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The Middle Ground #118 | Turn left
The more I think about it, the more strange Image Comics’ position in the modern comic book industry seems. Think about it: It’s currently the place where up-and-coming creators publish their own...
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The Middle Ground #119 | Open the box
One of the best things about comics — about any media, really, but for some reason it always feels more special when it happens to me with a comic — is when you’re reading something that you already...
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The Middle Ground #120 | While we wait
The plus side of something being creator-owned is that, in most cases, that means it’s also creator-controlled; the more practical and technical aspects — release schedule, pricing, etc. — are...
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The Middle Ground #121 | Know the signs
Okay, I admit it: I’m sold. Thing is, I couldn’t tell you exactly when I got sold, and that’s a strange part of the charm. I can remember enjoying, but not loving, the first issue of the X-O Manowar...
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The Middle Ground #122 | This is the subject of the day
The notion that we rely on independent companies to save comic history is something that crept inside my head at some point last week, and refuses to leave. It’s an idea that I wrestle with — almost...
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The Middle Ground #123 | Being bad
I feel like I’m being a bad fan by not being too upset by the news that the third series of Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie’s Phonogram is going to be delayed until sometime in 2013. Originally...
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The Middle Ground #124 | The problem with reality
My problem with diary comics, I think, may be that I read them in the same way I do other comics, and then end up feeling guilty when I judge the central character — i.e., the person creating the...
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The Middle Ground #125 | Everything old is new again, again
Whether it’s re-released previous print work with all-new material included, or using digital to release work that never even made it to the print stage in the first place, this past week has been one...
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The Middle Ground #126 | Introduction to Recommendations 101
The other day, a friend was visiting and asked in a somewhat halfhearted manner for something to read. I gave her The Nao of Brown, fairly confident it’d be her kind of thing in terms of tone and...
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The Middle Ground #127 | A galaxy far, far away
You know that it’s possibly time to abandon all hope when one of the first thoughts you have when reading the news that Lucasfilm has been purchased by Disney is “But what will that mean for Brian...
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The Middle Ground #128 | Redrawing the ground beneath your feet
This week sees the release in the United Kingdom of Rogue Trooper: Tales of Nu Earth Vol. 3, a collection of the final days of the original run of 2000AD‘s cloned science fiction soldier. Re-reading...
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The Middle Ground #129 | The benefits of try before you buy
Ladies and gentlemen, my favorite page on comiXology’s website: Free Digital Comics. Yes, I’m that cheap. No, wait. That’s not what I meant to say at all. I’ve always been a fan of the idea of letting...
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The Middle Ground #130 | Thank you, friends
This isn’t a “Best of 2012″ list, because (a) 2012 isn’t finished yet, and (b) every time I attempt to put “Best of” lists together, I inevitably end up forgetting something that I utterly adore and...
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The Middle Ground #131 | The numbers game
For some reason, I keep reading and re-reading Jim Zubkavich’s breakdown of indie comic economics, as if at some point it’s actually going to make sense to me. It’s not that I don’t understand the...
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The Middle Ground #132 | At knockdown prices
Ah, the joys of comic book sales. With everything that appears in your local store on a weekly basis, you could be forgiven for overlooking some treasures waiting for you in the back issue bins or the...
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The Middle Ground #133 | Built on shifting sands
The first time I read Ales Kot and Morgan Jeske’s Change, I was distracted by all the things I didn’t like about it: the similarities to the stories that influenced it, the use of language at certain...
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The Middle Ground #134 | The promise of things to come
As 2012 draws to a close, the holiday season is now officially in full swing, and that means it’s time to think about the next year, and also maybe get a little greedy in the process. With all that in...
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The Middle Ground #135 | Standing on the shoulders of Titans
Sometimes, you see the announcement of a project that, although you are quasi-convinced that it’s likely to end in tears, you can’t help yourself but be grateful for it happening in the first place,...
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The Middle Ground #136 | Wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you
Something that jumped out at me from last week’s (must-read) interview with Mark Waid at Tom Spurgeon’s Comics Reporter: I think the system is, in terms of the way we’ve been doing business, the way...
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The Middle Ground #137 | I’d like to teach the world to sing
I have to admit, I was surprised to learn that Rob Liefeld’s relaunched Extreme Studios line had received attention on the online news magazine Slate, and reading the article itself, I realized why:...
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