Byrne Robotics: Lighter weight comics

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Topic: Lighter weight comics

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Rebecca Jansen
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Joined: 12 February 2018
Location: Canada
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Posted: 07 November 2023 at 6:30pm \| IP Logged \| 1	post reply

Beano, Dandy, Chips etc. seem a lot like the Sunday funnies sections in North American newspapers to me, most people's first experience with reading or following comics. The first comic books in the U.S. were basically newspaper and Sunday funnies reprints, and slowly original things were made due to demand (having used up all the newspaper funnies). This sort of 'light weight' and even ephemeral item experience is where any future audience is likely to come from, and some form of continuing serial in them seems a good ingredient just like still having kid accessible comics around, even just digest reprints at the supermarket checkout area.

It's not that no attention has ever gone into making quality current kids comics in America, but it seems like the way to find actual kids has gotten a bit lost where I suspect a lot might be through a father or older relative who goes to collector shops, and minus someone like that there'll be a lot fewer readers to support a future for the form. There are some great programs for giving them away though which is great. When I was little you traded at school or elsewhere all the time and your parents would consider new ones essential for any kind of trip.

In England you could subscribe via your newsagent or papers shop to a favorite title like people would with newspapers, while in America it was more a distribution by near random bundles and you couldn't be sure of a title reaching the same seller again never mind asking them to keep a copy for you.

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Wallace Sellars
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Joined: 01 May 2004
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Posted: 10 November 2023 at 9:46pm \| IP Logged \| 2	post reply

Robbie Moubert wrote:

Archie comics from the 60s, 70s and 80s. I particularly enjoy the work of Dan DeCarlo, Samm Schwartz and Harry Lucey.

This. I enjoy revisiting them from time to time.

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Eric Jansen
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Joined: 27 October 2013
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Posted: 13 November 2023 at 10:31am \| IP Logged \| 3	post reply

I can totally enjoy a classic ARCHIE DIGEST every so often!

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Rebecca Jansen
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Joined: 12 February 2018
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Posted: 21 November 2023 at 5:38am \| IP Logged \| 4	post reply

They've been doing some interesting new Archie comics I've heard. The last new Archies I bought were the first Cheryl Blossom comics straight from the publisher, but that was quite awhile ago now. They've never entirely remained static or frozen in terms of appearance, but rightly the Dan DeCarlo template ruled for a few decades.

I had a few of those Spire comics as a kid too even though they cost something like nine cents more... the Archie ones were official and of the high quality aside from the religious message, but they had some very strange other comics like one on the story of Chuck Colson an indicted Nixon conspirator finding 'the Lord' while in prison ('Born Again'). What? G. Gordon Liddy didn't want to be a comic book character?

I guess some things like Spongebob and Captain Underpants are more recent successful hits with actual kids... also Mutant Turtles once they became a tv cartoon. I liked when DC was trying to do those Superhero Girls as less zany comics/tv cartoons, but then they gone wacky ala Teen Titans Go now. I also saw a series titled Supergirl In The 8th Grade, but I guess it wasn't a hit either, but then if they are mostly only found in comic shops... Trina Robbins had that problem with one of her fashion girls titles California Girls, and also Go Girl which was like early Supergirl... how many girls visit comic shops on top of just how many kids even. If they are one of those dimly lit type places with a table of gamers living there and a leering Lobo or Punisher in the window I don't even want to go in! :^O

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