Re: Went To The Comic Con Today. Things Have Changed Since The Old Day
I tend to avoid festivals or conventions in general because of the ginormous crowds and everything being commercialized and overpriced. I think that's just par for the course whether it has to do with comics, books, sci-fi, music/records, cultural performances, or even the local State fair!
I do think it's a little unfair to have an elitist "us vs. them" mentality toward newer fans who are getting into the comics because of the movies. Movies and TV shows have always had a broader general appeal than comic books. How many people became X-Men fans because of the cartoon series in the 90s? Or, how many people got into Batman because of the Tim Burton movie?
Though maybe my opinion doesn't count for much... I'm not really a comic collector or fan. My dad went through a phase as a "collector" when I was a kid, and that seriously turned me off of the whole thing. I treat comics like any other book. If I am interested in a comic book, I want to actually read it because I find that particular story or art appealing, instead of obtaining every last issue and keeping it in pristine storage to hopefully accumulate monetary value eighty years from now. So I prefer collected editions (hardback or paperback) that I can re-read like any other book. And if they are available as a collection of PDFs on DVD-ROM, so much the better!
Also, like any other company, a comic book publisher must focus on profitability to survive; and a huge part of that is getting new fans in any way possible. Without new consumers, the industry will die!
Comic books themselves are a niche product. The publisher makes money in a variety of ways, such as from movie/TV show licensing; marketing tie-ins for toys, stickers, stationery, breakfast cereals, etc.; selling advertising space in the comics... oh, and distributing new issues. The publisher does not make a direct profit if I only collect their back-issues from 1953 from my local corner comics shop, but I never buy any newly-published issues. But the publisher can keep releasing new "limited editions" or whatever, to appeal to the collectors' market, and, more importantly, as another way for new fans to believe they are getting something special.
To keep afloat and profitable, comic shop owners and other vendors who participate in conventions must also try to have as broad of an appeal as possible.
And I guess that's enough of my rambling for now, lol.
Kor
I tend to avoid festivals or conventions in general because of the ginormous crowds and everything being commercialized and overpriced. I think that's just par for the course whether it has to do with comics, books, sci-fi, music/records, cultural performances, or even the local State fair!
I do think it's a little unfair to have an elitist "us vs. them" mentality toward newer fans who are getting into the comics because of the movies. Movies and TV shows have always had a broader general appeal than comic books. How many people became X-Men fans because of the cartoon series in the 90s? Or, how many people got into Batman because of the Tim Burton movie?
Though maybe my opinion doesn't count for much... I'm not really a comic collector or fan. My dad went through a phase as a "collector" when I was a kid, and that seriously turned me off of the whole thing. I treat comics like any other book. If I am interested in a comic book, I want to actually read it because I find that particular story or art appealing, instead of obtaining every last issue and keeping it in pristine storage to hopefully accumulate monetary value eighty years from now. So I prefer collected editions (hardback or paperback) that I can re-read like any other book. And if they are available as a collection of PDFs on DVD-ROM, so much the better!
Also, like any other company, a comic book publisher must focus on profitability to survive; and a huge part of that is getting new fans in any way possible. Without new consumers, the industry will die!
Comic books themselves are a niche product. The publisher makes money in a variety of ways, such as from movie/TV show licensing; marketing tie-ins for toys, stickers, stationery, breakfast cereals, etc.; selling advertising space in the comics... oh, and distributing new issues. The publisher does not make a direct profit if I only collect their back-issues from 1953 from my local corner comics shop, but I never buy any newly-published issues. But the publisher can keep releasing new "limited editions" or whatever, to appeal to the collectors' market, and, more importantly, as another way for new fans to believe they are getting something special.
To keep afloat and profitable, comic shop owners and other vendors who participate in conventions must also try to have as broad of an appeal as possible.
And I guess that's enough of my rambling for now, lol.
Kor
It happens to be from a comic book! IDW's "Klingons: Blood Will Tell."
)
