[Bitching Thread VI] A Brand New Day (for bitching)

Caveman Paws

wirehead26 wrote: »

Arivia wrote: »

Motherfuck why does Marvel have so much trouble with ink transference I'm tired of good issues getting all smudgy on the covers while I read them

Switch to digital you caveman.

Hey! I did switch to digital like 3 months ago.

TexiKen

I haven't had any smears yet, but the new Marvel stock on the $3 books definitely sucks in moisture more, even for Texas heat and humidity. My Thunderbolts #173 is a lot more wavy than my Batman #8.

Arivia

Blankzilla wrote: »

Arivia

do you eat greasy cheeseburgers and poutine before reading comics

because that is what I am thinking it is

Sometimes. But in between I take a half-hour walk so I don't know.

@Delduwath Just magic!

initiatefailure

God damn it, the nova vol 4 i just got from amazon is covered in like 7 library stickers, water-damaged bottom and messed up and torn bottoms of pages, probably associated with the water damage.

good condition my ass.

cshadow42

TexiKen wrote: »

I haven't had any smears yet, but the new Marvel stock on the $3 books definitely sucks in moisture more, even for Texas heat and humidity. My Thunderbolts #173 is a lot more wavy than my Batman #8.

Yeah, I recently picked up a bunch of later Exiles and New Excalibur graphic novels that were deeply discounted by my LCS (75% off). Very "fluffy", as he chose to display them in a box outside.

And I feel kind of bad, because I'm finding that Chris Claremont is increasingly unreadable for me. I know he was pretty big "back in the day", but now his style seems somewhat dated. Everyone is talking all the time, and soliquoizing runs rampant. And it seems like he can't let the scene speak for itself.

Harry Dresden

cshadow42 wrote: »

TexiKen wrote: »

I haven't had any smears yet, but the new Marvel stock on the $3 books definitely sucks in moisture more, even for Texas heat and humidity. My Thunderbolts #173 is a lot more wavy than my Batman #8.

Yeah, I recently picked up a bunch of later Exiles and New Excalibur graphic novels that were deeply discounted by my LCS (75% off). Very "fluffy", as he chose to display them in a box outside.

And I feel kind of bad, because I'm finding that Chris Claremont is increasingly unreadable for me. I know he was pretty big "back in the day", but now his style seems somewhat dated. Everyone is talking all the time, and soliquoizing runs rampant. And it seems like he can't let the scene speak for itself.

Claremont lost me when he returned to the X-men in the 2000's. He did well for a while on Fantastic Four but eventually it got folded into the X-men mythos and never recovered. It's a real shame since his past work, like The Dark Phoenix Saga, is still a masterpiece.

Crimsondude

Arivia wrote: »

@ Delduwath Just magic!

:winky:

cshadow42

Harry Dresden wrote: »

cshadow42 wrote: »

TexiKen wrote: »

I haven't had any smears yet, but the new Marvel stock on the $3 books definitely sucks in moisture more, even for Texas heat and humidity. My Thunderbolts #173 is a lot more wavy than my Batman #8.

Yeah, I recently picked up a bunch of later Exiles and New Excalibur graphic novels that were deeply discounted by my LCS (75% off). Very "fluffy", as he chose to display them in a box outside.

And I feel kind of bad, because I'm finding that Chris Claremont is increasingly unreadable for me. I know he was pretty big "back in the day", but now his style seems somewhat dated. Everyone is talking all the time, and soliquoizing runs rampant. And it seems like he can't let the scene speak for itself.

Claremont lost me when he returned to the X-men in the 2000's. He did well for a while on Fantastic Four but eventually it got folded into the X-men mythos and never recovered. It's a real shame since his past work, like The Dark Phoenix Saga, is still a masterpiece.

Yeah, when I was reading Exiles, it seemed like Claremont really wanted to be writing Excalibur, as a lot of Excalibur mythos got shoehorned in and the characters between the two teams crossed over like crazy. I loved the Exiles series (especially Winnick's run), but it went off the rails for me when Claremont took over.

Speaking of Exiles, I read the preview of New Mutants, and I'm really not like the way they're portraying Blink. Granted, this is a different Blink than the Exiles version, but I really liked the Exiles version and this Blink seems so flat in comparison. Is Blink being developed more fully by Pak than is apparent from the previews?

I did enjoy Blink's evolution in Exiles, from the scared girl taken in by 'Mr Creed' to the confident team leader. A lot of the characters in Exiles were great, its just too bad a lot of them became cannon fodder for new writers (Morph, Mimic).

Hensler

initiatefailure wrote: »

God damn it, the nova vol 4 i just got from amazon is covered in like 7 library stickers, water-damaged bottom and messed up and torn bottoms of pages, probably associated with the water damage.

good condition my ass.

Amazon is good about refunding money in cases like this, if you bought it from Amazon Marketplace. If the seller misrepresented the condition, you don't even have to send it back in - you can keep the book and a get a full refund.

Linespider5

I got to be in a pretty low and foul mood earlier today. There's a comic shop in my town. It's the ONLY comic shop in my town. I like having this comic shop in my town. I may not be picking up a lot of stuff very often, but I like it being there. I like being able to get stuff when stuff I want is there. I realize I don't put as many dollars there, but I also special order my board games through them rather Amazon or what have you.

Trouble is today, the assistant guy set me right the fuck off, because he couldn't be bothered to get off his fat ass and operate the cash register to the money I wanted for my copy of BPRD #3 The Long Death.

I was the only customer in the store, and he was talking with someone who obviously was not a customer. I put the comic on the counter, and he pauses in his conversation, turns and says to me, "You don't have to buy that. I can tell you how it ends."

And just looks at me with a smug expression on his face.

I wait several seconds for him to do something, anything, and then finally ask him, "Can I...buy this?"

Dude and his friend go "ooooh" like I've done the wrong thing. More second pass, and, finally, the assistant gets off his stool, walks the five feet to the cash register, takes my ten dollar bill, give me the correct change, and just stands there.

He does not give me a bag for my new comic.

I decide it's really not worth the point to ask for a bag from this man. "Sorry I stopped in," I say.

"Why?" He says sarcastically as I leave the store. "Why should you be sorry?"

So guess what everyone.

I am not going to my local comic shop any longer.

I'm a thirty year old guy who has done a solid decade of fucking customer service and a middle-aged doughboy just spent longer being an ass to me than it would've taken him to just do the basic math and give me my 6.35 in change. I knew what I wanted, I picked it up, I had the money, and I could've been gone very quick and out of whatever serious business he was having with his friend. But instead of giving me at least a brief, neutral experience in the store so I could be a customer, I got a shit sandwich.

I have been a semi-regular customer of this store for seven years. I am not going there any longer.

Today I finally bought the iPad I've been planning on since I got my tax return. I'm going digital for my future comics.

Have a nice day.

Centipede Damascus

hot dang, that is awful. I'm sorry you have such a terrible local comics store, dude.

Arivia

man, that sucks

my local actually laughed at me when I tripped over a chair before I became a regular, but that doesn't even compare to that

that's just terrible, I'm sorry

Linespider5

Well, the store itself is nice. The main guy who runs it is nice. But he's got a shitty assistant that he's had for the last year and a half, who I don't think is actually all that interested in helping the store survive.

Strange as it may sound, if it were up to me, I really don't want to get rid of the guy. I just would want him to be able to be a better guy than he is. Otherwise he's still out there somewhere, being an asshole.

Arivia

Maybe talk to the owner, specifically tell him why you're leaving just so he knows there's a problem?

Linespider5

I'm really, really crappy at confrontational stuff, and although the owner is a great guy, I really don't feel like I'm in a position to tell him something like that. Maybe I'd just say something about the assistant being rude, but no way in hell I'd ever tell a man to his face that I won't be coming back to his store when my problem isn't him. It'd be like I'd be saying he'd need to fire the guy on the spot, for me to stand in his store and tell him that. Plus, these days I can only make it there on the weekends due to my work schedule.

Guess who works the weekends.

Gaslight

If you like the owner, there is a case to be made that you are doing him a disservice by not informing him that his employee is a douchenozzle who is harming his business by driving away customers.

Linespider5

I realize this.

Shit. I need to think on this a while, and figure out how best to tactfully do this. I place a premium on doing things respectfully and with care. I gotta figure this one out. Might be best to Help/Advice this one rather than muddy up the Bitching Thread.

Munch

After being confronted with an Army recruiter three weeks in a row at my local comic shop, I finally told one of the workers there that, the next time I saw Captain America leaning on the counter, it'd be the last time I shopped there.

Haven't seen him since.

My only other complaint about the store, is that one of the workers there would often take comics into the bathroom, and then return them to the shelf, in full view of customers.

I know everybody poops and all, but seriously? Ew.

HadjiQuest

Linespider5 wrote: »

I realize this.

Shit. I need to think on this a while, and figure out how best to tactfully do this. I place a premium on doing things respectfully and with care. I gotta figure this one out. Might be best to Help/Advice this one rather than muddy up the Bitching Thread.

Write it out. Anonymously or not. It's a lot easier to do that stuff by writing. The only problem will be finding a way to get it specifically to the owner.

Crimsondude

Munch wrote: »

After being confronted with an Army recruiter three weeks in a row at my local comic shop, I finally told one of the workers there that, the next time I saw Captain America leaning on the counter, it'd be the last time I shopped there.

Haven't seen him since.

So what you're saying is that you're a communist.

My only other complaint about the store, is that one of the workers there would often take comics into the bathroom, and then return them to the shelf, in full view of customers.

I know everybody poops and all, but seriously? Ew.

Gross.

I get uncomfortable when I'm not at my main LCS, but I have to admit that Linespider's experience makes me glad that competition here has led to customer service generally being pretty good at all of the eight-plus stores (Being in a nerdy city has its benefits). I went to a store I rarely visit today because I was in the area, and while they didn't have Dark Horse Presents #11 (with Francavilla's Black Beetle story) one of the employees was really helpful and I even decided to get Sixth Gun vol. 3 there on Wednesday because of how helpful he was while I was trying to get a copy of Secret Avengers #23 and Uncanny X-Force #24 (I was not going to pay $15 for the La Grande Jatte-inspired Avengers variant cover).

So since I feel like I'm rubbing salt into Linespider's wounds, I will bitch about how at least this store was shorted nine issues of UXF #24 because Diamond sucks. Plus they only got (ordered? I can't recall) one issue of DHP #11.

cshadow42

I feel for you Linespider. I had a similiar experience recently at a used book store I frequent. I went in to browse the science fiction section to see if they had anything new that would peek my interest. They didn't, so I decided to leave the store. As I was leaving, the guy at the register snidely called after me "Thanks for your business". That made me angry, as I had spent money there in the past and I was planning to spend money there in the future. And its a used book store, they should be used to people browsing. So I'm not going back there again. However, its not like they're the only used book store around (there are a ton of them in my town), so its not like boycotting that store hurt me much.

There is only one LCS in my town (they successfully beat out the only other LCS recently). I'm recognized as a regular, so they're pretty nice to me. They even don't mind if I let my two year old on the ground to run around. Yeah, sometimes I am stuck waiting as the guy at the register talks "shop" with someone else, but I think thats part of the LCS atmosphere.

Crimsondude

Oh, yeah. That's annoying when customers hold up the line. I have had long discussions with the LCS employees before, but (because I am so self-conscious/socially anxious) I get really antsy when anyone else is around and looks like they just want to make a purchase during their lunch break. I was talking to the owner on Wednesday actually about my pull list and moving when I gave him my Previews form, and that happened.

I don't mind men (and it's always men) using the/an employee as their literary bartender, but have some situational awareness.

Linespider5

The waiting in line thing, I got no problem with. Obviously there tends to be a lot of talk in comic shops that anyone who isn't doing the talking may not care about in the slightest-but, that's what mp3 players are for. It's just like being on the bus.

WiseManTobes

My bitch is directed at whoever pointed out that Avengers game on Facebook a few weeks back.

WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME!

( Seriously tho, it's 5% really fun game , 95% facebook spamming to get to the 5% , but you WANT that 5% like it's crack)

And I avoided facebook games for soooo long too! rofl

DrIanMalcolm

Lee and Didio had a Before Watchmen panel at the LA Times Festival of Books this past weekend and, of course, Alan Moore's disagreement came up

As a creator, how do you reconcile Alan Moore’s disagreement with the project and movie?

Lee: It’s interesting because in the Chris [Roberson] example, he alluded to an article in Comics Alliance that goes on about how Alan Moore has been unjustly treated. In this piece of journalism, it only cites interviews Alan has given. People will listen if it’s polarizing and one sided enough. This is not a situation where we have taken things from Alan. He signed an agreement and yet he said ‘I didn’t read the contract.’ I can’t force him to read his contract. So there’s all these things that people don’t know and Alan has said that explicitly – there are all these things that mitigate or go into the analysis. It’s not as clear-cut as people want to make it seem… It’s not a situation where we’re using the characters and Alan’s not being compensated. For everything that’s been done for Watchmen from the books to the movie, money has gone his way. The right amount that he deserves based on the contract. So we have honored that part of the agreement. It is something that can definitely be debated but to say that there is clearly one side that is right, I will dispute that.

Caveman Paws

Digital Comics randomly shreds my resolve to not spend money on every comic book I see.

And then I spend $30 in comic purchases.

A v X and Wolverine and the X-men = so good.

edit: My bad, the artwork in A v X #2 is dogshit.

Arivia

Bitch: Moving Tuesday. New longbox for all my floppies since February comes in with the Diamond order on Wednesday.

Crimsondude

I will hate you forever for posting that, DrIanMalcolm.

Antimatter

I hope fewer people buy Before Watchmen than should be expected

Crimson King

imagine actually doing that

imagine what would have to happen in your head to make you think buying Before Watchmen was a good idea

herojoe

Morbid curiosity more than anything.

Munch

DrIanMalcolm wrote: »

Lee and Didio had a Before Watchmen panel at the LA Times Festival of Books this past weekend and, of course, Alan Moore's disagreement came up

As a creator, how do you reconcile Alan Moore’s disagreement with the project and movie?

Lee: It’s interesting because in the Chris [Roberson] example, he alluded to an article in Comics Alliance that goes on about how Alan Moore has been unjustly treated. In this piece of journalism, it only cites interviews Alan has given. People will listen if it’s polarizing and one sided enough. This is not a situation where we have taken things from Alan. He signed an agreement and yet he said ‘I didn’t read the contract.’ I can’t force him to read his contract. So there’s all these things that people don’t know and Alan has said that explicitly – there are all these things that mitigate or go into the analysis. It’s not as clear-cut as people want to make it seem… It’s not a situation where we’re using the characters and Alan’s not being compensated. For everything that’s been done for Watchmen from the books to the movie, money has gone his way. The right amount that he deserves based on the contract. So we have honored that part of the agreement. It is something that can definitely be debated but to say that there is clearly one side that is right, I will dispute that.

Abhay Khosla wrote:

Straczynski then presumably added, “DC’s action subjected Siegel & Shuster to years of extreme poverty. They forced Jerry Siegel’s wife to beg DC to give her husband work. By the time Joe Shuster was 62, he was almost blind and living in a California nursing home, despite having created a character known and beloved throughout the world. And those are the reasons why I’m extremely proud to make comics for DC today. Those are my dogs! Those are my dogs that did that! That’s how my bros make it do, nephew! Woot Woot! Alan Moore signed a crummy contract, Joe Siegel signed a crummy contract, Jerry Shuster signed a crummy contract, DC is an empire of cruelty built on a mass grave of crummy contracts signed by broken men, but if that’s why I can make money today, then obviously, it was all worth it. And if I can anticipate your next question: no, there’s technically no evidence yet that anyone at DC was implicated in the death of Whitney Houston, but my fingers are crossed.

Crimsondude

Once again, Munch proves himself a million times smarter than I am. I reblogged that passage from Chris Sims' tumblr yesterday morning/afternoon, but didn't connect the dots to post it in response to Lee.

Antimatter

Munch is the best of us, god bless him.

Linespider5

That's the thing: If you work in comics and DC offers you a contract, you could of course not sign it. Not there have been lots of alternatives to doing so or anything. A career comic artist, with few exceptions, has nowhere to go unless he or she wants to stop being a comic artist. The choice is not a choice. It's kind of like, "You can take this trip like we want to, or you can be thrown out of the side of this moving train and left in the desert. But...the choice is entirely yours."

What else was Moore supposed to do? Go write Manga?

TexiKen

Is there an actual copy of the contract out there Moore agreed to for Watchmen?

Hensler

Crimson King wrote: »

imagine what would have to happen in your head to make you think buying Before Watchmen was a good idea

Well, the thing happening in my head is that I like comic books and these are being made by some very talented people whose work I enjoy.

SatanIsMyMotor

Hensler wrote: »

Crimson King wrote: »

imagine what would have to happen in your head to make you think buying Before Watchmen was a good idea

Well, the thing happening in my head is that I like comic books and these are being made by some very talented people whose work I enjoy.

Ditto. I make a habit out of buying everything Darwyn Cooke touches ever so...

RedDelicious

Oh come on, like every single one of you won't purchase Before Watchmen stories if they turn out good...

DouglasDanger

RedDelicious wrote: »

Oh come on, like every single one of you won't purchase Before Watchmen stories if they turn out good...

i sure as fuck won't purchase any of the before watchmen garbage