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Have we forgotten about the comics ...
deadpool
Posts: 56
Ok dramatic title but hear me out .
I used to comment on message boards all the time discussing Comic threads, stories , creators , publishers, classic titles ect. A few years ago i drifted away from it. Now i thought at the time "hey it happens" but I've noticed recently it seems like i wasn't the only one.
Today i had lull time at work so i went to my comic book news site which i do frequently , but today i noticed something thats been there for ages but i never noticed, there weren't really any "comic book" news on the page ...So i tried another site and another site and it was the same there to .
So i did the math ... 8 out of 10 articles on major comic book news sites are about films or tv shows, two where about the actual comics and most of them where previews .
So much of comics being discussed at the moment isn't any of the hundreds of Books being published but "the casting of characters X ".
The last issue of the big marvel event hits tomorrow, i remember when that would have been poured over (the whole series) panel to panel, wordballon to word balloon on message-boards and news sites . even basic titles like Green Lantern, Captain America , fables , would be discussed at length . Characters moments like Death of Cap, One more Day, Skrull Elecktra , Superman of earth 2, sinestro corp, 52 ect would break the internet with multiple posts on a single issue .
When did we stop talking about the comics? what happened collectively that the adaptations became more appealing to discuss? Do comics still matter as much? is it us fans or the created content ?
I used to comment on message boards all the time discussing Comic threads, stories , creators , publishers, classic titles ect. A few years ago i drifted away from it. Now i thought at the time "hey it happens" but I've noticed recently it seems like i wasn't the only one.
Today i had lull time at work so i went to my comic book news site which i do frequently , but today i noticed something thats been there for ages but i never noticed, there weren't really any "comic book" news on the page ...So i tried another site and another site and it was the same there to .
So i did the math ... 8 out of 10 articles on major comic book news sites are about films or tv shows, two where about the actual comics and most of them where previews .
So much of comics being discussed at the moment isn't any of the hundreds of Books being published but "the casting of characters X ".
The last issue of the big marvel event hits tomorrow, i remember when that would have been poured over (the whole series) panel to panel, wordballon to word balloon on message-boards and news sites . even basic titles like Green Lantern, Captain America , fables , would be discussed at length . Characters moments like Death of Cap, One more Day, Skrull Elecktra , Superman of earth 2, sinestro corp, 52 ect would break the internet with multiple posts on a single issue .
When did we stop talking about the comics? what happened collectively that the adaptations became more appealing to discuss? Do comics still matter as much? is it us fans or the created content ?
Comments
Comic properties got popular. Comics themselves did not.
News sites pretty much have to go where the money - or pageclicks - are. You'll get infinitely more views showing Olivia Munn in the Psylocke outfit than you will Dan Clowes or Frank Miller talking about their latest project.
I think the core comic collecting (and more importantly reading) lot of us are still around, but I don't know that it's grown any despite the new and amazing popular culture that's grown up around it. People want to watch Batman movies, but invest themselves in the Snyder run? Everyone's got their catty remarks about Gal Godot as Wonder Woman, but how many of them ever actually picked up her books? Everyone tuned into Daredevil, but buy the Miller run so they know who Elektra is? Why bother?
And the big question now is...do they really NEED to do any of those things?
We can be proactive and perhaps start threads of our own if we want to discuss certain comics-related topics that we don't see anyone else talking about. We can even start our own podcasts, blogs or 'zines if we're so inclined. What we can't do is convince everyone to shut up about Star Wars because we'd rather talk about all these great books we're reading.
Check them out.
They also let some hack writer occasionally review stuff for them. :)
M
I got my most recent dcbs shipment 10 days ago & I haven't been motivated to even open the wrapping to read them.
M
To add to what @Torchsong said, I will say that not only is there more traffic to be driven from talking about the movies, TV shows, and video games, but what seems to particularly get traffic is anything tied into the cycle of promotion and speculation. Casting announcements, teaser images, trailers, pull quotes from interviews that might suggest what is going to happen.
And I think there is two reasons for this. First, that the idea that you are revealing new information makes it seem like this is news rather than just another step in a planned promotional campaign.
And second-- when all there is to respond to is an announcement, image, clip, or even trailer, the bar for entry to the discussion is much lower than later when you have to actually, say, buy and read a comic book. (Or even watch a whole movie, or episode of a TV show).
Getting a discussion going that responds to, and speculates about, something like a casting announcement or trailer only takes someone a few seconds, or maybe at most 2 minutes of watching a trailer, and then they've got an opinion to share, or a judgment to make. And as usually most of the conversation is had before the work itself can be experienced, then it is not about having to read or watch closely. All gut reactions and quick judgments are welcome, as there is so little to go on. It is perfectly tailored for the social media age: click the thing in front of you, and moments or minutes later, whether or not you like it is ready to express.
Actually reading, say, a comic book, or following a series of comics, takes time and money (and, sadly, it seems, less of the former and more of the latter all the time). So already the amount of people to participate in the discussion gets cut substantially down from, say, how many people might chime in to talk about a controversial variant cover. Or the announcement of a book that is not out yet. Because when you are just having an opinion about a single image you can look at (like a variant cover), or what you think something you haven't read yet is or isn't, or should or shouldn't be, is a much immediate, lower bar for entry thing, than discussing the work itself, which you have to wait for, buy, and read.
Plus, there is probably time to talk about Star Wars AND comics. As always, I think the best bet is to continue to start and nurture the conversations you want to be having.
Most of the time we can't talk about TS's list in polite conversation.
editor's note: sorry @luke52 I read your posts too
I do think @David_D raised some very good points about not only the ease of review a movie teaser but the cost of maintaining a comic discussion .
The weird thing is I feel the number of comic readers has gone up of recent, I know films generally don't spike mainstream comic sales but it does feel their has been a slow increase with the attention these characters have gotten over time. but that's more in trades. Are trade readers less likely to discuss seeing as the story has already taken place ?
I do like @Evening639 comment about starting my threads that are comic based and i'll endeavour to do so , I should put my money where my merc with the mouth is
I'd really like it if this community could pick out just 1 book that we all agree to get every month and discuss. Just 1 book.
... just the good stuff... ;)
I've noticed I'm buying archival editions, large omnibi, and a number of trades of things that hearken back to my collecting heyday (let's say the 80s and leave it at that) but many of them have yet to be read.
It's almost like I feel there's going to be a time when I won't be able to get/afford my funnybooks anymore, and I need to have stuff available to me in my old age to read.
Is that stupid or not? I'm not sure anymore, but I also feel like it's going to be a Burgess Meredith Twilight Zone bit where I finally GET time to read all these books and my glasses will break on me. :)
I have been purchasing a lot of the stuff in trade from my "heyday" that I ALREADY own and read years ago. I am triggered by nostalgia when I see it on the rack at the LCS and want to read it again, or share it with my kids. In my case, my collection is so disorganized and a pain to access (it is stacked away in the crawl space; AKA the Comic Cave) that it is just easier to buy again rather than dig through the vaults. I'm pretty sure that I own at least 4 different versions of Busiek's MARVELS.
I recently alleviated the urge to purchase duplicate trades by signing up for Marvel Unlimited.
Speaking of Comics... How about that last issue of Secret Wars that came out today?
But I do find myself stockpiling. Not archives and omnibuses, but new comics and trades that I simply haven't had time to read yet. I've got a short box full of comics I've fallen behind on, and two shelves worth of trades and HCs I haven't gotten to yet. So I can talk about certain new comics, but many of the books I'm reading I'm several months behind on.
Right now, they've got a Doc Savage series & a couple John Carter of Mars series. They have a bunch properties such as Red Sonja, Evil Dead, & 007 also.
If you want some great pulp stuff, pick up MASKS in TPB (not so much MASKS II). It features several pulp characters.
M
As for said stuff... I'm always behind when I read. I currently have like six months of DC, plus at least half of Secret Wars.
I'm far more caught up on comic tv shows than I am actual comics. I know that's where most of my online contribution goes.
There are an infinite number of indie ongoings, mini-series, one-shots and graphic novels as well as books and magazines on the subject of comics that come out every month. Not to mention all of the different manga series.
Some people don't discuss more obscure items such as those I mentioned above because they think nobody is interested. They might be right. However, in my opinion, these comics are the very thing that elevate the medium from the common misconception of being "kid stuff" to the art form it deserves to be seen as.
I also have become frustrated with Marvel and DC over the years because of endless retcons and reboots. I am rather intimidated sometimes by Valiant because of it's characters long histories of publication. That hasn't diminished my love for comics. It's strengthened my motivations to find new ways to enjoy them.