So good.

Outro music is “All About The Bass” as interpreted by Scott Bradlee & The Postmodern Jukebox.

Podcast picture is by GIRL NAMED SHIRL PHOTOGRAPHY

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