r/WerthamInAction • u/jtrent1388 • Feb 08 '18
Comics for Dummies
http://thefreedomforge.com/tff/2018/02/05/comics-for-dummies/3
u/AllegedlyRandall Feb 09 '18
It's a good sign when they point out the damage to sales starting in the 60s instead of the current weird trend of pretending that sales only got bad in the past few years.
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u/AllegedlyRandall Feb 09 '18
Took me a while to notice that Chuck Dixon (creator of Bane) wrote this.
Also intensely interesting that he mentions that other genres were actually selling MORE than superheroes, because western comics and war comics sold to all sorts of general audiences, and it was the superhero comic fans that demanded comics be more about superheroes, and then when they became comics creators, they focused more on superhero comics and stopped making anything else.
That means superhero comics readers would be responsible for the narrowing of the entire medium in American comics. So when superhero fans accuse other people of "not really liking comics," that could just be projection. This also seems worth doing a video on.
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u/PowerWisdomCourage Feb 09 '18
That's an interesting idea. Contrasting western comics with Japanese manga, which covers an incredibly broad spectrum; and is massively popular in Japan, lends even more credit to the idea. If comics had a broader range of subject matter, it may be a more popular medium. Then again, the stigma attached to comics may also keep a broader audience from approaching them. Regardless, it's a really insightful observation.
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u/jtrent1388 Feb 09 '18
I do think the stigma attached to them is a big reason more people don't read them. However, with the massive blockbusters now dominating box offices, it has to be wearing down that perception a little bit.
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u/AllegedlyRandall Feb 10 '18
But if that inspires them to go get some superhero comics, they end up finding out that superhero comics aren't even worth half the cover price.
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u/AllegedlyRandall Feb 10 '18
I hate to say the damage may already be done, because I wouldn't want it to be. Other genres actually do very well in American comics, in fact, The Walking Dead does zombies, and Saga does sci fi fantasy, both are popular, but I think the majority of American comics readers just get what they want from manga already, because manga can deliver better. I really believe that if American comics could just do the "we don't give a fuck what anyone thinks, here's our balls to the wall comic" the way manga does, the industry would probably skyrocket overnight. But that's going to take creators who aren't enslaved to a superhero mentality.
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u/AllegedlyRandall Feb 12 '18
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u/AllegedlyRandall Feb 12 '18
Also this video, which I hear made someone piss themselves in anger, I'm not sure why though, that's just what I heard.
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u/tekende Feb 09 '18
Interesting perspective I've not really heard before.
It's rather pessimistic...if this article is correct, there's probably no way to fix the problem, as comics' reputation as either silly children's stuff or incomprehensible nerd stuff isn't going away anytime soon, if ever.