Dear Newsarama,
Thank you for being one of my favorite comics news sites over almost the past ten years, from the ViewAskew days and the blue layout to the present. I've enjoyed features and columns too numerous to count, though most recently I've liked the 20 Questions with Dan DiDio and the Blog@Newsarama.
One request: fewer videos. Maybe it's just because of the recent New York Comic Con, but it seems there's more videos on the site than usually lately. The Adam Kubert interview about Batman and the Outsiders is a video; the update from Greg Rucka is a video; the latest conversations with Dan DiDio were also videos.
I understand that being in person with these creators in New York gives a unique chance for one-on-one conversation, but for me, it means less reading of Newsarama. I'm most often reading Newsarama articles as a break from other things or in between one task and another; the time it takes for a video to load along with the requisite sound makes this impossible. I'm excited to see an interesting headline on Newsarama, only to have to close the window when I see it's a video.
Consider, please, we video-impaired. Perhaps transcripts of your video interviews could go along with the videos, or text excerpts from the videos could be offered later on. Give those of us reading a chance to join in, along with those of us watching.
Sincerely,
Collected Editions blog
http://collectededitions.blogspot.com
Open Letter to Newsarama
February 13, 2009
Can I add a P.S. to Blog@ contributors: just as "glory" doesn't mean "a nice knock-down argument," "genre" doesn't mean "appealing to nerds."
ReplyDeleteAnd PS to Newsarama could you please mark which ones are videos on your front page? It'd be nice to know which ones to avoid. I do listen to the videos but only when I have some free time on my hands.
ReplyDeleteDitto on the videos. I checked out Newsarama the past week after boycotting it and all comics news sites for the last couple of months (to avoid spoilers for Final Crisis and Batman RIP, for all the good that did), and there were at least half a dozen potentially intriguing interviews that I would have checked out if they were readable. With my lousy bandwidth I just couldn't be bothered.
ReplyDeleteI didn't mind the Didio videos. At least it felt like he actually answered the questions himself rather than have some lackey do it for him. On the other hand, this means comparing him with Joe Quesada on video and he's no good there.
ReplyDeleteP.S. More Marvel reviews on this site, please.
but dc trades are so much better, Fayzan ;-)
ReplyDeleteI like the characters DC has more but Marvel has some great writers like Paul Cornell, Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction. And on the subject of trades, they have a more coherent and sensible policy. Final Crisis ended in January and we have to wait till August for the hardcover? Secret Invasion ended in December and the paperback was out in January. Also, they don't wait a year before the transition from hardcover to paperback takes place. E.g. Fantastic Four: World's Greatest HC came out in December and the TPB is out early next month. Sinestro Corps. War Vol.1 HC was released during February 2008 and the TPB is being released in May 2009.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you there, I'd love to have DC softcovers out much sooner
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post! I'm also a longtime Newsarama reader and it's impossible for me to watch the videos. So please no videos without a transcript! - Spooky
ReplyDeleteThe disparity between the release time for Marvel and DC trades is shocking. Definitely, I'd like to see DC trades out faster.
ReplyDeleteWe're looking to have a bunch of Marvel reviews coming this summer. Stay tuned (or email if you want to be a guest blogger!).
If anyone gets wind of Newsarama actually considering the transcripts idea, be sure to let me know.