Comic Book Industry On Fire?

[Flightpath07]

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-c...on-fire-2014-8

Read, Discuss, Repeat.

[Le Messor]

We didn't start the fire!

It's interesting, but I hate the writer's taste in comics. I don't agree that comics are (in general) better than they were in the Bronze Age (actually, Writer just said they were 'better now', didn't give a 'than when'). Also, their praise heaped on Watchmen, Dark Knight, etc...
And New Avengers for being 'moody' (I find it gloomy and dull, and withhold praise because of it).

People keep lavishing praise on stuff like that, and then wonder why comics are getting so dark lately.

But that's my tastes.

It is good to see the industry thriving... I guess.

~ Le Messor
"Neither spread the germs of gossip nor encourage others to do so."

[Flightpath07]

I agree, (for the most part) comics are not better today than they were back-in-the-day.

I do agree that there are a lot of great independent or smaller-company comics out there, if you know where to find them and go looking for them; any niche you want to read about, you can find, which is also pretty awesome.


It was always burning, since the world's been turning?

[Tawmis]

I don't think, over all, the comics are better today than they were before.
Granted, if you go way back to when comics were first coming out - they're extremely camping, poppy and fun. But the 70's or so, I think is when comics were at their best. The writing was sharp, the art was beautiful. The 80's, the comics got very 80's looking, then 90's was the explosion of "big everything" (guns, shoulder pads, etc), and then the year 2000 thus far, has been the age of overly dramatic, moody, and over all, boring comics. There are exceptions of course, but they're so buried in all this other crap, that they're difficult to find.

[Le Messor]

Granted, if you go way back to when comics were first coming out - they're extremely camping, poppy and fun.

See, I don't even mind what people call 'campy' these days (I think that word has changed meaning somewhat since I first ran into it). I certainly don't mind 'fun'. Though I do have some problems with 50s and 60s comics, such as I've read (overly simplistic for my tastes).

For me, the height is the 70s (as you say) and 80s. (Those are the Bronze Age I referred to in my post.)

~ Le Messor
"I think that I shall never see,
A poem as lovely as a tree."
~ Alfred Joyce Kilmer

[Phil]

I don't think, over all, the comics are better today than they were before.
Granted, if you go way back to when comics were first coming out - they're extremely camping, poppy and fun. But the 70's or so, I think is when comics were at their best. The writing was sharp, the art was beautiful. The 80's, the comics got very 80's looking, then 90's was the explosion of "big everything" (guns, shoulder pads, etc), and then the year 2000 thus far, has been the age of overly dramatic, moody, and over all, boring comics. There are exceptions of course, but they're so buried in all this other crap, that they're difficult to find.

I totally, totally disagree.

Superhero comics, yes.
Comics, no.

Superhero comics are not the be all and end all of comics they are merely a sub-genre within a medium, and pigeon-holing all comics with this POW BIFF mentality is exactly why comics are mocked.

There are plenty of fun filled, bright, funny, family friendly, touching, moralistic comics out there, easily accessible to all.

/soapbox

[Le Messor]

Superhero comics are not the be all and end all of comics...
There are plenty of fun filled, bright, funny, family friendly, touching, moralistic comics out there, easily accessible to all.

Name them! And they will die be bought by my hand!

[Tawmis]

I totally, totally disagree.
Superhero comics, yes.
Comics, no.
Superhero comics are not the be all and end all of comics they are merely a sub-genre within a medium, and pigeon-holing all comics with this POW BIFF mentality is exactly why comics are mocked.
There are plenty of fun filled, bright, funny, family friendly, touching, moralistic comics out there, easily accessible to all.
/soapbox

You? Disagree with me? Say it isn't so! That's just so... shocking.
(And yet, not!)

You are correct - I was discussing Superhero comics, because I was discussing my opinion of comics, which is exclusively, pretty much "Superhero Comics."

You are right. There are fun filled, bright, funny, family friendly, touching, moralistic comics out there...

Archie... Strawberry Shortcake... and probably an assortment of others that don't fall under "Superhero Comics."

[Flightpath07]

http://www.businessweek.com/articles...lishers-profit

Another very interesting article.

[Flightpath07]

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/08/guar...-movies-marvel

This also interesting:

"Perhaps it isn’t that originality is dying, it’s that originality isn’t all that profitable. Hollywood is a business, not an art gallery. Why would a production company put its neck on the line for an unknown entity when there is proven alternative with a built in fanbase and formula for success?"

As somebody who considers myself "artsy", I find this above quote depressing. Correct, but depressing. I understand why companies, in any genre, in any category, would choose to go with "what has worked before" rather than something new or different...but i don't like it. And, for the most part, my hard-earned dollars do not support that sort of thinking. I like the smaller films. I like the lesser lights. I like the challenges, the effort, the struggle, rather than the easy road. If it isn't born with blood, sweat, tears, and a lot of effort, than I ain't interested.

But that is my opinion. People can be sheep some of the time, all of the time, or none of the time, that is everyone's right, we all have opinions and we all make choices. I just don't like somebody, anybody, or even everybody, to tell me what to think, what to do, how to act, what to like, what to watch, what to read, what to buy. Oh, i may listen to opinions, and agree or disagree with them, and occasionally someone's opinion will make me make a choice as a consumer that i wouldn't have otherwise...but in the end, i make the choices that i want to make, and don't care what anybody else thinks.

Okay, my ranting is done. Back to being artistically depressed.

[Le Messor]

This also interesting:

"Perhaps it isn’t that originality is dying, it’s that originality isn’t all that profitable. Hollywood is a business, not an art gallery. Why would a production company put its neck on the line for an unknown entity when there is proven alternative with a built in fanbase and formula for success?"

As somebody who considers myself "artsy", I find this above quote depressing. Correct, but depressing. I understand why companies, in any genre, in any category, would choose to go with "what has worked before" rather than something new or different...

Sadly, I'm on the other side of this. I want to be on your side, if only because other people have been telling me to think that all my life. (Irony noted); but, in the end, I find I'm more likely to enjoy a fun blockbuster than an artsy boutique film. (That tends to apply only to films.)

I'm not saying I'll queue up for a Michael Bay joint - I genuinely no interest in either Transformers 4 or TMNT - but gimme a Guardians of the Galaxy, a Captain America, an Avengers - I'm there.
(That said, I plan not to see Dawn of Justice or whatever in the theatre.)

I know Marvel's movies will entertain me, when a lot of others won't. That said, I don't avoid movies because they're small or unknown, either.
I've often said there's no correlation between popularity and quality.

~ Le Messor
"There's no correlation between popularity and quality."
~ See? I say that!

[Flightpath07]

I've often said there's no correlation between popularity and quality.

And that, we can agree on.