Eight Problems with Marvel and DC Comics (Video)

Found this today...



8. Old classics go out of print too quickly.
7. Events, events, and more events.
6. Pointing the finger at diversity for sales slumps.
5. So many reboots.
4. The same writers doing the same things.
3. Unwilling to experiment with less popular characters.
2. Constant artist departures.
1. Everything is just way too expensive.

What's your #1?

I agree with all eight!

My main gripes would definitely be the expensiveness of comics but I would like to add to the list the amount of times that heroes and villains come bake to life (such as the Phoenix). It's just annoying

Carlos Phillips wrote:My main gripes would definitely be the expensiveness of comics but I would like to add to the list the amount of times that heroes and villains come bake to life (such as the Phoenix). It's just annoying

I'm with you on that, man. I think that kind of falls under "Too many reboots." It really cheapens death when nobody stays dead. Why do the superheroes even bother saving people if everyone just comes back to life, right?

I think DC tried to play around with the constant resurrections in their Blackest Night storyline, but there have been two reboots since then, so it's probably not even canon anymore.

I wonder if having the same characters around for decades isn't a problem, too.

Most of the most popular characters got their start decades ago, when our parents and grandparents were kids. Their continued popularity may tell us some good that comes of this, but there's some not-so-good with it, too.

One bad aspect is that, instead of creating new characters and new stories, old characters are changed, almost to the point where they are barely recognizable to how they began. Or, almost as bad, they stay the same, never really seeming to grow much, stuck in the same kinds of problems year after year, fighting the same fights one after another.

One thing I've noticed in reading manga is that they rarely do the open-ended story, where heroes are sent from one crisis to another ad nauseum. Most seem to have a story to tell, they tell it, and then move on to other stories. An exception might be Dragonball, but even One Piece, as long as it's been going, seems to have a definite conclusion in sight, even if it is still a mere speck on the horizon.

Maybe Marvel and DC need to retire some popular heroes and villains, and exercise their imaginations to come up with new characters and new stories.

I agree. Every once in a while I would try to imagine what it would be like if the people in comic books aged somewhat similar to real life. I think it would be kinda cool seeing stories progress with the older heroes actually getting older and new heroes eventually taking their place. And if you add no more unnecessary resurrections along with that, I think it would make for more unpredictable stories and a sense of going forward instead of staying stuck.

The old heroes are so beloved that it would be hard to get rid of them without a lot of fan backlash. But if either company could do that and manage to create new heroes compelling enough to catch the public's attention and generate sales, that would be quite a feather in their caps. It would be a bold move and probably a lengthy process if it were to succeed.

Cost is the #1 thing that has kept me from buying comic books.

I stopped collecting in 1997. Marvel's baseline price for a book was $1.99. DC had two baseline prices: $1.95 and $2.25. I didn't collect Marvel or DC at the time but I did have about 3-5 titles a week pulled from 2nd- and 3rd-tier publishers. Assuming a $2/title cost that was $10 a week for physical books or $520 a year.

For $10 a week now you can get 2-3 titles but I don't have $500/year to spend on comics now. It's not in the budget and probably won't be for years to come.

I suppose if I wanted to eschew paper copies I could get a Comixology Unlimted subscription for $5.99 a month but does that include all the new releases? I always assumed it did not.

Enlighten me, folks!

jorowi wrote:

I suppose if I wanted to eschew paper copies I could get a Comixology Unlimted subscription for $5.99 a month but does that include all the new releases? I always assumed it did not.

Enlighten me, folks!

Yeah, enlighten me too!

Cost is the big reason I haven't gone back, despite LOOOOOVING the superhero setting/concept. The thing is, superheroes have become so mainstream I can get my superhero fix on TV, in movies or in video games. Maybe I shouldn't, but I judge my entertainment spending based on a time:dollar ratio. And compared to movies and video games, comics have the worst rate by far. (I can take my time and still finish a $4 comic book in about 10 minutes, 15 max if I gaze at the artwork and ponder.)

I can't believe I'm saying this, given how I used to feel, but for comics to really go mainstream, they may have to go completely digital.