I've solved all my issues with American comics when I stopped buying Marvel, DC or other capes&spandex comics.
What changes should be made to comics?
- Thread starter sciquest2525
- Start date
Mister Fandango
Fleet Captain
I know, which is why I don't give a damn about anything you just said. Especially since half of it ignored points I brought up in the quoted post. Particularly regarding the asshat "artistes" holding comics hostage.
I figured those motion-comics might have died out. It really didn't sound like a great idea, anyway.
Sean
No, I addressed that point by saying, "The solution is, tell the artist to 'draw faster or your fired.'" In fact, I addressed all of your points from the point of view of those who create the comics and those who have to pay them. You don't see that because you defended the notion of a house style from the point of view of the typical reader that knows jack shit about how comics are actually produced.
This is simple: if a house style doesn't increase readership then those companies that have one will abandon it and those that don't won't institute one. And if that's truly the only way to keep artistes from holding comics hostage then that's tough, because editors will keep signing the vouchers and publishers will happily develop Stockholm Syndrome as long as fanboys are still willing to plunk down three or four bucks once it hits the stands. It's the same reason that lockouts and strikes in professional sports are meaningless. There will always be fans stupid enough to pay ticket prices to see games live.
Crusade for a house style all you like. It will still be the least likely change suggested in this thread to actually be implemented because it's something in the comic industry that has already been tried and proven a failure.
How about omnibus books that run 128 pages (favourite fantasy) with six 20 page stories in one book that merge six titles into one package? Marvel reprint comic had five standard 22 page titles at $6.99 for 128 pages. How much would you pay for an omnibus title? DC's 52 series could be compacted into just nine titles.
Would a $9.99 price tag for an Omnibus with six 20 page stories, all new be acceptable?
How about instead of 14 Batman books, use an Omnibus super sized book to absorb 12 of those titles?
How about instead of 14 Batman books, use an Omnibus super sized book to absorb 12 of those titles?
Comics are definitely not a good buy these days. They need to be cheaper. What the best way to do that is, I don't know.
I gave up on mainstream comics somewhere in the middle of Civil War. Not just because they are too expensive for the product, but because the content sucked. Bad stories written by bad writers drawn by bad artists. And I don't know if pulp paper would make comics any more affordable or not, but it would sure make them look better-- computer coloring on glossy paper just makes contemporary comic art look even stiffer and more plastic.
I don't agree with the idea of imposing a House Style-- Marvel was at its best in the 70s when it had an incredibly diverse Bullpen of artistic talent (on the writing side as well)-- but individual characters should definitely be drawn consistently and recognizably.
I also don't agree with nixing shared universes and doing constant reboots, but they should definitely set solid formats for their books and change them only rarely. No major status quo changes every issue, no shocking deaths of major characters every issue, no universe-shattering crossover event every other week. Without gimmicks to fall back on, writers would have to actually write good stories.
As for motion comics, they are an interesting idea. They seem to be derived from those horrible-but-entertaining minimally animated Marvel cartoons of the 60s. They do still exist. If you search for motion comics on YouTube you'll find some. Dark Horse has a few Hellboy episodes that are pretty good.
I gave up on mainstream comics somewhere in the middle of Civil War. Not just because they are too expensive for the product, but because the content sucked. Bad stories written by bad writers drawn by bad artists. And I don't know if pulp paper would make comics any more affordable or not, but it would sure make them look better-- computer coloring on glossy paper just makes contemporary comic art look even stiffer and more plastic.
I don't agree with the idea of imposing a House Style-- Marvel was at its best in the 70s when it had an incredibly diverse Bullpen of artistic talent (on the writing side as well)-- but individual characters should definitely be drawn consistently and recognizably.
I also don't agree with nixing shared universes and doing constant reboots, but they should definitely set solid formats for their books and change them only rarely. No major status quo changes every issue, no shocking deaths of major characters every issue, no universe-shattering crossover event every other week. Without gimmicks to fall back on, writers would have to actually write good stories.
As for motion comics, they are an interesting idea. They seem to be derived from those horrible-but-entertaining minimally animated Marvel cartoons of the 60s. They do still exist. If you search for motion comics on YouTube you'll find some. Dark Horse has a few Hellboy episodes that are pretty good.
So what you're saying is that the American comics industry should ditch its current readership completely in the hopes that it MIGHT grab new readers?
From a business perspective that makes no sense. I read American comics and do not read Manga for a reason. In fact I know a lot of comics fans that simply do not read Manga.
What you're essentially saying is that DC and Marvel should just close their respective doors and then reopen as new manga companies and hope that they get readers.
Wow. So nobody really reads what I'm posting, huh?
No, what I'm saying is American comics publishers should return to a publishing model that actually worked for them for decades using creation techniques that dominate the comics industry of an entire continent and has made massive inroads into most of the rest of the continents.
So do I, and the reasons you all site are generally based on misconceptions about Manga. You have no idea what a good Manga artist is capable of.
Like I said in the first line of this response...
As someone who read some Marvel as a kid, but stopped around 12 or so, I would come back and read some if:
- there was one title per character (obviously, teams can have their own separate title too)
- understanding storylines did not require me to read multiple titles
- related to that, crossovers should be genuinely rare events (once every couple of years or so)
- sell them in supermarket aisles, at newspaper stands, etc.
- stick more ads in to knock down the cover price significantly.
- new issues every other week. Weekly, preferably. Cut the page count if need be (cutting cover price proportionately of course). Scheduling should be bullet-proof consistent.
You can summarise all my points as "make comic-reading a casual easy past-time, not a collector's hobby/obsession". At the moment, I look at the comic world and see a business model I don't want to engage with as a consumer. As an outsider looking in, it seems like an industry trying to squeeze ever more money out of a shrinking readership, by preying on their completionist neurotic tendencies. That may or may not be an accurate gauge of how they work, but that's what it looks like as a casual would-be reader, and I want no part of that. I'd just like an escapist comic featuring my favourite characters to dip in and out of.
My hunch is that they'd also make more money from a broad (if shallow) readership than from the narrow but deep one they currently seem to have, but I have no experience of their industry to support that hunch.
- there was one title per character (obviously, teams can have their own separate title too)
- understanding storylines did not require me to read multiple titles
- related to that, crossovers should be genuinely rare events (once every couple of years or so)
- sell them in supermarket aisles, at newspaper stands, etc.
- stick more ads in to knock down the cover price significantly.
- new issues every other week. Weekly, preferably. Cut the page count if need be (cutting cover price proportionately of course). Scheduling should be bullet-proof consistent.
You can summarise all my points as "make comic-reading a casual easy past-time, not a collector's hobby/obsession". At the moment, I look at the comic world and see a business model I don't want to engage with as a consumer. As an outsider looking in, it seems like an industry trying to squeeze ever more money out of a shrinking readership, by preying on their completionist neurotic tendencies. That may or may not be an accurate gauge of how they work, but that's what it looks like as a casual would-be reader, and I want no part of that. I'd just like an escapist comic featuring my favourite characters to dip in and out of.
My hunch is that they'd also make more money from a broad (if shallow) readership than from the narrow but deep one they currently seem to have, but I have no experience of their industry to support that hunch.
^^ That pretty much nailed it. What they need is a broader market, like they've had in the past-- although that could certainly be supplemented by a direct market that caters to aficionados.
I don't understand this, what difference does it make?
As someone pointed out there used to be 5 Superman titles but they each had diamond numbers telling you the story order. The net effect was that even though you got, Superman, Action Comics, Adventures of Superman, Man of Steel and Man of Tomorrow, the net result was that you had a weekly comic that told one large story. Batman did the something with cowl numbers across, Batman, Detective Comics, Legends of the Dark Knight, etc.
People actually complained about that set up and demaned that each comic tell a unique story.
^^^
It was actually because of that set up that I dropped Amazing Spider-man about eighteen months ago (after 20 years with the title). Marvel had people buying three Spidey books instead of one and I just didn't feel like doing that. Even down it's now down to two books a month, with the price increase for both, it's still keeping me away.
It was actually because of that set up that I dropped Amazing Spider-man about eighteen months ago (after 20 years with the title). Marvel had people buying three Spidey books instead of one and I just didn't feel like doing that. Even down it's now down to two books a month, with the price increase for both, it's still keeping me away.
That's unnecessarily overcomplicating things, if you tell the same story just get rid of 4 of the 5 titles and slap the same one on all covers.
In kind of understand that, I want only one book per character but if they do release five, they should tell different stories, otherwise the readers feel like they're forced to buy all Superman books.
If they only release one weekly series the reader pays the same amount of money but at least he's only buying one series, it's probably a psychological thing, like $9.99 being perfectly fine but if you aks someone to pay $10 they're suddenly hesitating.
Comic book numbering should be abandoned in favor of year-month. Instead of Superman #678 a comic would be numbered Superman 2012-07, Batman 2012-01, Star Trek 2012-09, etc. That way we can stop the idiocy/gimmick of rebooting the numbering scheme. Annuals could be Ghostbusters 2013-00, just in time for the holiday season and serve as an opportunity for a new creative team to soft-boot the series for the coming year.
Not all distribution points carry all titles. I rather have a single Batman series with more issues per year that follows the exploits of Batman that I know will be on the shelf of my local new stand. Then, if I choose, I could also choose to purchase Detective Comics, which would have story arcs involving the rich tapestry of characters from the Batman Universe.
Superman would be all about the blue boyscout, while Action Comics would mine the Superman franchise for other stories and characters.
Great idea!
There's no reason why comics should be periodicals.