Why bother? 1 1

[Gunnz]

Why bother?

So, I'm super pumped about Eddie Brock becoming Venom again and i was super pumped to buy a couple covers i love, but then I thought... whats the point? Is he gonna be bad venom from now on, or is there going to be ANOTHER change? It's like all those big events from the big two that state they will change the landscape of whatever universe forever... but do they? I mean, are we just spinning our wheels now? will any storyline actually stick or is it all just setup for some other storyline that will retcon everything? 

I want THE Wolverine back, but only because i thought it was dumb to kill him off in the first place. All of these big fights, all of the NEW characters taking over the mantle of originals is getting boring and frustrating.  

I'm excluding everyone except the modern collectors on this. Why do you still collect? Everything seems to suck, and the only reason i can see to buy is for the cover art, which to be honest I can google and print in super high res glossy and it looks amazing! I mean, I still buy the books, but for ones I can't afford i.e. Wolverine #1 Deadpool cover by JSC. 

[Zacreth]

I can feel you there Gunnz. At first I thought the diversity in the characters was a cool idea but truthfully I want the same characters that I grew up with. Especially Logan. Invincible Iron Man being a young girl, Spider-Man as Morales... idk... it just doesn't click with me. 

Is it the writer's fault that they can't come up with good stories to continue the original characters, or has Marvel become money hungry so the answer is to keep making #1 issues?

Give me the stories like Planet Hulk (and bring him back please along with Wolverine...) and I'd be a happy camper.

[Mercury Man]

I assume we are talking about Marvel and DC.   I like keeping up with the heroes I grew up with.   Daredevil is tolerable.   Amazing Spiderman, Steve Rogers Captain America, not so much.    It gets increasingly hard to pay for Modern books given what Marvel has done.  DC is better at this point.   I didn't buy one new release today, nothing on my list.  

[Gunnz]

I think they miss the point of making change by changing the characters instead of the story. you could go in a million directions with these original characters, and by keeping the characters the same. Changing the character or killing them doesn't make a good read. it's a lazy method. Could you imagine if they ever changed Santa Clause to his brother Jeff? no. I can't either. 

[gradejunky]

I've actually finally just given up on the big 2. DC is better by far IMO as to all the shenanigans, but I just can't care anymore, especially with the forcing of bi-monthly issues for all their top tier books for the most part.  From Marvel I get SW books and nothing else right now; and just the main title mostly except Kanan and Darth Vader respectively, which have both ended.  Oh wait, I do still have All-Star Batman on my pull at the moment, but that is ending this week when I go to get my box.......!

Image, DH, Aftershock etc. is all I read anymore really and I'm fine with that.

Edited March 29, 2017 by gradejunky

[HighRadArt]

I gave up a long time ago.  I have bought zero moderns the last couple of times I visited my LCS.  I admit the Del Otto covers have been really nice (Venom and Iron Fist) but way over priced.  I was picking up Lazarus and Monstress but like you figured why bother - I'll wait for the TPB.

[The Brain]

1 hour ago, Gunnz said:

Why bother?

So, I'm super pumped about Eddie Brock becoming Venom again and i was super pumped to buy a couple covers i love, but then I thought... whats the point? Is he gonna be bad venom from now on, or is there going to be ANOTHER change? It's like all those big events from the big two that state they will change the landscape of whatever universe forever... but do they? I mean, are we just spinning our wheels now? will any storyline actually stick or is it all just setup for some other storyline that will retcon everything? 

I want THE Wolverine back, but only because i thought it was dumb to kill him off in the first place. All of these big fights, all of the NEW characters taking over the mantle of originals is getting boring and frustrating.  

I'm excluding everyone except the modern collectors on this. Why do you still collect? Everything seems to suck, and the only reason i can see to buy is for the cover art, which to be honest I can google and print in super high res glossy and it looks amazing! I mean, I still buy the books, but for ones I can't afford i.e. Wolverine #1 Deadpool cover by JSC. 

^    THIS!!!!!

[followtheleader]

It's not that black and white (not meant to be a bad pun).  

Are a lot of the new characters really bad, IMO?  Yep.  I just can't get into Lady Thor.

But Morales Spider-man has been a bit of fresh air.  Best part, there doesn't have to be a one-or-the-other.  Parker and Morales both exist and can be independent.

I agree on Venom.  It's stupid how drastically they keep changing him.  The most recent series is pretty sub-par and I hate how the symbiote is a little bleotch.

Patrick 

[aerischan]

Why do I collect? For the most part, because I'm enjoying reading about the characters and stories. Also, particularly for indies and smaller publishers, to support the works I enjoy so creators can continue making them. I've been doing it with anime and manga (watch/read unofficial fansubs and scanlations and then buy DVD and books when they get licensed) and it's just naturally carried over.

I do collect some variants (primarily Skottie Young) but that's a small fraction of my monthly budget (except February when I went all variant crazy on Super Sons #1). Granted, I probably wouldn't be buying any Marvel anymore if not for the Young variants. If Marvel starts releasing a collection of the Skottie Young covers (e.g. Marvel: The Hip Hop Covers Vol. 01 HC), I might stop purchasing Marvel floppies altogether.

I actually appreciate the semi-monthly schedule on some of DC's books. A 2-week wait is much more tolerable than a month. It also seems to better facilitate crossovers (e.g. Superman Reborn) since you get a new installment every week. Admittedly, I've started trade waiting most of the semi-monthlies aside for Action and Superman. I was getting too many books that the stories have been getting mixed up.  

Will DC/Marvel retcon everything again sometime in the future? Probably. As long as the stories remain enjoyable though, I'll continue reading them. If not, there's tons of great reading material available I can switch to.

Edited March 30, 2017 by aerischan

[the authority]

Either I've grown tired of Marvel or they've decided to run me off chasing new money. Its difficult to say if it was my burnout of their stories or their insistence on a replacement of old characters instead of a creation of new ones. 

Books like Spider-man Deadpool still remind me of the old school quality that Marvel once had but for every book like that one, there are dozens that just seem forced, boring, and preachy. Maybe Marvel was always like this and my tastes have simply changed but either way, the vast majority of their series are one and done for me.

DC New 52 was the same in my opinion. It was so bad overall that I nearly skipped the Rebirth books. Glad I gave them a chance. Batman, Superman, Aquaman, Flash, Wonder Woman ( though I'm a few issues behind on some of these ), and many others have been winners. DC got back to basics BUT they are putting out fresh stories. Very nice stuff as a whole.

Image is killing it. It would have been nice if they'd stayed away from variants but the stories are great. East of West, God Country, Southern Bastards, Monstress, Low, Jupiter's Legacy, Spread, Rat Queens, The Walking Dead, and others are for the most part original. At worst, they're a better version of stories and ideas that preceded them. Donny Cates is a guy to keep an eye on in the future. I've gone back and read some of his earlier stuff and he just gets it. His conversations just flow and seem absolutely natural. This guy is going to be big.

Dark Horse is putting out Brigg's Land and Black Hammer. These books are both top notch and read more like Image and and old school Marvel/DC comics respectively. I'm hooked on these books.

Aftershock puts out several good books but Black Eyed Kids is just cool. It will leave you thinking a bit after reading it. They also have a Donny Cates written story coming out in the near future. Can't wait to read it. 

There have been some other great independents recently but the stuff above is high on the read pile.

[Michael Lamm]

5 hours ago, the authority said:

Either I've grown tired of Marvel or they've decided to run me off chasing new money. Its difficult to say if it was my burnout of their stories or their insistence on a replacement of old characters instead of a creation of new ones. 

Books like Spider-man Deadpool still remind me of the old school quality that Marvel once had but for every book like that one, there are dozens that just seem forced, boring, and preachy. Maybe Marvel was always like this and my tastes have simply changed but either way, the vast majority of their series are one and done for me.

DC New 52 was the same in my opinion. It was so bad overall that I nearly skipped the Rebirth books. Glad I gave them a chance. Batman, Superman, Aquaman, Flash, Wonder Woman ( though I'm a few issues behind on some of these ), and many others have been winners. DC got back to basics BUT they are putting out fresh stories. Very nice stuff as a whole.

Image is killing it. It would have been nice if they'd stayed away from variants but the stories are great. East of West, God Country, Southern Bastards, Monstress, Low, Jupiter's Legacy, Spread, Rat Queens, The Walking Dead, and others are for the most part original. At worst, they're a better version of stories and ideas that preceded them. Donny Cates is a guy to keep an eye on in the future. I've gone back and read some of his earlier stuff and he just gets it. His conversations just flow and seem absolutely natural. This guy is going to be big.

Dark Horse is putting out Brigg's Land and Black Hammer. These books are both top notch and read more like Image and and old school Marvel/DC comics respectively. I'm hooked on these books.

Aftershock puts out several good books but Black Eyed Kids is just cool. It will leave you thinking a bit after reading it. They also have a Donny Cates written story coming out in the near future. Can't wait to read it. 

There have been some other great independents recently but the stuff above is high on the read pile.

I went to Marvel Unlimited a couple of months ago and I love it. $5.50 a month and I have access to almost the entire history plus modern books only six months behind. I just couldn't justify paying $4-5 per issue anymore. I've been reading DC Rebirth through the trades the double shipping is just too expensive and time consuming to keep up. I agree with the indie publishers especially Image putting out high quality products that cover every genre possible. I'm much more willing to support a creator owned project with my dollars than something from the big 2. Even the five dollar indie books like the new Royal City from Image you get 52 pages with no ads. The typical Marvel/DC book you get about 23 pages of content for $4 Marvel or $3 DC. Marvel and DC will always dominate the sales charts but I think it's important for Image and the other indie publishers to have a place in the comic world 

[Pirate]

I can't read comics on the computer.  I wish I could, but the thought of it makes me cringe.  Guess I'm old school.  I buy about $100 a month of stuff now including trades.  Marvel is Old Man Logan, Steve Rogers, DC Batman, Clean Room.  Rest is indy which has the best stories right now.  I really wish I could get do the digital aspect, but I can't even read books on kindle, I have to have the copy in my hands.

[SquareChaos]

Marvel & DC first and foremost are handling their Intellectual Property - they aren't concerned about telling you organic, character driven stories. Their stories are now similar to a Michael Bay movie where the scenes are more about the set pieces than the story.

 

 

[Chadwick]

1 hour ago, Pirate said:

I can't read comics on the computer.  I wish I could, but the thought of it makes me cringe.  Guess I'm old school.  I buy about $100 a month of stuff now including trades.  Marvel is Old Man Logan, Steve Rogers, DC Batman, Clean Room.  Rest is indy which has the best stories right now.  I really wish I could get do the digital aspect, but I can't even read books on kindle, I have to have the copy in my hands.

Get an iPad mini, nexus 7, or large smart phone (kindle blows). I was the same way, I couldn't read anything without the tactile aspects involved. There's an app called iComix that I tried out last year, while I was in hospital for cancer treatments, and I have to say it's not as bad as I thought it would be. Having access to my catalog without having to dig through long boxes or carry trades with me is great for reading on the run, and it also allows for reading in bed after my wife goes to sleep. There are plenty of other apps available with free access to tons of content. I've cut down on what moderns I buy hard copies of (I support mainly indies now) but can keep up on other runs for a lot cheaper. Isn't spider-man like a $10 cover price now or something crazy?

[the authority]

4 hours ago, Pirate said:

I can't read comics on the computer.  I wish I could, but the thought of it makes me cringe.  Guess I'm old school.  I buy about $100 a month of stuff now including trades.  Marvel is Old Man Logan, Steve Rogers, DC Batman, Clean Room.  Rest is indy which has the best stories right now.  I really wish I could get do the digital aspect, but I can't even read books on kindle, I have to have the copy in my hands.

I was exactly the same way but all of my digital copies are 10.0, I can read them in the dark, and don't have to worry about tics, fingerprints, or bags and boards.

[the authority]

4 hours ago, SquareChaos said:

Marvel & DC first and foremost are handling their Intellectual Property - they aren't concerned about telling you organic, character driven stories. Their stories are now similar to a Michael Bay movie where the scenes are more about the set pieces than the story.

 

 

Yep/ They're just doing business. Fine by me as we have more good options than I can afford both financially or time wise.

[ComicConnoisseur]

19 hours ago, Gunnz said:

I think they miss the point of making change by changing the characters instead of the story. you could go in a million directions with these original characters, and by keeping the characters the same. Changing the character or killing them doesn't make a good read. it's a lazy method. Could you imagine if they ever changed Santa Clause to his brother Jeff? no. I can't either. 

Sales are way down,so who do we look at? We look at their leader Axel Alonso. His vision doesn't seem to working. 

 

[ComicConnoisseur]

3 hours ago, Chadwick said:

Get an iPad mini, nexus 7, or large smart phone (kindle blows). I was the same way, I couldn't read anything without the tactile aspects involved. There's an app called iComix that I tried out last year, while I was in hospital for cancer treatments, and I have to say it's not as bad as I thought it would be. Having access to my catalog without having to dig through long boxes or carry trades with me is great for reading on the run, and it also allows for reading in bed after my wife goes to sleep. There are plenty of other apps available with free access to tons of content. I've cut down on what moderns I buy hard copies of (I support mainly indies now) but can keep up on other runs for a lot cheaper. Isn't spider-man like a $10 cover price now or something crazy?

Yep, reading comics on an iPAD was the game changer for me. a big difference than reading them on a desktop or computer.

[aerischan]

1 hour ago, the authority said:

I was exactly the same way but all of my digital copies are 10.0, I can read them in the dark, and don't have to worry about tics, fingerprints, or bags and boards.

I do worry about fingerprints but a quick spray and wipe and they're back to 10.0.  

 

4 hours ago, Chadwick said:

Get an iPad mini, nexus 7, or large smart phone (kindle blows). I was the same way, I couldn't read anything without the tactile aspects involved. There's an app called iComix that I tried out last year, while I was in hospital for cancer treatments, and I have to say it's not as bad as I thought it would be. Having access to my catalog without having to dig through long boxes or carry trades with me is great for reading on the run, and it also allows for reading in bed after my wife goes to sleep. There are plenty of other apps available with free access to tons of content. I've cut down on what moderns I buy hard copies of (I support mainly indies now) but can keep up on other runs for a lot cheaper. Isn't spider-man like a $10 cover price now or something crazy?

Apple just released a new budget model 9.7" iPad starting at $329 (online preorders last week, brick and mortar shops this week). For someone who doesn't like panel/guided view, that's the minimum display size I'd recommend for American comics. I hear you about not having to dig through boxes and my collection size isn't nearly anywhere near close to what you guys have.

Waiting for an upgrade to the 12.9" iPad Pro. Now that one should be really nice for reading comics.  

As for ASM #25, I believe that's 40 pages main story and 30 pages backup or something so ballpark minimum $35K in creative costs alone. Whether the quality of the stories is worth the high price tag, I have no idea.

Man, Monstress #1 was darned cheap for what you got. It was 64 story pages of amazing story, world building and gorgeous art for a mere $4.99.

[Mercury Man]

3 hours ago, ComicConnoisseur said:

Sales are way down,so who do we look at? We look at their leader Axel Alonso. His vision doesn't seem to working. 

 

No, it's not.   Look at February-   Only 5 of the Top 20 books were Marvel titles, two of which were Star Wars, two were Inhumans vs. X-Men and the third was Amazing Spiderman.  

Meanwhile, The Avengers was 53, Totally Awesome Hulk was 121, Captain America Sam Wilson was 122.  

Why is Avengers-their hot movie property, so low in sales, and it's clear the forced 'Legacy' characters are not working.   Alonso should be clearing out his desk.