Fables on the BBC

Via Rich Johnston comes this cool Fables ad, which I guess ran in the UK over the weekend during a Doctor Who marathon:



This is neat, because it is basically the kind of thing Jon was begging to see more of last week; people can put comics adverts on television and Vertigo is putting comics adverts on the telly (well, at least in Britain, anyway), which is a huge step in the right direction.

Now, before we get too excited, Rich suggests that Vertigo may have not bought the space so much as traded some with the BBC, so they may not have actually sought out the time for the 30 second spot so much as taken the BBC up on an offer of barter. With that said though, DC/Vertigo/Warner/Whoever did decide to give up a chunk of (very valuable) advertising revenue to run the ad and this is extremely important because it means that DC/Vertigo/Warner/Whoever thinks they can sell comics by advertising them on television. Cool, right?

Well, mostly. Rich has some complaints about the ad copy (which is fair enough- the man does do advertising for a living), but the major problem I have with the ad is that it sells Fables as a series of graphic novels, which it is not. It is a series of comic books. The distinction may seem fine and, to be honest, it is, but it is also extremely important. COMICS is a medium, much like literature or film. A "graphic novel" is (to borrow a term from improv) a long-form kind of comic, while a comic book is a short-form (again, an improv term) example of the medium. Therefore, Fables is a long running comic book which, as a general rule, runs 32 pages per issue while 1001 Nights of Snowfall is a graphic novel set in the Fables universe.* There are other things that separate comic books from graphic novels (for instance, comics are generally part of a series while graphic novels are generally stand-alone) but these are mostly generalizations (this week's Serenity: Float Out is a one-shot while Maus has two volumes, for example) and, therefore, to distill the differences to their essence is to discuss length.

Hence, the problem with the advert calling Fables a series of graphic novels; Fables is a series of comic books, which is occasionally collected into something resembling a graphic novel. This is the heart of something I call The Comics Consumption Problem: because collections resemble graphic novels we treat them as such and, therefore, we consume them as such. The problem is, collections of comic books are just that- collections of comic books! To treat them as graphic novels is to consume them differently than they were intended; it is to consume them as one story rather than as serial chapters of one story. This may not seem like an important distinction, but it is a very important distinction- telling a story serially over a period of months is different than telling a story in one big chunk (this is part of the reason that television differs from film, for example); it forces a creator to put the same sort of overall structure in an individual issue that he or she would put in the series as a whole, when taken together and it forces us, the reader, to read in a very different and specialized kind of way.

I'm not suggesting that people shouldn't buy collections- they do a lot of good, and there is a reason they exist. I am suggesting, however, that there needs to be a new standard, a new way of understanding them that differs from both comic books and graphic novels. We need to understand them in their own terms.

The Fables advert on the BBC is really cool and, like I said, I think it is a step in the right direction. I do, however, think that it represents a kind of thinking about comics that moves us backwards in other ways, ways we need to be very careful of.

*Whether or not 1001 Nights of Snowfall actually counts as a "graphic novel" is an interesting question- most of it is comics, but some of it is actually illustrated prose. A discussion on how to treat something like this will have to wait for another time.

"For Weyland, mighty Weyland, was advancing to the bat."

Fables had an odd 2009. It started off incredibly strong with The Dark Ages storyline, which brought the book's first mega-arc to a close quite nicely, then trudged into The Great Fables Crossover, which ranged from mediocre to OHMIGODITBURNS and then strolled right back into quality with the Witches arc which, despite its weak start, had, in the development of Bufkin, one of the most satisfying character arcs in a series full of such work.

Starting off 2010 with a break, then, makes a lot of sense and a break is exactly what Fables #92 is. With regular artist Mark Buckingham taking a well deserved vacation, David Lapham takes over the pencils on this issue and, while his work is easy to distinguish from Buckingham's, it's familiar enough as not to be jarring. Furthermore, Lapham is a great storyteller for this kind of tale- a little bit whimsical, a little bit criminal, all fabulous. (Sorry.)

Bill Willingham is no slouch here, either. Although he's taking a break from the seriousness that's overwhelmed the Earthbound Fables as of late, he certainly isn't turning down the quality of his writing- this story is just right. (The fairy tale puns stop now, I promise.) In a way, it's about where Fables is, right now, as a book- this is a story about what it means to be victorious and, as things continue to fall apart in the wake of a war's end, the Fables as a whole seem to be having a hard time dealing with the fall out of a hard victory. The price, for those on the Farm, may seem to have become too high.

What we have here, then, is a tale of the difference between a post-victory hangover and what it means to be a real victor. This means it is a tale with a moral which, of course, makes it a Fable. Kudos to Willingham and Lapham for taking some time to remember their source material, and just how broad it is (considering the "Casey at the Bat" homage that makes up the issue's first half and also the title of this review). If you're looking for a good point to hop on to this ship, I think this is probably it- it's a nice little tale, nothing more or less than it has to be.

Already Tired of Tuesday...Cap is Back!

Hey guys! Big week this week, so let's jump right into it, shall we?

So....

You can tell why I'm excited, right? With issue #602, CAPTAIN AMERICA IS BACK- and I don't mean Steve Rogers- I mean his comic book. Reborn has come and gone (ok, not really, but it's supposed to be over), so we get to go back to reading the adventures of Captain America. I was pretty happy with the end result of Who Will Wield The Shield?, so seeing Ed Brubaker get back to telling the sort of relatively down to earth Cap stories that I've become so fond of is, well, kind of like a really cool Independence Day present (or something). Anyway, the tale looks to be the best sort of Captain America tale; the kind that's about what it means to wear the Flag, what it means to represent America. This is exactly the kind of story I'm a sucker for- and I'm ready for them to be back.

I'm trying to decide whether or not I want to pony up for Dark Avengers #13. I want to get the full picture of Siege and, while I'm not made of money, buying the books that Bendis is writing (along with those titles I would buy anyway, like Thor) will probably give me the best idea of what he thinks I need to see- it is his story, after all.

With that said, Incredible Hercules #140, Uncanny X-Men #520, Starman #81, Joe the Barbarian #1 and Fables #92 are all definite pick ups. A couple of notes on the last three: 1) I haven't been reading Blackest Night, but it's hard for me to pass up on an issue of Starman, even if I'm not sure it really counts, 2) Grant Morrison is writing Joe the Barbarian, which makes it automatic pick-up (this puts the Scottish Scribe in some very exclusive company) and 3) a Fables story about baseball and murder? What could be bad?

Already Tired of Tuesday... Late Edition

I know its Wednesday folks, sorry about that. I'm in the midst of Finals, so I'm afraid blogging gets short shrift, but in return for my being unable to fall asleep, you get new posts.

Which I guess is a fair trade.


This week's featured issue is Fables #91, the conclusion to the Witches storyline. Witches, on the whole, has been pretty unbelievably cool, with just the right level of intrigue, adventure and butt-kicking flying monkey. That's right, Bufkin, the flying monkey, has been playing a major role in Fables for the past five months and, in my humble opinion, it's one of the most satisfying character arcs that Bill Willingham has ever written. Furthermore, in between Frau Totenkinder's quest to discover the origin of Mr. Dark, Ozma's take over of the Fable spellcasters and Gepetto's quest to regain a little power, there's a lot going on here- and it's all building up to something huge. If you haven't been reading Fables, this is not a very good place to jump on- but, as the book is by far one of the best currently on the stands, you really should wait until next month, when a brand new storyline starts.

Also on the pull list for this week is Captain America Reborn #5, which may or may not be the last issue of a mini that I had high hopes for, but has been incredibly inconsistent, as well as Daredevil #503 and possibly Brave and the Bold #30. Daredevil is, I think, one of the most underrated comics on the stands these days, and if you aren't picking it up you should at least take a flip through. I haven't heard great things about JMS' Brave and the Bold run, however, the cover caught my eye, so maybe Dr. Fate is enough to bring me on, if for just one issue. We'll have to see, I guess.

Already Tired of Tuesday...

Short post today, as I have a paper due in a little over 16 hours:

This week is heavy on the Batman, as both the Brian Azzarello penned Batman/Doc Savage Special and Batman and Robin #6, the conclusion of Phillip Tan's work on the title, are out. Also from DC this week is Fables #90 and, as Witches hits its penultimate chapter, I can't wait to see where we go from here. Out from Marvel this week is Daredevil #502, in which I'm sure things will continue to go to hell for Matt Murdock (it sometimes seems like Daredevil is the comic book equivalent of the Book of Job) as well as the first issue of S.W.O.R.D. which looks unbelievably cool- I'll be pulling it at least through issue three because, well, just look at this cover.

Finally, there's Fred Van Lente's history of the comics medium, Comic Book Comics #4, which comes out this week, although I'll probably pick it up at some other point over the internet.

Now, back to Frederick Douglass and Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Already Tired of Tuesday 10/13/09

Last week was a huge week for me, and it was a damn good one too. Between the start of the new Criminal mini and the end of Planetary, I would be hard pressed to find a week that was quite that good in the recent past.

This week, for the record, isn't looking too shabby either.

I think I'll start out with Incredible Hercules #136, where I'll get to watch Thorcules battle Hercuthor, in what is sure to be a delicious battle for the ages. Then I'll get my Brubaker fix with The Marvels Project #3, which threatens to blow the top off of a wonderfully slow burning series. I'll round into the third course, Uncanny X-Men #516, looking for some Magneto action and I'll finish up with Fables #89 for desert.

Then, I'll wash it all down with a Coke and call it a night.

Already Tired of Tuesday

This is going to be another really big week for me. Not only are the $2.99 Batman and Robin #4, Fables #88 and Agents of Atlas #11 coming out, but also the $3.99 Captain America Reborn #3, Dark Reign: The List- Daredevil, Thor Annual #1, and Wednesday Comics #11.

If I drop one, it will probably be the Daredevil list issue but- and this is a huge but- Gorga convinced me to buy the Avengers List issue that I railed against in this space last week and it was an excellent purchase (there is a review forthcoming). I was hoping to pick up DMZ #45 this week, after not having picked it up last week, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. Same thing with the first issue of that Nomad mini.

Despite its expense, however, it will (with essential Batman, Captain America and Thor purchases) be an excellent week.

I'm Already Tired of Tuesday

Books to Purchase

Incredible Hercules #132
-Everybody, and I mean everybody, seems to be in love with this series co-written by Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente. The few issues I've read so far didn't seem to hold up very well, but the concept of Hercules impersonating Thor at the $2.99 price point makes me want to give this series another shot.

The Marvels Project #1
-Brubaker and Epting writing an espionage story set in the Golden Age about the beginnings of the Marvel Universe? Sold.

Uncanny X-Men #514
-This is an anniversary issue, of a sort: the first comic I ever bought was Uncanny #414 (which, by the way, I remember loving, and actually holds up better than most of Austen's X-run, I think). That isn't, however, why I'm buying it. I'm buying it because I like the X-Men, and I'm not going to make excuses for that. If I'm buying comics, I'm always going to be buying this book, no matter how bad it is. With that said, I really am enjoying the Fraction's run on the title, and the Utopia arc in particular. I'm excited about where this is going from here.

Wednesday Comics #6
-Who isn't buying this title?

Fables #87
-You have no idea how glad I am that the GREAT FABLES CROSSOVER is over with. It was painful. This issue: Flying Monkeys! Beautiful Covers (Seriously, I don't know who this new cover artist is, but I like this almost as much as I like James Jean, although that maybe because it looks like something James Jean would have done)! Mark Buckingham pencils! Did I mention Flying Monkeys?

DMZ #44
-I like the idea of DMZ on the whole, and I like the direction this arc is headed.

B.P.R.D 1947 #2
-I'm just going to say this flat out: Anything that Moon and/or Ba are illustrating I'm going to buy. Anything that Mike Mignola has a hand in, I'm going to buy. Which isn't to say that I'll buy this title twice- just that I'll think about it.

Books to Flip-Through
Captain America: Theater of War: To Soldier On
-Captain America is, for many reasons it doesn't really pay to go into here, my favorite character in all of comics. If it's got his name on it, I'm certainly going to be taking a look.

Dominic Fortune #1
-I love the way Howard Chaykin writes. I hate the way he draws. Thus, we have ourselves an issue worth flipping through.