Things Done in Comic Books That You Can’t Stand

Excessive flashbacks. Had an independent want our shop carry his book. After always accepting all books by independent creators I had to start asking for samples of the books. (we had some real crap we are stuck with) . The problem with this book was it jumping in time over and over. That made the pacing terrible. And I am not new to comics- I have over 35 years of reading comics. And I agree with the red and black word balloons. Bad Choice. Look at the Sandman Use of fonts for delirium and Desire

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The lack of a narrator. I miss this - a lot.

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Well, no one has mentioned the Batman who Laughs in a little while, and if this thread will stop characters losing agency in their own book, then this thread has served its purpose.

So without further ado:

I renominate the Batman Who Laughs and his arc.

May we never forget

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It’s hard for me to think of things in singular issues that I don’t like cuz as someone who creates I instinctively look at things from that perspective like what’s the vision here? What’s the big picture? I find more issues with the way the universe or timeline (or lack there of in the case of DC since New 52) are set up. Or characters that are depicted so OP that they’re practically perfect in every way, never make mistakes or bad calls, and pretty much untouchable. Characters that are used as crutches to sell stories rather than building something good for that character - marketing. Characters that exhibit no emotion or personality - just stale and blank. Characters that are brought over from other universe and just stick around or brought in from like the past or future instead of being current. Subplots that are randomly forgotten instead of tying up loose ends.
But yeah I guess if lettering is bad and hard to read then it’s just bad.

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Couldn’t agree more on Batman’s treatment of Huntress, & also Zatanna. He’s actually worse to Huntress just because she’s not afraid to cross that line. Zatanna mind wiped him. But it was a team decision on him & Dr. Light. Mind wiping Light was definitely the correct decision too. I’m biased as they are my top 2, but I know I’m not alone.

Big name characters being put on teams they don’t belong on just because they’re popular. The real killer example of that one has to be Harley on the Suicide Squad. The whole kick of the Squad is that anyone can die at any time because they’re all cannon-fodder characters. Harley undermines that by being too big to kill.

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Or worse- when a character or scene is teased on the cover, then never shows up in the book.

Like this issue of Supergirl-

I’m a big Zod fan, so I bought it, eager to see his confrontation with Jon and Supergirl. But he’s nowhere in the issue- they fight with Rogol Zaar.

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I’ll echo the misleading cover! This is very irritating and can kill my hype for a story.

I dislike the idea that heroes can’t be happy in any aspect of their lives. Having a character work that way - or even several - is fine, but that concept doesn’t work for a lot of great characters.

I tend not to like dream/amnesia stories or stories where the characters aren’t acting like themselves. Occasionally, these tools can be used to explore the inner workings of a character, but the key word is OCCASIONALLY. A lot of these characters are beloved and have withstood the test of time, so when the aspects that contributed to that long-lasting love are stripped away, I’m often left disappointed. Again, occasionally, these tools can be used to good effect, but they should be used sparingly and not last for multiple years with little to no progress, then double down on mind-control/memory-altering tactics twice in the same year… ehm.

Also, comic reader panel views should never cut off text. Sheesh…

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Too many of the character’s thoughts. Sometimes it’s done well, like in Batman: Year One, and sometimes it gets annoying like in Batman: Hush.

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I actually loved it in Hush! I wouldn’t want that level of internal monologue in every comic, so I understand what you’re saying, but I think it really helped solidify Hush as a showcase of Batman’s world to be able to hear his thoughts on those around him. :slight_smile:

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I follow characters I like from book to book, so I hate when they turn up somewhere written by someone who did no research on them or just doesn’t care. Why not just use another character?

On a much more petty note, I get annoyed when the colorist gets the eye color wrong. The occasisional mistake is understandable, but when it happens frequently or on covers, two page spreads, etc I cringe.

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Agreed! I’m so over the omnipresent doom and gloom in a lot of comics. It also annoys me when violence and gore are used only for shock value.

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When they redesign a character to look like the tv show/movie.

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I agree that it helped show more insight into Batman’s life, but there were times when it seemed like an interruption, like at the cemetery or the last fight with Hush.

OMG YESSSSSSS! I hate how all the designs of WW now look just like the movie! I LOVED the New 52 design and colors and stopped reading when creative teams changed.

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I hate when characters are randomly aged up or down while the characters they interacted with stay exactly the same. Like make it make sense.

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When a crossover really has no impact on the book that you are reading… the or has too much impact.

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Obvious secret identities.

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When a certain story or plot line is drawn out just for the sake of reaching a certain issue count, especially with the later half of Kong’s run on Batman.

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I didn’t know that king kong wrote Batman.

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