I think they're just missing the point.

I'm a bit, as you probably know, of a comics fan. I like the graphic novels. I'm semi-regular at at least 3 shops, none of which is very convenient to me. Milton is a crap-tastique place to be a comics fan, as the local shop has a strange air of "please do not disturb us with your commerce". The local store seems to have occasional comics (and an attitude that being open after 5:00 on Wednesdays happens to other people).

To be honest, I don't know what their income streams are. It can't be comics, the toys seem to have taken up permanent residence, and everytime I go in I can never find anyone to assist me by telling me if, oh, they'll be having the new HeroClix expansion, or if they have any SW CMG figs in stock. It's probably just a tax writeoff for Tiger Jeet Singh.

So, I visit a few out of town shops, a couple in Miss (one that has my pull pile) and Dragon Lady in TO (a great store that has the benefit of being close to my Thursday game). Like everyone else, I'm finding that trades are a good way to go.

But there's one thing I just don't like. It's the new Essentials and Showcase TPBs from Marvel & DC. What they're doing is they're, essentially, printing their own versions of the Cerebrus phone books, big black and white compilations of extended comic book stories. The problem? Cerebrus was originally in B&W, while their books are originally colour. B&W is a fine medium all on its own, but taking colour out of something is just as bad as putting it into something where it didn’t belong.

I mean, sure, you get to enjoy the narrative and the art, but the superhero genre tends to be a colour intensive one. Stripping that out, well, it just upsets me. I mean. black and white Metamorpho? Sure, he's the most abused character in DC (no Heroclix fig? WTF?) but his entire shtick is he's four different colours. Not white, black, grey & grey. Can you imagine a story set in Arcade's Murderworld in B&W? Just wrong, except for the rooms that were just black and white squares. That would work. Alpha Flight in B&W? Ich. Hell, imagine silver age Batman stories in B&W. The modern stuff, that would work, but back in the day they used colour.

Hell, anyone who puts Kirby in B&W deserves twenty lashes.

Perfunctory personal update

Busy week, eh? Took a health day on Wednesday to go for a Dr’s appt & a dental cleaning. Both of which were fun experiences, in the ‘not’ sense of the word. I was supposed to go for another blood test (something is still ‘off’, so I’m still in no liquor land), but after no breakfast and then another two hours to the end of my dental appointment, it was mid afternoon and I was too damn hungry to sit in a waiting room for another two hours.

Since Thursday game was called off, went to see Serenity with Cynra & Valerie last night. Still enjoyable, and watched for many different things (Mal’s “Guess we gotta innoc before we land”, Jayne’s hat, etc). Good film, will definitely get it when the DVD’s out. Seems a shame Universal decided to play all sorts of reindeer games with promotion (Hey, we'll get the FANS to publicize it!), instead of handling it properly.

Jackson’s King Kong looks good. It’s been a queen’s age since I saw either of the previous versions, so I don’t really recall, but were either of them close to 3 hours long? The trailer seems to indicate that the majority of the film takes place on Candy Apple Island, too. Except for the openning (all Black, baby!) and a car toss. And that lovely picture papajoemambo had in his lj a couple days ago.

Getting prepped for Halo 2 tomorrow. We’ll be operating on two TVs for the first hour and a bit, but that’s fine. I figure for dinner entertainment we’ll watch the first episode of Lost.

Still don’t know where I can acquire a small Guy Fawkes effigy, much less some firecrackers.