Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Comics
This started out as a comment on "Links & comics," but turned into a rant, so I made it a post.
I stopped collecting comics a long time ago. I still read them, but I no longer collect them. I suppose the reason was that after a while, that's all I did was collect comics. It was too much, and it got to the point that I would buy all these comics and never get around to reading them.
Around the time of the first Batman movie I worked at a comic shop in !-town. It was my first job and I got paid in comics. This was perfect for me, because that's all I spent my money on comics anyway. I read all the mainstream lines like Spider-Man, Batman, X-Men and so on. At the time, most characters only had one or two titles, like Superman and Action Comics. Spider-Man has the most (3) with The Amazing, The Spectacular, and Web of Spider-Man. I collected them all.
Now, not only do you have what seems to be seven or eight titles to one hero, you have spin off titles as well. Catwoman, Robin, Ted- The Night Janitor at Wayne Enterprises. You also have eighty seven titles for each hero group, like the X-men. Not only that, but you have spin off titles for each character within that group; Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm and so on. It also seems like each title is somehow related to every other title in the current story arc, so you have to buy every title just to figure out what the hell is going on. It's too much.
It also seems like everyone is obsessed with collecting comics now. I used to do this. I used to take all my comics and wrap them up in mylar bags and stick them in boxes. I have to ask, what's the point? I used to know so many people who used to think that these things were going to put their kids through college. They heard stories from their parents about how Dad had a copy of The Amazing Spider-Man #1 and Grandma threw it out when he went to college. They think that the Todd MacFarlane (sp?) Spider-Man #1 is going to be worth the same some day. I got news for you, IT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN.
The reason that a Superman #1 and The Amazing Spider-Man #1 and the others are worth tens of thousands is because they are rare. There's like seven in existence. It's not the same anymore. First of all, the comics in the old days were printed on the crappiest paper with the cheapest ink. This means they fall apart easily. The new papers and inks they use now are going to last about a thousand years, even in a landfill. Secondly, every dweeb out there bought forty of them and stuck them in an airtight vault somewhere. I have seven Spider-Man #1s. Seven! And guess what, they ain't worth dick.
The biggest scam is the "collectable cover." What a racket, man. So not only do you have to but eight titles of one character, now they have us buying four copies of the same issue! And people do it. I don't get it. It's not just comics anymore, either. Magazines, books, CDs, even TV Guide for crying out loud. TV Guide!
I think they need a Marketing Hall of Fame. Whoever scams the most people without actually breaking the law gets in. The comics industry should be one of the first in, along with the guy who invented the Pet Rock.
I still read comics. There's a lot of really good writers and artists out there and I like the stories. That's why I'm so glad that they make so many collections in trade paperback. I can buy an entire story line without having to wait a month for the next chapter. I don't feel the need to care about the quality, and I can just sit back and enjoy the story. I say, screw collecting. Just read them.
I stopped collecting comics a long time ago. I still read them, but I no longer collect them. I suppose the reason was that after a while, that's all I did was collect comics. It was too much, and it got to the point that I would buy all these comics and never get around to reading them.
Around the time of the first Batman movie I worked at a comic shop in !-town. It was my first job and I got paid in comics. This was perfect for me, because that's all I spent my money on comics anyway. I read all the mainstream lines like Spider-Man, Batman, X-Men and so on. At the time, most characters only had one or two titles, like Superman and Action Comics. Spider-Man has the most (3) with The Amazing, The Spectacular, and Web of Spider-Man. I collected them all.
Now, not only do you have what seems to be seven or eight titles to one hero, you have spin off titles as well. Catwoman, Robin, Ted- The Night Janitor at Wayne Enterprises. You also have eighty seven titles for each hero group, like the X-men. Not only that, but you have spin off titles for each character within that group; Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm and so on. It also seems like each title is somehow related to every other title in the current story arc, so you have to buy every title just to figure out what the hell is going on. It's too much.
It also seems like everyone is obsessed with collecting comics now. I used to do this. I used to take all my comics and wrap them up in mylar bags and stick them in boxes. I have to ask, what's the point? I used to know so many people who used to think that these things were going to put their kids through college. They heard stories from their parents about how Dad had a copy of The Amazing Spider-Man #1 and Grandma threw it out when he went to college. They think that the Todd MacFarlane (sp?) Spider-Man #1 is going to be worth the same some day. I got news for you, IT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN.
The reason that a Superman #1 and The Amazing Spider-Man #1 and the others are worth tens of thousands is because they are rare. There's like seven in existence. It's not the same anymore. First of all, the comics in the old days were printed on the crappiest paper with the cheapest ink. This means they fall apart easily. The new papers and inks they use now are going to last about a thousand years, even in a landfill. Secondly, every dweeb out there bought forty of them and stuck them in an airtight vault somewhere. I have seven Spider-Man #1s. Seven! And guess what, they ain't worth dick.
The biggest scam is the "collectable cover." What a racket, man. So not only do you have to but eight titles of one character, now they have us buying four copies of the same issue! And people do it. I don't get it. It's not just comics anymore, either. Magazines, books, CDs, even TV Guide for crying out loud. TV Guide!
I think they need a Marketing Hall of Fame. Whoever scams the most people without actually breaking the law gets in. The comics industry should be one of the first in, along with the guy who invented the Pet Rock.
I still read comics. There's a lot of really good writers and artists out there and I like the stories. That's why I'm so glad that they make so many collections in trade paperback. I can buy an entire story line without having to wait a month for the next chapter. I don't feel the need to care about the quality, and I can just sit back and enjoy the story. I say, screw collecting. Just read them.
