COMIC-CON: Comic books online?

by: Lufguy 1 year, 2 months, 2 weeks, 1 day, 23 hours, 35 minutes ago 2

by Alex Jones for Street.

Comic books were popular long before the Internet existed, and now, thanks to the World Wide Web, critics have found another outlet to evaluate the stories.

The panel “Comic Book Podcasting: One Year Later” took a look at the growing medium. While some of the podcasters said they were trying to promote a comic of their own at the Con, many were satisfied to avoid sketching a strip because, as one of the critics said, “we don’t have talent.”

For many, what started out as a hobby, leafing through pages of comics, turned to a semi-serious evaluation.

“I was always a one read guy until I started podcasting,” panelist Ian Levenstein said.

Nowadays he reads graphic novels at least three times. Levenstein, who broadcasts Comic Timing, said that he’s become more detail oriented and picks apart the stories much more now so that he’ll have something to draw from in his online show.

Fellow panelist Scott Hinze of Fanboy Radio said he’s not afraid to criticize a book because “people have to earn the right to be heard in comics.”

Other podcasting critics are different from the stereotypical reviewers. Some, such as Jimmy Aquino of Comic News Insider and Mister Phil of Indie Spinner Rack, are gentle on the artists because they know that independent creators may have put their whole life into just one edition that they secretly printed at their day job to save money.