It seems like every time I walk past the comic or magazine area of a grocery store, book store, or games shop there's a new super hero or comic on display that looks just as indecipherable as anything else that would be hanging on a local comic book shop. Typically a muscular man or woman flying into the air, legs together, hands gripped into fists, glowing with some generic "super power", some unoriginal icon type logo on their chest and/or ammo belts, and the same old stipulations as to what their power is, how they got it, what their weakness is, and why they are doing what they're doing. WASH - RINSE - REPEAT.
Who are they making these comic books for? Kids, teens, and semi-adults seeking episodic, graphic-oriented alternatives to books? It sure doesn't seem that way. In fact, it seems more like these comics are being made for the creators themselves, and for all of the aging, old, comic fanatics of yesteryear that have yet to move onto a new medium. The potential for profit by aiming these comics at the YOUNGER audience is huge, but they insist on ignoring it, and continuing to poop out the same crap over and over onto tons of wasted tree slices(paper) for a buck-fifty.
This is ridonkulous.
Where's the innovation? Where are the new ideas? The modern takes on old ideas? No? No future settings? Dark themes? Sci-fi adventures? No. Still the same old flying super heroes with generic powers and forgettable names. The same old dying comic book heroes that either don't seem to die or have passed their costume down to a younger, and even more forgettable, heir to the task of being (something stupendous)man!
There is an audience out there that seeks change. That seeks dark themes, sci-fi action, undead and horror based creativity, and all out craziness that the fogey comic book industry doesn't seem to "get". Why do they keep ignoring this calling? Is it because they can't write this sort of stuff, can't get their heads around it, or could it be because the medium itself, the $1.50 comic book, has outlived itself?
Artists have been creating and releasing digital, computer-based, graphic novels on something called the "internet" for years. Quickly laying out story boards, rendering art in photoshop, and releasing on their websites without any risk of publishing or financial woes. This gives them immense freedom. No need to fit the "episode" of their story into X amount of pages, or be worth X amount of dollars. They can span their offerings across multiple pages, archive each of the releases, or even release "bites" of their story on a day by day basis if they choose.
The genres and art styles of these online gems have a huge range such as sci-fi, horror, romance, cartoon, kids, teen drama, action, and even small bits of college humor. This not only ensures a great selection, but allows them to be easily access by this miracle known as the "internet". Sure, some will go to certain lengths to provide sign-up/login functionality and charge for their releases, but for every one of those you find on the net, there are 10 other artists that release for free. Besides, many of these pay sites offer higher quality images, longer stories, and occasionally extras to accompany the novel such as music downloads. You get what you pay for.
There will be a day when comic books dry up and have been over run by the unstoppable juggernaut that is the web. There will also be a time when the little tikes of today are tomorrow's artists and dreamers. So let us immerse them in the wonderful world of digital graphic novels as an alternative to comics or kiddie magazines. Even nickelodeon and many of the crap shows on cartoon network(daytime) should be replaced with this new medium as often as possible.
So, what is the point of my whole rambling? Comic books will eventually be as dead as their ideas currently are. The new future of artistic creativity in the graphic novel realm is online distribution- much like everything else. It offers superior quality, creativity, selection, and overall benefit to the readers. If you want to support comic books, and remain firm on your love for them, then that's fine. But it is definitely certain that paper-based comic books will eventually be phased out and replaced by online methods, and the more people that make the jump to online the better. One day you won't even be able to read the latest Spiderman without going online to the Marvel website and signing up.
So what's it gonna be? Killing trees for a $1.50 worth of ink and paper or going online and future-proofing your mind?
