PREVIEW: Snyder & Capullo's "Batman" #14

[batman23]

Oh crap, I said something good about this issue! My hater card will be revoked any minute now! Quick, uh, ummm.... Jim Gordon out of character blargh

You had me worried there for a second.

[tylenoljones]

You had me worried there for a second.

I kind of scared myself a little, too.

[booyah]

I've been reading monthlies for decades, and I agree with you. It is a horrible format for the kinds of stories currently being done in comics.

That's not to say you couldn't still tell some great stories that way (the new LotDKs are tiny and get the job done), but with all the trade waiting going on I think a whole lot of people agree with this position.

[Tom Strong]

Yeah I trade wait my comics. I find monthly reading to be frustrating.

[Mr. Holmes]

I've gotten used to reading that way, but I do think monthly comics are really outdated now. I really like the weekly model DC has for their digital-only books. That and graphic novels I think are the future.

[brkndwnbus]

I'm new to the month-to-month reading. I usually waited for the trades, but recently made the change to monthly reading. Having something to look forward to every Wednesday is enjoyable to me.

[Don Yoyo]

That and graphic novels I think are the future.

That's a funny thing to say when you consider the way each continent handles its comics production. Even Japan, which is identical to the U.S system at first glance (weekly, monthly, bi-monthly series which are collected later) is really different when you look at it a little more closely (in the U.S, it's common practice to keep the monthlies. In Japan, it's geared toward having people buy the collected editions).

[Auguste Dupin]

That's a funny thing to say when you consider the way each continent handles its comics production. Even Japan, which is identical to the U.S system at first glance (weekly, monthly, bi-monthly series which are collected later) is really different when you look at it a little more closely (in the U.S, it's common practice to keep the monthlies. In Japan, it's geared toward having people buy the collected editions).

In France and Belgium, weeklys technically exist, but they are relatively marginal compared to the "albums" (TPB with a graphic novel presentation) market.
Just to add a fact to the discussion.

[Don Yoyo]

In France and Belgium, weeklys technically exist, but they are relatively marginal compared to the "albums" (TPB with a graphic novel presentation) market.
Just to add a fact to the discussion.

I am French, so yeah, I know the system. The pre-publication market is indeed small compared to the full albums, and only a few series are published that way, you don't see Blacksad or De Capes et de Crocs published this way. The pre-publication reminds me of the Japanese system, just done in a higher, magazine-like quality.

[Auguste Dupin]

I am French, so yeah, I know the system. The pre-publication market is indeed small compared to the full albums, and only a few series are published that way, you don't see Blacksad or De Capes et de Crocs published this way. The pre-publication reminds me of the Japanese system, just done in a higher, magazine-like quality.

Well, the Japanese market is entirely based on the fact people throw their monthlies away when they're done, so i guess it's not that hard to have a higher quality.
.

[dupersuper]

Yeah I trade wait my comics. I find monthly reading to be frustrating.

I trade wait books like American Vampire, Air, Walking Dead, but I can't wait that long to keep up with Supes, Spidey, Wondy, Bats et al.

[TorontoFan1973]

I used to be a trade waiter, but I was getting frustrated with the waits. I much prefer paperbacks to hardcovers and so it was taking forever to get the collections I wanted. Also, I got an iPad and it is so easy to get everything I want digitally. DC is making so much more money from me now.

[Tom Strong]

A lot of times, I'll just wait for an arc to finish, and then pick them all up for $2 a piece. At least that works with DC.

[Retro315]

I've gotten used to reading that way, but I do think monthly comics are really outdated now. I really like the weekly model DC has for their digital-only books. That and graphic novels I think are the future.

Not by every writer, though. Some books just work as their own independent monthly fixes and build to a bigger story, whereas a LOT, definitely a majority of books are trying to tell big huge stories and then split them up into monthlies and shift their natural narratives and where there acts, climaxes and other tangents could fall to accommodate 20 pages at a time.

I tend to be a bigger fan of the "monthly shots of awesome that build to something greater" writers, but I know part of the bias against decompression is that I read decompressed books in those short 20-page spurts when I should trade-wait for the finished product. But I'm just not a trade-wait kind of guy.

[Mr. Holmes]

Not by every writer, though. Some books just work as their own independent monthly fixes and build to a bigger story, whereas a LOT, definitely a majority of books are trying to tell big huge stories and then split them up into monthlies and shift their natural narratives and where there acts, climaxes and other tangents could fall to accommodate 20 pages at a time.

I think it's true for most writers in the Big Two, especially with those who are writing for the trade. I remember Morrison said if he could redo Action Comics, he would have just done a series of one-shots. But that's a small fraction of how it's done in this industry.