Why are people into them? Why not read a regular book or watch a TV show or movie instead?
What's the appeal of comics?
- Thread starter Joe Washington
- Start date
Comics tell different stories that you can't tell with simple words and would be too expensive to film as a TV show or movie. In addition, I greatly appreciate the artwork which is something you just won't get in another medium.
Whenever a comic book is translated to the screen it has to be watered down to a paper-thin version of its original self.
This is, however, coming from someone who has recently stopped reading comics due to a general loss of interest.
To be honest with you, your question reads like "Why play video games ? Why not go outside instead ?"
Sorry, but it's an absurd question. Comics are an art form. Why are people into painting? Why not go see sculptures or an opera? Because every art form brings something different to the table, and you can't quench your thirst for music by focusing on architecture.
I don't know about everybody else, but I read regular books, go to movies and watch TV too. It's called having a wide range of interests.
I don't know about everybody else, but I read regular books, go to movies and watch TV too. It's called having a wide range of interests.
Bingo.
I read books, magazines, watch television among other things. Comic books and graphic novels are just another storytelling medium.
Why shell out thirty bucks for a thousand pages of words, or forty bucks a month for cable or satellite or twenty or thirty bucks for a ticket and snacks when you can slap four dollars on a counter and get all the same visuals, story, action and drama in an easy to carry and operate form?
Yeah, exactly.
I don't know about everybody else, but I read regular books, go to movies and watch TV too. It's called having a wide range of interests.
I don't read comics a whole lot, but the ones I do are usually continuations of TV shows that are no longer on the air. (Buffy, Angel, Farscape, etc).
My thoughts exactly.
Personally I find $4.00 for around 10 minutes of entertainment to be a major rip off. On top of that, the way comics are done today involve tons of splash pages which make it go by even more quickly.
I can buy a paperback novel for around $8.00 and be entertained for maybe a couple of days depending on the length.
I do like comics, but I just don't find them the best way to spend my entertainment $$$.
Also many of the DC/Marvel comics (yes I do know there are other choices) are always stuck in the 2nd act. There can never be any real ending to most of these stories. They just continue forever it seems. I more solid, well told endings in my stories.
But the TC asked about the appeal...well they are fun, larger than life stories where there is no limit to what can happen. And I guess there is some comfort in knowning that once every month you will always get a new episode.
This is why I like to wait for them to compile all the issues into a trade paperback.
Plus one on the trade paperback comment /\
I don't read a whole lot, but I've been checking out a lot of TPB's from the local library lately and enjoying most of them (Batgirl: Year One - thumbs up; Batgirl: Deathwish - wtf?)
And it's not just that they tell stories a different way, but they also tell different stories from other mediums (which I guess could just be a variation of telling stories a different way, but, whatever). It's like the medium gives the artists an opening to tell a story that might not make it in the printed word or on film.
I don't read a whole lot, but I've been checking out a lot of TPB's from the local library lately and enjoying most of them (Batgirl: Year One - thumbs up; Batgirl: Deathwish - wtf?)
And it's not just that they tell stories a different way, but they also tell different stories from other mediums (which I guess could just be a variation of telling stories a different way, but, whatever). It's like the medium gives the artists an opening to tell a story that might not make it in the printed word or on film.
As others have said, it's just another medium of entertainment. If you like superheroes, as I do, it's the primary medium, and arguably the best.
I miss the days they were 12 cents!!!!!
The waiting for trades option is a good point. I know some people who do that.
It still comes down to price for me though. Most trades go for something like 15-20 bucks don't they? Or maybe they are more now, I don't know. I own some from years ago, and they still just go by so quickly for me.
With money being so tight right now for a lot of people (including me!) I've just found I can get more bang for my buck out of a regular book.
But if you've got the $$$ they are a lot of fun. Once comics passed $2.00 I didn't consider them to be worth it anymore. $4.00 just seems crazy to me. But I'm sure people have been saying the same thing since they started at 10 cents. Just depends on what is worth it to you personally I guess.
It still comes down to price for me though. Most trades go for something like 15-20 bucks don't they? Or maybe they are more now, I don't know. I own some from years ago, and they still just go by so quickly for me.
With money being so tight right now for a lot of people (including me!) I've just found I can get more bang for my buck out of a regular book.
But if you've got the $$$ they are a lot of fun. Once comics passed $2.00 I didn't consider them to be worth it anymore. $4.00 just seems crazy to me. But I'm sure people have been saying the same thing since they started at 10 cents. Just depends on what is worth it to you personally I guess.
It really depends on the stories you're interested in, I guess. As I said earlier, the only comics I really read are those continued from TV shows like Buffy and Angel. I'm willing to spend the money because I want to read those particular stories.
One of my best friends has been using the Inter-Library Loan system, and he has been able to catch up on dozens of graphic novels that way.
I miss the days when comics were made with slave labor and completely free.
Good times
Similar threads
