CORPO COMICS

OFTEN TIMES IN COMICS, YOU HEAR FANS AND CREATORS ALIKE, SPEAK ABOUT “THE BIG 2”. OF COURSE, THEY ARE REFERENCING, MARVEL AND DC. WE ALL UNDERSTAND WHY THOSE PUBLISHERS ARE CONSIDERED THE “BIG 2”. I DONT NEED TO ELABORATE ON THAT. BUT WHO IS ACTUALLY BUYING AND READING ANYTHING FROM THESE COMPANIES, IN 2025?

GO WALK INTO YOUR LOCAL COMIC SHOP AND LOOK AT THE BOOK WALL. COUNT HOW MANY MARVEL AND DC BOOKS CAME OUT THAT WEEK ALONE. IT IS STAGGERING AND ISNT SUSTAINABLE FOR BUSINESS. AGAIN, WHO IS BUYING AND READING ALL OF THIS? THE CORRECT ANSWER - CASUAL FANS. BUT WHO IS AT FAULT, THE READER? OR IS THE COMIC SHOP AT FAULT, FOR NOT CURRATING A BETTER SELECTION? THAT IS WHAT I WILL BE DISCUSSING TODAY.

I FIRST STARTED READING COMICS IN 2008 - I WAS AWARE OF COMICS GROWING UP. BUT I NEVER HAD ACCESS TO A COMIC BOOK. ONCE I WAS OLD ENOUGH TO WALK AROUND THE CITY, THE FIRST PLACE MY FRIENDS AND I WENT TO WAS THE COMIC SHOP - “IN THE BALLPARK”. I WILL NEVER FORGET THE MOMENT I WALKED IN AND SAW THE SEA OF COMICS. I WAS DUBFOUNDED. I HAD NO CLUE WHERE TO EVEN START.

THE TELLER BEHIND THE COUNTER WALKED UP TO MY FRIENDS AND I ASKED IF WE NEEDED HELP WITH ANYTHING. I TOLD HIM IT WAS MY FIRST TIME IN A COMIC SHOP, AND I DIDNT KNOW ANYTHING. WHEN I SAY “I DIDNT KNOW ANYTHING” THAT IS TRUE. THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS? NEVER HEARD OF IT. JACK KIRBY? NEVER HEARD OF HIM. I WAS COMPLETELY IGNORANT. THE TELLER THEN ASKED ME, WHAT CHARACTERS I LIKED. I LOVED THE BURTON AND NOLAN BATMAN MOVIES - KEEP IN MIND THIS IS 2008 - THE DARK KNIGHT CAME OUT THAT YEAR. BATMAN WAS HOTTTTT!

THE TELLER WALKED ME OVER TO THE GRAPHIC NOVEL SECTION. HE HANDED ME “JOKER” BY BRIAN AZARELLO & LEE BERMEJO. I OPENED THE BOOK UP AND MY JAW DROPPED. IMAGINE THAT BOOK BEING YOUR FIRST EXPOSURE TO COMICS. THERE IS A SCENE IN “JOKER” WHERE JOKER SKINS A DUDE IN A STRIP CLUB AND THROWS HIS BODY OUT ON THE STAGE. ABSOLUTELY BRUTAL. I STOOD THERE, EYES WIDE OPEN, TAKING IT ALL IN. LOOKING BACK AT IT NOW - THERE IS NO DOUBT IN MY MIND “JOKER” MADE A HUGE IMPRESSION ON ME, IN TERMS OF THE COMICS I LOVE TO READ AND MAKE. OUTLAW AS FUCK.

WHY ARE MAINSTREAM COMPANIES NOT MAKING COMICS LIKE “JOKER” ANYMORE? WHO IS TAKING THE RISK, OUTSIDE OF MAYBE, FANTAGRAPHICS? I CAN SAY I HAVE BEEN IMPRESSED WITH WHAT DC HAS BEEN DOING WITH THE ABSOLUTE SERIES, AND THAT IS A STEP IN THE CORRECT DIRECTION. BUT EVERY MARVEL BOOK LOOKS THE SAME AND ALMOST EVERY DC BOOK LOOKS THE SAME. HOW ARE MARVEL & DC GOING TO ADAPT?

IF YOU WANT THE INDIE FLAVOR OF COMIC, YOU ALREADY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE COMIC AND OR THE CREATOR TO EVEN PURCHASE IT. A VAST MAJORITY OF THESE BOOKS ARE PULLBOX OR DIRECT FROM CREATOR ONLY - INCLUDING “SAVAGE DRAGON”. YEAH SAVAGE DRAGON IS PULLBOX, ONLY - WILD. WITH THAT BEING SAID, HOW DOES THE CASUAL AUDIENCE DISCOVER NEW BOOKS / CREATORS? ALL OF THIS INFORMATION IS GATEKEEPED - ON SOME LEVEL. WHY ARE MORE SHOPS NOT WALLING A LARGER VARIETY OF BOOKS? AND HOW HASNT THE CASUAL COMIC READER, GOT SICK OF THE SAME COMIC OVER AND OVER?

I FEEL THERE IS AN ACCEPTANCE FOR THE CURRENT STATE OF COMICS. THE QUANTITY OVER QUALITY, MODEL, THESE COMPAIES ARE CHOOSING IS NOT SUSTAINABLE AND WILL ONLY BRING HARM TO THEIR BOTTOM LINES, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, TO COMICS. DO NOT GET ME WRONG, WE NEED THESE PUBLISHERS AROUND - I WOULD HATE TO SEE THEM FOLD. BUT AT THIS RATE ITS A GIVEN.

“THE BIG 2” WILL BE AROUND FOR THE REST OF OUR LIFETIMES, IF THEY CHOOSE TO ADAPT. THERE IS A HOT FIRE BURNING WITHIN THE INDIE COMMUNITY. AS MORE AND MORE INDEPENDENT CARTOONISTS POP UP, THE STRONGER THE INDUSTRY WILL BE. AND “THE BIG 2” WILL NO LONGER BE ABLE TO IGNORE THE INDIE SCENE. AND BE FORCED TO BRING IN INDIE CREATORS TO GIVE BOOKS A FRESH COAT OF PAINT.

THANKS FOR HANGING OUT AND TALKIN’ COMICS,

-SAM