-
APPEARANCE DATABASE QUESTIONS
-
WHAT COMICS ARE LISTED IN THE DATABASE?
- Any comic that features Gambit in any way shape or form. Even if it
is just another character speaking about him. It can be just a cover cameo
to the whole comic featuring the character and his storyline. If the comic,
book, or item is proven to feature Gambit I put it in there. Please note
that ALL comics and books listed in the database ARE CONFIRMED appearances.
This means I have held that comic or book in my hands and personally seen
Gambit within it's pages.
WHY ARE THERE SOME COMIC APPEARANCES THAT ARE MISSING
ON THIS SITE THAT ARE LISTED ON OTHER SITES?
- There is this universal appearance list that seems to appear on every
Gambit site. Somewhere this comic list was made and then copied by all
the other sites, including the original versions of LDB. When I began seeking
out the more uncommon comics on the "master" list I found that
over half of them didn't ever feature Gambit at all! Frustrated by this,
I decided on the LDB database I would not add a comic until I have personally
held the comic in my hand and seen that Gambit is in the comic itself.
I don't want someone going into a comic shop and spending hundreds of dollars
on back issues only to find 1/3 of them feature actual appearances by Gambit,
like I did. I still have that master list and I still use it as a buying
guide and I am always adding to that list, but I will not add the remaining
comics on that list until I have found the back issues and flipped through
them myself to make sure they deserve to be on the database. If you see
a comic on another list and it is not featured in the LDB database that
may mean one of two things....Either he does not appear in it after all
or I have yet to purchase the comic and confirm it. If you would like to
know the reason, email me or note me on Facebook and I will be more then
happy to explain.
WHAT DO THE RATINGS REALLY MEAN?
- If you venture down to the bottom of the appearance menu page you will
find a nifty little graphic that looks much like a thermometer. It basically
tells you what the importance rating. It basically tells you just how much
Gambit is featured in the comic. Say you are a new fan to the comics and
want to get the basics of Gambit down with a minimal investment, then you
just want to grab up the comics listed as 8-10s. Those well get you just
the most important appearances without all the filler. Now say you are
an avid collector that must have every single comic that Gambit appears
in, but you are not OCD enough to get comics that feature no storyline.
You would grab up all of the listed comics except for the 1-3s which that
feature Gambit, but not as anything but a drawing on a page. Now if you
are OCD, like me, you will get all of them listed.
WHAT IF I WANT TO KNOW IF A COMIC HAS GAMBIT IN IT,
BUT IT IS NOT LISTED IN THE DATABASE?
- Just ask. If I currently own the comic and it is not listed on the
site then it doesn't have an appearance by Gambit. If I don't have it I
will try to help you out. I make a trip to my local shop at least once
a week and they usually have all the back issues I am looking for. I can
flip through it and let you know before you run out and buy it. Just email
me or page me, which can be found on the contact area of the site.
WHAT IF I WANT TO ADD INFORMATION OR A COMIC TO THE
DATABASE?
- It is as simple as emailing or paging me. If you have information to
add, just let me know what it is, what comic is about, and I will see about
adding it. As long as it is actual information, not a rumor or personal
opinion, I should have no problem adding it on the next update. As for
a comic to add. I would LOVE any information on a possible issue that has
been left off the database. Just contact me from the contacts page and
let me know what I am missing.
WHAT IS A DOUJINSHI?
- A doujinshi is a "comic book" released in Japan by non-published
artists and writers. In Japan copyright laws are different then in the
US. The creators, commonly known as a circle, can take characters from
an already existing genre and write and draw there own stories, print them
and release them to the public. It is very similar to fan-fiction only
in comic book form. There are doujinshi based on movies, anime, comics
even music groups. There are standard doujinshi (g-rated), Ecchi (R-rated
adult situation, slight nudity), X-Rated (graphic adult situation, sexual
situations), and Yaoi (homosexual situations). These can also vary from
action, parody and romantic storylines. X-Men doujinshi are very rare to
find, but they were found more commonly in the mid-1990's when the Street
Fighter vs. X-Men game was released and the animated cartoon was released
in Japan. The X-Men are commonly mixed in with other genres, like Street
Fighter doujinshi, as well.
WHAT IS A JAPANESE MANGA?
- Manga is the Japanese version of US comic books, only they are a different
format. The Japanese release their manga in more of a small book form.
They are commonly called graphic novels in the US. Some US companies have
actually changed some series to this format, for exaple the Marvel Comic
Runaways series is released in the standard Japanese Manga format. Each
book is roughly 150-200 pages long. The book is smaller novel book size
as well. Japanese manga is also printed in a different reading format then
US released comics. It takes a little practice to learn the order of the
comic boxes. The book is read from right to left instead of the US standard
of left to right. It is like reading from the back of the book to the front.
The Japanese also print their manga in black and white, not color. Some
feature 1-2 special pages in color, but the story itself is black and white
only. A lot of the books also feature dust covers and added fun stuff like
stickers or bookmarks.
WHAT IS A VIDEO GAME FLYER?
- Video Game Flyers are advertisement flyers that are used by the coin-operated
amusement industry to promote the sales of its games. Flyers are still
used today and over time they represent much more than a printed brochure.
They always feature cabinet designs, attractive artwork and screenshots,
all of which represent the visual language of coin-op games make flyers
effective research tools for collectors who seek to restore them to their
original factory specifications to inform the buyer of the merchandise.
Some also feature sketch art of characters, mini-comics, special art and
more. They are released in the US, but are more common in Japan and Europe.
In these contries they are collectors items to many.
|
