Celebrities Writing Comics
Okay, I'm asking this question as a clueless nigh-exclusively superhero DC/Marvel zombie, so feel free to mock my ignorance. But has it always been a thing where celebrities collaborate on comic books?
I ask because the Jennifer Love Hewitt thing just popped up in my blogfeed, and I'm reminded of the Jenna Jameson (Shadow Hunters?)one that looked surprisingly interesting a while back (never did get around to reading it, unfortunately) or the Courtney Love one, and I'm sure there were a few others that escape my mind.
I kind of find it a bit annoying. Not that the celebrities are making comics, I think that's very cool. But I get really annoyed by the way they're publicized. When there doesn't seem to be much actual information about the comic itself, and all we really get to see is the name. I get that the name is supposed to draw in readers, but I'm really REALLY picky about my non-superhero crap. I've nothing against indy or small companies, but in my general experience, much of their product simply doesn't appeal to my tastes. So barring the recommendation of someone who's pretty familiar with my likes and dislikes, or a really really interesting looking description, I'm not going to pay much attention.
I mean, take David's article that I linked. What's really there? It's a horror comic about a music box? Well, what KIND of horror comic? What's the tone? Are the stories going to be slow and subtle, with most of the scares implied rather than explicit? Are they going to be gross and over the top? Are we talking Craven or Hitchcock? The Ring or Saw? Leprechaun? Horror's a complicated genre. Personally, I've got a weak stomach and am suggestible enough that even reading the Wikipedia summaries of certain horror movies will make me decide to wait an hour or so before going to bed. I only really like a few types of horror. But I really can't tell if this comic would be one of them.
I don't mean this as a criticism of David, since you can only report the information you have. But all we really know is that Jennifer Love Hewitt is involved and that she has a thing for haunted objects. Cool, but uninformative. And by the time I get to the store to see for myself, I'm totally going to forget why I would have to begin with.
I just find it a little frustrating.
I ask because the Jennifer Love Hewitt thing just popped up in my blogfeed, and I'm reminded of the Jenna Jameson (Shadow Hunters?)one that looked surprisingly interesting a while back (never did get around to reading it, unfortunately) or the Courtney Love one, and I'm sure there were a few others that escape my mind.
I kind of find it a bit annoying. Not that the celebrities are making comics, I think that's very cool. But I get really annoyed by the way they're publicized. When there doesn't seem to be much actual information about the comic itself, and all we really get to see is the name. I get that the name is supposed to draw in readers, but I'm really REALLY picky about my non-superhero crap. I've nothing against indy or small companies, but in my general experience, much of their product simply doesn't appeal to my tastes. So barring the recommendation of someone who's pretty familiar with my likes and dislikes, or a really really interesting looking description, I'm not going to pay much attention.
I mean, take David's article that I linked. What's really there? It's a horror comic about a music box? Well, what KIND of horror comic? What's the tone? Are the stories going to be slow and subtle, with most of the scares implied rather than explicit? Are they going to be gross and over the top? Are we talking Craven or Hitchcock? The Ring or Saw? Leprechaun? Horror's a complicated genre. Personally, I've got a weak stomach and am suggestible enough that even reading the Wikipedia summaries of certain horror movies will make me decide to wait an hour or so before going to bed. I only really like a few types of horror. But I really can't tell if this comic would be one of them.
I don't mean this as a criticism of David, since you can only report the information you have. But all we really know is that Jennifer Love Hewitt is involved and that she has a thing for haunted objects. Cool, but uninformative. And by the time I get to the store to see for myself, I'm totally going to forget why I would have to begin with.
I just find it a little frustrating.
posted by kalinara @ 12:29 AM
5 Comments:
At July 30, 2009 6:46 AM,
Elayne said…
Celebrities have written comics going back at least 20 years, when the Cult of Personality in comics started.
I have no problem with celebrities writing comics, as long as celebrities agree to draw them as well. :)
At July 30, 2009 7:30 AM,
kalinara said…
:-) I don't mind them writing them, even if I didn't know the trend was that old.
I just wish the promoters would do a bit more than say "This is a horror comic by __________________." That may be a draw for some folk, but I like knowing more.
At July 30, 2009 4:54 PM,
SallyP said…
Elayne, that's a great idea.
At July 30, 2009 6:52 PM,
Your Obedient Serpent said…
I agree, in general.
In this particular case, since it's Jennifer Love Hewitt, I'd guess that it would be roughing in the corner of the genre that's adjacent to Ghost Whisperer: moody, emotionally-rooted psychological horror that almost never resorts to gore or shock value.
(Yes, I watched the show right up until the middle of this season.)
At August 10, 2009 8:46 PM,
Diabolu Frank said…
If the celebrities actually wrote the comics, I wouldn't mind, since they would stand or fall on their own merits. Instead, celebrities have a vague and usually terribly unoriginal idea for a movie/TV vehicle for themselves, then turn it over to a publisher for development. I don't want to read "John Woo's Seven Brothers" written by Garth Ennis. Even if I like the comic book writer doing the actual labor, I resent the bait and switch, plus view the whole affair as exploitation.
By the way, I did read the Jenna Jameson comic.
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