weird problem

[ctc]

Here's a point brought up by a guy on another forum:

Oddball Comics - Topic :: Should I give up on comics?

So... what do you guys think?

Don C.

[Bo8a_Fett]

Certainly he is right in some aspects..I for one started reading all the "civil war", "52", "countdown", "Hulk", but found it hurting my wallet and I was getting more and more despondent over the writing (and some artwork), to the point of not buying them anymore. However, titles that are well written and drawn such as "Goon", "Walking Dead", "League of Gentlemen"...to name a few of MY favourites I shall continue to buy...with any "passion" it becomes very hard to say no to "getting everything"...there was a time I would buy a dog turd if it had Star Wars written on it until I learnt to be more selective about what I bought...because with any moneyspinner ..there IS a lot of crap out there.

[ctc]

>a few of MY favourites I shall continue to buy

I think you echo the point I was tryin' to make: buy what you like, and don't buy what you don't. I've seen a LOT of folks who are incapable of this though. For some reason they keep buying stuff they hate; and then lament about it afterwards. Saw it all the time at the comic shop. See it a lot here. "If the NEXT issue is as bad as THIS one, I might stop buying the book altogether! Maybe!"

Don C.

[thunderbolt]

I've cut mine down to a handful of titles, mostly Hellboy stuff and All Star Supes. I might be getting Morrison's Final Crisis, if its pretty much self contained.

[The Toyroom]

I think you echo the point I was tryin' to make: buy what you like, and don't buy what you don't.

I only buy stuff I enjoy reading....I don't feel the need to have every cross-over, mini-series, maxi-series, one-shot etc. I'm constantly tweaking my monthly "buy" list...when I start to feel let down by the writing, art or direction of a book I drop it...if things pick back up I'll re-add it at some later point. I don't feel the need to have complete runs anymore...

[thunderbolt]

I still get the Atom, but interest is fading fast. The search for Ray palmer story is going nowhere. Thinking about getting Titans year one, The Twelve, and Superpowers.

[The Toyroom]

I still get the Atom, but interest is fading fast. The search for Ray palmer story is going nowhere.

I was going to pick up the Search for Ray Palmer one-shots, thinkning it'd be a cool way to explore the new alternate earths....I couldn't get past the Wildstorm one...they're all crap IMO. I dropped the actual Atom title awhile ago...

[Earth 2 Chris]

Shortly after the HUSH storyline (which had pretty art if nothing else) I dropped the Batman titles. It was REALLY hard. I had been collecting Batman and Tec since the very early 80s. I had every issue since then, and many before. But I just didn't like the current creator's take on Batman. I returned with One Year Later and have been relatively pleased.

But this freed me up from my OCD habit of buying a title out of long-term loyalty. I don't do that anymore.

Chris

[palitoy]

I think a lot of people get blinded with love for the characters enough to keep buying during rough patches. I always bail on the second writer after Grant Morrison it seems.

[samurainoir]

Buy what you like. Ignore the rest. Life is too short.

I would say that todays comic reader has more choices than they ever have before. Particularly when it comes to the Big Icon Superheroes.

If the mainline Marvel or DCU incarnations don't do it for you, there is the Marvel Adventures stuff, there is things like Power Pack meets Spiderman/Hulk/FF etc, there are teen soaps like Spiderman loves Mary Jane, there is Spidergirl, there is the manga inspired stufff, I don't doubt there will be animated tie ins for the upcoming Spiderman TV show, DC has their line of comics set in the animated universes.

[kingdom warrior]

Buy what you like. Ignore the rest. Life is too short.

I would say that todays comic reader has more choices than they ever have before. Particularly when it comes to the Big Icon Superheroes.

If the mainline Marvel or DCU incarnations don't do it for you, there is the Marvel Adventures stuff, there is things like Power Pack meets Spiderman/Hulk/FF etc, there are teen soaps like Spiderman loves Mary Jane, there is Spidergirl, there is the manga inspired stufff, I don't doubt there will be animated tie ins for the upcoming Spiderman TV show, DC has their line of comics set in the animated universes.

Agree here,When we read comics in the 70's and 80's we had less distractions and comics were made for kids and teens......but times changed and DC and Marvel are not now what we grew up with. They put out tons of stuff because the reader has changed.

We all have different taste now. They have to cater to all taste.My son is drawn to Marvel Adventures and DC's kiddie line plus he loves Sonic and the Simpsons.I like to read tons of different things but I may add or drop a book depending on the writer and art.

The days of old Marvel and DC are long gone.......John Lennon said if you want to remember just play the old records.....I feel If you want the good old days there are tons of collected stuff or just go to the Comic Bins plenty of stuff there collecting dust.

[saildog]

I feel If you want the good old days there are tons of collected stuff or just go to the Comic Bins plenty of stuff there collecting dust.

This is exactly what I wanted to say (because this is what I am doing), but you said it better.

I've pretty much given up on the new stuff and taken to buying stuff from the 70s and I am having a blast. I almost want to frame every cover because they were so much cooler back then.

[Bo8a_Fett]

I can't remember actually seeing any kids in my local comic shop for a long, long time. The demographic has changed now to us "disposable income" agegroup and the comics have responded to that with supposedly more "adult" storylines and massive crossovers ensuring some people pick up titles that they previously never read. At the moment I'm enjoying most of the Essential line (I've heard DC's version "showcase" have been dropped) which have great value for money and they're the comics I read as a kid. This is great as it makes a refreshing change from all the angst, political, violent comics of today (not saying that I don't enjoy them).
There doesn't seem to be many comics out there to lure younger readers in...unless they are film/TV/toy tie ins ...and surely thsi will eventually have an impact on comics in the long run.

I still get the Atom, but interest is fading fast. The search for Ray palmer story is going nowhere.

Agreed ..this started off as a good comic but again the whole crossover thing is spoiling it.

[jds1911a1]

to me it's worth the extra dollars for archive editions to see the stories in color. I just wish there was a middle groud softback ed printed on the same stock as essentials / showcase in color.

[samurainoir]

Agree here,When we read comics in the 70's and 80's we had less distractions and comics were made for kids and teens......but times changed and DC and Marvel are not now what we grew up with. They put out tons of stuff because the reader has changed.

We all have different taste now. They have to cater to all taste.My son is drawn to Marvel Adventures and DC's kiddie line plus he loves Sonic and the Simpsons.I like to read tons of different things but I may add or drop a book depending on the writer and art.

The days of old Marvel and DC are long gone.......John Lennon said if you want to remember just play the old records.....I feel If you want the good old days there are tons of collected stuff or just go to the Comic Bins plenty of stuff there collecting dust.

That is the beauty of all the Essentials, Masterworks, Visionaries and Showcase trades popping up. Mostly aimed at our demographic(s) that collects stuff from the sixties, seventies and eighties.

You don't even need to walk into a comic store to get them anymore since most mainstream booksellers carry them, and you certainly don't have to pay an arm and a leg or go digging on your knees through dusty boxes and bins.

If the new stuff they are putting out now feels like they are "raping your childhood", then go back to the childhood stuff and ignore what is on the new comics racks.

You can still walk into a comic store every week now and just pick up reprint material (or Marvel Adventures/Animated Adventures). I would argue there was a point when you had guys like Ty Templeton, Scott McCloud and Mark Millar writing the "Adventures" animated books that were better than the mainline Batman and Superman books of that time.

I just picked up a few of the John Byrne FF Visonary trades and I'm really digging them. I seem to recall reading those and loving them as a kid back and the day and being told by older guys in the comic shop why Byrne was ruining the FF. They complained about injecting things like Sue's miscarriage or teen suicide into their escapist fantasy. I also recall there was a very vocal outcry at the time when The Dark Knight Returns came out in terms of the level of violence Batman resorted to.

I bet there will always be complaints from one generation to the next in regards to the content of comics populated by the iconic characters. Simply because they aren't the comics that they grew up with.