lilfluff | Entries tagged with comics

As mentioned on twitter, as far as I'm concerned Barnes and Noble is going easy on DC Comics. Here is the situation: DC Comics has taken a number of titles and handed exclusive digital sales rights to Amazon. Barnes and Noble has a simple policy, if you have a physical book and also offer digital sales, then they will only carry the physical book if they are allowed to sell it digitally too. So Barnes and Noble has taken the titles Amazon was given exclusive digital rights to off the shelf.

Barnes and Noble isn't saying, "You must give us an *exclusive* contract." They are saying, "Sorry, but you can't give someone else an exclusive contract and still expect us to put it on the shelf." And unlike when Amazon got ticked off with publishers previously, Barnes & Noble isn't dropping the publisher's entire line, they've said they're going to pull those titles for which DC gave someone else exclusive digital rights.

So, if that last part proves accurate, then this isn't a scorched earth reaction like some people have called it. If it's a DC title for which DC has not given someone else an exclusive digital sales contract, then Barnes & Noble will still carry it. And frankly, when you consider how the market is shifting, that is why I say Barnes & Noble is going easy on DC Comics.

When you get down to it, DC Comics effectively told Barnes & Noble, "Oh go away, your sales aren't big enough to matter." So Barnes and Noble is saying, "Well, since you say we don't matter you won't mind if we hand over the shelf space to someone who does want to work with us, right?"

So, a kerfluffle? Yes. Rather messy business to now be having out in public, yes? A childish over reaction on Barnes & Noble's part? No.

Frankly, if I was a marketing person at Marvel I'd be cackling with glee at this point. That and checking to see how much of a budget was on hand to make a deal with Barnes & Noble to see the emptying shelf space filled with Marvel titles.

CNN on the Amazon/B&N/DC kerfluffle

Current Mood: tired
Crossposts: http://lilfluff.livejournal.com/132037.html

Let's here it for signal boosting. Inspired by a post on signal boosting the same by

ysabetwordsmith and spotting a mention of myself in a signal boosting post (LJ Link), here are some recent things online I recommend checking.

Here is a summary page for

aldersprig's GenderFunk Giraffe Sale (LJ link) in which a call for writing prompts on, "a general theme of gender, sexuality, and how they go funky." Giraffe because any donations make will go towards purchasing awesome Giraffe print carpet.

jeriendhal has been doing writing to prompts as well. Here is a story about an aurora borealis display causing complications for two of his characters, Tez and Maria. No prior knowledge of the setting or characters needed. Or for something chillier (that last line, ack!), one done to the prompt, Finding a babysitter in a post-apocalyptic world.

Rae Bruner reminds us that pointy haired bosses exist in academia too in Monday's Dissonance comic.

Speaking of comics. There are 25 hours left to go in the Neotopia Collected Edition kickstarter. Surely there have to be more Neotopia fans out there. A fun fantasy-steampunk story set 800 years in the future. Originally publised by Antarctic Press in 2003, this kickstarter project would see it brought back in print in a single volume.

Finally, an illustration by Meeks of a Molly and Hel (LJ link)lead me to the journal Wonder City Stories which tells of life in a west coast city with a large superhero population. Many of the early posts are from the point of view of Megan, daughter of one of the world's best known super heroines, who isn't interested in becoming a hero herself and would love to escape her mother's shadow. Sometimes funny, sometimes sad, I'm interested to see where it's headed.

Current Mood: sleepy
Crossposts: http://lilfluff.livejournal.com/125231.html

Ran across a fun new comic online. Well, new for me, it's actually been going two years now. It's called Atomic Laundromat as follows David, the non-super powered son of one of the greatest heroes of recent history and a former despotic empress (they become trapped in a pocket universe for several months during a battle, and upon emerging David's grandfather told his father, "You got my daughter pregnant? You're either marrying her or dying."). He's not upset to be the sole unpowered child of the family, true heroism comes from within after all, not from powers or a cape. And besides, someone has to be there to clean the costumes of the super-powered.

As the title suggests, a fair amount of the comic takes place in David's atomic powered laundromat. Where he is aided by his transforming robot (made from a washing machine of course). There's the love interest, who has no super powers (though she wants them very much) unless maybe you count super-lawyering. A powerful psychic who asks for a job at the laundromat. The duck that was part a bartered payment before David stopped accepting those.

Recent storylines include his younger sister's Sweet 16 birthday party (Who as a the child who is visibly showing alien heritage has been chosen as the heir to her mother's throne) and his father's facing a trial.

Oh. I gave two titles up there, didn't I? This comic is available in English as Atomic Laundromat and in Spanish as Super Lavandería.

Atomic Laundromat updating Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
Super Lavandería actualizado lunes, miercoles, y viernes

Which is handy for someone who's trying to learn Spanish on their own. :) (And it's released under a creative commons license that would even allow potentially sharing any graphical flashcards made from it so long as they were offered on the same terms and had proper attribution)

Current Mood: geeky
Crossposts: http://lilfluff.livejournal.com/123220.html

This a Flashfic based on a prompt from

ravenswept's 30 Days of Flash Fiction Meme

My 30 Days of Flashfic Index Page

Day 6 - Write a scene with people talking, but without any actual dialog

I'm calling this one Betrayal.

Story Note: Tonya is a character I originally created for a Mutants & Masterminds game was set in the Marvel comics universe. It was set just after the Civil War storyline. Part of her background was that her mutant powers started to kick in early, leading to her being spotted and forcefully recruited into a villain's band of so-called revolutionaries. She has "electro-magnetic" powers. Unlike Magneto she can't throw metal objects around with her mind, but she can mentally make simple radio connections and she can also mentally manipulate electronic systems. In the chaos of the 'civil war' Tonya's able to contact the authorities so she can break free...

Not entirely satisfied with it but this is the third or fourth variation on it I've written (I also wrote a version for the "A scene with only dialog" prompt that I'm even less satisfied with)

Oh, and some use of Four Letter Words.

( Betrayal under the cut )

Current Mood: tired

It's the story of a group of Goblins who decide to take player classes so they can eventually defend their clan from adventurers. Or course gaining character levels will require doing some adventuring. Much like OotS there are jokes about D&D rules and oddities. Here we have two guards commenting on economic absurdities of the Players Handbook price lists. (As for the goblin hidden under the cart at the bottom of the page, he's sneaking into the city on a quest to do a good deed.)

Current Mood: amused

Lancaster the Ghost Detective is a fun one. Lancaster is kind of like a ghost buster. Only, instead of frying the ghosts with unlicensed particle accelerators, he will generally try to convince the ghosts to just not cause trouble and move on if they are ready. On the other hand, if the ghost really is bad or simply has a bad attitude, he's quite ready to teach it mortals can smack them down.

Or at least he was confident in that when the series started. Then he ran into a dirty customer and a supernatural conspiracy that's first chased him out of his hometown of Northcod and then back again.

The series is currently on hiatus as the creator prepares for Lancaster's return home and confrontation. But not to fear, that doesn't mean there are no updates. A call went out a while back for people to send in suggestions for citizens of Northcod. During this hiatus a page is going up each day with a description and illustration of one of these neighbors of Lancaster's.

Lancaster the Ghost Detective, don't call him a ghost hunter...

There's no actual nudity but unless you have a very friendly boss this video is probably not safe for viewing at work...

Fred Perry's band of Pirate-Ninja-Leprechauns from Gold Digger sing about the joy of being a pirate. (Music borrowed from a show called LazyTown)

Walks off singing to himself, "Do what you want 'cause a pirate is free ... we'll dig up the box ... burst open the locks and then we'll say HOORAY!"

Current Mood: amused
Current Music: You Are a Pirate

From The Whiteboard, Doc completely misunderstands the phrase, "Fan Service." Still decides to give it a shot even if he can't understand why it might attract the young male demographic.

Current Mood: amused

I almost didn't go. My back has been aching worse the last few days, and I've been a little paranoid about my car after it had to go into the shop twice in such a short period of time. But, I had already requested Friday and Monday off. So I rested up Friday and went on Saturday.

I'm glad I did. In fact I now wish I has gone Friday evening as well. It was great. Hit a panel with the people behind Bushi Tales about inking comics. At their table I picked up a great T-shirt as well involving an inept samurai. There was also a fun panel involving Greg Weisman, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Sonny Strait, Michael McConnohie and Melodee Spevack. It was interesting to hear the differences between both voice acting and producing both dubbed anime and original American animation, and the differences in working in California and Texas. And of course there was plenty of "aaawwwwws" when Anizona's own Jackalope arrived mid-panel.

Unfortunately the materials hadn't made it for the BESM 3rd Edition presentation/demo game. But, I did get to have a badge portrait done by Katie Bair. One funny event, later on at the Con there was a badge check and it wasn't until afterward that I noticed that I had held up the badge that Katie Bair did rather than the convention badge. While waiting my turn to get the badge done I read through the first chapter of Katie's online comic Aesir Corp. Today I pulled it up online and read through the current strips. If you read Ninja High School: Hawaii, Aesir Corp. gives the characters Thor Smith and Lokki (Recent Son and Daughter of Thor and Loki respectively) their own series. Poor Lokki starts off the series by being sentenced to 3000 years in the Aesir Corp Correctional Penitentiary while Thor is the unwilling and uncooperative new CEO of Aesir Corp.

Sunday I could have hit a few panels, but stayed home instead and went out to lunch with my Sister and Mother. That was an excellent way to round out the weekend.

I requested Friday and Monday off for the next convention back when I requested these days off. Hopefully things will be doing well enough that I can go for the full weekend.