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Topic: All Star Batman and Robin #10 Trouble (Topic Closed Topic Closed) Post ReplyPost New Topic
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Ted Pugliese
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Posted: September 13 2008 at 3:18pm | IP Logged | 1  

There should never be a superhero comic book with scenes of "talking heads."

Don't generalize, Chad.  John Byrne does 'talking heads' very well, and without backgrounds.  Wish others knew how to do it properly, i.e. to help tell a story.
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Brian Miller
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Posted: September 13 2008 at 3:40pm | IP Logged | 2  

I mean the can go out and buy the exact same graphic novel they read
from the library.

***************

Ah. Gotcha.

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Paul Kimball
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Posted: September 13 2008 at 4:01pm | IP Logged | 3  

Reading at the library has led me to give books a chance that I never
would've at current prices and has in turn led to future purchases at the lcs
once I'm interested.

As far as "talking heads", for me that's a generalization that doesn't affect
me. A good story comic or otherwise may be all talking heads or 98%
explosions, it depends on the storyteller's skills. There a lot of things wrong
with current comics but too much well-written dialogue is not one of them.
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Lars Sandmark
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Posted: September 13 2008 at 4:10pm | IP Logged | 4  

The main problem with the trades at my local library
is that they only have copies of garbage.
Without naming any (UltimateXmen) the general public thinking they should pick one out are only going to be introduced to lousy examples of the current fare.
Essentials and Showcase are good for potential new readers,
but then if everything works out and they DO go to the comic store to purchase, they have to pick through the quagmire there. (example: All-Star Batman & Robin)
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Robert Walsh
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Posted: September 13 2008 at 4:50pm | IP Logged | 5  

Considering the sheer volume of essential and showcase graphic novels,
they could spend a very long time just reading them.

I have friends who haven't bought a CD less than a decade old in years.
Some of them have truly epic CD collections.
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JT Molloy
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Posted: September 13 2008 at 5:01pm | IP Logged | 6  

As far as "talking heads", for me that's a generalization that doesn't affect
me. A good story comic or otherwise may be all talking heads or 98%
explosions, it depends on the storyteller's skills. There a lot of things
wrong
with current comics but too much well-written dialogue is not one of
them.

--

Don't believe that hype. Superhero comics should not be 22 pages of
talking heads. Ever. End of story. Don't fall for the lies that comics have
more "Well written dialogue" this decade then ever before either. It's just
faux-naturalism (*um.... er.... like..... sonova....) and an obscenely thin
layer self-awareness.
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Chad Carter
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Posted: September 13 2008 at 5:40pm | IP Logged | 7  

 

Don't generalize, Chad.  John Byrne does 'talking heads' very well, and without backgrounds.  Wish others knew how to do it properly, i.e. to help tell a story.

The rest of what I actually said: If there was just talking heads, it usually had a very strong impact on the plot, such as a revelation of some kind, some melodrama, a threat, a vow.

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Dan Avenell
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Posted: September 13 2008 at 5:53pm | IP Logged | 8  

Incidentally, saying "there is no current 'kid' readership" [of the Fantastic Four] is an admission of failure.

That's an understatement. It's an epic failure, and possibly one of the saddest things I can imagine.
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John Byrne
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Joined: May 11 2005
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Posted: September 13 2008 at 6:00pm | IP Logged | 9  

The sale you lose today from library is often returned ten-fold in the
future. As someone who is attempting to sample graphic novels in
libraries, it's far easier to find the book at Borders then wait for it to
become available at the library.

++

That's my feeling. It doesn't seem as if the library would be able to satisfy
everyone's demand. Libraries, generally, wouldn't have more than a few
copies, at most, of each title available.

••

It seems so often that the complaints about the expense of comics get
forgotten when discussions like this come up. Imagine yourself a kid with a
limited budget. You want to read those trade paperbacks at the library, but
they're out just now. So, trot down to the nearest Borders and drop $20 on
something you may like. . .   or wait a week or so to get it free?

This is yet another point on which the Trade Paperbacks as the Future of
Comics argument falls apart.
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John Byrne
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Joined: May 11 2005
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Posted: September 13 2008 at 6:02pm | IP Logged | 10  

As far as "talking heads", for me that's a generalization that doesn't affect
me. A good story comic or otherwise may be all talking heads or 98%
explosions, it depends on the storyteller's skills. There a lot of things wrong
with current comics but too much well-written dialogue is not one of them.

••

You don't list your birth date in your profile, but I'm going to go out on a
limb here and guess you're not 12. . . ?
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John Byrne
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Posts: 134701
Posted: September 13 2008 at 6:03pm | IP Logged | 11  

Don't believe that hype. Superhero comics should not be 22 pages of
talking heads. Ever. End of story. Don't fall for the lies that comics have
more "Well written dialogue" this decade then ever before either. It's just
faux-naturalism (*um.... er.... like..... sonova....) and an obscenely thin
layer self-awareness.

••

Precisely. I fear that many of the people currently producing and buying
comic books have forgotten why they, themselves, started reading them.
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Friedrich Thorben
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Joined: July 08 2008
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Posted: September 13 2008 at 6:43pm | IP Logged | 12  

I had many discussion with Batman fans who usually claimed that Batman is the "most realistic" superhero and "most complex" superhero ever created. So Batman should be a realistic crime comic without super-villains.

I don't know what the general opinion on this board is, but I've always argued that at the moment this "complex" character dons a bat costume to fight crime the "realism" dies.

Heck, many even argue that a real life Batman would be exactly like the All Star Batman so this portrayal makes sense.


Edited by Friedrich Thorben on September 13 2008 at 6:46pm
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