Data pages: Extra goodies or wasted potential?

[houndsofluv]

Hickman’s in hoxpox were the best, some of the latest ones have felt forced and gimmicky but others were really good. It’s case by case for me. Overall cool for storytelling purposes

[jwatson]

I like them, but my favourite is the naval intelligence reports in Marauders. I love that behind it all the naval intelligence operative writing the reports is always complaining that he doesn't have enough money in his intelligence budget!

lmao it's my fave too. i think it's the best done. I feel like i'm following his life. lol If you read one piece he's like Cody. lol

[MechaJeanix]

I like the charts and graphs and lists, but when it's huge blocks of text I just skip them.

While I do not skip them, I do wish they were more than just black text on white pages. I liked the data pages in Black Monday Murders. I wish some were news articles or a journal entry (where we actually see the hand writing in a journal or see a newspaper clipping, etc). These feel cheap (just like the recap pages) but overall I do enjoy them.

[RachelGrey]

lmao it's my fave too. i think it's the best done. I feel like i'm following his life. lol If you read one piece he's like Cody. lol

yeah, he just seems like a poor put upon intelligence officer getting frustrated trying to track Kate's team all over the planet and complaining he doesn't have enough money to keep an eye on the mutants.

[Havok83]

No, they feel forced, like each book needs to feel connected so the writers have been instructed to include them, evne if they dont make sense for the title or add much.

I like the charts and graphs and lists, but when it's huge blocks of text I just skip them.

Im with this. The one from X-Force which were scenes, could have been drawn in panels

[pkingdom]

When its interesting but superfluous information, its fine. Things like maps and dorm layouts are also fine. But when its important story beats, it should be drawn on page. Hickman got 12 issues of HoXPoX for worldbuilding, he shouldn't need pages and pages of text for more. So many series would kill to even reach 12 issues.

Marauders shouldn't tease us with those travel logs. Some of that sounds like interesting character work that really should be on panel. Some of it even sounds more interesting than the stuff actually going on in the comics. Actually, that's a big one. The story told or alluded too in the data page shouldn't be more interesting than the one actually on panel.

[Wind Rider]

I think they’re good additions so far. I think they help progress the story and allow for panel time for the characters we want to read about vs taking up limited page real estate having to explain the same thing with dialogue and art.

[Handsome men don't lose fights]

They're cool, but this is a comic. I'm an avid reader, but for graphic works, I prefer to be shown, not told

[Wolverine12]

I like them, but my favourite is the naval intelligence reports in Marauders. I love that behind it all the naval intelligence operative writing the reports is always complaining that he doesn't have enough money in his intelligence budget!

I agree, the Marauders ones are always solid.

[Su_Whisterfield]

When its interesting but superfluous information, its fine. Things like maps and dorm layouts are also fine. But when its important story beats, it should be drawn on page. Hickman got 12 issues of HoXPoX for worldbuilding, he shouldn't need pages and pages of text for more. So many series would kill to even reach 12 issues.

Marauders shouldn't tease us with those travel logs. Some of that sounds like interesting character work that really should be on panel. Some of it even sounds more interesting than the stuff actually going on in the comics. Actually, that's a big one. The story told or alluded too in the data page shouldn't be more interesting than the one actually on panel.

That’s my take, love the graphs and maps, I’m always a sucker for maps and even analysis, but they’re now being used in some of the books to tell parts of the story.
Logan’s shopping list was fun, in Marauders, and then in comic we see Kate delivering it to him. That works.
Telling us the bodies of the assassins exploded and not showing it, in X Force, that doesn’t work for me.

[Mutant X]

In Fallen Angels and Excalibur they are expendable.

[Frobisher]

The last X-Force was the only time I felt they were used to shoehorn in extra story there wasn’t time or space to draw.

[Prof. Warren]

I really enjoy them. I've come to like them even more as the Dawn the X books have all taken their own angle on those pages.

[RD155]

Sometimes I like them
Sometimes I don’t.

It all depends. Truth be told, when they first started back during HOX/POX I Absolutely loved them. The content was interesting but then soon after it just began to drag. There were some data pages during the phalanx angle that were hurt a complete bore to get through. Again it all depends on how they’re used. I do miss the days of just using panels to push that story and explain it but in DOX’s defense there is a lot going on that wouldn’t fit into your conventional comic format.

At this current point I’m honestly skimming through some of them especially if it’s one long wall of text.

[The Quiet Councilor]

It’s added contest at no additional cost. It provides context at times and “deleted scenes” at others. Either way, it’s stuff we wouldn’t see otherwise.