Forum 2.0

Replies

  • Jason Marconnet (Pint sized mod) January 19, 2012 at 6:16am
    I thought it was cool. I was given a heads up at the comic shop that some of the pages were funky. I thought it was a good attempt at making you feel confused like Batman. Scott Snyder is still pretty new to the game. I don't think this was an attempt to be gimmicky. He turns in solid work and I think he was trying to up the ante a bit with this arc. It did end on a pretty dire note.  With all of this said,  I liked this issue a lot but would I want to read a issue with funky pages all the time? No once in a while is enough for me. I thought it served the purpose of the story. 
  • Jeff of Earth-J January 19, 2012 at 8:03am

    What is it about the pages that makes them "funky"?

    • Jason Marconnet (Pint sized mod) > Jeff of Earth-J January 19, 2012 at 9:54am
      They're upside down. 

      Jeff of Earth-J said:

      What is it about the pages that makes them "funky"?

  • Alan M. January 19, 2012 at 8:00pm

    More to the point, they're sideways first for a few pages, then upside down for a few pages, as Batman is messed with further and further, until they're suddenly flipped right-side up for a narrative twist (if you'll pardon the pun).

    I agree with Jason; it served to make me feel more disoriented, and didn't feel gimmicky. Or rather, it did feel gimmicky because it WAS a gimmick, but it was a clever and well-executed gimmick.

  • Jeff of Earth-J January 20, 2012 at 7:50am

    Ah. I've seen that kind of thing before, the absolute best example of which is "This Wheel's On Fire!" from GrimJack #15, which simulates a multiple-dimensional car chase. Timothy Truman laid out the panels in such a way that the reader had to slowly rotate the book until it was upside down (even through the turning of a page or two) and rightside up again.

  • Wandering Sensei: Moderator Man January 20, 2012 at 8:27am

    Had it been a bad story, or worse yet, had it made no sense and had the story not directly tied into what the comic was, that would be a cheap gimmick. This one totally made sense when you look at the subject matter, and made the comic interesting and grabbed my attention.

    I realize it's totally a matter of opinion whether this was inspired or just a cheap gimmick to draw in new readers (I can't understand who would pick up a comic they don't follow so that they can "read the dazzling and mystifying SIDEWAYS AND UPSIDE DOWN comic book!"), but I think the idea that it's a gimmick is a little bit unsubstantiated when you look at the subject matter.

  • Jason Marconnet (Pint sized mod) January 20, 2012 at 9:10am

    I think it would have been more of a gimmick if DC had promoted the issue heavily prior to release. While I was at the LCS the owner had explained to me that some pages were upside and not to think it was a printing error. Right after he said that he got a phone call from a customer asking if the pages in Batman were supposed to be upside down. With everything that gets hyped and/or spoiled on the internet, it's nice being caught off guard every now and then. I'm also surprised there wasn't a lot of pre-hype with the last page either.

  • Doc Beechler (mod-MD) January 20, 2012 at 9:28am

    It added a physical aspect to the main character's feelings of confusion...I thought it worked well.

  • Doc Beechler (mod-MD) January 20, 2012 at 9:29am

    J.H. Williams and Alan Moore did a lot of this kind of thing in Promethea.

  • Border Mutt January 20, 2012 at 12:03pm

    The turning of the frame of reference didn't bother me per se, but I did find that it served to bring the quality of the book down.  In order to get full use of the gimmick, the entire book focused on trying to make the reader feel as disoriented as Batman.  Save for the framing sequence, (which I thought was kind of ineffective), that's all this issue concerned itself with.  I felt like I could have completely skipped this issue and missed nothing of value.

This reply was deleted.