But that's just my two cents...

But if you're fine with the "when applicable" thing, then sure, that sounds like a fair approach that would allow you to keep doing the column without any real changes to your format!

So, if John launches into a series of these on Doctor Who, people who are interested can see them on Fraggmented, and people who aren’t won’t see them here.

It'd be fine by me, but it would mean that he'd have weeks where his stuff would be a lot less read, ya know?

So that might not be as fine for him.

I REALLY like this feature. I like it even when I'm not familiar with the subject matter. To me, that means I like both the concept and the writer. So I'd like to see more from John, and more about storytelling engines.

OTOH, I agree that CSBG is, by virtue of it's name, a comics site. So while BUFFY or THE SIMPSONS can loosely be tied to that, THE CRITIC can't.

OTTH, I think that there's a pretty big chance that anyone reading CSBG is an animation fan, a SF fan, a fantasy fan... basically, we're geeks.

OK, so I'm of three minds.

So I'll just ask, "John, what do you want to write?"

Because I want to read it. I think if you expanded outside of comics at this point, you'd still have an audience here. So go ahead and write up that MONTY PYTHON Storytelling Engine (now there's a walking contradiction!).

And we'll see what people think.

I think Stan Lee originally envision the Human Torch series as having the same potential as Spider-man. But, almost everything that makes Spider-man successful is missing from the Human Torch series: an interesting alter ego, strong supporting cast, tight stories, etc.

Ant Man/Giant Man has similar issues, but at least has the advantage of including the Wasp in the later issues.

Theno

So, if John launches into a series of these on Doctor Who, people who are interested can see them on Fraggmented, and people who aren't won't see them here.

But, if he does an OMAC storytelling engines post, it would appear on both blogs.

Or, do a volume 2 of certain characters/titles! Iron Man isn't about stopping the yellow menace anyone, and certianly the X-Men have at times done more than sit around and wait to be attacked.

Have a good day.
John Cage

So yeah, I'd prefer it remain comics-oriented, and really, what Greg mentions is spot on - once you've established what the storytelling engine is for the various comics, you still have a whole mountain of material left out of applying those engines to comics, via comparing and contrasting and stuff like that.

Hatcher’s ‘Friday’ columns have a great tendency to delve into other areas of pop culture than comics, so there’s definitely precedent.

That's absolutely true. There have been lots of times I've wandered off into one area or another -- paperback covers, exploitation films, etc. -- and people have been very forgiving. Though there usually is some connection to comics, however tenuous.

More to the point, though, I wouldn't feel constrained to keep going if I haven't got anything new to say. The easy solution, it seems to me, would be to think of the engine or the idea you want to talk about for a column, and then think of a series example that FITS, rather than arbitrarily assign yourself an Essential or a Showcase and figure out what its engine is. How does Jimmy Olsen's function change from Superman to Jimmy Olsen to Lois Lane? How does the engine itself morph over the course of a long-running title-- Jimmy Olsen, again, changed a LOT from its beginnings as a Weisinger title to the Kirby years on through to the "Mr. Action!" era. Is there such a thing as an extinct engine, that you just plain don't see any more?

....and so on. But the basic advice from me is: If your current formula's not working, try something else.

Experiment. and Test.

You can always revive this blog whenever you have an itch to scratch.

X-Men and Spiderman have both had a few changes, and quite a few Essential volumes - perhaps you could look at those.