2014 what are you reading thread

I walked around my nearest comic shop picking up things in a dilemma of buying them or resisting them. Mostly 40s-50s Simon/Kirby, Mort Meskin and Ditko. I spent about an hour and a half changing my mind because it was all going to cost so much money. In the end I just bought Polina by Bastien Vives (his linework is gorgeous).

Even after leaving the shop I was still extremely conflicted over getting them someday. Part of the dilemma is that I'm already very familiar with that era of Simon/Kirby, Meskin and Ditko. I feel like I've been there and done it when I had a big phase in my late teens/early 20s. So it's hard to pull out my money so fast when the excitement is mostly gone. I envy people who are just getting into this stuff right now, with all these comprehensive collections coming out finally. If all this was out a decade ago I would have attempted to get all the PS Publishing 50s horror reprints, Warren reprints, Fantagraphics EC reprints; the Kirby, Ditko, Meskin, Everett, Krigstein, Kubert, Bob Powell, Jack Cole and Toth collections. Too bad most of the scripts aren't too good.

But the compositions of Ditko are often really impressive even when the drawings are a bit lacking (he was churning out a lot at that time) and there are so many beautiful touches.

I love the chunky, rubbery, doughy look of old Kirby art, especially the faces he draws on thugs and kids, they look like you could knead their faces; the panel/page compositions also look great (even if they aren't always smooth to read).

I don't think the Meskin compilation has the best selection sadly.

A couple of days ago I ordered the Ditko books and Kirby's Sandman.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that someday Marvel and DC will offer Meskin, Kirby, Ditko, Heath and Everett collections with decent scans. It's horrible how much they put into those expensive Masterworks and Archives collections and the art reproduction is terrible.

Can someone tell me which Tezuka books are unflipped? I read one volume of Phoenix and it was great but the flipped aspect bothered me (they are becoming very expensive too. I think that eventually (presuming the planet is in decent shape) all manga will be unflipped and I'm willing to wait a few decades to read Otomo's Akira and a lot of Tezuka.

black jack and dororo are unflipped.

Thanks.

Creature Commandos is batshit and poignant. Fred Carrillo very underrated imo.

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/02/28/star-wars-comics-will-never-be-the-real-thing-eric-stephenson-publisher-of-image-comics-talks-to-comicspro/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

It's very nice to hear a big guy in the industry clearly state so many of the problems of the industry. Quite a few things I always feel like saying, especially about nostalgia for old IPs.

I have never read an Image comic but that's a great speech

also kind of self-serving on his part

"SEX CRIMINALS, LAZARUS, VELVET, PRETTY DEADLY, ROCKET GIRL, and RAT QUEENS"
all of those titles added up, were they to magically release in the same month, would equal one low middle-tier DC title (Catwoman or Green Arrow, maybe) in sales at my shops.

The graphic novel format and the tendency for indie titles to seem like they're just being produced for the inevitable trade paper collection is actually not very good for comic shops, IMO - I sell a lot of Saga TPBs, sure (though roughly half as many as an event DC release like Joker: Death of the Family), but not that many single issues and I make more money on single issues than I do on trades. Batman readers come in multiple times per month (because they know their titles will be released in a timely manner, unlike a lot of Image titles that can go months between releases), meaning they see the superhero merch and GNs I've gotten in from week to week, they buy a vinyl Batman figure or a poster.

Saga readers don't have any of those ancillary benefits and often can't be seen other than to pick up the latest collection - which also makes them far more likely to ditch me for Amazon.

Also, this is some catty shit, because IDW (who produce the Transformers/GI Joe/My Little Pony/etc.) recently passed Image in dollar market share and are right on their heels in simple comics sold.

Because they want the real thing.

TRANSFORMERS comics will never be the real thing.

GI JOE comics will never be the real thing.

If he wants to prop up Saga as a model for new comic books I can't complain about that at all. And honestly he's right; the women's audience always feels under-served.

The question that comes up every few years, is that hardcore Batman audience that comes into the shop every month always going to be around? It has for the last twenty years or so for the direct market, but as he alludes to, there's a lot of people like me, with the disposable income to buy comics, older, who has no interest in going to these shops every week. What keeps me coming back is this stuff. Build that larger audience that might only buy a few books a year.

You're right though - it's tough to resist the siren call of Amazon when it's so much cheaper than retail.

(And come on, Transformers and GI Joe comics are generally awful.)

The IDW titles aren't great, IMO, but it's not like every Image title is Saga, either. There's no shortage of women in refrigerators, ultra-violence and craptastic spinoffs (this week's Tales of Honor looks like videogame art) in the Image catalogue.

"SEX CRIMINALS, LAZARUS, VELVET, PRETTY DEADLY, ROCKET GIRL, and RAT QUEENS"
all of those titles added up, were they to magically release in the same month, would equal one low middle-tier DC title (Catwoman or Green Arrow, maybe) in sales at my shops.

Sex Criminals #1 is into its fifth printing. Pretty Deadly had a first-issue run of 57,000 and sold out before release.

Milo, your comments here suggest that a Beto or Seth or Kelly reader would not feel welcome in your store, and thus they have no impetus to come in, rather than going to Amazon.

Howso? The stuff I personally read, aside from a couple of Marvel titles I'm trying to get into, is in the vein of Saga/Pretty Deadly/Deadly Class/Hellboy/etc.. I didn't read superhero comics as a kid and still really don't.
I don't let that color my ordering or displaying, because I'd rapidly go broke if I catered to my tastes instead of what sells. I carry 99% of titles from the big 5 and many from the next 5.

Pretty Deadly was a returnable title. I ordered as many of that one as a Justice League title and sent back 60%. It was also a hyped number one and sold about as well as a decent DC title does mid-run.

Image is a good company, I enjoy many of their books - but the speech does little to convince me that they're the One True Path of comics. The successful titles they've got right now have a lot of precedence in Vertigo from 10-15 years ago... owned, of course, by DC.

In that you specifically value someone who is going to impulse-purchase a Batman statue more than someone who buys Palookaville.

It's not startling that the publisher of a company would say good things about his company at a trade meeting, surely? And Vertigo aren't doing what they did fifteen years ago now, and obviously never will under Nelson.

I've been reading some of the Bleeding Cool forum comments and I found it quite funny that one of the first comments was by someone with a GI Joe avatar saying "what an asshole".

Some were making the points that Transformers and GI Joe had more in-depth storylines than the cartoons or films ever did. Also That the Star Wars universe was explored in a way that the films could ever manage. Some people are saying these are notable exceptions but dont reflect what most cross media tie-in comics are like.

Some people were saying that Stephenson underestimates how many readers come in due to cross media tie-ins.

I think what is most important that Stephenson talks about is building a future which supports new ideas and bringing in more different types of readers. It doesnt really matter whether you like Image (they have changed a lot and might be taking on titles in the future that they dont right now; they surprised me by taking on Bob Fingerman) or that most of their titles dont sell as well as the big franchise ones. I think comics have been going in the right direction for a long time but it has been going at such a horrifically slow pace that many current creators and readers are suffering for it. It's just downright morbid to imagine in decades later Marvel and DC still being the backbone of comic shops and the only places creators are likely to make a living.

I think it is interesting that this is about supporting the direct market in particular. About maybe 8 years ago I started seeing comic fans who didnt care if the direct market survived and I felt that way for a while but now I think if it changed enough it could make great things happen.
I recently started hearing about Homestuck being wildly popular and stuff aimed directly at school children like Amulet doing extremely well. So comics are growing in ways that might change it a lot regardless of what direct market people are doing and they might have to take advantage of these developments.

For many years I bought Previews every month and eventually there was just too little that interested me and the stuff that filled the catalogue was too depressing. Like seeing how well a Star Trek pizza cutter sold. Probably the most horrible thing I ever saw was a vinyl bear with the Watchmen logo on it, going for an obscene price. The idea that this was seen as more saleable than a lot of comics that couldnt get on to Previews.
I started seeing so many comics creators coming out who were only found in the most extremely specialised stores. Occasionally I buy Previews again and it depresses me so much that I swear off it every time but I buy it again a roughly a year later. I try and roughly gauge the percentage of creator owned comics (maybe including art books) versus everything else and I think it's only something like a quarter or a fifth.

I have to go now but I've got more to say later.

In that you specifically value someone who is going to impulse-purchase a Batman statue more than someone who buys Palookaville.

(Note: this is an oversimplification as there's massive overlap between superheroes and Saga and Star Wars - but it's the monthly superhero and Star Wars comics that keep people coming in.)

It's not startling that the publisher of a company would say good things about his company at a trade meeting, surely?

It's also worth noting that Ms. Marvel and the new Serenity series (Big 2 superhero and spinoff) are bringing more young women in to the stores than any Image title of late.

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/03/03/dark-horses-mike-richardson-and-idws-ted-adams-respond-to-eric-stephensons-comicspro-speech/

Response from guys at Dark Horse and IDW.

My local shop is really great on breaking that cave stereotype and getting out of just superhero comics. They are also good selling titles through trades more than the monthly book and have displays in their store to appeal to different types of readers including a children's section. I know the owner has said that the Walking Dead trade when it comes out is the best selling comic in the shop. Robert Kirkman's a local here, so his comics were really, really popular before the whole TV show happened.

They also are really involved in the local comic scene doing events for 24 hour comic day and having meetings for local creators etc.

yeah my local shop is like that - kids' section, foreign language section, LGBT section, crime section, local/zines section. art gallery in the back. couches, coffee table, loads of trades. taking my daughter there is great.

My kids sections have been colonized by Bronies.

put in smaller chairs

i'm surprised that these retailers and publishers still see some kind of future - or market - in the physical comic book. now that 'the graphic novel' has to be ppl's preferred way of consuming 'real' comics, i'm still waiting for the mainstream american publishers/retailers to convert to the more european-style album format of all original material.

if these publishers were really serious abt supporting comic book stores, wldn't they make more exclusive product (ie not available from amazon)?

I don't think Amazon sells many individual issues, so I think they are almost near enough exclusive. Recently I've started to see Amazon not selling some graphic novels until a few weeks (maybe a month) after it comes out in comic shops. Is this is new policy or something?

Those Richardson and Adams responses were good. Thanks for posting that Milo.

I don't think Stephenson meant that Image was the one solution to the problems of the industry, I think he was saying he wanted all publishers to focus on creator-owned work but obviously wants Image to be at the forefront of that.

I read Beano and Dandy every week for quite a number of years, then got Beetlejuice, Mighty Max and Monster In My Pocket comics all at the newsagents. It was only when I was 9 years old and got a Spiderman comic (because of the cartoon) that I became serious about comics and for some reason I didn't consider those previous comics "real"; 2000AD never really appealed to me and I used to turn my nose up at that too.
I guess time will tell if those current tie-in comics bring in readers that feed into the industry in general. I tend to think that an original story being a first comic for someone (if they enjoy it) probably makes a stronger impression about the medium and its possibilities than a tie-in.

I bought Previews again out of curiosity about this debate. Dark Horse has way more tie-in comics than I remember. Those Aliens, Predator, Terminator and Robocop comics used to put me off DH as a company. I think more often than not tie-ins for creators are jobs done for the money more than the pleasure; they generally look half assed as comics. When I see my favourite creators doing this stuff it tends to feel like a waste. Sad that they had to take that work.

I wonder if Darkhorse and IDW need these titles to stay afloat?

Looking at Image's current output I noticed the variant covers (Richardson was really right about that; but I don't think they do the incentive thing which really is rotten). I think too many of the comics look visually similar, you might have a varied subject matter, but if all your artists look like they learned to draw from copying superheroes and mainstream manganime, that is going to put off a lot of people.

I'm curious about why Image and IDW don't publish translated Japanese and European comics.

I saw two things that interested me: IDW publishing a Russ Heath art book and Darkhorse doing a Katsuya Terada one.

The high price of comics is easily the most common remark I hear in comic shops (I guess you could argue back that prices are complained about regularly in all kinds of shops), it might be obvious and I don't think they price these things high for greed but I think it should always be kept in mind. I don't know why there needs to be all those Humanoids special editions; other publishers doing slipcases for single books (why?!!); hardcovers and ultra thick glossy paper for comics that don't really need it.
I have to confess that I've chosen amazon a few times recently because some books are so expensive I don't think I'd buy them at all at regular price (38 pounds each for Simon/Kirby's Sandman and Newsboy Legion books, does it really have to be that expensive?). But I still made sure to buy a few things at the store. This time I bought Simon/Kirby's Horror and Creepy Comics volume 3.

A few more disordered tangents...

- I've been wondering a lot recently what a lot of creators do between comics jobs. There are a lot of times when many of my favourite creators don't seem to be doing any comic related work or commissions or anything that you can find out about on the internet. If I ever go to conventions I'd like to ask this. I could probably name 50 people I wish were regularly putting out comics work. Probably a lot of them cant find comics work that pays well enough.

- I remember an interview with Arthur Adams in which he said he wasn't really in a hurry to do creator owned work and I guess from reading Monkeyman and O'Brian that he maybe isn't great for plot ideas. But he is good with visual designs.
Even though people generally have a low opinion of pinup/gallery comics, I think there should be more stuff like that. Some artists have great visual ideas and clumsily shoehorn them into a boring story. Why not have more books of pictures?

- How many mediums could you say were close to how they should be. I'm glad I'm not someone who closely follows all the developments in films/cinema because that would really get me down. People always talk about poetry being in the worst rut in terms of sales and popularity but I have no idea about the vitality of what is coming out right now. Maybe radio drama creators and fans have more to despair over.
I think comics almost need to be better than other things to really grab and hold newcomers. Substandard films can be experienced by several people sitting together, possibly "free" on your tv, maybe with actors you already know that maybe get written about in gossip columns. Substandard music can be heard on tv, radio, shops, nightclubs, transport and can easily be experienced socially. Comics don't have enough of these advantages.
These pictures of loads of kids reading comics look surreal now...
http://beautiful-grotesque.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/cool-kids-read-comics-various.html

- Most countries don't seem to have much in the way of a comics scene. As much as I hate to say it, maybe franchises have kept the American scene alive. British comics seem to be coming back to life, with these new graphic novel publishers but it is amazing that we used to have so many comics up to the 70s and majorly tapering off in the 80s-90s (left with much fewer kids humour titles, kids franchise tie-ins, 2000AD and Commando).
I heard that the French/Belgian scene stays alive by the backbone support of translated Japanese stuff.

...more tomorrow.

The old way with single issues and some graphic novels was that non-direct market sources got them 2 weeks to a month later. The way the comics market works is insane - one distributor (Diamond) gained a monopoly in the early '80s when other distros went under, Marvel tried to branch out solo in the early '90s and that was a disaster so it went back to all the major comic companies selling to one source, who then distribute nationwide.

It's a collusion that has worked reasonably well for all parties - comic shops saved the comics industry, Diamond plays enforcer on behalf of comic shops while also providing shitty service and not so great discounts until you start buying a sizable amount - a shop still doing the 1980s cave thing probably only gets a 42-45% discount from Diamond. Diamond has a close relationship with DC (DC has an option to buy Diamond at any time, acquired when Marvel tried to break away) and the direct market, Marvel has been less friendly with both since Disney money started rolling in.

I wonder if Darkhorse and IDW need these titles to stay afloat?

i'm surprised that these retailers and publishers still see some kind of future - or market - in the physical comic book.

The way the comics market works is insane - one distributor (Diamond) gained a monopoly in the early '80s when other distros went under, Marvel tried to branch out solo in the early '90s and that was a disaster so it went back to all the major comic companies selling to one source, who then distribute nationwide.

no.

you're gonna have to expand on that opinion

I'd be sad to see Dark Horse go, I hope it doesn't happen. I imagine Hellboy would be picked up by somebody else if that were to happen. DH has also been a pretty good home for Richard Corben and it has been rumoured that his underground comics are going to be reprinted by them.

After Picturebox stopping and Fantagraphics needing a kickstarter to keep going, it is scary to think how those type of comics might struggle to stay in shops. Especially since Fantagraphics has lots of long running ambitious reprint series.

Don't most Mignola books stand alone? Isn't it just BPRD that is more continuity based? And all the stuff that is there isn't really that hard to collect compared to other superhero stuff.

I just realised there that Batman compared to a lot of superheroes (X-Men in particular) probably has more standalone books and maybe sells better for that?

- It confuses me why so many fans get antsy about comics not coming out monthly or being delayed a bit. I could imagine why if you only followed a couple of titles but some comic nuts get livid about delays despite there being so much else to occupy them.
If there was only graphic novels (or "big thick comics" as my preferred term, although some are only 40 pages) I wonder if that would turn some people away. Maybe some people who cant afford many comics per month (especially younger readers) wouldn't like it.

Personally I'd like it a lot. About 85% of monthly comics look unfinished to me; I see a lot of collected editions where the first issue looks great and the rest look hurried. I think this would be less frequent if only GNs were made.
Even if there was regular series of GNs, they would probably have a much better overall quality. I think some creators like Steve Niles makes comics that seem too brief individually and are obviously created with graphic novel posterity in mind.

One of the things that bothers me most about individual issues is that they seem like a waste of precious paper to me. I hate seeing stacks of issues nobody bought because they were waiting for the collected edition. It seems that collected editions are more often pre-decided now, when they used to depend on strong sales of individual issues.

I cant remember if there is a returns policy for direct market comics. I recall complaints about there not being a returns option or there only being limited options. It would explain all the stacks of unsold issues that nobody wants anymore.

- I used to hear the words "flood the market" quite a lot but that term doesn't seem to pop up as often. The biggest publishers being accused of creating more titles just to keep smaller publishers off the stands. I don't know if Diamond has encouraged this but I've heard some people partly blaming them for it. That most shops are obliged to sell all DC and Marvel titles before they think about stocking anyone else's titles.
I heard one comic shop employee bitterly grumbling that diamond stopped offering titles that did well (better selling than the minor DC and Marvel stuff) to make more room for comics, toys/merchandise from the bigger companies. That's really shitty.

- I used to see a lot of discussion about it being difficult to know what really sells well and about the numbers possibly being guarded (but why would anyone?). Between direct market, book stores, online shops and digital sales it's really difficult to accurately tell what is truly the most popular. I don't know how much library loaning enters the picture but illegal scan blogs, forums and file sharing are extremely popular. Some people just want to keep up with the latest storylines more than enjoying the comics as whole.

- To illustrate my discontent with the American/British/Canadian (anyone else share roughly the same direct market?) comics shops, I say imagine music shops overwhelmingly stocked tribute bands and covers bands (some people would says this is already true, but I'd say that is excessively reductive even though there are grains of truth in it) all based on the songs of a relative minority or bands. A large part of the store selling toys and merchandise of the most popular musicians. Toys of George Martin, Tony Visconti and famous groupies are more important than stocking cult bands.
Or imagine book shops sold mostly sequels/remakes of Charles Dickens, Tolkien and a few other writers and a large amount of the shop was James Bond, Tolstoy and Conan toys.

These kind of comparisons never work entirely but I think it still makes my point.

- Part of the frustrating thing about comics for me is that compared to other things they are extremely easy to make. People often say that any film being completed is a miracle because it's such a complicated process with so many people involved. With the internet it's easier than ever and I'm surprised that I don't see more interesting stuff. There is thousands of bad/mediocre webcomics and thousands of great artists/illustrators but very few notable online comics. Since it is so easy, why aren't there hundreds of great comics on blogs and tumblrs?

Speaking of Mould Map 3 above, even though I really admire the drawings of a lot of new alternative comics artists, I find most of them don't really communicate that much. I'm fine with vague obscurity but they don't often draw me in or seem potent enough. I'm sure none of these guys make a living from their work and I see a lot of promise in their way of doing things but I want a lot more from them in terms of power.

I cant remember if there is a returns policy for direct market comics.

That most shops are obliged to sell all DC and Marvel titles before they think about stocking anyone else's titles.

Thanks.

I got Verbeek's Upsidedowns collection (Sunday Press) in the mail today and it is amazing. Collects Quite a lot of his other strips but probably none of them to completion. I'd love a complete Terror Of The Tiny Tads collection but I'm sure I saved them all as jpegs years ago from some comic strip archive. There's something amazing about the morphing uncertainty (for lack of a better word) in his linework that is wonderful. I was dissing newspaper strips a little bit above but seeing these surrealist comics from this era makes me wonder how much more of this stuff there might be. Sunday Press actually doesn't publish much but they are pretty ambitious books.

Diamond didn't gain a monopoly until the mid 90s; when I started self publishing True Swamp in 94 it was still Diamond and Capitol City as the two big distributors with iirc three smaller but not negligible other companies (like if diamond and Capitol ordered 800 each the littler ones were ordering 100).

No publisher was exclusive with any of these distros; you got orders from all of them.

Then this stupid, stupid mania happened where all the publishers started going exclusive with one or the other of Diamond and Capitol, with much trumpeting for each signing. Everyone had to take sides all of a sudden. This resulted in the failure of Capitol City and the smaller distros. I still shake my head over this, it really really sucked and was unnecessary and ended up making things permanently worse for everybody except Diamond.

Denis Kitchen and James Owen were admirable, demented, quixotic heroes

Lol

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/spiderman-only-on-the-web-if-the-superheros-adventures-go-digital-will-they-have-the-same-magic-as-the-original-comics-9179098.html?origin=internalSearch

This would be a pretty extreme step if they weren't going to even stick with printed collections. I've heard talk of digital single issues for quite a few years and think it would be a good idea.
Some businesses can afford to act as if everyone on the planet has a great internet connection but I don't think they are one of them or that they'd totally abandon it, I don't see how sales could rise. Maybe avoiding the cost of printing would benefit them enough to do something this drastic?

I haven't bought any of these digital comics. Is anyone offering digital copies of Marvel's 30s-60s output without all that Masterworks remastering ruining the art?

I hope digital comics makes more translated and obscure work possible to own.

http://appadvice.com/appnn/2014/03/marvel-unlimited-update-introduces-native-marvel-comics-reading-experience
testing this out now.
went by a shop for the first time in forever, bought book 2 of adventure time, trondheims approximate continuum comics and vance and burr's on the ropes

The Marvel Unlimited app is finally fullscreen on iPads, which is nice.

xps Diamond gained their monopoly in the 90s exactly because Marvel tried and failed at going it alone.

Marvel bought Heroes World to distribute themselves exclusively -> the other distributers scramble to get exclusive deals with other publishers -> smaller distros fail without full roster of publishers -> Marvel's efforts failed -> Diamond left as the only distro standing.

Also, Marvel's attempt at going it alone and the subsequent exclusive deals meant retailers had to order from distributers. Splitting their orders meant losing out on their previous deals for amount of stock ordered, increasing the cost for the same comics they'd always ordered. Marvel's move put literally thousands of shops out of business.

order from *multiple* distributers

Thanks for sorting those memories out for me. Prior to the Marvel buy, Heroes was one of those second tier but substantial players.

It's funny what a microcosm of nineties capital idiocy the whole thing was.

Yeah iirc it's because of Heroes World being a second-tier player with limited coverage that doomed Marvel's endeavor. (I'm remembering all this stuff from reading the Untold Story book a few months ago.)

it was doomed for more reasons than that, all around Marvel's blind overconfidence in itself.

It is a total mystery to me why so many people prize this form for creativity. Monthly comics is a bad idea for a very large percentage of creators, but weeklies and dailies sounds insane. It’s like standup comedy in that there are so many factors against you that you have to be a truly special type of freak to make it work. ... I’ve been tempted to buy a Krazy Kat (because it is often called the best comic ever) or Thimble Theatre (because Domingos liked something that had a pop culture phenomenon in it) book before but there is just isnt enough allure in what I have seen. When I was a teen I assumed someday I would read Terry And The Pirates, Steve Canyon, Prince Valiant, Tarzan, Flash Gordon and Peanuts but I have pretty much no interest now.

i don't have much interest in the adventure comics (though i should check out terry one of these days), but it's important to remember that with very few exceptions the best strips either are relatively short-lived (barnaby, C&H, segar's popeye) or have a definite 'peak' period; it's very rare that a strip's creator manages to keep up quality for longer than about 10 years. krazy kat is the one exception i can think of, where you've got about three decades' worth of work and it's basically all great. but imo the best strips more than hold their own against anything else in the field.

terry and steve canyon are fun reads even now

First seven-eight issues are terrific tho'

Oh it ends? I'm only up to ... no. 11. They just announced no. 17, so I didn't think it was wrapping up. (Are we talking about the same book? I'm talking about the French one, 'Sillage')

Haha, I'm thinking of some trashy Vertigo comic. Yours sounds better.

http://www.eurocomics.info/wake.html

Someone's gotta name the new 2015 thread and I'm not going to screw it up.

I'll screw it up then.
Rolling 2015 Reading Funnybooks Thread