Comic Reviews by Walt

I don’t mind new logos occasionally. Change can be good, but it is not–by default, by its very nature–absolutely a good thing.

Last week it got out (and was already implemented on various online sources) that at least for the comics side, DC’s going with a  “new” retro-style simplistic logo…less than 5 years after moving to the peeled-sticker logo several months INTO the New 52. So at least this time, they’re timing the logo with the sharp new direction of the comics. But even that logo had been seemingly “too soon” after they’d just changed their logo six years prior. At this point, we’ve got 3 new logos for 11 years, after they stuck with one logo for some 25 or so years (I don’t feel like looking up/verifying exact numbers).

At this point, I don’t care too much what logo they use on the covers of single issues..but having over the past 10-11 months significantly ramped up my purchasing of new collected editions they’ve been pumping out, I’m very concerned about the spine design on the books…especially with the mix of blue bar at the bottom and just having the peeled-sticker logo. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

I’ve–thus far–thankfully managed to avoid actual spoilers from “leaks” involving the whole Rebirth thing. And while I have done so, the fact that they’re out there being made such a big deal of is flat-out annoying to me.

I would imagine that much of the world does NOT know “the Wednesday schedule” nor really give a darn about it…that’s a thing for “regular ongoing comics people.” To everyone else not “in the know” or “up” on comics, they see something online about a specific issue or story, and they reach out to the “comics person” in their life or some sort of comics retailer they can contact…but it’s my observation that in that, they “assume” the story is already out, that it’s readily available “right now this instant.”

Not reading something days or a week ahead of product hitting shelves that they have to wait for. Similarly, while I appreciate publishers wanting to drum up attention, I cannot imagine they’re ACTUALLY doing retailers any good springing some major news story in general media, even if the information IS embargoed and actually held until “Wednesday morning day of release,” as they suddenly flood retailers with “outsiders” intent solely on one “collectible” issue (STILL thinking that ANY comic more than a day old MUST be “worth something”).

Without getting into stuff about pull lists and such, I’ll just say that I find it incredibly annoying to hear of retailers “selling out” of something day-of to a bunch of “outsiders” prior to their “regulars” even having a chance to get something (or hear what’s actually going on, if they’re intently avoiding spoilers!). As such, all this makes me a bit nervous for Wednesday, or “anxious,” in a way that is not a “warm fuzzy” or “pleasant” feeling at all.

And I’ll say as I have with movie trailers supposedly “leaked” online: it’s NOT LEAKED when the publisher/studio/creator WANTS the attention, and WHY pay for tv spots and theatrical space when they can simply “leak” something and get hype drummed up as the supposed “forbidden fruit” that is all the more enticing because people think they’re getting to see something privileged, that they HAVE TO SEE right away or risk not being able to, that gives them some secret insight the originator would prefer they not?

Leaked. They keep using that word…but I don’t think it means what they think it means.

Scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed Monday, I saw a photo of a very interesting looking box/packaging, apparently for some new Ninja Turtles toys/box set based on the classic Arcade Game. But just as my curiosity was up, and I was highly interested and already contemplating cost and weighing pros/cons of financial expenditure, I saw the dreaded words: SDCC Exclusive.

At this point, I will just flat-out say it: I hate Comic Con. I hate SDCC, I hate NYCC, and I absolutely LOATHE so-called “convention exclusives,” particularly of the toy variety. Especially in this day and age of Kickstarter and general crowdfunding for stuff that otherwise wouldn’t be financially viable…if you’re going to do a product, at least make it something “everyone” can get, instead of forcing one to pay astronomically inflated prices second hand or pay small fortunes and all the other hassles of going cross country to some “major convention” just to be able to acquire something that you’re ALREADY PRODUCING FOR MONEY and they’d be WILLING to–y’know–GIVE YOU MONEY FOR THE PRODUCT.

Kickstart it, crowdfund it, take non-refundable pre-orders, whatever. But while SOME might find it “fun” and “enjoyable” and sure, it “rewards” those who DO go to the cons (but when con tickets sell out in less than five minutes, who actually GETS TO get tickets and go, anyway, except the scalpers/etc?)…I just find it extremely off-putting and annoying and frustrating.

All the more because it’s these con-exclusives that are HYPED. That GET the ATTENTION. If it’s something that’s just simply AVAILABLE…yeah, fine, hype the heck out of it, get all the sales you can.

But when you’re making only 1500 of the ting for a con three thousand miles away that six weeks out it’s forty weeks after any chance of having bought a ticket to begin with…save that crap for the con catalog or such! It just makes me NOT want to deal with your product line PERIOD, rather than raise enthusiasm and interest.

Despite just suggesting above to Kickstart something…it really radically turns me off to games and such when the actual, very content of the item is drastically affected by one not purchasing through Kickstarter campaigns.

I can appreciate wanting to reward “backers” and give them goodies for supporting your product at this stage before it’s even produced and released for general purchase.

But take a miniatures game (such as IDW and their upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles board game) and have a slew of character pieces that are ONLY available to the “backers,” and that tells me straight up already that since I “missed out” on that, if I purchase the game at all now, I will be purchasing something the publisher is making INTENTIONALLY INFERIOR. By excluding game pieces and character pieces from the “general release,” it’s saying that it’s just some leftovers, and for the actual, cool, interesting stuff, well, tough on you for not pre-purchasing through the crowdfunding campaign.

Why should I spend $60-80+ on something when I know darned well (because it’s part of all the online hype/”news” about the game at all) that many minis will not be in the final release? Totally turns me off to the product at all, which in turn means that I won’t buy it, I won’t convince friends to buy it, I won’t hype it up (in any positive fashion) and any word of mouth is then lessened. (And rather than talking positively of it here, if this somehow finds its way into search results, it’s just a negative comment rather than more positive).

I guess that’s about it for now…a bit of catharsis on several things on my mind coming out of the weekend.

By the time this is read, we’ll be a day or so from Rebirth; and if you’re going to one of the “midnight release” events, that much sooner. This week also sees–I believe–the final issues of New 52 Superman with its 52nd issue, concluding The Final Days of Superman. We also get the 8th and final issue of Superman: Lois and Clark (since they’re moving over to the “main” title(s)”), as well as the Rebirth 80-page one-shot for $2.99 that kicks off the whole new shebang.

Filed under: 2016 Non-Review posts, 2016 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: Convention Exclusives, DC, DC Comics, DC Comics Logo, DC logo, DC Rebirth, IDW, Kickstarter, new logo, NYCC, Rebirth leaks, Rebirth spoilers, SDCC, Shadows of the Past, TMNT |