I used to read comic books. Now I only read collections because (a) they’re cheaper on a per-page basis and (b) I can read the whole story in one go instead of having to wait each month for the next bit to come out.
They’re not. Gaiman is a writer who worked with artists. The best comics are usually (though not always) plotted by a writer-artist who can do both.
What about Electric City Comics on Van Vraken Avenue?
Most of the reasons why I don’t read comic books have been covered already. The time investment involved for rather convoluted stories, the expense, the availability. Another reason though, is that the fanbase is a little intimidating. These mythological arcs and resets tend to attract a certain type of person that loves to nitpick every detail and explain why this joke or storyline is far more interesting than it is at first glance. Which is great for them, but for someone with limited interest to begin with, it’s not exactly a draw.
I do understand that there’s probably lots of great comic books out there and some of the art is wonderful, but with the massive amount of other media out there without these drawbacks, I just can’t be bothered, you know?
I do agree with some of the points RealityChuck made. The Dark Knight effect is a problem (I’m looking at you, Mark Millar). I don’t want every hero to be Captain Marvel but it’s possible to be too cynical.
Cost is another big problem. I can see where some people decide that four dollars an issue is too much to pay.
And I’ll add in the Infinite Crises Effect. I understand how Marvel and DC want to drum up sales by having a Major Event. But when you have a new Major Event every six months they start to lose their cachet.
I used to read Marvel comics, but don’t any more. Not because of a publisher-wide change, but because they insisted on killing off everything I liked, one by one.
My favourite series were Cable and Deadpool, Exiles, Runaways and The Ultimates. Then they broke up the Cable and Deadpool team, sent my favourite Exiles into no-comic-book oblivion, let Humberto Ramos do the art for Runaways and Leob do the writing for The Ultimates.
If I’d been reading mainstream Marvel comics, One More Day and Civil War would have turned me off those, too.
I love superheroes. But books leave the visuals to the imagination and movies have a kineticism that comic books lack. Graphic novels are superior because they generally have more depth and a complete story arc in fewer volumes.
Another thing, since I don’t usually post in comic threads: DC>Marvel.
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I suppose technically I count as “used to be a reader” even though I wasn’t reading them for my own enjoyment - instead I read them to my much younger brother until his reading level was up to reading them on his own.
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They’re expensive, a long commitment, and I’ve never found them particularly interesting. I’m sure there are some really nuanced stories that *don’t *involve the same boring fights issue after issue drawn artists who have imaginative views of what a big chested woman should look like, but…It hardly seems worth the effort to look for said stories.
I’ve read a few in my days but mainly I just can’t be bothered.
Too much money for maybe ten minutes of reading and then I have to remember to pick up the next one in a couple weeks to make the one I just read worth reading and see how it turns out. Easier (and cheaper) to just not bother and the thin size/quick reading doesn’t justify the cost.
Posting without looking at other responses:
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I am not a comic books reader. If “graphic novels” count, I have bought a few Sandman collections, and read Persepolis, Watchman / V for Vendetta. However, I don’t think that really counts, any more than listening to Johnny Cash makes you a country music fan. I’ve never read comic books in the traditional superhero, monthly edition mold. I’ve never even really got into independent comics, although that holds more of an attraction.
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reasons: The traditional comics illustration style is incredibly unattractive to me. Even in something like Sandman or the Watchman, both comics which I love, the illustrations are a huge turn off. Not a big fan of the bolding of certain words for emphasis either. Furthermore, generally speaking, the women (and men) are grossly distorted in superhero comics. Women are very seldom given anything interesting to do. Also, comic book stores are generally a tad creepy and I feel weird going into one.
Keep in mind the above answers are just my automatic responses and my honest emotional response. I’m sure there are many talented authors and writers, even in traditional superhero comics genres. I read underground/indie-style manga occasionally (which again I don’t count as the demographics are very different) and as I mentioned, a few ‘graphic novel’ type comics so I’m not a 100% normal reader either–but the above is my perception of ‘comic books’ as an industry overall.
I never really read comic books, unless a friend had a collection.
I agree with others that I do not like that comics are rarely self contained. Combined with the price tag, that’s just not acceptible.
But I’ll also point out that I don’t like the modern trend of drawing more realistically. I want my comics to look like drawings. Making it realistic just leaves me distracted, thinking about how it would look in a movie form.
Plus, I think the emphasis on visuals leads to poor story telling.
I grew up with British comics, even though I am not British, and throughout my teenage years and early 20s I read 2000AD, featuring Judge Dredd amongst other amazingly good stories and art.
American comics, including superheroes, Donald Duck etc, Archie etc, and things like Casper and Richie Rich and Little Dot, did pass by occasionally, but irregularly, and the cultural difference made them hard for me to get into.
More recently comics have twisted into unappealing stories and art, plus the required dedication to following the long long long ongoing stories have put me off them completely.
Having said that, I do have a few graphic novel collections that appeal to me, like Bone and Thieves and Kings, but they are very occasional purchases these days.
If I was wealthier I’d probably splash out on comics more often, if I could find something that was my cup of tea.
Like most others, posting without reading other responses, as I don’t want to have my response affected by others’ responses.
I used to read comics-- 1979 to 2000 or so. I have 20 or so long boxes stacked in the back bedroom, loaded with everything from Dell Four Colors and Fawcett golden-age classics to Image gimmicky one-shots. I loved comics.
I don’t read serial comics any more. I still hit book stores or comic shops every few months and pick up trade paperbacks, graphic novels, etc., but I don’t read comic books as serialized tales any more. Haven’t for a decade.
Comics used to be impulse purchases; 75 cents or a dollar or whatever, a fraction of a minimum-wage junky’s hour… which was good, since a given comic is read in a few minutes, maybe re-read a few more times to give half-an-hour’s entertainment. I had no problem then, buying unknown series, random titles, seeing if I liked a given title or writer or whatever. If I didn’t like a title, oh well, $1 lost, but if I did like a title… there was another $1 for the publisher for another few months. Prices crept up and my salary didn’t keep pace; monthly serials now are srs bzns pricewise, more expensive than a good EP from a favorite DJ or band, and on a par with a classic novel or something. If I know a series and care about it, it’s good money well-spent, but there’s little room to experiment and try new titles, try new authors, etc. It’s more difficult to find new series to follow, since it’s so expensive to experiment, and easier to drop established series since it’s so expensive to follow storylines that are (at least temporarily) uninteresting.
That said… I still like the comic format, still like the characters, pacing, etc. It just hasn’t been worth my while in a decade to buy into the monthly serial format which has been the standard since the beginning of the format; trade paperbacks are the way to go for me; unfortunately, as an afterthought to the serialized comics tradition, TPBs rely on popular sales in the monthly market-- an unpopular series isn’t going to get reprinted as a TPB, even if the TPB presentation is more appropriate to the story. I have to hope that a given story is popular among the dwindling monthly comics fans to justify a reprint for the folks like me who want to buy the compiled story… and knowing that I’m missing storylines because of this makes me more likely to be a less active TPB buyer in the future
I used to buy comics.
I still read comics if I come across something interesting at the library. I read Sandman that way and part of Hellboy. I like that I don’t have to keep them around or throw them away when I’m done. I could afford comics easily enough but, as has been mentioned, they aren’t a bargain.
Also, and I suppose this can be filed under “outgrew”, much of the appeal of comics for me was the illustrations. I liked to draw as a kid and copied out of superhero and horror comics and slicks like Heavy Metal. I don’t draw anymore. Maybe that has something to do with it.
Not only is this blunt to the point of rudeness, considering that this is a thread about comics and bound to attract comics readers, but it seems a shallow way of determining your interests. If I were to produce a reputable cite that CEOs, professional athletes, and celebrities were more likely than the general population to read comics, would you suddenly also start reading comics? As for the kid stuff bit, I find that one of the many nice things of being a parent is watching kid’s entertainment. I have developed a deep appreciation for the subtle comedic nuances of Spongebob Squarepants, for instance.
I was a regular comic reader for about a little while when I was like 12. I went with my cousins to a comic shop for the first time, bought ten comics or so and really got into it. Over the next few weeks I bought a few more issues, but then I just gave them up and haven’t bought any in the 15 years since (aside from maybe two or three issues of the Buffy comic).
I like graphic novels and I love animated adaptions like Batman: The Animated Series, Spider-Man, X-Men and the like, but actual comic books don’t do it for me. I think it’s the short format and the expensive cost.
But it’s also this…
The only comic shops that are local to me are really out of the way and have screwy hours. It’s just too much hassle when trade paperbacks are so much easier.
what Student Driver said. price is too expensive for the little bit of distraction you can wring from one of those paper thin issues - dollar to minutes, they’re more expensive than a movie!
the meatier black and white mangas on the other hand, seem to be doing well iinm.
I’ve always been enamored with comics and wanted to get more into them, but I haven’t for the reasons people have already mentioned.
Comic books, especially monthlies, but collections too, have probably a higher dollar per minute of enjoyment ratio than any entrainment medium I use regularly. Going to see a movie in the theater is cheaper per minute, and I only do that occasionally. The things I do that are more expensive per minute, like a concert or a ski trip are rare treats and are also a lot more fun per minute.
Given all that, I still check out graphic novels from the library and even buy them occasionally, but for all the reasons people have already mentioned, it is very hard to be an occasional consumer of comics.
On a slightly related note, one of my first comic experiences as a teenager was reading the Death/Rebirth of Superman series when it came out. (A friend let me borrow them.) I loved the Superman movies and even the old black and white TV series. I’d watched the cartoons as a kid, both the good Fleisher ones and the crappy Superfriends ones (and whatever else there was). I felt reasonably well versed in the Superman mythos.
In one scene after Superman died, Lois was looking out of an airplane window and thought she saw Superman flying past the plane, but she quickly reminded herself that there were hundreds of powered beings who could fly and so there was no reason to think she’d actually seen Clark out there. Right away I was jolted out of the story. In all the other media I’d encountered Superman in, he was special. At most (and usually at worst, i.e., Superfriends) there were a handful of superheros and villains who could fly like him. The stories were almost all about what it meant for someone in this world (or something close to it) to be different and godlike. The comic books didn’t have the kind of Superman stories I’d been used to. What they had were stories about the DC Universe that happened to focus on Superman. I wanted to imagine that I could be a superhero, that I might find out that my parents found me in a rocket that crashed in their backyard and that I had powers and abilities I’d never realized. That was what the movies and TV shows had given me. But there seemed to be no way I could be a comic book superhero. I lived in the wrong universe. And I just wasn’t that interested in learning about that other universe, especially when it seemed like it would require reading every issue DC had published since before I was born just to get the backstory.
As a kid, I grew up reading Asterix and Tintin comics- they’d be considered “Graphic Novels” now, I guess, but to me they were what comics were supposed to be- bright, colourful, funny, with a coherent story, interesting characters, and a clear beginning, middle, and end. I could also read them in the library (either at school or in town) for free, which was good since it typically didn’t take all that long to get through one.
I also read War Picture Library and Commando comics extensively as a kid (and teenager!) but despite not being bright and colourful, they were about something of great interest to me (World War I & II), and they had a beginning, middle, and end. And they were available for next to nothing from op shops and there was nearly a limitless supply of them, all of which were actually different.
Also, I read a few other British comics (things like Dan Dare and Judge Dredd) which you’d find in various “Boy’s Own”-type annuals, again often in op shops or remainder book stores. These also had beginnings, middles, and ends, all contained in the one story.
I don’t ever recall seeing American comics in the vein of Superman or Batman for sale when I was growing up (NZ, 1990s), but I do remember reading some of the Carl Barks Disney comics and enjoying them as a kid.
By the time Superhero comics (The Marvel/DC type ones) did start to become available (or at least I noticed you could get them), they were expensive, seemed silly, and I was at the age where I had other interests. Also, comics weren’t “Cool”- and considering that even the Dungeons & Dragons guys (which included me) thought Comic Book Fans were seriously geeky and uncool, there was no way I was going to lower my credibility any further by reading Superhero Comics.
As an adult (and thus less concerned with what my friends think about my reading interests), I’ve had a look at comics (particularly the Futurama comics) and found them to be far, far too expensive (AUD$5-$8 per issue) for the incredibly short time it takes me to read them. The “Superhero” comics I’ve looked at have all seemed really, really “Dark and Gritty” (dare I even say… Emo?), take themselves far too seriously, and seem to suffer the worst case of “Continuity Lockout” in this or any other Universe.
There’s another thing I’ll mention too, which throws back to my teenage years: The fandom puts me off. People who take it way too seriously- and I’ve never met, in person, someone who admitted to reading comics who didn’t- don’t do a very good job of convincing me that I should enjoy their hobby too. Kind of like hardcore Joss Whedon fans, basically.
Obviously I’m not saying all comics fans are like that (because they clearly aren’t) but I’ve met enough to be put off by it all the same.
Having said all this, I have enjoyed some “Graphic Novels”- notably Watchmen and The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen- but on a “Dollars spent per minutes entertainment received” scale Comics aren’t a terribly good investment, and “Superhero”-type comics seem to me to combine the worst aspects of Soap Operas with Teenage Angst & Wish Fufilment, with a side order of Continuity Lockout and a large helping of “Too expensive” for dessert.
Ironically, though, I quite enjoy Superhero Comic Movies- Iron Man, X-Men, Batman, etc. Yes, even I’m aware how bizarre that is. 
I wouldn’t say I have ever been a comic book/graphic novel reader, although I have read a few. There’s not a lot I haven’t read, reading has been an obsession for more than 20 years of my life now.
I’m not big on looking at pictures, and I don’t care much for the illustration styles in most comic books. I read really fast so it’s only a few minutes to finish the usually short/simple text. The stories almost always suck compared to any novel I could read instead. Not enough entertainment bang for my buck. AKA: boring. There have been some I enjoyed but it was usually giant book collections of one artist’s work (usually with witty and humorous dialog) that kept me busy for at least an hour.
I read books with lots of words … and very few pictures - unless it is a reference book where teh images are illustrating particular things that I am studying that are graphic in nature [like my Tilkes Costumes.]
I have always preferred books of words instead of pictures because almost invariably I see different images to the descriptions than the artists.