It seems like a petty thing to bitch about (that is what we comic book fans are known for, sadly), but I seriously believe that late comics are hurting the industry.
We’ve all heard the old company line that “waiting for the trade” (eschewing single issues in favor of their inevitable, ad-free published collections) is what’s really killing comics. But when books can’t be trusted to come out when they’re supposed to, how can we do anything else? I’ve taken to letting my singles stack up until I have a complete arc, so I can at least read a single, uninterrupted story. But even that’s more of a pain than trade paperbacks, what with every other page being an advertisement and all. This, however, is a rant for another time.
Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada has been quoted as saying that nobody remembers a book for its punctuality. And he’s wrong. I spent a fair amount of time (like, all of it) on a comics message board during Mark Bagley’s run on Ultimate Spider-Man, and most of us respected the hell out of his ability to meet his monthly deadlines on time. Hell, he even managed to take the book biweekly for a short time there. While I’m not a huge fan of his art style, I admire his work ethic. And over at Marvel’s Distinguished Competitors, the book 52 has actually managed to deliver on its promise of a weekly release schedule, at least as of this writing. Again, many of us are impressed by this.
Compare this to recent “event” books whose lateness has almost certainly hurt its overall entertainment value. The handiest example of this would be Brian Michael Bendis’ Secret War, which was actually a really great concept with really snazzy art. But it took artist Gabriel Del Otto almost twice as long to draw the thing than they’d planned. This meant that the various titles that tied into Secret War — Bendis’ own New Avengers and The Pulse, most notably — really didn’t make any sense until you had the completed story in your hands. By the time Marvel squeezed out the last issue, we were already on to the next big event thing.
Unfortunately, Millar’s Civil War (also a pretty excellent concept with great crossover potential) seems to be heading the same way.
So who’s to blame? Well, this one ain’t complicated: it’s lazy artists. Hard to blame anything else when they’re actually quoted saying things like “I’m just too busy to get this book done on time,” as Planetary and Astonishing X-Men artist John Cassaday has said. Excuse me? Too busy? I wish I could get paid for a job and not show up because I’m too busy.
Joe Madureira famously blamed an addictive video game for the chronic lateness of his Battle Chasers, which never even managed to reach its planned ten issues. I mean, come on, dude. I’m self-publishing while juggling a hundred other projects, a day job and plenty of addicting video games, websites and DVDs. And I’ve managed to put out six of my own comics so far. By myself.
As a reader, I have a pretty short attention span, largely because of all those video games, websites and DVDs that occupy my attention in the times between comic book issues. It’s hard to remember what happened last in an ongoing story if I have to wait two months or more. Think of it this way: imagine waiting two months between episodes of your favorite TV show. Not like The Sopranos, where you have to wait between largely self-contained seasons, mind you. You’re waiting for pieces of a larger story. Often a fairly densely-written story with a fair amount of depth. Because, in case you hadn’t heard, comics are actually experiencing a quality boom these last few years.
And this thing would not be nearly as big a deal if we were waiting for self-contained, one-shot stories. But everybody’s doing “arcs” these days, to better facilitate those trade paperbacks that are killing the industry. Look guys, it’s not hard: if you’re writing serialized stories, you have to hold people’s interest and keep their attention. I really don’t think that’s a ridiculous demand at all.
Marvel’s The Ultimates is probably the worst offender in recent memory. Launched in 2001, it’s managed to squeak out 26 issues in six years. (I don’t count the two annuals since they featured different artists.) Compare this to Ultimate Spider-Man, launched only a year earlier, which just passed its hundredth issue milestone. My girlfriend actually convinced me that Ultimates volume 2 had overcome the terrible pacing of its predecessor. Naturally, the second I picked up my accumulating stack and started reading, the delays began. Just as bad as the first time around.
The punchline to all of this is that Joe Madureira has been announced as the artist for volume three. Good luck with all that.