Tag Archives: Comics Alliance

by | March 20, 2015 · 2:35 pm

Around the Web March 20, 2015

This week the new comic solicitations came out, much as they do every month. This month however, they came with considerable controversy. Among the many titles in Marvel’s line up is X-Men ’92 written by Comics Alliance’s Chris Sims. This announcement touched off a very quick and unexpected downward spiral in conversation on the internet. Things started with an impressive Twitter rant by comic writer Valerie D’Orazio. Going back about ten years ago, Sims was part of a very vocal group that significantly harassed D’Orazio over one of the comics she was currently writing. Sims’ comments in particular went beyond just commentary on the book and often became personal attacks. In response to this coming back into the spotlight both Sims and Comics Alliance have issued statements in which Sims apologized for his previous actions, though well after the fact.

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This serves as a potent example for why people should be both careful and civil in what they say and do online. Continue reading →

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by | March 14, 2014 · 8:01 pm

Around the Web March 14, 2014

Happy Pi day everyone!

We start off with some interesting news from Diamond. The comic book distributor has been sending out secret shoppers to determine if stores who participate in their day-early delivery program are sticking to the programs rules.  Diamond announced that they found fifty cases where stores were not abiding by the rules, although they were not specific about the store names or the circumstances under which the comics were sold. These numbers also mesh with Diamond’s numbers from 2011 that say that 98% of retailers are abiding by program rules.

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While I am not a fan of Diamond’s near monopoly on comic distribution, I do like this program and I am glad to see that most people are playing nice so  that we can all benefit.

Next up, we have a Kickstarter for your consideration. A Druid’s Duel is a turn based strategy game that reminds me a lot of Final Fantasy Tactics, which is one of my all time favorite games. Unlike Tactics however, this seems to be a much simpler game, and there is no crazy story to follow. The graphic are pretty straight forward, but clean and attractive. Best of all there is a demo that you can download for Mac or PC.

A bit like this, but much simplified and streamlined.

A bit like this, but much simplified and streamlined.

I’m looking forward to giving this one a try when I’ve got some free time.

Now a couple of good deals for you. First up is a Pi day special from Comixology. They’re offering discounts on several Image titles, today only. Second is a complete Jack Kirby and Joe Simon horror comic, available for free on Comics Alliance.

Finally, today is Follow Friday and with that in mind we’ve got a brief history of one of the all-time great X-Men, Jean Grey, brought to us by The Brotherhood of Evil Geeks (appropriately named for such an article). This post sums up Jean pretty good, without going into too much detail. They also focus on just Jean here, because they have a separate post on Phoenix.

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I’ve always wanted to see her get some Canadian lovin’… if you know what I mean.

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by | November 26, 2013 · 4:09 pm

Around the Web November 26, 2013

Now you and I can explore Middle Earth. In preparation for the upcoming movie The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Warner Bros has partnered with Google Chrome to give us a tour through some of Middle Earth’s more well known locations (and presumably those that we will see in the film). The promotional footage certainly looks promising and there is apparent room for expansion, hopefully to include those locations seen in Lord of the Rings.

This year marks the 75th birthday of Superman. To celebrate, DC has released a new collection of Superman stories from throughout the seventy-five years, Superman: A Celebration of 75 Years. Chris Sims of Comics Alliance took some time to review this collection and he has a unique take on it. While most of the stories are very powerful, they also share a unfortunate common tone.  DC could have used the opportunity to showcase Superman doing what he does best, triumphing over evil and being the paragon of virtue that we most commonly associate with the character.  Instead, DC’s focus is on trying to make us think that Superman is a very serious character and that comics are very serious things.  Although comics can certainly be serious, this gives a very one-sided perspective of a character that defined and then repeatedly re-defined the genre of superhero comics.

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I think Sims is really on to something here.  While I fully intend to check out this Superman collection, I’m also going to start looking up some of his other suggestions, because I’m not really a fan of sad Superman.

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