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avengers_x-men_axis_promoWe are just a couple of weeks out of San Diego Comic-Con, and that means that there is next to no comic news to discuss this week. However, it also means that we are heading into the Big Two’s fall event schedule, so we discuss Marvel’s upcoming  Avengers & X-Men: AXIS crossover, as well as events in general, and event fatigue specifically.

And by specifically, we discuss events we liked over the years, events we hated, how it rarely feels like there’s any stakes to what comes out of them, and how sometimes they can lead to unintended consequences that can require years and a reboot to repair (Hi, Infinite Crisis and Justice League: Cry For Justice!).

We also talk about:

  • Captain Marvel #6, written by Kelly Sue DeConnick with art by David Lopez, and,
  • Batman #34, story by Scott Snyder and Gerry Duggan, script by Gerry Duggan with art by Matteo Scalera, and:
  • How Rob wound up drinking one of the first 12 Zimas on the planet (really)!

And now the disclaimers:

  • We record this show live to tape. While that can sometimes mean things are looser than you might find in other comics podcasts, it also means that anything can happen. Like stories about Zima.
  • This show contains spoilers. While we try to shout out a warning ahead of time, they can happen almost anytime.
  • This show contains adult language, and is not safe for work. Unless your job is being the guy who created Zima, in which case, you’ve had all these obscenities shouted at you before.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:35:24 — 75.2MB)

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Enjoy the show, suckers!

NO COMMENTS YET

robert_kirkman_headshot_sdcc_2013-1337403105It is getting late in San Diego Comic-Con, and the true fatigue hysteria is beginning to set in. I personally have not slept longer than six hours in the past four nights, and considering my diet in that time has varied wildly from gourmet triple-creme brie to greasy patty melts to tater tots, washed down with everything from Starbucks iced coffee to Stone IPA to hotel room self-brewed coffee to Coors Light, I am beginning to break down physically. And considering I am writing this with only about two hours to spare before I have to haul my shattered carcass to the convention floor to attempt to obtain some Goddamned thing called a Plush Zerg for contributor Lance Manion (and knowing Lance, this “convention exclusive” can only be obtained in the third stall of the mezzanine men’s room), I am staring goggle-eyed at a notebook full of details from yesterday’s Skybound Comics panel.

Skybound is, if you are not familiar, the personal publishing imprint at Image Comics for creator of The Walking Dead Robert Kirkman. Meaning that, if you have picked up one of Kirkman’s comics – The Walking Dead, Invincible, or Super Dinosaur, off the top of my head – it was a Skybound book. But it is not a vanity imprint by any stretch of the imagination; Kirkman has been bringing other creators into the fold to release books, including the recent Thief of Thieves. And based on what we were told in the panel yesterday, there are a variety of other books on the way, covering genres from westerns to horror to 70s grindhoue-style revenge flicks, indicating that if we wait long enough, we will eventually see the Skybound bullet on a romance comics, if not some form of furry yiff-tacular.

Jesus, I’m tired.

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I know we’re heading into December and that, as the season gets colder, we all try to find ways to keep warm. Me? I go to my day job and get money to pay for utilities, like gas and electricity to run my heat. Maybe I throw on an extra pair of socks and pop open a bottle of Bowmore. Scratch that. I definitely open the bottle of Bowmore. Michael Alan Nelson, on the other hand, burns books, specifically, his own. Why?

Even though I’ve been writing comics for seven years and have written over 120 single issues for dozens of series, most comics readers have never heard of me. Now, that’s not a woe-is-me-nobody-reads-me-wah-feel-sorry-for-me statement. Not at all. Let’s be honest. If you’re a customer and can only afford one comic, are you going with the book about a character you’ve been reading since childhood or a book by some guy who includes his middle name in his credit like some self-important twit? The math is simple. Childhood Hero > Self-Important Twit.

That said, I’ve been fortunate enough to have people take a chance on me and many of them can now be called my fans, for which I am incredibly grateful. I believe, as does BOOM!, that if you read one of my books, chances are you’re going to enjoy it and want to read more. The problem is getting enough people to pick up that first issue.

Um, ok. Seeming self esteem issues aside, this lead you to burn your own books in what appears to be some kind of publicity stunt? Really?

Yes, really. Check it out after the jump…oh, and some spoilers on the book in question.