I'm well aware that media hype exists for all mediums, but I think Comic book hype is the worst of it. Every new solicitation promises that THIS is the book you can't miss. THIS is the event that changes everything. This new writer is one of the MOST ACCLAIMED. This artist is SO GOOD. From interviews, I'd deduce that EVERY WRITER LOVES EVERY CHARACTER FROM EVERY BOOK HE'S EVER WRITTEN. THEY'RE ALL HIS FAVORITE. HE LIVES IN CONSTANT NEAR ORGASMIC EXCITEMENT ABOUT WHERE HE'S TAKING THE CHARACTER NEXT.

Why don't they calm down a little, take a break from hyperbole and CAPS LOCK, and let the quality of their work sell it for them? If Jeph Loeb didn't suck, I'd buy his work without being told HE WON AN EISNER TWO YEARS AGO. Am I the only one who feels this way?

This is inspired by the interviews in last week's free Ultimate Marvel preview, fwiw.

*Remembers when Loeb was awesome.*

The only stuff by him that I've ever liked were stories that were out of continuity. (See Long Halloween, Dark Victory, and Hulk: Gray)

I thought all his Year 1 and year 2 stuff on Batman was continuity... BTW, he also did Spider-Man: Blue and Daredevil: Yellow. Blue is the best of the three, IMO. Have you read Superman For All Seasons?

TLH and DV fit in coninuity ok, but they aren't coninuity like Hush is continuity. I looked through SFaS, but haven't sat down to read it.

i think right now that theyre trying to generate intrest. shiney chrome or hologram covers wont do it anymore so now they have to rely on the writing and artwork. seems silly because thats what i should have been about the whole time right? but so now everything is saturated like "OMG THIS GUY IS WRITING THIS" or "OMG THIS GUY IS DRAWING FOR THIS". and that theres always some event (52, civil war, wwh) dominating every title possible to get people already reading to branch out from what they already have.

so for me, its not a big deal. better writing and better artwork as a trade off from "ooohhh look. shiney" is good in my books.

I think part of what you're noticing is desperation on the part of the BIG publishers.
Because aside from selling movie rights - there's not any way to make money in comics right now.

And the Big TWO especially are panicking....

I think it's more of a changing market issue, myself. if you look at DC, they have a large amount of other labels and even a manga publishing arm. They're in the process of changing from a just superhero company to an all comics type company, which the comic market in general is moving towards.

Marvel seems to be one trapped between selling their superhero comics and movie/cartoon rights, but I could be wrong. Haven't had a look at all the companies they own. >.>

Of course, DC is owned by Time Warner, but I think many of the comic companies DC manages are owned by the DC branch, so to speak, rather than by TW itself.

The one thing I see in DC's hype is the shift into straight up GOOD vs EVIL situations. or a collective of GOOD against and overwhelming Evil Presence.

In the hype of things; The Green Lanterns are at the focus of a major shift in the galactic scales. Unfortunately I see some CrossOver style mixmash going on: DC's new "Inspirational posters for Villainry" with Mongul holding Lantern Rings of all of the spectrum kinda reminds me of Thanos (thanatos?) with the infinity gauntlet.

Still its coming hype for A) Final Crisis in some way, and B) a lead in and follow up to the "BLACKEST NIGHT" (the next GL mega event for 2009).

I was happy to read in an interview with Bendis that there are no plans for an event after Skrull Invasion.

He's either lying, or no one has told him yet.

....So Marvel's going to be attacked by..... uh..... The LAMP MONSTER!!!!!!!

"You're not even trying anymore, are you?"

I'm sure there'll be another event, but it'd be cool if they waited a year to do it. then 2009 could just be a year of everyone actually having a status quo to shake up.

Tangentally on topic, is a blog that Pete some of you might get a kick out of: How To Save Marvel Comics, Step One

The hand-wringing over all of this is amusing to me. I think the even larger elephant in the room is that comics are a dying medium. I don't think they'll ever completely disappear, but they're a long way from mainstream, especially with kids. "Sequential art" books seem almost anachronistic (if not actually anachronistic) in an age of DVDs, video games, and internets. I also think they overestimate the age at which most kids (okay, boys) would still be reading comics with any regularity. Again, highlighting the discrepancy between comics people's view of the appeal of the medium, and the rest of the world's view of it.

I've read that. Didn't agree. Saying that comics are for children is like saying the internet is for people in their 20s. It's a medium, not a genre.


I dont' think they're dieing. Sales always go in booms and busts, but it's a niche market, and that's been fairly consistant for the last 20 years, if you ignore the speculation era of the early 90s.

That argument only holds if you don't know anything about the actual history of comic books.

Yes, it's a medium. But it's also a medium that has been tied to certain genres and sub-genres ever since its inception (and especially since Action Comics #1). Yes, there are exceptions, but that's what they are -- exceptions. Adventure & fantasy stories have always dominated comic books, and those stories have always been targeted towards young, male readers. That's indisputable.

The age of the targeted reader has changed, though the targeted reader is still young. 15-24 or so nowadays.

I'm not disputing how it got popularized, but you could say the same thing about cartoons before adult oriented ones started to dominate prime time, like Simpsons, King of the Hill, Futurama, Family Guy, American Dad, Adult Swim, etc. For comics to survive, and grow, they need to do an ad campaign to help change their image. Not cater to the image they have.

The Flintstones was also a prime-time cartoon.

Sure, there are cartoons that target non-kid demographics. There are comics that are marketed to adults as well. But the vast majority of cartoons and comics are not. It is more than an image issue; it is a reality issue.

But really, comics are in an entertainment ghetto, and have been for many years. How do most people know about Batman or Superman or Spider-Man? By reading comic books, or by watching movies about them? And sure, there are adult-oriented comics, but the only people who know about them are people who are already into comics. And that happens via the big name comics that everyone knows about. The superhero comics are the gateway to the medium, and many people are uninterested in those comics, so they are likely to never find out about anything else that might be there.

And really you are only talking about a handful of comics anyway, relative to the overall amount of content in the medium. What non-fanboy adult would ever go into a comic book store? It would never happen. The thing is, this issue is happening *within* the comic fan world. The rest of the world doesn't care, and has moved on a long time ago.

Comic books. Everyone knew something about the characters before they saw the movies. That's why they were excited about them.

But your other points were pretty good. The only thing I've got to add is that non-comic readers don't have to go to a LCS to find comics. the major book stores carry trades (which are more adult oriented anyway), and almost always have some displayed.

My first exposure to Superman and Batman:


Not that I dont really really wish Madhammer was wrong but I think his point is still valid.