FAQ – Part One – Mostly Comics

Q: Why don’t you answer your myspace messages?

I know it’s a crappy excuse, but I’m really, truly swamped with work. I promise, that’s a good thing, b/c it means I’m usually working on cool stuff for Fresh Ink, Geek Out, AOTS, Geek Monthly Magazine, or a few side projects that I can tell you about…one of these days.

Q: What ongoing comics are you reading right now?

A: The Sword, The Killer, The Walking Dead, Pax Romana, Green Lantern, Astonishing X-Men, Planetary (when the damn thing comes out), Locke & Key, Optic Nerve, Local, Northlanders, Queen & Country (trades), Catwoman, Crime Bible, Star Wars: Dark Times, All Star Superman, The Order, The Twelve, Ex Machina, Y, Criminal, Black Summer, Wolfskin, The Infinite Horizon, Thunderbolts, The Goon, Umbrella Academy, Action Comics (Geoff Johns/Gary Frank arc), Daredevil, Powers, Buffy Season 8, Runaways, Jonah Hex, Scalped, Wonder Woman (Gail Simone arc), Kick Ass, Resurrection, JSA, Almighty, Echo, and a bunch of other books that I’m completely blanking on. Basically, the above comics are the ones I buy no matter what. Everything else I pick up from time to time (Conan, Hack/Slash, etc.). For every book listed here, there are two I’m forgetting.

Q: Why do you sometimes mispronounce creators’ names? Seriously, how can you get Mark Millar wrong?

A: Yeah, basically, I’m terrible at guessing how people’s names are pronounced. Mark Millar, Bill Sienkiewicz, Rick Remender, Jim Steranko, Adrian Tomine – I’ve massacred all their names. Sometimes to their faces. Unless your name is extra easy, like Joss Whedon, Warren Ellis, Amanda Conner, or Dan Slott, I’m gonna bungle it. For this, I apologize in advance.

Q: I’m a creator -- how can I get my comic on the show or podcast?

A: Sadly, I don’t get a chance to read or check out everything on the market. The truth is that I buy 90% of my comics with my own cashola, so I can’t pick up every book on the shelf. However, I often check out a ton of new floppies/trades each week – and – to be honest – if I’m not that into it, I probably won’t mention it on the show. I know how hard it is to get a book onto the market, and there’s little point in me slamming someone’s blood, sweat, and tears if I’m not feeling it. Another likely scenario is that I just haven’t had the chance to read it yet. I honestly have a read pile that’s the size of an overturned long-box, so I’m a little behind.

Q: What happened to the Buy, Browse, or Burn rating system?

While “Buy” and “Browse” are pretty decent, I was always sort of morally opposed to the “Burn” category. I don’t think you should actually burn ANY books, and, honestly, I felt horrible when we did that on the show – I may not have liked the comic, but it’s crappy to flambé someone’s book. I will say that the creator of one of the few books we did give the “Burn” rating to actually talked to me about the criticism and was a total class act about it. My hat is off to him.

Q: How do you decide what you’re going to cover on the show/podcast?

I read a big mess of comics every Wednesday (New Comic Book Day!) and talk about the ones that really stand out.

Q: Why do you mostly cover Trades/Graphic Novels and not floppies (single issues) on Attack of the Show now?

I used to cover single issues on Attack (and I still do – occasionally). The problem was, we’d get a TON of e-mail from viewers who don’t live near a decent comic book store. So now I tend to cover stuff on Attack of the Show that people can easily track down using Amazon or any other online service. That way, the guy in Alaska who likes my review of Whiteout or Exit Wounds can actually buy the comic.

On the plus side, this means I can cover five floppies a week on the Fresh Ink podcast.
You can watch it at: www.g4tv.com/freshink

More to follow…
-blair