I have only been reading comics for 1.5 years. I got into comics because of Marvel's movies and Marvel has kind of been my main focus, while I do read some DC and smaller publishers.
Age of Ultron left a bad taste in my mouth and has alienated me from Marvel in a big way. I was so excited to have the Marvel NOW titles starting last fall as a good point for me to get on board as a new reader. But in the past nine months, Marvel has left me confused and tired of trying to keep up with what to buy. Having comics as a hobby should be simple and fun. With Marvel, that's not possible.
I have about 5 or 6 Marvel titles I am currently reading. The more they "connect" them to other titles, the more I will drop. Age of Ultron was just a tool to try to get me to buy more stuff, and I am not going to bite. I am going to start buying more stuff from smaller publishers, and more older stuff from Marvel and DC. It's not like I can possibly run out of good stuff to read if I stop buying the newest releases from the big 2.
All that said, DC has not pissed me off nearly as much as Marvel, the company that got me into comics.
I've dropped all but five DC comics: Animal Man, Teen Titans, Aquaman, Batman and Batgirl. I also read Earth 2, but will be leaving the title at the end of James Robinson's run. Marvel has been giving me titles I want to read the moment they are released, such as Young Avengers, All-New X-Men, Avengers, and Indestructable Hulk (I'm reading Hawkeye and Daredevil in trades); DC, not so much.
I don't quite agree with the expectation that any big crossover should have to change things by the time it wraps up. Returning to whatever status quo existed at the beginning is an acceptable finish, and most of the time that's all I really expect. (In fact, given how things have changed in some cases -- the New 52 at the end of Flashpoint as an example -- change is not necessarily a desirable goal. Most of the time, it's not the destination but the journey that's interesting.
I agree totally with you on this. However, the problem with many of the events--and particularly with Marvel--is that they're billed as universe or character altering by event end and they rarely live up to that promise. I don't mind characters evolving. One of my favorite books right now is Superior Spider-Man. I haven't liked everything they've done with Spider-Man since BND, but a lot of what has been done has been fun.
I agree, though in all cases, it be best to not hold creative (the work) responsible for how editorial and marketing sells and promotes the work. It reminds me of TV shows that end up being different than their poorly-cut promos, or bad trailers for good movies.
I always find it is more important what the work meant to me rather than how the work held up to what I was told to expect.
(Though I do get that you can hold Marvel as a whole responsible for not only what they publish, but what they tell you it will be)
I have only been reading comics for 1.5 years. I got into comics because of Marvel's movies and Marvel has kind of been my main focus, while I do read some DC and smaller publishers.
Age of Ultron left a bad taste in my mouth and has alienated me from Marvel in a big way. I was so excited to have the Marvel NOW titles starting last fall as a good point for me to get on board as a new reader. But in the past nine months, Marvel has left me confused and tired of trying to keep up with what to buy. Having comics as a hobby should be simple and fun. With Marvel, that's not possible.
I have about 5 or 6 Marvel titles I am currently reading. The more they "connect" them to other titles, the more I will drop. Age of Ultron was just a tool to try to get me to buy more stuff, and I am not going to bite. I am going to start buying more stuff from smaller publishers, and more older stuff from Marvel and DC. It's not like I can possibly run out of good stuff to read if I stop buying the newest releases from the big 2.
All that said, DC has not pissed me off nearly as much as Marvel, the company that got me into comics.
Personally I cant give up all the way, I have maybe one or 2 titles from each of the big two that I get on a regular basis but I have joined in on the fun and excitement that is the other publishers. I have found myself drawn to Image Comics much more as of late and am really enjoying what I have been reading whether that be new or old comics.
Personally I cant give up all the way, I have maybe one or 2 titles from each of the big two that I get on a regular basis but I have joined in on the fun and excitement that is the other publishers. I have found myself drawn to Image Comics much more as of late and am really enjoying what I have been reading whether that be new or old comics.
I've heard a few people talk about what they love from Image lately, and I can't for the life of me think of anything they publish except for Savage Dragon. What are the good titles coming out of Image these days?
Personally I cant give up all the way, I have maybe one or 2 titles from each of the big two that I get on a regular basis but I have joined in on the fun and excitement that is the other publishers. I have found myself drawn to Image Comics much more as of late and am really enjoying what I have been reading whether that be new or old comics.
I've heard a few people talk about what they love from Image lately, and I can't for the life of me think of anything they publish except for Savage Dragon. What are the good titles coming out of Image these days?
Saga is the biggest one. Then I just like to take the plunge and pink up something that I have never read before. Hell Yeah, Heart,Invincible, The Walking Dead,Americas Got Powers,The Red Wing, and Wanted are a list of things that I have read that I have really enjoyed. I love the fact that there is so much different to read from Image so thats where I have been going lately.
I've heard a few people talk about what they love from Image lately, and I can't for the life of me think of anything they publish except for Savage Dragon. What are the good titles coming out of Image these days?
Personally I cant give up all the way, I have maybe one or 2 titles from each of the big two that I get on a regular basis but I have joined in on the fun and excitement that is the other publishers. I have found myself drawn to Image Comics much more as of late and am really enjoying what I have been reading whether that be new or old comics.
I've heard a few people talk about what they love from Image lately, and I can't for the life of me think of anything they publish except for Savage Dragon. What are the good titles coming out of Image these days?
What I’ve been enjoying: Saga Fatale Prophet Manhattan Projects Chew Age of Bronze (though it doesn’t come out very often) Invincible (though I’m way behind) Orc Stain Luther Strode Mud Man (though it's a bit sporadic)
I haven't read East of West or Lazarus yet, but I have them in my stack. I may have left something out, but that’s probably most of the current ongoing Image books I’m reading.
If you want to go in a Dynamite direction may I suggest Garth Ennis' Red Team, it's 3 issues in and I'm really liking it. Kind of like The Boys but not crazy and no super powers. Just a cop team......maybe a whole lot like the TV show The Shield?
Image just announced a boatload of new titles. I’m particularly interested in Velvet, Ody-C, Black Science, and Southern Bastards. I'll probably try a couple of the others too.
I haven't bought the big two in a long time (Jim Lee Uncanny) ... but since it's cool now to say it, I am in. The funny thing is when the Geeks talk about what happens in an issue of a DC or Marvel book I think to myself, that sounds cool and then I look at it (at comic store or one of my friends copies) and I say this stinks ... that's a complement to the geeks on how good they are at giving recaps of books that aren't that good.
I love Robert Kirkman's Invincible (super hero book) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invincible_(comics) ... one universe and mostly only one artist, for the most part. I feel good when I support indepenent creators like Kirkman, they struggle with money as an indy creator ... let the jokes follow.
Maybe Kirkman is not the best example for a creator struggling with money... ;)
Struggling with money, no. Struggling with appropriate creator credits, on the other hand... ;)
Struggling over money.
I rather like the image of struggling with money better.
"What th--? What are you doing in my wallet!? I could've sworn I locked you up in a 401K!! Let go of that buy list, you monetary note of little promise!!"
...give some suggestions as to where to go for good alternative comics...
My favorite non-big 2 titles that people may not be reading: Image: The Massive, Revival, and Mind the Gap Dark Horse: 47 Ronin, Creepy, Eerie Dynamite: Black Bat Monkeybrain Publishing: The Mask of the Red Panda Big Dog Ink: The Legend of Oz: Wicked West
I get others, but I tend to assume the licensed products (Buffy, Star Wars, etc.) and breakout hits (Saga, Walking Dead, etc.) get enough love.
Best non-big 2 publisher is Valiant. I know I'm preaching to the choir when it comes to Jamie D, but as someone who dropped out of comics in 93 and came back in 98, I missed much of the Valiant hey-day. I get and love every. single. title.
Cheap self-promotion: www.studiofugazi.com <- New stuff every week!
The other stuff: - If you truly want something different, may I wholeheartedly recommend some of the fine manga publishers out there? Dark Horse, Kodansha, Seven Seas, Viz, DMP, and Yen Press all have titles to suit anyone's taste. It's not just people with big eyes fighting each other. Some good'uns I'm reading: Yotsuba (kfreeman and I are both addicts)(Yen), A Certain Scientific Railgun (Seven Seas), The Legend of the Sacred Blacksmith (Seven Seas), Tiger and Bunny (Viz) (great for you superhero people!), Dorohedoro (Viz), and Afterschool Charisma (Viz). Just to name a few.
Cheap self-promotion pt. 2: www.comicspectrum.com <- We cover everything we can!
I have been gradually moving toward this for a while.
First to go was the mini-series. I just dropped those, because, generally, they weren't good enough stories to appear in main titles, and I could easily wait for word of mouth to make a decision on the trades.
Next were the events. At first, it was just, "I'm not buying a whole bunch of books that I don't normally buy," then it was, "I'll take a hiatus from even the books I'm buying that get slapped with this event cover dressing," and finally, "Well, if that event is going to pull in this book I'm reading, I need to find a jumping off point before that happens."
The New 52 led me to try a lot of titles... and to drop a lot of titles. The $3.99 price tag that has spread among the Big Two books led me to drop a lot of titles as well.
Right now, I am picking up Animal Man, Wonder Woman, and Hawkeye from the Big Two. (Okay, Astro City, too, but that doesn't feel like a Big Two book.) I'm also going to try Larfleeze.
As long as these titles remain at their current quality and don't get enmeshed in some terrible event, I'm okay with them.
I'm picking up a total of 12 monthly titles at the moment, which means that I'm two-thirds part of the revolution. As long as they maintain their current "laissez faire" stance with the four Big Two titles, that is probably how my stance will stay.
Comments
Age of Ultron left a bad taste in my mouth and has alienated me from Marvel in a big way. I was so excited to have the Marvel NOW titles starting last fall as a good point for me to get on board as a new reader. But in the past nine months, Marvel has left me confused and tired of trying to keep up with what to buy. Having comics as a hobby should be simple and fun. With Marvel, that's not possible.
I have about 5 or 6 Marvel titles I am currently reading. The more they "connect" them to other titles, the more I will drop. Age of Ultron was just a tool to try to get me to buy more stuff, and I am not going to bite. I am going to start buying more stuff from smaller publishers, and more older stuff from Marvel and DC. It's not like I can possibly run out of good stuff to read if I stop buying the newest releases from the big 2.
All that said, DC has not pissed me off nearly as much as Marvel, the company that got me into comics.
I always find it is more important what the work meant to me rather than how the work held up to what I was told to expect.
(Though I do get that you can hold Marvel as a whole responsible for not only what they publish, but what they tell you it will be)
M
M
M
Saga
Fatale
Prophet
Manhattan Projects
Chew
Age of Bronze (though it doesn’t come out very often)
Invincible (though I’m way behind)
Orc Stain
Luther Strode
Mud Man (though it's a bit sporadic)
I haven't read East of West or Lazarus yet, but I have them in my stack. I may have left something out, but that’s probably most of the current ongoing Image books I’m reading.
I love Robert Kirkman's Invincible (super hero book) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invincible_(comics) ... one universe and mostly only one artist, for the most part. I feel good when I support indepenent creators like Kirkman, they struggle with money as an indy creator ... let the jokes follow.
JP
"What th--? What are you doing in my wallet!? I could've sworn I locked you up in a 401K!! Let go of that buy list, you monetary note of little promise!!"
Image: The Massive, Revival, and Mind the Gap
Dark Horse: 47 Ronin, Creepy, Eerie
Dynamite: Black Bat
Monkeybrain Publishing: The Mask of the Red Panda
Big Dog Ink: The Legend of Oz: Wicked West
I get others, but I tend to assume the licensed products (Buffy, Star Wars, etc.) and breakout hits (Saga, Walking Dead, etc.) get enough love.
Best non-big 2 publisher is Valiant. I know I'm preaching to the choir when it comes to Jamie D, but as someone who dropped out of comics in 93 and came back in 98, I missed much of the Valiant hey-day. I get and love every. single. title.
Cheap self-promotion: www.studiofugazi.com <- New stuff every week!
The other stuff:
- If you truly want something different, may I wholeheartedly recommend some of the fine manga publishers out there? Dark Horse, Kodansha, Seven Seas, Viz, DMP, and Yen Press all have titles to suit anyone's taste. It's not just people with big eyes fighting each other. Some good'uns I'm reading: Yotsuba (kfreeman and I are both addicts)(Yen), A Certain Scientific Railgun (Seven Seas), The Legend of the Sacred Blacksmith (Seven Seas), Tiger and Bunny (Viz) (great for you superhero people!), Dorohedoro (Viz), and Afterschool Charisma (Viz). Just to name a few.
Cheap self-promotion pt. 2: www.comicspectrum.com <- We cover everything we can!
I hope the industry eventually realizes they are shooting themselves in the foot.
First to go was the mini-series. I just dropped those, because, generally, they weren't good enough stories to appear in main titles, and I could easily wait for word of mouth to make a decision on the trades.
Next were the events. At first, it was just, "I'm not buying a whole bunch of books that I don't normally buy," then it was, "I'll take a hiatus from even the books I'm buying that get slapped with this event cover dressing," and finally, "Well, if that event is going to pull in this book I'm reading, I need to find a jumping off point before that happens."
The New 52 led me to try a lot of titles... and to drop a lot of titles. The $3.99 price tag that has spread among the Big Two books led me to drop a lot of titles as well.
Right now, I am picking up Animal Man, Wonder Woman, and Hawkeye from the Big Two. (Okay, Astro City, too, but that doesn't feel like a Big Two book.) I'm also going to try Larfleeze.
As long as these titles remain at their current quality and don't get enmeshed in some terrible event, I'm okay with them.
I'm picking up a total of 12 monthly titles at the moment, which means that I'm two-thirds part of the revolution. As long as they maintain their current "laissez faire" stance with the four Big Two titles, that is probably how my stance will stay.