Wednesday Comics #1

Here, as I see it, is the problem with the straight-up anthology book.

In a normal book, either the 22 pages of story are worth your money or they’re not.  You don’t go through and say “wow, pages 3, 7, 8, 17, and 21 were really awesome, but I totally got ripped off on pages 1, 5, 12, and 13.” In anthologies, though, each story contributes to whether it’s worth your time and money or not.

Wednesday Comics takes that to the extreme, because it essentially gives you one page each of 15 strips.  I say strips because they really do look like they belong in the Sunday paper rather than in a comic book.

I give credit where credit is due for a cool presentation and a cool idea.  They’re trying to break out of the box and present something people aren’t used to.  I get it.

And individually, there are some stories that I’m really stoked about reading. Azarello & Risso’s Batman, Kyle Baker’s Hawkman, Paul Pope’s Adam Strange, and a couple others look interesting if cheesy.  But is that enough interest to justify 16 bucks a month? I’m not sure.

Is it a new retro-cool artform, or a cheesy and temporary gimmick? Not sure about that one, either.  But I guess I’ll keep watching, because it’s definitely something different.

~ by The Comics Dad on July 13, 2009.