My introduction into comics was Sonic the Hedgehog and that kind of chaotic continuity was in a way, my gateway into DC Comics (Along with the DC animated shows).
So while getting into reading DC Comics, I have come to find out that comic readers are VERY opinionated. And what I have come to find out about myself is that I don’t get as riled up about comic stories being “bad”. I honestly don’t know what counts as a “bad” comic (I kinda like Bendis’ Superman stories).
So I guess I am asking you guys who have been reading comics for Decades, what constitutes a “bad” comic, and what comic stories make you upset?
I assume so, but I want to find a common denominator. I can analyze the subjectivity of TV, Movies and Video Games, but with comics I haven’t quite gotten the grasp of what “works” for people.
I don’t even have a common denominator for my own tastes.
For many people, it’s probably going to be something like, “I was first exposed to these characters in this form,” or, “I never got the appeal of this character until I read this particular comic.”
There are plenty of things that make a story bad, like bad writing, bad pacing, bad characters. But when it comes to the medium of the comic book itself. I dislike it when writers don’t capitalize on the medium itself. I think many writers just see comics as films that don’t move, this is hardly the case. comics have so much unique potential that movies don’t, and a lot of writers don’t see that. While there are writers like Alan Moore and Jeph Loeb who clearly understand that comics are a whole new specimen of storytelling, but there are a million other writers who just see them as “cheaper movies.” That sickens me. I could go into specifics about what makes comics comics, but if you wanna know that stuff, recommend reading Understanding Comics by Scott Mcloud. It’s essentially the Bible of comic book writing. Didn’t mean to get all artsy fartsy on ya there by the way…
And that’s honestly an answer I can grasp. I watch so many videos on the history of comics and while I respect the history, It is kind of shocking to see that a lot of comics that made a big splash in the industry are things that I really wouldn’t see myself picking up off of the shelf had I been alive in those days.
I suppose I could offer this viewpoint: in my opinion, the rules that make for a great limited series or graphic novel are often misapplied to the regular monthly titles. The Killing Joke works as a one-shot prestige comic. It does not work as a template for every appearance of the Joker. If every story is a big event, then there are no big events.
I had to read that for a comic class. Very interesting book.
Not taking advantage of the medium you have can be frustrating. Harley Quinn’s Future State issue #1 looked like a really pretty storyboard for an animated series. Which was cool, but not like a comic. Comics are even different from Manga in a way.
That’s an interesting view. I guess taking something that worked well for the company and reapplying it back into the comics didn’t start with the movies haha.
Everyone’s got their own comics that they’ll feel like that about. Some comics that people love bore me to tears and I’m sure vice versa. I stopped reading a well-regarded Batman run a while back because I was just utterly bored with it. And that’s okay. Nothing is one-size-fits all.
I think I don’t understand why people get so mad. I think the only recent comic that would have made me legitimately upset would be the recent Nightwing comic, but that was turned around in the end as I expected.
Well, as I said recently in another thread: we do get emotionally attached to these characters and we often find ourselves projecting ourselves onto our favorite characters. It can feel very personal when things take a turn we don’t like.
Well that would definitely be considered unsuccessful haha