What's the appeal of comics?

[Takeru]

Is there a reason they're so much cheaper than what the American companies are producing? Black and white and paper quality, or is it just the greedy greedy corporations?

It's pretty much black/white and the paper quality, the anthologies are printed on the cheapest paper possible because they're supposed to be thrown away after reading. The graphic novels are printed on higher quality paper, but still not as good as the paper american publishers use.

 

[TheSeeker]

I do miss the days when comics were only a buck.

I miss the days they were 12 cents!!!!!

I'm not quite that old, but they were $0.65 US when I started collecting.

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

It's pretty much black/white and the paper quality, the anthologies are printed on the cheapest paper possible because they're supposed to be thrown away after reading. The graphic novels are printed on higher quality paper, but still not as good as the paper american publishers use.

That makes sense. That was the mentality of the American publishers in their heyday. But now that it's a collector's (ie long-term) medium and they upped the quality in those areas, the price went with it.

I admit, personally, I don't mind paying the extra money for the better paper and colours and the like. But then I've got a full time job. I have no idea how I would have been able to start collecting if I was a kid starting today.

 

[Kegg]

Nostalgia, remaining attached to things you valued as a child, these are obvious reasons that surprisingly haven't been mentioned. Especially obvious in the case of superheroics, though I was always an Asterix kid personally (that rambunctious Gaul.)

 

[Turtletrekker]

What's the appeal of television?

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

Nostalgia, remaining attached to things you valued as a child, these are obvious reasons that surprisingly haven't been mentioned. Especially obvious in the case of superheroics, though I was always an Asterix kid personally (that rambunctious Gaul.)

I don't know. I wouldn't have enjoyed Love & Rockets or Asterios Polyp when I was a kid.

 

[Kegg]

I don't know. I wouldn't have enjoyed Love & Rockets or Asterios Polyp when I was a kid.

But because you were a kid who read comics, you do, is the point.

I thought the Nikopol Trilogy was very pretty (and anything about a cyberpunk Paris with a Baudelaire quoting astronaut whose body is inhabited by an Egyptian god is likely to tickle my fancy anyway) but generally I'm not a comic reader.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

But because you were a kid who read comics, you do, is the point.

Ah. But is it really nostalgia? Isn't it just something I've known and enjoyed for a long time? If I had played tennis since I was eight and still played today, would that be nostalgia?

 

[Kegg]

But because you were a kid who read comics, you do, is the point.

Ah. But is it really nostalgia?

Yup. I never said it was the only reason, did I?

But if one wants to explain the continued popularity of superheroes in particular among adults, well, that's doubtless a big part of it.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

But if one wants to explain the continued popularity of superheroes in particular among adults, well, that's doubtless a big part of it.

I think you're completely right about superheroes, but I don't agree at all if you're talking about comics.

 

[Kegg]

But if one wants to explain the continued popularity of superheroes in particular among adults, well, that's doubtless a big part of it.

I think you're completely right about superheroes, but I don't agree at all if you're talking about comics.

I was under the understanding there are a lot of superhero comics. Anyway, I can apply this reasonably well also to Asterix, Tin-Tin, and so on.

 

[Nick Ryder]

It's pretty much black/white and the paper quality, the anthologies are printed on the cheapest paper possible because they're supposed to be thrown away after reading. The graphic novels are printed on higher quality paper, but still not as good as the paper american publishers use.

That makes sense. That was the mentality of the American publishers in their heyday. But now that it's a collector's (ie long-term) medium and they upped the quality in those areas, the price went with it.

I admit, personally, I don't mind paying the extra money for the better paper and colours and the like. But then I've got a full time job. I have no idea how I would have been able to start collecting if I was a kid starting today.

Back issue bins. Nearly ever LCS has at least a handful of long boxes in a corner, or on a table or something with loads comics for a buck or less. Honestly, that's kind of how I got into comics. First super hero comic I bought myself was a back issue. I liked it, went to the drug store down the street from my house, started buying them... course that's when most were $1.25-1.75 an issue. But when I didn't have a lot of extra spending money I'd hit the back issue bins, so what if the comics were maybe a year or two old - I was all about the value. For 5 bucks I could walk out with at least 5-10 comics in a baggie. Vs maybe 2. And nowadays I'd be lucky if 5 bucks got me 2 comics.

And why do I like 'em... quick easy entertainment. Something I read on the can LOL or during a lunch break when I want to de stress. Takes no batteries. And given that the majority of my collection I bought on the cheap, if one of them gets damaged somehow, I don't stress too much. Long ago I decided that I'm no longer going to worry so much about keeping everything in mint condition. Partially because I know that the majority of comics that I own were printed in such high numbers that they won't be worth a whole lot down the road. The newer ones maybe, but the interesting thing is, I've noticed that most of the modern comics - from the past 5 years or so are incredibly durable. Sure they'll bend and crease, but they don't just fall apart and lose their covers or pages like the ones from the late 90s used to.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

I was under the understanding there are a lot of superhero comics. Anyway, I can apply this reasonably well also to Asterix, Tin-Tin, and so on.

Sure, but again, I'm talking about the whole medium, the art form.

 

[Kegg]

I was under the understanding there are a lot of superhero comics. Anyway, I can apply this reasonably well also to Asterix, Tin-Tin, and so on.

Sure, but again, I'm talking about the whole medium, the art form.

Then there is no reason for that. At all.

Unless you wish to say you can identify 'the reason' the total number of people read the total number of titles. All you can identify are reasons; that a number of people may read this and also that. Nostalgia is as valid and as large (and probably more so) then the others listed here.

 

[Rincewiend]

Exactly. Fables, Y: The Last Man...there are some truly excellent comics out there that don't have anything to do with superheroes.

Or get hold of some European comics. You won't find many superheroes there.

XIII, The Mercanary, Tin tin, Asterix, Blake and Mortimer, Largo Winch, to name but a few...

 

[Nick Ryder]

Nostalgia plays a big role, but then again you could ask the same question for people who regularly buy paperback novels. Entertainment. The writing. The characters you've been following for years and years. The creative team. I mean in comics you not only have writers but artists as well. There are some I will almost always pick up. Like Mark Bagley, Greg Horn (even though I'm starting to get a little tired of his style, most of his men and women look the same, he's too used to photo reference I think - the books are great to look at though!), George Perez, Sean Chen, Patrick Olliffe...

I like the ones that aren't so photo realistic and can just "Feel not think" with their artwork

 

[A beaker full of death]

I do miss the days when comics were only a buck.

Oh dear god.
I remember 12 cents.

 

[darkwing_duck1]

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.

Trades have two problems:

1) despite industry hype to the contrary, not all stories and titles get traded.

2) If you have $20 to spend a month on comics, which gets you more: a $20 TPB that has one story about one set of characters or 5 $4 comics that get you part of a story about 5 different sets of characters?

Mind you, prior to the Jemas/Joey Q days at Marvel, you could get a complete story, service for a sub-plot, and service for a year plot in just 2-3 issues. Now all the stories are ~6 or 12 issues by design (this is called "pacing for the trade"), and you get far less story per issue.

It's pretty much black/white and the paper quality, the anthologies are printed on the cheapest paper possible because they're supposed to be thrown away after reading. The graphic novels are printed on higher quality paper, but still not as good as the paper american publishers use.

That makes sense. That was the mentality of the American publishers in their heyday. But now that it's a collector's (ie long-term) medium and they upped the quality in those areas, the price went with it.

I admit, personally, I don't mind paying the extra money for the better paper and colours and the like. But then I've got a full time job. I have no idea how I would have been able to start collecting if I was a kid starting today.

Back issue bins. Nearly ever LCS has at least a handful of long boxes in a corner, or on a table or something with loads comics for a buck or less. Honestly, that's kind of how I got into comics. First super hero comic I bought myself was a back issue. I liked it, went to the drug store down the street from my house, started buying them... course that's when most were $1.25-1.75 an issue. But when I didn't have a lot of extra spending money I'd hit the back issue bins, so what if the comics were maybe a year or two old - I was all about the value. For 5 bucks I could walk out with at least 5-10 comics in a baggie. Vs maybe 2. And nowadays I'd be lucky if 5 bucks got me 2 comics.

And why do I like 'em... quick easy entertainment. Something I read on the can LOL or during a lunch break when I want to de stress. Takes no batteries. And given that the majority of my collection I bought on the cheap, if one of them gets damaged somehow, I don't stress too much. Long ago I decided that I'm no longer going to worry so much about keeping everything in mint condition. Partially because I know that the majority of comics that I own were printed in such high numbers that they won't be worth a whole lot down the road. The newer ones maybe, but the interesting thing is, I've noticed that most of the modern comics - from the past 5 years or so are incredibly durable. Sure they'll bend and crease, but they don't just fall apart and lose their covers or pages like the ones from the late 90s used to.

Back issue bins are a dying breed, victims of the "speculator bust" of the late 90s.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

Nostalgia plays a big role in people continuing to seek out certain genres, or particular characters, in comics (like superheroes, Asterix, and/or Tintin), but a continuing and ever expanding appreciation of comics isn't nostalgia as such. If people form an appreciation of an art form - whether it's comics, film, or prose fiction - when they're young they'll often continue that appreciation throughout their lives, seeking out more sophisticated examples of the art form as adults.

As for the appeal of comics as a medium, there are a number of factors at play:

- The artwork in comics has an appeal in and of itself from an aesthetic point of view.

- As a storytelling medium comics offer a range of options to writers and artists to draw on some of the elements of filmed entertainment (albeit using static rather than moving images) and combine those with some of the elements of prose fiction. That can make for a wonderful result.

- The fact that comics - at least in the context of the US and UK markets - have become a niche medium is both a boon and a bane for comics fans. One of the boon factors is that it's opened up the opportunity for comic book creators to come up with some really esoteric series, which would be much less likely in more mass market industries, some of which are excellent.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

Nostalgia plays a big role in people continuing to seek out certain genres, or particular characters, in comics (like superheroes, Asterix, and/or Tintin), but a continuing and ever expanding appreciation of comics isn't nostalgia as such. If people form an appreciation of an art form - whether it's comics, film, or prose fiction - when they're young they'll often continue that appreciation throughout their lives, seeking out more sophisticated examples of the art form as adults.

Thank you! That's what I should have said.