Comic Books: How Do You Rescue an Industry From Itself?

You know, these days the comic book and graphic novel industry is reminding me more and more of Broadway musicals. Bear in mind that this is not a compliment (neither is it a dig at musicals in general). Hear me out on this one.

For starters, both comics and Broadway musicals are a limited-access commodity. No matter what New Yorkers would have you think, not everyone gets to go to a Broadway musical. A musical starts out life languishing in development (part of which takes place during the show's first run - Weber says, a musical is never really complete). If it is lucky, a few years later it will be playing in some big-run theatres in New York. In all likelihood it could die right there before it even has a chance to be nominated for a Tony but the lucky few (and I do mean FEW get to go on). After playing for quite some time in New York the show either ends or does one of two things: goes to London or tours the U.S. Touring shows make it a little easier for the general public to see a show without having to go to New York. Yet, it will still cost you insane amounts of money, you will likely have to drive several towns or even a state over to see it, and if your venue is far enough down on the tour schedule you could be getting the 2nd- or 3rd-string cast. Of course, your other option is to just buy the cast album but that diminishes the experience by eliminating not only the visual aspect but huge chunks of plot.

If this isn't starting to sound familiar to you comic geeks yet, give it time. Comic books and graphic novels are just as much a limited-access commodity as musicals. Granted, there's a graphic novel/trade paperback section in the big chain Borders and Barnes & Noble bookstores these days but even that pales in comparison to the shelves and shelves they keep of Japanese manga for the teenage set. Comic books, trades, and graphic novels are still mostly relegated to those garish, often musty neighborhood comic shops. Shops which are few and far between in most locales. Shops which are often (though not always) run by those guys from High Fidelity. Even if you do find a comic shop "near" you (less than a day's drive, let's say) there's no guarantee that they'll even have the titles you're looking for or be willing to put it on order for you like a bookstore would. If the comic(s) you seek is/are in fact there, it will not be the most affordable purchase of your life. Remember when comics cost 12 cents? Neither do I. They sure as hell don't now. Trades and graphic novels can range anywhere from $17 to $100 (if you count DC's Absolute series which is the comic book equivalent of purchasing the Lord of the Rings extended trilogy). I think the cheapest comic book I have right now was listed as $2.25 but the store charged me $3-something. It doesn't sound as expensive as some things in this world but take that and multiply it by every monthly/weekly title you want to keep up with and see how much it costs. It reminds me of those exercises in health class where we calculated how much a cigarette habit could cost you in a lifetime. Is that nicotine high really worth it? Is that comics habit really worth it? Well, that's the problem. More and more it doesn't feel like it is. Many people take the cast album route and skip the regular runs of comics to wait for the trades for that ever so slight discount. Problem is, not everything gets a trade and not every trade collects the entirety of a storyline. Sometimes chunks of plot or subplot get left on the cutting room floor.

The two biggest problems plaguing the mainstream comics industry right now are readership and quality. The bottom line is that there simply isn't much of a readership. While every other avenue of pop culture out there has millions of people attracted to the most popular artifacts they produce, comics companies are letting themselves be satisfied with mere 6 digits at the highest tier and 5 for everything else. There are billions of people in the world, this is not really acceptable. The industry hasn't been showing enough interest in pumping up those numbers. They need to be bringing in outside experts to show them how to not only make comics more available in all markets but also how to market themselves properly. The problem is that the vast majority of people still have the same image of comic books that they had in the 1950s. The greater problem is that many people working in the industry do, too. Or else they are only creating the comics for themselves and not for the audience which is a fool's errand. Graphic storytelling is a remarkable corner of the ART world. In theory, it takes engaging writing and combines it with compelling art to achieve one of the most important things in the world - it tells a story. Stories define who we are and link humanity together. This graphic form of storytelling should be nurtured and encouraged. Great things can be accomplished with just a little bit of ink and paper.

Sadly, the quality of mainstream comics - the classic and all-important superhero comics in particular - has declined much over the years. Some people would argue that it was never much to begin with but that simply is not the case. True, much of the original superhero tales over the years were insanely wacky and bizarre but at least they were original. At least they showed some interest in consistent characterization. At least the writers honestly cared about what they were doing. Comics were never a lucrative business. Writers and artists got into the business because they cared about telling these stories. Superheroes are merely a modern version of characters and themes that have been with us since ancient times. At the moment in comics it seems as though the big companies have less interest in good storytelling and more interest in being more "badass" than the other guy or trying to use "shock" stories the draw readership back from "the other guys" the whole time working within the same small group of readers and constantly alienating them while they cling on, hoping things will get better again one day. "Quick, we need to rape and/or murder a character (bonus points if they are female and/or a token minority) and retcon a bunch of stuff or else have everyone fight each other so we can draw lots of people per page and get every issue out late!" Wee. That certainly instills confidence in the industry. Never mind their constant delusions of grandeur, like their perpetual notion that kids are still reading comics (I'm sure there are a smattering of them here and there but the most of the kids out there actually reading comics right now are reading Japanese manga comics) and therefore on occasion they can blame foolhardy editorial decisions on the old "think of the children" saw. I remain unconvinced.

So then how do so many people manage to be familiar with Spider-Man and Roxy Hart? How is it that there are still Batman pjs in the Penny's catalog and Hulk underoos at Target? Movies, that's how. People have been flocking to movies based on comics (in some cases, whether they realize it or not) in droves. That would be why studios have been jumping at the chance to transfer just about every comic they can to the big screen. That is also why Joss Whedon is working feverishly away on a Wonder Woman script right at this moment. However, an audience familiar with comic book-based characters via film and television is NOT the same as the overall comic book audience. You see, if you make a movie or even a TV show based on comic book characters or if you film a theatrical version of a Broadway musical then people who otherwise would have no access to those mediums before now have access in an affordable and wide-spread manner. Let's put it this way: a kid can easily go see Spider-Man 2 in the theater with Ma & Pa or see it on DVD at a price Ma & Pa can agree to. Almost everyone in America has access to a movie theater as well as millions of people all over the world (heck, most big movies count their success in terms of domestic and foreign box office gross). Now that the kid has seen the movie he wants everything relating to Spider-Man because he's just the coolest guy around. So Ma & Pa proceed to buy him the video games, the pajamas, the Underoos, the lunchbox, and everything else they can get their grubby little consumer hands on. That's the way our culture works. Yet the kid can't get the actual comic books that Spidey originates from because there is nowhere nearby that s/he can get them. S/he would get the trades but those cost more than his/her allowance and s/he can just as easily sit in the bookstore and read them there. What's more, society is still out there telling him/her that comics aren't for him/her, either they're for "babies" or their content is just too "mature" (which is somewhat ironic since the level of writing in those "mature" titles is quite often the farthest thing from mature).

So where am I going with this whole tangential rant? Right here: Yo, mainstream American comics! Yeah, you with the capes. Seek out new talent. Improve the quality of writing and art. Stop trying to bail yourselves out with stunt stories. Try to improve characters rather than killing them off. And, most importantly, change up your business practices. Don't be satisfied with those 6-digit readerships because you don't have to stand for it. Quit sitting around and moaning about the old days or how unappreciated you are and get your butts in gear!