Berkey
08-08-2011, 07:02 PM
I have been posting in and out of many threads in many marvel/dc boards and many times I tend to come to this topic, but it tends to be a little off topic from the original post and gets lost in translation. I thought I would start a thread to discuss this topic and get some feed back on how others feel especially in other countries and how it will relate to everyone's personal views. This all started when talked about the DC reboot and how DC was going to try and use advertising to get "new readers", which I often stated what I am abut to say so take this into mind. So I'd like to have some conversations with others about how they feel here.
We all know that comics are dying out (in America for that matter Carabas has often mention that comics elsewhere are much more successful) and the amount of pure new readers is far from what it used to be. Many people claim that the price is too high or the availability, or even that many people are unaware that comics are still out there the way they used to be, but I believe those only comprise a very small percentage of why there is a the lack of new readers.
In America, image is one of the highest standards for individuals to live up to in the sense that, most people are more concerned about what others think of them rather than doing what they actually want to do. Peer pressure comes to mind when we're teens, but even in adulthood you still see it. Whether it's buying a nice car to impress, dressing a certain way to fit in with the crowd or even acting a particular way as to not stand out. This is the main reason why I feel comics are in so a low state.
The idea of comics, at least from the areas that I have lived in, have always been deemed for kids or for nerds and if you read them you are one of the two. I'm a professional trainer who body builds for a hobby so I do not fit the persona that gets associated with comics. When I tell people I read comics, I get a very odd look for the most part or the dreaded "aren't you too old to be reading those thing" speech. It's that moment that, for many people, will either change their mindset about something, or not give in to the idea of trying to fit in with the ideals of others. I have two friends from Japan and from their accounts things are a little different over there with comics, of course with manga, but just the over all view of comics and it's readers. Most trends or fads here come and go, but they are all in the same never changing really; if it's fashion than you need to have these clothes to fit in until they fade and new fads come along, if it's music than it's the latest hit album for the time being, hell even these kids bust my butt for the old cell phone I use because it's not an Iphone or what not.
I'd be willing to bet that if there were two equally qualified persons lined up for a position of some sort and in the interview the owner asked what your hobbies were and you told him/her comics, their view point would be a little lower. "how can I trust a guy with a million dollar project if he reads children s comics books?"
Anybody remember this commercail: http://http://cultivatedpages.wordpress.com/2008/11/16/american-express-super-hero-credit-card-commercial/
I feel this is the very essence of how people feel towards our little world in general. If that card would have been a bunch of smiley faces or something no big deal right? I see this problem with the comic industry as being a major hurdle from the business stand point, because no matter how much advertising, how many times you change the content of the comics, they will always be comics; the book of kids and nerds.
I wanted to get a view point from others on this topic and how they feel it relates not to just the comics industry, but how they feel about how other view comics and what you suppose could overcome this obstacle. It's always funny when I see people rave about the comic movies and love being the "guru" of those films, but god forbid they would pick up the actual format and read them. The question is why? If you can go nuts over the movie and people don't seem to judge, than why are those same people so scared to pick up a comic? Is it because they feel that comics are "uncool" or that people will think less of them because they are going against the grain?
I don't want to go all sociology here, but this is a topic that I often get into debates with non comics readers on why I still read them and trying to figure out why I enjoy something that they refuse to even give a chance. The best is someone who was reading a harry potter novel was trying to convince me that comics were outdated and childish... I still laugh when I pointed out he was reading about a wizard with magic powers battling evil monsters.
Anyway has anyone else encountered a similar discussion, or dealt with this topic themselves? How do you feel about the issue in a whole or what would you suggest the industry do about it?
We all know that comics are dying out (in America for that matter Carabas has often mention that comics elsewhere are much more successful) and the amount of pure new readers is far from what it used to be. Many people claim that the price is too high or the availability, or even that many people are unaware that comics are still out there the way they used to be, but I believe those only comprise a very small percentage of why there is a the lack of new readers.
In America, image is one of the highest standards for individuals to live up to in the sense that, most people are more concerned about what others think of them rather than doing what they actually want to do. Peer pressure comes to mind when we're teens, but even in adulthood you still see it. Whether it's buying a nice car to impress, dressing a certain way to fit in with the crowd or even acting a particular way as to not stand out. This is the main reason why I feel comics are in so a low state.
The idea of comics, at least from the areas that I have lived in, have always been deemed for kids or for nerds and if you read them you are one of the two. I'm a professional trainer who body builds for a hobby so I do not fit the persona that gets associated with comics. When I tell people I read comics, I get a very odd look for the most part or the dreaded "aren't you too old to be reading those thing" speech. It's that moment that, for many people, will either change their mindset about something, or not give in to the idea of trying to fit in with the ideals of others. I have two friends from Japan and from their accounts things are a little different over there with comics, of course with manga, but just the over all view of comics and it's readers. Most trends or fads here come and go, but they are all in the same never changing really; if it's fashion than you need to have these clothes to fit in until they fade and new fads come along, if it's music than it's the latest hit album for the time being, hell even these kids bust my butt for the old cell phone I use because it's not an Iphone or what not.
I'd be willing to bet that if there were two equally qualified persons lined up for a position of some sort and in the interview the owner asked what your hobbies were and you told him/her comics, their view point would be a little lower. "how can I trust a guy with a million dollar project if he reads children s comics books?"
Anybody remember this commercail: http://http://cultivatedpages.wordpress.com/2008/11/16/american-express-super-hero-credit-card-commercial/
I feel this is the very essence of how people feel towards our little world in general. If that card would have been a bunch of smiley faces or something no big deal right? I see this problem with the comic industry as being a major hurdle from the business stand point, because no matter how much advertising, how many times you change the content of the comics, they will always be comics; the book of kids and nerds.
I wanted to get a view point from others on this topic and how they feel it relates not to just the comics industry, but how they feel about how other view comics and what you suppose could overcome this obstacle. It's always funny when I see people rave about the comic movies and love being the "guru" of those films, but god forbid they would pick up the actual format and read them. The question is why? If you can go nuts over the movie and people don't seem to judge, than why are those same people so scared to pick up a comic? Is it because they feel that comics are "uncool" or that people will think less of them because they are going against the grain?
I don't want to go all sociology here, but this is a topic that I often get into debates with non comics readers on why I still read them and trying to figure out why I enjoy something that they refuse to even give a chance. The best is someone who was reading a harry potter novel was trying to convince me that comics were outdated and childish... I still laugh when I pointed out he was reading about a wizard with magic powers battling evil monsters.
Anyway has anyone else encountered a similar discussion, or dealt with this topic themselves? How do you feel about the issue in a whole or what would you suggest the industry do about it?