Using Anthology Titles as Examples of Genre

[Jim Van Dore]

Brian suggested and Dave seconded that we discuss using anthology titles as examples of genres.  Currently all examples are features.

I would suggest that those in favor of the idea point to specific places in the document and specific titles they believe should be used there.

Jim

[James Ludwig]

I can see some value in that. Planet Comics for science fiction or
Tales From the Crypt for horror.

[Jim Van Dore]

Where is the ADDED value?  Why would it be better to have Planet Comics than Buck Rogers.  And are you absolutely positive that nowhere in the run of Planet Comics that there ever was a feature that wasn't science fiction?  And what about the ads in Planet Comics for Wheaties with sports figures?

I see no benefit.  I need the benefit described for me.

[James Ludwig]

I would suspect that within most of these anthology titles there were
some exceptions. FROM A FAN PERSPECTIVE I relate to having the
anthology itself listed as a genre example. We can not cater to every
idiot who would not be able to figure out that sequence x was not
science fiction. I am not one of those who asked for this I am just
one who chimed in with some examples. All but someone totally clueless
would recognize Tales from the Crypt or Creepy as examples of horror
comics. Thus they were genre anthologies even if every feature did not
fit.

[Jim Van Dore]

But you aren't answering the question of why Planet Comics is better than Buck Rogers.  I need benefits.  All I see are negatives.

And our experience should teach us that what may seem obvious to all but the completely clueless turns out to be the thing that causes us trouble down the line.

Why is it better to muddy the water?  What are the advantages?

[James Ludwig]

Not necessarily better but I think using one example of an anthology
in the group would provide that example for users.
I was not really in favor of it to start but giving examples has led
me to think it worthwhile. Wish we could get some more opinions.

[Tony Rose]

I'm not sure that we need to list the anthology titles as examples of particular genres.  What we do need to do is explain somewhere what WE mean by genre and how to apply it to comics.  In that explanation, the anthology titles will have to talked about.  Remember that we talk about attaching genre to features and the anthology books, have many stories that are not parts of continuing features but they still can be said to be of a particular genre.




tony

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From: "Jim Van Dore" <jrva...@gmail.com>
To: gcd-...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Sunday, March 11, 2012 10:12:10 AM
Subject: Re: [gcd-genre] Using Anthology Titles as Examples of Genre

[Dave Reeder]

the problem we face with many of the older uk weekly comics is that you wouldn't necessarily have a unifying them. there might be a school-based strip, a real life comedian strip, an adventure strip, a detective strip, a couple of prose stories, etc.

dave

[Jim Van Dore]

I'm fine with that.  Write up a sentence.

 

Jim

[Tony Rose]

"While it is the intention that stories associated with a particular feature be assigned a genre consistent with the other stories of the feature, genre can also be assigned to stories that are not a part of a feature at all, as with the majority of the stories in such anthologies as XXXXX, XXXXX, or XXXXX."

tony

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From: "Jim Van Dore" <jrva...@gmail.com>
To: gcd-...@googlegroups.com

Sent: Monday, March 12, 2012 10:43:39 AM

[Brian Saner Lamken]

Jim Van Dore wrote:

> Where is the ADDED value? Why would it be better to have Planet Comics than Buck Rogers. And are you absolutely positive that nowhere in the run of Planet Comics that there ever was a feature that wasn't science fiction? And what about the ads in Planet Comics for Wheaties with sports figures?
>

> I see no benefit. I need the benefit described for me. …

And then Jim Van Dore wrote:

> But you aren't answering the question of why Planet Comics is better than Buck Rogers. I need benefits. All I see are negatives.
>
> And our experience should teach us that what may seem obvious to all but the completely clueless turns out to be the thing that causes us trouble down the line.
>
> Why is it better to muddy the water? What are the advantages?

I do take your point iabout potential misuse or… mmm, I don't recall the term that (I think) Tony so admired about intentional corruption / exploitation of loopholes that came up somewhere. Pretty much *anything* can get screwed up by accident or malice, though; we have to choose our battles on when to restrict and/or dumb stuff down to accomodate that.

Stand-alone stories — those in anthologies, without a Feature —can and usually should take a Genre. Yes? In which case I think that it behooves us to occasionally mention that in the examples of the Official Genres List, not so much as a reminder in and of itself but because there are broad swaths of material in certain Genres, particularly (in America, in my experience) Science Fiction and Horror/Suspense.

I'm not saying that we should just list 'Planet Comics' or 'Weird Science' or 'Mystery in Space'. The odd, or even not so odd, sequence of a different Genre than what might be a series' predominant Genre doesn't matter, and I must say that you really threw me for a loop with the thing about the Wheaties ad. My suggestion was phrased "one-shot stories in such anthologies as Weird Science [or Mystery in Space]" on purpose, as we're not actually using the Series name instead of Feature but reinforcing that certain Feature-less stories in certain Series may also qualify. That is to say, not "Examples include Buck Rogers, Planet Comics, and Doctore Who" but "Examples include Buck Rogers, Doctor Who, and one-shot stories in such anthologies as Planet Comics".

Blam

Brian Saner Lamken
blamken.blogspot.com

"How can I stop that charging Plutonian horned dog, when the Venusian energy-bear absorbs all the power from my multi-ray gun?"
— Space Ranger, "The Army of Interplanetary Beasts"; Tales of the Unexpected #45 (DC, 1960)

[Brian Saner Lamken]

Tony Rose wrote:

> "While it is the intention that stories associated with a particular feature be assigned a genre consistent with the other stories of the feature, genre can also be assigned to stories that are not a part of a feature at all, as with the majority of the stories in such anthologies as XXXXX, XXXXX, or XXXXX."

This is not just a good idea but probably crucial if we don't have it somewhere already — but it doesn't necessarily, to me, invalidate the benefits of throwing a mention of themed anthology titles in with a couple of the Genre entries.

BSL

Brian Saner Lamken
blamken.blogspot.com

"One night, at the climax of the Andarean Spider War, I felt a familiar mind-touch..."
— Herupa Hando Hu, "The Secret Origin of the Guardians of the Universe"; Secret Origins #23 (DC, 1988)

[Brian Saner Lamken]

Dave Reeder wrote:

> the problem we face with many of the older uk weekly comics is that you wouldn't necessarily have a unifying them. there might be a school-based strip, a real life comedian strip, an adventure strip, a detective strip, a couple of prose stories, etc.

That's not a problem, necessarily, it just doesn't impact on this discussion. 'Cause, again, we're not trying to assign a Genre to every (or any) anthology title, just pointing out that in addition to Features that may not have a Series of their own — the running strips that you're talking about — there are also one-off stories, particularly (again, at least in America and in my experience; I don't know if 'The Beano' is/was strictly or mostly humor, but certainly '2000 AD' is mostly science fiction, although that may also be primarily composed of strips with a Feature vs. stand-alone stories) in themed anthologies, that it would behoove us to mention in examples.

BSL

Brian Saner Lamken
blamken.blogspot.com

"Gosh, Krypto, I would never *really* sign your death warrant! You're my... my dog!"
— Superboy, "The Execution of Krypto"; Superboy #67 (DC, 1958)