Digital Comic Museum
General Category => Comic Related Discussion => Topic started by: bminor on January 20, 2019, 04:11:05 PM
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Hello All!
I rarely go to my local comic shop.
But I have gone a couple times in the last month or two.
I find it to be a very depressing experience! There is hardly anyone in there the two times I have stopped in!
The only fellows I have seen are older folk like myself.l
Up here in Duluth, Minnesota, we have only one comic shop.
Talked to the worker there today about what was going on the the comic world.
"Not much:, he said.
How 'bout the Captain Marvel movie coming out, affecting sales? I said.
"Nope, In fact it one our worst selling books!", he said!
What I saw was just saw a bunch of comics that are hard to read and way, way to expensive!
I went over to this website:
https://www.officialdata.org/40-dollars-in-2018?amount=0.10
Inflation calculator.
So, 10ยข in 1940 calculates out to $2.95 in 2018 dollars.
So a 64 page book should cost that! Not $5!!!!
I guess I am a curmudgeonly old comic guy.
Where I do hang out is the Facebook page "Old Guys Who Like Old Comics" I heartily endorse it! I have met a lot of really nice people there over the past year or so!
All who love old comics!
Yours,
B.
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To this I agree many modern books are a dark place to go these days. But as I suggested already to B here, anyone who enjoys a GA or SA style book without the dark avenger and sex themes please give Kurt Busiek's ASTRO CITY series a look. The monthly book just ended but they are switching to graphic novels in the future. I bet most could find the trade collections in their library system. Well worth a look!
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I am going to have to take a look at that book YOC!!!
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Please do B. I forgot to mention many stories are only one or two issues long though there is a set of characters that do return for more than one appearance. Again, much like the silver-age comics did. I bet you will enjoy them.
-Yoc
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ASTRO CITY is definitely worthwhile. one of the few books I can look forward to.
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bminor, I used to be in 'Old Guys...' too, but I got tired of it. I tried a bit too hard to fit in but didn't feel comfortable. I hang out in 'DC Comics: When They Were Fun' and 'Earth S: Home of the Original Captain Marvel' if you are in these groups. I got to briefly have a chat with Elliot S. Maggin in the DC group and Erik Larsen in the Captain Marvel group. That was cool.
I don't really care for modern comics either. I read some of DC's New 52 stuff and hated it.
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The artwork in the new books is just "to busy".
What is the deal with no thought balloons? Is that true that some sort of decision has been made that they are no longer used?
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Hi B,
Yep, at some point in the 90s thought balloon went bye-bye. It might be busy compared to what you are used to but I'm still strongly pushing you to give Astro City a try! If you liked SA books you should be very comfortable with them.
-Yoc
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If I was patient and wanted to write it out, I could list 100 or more reasons why I dislike modern comics. When I walk into a comic shop, most have nothing I want to buy. If they all closed in the area, I wouldn't care. Astro City doesn't interest me.
I like ongoing organic storytelling with no stopping points. Story arcs are stopping points and reasons to quit buying a series.
I like connected universes where everything has implications in a broad reaching manner.
I hate reboots.
I like condensed storytelling. Watch the video series on youtube on how to make comics the Marvel way. It features John Buscema and Stan Lee. Everything they describe in that series is what I like. Everything they criticize is things I don't like.
I remember people praising the Image series Morning Glories. The decompressed storytelling made me want to rip up the comic. There was a page of people sitting at a table and the panel was redrawn about 5 times with only minor differences. I feel that is a lack of respect for my time and money.
I liked comics when an inker added upon or improved the art of the penciler.... like Tom Palmer inking Neal Adams or Bob Layton inking George Perez.
I dislike computer coloring where they have to make something glow and the gradients make everything look plastic.
I don't like the digital processing of the artwork. The crisp lines become muddy looking... blurry.
I can break down every aspect of modern comics and list things I don't like.
I own a Paul Gulacy drawn Catwoman page. The art is excellent, but it looks horrible in the published form. If I'd seen the published version of the page, I would not even considered flipping through the original art at a show.
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Is anyone buying indie comics?
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Is anyone buying indie comics?
I shifted to indy comics in the late 90's because they had more consistency to them. The sales were lower, so the spacing between the issues got further and further apart. It was too difficult to remember what had happened in the prior issue after 8 months went by. I had to give up on them also. I quit subscribing to new comics in 2000. I've randomly picked up issues since then, but as a whole, I don't like 99.9% of the product released. Some people say "I only buy Image", but they aren't buying superhero titles. I've looked at those and don't care for those either. Shops in my area could shut down and I wouldn't miss any of them. Walking into a local comic shop is utterly depressing. I have a pocket full of money, but they have nothing I want.
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I'm reading a variety of books. Nothing anymore by Marvel. Two or three from DC and the rest are Image and indy non-hero books. Beside Astro City I'd say Paper Girls is another real favourite of mine the last couple years.
A few months back I managed to read the entire Savage Dragon run up to the latest issue as well as Kirkman's Invincible run. I'm just now catching up on the Hellboy volumes and plan to move to Concrete after that. One Punch Man has been oddly fun to read. Like Larson's SD the hero and villains they come up with in OPM can be pretty funny. The Rick and Morty comics are close to the tv show for story lines and fun if you are into that kind of humour.
Other books I've been reading:
American Gods
Auntie Agathas Home For Wayward Rabbits
Cinema Purgatorio
Curse Words
Die!Die!Die!
Eclipse
Elephantmen series
Everafter
Hit-Girl
John Carpenter's Tales of Science Fiction various series
Kick-Ass
Oblivion Song
Outcast
Prometheus (The Europe comic)
Redlands
Rose
Self-Made
Skyward
Strangers in Paradise XXV
The Freeze
United States vs. Murder - Inc.
William Gibson's Alien 3
-Yoc
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Like Defiant1 says, I see little or nothing I want when I go to a comic book shop these days.
Over the last few years, there is one indy title that I look forward to. That's Mr. Jigsaw the Man of 1000 Parts. Does that sound a bit familiar to older fans here? The strip, by Ron Fortier and Gary Kato, was crested for the Charlton Bullseye title back in the 1980's. Only Bullseye folded. The strip appeared in a random issue of Scary Tales. The character appeared in a few other places, as well.
But, in 2009, Jiggy began his own title with Redbud Comics. There are now about 15 issues (plus trades) available on Indy-Planet. I highly recommend them.
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Ron is more of an old school style writer.
I met him once when he was pushing B&W comics for a dollar.
(https://66.media.tumblr.com/e262b9dca055f86c5a9b98383dd2ace4/tumblr_pn58q1Ba6E1rl13p0o1_500.png)I'm not going to chase after things he writes because it isn't usually the same subject matter that interests me.
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I still read lots of current comics; I like a lot of the new, modern style books. But I like old school fun just as much.
Two current books I would recommend to people who don't like a lot of the new stuff.
1) The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, from Marvel. This book is just incredibly fun, incredibly funny, and very, very angst-free. Plenty of action but the main character is as likely to solve problems by talking to people as fighting them. Although when she does run into somebody where that doesn't work the fights are highly entertaining as well.
2) Love And Capes, by Thom Zahler. Superheroes meet romantic comedy. It's been on hiatus a few years, but is returning later this year. It's also available as a webcomic in addition to print, so easy to read and see if you like it. Very funny commentary on the superhero genre, it starts good and just keeps getting better as it goes along, and the rare points where it gets serious are excellent. It has the most moving superhero death I've ever read, for instance.
http://loveandcapes.com/comic/love-and-capes-strip-1/
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Is anyone buying marvel comics?
Quite a few, I mentioned Squirrel Girl in the post right before yours. Also Star Wars, Doctor Aphra, Ms. Marvel, Mr. and Mrs. X, Asgardians of the Galaxy, Domino, X-Men: Grand Design, and I'm giving Fantastic Four at least a few issues trial.
If it seems like I'm mostly reading books somewhat to the side of mainstream marvel you probably aren't wrong, to be fair. But it's still a fair number of books, and others come and go as they catch my attention.
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ASTRO CITY is definitely worthwhile. one of the few books I can look forward to.
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Ahem ... a reminder that I'm trying to get this funded
http://standard-comics.com/hammerandanvil
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Hear hear! Well worth a look and pledge!
:)
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Can I toss out a recommendation for The Wrong Earth by Ahoy Comics?
The premise is what if the Pop Art/Adam West-esque Caped Crusader Batman switched Earths with the One-Dimensional/Grim n Gritty modern take on the character. The series isn't played for laughs, though it has its humour. Instead, there's a sincerity to the storytelling which might draw comedy from the surroundings of the Pop Art world, but never mocks the ideals of the hero, Dragonflly-Man himself or what he stands for. I specifically bring this up, because I want to emphasize that this isn't a case of a company bringing back some Golden-Age/Silver-Age concept just so they can smugly point and laugh at it - there is a respect here for the source material along with a sense of fun.
Similarly, Titan Comics released two Fighting American mini-series recently and if you haven't read those, I'd strongly recommend you give them a chance. For all the talk about Fighting American being nothing more than a Captain America rip-off, there is one significant difference between the two - one was meant to be played straight while the other was intended to be recognized as satire. The recent series maintains a respect for the source material and its heroes while recognizing that villains such as Poison Ivan, Hotski Trotski, and Deadly Doolittle were created once Simon and Kirby realised that the Communist Witch hunt of the 50's, was just that - a witch hunt which couldn't be taken seriously. Like The Wrong Earth, this series maintains the integrity of the good guys and treats its heroes respectfully and even reverentially, but isn't without its own brand of humour and fun.
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One good thing I can say about modern comics is that there have been a LOT of wonderful reprints available in recent years. Dark Horse, Fantagraphics, and IDW/Yoe in particular have been churning out book after book. Some aren't great quality, but others, like the black and white EC collections, are just gorgeous.
As for original content, there are some hidden gems. There's a black and white horror mag called The Creeps that imitates old Warren mags to great effect, and is well worth checking out if you enjoyed the old Creepy and Eerie books.
Here's one of my favorite recent series. It's a black and white horror series that doesn't take itself seriously - to the point of almost being farcical, but not quite. Sexy, violent, funny, and just plain good.
http://www.cryptlogic.net/wulfandbatsy/
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Thanks GB, I'd never heard of that last title. I'll look for it.
-Yoc