"The Future of Comics"

[Michael P]

Why is it that, whenever I hear someone use that phrase, I immediately think of Ian McKellan striding away from a wheelchair-bound Patrick Stewart and boldly intoning, "We are the future, Charles, not them. They no longer matter!"

[Steven Grant]

Why is it that, whenever I hear someone use that phrase, I immediately think of Ian McKellan striding away from a wheelchair-bound Patrick Stewart and boldly intoning, "We are the future, Charles, not them. They no longer matter!"

I'm not surprised. That's often how I feel.

A bit of dialogue I came up with once but never had anywhere to use.

PERSON A: What do you think the future will be like?

PERSON B: The future? Man, this is the future.
(checks his watch)
Was, anyway.

- Grant

[Lord Destiny]

I've been saying this for fifteen years...

...comics (the form) will go the way of the pulp magazine. It will fade slowly, and won't completely disappear until most of us readers are dead.

There won't be a next generation (not enough to support much publication). And all this will fade into history...

[CaptChucky]

Comic books will continue to change until they become something else that older fans won't recognize as "their" comic books. Then they'll change into something else again, maybe cave paintings.

[Steven Grant]

Comic books will continue to change until they become something else that older fans won't recognize as "their" comic books.

They already don't recognize them as "their" comic books. Just ask John Byrne...

- Grant

[j_stein]

Steven,

Thanks much for another insightful and stimulating column.

The concept of craft and art evokes comparisons to the old Hollywood system. "Big" pictures by directors such as Huston, Zinneman, and Kazan have had less impact and, interestingly, less long-time appeal than the B-grade fare of craftsmen like Hawks, Ford, Hitchcock, Sturges, Mann, Boetticher, and Ray.

These men, working within the confines of the Hollywood system, learned skill, technique, and an economy of expression and means.

Comic-book production bears another similarity to movie production, as it seems that the idea of independent, low-budget production and distribution is conflated with artistic personal expression.

This really hit Hollywood with Sex, Lies and Videotape and culminated with El Mariachi, Reservoir Dogs, and Clerks, among others.

Those films happened to be the standouts, and initiated a glut of independent movies that for all intents and purposes aped the conventions, strictures, and structures of big Hollywood movies --- only on a smaller scale and budget, and with less skill and craft.

It was essentially Hollywood lite --- as opposed to the truly independent films of, say, John Cassavetes.

I note this to say that I pick up most independent comic books --- of which here in Portland there are many available, thankfully --- to note they generally (but not always) poorly printed, written, and drawn, and what's more, suffer from the same inertia and narcissistic self-involvement as many early-90's indy films.

Comics, newspapers, and magazines, just like Hollywood, are still searching for the next way to finance and deliver their product. I note with interest both Trent Reznor's latest approach to NIN and the way Steven Soderbergh financed his latest project, through IFC and video-on-demand, and I wonder which comic-book producers are attempting something similar?

It would be interesting to hear stories about who's doing what.

Finally, on the subject of craft versus high art, I cannot recommend enough Manny Farber's excellent essay "White Elephant Versus Termite Art," from his book Negative Space, in which he compares White Elephant films, which trumpet their own greatness in every frame, with Termite films, which burrow into and digest themselves, leaving nothing behind.

It provides a fascinating lens with which to view comic books.

regards,
Jason

[comicsmetal]

Why is it that, whenever I hear someone use that phrase, I immediately think of Ian McKellan striding away from a wheelchair-bound Patrick Stewart and boldly intoning, "We are the future, Charles, not them. They no longer matter!"

:biggrin: It just silly bull.The future of comics are in t he Graphic novel form.I higly doubt pictures with words are going away anytime soon.

:smile: This dooms and gloom idea of an idustry dying is like when the NHL went to the lockout and Hockey fans were say it is the end of ice hockey.

[Dennis]

Comics are recession proof. Saw this article about a Seattle shop recently:

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/how-to-shop-for-comic-books/Content?oid=1487829

Scott Stafford, co-owner of both Arcane locations, has been planning the new store for about a year and a half. He's not overly worried about current economic problems: "We continue to grow at a small but steady clip," he says over the phone. "The nice thing about this business in general is it's recession-proof. People are always looking for new ways of affordable escapism." Stafford admits that some of his customers, facing unemployment and foreclosures, have to temporarily stop buying comics, but says, "Every time we lose a customer because of the economy, we seem to gain another two to replace them."

We're living in the good ol days.

[bartl]

Comics are recession proof. Saw this article about a Seattle shop recently:

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/how-to-shop-for-comic-books/Content?oid=1487829



We're living in the good ol days.
I know the games industry is taking a major hit. A local game shop just closed in February; the owner was doing it partially as a hobby, but said that he would close if he stopped making money. He broke even in January, and lost money in February, so he closed right up at the end of the month. He said the kids used to come in with $100; now they were coming in with $10.

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

I've been saying this for fifteen years...

...comics (the form) will go the way of the pulp magazine. It will fade slowly, and won't completely disappear until most of us readers are dead.

There won't be a next generation (not enough to support much publication). And all this will fade into history...

The way they are now?

Probably.

But online strips, strips in papers, magazines... these are all rather popular.

[Steve Lieber]

There's no one future of comics, of course, but two young Portland talents I know are the sort of quick little mammals who are gonna inherit the earth after dinosaurs like me disappear:

Erika Moen, a cartoonist whose main project has been a funny sweet autobio strip called DAR. (Totally NSFW by the way, don't click unless you're comfortable with a screen full of dildos and queefs.) http://darcomic.com

Dylan Meconis. Dylan's gonna be a world-class cartooning talent. She finished her first GN- a screwball vampire romp set during the French revolution- when she was still in her early 20s. Her current series is Family Man- a serialized webcomic about a 17th century German theologian. She's also illustrated historical gns for Scholastic, and one about monkey researcher Harry Harlow for G.T. Labs, all while finishing college, doing freelance illustration and working a day job for a graphic design firm. She's awesome. http://dylanmeconis.com and http://lutherlevy.com/

[Lord Destiny]

The way they are now?

Probably.

But online strips, strips in papers, magazines... these are all rather popular.

Strips in papers are dying just like comic books. A bit slower, and with different ailments. (They're a shriveling tick on a dying dog.)

But strips have an advantage over comic books... strips make a better transition to digital. They read just as easily (maybe better) on a computer screen as on paper.

[comicsmetal]

Yawn, lord desnity you are making a big deal out of nothing ,people are still reading paper books.I highly doubt comics as a medium is going anytime soon.It might not be as big as it is now but it might become a more underground and independent.

Your example of Pulp fiction is funny because there are small companies that are writing pulp.So it has not exstinct like the Dodobird,there are conventions on them every year.

[Steven Grant]

The Future's not here yet, man...

- Grant

[comicsmetal]

The Future's not here yet, man...

- Grant

:confused: Are you making fun of the topic,if so why not lock it.

[Steven Grant]

:confused: Are you making fun of the topic,if so why not lock it.

It's a line from the Firesign Theatre's WE'RE ALL BOZOS ON THIS BUS, and if you don't know what that is you owe it to yourself to find out.

But I have to side with Lieber on this. There isn't a "future" for comics, there are numerous splintering futures, as there are for virtually every medium.

- Grant

[Drusilla lives!]

The future of comics?... that's an easy one. As Grant states, there is no future for comics... at least none that I would want to partake in.

And I've recently come around to the realization that comic books, most comic art, and particularly comic characters are indeed marketing tools... NOT art. Take for instance Spider-Man from the point of view of all involved (other than perhaps the fans and a few creators, namely Ditko) he is comparable to little more than the "Green Giant" character on a can of peas (a trademark, a copyright, a cash cow, next years mortgage payments)... I suppose I never wanted to accept that. Quite frankly, it should be marketed as such (and indeed, today it truly appears it is)... and no one should think it were something more than that. Disposable rubbish.

When someone like Dan Didio actually says (a few years back) that comic fans aren't interested in fun anymore... well that was indeed a sign of a dying medium with real rot setting in, and I guess typical of a dying society as well.

[comicsmetal]

The future of comics?... that's an easy one. As Grant states, there is no future for comics... at least none that I would want to partake in.

And I've recently come around to the realization that comic books, most comic art, and particularly comic characters are indeed marketing tools... NOT art. Take for instance Spider-Man from the point of view of all involved (other than perhaps the fans and a few creators, namely Ditko) he is comparable to little more than the "Green Giant" character on a can of peas (a trademark, a copyright, a cash cow, next years mortgage payments)... I suppose I never wanted to accept that. Quite frankly, it should be marketed as such (and indeed, today it truly appears it is)... and no one should think it were something more than that. Disposable rubbish.

When someone like Dan Didio actually says (a few years back) that comic fans aren't interested in fun anymore... well that was indeed a sign of a dying medium with real rot setting in, and I guess typical of a dying society as well.


:eek: I think you misread what he said ,he did not say there is not future but there no one future .Just feel you are so much into this crap .Anyway ,Comics were not art to being with they were stuff to read with nothing else to do at home.

If you do not want to take a part of it fine because we do not need attitude like yours.

[Dennis]

The future of comics?... that's an easy one. As Grant states, there is no future for comics... at least none that I would want to partake in.

And I've recently come around to the realization that comic books, most comic art, and particularly comic characters are indeed marketing tools... NOT art. Take for instance Spider-Man from the point of view of all involved (other than perhaps the fans and a few creators, namely Ditko) he is comparable to little more than the "Green Giant" character on a can of peas (a trademark, a copyright, a cash cow, next years mortgage payments)... I suppose I never wanted to accept that. Quite frankly, it should be marketed as such (and indeed, today it truly appears it is)... and no one should think it were something more than that. Disposable rubbish.

When someone like Dan Didio actually says (a few years back) that comic fans aren't interested in fun anymore... well that was indeed a sign of a dying medium with real rot setting in, and I guess typical of a dying society as well.

What are you reading?

[Drusilla lives!]

What are you reading?

What am I reading and why the change of opinion?... this (http://goldenagecomics.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,1454.0.html). And take a look around while you're there... you might like it better then the shill palace that CBR seems have become (that is, if it ever was anything but a shill palace to begin with).

[comicsmetal]

What are you reading?

Nothing ,when he reads something he is always negative.

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

If you do not want to take a part of it fine because we do not need attitude like yours.

And we were just begging for a humourless one like yours...

And take a look around while you're there... you might like it better then the shill palace that CBR seems have become (that is, if it ever was anything but a shill palace to begin with).

Cheers big ears!

[comicsmetal]

And we were just begging for a humourless one like yours...





Cheers big ears!

:confused: but he was sounding so doom and gloom.Honestly he is making a big deal out of nothing.I bet you he will still be reading comics in ten years time.