What is it with the production errors in comics lately?

I’ve been collecting comics for over twenty years, and I could probably count on one hand the amount of times I’ve had to return an issue due to defects…up until the past year or so. In the past eight months alone, I’ve had to exchange the following books for new copies at my local comic shop due to various production-related errors:

• The Indomitable Iron Man (misprinted and bound incorrectly)

• Blackest Night #8 (interior pages heavily creased and damaged)
• The Invincible Iron Man Annual (long scratches on the cover)
• Iron Man: Titanium* (ink smearing on interior pages)

These are not the rare art or lettering errors that we’ve seen since the beginning of the medium. This current crop of problems is strictly due to the production process and shipment of the physical copy. As such, none of the creative teams behind these books are to blame, but something along the production line certainly is.

Either I’m the unluckiest motherfucker on the planet, or errors like this are starting to become more commonplace. With comics growing more expensive and more popular lately, there’s no reason why some improved quality control shouldn’t follow suit. I know there’s always going to be a few rare problems here and there; no system is perfect. This increase in production errors needs to be nipped in the bud before it gets worse.

* – No, I don’t think the problem is endemic to Iron Man. That’s just a really weird coincidence.

Continuing my occasional series of posts dealing with my life’s many regrets, today I’m going to talk about creativity. More accurately, my failure to put said creativity to good, published use. Before we begin, let me make one thing very clear: this is not a monetary concern. I don’t feel the need to create only as a means to make money; in fact, I find that business model rather disgusting.

Now let’s get started. First order of business? Comics. In college, I was working on many projects related to the comic book industry. It was only natural that I eventually wanted to publish my own comics work; I wasn’t a good artist, but I had written up quite a few stories: a scifi/action series (Ground Zero), a scifi/horror series (Decon Squad), and a superhero series (Resurgence). I even produced an animated trailer for that last one!

I tried to get other artistically inclined folks on board. My efforts flopped, and in some cases, talented artists made no bones about telling me how awful my story ideas were. I ended up going the webcomic route a few years later, but real-world concerns shuttered that after three years (along with the fact that my art was crap).

From here, we can naturally segue into my piss-poor attempts at creative writing. I’ve had various science fiction and fantasy stories whirling about my head for over twenty years, but every time I’ve tried to commit them to text, I can never properly translate my ideas. Sure, I write blog entries here and there, and contribute to Musician Photo Journal, but that’s not the same. It’s also nonfiction, which I find considerably easier to write (as evidenced by what you’re reading right now).

Then there’s music. One of my biggest regrets was my failure to keep up on my guitar playing over the past decade. I lay the blame for this squarely at my own feet: I was lazy and easily distracted, and that’s all there is to it. I got my own guitar as a birthday present in the fall of 2000, which was my final semester in college. I played a hell of a lot in my dorm room, and my skills noticeably improved. (I’m also self-taught, so my definition of “improved” may vary compared to others.) Once I got out of school, I still played, but it fell by the wayside a bit once I got a full time job, moved out, et cetera. Even at my slow, self-taught pace, if I had kept at it over the past ten years, I’d be a hell of a lot better by now. I’ve been kicking myself a lot over this lately, and I deserve the self-flagellation. If I had stayed on target, I could’ve at least recorded an EP or something by now. (I don’t know any other musicians with similar tastes in extreme metal, but that’s what drum machines and GarageBand are for.)

Perhaps someday the creative impulses misfiring within my cranium might coalesce into something viable. But until that day comes, you’ll just have to suffer along with me as I write nothing but meandering blog entries.

One thing that never ceases to amaze (and annoy) me is when entertainers grow massive egos that are on the verge of eating themselves.

We see this happen all of the time with big-name film actors, especially since the Hollywood gossip rags eat that shit up. If Russell Crowe isn’t punching out some passerby, then something’s terribly wrong. Assholes in multimillion-dollar entertainment is nothing new, and will be around forever. It practically comes with the territory. However, what I’m focusing on today is when this douchebag streak affects creators of less popular media, so to speak; my examples today include comic book personalities and non-mainstream rock musicians.

First, let’s look at comic book creators. I’m sure plenty of readers could rattle off quite a few writers, artists, and even editors who have a reputation for being dicks. That behavior doesn’t really make much sense. Even now, when comics are arguably more popular than they’ve been in decades, they’re still a big fish in a small pond when compared to big moneymakers like movies or sports. I’ve met a few comic book folk that could use a lesson or two in humility, unfortunately. I didn’t get shouted at or anything; I certainly would not tolerate that bullshit, and would have no problem telling off the offender. I was just faced with general rudeness and arrogance. Not exactly the kind of attitude you want to give your fans in such a niche market, where your career could be over once the wind of popularity changes!

Next up, think about rock musicians. While most folks are familiar with big-name rock stars going out of control and pissing on their underlings, there’s some ridiculous egoism among the “underground” stuff, too. In my time covering extreme metal shows and interviewing bands, I have yet to meet anyone who was a total prick. (The closest I came was one bandmember who didn’t seem all of that interested in being interviewed and offered very brief responses to my questions; however, he was still very polite.) Still, some of the horror stories I’ve heard from other writers, photographers, and even musicians are enough to keep me on my guard. Shit, there’s been bar bands that have shit on patrons! How much sense does that make? Again, this is a very small market, and making a name for yourself as a dickhead doesn’t seem like a smart move.

The one thing that these creative endeavors have in common, and that sets them apart from just about any other career path out there, is that their success is completely built and driven by their fanbase. In other words: if it weren’t for fans’ devotion, these creators would never be able to do what they love for a living. (And even then, in many cases it’s not their primary means of employment!) I’m not saying that creators should be slaves to the fans’ whims, but a little more respect is in order in some cases.

In all walks of life, there’s things that are “cool to hate.” From films to sports teams to books, there are a lot of popular properties that many people just seem to hold a grudge against for no discernible reason, other than that they think it’s cool to do so. Constructive criticism is one thing, but scathing attacks are something else entirely.

We could be here for weeks discussing them all, so for today, we’re just going to focus on five of them, each from a different medium. Some of the hatred directed at these may surprise you, given how influential each one is…but read on!

• The Da Vinci Code. We all know about the shitstorm that this 2003 novel whipped up, which was amplified by the 2006 film adaptation. Author Dan Brown certainly didn’t help matters any by making some controversial statements, not to mention that far too many people took the novel seriously. Even though the preface claimed that the book was based on “real” events and organizations, that’s irrelevant: it’s still a piece of fiction, from cover to cover. I’ve read science fiction novels with “historian’s notes” in their prefaces, and those aren’t real, either. Anyway, I’ve noticed in my experience that a majority of people who hate The Da Vinci Code have one thing in common: they’ve never read it. From right-wing Christians to bookworms, The Da Vinci Code was met with scorn and derision from folks who were unfamiliar with the work as a whole. Look, it’s certainly not the works of Shakespeare, but that doesn’t make it any less of an entertaining page-turner.

• Genesis. Specifically, it’s the post-Peter Gabriel lineup of this legendary progressive rock band that draws ire. Gabriel was largely responsible for Genesis making a huge splash in the early 1970s, but he departed from the band in order to pursue a solo career in 1975. Phil Collins replaced Gabriel on vocals, and the band went on to record countless albums after that, including the insanely popular Invisible Touch in 1986. (We all know “Land of Confusion,” don’t we?) Even back in the days before Internet message boards, fans flipped the fuck out. Somehow, Collins’ work was seen as a bad thing by “traditional” Genesis fans, and their ridiculous vitriol continues to this day. If you don’t like the Collins-era stuff, that’s fine, but these nutjobs barely even gave the stuff a chance. (Further exposition on this topic can be found on Writing the Scree.)
• Avatar. James Cameron’s box office smash was a great movie, but the legions of angry film snobs attacking it came as a bit of a surprise. The biggest complaint against the film is the story, and that I can least understand; it’s certainly nothing original. However, Cameron himself has admitted this, as his intent was in the telling of the story, not the story itself. Very few snobs hold other films’ stories up to the same lofty standards; let’s face it, most films these days aren’t original by a long shot. Another popular complaint is one that doesn’t hold a lot of water: Avatar is singularly blamed for Hollywood jumping on the 3D bandwagon all of a sudden. While Avatar certainly helped popularize that style of cinematography, people seem to forget that 3D films have been around for a long time. And I don’t mean the classic red-and-cyan glasses type, either; Disney and other studios have been releasing modern 3D films for years now. The technology was going to spread even without Avatar‘s success.
• Star Trek. When it comes to science fiction television’s influence on real-world technology, Star Trek certainly tops the list. It’s largely responsible for such innovations as cellphones, but that hasn’t stopped folks from trashing it. I know that its reputation as an “intellectual” science fiction show doesn’t endear it to most, as most plots revolve around advanced science, complicated technology, and problem solving, rather than the violent action sequences which make up a majority of modern science fiction. But that’s no reason for disgust, is it? The blind Star Trek hate could also be because it’s “old,” a pushback against truly nerdy genres such as “old school” science fiction…or something else. I know I’ve mentioned this before (on more than one occasion), but I must reiterate: a lot of the Star Trek hate comes from rabid Star Wars fans. In fact, the entire subplot of the film Fanboys was the main characters going out of their way to insult Star Trek fans. (And, of course, the Trekkies in the film were portrayed as idiots). It should also be noted that while there are hardcore Star Wars geeks, the franchise as a whole is not a nerdy one. It’s a pop culture tour de force, and unlike Star Trek, there’s no automatic nerd or geek stigma if you enjoy it. (In fact, it’s quite the opposite.) But back to my original point. There’s a lot of hate for hatred’s sake when it comes to Star Trek, and I can’t help but wonder: how many of these haters have even watched a Star Trek episode or movie? (Preferably not a shitty one; you can’t judge the whole Star Wars franchise based on the prequels, after all.)
• Superman. You wouldn’t think the Man of Steel would be reviled by many, but hear me out. The ultimate superhero archetype has been around since 1938, and every superhero that followed owes their livelihood to Superman in one way or another. No superhero is more influential, nor ever will be. Yet the negativity against ol’ Kal-El never seems to cease. From whining about his costume (“it’s too old-fashioned”) to grumbling about his powers (“too powerful”) to eye-rolling at his weakness to Kryptonite (“that makes no sense”), you’d think that there aren’t any Superman fans at all out there. (Of course, we know that over seventy years of comics, films, games, and television shows put that worry to rest.) Cripes, look at the comic book losers who whined about Superman Returns. The complaints I’ve heard about that film range from borderline to certifiably ridiculous, and they all translate to a simple belief: “Superman sucks.” I’ve heard little to no constructive criticism of the film, just fanboy whining. I certainly believe that this just boils down to dislike of the character himself. (Which begs the question: why did they even bother seeing Superman Returns in the first place?)

Feel free to bring up your own examples in the comments. I may revisit this idea in the future, as there’s certainly no shortage of things that people despise to make themselves feel better. Maybe I’ll even tackle that stupid Red Sox/Yankees rivalry…

Why is it that in this day and age, some comic book trade paperbacks are still missing issues?

I first ran into this annoying problem in the early 2000s, when I found some Starman trade paperbacks on the cheap. When checking the indicia to find out which issues each volume contained, I was surprised to see that many issues were missing, seemingly at random. In truth, the excised issues were simple one-shot stories that didn’t factor heavily into the core Starman tale…but that’s not the point. If I’m buying trade paperback collections of a series, I want the entire series, not bits and pieces! (The Starman problem has been corrected in the omnibus editions…but I can’t afford those.)

The same thing happened when I was catching up on Green Lantern Corps. I discovered that issues #21-22 were never reprinted. This makes no sense; the story in those two issues featured Alpha Lantern Boodikka, and she’s been increasingly important as the book’s moved forward. It’s possible that these two missing issues will be reprinted along with the current “Revolt of the Alpha Lanterns” story, but then you’ve got issues being printed out of order. The Green Lantern trade paperback Rage of the Red Lanterns has this exact problem: it reprints Green Lantern #26-28, #36-38, and the Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns one-shot. But what about issues #29-35? Those were reprinted in the Secret Origin trade paperback, which came out before the Rage of the Red Lanterns collected edition. Stupid, isn’t it?

Speaking of which, I was thinking of picking up a few Green Arrow collections, starting with Kevin Smith’s “Quiver” storyline from 2001. Well, screw that: not only is that series of collections missing random issues here and there, but two of them actually got printed in reverse order. Volume three, Straight Shooter, contains issues #26-31. Volume four, The Archer’s Quest, contains issues #16-21. That’s just lazy.

“Best of” collections are exempt from this complaint; by their very nature, they’re designed to pick and choose from the best stories a particular comic book has to offer. But for numbered collections of ongoing series, there’s no reason why we can’t read every issue in the order in which they were originally published. This is especially important nowadays, as the average price of a comic book is around four dollars. Many fans buy some series solely in trade paperback format (in my case, Invincible and X-Factor). If issues are missing, then we’re not getting the entire story, rendering the entire process moot.