Quoted For Truth

Starting a New Blog

2008-01-27T13:11:00.000-08:00

I've decided to start a new blog and discontinue this one, for the sole reason that I wanted a new title. Quoted For Truth just wanted comic-specific enough for me. Therefore, please visit my new blog, Retroactive Continuity, which can be found here.

QFT #4 - Part 3: Point of Sale systems: Too Sophisticated for your LCS?

2008-01-25T11:14:00.000-08:00

If you care to investigate, and I really don’t, so the following claim is purely conjecture on my part, I’m sure you’ll find POS systems customized for almost every retail sector, meaning there is probably a specialized food service (restaurant) POS system which differs from the system used by a clothing store which differs still from the system found in a consumer electronics store. Further, if you have the money to burn as a business, and most national chains do, you can develop a branded POS system. In other words, the POS system used at Circuit City probably has the easy button all over the GUI, while Best Buy – Best Buy!! (those of you who listen to the Kevin & Bean Show on KROQ 106.7 FM will get the joke) – will have a blue and yellow system.

Following this philosophy, Diamond has developed a POS system customized for the comic book sector. Its goals are to make available a system that is affordable to retailers and to integrate many different functions, in order to make a retailer’s job more efficient.

The first integrated function is downloading pre-written item records for any item you order. The UPC, the description, the price, and the rest of the data would automatically load into the POS system. Other than the quantity and any modifications the retailer wants to make, there would be no need for any manual data entry using Diamond’s software.

The other feature, which is, on the surface at least, promising, is direct communication between the POS software and Diamond’s ordering system. I’m assuming the intent is to have the retailer input his or her order into the POS software which in turn will upload the order to Diamond. I suppose the software might even be smart enough to recommend quantities for specific titles based on the sales history. In addition, perhaps a retailer may also be able to instruct the software to automatically reorder items when a pre-selected quantity is reached.

Now, I admit, those features sound beneficial. The ability to download pre-written item records would certainly save time, and being able to avoid Diamond’s archaic, and downright lame, online ordering interface would make many a retailer cheer. But being the cynical man that I am, I suspect Diamond’s ultimate goal is to strengthen its grip on the direct market’s short hairs by making retailers reliant on the company’s software, thus further solidifying its monopoly.

Plus, I believe Diamond is using a Microsoft product as the platform for its POS system, and like many geeks my age, I have an irrational dislike of Microsoft. Combine that with my rational dislike of Diamond, and this unholy alliance doesn’t give me many warm and fuzzies.

Now we come to the million, or whatever figure Diamond stands to make from this, dollar question. Will retailers buy it? I’m not sure I have a good, quantitative answer other than to say I don’t think the software will be as well received as Diamond is anticipating. There are several reasons behind my prediction.

First, I don’t think Diamond realizes how many comic book retailers would choose, given the chance, to not do business with the distributor at all. There is a great deal of frustration in the direct market due to a variety of factors, many of which I’m sure I’ll eventually discuss in this blog, so I’m really not sure how many retailers will want to jump into yet another bed with Diamond.

In my case, had Diamond’s POS software been available when my store was open, I highly doubt we would have used it. I’m sure we would have evaluated it against the other software packages, but ultimately would have gone in the direction we did.

The second reason the new software won’t be catch on is comic book retailers are notoriously cheap. Therefore, the success of Diamond’s POS software will largely depend on how much it costs. My guess is success will require a sub-$500 price tag, which would include the necessary hardware such as the cash drawer, UPC scanner, credit card reader, and receipt printer, and I’m not sure Diamond can accomplish that. On top of that, I’m assuming the retailer will need a computer running Windows.

For example, I think we spent $1500 on the hardware and software. And to keep the numbers nice and round, I’ll say we spent $500 on a basic computer to run everything. Now, as a start-up store, it was relatively easy to justify spending that money. In fact, we never considered NOT using a POS system. Heck, back when I was only a customer, I could never comprehend why so many stores just used a crappy cash register or a shoebox. It legitimately baffled me.

However, for established stores, I guess I can see the hesitation to spend that money. In many cases, $2000 equals the weekly payment to Diamond. Other than the independently wealthy store owners, I’m sure most retailers would have chest pains cutting that check, especially when most already only survive week to week. So like I said, Diamond really has to think about the price tag.

The final reason I’ll discuss is related to the inherent cheapness. It’s the “change is bad” mentality that permeates the retail side of the industry. Let’s face it, there’s not a whole lot of innovation these days in comic books stores – a topic I’m sure I’ll be discussing in future blogs. We tried some cool ideas in my store, many of which were successful. But for most retailers, if something has been working ok for the last decade, there’s no need to change it. And that most definitely includes the use of POS systems. After all, my seven year old, ticker tape cash register works just fine, dammit! I don’t need one of them fancy pants, new fangled systems. It’s Y2K all over again, I tells ya!!

Yet with all that said, I will reserve further judgment of Diamond’s software until it has had a chance to be implemented. Personally, I feel that POS systems are well worth the up-front investment, if, for no other reason that it actually makes the store look like a professional business. I applaud Diamond for its forward thinking, even though it’s still a few years behind the rest of the world. However, there are just too many long established paradigms and closed minds in the direct market for Point of Sale systems to ever get a foothold.

QFT #4 - Part 2: Point of Sale systems: Too Sophisticated for your LCS?

2008-01-17T12:39:00.000-08:00

Once you figure out what you’re doing – and I maintain it’s a continuous learning process – you can make the data entry and the functionality of the POS as complicated or as simple as you would like. However, at a minimum, each item, be it a comic book, a trade, or a toy, requires a unique entry in the system which includes the following data: description (or name), price, initial quantity (if you’re tracking inventory), and UPC (if available).

It took us a few months to get the bugs worked out. Sure, we could have read a few articles online, played around with some tutorials, or even just read the manual, but where would have been the fun in that? The “try stuff and see what happens” method of learning has served me well for 30 years. Hell, that’s how I’ve learned every software tool I’ve used in my engineering career. Why should a POS system be treated any differently? I mean, there’s just something so satisfying about pushing lots of buttons and finally stumbling upon whatever function you’re looking for, or better yet, something totally unexpected. It’s just a shame that sense of adventure or exploration is missing from today’s culture of instant gratification. But I digress.

Although it was a continuous learning process, we eventually figured out how the software worked, and more importantly, we determined which parameters and data sets we wanted to keep track of. Based on those requirements, we developed a repeatable process for handling our new items on any given Wednesday.

We would first count the new shipment to make sure everything was included and that there were no damages – not that Diamond would ever screw up an order. One of these days I’ll have to tell you about the time our entire order of 52 Week 52 was replaced by Checkmate. Good times. Now, while counting the order is pretty standard procedure for probably all comic book stores, our process had a few more steps to it.

After each title was counted, enough copies would be set aside to fill the pull lists, and one copy would be set aside, in a special pile, for entering into the POS database. The rest would be put on the shelves.

Once everything was counted and the pull lists filled (especially those of our customers who like to stop by before we officially opened for the day), we entered all the new items into our POS database. This involved creating a unique entry for each item. In the “Description 1” field, we typed the Title and issue number. We also had a “Description 2” field in which we included data such as “2^nd printing” or “variant cover”. At a minimum, we also filled in the vendor, cost, quantity, and UPC fields. The end result looking something like this:

Department: Comic Book
Vendor: DC Comics
Description 1: Detective Comics #840
Cost: $2.99
Quantity: 50
UPC: 76194120019484011

Once entered, the books joined their brothers on the shelves.

There’s an old saying in many industries that is very applicable here; “garbage in, garbage out.” In other words, the system is only as good as the data you feed it. If you enter crappy data, you’re gonna get crappy data. And actually, how you enter said data is just as important. The set-up is really the lynch pin to the entire operation.

For example, let’s say in month N, employee A enters Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman #525 into the database, and she does so by typing “Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman #525” into the Description field, which in my book, is the correct way of doing so. And let’s say this employee follows the same syntax for the next several months. Smooth sailing, right?

Well, now we’re at “the next several months” plus one, and for whatever reasons, employee B is entering the data. Let’s say this employee just happens to be lazy, and enters the comic as “FN Spiderman #530.” Now, as long as the UPC is correct, the system will always find the book during a purchase and adjust the inventory quantity accordingly. But let’s say the scanner isn’t working, or you want to bring up a list of all Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman issues. Well, if you sort alphabetically, or do a search for “friendly,” #530 will not show up. And let me tell you something… for a detail oriented guy like myself, that’s incredibly frustrating.

Most of the problems we encountered were just variations of that same theme, i.e. we made errors during the set-up. Unlike Microsoft Office, in which a paperclip thinks it’s smarter than you, the POS system only does what you tell it to do, with the data you give it. Yet in my opinion, those few negatives were completely dwarfed by the numerous positives a POS system brings to the table, or in this case, the check-out counter.

The system integrates credit card processing, which was a big deal for us as most of our customers preferred to use credit cards. Yeah, as the retailer you have to pay a processing fee and the transaction doesn’t actually hit your books for a couple of days, meaning even though somebody bought $25 of comics on Thursday, the money won’t appear in your checking account until Monday, but I still say it’s better than having a bunch of cash lying around.

Gift cards are also a breeze for the retailer to load and equally as breezy for a customer to use when the store is running a POS system – just like at any other retail store. Imagine that; an LCS utilizing the same modern conveniences as all other retail stores.

You also have a detailed history of each transaction, with a receipt automatically printed and the electronic record stored. Those transactions can even be augmented by setting up profiles for your regular customers to track what items they’ve purchased and how much they’ve spent; data that comes in handy if your store has a rewards programs or you like to make recommendations based on purchase habits.

And of course, all of this recorded data makes certain tasks very easy. For instance, right now, it’s tax season, and all I have to do is export sales report from our POS systems and email that file to our accountant, and wham-oh, the dishes are done, man.

Another for instance is reviewing sales history to make more accurate initial orders. One of my Sunday afternoon tasks was to pull up a list of all the items sold that week, which I would then add to a ridiculously nerdy spreadsheet that I constructed to track all manner of sales data for comics including, but not limited to, graphical breakdowns of quantities sold vs. time. In other words, I could quickly see how many copies of each comic sold the first week, how many on the second week, etc. Ultimately seeing how long they sat on the shelf. That way I could ask things like, “do we really need to order 30 copies of Shadowpact if 12 of them are going to sit on the shelf for six weeks before someone buys them?

Of course, the simpler way would be to alphabetize the list of comics sold in the last three months (a standard POS generated report) and base your next initial order on those numbers. So yes, my method was probably overly complicated, but I get off on details and processes like that. I mean, I’ve spent the last two years, off and on, trying to derive an equation that will quantitatively determine the difficulty of any given hike using the integral of the elevation vs. distance curve. But I suppose I should get back to comic books…

In Part 3, I will discuss my opinions of Diamond's customized POS system and why I think there is a resistance to this technology among retailers.

QFT #4 - Part 1: Point of Sale systems: Too Sophisticated for your LCS?

2008-01-16T12:49:00.000-08:00

On Thursday 12/27/07, Newsarama posted the latest edition of Talking Shop, a column of sorts in which Newsarama compiles the thoughts and opinions of various comic book retailers from across the U.S. and Canada about hot topic of the day facing the retail side of the industry. In this edition, the topic was the use of Point of Sale (POS) systems in comic book stores, specifically the introduction of Diamond’s POS system, customized specifically for the comic book industry (i.e. its customers). You can read the Talking Shop article here.

It’s writing columns about topics such as these where owning a comic book store for a year is going to come in very handy. In fact, I may just rip off the whole Talking Shop idea, and write a rebuttal of sorts each time Newsarama posts a new one. Kinda like the opposite political party always getting its five minutes of fame after a state of the union address. And for the record, I have no illusions that my opinion should be included in Talking Shop. After all, my store is at this point, to put it kindly, less than successful, so my opinion should be taken with a grain of salt.

Before we begin, and for those of you who neither read the Newsarama article nor pay attention to the registers at any retail store, let’s define a POS system. A POS system is a combination of computer software and hardware that integrates the cash register, inventory management, and sales data into one system. At the heart of the POS systems is the barcode, or UPC (Universal Product Code). 99.9% of products you buy have one.

The UPC is a unique series of digits assigned to that particular product. In the case of comic books from most “big” companies (DC, Marvel, Image, Dark Horse, IDW), the barcode digits appear in this form:

A LLLLL RRRRR B NNNNN

For the sake of this discussion, characters A and B are not important, so we’ll only discuss the L, R, and N groups. The manufacturer (publisher) is identified by the L-group, and the product (title of the comic book) is identified by the R-group. Incidentally, the A through B range appears on virtually every product be it shampoo, flat screen TVs, or potato chips. In every case, the L-group is the manufacturer and the R-group is the product.

The N-group has unique meaning in the comic book industry. It contains the identification information at the issue level. The first three characters are the issue number (001 for issue #1, 666 for issue #666). The fourth character represents the “cover” for lack of a better term, meaning a 1 represents the standard cover, and 2 and up would represent variant covers, typically with lower print runs – conversely, two covers in a 50/50 print run would utilize the same UPC. The fifth and final character represents the printing (1 for the first printing, 2 for the second, and so on and so forth).

With that data dump, let’s look at a couple of real examples:

Detective Comics #838: 7 61941 20019 4 83811

Detective Comics #838 (2nd printing): 7 61941 20019 4 83812

Supergirl #25: 7 61941 24904 9 02511

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #10: 7 61568 14111 5 01011

From the barcodes above, we can deduce that 61941 is the manufacturer code for DC, while 61568 is the manufacturer code for Dark Horse. 20019 is the product code for Detective Comics, 24904 is the product code for Supergirl, and 14111 is the product code for Buffy Season 8. Regarding the individual issues, take a look at the two Detective Comics examples. 83811 indicates this is issue #838, standard cover of the first printing, whereas 83812 is issue #838, standard cover of the second printing.

Once you know what to look for, it’s pretty straightforward. Yet there are problems with barcodes on comics. First, there is a governing body for the UPC world and thus manufacturers have to pay for UPCs. As a result, many smaller publishers simply do not use them. As a retailer using a POS system, you can get around a missing UPC by assigning the product a barcode internal to your POS system that can be scanned at the register. Or you can simply enter the title by hand. Either way, the POS system still has a unique entry for that book; the importance of which we will discuss later.

A second problem is some manufacturers will pay for the UPC, but not add the five additional characters for the issue identification. Dynamite is a good example of this practice. Regardless of the issue number, each issue of, let’s say, Highlander, would have the exact same UPC, which the POS system will not allow. To get around this, when we filled in the UPC field in the POS entry, we added “space-issue#” characters. As a result, when you scanned the comic, the system would pull up a list of items with that UPC, and then we would select the specific issue being purchased.

Yet a third problem, but not the last, is the UPC location isn’t standardized from comic to comic. On some, the UPC appears on the front cover, some on the back cover, and others, but much rarer, on inside of the front cover. While the vast majority of UPCs are placed on the front cover, they’ll appear anywhere around the perimeter and in any orientation. This is huge annoyance when you’re processing a large quantity of books during a purchase and you’re forced to flip and spin from book to book to find all the UPCs. Fortunately, DC has all but standardized the UPC location on its books to the bottom-left corner of the front cover. This is yet another reason why DC, in my less than fair and balanced mind, is the best.

In Part 2, I'll discuss what it takes to set up a POS system, its annoyances, and its advantages.

QFT #3: Wizard and Captain America #25

2008-01-08T09:38:00.000-08:00

I was browsing the articles on Wizard’s website last week, just killing time at work, when I noticed a banner offering an incentive for subscribing to their fine publication. If this was typical BS incentive such as “subscribe to Wizard and get a limited edition Todd MacFarlane figure,” it would not have caught my eye. Instead, the incentive was “subscribe to Wizard and we’ll send you a copy of Captain America #25.” I was curious, so I clicked on the link. What I saw made me smile.

The basic rate for a 1-year subscription to Wizard is $28.00. A 2-year subscription costs $49.00 (a special price down from $56.00). Now, if you get the 1-year subscription, you can receive a first printing of Captain America #25 (cover of your choice) for $6.99, and with the 2-year subscription you can get both covers for $7.99 total.

Now, if I were a cynical man, I would say this means Cap #25 is essentially worthless because in the case of the 2-year subscription, Wizard is selling each issue for $3.99, which just happens to be cover price – and to think this book was once selling for $100 on eBay. If I was even more cynical, I would read between the lines and say that Wizard has a warehouse full of Captain America #25 first printings, and is desperate to unload them. Finally, if I was a cynical man, I would there must have been something fishy going on for Wizard to have ordered so many when every other retailer severely under-ordered.

Luckily for you all, I AM a cynical man, and I’m also extremely skeptical, so not only could I say all those things, I WILL say those things. So let’s get started and travel back in time, almost a full year, to the faithful weeks leading up to the shipping of Captain America #25…

Amongst retailers, there was an overall impression that this issue was going to include a story-point of above average importance, but for the vast majority of us (i.e. those with no inside contacts at Marvel or Diamond), it was all speculation. Then Marvel and Diamond both sent out “hints” that you cannot order too many of this issue.

Now, even though my store had only been open for a few months at this point, we had already gotten these same hints about numerous books from several companies, so we just assumed these bulletins were yet more smoke being blown up our backsides. Yet, there was a tad more urgency in the tone of these recommendations, so we increased our order by 15% or so. Of course, for us, considering that brought our final quantity to only 40-50 books, the extra cash wasn’t going to kill us if the book turned out to be yet another over-hyped bundle of tinder. Believe me, we screwed up many orders far worse than that, so this was like calling a meaningless $5 raise after losing multiple big pots on the flop. It wasn’t gonna change anything if we were wrong.

The faithful day arrived, and the world woke up to “Marvel Kills Captain America” headlines on every internet news site. Long story short, everyone and his dog came looking for the book, and we sold every copy by the end of the day. As it turns out, Diamond had plenty more in stock (how very convenient) and we ordered 100 more.

Throughout the week, we took phone call after phone call from people looking for the book. The conversations typically followed this pattern:

Customer: Hi. Do you have the issue where Captain America dies?

Us: Sorry, we sold-out the first day. But we have a hundred more will be arriving next week. Would you like us to put you on our wait list?

Customer: Oh definitely! By the way, how much will you be charging?

Us: Just cover price. $3.99

Customer: Really?? But it’s going for $25 on eBay!

Us: Yeah, but it’s a new book. Our policy is to not inflate the price of new books regardless of demand.

Customer: Wow. Cool.

Us: Let me write down your name and number…

We finally capped the waitlist at 80, making sure we had a few issues to put on the shelves. Eventually every copy sold, except for copy I found while packing up the store to move a few weeks ago. It literally slipped through the cracks (between some boxes and the sales counter). It’s now part of my collection.

I know a lot of folks will say that all the new customers the hype brought into the stores was good for the industry, but I disagree. By my estimates, 90% of the new faces, in my store at least, were never seen again. They were interested only in the investment value and not in becoming a regular reader. And that brings me back to Wizard and its role in the Captain America #25 feeding frenzy.

The day the book shipped, many retailers in my area placed it on their shelves with an already inflated price, typically in the $10-$15 range. Most of these retailers were just taking advantage of the headlines. It’s basic supply and demand. I find this practice distasteful, but being the red-blooded capitalist that I am, from a financial perspective, I can’t fault them from doing so. Ethically, it’s not something I wanted to do in my store, but perhaps taking the moral high ground is one of the many things we did wrong.

Things got a little muddier when you looked at the happenings on eBay. Hundreds and hundreds of auctions were immediately in place. Some sellers were private citizens trying to make a quick buck in the afternoon after buying the book from a retailer in the morning. They bought it for $10, sold it for $25, and that buyer may have sold it later that week for $50. I think those people are greedy, and the people that bought it for $50 are incredibly dumb, but again there’s nothing wrong with those auctions.

However, a fair amount of the auctions, dare I say a majority, were not posted by private citizens. They were posted by Wizard. Now, it’s very true that being on the east coast gave Wizard up to a three hour headstart on other retailers in the U.S. It’s also very true that Wizard could have employed a staff of dozens to post auctions on eBay. It’s also very true that Wizard may have heeded the recommendations from Marvel and Diamond and simply ordered heavy on Cap #25, thus giving them hundreds, probably thousands, of copies to sell.

But remember, folks, I’m a cynical man, so since day one, I’ve chosen to believe that much more than just foresight and happy coincidence allowed Wizard to be a big Cap #25 mover and shaker. I believe the good folks at Wizard knew well ahead of time that particular issue was going to be huge. I believe Marvel and Diamond provided the team at Wizard with information that ultimately gave them a competitive advantage – information they withheld from almost every other retailer. Instead of giving everyone the same information, they just asked us to take them at their word that the issue was going to be big.

I’m not the only one who believes this. It’s been discussed in numerous blogs and on numerous message boards. Heck, in an interview with Newsarama, an employee all but said Wizard knew about it ahead of time when he says there are no walls between departments, which I can only assume means the marketing department, having been giving this information for its Wizard World Los Angeles variant of Captain America #25, not to mention the magazine’s featured articles and interviews about Steve Roger’s death that had to have been in the works prior to the book’s shipping date, then wink-winked and nudge-nudged that info to the retail operations of Wizard.

NOTE: At the time I wrote the above paragraph, the search function on Newsarams was not responding, so I was unable to pull, and quote, the original interview. If the search function starts working again, I’ll post an addendum to this column with a link.

I’m bringing up this year-old topic now for a few reasons; 1) My brain dun-gone blank at the half-way points of several columns, so I really needed something to write about, 2) the new Wizard subscription incentive, which I’ll return to in a few sentences, got my creative juices flowing, and 3) I’ve always wanted to publicly vent about this. And you know what? Getting this off my sculpted chest feels pretty damned good.

As for Captain America #25 itself, thanks to the frenzy perpetuated, but not necessarily created by, Wizard and, to a much lesser extant, local comic book retailers, the book sold like gang busters. You absolutely had to have that comic. For a brief time, the ‘90s were back and you were going to put your kid through college by hanging onto a few copies. I really tried to warn people against this philosophy in my store, but most wouldn’t even listen to my advice.

Wizard capitalized, and I’m sure it made thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollars, albeit of the “quick buck” variety. Even with the frenzy, it’s very obvious its retail department over-ordered the book, as Wizard is now selling it for cover price (with a two year magazine subscription). While these leftovers, I’m sure, are just a drop in the bucket compared to Wizard’s original quantity, the thought of a warehouse full of first printing Captain America #25s, that the company is unable to unload after potentially using insider information to obtain them, is enough come-up-ins to make me chuckle. I mean, if we ever needed more proof that comic books are absolutely not for investing, this was it.

However, personally, the smile I get from the poetic justice is fleeting. The potential collusion between departments within Wizard (and possibly between it and Marvel and Diamond), along with other less than scrupulous acts I’ve seen neighboring retailers commit against customers and other retailers alike, are all big “cons” in my “Should I re-open my store” pros vs. cons list, and that saddens me. But that’s a topic for another day.

Panel of the month: December 2007

2008-01-03T15:37:00.000-08:00

Introducing what will hopefully become another regular feature on this blog, I give you my Favorite Panel of Month for December 2007. This inaugural winner comes from Booster Gold #5 (page 18):

This panel really exemplifies why I'm digging this comic. The sarcastic banter just flows so naturally, and keeps the characters grounded. Plus, this small amount of humor prevents the book from taking itself too seriously. The fact that I will forever hear Billy West's voice when I read Skeets just adds to this panels appeal.

The Best of Newsarama: December 2007

2008-01-01T10:36:00.000-08:00

One of the big reasons behind starting Quoted For Truth was to display my love and thanks to fanboys and the internet for the endless hours of entertainment they provide me. There’s no way my ADD and I could get through a long day at the office without several visits to, and chuckles, at Newsarama.com. Therefore, at the beginning of every month, I’ve decided to bring together a collection of my favorite Newsarama posts from the previous month for your enjoyment.

There are no defined criteria to be selected for my Best of Newsarama blog. A post can make the list by making me laugh, by being a beacon of rational thought, or by being a prime example of fanboy overreaction. It’s all about entertainment, so anything goes.

Special note: From here on out, my commentary will appear in italics. All spelling and grammatical errors in the posts are that of the original poster. I’ve left them in place because that’s part of the message board charm. Also, due to the distractions of the holiday season, this edition is a bit shorter than future Best of Newsaramas will be. Let’s get started…

Topic: Word Balloon: Jeph Loeb & Jesse Alexander

This thread is a response to the Word Balloon podcast featuring Jeph Loeb and Jesse Alexander. Among the items discussed was Heroes. I feel the following post perfectly summarizes one of the reasons I just can’t get on board with the show.

Posted by JoeGKushner on 12-10-07

Peter [Petrelli] is an idot. Truly an idot. There needs to be a random, "And then Peter gets hit in the face with a brick" moment every episode until his stupidity stops.

Topic: Why Isn’t Batman Iron Man?

There are going to be a lot of “Batman is awesome” posts in these Best of ‘Rama blogs, so get used to it.

Posted by caats19 on 12-10-07

k let's be real, this is one of those quintessential comic fan discussions, the real reason that everybody should know, is batman is hella lot better than iron man. batman is a badass who can kick iron man's ass too. batman wouldnt be NEARLY as cool if he was in a robot suit. he would lose all his fear, he wouldn't be batman anymore. the whole point of batman would be lost. but really it comes down to batman having a larger set of juevos under his cape. and iron man is a loser/wimp

Posted by danzo on 12-10-07

Who's richer? Smarter? Sure, they don't really seem to play-up these long-established aspects of the character these days, but if you pay attention Bruce is still the MAN. He's the original "best there is at what he does" guy, except what he does the best is EVERYTHING.

Topic: Who is the best leader the JLA has ever had?

Posted by bebopeva88 on 12-10-07

Batman. Bats is always the leader, even when he's not there. He just likes letting others think they're in charge at times.

Topic: Is Poison Ivy Vegetarian?

As an unapologetic carnivore, I truly appreciate the sentiment in this post.

Posted by kitty_tc on 12-11-07

If Ivy is a plant, I'd gladly go vegetarian.

Topic: “The Dark Knight” poster: what is its symbolic meaning?

This is a great example of properly executing the “obviously over-the-top intelligent and/or philosophical for comedy’s sake” post.

Posted by DiscoVietnam on 12-14-07

Equally, the juxtaposition of the 'vagina dentata' bat symbol in the upper portion of the image contrasts nicely with prevalent historical readings of Batman as homosexual. This tension is interestingly reflected by the city, with its raging penises forcefully penetrating mother nature's pure and natural sky in an act of implied, constant violence. Light pollution is smeared across the landscape like semen.

I feel dirty.

Topic: This Week’s DC Nation

I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve typed this exact post in response to something absurd only to take a deep breath, count to ten, and then delete it.

Posted by Brenticles on 12-19-07

You don't like the decisions made that's fine, please make your voice heard and write them a letter. But I am damn sick and tired of the illogical and false arguments and accusations laid against DC. I am sick and tired of the hatred that come out with petty fanboys lashing out at other fans and things that those fans like.

Topic: Batman UN-appreciation thread!!

This post is noteworthy because of who wrote it. Tony Daniel is the penciller on Batman, and from his first interviews after accepting the position, he has shown nothing but enthusiasm and devotion to the character. I really enjoy reading that. For those interested, a link to Tony’s blog can be found in the sidebar of this page.

Posted by TonyDaniel on 12-21-07

You guys are out of your damn minds. NO ONE can kick Batman's ass. Not Green Lantern, not Boba Fett, not Rambo and not even Supes. No way, no how. Okay? Jesus folks.

Tune in next month for another exciting edition of the Best of Newsarama.

Lana Lang becomes a Street Fighter

2007-12-27T09:58:00.000-08:00

On Friday 12/21, Dark Horizons (my choice for movie and television news) cited Coming Soon as reporting that one of my very favorite actors, Kristin Kreuk of Lana Lang of Smallville fame, will be taking on the role of Chun-Li in the new movie "Street Fighter: Legend of Chun-Li." Does this mean hell has frozen over? I thought it was extra chilly here in Phoenix this week.

While I haven't yet mentioned it in this blog, I've never been afraid to be vocal about my disdain for the Lana Lang character on Smallville. The character is written horribly, and in my opinion, Kristin Kreuk doesn't bring anything to the screen. Watching scenes between Clark and Lana is as painful to me as listening to nails on a chalkboard or a live Amy Winehouse performance. She is one of the major reasons I've found Smallville borderline unwatchable lately. I honestly feel the show would improve by at least an order of magnitude if the Lana Lang character were to disappear.

Therefore, I was very surprised to read about the Street Fighter signing. Actually, I don't even know why I care. It's not like I was ever, EVER going to see this movie. I mean, I already find it hard to pay $12 to see good movies, so this one never stood a chance. Maybe I'm just upset because once again, as usually happens in Hollywood, a crappy performance is rewarded with a bigger role. Or maybe I'm upset because Chun-Li was the character I used 90% of the time while playing Street Fighter back in the day, and I don't want those cherished childhood memories of wasting time pumping quarters into that machine tarnished by now being associated with Lana Lang.

Whatever the reason, I'm not predicting much success for the new Street Fighter movie...

San Diego Hotel Supply and Demand

2007-12-21T09:30:00.000-08:00

Late last week, after a meeting, a co-worker and I were griping about typical office BS when discussion moved to the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con, specifically lodging for said convention. He and his wife attend all four days of Comic-Con every year, and a few days prior, out of boredom, he started researching hotels for 2008. He was very shocked by what he saw.

Last year, he and his wife stayed at a Best Western, which averaged $160 per night. With the growing popularity of the convention, he was expecting a 10%-20% increase. Instead, he found that particular hotel was charging an average of $230 a night for the 2008 dates. That’s more than a 40% increase! But here’s the kicker. Out of curiosity, my co-worker checked the price for the weekend before and the weekend after the convention, and in each case, the hotel was only charging $170 per night. In other words, Comic-Con attendees get to pay an extra 35%.

This got me curious about how widespread this trend really is, so I did a bit of my own research this past weekend. I plugged dates for the weekend of, and the weekend before, the convention into Expedia and searched the “San Diego – Downtown and Airport” region. Here’s a sample of the data that was returned (Hotel name ; user rating out of 5 ; per night price the weekend before ; per night price the weekend of):

Harbor View Inn ; N/A ; $223 ; $223
Comfort Inn Airport ; 4.1 ; $168 ; $229
Marina Inn ; 2.7 ; $247 ; $247
Comfort Inn Gaslamp ; 3.8 ; $153 ; $298
Courtyard Mariott Gaslamp ; 4.6 ; $289 ; $359
Sheraton Hotel & Marina ; 4.3 ; $369 ; $369
Ramada Gaslamp ; 3.3 ; $175 ; $389
W San Diego ; 3.6 ; $259 ; $459

Granted, those hotels are close to the convention center and most likely in the upper end of the price spectrum, but according to Expedia, they’re all that’s available. The lower cost hotels (Days Inn Downtown, Best Western Bayside, Hampton Inn) don’t have the convention dates available. In fact, of the 30+ hotels that Expedia returned for the downtown area, 20 aren’t available on the convention weekend. Whether that means they’re not available now and will release rooms in the future, or they’re just plain sold-out remains to be seen. The bottom line is you should probably start making plans sooner rather than later.

Now, for the record, I see nothing wrong with the hotels increasing prices for Comic-Con weekend. I’m an unapologetic capitalist, and they’re just following basic supply and demand. If people are willing/stupid enough to pay those prices, then by all means charge it. I’m a firm believer that prices will always self-correct to what the market can support. And please note, there are still plenty of less expensive rooms available outside of the downtown area, such as near Qualcomm Stadium, so things aren’t as grim as they could be.

With that said, does anyone out there want to share a room with me? My only requirement is that you wear a Catwoman or Supergirl costume whenever in the room.

QFT #2: The First Annual QFT Favorite Comic Book Awards (Part 2)

2007-12-19T10:12:00.000-08:00

NOTE: I originally wrote these awards as a single column, but my plans changed when I noticed the word count quickly approaching 2000 when I was just over 50% finished. Therefore, rather than blowing the proverbial wad all at once, I decided to break-up the column into two parts, and post them over several days. Thus giving the appearance of more regular updates to Quoted For Truth for not much more work. That’s either efficient or lazy. I’ll let you be the judge.

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Favorite cross-over or mini-series: The Sinestro Corps War; Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps #21-25, #14-18

At the time of writing this prose, I have not yet read Green Lantern #25, the final chapter in The Sinestro Corps War, and due to end of the year deadlines at my day job, there is a very good chance I won’t read it next until weekend. I know, I know. My priorities aren’t where they should be. However, I’m confident this cross-over will remain my favorite of the year regardless of the last chapter. It’s like when you’re going into the final exam of a class in which you’ve aced every homework assignment, every quiz, and every mid-term, and therefore you’ve really got to bend over for that final not to get a good grade. Of course, one of my friends just happens to be the exception to that rule as he not only failed the final in our Differential Equations class, he low scored it by about 30 points, thus dropping his solid A to, well, quite a bit lower than that.

With that said, I’m not going to list all the reasons this mini-series rocked the hizzy. You can read about the art and the writing and the action and the plot twists and the mythology expansion in any review on any message board. Well, almost any review. It seams The Buy Pile over at Comic Book Resources felt this was “the end of another disappointing green-themed crossover,” and included Green Lantern #25 in the “No, just… no” portion of the column. Everyone is entitled to his opinion, I guess.

As for me, I very much share the positive opinions, so there’s really no need to repeat them in yet another corner of the internet. What I will add to the discussion, however, is this; I’m happy that SCW soared to such acclaim without promotional help from DC. Each of the Big Two routinely saturates the market with promos for its next event regardless of its scope. But I don’t remember there being much for SCW.

It really seemed to arrive on the scene without much fanfare. Perhaps DC had been left a tad gun-shy by the less than successfully received Amazons Attack, so it didn’t want to risk heavily promoting another “event” that might also flop. Whatever the reason, it allowed readers to form their own opinions of the cross-over, and its popularity skyrocketed via word of mouth – one of the purest gauges for measuring success.

I also give DC a lot of credit. After it realized it had something special in its hands, it esseintially told Geoff Johns and the rest of the creative team, “If you guys need more time to tell your story, take it. We’ll make the other books work around it.” In an age of seemingly tighter and tighter editorial controls, especially in DC, that decision is remarkable. I don’t think it could have worked out any better.

Runner up: Checkout; Outsiders #47-49, Checkmate #13-15

Favorite comic book (single issue): Catwoman #71

The first thing that struck me about this book was Will Pfeifer’s absolutely wonderful characterization of the Batman/Bruce-Catwoman/Selina relationship. In my opinion, it’s the best interpretation given since the relationship was elevated in the Hush storyline when Bruce revealed his secret identity. I’ll even go so far as to say that Pfeifer understands Batman better than most Batman writers when Selina says:

See, here’s the thing people don’t get about Bruce. They think he’s all about beating up badguys or striking terror into the hearts of the underworld. But that’s not it. That’s not it all. When you get right down to it, when you take away the cape and the cowl and the capital “T” in “The Batman”… He’s all about protecting the innocent.

If I wasn’t such a manly man, that might have brought tears to my eyes.

The second moment that struck me was in Helena’s bedroom when Selina-Bruce changed to Catwoman-Batman. Here we had this tender, quiet moment filled with compassion and desperation. Then the masks come on and it’s all business. I’ve reviewed those panels over and over again, trying to determine just what David Lopez did with his art to change the mood so immediately yet subtly. But other than stronger body positioning, I can’t pinpoint anything specific. It’s gotta be magic.

But here the biggest reason I feel this is the book of the year: If I were to give a single book to a person who doesn’t read comics, in hopes that it would hook him/her into the genre, it would be Catwoman #71. I would recommend this book to anyone. I think it hits the right notes with both males and females. It stands on its own, and doesn’t require months and of backstory to enjoy, yet will still leave you wanting to read the backstories and future adventures. And even though there is no action, I don’t think the noobie would miss it.

It’s just a great book. Period.

Runner up: Nothing even comes close to Catwoman #71. That’s how much I enjoyed it. But if I have to pick a runner up, I would say the Sinestro Corps one-shot.

Favorite comic book (on-going series): Catwoman

My selection criterion for this category is fairly bulletproof. I simply ask myself, “When I get my stack of new comics home, which book is the last book I read?” You see, whereas I think a lot of people go for the instant gratification and read their favorite books first, I read my favorites last. I like to savor the anticipation and allow my excitement to build and my heart-rate to increase as I get closer and closer to reading the final book, my favorite book, of the week. And yes, I keep my pants on when I read comics… 98% of the time anyway.

There are two titles that consistently go to the bottom of the pile; Catwoman and Supergirl. I’m giving the nod to Catwoman, because I never once regretted leaving it until last, whereas I was utterly disappointed by the Supergirl fill-in arc by Bedard and Guedes. Yuck.

Catwoman just pushes all my right buttons. The art and writing perfectly compliment each other. David Lopez draws a beautiful, strong, sexy woman, but not in the stereotypical T&A fashion found in most comic books. Instead, he allows her face to display all those characteristics. For me, Selina’s eyes and lips are her most telling features, and even when she puts on the Catwoman goggles, those characteristics remain, and a mischievousness is introduced. Lopez has also done a great job OYL drawing Selina as a mother. Sure, she’s a MILF, but still a mother.

Will Pfeifer always writes a compelling story, and he does so without relying on universe altering events to give relevancy to Selina’s place in the DC mythos. Nor does he rely on blockbuster gueststars for bumps in ratings (for the record, I don’t include the occasional appearance of Batman in this “blockbuster gueststar” category, because they’re more like fun bonuses for us readers). Preifer’s dialogue is witty, quick, and sarcastic, but certainly does not lack emotion. Basically, Selina is my kind of woman. She’s devoted and compassionate, but not afraid to kick your ass if you tell one too many bad jokes or playful insults.

I will never understand why this title is not a top seller. More people need to pick it up.

Runner up: Supergirl

QFT #2: The First Annual QFT Favorite Comic Book Awards (Part 1)

2007-12-18T10:55:00.000-08:00

NOTE: I originally wrote these awards as a single column, but my plans changed when I noticed the word count quickly approaching 2000 when I was just over 50% finished. Therefore, rather than blowing the proverbial wad all at once, I decided to break-up the column into two parts, and post them over several days. Thus giving the appearance of more regular updates to Quoted For Truth for not much more work. That’s either efficient or lazy. I’ll let you be the judge.

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

As the final weeks of 2007 come and go, year end “best of” and “worst of” lists are popping up all across the internet. I see no reason why Quoted For Truth should be any different. Not only would a list of my favorite items in various comic book categories be a great way for my new readers (all three of you) to discover what I enjoy reading, but it would be a very easy second column to write.

Just please keep in mind that Quoted For Truth was only conceived a few weeks ago, and therefore I’m basing all of my picks on my memory without any research. If I successfully fight-off my adult ADD and am still writing this column next year, I will make sure to take adequate and detailed notes on each book I read throughout the year, such that my picks will be more accurate. Further, it’s important to note that I’m picking only from books I’ve actually read, so I’m sure many widely popular books will be left out.

Thus, without further ado, I present the 2007 QFT awards for my favorite “whatevers” in comic books.

Favorite new series (shipped at least three issues in 2007): Booster Gold

This was a very close decision. Booster Gold and Buffy Season 8 were neck and neck all the way to the wire with Booster Gold #5 and Buffy #9 shipping in December. Now, I am a total Buffy mark. It’s a possible all-time top five television for me. But the science nerd in me loves a well constructed time travel story (you should see all the books on theoretical physics that deal with the topic in my bookcase). Add that to that Booster Gold has a quirky and off-the-cuff sense of humor, and the scale is tipped in its favor. Sorry, Buffy.

Booster Gold also gets a big, gold star for being a mystery with enough details for people like me to obsess over. It’s a major reason why I’m still a Lost fan despite many viewers jumping ship. If the dozens and dozens of incredibly creative theories on Lost message boards are any indication, you can spend a lot of time researching the meaning of, say, a statue of a foot with only four toes in real world mythology and science and then try to apply it to the show. In the case of Booster Gold, you can spend a lot of time researching the meaning of “The vigilante knows the traitor – the league does not!” in the mythology and science of the DC Universe and then try to apply it to the book.

Basically what I’m saying is Booster Gold is the perfect book for both obsessive nerds with a quirky sense of humor and non-obsessive nerds who just appreciate a well thought out and orchestrated story.

Runner up: Buffy Season 8

Favorite scene: Batman pwning the Legion of Superheroes in Brave & the Bold #4

Brave & the Bold has just been a fun series. It’s so refreshing to read a story that seemingly has many layers of complexity yet to explored, but each issue can be taken at face value and still be completely entertaining. Mark Waid has successfully made Brave & the Bold what it should be; a collection of fantastical tales that wouldn’t really work in a more “grounded” book.

There have been a number of great scenes in this book from Batman mentoring Blue Beetle to Hal Jordan having impure thoughts about Supergirl. The latter scene I can easily relate to, as I have also had impure thoughts about Supergirl on numerous occasions, not to mention one of life-long goals is to become a dirty old man in a few of decades.

However, the scene that made me smile the widest and shout “hellz yeah” the loudest was Batman pwning the Legion of Superheroes. I very much enjoyed the way he outsmarted them like the kids they are. But what tickled me the most was Batman stealing Brainiac’s flight ring, thus inadvertently forcing him to reveal to the rest of the Legion that he had designed his flight ring with slightly superior capabilities. All the while, Brainac looks down his nose at Batman and his caveman-like intellect, yet we all know damned well if the JLA wore flight rings, Batman would have included the exact same capabilities in his ring, if not more. So tactically, Brainiac is just using Batman’s old tricks.

Runner up: Batman pwning the Sinestro Corp ring.

Favorite penciller: Jim Lee; All Star Batman & Robin

When DC announced yet another shipping date for ASB&R #6, I started a long-winded rant in my store about how everybody complains about late books, yet no one ever voices his dissatisfaction by NOT buying the book. Personally, I vowed not to buy anything beyond issue five, and I’ve stuck to that vow, even going so far as to sell my run of #1-4.

Before the issue ever found its way onto the shelf, DC rescheduled its shipping date two more times. In the middle of the rescheduling, Jim Lee showed fans his completed artwork at an early season convention, photos of which found their way onto numerous message boards. I remember very clearly clicking on those links, viewing that art, and immediately muttering to myself, “F’ing Jim Lee. You’re gonna make me start collecting this book again.”

Thankfully my cheapness overcame the fanboy in me, and I didn’t start collecting the series again – unless you count the one or two copies that remained on the shelf. I mean, if a customer doesn’t buy them, I suppose I technically bought them. Regardless, the point is I was floored by what I saw, and a very small part of my brain actually tried to convince me that art this incredible was worth the delays.

So even though it really pains me to do so, because of the delays and because only three issues shipped in 2007, I think my gut reaction to the art speaks for itself, and I have to give the award to Jim Lee. What can I say… he draws a bitchin’ Batman, both of the regular and goddam varieties.

Runner up: David Lopez; Catwoman

Favorite writer: Geoff Johns; Booster Gold, 52, Green Lantern

In my original outline for this column, my notes indicated that this award was a toss-up between Paul Dini and Will Pfeifer. However, as I detailed my reasoning for the other awards, I found myself gushing over Booster Gold and the Sinestro Corps War, because of the superb writing in each case. When it dawned on me that Geoff Johns is responsible for both books, as well as sharing co-responsibility for 52 (remember, half of 52 was shipped in 2007), it became very obvious that he should receive my award for favorite writer.

He has a real knack for evolving a story, and even a character’s mythology, without shoehorning or forcing all the new developments. The new elements fit so naturally within the old cannon, that I rarely find myself thinking, “Oh please. That makes no sense whatsoever.” For example, the symmetry of the newly created color spectrum in the Green Lantern mythos is found all around us, including the basic building blocks of the universe. It’s so strangely logical that it might as well have been part of The Blackest Night prophecy from the very beginning. That’s the mark of a good writer.

Speaking of the The Blackest Night prophecy… during translation, that phrase could easily have been recorded incorrectly. Maybe it’s actually The Darkest Night prophecy. And I think we all know a certain pointy-eared, knightly character who would obviously play a big role in an event called the Darkest Night… I’m just saying.

I’m kidding, of course.

Runner up: Will Pfeifer; Catwoman

(to be continued...)

Newly Released Teaser for The Dark Knight

2007-12-17T10:23:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend, official copies of the new teaser trailer for The Dark Knight popped up on the internet, as did several new teaser posters. A great summary page is here at Dark Horizons, and high resolution downloads of the teaser trailer can be found here at the official movie site.

I gotta say, this trailer has dissipated a lot of my apprehension about the movie. For instance, the Bat-cycle or Bat-pod or whatever they’re calling the new vehicle doesn’t look nearly as lame in the proper lighting and in motion. I had a feeling that would be the case, but it certainly didn’t stop me from doing the whole “fanboy overreacts” bitch-fest with my friends.

The teaser also gave me warm and fuzzies about The Joker. Although I was never all that worried, I’m definitely now more excited about Heath Ledger’s performance than I was before seeing the teaser. For the record, my concern was never “Will Heath’s Joker be as good as Jack’s Joker?” At the time, Nicholson’s performance was a “never seen anything like it before” performance, but much like the movie itself, his Joker has not withstood the test of time, at least in my opinion. There was too much silliness and not enough ruthless, sadistic genius for me. In fact, I’m saddened that so many people only know The Joker as Jack’s Joker.

Instead, my concern was derived from toeing the fine line between being true to the comic book and making a “realistic” movie. The first movie was able to do that because of the villain involved. Ra’s Al Ghul translates much more easily into reality than The Joker. I mean, the Clown Prince of Crime is a guy that has permanent clown make-up and wears a purple suit. It doesn’t get much more comic booky than that. How much will need to be toned down in order make the character “real”?

Well, based on the sampling of footage, they just might have gotten it right. The suit is a dirty purple and green, instead of the bold, vibrant colors of the comics; a decision I love. In fact, the color choice probably has most impact of any change they could make. Christopher Nolan might just pull this off after all. As a side note, I’ll still give him major props if he includes the lethal hand buzzer.

So even though I feel a lot better about The Joker’s look, there is still one major fly in my ointment that the teaser did nothing to address, and that’s the new Batman costume. Granted, all my pre-conceived notions are based on the few still photos online. Hopefully, like that Bat-pod, it will look much better in the lighting and context of the film. But being the pessimist that I am, I will continue to assume the costume will ruin the movie until it’s proved otherwise.

Supergirl moving to The OC?

2007-12-14T19:59:00.000-08:00

I’m a big internet news junkie, browsing maybe a dozen or so websites every day. Being from Phoenix, I visit AZCentral.com (the website for the Arizona Republic) several times a day. During one visit this afternoon, I noticed the headline, “Mischa wants to get naked.” Now, I freely admit to being a The OC fan, and most of the time naked anything is worth a look. Yet, Mischa Barton annoys me to no end, and I don’t find her attractive at all, so I’m not really sure why I clicked on the article. However, if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have read the following:

The actress is rumoured to have been offered the starring role in the new 'Supergirl' movie, and admits she would love to play the sexy heroine. She said: "It would be pretty awesome. But everybody in Hollywood goes up for those films. I haven't been offered anything."

Mischa Barton being cast as my beloved Kara Zor-El shouldn’t even be joked about. First, she doesn’t look the part. Her build is far too skinny – and for all you critics that claim the current Supergirl looks anorexic, well I’ve got a column in the works to dispute that and all your other hate. Second, based on her limited time on television, I seriously doubt she can pull off a strong, heroic character. She’s just a crappy actor. Anyway you look at it, Mischa Barton is a completely inappropriate choice.

Look, I didn’t even know a Supergirl movie was being planned, and I have my doubts that it’s anything more than just the word “Supergirl” on some producers list of ideas. But obviously, I would love to see Kara on the big screen, just not if Barton, or a similar actor, portrays her.

Who's Batman is best?

2007-12-10T15:19:00.000-08:00

Last week (and replayed this morning) on The Kevin & Bean Show, the morning show on KROQ 106.7 FM here in Los Angeles, they ran another installment of “The Decider,” a regular feature in which Kevin Smith of Silent Bob fame, calls in to provide the final voice in a random on-air dispute between Kevin & Bean Show family members.

In this particular episode, Ralph and Mike were debating which actor played the best Batman. Ralph, who has a serious man-crush on Adam West, was of course supporting West. Mike, on the other hand, who has an equally serious man-crush on Christian Bale, was squarely in Bale’s corner. Now, I won’t repeat or analyze each side’s arguments, as it is far easier to just listen to the segment on the Kevin & Bean “sounds” page at KROQ’s website (click on Kevin & Bean, then “Sounds”). Instead, I’ll just move on to the Decider himself.

Kevin Smith threw a curve ball by declaring Michael Keaton the best Batman. Michael Keaton? WTF?? For supporting evidence, Smith stated, among other things, that Keaton is the only actor to portray Batman as being uncomfortable in the Bruce Wayne persona, just biding his time until he can put on the batsuit. While I agree that Batman never wants to wear the Bruce Wayne beard for very long, I would not say he’s uncomfortable playing that part.

In fact, I think it is more of an annoyance to him than anything. I mean, this is the goddam Batman we’re talking about here. He’s not uncomfortable with anything. Like most day jobs, it’s just a means to the end. I find my job annoying at times. I’d much rather be out hiking or bustin’ caps or sitting on my ass while picking up chicks on the internet. But that doesn’t mean I’m uncomfortable with my job, and I’ve never gotten that impression from any of the comics I’ve read.

However, I will give props to Kevin Smith for making a point to mention Kevin Conroy as consistently giving the best Batman performance, even though animation was not being included in the discussion.

For the record, if animation is included, here are my picks:

Kevin Conroy
Christian Bale
Val Kilmer
Adam West
Michael Keaton
Rino Romano (The Batman)
George Clooney

QTF #1: Please Allow Myself to Introduce… Myself

2007-12-08T10:43:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the first edition of Quoted For Truth, soon to be the least discussed and least popular column about comic books on the internet. My name is Cody Machler, and I will be the narrator on this adventure full of discovery, philosophical ponderings, and downright ridiculousness.

While numerous topics will be touched upon, the primary area of discussion will be the comic book gamut; from the stories themselves, to the people creating them, to the paper on which they are printed, to fandom’s reaction to the books, to the latest trends and happenings in the industry. There will also be a fair amount of pop culture in general. Think of it this way, if it’s a topic covered at a big convention, then it will probably be discussed here.

Quoted For Truth will consist of full-length columns and short blogs. The columns will tend to be more analytical and less “flavor of the day” dependent, while the blogs will mostly be futile attempts to show that my opinions are relevant to current events by reacting to recent headlines and flame wars. For example, if this blog had been running a few weeks ago, you would have been able to watch me overreact to the overreaction of message board posters to the rumor about Batman becoming a New God.

With that said, I expect this blog to behave, to use one of today’s favorite buzzwords, rather organically. I’d like there to be a full length column each week, but I’m not going to commit to posting it on the same day. I find schedules to be much too limiting to the creative process. And yes, this is just a pre-emptive excuse for when I procrastinate and don’t post anything for a month.

By now, I’m sure you’re muttering to yourself, “oh great… yet another blogger living in his parents’ basement with too much time on his hands who thinks the whole world is interested in his opinion.” Well, let me assure you I most certainly do not live in my parents’ basement. I enjoy my buffer zone of several hundred miles. Nor do I have too much time on my hands. In fact, I’ll be amazed if I have the time to update this blog on any semblance of a regular basis.

As for the whole world being interested in my opinion? Well, just look at these stellar credentials: I’m a long time comic book reader; I’m fair, balanced, and analytical, and not in a Fox News kind of way; I own a comic book store; and I was a columnist for a pro-wrestling fansite back in the day. Who else has such a combination of qualifications going for him? Besides, who among us doesn’t want yet another entertaining blog to read instead of working or doing homework? But just to prove I’m not all talk, let’s explore a couple of these credentials in more detail.

As I said, I’m a long time comic book reader. I picked up my first book at the pinnacle of the true golden age of comics; the early 1990s. Yes, foil covers, embossed covers, die-cut covers, prism covers, and hologram covers were all the rage (I think the die-cut, embossed combo was my favorite). Superman had died and returned, Knightfall had just begun, Bruce Timm and Paul Dini were revolutionizing animation, and Image was unknowningly trailblazing the dot-com business model. Truly, it was an era of richness and prosperity.

With only two or three years out of the loop, I’ve been a faithful reader and collector of both Detective Comics and Batman. Other titles have come and gone, but those two have been the only constants. I started at the newsstand, moved to DC’s subscription service, then to a local comic book store, and finally to owning my own store (more on this silly endeavor in a later column). Incidentally, my current pull list will always be posted in the right-side bar of this page

In the late 1990s, my “career” as an internet columnist began when I started writing Flat to the Mat on a professional wrestling fansite. This was during the height of the Monday Night War between Raw and Nitro, when many fans were turning into “smarts,” learning about the off-camera world of professional wrestling. It was very similar to today as the internet gives fans more and more access to the business side of the comic book industry.

Unlike the common testosterone fueled rants found in other columns, I filled the lighthearted comedy niche. The was a lot of complaining about currently storylines, people jobbing, and WCW only pushing the old wrestlers. But Flat to the Mat was goofy and sarcastic, yet analytical, and that’s what I’m hoping Quoted For Truth will become.

Further, I just enjoy writing. Yet, I have no aspirations of writing comic books. In fact, I downright suck at writing fiction of any kind. I have so much respect and admiration for folks who can write entertaining fiction. Unfortunately, my mechanical engineering brain just isn’t wired that way. But give me an opinion-piece or term paper or technical paper, and I will run with it.

Finally, wrapping up this introductory column, here is a small disclaimer. Anything I write is my own opinion, and unless I specifically cite a source, my opinions are based on nothing but my ideas, experience, and the bunk I find on message boards. I’m not here to create or spread rumors. Nor am I here to report breaking news. I’m just here to entertain. Hence the reason I named this blog Quoted For Truth. Professional writers might call it an ironic name. I just call it sarcastic.

As always, you can email me at qft.column@gmail.com.

Cody Machler

Columns that are currently in work:

- My 2007 Awards show

- Heroes: More Overrated than the death of Captain America

- DC vs Marvel: Today’s WCW vs WWF