Monitor Duty by Randy Lander "A New Mission Statement" It's been two months since I made the announcement that I was putting regular Snap Judgments on hiatus and focusing in on my comp list, trying to both cover the comps that have been waiting a long time for review and shake my routine a little to keep my interest in reviewing up. As it turns out, I don't have a single regret, as the whole thing has given me a lot more energy and enthusiasm for the column, and I've gone from thinking I might quit by the end of the year to not seeing an end in sight again. That's the good news for regular readers. Here's what might be met with a bit more of a mixed reaction: The regular format hiatus is gonna be a little more permanent than originally intended. Folks have noticed a few things that took place when I changed format. For one thing, my focus on Marvel and DC dropped almost completely away in favor of indies, Dark Horse, Image, Oni, etc. For another, the 1-10 rating scale that I've been using for probably seven of the nine years I've been reviewing disappeared in favor of no ratings, taking with it my "Best of the Week" rating as well. I like both of these changes, and they're gonna be staying. I considered a different ratings scale, but ultimately, having to boil down the comics to a letter, a number or some vague two word phrase was part of what was burning me out. I know it's nice to have a shortcut so you can skim (or skip) the whole review, and I know that the high ratings in particular allowed folks to read reviews they might otherwise have skipped. I also know that a majority of critics in other media use ratings systems of some sort. But the upsides of a ratings system just aren't worth the downsides for me, and so the ratings system is gone. Don will, as far as I know, still be using it up to this point, which is kind of ironic given that he didn't used to do ratings and he started doing them when we joined Psycomic in the name of consistency. (Ironic is my word for "Don is going to strangle me to death the next time he sees me in person." I have as many words for variations on this phenomenon as the eskimos have for snow.) As for the slide into a more indy niche, that's been kind of refreshing as well. Truth to tell, the dual events of Infinite Crisis and House of M are pretty symptomatic of a larger problem I have with the general editorial direction at both companies right now. Which is not to say that I think they're wrong... one look at the sales charts and the increased presence of DC at the top in particular, not to mention the buzz on the books, indicates that commercially, in the short-term, both companies are probably where they should be. It's just that I'd rather be tied to a pack of paparazzi trying to chase down that elusive Lindsay Lohan nip slip and dragged through the streets of Europe than read most of the DCU/Marvel universe proper stuff these days. I'm still reviewing stuff from both companies, especially DC (since they've got Vertigo, and I love a lot of what Vertigo is doing), but it's going to be more on the fringe side of things. Stuff like Livewires, Runaways, Spider-Man/Human Torch on the Marvel side, Seven Soldiers and Gail Simone's work on the DC side, for a few obvious examples. Now I know that for some, this is going to make it hard to view my reviews as anywhere near in touch with their tastes. I know that a blend of mainstream reviews and coverage of indies is helpful to getting mainstream folks to try out indies, and truthfully, that's the biggest conflict I have with these changes. But I would say that my general tastes have been made quite clear over the past four years on this site, even if they've changed over time, and hopefully I'm still illuminating the whys and wherefores of what I like and dislike well enough that folks can see whether, say, Capote in Kansas might be up their alley even if they can't contrast it with my opinion of Ultimate Spider-Man. (For the record, the answers on that example are hell, yes and played out... so very played out.) I'm also going to continue to vary the format a little bit. Some weeks, it'll be a big 'ol column full of Snapshots-style reviews with a couple graphic novels in focus. Some weeks, it'll be more like regular reviews. I will endeavor each week to have reviews on both Monday and Thursday, although occasionally I will have only one update, or two updates that take place on, say, Tuesday and Thursday or Monday and Friday or whatever. Down the Line will remain monthly. The Fourth Rail will continue to be updated each and every week, usually more than once, with very, very rare exceptions when Don and I both happen to be busy with work that we get paid for (remember, Fourth Rail is and always has been a volunteer effort) or, say, attending the San Diego Comicon. In addition, I'm trying (and thus far, succeeding) to do a daily update to my personal blog, Inside Joke Theatre. This isn't always comics stuff, but it does include some comics stuff, including what will likely become a regular feature, my Friday rundown of the stuff I'm planning to read (or have already read) that is coming out the following Wednesday. I'll likely keep up with some of the mainstream stuff that isn't getting full-on reviews through this feature. I am also strongly considering a podcast of some sort, although I have yet to decide what I would do with such a thing and I'm not entirely sure I have the tech savvy to put it together. Suggestions in this area are more than welcome. And speaking of suggestions... I've heard from more than a few of you that you'd like us to cover more manga. Honestly, it's such a vast pool of stuff that I can't really dig too deep into it without losing the battle against my comp pile all over again, but... it's an important part of the market. And with Tokyopop producing more and more Original English Language manga, you can be sure you'll be seeing more of it appearing in my reviews. Honestly, the best thing for me would be if there was a manga expert who lived in Austin and could take some of the occasional manga comps I get off my hands and review for the site, but that's a recruiting nightmare and logistical pain in the ass I'm just not prepared to deal with. So I say this... if you're one of the folks who wants me to review manga, send me a list of the top five manga you think I should review. I'll take a look at all the lists and from there determine a top five and try to get them reviewed once I get the comp pile a little bit more under control (I'm predicting late September.) No promises, but I do want to dip my toe a little bit more in those waters, and while I've got some ideas (I want to read Remote, and read more of Battle Royale), I really don't know where to start. So that's where my head is at right now. Don will be the first to tell you that I've changed my mind about how and what I'm reviewing often throughout the last couple years, so there's certainly flexibility on this stuff, but this is, for the time being, what you can expect to see from the Snap Judgments side of the Fourth Rail. Thank you as always for your support. Email Randy Lander comments about this column.