The Future of Comic Books

Doctor Whu · #1 December 20th, 2003, 09:28 PM

I have been a longtime reader and collector of comics and I see some disturbing trends in this medium.. I will predict that within 10 years, comic books, as we know them today will cease to exist.

First let me say that American comics have changed radically over the last 10 years. The trend has been slowly to the Manga style of storytelling - in both story and artwork.

Not that I have anything against Manga, but I feel that American comics are losing what had made them special - their storytelling style which had been growing and evolving onward from the 1940s. This evolution had stopped in the mid-90s and the turn to Manga had begun. This influence is also seen in cartoons (Teen Titans, Samari Jack, Powerpuff, and the endless Japanese imports) and films (Kill Bill, Matrix, etc)...

Today (with exceptions of course) it is difficult to tell one comic from another with regards to the art style and flow of the story. Add that is sad...

Outside of content, technology will forever change the comic book. The entire indsutry of printed periodicals (including all magazines) is in decline. More and more information is being retrieved on the Web. Within 10 years, you will no longer subscribe to magazines... One will login to a web site for the latest "issue" of TIME, Batman or Iron Man. The "issue" will be viewed online with animation and sound effects.

Good? Bad? Not gonna happen? ... What do you think?

Bruticus · #2 December 20th, 2003, 09:42 PM

1) Sorry to say, but you're right. The Japan influence can be seen in a lot of places here in North America, and thus American comics, movies, etc are losing some of what makes them unique. If you need proof of this, look for the Mangaverse comics by Marvel - a huge deviation from the original subject matter seen in the 60s and 70s. Hell, you can find Japanese language (whether spoken or written) being used in anything from toy boxes to the Internet, where you see a lot of said Japanese language being spoken or written by North Americans. *
Comics are one of the American mediums being affected greatly by the influence of Eastern culture, but I don't think that will change for a long while.

2) I also agree that technology is also affecting comics, or will do so in the future. In 10 years, you won't pick up Spider-Man or Superman at comic book stores - instead, in a few clicks and keyboard presses, you'll be reading them online. Think about this for a moment - the comics of the 60s will be more "present" in the home, but they will become ruined and unkeepable. However, online comics, while they can be preserved, have a major drawback - if your Internet goes down or the site shuts its doors, you can't have them anymore. Think about what you would want - a physical possession that will become worn out, or an online possession that is vulnerable to shut-downs, both by faulty Internet and site closures. Now there is the great decision. If the majority wants their comics "traditionally", then the comic book industry might only falter slightly (if at all). However, if the majority wants them online, then the comic book industry will fail. *

*

This is the toughest thing I've probably said in the past year, but truly American comic books are gonna go down in history as merely a novelty...but hopefully not without a great fight.

Doctor Whu · #3 December 20th, 2003, 10:03 PM

With regard to a physical comic book itself, the bottom line is: do you want to own something that you can hold in your hands and keep or do you want something that is almost intangible, but able to access from anywhere?

An online comic book will never become a collectible item because it is able to be copied and distributed on demand. The online comic does, however,  have some interesting plusses on it side: animation, sound effects, spoken word, and eventually - interaction with the reader. With portable notebook or palm pilot type device, you could take your entire collection with you and never have to worry about tearing the pages or bending back the cover.

The technology intrigues me. I still think I would prefer the physical book - as I don't care for e-books or reading lengthy articles online. It is, however, the decline of the American comic book art of storytelling that concerns me...

Andross · #4 December 21st, 2003, 11:41 AM

You guys bring up some interesting points, but if comics are going to cease to exist, I doubt it will be due to e-comics. Online comics are an interesting idea, but I doubt it's the future of comic books. No one prefers to read something on a screen over holding something in your hands. It's like those e-books a few years ago. Everyone predicted they would take over their more primitive paper-and-ink counterparts. But have you ever actually seen someone reading one?

Just like cyber-sex, which has failed to replace the more analogue-version, I doubt that online comics will be the downfall of actual comic books.

Doctor Whu · #5 December 21st, 2003, 12:35 PM

Well, as for sex, I would say that without a doubt there is "nothing like the real thing...baby".

As for comics, the entire periodicals meduim is in decline. People are not reading as many magazines as they did 10 years ago... more and *more are turning to the Web for news and entertainment. And because people indeed dont like to read lengthy articles online, the articles are shorter - quicker and more to the point. Check out the length of articles on CNN, Salon.com, etc. very few are lengthy. Comics, however,  are not like e-books or online articles in that they are usually more visual than textual.

The entire comics industry may naturally gravitate to a new "online entertainment". Think about it... comics could be animated, have spoken word (no need to read word baloons), be set to music, or allow the reader to interact with the story. Comics could become almost like a cartoon series, with new issues/episodes once a month.

Marvel has already changed its name from Marvel Comics Group to Marvel Entertainment a few years ago - they predicted this change back then, I'm sure.

juan · #6 December 22nd, 2003, 01:15 AM

Japanification? Well I've always had a love for Japanese culture and its manga/anime imports (and Godzilla of course.). Manga and anime are the in thing right now. With me its always been because its what you don't get from American entertainment. Manga/anime always has the exotic novelty feel for me. That why I prefer subtitled versions or at least an extremely well dubbed version with nothing else changed. Its not because I'm "subbtitled, right or wrong" (God forbid) but because it has the novelty feel, that you know its really from somewhere else.
  In that vein, I have always despaired at Americanized Anime*. Prime examples are found in "4Kids" dubbing of Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh. They're so "Americanized" that it loses all the exoticism that draws me to Anime in the first place.
  If American comics do incorporate things from manga, I'm not worried. For me at least, it will be the best of both worlds; just being from outside the US gives Manga an inherent "cool" factor. Perhaps the coolness will rubb off on American comics.

*Its worth noting that I love DiC's dubb of Sailor Moon despite the changes. Probably because I grew up watching it before I became aware of the "evil dubbing conspiracy"  and thus keep the fond childhood memeroies that I've always had of it.

Tokyo VigilanteX · #7 December 26th, 2003, 06:56 PM

<font color='#8D38C9'>The Japanese influence is bitter-sweet

But don't worry,Stan Lee isent going down with out a fight

But chances are that the american comics are going down as did the american arcade,outdated,boring,and a waste of money.

Its a sad,sad decade gentlemen,a sad sad decade

Gamingboy · #8 December 27th, 2003, 10:08 PM

AND ALLEN MOORE IS RETIRING, comics are friggin doomed.

(Allen Moore, for the non-comic people, is the author of such masterpieces as "Whatever happened to the man of tommorrow?", "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen", "Top ten" and ""Watchmen", among others)

Well, thankfully, he'll still be coming back for more "LXG" and "Top Ten", but other then that.......

Gorgozilla · #9 December 28th, 2003, 03:39 AM

^  ^  ^

Don't forget his run on "Swamp Thing."

You're right, his retirement will definitely be a setback to the comic book industry. I don't know if it's the end of comics, but it sure won't help.

As for me, I'm still collecting a few comics... but nowhere near as many as I was when I was a young lad of 30!  

 I'm sure I'll at least keep buying "Hulk" until the title dies.. or I do, depends on which happens first.

Denizen · #10 December 30th, 2003, 04:18 PM

And don't forget Moore's "Miracleman", argueably the best superhero story ever told.

Gamingboy · #11 December 30th, 2003, 07:10 PM

I'm gonna put up a "Toast to Alan Moore" thread.