PLA Conference 2024

 

This year, I was awarded a full scholarship to attend the PLA Conference in Columbus, Ohio. I had never attended one before and was eager to check out the schedule of programs, guests and exhibitors. I found the app to be a useful tool as I sat down to plan my conference experience.

I began by pouring through the daily schedules and adding any session that grabbed my interest. Obviously, this resulted in a substantial overbooking of my time. I took another pass, focusing on sessions that spoke to initiatives I’d like to see about adapting for my home library as well as areas where I felt I could use some professional growth. Even after the culling, I still had a few sessions that overlapped, but I was close enough! Coffee in hand, I headed out for day one.

One that really stood out to me was called The Library as Studio: Why Original Content Is Important For Libraries Today and Tomorrow, led by Mary Kapusta and Casey Corneil. The concept of a library putting out original content was not wholly new to me. Here at the David A. Howe Public Library, we have had a podcast that also airs locally on FM radio since 2015. When the pandemic forced us to quickly rethink everything, I was very relieved that we already had the podcast as a programming outlet. It went on, unfazed by the shutdowns, and truly showcased its importance to the library overall.

As the speakers in this session covered, 2020 made us all start to look to video options. We did things we hadn’t done before and found that, some of them, we liked! While we’ve continued in some of these veins, video did not go on to become a major part of our output. This session made me question why. When discussing YouTube content, Kapusta and Corneil cautioned against treating it as an archive for content (often outdated) to languish. I did feel a little called out by that. Running through our
library channel in my mind as the session continued, I identified several things that I knew were there that shouldn’t be. 

They went on to express the importance of simple production values. Things like sound, clarity and camera work can often feel like afterthoughts, especially in live videos or quickie content. I appreciated some of their practical advice, and they really drove home the idea of making original content stand on its own. Aside from the podcast, I realized I considered a lot of our online and video work as just supplemental. I was really challenged to flip that and explore all that we might be leaving on the table.

                It was great to hear from a library and librarians who have found success in this area, and it was encouraging to look around and see so many people in the seats having the same realizations as me. Now, we are better prepared to charge forward. Let’s do it!

Comic Book Coffee Break: Giant Sized Annual #3

 Well now it's officially a tradition.  For the third year in a row, Eric and I reunited to talk favorite comics of 2023. Listen to Giant Sized Annual #3 on youtube or in the feed for Previously on X-Men. Here are some of my picks: 

• Movies/TV/Games

• The Marvels

• The Flash

• Shazam Fury of the Gods

• Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur

• Marvel 

• Storm by Greg Pak

• Dark Web by Zeb Wells and Adam Kubert

• Amazing Spider-Man Beyond by Zeb Wells and Kelly Thompson

• Amazing X-Men: World War Wendigo by Craig Kyle and  Carlo Babiery

• DC

• Nightwing: Leaping Into the Night by Tom Taylor

• Superman: Son of Kal-El by Tom Taylor, Nicole Maines and Cian Tormey

• Infinite Frontier by Josh Williamson and Alitha Martinez

• Wonder Woman: The Four Horsewomen by Steve Orlando, Jesus Marino and Keiran McKowan

• Others

• TMNT: The Last Ronin by Kevin Eastman

• Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Pink by Brendan Fletcher

• Star Trek Discovery: Adventures in the 32nd Century by Mike Johnson and Angel Hernandez

• Quarter Bin: Action Comics #444 from 1975: “The Black Canary is Dead” art and story by Mike Grell, written by Elliot S! Maggin

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You can find back issues of the video version of Comic Book Coffee Break here.
The audio version of Comic Book Coffee Break is over there. 
You can find me as the co-host of 9021 Here We G0: A 90210 Rewatch Podcast and This Endorian Life, both for the Radio Meanwhile Network. 
I also host Howe's Things, the podcast and radio show of the David A. Howe Public Library. 

Comic Book Coffee Break: Giant Sized Annual #2

 New year, new episode of Comic Book Coffee Break! Eric and I settled in for our second annual episode of the show covering our favorites from 2022. And, of course it wouldn't be complete without a dive into my quarter bin. This time Superboy is in the spotlight with #99.

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You can find back issues of the video version of Comic Book Coffee Break here.
The audio version of Comic Book Coffee Break is over there. 
You can find me as the co-host of 9021 Here We G0: A 90210 Rewatch Podcast and This Endorian Life, both for the Radio Meanwhile Network. 
I also host Howe's Things, the podcast and radio show of the David A. Howe Public Library. 

Comic Book Coffee Brake: Giant Sized Annual #1

After a nice, long break Eric and I returned to mic for a Giant Sized Annual edition of Comic Book Coffee Break. We covered our favorites of 2021 and I dusted off my long boxes for a a look at Adventure Comics #383 straight from the quarter bin. Tune in!

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You can find back issues of the video version of Comic Book Coffee Break here.
The audio version of Comic Book Coffee Break is over there. 
You can find me as the co-host of 9021 Here We G0: A 90210 Rewatch Podcast and This Endorian Life, both for the Radio Meanwhile Network. 
I also host Howe's Things, the podcast and radio show of the David A. Howe Public Library. 

Comic Book Coffee Break #54

  Thanks for joining me on my Comic Book Coffee Break!  Today I'm having Jockey Streets Three Falls blend coffee with cream and Vanilla.

It's been a minute, but I eventually finished my New 52 Superman reread.

DC Comics

I don't even remember why now, but I decided to do a reread of the New 52 Superman.  My memories were that It started clunky, but by the time I reached Final Days of Superman I was completely invested. I went back to see if I could capture that magic again, and found I really couldn't. 

Wait though. 

I was going to have my wife read along, but was only going to give her the necessary and/or top tier volumes to read.  That proved harder than I'd expected.  I did enjoy the second half of the reread, but I kept waiting for the one that knocked it out of the park and it just never really came. Still, when I got to Final Days, I found it just as moving. That Truth to Final Days stretch is some of my favorite Superman of all time.  The issue is that it's not any one volume or story. And taken piecemeal, it doesn't really hold up. It's a package deal, and you've got to be in the right place for it or it doesn't land. So it didn't really work to isolate the best stories from the era. I think what I like is deeper than that. It gets the essence of Superman and his core goodness better than most. 

Starting with Truth his powers are in decline, but he can't stop being Superman.  Not because of outside pressure or expectations, he just can't stop.  It's who he is.  Powers are irrelevant.  So he just keeps going, even when it stops being practical or realistic. 

Then you move into a false sense of security when powers are restored, only to be undercut with the events leading in to Final Days.  Again, I don't think this should really work, but for me it did. The final issues are incredibly moving and I found myself mourning the New 52 version of the character.  Even with the reveal that the original is back on the job, you still have to accept that the fact that the character you've been following since the Grant Morrison relaunch is just dead. And that's forever. 

What's stark about that is typically, when a character dies in comics, it's rare that real feelings are attached because you know it isn't going to stick. This is different though, because, yes there will always be a Superman.  Just not this one.  

And I liked this one. 

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You can find back issues of the video version of Comic Book Coffee Break here.
The audio version of Comic Book Coffee Break is over there. 
You can find me as the co-host of 9021 Here We G0: A 90210 Rewatch Podcast and This Endorian Life, both for the Radio Meanwhile Network. 
I also host Howe's Things, the podcast and radio show of the David A. Howe Public Library. 

Comic Book Coffee Break #53

 Thanks for joining me on my Comic Book Coffee Break!  Today I'm having Yuban coffee with cream and Vanilla.

Let's talk comic books.

With the Black Widow movie dropping, we got to work on a whole spotlight episode for Howe's Things s that means another themed entry for CBCB.

Marvel

Back in 2015 I read the first volume of the Nathan Edmonson/Phil Noto run, The Finely Woven Thread. I was taken with the art which manages to feel both modern and 70s chic all at once.  The story was a little nonsensical at times, but I figured I'd follow the series for a while.  Only I didn't. Then jump to 2020 when the movie was set to come out. 

I remembered nothing about V.1 so I reread it and then the next two volumes.  They didn't really leave much of an impact on me, outside of the artwork. They make Natasha such an insular character that it's hard to invest in the character as a reader. It's a very stylish run, but I don't think it's going to convert anyone who already isn't onboard for Black Widow. 

Next I followed it up by reading The Name of the Rose by Marjorie Liu, Kiss or Rill by Duane Swierczynski then Widowmaker by Jim McCann.  I wish I had something to report on these, but they just didn't do it for me.  Marjorie Liu run stands out a bit with her more nuanced treatment of the character but with only 5 issues there wasn't really time to invest.

The Web of the Black Widow by Jody Houser and Stephen Mooney was a step in the right director but it's so rooted in continuity that it wasn't very approachable.  It isn't the "Year One" it is marketed as. 

Finally that brings me to Ties that Bind by Kelly Thompson and Elena Casagrande.  This was by far the best representation of the character that I've read or seen so far.  And yes it helps to have a vague idea of the relationships with Hawkeye and/or Bucky, but there's enough here to fill in the blanks.  This is clever and intriguing and I can't wait for volume 2.

Also, I very much liked the Black Widow movie.  We discussed it to death over on Howe's Things. 

DC

Over on DC, I've been reading Super Sons.  I finished the Ridley Pearson series with volume 3. This is a good end to the series, and I do think this works overall. I like that this is doing its own thing, but I wish it felt a little more like the DC world. Then I read both volumes of Adventures of the Super Sons by Peter J. Tomasi.  I don't know.  I think this premise is just stretched too thin. I don't see following the ongoing digital first series, but then I've tried to quit Super Sons before.  

Next Time...

I'm dragging my heels on finishing Final Days of Superman, but it will happen.

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You can find back issues of the video version of Comic Book Coffee Break here.
The audio version of Comic Book Coffee Break is over there. 
You can find me as the co-host of 9021 Here We G0: A 90210 Rewatch Podcast and This Endorian Life, both for the Radio Meanwhile Network. 
I also host Howe's Things, the podcast and radio show of the David A. Howe Public Library. 

Comic Book Coffee Break #52

 Thanks for joining me no my Comic Book Coffee Break!  Today I grabbed coffee at Dunkin' on my way in for an early meeting. Pretty solid coffee.

Let's talk comic books!

This week I was guest-hosting Previously on X-Men and the focus was on The First X-Men, a 2012 limited series from Neal Adams and Christos Gage.  Because of that you get an all Neal Adams issue.  Let's do it.

Marvel 

I'd already read The First X-Men a while back so I jumped back to Adams' early X-Men stuff as collected in X-Men Visionaries: Neal Adams.  This collects several issues from '69-'70 illustrated and plotted by Adams.  I always like the original team so it was fun to dive into this mess of a story and revisit the characters. The story dealt with Havok and then with the Sentinels, but I was primarily focusing on the art, which did live up to the hype.  It's bright, clever and delightfully chaotic. I can see why it got the "Visionaries" treatment. 

On to The First X-Men.  I guess I'd categorize this as... harmless?  It's fine.  It's a relatively entertaining story about Wolverine and Sabertooth setting up a proto X-Men team. It doesn't provide much in the way of new insights into the characters, but it does tell a very serviceable story.  We really picked it apart in the episode. 

DC Comics

I've read a lot of books with Neal Adams art, Green Lantern/Green Arrow and classic Batman comes to mind.  But I've only recently read some of the stuff we wrote as well. Let's talk The Coming of the Supermen. This feels to me like something that was written in the 80s, forgotten for a few decades, then dusted off and printed with no changes.  And I mean that as a compliment. It's kooky, it's weird, and I had a great time. 

Batman: Odyssey on the other hand, is every bit as bad as you've heard.  Despite the negative reviews, I went in to this slightly optimistic. After all, I'd enjoyed the Superman story, so I thought maybe. 

No. Everything about this is bad.

For starters, the plot is impossible to follow.  Not difficult, IMPOSSIBLE. The character designs are clunky and the overall look of the book is unappealing. I've read a lot of bad graphic novels, but this might actually be the worst mainstream graphic novel ever assembled.  I can't believe it went to print. 

There was one section with Robin and a dinosaur that I enjoyed, but it was brief. That's as close to a compliment as I can get. 

Here's the thing though, I do think you should read it, as least part of it anyway. It's worse than you think.

Next Time

I'm finishing up Superman Savage Dawn, then that's only leaves Final Days.  See you then.

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You can find back issues of the video version of Comic Book Coffee Break here.
The audio version of Comic Book Coffee Break is over there. 
You can find me as the co-host of 9021 Here We G0: A 90210 Rewatch Podcast and This Endorian Life, both for the Radio Meanwhile Network. 
I also host Howe's Things, the podcast and radio show of the David A. Howe Public Library.