End of the month and the most of what I’ve got to show for it are reviews and posts describing how and why comic books become a medium in different countries.
But that’s not all isn’t it? I’ve seen a few comic companies come and go over the years. And in case people are thinking it’s a certain one… no it’s not. This one didn’t even last three years.
Web3 Still In The Debugging Phase
It’s a small publisher called InterPop Comic, part of a larger company that was making NFT comics. These have a really bad reputation which I have a feeling led to its downfall. Before I go any further, I’d like to point out that some cryptocurrencies are better than others. Sure Bitcoin looks like it’s going to be top contender, but the proof-of-stake is more energy efficient than the more environmentally damaging servers of its competitor. But so far only InterPop’s currency Tezos and leading Bitcoin competitor Ethereum are the only ones using it. Among others anyway.
But then there’s how InterPop sold their products. They sold digital comics in limited numbers but to make sure nobody got left out, the content would be available to read for free. For the most part, it worked out with these first printings getting sold out on the regular. There were also a lot of characters to get behind like the Abyss, ZoeMG, and a personal favorite Bookworm.
But another reason echoes something from 30 years ago… the speculator boom and crash. All that you need to know is that character’s first appearances and series first issues tend to be more valuable. How? It’s complicated. Especially when variant covers tend to get higher prices by artists with followings.
Remember for casual fans, there’s really not much point to buying stuff especially at high prices when you can just wait weeks for the next release. Which is why InterPop tried to get around that by giving NFT comic owners a vote in how bits of the story should go.
But personally speaking, I really wasn’t that invested in making the story go in a certain direction. And when I got a promotional first issue for free just for having an account… nothing really happened. It didn’t change the story and what I voted for didn’t even matter despite that decision getting the most votes. It’s like the writers didn’t know or didn’t really care because they had a story in mind and they wanted to stick to it.
Frankly InterPop’s “Second Phase” feels really different compared to its first round. It’s like the storytellers lost their enthusiasm, telling stories that were less grounded with character and instead going for larger than life world-building. The kind of stuff that has so many moving parts, it feels like a watch wouldn’t work. Except again, Bookworm and a few fantasy comics that were made to promote and play digital trading cards.
This might have to do with how NFTs were starting to lose their appeal. Not just as overpriced products that didn’t have much worth; if that was all microtransactions and loot boxes wouldn’t still be a problem. It’s the ponzi scheme reputation they’ve been getting. It started as a way for creators to get a share of their products’ success whenever they were privately sold by different parties. The problem was huge successes meant they had to keep getting resold, creating that pyramid scheme where only the creator got to reap the most benefits. Great for creatives, but they needed to get popularity for the NFT first and they’d have to go into shady territory. And anybody buying into the resale value might get caught up in the struggle. For InterPop, while their comics had some value with the voting, they lose that appeal quickly.
So it’s pretty sad to see this go. Despite the reputation of NFTs, InterPop’s base digital comics were more affordable than your average Comixology issue on first launch. But it looks like the Web3 world has some bugs to work out before it launches into the mainstream.
Which makes me concerned about DSTLRY, it has that co-op feel for the creatives involved even if it is at only 4%. But the limited digital releases to increase value… that’s just NFTs rebranded as digital collectibles!
Universal Studios Going Into The Gimmick
I’ve been following Nigerian publisher Comic Republic since its early days. It’s full of characters that have really struck a chord with audiences. Including the film rights owners of the Incredible Hulk and Namor the Submariner. Okay it’s Universal Studios’ UCP who now own the TV rights to Guardian Prime, Ireti, and the rest of the Vanguards.
I can’t help but think this helped get my post about Nigerian Warrior Queens some attention.
While I am happy that this company is getting some more international recognition, I just hope that there isn’t too much of the studio politics that have plagued so many companies before them. Valiant is still in a tight spot and Marvel’s still trying to get back all of its IPs under one roof.
Pinterest Picking Up
So now I officially have more followers on my Pinterest Page than pages that I follow. Some of them are definitely the ones who saved my Madam Mirage pin. But some of their pages are actually pretty diverse and interesting. So even if horny guys are around, it’s nice to know that there’s more to them.
Plus my pin for the John Tiffany review for this month has gotten a lot of attention, even got a couple of saves. It must’ve been pretty popular in its home country. And I definitely had a good time writing that one, it had content that encouraged me to think. Better yet try to present it in the same way the comic did for me. Which is more than I can say about a few of my other reviews.
Mad Cave’s Uptick
Mad Cave is one of my regular publishers that I spotlight. About half of the reviews for this month came from them. Some like John Tiffany were good, some I didn’t find as good. Mariko: Between Worlds was not one of my favorites in graphic novels. The only reason I bothered to review it is because I felt that there was more potential in the setting than the main characters. Compared to another graphic novel that I actually turned down from Mad Cave that just felt like a generic fantasy; an interesting magic system bogged down by an uninteresting world and characters.
Then there’s You’ve Been Cancelled, featuring a Cable knockoff in a familiar plot. But it’s so satirical on it concept that I couldn’t help liking it.
Finally there was the next part in an anthology Tales From Nottingham. It had great artwork and character writing that didn’t really get me to think, just feel the moment and look back on the main story. I think that’s the difference between a great story and a good one. Rather than just something you like, something that you can revisit and indulge in. Frankly I’m seeing a lot of that in Mad Cave and I’ll keep liking that.
Other Reviews
Meanwhile one of my favorite indie publishers Unlikely Heroes sent me a copy to review for a trade version of a collection of short strips. The Kickstarter for Jonesey and Dr. Long tragically didn’t make the cut, but as I said in the review that might’ve been for the best. Not for the campy storytelling but the presentation in this physical edition. Not the best use of a flip book. I should probably update Power Broker since I’ve also got the fourth issue of that series.
Then there’s Kid Slapshot vs Zomboni, a Keenspot parody comic that’s got the right kind of humor. Definitely juvenile but not unbearably annoying, just the kind of slapstick that never gets old. Hopefully things work out for that animated series Keenspot is gunning for. That industry is full of tax write-offs. At least Final Space found a loophole.
Adaptations That Other People Did
Speaking of adaptations, how did people like that April Fools post? True to form, I updated it because someone did have an Adaptations Done Right video uploaded the same day.
Around The World In 80 Posts
Finally you may have noticed, that I’ve making a lot of World Comics’ posts. Germany, Sweden, Malaysia, Singapore, and most recently Serbia. I’ve actually been working on a post here on Substack going over every country’s comic scene that I haven’t already covered. But some have a lot more detail than others.
It’s certainly an ambitious project and some things have a lot more payoff than others. But there are also gaps in places I can’t find like South Africa that might become its own Gutternaut post. I mean the most I could about New Zealand’s comics were strips from the 90s.
But what I have learned from all of this is how comics tell a similar story. Origins as political cartoons, those become strips, those get collected into booklets, someone tries to censor or control them unless free speech is respected, graphic novels become a norm, then the internet plays a role or make the processes more efficient. But some places can do that easier than others.
I should really consider writing a book about this, probably won’t be best-seller material but still. I mean I’m already writing short stories, but maybe I should finish some stuff first.
In any case, I’ll still be traveling the internet for sources to at least sound credible for comic book worldliness.
Thanks for coming.