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One comic is too many and a thousand is not enough
popestu
Posts: 782
It was recently stated in another discussion that, "Some folk seem to hate one or both of the big two but continue to purchase the products. It is somewhat reminiscent of a drug habit".
@Evening639 commented, "This is an EXTREMELY good point that I think should almost have an entire thread devoted to itself."
Well @Evening639, where you go.
@Evening639 commented, "This is an EXTREMELY good point that I think should almost have an entire thread devoted to itself."
Well @Evening639, where you go.
Comments
People want good stories featuring certain characters. Unfortunately if you vote with your dollar the message publishers get is, "people don't want any stories with these characters."
There is also a difference between saying "I'm unhappy with Superman stories" and "I'm not interested in reading Superman stories."
Because of this I've become much more selective with my purchases. Ten years ago, I would have struggled to find something worth posting in the "What comics did you read and like" thread because I was buying out of obligation which led to feelings of contempt and resentment. Now, I enthusiastically look forward to reading each day and I've actually begun making progress with my backlog.
The Axis event is a good example. If I was collecting the single issues, I would have been all in. By the time I was looking to possibly buy it in trade, most of feedback I was getting was that it was kind of meh. So I skipped it.
I may like certain companies, creators, and characters. The only loyalty I have with comics is to my bank account.
The industry is different. There was a time that skipping a few issues was unheard of. Writers always developed threads that could be picked up later. Gerry Conway is a good example as well as Peter David. Stan Lee had The Coming of Galactus end in 10 pages and then the soap opera that was the Fantastic Four continued with Johnny going off to college. A few pages earlier he saw no point in human existance.
Today's stories are created with trades in mind. Decompressed stories with actual endings (for the most part) and different creative teams makes it easier to pick and choose. Companies can make additional $ in the after market of trades, HC, omnibuses, special editions, etc.
As a consumer, I much prefer the current model. If I don't like a story I can skip it. That is so liberating for someone who used to be a completest. Also, it has allowed me to focus more on story and less on continuity.
Instead of loyalty, I have preferences. I prefer Spiderman to OMAC and will always check out the latest Spidey to see if I want to following him for a little while. That's not to say I won't check out the latest OMAC, but it depends on who is on it.
By the way, The Coming of Galctus sounds vaguely pornographic.
Best of Times: There's never been a better time to be a comic book fan - newcomer or old fart - because we've got movies, tv shows, clothing, toys, etc. in massive quantities all devoted to the things we love or loved as kids. Comics are easier to get hold of then they've ever been - even for completely independent producers who can sell through Comixology, Kickstarter, or even through IndyPlanet. A guy with a marker and some paper can make a comic and sell it across the country or around the globe if they have enough gumption to do so. And comics are changing - some of the best books being created right now have nary a cape or spandex-tighted hero in them. Which brings us to -
Worst of Times: The Big Companies have no idea what the "right answer" is to deal with this changed paradigm, so we're in a period of throwing everything against the wall and seeing what sticks. IDW banks largely on our love of nostalgia and licensed properties. Image, pound for pound, has been producing the best comics around and has a great drug-dealer trade for newcomers (hard to pass up a $4.99 trade of the first part of a series (through DCBS)). Marvel and DC are all over the place trying to please everyone and seemingly pleasing no one at the same time. And while the manga bubble may have burst, it's still around, but tragically putting out a lot of the same type of story.
It's telling that some of the best books I've read over the past year have come from kickstarters. There's an unfiltered passion behind some of these books that's been missing from the more corporate titles I've grown up with.
What is the current continuity of Batman? Or Wolverine? The Avengers? Trying to figure out how to work out all Batman's appearances to make logical sense even limited to the N52 timeframe is nearly impossible.
Bendis wrote Avengers stories for something like 10 years. What of that will be in continuity after Secret Wars is over?
The only continuity that exists anymore is with the current creative team on the current run of a book - and even that is subject to change depending on the summer big event of the year.
Case in point, I have a complete run of Alpha Flight. Nostalgia makes me look back fondly on that book as one of my favourite titles of all time. But if I'm brutally honest... it is not. I stuck with that title for years (YEARS!) beyond when I should have thrown in the towel and dropped it. The first 25-30 issues were great (mainly the Byrne issues), then the quality plummeted, and kept going down. 75% of that title's books were really, really bad, and I own them all. Alpha Flight isn't the only title I did this with (I'm looking at you X-Men).
Once I woke up and realized that there were better ways to spend my hard earned dollars, things got MUCH better. I'm willing to forgive the odd fill-in issue here and there, but if a book is crappy for two or three issues in a row... axed. Comics are too expensive now days to put up with that nonsense, and there are too many excellent books being published to miss out on (especially from some of the publishers aside from the "Big 2"), just for the sake of preserving a "run". I was always afraid I would miss out on something about my favourite characters, but there is nothing preventing me from skipping a couple of issues and then trying it out again later.
I do have to give some credit to Marvel currently. I do see a lot of enthusiasm from their fans about various titles and/or events and that really does show that despite them not having much left to offer me, they're clearly still producing stories that are exciting to a large audience.
And, to be fair, even though I'm only reading one Marvel book right now, that's one more book than what I'm reading from Zenescope Entertainment.
Bob Dylan's song "One Too Many Mornings" repeats the line "And I'm one too many mornings and a thousand miles behind." When I saw the thread title I immediately thought of the song.
Lost weekend is a good movie. One of the first times cinema took on alcoholism as a disease. A little preachy, it is 1945, but you get a peak into this guys 4 day bender.
I often read reviews and read half a trade in the store. Or read half a trade and check the reviews. Sometimes i simply buy trades of runs I haven't finished (if I was enjoying the run). Other times, i check out the issues in the shop and then get a trade if my interst continues further down the road.
I hate buying trades unseen and not enjoying myself as I read them. The end of JMS' spidey run and the Loeb's Ultimates 3 come to mind.
That list currently includes:
Superior Iron Man
Rebels
Starlight
D'Jango meets Zorro
Cluster
Letter 44
Descender
I read the first bunch of Letter 44...good series.
I definitely see many pros with this approach. It has saved her a lot of money, especially since she has bought most of her trades either discounted through DCBS or at Wild Pig sales. Also, her collection takes up much less space in our apartment than mine does.
Another pro to this is that since she and I both read a lot of indie material and indie books don't always ship consistently (I'm looking at you, Dream Police), reading trades allows us to read something more resembling a complete story instead of waiting months or even years to try to remember what went on over a small handful of issues.
Since Marvel doesn't discount their digital offerings, I am continuing to get my Marvel books and some indies thru DCBS every month at their discounts. At this point every Marvel book I get has the code included. With everything else (Image, Vertigo, Batman) I save the titles I want on the wishlist, wait the month to get a dollar off and buy on my iPad.
So my DCBS bill has gone down- and the funny thing is, I am accumulating a few months worth of backlog of digital stuff I'm just waiting to buy. I won't buy digitally until right when I want to/have the time to read it. I do read the stuff that I get physically every month (I will enter the Marvel codes and read on the pad for convenience), and I am as caught up as my monthly shipment allows.
I think I'll catch up with the digital indie stuff soon, but I could be creating my own digital indie time bubble here.
"The Marvel Universe will be shifting towards a season model reminiscent of TV: "I think that the comics industry -- certainly, we are -- slowly working into a season model that’s not too unlike what we see in our favorite cable TV shows: a seasonal model that offers accessible entry points for new readers and is respectful of long-term fans," explained Alonso. "We did Marvel NOW! and All-New Marvel NOW!, which were both two very successful campaigns. And this is the latest campaign.""
I may need to tap out