RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Comic Books Why I Personally Dislike The Comic Industry Now...

, and 99% of comics in general ( granted I still get a few books and most are for artist reasons--Tiny Titans is my favorite monthly comic if that says anything).

1. Gimmicks- Not "This issue is a game changer! Spider-Man will never be the same!" headlines we get as a wink. I'm talking about changing costumes, revealing identities to the public, mystical divorce, yellow bugs, etc.

2. Death and Rebirth- Never again should a fan or reader believe that any character is ever truly dead (except Ralph and Sue Dibney-snifff). If Barry and Bucky can come back ....anyone can.

3.Cover Madness- Yes , I don't have to buy them, but it reminds me of the early 1990s obsession of style over substance...the thing that killed comics to begin with--that is bad and a bad memory.

4.Any Character or Team With More Than 2 or 3 Titles Per Month- Yeah, I'm talking to you Spider-Man and you Wolverine....yeah, and even you Rob-Man...sorry, Batman. Why does Thor have 6 titles out now? Seriously, people like to get all the books so they get the whole story---this is now financially impossible with $3.99 and $4.99 books.Even if many are mini-series there is always a new mini to take the others place. I haven't bothered to buy an "X" book in more than 12 years because I can no longer keep track of what is going on without footnotes.

5. Editorial- Speaking of knowing what is going on in comics....I hate when paid Editors don't do their job which is...editing. Even Editors can not keep track of what is going on in monthly titles and how characters are portrayed. I'm not talking only superficial stuff here. I mean character 'A' being dead, red, bled, wed, or outed and it not be addressed elsewhere for months not just a few weeks.Acting one way in one book and a completely opposite way in another, etc.

6. Writing for the trade-- Hey, I like TPBs too, but let stories flow naturally. If a story needs to be 2 issues then so be it...or even 8 issues-great. There is no reason all TPBs need to be 5 or 6 issues worth of material. Why not a 3 issue trade or a 7 issue trade-they can have different prices? New storylines either drag on too long (see the new Avengers book-either)or feel too rushed (see Marvel: Siege). Yes, some like to wait for the trade, but there is no reason to write for the trade, unless you are admitting that the monthly comic format is dead.

Add your own pet peeves and dislikes ....

Oh, and as an addition ( now remember I only get about 8 titles a month now) number 1 or 2 above is biting my favorite title in a couple of months--the Fantastic Four. It has literally taken a good 10 years for this book to be good again, and within a year of it happening it will become The Fantastic Three...Oy.

the comic industry needs more cowbell

Everything you listed is spot-on, Pigs. I dropped comic books the moment "Infinite Crisis" and "Civil War" ended. When I realized they had given up trying to make comics art, and just allowed them to become really expensive ads for multimedia conglomerate franchises, I realized the comic book industry was dead. The end.

When were they trying to make comics art? It's always been about money.

Preach it, Pigs.

From one perspective, sure. But, I'm certain there are hundreds of comic creators that have a different opinion...

Like Geoff Johns?

Rob Liefeld?

Todd McFarlane?

Jeph Loeb?

Judd Winick?

John Byrne?


Marvel and DC have always been 90% or more about money. if you really want art, you have to delve outside the world of corporate comics.

BOR-RING! You two are most predictable fucking records I've ever heard, constantly searching for something to disagree with me about. I don't know if you're both just jealous of my life, my wife, or what. But, it gets fucking tiring having to get down on your levels, I have to say...

Will Eisner, Frank Miller (originally), Neil Gaiman, etc. There are hundreds of comic creators out there that got into comics to create "Art", not just get paid. It's not exactly something that makes you rich, anyway, unless you're a corporate shill like all {only} the creators JD listed.

But, I don't have to tell either of you that. You both understood my point as fact. You're just trying to nag me about semantics. Won't work. You know exactly what I'm saying, and you know I'm right. But, no, good luck continuing naming random names and stuff. I'm sure you're convincing someone somewhere that you have a point.

Meanwhile, if neither of you can see the art in mainstream comics of any past era, then we really have nothing to discuss.

But, hey! I smoke pot! I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere. Go for it...

Wasn't Eisner running a whole studio with other artists working for him? Nope, doesn't sound like he was making money.

I'll agree that there are many who were able to explore comic books as an art; meanwhile, the companies publishing the books were after the money. At the end of the day, the publishing companies are the ones who control the industry. There are those who can come in and help elevate the medium like Moore and such; but if that shit didn't sell, it was tossed. Fact is that the Industry was never about making art. The Industry was/is/always will be about making money. That's why it's called an industry. Same for the Film Industry. The Television Industry. And The Music Industry.

*Requisite Pot Joke: You still remind me of Scarface from Half Baked.

lots of sand in that vagina today. . .it's always about you, isn't it?


sure, there is art in mainstream comics. I never said there wasn't. but the fact is that anything coming close to art will always take a backseat to commercialism in that world.

just look at the current listings in Previews. 20 something Bat-titles a month? I'm sure there's "art" in there somewhere, but I'm not wasting my time looking.

I'm pretty sure Eisner, Miller, and Gaiman wanted to get paid, as well. if you don't think Miller took the money and laughed all the way to the bank on DKSA, you're kidding yourself.

if you don't think Miller wanted to make Batman and Daredevil more viable properties, when he took them on, again you're kidding yourself. the fact that he was allowed to do anything approaching "art", is his personal good fortune.

do you think Gaiman would be able to make "art" if not for the commercial success of Sandman? what was the last comic work of Gaiman's that you considered "art"? 1602? Eternals? Whatever Happened to the Dark Knight? pretty much all corporate work. I enjoyed Eternals, but it wasn't "art", it was popcorn.

Eisner was all about making money from the get-go, as were most golden age creators. did they enjoy drawing and doing what they were doing? yep. did anything think they were making "art"? very few, if any. the primary concern for them was making money to put food on the table and pay the bills. most of them never thought past that. Eisner was smart enough to make good deals so that he could make a good living. any notions about "art" took secondary concern.

The Spirit was his commercial work. it paid for him to do the other things he thought were more profound. is there "art" in The Spirit? sure, but how much depends on who you ask. Eisner fanboys will rave about the "art" in Spirit all day long, but Eisner himself would shrug and point to something like "Contract with God" or his other works as "real art." and how many fanboys read that stuff? almost nil, because for all their bitching about "art", at the end of the day all they really want is pretty spandex comics.

not that there's anything wrong with that. I enjoy some Perez goodness when it arrives, too. but I don't confuse it with "art." "art" is something personal and subjective. Perez draws pretty spandex comics. is that "art?" not to me.

Yep. Sorry. http://www.rkmbs.com/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/1135319/Main/1135319/#Post1135319

not that you want to "sink to anyone's level" or anything.

Eh, I honestly think comics are as good and as bad as they've always been... in the 80's you had guys who stood above the rest like Byrne, Miller and Morrison, and now we have guys who stand above the rest like Hickman, Fraction and Morrison.

mxy, you are banned from the internet until you start recognizing things are significantly better and/or worse today!

I agree with Mxy. As I said, the comic industry is an industry first; but there are those who are able to sneak in some artsy stuff. Much is the same with movies, TV, and music.

doc, you're banned as well.

clearly, everything is different now and not like it was. things are much better and/or worse! there was an article about it once, so it must be true

John Byrne isn't bitter.....he's "PISSED".

OK,seriously,I'm alright with the comics industry today as a whole.Here's my "dislikes" though.
1.Pricing....Kudos to DC for lowering prices but to me $3 is still too much for a single comic.$1.50-$2 is about the most they should be....ever.More to the point,the Marvel All Ages and DC's Johnny DC kids line should never be the same price as regular comics but about a buck lower....of course this leads into....

2.Accessibility-(cue John Byrne voice)Most comics today are so hard to follow even for long-time readers,that trying to entice new readers is next to impossible and let's face it... we ain't gettin' any younger.In the not too distant future the comics market we know today will no longer exist due to an aging fan base no longer around and/or being too expensive(see point one)for younger readers able to purchase or parents willing to spend money on outside of the quarter and dollar boxes.Honestly,I dropped all X-titles but "Astonishing" and "X-Men Forever" for the simple fact that I can't follow all the multiple BS storylines they have running through 'em. Used to be I could read a stack of comics every month and know where it took place after the last issue....now I sometimes I have to go back and re-read the previous issue because the current one makes no sense(no it's not because I'm getting older).

That's it for my bitchin'.

I've always wondered why someone hasn't just thought of printing comics like these on newsprint again and having substantially lower prices and accessibility.

Death of a character just means you won't see the character for a while. Most likley they'll be back with a flashy new costume or new power.

Hulk and Deadpool have multi titles,but I only get a couple of each and I can follow the story just fine that way.

But if they took the best Hulk writer and artist and the same with deadpool...wouldn't one awesome title be better than 2 semi-decent titles...or even good ones?

I dunno it just seems the more talent is spread thin the more watered down everything is.

Linked for relevance...

• Why I hate Most Modern Comics topic

http://www.rkmbs.com/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/1051098#Post1051098

Linked for relevance.

So, I've disliked the industry for 6-7 years now...man time flies when comics suck. i think its mostly just Marvel and Dc I hate now.

How time flies when Image has better books than other companies.....what the hell happened and what universe am I in?

and you may say to yourself "these are not my beautiful comics."

and you may to yourself "how did I get here?"

letting the days flow by. . .

Gob Bless you,Grimm. don't you ever sober up.

. . .sober???

Sorry. I shouldn't have used the s word around you.