Reading the recent thread about comics journalism, I remembered that "Oh wait, I have a site about comics." So, here I am. I have no idea where this is supposed to fit, but it's Comic Books, so maybe here?
I run a site (Undress Me Robot), and am looking for a bunch of people to consistently do reviews of new comics. Yeah, there are a bunch of other sections for other reviews (music, books, movies, concerts, oh my), but I really want to get the comics section up to snuff and on track. We had a good thing going for a few weeks, but then summer came and life crashed down on all of the contributors. (Let me just say it's hard to find good help these days.)
The idea is to stick to graphic novels, first issues, jump-on points, trades, and series overviews. Or: who cares about how good a specific issues is if you have to read the previous dozen issues to get caught up? Also, reviews under the belief that comic books deserve the same treatment as any other book; forget whatever you learned while reading Wizard.
This is perhaps a little vague, but I am looking for good writing that takes a serious look at a comic. What that means exactly is somewhat amorphous. Since UMR is first and foremost a review site, I am looking for reviews that discuss a comic in all its important angles, not from the perspective of "a book with some pretty pictures", but from the idea that comics are an independent artform with their own techniques and context. I bring up that UMR is first and foremost a review site to accent the fact that, for the reviews, I want reviews, not essays. (There are separate features/columns sections for that sort of thing, and essays on any topic in comicdom would happily be accepted and placed within them.)
Not that some level of analysis isn't desired. I just mean to say the review should focus most of its energy into discussing the book itself, giving a clear idea of the book's worth. Any talk of the book in the context of the wider history of comics (or such things) should either be secondary or a device to further the main discussion.
Length: 600 to 1000 words.
Examples:
The Aviary
Army@Love #1
Johnny Hiro #1
As for what comics, I want to keep the new reviews dedicated to books that readers can pick up without having to have read everything that came before. That is, graphic novels, trades, first issues, story arcs, etc. (see above). However, I also want UMR to be a full archive, containing not only the important first issues and complete series, but also anything a contributor feels strongly and intelligent enough about which to write. So if a writer comes across an issue in the middle of a series that has done something inventive or strange and begs to be critiqued, it is welcome.
Compensation: I have contacts with Top Shelf, AdHouse, First Second, and Vertigo (sorta), so free comics from those publishers can be had. And, as the site grows, more publishers will feel our sexy robot touch.
So, if you're interested, or have some comment on the whole idea, or just words of hate (love?), let me know. And please, if this is all too spammy, tell me and I'll go sit in time out. |
