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Magick Chicks returns (w/Dan Parent)

Started by invisifan, May 17, 2016, 06:20:30 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

invisifan

Starting a 10-pager: http://www.magickchicks.com/strips-mc/mc_soft_reboot_-_two_melissas_-_pg_1_of_10

::) If you haven;t read the story to this point you have to take the split at face value ...

DeCarlo Rules

Quote from: invisifan on May 17, 2016, 06:20:30 PM
Starting a 10-pager: http://www.magickchicks.com/strips-mc/mc_soft_reboot_-_two_melissas_-_pg_1_of_10

::) If you haven;t read the story to this point you have to take the split at face value ...

I'll probably just wait until all ten pages are up. Just makes more sense... I like to read a complete story or a complete chapter. Most webcomics aren't really written in "newspaper strip" mode. I'm even kind of starting to feel that way about continued stories in monthly comics versus trade collections. It just seems so much more consistent and comprehensible that way (and the problem is compounded the more ongoing comics series you read).

Isn't Gisele calling the new EC/MC (since returning from hiatus) a "soft reboot" now? What split?

invisifan

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on May 17, 2016, 08:08:48 PM
Quote from: invisifan on May 17, 2016, 06:20:30 PM
Starting a 10-pager: http://www.magickchicks.com/strips-mc/mc_soft_reboot_-_two_melissas_-_pg_1_of_10

::) If you haven;t read the story to this point you have to take the split at face value ...

I'll probably just wait until all ten pages are up. Just makes more sense... I like to read a complete story or a complete chapter. Most webcomics aren't really written in "newspaper strip" mode. I'm even kind of starting to feel that way about continued stories in monthly comics versus trade collections. It just seems so much more consistent and comprehensible that way (and the problem is compounded the more ongoing comics series you read).

Isn't Gisele calling the new EC/MC (since returning from hiatus) a "soft reboot" now? What split?
If you're up to date with the series the "soft reboot" means it's a good point to come in, with most previous plot threads resolved - I was referring to Melissa's condition at the end of it.

DeCarlo Rules

#3
Quote from: invisifan on May 17, 2016, 09:13:25 PM
Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on May 17, 2016, 08:08:48 PM
Quote from: invisifan on May 17, 2016, 06:20:30 PM

::) If you haven;t read the story to this point you have to take the split at face value ...

Isn't Gisele calling the new EC/MC (since returning from hiatus) a "soft reboot" now? What split?
If you're up to date with the series the "soft reboot" means it's a good point to come in, with most previous plot threads resolved - I was referring to Melissa's condition at the end of it.

Ah, okay. I didn't look at it yet, but now I noticed the "two Melissas" in in the URL.

I admit to confusion over the term "soft reboot". I KNOW what a reboot is. "Soft reboot" seems to mean different things, depending on who's using it. What Gisele calls a soft reboot, I call a "jump-on point". Sort of like a little clean-up around the house to get rid of the clutter and make things look neat and orderly if you know guests will be arriving, particularly those who aren't regular visitors. Just trying to make things accessible and inviting to the uninitiated. Not really a reboot, since nothing is really changing.


To me "soft reboot" equates more to "bold new direction", a shakeup in status quo.

irishmoxie

To me soft reboot just means they change the artists and possibly writers. Content is very similar. I liked the Eerie Cuties story Fernando did. It was like an Archie story but more pg13. I agree it does make a good jumping on point for people who aren't that familiar with it. I'll probably read this one once the story finishes up. Too confusing to read it day by day.

irishmoxie

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on May 17, 2016, 08:08:48 PM
Quote from: invisifan on May 17, 2016, 06:20:30 PM
Starting a 10-pager: http://www.magickchicks.com/strips-mc/mc_soft_reboot_-_two_melissas_-_pg_1_of_10

::) If you haven;t read the story to this point you have to take the split at face value ...

I'll probably just wait until all ten pages are up. Just makes more sense... I like to read a complete story or a complete chapter. Most webcomics aren't really written in "newspaper strip" mode. I'm even kind of starting to feel that way about continued stories in monthly comics versus trade collections. It just seems so much more consistent and comprehensible that way (and the problem is compounded the more ongoing comics series you read).

Isn't Gisele calling the new EC/MC (since returning from hiatus) a "soft reboot" now? What split?

But if you only read trade paperbacks there will be low sales of single issues and series will end early and the comic industry could potentially fail.

DeCarlo Rules

#6
Quote from: irishmoxie on May 18, 2016, 09:53:20 AM
Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on May 17, 2016, 08:08:48 PM
Quote from: invisifan on May 17, 2016, 06:20:30 PM
Starting a 10-pager: http://www.magickchicks.com/strips-mc/mc_soft_reboot_-_two_melissas_-_pg_1_of_10

::) If you haven;t read the story to this point you have to take the split at face value ...

I'll probably just wait until all ten pages are up. Just makes more sense... I like to read a complete story or a complete chapter. Most webcomics aren't really written in "newspaper strip" mode. I'm even kind of starting to feel that way about continued stories in monthly comics versus trade collections. It just seems so much more consistent and comprehensible that way (and the problem is compounded the more ongoing comics series you read).

Isn't Gisele calling the new EC/MC (since returning from hiatus) a "soft reboot" now? What split?

But if you only read trade paperbacks there will be low sales of single issues and series will end early and the comic industry could potentially fail.


It's probably an inevitable shift. Single issues are shifting to digital (you're living proof of that). Vertigo trade paperback sales have been outselling single issues for years. One issue with multiple stories is practically gone (Archie Comics is evidence of that). Single issues with a single complete story have been on the wane for decades. Consumers obviously overwhelmingly prefer the long-story form, so it shouldn't be surprising the sales of graphic novels and collected editions have grown stronger while floppy comic sales have grown proportionally weaker. Webcomic/digital first to collected edition is the comic industry model of the future.

irishmoxie

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on May 18, 2016, 10:12:01 AM
Quote from: irishmoxie on May 18, 2016, 09:53:20 AM
Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on May 17, 2016, 08:08:48 PM
Quote from: invisifan on May 17, 2016, 06:20:30 PM
Starting a 10-pager: http://www.magickchicks.com/strips-mc/mc_soft_reboot_-_two_melissas_-_pg_1_of_10

::) If you haven;t read the story to this point you have to take the split at face value ...

I'll probably just wait until all ten pages are up. Just makes more sense... I like to read a complete story or a complete chapter. Most webcomics aren't really written in "newspaper strip" mode. I'm even kind of starting to feel that way about continued stories in monthly comics versus trade collections. It just seems so much more consistent and comprehensible that way (and the problem is compounded the more ongoing comics series you read).

Isn't Gisele calling the new EC/MC (since returning from hiatus) a "soft reboot" now? What split?

But if you only read trade paperbacks there will be low sales of single issues and series will end early and the comic industry could potentially fail.


It's probably an inevitable shift. Single issues are shifting to digital (you're living proof of that). Vertigo trade paperback sales have been outselling single issues for years. One issue with multiple stories is practically gone (Archie Comics is evidence of that). Single issues with a single complete story have been on the wane for decades. Consumers obviously overwhelmingly prefer the long-story form, so it shouldn't be surprising the sales of graphic novels and collected editions have grown stronger while floppy comic sales have grown proportionally weaker. Webcomic/digital first to collected edition is the comic industry model of the future.

Yep. And the only reason to buy single issues anymore is for the variant cover. ;)

Makes me wonder why they don't just ditch the single issues all together and just put out trades like manga has done. They would release product less often but I guess they are making more money because trades sell more copies (even though if you bought every single issue it would cost you more than the trade.)

DeCarlo Rules

#8
Quote from: irishmoxie on May 18, 2016, 12:12:48 PM
Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on May 18, 2016, 10:12:01 AM
Quote from: irishmoxie on May 18, 2016, 09:53:20 AM
Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on May 17, 2016, 08:08:48 PM
Quote from: invisifan on May 17, 2016, 06:20:30 PM
Starting a 10-pager: http://www.magickchicks.com/strips-mc/mc_soft_reboot_-_two_melissas_-_pg_1_of_10

::) If you haven;t read the story to this point you have to take the split at face value ...

I'll probably just wait until all ten pages are up. Just makes more sense... I like to read a complete story or a complete chapter. Most webcomics aren't really written in "newspaper strip" mode. I'm even kind of starting to feel that way about continued stories in monthly comics versus trade collections. It just seems so much more consistent and comprehensible that way (and the problem is compounded the more ongoing comics series you read).

Isn't Gisele calling the new EC/MC (since returning from hiatus) a "soft reboot" now? What split?

But if you only read trade paperbacks there will be low sales of single issues and series will end early and the comic industry could potentially fail.


It's probably an inevitable shift. Single issues are shifting to digital (you're living proof of that). Vertigo trade paperback sales have been outselling single issues for years. One issue with multiple stories is practically gone (Archie Comics is evidence of that). Single issues with a single complete story have been on the wane for decades. Consumers obviously overwhelmingly prefer the long-story form, so it shouldn't be surprising the sales of graphic novels and collected editions have grown stronger while floppy comic sales have grown proportionally weaker. Webcomic/digital first to collected edition is the comic industry model of the future.

Yep. And the only reason to buy single issues anymore is for the variant cover. ;)

Makes me wonder why they don't just ditch the single issues all together and just put out trades like manga has done. They would release product less often but I guess they are making more money because trades sell more copies (even though if you bought every single issue it would cost you more than the trade.)


And the only reason variant covers exist is to service collectors, not readers. And of course, comic book shops... because that's where collectors go. Not all collectors care about variant covers, but the publishers are trying to generate money by catering to the desire to own physical art objects, as opposed to just enjoying the art itself. Of course you could just enjoy looking at JPG images of the cover art, or the publishers could just put out an art book or something. But I guess you can't blame them if people want to pay another $4, $10, or even more, for another copy of the same comic book story with a different cover over it. In a lot of ways the old model is battling against the new model, because comic shops were built on floppy comic sales to comic book collectors, and most people accustomed to that way of relating to their hobby don't want it to change.


The manga industry doesn't just put out trades. In the U.S., publishers print translated reprints of collected editions of manga stories that originally appeared in thick comic anthologies that are printed cheaply and appear weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly and give the Japanese readers a chance to follow and preview a lot of different series at once, before the inevitable collection appears.

invisifan

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on May 18, 2016, 12:26:00 PM
... Of course you could just enjoy looking at JPG images of the cover art, or ...
Seriously? JPG is so last decade (if not millennium) ... Not that being "stuck in the past isn't the condition of far too many people, but really, jpeg isn't a format that ought to be used for anything these days (especially not any sort of art) ...

irishmoxie

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on May 18, 2016, 12:26:00 PM
Quote from: irishmoxie on May 18, 2016, 12:12:48 PM
Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on May 18, 2016, 10:12:01 AM
Quote from: irishmoxie on May 18, 2016, 09:53:20 AM
Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on May 17, 2016, 08:08:48 PM
Quote from: invisifan on May 17, 2016, 06:20:30 PM
Starting a 10-pager: http://www.magickchicks.com/strips-mc/mc_soft_reboot_-_two_melissas_-_pg_1_of_10

::) If you haven;t read the story to this point you have to take the split at face value ...

I'll probably just wait until all ten pages are up. Just makes more sense... I like to read a complete story or a complete chapter. Most webcomics aren't really written in "newspaper strip" mode. I'm even kind of starting to feel that way about continued stories in monthly comics versus trade collections. It just seems so much more consistent and comprehensible that way (and the problem is compounded the more ongoing comics series you read).

Isn't Gisele calling the new EC/MC (since returning from hiatus) a "soft reboot" now? What split?

But if you only read trade paperbacks there will be low sales of single issues and series will end early and the comic industry could potentially fail.


It's probably an inevitable shift. Single issues are shifting to digital (you're living proof of that). Vertigo trade paperback sales have been outselling single issues for years. One issue with multiple stories is practically gone (Archie Comics is evidence of that). Single issues with a single complete story have been on the wane for decades. Consumers obviously overwhelmingly prefer the long-story form, so it shouldn't be surprising the sales of graphic novels and collected editions have grown stronger while floppy comic sales have grown proportionally weaker. Webcomic/digital first to collected edition is the comic industry model of the future.

Yep. And the only reason to buy single issues anymore is for the variant cover. ;)

Makes me wonder why they don't just ditch the single issues all together and just put out trades like manga has done. They would release product less often but I guess they are making more money because trades sell more copies (even though if you bought every single issue it would cost you more than the trade.)


And the only reason variant covers exist is to service collectors, not readers. And of course, comic book shops... because that's where collectors go. Not all collectors care about variant covers, but the publishers are trying to generate money by catering to the desire to own physical art objects, as opposed to just enjoying the art itself. Of course you could just enjoy looking at JPG images of the cover art, or the publishers could just put out an art book or something. But I guess you can't blame them if people want to pay another $4, $10, or even more, for another copy of the same comic book story with a different cover over it. In a lot of ways the old model is battling against the new model, because comic shops were built on floppy comic sales to comic book collectors, and most people accustomed to that way of relating to their hobby don't want it to change.


The manga industry doesn't just put out trades. In the U.S., publishers print translated reprints of collected editions of manga stories that originally appeared in thick comic anthologies that are printed cheaply and appear weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly and give the Japanese readers a chance to follow and preview a lot of different series at once, before the inevitable collection appears.

Yes I'm aware manga is originally published in magazines. They've tried a few of those magazines here but they usually fail. So all that's really left are the paperbacks or digital if you're an English reader.

DeCarlo Rules

Quote from: irishmoxie on May 18, 2016, 01:53:42 PM
Yes I'm aware manga is originally published in magazines. They've tried a few of those magazines here but they usually fail. So all that's really left are the paperbacks or digital if you're an English reader.


Manga in the U.S. is an anomaly in comic publishing, because its adoption into Western culture is being driven by a bleeding-edge fandom of early adopters. They're the ones who buy the imported comics in the original Japanese, and have taken the trouble to learn Japanese themselves in order to read them. They're the scanslators and the people behind the publishing scene from whom the English-language manga publishers are taking their cues. What gets translated in the U.S. is a combination of that which has already proved popular in Japan (to the degree that it's universal, as opposed to culturally-specific), and what the hardcore manga fans who read Japanese are recommending to each other by word of mouth and the internet. A lot of them have even worked themselves into some key positions on the U.S. publishing side.

irishmoxie

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on May 18, 2016, 03:24:18 PM
Quote from: irishmoxie on May 18, 2016, 01:53:42 PM
Yes I'm aware manga is originally published in magazines. They've tried a few of those magazines here but they usually fail. So all that's really left are the paperbacks or digital if you're an English reader.


Manga in the U.S. is an anomaly in comic publishing, because its adoption into Western culture is being driven by a bleeding-edge fandom of early adopters. They're the ones who buy the imported comics in the original Japanese, and have taken the trouble to learn Japanese themselves in order to read them. They're the scanslators and the people behind the publishing scene from whom the English-language manga publishers are taking their cues. What gets translated in the U.S. is a combination of that which has already proved popular in Japan (to the degree that it's universal, as opposed to culturally-specific), and what the hardcore manga fans who read Japanese are recommending to each other by word of mouth and the internet. A lot of them have even worked themselves into some key positions on the U.S. publishing side.

A lot of what they're trying to publish now (or maybe just what I buy and am interested in) is stuff that doesn't get scanalated presumably to make the most profit. They also tried to capitalize on the popularity of Twilight and publish a lot of vampire manga which is unfortunate.

invisifan

Vampires are far too over-exposed — but rarely to the sun  :P

DeCarlo Rules

Quote from: irishmoxie on May 18, 2016, 06:45:51 PM
A lot of what they're trying to publish now (or maybe just what I buy and am interested in) is stuff that doesn't get scanalated presumably to make the most profit.

The scanslations aren't being quelched by legal action on the part of the publishers (on either the Japanese or the U.S. side) because they don't really impact print sales of manga at all. To the contrary, they sort of test the waters for the popularity of any given manga with an English-reading audience. It's not like the publishers have any input into what gets scanslated; that's totally up to the devoted fans spending their own time and effort to do them. It's no different than the bootlegging of subtitled Japanese anime that hasn't been made available officially. UNlike that activity however, scanslations are a not-for-profit fan activity, and most scanslations get taken down and removed once the manga has received an official commerical English-language release, because the scanslators want to play fair, and encourage the U.S. publishers doing official English-language translations. On the other hand, sometimes existing deals between U.S. publishers (or the U.S. branch of a Japanese publisher) have their own ideas and vested interests in trying to translate things to English that aren't being driven strictly by keeping a finger on the pulse of English-speaking manga fans.

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