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Topic: Is the comic industry really in that bad of shape? (Topic Closed Topic Closed) Post ReplyPost New Topic
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David Blot
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Joined: 22 August 2005
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Posted: 25 August 2005 at 6:06pm | IP Logged | 1  

To Trevor Giberson : Man, you've got quite a nice collection. Lots of
variety, lots of beauty in this selection ! Bravo !
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Ethan Van Sciver
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Posted: 25 August 2005 at 6:10pm | IP Logged | 2  

The industry is actually healing from some pretty horrific near-fatal wounds.  It's getting better.  Creatively, comics have never been more interesting.  The writers working today are astounding.

I'm hopeful for this business.  I'm not sure it'll ever be what it was at it's peak, but it ought to pull through.

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David Blot
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Posted: 25 August 2005 at 6:11pm | IP Logged | 3  

HEy Everybody.

Forget the 'Industry' for a minute.

Is comic book a great art form or not ?

I know it is.

So it will stay.

Fuck the industry, Let's Art.


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David Blot
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Posted: 25 August 2005 at 6:15pm | IP Logged | 4  

Totally agree with mr Sciver.

I stopped reading comics in the clone saga, I came back with Quesada.

Does that say I love every books published by Marvel ? Certainly not.

But is it better than during the De Falco area ? Yeah, tons better.

And Quesada kicked DC ass, and DC who only had quality in Vertigo in
the early 90's, is also much much more better now.

Again Fuck the Industry Lets Art.

More good books, dont care if they sell less.
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David Blot
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Posted: 25 August 2005 at 6:28pm | IP Logged | 5  

In France, the Industry as you say is better than ever,

Really. Graphic Novels, we call them albums, are selling by dozens.

New Asterix or Lucky Luke is more than 1 000 000. XIII and at least 10
others are in the same range. Great artists like Tardi or even new guy like
Swarf are selling around 200/400 000 by project. Not speaking about the
new best seller Titeuff who sells more than millions actually. And I could
go on forever. L'Association puts underground stuff in black & white like
Trondheim or Persepolis and they make best sellers of it.

They even stopped counting comic books in the Books Top Ten, because
they were more comic books in it than books. Yes even 'Da Vinci Code'
didnt sell as much as Asterix (as far as I know, should confirm this one).

So... What happened ?

The press magazine which was THE medium for comics in the first part of
the XXcentury, that produces titles ranging from TINTIN to METAL
HURLANT is nearly totally dead. They use to sell a lot.

The graphic novels industry - the common 44 pages or 62 pages
hardcover french album - took totally the place of it, they sell more and
they make more money than before.

Do I see a trend ? Comic Books as 32 pages for 2.50, may not last long,
that is possible, Comic book as an art/media form will stay of course.

Time to move on, my dear fellows americans :)


PS : BTW The industry is better in France, for sure, but I dont think the
quality is that much in it. I prefer US comic books even if the industry is
bad.

Crisis is always best for ARt. LEt's Enjoy !
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Lance Hill
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Posted: 25 August 2005 at 6:30pm | IP Logged | 6  

"The companies have forgotten that an excellent comic doesn't have to be "Art""

All comics are art by definition. Even Rob Liefeld comics.

"and it doesn't have to be made of paper that could survive a nuclear blast.""

When I spend $50 on a hardcover edition I like to have nice paper. =P

Anyway, I truly believe that the comics available today (including reprints and collected editions) easily trump the comics that were available decades ago.

The only exceptions are the recent Marvel and DC super hero comics. But contrary to popular belief the whole medium does not revolve around Marvel and DC super heroes.
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Chad Carter
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Posted: 25 August 2005 at 6:31pm | IP Logged | 7  

 

Yeah the writers are outstanding, if you're ages 16 and up. What about kids whose taste may not jibe with one of Morrison's mind-f**ks? I mean, it's the rare occasion you see a comic enjoying itself and its medium the way they did in the 70s and half of the 80s. Am I saying they should be written exactly the way they were then? Hell no. You can have all the introspection and deconstruction you want, but spare the world the comics that forget they're comics. The whole presentation of comics at this time forbids fun at any cost.

There's an ish of Morrison's DOOM PATROL, number 53, that is written as a homage to Lee/Kirby FF. As much as I dislike Morrison's work on this title, this issue was actually one of the better takes I'd seen on DP, or the Legion of Strange. Morrison didn't write it condescendingly, it's a very straight-forward tale, well-done. I mean, frankly that's the kind of superhero stuff there should be more of. It doesn't have to be fluff, or idiotic, and it doesn't have to look all retro. But it's all in the tone. Every fight shouldn't be to the death. Sometimes the characters "spar". They're not trying to kill each other. EVERY fight today is life or death. Not defeat, DEATH.

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Eric Kleefeld
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Posted: 25 August 2005 at 6:33pm | IP Logged | 8  

The manga format is the way to go in the American market. I feel confident
in saying this because I don't feel I'm describing some future trend, but
simply the present one.
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David Blot
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Posted: 25 August 2005 at 6:41pm | IP Logged | 9  

To Chad :

Life is like comics. Sorry to say. Look at TV, look at rap, look at Bush :)

Does 24 looks different than The Fugitive ?

Does 50 Cent sings the same lyrics than Marvin Gaye ?

Does Bush make you dream more than JFK, or even Reagan ?

Are you just not nostalgic ? :)

Comic book's got nothing to do with it maybe.

Its the world we live in.
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Trevor Giberson
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Posted: 25 August 2005 at 6:46pm | IP Logged | 10  

I don't suppose these French albums come in English, too, eh?  I lost what little French I had back in 1989 from lack of use...
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Lance Hill
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Posted: 25 August 2005 at 6:47pm | IP Logged | 11  

"The manga format is the way to go in the American market. I feel confident
in saying this because I don't feel I'm describing some future trend, but
simply the present one."

It's a VERY good format, but I don't think it necessarily has to be used for almost everything, as it seems to be with most Japanese comics.

Sometimes larger pages, colour and high quality paper really are merited by the comic itself. And hardcovers are always nice too. There needs to be a good amount of variety in formats to avoid complacency.

And that even goes for some Japanese comics. Take Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind for example, which was published with page dimensions closer to that of a typical DC comic. The older US editions by Viz went for a smaller format, and the art and storytelling really suffered because of it. But fairly recently Viz released new editions of all 7 volumes which more or less match the dimensions of the Japanese editions, and the content looks even more gorgeous and works alot better because of it.
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Eric Kleefeld
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Posted: 25 August 2005 at 6:50pm | IP Logged | 12  

There are always exceptions, Lance, just as Dini/Ross treasury editions are
an exception among American comics. But the manga format (dimensions,
page county, black and white, price, etc.) is a good way to go here.

I do like the Marvel digests, which give a nice between format that could also
work wonders with American superheroes and the need they have for color.

Edited by Eric Kleefeld on 25 August 2005 at 7:05pm
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