The Letters Page

POSTED BY Alex Zalben, 02 January 2008

As we've mentioned before, there's way too much mail for us to answer in the shows, so we'll be answering some of it right here on the blog. As always, thanks for sending in your questions, and please keep shooting them over to tips@pulpsecret.com, call them in to 888-841-7549, or post a video response on YouTube!

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Mike muses:

With Spider-Man #545 I agree it was well written and the art was fitting, but what seemed to be almost an insult was including the wedding in the back of the issue. Maybe it's just me. What do you think?

I think I agree, Mike. I've had a little more time to think on the issue now, and while I did like the whole scene with the dissolution of the marriage, purely on its on terms, the rest of the issue seems like a smack in the face. How can you spend 20 pages telling us Peter and MJ are meant for each other, have the purest love in a thousand years, and then spend the next few pages selling us on "Won't it be fun now that Peter is single?" It feels like being punched in the gut. And then the wedding issue at the end reminds you about how great their wedding is, once again emphasizing how awesome the marriage was. I understand why they included the "Brand New Day" section, but the issue would have worked so much better if it ended with them fading away, then having the wedding issue. Then, it would have worked on it's own terms. That being said, everybody still would have hated it.

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Andrew Asks:

I'm finding it difficult to keep up with the Marvel continuum and was wondering if there's one or two titles that spine Marvel Comics in the same way Countdown does for DC.

While not strictly in the same way, the first thing that popped to mind is Avengers: The Initiative. Dan Slott is writing the only title that consistently refers to as many other books being published as possible, from main stories like World War Hulk, to references to recent issues of New Warriors. Plus, it's really fun and original. I was trying to categorize the book in my mind the other night, and fortunately, you can't. It's a team/soap-opera/comedy/drama/action/romance/sci-fi book with more continuity than you can shake a stick at, while still being totally new reader accessible. Have I sold you yet?

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Lisa from IL Wants To Know:

Hi guys! Could you please tell me about any great comic book websites with info, updates and releases? Somewhere that I can find all-things-comic-books in one place. Any help or suggestions would be great! Thanks a bunch and love the show!

Well, hopefully this website can provide some of that, at least. News, info, forums, shows, etc. But if you had to go to other places, I GUESS you could check out our friends over at Newsarama, who have a ton of news and info. You can also check out a consistently updated list of releases over at Midtown Comics, or directly from Diamond (the distributor of 95% of all comics released). I'm also a big fan of The Beat for in depth news and analysis, and The Daily Cross-Hatch for your indie update. If you want a quirkier take on mainstream comics, check out Geekanerd. And for movie updates, you can't do better than SuperHeroHype. And finally, just explore! Most sites, ours included, have a list of links. Set up an rss feeder like Google Reader, and it'll be like reading your own mega blog.

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Jordan from WI Sez:

I have found myself becoming more reliant on your show for information on comic books. I'm 17 years old and don't have a lot of money to spend. Please answer the following questions: 1. Which books (other than Green Lantern, Captain America, Daredevil, and JSA) are consistently good? 2. What are your opinions on Kurt Busiek's Astro City? 3. Is Bomb Queen a good book or is just about a manipulative B*#$%? 4. How can you attract others into reading comic books without having to give them something as graphic as the Sin City books?

Okay, let's do this: 1) The above mentioned Avengers: The Initiative is consistently good, as is The Order. From DC, I'd suggest Blue Beetle, and The All New Atom (though Rick Remender is taking over from Gail Simone soon; I think he'll be great on the title, but it may feel like a different book). From Image, Invincible and Walking Dead. Also, not to be a broken record, by Fear Agent and Hack/Slash are consistently excellent. 2) Astro City is awesome. I need to read a lot more of it (I've only gotten two or three volumes), but it's a classic. 3) It's manipulative b*llsh*t, If that's what you mean... I've been thinking about picking up another issue; I got the first one ever, and was totally unsold on the concept, which is unfortunate, as I think it's a fun idea. Not terrible, I just wasn't crazy enough about the art and writing to pick up further issues. I'll give it another try, though. 4) Those of you who have read this answer before can play along: "What else do they like?" I think it varies from person to person, but the best way of finding out what will sell them is what else they like. Mostly everybody will like Sandman, for example, but it's also the go to "You are a girl into fantasy" book. I have a friend who loves metal music, so she read Black Metal, and picked up a few more books from there. If you have an emo friend, Blankets or Box Office Poison might be a good choice. Into sci-fi? Fear Agent might be a good choice. Just figure out what movies and TV shows they like, and find them something like that. There's a comic for everybody.

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Sheryl from The OC Queries:

My husband and I are both comic book collectors and have The Stack downloaded regularly to our Tivo. While my husband is a collector of more mainstream titles, I collect the more obscure independent titles and would like to hear your opinions on these as well. I am always open to trying new things and may not be aware of all of the independents out there. My favorite comic book is Lenore. Roman Dirge is a genius and keeps me laughing like I never have in my life before Lenore. I also have the Se7en miniseries (Zenescope), Tag and Tag Cursed miniseries (Boom), Faker (Vertigo), Awakening (Archaia Studios Press), Gutsville miniseries, and Lobster Girl, just to name a few. Why not talk about some of these and others like them that I may not have seen yet?

It's a great question, one that we've answered a little before, but to reiterate... The titles we talk about on the show first are separated into things that we really love or really hate. We then figure out what everybody (not just one of us) wants to talk about, and if there's any discussion points on the book. If we all liked a book, but don't have anything specific to talk about, it's not good to talk about on the show. And then there's the consideration of time, figuring out what we have to talk about to stay relevant, and what will create discussion online. So once we get through all that, the majority ends up being mainstream titles, with some indies peppered in. We do actually read a lot of indie titles, but they get whittled out based on the above categories. That all being said, if we can sneak something in, we absolutely do. And as for the titles you mentioned... I love Lenore, and if you haven't yet, read Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, it's just as awesome. Also, Tag is good, I just forgot to pick up the follow up. Faker is excellent and original. The rest I haven't picked up, but now they're on our list! Definitely, send in recs, and we'll try to get 'em on the show.

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