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      CommentAuthormrghosty
    • CommentTimeJan 26th 2008
     (647.1)
    So I've really been enjoying the back matter that a lot of creators are adding to their comics these days. It's a real treat to get to see how the works are put together, to see script pages, sketches etc. It's a nice break from all the ads that most publishers clog their back pages with.

    Casanova, Fell, Nightly News, dok sleepless, DEMO. I'd love to see more creators engage this kind of work. I think it's a wonderful treat for their readers.

    Anyway I was just wondering what other people's thoughts are on this. What are your faves? And is anyone else as upset as me that when publishers put out Graphic Novels and Collections that they don't include the back matter that was in the individual issues?

    Man that burns my britches.
  2.  (647.2)
    Another book with backmatter would be Ed Brubaker's CRIMINAL. Very, very good. I also love to see script excerpts, the inspiration, the letters, etc.
    • CommentAuthorDracko
    • CommentTimeJan 26th 2008
     (647.3)
    I'm having a time out until I can learn some manners.
    I got the first trade of <em>Criminal</em> and was disappointed to find that there was none of the backmatter found in the single issues. I suppose I'd have to seek them out, but I'm not sure they'd be worth the trouble. Is this also the case with the <em>Casanova</em> and <em>Fell</em> trades?

    And I don't really recall <em>The Nightly News</em> having much backmatter until it's trade release, actually.
  4.  (647.4)
    I got the first trade of Criminal and was disappointed to find that there was none of the backmatter found in the single issues. I suppose I'd have to seek them out, but I'm not sure they'd be worth the trouble. Is this also the case with the Casanova and Fell trades?


    It's true for FELL, dunno about CASANOVA. Backmatter's for the people who support the books in singles.
    • CommentAuthorDracko
    • CommentTimeJan 26th 2008
     (647.5)
    I'm having a time out until I can learn some manners.
    I suspected as much. Good thing I buy those two in single issues, then. <em>Criminal</em> struck me as slightly too pricey at the time. What sort of things did it have?
  6.  (647.6)
    I suspected as much. Good thing I buy those two in single issues, then. Criminal struck me as slightly too pricey at the time. What sort of things did it have?


    The backmatter has mentions to noir films that served as inspiration to the story, some random stuff by Ed Brubaker, a small box for Sean Phillips to say something, I believe a sketch here or there. Some interesting stuff. And texts that talk about a specific noir movie. Also, sometimes, another writer like Charles Huston says something about his favorite noir film. Didn't you write something for Criminal's backmatter, Warren?
  7.  (647.7)
    What sort of things did it have?

    Well, in one issue, it had me, Fraction and Patton Oswalt...
    • CommentAuthorPooka
    • CommentTimeJan 26th 2008
     (647.8)
    i love extra material. It ads another element to the preceding story.
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      CommentAuthormrghosty
    • CommentTimeJan 27th 2008
     (647.9)
    Backmatter's for the people who support the books in singles.


    I guess that makes sense. I have to admit that I'm one of those folks who loves not only the creative work by my favorite authors/ artists, but also loves all the supplementary material that allows me a glimpse at the process. One thing I am very happy about is the fact that many publishers understand this, and have published stand alone books about that very thing.

    Avatar's publishing of Warren's BadSignal, From the Desk of.. etc is a great example. And Ait/Planetlar's publishing of come in alone/ Public Domain (Wood's Channel Zero Design Book), and there are more. It's nice to see that all this material is published.

    I find that when I find a writer/artist who's work really impresses me, I want more. Not just more of their creative work.. but more of that behind the scenes stuff, their thoughts, opinions etc. After all, as an "outsider" medium, comics allow for much greater depth in social critique etc that we see elsewhere. And sometimes it's nice to hear directly from the creators themselves in addition to reading their "creative" work as allegory or metaphor or whatever.
    • CommentAuthorMalifer
    • CommentTimeJan 27th 2008
     (647.10)
    It's true for FELL, dunno about CASANOVA. Backmatter's for the people who support the books in singles.

    Interesting. One of the reason I stopped buying singles is because I noticed a lot of trades come out with "back matter" for a lower price than I paid for the issues. Obergeist, Powers, Invincible come to mind. There are tons of them. I guess from a business perspective though you could think of it either way. If someone has "vanilla" issues they may buy the trades for it's special stuff. But I think it is definitely a way to keep the singles fresh.

    I have become a trade snob. For all the reasons I guess most people do, storage, completion, availability. Countless times my pull file was missed or issue 4 of a miniseries didn't come out for whatever reason and your stuck with half a story. Amazon is awesome, I buy a trade with Ellis' name on it and every time a new one comes out they email me & it's 30% off with possible free shipping. I don't know if I could ever go back to the bags, boards and boxes.
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      CommentAuthorAva Jarvis
    • CommentTimeJan 27th 2008
     (647.11)
    I try to buy both issues and trades of a series. Issues, because I want to creators to eat sometime in the next couple months. Trades, because they are ultimately more pass-aroundable to my non-comics-issues friends, who then go out and buy all the trades, thus feeding the creators into the future and possibly sending their kids to college.

    For some reason, I haven't been able to sell the idea of single issues to people I know these days. Maybe if comics came inside of a bigger magazine, like some serials used to (single issues are, after all, serial work); gods know that they pre-order the next _Age of Bronze_ trade and get it before I even know it's there (much to my shame). Or eat through _Lone Wolf & Cub_ like mice and grain.

    *sighs and is sad*
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      CommentAuthorAva Jarvis
    • CommentTimeJan 27th 2008
     (647.12)
    (Backmatter doesn't help. They like it, but they just forget. And somehow pre-orders and subscriptions for issues don't enter into their heads. They want to be able to pre-order at Amazon. If that could be done with issues as Amazon subscriptions, I think there'd be more success.)
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      CommentAuthormrghosty
    • CommentTimeJan 27th 2008
     (647.13)
    Now's there's an enterprising idea. A comic pre-order mail service. I'm moving to northern manitoba and if something like amazon had that. boy that would be keen :)
  14.  (647.14)
    I'm having a time out until I can learn some manners.
    I don't particularly care about the "backmatter." If it wasn't important enough to the story to keep in print as a paperback, it isn't important enough for me to worry about.
    • CommentAuthorDracko
    • CommentTimeJan 27th 2008 edited
     (647.15)
    I'm having a time out until I can learn some manners.
    When it came to <em>Casanova</em>, some of it tied right into the story. I'm not sure if they did away with it in those circumstances, but I'd have to see the trade. I can understand not including letters, interviews or reactions in the trades, as insightful as they may be, but I couldn't imagine the <em>Casanova</em> experience without some of its backmatter.

    But as I mentioned above, it's down to money for me. If it was cheaper for me to buy the singles instead of the collected trades, then I'd do so. When it comes to <em>Casanova</em> and <em>Fell</em>, that's exactly what I do. Not so with <em>Criminal</em>. And <em>The Nightly News</em> trade, from what I understand, delivered a lot, lot more than the singles in that regard, what with further annotations by Hickman, his aferword and short essay on entering the business. That was a great package.
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      CommentAuthorChrisSick
    • CommentTimeJan 28th 2008
     (647.16)
    Back matter always seems very hit and miss to me. Concept sketches, script notes, outlines, real world source material, all that can be great. But it can also be a drag to read a writer or artist drown on about their current pet peeve or most recent obsession and how they just HAD to work it into their book.

    The concept, at it's most basic is the same as DVD supplemental features, which are the same way. If there's a two hour documentary on the collector's edition of Trainspotting with Irvine Welsh and Danny Boyle discussing the process, it's great, if it's two hours of some over inflated ego actor talking about they connected to the character, I'd rather just skip it all together.

    The Fell gambit, I thought, was a great chance, each issue is accessible, cheap, and has plenty of insight into the process, which if you're a wanna be writer or creator, is just what you're looking for.
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      CommentAuthorJoeL
    • CommentTimeJan 28th 2008
     (647.17)
    Back matter always seems very hit and miss to me.



    I completely agree. Although, with comics, I think it would be a wise decision of the publisher to give collected trades the same kind of treatment that, say, DVDs get when a company like Criterion reissue them.

    I've always felt it was kind of a waste of time when the collected version of something comes out and the only supplemental material you get is 3 pages of conceptual drawings. Because other than the convenience of having all the issues in one volume, what's the point of purchasing this material a second time? Usually, this so-called "bonus material" does very little in the way of enhancing the experience.

    It's like, when a movie comes out on DVD, and then again 5 months later with the only difference being the box art and 6 minutes of "never before seen deleted scenes." When this happens, I tend to feel ripped off. Same thing goes for trades.

    For me, personally, single issues AND trades should always have exclusive material. I think it keeps things interesting for the reader and, from a marketing perspective, it's good business strategy.
  18.  (647.18)
    Well, in one issue, it had me, Fraction and Patton Oswalt...


    Then it exploded because it could not contain so much awesome on a page.
  19.  (647.19)
    I like the idea of the singles having material that isn't in the trades. It just seems like those people who buy the singles ought to get rewarded. Ideally I'd get the singles and the trades of anything I liked enough to want to reread but being Incapacity scum means that the occasional trade here or there is the best I can manage.
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      CommentAuthorOwsler
    • CommentTimeJan 28th 2008
     (647.20)
    I think the backmatter that supports the story is great, as long as it doesn't become a crutch, but of course it shouldn't be essential. Or if it is, it should be available online or as part of a trade.

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