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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2014 22:17:49 GMT -5
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Jun 5, 2014 22:18:45 GMT -5
I'd like to see comics distributed elsewhere as well, but we're unlikely to see anyplace represent the kind of variety comic shops do, and I say that as someone who is of the opinion that comic shops don't have nearly the variety they should. I think an alternative distribution system could work for different types of retail outlets carrying a small selection of titles. Plenty of comics would be right at home at the record store, at Hot Topic, at Spencers. At the musical instrument store, at the tattoo parlor, at the bike shop, at the sporting goods store, I can see a few titles working here and there different places. I like that idea that kid had a while back for a comic book vending machine. He filled his with floppies, but I think it would work better with trades, graphic novels, mangas, and digests. But I could see that thing in airports and malls and maybe in a grocery store where they stuff the soda, toy, candy, and snack vending machines. Some stores have a huge area dedicated to vending machines. About 2-3 years ago news broke that Steve Niles was trying to put together an alternate distribution system for smallpress comics, stuff Diamond wouldn't touch. He was gathering funding, publishers, creators, all getting on board. One of his primary goals was to distribute to places like Hot Topic, Starbucks, etc. The effort was stillborn and rumor was Hot Topic told him they had no desire to carry comics, they were not a comic shop and when word got out, the funding and support for his endeavor dried up. So I agree it would be nice to put books in places like that, but no one ever stops to consider if those places want to carry books...it seems they don't. IT takes a lot of labor to maintain the section and a knowledge of the product the tpyical employee doesn't have so it makes it too labor intensive to be cost effective for them. -M I would agree.The person walking into Sam's Widget store is interested in widgets.Graphic novels at a high retail price is the last thing on his mind.That space used for the graphic novel will be less productive than a stack of widgets. And if they don't sell I'm stuck with them?Most entrepeneurs would not be interested to even try it out.Hurts me to admit it for I'd like to see the industry grow but if it was do-able,it would already have been done in a big way.Again,Sam might buy a few Widget books,thats about it |
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Post by Action Ace on Jun 5, 2014 22:21:48 GMT -5
Exclusive Variant Cover! Et tu Hot Topic? Forgot this on the list above. Only one variant cover allowed per issue and it must be a 50/50 split with both editions costing the same. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2014 22:23:33 GMT -5
I guess Hot Topic changed their mind or My Little Pony is too much of a sales juggernaut for them to ignore any kind of merch featuring the property.
-M
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2014 22:27:52 GMT -5
I remember when Hot Topic first opened out here. At the time we were a pretty small town so it was probably around a long time before we saw one. But this was the early to mid 90's and at that time the store was pretty much nothing but goth related stuff. All the tee shirts were black. They weren't all goth bands, they had a variety of rock band shirts, but all black. Black boots, black Dickies, spikes, chains, piercings, fishnet gloves, all in black. Last time I went in there it was hard to tell the difference between Hot Topic and Spencers, so they've adjusted their model a bit in the past twenty years I guess. They still have the spikes though.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Jun 5, 2014 22:29:32 GMT -5
I never heard of Hot Topic until this thread
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2014 22:32:55 GMT -5
You're not missing much  |
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jun 6, 2014 0:44:52 GMT -5
Another thing I'd like to see is the return to prominence of the writer/artist. There was a time when Jack Kirby, John Byrne, Jim Starlin, Frank Miller, Walt Simonson, and others, were turning in some of the best and most creative material every published at Marvel and DC. I don't think it was an accident that so many classic runs were created under the pencil of a single creative vision. The thing we sometimes forget though is some (not ll by any means) but some of those runs were done in bi-monthly books giving the writer/artist more time to produce the work. Kirby however would do 2 books a month and do 4 bi-monthly books, but as in many things, Kirby is the exception not the rule for mere mortal creators. Today's market won't sustain that bi-monthly model. Fans expect books at least monthly, if not bi-weekly or weekly. Such a release schedule does not facilitate a single creator doing all the work on a book. Also, all on your list (except Kirby) abandoned writer/artist for just writer at some point in their career because it allowed them to do more work and make more money than spending the time at the drawing board. Some of today's creators (Hickman, Lemire, Bendis) started as writer/artists as well, but the demands of the current market's production schedule has made it more viable to write only and have assembly line comics. I'd also question if the style was ever "prominent" as those creators accounted for at most 4-6 books a month, while the big 2 were producing a hundred or more titles a month, so even when they were doing it, they were not the prominent model but the exception to the rule. I will say though that with the advent of digital art programs, more and more artists are doing both the pencilling and inking giving the art are more complete look and eliminating some of the clashing styles between some pencil and ink artists. -M You're right, of course, about the details. By "prominence" I was benefiting from being able to look back and choose specific cases. Even then, there was little to no overlap now that I think about it; Miller was gone or leaving DD when Byrne took over FF and Jim Starlin wasn't working on much mainstream stuff at the time and was focused on Dreadstar. Only Byrne and Simonson were working on two "classic" runs at the same time with FF and Thor. Still...I'd like to see the writer/artist make a bit of a comeback at Marvel and DC. Kirby and Byrne could do it, but just about everyone else has struggled to make deadlines. It seems to me that the writer/artist method would work best on characters that don't need to be on the stands on a weekly basis (like Spider-Man and Batman) just so the fans can get their fix. If it were up to me, I'd purposely look for a talented writer/artist to take on interesting characters like Doctor Strange, Moon Knight, The Spectre, etc, and give them time to present their vision. Just my take. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2014 9:50:44 GMT -5
I'd also like to see fewer giant crossover EVENTS (all caps because they're so big!). Little crossovers were fun, but big events should be rare, otherwise they're just not special. Plus these big events get stretched to 10 or 12 issues, which isn't big - it's just dragged out. Like Original Sin...I'm not going to be buying everything...it's spread over too much...but I'll still read them. |
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fred2
Junior Member
Posts: 78 
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Post by fred2 on Jun 10, 2014 20:37:05 GMT -5
I wonder if abandonning the comics code was a good idea. Making comics "mature" isn't always a good idea.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2014 22:37:37 GMT -5
There's no code forcing comics companies to make comics "mature" though. Of course abandoning the code was a good idea. What wasn't is putting fanboys in executive positions and pandering to a tiny, tiny rabid base of adult comic readers.
All ages friendly comics still exist to this day.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Jun 10, 2014 23:05:52 GMT -5
There's no code forcing comics companies to make comics "mature" though. Of course abandoning the code was a good idea. What wasn't is putting fanboys in executive positions and pandering to a tiny, tiny rabid base of adult comic readers. All ages friendly comics still exist to this day. Total agreement.Having freedom is always a good thing.It's what you do with it that counts |
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