RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Comic Books The runs that matter(not toilet related).

These days,there's fewer "definitive" runs on characters for Marvel & DC as less than a handful of creators stay on a book longer than 6-12 issues.Personally I think this has contributed to my increasing apathy towards comics on a monthly basis and the growing excitement I get from looking at the new TPB solicits.

It got me to thinking "What pulled me into a title and kept me continuing with that book?" Most of the time,I have to go with,not who was on the book,but that those creators were there consistently on a monthly basis and if I liked the writing and the art,I stayed with it. This was apparent to me looking bcak to when I first started collecting.

For an example,let me use Detective Comics from 1988/89. Alan Grant & Norm Breyfogle were the team.Breyfogle's art was unlike anything I had seen.....so distinctive and eye-catching.Grant's stories were 1-2 issues and had a darker tone but not grim-n-gritty.Month in and month out,I read entertaining,well-drawn stories.....then,they shifted to the main Batman title and Jim Aparo came on art chores(I forget who was writing then).I stuck with it for a bit but lost interest and soon stopped getting the book until Knightfall kicked in. Now,it seems the rabid collector(and I do know some)will continue to get a book even when they hate the team on it and don't even bother to read the book!! This,thankfully is more and more exception than the norm.

Back on point though,the run that matters is the run that a creative team on a book puts out solid,entertaining stories monthly that anyone can pick up,read and not fall under the weight of continuity or the previous hundred issues of understanding to know what's going on. The industry has lost sight of this with continuous "reboots",renumberings and relaunches.Now some of these...in the case of Superman for example have positive results.Fresh,new takes on the character and while keeping the most essential parts of his origin and story but changing everything else has paid off in sales but again.....exception,not norm.

The industry is showing that it's trying to keep afloat with these moves and surely it might work short-term.....but long term is the key to keeping comics going in the future.

Honest question allan, what are your long term plans for your shop? Considering the downward spiral that the comic book industry is on.

Continuing on in another post so it doesn't seem quite so wordy:

The other side of that coin though is that a more frequent rotating team might bring in readers because there is today a more creator fan base than a character fan base. Another example if I may,I'm a sucker for John Byrne's art.When I got into comics he was numero uno in the biz and this was years after he had left X-Men and had just left the Fantastic Four about 5-6 months before I picked up my first issue off the racks,but I had a stack of FF from when he first strted the title and when I started collecting in earnest,I sought out anything he did.No comic shops in the area made for a more difficult hunt,so I missed out on the bulk of his Superman stuff. Long story short....I buy anything John Byrne draws.I don't care what the title is....I follow his art.

Therefore,in today's market Marvel & DC try to land a "hot" creator or creator team on a book even if it's only for no more than 12 issues,to boost sales and possibly hook the reader into continuing with the book.However,if the team that follows isn't good enough,that's only a short-term fix.

Sometimes though you have someone utterly committed to a character,Geoff Johns on Green Lantern or Dan Slott on Amazing Spider-Man for example,that goes against the grain of the current creator mind-set and this produces steady sales on those two books.Factor in good art and compelling stories and you have the positive POV.

To be cont.

Well,the shop is here for as long as it's a viable profit maker.So far it is that.The shop makes more than enough to pay it's operating expenses so that's a good thing.Learning to diversify product besides just comics is a big help due to the fact that the shop is in a mall and the general public is more prone to stopping in.Action figures,posters,wall scrolls,statues and things that aren't just comic-related but say....fantasy related such as fairy statues or Frank Frazetta art etc. keeps sales up. Gaming such as Magic:the Gathering,Heroclix and Warhammer brings in another group of sales. The comic industry is on life-support and honestly the boosts it gets from movies and events like Free Comic Book Day adds another few years to it,but digital media is rapidly growing and while I don't think print will be completely replaced,the market for it is shrinking.It's a wait and see case.The economy also factors in...disposable income isn't so disposable with high gas prices,higher food costs and so on.It's hard to get the average person to plunk down $4 for a 20 pg comic.We'll see......I take it year by year.

Continuing on:
I think most fans today are more in line as "Nostalgia Fans" than anything else.In other words,my first super-hero comic was Fantastic Four so I keep buying Fantastic Four because it was my first.It doesn't matter who's writing or drawing the book or whether it's good or not.The FF doesn't even top my list as fave super-team(it's in the top five)but because it is what exposed me to the awesomeness of comics,I nostalgically continue to purchase it(FYI I still enjoy the title).

I think a lot of readers do the same for many a book and it isn't a bad thing really,but it does lend itself to the mentality of keeping with a title that you don't really enjoy simply because you remember it fondly through the mist of time.It connects you to your past so you keep getting it. Now of course,that same mentality can really release some fanboy rage....Check out Byrne's website and you'll see that 90% of the registered posters there really hate modern comics simply because they aren't like the ones they grew up with......the perils of progress I suppose.

What about the creators of today's books? Do they fall into that category? I tend to think some do.Geoff Johns,love his work or hate it,is so silvery-age based in a lot of his work.You can tell it's his favorite era of comics just by reading a couple of books.Superman:Secret Origin is nothing more than an updated tale of a lot of Silver Age Superman/Superboy stories that he blends into one story. I do,however,enjoy his work on Green Lantern immensely.The thing is,when the fan writes the book,are they writing for the reader or for themselves and is the character(s) that they write being treated with respect or not? I believe it's a subjective perception based off each individual reader and it's up to them to judge.The thing is.....if a reader does not like the direction of a book and continues to buy it,then they forfeit the right to bitch IMHO.I hear it a lot and I always say "Then why keep buying it?"...average response "I want to see if it gets better." Fair enough I suppose.I could see that being a somewhat viable reason back in the day before internet and on-line reviews.You honestly didn't know then whether the book would turn around or not and if you missed out on something good,you'd be pissed. These days though with all the advanced solicits through Preveiws or internet and all the various reviews you can look up,I find the "Keep buying" mentality redundant. I'm just sayin'.

If you ever diversify enough to include strippers and hookers, let me know so I can hang out regularly.

I think where half the fault lies with the industry glutting itself back in the 90's to cash-in on short term profits, the other half lies in the industry norm of "Superstar Talent". I think this type of mentality has really hurt any possibility of having any really classic runs of creators any more. Just 6-12 issues of "LOOK IT'S SUPERSTAR!". Also see: "The Wi$ard Effect"

Creators need to be paid normal amounts of money for what they do, as long as they're willing to be on a title for at LEAST three years worth of issues. If they're late or need more than two fill-in's a year, fire them outright and get someone dependable.

Then let's count how many classic runs we get on title when creators are forced to sink-or-swim on one book. Fans may follow their faves, but the majority...the actual "fans"...are there for the character...