Mainstream Comics Fans?

[The Prankster]

One of the weird things about reading about comics online is the seeming disconnect between the intellectual, high-minded comics fans and the fanboys. I know every medium has this kind of disparity--movies have Pauline Kael disciples vs. the people who thought Transformers 2 was AWESOM DOOD--but with comics, maybe because the fanbase is so small, it seems like it's all or nothing. Either the people commenting are intelligent sophisticates, or drooling cretins. You don't seem to get casual fans whose tastes veer towards the mainstream but who are willing to dabble in more unusual stuff.

I mean, I was reading a comics board a while back--it wasn't CBR, but it was similar--and the superhero fanboys were dissing Scott Pilgrim for being too weird and "manga". Seriously--they seemed to feel Scott Pilgrim was some kind of self-absorbed indie book in the style of Seth or something. And they'd clearly read the thing, their minds just processed it that way. What's crazy is that you can almost see their point on a purely superficial level--it's a black and white book about relationships published by an indie company. That's how stark the divisions in the comics medium have become.

Kim Thompson wrote a great article a few years ago called "More Crap is What We Need"--go read it, it's short. The gist of her argument is that we need a better selection of middlebrow comics that aren't superhero books: solid, well-crafted books that aren't trying to reinvent the medium but do a good job for what they are.

I'd argue the same basic affliction affects the fans themselves. Again, it's probably because comics have such a small audience, so it's down to the passionate hipsters who are smart and cool enough to see the value of the medium (LIKE ALL OF US HAW HAW) and the brain-dead fanboy zombies who are still buying out of OCD. If the medium is going to get a wider fanbase, we need more of the casual fans, people who are understandably intimidated by From Hell and the like, but are open-minded enough to read something that isn't all-tights all the time.

What I don't get is why the comics fanboys are so resistant to trading up like that. It's one thing to have a wheelhouse, it's another to literally be terrified of anything outside it, especially when "outside of it" includes most of the genres they would enjoy in another medium.

[ryoken]

As long as the indie publishers have to rely on Diamond to get their stuff on comic stores and bookstores; I dont see this happening; the culture of the casual comic book fan, where comics where at sale on supermarkets and gas stations is long gone in the USA ( while you can find comics in EVERY single newstand or bookstore in Spain or France)
Manga has also taken a fair share of the market, too.
I remember how a couple of years ago, my 14 year old cousin borrowed my "Blue Monday" trades during a trip, and she LOVED them...she didnt become a comic book fan, but the interest and appeal was there.

[Mama-Killin' Gee-Tar]

First of all, as much as people bemoaned throughout the nineties (Which was full of disaster movies political thrillers) that comics were a fluke in that what was "mainstream" for that medium was almost the opposite of what it was for elsewhere--is pretty much gone. The highest grossing movies are generally speaking, about superheroes (Or stuff that is kind of like that). Maybe that trend will pass and then Marvel and DC are completely screwed, but you can only blame the superhero monoculture so much. (In fact, as much as I do wish there were more genres, I'm not sure it's really to blame for anything. I've always felt that genre domination was far more an effect than a cause) And hell, you talk about a middle ground between arty and blockbuster trash, but to be honest, that kind of gap is widening in film too.

But that does lead to what the American comic is missing most, and that is humor. A large part of international comics thrive on funny stories. For the purposes of padding the industry, we don't need say, more post-apocalyptic comics (Post-apocalyptic stuff generally doesn't do well...we've only had a handful of movie franchises that touched on that, and they tend to flounder once we actually explore that post-world) I think the next comic renaissance, if at all possible, will not the be the result of genre work, but of actual humor stories, whether they be funny animals or ghosts or even just Mike Judge type stuff. In fact, that's what I think American comics needs most of all. Its own King of the Hill.

Although, I think the other possible alternative is vampires. Most of the most popular lisenced comics are vampire based. And they do bring in a completely different demo than your stereotypical superhero fan.

[Orin_Quon]

Originally Posted by ryoken

As long as the indie publishers have to rely on Diamond to get their stuff on comic stores and bookstores; I dont see this happening;

Diamond's new sales thresolds pretty much guarantees most independents aren't distributed by them.

Most independents will simply go digital and/or POD.

[Cylon Baby]

I would put myself out there as a casual comics fan up until 2007. I'd spend between $10 and $30 per week on comics. Mostly DC and Marvel with a few independents.

From a purely social/cultural perspective I did not fit in with either group you describe. The Fanboys were morons and the Hipsters weren't much better. Both groups obsess over comics: it's just that the Hipsters are more articulate. Both groups suffer from Groupthink and after a while I choose not to engage with these people.

To the poster above who argued for more humor in comics: Marvel comics have included a lot of humor and irony for a long time (the DeadPool monthly was one long comic routine). If you pick up the issue of The Ultimates that introduces the Ultimate Defenders you will read one of the most hilarious comics written in the 2000's.

IMO there are three things that prevent the Casual reader from getting into comics

1) The social issues I mention above (who can you talk to about comics who isn't a Fanboy or a Hipster?)

2) The Tyranny of Diamond's control of comics distribution noted by several posters above

3) From a pure economics standpoint most people would rather spend $ seeing a super hero movie or DVD rather than spend 2X-10X more to buy the equivalent comic books. Also consider that you can buy (for example) a Stephen King novel for $4-$10 (paperback new or used ,or even a remaindered hardback) while that dollar amount gets you maybe two-three comics. There is jut so much less bang for the buck with comics for people not obsessed with them.

[Chavez]

I blame Wertham.

[DanielRoffle]

I know "hipster" as a word has lost pretty much all meaning, but I really can't imagine applying it to comic book fans of any stripe. Being into Chris Ware/Sfar/Krazy Kat still feels as lonely as liking Thor, it's just you're more literate about it. But it's a minority interest and will be seen as akin to collecting train sets by most of the general populace.

France and Belgium are pretty much the biggest evidence of a mainstream non-super hero market, and they do albums instead of issues; a bitch to store, but economically it makes much more sense than the american model.

But basically this idea is moot because youths in all countries are now pretty much sold on anime, thus on manga by association, so that's gonna be the next big mainstream model and we all just better get used to it.

[Princess Kate]

Just to point it out, the President of the United States read Spiderman and Conan comics. That's about as main stream as you can get

[DanielRoffle]

The president of the United States read comics in a time when it was usual for most boys his age to read them; comic's big problem for the past decade has been that kids are no longer interested.