Just a short note that the site that spawned Trouble With Comics, Comic Book Galaxy, is back as a daily blog of news and commentary written by myself. So if that sounds like something you might be interested in, have a look at the new version of Comic Book Galaxy. It’s a modest beginning, and will likely remain modest, but it’s there, and I thought you might want to know. A lot of the old stuff is still there too.

— Alan David Doane 

The name of this blog started as a throwaway joke — when I worked up the first test version of the front page, the first line of the fake, place-holding post I put up was, “The trouble with comics is…” and somehow it stuck.

My trouble with comics right now is that so very few appeal to me. From the age of 6 until the past couple of years, I existed on a weekly habit of comics, like most American “mainstream comics” readers. From the age of 15 until my early 40s, a week without a visit to a comic shop and the accompanying multiple purchases (lowest week, 20 cents — highest, over $200.00) was virtually unknown. Nowadays my pull list has I think one or two monthly titles on it — Fatale and Daredevil — and I no longer find myself looking forward to the yearly-or-so offerings of creators I used to rabidly follow, like Ware, Clowes, or Los Bros Hernandez. I understand Jaime recently did an amazing two-part story about Maggie’s love life. I don’t know that I’ll ever read it. I’ve lost the habit, the drive, the addiction to the artform of comics, I think. Maybe it’s cyclical and my trouble with comics will go away. I am still passionately interested in the subject itself, still read a metric shitload of blogs and sites and I do re-read some of my favourite comics and graphic novels from years past. But the digital revolution leaves me pretty cold, and that seems to be where it’s at for many people interested in comics these days.

I do miss the days of hanging out in the comic shop and talking for hours with the staff and my fellow readers, speculating about storylines and creative shakeups and sharing storage tips and recommending distant shops we’d visited once, as in a dream, with wonders to behold. It seem like comics has become more solitary and more insulated somehow. And the issues themselves are so divisive — issues like piracy, or the difference between traditionally-produced comics versus all-digital — that there’s no room for civil discourse. I’ve seen online friendships disintegrate over subjects like this, because no one seems to listen or consider any other point of view, they just wait their turn to shout their position more forcefully. I’m as guilty as anyone — I honestly think if you buy DC’s planned Watchmen prequels you are an unredeemable scumbag and a traitor to comics. If you’re a creator working on them? You can go fuck yourself, I will never buy your work again. That’s you, Darwyn Cooke. And you, Straczynski. I never liked Azzarello’s shit much anyway. Still blows my mind that Len Wein could stoop so low. But fuck him, is the length and breadth of my thoughts on the man. Years from now I expect one or two of those scabs will apologize for their monumental error and acknowledge that what they did, what DC did, was wrong. Frankly this issue is a large part of my current trouble with comics. I can’t believe there isn’t more outrage. What the hell is wrong with you people?

But TWC, and the site that spawned it, Comic Book Galaxy — they aren’t going anywhere. In recent days I have found myself thinking about totally reinventing CBG, here nearly 12 years after it began. That would make the fourth or fifth iteration, I think, and it would have to be very 21st century, streamlined and easy to use. As it exists it’s a huge pain in my ass, with technical issues that keep me up at night gritting my teeth in frustration. I want it to continue in some way, and would like it to even be relevant again. But it’s going to take some time, some thinking, and some way to get past my trouble with comics.

— Alan David Doane

 

You may have noticed that we’ve added a Paypal donation button to the sidebar to the right. I’ll be right up front and tell you that if you can make a donation to support our efforts here, it would be greatly appreciated and go a long way toward making sure TWC keeps going for the foreseeable future.

Prior to our recent re-envisioning, my own blogging efforts had been light because of a number of factors, including the fact that I have been out of work for a few months now and am looking for a new job, and also that we had to cut the internet from our household budget, so my online access was extremely spotty. We managed to get our internet back a few weeks ago, and you may have noticed I’ve been on a real streak ever since — I guess I had a lot of stuff bottled up inside me.

I know times are tough all over; I’m not the only one, and we’re lucky in that my wife still has a job, and a good one at that. But she doesn’t make enough to cover all our household expenses, and some months are very difficult, so I’m asking you to consider making a donation from time to time, in whatever amount you think is fair, if you like what we do here. I’m not going to turn Trouble with Comics into a PBS Pledge Drive, and other than this one message, and maybe a brief reminder at the end of some posts, the only reminder asking you to donate will be the button in the sidebar.

Besides the donation button, you can also support our efforts by clicking on one of the BUY COMICS links in the sidebar, which take you to Lone Star Comics’ MyComicShop.com and Amazon, both of which we have affiliate programs set up with. You can also spread the word about us on Facebook, or your own blog, if you have one, or any message boards or mailing lists you participate in. If you have a project you want to tell the world about, email me about advertising here on TWC. This would be fun if only Chris and I were reading what we do here, but I have to be honest and tell you it’s a thrill to know that people actually are interested in what we do, and if you can help more people learn that we’re here, that would be great, too.

Since Chris and I started redoubling our efforts here on TWC, it’s been gratifying to see so many readers find their way back here. We’re a long way from the glory days of Comic Book Galaxy in the early 2000s, but it’s clear that we have a small but loyal audience that likes what we do, and I speak for Chris when I tell you we appreciate every one of you who stops by, checks out our writing, or leaves a comment. Thank you for being a part of Trouble with Comics, and thank you for whatever support you can provide to keep us going, now or in the future.

— Alan David Doane

If you’re reading this post on an RSS reader, you may not see the changes we’ve made to the design here at TWC. But if that’s the case, you can click our new URL www.troublewithcomics.com to see the changes. The look was entirely inspired by Christopher Allen’s suggestion to me that the blog should reflect “Something troubling, maybe some hotter color for background, with a tense logo.” Having co-opted one of the most tension-filled images in all of comics history (the first panel of “Master Race,” by Bernard Krigstein) for our new logo, I hope I met Chris’s expectations.

Aside from the new look, the other change is that TWC is now written solely by Christopher Allen and myself. We previously had cooked up the idea and edited the blog together, but after a pretty strong start and months of great posts from a large group of writers, things began to stagnate and Chris and I felt it was time for a change. Looking back at the era of Comic Book Galaxy when Chris and I were sharing space a la Siskel and Ebert (not to set the bar too high, eh, Chris?), I really got the itch to try that out once again.

So look for Phase II to kick into hopefully a higher gear in the days and weeks ahead, as Chris and I ramp up our efforts and hopefully provide you with the kind of criticism and commentary you’ve come to expect from us (if, in fact, you’ve ever heard of us at all). There’s no one I enjoy talking about comics with more than Christopher Allen, and I’m really psyched to be once again talking about them with him right here at Trouble with Comics.

Remember to bookmark our new URL, www.troublewithcomics.com, and please let us know what you think about our efforts.

— Alan David Doane

I turned ten in early 1991.

I would have been in Grade 5 at that time.  I remember our initial classes that year being interrupted by studying some of the history of the Middle East, but I also remember reading Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, working on Greek mythology, something about Bloom’s taxonomy, and my teacher telling a story about hiking along the Bruce Trail, coming across an abandoned car, going into a trap door, and refusing to tell us the rest of the story until the end of the semester.  Some random facts about the year:  1991 started on a Tuesday; my birthday was on a Wednesday; the Gulf War broke out, changing the face of news coverage of such events, amongst other things; the Soviet Union collapsed; Gene Roddenberry passed away in October; Jeffrey Dahmer was apprehended; the first free elections were held in Poland; the Super Nintendo was released; South Africa repealed the Population Registration Act; the Warsaw Pact was dissolved, and; X-Men #1 was released.

To me, it’s kind of frightening that people who were born that year are now legally allowed to both vote and drink in Canada, but I guess that’s the price of getting older.  I suppose also, the sight of seeing teens wearing Nirvana shirts born after Kurt was dead is kind of akin to my generation wearing shirts of The Doors.  Gradual cultural shift, some uneasiness in regards to it, and a wondering about whether or not you’re still relevant.  As I prepare for my own third decade, I may be particularly steeped in this than most people; getting ready for my own Logan’s run, as it were.

As much as I can remember, ten is an interesting age.  It’s the first time that you hit double digits, yet you’re still essentially a child, more independent than you were before, but by no means mature enough to look after yourself (I’d argue that there are many within their twenties that still can’t).  You’re starting to form an identity more independent from your parents, but still highly influenced by your friends, and you still often play with “childish” things.

A decade.

That’s what’s gone by since the initial launch of this website.  Many good people, many strange people, many intelligent people, many funny people, have come and gone, written good things, written bad things, under its banner.  A few of us remain, possibly because we’ve just got nothing better to do, possibly just because it’s something we believe in and can’t stop doing.  You take your pick.

In September of 2000, I was starting my second year of university.  19, with my whole life ahead of me.  Some would say, more impetuous, brighter, maybe a little crazier (I would debate that, I’ve just refined my insanity).  It has been an interesting ten years to say the least, at some points I’m actually kind of surprised that I survived through it.

Comics have changed quite a bit since I started doing this, something I’m going to go on about more at a later date, but it has been interesting, satisfying, and I’ve felt quite privileged to be able to comment and critique on the art form over this time.  Proud to have been one amongst many shining lights.

In that time, I’ve gone through many personal changes, I’ll not recount them for fear of boring you, but it’s interesting to see some of the contributions that I’ve made past, starting with eddy currents and i bent my wookie…  Part of me misses being able to do that every week, but life gets in the way, and I also don’t think my wallet could handle the strain.  I still don’t know what I was thinking when I started doing d.’s daily diatribe, I was always jumping into one ambitious project (like the entire Made in Canada era where I was trying to produce enough content for an entire site by myself), or another hare-brained idea every other day.  Masochism, maybe?

I want to thank Chris Allen, Chris Ryall, Rob Vollmar, Jason Marcy, Marshall O’Keefe, Loren Di Iorio, Nick Capetillo, Ken Cuperus, Paul Weissburg, Logan Polk, Ed Douglas, Tom Beland, and countless other that I’m probably forgetting (not intentionally, it’s just that when you get old these things happen), for encouraging me with your own work for the site and not turning on a fledgling, foolish writer like a pack of dogs.  (Also I should note, I’m also thankful to all of you at the right, who I’m currently writing alongside.) 

Above all, I’d like to thank Alan for setting the entire thing in motion, for giving a chance to some idiot who used to post reviews on usenet, and for putting up with a lot of my mad ideas.  It’s a testament to Alan that out of all of the comics sites, Comic Book Galaxy is STILL here.

It’s 3:33 in the morning.

The skies outside have grown dark.  After weeks of nothing but sun and hot weather, clouds have finally started rolling in, the temperature has dropped and it is about to rain.  I’m pummelling my eardrums with Muse and Head Control System, trying to find a rhythm.  I’m thinking of old ones and elder gods, having just read the first issue of Alan Moore’s Neonomicon.  A romance writ large against the heavens.

A sense of wonder.

That’s what I miss.  That’s what I think everyone has forgotten.  They get caught up in the mundanity of every day life, that they forgot that sense of awe they once had at fabulous stories.  I’ve always been a firm believer that some of the most important, most profound revelations that we’re ever going have can only be presented in the form of fiction, but it’s hard when many of the works are presented simply as male power fantasies.  The greatest stories can be enjoyed purely on a surface level, but have something deeper that you can sink your teeth into, find meaning in, and worlds that you can go back to again and again.

It’s 2010.

29 now, I’ve gone through a lot over the past decade.  Moved house and home from the centre of the country to close to it’s furthest reaches west.  I’ve seen good things, done worse, dropped off the grid for awhile, tried to start a new family, failed, and came back again.  “Whatever doesn’t kill you, makes you stranger.”  This year has seen the Winter Olympics come to Vancouver, my home, as the entire world descended upon my city; the year started on a Friday; my birthday was on a Saturday; Spain took over the presidency of the Council of the European Union from Sweden; scientists have created a functional synthetic genome; heavy monsoons have caused massive flooding across Pakistan; a 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated Haiti; Ihsahn released his third solo album; Kate McGarrigle, JD Salinger, Harvey Pekar, Frank Frazetta, Ronnie James Dio and Dennis Hopper have all passed away, and; X-Men #1 was released.

It seems as though the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Oh, and goatboy says hello.

Be seeing you.

— d. emerson eddy

Ten years ago today I was anxiously awaiting the debut of Comic Book Galaxy, which came a day later, on September 1st, 2000.

Personal matters have kept me from any major posts the past few weeks, and I really did want to have something major put together for the tenth anniversary, but the universe had other plans. I know at least one Galaxy founder has something planned for tomorrow, and I am looking forward to reading that. I hope you are too.

While we await that piece’s posting, let me say thank you to everyone who’s been involved with Comic Book Galaxy over the past decade. If I were to name everyone, the list would be somewhere around (or even over) 100 names, and I don’t want to leave anyone out, so just know that if you’ve been a part of this strange and at times unsettling ride, please know that you have my eternal gratitude for making the site everything that it has been over the years. “We are not now what we once were,” goes that quote that Joe Straczynski loves so much…and I forget the rest, but I’m sure it’s something like “…but at least we’re still here.”

Not everyone has been so lucky. And on this day before Comic Book Galaxy’s tenth anniversary, I’m reminded of two staggering and very different talents that are no longer with us — Harvey Pekar and Mike Wieringo. I got to know each of them just a tiny bit as a result of the existence of this site, and you can read my interviews with them in my ebook Conversations with ADD. I think about both of these gentlemen quite often and reflect on how much they gave to comics, and how much more they had to give. There are a lot of reasons why I am proud of the work we’ve done here over the past decade, but there’s no greater reason than that it’s allowed me and the people who contribute to the site to talk to and learn from such talented creators. I hope the next decade allows us to do more of the same with the people making comics today, and in the years ahead.

I must once again single out Christopher Allen for his loyalty and dedication, and for the mountains of incredible writing he has given us all over the past ten years, here and elsewhere.

And for you, dear reader, thanks for being here all these years, you have no idea how grateful I am for your participation.

— Alan David Doane

As I’ve often written, Comic Book Galaxy has gone through many changes over the years. As we approach our tenth anniversary (on September 1st), I want to look back at some of the highlights of the site’s history. For me, one of the greatest moments was co-writing The Conversation with TWC co-editor Christopher Allen.

We only did three of them, but we had a blast writing them. Here they are:

Part One: Morrison, Moore and The Mainstream’s Inventors and Ingrates.
Part Two: The CrossGen Post-Mortem.
Part Three: Galactic Navel-Gazing.

That last piece finds us trolling through our memories of the earliest days of Comic Book Galaxy, an exercise in hubris, perhaps, but man, there’s a lot of memories there.

I hope you enjoy taking a look at some of these pieces, and I’m going to try to dig up some other hidden gems in the Galaxy archives as we get closer to the big 1-0.

— Alan David Doane

In September, Comic Book Galaxy will have existed for ten years. We’ve gone through four or five incarnations, but currently the site mainly serves as a gateway to my ADD Blog and the group blog Trouble with Comics, which I co-edit with Christopher Allen.

Looking at our main page, I realize that the site is very desperately in need of an overhaul, one that unifies all our various incarnations and allows easy access to all the great contributions we’ve hosted over the past ten years.

But until that happens, I thought it might be good to provide you with a post that gives you links to the most content-heavy pages on the site.

There are two main reviews pages: reviews by Alan David Doane (me), and reviews by other Comic Book Galaxy contributors. Between those two pages you’ll find links to many hundreds of reviews, and contributions by many well-known writers about comics.

There are two main commentary pages: essays by Alan David Doane (me), and essays by other Comic Book Galaxy contributors, notably Christopher Allen, Mike Sterling and Rob Vollmar, among others.

On the interviews page, you’ll find links to transcripts of many interviews conducted by myself and other folks over the years. There are also a handful of audio interviews that you can download on MP3 and enjoy at your leisure.

You’ll find even more writing in the archives on the sidebars of the old Blogger versions of The ADD Blog, Chris Allen’s blog (and check out his archived Movie Poop Shoot columns) and Trouble with Comics.

If you click some of these links, I think you’ll be surprised just how much writing has been archived over the years at Comic Book Galaxy. I wish I had the time and resources to better aggregate it all into one central (and easily used) location, but in the meantime, this post will have to do. I hope you’ll poke around and hopefully find some good writing you’ve never read before. 

— Alan David Doane

There’s a link to our new RSS feed in the sidebar on the right, but I wanted to highlight it for new and existing readers who follow TWC through a feed reader. The address to subscribe to is: http://troublewithcomics.tumblr.com/rss.

— Alan David Doane

…and here we are at the new (for now, anyway!) home of Comic Book Galaxy’s trouble with comics! Due to technical issues (short version: screw YOU, Blogger!), we found the need to relocate TWC, so this is where we’ll be until further notice.

Please bookmark http://troublewithcomics.tumblr.com/ and thanks for your patience and continuing interest in Trouble with Comics!

— Alan David Doane