Dieselpunk: Manifestos, Dogmas and Labels

I've been thinking about dieselpunk for a bit now, previously without realizing that was what I was thinking about and recently for a couple of projects that I have been working on (gaming and otherwise). Wikipedia, which is rarely helpful, was even less so on this topic:

Dieselpunk is based on the aesthetics of the interbellum period through World War II (c. 1920-1945). The genre combines pop surrealist art with postmodern technology and sensibilities. First coined in 2001 as a marketing term by game designer Lewis Pollak to describe his role-playing game Children of the Sun, dieselpunk has grown to describe a distinct style of visual art, music, motion pictures, fiction, and engineering.

Having read Children of the Sun, I have to first say that I have never seen anything that less fits what has become its definition, unless of course you thought Velvet Goldmine featured those from the Lost Generation. Using Google to nose around the corners of the internet, I have to say I find the more dogmatic elements of some online communities to be a bit saddening, and puzzling when talking about music.

This is a first post on this topic, because I feel that I need give this some headspace while I develop Crimebusters, my period role-playing game. I think that a part of my problem is that dieselpunk is such an ugly term, and frankly I don't think that the -punk suffix has been properly applied to anything since the Splatterpunk horror writers. There are a number of those in the geek communities who think adding that -punk suffix makes edgier than their outdated black outfits and mish-mash of occult principles makes them in real life. So, while I like the idea of dieselpunk, I think the name leaves much to be desired, outside of a quick short-hand for a group of stereotypes that are popping up in memetic fashion around the label. I guess that my other problem is that the -punk suffix has been done to death (literally in the case of the old gothic-punk worlds of the Vampire games of the 90s) and I would like to see/use a name that doesn't primarily sound like an offshoot of other genres/labels/movements like steampunk, cypberunk or the above mentioned splatterpunk. With steampunk more and more entering the public consciousness (movies like Sherlock Holmes or even this week's episode of the television show Castle), I think that these ideas need its own name. That's why I'm using mythic jazz age to describe what I like from this "genre" and what I plan to do with it.

Do I care if websites change their name from dieselpunk to mythic jazz age once this post is published and goes wild onto the internet? No. Frankly, as I have been for many, many years now, I am a movement of one. If people want to use terms or ideas that I come up with...I am happy. If people want to keep on keeping on...that makes me happy too. In a way, it comes down to the one part of the -punk suffix that I do subscribe to: do-it-yourself.

Commentary on DC Comics' New Pricing Initiative

The big news of New York Comic Con didn't involve the reinvention of a long-forgotten character or the next major event mini series by the top talents in comics. What dominated discussions at panels and on the floor was the ongoing question of the price of comics and how all the publishers in the business would compete for reader dollars in the next year, led by DC Comics announcement that it would drop all of its monthly titles to a $2.99 price point this January while dropping the average story length to 20 pages an issue.

I am still of the opinion that this (along with Marvel's similar announcement of a price drop) is one of the most significant pieces of comic "news" to come out of the NY ComicCon. Let's face it, all of the "announcements" that come out of these shows are PR/marketing pieces, the initial piece of the drive that will grind away at all of us as comic fans until the books finally come out.

This announcement is, to me, different. Yes, obviously it is PR in that "we listen to you and we care about you" kind of way, but it goes a bit deeper than that. A lot of the concerns that have come out of comic fans with all the BIG MEDIA announcements of the big two over the last year (i.e. Marvel being purchased by Disney and DC suffering from a corporate reshuffling so that their IP can be better leveraged by the rest of Warner) have boiled down to the thoughts that both companies are going to be reduced to nothing more than IP farms, causing us to lose the monthly comics we all know and love.

Honestly, in this day that should be a worry. Look at the announcements that have been coming out of the NY ComicCon, even smaller publishers talk about those media adaptations. However, with the attention that Hollywood is paying to comic properties and old beloved toy franchises the message is clear that it is Hollywood that drives these franchises, and not the fan bases. Most of that is because the geekier pursuits (comics and I'll lump RPGs into this as well since they belong) are becoming more and more marginalized and fringe. Ten thousand fans are small potatoes to the numbers that are wanted for movies, or a television series. Yes, they can court the geek audience (because they are often good for buzz) but unless that audience can be built upon from the "mainstream," then adaptations of properties are going to go no where.

There is also the one thing that everyone needs to keep in the back of their minds during all of this. Entertainment goes in cycles. Sooner or later something will happen with this trend of comic adaptations in movies and television, all it takes is a couple of bad movies or shows, and people will move on to the next thing. I think this is already happening with the trend of YA novel adaptations in the movie theaters, when even a classic like Narnia cannot hold up a franchise.

Hopefully those who are driving the comic publishing companies are keeping the fact that without these comics being published there wouldn't have been any of this IP that they are all so excited to option out for movies and television, because at the end of the day (once this fad has passed by comics again) all that any of us are going to be left with are the comics themselves. Kind of like where we all started.

Gangsters and Gun Molls

This Friday, from 6-10pm Second Life Time I will be hosting a night of retro jazz and blues at my new place in world, St. Dismas' Infirmary. The SLurl for St. Dismas' is: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Healy/217/37/98

Table Top RPGs and Second Life

This post is a bit rough, it's more about some ideas that are floating around in my head than anything else. After almost four years at it, I spend a lot of time in Second Life. I have friends there from all over the world -- geeks, gamers and in-between. There is a lot of gaming that goes on in Second Life, not a lot of it is what those of us who play and design table top RPGs might recognize (some might not even accept it as being what we do), but for me it is the same thing. Some use Second Life as a virtual table top, while others use Second Life for a more immersive, narrative style of play that is more about consensual choices than hard and fast rules.

As a game designer, it's the former that has more bearing on me than the later. One thing that I've thought about for a while is a way to sell to these people, people who are looking for in world tools to enhance their virtual table top. Setting up an in world store with scripted items that could handle things like dice rolling, and similar game tasks like that, is easy enough. My question has always been: How do we get them the rules? And in what format? Second Life doesn't support, unfortunately, epublishing formats that are used by game publishers. That means you end up with a split of in world for the gaming, out of world for the rules. At that point you might as well just use any of the virtual table top tools that are out there. I don't know. I think this is something that can be done. I think this is a market that can be reached, with people who are already involved with role-playing in some format or another but who haven't made that leap to table top gaming.

One of the other hurdles to overcome, would be the accessibility of rule sets. In a table top group it isn't unusual for one or two of the people to be the only ones possessing copies of the rules, while the rest of the group shares. That is a long stand and accepted practice for gaming groups. You can't really do that in the virtual world without promoting piracy, or using quick starts. Neither of which are really useful to game publishers. I know that Troll Lord Games released their StarSIEGE game with a set of core rules, and also a handful of player's books that could be used at the table. This is the sort of thing that would be needed for virtual table tops as well: a virtual boxed set that allows the GM to purchase the rules and then has a sub-license (perhaps) that allows the GM to share copies of player's guides with the people in his virtual gaming group. I imagine this would work something like a site license for software does.

Obviously, this is a high trust option for publishers. There's really nothing that would keep GMs from giving out the player's guides to anyone that they wanted, since PDF technology doesn't really allow for a "cap" on the number of copies you can make of something. It also wouldn't stop players from passing along their PDFs either.

These player's guides wouldn't be complete games. They would be minimal, at best, explaining the basics of how the games mechanics works and allowing the options for character creation. Of course, that is a lot of an RPG. It would be up to the publisher to include as much extra value into these "virtual boxed sets" as possible: rich, well-developed worlds, lots of advice and help for GMs in running virtual games, and etc. It would take some doing, but I can see this as something that has the potential to fly. It has a lot of potential risks too, obviously.

Something to thing about today.

NYCC: Godzilla Finds New Stomping Grounds at IDW - Comic Book Resources

The biggest star in motion pictures prepares to wreak havoc once again! IDW Publishing is thrilled to announce a partnership with Toho Co., Ltd. to create all-new GODZILLA comics. Starting in 2011, Godzilla will smash his way back onto the scene with a cast of characters from his films never before seen in comics.

'This new series will be monsters and mayhem, but most importantly, it’s going to be a lot of fun,' said Yukio Kotaki of Toho. 'Godzilla has been gone from comics for too long and we feel that IDW is the perfect company to welcome him back in 2011.'

In addition to the King of the Monsters himself, the new comics from IDW Publishing and Toho Co., Ltd. will feature many of Godzilla’s friends and foes, including MOTHRA™, KING GHIDORAH™, RODAN™ and more that have never before been featured in an American comic book series alongside Godzilla. With an impressive cast of monsters both old and new, IDW’s series will treat fans to both familiar themes and original takes on the pop culture legends that have stomped, smashed, and fought their way across movie screens for over five decades.

'Not only is Godzilla known worldwide, he’s loved worldwide, too. Having a film career with more than 25 movies and going on a 56-year span pretty much solidifies you as a legend, and IDW is really looking forward to contributing to that legacy,' said Chris Ryall, Chief Creative Officer and Editor-in Chief for IDW Publishing. 'We wanted Godzilla to return to comics, but this time we wanted him to have some company. I think fans will be pleased with the monster guest appearances, which will really offer something for every fan of these films. There are the classic characters, but there are also a few surprises, too.'

Debuting in February 2011, fans can expect to see a number of unique storylines from some of the industry’s top creators.

Visit IDWPublishing.com to learn more about the company and its top-selling books.

DC and Marvel Cut Prices on $3.99 Books to $2,99

DC Cuts $3.99 Ongoing Series to $2.99

Beginning January 2011, DC Comics will implement a line-wide pricing adjustment, lowering the prices of all standard length 32-page ongoing comic book titles currently priced at $3.99 to $2.99, it was announced today by DC Comics Co-Publishers Jim Lee and Dan DiDio.

'Today’s announcement re-affirms DC Comics’ commitment to both our core fans and to comic book store retailers,' said Jim Lee, DC Comics Co-Publisher. 'For the long term health of the industry, we are willing to take a financial risk so that readers who love our medium do not abandon the art form.'

and then, an hour later:

Marvel Drops $3.99 Price on New Titles

Less than an hour after their primary competitor announced an across the board drop to a $2.99 price point, Marvel Comics today also announced at least a partial move away from the often criticized $3.99 price for new serialized superhero comics.

During the ICv2 Conference On Comics & Digital – a Thursday afternoon industry pre-event to New York Comic Con – Marvel Senior Vice President of Sales & Circulation David Gabriel confirmed that new books launching in January 2011 will not debut at $3.99. 'A lot of talk I've heard [today is] about the pricing increases overall...because of the digital comics sales, prices will decrease,' he said as part of a panel whose focus was Print Vs. Digital.

I wonder how much of this is due to economic trickle down factors? Yes, there is the usual counter argument that comics are a luxury item...but do the people making the books seem to think that? I would think that a luxury item would increase in price due to economic factors rather than decrease.

I wonder what impact, if any, this will have on table top gaming? I know that a lot of people say the same about gaming, that they are luxury items and already underpriced as it is. But comics have always been remarkable inflation (or bad economy) proof. Historically comics did best during times of economic downturn. I know that a lot of geeks tend to have fairly bad credit due to too many impluse purchases outside of their means. Could all of this be catching up to the geek industries?

Three Vertigo editors laid off amid DC Entertainment restructuring

Three editors from DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint have been laid off as part of the company’s restructuring, The Beat reports: Joan Hilty, Pornsak Pichetshote and Jonathan Vankin.

Announced last Tuesday, the reorganization leaves DC’s comics-publishing division in New York City while moving the company’s administrative and digital and multimedia operations — including, presumably, the WildStorm offices now based in La Jolla, Calif. — to a Warner Bros.-managed property in Burbank, Calif. As many as 80 of DC’s estimated 250 employees are expected to be fired or relocated.

The Return of Atlas Comics

Some years ago, in the pre-Ultraverse of Malibu Comics the company had a chance to acquire the old Atlas/Seaboard comic book characters from two guys who claimed to have the rights.

It was very tempting at the time to pursue it – Atlas had a bunch of great characters created by folks like Howard Chaykin, Steve Ditko, Pat Broderick, Gary Friedrich, Mike Ploog, Larry Hama, Michael Fleisher, Ernie Colon, Neal Adams, Alex Toth, John Severin, Russ Heath, Wally Wood, and Mike Sekowsky and many others.

At the time, it would’ve been quite a boost to the company to acquire the characters: they had a certain brand recognition, a lot of sentimental fanboy attachment, and had only been out of the marketplace for less than 15 years or so at the time.

Pre-Orders, Ransoms and The RPG "Business"

Although pretty much all of a blog is a statement of opinion, this much is more so than usual.

The RPG industry is a niche one, and it is nowhere near as large as it was during it's heyday in the 80s and 90s. This ends up meaning that, a lot of the time, companies are strapped for the cash that is needed to get products developed, written and eventually produced. This can be done a couple of ways: the publisher can reach into their own pocket (either business or personal) and pull the money out, hoping that the money will be made back in sales, or they can organize a pre-order or ransom to get the money together to fund getting the book made.

Neither of these practices are bad, although with the habit of RPG publishers going out of business there can be risks for the consumer participating. All of this is a good faith agreement on the part of the consumers and the publisher that the money will be used for what the publisher says it is going to be used for, and the consumer will receive a book at the end of the process.

Lately, however, this process seems to falling down on its face. To paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld, "Anyone can take a reservation but it is holding the reservation that is important." This year at GenCon a few publishers have debuted new books that have been brought to market due to ransoms or extensive pre-order support from early adopter consumers. This isn't a bad thing, however, as new product is a good thing for publishers to have. The problem comes up that these books have been sold without first fulfilling the orders of those who ransomed or pre-ordered the books. That, in the opinion of this blogger, is a big no-no.

In some cases, on the backend there have been issues with hired warehouses not properly or completely fulfilling the orders of a publisher's customers. Ultimately, however, this is just an excuse that needs to be overcome to maintain the goodwill of a customer base.

Goodwill is important in this entire process. Geeks tend to be overly forgiving towards RPG publishers because they are blurring the lines between "these people are my friends" and "these people are a business that I have given my money to" and think that friends should be forgiven their trespasses. It is important to remember that these two thoughts should be kept separate from each other, and these businesses need to be treated like businesses.

Now, I personally no longer take part in ransoms or pre-orders. Yes, I've been burned (and keep getting burned on one that I have been involved with) and because of that I no longer have the faith or the good will to believe that a publisher will meet their obligations. Once a product is done and in the stores or on the table, I will be there with cash in hand to pick up a copy but not before hand. Not again.

Judge rules Dark Ages Spawn, Domina and Tiffany are derivative characters

A federal judge has dealt another blow to Todd McFarlane in his long-running copyright dispute with Neil Gaiman, ruling that the characters Dark Ages Spawn, Domina and Tiffany are mere derivatives of their earlier creations.

In a decision filed Friday, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb declared that the three characters are simply variations of Medieval Spawn and Angela, co-created by Gaiman in 1993 for McFarlane's Spawn series. Therefore, McFarlane has until Sept. 1 to provide Gaiman with an accounting of money earned from Dark Ages Spawn, Domina and Tiffany. As co-owner of the copyrights, Gaiman is entitled to one-half of the profits.