Monday, April 30, 2012

Chris Roberson Gives DC Notice And is Fired.

Chris Roberson tweeted the following on April 18th:

Having an afternoon cocktail to celebrate the end of my time at DC.

Aside from the Fairest arc I already committed to doing, iZombie will be the last time I’ll ever write for DC.

"@chris_roberson selfishly that makes me sad because not only are we losing iZombie, I'll never get the LSH title I've been hoping you'd get"
Sorry. In a better world, characters like the Legion would be owned by a more ethical company, but sadly not in this one.

The short version is, I don’t agree with the way they treat other creators and their general business practices.

I decided quite some time ago, but waited until after the cancellation of my book was announced to discuss it.

Saturday April 21st, Jim Lee and Dan Didio sat down at the LA Times Festival of Books and when they were asked about Roberson this was their responses:

"Geoff Boucher: Yesterday it was announced that Chris Roberson is no longer working on the ‘Fairest’ arc. [To Lee] As a creator, how do you reconcile what Roberson had to say about DC’s stance on creator’s rights?

Jim Lee: I don’t know the writer Chris and it certainly would have helped if I could have talked to him or if he had reached out to me. I didn’t know he felt that way so it was surprising to see that. It seemed odd to me as a creator, I would not publicly state I have a problem with the company that’s paying me to do work for them and I’m going to quit after I do this one project. It would seem wise to me to wait until you finished the project to voice that complaint. You have to imagine from our perspective, for our own internal morale, what does it say for a company to hire somebody who’s that vocally against our principles and yet we’re still paying them. From that standpoint, it doesn’t make any sense.

Dan DiDio: As far as I’m concerned, he made a very public statement about not wanting to work with DC and we honored that statement.

So, Chris basically finishes his work and then says that he will no longer be working for DC. DC turns around, and says you don't work here anymore because you obviously don't want to. Sounds a little immature.
What Chris said about being unhappy with DC's treatment of creators and how they do business was an opinion based on his experience with DC, and many other factors. He felt it was time for him to say something because he was trying to be respectful enough to a company that has questionable business practices, and poor ethical values (these points are constantly brought up and there is never any accountability).

Chris made a little wave, and it may, in the grand scheme of things, not amount to a lot, but the fact that he made the wave n the first place shows that he is trying to be a better man, and make the world a better place. He was fired because he brought to your attention the dark deeds of the comic book publishing world.

We read comics about super heroes battling evil on many levels: Green Lantern is charged with protecting space sector 2814 from evil, Superman's "Grounded" was a walk through the problems in America today, and Batman faces off against crime every night on the streets of Gotham. It is sad that DC comics the "publisher" of these titles has and continues to have questionable business practices when it comes to creators and rights. Where is the accountability? We hold Superman, Green Lantern, and all our other favorite heroes to a standard, and if they deviate from that we are up in arms calling foul and demanding things be fixed. Where is the demand to keep the publisher fair and honorable? There isn't any. Why? People want to read stories about heroes, stores want to sell these stories because they make money, and publishers want to make sure they own every ounce of these stories printed, because they make bank on the desires of the readers. All of this happens even if it exploits the creator who came up with the character or story in the first place. So, I ask this question, Who watches the Comic Book Company? No one.

I can see why Chris Roberson quit, why David Brothers is giving up on buying comics from the big two, why the industry will continue to thrive, the cold fact that creators will continue to be exploited, and fans will sit idly by just to read another story about a hero trying to make the world a better place. I see these things, and it makes me sad.

Read the David Brothers Article or the
Chris Roberson Interview for yourselves.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

My Comic Book Binding - R.E.B.E.L.S. - Received

On Saturday April 21st I was getting ready to leave my house to go to the comic book store when I saw the mailman across the street. I decided to walk the dog a round the block to kill time so the post man could deliver the mail. I'm glad I did because waiting on the porch was a package from Herring & Robinson. My R.E.B.E.L.S. collection had come.
Since I heard the horrible news that DC decided to cancel the final trade in the R.E.B.E.L.S. (2009) series I was irate, but after some cooling down I decided to just collect all of the issues and have my own hard cover collection made. After procuring the issues from random comic shops while on vacation, a few awesome customers (Omar this includes you), and Comics Conspiracy and Illusive Comics back issue bin I shipped them off to get bound.

Here are a few snap shots of the wonderfully constructed single volume, which collects issues 1 - 28 and the Annual. I can't wait to dive in and enjoy this series again and actually finish it this time around.

Side view of spine.


So pretty. I'm talking about the book and Starfire.


Top view.


Clean cut pages are a beautiful thing.


Remember the Swoosh Logo?


I am very happy with this volume and I can't wait to send in more titles to get bound. In fact I already have one lined up I just have to figure out how I'm going to do the cover gallery in the back of the volume. Stay tuned for more.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Conspirator Brock's Pull List for 4/25/12

For all of the curious people out there wondering what I like to read week to week here is a list of the titles I am going to be picking up for the week of 4/25/12:

(Note: I have included deep links for some titles if you wish to support Comics Conspiracy when you buy digital comics. I have not included links to Marvel or Dark Horse books because you cannot support us currently by buying them through our site.)

01. All Star Western #8 DC
02. American Vampire #26 Vertigo
03. Aquaman #8 DC
04. Batman: The Dark Knight #8 DC
05. Danger Girl: Revolver #4 IDW
06. Flash #8 DC
07. A Game of Thrones #7 Dynamite
08. Green Lantern: New Guardians #8 DC
09. Justice League Dark #8 DC
10. Superman #8 DC
11. Voodoo #8 DC

Reading List:

AvX: Vs #1 of 6 Marvel
Daredevil #11 Marvel
Hell Yeah #1 Image
I, Vampire #8 DC
The New Deadwardians #2 of 8 Vertigo
Super Crooks #2
Teen Titans #8 DC

Graphic Novel
The Sixth Gun: Book 3 - Bound Oni Press
(The Sixth Gun #12-17)

A fair amount of titles this week. The cross over between Justice League Dark and I, Vampire finishes up, and we get another glimpse at The Culling cross over with Teen Titans. I'm really excited for Aquaman, American Vampire and All Star Western. These books are wonderful reads that I highly recommend people check out.
My reading pile is getting bigger, but that is due to cross overs and the Avengers Vs X-Men thing. Ryan Higgins actually recommend Hell Yeah so I'm going to give it a read.
Overall I think that this last week is overshadowed by the fact that there is a lot happening next month. People are really excited to see the Night of the Owls cross over, DC's second wave of rejiggered titles, "New 52" trades will start hitting shelves, and of course Free Comic Book Day; May looks to be a big month.
You still should enjoy this weeks round of books. So get out there and get to reading.

Remember you can now find these titles and more in digital format at our Comics Conspiracy - Comixology Storefront or you can still order comics from us directly by visiting the shop, giving us a call (408) 245-6275, or dropping Ryan an email at ryan@comicsconspiracy.biz.

As usual I'll be talking comics on The Comic Conspiracy, and on the Geekbox Forums. Now get out there and enjoy some good old fashioned comic book reading.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Conspirator Brock's Pull List for 4/18/12

For all of the curious people out there wondering what I like to read week to week here is a list of the titles I am going to be picking up for the week of 4/18/12:

(Note: I have included deep links for some titles if you wish to support Comics Conspiracy when you buy digital comics. I have not included links to Marvel or Dark Horse books because you cannot support us currently by buying them through our digital Comixology site.)

01. Batman #8 DC
02. Captain Atom #8 DC
03. Catwoman #8 DC
04. Danger Girl and the Army of Darkness #5 Dynamite
05. Fables #116 Vertigo
06. Green Lantern Corps #8 DC
07. Justice League #8 DC
08. Legion of Super-Heroes #8 DC
09. The Manhattan Projects #2 Image*
10. Red Hood and the Outlaws #8 DC
11. Star Wars - Dawn of the Jedi: Force Storm #3 Dark Horse
12. Super Dinosaur #10 Image*
13. T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #6 of 6 DC

*We were shorted our copies.

Reading List:

Amazing Spider-Man #684 Marvel
Avengers Vs X-Men #2 Marvel
Nightwing #8 DC

The much anticipated Night of the Owls event is upon us this week starting in Batman by Scott Snyder and art by Greg Capullo. This book has been a powerful and engaging title that you need to be reading. I can't wait to see what the Night of Owls has in store for us. As for the rest of my pile I'm looking forward to Justice League, Catwoman, Star Wars - Dawn of the Jedi: Force Storm and Fables. So much good stuff to read all around I would normally be really excited, but I'm doubly excited because I didn't finish my reading pile from my huge week last week, and so I have a a lot of good comics still to get to. I need to sit my ass down and get to reading.

Remember you can now find these titles and more in digital format at our Comics Conspiracy - Comixology Storefront or you can still order comics from us directly by visiting the shop, giving us a call (408) 245-6275, or dropping Ryan an email at ryan@comicsconspiracy.biz.

As usual I'll be talking comics on The Comic Conspiracy, and on the Geekbox Forums. Now get out there and enjoy some good old fashioned comic book reading.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Where has Conspirator Brock Been?

Around, but away from my computer is the best answer I can give to this question. With a new puppy, my son wanting to be mobile (he can crawl/scoot backwards), and the fact that we will be moving in about a week I haven't had time to sit down in front of my PC to write.
Once I get through these next few weeks I will have more time to vent my frustration, state my opinion, and generally have something for you to read while you kill time surfing the web. Stay tuned.

Random Comic Pick - Episode 53

My random comic pick on The Comic Conspiracy: Episode 53 is the Image Comics title Blue Estate written by Viktor Kalvachev & Andrew Osborne with art from Viktor Kalvachev, Toby Cypress, and Nathan Fox. I was first intrigued by this book when I found number one for free on Comixology. It was the cover that grabbed my interest, and so I downloaded it in case I got curious enough to read it digitally. That didn't happen, but I finally picked up the first two trades, and I was blown away by what I read; truly entertaining.
Blue Estate is not a crime noir book; it is a fun pulp comic which turned out to be a really fun read. There are numerous characters, and the interactions between them make for some interesting situations. If you like Guy Ritchie and Quentin Tarantino then you will love this series.
The comic reminded me of the 2005 movie Kiss Kiss Bang Bang that starred Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer, which was amazing. I think you should check out both.

Remember you can now find this title and more in digital format at our Comics Conspiracy - Comixology Storefront or you can order comics from us directly by visiting the shop, giving us a call (408) 245-6275, or dropping Ryan an email at ryan@comicsconspiracy.biz.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Conspirator Brock's Pull List for 4/11/12

For all of the curious people out there wondering what I like to read week to week here is a list of the titles I am going to be picking up for the week of 4/11/12:

(Note: I have included deep links for some titles if you wish to support Comics Conspiracy when you buy digital comics. I have not included links to Marvel or Dark Horse books because you cannot support us currently by buying them through our site.)

01. America's Got Powers #1 of 6 Image
02. Batgirl #8 DC
03. Batman and Robin #8 DC
04. Batman: Arkham Unhinged #1 DC
05. Batwoman #8 DC
06. Danger Girl: Revolver #3 IDW
07. Deathstroke #8 DC
08. Demon Knights #8 DC
09. Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E #8 DC*
10. Green Lantern #8 DC
11. Grifter #8 DC
12. Legion Lost #8 DC
13. Peter Panzerfaust #3 Image
14. Resurrection Man #8 DC
15. Saga #2 Image
16. Saucer Country #2 Vertigo
17. The Shade #7 of 12 DC
18. Star Wars: Agent of the Empire #5 of 5 Dark Horse
19. Suicide Squad #8 DC
20. Thief of Thieves #3 Image
21. The Unwritten #36 Vertigo

*We were shorted our copies.

Reading List:

Secret #1 Image
The Secret Service #1 Icon
Winter Soldier #4 Marvel

Week two "IS" the big week for me; over twenty titles! There are so many good titles this week: Green Lantern, Resurrection Man, Suicide Squad, Saga, Thief of Thieves, Peter Panzerfaust, Batman and Robin, and Batgirl to single out almost half of my pull list. I'm still in shock at the amount of books I brought home this week.
Image is making a mark on my pull list week to week and I'm looking forward to giving America's Got Powers a try, and I'm even going to give Jonathan Hickman's Secret a read through. Image is definitely putting out some quality titles, and I highly recommend the titles on my pull lists, but they do have other comics that may interest you. Don't be afraid to try something new.
I did pick up Deathstroke and Grifter this week only because Rob Liefeld's name wasn't on the titles yet. That will most likely change next month. Shame I liked both of those titles.
I am a little bummed that I won't be picking up Winter Soldier. I would like to support Ed Brubaker, but I am off of Marvel books right now, and must stick with my convictions. Sorry Ed.
There is a huge stack of books calling my name, and I better get to reading them because I don't want to get behind. You should do the same.

Remember you can now find these titles and more in digital format at our Comics Conspiracy - Comixology Storefront or you can still order comics from us directly by visiting the shop, giving us a call (408) 245-6275, or dropping Ryan an email at ryan@comicsconspiracy.biz.

As usual I'll be talking comics on The Comic Conspiracy, and on the Geekbox Forums. Now get out there and enjoy some good old fashioned comic book reading.

Friday, April 6, 2012

Comic Conspiracy Avengers Vs. X-Men Party


On Tuesday night we had a little early launch party for Avengers Vs. X-Men #1. And we at Comics Conspiracy did it up in style: with a cheesy drink menu, awesome food prepared by Ryan's girl friend Leann, Toby got some delicious cup cakes (check image above) from Rad Creations, there was some great conversation, and a gathering of our fantastic customers. How could you have missed it? There could be numerous reasons you were unable to attend so here are some photos to let you see just what you missed:



The drink menu, and it was an open bar! (the Bubweiser was Molson Canadian)


Can you spot some of your favorite Conspirators?


The White Queen came by to show her support for the X-Men!


We had some free swag to give out. Which side were you on?


Ryan ringing up AvX purchases...What could he be thinking? $,$,$...$!


April 3rd is also Ryan Higgins birthday and we made sure to celebrate it despite Ryan's general dislike of birthdays and aging. He still claims he is only 29. I thought only women did that. Anyway, here is our little surprise "Happy Birthday" to Mr. Higgins. Toby brought the cake.

(video from Fade2Black)

I didn't eat any of the birthday cake, but I did have some of those delicious cupcakes that Toby got from Rad Creations. I might have to order some for Brody's 1st birthday.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Conspirator Brock's Pull List for 4/4/12

For all of the curious people out there wondering what I like to read week to week here is a list of the titles I am going to be picking up for the week of 4/4/12:

(Note: I have included deep links for some titles if you wish to support Comics Conspiracy when you buy digital comics. I have not included links to Marvel or Dark Horse books because you cannot buy them through our site.)

01. Action Comics #8 DC*
02. American Vampire #25 Vertigo (came out last week)
03. Animal Man #8 DC
04. Batwing #8 DC
05. Danger Club #1 Image
06. Detective Comics #8 DC
07. Fairest #2 Vertigo
08. Justice League International #8 DC
09. Red Lanterns #8 DC
10. Swamp Thing #8 DC

*We were shorted our copies.

Graphic Novels
Blue Estate - Vol. 01 Image
Blue Estate - Vol. 02 Image

Here is my list of my Marvel reading for the week to stay current on some titles:

Amazing Spider-Man #683
Avengers Vs X-Men #1
Daredevil #10.1
Wolverine and the X-Men: Alpha & Omega #4 of 5


Sorry for the delay in getting this up. With the AvX release party last night I didn't have my usual time to work on my pull list; here it is. Can you believe that we are already into month eight of the "New Rejiggered 52", and DC titles are still going strong on the charts, as recommendations, and on my pull list.
If you don't know already I am super excited to read Animal Man, Swamp Thing, and the spill over title from last week American Vampire. I'm not going to complain about getting a double dose of Scott Synder his work has been amazing. Yanick Paquette composed a song to go along with Swamp Thing #8, and I have it ready to listen to for when I sit down and read the issue.
Image Comics, as of late, has been releasing some really great titles, and I am going to give the new title Danger Club a try this week.
DC cancels four "New 52" titles this week: Hawk and Dove, Men of War, O.M.A.C., and Static Shock. These titles will be replaced by some "Second Wave" books, and I will be picking up more books in week one once this happens, and I'm okay with that.

Remember you can now find these titles and more in digital format at our Comics Conspiracy - Comixology Storefront.
You can still order comics from us directly by visiting the shop or giving us a call (408) 245-6275, or dropping Ryan an email at ryan@comicsconspiracy.biz.

As usual I'll be talking comics on The Comic Conspiracy, and on the Geekbox Forums. Now get out there and enjoy some good old fashioned comic book reading.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Random Comic Pick - Episode 51

My random comic pick on The Comic Conspiracy: Episode 51 is the "New 52" DC Comics title All Star Western written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti with art by Moritat.

Before the "New 52" I had a slight interest in reading about Jonah Hex, but after hearing that the film was garbage that interest faded. Then the titles were announced for the "New 52". I still didn't really have an interest in reading a book with Jonah Hex in it, but during those first few months of uncertainty there was a lot of talk about what DC was doing, what people were going to check out, and All Star Western actually made it onto my pull list because a few people recommended it highly enough.
All Star Western, overall, is a great title that takes the reader back to a simpler yet tougher time in the DC Universe where the skies weren't filled with capes, and there wasn't a crisis around every street corner. Gary and Palmiotti have given us a world where guts and grit, blood and bone, and the general since of being a tough son of a bitch are being replaced by manners and industrialism. This is the world Jonah Hex finds himself in, and as the last real man standing he isn't one to go down without a fight.
Ever since I started picking up All Star Western I have been in love with these stories that follow Jonah Hex in a 1880's Gotham City with Amadeus Arkham along for the ride. And I don't want to forget the back up stories that add so much more for the reader to enjoy about this world. So, if you like great story telling with art that really fits the writing style then you should be picking up All Star Western.

Remember you can now find this title and more in digital format at our Comics Conspiracy - Comixology Storefront or you can order comics from us directly by visiting the shop, giving us a call (408) 245-6275, or dropping Ryan an email at ryan@comicsconspiracy.biz.