Greetings chaps and chaps who are women. Welcome to this blog, it's called Welcome to the Mast. I am The Mast and I have made this thing where I can talk comics.
I've been thinking about how to tackle this post, because it's liable to become an essay of heft-meister proportions. I've had many discussions about both topics and thus I wanted one source I could just direct people to. Ultimately, I put a lot of effort into having to make no effort.
With the invention of the iPad, many people have been wondering what this means for regular, physical reading material. The debate and concerns about whether or not the iPad will be to books and comics what the iPod is to CDs has raged like a horse's erect spermhammer, with no signs of pleasant resolution in sight. To continue the metaphor; things only get more sticky the longer it goes on.
Yes, the iPad is a revolutionary tool that will change the way people enjoy certain luxury items. I, however, see no reason to start engraving the gravestone of written, physical literature just yet.
You listen to music wherever you are, whatever you're doing, and this is the difference between a book and a CD. You could be strolling along the street and feel the sudden urge to listen to The Smiths, or if you have less desireable taste and are an idiot, Miley Cyrus or somethin, and an iPod allows you to instantly do so. You can change and choose from multiple hundreds of albums at your own desire.
By that same hand, I don't see anyone strolling along the street and suddenly getting the urge to crack out Pride and Prejudice, War and Peace or À La Recherche du Temps Perdu. Typically, reading while travelling or out in the world is done on trains or in coffee shops. I can understand the functionality of the iPad in this sense. Despite everything, I will always believe that when people take time to sit down and enjoy a book, it will make no difference if it's digital or physical. You still have to hold it and you still own it.
People, I think, will still buy books and comics. Reading is a much more engrossing and demanding experience than listening to music is. Even reading something so much as a tabloid newspaper, reading is something people do specifically because they enjoy it. I don't think the advent of the iPad is really changing enough about the act of reading that will do damage, significant or otherwise, to the way we've always done it. More and more people out of necessity and convenience may want to just digitally buy books, but I don't think there'll be any danger of losing bookstores.
How will comics suffer OR benefit specifically? The worst case scenario, for comics, is that single issue will no longer be made. That would be greatly saddening to me, I have to say. However, I do not think this means comics will die. To echo the sentiments of my friend Andrew, I think comic companies may just end up serialising their issues online and putting them all in a physical trade paperback every few months. It's not what I love most, but it's better than having to settle for looking at comics on a screen.
If anything, the reverse could happen. People could slowly gain greater interest in comics and comic stores, this ensuring the lifespan of the physical medium. That's the beauty of the way things are going now, really. The comic stores in London are all a stone's throw away from each other, but I still have to get three trains to get there. It takes me 30 mins on a good day, and I love the journey/experience. Some do not and some CANNOT make the journey, though. This is a really good way for people to not only get INTO comics, but to STAY into comics.
I really don't think it's doom and gloom. I think the medium is changing, undoubtedly, and it COULD spell distress for certain comic fans and some areas of the medium...but all in all, I really don't think there's anything to worry about.
MP3s are exactly the same as what you get on CD, sometimes even better quality. I am a big supporter of owning an actual item, but that's the truth of it regarding CDs. Comics are NOT the same on a screen as they are in person. It is more of an experience. When you rip music from a CD, the CD effectively becomes useless. You can read a comic, but then you can read it again and again. You don't always feel like sitting at your computer and clicking through pages, you want to relax with the book or comic.
There is way too much going for the medium and for physical literature for it to be killed off by anything digital.
Saying that, comics thrive on the idea of being a collector. If you don't care about owning them physically, then the game changes in terms of how a physical item will survive.
That's what I think, anyway. What do YOU think? The comment link is below, use that bitch.
That's the Marvel iPad app, I believe. DC have one too, but I'm not sure of others. It looks very impressive and IS very impressive. It's not a comic, though.
So! From one area of discussion to another. One that has had people either cheering for me or cursing me out, so I wanted to open up my blog to comments or replies regarding this topic.
New Fans: Wot's de Big Oidear? *End Irish Accent*
Let me clarify, right away. I have NO problem with people getting into comics. Why on Earth would I? I have this blog and we all had to start somewhere, right? So, what is the problem I have?
My problem is NOT with new fans of ANYTHING. It's with new people PRETENDING to be fans or being rather disrespectful about their new found interests. Allow me to elaborate that point and explode it out like Britney Spears' waistline.
I know readers of this blog who have become more aware of comics or comic characters due to movies or hearing me talk about them, and have asked me for recommendation. I'm flattered when this happens and, to those who have asked, I hope I helped. My issue (HAW!) is with those who pose.
When I was a kid, long story short, I was made fun of and picked on for liking comic books. I was teased for having a Spider-Man keychain hanging from my Arsenal F.C. backpack in Secondary School. Sometimes it was just silly comments, but sometimes people were unspeakably rude. What, in Christ's name, does this have to do with anything? I'll tell you.
I do not like the fact that the people who gave me so much shit for an interest I love are now going on dates with their girls, or boys, to see the likes of Iron Man and Iron Man 2. I hate that, "Why so serious?", became a catchphrase for every boy or girl who never knew that people in comics were actually the shit. I hate that, far from being realised as an extremely intricate character, Rorschach is known as that badass dude who threw hot oil into that guy's face in Watchmen.
People never did, and still don't in many cases, get why I love comics. So it DOES piss me off that they suddenly try to, and still fail. Rorschach is not "cool", he's a murderous, borderline fascist psychopath.
I hear tales of people saying that certain people in comic book stores act like assholes when you ask for help and you're a new fan. I've never experienced that, but I'm certainly not gonna jump out and condemn it. There's no excuse for bad manners, but I AM of the mentality, "Oh, so we're cool enough for you now?" sometimes. I can't help it.
Let me give examples. I have seen so many newer fans TELLING ME that Iron Man is better than characters I like, based on the movies. Firstly, any self-respecting geek knows that only sources are canon. Secondly, how do you get to do that? Don't sit there and tell me that a character I've been following since I was about eight is awesome. I am aware. I've been aware. This sort of thing reminds me of The Great Muse Bandwagonning of '04, as it's now known. Everyone suddenly discovered Muse existed, and thus began hoardes of Americans telling us they're a great band, despite the fact that Brits had heard them on the Steve Lamacq show before they even had an album.
That's what I hate the most. With the exception of the fashionably iconic Batman and Superman logos, don't go around wearing a shirt with The Avengers on if you aren't a fan. It's not cool. This brings me to my third and final point...
It's actually just something I want to say to any males or, specifically, females who may read this (HAHAH!). There is no such thing as Geek Chic. Lemme pop that bubble. I'm gonna do a Bill Hicks and talk to the women here. You do not find nerds or geeks sexy, do you? Let's find the chase, grab some scissors and cut right to that motherfucker. You do not find geeks sexy, you find fashionable people wearing specs and chequered sweaters to be sexy. Those are not geeks.
The key word is Geek, right? To be a geek, you must do more than wear an Argyle sweater, spectacles and carry a back-pack. You are not a geek because you do these things, so please stop it.
I'm not even saying I am or am not one, I'm not saying there's a list of rules. I just know what absolutely is NOT a geek. To anyone this applies to:
Stop trying to put yourselves into a group of people that your kind probably would've beaten up at school. If you must, don't do so and then have the bold-faced nerve to try and make it a fashion trend. Dane Cook will do stand-up in my house, with Russell fucking Peters as a support act, before that kind of behaviour becomes acceptable. Speaking of unacceptable, here's a story...
During the end of Iron Man 2, the credits were rolling and I was talking with my Dad about the franchise and how everything fits. Some guy noticed my Captain America shirt and asked if I was excited to have seen the shield, and we chatted for a bit. He insisted he was a fan of the comics and loved The Avengers etc, so I didn't press the matter.
Upon the end of the EPIC post-credits scene where Mjolnir, Thor's hammer, is revealed, I went crazy. The guy said how awesome it was, too. Fast-forward and I'm waiting outside for my Dad when the guy walks by. He doesn't see me, but I overheard him say, "I waited all that time to see a fucking hammer? What's that supposed to be?"
That, ladies and gents, is how NOT to live your life.
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I've had this in me for a while now, so excuse the long post. Feel free to comment on any of the issues or opinions contained herein, you're always welcome to.
Thanks for reading!
Until tomorrow, peace.
-The Mast
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