The Problem with the Big Two

A very interesting article points out the problems with Marvel and DC as their sales decline, with an emphasis on how many titles they put out each month.

Here's my comment on the post:

I’m a Boomer, in my early 60s. I read more Image comics than from any other company. Saga, Lazarus, Velvet, Black Magick, Descender, Shutter, and Copperhead are amazing comics and they don’t force me to read crossovers with titles I don’t have any interest in. From Marvel, I read Ms. Marvel and am looking forward to the return of Captain Marvel and Black Widow. From DC, I read Red Hood Arsenal (but only because Roy Harper is my favorite character; the book kinda sucks right now), Harley Quinn, and Black Canary. Astro City continues to amaze and delight. 

I like diversity and variety. I grew up a DC reader, getting 30-40 titles a month, but I got tired of reboots and being made to feel like I don’t matter. I got tired of endless crossovers and the unrelenting lack of fun in most DC books. It was the New 52 reboot that drove me to find new comics to read and inspired me to sample Image titles. 

I can’t help buy wonder if DC and Marvel even know who their readers are or what readers they want to encourage. It seems that every time I get to like a character or comic, they’re rebooted or canceled. It’s too frustrating for me.

I wish I could enjoy the other good books at DC, but I feel I've read about as many Batman and Superman stories as I care to, at least right now. I'm tempted by the Lois and Clark book because it's the pre-new 52 version of the characters, or so I've heard, but so far, I've resisted. If I can't keep reading stories set in the pre-new 52 'verse, then I want something as different as possible from that. Harley Quinn and Black Canary are giving me that, with nice art, good writing, and a fun attitude. Similarly, Gotham Academy is something new to me. But Starfire is just too bland for me to take seriously, though the art is nice. It's a good book for younger readers getting into superheroes.

As for Marvel, I've never read more than a few at a time, but it seems that as soon as I get into a character or storyline these days, everything is turned over. And that's okay, as long as what follows is good. But I'm a bit dumbfounded by the change in Star-Lord, though I'm still giving the new, revised origin, year one book a chance. I'm nervously looking forward to the new Captain Marvel and Black Widow. And I'm very glad nothing substantial as changed with the excellent Ms. Marvel.

But all the event stories and crossovers and reboots, etc. are exhausting. I didn't mind a crossover for a book or two in the past, but these days, it's an investment in time and money I don't want to make. I've got stacks of graphic novels and collected editions (just finished Alias and have started The Pulse: Jessica Jones) to read. I don't want to have stacks of monthlies, too. Stories that continue for too long is another issue. Sure, Image books do that, but the best finish an arc with issues coming out on schedule, then take a break for their creative team to stockpile issues for the next arc. (I'm looking at you, Team Saga!) But with Image books, there really is a feel that you're reading a novel in monthly or bimonthly chapters, bringing to mind the old pulp magazines, the format in which authors like Charles Dickens were first published. If the story is good enough, the characters engaging enough, the art special enough, I'll happily read that way. At least the books stand on their own, each with its own universe. Each gives me a unique reading experience. The stuff DC and Marvel are putting out don't quite do that. After a while, it all starts to feel the same.

I applauded DC's most recent attempt to resurrect its lineup. Continuity didn't matter as much as telling a good story. But in reality, this doesn't work so well, at least not for me. Because when it's about characters like Starfire, who in her book seems to not have been in a relationship with Roy Harper, but in Red Hood Arsenal, Roy is still trying to get over their breakup, it leads to a mental disconnect I found confusing and irritating. DC, like Marvel, was always set in one universe or multiverse. We knew what Earth our Earth-bound characters were on. We knew where everyone stood. And we knew everything was connected somehow. But now, in an attempt to make their books more reader friendly, to entice new readers, they've created what I see as a mess, a muddle, a lot of pieces that might or might not be connected. And if they are connected and you don't read all the books -- the crossover events that seem to come more and more often -- you end up lost and might give up. When characters deviate too much from what they were, from their essence, you might give up, unless you love the new version more, and how often does that happen? And Marvel is probably just as guilty of this, but I don't read enough and haven't read enough Marvel titles to know for sure.

My solution to what bothers me about DC, and to some extent, Marvel, is to read more Image titles, with a smattering from other companies as they interest me, along with Vertigo and Dynamite imprints. Maybe a diversified market is good. Maybe more competition is good. Maybe it's time DC and Marvel shared the audience and the wealth. I can get behind that.

Comics Reading Challenge

This reading challenge from Panels is interesting. I might try it. Here's their list of things to read, and some comments from me.

Read a comic book from the Golden Age (30s to early 50s).

• hmmmm..... I read a lot of comics from the '50s when I was growing up, but probably more Silver Age. I do have some reprints of Golden Age books. I could reread those.

Read a comic book that features a creative team representing more than one gender.

• Got that covered, with Harley Quinn, Saga, and some others.

Read a comic book originally published in Europe.

• This will involve some research.

Read a piece of comics journalism.

• I suppose all the comics news blogs I read would count, along with articles from Panels. Also, Comic Shop News, maybe.

Read a self-contained graphic novel.

• I've got lots here, just need to get to them.

Read a comic book from an independent publisher.

• Hmmmmmm..... I think I need a list of which publishers are considered "independent." Is Image one of them? I read so many Image titles now.

Read a comic book by an all-female creative team.

• I have in the past. Would have to see what I read now or what might be out there that interests me.

Read a comic book about a culture other than your own.

• Often do. I prefer to read things about cultures not my own. I read a lot of that in books. I would think Ms. Marvel counts, given she's Muslim and I'm not.

Read a comic book about a religion other than your own.

• Ms. Marvel would count for this, too.

Read a comic book marketed for children or all-ages.

• I think Gotham Academy counts.

Read a comic book that features an LGBTQ character.

• I was reading Batwoman. I could reread them. I'm sure there are other gay characters in comics I read, but I'll need to check, or look for others.

Read a comic book that won an Eisner Award.

• I'm sure I already do, but maybe I'll check the list and see what else there is that interests me.

Read a webcomic.

• This is the tough one. They're hard on my eyes, so I'll have to pass on this one.

Read a comic book starring anthropomorphic animals (for Paul).

• Well, there's Rocket. And I have comics here with Detective Chimp. I miss him. And I can always dig out my Howard the Duck collection.

Read a volume of manga.

• Probably not.

Read a comic book written and drawn by the same person.

• Another hmmmmm..... I'll need to check for a list. I don't think I'm currently reading any like that. I suppose Roz Chast counts. Might have to get something by her.

Read a collection of comic strips.

• Oh, please. I grew up on comic strips. I have so many collections here. I do need to catch up with my Modesty Blaise collections, and there are the reprint collections of Mary Perkins: On Stage. That comic strip was my favorite when I was growing up. I loved Leonard Starr's art.

Read a comic about a non-traditional superhero.

• Not sure what this would be. Any of the ones in Astro City, perhaps? Any suggestions?

Read a book about comic books.

• I've got a bunch here, many unread, so I should do this.

Read a comic book featuring non-traditional art.

• Another one where I'm not sure what it means. 

Read a new-to-you comic from the library.

• I think good ol' NYPL has comics now, or at least graphic novels or collections, but I much prefer to buy than to borrow.

Read a science fiction comic book.

• I'm reading some now: Saga, Lazarus, Copperhead. Well, I consider them science fiction. I did read a lot when I was a kid: Strange Adventures, mostly.

Read a fantasy comic book.

• Superheroes are, actually fantasy, except for some that are science fiction. Shutter seems rather fantastical.

Read a comic set in a country other than your own.

• I'm sure many I read have done stories set elsewhere.

Read a controversial comic book.

• This item links to a list, but I think a lot of controversy is subjective. I could reread The Killing Joke or Identity Crisis. No, not Identity Crisis. Maybe I'll just reread the Speedy heroin story from Green Lantern/Green Arrow, one of my favorite stories, though it seems almost quaint now.

Read a comic with a villain for the protagonist.

• Does Harley Quinn count? Or I could just reread Gail Simone's classic Secret Six book.

Cold Start to Year

There were no new comics (for me) the last week of the year and this week has been so cold, I decided to take advantage of one of the benefits of retirement and not go out. But the snow has stopped now and the temperature is supposed to get as warm as freezing, so I'll probably go out today. Meanwhile, I caught up with Harley Quinn (wacky and fun as ever) and Red Sonja (issue 13, start of a new story arc). Is it just me or is Red Sonja getting boring? Probably just me.

Thor and Related Matters

I don't read Thor, just follow the character in the movies, so the announcement that Marvel was introducing a new Thor who is female because the son of Odin was no longer worthy didn't matter much to me as a reader. But as a comic book fan, I am interested in what it means. The Comics Beat looks at the announcement, how it was made and what it could mean in the long term, because odds are, this isn't a permanent change.

Let's face it, Superman didn't stay dead, nor did Batman. I don't follow Marvel all that much, but I believe a lot of changes were eventual undone, and the article points out a few of them, including Steve Rogers not being Captain America, then becoming him again. One change in gender that seems perfect to me is Carol Danvers taking over as Captain Marvel.

This article that looks at female readership of comics is also worth reading. A valid point is made that the move from newsstand to direct market sales cost a lot of comics, especially Archies, their female readers. I'm fortunate that I discovered a comic book convention in NY in the '70s, thanks to an editorial comment in a lettercol, and from a con, I eventually discovered a comic book store and started shopping there. I was one of a very few females who shopped there, but I was never made to feel I didn't belong, which apparently, is a rarity. My only break from comics was from the mid-'80s to the early-'90s, and that was due to DC killing off the original Supergirl and not anything to do with marketing.

But I do take a bit of exception from this sentiment, from the second article:

"I think it’s fine to have boy-focused material like Batman or Spider-Man or whatever, as long as you don’t use boy focused material as “proof” that women don’t read comics. It’s like saying that just because guys overwhelmingly like Transformers movies, women don’t like any movies. It’s exactly like that."

Because, see, I like those boy-focused books, too. I like Batman (well, I did before the reboot, but that's another issue). And I'll bet there are boys who enjoy or would enjoy female-centric comics, but are too embarrassed to admit it because they'd be teased unmercifully.

Sure, there are gender differences when it comes to reading, but a lot of that is imposed on kids when they're young, via parental attitudes, societal influence, etc. And even with that, there's a middle ground, an overlapping. I read romance comics, for instance, but gave them up when I hit puberty. I preferred action/adventure. I preferred superheroes. I don't tend to like reading about characters I can identify with as much as I enjoy reading about ones who are different than me. And I enjoy variety. Sure, I loved Supergirl. She was the closest to my age, as I've mentioned before, and we kind of grew up together, but I wouldn't want all the comics I read to be about characters like her. I want to read about all sorts of characters doing exciting things and it doesn't matter to me which sex they are or identify with. There are still newsstand comics, too; they're sold in the magazine section of Barnes & Noble (at least in NYC), though I agree with the article that digital comics serve well as a newsstand if you can read digitally (I can do text but reading comics on a screen bothers my eyes after too short a time). 

I think once we stop making distinctions of boy and girl comics or boy and girl pretty much everything considered entertainment or educational, we'll truly be making progress toward gender equality.

Today's Haul

Picked up my comics today as I was busy with a friend yesterday. Got The Movement, Codename: Action, Fairest, Lazarus, Miss Fury Digital, and Shadow Now. It's so odd to buy so few DC Comics. But the main thing I bought is this charmer: Tony Stark! He comes with a LOT of accessories.

Tony Stark

Harry Palmer

I never read any of the Harry Palmer comics, but this Kickstarter campaign for Harry Palmer: Starstruck - or "Old Proldiers Never Die", which has reached its base funding level, is worth supporting. They're trying to get funds for a full color version. I'm not familiar with Elaine Lee's worth, but I'm a longtime fan of Michael Kaluta's art, and this looks really good. So, if you haven't supported the project, why not go ahead and do so because I really would love this book to be in color. :)

Male vs Female in Comics Art

This article She Has No Head - No, It's Not Equal by Kelly Thompson is awesome and the comments make wonderful points. There were, when I looked, 531 comments, so no, I didn't read all of them. The article was written back in February and I somehow missed it, but saw a link to it on Tumblr and was happy to find it.

I've never had a problem with sexy art. It's the fact that it isn't equal that bugs me. And I, too, hate the "brokeback" posing of the female characters (and that term gives me the giggles because whenever I see it, I think of the movie Brokeback Mountain). I also hate seeing the female supers in thongs with their asses hanging out because that just looks so uncomfortable. Thompson's right about the unzipped zipper phenomenon. Once or twice, it's kind of fun, a bit kinky, a bit playful. All over comics.... not so much. It's ridiculous.

I'm not overly fond of the males with torsos the sizes of mountains, either. Wanna know what my idealized male fantasy looks like? See Magic Mike. Every one of those guys is sexy in his own way and, aside from being in good shape, they don't all have the same body type.

But, as Thompson says, so much better than I can, even sexy isn't evenly drawn in comics, and more and more, I find things to dislike in the art. When the male form is drawn athletic and powerful and the female is drawn to titillate, then there's a real disconnect somewhere. Half the time I can't follow the action because the coloring is so dark and what I do see, if there are females in the panel, are butts and boobs. And it's doubly annoying when the art is otherwise nice. Surely, the artists can do better, and the editors, and the publishers, and we readers need to do better, too. But, do I not buy a comic I love for the story to protest the art? And what about all the comics I'm not reading because I hate the bulk of the new DC52? I can't boycott them twice. And there's the dilemma of wanting to support female-oriented books vs boycotting poorly done female-oriented books. How to make two nearly opposite points at once? That's a dilemma I shouldn't have, not in 2012.

Comics for the Blind

Just saw these folks mentioned on Twitter: Heroes in the Dark, a project to record comics for the blind and visually impaired, a very worthy cause.

Full of Awesome

These animated comic book covers are amazing. So clever and well done. I followed a bunch of links to get to the source and forgot to leave bread crumbs to mark the trail. Sorry. But thanks to all who posted about these.

Cool Project Reminder

I posted about this a short while ago. Scott's a friend of mine and this is a cool project. Support it if you can. I think it's worth it.

For Lovers of the Silver and Bronze Age

Kickstarter.com is a site that seems to be a way for folks who have a project needing funding or other help to get what they need. A friend of mine, Scott Rosema has a project listed there: Silver & Bronze Age Mania. Scott's no wannabe. He's a pro artist who's worked for Marvel and DC and a lot of others. And, he's a big sweetheart of a guy. So if this sounds like something you'd like to see, why not help out. :)

The Joy of Comics

This sums up the appeal of comics perfectly, I think.

What Do I Read Next

Next up is the new Spirit, part of the First Wave books. After that, I thought I would leave it up to you, which will let you determine the order of my next batch of reviews (not counting current comics). The voting will determine the order I read the following comics: Wildcats, Unwritten, Jack of Fables, and Madame Xanadu. I'm seriously behind in all four. There's a clicky poll in the sidebar, so please click for your favorite. One vote per person, so I hope more than a few people participate. Thanks.

So Far Behind

The To Read stacks of comics here are getting scary. Did read Secret Six on the way home today. Talk about convoluted. It's getting hard to tell what side anyone is on. And Waller is definitely someone you love to hate.

Meanwhile, Dark Horse has Last Kiss Comics goodies: including mugs and sticky notes. I love Last Kiss and these goodies would make nice gifts. They should be hitting comic stores, soon.

Comics in Education

I have some reviews I need to get posted. After 2 days without my home broadband, I'm back in business. Meanwhile, this article in Publishers Weekly is worth reading: Comics in the Classroom.

Happy Holidays!

My internet at home is down and I don't know when it will be repaired, so I wanted to make sure I got this posted. Maybe I'll get some comics read while I'm offline.

I know this is the time for year-end reviews and such, but I've never been much into that sort of thing and don't read much of that sort of thing, either. I liked a lot of stuff, I didn't like some stuff, some of my favorite comics were canceled, while some were ruined by poor choices or late late late ship dates, and well, the same as pretty much every year where we're left scratching our heads over why some books are still being published while bemoaning the loss of such wonders as Catwoman and Blue Beetle. Here's hoping for more good than bad in the coming year.

Wards and Cousins and Stuff

I was writing a comment to this post, The Supergirl from Krypton Meets Her Asshole Cousin, on Living Between Wednesdays , then realized it was getting long-winded, so I decided to take advantage of that and make it a post here!

First, I agree with the post. Superman is an asshole in the story. The point was made that Kal pretty much treats Kara shabbily, depositing her in an orphanage, instead of taking her in. I made an initial comment that at the time, a bachelor having a teen girl living with him would be suspect. That Bruce Wayne, in his 20s, had a teen boy living with him should have been more suspect, since Clark could've claimed Linda was his cousin and therefore, family, while it was known that Bruce took in a circus kid who was not related to him, seemed immaterial. Homosexuality wasn't even on the chart, even if a segment of the reading public -- not me, I was too young and it wasn't out there at the time, to even know what that was -- did think it and did snicker about it.

But the bigger issue, I think, is the differences in storytelling from then when compared with now, or really, starting with the late-'60/early-'70s when comics writers started fleshing out the characters instead of just coming up with plots, when writers worked as hard on making dialogue realistic instead of concentrating on exposition.

It's kinda fun I guess to view old stories from the '50s and '60s with today's sensibilities, but having grown up in those decades and having read DC Comics (from National Periodical Publications, of course!) from back then, I can say that none of this came to mind. Superman couldn't take in Kara because he was a bachelor, and Clark Kent having a cousin living with him when Superman also had a cousin just wouldn't have worked. It easily could've compromised his secret identity and that was a big deal story-wise back then. For a goodly portion of Lois Lane's own title, she tried to prove Clark was Superman. If Linda/Kara was in the equation, that would unduly complicate things. And no one likely wanted to write that scenario. Hell, they probably didn't want to deal with Kara regularly in Superman stories.

Supergirl's adventures were self-contained, first in the orphanage environment and then with the Danvers. It all made perfect sense to me at the time and probably to most readers. Kara was just a girl like me. And it was a thrill when Superman revealed SG's existence to the world. But he really wasn't part of the stories. If she lived with him, he would've been and vice versa. The crossover mentality that is common these days didn't happen back then. To build that sort of continuity, let alone cross stories from title to title when it happened was a big deal. The one I do recall was the changes to Oliver Queen in Green Lanter/Green Arrow that led to him having the beard and new attitude in other books, like JLA, and then, not being written by others as well as Denny O'Neill wrote him. I just can't look back at the early days of Supergirl's existence and picture her living with Clark and having them share stories. Nor would I have wanted to lose her adoption and finding out she had two sets of parents, the Danvers and her birth parents who were still alive. I loved that storyline when I was a kid.

As for Superman asking Batman's advice at the time, Bruce was as clueless as Kal was. Sure, he had Dick living with him, but despite the fact that Dick and he were both male and Bruce should have at least understood what teen boys are like, as opposed to Kal understanding teen girls (and what males do?), Bruce showed a remarkable lack of understanding of Dick's personal and social needs. They were crimefighting partners, after all: chums! There was nothing else in Bruce's mind most of the time.

It really was a different world back then. I look upon those old comics with great fondness, but I can't take them seriously. I suspect no one else here is, either, but the point is, putting today's standards on something from back then kinda misses the reality. I cringe now when I read some of those stories. The dialogue seems so stilted, so unnatural. The art is the same at times. But there were so many wonderful stories, especially for Supergirl, that bring back good memories.

I suppose I can never be analytical about those stories. I've just got too much emotion invested in them. I can be critical, but with the full awareness that this is the current, 55-year-old me looking back on something from decades ago that I remember from when I was a kid. As silly as they might seem now, they can't be as silly as they might be if I were first encountering them now. They're too much a part of me for that to happen.

Madame Mirage Offer

I loved Paul Dini's Madame Mirage so much, I bought the trade collection recently, and really don't need to hold on to the individual comics. There are the 6 issues of the mini-series, plus the 99 cents First Look issue. So, if you'd like this wonderful set for $5 (the price of priority postage) and are in the US and have PayPal, just email me at Shelly (dot) S (at) gmail.com with your mailing address and I'll send you my PayPal account name. Whoever responds first, wins. Or something like that. :)

And don't let the sexy art fool you. This is a strong female character, with scientific leanings.

EDITED TO ADD: The comics have been claimed.

Lots of New Comics

I've got three weeks' worth and counting, plus the short runs and new titles I've been stacking up but haven't read yet, plus graphic novels... well, you get the idea. I've gotten behind. Way behind. Again. Vacations do that for me. So does getting sick. Which happened, and I still feel mostly like crap.

I did read a few things and will get mini reviews up soon, but I had to post to say how happy I was to be holding a new issue of Manhunter. I want everyone who reads this blog and not Manhunter to go get the first new issue and buy it. Read it. Hopefully, you'll enjoy it and want more. Because I want this comic to succeed. Wildly. So it won't get canceled again. Okay? Because Catwoman was just canceled and has its last issue in August and I don't want to lose another wonderful, female-starring comic. Pretty please with chocolate on top? Thanks.

Ooo, A Comics Meme

From Rich at Comic by Comic. He put in the usual bit about tagging 5 folks to do this and I'm not one of them, but I always do what I want when it comes to memes. If they interest me, I do them. I don't tag. So, feel free to keep this going, if you so desire.

Post the questions below and three covers that answer to these questions; no need to comment unless you want to:

1) What was the first comic you remember reading?

2) What was the first comic that made you realize that you might be in this for the long haul?

3) If you had to make a snap decision to take one comic or one comic run to a desert island, what would it be? Don't think too hard!

My answers...

Post the questions below and three covers that answer to these questions; no need to comment unless you want to:

1) What was the first comic you remember reading? Uh, it was close to 48 years ago. I'm not sure. Probably a kid's comic, ie Nancy and Sluggo or Richie Rich or a Disney comic. Other early ones are Archies and Classics Illustrated, Katy Keene, and Millie the Model, but those, along with the romance comics and DC superheroes, came later, although there was a fairly early issue of Batman in my early reading days. The dentist had a batch of comics in his waiting room and I read them there. Sometimes, he let me keep the older ones.

2) What was the first comic that made you realize that you might be in this for the long haul? None in particular. I was a collector from the very beginning. Inherited that trait from my father. I started getting comics when I was 7. By the time I was 10 or so, I had stacks on shelves in the basement. A finished basement, nice and dry. Long boxes came later, when I was in college and discovered comic book shops and comicons where long boxes were sold.

3) If you had to make a snap decision to take one comic or one comic run to a desert island, what would it be? Don't think too hard! I'd grab my Roy Harper short box. (I have short boxes now. Easier to handle and stack.) These include the original Teen Titans, the runs of Titans that don't include him plus the issues he was in, Action Weekly, the Arsenal one-shot, and other comics that featured him. In the case of the new JLA, for example, I bought 2 of the first issue so I could store one in the Justice League box and one in the Roy Harper box.