Wednesday Is Rambling On About Comics Day

Posting has been sparse of late as I juggle coaching two youth baseball teams, watching the NCAA basketball tournament, shopping for a car, and, of course, occasionally nodding in the general direction of revenue production. I have been reading, just not writing, and I hope to change that this week. Historically, the easiest way for me to get back in the groove is with a little link-o-rama action, so without further ado... 

Ice Cube is slotted for the Gabe Kotter role in the Welcome Back, Kotter remake. I think I speak for a lot of people when I say, “Huh?”

This was one of my favorite shows as a kid. I was about 11 when it debuted so you can see how I might have found it funny, edgy, and cool. Or maybe you can’t. Somehow it was the perfect antidote to an overdose of Happy Days. Kaplan’s ever-present smirk told you he enjoyed what the sweathogs were doing even if he couldn’t always tolerate it as their teacher. I’m not sure Ice Cube can bring that same feel to the role. But heck, it’ll probably end up being an action/adventure spy movie anyway, once they’re through.

What does that have to do with comics? They made a comic book of it – a DC TV Comic, no less.

But you knew that. It ran for 10 issues back in 1976. I think I still have about half of them somewhere.

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If you’re interested in the inner-workings -- particularly design related workings -- of an animated series, check out the Production Diary for the Hellboy animated series.

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I you haven’t been regularly stopping by Comic Should Be Good lately, shame on you. Brian Cronin, Brad Curran and crew have been on an absolute tear.

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You could have bought yourself a lunch with Joe Q at Wizard World Los Angeles for less than $800! You know, even if you can’t think of a single thing to ask him, this still might be cheaper than the gougingly awful, trade-show standard sandwich, chips and soda.

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If you read Sky Ape: King of Girls and wondered what the heck a “sack of four-by-fours” is, here’s a hint. It’s a West Coast thing.

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I don’t usually brag about these things, but I got Mark Evanier’s industrial strength There’s No Such Website on the very first try.

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To close, a few thoughts on the whole Team Comics and support your local Independent Comic campaign, because I know you’ve been waiting for my studied opinion.

The general drift I’m getting from the good folks supporting the ID cause is that independent works are languishing on the shelves due to lack of exposure and the intractable buying habits of the market. So let’s all get behind Indie Comics, for a month or two and then back to X-men if you like. Go Team! Wait, wait…let’s not use the Team Comics comparison, that’s too high school football. This is more of a movement, a groundswell if you will, rousing the vox populi and all that. These readers don’t know what they’re missing, just give one of these wayward Indie books a chance; you’ll like it Mikey, I promise.

Sorry, I’m getting snide.

But here’s the thing: this is the best time EVER to be creating, publishing or reading Indie comics. Which does not mean it’s easy or financially rewarding or that every worthy title will find an audience, simply that more people are buying more copies of Indie books from more varied points of distribution than ever before. And while very few Indie titles have proven they can consistently penetrate the Diamond top 50 in sales, well over one-third of all the titles on the Diamond 300 are from Indies – assuming you define these as anything not Marvel or DC. And this is just the Direct Market, I'm confident were you to factor in book store sales -- assuming you could actually put a finger on the volume they move -- the numbers would go well beyond anything we’ve previously seen. (Check out Brian Hibbs latest Tilting at Windmills column for more on this train of thought.) 

None of this is to say that it’s a perfect world for the Indie Comics. This isn’t the 1997 Internet we’re talking about. And while any effort at promotion is welcome the most effective promotions will be those that don’t simply shake a bunch of pom poms together that spell I-N-D-I-E – sorry, there I go again - but specifically target the good stuff or at least identify what’s good about specific stuff.

Comments

[Mike Russo]

kurt, thanks for the props. and kudos to you for ctaching the 4x4 ref. wish we had 'em here in boston.
- mike 'god of war' russo
co-creator of sky ape
ob.gyn.

[rsteans]

Ice Cube is set to star as Gabe Kaplan's character in an all new movie version of "Welcome Back Kotter". Do you think there will be a comic adaptation?

[Batman Geek]

Ice Cube as "Mr. Ko-tter" (added hyphen for "sound" effect).........if he grows his hair out it could work..... ;)