When Good People Buy Bad Comics

There's a controversy out there that I'd like to address. The controversy is why people continue buying mainstream comics they simply don't like that well instead of taking a chance on indie comics. Not all mainstream comics are bad, understand. There's just this discontent out there that makes one wonder why people buy comics they complain about instead of trying something new. So, here goes nothing:

Reason 1: We're lazy sods. All of us. A trip to a comic book store could easily be an adventure in discovering new titles. Instead, most of us usually get our old favorites and only glance at the new stuff. Then, we complain because the quality of mainstream comics, in general, isn't the greatest.

Reason 2: We hope the results will be different, although nothing has changed in terms of the creative team or editor. It's just like when we turn on the television during re-run season. Instead of planning an alternative activity or going to the video store, we turn on the tube and expect something different, even though it's summer, and complain bitterly when it's all stuff we've seen before. If you're buying comics that have disappointed you in the past hoping for a different result, it won't happen.

Reason 3: We're going with the name brand. Yeah, in the case of buying a CD player or a computer, buying the brand you know is a smart move. I admit, an advantage to buying a name brand comic is that the business you've bought from has lasted forty years or more and probably isn't going to go out of business the way an indie might. For instance, Marvel may have wobbled with that bankruptcy, but it didn't fall down. The highly respected indie, Kitchen Sink, on the other hand...

But, comic books are supposed to be a creative venture, not a mechanical device (although the way some comic books are written, you'd think a robot did it, using a plot device template). Smaller companies are less uniform in what they want and (strangely enough, since they're risking a bigger ratio of their investment capital) more willing to take chances than the often-bureaucratic mainstream press.

The good news is you get a homogenous product quality with the mainstream press. The bad news is, well, you get a homogenous product quality. It's like the difference between a mainstream Hollywood film and an indie film. The studio system, although stifling for maverick film directors, was capable of producing great mainstream films like Casablanca. More often, they produced Shirley Temple films and Francis The Mule. Indie films can be junk, but the potential for creative ideas outside the formulas of the Hollywood film makes them worth checking out.

Reason 4: Some of us simply can't abide black and white art. Just like modern viewers have a hard time watching non-colorized movies, some people simply can't deal with non-color comics.

Reason 5: The art in mainstream comics tends to be better, or at least more like we're used to seeing. Again, it's that uniformity one only gets from mainstream comics. But, there's a lot of gorgeous indie art out there, too. It's important to use your eyes when you buy.

Reason 6: Mainstream comics come out on a regular, monthly basis. Indie comics may or may not come out on a semi-monthly basis. You're dead lucky if an indie comic comes out semi-regularly. It's harder to be loyal to a comic that doesn't come out regularly. Usually, it's worth the effort, but I can understand those who aren't patient with indies, too.

Reason 7: Mainstream comics are more available. Some comic book stores don't even feature indie comics. If you can't see 'em, it's harder to develop a relationship with them.

Reason 8: If Diamond doesn't distribute it and it's not featured in Previews, it ain't worth a darn to some readers. A lot of comics I like aren't distributed by Diamond, but it is harder to remember they exist if they aren't in Previews.

Reason 9: Indie comics are an unknown quantity. Some indie comics are great. Others aren't. Mainstream comics often aren't great, but there's a uniformity to them that makes for loyal readers. Better the devil you know, I guess.

Reason 10: Indie comics tend to go out of business with more frequency than mainstream ones. Many good comics have been lost in limbo because a comic book company goes down the drain, leaving creator rights in the land of the lost.

Reason 11: Indie comics aren't, in general, superhero comics. If you like reading nothing but superhero comics, it's harder to get into non-mainstream comics. It's possible, but more likely, you'll have to expand your tastes in order to get into indie comics.

Reason 12: We know the characters in mainstream comics. Indie comic characters are strangers to us. We've already invested our time in making a relationship with mainstream characters. And the way we often do with friends who bore us, we stick with 'em because it's harder to make new friends.

Are any of these reasons fair? Of course not. Are any of those reasons enough to keep you reading comics you aren't content with just because it's a tad harder to find and get into indie comics? No way. I'm not touting mainstream comics over indie comics. I prefer indie comics. I probably wouldn't be reading comics right now if I hadn't discovered indie comics. Mainstream comics are no longer enough for me, you see. I'd rather take a chance on being burned by an indie comic than being vaguely discontent by comics I find to be journeyman work.

I'm just telling you why some people prefer the mainstream. I don't support the decision, but it is a fact of life and once we recognize the problem, we are one step closer to fixing it. Some of the fixing needs to be done by the industry. Some needs to be done by comic book shops by taking a chance on unknown books. Some of the fixing needs to be done by the distribution system in comics, to make it easier to find indie comics in Previews. But, mostly, we the readers have to fix things. If you are bored by the mainstream, it's up to you to stop complaining and find yourself an alternative. Believe me, the alternatives are out there... If you make the effort.