Wednesday Comics came out today
A few bullet thoughts:
– I find it gimmicky. It’s obviously a gimmick, but not all gimmicks seem gimmicky, if that makes any sense.
– The one-page chapters in ongoing serialized stories make for a fairly difficult storytelling venue.
– It was awkward to read. Not even my newspaper is this big anymore.
– As a result, the gimmick seriously impeded my ability to enjoy the reading experience.
– …Yet I love it. There’s an undeniable aura of fun about this project, which gives the stories a little bit of cushion in terms of how good they end up being. I think I’m most excited to sit down and look at these stories from a craft perspective, seeing how each of the different creators dealth with the constraints of the medium.
I’ve only given it a quick read… but, man, I love it. And I guess it’s a gimmick in that they came up with the dimensions first, and that’s the obvious draw, but that word doesn’t seem to fit. I think if you read my interview with editor Mark Chiarello in this week’s Publishers Weekly Comics Week, you can see that his primary goal was making a great product, not some goofy thing that gets attention just for being oddly sized.
Awkward to read? I found it awkward to fold back up, but not to read — I thought it was awesome unfolding this massive comic book and seeing the huge panels and great artwork. As far as gimmicky? Well, yeah. But they could have done much worse. At least they went and got the talent to back it up.