I’m a little suprised by the number of people here who read superhero comics, if the threads are any indicator.
The industry has been in steady decline for around a decade, if not longer, with numbers of readers plummeting.
I post the the DCMBs as Typhoid Dave, and notoriously get into arguments with people as to the cause of this. Some blame video games, some blame the increasing cost, some blame the lack of newsstand sales and the direct market. I acknowledge all of these, but all also point the finger at a maturing market - people who do read comics want more adult themes because they are adults, and kids who read comics want more adult themes because times have changed. Oh, and most of the stuff published by DC and Marvel is crap, whcih doesn’t help.
Any thoughts? Why do you read them? Where is the industry going? Will superhero comics still be here in 10 years?
I think comics are one of those adolescence things. I used to read an enormous number of the things, but had let the habit drop when it became apparent that most titles were just soap operas and that there’d never be closure.
But recently I wandered into Wonderworld in Burien and picked up a copy of The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen. It interested me enough to purchase the whole first series, and now I’m eagerly awaiting issuance of Vol 2, Number 4.
Depends on your definition. Is Hellboy a superhero? Tom Strong? I read both of those. I also read Powers, which has capes-and-costumes superheroes in it but isn’t exactly about them.
As for traditional ones, no, I don’t. I love Batman and Superman and Spider-Man, but I don’t read any of their comics, partly because the writing usually isn’t so hot, but mostly because I don’t want to have to buy all 246 titles associated with any given character. If each had a stand-alone title I might consider it.
I agree that a big problem with the current comics is that, esp for the big guns (Bats, Supes, Spidey, and the X-Men), there are a glut of titles out there. I currently read one X-Men book and until recently a couple Batman books (and also a couple of Bat spin-offs, Batgirl and Harley Quinn) and I can say that in general the companies do a pretty good job of keeping things separate enough that you can pick and choose amongst titles. However, the sheer numbers can be scary for someone who isn’t familar with them. (And as for Superman, those titles are actually very interconnected, which is why I stopped reading them.)
Superhero comics started me out on my love for comics. I still collect a few: Rising Stars, Ultimate Spider-Man, and Ultimate X-Men. My taste for comics broadened though and most of what I collect is fantasy such as Bone, Thieves & Kings, or Warlands.
I think superheros are a great jumping board into the world of storytelling through illustration. They are easily recognizable and can make a new reader comfortable with the character even if they’ve never read them before.
The character’s continued existence is virtually guaranteed simply to them being such huge cultural icons. Many TV shows (Smallville, Birds of Prey, etc.) and movies (Superman, Batman, Spiderman, X-Men) that use superheroes are often a resounding success in viewers or money.
Whether or not printed comics will continue in their current form though is not certain. Marvel is certainly seeing a little bit of renaissance with more focused leadership, the Ultimate line, and of course the movies. It sales are slowly climbing back up. But is it enough?
In the end though, good storytelling is the only thing that will continue the comic book industry. Not three cover, foil wrapped gimmicks. There are several really good stories out there. Sometimes it’s hard to find them amongst the crap but it’s the same with music, TV, and movies. Even superhero stories can be good. It’s more about the writer than the subject.
As long as comics are produced, there will be superhero comics and they will be the cornerstone of the industry. Hopefully, people will realize there is more than just superheroes.
I’ve read comics off and on all my life. I still enjoy some of the super hero books, the Superman titles especially. (Not always, but usually) Sandman was an incredible series, and I really enjoyed Starman.
I couldn’t say what it is about them that appeals to me. I just enjoy them.
I will say that I 've gotten tired of some aspects of comics. For instance, virtually every major character at DC has been temporarily replaced ever since the Death of Superman series. Batman: Knightfall; Wonder Woman: Diana died, became a goddess and Hippolyta took over (before that there was the Artemis Wonder Woman series); Flash: the Walter West “Dark” Flash from Hypertime; Green Lantern is doing it now, with John Stewart taking over for a while again. Enough of that already.
Plus there’s a tagline that I really get tired of. It goes something like this: “After next issue, _____ will never be the same again.”
Still, I enjoy the books I mentioned above, as well as JLA, JSA, Legion, and Hunter.
There are also some great independent books out there. Almost too many to keep track of anymore, but I really enjoy Phil Foglio’s Girl Genius.
I regularly read super hero comics. I read Detective Comics (Batman), Robin, Supergirl, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Spectre, Young Justice, Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate X-Men. Cripes, that sounds like a lot when you list them all out like that.
I used to read the Superman books, but now that they don’t interlink the titles, there’s just no point. The Superman books were always all pretty much the same (unlike the Batman books, which are very different from title to title), so there’s no point to read Adventures instead of Superman instead of Man of Steel instead of Action. I liked it back when they were all following the same storyline week after week… it was like a little soap opera or tv show. And I like soap operas.
So now I only check in on superman when they’re doing something with President Luthor. I’m a sucker for anything remotely smacking of politics, particularly the Presidency.
Yeah, sometimes the writing is pretty bad, but on the whole, I find them to be an enjoyable escape. I watch almost no television, so comics are my escapist thing.
I used to read and collect all of the Batman titles for over 10 years, as well as (on and off)X-Men, The Punisher, Legion of Super Heroes and a few other titles. Nowadays I get the TP’s which is where the industry seems to be headed, which could be a problem as I don’t really see how you go from a monthly title to six or 7 issues collected, if you know what I mean.
Another reason why the market is in decline is that they aren’t pulling in younger readers, and by that I mean 7-13 year olds, simply because so much of the stuff out there is clearly marketed towards teenagers, like Kevin Smith’s Spiderman, which to me is on the cusp of soft porn, but whatever.
I do. I read Exiles, Young Justice and Impulse (until it was cancelled) regularly. I pick up an occassional Deadpool or Batman book, and I have a list of Batman graphic novels I’m working on acquiring.
I actually used to pick up all the X-books, until Cyclops got brought back from the dead with amnesia.
I’m a comic reader. I get New X-Men, Wolverine, Powers, G.I.Joe, X-Men Extreme, The Ultimates and the entire Crossgen line in Forge and Edge, along with roughly 3 trade paperbacks a month (which is how I prefer to read DC comics like JLA and Batman).
Superhero comics have always appealed to me, and I have a swag of them boxed up at home. Green Lantern is probably my all time favourite hero… err… Hal Jordan that is… grumble, grumble…
A few years ago I also worked in a comic shop, so reading and collecting comics was pretty much par for the course. Got into the X titles and have a fair run of X-Men, X-Force, X-Factor and X-calibur… the latter being my favourite of the set… I think 'cos I had a crush on Kitty.
Pretty much got out of comics after that job… and also because the hot new thing of the time (Image comics) really didn’t do it for me… (OK, I collected Maxx but that’s all I’ll admit too). Since then I’ve only picked up a few titles… though I guess it would be hair splitting to argure that Martha Washinton isn’t a Super Hero and that Marshall Law isn’t a Super Hero… or that Sandman isn’t either.
I tend to agree that comics appear to be slowly heading the way of model kitsets, or slot-cars, or model trains… even role-playing games (my one true hobby love). Here in NZ we have seen quite a number of hobby/comic shops close their doors. They all have a dedicated (one might say fanatical) audience but are attracting little in the way of new blood. The teenagers of today are more likely to have or want Playstations and on-line games.
I hope that my little lad will enjoy my Green Lanterns when he’s old enough… but I wouldn’t want to bet on them still being published… at least not in hard-copy.
I’ve just recently gotten back into the comic scene, and am currently reading JLA, JSA, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Legion, and Doom Patrol along with the Transformers comics, but I’m not sure if those are “superhero” comics per se.
I really enjoy some aspects of comics, but could really do without all the crossovers and stuff that will forever keep me from trying to read Superman or Batman regularly.
I do reccomend Doom Patrol to anyone, though. It’s quite an enjoyable read. JLA has been pretty good as of late, and JSA is always a solid bet.
I started reading and collecting ** Legion of Super-Heroes ** when I was eight, which was forty years ago, and still have them all. It’s simply a habit I can’t break, but I still enjoy them, and it’s nice to have something of value that you can sell (so, if worse comes to worse, I don’t have to sell my Andrew Lloyd Webber cast CD collection).
Boy, do I ever read superhero comics…currently the Superman titles, JLA, JSA, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and Dreamwave’s Transformers titles. I read Liberty Meadows, too, but that only has talking animals and breasts (which don’t speak), which are only heroes to me.
I have however also read my dad’s collection of LSH, Superman, Batman, Titans, JLA, JSA, GL, Green Arrow, Ghost Rider, Spider-man, Silver Surfer, Avengers, X-Whatever, Tales of Spooky Things, blah blah blah dating back to the mid-1960’s. This means I (usually) know what Fenris is talking about, which make me feel all special…
