Conservatives are Right (So are the Liberals)

Taking a break from subjects that deal with Comic books, this is going to be a political rant. That means people will not agree with a lot that is about to me said here.

There two major ideologies in the American Political spectrum; those being Conservative and Liberal with the difference in ideology being in how the Federal Government should be used to help America. Conservatives, in general, are more about state rights and less government interference in people’s lives. The Liberals are about taking care of the American people and protecting American rights. Those are just broad views on the basic ideology of these two groups. They both have good ideas about how to help America. They also have extremist for their causes that tend to tarnish there public image.

Conservatives are correct when they say that Big Government is not what Americans want to have in their lives. The Federal Government should not be involved in our daily lives like it is now. They should have a very light touch on the grand scheme of things. The belief that communities can take care of their people is true and doesn’t need a big brother watching over them. A state can better decide what is best for those that live there compare to the Federal Government.

Conservatives also believe that the less money is taken from the rich is the best. That is partly true. It is true that top 10% of earners pay more in taxes and thus have more monies taxed by the Feds. The main problem with cutting taxes on that top 10% of earners is that they don’t spend money like the average American. A business teacher once said this in a class,” Rich people are rich for one reason. They don’t spend money. They save money.” Cutting taxes on that 10% will lessen money being put back into programs and services that are needed.

Conservatives are right about the entitlement mentality that some Americans display. The reason for this is because those programs and services offered by the Federal Government are not run properly. There is thinking, in some, that the average American needs help to achieve their dreams. That is partly true, but it is also true that if one doesn’t work hard to achieve their dream it isn’t appreciated. There has to be better guidelines and help for those on Welfare and other service, so they can be totally independent from those programs. There also has to be a limit to how many times Americans can use those services.

Liberals are right they we need to help those that can’t help themselves. They execute these ideas wrong. They create larger Government services which don’t really help Americans to achieve independence from these services. The best way is to give a helping hand to stand up and show these people the right way. Teach them how to fish, so they can feed themselves.

Liberals are correct that Green technology is the future. It must be an American industry that stays in America. I mean those jobs stay here and not shipped overseas. Green tech can create a new industrial revolution in this country if some would just stop fighting it. It also has to have an affordable price from the get go. Give tax breaks to those that use it and those that make it. If they are serious about this, they need to do something to make it appealing to everyone.

Liberal are correct to say there is corporate greed in America. They are wrong thinking it is everywhere. It goes back to the saying about one bad apple spoiling the bunch. Those that get too greedy are found and dealt with by companies that make these deals. The Federal Government needs to stay out of it completely. No bail outs or loans for these companies that keep people that have display these traits. Let them fall to the wayside and let another company take their place. That is the American way.

Liberal are correct in saying that the Health Care system is broken. They are wrong about the execution of fixing this problem. There does not need to be a new entitlement that will cause greater burden on the American people. They could create guidelines that could fix the majority of the problems in the Health Care field. Create tax breaks for companies that offer quality health care for people with meager means of support. Offer monies to those companies that create a wellness program that helps prevent major health problems. These all could be done without any major spending of taxpayer’s dollars.

Both camps have good ideas, but they fail on execution. The middle class America spend more disposable income that the 10% and that should be address by both camps. Tax breaks should never be just for one group, but it should be done in the way that all Americans feel it. If we take a real hard look at what the Federal Government has done since 1991, it isn’t much besides a bunch of bickering. The extremist are more concerned about placing blame than fixing the problems permanently. That is another trait that both camps share. They don’t look at long term effects of their execution of their ideas. It has been mostly quick fixes. It needs to stop and make long term changes for the good of all.

Mary Jane Watson the Most Writer Abused Character

Excellent title isn’t it? It is excellent because it happens to be true. Writers have been smacking around Mary Jane Watson for so long that it comes as surprised that she is not drawn with black eyes. The main problem is the writers are afraid or don’t understand the character at all. The lack of research into this character is just mind boggling because this happens to be one of those characters with a rich history where there could numerous dramatic stories that can be told.

Mary Jane Watson could be seen as the one of the greatest creation by Stan and Steve. She was, on the surface, the polar opposite of Peter Parker. She was popular and looking to have fun all the time. That is how she was first presented when she was introduced in the world of Peter Parker. Peter by comparison was the outsider and looked on the dark side of life think there was nothing he could do right. Mary Jane Watson brought some light heartiness to the book that was needed because those early issue were pretty dark if you take in the context of how Peter felt about himself. Mary Jane brought some needed relief of the constant teenage angst that was going on the time when Pete was in High School.

As Peter’s character evolved, Mary Jane’s character also evolved beyond that of “Party Girl”. We learned that Mary Jane came from a home that had an abusive father. She put on a brave face in front of her friend with the whole “let's have fun” attitude because it was an escape for her home life. She ran from the dark aspect of life. Anytime one of her friends was going through a personal crisis, she would just go party and have fun. That was her stander operating procedure until Gwen’s death. That was first time she stops and faces a dark crisis because of what Peter meant to her. That was a major shift for the character. She went from the Party Girl to Peter’s best friend that was there for him because she knows his secret.

Mary Jane disappeared for a time, but she return to let Peter know that she knows he is Spider-man. Once again, another major shift in the character. Peter found someone that he could talk to about Spider-man openly and not feel like he was alone in the world. Peter was dating Felicia Hardy, Black Cat, at the time which made the relationship with Mary Jane complex. Mary Jane was the friend that had feelings for Peter beyond that typical “just friends”. He would come to her with problems about Felicia and about being Spider-man. They grew closer to the point where during the many breaks with Peter’s relationship with Felicia that they kiss during a fight about Felicia causing a thought bubble from Mary Jane,” That was like we were boyfriend and girlfriend.”

Peter asked Mary Jane once to marry him, and she turned him down. She didn’t want to deal with the whole Spider-man aspect of his life. When she did say yes to his marriage proposal, things got worse for the character because she was portray wrong by the writer. She became a supermodel. That turned some of the fans off because they thought it did not fit in Peter’s world. Then she became an actress, which also did not fit in Peter’s world. Then she was killed, that fit in Peter’s world. Yet, it did not work because many readers could not see Peter with someone else now because Mary Jane was the girl. She came back and they separated because, once again, Mary Jane didn’t want deal with Peter being Spider-man. Sensing a theme here? Mary Jane, after seeing Peter selfless actions as Spider-man, that it was something Peter needed to do and has to do in order for her to love him. That led to some the best stories with the marriage in years.

Now, that the history lesson is over we can look at the mistakes with the character. The biggest mistake that the writers make with Mary Jane; with Peter too, is trying to keep them stuck in the past. There has to be growth or the characters will become stale. Sure, you can say that they have to stay the exactly the same as they were first written, but you will kill the book fast because it will become boring. There were many stories that could have done within Spider-man that would have change how the readers look at Mary Jane. Some examples:

-Mary Jane could have decided to choose to help Peter by joining the Police force.
-Mary Jane could have become an activist for Hero’s Right during Civil War.
-Mary Jane could have gotten a degree in Criminal Psychology and tried to help Peter.
-Mary Jane could have become an Investigating reporter and covered why Spider-man is seen as a menace.

: There were many stories that could have made the character stronger beyond turning into a model or actress.

There is whole, “I can’t be with you because you’re Spider-man,” theme that writers love to use to the point where the readers want to puke. That was fine for the first couple of years of the marriage, but it should have stopped after that because they were not going to get a divorce. It is worn out theme that is used by writers that have no imagination and hate the character of Mary Jane. They rather slap her around so the reader won’t like her, and they can start to write Peter fucking everyone that will spread her legs in the Marvel Universe. This is where the writers come off like prepubescent fanboys. They can’t wrap their minds around the fact that the readership have changed and so have the character. They want their old Peter back damn it and nothing is going to stop that from happening. It is magic and the readers need to shut up about already is their thinking. The problem they have is that Mary Jane is popular character that people want to read about over and over again because that is what they want. Do they need reminding who pays for those checks they cash from Marvel? The readership’s money is where that money comes from in order that check to be any good.

Mary Jane could be seen as the abusive wife for the writers to smack around as they please because the readership allows it to happen. Yes, the writers have screwed Mary Jane so many times that she is the perfect metaphor for a ten cent hooker. The readership allowed this to happen because we did not say anything when it happens except when they get rid of the marriage. It is time to fight for Mary Jane too. The marriage coming back is important, but we must watch how Mary Jane is being used as a character because that causes some problems too. One main goal should be that a woman writes for Spider-man and not bunch of men that are going through a mid-life crisis.

Sales Numbers or the Greatest Con by Comic Companies

Those that follow the drama that is Brand New Day knows that people point to sales number to either say, “It is doing great,” or ,” It is going downhill fast.” That is the real drama here, sales number that is posted by sites that follow that sort of thing. The truth of the matter these mean nothing. Absolutely nothing, in regards, to the Local Comic Shops, readers, and many other outlets these numbers are just a pipe dream. These numbers are just for the companies to fool themselves with to believe that they are doing well.

The so-call “sale numbers” are not sales at all. They are distribution number that tell us how many issue are being sent out to stores. These numbers show how confident the outlets are about selling an issue of comic. As an example, a store orders 20 copies of a book expecting to sell 10 to regular customer and 5 to new customers leaving 5 for back issues. If a store over order or an issue doesn’t sell well, they could end up with 15 in back issue bin. This causes those outlets to lose money because they now have to sell those issues at a discount to break even, they hope. In truth, these outlets lose money on a lot of issues because they have to sell them at a greater discounted price they the pay for. In turn, they lose the money they put out for the book and lost of any chance of a profit.

If you look at these numbers as future sales, you are partly correct. These future sales decrease in value as time goes on because of the actions of the companies. To put this in way that makes thing clear, variant covers are killing the industry because it floods the market because they want a quick buck. The reasons for comics like Amazing Fantasy 15 being high valued and treasured is because how rare they are in the market place. The only way to fix this type of thing is to fix how the companies treat outlets for their products.

The comic industry is the only industry that doesn’t allow stores to return unsold products. Why are Local Comic Shops losing money? That is reason number one right they because they are stuck with product they have to move at a lost to them and not the companies. You want to see an example of greed that is out of control, Comic Companies are the best example of this type of thing. They keep all the money from LCS and basically stick them with bill of the cost of printing material that doesn’t sell.

How to fix this whole thing? One, companies must be allow to return product that doesn’t sell. This would be a benefit to both the companies and the outlets. One, the company would get a very clear idea what is working and what isn’t. Secondly the outlets would not be stuck with an overstock of product that they will have sell at a lost. Two, create a real sales number chart for people to follow. BND is being distributed typically at the 60,000 mark, but the real question is how many of those are going into customer’s hands? It isn’t 60,000 that is for sure because you can find ten to twenty issues of ASM on the racks, in back stock bins, and in the fifty cent bins. This is causing shops to lose money. Allowing shops to return the majority of unsold product would help bring a greater sense of what is needed to keep the industry moving forward, and, more importantly, what the readers like. Marvel is really guilty of this because they were once in touch with the readers, but they have lost that touch due to the enormous egos and plain pig headiness of the people working there.

These companies say they stand behind their products. They need to prove that to everyone by allowing shops to return unsold product at the price that was paid for. Then they can say they are listening to the shop because this is one thing that has been requested by many LCS. It will also tell the companies if the moves they have done to create readers have been worth it. Many people working at these companies are living in a dream world and need to wake up. They need to wake up not just for the good of the business, but they need to come to realize they could be hurting this industry more than helping it. Trades are nice to get a complete arc, but the single issue is the life blood of this industry because it is their hype machine. Reader talks to friends and other readers, which in turn, increases the sales of Trades. It is time for these companies to realize that the readers are in control and own the sandbox…lock, stock, and barrel.

Coming Soon

The following will be posted soon:

Sale number or the greatest con by comic company

Mary Jane Watson the most writer abused character

Conservatives are right(So are the libs)

Think Before You Act

Father's Failure

I have wanted to say something that is very personal and well painful for me. Those that know me know that I have children and one of them lives with me. I am very proud of my son because he is better than me. He strong of will and mind and will go far in this life. I have 3 other children. My oldest hates me because quite frankly I failed him. My other son remembers me, but he hates me also because I failed him too. My daughter doesn’t know me because I failed her also as a father.

I made a choice. A choice that I will have to live with for the rest of my life and it hurts every day. To explain, my children were being used as weapons to hurt me by my ex-wife. I saw the effect it had on my children and the harm it was doing to them. I chose to stop and for better or worst let them be so they had a chance. Yes, I could have force the issue called the cop and enforce my parental right, but the cost of doing that would be too high for me to bear. Children of a nasty divorce end up having major problems and that needed to be avoided at any cost even their love of me. I watch from afar as they grew up. Sneaking to my son’s track meets and my daughter’s school functions without being noticed by them. Leaving before they were over so they wouldn’t see me because I didn’t want their mother to see me. I will never know if it was the right thing to do for them, but I couldn’t bear to see them being used as weapons to hurt me.

I look at my choice as a way to give my children a choice to grow up and be functioning adults. I live with that pain in my heart every day of my life because they are never too far away in my thoughts and dreams. That is my failure and my cross that I had to bear for last 3 years. Now, things have change and a battle is coming. I have been preparing for this battle for the last 3 years and will spend all my time and energy to get my children back. To see them with the full force of the legal system behind me, and be damn the consequences to me because it is time to fight. I love something a let it go for a while, and now it is time to reclaim it with gentle hands.

Technological Advances or Loss of Humanity

There was time when a computer was used to play video games and seen nothing more than an entertainment console for kids, Commodore 64. Then Apple change things with computers that could interact with each other, Intranet. Then Windows came along making using a computer easier due the GUI, Graphic User Interface, causing a new revolution in way things were done. The Internet really changes how things are done at home and work. Now, you can talk to anyone in the world and interact with multiple people at once. Years go by and corporate world started to go paperless while it is good thing because it was supposed to cut down on cost and increase production, however, it also a cause a result that was not foreseen by anyone. The loss of human interaction beyond the computer screen and cause the creation of new technology like digital media, namely digital comics have been the most talked about on the ‘Net.

The creation of the Internet and it use has made us seem closer to understanding each other as people. It also has caused some of us to become wrapped up in the interplay with people we may never meet beyond a computer screen. Human interaction on the Internet is great, but you cannot shake hands or see the expression of those people, except with web-cams, when they post or send you a message. It is hard to judge what people mean with just words or emoticons. Sure, a new language was creating with lol, lmao, and other shortcuts. A novice to the Internet has hard problem telling a joke from an insult or dealing with what can be seen a High School mentality that sometime runs ramped on message board.(IE The Cool Posters) There are some place where various view point are giving with logic and respect for each other. There are places that exist in a Stalin state where different viewpoint are seen as idiotic or moronic no matter how logically or respectful they are presented by a poster.

We have messenger services like msn, yahoo, and AOL which allows us to “talk” to each through the use of the keyboard. There are services that are a lot better like Skype and Google talk where you use a headset to really talk to people. These things bring greater understanding of how people act on the ‘Net. Taking part of a large group session on the voice messenger is sometimes confusing, but it does help to bring a voice to these typed posts on message boards. You get an understanding if a person who you talk to is being serious or just kidding around. It also helps to discuss differences without angry typing or “knee jerk” reaction typically happening. There is a danger with these things that should be look at too. You can get too wrapped up in these things and ignore what is really important. Those important things are those relationships you have without the computer being involved. You can quite easily get sucked into a fantasy world where the people on the ‘Net become more important than those that you see “real world” on a daily bases. This can cause many problems that can affect your personal and professional life if you are not aware of what you are doing to yourself.

The computer age has made accessing information easier, but it also brought a new crime with it. Identify thief started when people start accessing computers via the web. Hackers have stolen credit card numbers and other information to line their pockets. The FBI created a new division to find and prosecute these people. It also made it really easy for people to do things and claim another person did it. Wives and Husband walk into divorce court with e-mails and Internet history claim their soon to be former spouse did such and such on the ‘Net. In truth, they faked it to get the case to go their way. Thankfully, those are not allowed to be presented anymore because judges learn that vindictive people can try to lying the system to for their gain. There also the matter of things like Napster that made sharing files peer to peer which can been seen as a good or bad thing depending on your perspective. The good part is music, art, or writing that normally would not get seen by any one is not easy to access. The bad part is that copy write material is also being sent out via torrents. This is something that will not most likely end because there are thousand upon thousand sites that do this type of thing and asking them to police it is like asking Google to stop porn being search on their search engine.

Anyone that has been looking for a job recently will testify that all application have to be done on-line for most jobs. While this does decrease the cost of most corporations, it does have real bad side effect. The lack to see these people in person because it is hard to tell what kind of worker someone is from just words on a screen. You must be able to look these people in the eye and see if they are telling you the truth. You could have pass over an outstanding worker because of their resume and never talking to them. You may end up with crap because their resume was to your liking. This is one place the human element must stay in place and it is worth the cost.

Lastly digital comics and art, something that has created vious opinions on the website that follow this type of thing. Digital comics have been seen the end of print by many because it is cheaper to produce and supposedly has the same effect on the customer. That is false. Anyone that has done sales with a pamphlet with tells you that part of the sale is handing the perspective customer the pamphlet to create a sense of ownership. When you buy a comic at a local shop or from an on-line shipper, you receive something that you can hold in your hand and can feel with every page turn. There is also the fact that you own that copy and not have to worry about making backups due to computer crashes or software issues. You have copy forever and it is there whenever you want to read it again. In other words, you don’t have to wait for someone to get done using the computer or another device to read your book.

Digital art while sometimes is quite good; it also can be done horrible. Joe Quesada’s art could be seen as an example of this statement. Before going digital, you can say that his art was more profound and more human. After going digital, it lacks something. It lacks that human touch where you can almost feel his humanity coming through his drawings. He recent works lacks his humanity because he relies too much on technology with his recent work. While this seems to be the future of this media, the fact remains that this current time the technology is not perfected yet and should be used sparingly by artist. There something to be said when an artist is willing to take pencil to paper and does the whole picture by hand. There is a challenge to that that very few can do it in a manner that leaves the customer amazed by their work.

While living in the age of new technology, we must never lose the sight of what is really important. Our humanity to touch, feel, and understand the world around us because that makes us better people. We can become desensitize to the suffering happening or we cause because we just can do it and see over and over again. We must never stop striving to understand each other and the Internet is a tool for that, but we must turn the computer off to interact with people in real world settings. The Internet world is sometimes a wonderful place to interact with people, but it should never be your only outlet. Met people and talk to them.

Progression VS Regression

Over Thanksgiving break, I have been thinking about this concept while choking down on turkey. I stated how the majority of people that don’t like Brand New Day Spider-man are not against change and have facts to back that up. I also think that maybe there are some that are enjoying Brand New Day Spider-man are afraid of change. I will explain that shortly.

Examine the characters pre-One More Day:

1. Peter acted responsible.
2. Aunt May was relevant.
3. Mary Jane was starting to become a full character.
4. Peter life move beyond his teenage years.
5. Spider-man was relevant to the rest of the Marvel Universe.

Those are some major changes from where the characters started. Sure, there were minor problems that a writer with a marginal talent could have fix like the supporting cast members and things like that, but those minor problems were deemed top priority by those that want Spider-man stuck in teenage angst forever. These changes were accepted by most readers and become part of the Spider-man Universe. They lead to better stories full of drama and brought the character forward to the 21st century and not stuck in the concepts of the 60s held. The characters grow beyond those simple beginnings and became legendary figures to which people can say that is the way life grows in the real world. Remove the superhero aspect of the book and that is what I am getting at. Spider-man fighting this month’s bad is cool and all, but the personal life of Peter Parker kept me coming back for more of the story. I want to see him grow and change as person that went from a shy teenager to a responsible adult. That is the real story here and not the freaking costume.

There is a major misconception at Marvel that this reboot needed to be done to tell these stories that are coming out now. Huh? Really? You guys couldn’t tell any of these stories within the marriage? Seriously? NWTD, 24/7, American Son, and Red Headed Chameleon story couldn’t have done with the marriage still being part of the book? Do you guys think the buyer is that stupid? I know we couldn’t have the drunken hook-up with Michelle or the friends with benefits with Black Cat, but I think most readers would be willing to say that those things should have never been written in the first place because it lessens Peter’s character. In fact, the writers are trying to back pedal on the drunken hook up thing in a recent issue. That is clear sign of a major mistake was made and confidence at Marvel is lowering with this group as writers and editors. To make this very clear, these are not “new ideas” these are old ideas from the previous runs of Spider-man that were done a lot better by people that really cared about the character and not just want to voice their political or sexual views. They use a feather touch on stories that dealt with controversial subjects and not hit you over the head with their view.

Change means something is different. How is Spider-man different than the character that was written, better I must add, in 60-early90s run? It isn’t really with the exception the increased sexual talk in the book. I just can’t believe that people want to read tired old storylines dress up in trash and call new. It isn’t different or even original. That is what bothers me the most about all of this talk. I am not against change and for something new being done on something I enjoyed reading. This Brand New Day isn’t new, original, or even good reading 90% of the time. They have made Mary Jane the bad guy in the relationship. They have made Peter a man-whore with Black Cat which in turn makes unlikeable to the people that used to have a connection with that character. Sadly, the writers have chosen to relive their youth through Peter and not try to write decent stories. Stories that will grab you on an emotional level or make you think about what is Peter going through in this arc. These are fanfic, poorly written fanfic, from the 90s done by people who don’t want to grow beyond their childish expectations of a single Peter Parker.

I will not deny that there are people that are enjoying Brand New Day Spider-man. I enjoyed the “Who is Ben Reilly” arc and thought it was the best story I read from this crew in a real long time. I always said that those are enjoying this book are lucky because they can enjoy reading Spider-man while I can’t do it. I remember too much of his full story. I remember all the development that was thrown away in the trash for this current status of the title. In other words, I remember my Peter Parker that I grew up with from a boy to an adult. Little known fact, I got married the same year Peter did in the book. I felt a connection to the character because I was the loner in High School and have very few friends. Life experience change how I view Peter’s life and dare say that these writers haven’t experience life enough to be called a writer. Is that harsh? Yes, because it is true. I have yet to see any of them treat fans like people that the need to win respect from and earn their trust in order to get them to read the book.

Regression is taking advancement and removing that progression for reasons to improve the quality of the characters. That is not, I repeat not, what happened here. The distribution numbers back me up on this due to one issue of Brand New Day Amazing Spider-man doesn’t not match the pervious run. I dare say that the regression has made thing a lot worst for the book due to fans being vocal, very vocal, about their disgust over it. It hasn’t gone away in 2 years, and I think it will not go away until the regression is done away with and a return to old status is return. In turn, that would validate 20 years of stories as printed and start the long path of winning those readers back which in turn increases the bottom line for Marvel Publishing. Sure, that is asking Marvel to say that they made a mistake and make a correction, but what is more important here? Walking around with the attitude that these readers don’t matter and will be replaced soon enough, or realizing that making money with a lot of happy readers discussion the story is more positive move?

An unexpected result is the misconception that those that have stop or criticize Brand New Day Spider-man are negative. That is wrong. I am a positive person. I want to believe in our President is doing the right thing. I want to believe that things are getting better every day. I believe people are basically good and that evil is a rarity that happens. If that makes me negative, paint me pink and call me Rufus. I tried to communicate in a way that explains fully my position. I go to great lengths to point out in a respectful fashion why I feel the way I do about things. With great regret, I have been insulted because of doing that by a writer. That is why this blog came into being, plus I want to write things that go through my head that has nothing to do with comics. My intention here is to make people to think beyond themselves and to make me think too. I hope reading these rants of mine makes you think beyond what you see every day and look at things in a slightly different way. Just if certain people at Marvel could see that, maybe just maybe there would have been a different view of them as a people. They need to stop thinking everything that a reader says is about them. The readers have paid for the right to bitch about something that they don’t like in ASM. It is time Marvel to wake up to that fact. Yes, I do read ASM still when I can get through it without shaking my head in disgust. In other words, dance for my pleasure Marvel...DANCE MONKEYBOY!!!