I hope to start reviewing comics on this blog however before hand I want to discuss and look at how I review comics and my selection. Being part of the Comic Art Festival Podcast we get a lot of comics sent for review. Many of these are digital (I’m old school on prefer paper but I understand the cost implications of sending review copies on paper). We don’t get time to review every comic and also we set a basic principal when we started the podcast of only being positive so if we get a comic we are not a fan of we just wont discuss it. I feel there is enough negativity on the internet that adding to it would be pointless.
The reason I say this is because this only seems to work for comics in my mind. I will happily go online and discuss the bad points of a movie or a TV series. I will also do the same with a video game or board game and it got me thinking… why? There is nothing wrong with being critical and a reviewers job is to openly and honestly discuss why something is good and/ or bad so purchasers have an idea whether they want to spend their hard fought money for.
I suppose the difference with a comic is that generally they have been created by only a few creators, or even just one in many indie cases. By giving bad reviews on a piece of art such as a comic is knocking someone’s ability directly rather than when you critique a movie which has had 100’s if not 1000’s of people involved. The thought of publicly saying a comic is a steaming pile of dung and letting an individual feel so bad makes it difficult to do, pointless I suppose. Why would anyone want to do that to someone else’s work? I know people do but my choice is to not too.
Any comics I review on here will be positive and discussed because I have enjoyed them. They will all get my recommendation for you to spend your money on but I will give you an idea whether the comic story and art would be for you. If you want me to read your comic and possibly review it on here or on the Lakes International Comic Art Festival Podcast then please just get in touch.
On a completely different note… the majority of content creators on the internet such as podcasters and reviewers seem to get on really well. Recently I had a run in with one that put a sour taste in my mouth of ‘I’m more important than you’ and to be honest pissed me off no end. I wont name names but while I’m happy to help promote any other podcast or website, this persons work can just bugger off into the vast cavern that is the world wide web.
Until next time…
The Old Grumpy Geek 