What Marvel and DC are thinking?

[ctc]

So;

I was thinkin’ on how Marvel and DC have been writing their books specifically with compilations in mind, and it got me wondering.... It almost looks like they’re trying to shift to a European model of comic book: where stories are written in completed stories, meant for collection but presented as chapters. If so, there are two problems:

-the books are still perpetual, and can’t really have anything happen.
-European comic books are anthologies, so you can get away with printing 10-20 pages of story per character per issue. N. America is the only place where anthologies AREN’T the norm.... which is weird ‘cos they used to be. (Pre 60's or so; hence “Action Comics Starring Superman” and the like.) The format even lingered once the trend shifted to one comic, one character. (Hence DC’s stuff being presented as “chapters” in a single mag.)

Don C.

[Brazoo]

I've been reading for a while now that graphic novel/trade is the fastest growing publishing market.

[Brazoo]

They've even started selling them at HMV!

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

They're EVERYWHERE! I just got a collection of the last 30 or so issues of Zot, and the forst 20 of Grimjack; both books were hard to find when they were ORIGINALLY PRINTED! But now, I can get them at Chapters; a national book chain! That's why I'm wondering if the "big" two and a half are trying to shift things over to a more GN friendly style.

Don C.

[palitoy]

My kids are already there, they love the newer comic store near my house. It's a clean store run by very nice people but it looks almost like an apple store, few back issues, zero musty smell (well some of the customers) and an unstoppable amount of TPB.

I don't really like lingering in there, I like dark rooms full of stinky paper...

For $6.95 I can get my son a digest sized trade with five stories or two regular comics that he'll lose the cover to by the time we get home. It makes sense for us.

[CaptainTrenchcoat]

I used to work at Barnes & Noble and the graphic novels were in my section under the Fiction banner. I saw the section grow from 2 shelves to 2 whole bays, not including manga. It's a huge business and growing rapidly. I personally love the graphic novel/trade format. I just wish they did more reprinting, especially in color. Not a fan of the black and white reprints of titles like DC Comics Presents.

[ctc]

>I saw the section grow from 2 shelves to 2 whole bays, not including manga.

Not including Japanese stuff the Chapters by my house has four bookcases of nothing but Marvel and DC compilations.... plus three more of independants and undergrounds. And two spinner racks of Tintin, as well as a bookcase of Asterisk and other kid GN. (The Japanese stuff adds three more spinners and six bookcases....)

.... if only we'd get more JC Forest, Nidasio, or Toonder. *sigh*

>Not a fan of the black and white reprints of titles like DC Comics Presents.

I found there are a lot of older artists (like Cadry and Aparo for example) that look a LOT better in B&W.... given the low technical quality to the colouring back then. 'Course, I grew up with stuff like the Warren mags, so B&W doesn't throw me at all.

Don C.

[Boris71]

I have found that with Neal adams! his stuff looks great in black and white, but growing up on comics like warrior and 2000AD in the UK I'm used to black and white stuff, I love the essentials and show case stuff. But it is nice to see how they looked originally in colour sometimes