Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Comics Snobery: My Comics Are Better Than Yours



I'm a secret comics snob. OK, maybe not so secret. There are comics that I simply groan or ignore almost all the time. I don't read cheesecake comics. I don't read biography comics. I loathe the idea of movie adaptation comics or comics that tie into a movie. Often the thought of cross-overs in super hero comics gives me depression. These are just a few examples. I struggle with being able to judge a work without preconception. This isn't limited to comics. The older I get, the more I seem to jump to what I think I know about something, rather than open myself to experiencing it before making a judgment. 
I want to be the type of fan that sees a "new" #1 on the shelf and not think;
"great, another marketing ploy to get me to buy this title again", but it’s increasingly harder to do. It’s perhaps why I have been moving more and more to creator owned comics. I’m far more likely to buy a comic that the creator had control over from start to finish. By doing that, am I missing out on the shared experiences that the comics community has with continuity books? Has this increase in snobbery led me back to a life of comics isolation? 
Part of the fun of rediscovering comics is the community. The community still spends a lot of its time talking Marvel & DC books, books that I don't really read much anymore. By not reading these books I do feel more and more of a comics outsider. It’s this struggle to weigh the enjoyment of reading a book for the enjoyment of reading it, vs. reading it and then having the pleasure of discussing it with the community, that I find myself pondering.
At this point in my comics life I find the pleasure of reading independent comics and dismissing the comics I have a bias against to be the best option for me. Am I missing out? Probably. Does my snobbery have an isolating effect? Absolutely. Is there an answer to this problem? Unclear. Do you have bias against certain comics? Do you feel your prejudice has hurt your enjoyment of comics? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Till next time True Believers....

10 comments:

  1. I like to think of us more as "COMICS SNOOTS" than comics snobs.

    And therein lies its own community.

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    1. haha well I think you might be splitting hairs there...

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  2. I tend to do the opposite of this I stay away from indy comics in favor of the more commercial markets because those are the characters that I know. I don't want to experience something new and go through the process of finding something unique just to see them run out of money and destroy it before I get to the end. I think that makes me the Bizarro to your Superman.

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    1. Haha completely opposite of me Dean. I follow creators not characters for the most part. Id much rather read a creators work that I love than the next superman book written by whoever just because its Superman.

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  3. I find I behave in similar ways these days. But what really drives me is whether or not something is exciting, there have been both mainstream and indie books that I start because of whatever reason but decide to drop because I'm not tangibly excited about a new issue coming out. I find that comics that are treated more as "properties" (this then ties into my own distaste for movie tie-ins) than "stories" fall into this category because everything has a feeling of being "safe." I think this results in my general cynicism toward "big changes" in long-running series; I know that if fan reaction to the change is too negative, then things will change back because the important thing is to keep it going.

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    1. I agree. And its never a black or white issue. I still buy some DC and Marvel titles but far far less than I did a couple of years ago. I think a better way to distill it is if the creator is doing a good job and writing a story that is compelling, I want to read it. Its just too often these days that editorial ruins good stories. You dont have that problem with creator owned stuff.

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  4. Great article, Aaron! I think we all struggle with this at times. After all, we all are fallible, and after all... if we didn't think our opinions were the best ones why would we have them? I think what separates the endearingly snobby from the irritatingly snobby is respect and flexibility.

    Respect: respecting the opinions of others. This can be hard to do at times (especially when someone is telling you how a book that you think is offensively bad is their favourite thing ever), but putting down other people's favourite things doesn't serve a purpose other than to make them feel bad. We've all done this, but it's usually best to smile and say "that's awesome" and then recommend something similar to their favourite thing... but better.

    Flexibility: we all have genres/publishers/whatever we don't like, but sometimes we have to give something a shot. If someone we respect is recommending something that's outside from our wheelhouse, it's usually for a good reason. You may find a new favourite book you didn't expect to like, maybe not... but it's worth a shot!

    I don't want to make it sound easy, it's hard not to be aggressive about why your favourite books are better than other peoples', but I think that being respectful and flexible goes a long way. (BTW, Aaron, you tend to be very good at those things. Kudos.)

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    1. Its true Owen, respect is key. Comics are books, and books are for everyone, but not all books are for everyone. Unless I have a very close relationship with someone I will never talk about someones choices on books that I dont care for. But I might not be thinking that always. Its important to keep yourself open to things you might not like, but experience does play a part too. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting the outcome to be different right?

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  5. Nice post Aaron, I totally agree. It's partly why I only read trades, it keeps me out of the weekly hypefest and I get to pick up up the collected editions once the buzz has died down and the true quality of the work remains.

    I'm a big fan of superhero books from Marvel and DC but I'm only going to buy the good stuff and that usually means following creators rather than characters. Plus when you find a creator you like they usually have their own books and characters which are often far more interesting than the corporate work they may be better known for.

    Thanks man.

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    1. That is a strong argument for trade waiting I didnt really consider. Thats a far more mature way to read too, I dont know if im capable of that right now. Im definitely guilty of buying into the hype machine, but that is part of the fun of comics for me too. Thanks for reading and the food for thought!

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