About Comics...

[Lightning Flik 0]

Why do comic creator continually create arcs around a person's death and then not proceed to leave said character dead. I mean, I understand that people enjoy characters that have been around for quite a while, but come on. If you kill someone off, they should stay dead.

 

I mean, all I see nowadays is some storyline arc about someone dying, then "poof"! Reset the clocks because they aren't dead now! Yes, I know its a tactical ploy to get more people to read the comics, but come on. Nearly everyone in comics who was dead is alive. Its one of main reason I can't stand reading comics. Keep with the fucking continuity.

 

Why do they also reset the series? Instead of reseting the clock, how about they draw the series up to a close. Nothing that can't allow a revive of the series later on, but how about you let the character fade into the background for awhile, have something new take its place, and then when you get a chance, bring back the old series (although added time, plot happenings, changes in characters, new characters and stuffy).

 

Speaking of which, why don't they try bringing out new comics? You know, instead of rehashing the same series over and over again. Yeah, I know. People have a hard time accepting new stuff, but I think the problem is that they only half ass the storylines and unless people support the half assing, they don't bother continuing with the new comic.

[starvenger 0]

Why do comic creator continually create arcs around a person's death and then not proceed to leave said character dead. I mean, I understand that people enjoy characters that have been around for quite a while, but come on. If you kill someone off, they should stay dead.

 

I mean, all I see nowadays is some storyline arc about someone dying, then "poof"! Reset the clocks because they aren't dead now! Yes, I know its a tactical ploy to get more people to read the comics, but come on. Nearly everyone in comics who was dead is alive. Its one of main reason I can't stand reading comics. Keep with the fucking continuity.

 

Bottom line: it's all about the Benjamins...

I think you need to remember that the comics industry practically owns the patent on retcons. And while continuity is important to a comics "universe" (unless it's a Bendis book), rules can and have been bent to allow for stories to be told.

 

As for characters staying dead, it depends. If you're a popular character that was killed off, you can pretty much count on them being back. If you're a publicly traded company, you're gonna try and do these things to increase sales and satisfy shareholders.

 

Why do they also reset the series? Instead of reseting the clock, how about they draw the series up to a close. Nothing that can't allow a revive of the series later on, but how about you let the character fade into the background for awhile, have something new take its place, and then when you get a chance, bring back the old series (although added time, plot happenings, changes in characters, new characters and stuffy).

Sometimes, series get "reset" because the old one just didn't get the sales, or continuity gets too convoluted, so you might as well start over from scratch. The Legion of Super-Heroes seems to have benefitted from this, as they are now freed of "mainstream" DC continuity.

 

Also, #1 issues tend to sell better than any other issue of a book.

 

Speaking of which, why don't they try bringing out new comics? You know, instead of rehashing the same series over and over again. Yeah, I know. People have a hard time accepting new stuff, but I think the problem is that they only half ass the storylines and unless people support the half assing, they don't bother continuing with the new comic.

The problem, as always, is sales. Companies bring out new series all the time, but the almighty dollar is the main factor in determining whether a comic lasts beyond it's initial 12-issue run. Whereas if you write a book with Wolverine in it, you'll get better sales than "Team 888" (or whatever) simply because of the name recognition.

[Jingus 0]

Personally, I think there's two different yet not completely exclusive reasons:

 

1. Writing for a comic is like writing for a soap opera or a wrestling show: really fucking hard, because you never get to take a break and must constantly deal with deadlines for producing new product. Writers lose sleep, get burned out, and generally are too stressed to put out the best quality writing. Plus, some of these comics have been around so long that it's almost impossible to make a new story; shit, how hard must it be to come up with a Batman story that hasn't already been done at some point in his 70 year history? So the writers compromise, copy earlier storylines, bring favorite characters back from the dead instead of creating new ones, fuck with the continuity (maybe without ever meaning to or realizing that they're doing so), and generally making a mess of things simply because of the demands and limitations of the medium.

 

Or,

 

2. Comic book writers today tend to be lazy, overpriced babies who have no respect for the history or tradition of their artform. They wasted their youth reading X-Men instead of Watchmen and prefer to cruise thru their work rewriting their favorite old storylines instead of working up real skullsweat to create new ones. The editors at DC and Marvel could give a shit less, since they're controlled by the same money-hungry suits that dominate all big business. And with everyone from Kevin Smith to Scott Levy writing comics these days, it seems like paying your dues are no longer that important.

 

It could be either one, or a mix of both.

[Special K 0]

I like comics, but sometimes prefer more indy comics and manga because the stories are generally laid out with a beginning middle and end. Keeping a comic going indefinitely has got to be a strain, and your editors are constantly dictating the direction of your story, for better or worse.

[Sass 0]

Great writers can write around any past event. Many of today's "big" deal writers are not great or even remotely good.

 

Flik has echoed the sentiment that I've heard from *many* non-comic book fans. The day Jean Grey was brought back was when death no longer applied to comics or it's fans. That's a dark day that I still hear get brought up by old timer fans who were *diehard* followers until continuity started getting fucked around with too much. Loyalty need not apply.

[Jingus 0]

I still read comics sometimes, usually whatever Alan Moore or Neil Gaiman have put out recently plus stuff like the neat run of Daredevil over the past couple years. But let me say this right here and right now: if Gwen Stacey is ever brought back to life, then I will never pick up a comic book again.

[Lightning Flik 0]

Great writers can write around any past event. Many of today's "big" deal writers are not great or even remotely good.

 

Flik has echoed the sentiment that I've heard from *many* non-comic book fans. The day Jean Grey was brought back was when death no longer applied to comics or it's fans. That's a dark day that I still hear get brought up by old timer fans who were *diehard* followers until continuity started getting fucked around with too much. Loyalty need not apply.

Actually, I was a diehard. I just got tired of the damn continuity crashing and absolute stupidity of stretching out a story longer than it should be.

 

Its stupid that they fuck with continuity and important events all for the sake of getting a chance to write that past event that has already happened. Or just because they want to play out a scene that literially can and has destroyed a comics worth (The Clone Saga).

 

I guess I'm just pissed that I went to mangas, and I can get a little of everything, and it all be a different experience each time. Sure, the formulas might be the same because of the genre, but its still a different tale each time. And some of it may not be good, but it still isn't the exact same thing as I read previously.

 

Whereas all I see in comics these days is the same story, but told in a "revolutionary" way that was "never" been done before in that comic's history. But its still the same stories that have been told, its still the same characters with little to no depth added to their character unless a huge storyline that spans nearly a year comes along, and its never anything new.

[JasonX 0]

I still read comics sometimes, usually whatever Alan Moore or Neil Gaiman have put out recently plus stuff like the neat run of Daredevil over the past couple years.  But let me say this right here and right now: if Gwen Stacey is ever brought back to life, then I will never pick up a comic book again.

Gwen has already been brought back to life; the Jackyl cloned her and she's still running around the Marvel Universe.....

[SuperJerk 0]

I still read comics sometimes, usually whatever Alan Moore or Neil Gaiman have put out recently plus stuff like the neat run of Daredevil over the past couple years.  But let me say this right here and right now: if Gwen Stacey is ever brought back to life, then I will never pick up a comic book again.

Gwen has already been brought back to life; the Jackyl cloned her and she's still running around the Marvel Universe.....

That's not the same thing. Nor is the adult child she had with Norman Osborne that looks exactly like her.