I used the word "murder," because I felt that ENDER'S GAME covered the genocide angle already, and I was trying to present a more comprehensive list of the bigger themes in the novel. (I thought that "murder" and "genocide" appearing in the same list would be redundant, but I recognize that your mileage may vary if you feel that killing many people is better/worse than killing one person.) However, I accept your point. Perhaps you're aware of our current political battle over whether or not access to contraception makes girls sluts? We're just nuts like that.

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i have to admit that I read the Ender Books only once long time ago (not a fan of the author to be honest, but I can see why those books are so popular) and might very well haev been a bit fuzzy what events happened exactly in which of the titles, though if I remember correctly the genocide of the alien rise was an important subject in most of them.

While Viagra is still covered by many insurance providers, yet the pill is unethical?^^ And even if the use of contraceptions would make women sluts & prostitutes (it doesn't)..weren't many of your founding fathers not very fond of prostitutes?

Frankly, it's just another gender politics attack by men against women. And there's nothing new about that.

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Since I'm not reading ANY of the new52 books and I'm getting my current Booster/JLI fix vicariously through Boosterrific.com reviews (thankyouverymuch), that leaves alot of time and money for other things...

Comics; Not reading any current comics, but am looking forward to the new 12 issue (not part of the DCnU) "Shade" series by James Robinson when it gets collected in a TPB. I might check out Night Force (also not part of DCnU, sensing a trend here?). I would probably be interested in more NEW titles, but the DC website is a pain to navigate for useful information. In the meantime, I think I'll just re-read the 1987 Justice League series, that's about 3 years worth of really good stories and art, and my first introduction to Booster Gold.

Quick comics rant; Can someone please explain why DC is charging so much for digital comics? I understand the need for the format, since everyone has an Ipod/pad and the like (I still prefer paper, sue me I'm old) but they are charging full cover price for books they don't have to print. Actual physical comics, like you buy for $3 to $4 in a store, are printed using millions of colors on high quality paper, as opposed to the 12 cent 4 color newsprint comics of my childhood (yes I'm THAT old). I understand the price (even if I don't like it) of modern comics, but why $3-$4 for a digital comic? No wonder old readers are leaving and new readers aren't coming. Sorry. Rant mode-Off. Sorry.

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Welcome to the boards, Grimmy.

RE: price. I may be naive, but I honestly think that price is the biggest obstacle to the future of comics. The industry simply HAS to get prices down. No one who isn't already invested is going to pay $4+ for something that will not entertain them as much as other media might.

Digital comics are priced equal to print comics partially because the major publishers are afraid of offending the specialty shops that comprise their primary distribution model. It is true that comic shops are the arteries that sustain the industry, and the publishers are naturally reluctant to alienate them. I suspect that there are probably major contracts in place with printers and distributors that will be difficult to terminate as well.

However, it's no secret that the model in place for the past 30 years is failing and must be changed. The transition will not be smooth, but digital comics are the future, both because that is the direction the world is headed and the costs can be minimized (making both producer and consumer happy). I hope that we will see the price fall on digital comics sooner rather than later as the industry switches tactics. But I'm not holding my breath.

(Disclaimer: I have yet to buy a digital comic book because I'm not going to give someone $3 to lease an electronic image until I change devices. If I buy a floppy, it's mine, and they can't take it away until they pry it from my dead hands!)

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I am with you there about the prices for digital comics..yet I still like them, simply since it does not mean having to wait for up to a week to get my comic.

Thanx,

I agree, higher prices for entertainment means we have to be more selective in our choices (I can't remember last time I thought a movie was worth $10 to go to a theater to see) which I think leads to less diversity in what's available, which ultimately leads to a smaller customer base. Rinse, repeat, and you have a recipe for steadily falling sales figures. I propose a theory, comic specialty shops liberated and are ultimately killing the comics industry because it has made the product too specialized and inaccessible to the general public.

20 years ago I attended a round table discussion with Chris Claremont as the guest speaker, and even then he was predicting 3 distinct sales models for comics in the future, 1) a monthly Digital version "most sales", 2) a cheap newsprint version, and 3) a collector's high quality TPB collecting set runs of stories (drawback, writers padding stories to make them run for 6 issues) already being done. But there's no need to cancel printing or distribution contracts, just the type and price of the product being produced.

The specialty shop (middleman) has already seen the writing on the wall (some time ago in fact), when I go into local "comic" shops I can barely get to the racks of books for all the gamers. Mail-order suppliers give significant discounts on new comics, free product catalogues and low shipping. Part of the high cost of the modern comic is the overhead cost of the specialty store and we don't really "need" them anymore. It's kind of sad really, my first job when I was a kid was at a comic shop. The only thing comic shops really still had going for them until recently was as a place to meet other collectors and compare notes on what was good, but now we have specialty social forums like this one. Hmmm I just realized you're to blame it's all your fault Boosterrific. Just kidding.

The answer is simple but it's getting more difficult, cheap print comics on newsstands and checkout lanes again. Get parents to take home comics for the younger kids (my first exposure to comics came before the age of 5) and if the stories are good the kids'll be hooked for life, or at least until they discover the opposite sex. And advertise, the one thing I absolutely agree with DC's new52 launch was the advertising, who ever heard of advertising comics on television? Heck it ought to be even easier since we have so many movies based on comics now to help with the advertising end of things.

The adding of a digital format is no longer the future, it's already here and we all agree, it just needs to be cheaper to compete more effectively.

Ok, that was long. Sorry bout that, I'll try to keep it shorter in the future.

P.S. I just realized why the newsstand checkout lane idea won't work anymore, comic shops don't send back unsold issues...

Sigh. If only I had that kind of power.

I agree with all three points. I've been decrying the "fancy" paper for years. Yes, it makes the colors look better, but I really think that the cost barrier it creates is not worth the boon to the art. It's putting the cart before the horse: there's no point having better art if no one can afford buying the books. Give me newsprint and cut the prices in half. I promise I'll buy more.

(Off-topic footnote: I haven't seen a movie in a theater in four years. I can sit through a bad movie with rude people who talk on their phones for free at home.)

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That reminds me that the last movie I saw was last fall at a Drive-In, "Planet of the Apes" (good movie), the CG chimp was the best part though. Digital movie stars and digital comics, and here I sit with my analog brain.

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And back to the original thread; "What are you reading?"

"A Princess of Mars" well re-reading actually

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