Data pages: Extra goodies or wasted potential?

[Wolverine12]

I saw a lot of discussion about the use of data pages in the current Xbooks and it seems posters are split on how they feel about them. I thought it would be a good idea to collect all the discussion here and we can update every week with pro’s and con’s of how new issues utilize the data pages.

Personally I enjoy them, I feel like they give detailed insight on the story that we might otherwise not have gotten.

[jwatson]

I like them. I see it as better than having to hear a character say a throw away line. Like in Marauders i love how it is done there. Like yes it could be drawn that the ship was being followed or that Storm was making it difficult for other boats and stuff but it isn't needed for the story but it is nice to know and adds something.

I also think they were used well in x-force because we didn't really need to see the bodies explode or go through all that but i like we got detail on it rather than a throw away line next issue that tells what happens.

I don't like them in Excalibur but that's because the book isn't at a point where i actually understand all that grimore stuff etc.

[loke13]

I like them. I see it as better than having to hear a character say a throw away line. Like in Marauders i love how it is done there. Like yes it could be drawn that the ship was being followed or that Storm was making it difficult for other boats and stuff but it isn't needed for the story but it is nice to know and adds something.

I also think they were used well in x-force because we didn't really need to see the bodies explode or go through all that but i like we got detail on it rather than a throw away line next issue that tells what happens.

I don't like them in Excalibur but that's because the book isn't at a point where i actually understand all that grimore stuff etc.

Completely agree.

[Psycwave]

Love 'em. Keep them coming.

[DearMachine]

With all the world-building around HOX/POX, they're a necessity. It's that, or have a character do an awkward info dump every three pages.

[cranger]

Don't need them. To keep it short, they are not even consistent.

[Magneto]

I like them, but I expect a payoff for most of them (sinister secret, council, etc.)

[AbnormallyNormal]

I voted Sometimes good sometimes bad

I think Hickman clearly uses them well

When they have visuals it really really helps

The ones in Fallen Angels I kinda gloss over honestly, I think they are like poems or some ****? Its fine but... shrug

Marauders ones I also gloss over it's just "wacky" retellings of what the crew is up to from PoV of human USA government. The stuff with texting kate-bishop was actually important though

[Personamanx]

I like them well enough, they make for good flavour and show thought for worldbuilding beyond what the narrative specifically requires. It's like how in RPG sourcebooks they go into depths about locales, and characters beyond what the adventure or most players would require. I don't find them particularly obstructive either, but not all are as well designed or compelling as others.

[Steroid]

Love the data pages, especially Hickman's. They really have enhanced the story in my opinion.

[PeterParked]

I think they add the story and are a nice bonus. The books still have the usual pages of illustrated story, so I see them as a way to enrich the experience. Realistically it’s not like without the data pages we would have longer stories. I also like how different writers use them in different ways, it adds to the personality of the book. And they are a better way to handle exposition in my opinion, given the limitation of the medium, the need for monthly releases and the time needed to draw a story, exposition sometimes it’s a necessity and I find it works better this way. In the last x-force issue for example they saved me from a 2 pages flashback on next issue to show the killer body exploding, someone saying that they don’t suspect someone else killed him and that the healer will be resurrected, all obvious things, obviously if they could read the mind of the killer they could defeat their enemy too soon, obviously the mysterious killer won’t be discovered already and still more obviously healers are important and their resurrection has priority to other people. Still they couldn’t just leave all of that implied so it would have needed pages to show it that now can be used to progress the story.

[mikelmcknight72]

I like them for a number of reasons.

1. They add a variety of types of reading and enjoyment to the issue. You get everything from in panel dialogue and art to lists to articles that border on prose. Variety, as they say, is the spice of life.
2. As some posters have sad, somethings are better left unseen. Whether it is something too gruesome to depict, too lengthy to take up panel time, or something where each reader's imagination will leave what it looked like more tailored to that person's imagination. For that last one, think of some of the uses in various movies where they use an off screen or indirect representation to keep the rating where they wish it to be. This can also tie into the Noodle Incident trope. An event from elsewhere or elsewhen is referenced, but never expanded upon. It can be useful in a number of ways, though it is most commonly used for something humorous or impressive that they'd works far better implied than explicitly stated.
3. I miss the days where we more commonly had thought balloons and narration in comics. It could get overly florid or melodramatic at times, but sometimes it added just enough of either (or both) to make reading the comic more vivid. Reading comics used to require more reading. As a kid, it was one of the things from which I expanded my vocabulary.
4. It lengthens the experience of reading the comic, so it is more bang for your buck when done well.

[Wolverine12]

I was a big fan of the data pages in HoX/PoX. It really got the formation of Orhcis out of the way quickly and it really helped me grasp some of the concepts in PoX, sometimes Hickman is too smart for me lol.

[Luckystar.]

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

[RachelGrey]

I saw a lot of discussion about the use of data pages in the current Xbooks and it seems posters are split on how they feel about them. I thought it would be a good idea to collect all the discussion here and we can update every week with pro’s and con’s of how new issues utilize the data pages.

Personally I enjoy them, I feel like they give detailed insight on the story that we might otherwise not have gotten.

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!