Pipeline - Nov 18, 2014

[CBR News]

Augie learns new coloring techniques in "Art of the Penguins of Madagascar," plus, the "All Star Batman and Robin" re-read gets to Black Canary's debut.


Full article here.

[dancj]

Small nitpick. It looks to me like that book is bound on the narrower edge.

[FWACATA]

It's funny but you hit it on the nose when you saw the curved versus straight strategy in design, that is so Bruce Timm, and probably revolutionized (in a good and bad way) animation.

Ha and you used the word Quixotic, awesome

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

Yes, Dan, you're right. I flat out used the wrong word. I was confusing "wide" pages with being bound on the wide side. UGH

Thanks!

[prismablue]

It seems that when DC publsihed an absolute edition of All Star Batman and Robin that represented the death of the series. I know the internet lost it's shit over that comic and FM in general the last few years but the books had a large audience and it's Frank Miller Batman.That a few dozen people posting on the internet can influence the perception of a creator and a comic book series more than actual reception of the work through continued sales do is a strange phenomenon and one that has been detrimental to publishing, retailers and fans.

Having read comics since 1989 I can't really wrap my head round a comic book publisher that has canned a FM batman series mid-way through publishing. I understand the video game take precedence at the time given the amount of money a project like that generates and I get that DC rebooted their entire universe and it was important for Lee to be n a flagship title given his commercial viability. That said ASBAR sold as well or better than JLA and Superman lee and has a better shot of being around and relevant 20 years from now than the new 52 stuff. Now lee's schedule opens up and rather than finish the 5 or 6 issues left in the series he's doing a multiversity book starring Uncle Sam. Grant Morrison is an excellent writer but judging from the cover this is not in jim lee's wheelhouse. If it takes jim lee 2 years to draw 9 comics they really should be books and characters people want to see him do. maybe it is but I can think of a dozen artists better suited to that project.

[dancj]

Having read comics since 1989 I can't really wrap my head round a comic book publisher that has canned a FM batman series mid-way through publishing.

Yeah - even now it's just a licence to print money.

And bringing out an absolute edition is just a bit odd when the story is unfinished.

[prismablue]

Yeah - even now it's just a licence to print money.

And bringing out an absolute edition is just a bit odd when the story is unfinished.

Yeah. Miller is a brand onto himself yet Marvel nor DC really want anything to do with him. Imagine if the publishing side of things was handled well how successful this could have been. it was published haphazardly with no press after the initial issue and still cracked the top 5 sales chart almost every time. If the book was scheduled in a way to generate momentum as a monthly, even with breaks between arcs. Even Holy terror sold 10k copies at 30 bucks a pop and terrible press.

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

I almost have to believe there was something else going on behind the scenes that caused the book never to be completed. We get interviews with creators all the time that tell their side of the stories, and then years later find out how wrong they were, or how much they were sugar-coating something, or how much they were hiding something.

It's very possible that we don't know what happened, and never will. Maybe in another ten years, someone will come out with the full story.

I'm not suggesting any conspiracy theories. It's probably something really simple that nobody wants to talk about out of professional courtesy.That kind of stuff happens all the time. We don't know what happens with corporate politics or flaky creators or editorial goofs.

We're just left to judge the books we get.

It can be frustrating sometimes. ;-)

-Augie