While I’m not really interested in many of the books tied into the run-up to DC’s Infinite Crisis, I did read the interview with Greg Rucka in this week’s Comic Shop News. I’m still not interested in the event or whatever its consequences are for the tone of DC’s books (and nothing, but nothing makes me less enthusiastic about a comic than the knowledge that Dan DiDio is excited about it). But one thing Rucka said did get me thinking:

“The point all along, and we said this in that early interview — for God’s sake, let yourself be surprised. Enjoy the fact that on Wednesday a new issue of the story comes out. You don’t have to know how it’s all going to end to enjoy it. Not everybody needs a spoiler.”

Maybe it’s a little odd that this sentiment emerges in a fairly lengthy preview of an upcoming comic, but it’s still worth considering. It’s one of those subjects that raise more questions for me than conclusions of any sort, so I’ll just throw some of the questions out (and for the sake of discussion, “spoilers” can also be read as “detailed plot descriptions”):

Can surprise actually improve a comic? Does a lack of advanced knowledge about its contents increase the likelihood that you’ll enjoy it, just because you have fewer preconceptions (positive or negative) about what your response will be?

Is my fondness for manga at least partly due to the fact that I very rarely know precisely what I’m going to get from a given title, aside from maybe a short solicit in Previews or the teaser on the back cover? Is the un-distilled quality of the reading experience part of the pleasure?

If spoilers can constitute an obstacle to actually enjoying the work, why do so many creators give out so many of them? (You know those movie comic attractions that make you feel like you’ve already seen it? A lot of “preview interviews” give me that same feeling about comics.)

As a follow-up, why do those same creators who trade spoilers for promotional noise turn around and moan about someone else airing rumors or spoilers about upcoming plot developments? Is that just because these leaks – which often aren’t any more informative than what the publisher has provided – aren’t part of the official hype cycle?

How ingrained are spoilers in marketing strategies? Is it a given that a certain amount of plot material is going to have to be revealed to entice readers to buy it?

If it is, how did it get to that point? Which is the chicken and which is the egg, publishers feeling compelled to provide spoilers to lure readers, or readers becoming conditioned to expect them as part of the pitch?

How can a creator effectively straddle the line between teasing their work, giving away just enough information to make it enticing, and undermining at least part of the sense of discovery and surprise they wanted readers to have? Who’s particularly good at this sort of promotional chat?

Factoring in the potentially detrimental effect of spoilers, how can a reader balance that in the risk-return equation of comic fandom? With high comics prices and the often laborious process of tracking them down to buy them, how sensible is it to go in blind?

As I said, no answers, but sometimes when a number of questions swirl around my brain, it helps me to put them down on paper. Or blog.

Comic Book Resources has pieces on two of my favorite books.

Dave Richards chats with writer Marc Andreyko about Manhunter, one of DC’s more interesting (and sales-challenged) titles. Andreyko always gives good interview, and there are some nice sound bites in this one. There’s also this mildly provocative notion:

“‘Kate is a character who fills a void in the comics world, she is a flawed, intricate character who goes beyond the typical women in superhero comics,’ he said. ‘A lot of the things that people say make her ‘unlikable’ are traits that, if in a male character would be trumpeted. So, it has been fun to take the female archetype and toss it on its ear.'”

In the latest Calling Manga Island, Tony Salvaggio discovers that it’s never too late to fall in love with Planetes, which is probably the closest thing to a crossover hit manga has. Just more evidence that if you like comics and think you don’t like manga, there’s at least one title you might want to try.

So DC is dropping its Humanoids and 2000 AD lines of graphic novels. Those of you who respond to that announcement with “Huma-who?” and “2000 A-What?” can be excused, because DC hasn’t exactly piled on the hype for these books. Like Tom Spurgeon, I can’t actually recall seeing a copy a book from either line anywhere, ever.

But, sorry… moving back to “Huma-who” and “2000 A-What.” I would link to their sections on DC’s web site, but they’ve already been removed from the banner. I guess that can be considered “confirmation,” following up on the complete absence of solicitations for July. The housecleaning isn’t exactly complete, so here’s the old page on 2000 AD, and here’s the Humanoids entry.

Retailer and Savage Critic Brian Hibbs has weighed in on the lines’ failure, citing a deluge of perennial product sluiced onto shop owners who have to be very selective about how they’ll assign their shelf space.

As far as the marketing of these lines goes, it’s kind of hard to scrutinize something that existed in such small quantities, really. I find it difficult to believe that DC’s publicity machine, which is fully capable of convincing legitimate media outlets that their big event comics are actually anything out of the ordinary and are indicative of a new maturity and depth on comics storytelling, couldn’t get any traction. Half the newspapers in the world were talking about the surge of comics from Japan; couldn’t anyone convince one or two of them to do a sidebar on comics from Europe? I’ll even give you a hook, ripe for overuse: “Not just Tintin!”

I find myself very interested in Johanna Draper Carlson’s question, “what does this mean, if anything, for the CMX manga line?”

My initial response is that it’s an apples and oranges kind of situation. The two dropped lines focused on product that would probably be very rewarding for a niche audience and might have made a bit of a dent in the bookstore market with more of a concentrated effort in that area. CMX has set out after the manga audience, which is much larger than the comics audience, gets its fix in a much wider range of venues, and seems more inclined to try titles on a whim (perhaps partly because of the lower price point).

But it does lead one to wonder what exactly DC is doing to put CMX on the map. In the ongoing slurry of manga coverage in mainstream media outlets, DC’s efforts rarely if ever make even a blip on the radar. The only attention the titles have received at all certainly wasn’t because of any promotional efforts on DC’s part. In fact, I have yet to see any response from the publisher on the Tenjho Tenge situation.

That’s probably smart on DC’s part, because outrage over those publishing choices was niche outrage. That isn’t a comment on the legitimacy of anyone’s objections; it’s just an observation that internet fandom is only a very small piece of the pie. A dedicated, extremely well-informed piece of the pie, but small all the same. If that segment was indicative of the whole picture, Countdown would be screaming towards the quarter bins instead of going for a marked-up second printing.

The question remains, though, as to what exactly DC is doing to distinguish CMX as a brand? Because it seems like they’re basically throwing the titles out there with the presumption that they’re manga, so they’ll sell, because manga sells. While manga is a lucrative market, it’s obviously still a competitive one, and publishers like Viz, Tokyopop, Del Rey, and others all market themselves fairly rigorously. They aren’t acting like publishing manga is like printing money.

So it’s good to wonder if DC’s half-hearted efforts with Humanoids and 2000 AD are reflected in their approach to CMX. I would theorize, but the CMX line has never really clicked for me. While I think they’ve assembled a reasonable enough cross-section of genres and styles, the quality of the individual titles hasn’t exactly grabbed me to the degree that I care one way or another if they sink or swim. And that’s a problem in and of itself.

Oh, get your minds out of the gutter. I’m talking about the week in comics.

Seven issues in to an eight-issue series, it would be a little odd to say, “If you haven’t been reading Adam Strange, pick it up!” Unless of course your shop has copies of the previous six issues, which seems pretty unlikely. Otherwise, repent by picking up the trade (should one ever be solicited).

Gotham Central 30 seems to be cribbing even more shamelessly from Silence of the Lambs than they did last time, but since every Flash villain is now a deeply disturbed psychopath instead of a clever, profit-driven gimmick villain, why shouldn’t Dr. Alchemy be allowed to go all “quid pro quo“? Do you hear the lambs, Renee?

If you were misguided enough to pass on Marvel’s She-Hulk during its run as a monthly, you can atone for that by picking up the second collection, Superhuman Law. And if lots of you buy it, it will only help cement the monthly’s return down the road. Don’t make me resort to pleading puppy faces. It’s not pretty.

And that’s looking like it. Whee! Solvency!

While I’ll miss Kevin Melrose’s invaluable blog, Thought Balloons, I’m really looking forward to his offerings on Dark, But Shining, which he describes as “a group blog dedicated to reviews, essays and the like.”

Two of my favorite blogs have new looks. Love Manga has shaken off the Blogger yoke in favor of a nice, new layout. (While you’re there, make sure and read David Taylor’s thoughts on the cover of Shojo Beat.) And comics.212.net has assumed an appealingly springy palate. (There’s also a great entry on the value of negativity.)

Oh, and Spatula Forum has modified the entry procedure for its Jay’s Days Contest. Click here for details.

While there was lots of outdoor activity over the weekend, I’m happy to say it wasn’t all toil. I spent plenty of time sitting on my ass doing inconsequential things.

I went on a mini manga binge, picking up first volumes of Negima and Wallflower. Laden as it is with fan service, I feel like I shouldn’t have enjoyed Negima, but darned if it didn’t sneak under my critical defenses. I’ll have to figure out precisely why that is, won’t I? Wallflower was reasonably entertaining, too, though I can’t say I’ve been sitting on the edge of my chair waiting for the comic bold enough to feature frequent projectile nosebleeds.

Freedom Force vs. the 3rd Reich had completely fallen off my geek radar, so it was nice to see it at the game shop. Unfortunately, I apparently need to download some new video driver thingie for it to play properly, which is kind of annoying. I just want to load the game and play the game, y’know? I don’t feel like I should have to take night courses at ITT Tech to zap super-villains and their henchmen.

Is it just me, or was last night’s Desperate Housewives the weakest episode so far? Almost everyone was just so annoying, particularly Lynette, who has gone from amusingly frazzled to downright unpleasant. (And those kids… god. Enough, already!) I’ve always been very fond of Lesley Ann Warren and her aging-ditz routine, but she didn’t work in this context, and the sooner she leaves, the better. The whole tone of the episode seemed to be off, without sufficient humor or irony to balance out the darker elements. (This excludes the brilliant Harriet Sansom Harris, who brings just the right balance of absurdity and menace to her role. Love her. Oh, and it excludes Marcia Cross, too, because she’s awesome.)

Oh, and I wrote another column.

A meme found at The Low Road. Must… resist… Can’t… resist…

TEN random things about me:

1. I was once one of the best young clarinettists in Ohio. Too bad I hated playing the damned thing.
2. I acted a lot in college, particularly in musicals. That made no sense, as I really can’t sing very well.
3. My first car was one of those Ford Pintos that blew up in a rear-end collision. I can’t remember if my family ever took it in for the recall work.
4. I’m the youngest of seven children.
5. I used to be terrified of dogs, mostly because I had a paper route and there were some territorial little beasts in my neighborhood.
6. My first major in college was secondary education, in spite of the fact that I thought high school was miserable and couldn’t wait to be done with it. I changed my major after my very first classroom observation freshman year.
7. I’m actually an award-winning journalist, though the award came from one of the worst newspaper conglomerates in North America.
8. I make a damned fine molten chocolate cake, and it’s a really easy recipe.
9. I absolutely hate it when people are rude to waiters, cashiers, and bank tellers.
10. I sometimes wonder if I should be alarmed that my chest hair keeps coming in, decades after puberty.

NINE places I’ve visited:

1. New Orleans. Love it.
2. London, while my sister lived there.
3. Paris, during the visit to London, carrying a stroller up and down the subway escalators.
4. The Grand Canyon.
5. Zion National Park, one of my favorite places on earth.
6. Las Vegas, which is the right kind of tacky, for my money.
7. Orlando, which is the wrong kind of tacky, for my money.
8. Key West, where they just don’t give a damn, bless them.
9. Chicago, though not for a comics convention, thankfully.

EIGHT things I want to achieve in life:

1. To help my pets live as long and happy a life as possible.
2. To publish a series of smutty, gay romance novels under an assumed name.
3. To figure out what I want to be when I grow up.
4. To reconcile my need for financial security with my lack of ambition.
5. To soften my judgemental streak a bit.
6. To take an intensive culinary course somewhere cool, like Tuscany.
7. To expand my musical horizons.
8. To develop better goal-setting skills.

SEVEN ways to win my heart:

1. Tell me I’m funny.
2. Get stupid over your pets.
3. Make me laugh.
4. Know where to get really good Thai food.
5. Have an opinion on which recording of Follies is better.
6. Like walking.
7. Confess to your underlying misanthropy.

SIX things I believe:

1. Pre-packed peanut butter sandwiches are a sign of the end times.
2. Hummers (the cars) are ridiculous.
3. Commercials in movie theatres are an appalling intrusion.
4. People are generally annoying.
5. West Virginia should be more walkable.
6. When you’re on vacation, you should do something you wouldn’t normally do every day.

FIVE things I’m afraid of:

1. Heights.
2. The Bush administration.
3. Driving in Massachusetts.
4. Knives.
5. Popular teens.

FOUR of my favorite things:

1. Dogs.
2. Cats.
3. Travel.
4. Books.

THREE things I do every day:

1. Take care of my pets.
2. Watch TV.
3. Tell my partner I love him.

TWO things I’m not trying to do right now:

1. Get too annoyed by work.
2. Eat everything I see.

ONE person I want to see right now:

1. My nephew. The cool one.

I just don’t feel like thinking about comics today. It’s too pretty out, and I had too much fun out in the yard. So, without further ado, here are Ten Things Dave Likes About Gardening:

1. I would rather spend three hours sweating in the hot sun than five minutes at the gym.
2. Strange and unexpected things happen. Volunteer plants show up from seeds that self-sowed last year. Flowers hybridize.
3. It’s the only purpose that makes a trip to Lowe’s tolerable.
4. It gives me an excuse to buy more books and magazines about gardening.
5. The dogs always feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment, even though they usually just sit under a tree and watch us. I’m not going to contradict them, though.
6. More plants in the yard equal more birds. More birds in the yard equal kitties sitting at windows trying to look menacing. Kitties (ours, at least) trying to look menacing equal hilarity.
7. It gives me a chance to become better acquainted with neighbor dogs out for walks. Once I was planting bulbs and Sarah from down the street, who looks like a German shepherd shrunk to the size of a Chihuahua, climbed into my lap. I think dogs instinctively like people better when we’re sweaty and dirty.
8. It helps me shed the winter chunk, which is always at its peak right around now.
9. Conversely, working in the yard for a long time always makes us feel justified in having something really junky for dinner.
10. It’s an essentially optimistic act, and those are always nice.

O’Grady, one of my favorite shows, is finally back with some new episodes on The N. (It airs at 9:30 p.m. EST.)

For those of you who haven’t seen it, it takes place in a town where random, quasi-supernatural effects make high school even more of a burden than it normally is. Some memorable episodes have featured short-term memory loss, visible (and painfully honest) thought balloons, and random manetization.

As funny as the situations are, they wouldn’t hold up nearly as well without the endearing characters, terrific voice work, and conversational, almost improvisational scripts. It’s from some of the same people who created the equally hilarious Home Movies, which can be seen in Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim line-up.

Watching O’Grady does kind of make me crave TiVo, though, as I would really love to zap many of The N’s millions of commercials out of existence forever and ever.

H at The Comic Treadmill offers up a spirited defense of The Flash and, by extension, the writing of Geoff Johns:

“Although I’m capable of understanding that there can be differences of opinion on writers, I can’t fathom how someone who otherwise likes super hero comics could have such a strong negative feeling about Johns.”

I initially enjoyed a lot of Johns’ work on titles like The Flash, Hawkman and JSA, but it’s been a case of diminishing returns over the last year or two. I think I can put it down to what I find to be a discordant approach to storytelling, mixing an unflinchingly nostalgic vibe with excessive violence and depressing plot twists.

It’s clear that Johns loves superheroes and superhero comics, so I certainly can’t accuse him of the tinny insincerity that nags at me in the work of, say, Judd Winick and Mark Millar. But I think his work, like that of Devin Grayson, almost veers into the realm of fan fiction. I’m reminded of one of Lea Hernandez’s ways to hurt comics:

“When you think ‘by fans, for fans’ is a big old RUN AWAY SCREAMING signal: you’re hurting comics.”

And that’s the point I’ve reached with Johns. He seems like a hell of a nice guy, and he’s genuinely enthusiastic about the genre, but his work just isn’t to my liking.

All things being a matter of taste, I can’t really take issue with much of what H is saying in this piece. The work of a given writer either works for you, or it doesn’t. But there is one thing H cites as a strength of Johns (his handling of the Rogues) that I really have to disagree with:

“Once again, in the course of one issue, Heat Wave is another character that Johns has rescued from second-string “bwah-ha-ha” status and made into a formidable menace.”

I don’t know if Johns is so much making them “formidable menaces” as he’s making them “uniformly unstable and brutal.” Johns seems to feel the need to make all of the Rogues suffer from some profound emotional disturbance and to suggest that they always have. There’s nothing inherently wrong with giving clever gimmick villains some depth (like John Ostrander did routinely in Suicide Squad and Kurt Busiek did with Thunderbolts), but Johns seems to have mistaken cookie-cutter instability for layers. (It’s kind of like when Peter David made Genis insane in Captain Marvel. Genis was still the least interesting character in the book, complete unpredictability aside.) By the time all is said and done, Flash will need to open up his own Arkham Asylum for all of these vicious nut jobs.

It all makes me wonder about the use of “dark” as a descriptor for comics. More and more, it’s being used as a synonym for “depressing,” and that’s legitimate enough as usage goes. But it’s not the only application of the term, and it certainly isn’t my favorite. I’ve enjoyed plenty of “dark” comics over the years, and I continue to do so. (I would classify Gotham Central, Sleeper, Fallen Angel, much of Ed Brubaker’s Catwoman and perhaps his Captain America, early bits of Brian Bendis’ Daredevil, Alias, Manhunter, and several others to fall into the “dark” category.)

But while all of those comics have or had sustained undertones of menace and settings and characters that lent themselves to darker material, they’re all dark in the sense that they take a more challenging, complex approach to a world of violence and threat. There’s nothing particularly mature or innovative about the way Johns or much of the rest of DC’s stable of writers are making their comics darker. They’re just wedging in miscarriages and insanity and brutality and whatever else without really placing them in any kind of logical context or with any kind of tonal fit. It sticks out like a sore thumb, more like shock for its own sake than part of a sustained narrative.

Speaking of Flash villains and insanity, if anyone is feeling nostalgic for The Silence of the Lambs, check out the preview pages for the next Gotham Central, which lifts a Clarice/Lecter exchange whole. What’s that about?