A Note on Articles:

After posting the first of my four articles up recently, something rather odd began to occur. People started posting comments about it - smart comments. Being as internet-savvy as I am, I hadn't actually anticipated this phenomenon. Some of the thoughts posted shed more light on the article's topic, and some went so far as to disagree with my content- Which is excellent!

I should probably make a brief mention here on where I'm coming from in terms of the comic industry...
Growing up, I could never find quite what I was looking for in comic shops. It's not that I had something specific in mind - only that the titles on the shelves didn't catch my imagination. They all seemed to be variations on the same old superhero theme... I'm sure there were exceptions, but as a neophyte browsing the shelves, none were overly evident.
As a result, I never really got into comics much, and knew relatively nothing about the world of fandom for most of my life. I would draw my own comics for personal entertainment as I grew, despite my lack of interest in professional fare...
That artistic inclination, combined with the desire to tell stories, brought me back to comics during college. This time not as a reader, but as a creator - a creator determined to make the kinds of books that I was never able to find.
The reason I relate my back-story is this: although I have done research into the comic industry and it's features, I don't actually have the experience and familiarity that many of you possess. Just because I enjoy making books and did a bit of reading doesn't mean I have a monopoly on the topic of comics and publishing. There are certainly those out there whose expertise exceeds my own. I would ask then, if you would:
Anyone who would like to share their thoughts on my articles, provide additional information, and -especially!- anyone disagreeing, please feel free to post up your comment! Let other readers have the chance to hear what you think - if I'm wrong or uninformed about something, then speak up! Others browsing the article should hear your opinions, and besides that, I can learn more without actually taking the effort to do more research. Score one for laziness.

It seems terribly obvious, but I hadn't actually realized that posting articles could bring other opinions and information to light. Chalk another one up for internet inexperience.
I did consider rewriting the articles before posting them up, upon reading and learning from the various comments included by others. I wrote these articles last spring, on my own, without really anticipating what it would be like to throw them up for public scrutiny. Now that I’ve had a taste of displaying my opinions in front of an informed audience, I almost have an itch to go in and tone some of my rants down... Soften some of my opinions.
I’ve decided not to, though. The articles are more fun to read in their original form - spicier, I guess you could say. I’m hoping this will make them more entertaining to read, cause them to become more widespread, and instigate reader feedback more effectively, if only to correct my more slanted posits.

That said, thank you again to any who are taking the time to browse through my thoughts! Once again, feel free to share your opinion in here, and to invite other readers you know who may find these articles amusing or informative.


-David