Web Sightings: Comic Books
By Mike Musgrove
Sunday, February 14, 1999; Page X11
Discussions about the future of the comics industry tend to sound a lot like discussions about the rest of the publishing industry. There's speculation about whether the future of the medium is on the Web, but as yet things are still murky (no Amazon. comix has yet emerged, in other words). The comics news site iComics http://www. icomics.com) is refreshing for its candor in pointing out problems in the state of the comics world today and for generally taking the long view on the future of the genre. Even though I wasn't particularly grabbed by the current batch of comics, Big Planets Comics is a great local shop, with locations in Bethesda and Vienna. If you can't make it out to one of their locations, you can at least visit their Web site: erols.com.
Anotheruniverse.com is the online version of a comics chain that seems to have responded to declining comics audiences by deciding to offer as many trinkets in its stores and online as it does comics. If you're looking for a Texas Chainsaw Massacre action figure, this is for you.
The most interesting development in the works on the Web, comics-wise, appears to be stanlee.net, the latest project of Stan Lee, the creator of such classic superheroes as Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk. As of press time, though, there isn't much up at this site except for some flashy graphics and bold claims that it will offer free e-mail and Web sites for comics fans in the undisclosed future. |
