I remember the days of fans staking out local comic shops every Wednesday morning, then hanging around a lot of the day to talk comics with other fans there! Marvel wants those fans back again!
HERE’S WHAT MARVEL’S PRESIDENT HAD TO SAY
I was reading a recent interview on the ICv2 website with Marvel’s President Dan Buckley following his recent ComicsPRO keynote address. I was particularly intrigued by some of what he had to say.
Apparently, the comics industry is still trying to recover from the recent pandemic and the current difficult economy. Buckley said, “I will admit there’s some challenges there as we try to find our way out of the pandemic. We have to find a way to get people in the habit of going to the stores more: let’s get the Wednesday Warriors back.”
He continued: “I do think a lot of those people are still shopping in stores, but they’re not browsing as much. What we’re hearing is that people aren’t coming in every week. They’re coming in every two, three, four weeks, picking up their bundles.”
He has a solution, of sorts: “We have to get them to start coming to the store more often, start browsing more often. Yes, we have to get new readers in there, but we have to get the ones that have been habitual readers, or are lapsed readers, to come into the stores more often than they are.”
An important change Buckley seems to want is to increase the number of issues coming out each week. He said, “We’re experimenting with going a little longer, or extending out more. I think the days of having a 500-issue run is probably a reach, but we are looking at having less limited series and more ongoing, with all our characters. I’m not going to say there won’t be limited series, but I am at the moment approving some series for 10 issues at a time, not 4 or 5. Hopefully I can get to 15 or 20. That is the intent… It’s to the benefit of everyone to figure this out.”
Of course, I have some reactions to his comments!
IS MORE ACTUALLY BETTER?
I remember not that long ago when fans used to gather at our local comics shops each Wednesday to pick up our weekly books. Some got there before the door opened, then stayed the whole day to talk with other fans about all things comics, including the recent releases and what was coming soon that we were looking forward to. We also caught each other up on the latest comics news.
These days, it’s different at the LCS’s. I get to the store when I can, sometimes every other week since the number of comics I buy has seriously decreased recently. I buy a lot of DC’s, and their output isn’t what it used to be.
In fact, this past week I didn’t get to the store at all until the following Thursday. What struck me odd was when I paid for my books, the store owner called out, “See you in two weeks!” I responded, “No, I should be back next week! I want to keep my regular schedule!” She seemed happy with that, but I was intrigued that she thought I was already changing my current routine to every other week. I wondered, is that what a lot of other customers are doing?
Then, too, I don’t necessarily buy the notion that more is better. These days, for instance, streaming TV “seasons” usually go for a whopping 10 episodes instead of 22 or more as broadcast shows often did in the past. The idea is, “Let’s put out 10 great episodes instead of all that filler” that used take place in the days of old.
I’m more interested in telling a story with the number of issues or episodes actually needed. If that’s five issues, make it five issues. If it’s 20 episodes, then produce all 20.
See, I remember the “ultimate” Fantastic Four issue in which the entire book was filled with the team actually deciding they needed to get to the FantastiCar, then walking through the building to get there, then leaving the Baxter Building. I spent an entire issue of 20+ pages reading THAT? I still cringe when I remember it! My brother used to call this “trade-paperback-itis” since all comics are written so that they fill up a collected edition instead of making a satisfying single issue.
I think we don’t care about the storytelling enough! Even in this circumstance, we’re worrying about how many issues we can stretch a mini-series out to. Let’s tell good stories instead of filling up books with, well, stuff!
See, I don’t look back on comics runs to think, “It was great that they got me to buy 25 issues!” Instead, I often say, “Wow, was that story great! I highly recommend it!” We’ve got the cart before the horse, as my parents used to say.
WEDNESDAY WARRIORS
Unfortunately, it seems to me that our lives have become so busy that we can’t take the time to “hang out” at the local comics shop like we used to. I have got so much to get done that I have to run in the door, make sure I have all the books I want, then pay for them and race out the door so I can get other things done.
As I mentioned earlier, people used to plan their Wednesdays around making that trip to the comics shop. I remember one guy who used to come to the store carrying his very own chair so he could sit down there and talk for hours at a time. (Not that the owner actually liked that, mind you!)
The sad thing is, these days we’re booked solid every minute of every day! When I picked up my comics, my roommate was out in the car, waiting for me to get back there so we could rush home and get more done that afternoon! I didn’t dare dawdle in the store. Actually, the owner was playing a Magic card game (or something like it) with several other fans, so even she didn’t have time to talk!
We’re just too busy! We need to make time to smell the roses, or at least, read the comics! I’d love to have a group of Wednesday Warriors I got together with every week like I used to! Maybe make time online each Wednesday night?
NOW WHAT?
Obviously, the comics industry still doesn’t know what we want to be when we grow up!
I honestly think that what needs to happen in a grass-roots sort of development that moves us forward. You know, maybe some Wednesday Warriors get back to the fun times of the past, and that catches on from community to community.
Right now, though, we’ve got things to sort out, like maybe supporting comics that we want to see more of as we buy our books each time we get to the LCS!
Again, I really wish that the heads of the comics-producing companies would look around and say, “Who can we hire who will tell the best stories?” Yeah, that’s the ticket!
Until then, we just have to do the best we can, support the industry as much as possible, and maybe send feedback to Mr. Buckley somehow! Make better comics, not more mediocre ones, okay?
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