New York, I Love You But-- You Kicked My Ass!

Plus: "Floppies" Will Be The Death of Comics

Excuse me if I’m feeling a bit nostalgic.

Right after New York Comic Con and our successful Amazing Comics panel and signings, I started to feel ill. Sneezing, coughing, trouble breathing. I was 100% certain it was COVID, but it turned out to be a good ol’ case of Con Crud.

Ah, Con Crud, how I missed you.

Anyway, it’s taken me this long to get back on my feet, so here’s a quick rundown before I get to the meat of this newsletter:

I landed in NYC, grabbed my bags, hopped in a cab, and was thrilled by this welcome on the backseat video screen. They forgot to capitalize the A, but I appreciate it nevertheless.

Thanks, NYC. I think I will.

The day before the show opened, I decided to walk the floor and noticed this ingenious new method to help foot traffic move smoothly.

Unfortunately, when the doors opened, no one looked up from their phones long enough to see they were in the wrong lane.

Amongst the many highlights was a pre-con dinner with dear friends.

A great time was had by all until Esad Ribic tried to eat someone’s Chihuahua. Not cool.

One of my best buds, Niko, flew in on the redeye. My other best bud, Mike, and I found him asleep in my hotel lobby. We thought we’d give him a proper Amazing Comics greeting.

Many of you may not know this, but I'm an ordained SAM (Sequential Arts Minister), and I was thrilled, once again, to unite a lovely couple in matrimony.

Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk stopped by to say hello.

There were some impressive new creative offerings on the floor and Artist Alley, from James Tynion’s Tiny Onion booth to Bad Idea’s insanely creative promotional ideas and Sandstorm, which invested heavy marketing dollars into what I believe was their inaugural NYCC appearance. I had the pleasure of reading one of their first issues. It was awesome. I look forward to the books and ideas they’ll bring to the market.

Speaking of impressive creative offerings, as always, Mad Cave Studios stole the show with their wide variety of books for everyone. I was so proud to do another signing for Disciple Quarto #1.

A big thank you to everyone who attended the signing, the Amazing Comics panel, and my booth at Artist Alley. You’re… well, you’re Amazing.

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It’s Snowing

As my town in Idaho gets its first decent dusting, I’m thankful for the frosted mountains and muffled silence soothing my nerves as I write today’s installment highlighting one of my industry pet peeves.

Let’s cut to the chase…

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I Hate “Floppies”

For the uninitiated, “floppies” has become part of the industry vernacular used to describe single issues. You know, your standard everyday comic. The format that started it all. But before I get ahead of myself, let me get everyone caught up with respect to nomenclature.

A “Comic” is a single issue (episode) of a series, or perhaps a slightly larger one-shot or annual.” “Trade Paperbacks” are reprinted issues of a comic series, consisting of approximately four to six issues that complete a story arc and are compiled into a square-bound softcover format (think binge-watching). “Original Graphic Novels” or “OGNs” are comics written and drawn to be read as a stand-alone long-form experience (movies). And then you have “Albums,” which are the long-standing European format (Cinemascope). Albums are also OGNs. Single-issue comics aren’t a thing in the European market. They do have series’, but they consist of multiple Albums.

So what’s wrong with calling comics “floppies?” Where do I start?

Since I’ve been a part of this beautiful creative field, I’ve always been struck with how often we find ways to think of our industry as less than, no less, predicting our own demise. Just go to YouTube and search “Comics are dying.” Actually, don’t. Way too many YouTubers have made a cottage industry out of the subject matter, yet we’re still here. More on that in a future newsletter.

Calling comics “floppies” is another symptom of the “less than” mentality, but worse because many younger readers, creators, and even publishers have picked it up from hearing others say it, not realizing how it demeans the actual comic.

I’m not a historian by any means, but the first time I recall seeing the word “floppies” was on Warren Ellis’ forum. I’m not calling out Warren, nor am I blaming him. It actually made me laugh when I read it. I thought it was clever because, at that time, Warren was in the “Original Graphic Novel” business. What better way to advertise that the OGN format is superior than by creating a clever “less than” term for single issues? In fact, this was a time when there was a lot of fan discussion about whether Marvel, DC, etc., should go straight into the OGN business like Europe and forgo the single issues. But as time passed and the water settled, it became an oft-used term. At first, it was used by those who preferred reading or creating OGNs; later, it just became a way to describe the bread and butter of the comics industry.

I would love to see us stop this practice. It belittles the format that supports so many creators. Imagine if the record industry, which back in the day relied heavily on singles to sell albums and now, ironically, relies almost solely on singles, decided to call them “Ditties” or “Little Ditties.” Maybe TV episodes should be “Lil-Flicks.”¹ Novellas could be “Pamflets.” I could go on, but you get the picture.

So, let’s stop with this “Floppies” stuff, and while we’re at it, I think the term “Trade Paperback” should be put to rest, too. It was originally a term created by publishers and means nothing to people outside the industry. “Collection” has always been a better descriptor if you ask me. I’m sure there are others.

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest, and Happy Halloween.²

For the record, I DO NOT dress my dogs up for Halloween. This is all my daughter’s doing.

Thanks for reading.

You’re Amazing,

JQ

1. I have to admit, I kind of like “Lil-Flicks.”

2. Yeah, I know I’m a day late, but I wrote this yesterday.