Are comic books dead?

monkspider · January 7, 2003, 00:28

Now I haven't read comics for years, but it seems like they have been slowly vanishing over the years. The last time I was big into comics was when Image comics had just emerged and was the big thing everyone was talking about (I recall Magic the Gathering: Ice Age had just come out too). I remember there used to be about a dozen comic book stores in Wichita, now there is only one. Also, A lot of supermarkets that used to have a comic book rack no longer do.
So my question for anyone in the know is this: Are comic books on their last legs?

VJ · January 7, 2003, 00:29

Hmm... maybe internet comics have taken their place?
(example/commercial: www.elftor.com )

EDIT: Took, taken. My Engrish skills need some practice, still.

Oerdin · January 7, 2003, 00:33

The late time I bought a comic book was around 1992 and it was for the start of Marvel's Wolverine comic book series. I still have my issue of Wolverine #1 (the last issue I bought) and I have a complete set of X-men 182-223 but most of the rest I've getten rid of over the years.

Back in the early 90's the future of comics looked bright but now they srunken back down to the purient adolecent boy interest that they've always been. They'll always have a market but like base ball cards they will never be the huge collecter's item they once where.

loinburger · January 7, 2003, 00:41

If the comic book industry relied on my patronage, then it would have died out over a decade ago.

I had a friend in college who was into comics, and according to him they're still going fine. There's more competition from Japanese comics than previously, and a lot of American comics have withered out (Superman, f'rinstance, where first they killed him, then they brought back three or four new Supermans, then they changed his costume and powers so that he's even more homoerotic; also X-men, where apparently they reached their level of superhero and villain saturation, after which the series sort of gave up the ghost), so the market's not very stagnant and is currently missing a fair number of the old-school comics.

Again, this is mostly hearsay, since I only follow the industry by proxy.

Kyle · January 7, 2003, 01:31

Not at all, in fact, creatively they are the best they've been since the 80's. Marvel is again putting out books that are worth reading. The afformentioned X-men, for example, have once again become a must read under Grant Morrison's care. And sales have been increasing again over the past year or two.

Edan · January 7, 2003, 01:38

I mostly read comics in the mid 80s, from independent publishers like Epic and such. I also briefly read some of the Star Trek Comics. I was never much of a super-hero reader though, and when the comic series I did read died out (or I lost interest) I never bothered to find anything to replace them with, especially as I've never really liked superhero comics.

I did pick up a bunch of reprints of the old EC comics a few years back - those were just too hard to resist.

I imagine comics are doing poorly in terms of sales, though, particularily with computer/video games/the internet/etc to spend their money/time on.

Oerdin · January 7, 2003, 02:01

I did follow the AD&D comic books for a while but that series died out after only five or six issues (this was in the very early nineties).

Sarxis · January 7, 2003, 02:55

Quote:

Originally posted by Tuomerehu
Hmm... maybe internet comics have taken their place?

I think cynicism has taken their place. And Grand Theft Auto.

DinoDoc · January 7, 2003, 03:04

Considering that they have developed several sucessful games around them and more are on the way, along with an actual bump in the creative side of things to with solid sales I'd have to say no.

monkspider · January 7, 2003, 03:46

Quote:

Originally posted by Edan
I did pick up a bunch of reprints of the old EC comics a few years back - those were just too hard to resist.

I love EC! They are my favorite comics ever. I am lucky enough to own a rather sizable portion of the "EC Library". A collection of bound, hardback volumes made some years ago.

Jon Miller · January 7, 2003, 03:53

Are you refering to the nonfunny type. Never read those. I do have some Calvin and Hobbs as well as Garfield and Hagar the Horrible (I got the Hagar's first, very long ago, than I got the garfields, than I got the Calvina nd Hobbs (this last was 5-7 years ago, I think I should complete my set))

Jon Miller

aaglo · January 7, 2003, 04:05

Comics...
/me wipes a tear from the corner of his eye...

I have lots of marvel comics - some rarities from the 80's included.

I haven't noticed anything like Monkspider mentioned. There are still those old comic stores I went to.

Seeker · January 7, 2003, 05:49

It depends on what you are talking about, Marvel has definetly gone through a creative and artistic slump that lost me.

Traianvs · January 7, 2003, 06:03

I don't know much about American comics (X-men, superman, batman etc)
but out here there's still a lot of activity in the comic books industry, it's just that superhero comics in the exact meaning of a hero with capabilities to fly etc are less popular here!

We have though, lost a great comic, "Nero" that was stopped the 31st of december

catullus · January 7, 2003, 06:27

I just finished "DK2: The Dark Knight Strikes Again". Impressive. Life imitates art, it seems.
Late 80's I spent a lot on comic books, these days almost nothing, although I still buy simple comic magazines. Maybe I've become older. There are a couple of special stores for comics around here, but they seem to live mostly of games (board and computer) and SF books these days.

C.

Wraith · January 7, 2003, 09:38

--"Are comic books on their last legs?"

They may be a bit more niche than before, but I wouldn't say that. There are several comic shops in town that seem to be doing fine.

--"Hmm... maybe internet comics have taken their place?"

Supplemented rather than supplanted, I'd say. I know of several webcomics which have/are making the transition to print (MegaTokyo and Exploitation Now for instance). They are rather more convenient, though.

--"There's more competition from Japanese comics than previously,"

It's going to keep growing. The manga market in Japan is utterly huge. The stuff is all over the place. Now that more companies are getting into the translation/import business this is going to keep growing.
It will be interesting to see what effect this has on a relatively stagnant market. There are some creative US works (Jhonen Vasquez and Ronin's stuff for instance), but the Japanase works will out-volume the US ones.
A number of US comics have been rather influenced by manga styles as well (see magazines like Amerimanga).

Wraith
"Who's daddy's favorite weapon, huh? Is it Choo-Choo? Yes, it is! Such a good hand-to-hand weapon you are."
-- Davan ("Something Positive")

Adagio · January 7, 2003, 09:39

The only comic books that's being sold where I live, is "Donald Duck" comics... There's only very little sale on the other comic books... but AFAIK there's only little sale on "Donald Duck" comics, and I guess the reason is: It's just too **** expensive. I can barely afford to buy comic books, and I make more money than some 10-year olds, so how are those 10-year olds supposed to have money to buy them???

Kyle · January 7, 2003, 12:53

Quote:

Originally posted by Seeker
It depends on what you are talking about, Marvel has definetly gone through a creative and artistic slump that lost me.

Curious, when was this?

If it was more than 2 or 3 years ago, it's no longer the case.

DinoDoc · January 7, 2003, 12:55

Kyle which comics do you read?

MosesPresley · January 7, 2003, 16:56

Marvel comics are going through a new growth period. They introduced new characters and because of that their stock has gone up over 800% this last year. Genres and art forms almost never die, they just rise and fall in popularity.

Static Universe · January 7, 2003, 19:47

Quote:

Originally posted by Kyle

Curious, when was this?

If it was more than 2 or 3 years ago, it's no longer the case.

(Butting in

From a couple years before 92, when the guys who started Image up and left, to around 99, right after Sony bought them, Marvel put out some of the worst comics in history.

The first signs of the end were when Chris Claremont failed to show up for the new X-Men #1.

You must have missed a little gem called "Fantastic Force", featuring a grown up Franklin Richards from an alternate timeline, the whole Spider-Man clone story arc, the Secret Defenders, Marvel U.K. Titles, and the list goes on and on.

For a while it seemed like Marvel was trying to capture the whole comics market. Every WEEK there would be five or six new Marvel titles, each worse than the last batch. Believe me, you would have a hard time deciding whether the art or story was worse.

Interesting to note that they also went bankrupt during this period, so they got what they deserved.

Sony has played a big part for bringing them back on course, since they want to make a bunch of movies with the characters. The X-Men and Spiderman movies, both of which were in the planning stages since the late 80s finally got made (Shame James Cameron didn't make one, though). Daredevil is on the way, and there's even talk that the Silver Surfer movie, which has been talked about for 25 years, might actually be made.

alva · January 7, 2003, 19:55

Read ASTERIX !!

hhmm, that is along ago since I read one....

Datajack Franit · January 7, 2003, 20:16

Japanese rulz

I'm a huge fan of Berserk although it's a bit old

Edan · January 7, 2003, 20:32

Quote:

Originally posted by monkspider

I love EC! They are my favorite comics ever. I am lucky enough to own a rather sizable portion of the "EC Library". A collection of bound, hardback volumes made some years ago.

I've seen those. Man, those are expensive! And not even in color. The reprints I got, although they won't last as long, are in lovely color. The blood is red as blood should be.

Since this thread is already here, I might as well ask - are there any (non-superhero) publishers/series nowadays that do things simmilar to the way Epic and other simmilar publishers did things? Sci-Fi, mystery or horror (or simmilar), preferably ones which have self contained stories (so I can stop reading anytimne I want to if I don't like it, and wont be left without an ending), or short miniseries?

Something along the lines of Camelot 3000, Timespirits or one of those other series that I can't remember that well. Or something akin to the EC series (Tales from the crypt, Crime Suspenstories, etc)

I twould be interesting to read a few of todays comics and see how they stand up to my memories of yesteryears.

VetLegion · February 6, 2003, 19:10

Bonnelli comics were always the name of the game here.

That is why man in thights (USA comics) never took root. Though they do appear occasionaly.

And Alan Ford. I still can not believe that it was basicaly popular only in Italy and ex Yu. Such marvelous comic.

Nowadays I just read some from the net and buy some local autors.

Gangerolf · February 6, 2003, 19:57

Let me introduce you to one of the best comics ever
http://my.opera.com/pondus/