It's a total joy when I got to my local comics shop and I'm handed the newest issue of Doomed. I know it's going to be the closest I'm ever going to come to that feeling of excitement and anticipation I had as a kid when I would find an issue of Creepy or Eerie on the racks.After a one-page beration (?) by the mag's host/narrarator/mascot, Ms. Doomed, comes an adaptation of Richard Matheson's "Legion of Plotters" by Ted Adams and Ashley Wood. Wood's art is always exciting and effective, especially for these kind of paranoia stories. The scene of people eating lunch at a cafeteria is disquieting, even though nothing actually horrifying is going on!
After some horror-book reviews is "Faces" by F.Paul Wilson and Rufus Dayglo, a little more typical, House of Mystery-ish story, but it works in contrast to the more subtle creepiness of the first tale. Next is a horror-DVD review page (which made me want to rent Slither now) is "Coming Soon to a Theater Near You" by David Schow, adapted by Kris Oprisko and T.Cypress, which was a story I didn't quite grok, but the art was quirkily effective. I hope T.Cypress gets to do more Doomed stories (more on that in a second)!
After some short-fiction (short-fiction? wow, this magazine is a throwback!) is Robert Bloch's "Ego Trip" adapted by Joshua Jabcuga and Dario Bruzuela, which is a classically goofy-and-fun a-twist-every-two-pages kind of story. Completely ridiculous and very fun to read.
Last is a short bio of Richard Matheson, and then after that is something disturbing, and not in a good way--a final sign-off by Ms. Doomed, though she talks about being "finished off", and instead of the usual last page promo for the next issue, it simply says "Ms. Doomed--for everything there is a season." To me, that could only mean one--say it isn't so!!
Is Doomed cancelled? IDW makes no mention on their site of this being the last issue, but these last two pages seem awfully final. I figured a bw/ comic magazine, any kind, is a tough sell, but the product is so good that I hoped they were bucking a trend. I emailed IDW to ask, but have yet not received a response.
I sincerely hope Doomed isn't...doomed.
4 comments:
If you don't know already, I sadly have to inform you that Doomed is indeed defunct. I've recently developed an interest in the old B&W comics, and just a few days ago, during a foray to a local shop that has a variety of them moldering away in a box, I found Doomed # 1, (not moldering, but on a rack.) I joyfully devoured it, and went to IDW's site for more info. Seeing that they only had 4 issues available, I e-mailed IDW regarding the status of the mag. They promptly got back to me and told me it had been cancelled because it "didn't do very well"
Which of course sucks majorly. I've long been hoping for a revival of magazine-format comics, especially with the price of today's hyper-decompressed comics that often read like an illustrated version of "My Dinner With Andre," effectively giving the reader less actual story for the $3.00. They had a very lively discussion about formats on ICv2 a few months back.
Didn't actually resolve anything, but it was interesting.
So for now, even though we at least have a large selection of non-superhero stuff to choose from, if we want a comic magazine, it's Heavy Metal or nothing. Which would be ok if the writing were a little better. I thought perhaps that the reason I frequently found myself flipping pages trying to find the rest of a story in HM was because it was some European thing, and I just didn't get all of the subtleties. Nope. A couple of years back in an editorial, one of the editors admitted that they would frequently take stories with weak writing if they liked the art enough.
Now, I like ultra-detailed pictures of large breasted women scantily clad in bondage gear carrying huge guns and swords as much as the next guy. But if the writing's crap, all the T&A in the world doesn't make up for it. Start with a good story by a talented writer, as Doomed did, and then find an artist that can bring that vision to life.
Guess that's my rant for today. BTW, I like your site(s).
BD-
yes, i just found out myself that Doomed is no more. that sucks BIG TIME. even the TPB collection theyre putting out "Completely Doomed" is in standard comic size.
*sigh*
So, do you think there is any hope for more comics magazines? It seems like such an obvious format, especially with traditional comic sales going down the tubes. Magazine and digest comics sell well in almost every other country, so why not here?
The Manga format is actually pretty cool, but as with Heavy Metal, there is the writing issue (braces for enormous flame-surge from outraged fanboys who think every scene opening with someone saying Hnhh? is just fine)... Yes, I'm sure there is a huge wealth of Manga content that features great writing and even better artwork. Now can someone tell me, among the two to three entire aisles this stuff takes up in Borders, where it is, except for Lone Wolf and Cub?
Maybe us format-obsessives should just focus on content and be glad for good material regardless of the package it comes in. But damn, there's that three-bucks-a-pop and not much actually happens thing again...
i think a part of it is the system. i had never even HEARD of Doomed until the third issue, when my local store ordered a copy on a lark, because they knew i liked the b/w mag format and thought i might like it.
i know its easy to say when you dont have to do it, but it seems that when some comic thats not typical superheroes is released, its still only sold thru comic stores.
DC's been doing digests again, every so often, and they should get them in supermarkets and Target! most comic fans are NOT going to drop $6 on a Powerpuff Girls collection, but some little girl's mom might if she saw it in a supermarket.
Doomed needed to be on newsstands, but i know that's a really tough thing to pull off. but obviously its possible--Heavy Metal still is, and Archie has its digests in supermarkets, so...
Post a Comment