ELFSAR BLOG

Well, not really.

So if you had to guess how many copies of the new Godzilla comic from IDW your local comic shop ordered, what would you say?  Maybe five?  How about Ten?  Or even possibly Twenty?  Well, you would probably laugh your but off if I said five hundred.

500 is  a lot to ask a store to order (especially in this day and age).   But what if the cover depicted your very own local comic shop being crushed underfoot by the almighty Godzilla?

It’s a pretty clever marketing idea that IDW came up with.  I know that Elfsar would have definitely jumped on this if we had not already shut down our retail location.  It is good to see a number of stores have taken IDW up on the special promotion so far including two Canadian stores.  Vancouver Islands Curious Comics and  our friends in Edmonton, Happy Harbor.   It’s not the greatest image for the comic book industry but it may be the most accurate.  The great thing about comics is it never takes itself too seriously.  But I can’t shake the feeling that Godzilla’s foot pretty much represents the heavy burden the economy has on comic book specialty stores.

Here is what some of them will look like (I like how each store looks different, rather than just a logo that was stamped where a generic sign might be note: the snow in Edmonton):

The following is copy and paste of a recent tweet/facebook interaction on a recent blog post ANOTHER END OF AN ERA.   Now I normally don’t repost these things but it ended up bringing out some thoughts about the transition of comics to the digital marketplace and so I was encouraged to share.

• Duncan Shields NOOOOOOO

• Ethan Peacock The cancellation of the Wizard print magazine and the laying off of a large chunk of its staff was done for one reason: Wizard is going public as a penny stock and needs its financials to look better. (There’s a lot of nasty red ink attached to their ledgers) This is pretty commonplace in business. Have you ever wondered why you see such big layoffs at companies shortly before the end of the financial quarter? Companies rely on those layoffs to make claims that their outlook for the following year is great to their investors. Problem is, layoffs are a one time thing that don’t add any physical value to the company. They’re just a bandage on the problem. Didn’t Disney recently do that with the shut down of Propaganda games? I hear, EA had some pretty big layoffs as well.

• 

  Duncan Shields Yeah. Huh. Never thought of that. Scary.

• 

  Ethan Peacock Comics publications need to get off there ass and do something using today’s technology or fade away to the underground.

• 

  Duncan Shields Totally. It’s just so hard to think outside of the box, y’know? I mean, it’s been ‘ink on paper’ for so long. Once it’s on a kindle or a iPad, it feels like it’s no longer a comic. That’s probably just my ‘in my day’ brain talking, though. I wonder what can be done.

• 

  Ethan Peacock Well, comics have not been around for even 100 years yet. It always has been an evolutionary medium and the “rules of how to tell a story” have always been challenged. But let’s face it, the old business model of comic books is broken and busted. The sales/print numbers don’t lie. It is a downward slope and I suspect it is picking up speed. Partly why I got out of the retail game.

  I feel like there needs to be an official standard set for a universal digital reader/format rather than publishers competing for control with one another in different formats. Once a unified format is established, publishers may find it easier to make the jump into the digital world. The trick is how to make money on it. Advertising? Peripheral marketing? I don’t have the answer. But doing nothing is certainly not it. Another problem is tech is changing at such a rapid pace that comics can’t seem to find it’s digital footing.

• 

  Duncan Shields You’re a good writer. Yeah, for sure. I agree with all of this. Fingers crossed.

It continues a bit more but you get the jest of it.  What are your thoughts? Do you have an idea, comment or something to say?  Would you like to get in on discussions of this nature?  If so, you can follow us on Twitter or Be a fan on Facebook or join the Elfsar Group on Facebook.

I present to you a little short film I stumbled upon that is acting as a business card from some bat-happy filmmakers.  Not a bad job.

Here is a quote from those involved-  “This film initially was made with the good hopes of gaining the attention of the esteemed filmmakers of the most recent Batman film franchise.  The actors only hope was to submit themselves for consideration in ANY role that may be required.  What began as an audition reel resulted in this promotional piece that all felt ownership in.  From the Director to the Writer, to the camera man and PA, we all hope you enjoy, THE RAT. – And Chris Nolan, please give us a call!”

www.theratshort.com

Although it once sold more copies than even the comics it covered, Wizard: The Guide To Comics Magazine has just shut down all print production after two decades as an industry leader.  Their sister magazine Toyfare has also closed down as well.  I can say I am not too surprised.  Even in the small target market of comic shops, there were only a handful of people that bought the magazine on a monthly basis.  I can’t imagine it did any better in larger book chains like Chapters or Boarders.   Is print dead?  It is if you are trying to keep current on the comic and entertainment industry.

Gareb Shamus -The President and CEO of Wizard World, has announced that he will be re-launching as a web presence called Wizard World in February.  Along with the digital magazine, there will be Wizard World Comic Con Tour that will visit 12 cities in 2011, including New York City, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Austin.  The tour will kick off at the New Orleans Comic Con January 29-30th.

Cloudscape comics returns with another great anthology project and this time they are aiming to produce their most ambitious project to date.  22 local Vancouver artists will contribute/be featured in a new book called 21 Journeys (that’s 21 stories and 1 artist doing the cover).   The book will be in full color and will total a whopping 240 pages!

However, the printing price of $7,000 dollars is not chump change.  So they need some help.

You can make your donation HERE at Indie Gogo and get your pre-ordered copy of this one-time printing.  I reserved my copy with an extra bonus sketch inside… you should too.

Here is Vanessa Kelly with a little more info:

Want to know a bit more about Cloudscape?

Cloudscape appeared at Elfsar Comics and Toys during our last and greatest Free Comic Book Day celebration (to help us with our fundraiser for the Vancouver Food Bank)  & they also joined us previously for a cross-Vancouver store-wide creator signing back in March of 2010.

New images of X-Men: First Class turned up at the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday.  Director Matthew Vaughn expressed no concern about the heavy comic movie competition this summer from Captain America, Green Lantern, and Thor, noting that “X-Men as a brand is bigger than Captain America, Thor, and the Green Lantern, all put together.”

Vaughn even deflected negative attention by dishing on Green Lantern, as bad buzz has been running rampant over the internet following two critics reviews.  “I don’t know about that one, I couldn’t get my head around the trailer, to be honest,” he said.

I don’t know about you Mr. Vaughn, but this X-Men First Class film reeks of being “Made for TV” to me and considering the last 2 X-men films (Last Stand & Wolverine Origins) were a bunch of garbage there is a lot more ridding on this than you may think.   Aside from the comments that this is not a reboot, When you start playing around with what worked (mainly the cast of Characters, Scott, Jean, Hank, Bobby and Adam) you risk ruining the dynamic that made this series such a hit.  I don’t really care if this film has continuity with the others or not, just as long as there is a good story.   Also the time constraints worry me that this will be another forgettable paint by number formula film.  Fox seems to following the business model of quantity over quality.   I like X-men and there is a reason why the comics sold well but so far this does not look promising.

Check out this really bad photoshop promo.   Buzz?  More like buzzkill.

“X-Men: First Class” will be released June 3, 2011.  Read the interview here.

Okay the latest news from The Dark Knight Rises (the third and final Batman film by Christopher Nolan) is that Anne Hathaway will play Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, according to a press release from Warner Bros.  Nolan, in the Warner press release, said: “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Anne Hathaway, who will be a fantastic addition to our ensemble as we complete our story.”

Tom Hardy, already announced as a cast member, has now been announced that he will play the part of Bane, the chemically created brute who broke Batman’s spine (in the 90′s comic books).  Hardy, who has worked with Nolan on Inception,  the director said: “I am delighted to be working with Tom again and excited to watch him bring to life our new interpretation of one of Batman’s most formidable enemies.”

I have to say I am a little disappointed by the villain choice.  Not in Tom Hardy as an actor as I think he will do an excellent job, but rather there is a missed opportunity to wrap up this Trilogy with Talia Al Ghul seeking revenge on Batman for the death of Ras Al Ghul (from Batman Begins).   There are more female roles unannounced so I will reserve judgment until after I see the film of course.  I admit, I thought Heath Ledger was going to be a mediocre Joker in Dark Knight Returns and was proved wrong.

Superhero Hipsters.  Yeah.  They were cool.  But now they are on the internet. So yeah, they are still cool -but maybe not as cool as they were before you saw them.  Don’t worry about it -you wouldn’t understand.  It’s a hipster thing.  It’s not like this is the same recycled ironic jokes over and over again… thrift shops, environmentalism, music snobbery, art, unemployment, knowing about something wayyy before it was popular.  Hipster jokes are now sooooo mainstream.  -lol,  enjoy.

See the full size at io9.com Okay the layout is as follows: Blue is married, light blue dotted is dated, red is offspring, orange dotted is cloned, green is other relation, and purple dotted is nemesis.

As I looked  at this and quickly realized that this really is the tip of the iceberg since there are so many other characters you could add.  So much of what you see above comes from the comics in the 90′s.  Granted it was the height of comic book readership. You know you are a comic reader when you can look at the chart above and identify each character with the minimal amount of information.

Really this needs an “X” on all of them who have died and come back…lol.

Happy Monday.   Most of us that watch SNL find it not very funny or at least it is hard to compare the show to that of its haydays.  Once and awhile, however they strike gold.  Check out this digital shot… I mean short.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

“shot” was the secret word!