Help me do my homework: Comic Edition

replying now so the thread will be saved in my Subscribed folder, and I'm at work and can't give any answers the full time they need. I'll definitely give you a full response tomorrow morning.

I used to read older 70s-80s-90s back issues when I was younger, say 7 years old. My parents scavenged local garage sales so that there was a sizable pile. Mind you, none of the storylines made any sense. I usually got part 2 out of 13 parts or something. I didn't care. I read these issues when I wasn't reading comic strip collections, my real fandom. [/quote]

I still read online comics and the occasional print collection, but definitely not comic issues. The reason is simple: the prices are pet-rock ridiculous. Why would I spend five dollars on a pamphlet that doesn't even take five minutes to read? Even the trades are far too short to justify their prices. Even if there were enough content, I feel that I've outgrown the silly soap operas that take themselves too seriously and that are, let's face it, not very well written. There's more literature elsewhere there's not enough time to read.

I'm a casual reader but an impulsive forum lurker, so I know more about comic universes than I should. However, I also watched plenty of Marvel and Batman cartoon episodes (and some DK books) as a kid to know a lot of "mythology".

It's as much of a gathering as other hobbies, but I wouldn't call it a subculture. That implies a generation reacting to the larger cultural context, like the beatniks in the 50s and Gen X in the 70s and 80s. The comic book community as a rule has existed for the sake of itself with little other purpose than to deconstruct why men put on tights. Any real artistic achievement is being done on the outskirts. Think Neil Gaiman and Scott McCloud, themselves members of artistic subcultures distinct from mainstream comics.

Well, most of these shows and films are the only way I know anything about the characters. I still wouldn't read comic book issues, however, which is bad for Marvel and DC. I think they're catching on to that most people simply aren't interested in the format they're offering right now. Personal opinion, of course.
Not at all. They generate awareness of the properties but do nothing to promote the business.

See above.

People want something fresh and original. Superhero movies are popular because they're fantasy movies, but that has nothing to do with readership. Because of Marvel and DC's inhibited pamphlet format, people are less likely to read them, as well as ridicule those who do. The comic medium has suffered for so long because these little things (Comics Code approved!) have dominated the public eye. The only reason superhero movies are being made is because they are one more outlet for Marvel/DC merchandising.

On the other hand, I have seen increased interest in journal-style comic books like Persepolis. The film-like nature of comics allows people to see the graphic novel and the adaptation as one and the same, so they're more likely to read the original. So the overall stigma is dying out, just not for the niche "mainstream" market.

Scott McCloud makes an excellent argument that they already have. Pictorial storytelling and communication in one way or another for many centuries, and will continue to evolve as new outlets spring up. The comic book in its current form has already gone through a phoenix fire (no pun intended) of sorts with online comics and independent artists becoming more popular. In other ways the grammar of comic design has been absorbed by the younger generation, who are now making comics, films, and graphic design that are more dynamic than arts in the past twenty years.

So comics are not necessarily limping culturally anymore, although the way it's distributed will likely change within the next five years.

The Internet doesn't make it that big a deal anymore. You're more likely to get better discussion on a forum than you are in infrequent gatherings with locals.

I think mainstream comics died a long time ago when Marvel and DC sacrificed flexibility for a loyal fanbase. Today we have plenty of independent artists who provide better content on a more consistent basis. These people are a new subculture that is still developing, and it's exciting to watch. There is more communication than ever before between these artists, who are able to bring about new work together on the Internet that would have never been done within the Marvel/DC companies. The old underground comics of Art Spiegelman and Harvey Pekar are swiftly becoming a mainstream force to be reckoned with, informing the way we absorb traditional media from behind the scenes--and the public is aware of it.

1. Do you currently read comic books? If not, did you read them in the past? At what age did you start reading comic books?

I do currently read them. Started around age 12, coincidentally when I started playing guitar as well.

2. If you used to read comics but stopped, why did you stop?

N/A

3. Are/were you an avid comic book fan or just a casual reader?

I've always been varying degrees of intensity, though never more than 5 or 6 titles a month. I'm currently down to one regular series, plus a random mini or two, and a trade when I feel like it.

4. Do you consider comic book fans to be its own subculture? Why or why not?

I do and don't. There is definitely a mainstream idea of a comic fan (The Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons being the best example), which has a very clear basis in reality. I've seen WAY too many people who look and act like that guy. But I also feel like there's a split between those sort of people and ones like (ahem) myself, who are well-adjusted, don't buy everything just to get it, and can look at the hobby without bringing their childhood into it.

5. In the last decade, there has been a surge of comic book related TV shows and films. Do you think this sudden popularity of comic material is a blessing or a curse for the comic book industry and comic book fans?

Again, it's both. A blessing, because it DOES bring in new readers, as low as the total in fact is, and a curse, because it encourages shite like the adaptations of From Hell and Fantastic Four.

a. Do these adaptations generate awareness for comic books and bring in new readers?

Like I said above, they do, but the numbers are so small as to be almost negligible. Comics readers are a super-insular and shrinking demographic.

b. Did you get into comics because of a comic book movie or was your interest independent of other media? How did you get into comic books?

I picked up a random issue of Uncanny X-men in an ACME when I was a kid. It was insane: Wolverine was being crucified, Storm was a kid, Polaris and Rogue were some how crossed into each other, there were these cyborg men... I had no idea what to make of it. It was pretty fun though.

6. If comic based movies are so popular, why is reading comic books so stigmatized?

See question one. People still have the "Comic Book Guy" image in their head, plus the damage of Frederic Wertham STILL persists to this day.

7. Will comic books ever reach the level of cultural saturation of movies/TV? Is the medium destined to die out? Will it continue limping on as it does now forever?

I don't think they'll ever hit movie/TV level. The medium itself won't die out, but it is in a large state of flux right now, between the single issue/trade debate, and the rise of digital as a viable release stream.

8. Comic conventions such as SDCC have been taken over by the mainstream medium, marginalizing the comic book aspect of the events. How do you feel about this? Just as comic material is mined by Hollywood for movie-fodder, the one event where comic fans can be surrounded by like-minded people is being dedicated to TV shows and movies like Glee and Twilight. Is this a mainstreaming of comic culture or is comic culture continuing to shrink as it is eaten away by the mainstream?

It's not a growing or a shrinking, just an assimilation. Comics' influence are showing up in mainstream stuff a lot more, as are more cinematic tricks showing up in comics. Grant Morrison said the writing style Final Crisis was a conscious effort to be more like a television series presentation.

9. Any other thoughts on the subject?

I think there's an interesting study to be made of the differences between people who follow titles (only read Batman/Spider-man/X-men/whoever), and those who follow creators (I am one of these people). I feel like there's been a bigger and bigger divide growing between these two groups as to where the major companies want to take their respective lines. Interesting times.

1. Do you currently read comic books? If not, did you read them in the past? At what age did you start reading comic books?

I read the occasional trade, graphic novel, or digest-sized stuff (e.g. Scott Pilgrim), but beyond that, not really. I gave up on floppies a few years back, and never looked back.

2. If you used to read comics but stopped, why did you stop?

A combination of the skyrocketing cost and decreased quality of the comics, as well as growing up and becoming far less interested in superhero and genre stuff.

3. Are/were you an avid comic book fan or just a casual reader?

Avid fan, spending upwards of $50 a week at the local comic shop.

4. Do you consider comic book fans to be its own subculture? Why or why not?

I would say yes. It's a very insular subculture that I believe is probably shrinking while the characters and material is becoming more widely accepted by the "mainstream." I think comic fans like being on the outside, and do everything they can to keep it that way. I mean, just go to any comic shop, and look at the people that frequent them; additionally, the comic shop owners seem more than willing to cater to that base at the expense of attracting other customers who are outside the culture.

5. In the last decade, there has bee a surge of comic book related TV shows and films. Do you think this sudden popularity of comic material is a blessing or a curse for the comic book industry and comic book fans?

I think it is a combination of the two; the characters get a more mainstream appeal, but comic fans are generally difficult to please. So even though they are seeing more of their favorite characters and stories, they are seeing them through a slick, Hollywood filter that no doubt offends their sensibilities (I'm generalizing, of course)

a. Do these adaptations generate awareness for comic books and bring in new readers?

Not on a large scale. You may see a few people seek out the source material, but I think most people are content to just consume the movies/TV shows/etc.

b. Did you get into comics because of a comic book movie or was your interest independent of other media? How did you get into comic books?

I'd always been aware of comic books, but it was Tim Burton's Batman that fanned the flames of my fandom. That movie was inescapable in 1989, and I was not immune to its charms. I bought a copy of The Dark Knight Returns, and never looked back.

6. If comic based movies are so popular, why is reading comic books so stigmatized?

I think it's still seen as something for kids, and the immature writing doesn't help. Killing off female characters and sticking them in a refrigerator is not mature or adult, it's an adolescent's view of mature and adult, and I think most people can see through that.

7. Will comic books ever reach the level of cultural saturation of movies/TV? Is the medium destined to die out? Will it continue limping on as it does now forever?

I don't think they will ever be as ubiquitous as film or television, but I don't think the medium will ever completely die out. The business model may change, and we may see more of a focus on trades or graphic novels, as well as move to the internet, but I think comics will be around in one form or another for a long time.

8. Comic conventions such as SDCC have been taken over by the mainstream medium, marginalizing the comic book aspect of the events. How do you feel about this? Just as comic material is mined by Hollywood for movie-fodder, the one event where comic fans can be surrounded by like-minded people is being dedicated to TV shows and movies like Glee and Twilight. Is this a mainstreaming of comic culture or is comic culture continuing to shrink as it is eaten away by the mainstream?

I think it's a combination of the two. I think the mainstream is absorbing comic book stories, as the people who grew up reading those stories are now the ones making film and television and the like, but I don't think the culture itself is going entirely mainstream. I think it is still getting overshadowed by other cultural icons at the same time it's showing up in more mainstream entertainment (like The Big Bang Theory and the like).

9. Any other thoughts on the subject?

Nope.