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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 132335
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| Posted: 26 May 2017 at 9:19am | IP Logged | 1
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Go back to cheap monthly comics that are printed on cheaper paper for sale at newsagents and groceries as in the old days…•• That door has been closed and nailed shut.
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Blair Herd
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 27 April 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 326
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| Posted: 26 May 2017 at 10:03am | IP Logged | 2
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I think JB said it well. The Disney machine and bringing comics to such vivid life is affecting the original medium.The video game generation is looking for that same level of entertainment and sitting and thumbing through a book doesn't have the same level of satisfaction. Current artists are from that generation as well and are turning to digital drawing over blue lines. Original art is getting harder to find or request. I find this disheartening. The smell of my old comics and the ink on the pages brings back so many memories. The legends I grew up with are slowly moving into retirement. I will still be in awe of them and appreciate that they laid the groundwork for what is on screen now and that they are artists and masters in every sense of the word. Yes, that includes you JB.
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Michael Roberts
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 20 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 14816
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| Posted: 26 May 2017 at 10:13am | IP Logged | 3
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But I think format is an issue, too. Maybe it's time for regular series to
be available every two or three months in complete stories similar to a
graphic novel or trade paperback.
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But they already are. Trades are released shortly after the final issue in
an arc.
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Michael Roberts
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 20 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 14816
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| Posted: 26 May 2017 at 10:22am | IP Logged | 4
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The video game generation is looking for that same level of
entertainment and sitting and thumbing through a book doesn't have
the same level of satisfaction.
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I don't think it's about achieving the same level of entertainment. It's
about value. You get a better return on investment buying $4 worth of
apps than you do buying $4 of a fraction of a story.
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Chris Wood
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 July 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 166
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| Posted: 26 May 2017 at 12:49pm | IP Logged | 5
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I agree that the current generation has far more options — interactive ones — for their entertainment, including video games, the Internet, etc. Growing up, my son was interested in my paperback collections of Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, et al, but did not get into new comics much at all. He was far more likely to read Game Informer than the latest issue of the Avengers.
Mistakes made by the major publishers have exacerbated the downward slide, however. Perhaps articles such as this one by The Atlantic will prompt some rethinking on their parts. But I'm skeptical that they will forego the "event" cocaine for very long.
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Greg Woronchak
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 04 September 2007
Location: Canada
Posts: 1631
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| Posted: 26 May 2017 at 12:57pm | IP Logged | 6
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But they already are. Trades are released shortly after the final issue in
an arc.
Yes, but the idea of monthly 'chapters' doesn't seem to be working any longer (maybe they would if stories were more 'one and done'). People 'waiting for the trade' reduce monthly sales; it's a lovely snake-eating-its-own-tail the Big Two have created.
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Brian Hunt
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 5178
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| Posted: 26 May 2017 at 4:58pm | IP Logged | 7
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Another big hurdle that the article didn't address is
Piracy. As the author stated, following all of the
titles, stunts, and crossovers is expensive. Why would
people on the fence about any of it take a risk with
their money when there are so many places online were
they can read for free?
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Michael Roberts
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 20 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 14816
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| Posted: 26 May 2017 at 10:40pm | IP Logged | 8
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Yes, but the idea of monthly 'chapters' doesn't seem to be working any
longer (maybe they would if stories were more 'one and done'). People
'waiting for the trade' reduce monthly sales; it's a lovely snake-eating-
its-own-tail the Big Two have created.
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Graphic novel/trade paperback sales in general bookstores are
growing. It's the monthly periodical/direct market that is stagnant. The
problem is not "writing for the trades". That's the direction the
consumers have gone. The problem is "writing for the event". The Big
Two are relying on big mega-crossovers to prop up a dying format
instead of writing good stories that will read well in trade form.
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Eric Jansen
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 27 October 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 2294
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| Posted: 27 May 2017 at 6:48pm | IP Logged | 9
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I always loved monthlies, but the crossovers and overly long stories make them less of a draw. I have no problem paying $4 for a 24-page, often self-contained ASTRO CITY issue by talents like Busiek, Anderson, and Ross though.
Series like IRREDEEMABLE and FATALE (and just about anything by Ed Brubaker) came out with trade collections of about six issues regularly, promptly, and for a good price. I don't mind waiting a little bit for a nice trade (usually with a few extras in the back), and I still buy them at the comics shop (with a little loyal customer discount).
If everybody did their books like ASTRO CITY or FATALE--without padding and changing artists every other "chapter"--the industry would be a lot stronger.
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Jeff Scott
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 27 November 2016
Location: United States
Posts: 238
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| Posted: 27 May 2017 at 10:33pm | IP Logged | 10
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The Real Reasons for Marvel Comics’ woes
......
We no longer have a John Byrne "BACK TO BASICS" approach to fix things! SO SAD!:)
Hey, I understand they need for progress, but sometimes the good old days are just the best approach! Why fix something if it is not broken??
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Bill Collins
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 26 May 2005
Location: England
Posts: 11251
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| Posted: 28 May 2017 at 1:21am | IP Logged | 11
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I get Trades given to me as Birthday/Xmas gifts,but
personally i only buy digital now,and that is the odd
title if i like the creative team.The majority of what i
buy digitally is from sales on Comixology of classic
stuff.
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Eric Sofer
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 31 January 2014
Location: United States
Posts: 4789
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| Posted: 28 May 2017 at 9:57am | IP Logged | 12
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Trade Paperbacks are not necessarily killing this industry, but collections of story arcs that are release four months later are. Trades such as "Batman in the 80s", "The Dark Phoenix Sage", or "normalman" are great because they're either collections of assorted stories, or they were published so long ago that they are supplemental, not replacements for current publications.
But the big 2 have trained their remaining audience well, and "waiting for the trade" is the current buying mindset. As if it weren't obvious that if these TPBs cannot support comics with constantly lowering revenues - to the point of losing profits - there will be nothing left to collect into a TPB.
Instead of bailing water out of the boat, Marvel is selling buckets to their customers.
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