Why aren't comics as popular any more?

It seems like all the would-be comicbook lovers are now manganime lovers instead now. This could be because of the availability of manganime in the US and internet now, but why does it have to be one or the other?

They're more popular than ever. It's just people call them graphic novels now instead.

People would rather watch than read.

They still make those?KiIIyou

They're more popular than ever. It's just people call them graphic novels now instead.

Pirate700

[QUOTE="Pirate700"]

They're more popular than ever. It's just people call them graphic novels now instead.

KiIIyou

i love comics ...

only thing is that i don"T buy them anymore cuz reading them as cbr-files on my laptop is much cooler and best of all ...

free.

[QUOTE="KiIIyou"][QUOTE="Pirate700"]

They're more popular than ever. It's just people call them graphic novels now instead.

Pirate700

i love comics ...

only thing is that i don"T buy them anymore cuz reading them as cbr-files on my laptop is much cooler and best of all ...

free.

CHANCESUNDANCE

I still go to my local comic shop every Wednesday when new issues come out. DC Comics New 52 is hitting it out of the park with a completely new, revamped, DC Universe inhabited by characters with all-new origins and looks. Best comics running right now:

• Action Comics
• DC Universe Online: Legends
• Green Lantern
• Green Lantern: New Guardians
• Justice League
• Uncanny X-Force
• Venom (much different than your 90s Eddie Brock Venom)

i love comics ...

only thing is that i don"T buy them anymore cuz reading them as cbr-files on my laptop is much cooler and best of all ...

free.

CHANCESUNDANCE

My god i hate manga and anime.

I think they are really hard to find. In my book store, the workers like to be d*cks and hide the comic books in a small corner covered with childrens toys and crap. Then once in a while they just want to make us rage and move its location.

Comics are still pretty popular but it's like most printed media, due to the internet people are able to read books, magazines, comics, etc online, so you don't have the problem of spilling stuff on them or rips and tear's, or someone kncoking a drink over them, etc. Also the convenience, you can buy and read them online so means you don't have to wait for them to come into your local store, and go pick them up. Pretty much comes down to convenience I guess (although that being said still think paper based comics are better).

My god i hate manga and anime.

Ilovegames1992

[QUOTE="Ilovegames1992"]

My god i hate manga and anime.

mrmusicman247

I feel the same way, and I can easily point out my problems with it vs. Western comics:

-It's often too cutesy looking

-It often has goofy moments that I just roll my eyes at.

-I want color, not B&W, this is 2012, not 1951.

-Western comics generally have better looking, more detailed artwork. Manga is often very plain and cartoony looking.

[QUOTE="Ilovegames1992"]

My god i hate manga and anime.

mrmusicman247

I just don't like it...

Japanese culture as a whole disturbs me slightly.

My god i hate manga and anime.

Ilovegames1992

Stop haunting me with your sexy gif :( :( :(

[QUOTE="mrmusicman247"][QUOTE="Ilovegames1992"]

My god i hate manga and anime.

Ilovegames1992

I just don't like it...

Japanese culture as a whole disturbs me slightly.

However, that's a thing we both agree

[QUOTE="Ilovegames1992"]

My god i hate manga and anime.

mrmusicman247

The medium as a whole as stagnated. Marvel and DC eventually reached a point where they'd rather pander to the silver age crowd. Hell, a lot of the people in charge are self-admitted silver age fanboys (Joe Quesada, Geoff Johns, Dan Didio.)

Lack of actually progression + growth in appeal in manga = shruken market.

Admittedly though, DC's recent reboot has been a slam dunk for them. Props to the company.

[QUOTE="mrmusicman247"][QUOTE="Ilovegames1992"]

My god i hate manga and anime.

NiKva

To be fair, every medium has fans like those. Anime/Manga have the crowd who feel unless you watch it in the original japanese, your watching it wrong. Comic Book fanboys have the crowd that hate any permanent change whatsoever.

[QUOTE="mrmusicman247"][QUOTE="Ilovegames1992"]

My god i hate manga and anime.

NiKva

I knew a bunch of Animongs/Narutards from my days in school, weird bunch.

[QUOTE="mrmusicman247"][QUOTE="Ilovegames1992"]

My god i hate manga and anime.

Emerald_Warrior

I feel the same way, and I can easily point out my problems with it vs. Western comics:

-It's often too cutesy looking

-It often has goofy moments that I just roll my eyes at.

-I want color, not B&W, this is 2012, not 1951.

-Western comics generally have better looking, more detailed artwork. Manga is often very plain and cartoony looking.

I still go to my local comic shop every Wednesday when new issues come out. DC Comics New 52 is hitting it out of the park with a completely new, revamped, DC Universe inhabited by characters with all-new origins and looks. Best comics running right now:

• Action Comics
• DC Universe Online: Legends
• Green Lantern
• Green Lantern: New Guardians
• Justice League
• Uncanny X-Force
• Venom (much different than your 90s Eddie Brock Venom)

Emerald_Warrior

Overblown and far too frequent crossovers that require you to buy dozens of issue in order to fully follow is one of the reasons I stopped reading them for the most part.

most likely cause you have to pay for them. i dont mind paying for them cause its like 3 bucks once a month.

I'm glad comics are not as popular. Now, we have Graphic Novels which are like a huge comic book. I no longer buy comic books because why should I spend 3 bucks on something I can read in literally less than 2 minutes and half of the pages are littered with advertisements? With Graphic Novels, you only pay maybe 15-20 bucks for a lengthy, interesting comic instead of waiting every month. Comics are an old relic from the past and should stay that way. Keep in mind, Video Games are today's comic books. Kids rush out to buy them just like they did with comics in the Golden Age. To be honest, I think comics will die one day, but Graphic Novels will never die. The sales number prove that GNs are more successful than comics.

[QUOTE="NiKva"][QUOTE="mrmusicman247"] Why?Ilovegames1992

I knew a bunch of Animongs/Narutards from my days in school, weird bunch.

Also, the storylines for comics these days are stupid IMO. They ran out of ideas to do so basically now all we get are convuleted, cheesy, storylines with crap writing and crossovers. I want to read a Superman comic, but why does Wonder-Woman and Flash have to make appearances when this comic is supposed to be about Superman? Also, there doesn't seem to be any clear chronological timeline between any of the comics. I was really looking forward to the New 52 reboot, but they just kept making the same damn mistakes as before. It doesnt even feel like a reboot comic and what makes it even more confusing is that not all of the previous comic series are discontinued. Why do all comics seem to think we are established with every single character? I wento to go pick up the Batman reboot comic and read the first few pages, saw a bunch of ads for The Big Bang Theory and for Terra Nova, and then finished the whole issue in around less than 2 minutes which I think does not justify a 3 dollar purchase. Which is still why I go with graphic novels.

Also, I dont seem to have a problem with Manga in general, but my god, all of them are one sides. They are always about some guy with a crazy hair style that knows kung fu or carries a bunch of sharp weapons and then meets women with bigbreasts And why does all Manga have to take place in some village or in old times. The appeal is not there for me. But if people are into it, I am not going to make them stop reading them. If they like it, then that fine by me.

The sales number prove that GNs are more successful than comics.

TheManofTin

[QUOTE="TheManofTin"]

The sales number prove that GNs are more successful than comics.

xaos

It seems like all the would-be comicbook lovers are now manganime lovers instead now. This could be because of the availability of manganime in the US and internet now, but why does it have to be one or the other?

NiKva

[QUOTE="xaos"][QUOTE="TheManofTin"]

The sales number prove that GNs are more successful than comics.

Pirate700

Also, the storylines for comics these days are stupid IMO. They ran out of ideas to do so basically now all we get are convuleted, cheesy, storylines with crap writing and crossovers. I want to read a Superman comic, but why does Wonder-Woman and Flash have to make appearances when this comic is supposed to be about Superman? Also, there doesn't seem to be any clear chronological timeline between any of the comics. I was really looking forward to the New 52 reboot, but they just kept making the same damn mistakes as before. It doesnt even feel like a reboot comic and what makes it even more confusing is that not all of the previous comic series are discontinued. Why do all comics seem to think we are established with every single character? I wento to go pick up the Batman reboot comic and read the first few pages, saw a bunch of ads for The Big Bang Theory and for Terra Nova, and then finished the whole issue in around less than 2 minutes which I think does not justify a 3 dollar purchase. Which is still why I go with graphic novels.

Also, I dont seem to have a problem with Manga in general, but my god, all of them are one sides. They are always about some guy with a crazy hair style that knows kung fu or carries a bunch of sharp weapons and then meets women with bigbreasts And why does all Manga have to take place in some village or in old times. The appeal is not there for me. But if people are into it, I am not going to make them stop reading them. If they like it, then that fine by me.

[QUOTE="Pirate700"]

[QUOTE="xaos"] No, not reallyxaos

I think they're still very popular, although I could be wrong about that.

[QUOTE="mrmusicman247"][QUOTE="Ilovegames1992"]

My god i hate manga and anime.

Emerald_Warrior

I feel the same way, and I can easily point out my problems with it vs. Western comics:

1) It's often too cutesy looking

2) It often has goofy moments that I just roll my eyes at.

3) I want color, not B&W, this is 2012, not 1951.

4) Western comics generally have better looking, more detailed artwork. Manga is often very plain and cartoony looking.

Re: points 1 and 2, that depends on the manga you read. If you read something more serious like Blade of the Immortal, you don't get that. I have not read all of these so I cannot vouch for all of them, but I imagine you might like manga like Monster, BLAME!, 20th Century Boys, Vagabond, Pluto, Sanctuary, Eternal Sabbath, and Eden: It's An Endless World.

Point 3 I don't have much response to.

Point 4 it again depends on the manga. Some of them (e.g. Blade of the Immortal, Berserk, Vagabond) have great artwork.

EDIT: And no, I don't know what's going on in that chapter of Berserk. :P

[QUOTE="Ilovegames1992"]

[QUOTE="NiKva"] I don't like the people who read it. I read it myself, but I don't act like those wapanese people who think they are so kawaii desu or whatever. It's a group that I want to stay far away from as much as possible.TheManofTin

I knew a bunch of Animongs/Narutards from my days in school, weird bunch.

Yeah, we had a few people wear that crap in my high school too.

..they were really cool.

It seems like all the would-be comicbook lovers are now manganime lovers instead now. This could be because of the availability of manganime in the US and internet now, but why does it have to be one or the other?

NiKva

Simply put

It went from a mass market merchandise(talking comics themselves, not movies & tv attached), to a niche market

Between the 70s & 80s comics moved off news stands and into dimly lit comic book shops.

And the comics started to reflect this in good and bad ways.

The good being more adult targeted material

The bad being pandering only a specific audience & with a specific genre(super heroes), and requiring years of pre-known backstory & continuity

Compare that to manga which by nature in mainstream content (in Japan), covering every demographic and physiographic

Hell, look how different the big 4 shonen are.(Pirates, ninjas, ghost hunters with swords, and mages)

Not to mention imported manga gained a huge female audience, unlike comics.

With the help of Hollywood comics may be able to escape the niche cave they have built around themselves, but they have to put forth the effort

[QUOTE="KiIIyou"]They still make those?NiKva

I love comics, but I think ALL the crossovers kill it there are way too many especially in Deadpool, Thunderbolts and Uncanny X-Force. I mean serioussly I get confused all the time when I en up not knowing there were even a crossover (things like when did this person die/turn evil/turn good.)

And they keep restarting them, I just finished getting ALL of the last Version of Daredevil (Shadowland was a complete mess)and as soon as I was up to datethey Rebooted it Again WTF?

[QUOTE="CHANCESUNDANCE"]

i love comics ...

only thing is that i don"T buy them anymore cuz reading them as cbr-files on my laptop is much cooler and best of all ...

free.

VaguelyTagged

yeah , that might be true ...but (at least in my comic-store) all the comics are sealed and are not to be opened unless you buy them.

when i download them i can check if i like the artwork (some "artists" draw horrible) and story or not.

I love comics, but I think ALL the crossovers kill it there are way too many especially in Deadpool, Thunderbolts and Uncanny X-Force. I mean serioussly I get confused all the time when I en up not knowing there were even a crossover (things like when did this person die/turn evil/turn good.)

And they keep restarting them, I just finished getting ALL of the last Version of Daredevil (Shadowland was a complete mess)and as soon as I was up to datethey Rebooted it Again WTF?

Norrie91

Honestly comic books have never appealed to me. Mostly because there's no straight forward story line with most franchises, that and there's too many spin-offs, and crossovers. Plus most of these franchises have been going on for years, so you have to play catch-up first in order to get on the same page. It just seems so convoluted when it should be simple.xdude85

Things tend to get convoluted when you have chaacters and franchises that have been running for decades. That's one thing I love about Neil Gaiman's 'Sandman' series. It had a nice 8 year run with a straightforward, self-contained storyline, then it ended and has stayed ended.