The Outhouse - The Greatest Comic Book Forum

[S.F. Jude Terror]

Yes, please. That would be awesome.

And I will write more. I think my problem was trying to plan things out too much. I write much better on the spur of the moment. I have to clear a few things up later sometimes, but that just makes for better discussion.

I have several older Skid Marks columns and one Down With The Runs. And I will have another one of those coming soon as well.

Ok, I'll put them all under the Skid Marks category, but you can still title them Skid Marks: Title and Down with the Runs: Title to differentiate. BUt they'll all show on the same page. Sound good? Got an idea for an article avatar (100x100px)? also, you have the option of, at the top of your archive section, putting a banner and a short description of yourself or your articles.

[sdsichero]

and I'm not wearing pants at the moment.

Then I think you need a new avatar

[Zenguru]

Then I think you need a new avatar

Genius!

[sdsichero]

Genius!

Did I scare starlord away?!

[Zenguru]

Did I scare starlord away?!

If you did, that would be a first!

[Punchy]

I disagree that crossovers are just there to generate sales.

Marvel's recent events have always had thought behind them, and a desire to tell a story, Bendis was building up to Secret Invasion for almost 5 years, that is a lot of work, and it shows a genuine talent, the same goes for the current Blackest Night, Johns has been setting this up since Rebirth.

Even Final Crisis, which I hated, Grant was trying to say something, it wasn't just there to blow shit up.

[Zenguru]

I disagree that crossovers are just there to generate sales.

.

They certainly didn't start out that way, Punchy. And I'm sure that's not their main intention today. But it does seem to me that more money is being made by crossovers/events than from books left alone to do their own thing. Or at least, perhaps crossovers are depended upon to make up the bulk of a company's yearly sales.

I think these events were started to serve the books and heroes they highlighted. They were there to draw in new readers and show them how cool comics can be. But somewhere along the way, roles got somewhat reversed.

Books were now on the shelves to promote the event. Maybe that's not necessarily a bad thing in some eyes. But more and more I see new titles pop up with a great first few issues only to have their uniqueness subjugated by a major Bat, Super, Spider, or X crossover.

That's just my opinion, of course. And I'm quite willing to admit that many crossovers are very well done. You may see more editor/creator coordination in those stories than you see in single books, generally speaking.

I just think some books suffer from crossovers. Some have no chance to establish an identity while these stories cycle through the line two or three times a year. And sometimes the main books are aimless for months at a time.

I know Peter David has spoken out quite a bit about crossovers. It's generally said he disapproves of them because they interrupt the pace of his story. He's even left books because of crossovers.

Crossovers have evolved. They've gone from being guest appearances in another hero's book to being the main link for things going on in the majority of a company's line. They may not always be as huge as one might think, but they're rarely, if ever, as simple as they once were.

I love crossovers. I hate them. I want to check them out to see what's happening to my favorite heroes. I refuse to shell out $3.99 for all 12 or 20 parts to the story. It's a Moebius Loop with a 4-way intersection.

Darn it, Punchy! You just had to go and set me off, dincha?

[Punchy]

They certainly didn't start out that way, Punchy. And I'm sure that's not their main intention today. But it does seem to me that more money is being made by crossovers/events than from books left alone to do their own thing. Or at least, perhaps crossovers are depended upon to make up the bulk of a company's yearly sales.

I think these events were started to serve the books and heroes they highlighted. They were there to draw in new readers and show them how cool comics can be. But somewhere along the way, roles got somewhat reversed.

Books were now on the shelves to promote the event. Maybe that's not necessarily a bad thing in some eyes. But more and more I see new titles pop up with a great first few issues only to have their uniqueness subjugated by a major Bat, Super, Spider, or X crossover.

That's just my opinion, of course. And I'm quite willing to admit that many crossovers are very well done. You may see more editor/creator coordination in those stories than you see in single books, generally speaking.

I just think some books suffer from crossovers. Some have no chance to establish an identity while these stories cycle through the line two or three times a year. And sometimes the main books are aimless for months at a time.

I know Peter David has spoken out quite a bit about crossovers. It's generally said he disapproves of them because they interrupt the pace of his story. He's even left books because of crossovers.

Crossovers have evolved. They've gone from being guest appearances in another hero's book to being the main link for things going on in the majority of a company's line. They may not always be as huge as one might think, but they're rarely, if ever, as simple as they once were.

I love crossovers. I hate them. I want to check them out to see what's happening to my favorite heroes. I refuse to shell out $3.99 for all 12 or 20 parts to the story. It's a Moebius Loop with a 4-way intersection.

Darn it, Punchy! You just had to go and set me off, dincha?

You think crossovers hurt smaller books? I think they actually help them, I'm sure Captain Britain had more sales initially because of Secret Invasion, and once it went off on it's own... that's why it's being cancelled. Crossovers can help keep books going. This is why Marvel launched a ton of new ongoings after Secret Invasion, their links to the Dark Reign (which is not a crossover but hey) meant War Machine, Agents Of Atlas and Punisher all had higher sales than if they just launched by themselves.

It goes in cycles, a few years ago at Marvel, under Jemas and Quesada, there were no crossovers at all, each book was off on it's own, and the fans wanted big events, they wanted continuity, and then with Disassembled they got that. And now fans are getting slightly tired of it, this is why Marvel are doing their events in a different way, like those 'The List' one-shots, they share a common theme, but you do not have to read all of them. I also think Blackest Night may be the last big DC event for a while, stuff like Wednesday Comics... it shows that fans also want more standalone stuff.

[Zenguru]

You think crossovers hurt smaller books? I think they actually help them, I'm sure Captain Britain had more sales initially because of Secret Invasion, and once it went off on it's own... that's why it's being cancelled. Crossovers can help keep books going.

Good point. But it'd be nice to read books that can actually survive without crossovers. That would be a testament to the creators' talents rather than an editor's conniption.

It goes in cycles, a few years ago at Marvel, under Jemas and Quesada, there were no crossovers at all, each book was off on it's own, and the fans wanted big events, they wanted continuity, and then with Disassembled they got that. And now fans are getting slightly tired of it, this is why Marvel are doing their events in a different way, like those 'The List' one-shots, they share a common theme, but you do not have to read all of them. I also think Blackest Night may be the last big DC event for a while, stuff like Wednesday Comics... it shows that fans also want more standalone stuff.

More standalone stuff. Yes. As in no events or crossovers for quite a while. I'd like to see comics be comics again. I'm tired of the cash cow.