WWC 7-6-09 "Wednesday Comics"

[Kiryu]

I enjoyed this weeks article mostly because I share's Tim's enthusiasm for Wednesday Comics. Mostly due to #1 on his list, and that's because it changes the rules. And it is changing them with style. I feel innovation should be rewarded especially when it's paired with A-List creative teams like the line-up assembled for Wednesday Comics. It's nothing short of completely stellar.

Even Warren Ellis, who is not one to really talk up Superhero stuff, even the superhero stuff he's writing, has blogged about Wednesday Comics and praised it's innovation in that Ellis-way.

But I really don't feel like it's going to be a smash hit, which is a damn shame. The collectible aspect Tim mentioned is one half, but I really think a lot of the general DC readers are going to be turned off by the fact that this isn't "in-continuity". Perusing GeoffJohns' forum and others and the reaction when that bit was announced was very cold. Pairing that with with a new and scary format and high pricing seems to me like stacking the odds.

Not to mention that pretty soon there will be a Blackest Night book every week for the duration of the event.

But nonetheless, I am excited. And lucky for me I found a new LCS I can hit on the way home from work. Hopefully DC whores the hell out of this book at SDCC.

[superfriend]

Just the sheer mention of Paul Pope's name sends me into gleeful fits and guys like Gaiman and Baker ain't slouches either. It goes without saying that this is a no-brainer for me content-wise. Projects like Bizaro Comics, Bizarro World and Solo (I had my issues hardbound) are a boon and I hope exhibit my bonafides when I say: The killer here is the format choice.

Priced like an experimental art project, packaged like a disposable commodity. To be fair, I don't even read newspapers in their quaint, vintage format anymore. So for the first run of this material it's a big miss when it comes to aligning with my format needs--which happen to be pretty utilitarian, I think.

So with Didio mentioning a possible collected edition, I'm left to wait and see on this. I've long since become a casual buyer only going to a comic outlet once every few weeks and typically investing in my favorite comic stories in more durable, substantive formats for bargain prices (although I put a premium on this material it is not, in my opinion, entirely cost prohibitive). I would buy a collection regardless of price.

[stpatrick67]

I think Wednesdays Comics is a good idea, but I find it interesting that the heroes chosen for the stories are almost the same as those that appeared in Action Comics Weekly at one time or another. Not to mention that both Superman and Batman have stories. I think it would be cool to have a Firestorm story by Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom or a one page weekly story of the Titans by George Perez or Blue Devil/Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) story in the tradition of Green Arrow/Green Lantern. DC has a wealth of heroes to choose from for doing out of continuity or even in continuity for some of their B and C type heroes. I realize many writers/artists have their favorite hero and look for projects where they can do something with them, but 52 proved you can do a weekly book without having a big gun hero with big writers associated with it so why not continue this with Wednesdays Comics?

[stpatrick67]

I think Wednesdays Comics is a good idea, but I find it interesting that the heroes chosen for the stories are almost the same as those that appeared in Action Comics Weekly at one time or another. Not to mention that both Superman and Batman have stories. I think it would be cool to have a Firestorm story by Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom or a one page weekly story of the Titans by George Perez or Blue Devil/Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) story in the tradition of Green Arrow/Green Lantern. DC has a wealth of heroes to choose from for doing out of continuity or even in continuity for some of their B and C type heroes. I realize many writers/artists have their favorite hero and look for projects where they can do something with them, but 52 proved you can do a weekly book without having a big gun hero with big writers associated with it so why not continue this with Wednesdays Comics?

[rev sully]

This looks so enticing! But I'm not the same kinda buyer I was in the past. I go to the the FunnyBook Bodega once a month now, not every Wednesday for a fresh stack like I used to in the free-wheelin Dubya Years. ^_~
Listen: I loved FIFTY-TWO. That was great. I'm totally gonna go back and read it again. There's a lot to it. I love Rip Hunter's blackboards all over the DCU but iDigress...
So Wednesday Comics though. If it had a SANDMAN weekly by Gaiman...Metamorpho does nothing for me, sorry Rex!!! I'm temped for the Azzarello/Risso BATMAN and the cool-looking GREEN LANTERN and FLASH. I have to say officially "I Dunno". If 1-4 is there and then 5-8...well I could get hooked for an extra $16/month. I'd be down for KAMANDI too. CN's BATMAN: BRAVE & THE BOLD has done such a great job with Kamandi and I fell wickid primed to enjoy something like that. Dave Gibbons is a pretty good Sci-Fi writer to boot...I value his contribution to INFINITE CRISIS with the RANN/THANAGAR WAR mini AND moreso its SPECIAL #1 (death of Jade/rebirth of Ion). That's great HAWKMAN stuff and ADAM STRANGE. I'm also proud to say that my next tattoo is a Dave Gibbons panel from WATCHMEN so I think he's "wickid pissah".
Next week is my turn to afford a day at the FunnyBook Bodega where a $20 Sinestro Corps Tee (yellow version, already got the black one) awaits. Let's see what ends up in the stack competing with...ahem..MY LAST EVENT COMIC. BLACKEST NIGHT will be my last Event Comics and will close out my DCU CRISIS Longbox. So I got all the GREEN LANTERN and GL COPRS plus the #1-3 SPECIALS BATMAN, SUPERMAN & TITANS. Black Lantern Titans interest me. And Black Lantern Earth-2 Superman...I love that character and I can't wait to see what's next.
So all this stands in my way of WEDNESDAY COMICS. Heck, I would read it on the train on the way to work. It's a great gimmick. I'm pretty burned out on continuity anyway...I mean I dropped my beloved AMAZING SPIDER-MAN about SINS PAST. But I always...ALWAYS have room for something new and awesome. And I do love these DC Superheroes...you should see all the tee-shirts I got. heh!

crea shaakti,
Rev. Sully
http://www.thechannelocho.blogspot.com/

Eric O'Sullivan
Boston, MA

[rev sully]

OK...I bought the frakkin' Wednesday Funnies.

I haven't even read it yet...waiting to read it on the Subway tomorrow
to see what kind of looks I get. In the end, I bought it for the GREEN LANTERN stories. Hey, which Lantern Corps tee should I wear? The only ones I don't have are Green (had 2, never drop them off at the laundromat, but iDigress...) and Star Sapphire.

I like fun. And I like freedom from continuity as well. Some of my favorite things are the animated shows, which eventually gain continuity nonetheless are free of the burden and chock full of reference to it! Like BATMAN: BRAVE & BOLD and SPEC. SPIDER-MAN. In hindsight, the X-Men cartoons are pretty cool...a new X-Men team for every generation without having to worry about continuity because of different producers & art style and networks!

So...Wednesday Funnies. OK...I got all of FIFTY-TWO and COUNTDOWN...I skipped TRINITY...Will Didio go 3-for-4 at the Plate versus this Right-Hander?

[rev sully]

And Callahan!
Sound off if you think it's notable but whatcha think about the $3.99 price.
REGARDLESS!!!...of content...it's still a glorified newspaper. Weren't Japanese Manga such as Shonen Jump (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shonen_Jump) cheap enough because they were b&w and usually on different colored sheets of newsprint quality paper, and kinda-phonebook thick! I remember buying a few in my first real Anime Phase, but iDigress...
But I mean how much and how thick is a copy of Weekly Jump in Japan? Versus the $3.99 for Wednesday Comics (and $2.99 for 52 and COUNTDOWN). I'm desperately trying to RTFM the answer for the cost of a Weekly Jump and how much content it has. I remember the Month;y Shonen Jump being HUGE! And packed! But I mean, what's this week's Weekly Jump cost in USD? And how thick is it? I can RTFM great data such as its circulation...6 million in mid 1990s but currently about 2.7 million.

The Wednesday Funnies are already in its slipbag and in my ManPurse awaiting tomorrows commute. I know the cost versus value of comics...I'm not a collector, I'm an accumulator of magazines! But to compare two weekly publications...hmmm....as of today, what's the cover price of a Weekly Jump and plug that Yen into a Dollars Converter...I must hustle this down!!! (when I get "too smaht" for the rabble, I blame it on the amount of BATMAN funnybooks I read and deductive reasoning)

[TimothyCallahan]

It's the best value American comic book of the week. $3.99 for the equivalent of 64 comic book-size pages.

By some of the best guys and gals in the business.

People complain about the price of THIS?

[rev sully]

It's a little tough to get back into pristine shape once read...I read it twice and I think I folded it kinda fuuny.
What a hoot! Great stuff...still got a little to go. I actually missed a stop on the Subway yesterday (it was Green Lantern #42) so I was extra cautious looking up. The Teen Titans was...OK. Metal Men was cute. The Wonder Woman was confounding. Metamorpho was actually quite nice and what great art, indeed! Batman makes me wanna go back and restart 100 Bullets...I always loved the way Risso draws hips & lips on a gal but iDigress...
I haven't gotten to Hawkman yet but lemme tell you...I grew up reading SGT. ROCK...and Haunted Tank and Unknown Soldier. My uncle Eddie read the DC war comics of the 1970s. Sgt. Rock was alright. I know there have been recent runs but I never touched it. Adam Strange by Pope...that was sexy. Deadman was pretty good. Supergirl...cute. I love Amanda Connor's take on her. But the Flash...eh. Green Lantern though...seeing Pieface and Carol walk into the bar like that...iconic. I'm a huge GL fan and that "New Frontier"-inspired, timeless feel of California and surf music, westerns on TV and Gemini Astronaunts...great. So worth the money...sure. The prices are going up to $3.99 anyway soon 'nuff.

[rev sully]

I'm reading it again...and I really dig the FLASH story this time around. OK...I'm a huge FLASH fan. I read the "Wally" volume twice...it's awesome and I love it. But I'm a Silver Age kinda kid. I think the Silver Age ended in '82 when Reagan did the Shortcake but right before that, in 1980 when Flash killed Prof. Zoom. So this time I'm reading the WEDNESDAY COMICS for the 1st time and I see Grodd. I'm so judgmental...so I think I tuned it out a bit. But the Lichtenstein feel to the penultimate panel of IRIS WEST is OUT OF THIS WORLD!!! Wow! Great stuff.
Mike Allred's Sapphire Stagg? hawt stuff. Real Jessica Rabbit thing going on...
I love the Catwoman & the Demon...looking forward to brimstone rhyme, to sate this wickid comicsfan, the Cat does warrant adventure time! and with the Demon ETRIGAN!!! I love Demon stories...I someday want to see a Garth Ennis Demon run...sigh...
HAWKMAN was OK...I look forward to what's next. I loved the SHADOW...most underrated funnybook EVER!!! Yo Kyle Baker!!! This would be a great place to revisit that Prestige Format pre-Vertigo awesomeness...in the WEDNESDAY COMICS, VOL. 2!!! II have to re-find that run. I've bought it once and lost it...it's time to hustle down some backbins because lord knows there will never be a Trade Paperback

PS...I'm giving it away to a friend tonight. He's writing a screenplay and I want him to think in iconic archetypes and storyboards...I'll get myself a pristine #1 to Butterfly Jar, eh? I'll give him permission to roll it up and stuff it in his back pocket (with a "skin" on it!!!).

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

Hey Tim,

I agree a lot with your comments in the review of Wednesday Comics #3 - the good one's keep getting better, and the divide between them and the others is growing.
That said one I think you may have overlooked/sold short (although you didn't really comment on it) is Deadman.
I didn't like the first part - the cliff hanger just seemed a bit generic - but since then (and in re-reads) it's really grown on me, and is one of the one's I look forward to.
Every part, like the Batman strip, has felt like a complete chapter, and it's kept moving.
I find it particularly impressive as the creative teams names don't ring any bells for me.