What is Comics Analysis?

[penciljack]

Hi folks, and welcome to the debut of the Comics Analysis forum. We wanted to encourage critical (though courteous and thoughtful) discussion of comics books since, strangely enough, that's what we're all here for anyway

We'll be coming up with some rules systems and some guidelines soon. In the meantime, feel free to post some reviews of books you've read lately. Be sure to fill us in on the publisher, the price, and any other pertinent info.

If you're reviewing a monthly comic, please keep it current - no need to review a two month-old book. Also, please be sensitive about spoiler information - remember some folks may not have read the book by the time you reviewed it.

Consider this forum a work in progress, but expect changes soon. Review away!

[DJ Kenobi]

This forum sounds great! I'm really happy to see a space that is solely for comics discussion. I'll be hanging out here a lot.

And I'll begin with a question. For reviewing trades, does it have to be recent? I understand why not to review a couple month old single issue, but I think there is value in introducing people to stuff that they may have missed, be it from earlier this year (like the Love Fights trade that came out a couple months ago from Oni) to perhaps something much older (i.e. Animal Man trades).

And thanks for what will hopefully be a haven for actual comics discussion.

[penciljack]

No, trades and graphic novels don't need to be recent. We may in fact allow reviews of "classic" issues or some such later. Look for more guidelines soon, and if you have suggestions on how to operate this forum, please post them ASAP so we'll have time to consider and implement them.

[cory w.]

I would suggest that we take a little bit of a que from the Millarworld boards, and the way the "important topics" are posted here with ship lists, a la Benito, a weekly bought/thought thread, etc. I don't know how we'd all feel about piggy-backing off of them, but whatever.

[Chris Piers]

I like that notion.

[cory w.]

I like that notion.

Terry? What is YOUR opinion?

[penciljack]

My opinion? Your froggy avatar is creepy cool.

Oh, you mean about Comics Analysis? Well, I was hoping some other folks would chime in before I dropped my two cents in. It was my understanding that a couple of moderators, for instance, were hot to trot over the idea of a comics review forum, but they're nowhere to be found, it seems .....

I'm hoping that it's just a matter of folks furiously typing out their reviews, though. Anyway, I like the idea of moving Benito's Ship List in here, just haven't had time to approach him about it. I'm sure he'll have opinions as to how this should work, too. Haven't had time to really check out the MillarWorld forums. Anybody care to summarize for me?

[cory w.]

Essentially, what they've got going on at the Millarworld boards is a section of important topics as stickies at the top of one of the forums including a ship list for the upcoming new book day (obviously changed weekly), a thread dedicated to monthly solicitations (containing links to online locations for solicitation information for Marvel, DC, Image, Darkhorse, etc. Depending on how far you want to go), and a bought/thought thread for that week's new books.

They also have ship lists for up to two or three weeks in advance, but I doubt we'd really need to go that far.

[xadrian]

That's a pretty good option. That would answer the question of how to organize it. I know before there were questions about either having one thread for all X-Men issues or a new thread for each new issue with a review.

This does limit to pretty short reviews though, I don't know how wordy or prolific you were wanting to get.

Maybe it could split out:
Bought/Thought (though it would need a new "lab" title.
Ship List
Full Reviews - For things like entire story arcs or GNs or trades.

Don't mean to stick my "break up the forum" nose in here. I'll hush now.

[DeForgeo]

I like Xadrian's idea, and I don't think it would break up the forum too much. Habing a pinned ship list and pinned bought/thought thread each week would probably work out pretty well.