Comics (& other serialized content) on Fanfare March 14, 2015 7:50 PM Subscribe
On Fanfare Talk, some mefites have expressed interest in discussing comic books on Fanfare; the necessary metadata could come from comixology or comicbookdb. What do other folks think about this idea? And are there other serialized media (ideally with metadata sources) that might be good to add?
I'd like to see this added. There's a lot of interesting work out there, and I've begun looking to Fanfare as source to consult as guide to what's worthwhile whenever I'm sifting through a bunch of material that I'm not familiar with
posted by Ipsifendus at 7:56 PM on March 14, 2015
posted by Ipsifendus at 7:56 PM on March 14, 2015
It'd be interesting to see fanfare handle books, one chapter / segment at a time.
posted by Going To Maine at 8:00 PM on March 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Going To Maine at 8:00 PM on March 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
I knew when FanFare started covering Game of Thrones it'd be the first step down a slippery slope... what's next, webcomics? (I wanna talk about the ending of Girls With Slingshots #allthefeels #talkingcactus)
posted by oneswellfoop at 8:27 PM on March 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 8:27 PM on March 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
I think webcomics might be tricky because they often only update a few panels at a time. Could we create artificial segments for them? (Say, split them every month.)
posted by Going To Maine at 8:29 PM on March 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Going To Maine at 8:29 PM on March 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
If comics are added, I would really suggest putting them in their own discrete section of FanFare, and not mix them in with everything else. The sheer volume of titles could quickly swamp everything else on FanFare.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:44 PM on March 14, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 8:44 PM on March 14, 2015 [6 favorites]
If we're talking about published comics and not webcomics, I really don't think there will be that many volumes per month. Comics are different from podcasts and TV shows in that a) series issues come out monthly (at most) and b) at $2.99/$3.99 a pop, most comic readers have to be selective as to how many series they can follow at once. I'd be surprised if it ended up averaging more than a half dozen per week - and my guess is that it would be less than that.
There was also the suggestion to group by volume, which might work? But might be spoiler prone if people are halfway through a series.
I'm really for this - every other place I know of on the web to talk about comics either doesn't separate by title/issue, is gross to women, or is tumblr and not exactly awesome for conversation.
I knew when FanFare started covering Game of Thrones it'd be the first step down a slippery slope... what's next, webcomics? (I wanna talk about the ending of Girls With Slingshots #allthefeels #talkingcactus)
I was thinking of creating an FPP for this, actually.
posted by dinty_moore at 9:01 PM on March 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
There was also the suggestion to group by volume, which might work? But might be spoiler prone if people are halfway through a series.
I'm really for this - every other place I know of on the web to talk about comics either doesn't separate by title/issue, is gross to women, or is tumblr and not exactly awesome for conversation.
I knew when FanFare started covering Game of Thrones it'd be the first step down a slippery slope... what's next, webcomics? (I wanna talk about the ending of Girls With Slingshots #allthefeels #talkingcactus)
I was thinking of creating an FPP for this, actually.
posted by dinty_moore at 9:01 PM on March 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
I think a difficulty that will have to be worked through is that, unlike TV where you know what season you're in, it's inconsistent how a comic book series is collected when it comes out in trade paperback form. So, for example, Lumberjanes has been ongoing for more than a year with (I think) a dozen issues and hasn't been collected, but Wicked & Divine is still not at 10 issues but already has the first collection of 6 (I think) issues out.
posted by sleeping bear at 11:13 PM on March 14, 2015
posted by sleeping bear at 11:13 PM on March 14, 2015
i want booooooks
not in a chapter by chapter way just in a HOLY BALLS CLARIEL way
posted by NoraReed at 4:25 AM on March 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
not in a chapter by chapter way just in a HOLY BALLS CLARIEL way
posted by NoraReed at 4:25 AM on March 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
If FanFare does comics, it needs to distinguish between monthly pamphlets and trades and make sure spoilers from the first type are not put into posts for the second kind.
It may also make sense to have a "this week's comics" sort of regular post, for those who do buy their comics in pamphlet form each week, rather than have dozens of posts for monthly comics with not that much to talk about from month to month.
Webcomics are problematic as they tend to update daily and often are following the established daily joke/soap opera model with no clearly defined storylines (zillion exceptions to this of course).
posted by MartinWisse at 5:01 AM on March 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
It may also make sense to have a "this week's comics" sort of regular post, for those who do buy their comics in pamphlet form each week, rather than have dozens of posts for monthly comics with not that much to talk about from month to month.
Webcomics are problematic as they tend to update daily and often are following the established daily joke/soap opera model with no clearly defined storylines (zillion exceptions to this of course).
posted by MartinWisse at 5:01 AM on March 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
It'd be interesting to see fanfare handle books, one chapter / segment at a time.
This is a joke, right?
posted by Dip Flash at 6:15 AM on March 15, 2015
This is a joke, right?
posted by Dip Flash at 6:15 AM on March 15, 2015
This is a joke, right?
No. Depending on its length, a book may be closer to a TV series than a movie. A chapter-by-chapter breakdown would move Fanfare closer to a book club, of course, but then it's already a TV club and a movie club, so why not?
posted by Going To Maine at 7:30 AM on March 15, 2015
No. Depending on its length, a book may be closer to a TV series than a movie. A chapter-by-chapter breakdown would move Fanfare closer to a book club, of course, but then it's already a TV club and a movie club, so why not?
posted by Going To Maine at 7:30 AM on March 15, 2015
No. Depending on its length, a book may be closer to a TV series than a movie. A chapter-by-chapter breakdown would move Fanfare closer to a book club, of course, but then it's already a TV club and a movie club, so why not?
Most book clubs I've been part of have required you to read the entire book before showing up? I've seen things like Mark Reads that break it down a little more, but it makes sense to me to post things in the manner that they're published. And with Mark Reads it's more due to the sheer amount of content.
With Trades vs. Issues on comics - it makes sense to me that if we're going to post issues at all, we should post it all as issues - Maybe as a netflix style listing for fanfare once a trade is released? (I have no idea how difficult it would be). I just checked three different trades I have, and all of them do still keep in the issue covers and numbers once one issue ends and another issue begins, so it shouldn't be too difficult for someone who only buys trades to figure out the correct issues for discussion.
My general thought is that issues = episodes, trades = seasons, graphic novels = movies. I could totally be missing something, and in terms of posting glut there's still the issue that they all come out on Wednesday.
I'm less excited about webcomics than print comics showing up, partially because of the logistical issues and partially because it's a lot easier to start and have conversations about webcomics online - if they haven't read it yet, you can just link to it, and there's less worry about spoilers.
posted by dinty_moore at 8:05 AM on March 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
Most book clubs I've been part of have required you to read the entire book before showing up? I've seen things like Mark Reads that break it down a little more, but it makes sense to me to post things in the manner that they're published. And with Mark Reads it's more due to the sheer amount of content.
With Trades vs. Issues on comics - it makes sense to me that if we're going to post issues at all, we should post it all as issues - Maybe as a netflix style listing for fanfare once a trade is released? (I have no idea how difficult it would be). I just checked three different trades I have, and all of them do still keep in the issue covers and numbers once one issue ends and another issue begins, so it shouldn't be too difficult for someone who only buys trades to figure out the correct issues for discussion.
My general thought is that issues = episodes, trades = seasons, graphic novels = movies. I could totally be missing something, and in terms of posting glut there's still the issue that they all come out on Wednesday.
I'm less excited about webcomics than print comics showing up, partially because of the logistical issues and partially because it's a lot easier to start and have conversations about webcomics online - if they haven't read it yet, you can just link to it, and there's less worry about spoilers.
posted by dinty_moore at 8:05 AM on March 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
No. Depending on its length, a book may be closer to a TV series than a movie. A chapter-by-chapter breakdown would move Fanfare closer to a book club, of course, but then it's already a TV club and a movie club, so why not?
As someone who doesn't find episode-by-episode a particularly interesting way to discuss shows, I would find chapter-by-chapter unimaginably off-putting for books. Each to their own I suppose, and if that is what works for the owners and users of that part of the site then so be it.
posted by Dip Flash at 8:09 AM on March 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
As someone who doesn't find episode-by-episode a particularly interesting way to discuss shows, I would find chapter-by-chapter unimaginably off-putting for books. Each to their own I suppose, and if that is what works for the owners and users of that part of the site then so be it.
posted by Dip Flash at 8:09 AM on March 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
I'd stay away from single issues. That would clutter things up super fast and each thread might not have the critical mass to sustain a conversation. A weekly 'Stuff Read This Week' post would be okay and would be a nice place to check out recommendations. Graphic novels could get their own posts as (DC excepted) they tend to cover a complete story. Maybe there's some opportunity for a Let's Read style post to cover runs that stretch across various collections? I've been enjoying the Wait, What? Podcast's readings of The Avengers and Fantastic Four and would enjoy something similar here on Metafilter.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 9:23 AM on March 15, 2015
posted by robocop is bleeding at 9:23 AM on March 15, 2015
A weekly 'Stuff Read This Week' post would be okay and would be a nice place to check out recommendations.
This seems very unusable for those of us who don't keep up with all the series we are following week to week. For one thing, if I want to discuss Ms Marvel, I don't want to spoil myself for the Lumberjanes that came out that week. And also, if I catch up on Lumberjanes, I'd have to find the week that issue came out to talk about it, and that can be difficult.
posted by dinty_moore at 9:36 AM on March 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
This seems very unusable for those of us who don't keep up with all the series we are following week to week. For one thing, if I want to discuss Ms Marvel, I don't want to spoil myself for the Lumberjanes that came out that week. And also, if I catch up on Lumberjanes, I'd have to find the week that issue came out to talk about it, and that can be difficult.
posted by dinty_moore at 9:36 AM on March 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
If comics are added, I would really suggest putting them in their own discrete section of FanFare, and not mix them in with everything else. The sheer volume of titles could quickly swamp everything else on FanFare.
Improving sorting/discovery stuff on the front page of FanFare is one of our big long-term things we're working on in general, yeah. Not really a comics-specific issue, just an Everything issue.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:53 AM on March 15, 2015
Improving sorting/discovery stuff on the front page of FanFare is one of our big long-term things we're working on in general, yeah. Not really a comics-specific issue, just an Everything issue.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:53 AM on March 15, 2015
I knew when FanFare started covering Game of Thrones it'd be the first step down a slippery slope...
I am having so much fun doing the First Watch Game of Thrones posts. Bring on the slippery slope, I say.
posted by zarq at 4:03 PM on March 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
I am having so much fun doing the First Watch Game of Thrones posts. Bring on the slippery slope, I say.
posted by zarq at 4:03 PM on March 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
A weekly post for everything released that month seems like a spoiler nightmare; you'd get spoiled for stuff you weren't even sure you'd want to read yet. I feel like doing trades add they're released and maybe old stories in chunks (by writer/artist for short runs or storyline for longer) would be more workable. I'm also biased, since I'm largely a Marvel Unlimited reader so this is pretty much the only way I could participate.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 4:26 PM on March 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 4:26 PM on March 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
Another vote for books being added. I don't pay attention to chapters much, but most books that are long enough for multiple discussions have defined Parts made up of several chapters which could be posted alone.
I read graphic novels and a few comic series (long after they are published) as well. My preference would be one post per TPB. For issues that have not yet been collected into a TPB, we could have a pending collection post. A listing of the issues that are included in the TPB would be helpful for the ones that aren't always chronological and/or include extras.
posted by soelo at 8:59 AM on March 16, 2015
I read graphic novels and a few comic series (long after they are published) as well. My preference would be one post per TPB. For issues that have not yet been collected into a TPB, we could have a pending collection post. A listing of the issues that are included in the TPB would be helpful for the ones that aren't always chronological and/or include extras.
posted by soelo at 8:59 AM on March 16, 2015
My vote is against books and comic books. It's just too much everything.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 12:22 PM on March 16, 2015
posted by Potomac Avenue at 12:22 PM on March 16, 2015
And plenty of sites for discussion of those things exist. Podcasts and tv shows, not so much. Movies I'm not too pleased about either but there you go.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 12:23 PM on March 16, 2015
posted by Potomac Avenue at 12:23 PM on March 16, 2015
And plenty of sites for discussion of those things exist. Podcasts and tv shows, not so much. Movies I'm not too pleased about either but there you go.
Name one that's for comics discussion by series. No, seriously, please do, because as far as I've been able to tell, my choices are reddit (see recent discussions) and the CBR forums (grosser than reddit). I'd really like suggestions. Tumblr has been the best source I've found so far, and Tumblr's horrible for discussion. Otherwise I'm stuck hoping that some general interest geek website decides to do an article on a comic I'm reading and talking about it in the comments, maybe.
posted by dinty_moore at 12:41 PM on March 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
Name one that's for comics discussion by series. No, seriously, please do, because as far as I've been able to tell, my choices are reddit (see recent discussions) and the CBR forums (grosser than reddit). I'd really like suggestions. Tumblr has been the best source I've found so far, and Tumblr's horrible for discussion. Otherwise I'm stuck hoping that some general interest geek website decides to do an article on a comic I'm reading and talking about it in the comments, maybe.
posted by dinty_moore at 12:41 PM on March 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
Are you on goodreads or librarything, dinty_moore? I bet there are groups on GR that discuss comics by series.
Part of the appeal of Fanfare is that it is moderated and at least partially protected from astroturfing, which I have an issue with on GR.
posted by soelo at 1:10 PM on March 16, 2015
Part of the appeal of Fanfare is that it is moderated and at least partially protected from astroturfing, which I have an issue with on GR.
posted by soelo at 1:10 PM on March 16, 2015
Are you on goodreads or librarything, dinty_moore? I bet there are groups on GR that discuss comics by series.
Just did a search for a group about Saga (popular series among people who really like talking about comics, should be a lot of discussion), no dice. I can read reviews and discussion once trades come out - and I mean I do up to a point, but if I'm reading it issue by issue, that means waiting months after I've first read to discuss. Otherwise, it seems like most goodreads groups are closer to being a book club for trades.
I mean, this is not a huge issue in my life, and it's obviously not stopping me from talking about comics in general (see posting history), but fanfare-for-comics would be a pretty rare thing on the internet, in my experience.
posted by dinty_moore at 1:25 PM on March 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
Just did a search for a group about Saga (popular series among people who really like talking about comics, should be a lot of discussion), no dice. I can read reviews and discussion once trades come out - and I mean I do up to a point, but if I'm reading it issue by issue, that means waiting months after I've first read to discuss. Otherwise, it seems like most goodreads groups are closer to being a book club for trades.
I mean, this is not a huge issue in my life, and it's obviously not stopping me from talking about comics in general (see posting history), but fanfare-for-comics would be a pretty rare thing on the internet, in my experience.
posted by dinty_moore at 1:25 PM on March 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
This takes me back to the days of rec.arts.comics when everyone waited with bated breath for the next issue of Sandman to come out and reveal another clue about who Dream's girlfriend was, then debated endlessly about possible contenders and supporting evidence. Newsgroups did work well for that kind of thing, especially threaded newsgroups, because if there was a title you didn't follow you could just ignore it. I can actually see the potential for that kind of thing working here too, especially with the "My FanFare" function - a quick way to jump just to the titles that interest you.
I reckon print, not webcomics. I'm not fussed about the single issue/TPB - I personally only read TPBs these days and am usually faaaar behind. We could do both - discuss single issues as they come out, and then have another discussion of the TPB which usually draws together the story arc.
posted by Athanassiel at 9:04 PM on March 16, 2015
I reckon print, not webcomics. I'm not fussed about the single issue/TPB - I personally only read TPBs these days and am usually faaaar behind. We could do both - discuss single issues as they come out, and then have another discussion of the TPB which usually draws together the story arc.
posted by Athanassiel at 9:04 PM on March 16, 2015
Last summer we had a MetaTalk discussion re FanFare and books.
posted by Celsius1414 at 1:23 AM on March 17, 2015
posted by Celsius1414 at 1:23 AM on March 17, 2015
It's just too much everything.
This is sort of true, and it's also a fundamental question about what Fanfare should be. There are ~195 Fanfare threads, with an average of ~9 comments between them and a standard deviation of 12. In other words, most threads are pretty darn idle. If Fanfare is supposed to be like The Blue or your standard hot topic media blog, this is a problem. On the other hand, if it's just supposed to be a place for mefites to have protracted conversations about their media, I don't think this is a big deal. Rather, it speaks to a need for better search and presentation options so that one doesn't feel overwhelmed by the content. (On the other other hand, a lot of sparse threads might leave people thinking that the site's dead.
posted by Going To Maine at 6:35 AM on March 17, 2015
This is sort of true, and it's also a fundamental question about what Fanfare should be. There are ~195 Fanfare threads, with an average of ~9 comments between them and a standard deviation of 12. In other words, most threads are pretty darn idle. If Fanfare is supposed to be like The Blue or your standard hot topic media blog, this is a problem. On the other hand, if it's just supposed to be a place for mefites to have protracted conversations about their media, I don't think this is a big deal. Rather, it speaks to a need for better search and presentation options so that one doesn't feel overwhelmed by the content. (On the other other hand, a lot of sparse threads might leave people thinking that the site's dead.
posted by Going To Maine at 6:35 AM on March 17, 2015
I am a huge comics reader and I'd like to see comics for Fanfare. I'm more interested in webcomics than in print, partly because of how much of a straight white boy space print comics tends to be.
posted by bile and syntax at 3:43 PM on March 19, 2015
posted by bile and syntax at 3:43 PM on March 19, 2015
There are ~195 Fanfare threads, with an average of ~9 comments between them and a standard deviation of 12.
Maybe I don't get what you mean here, but there are way more than 195 Fanfare threads. Hell, there are probably more Murder She Wrote threads alone.
posted by Ian A.T. at 2:53 PM on March 22, 2015
Maybe I don't get what you mean here, but there are way more than 195 Fanfare threads. Hell, there are probably more Murder She Wrote threads alone.
posted by Ian A.T. at 2:53 PM on March 22, 2015
No, I wrote a terrible five-minute scraper with no testing (related FPP), and got some bad numbers back; I should probably fix it and do a recount.
posted by Going To Maine at 3:04 PM on March 22, 2015
posted by Going To Maine at 3:04 PM on March 22, 2015
The most recent post is number 2823, so although there are some test posts in the early numbers, there are over 2800.
posted by soelo at 7:32 AM on March 23, 2015
posted by soelo at 7:32 AM on March 23, 2015
Also, the Archives page shows only 62 Murder, She Wrote posts.
posted by soelo at 7:36 AM on March 23, 2015
posted by soelo at 7:36 AM on March 23, 2015
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posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 7:54 PM on March 14, 2015