Transformers - ongoing series

[Onslaught Six]

I'm sticking with the monthly series. I'd rather not wait seven months between story updates.

But you'll wait three years for the next Batman.

I'm not specifically targetting you, just the comics industry's model right now.

I would totally buy a switch to a Japanese model. Group Animal Man and Swamp Thing and all the fucked-up horrorfantasy comics together, slap an $8 pricetag on it, and I will buy that shit monthly.

[Gomess]

I grew up on 2000 AD, so it genuinely shocks me how few compilation-style comics there are in America (at least that we get over here). It's balls how *little* content there is in the average American comic. Do they even have letters pages anymore? Few do over here.

[Dominic]

Not many letter pages. And, I agree, that is a loss.

I'm sticking with the monthly series. I'd rather not wait seven months between story updates.

If you want smaller chunks more frequently, that is fine. But, it is not reasonable to expect a complete story every issue. Or, if you do get a start to finish story, there is no reason to expect it to be worthwhile. (I am looking at "Marvel Adventures" here.)


Dom
-still tempted by a few of the New 52...but no.

[andersonh1]

I'm sticking with the monthly series. I'd rather not wait seven months between story updates.

But you'll wait three years for the next Batman.

Yes, but I don't have any choice, do I? Assuming you're talking about the movies. With comics, I do, and given the choice I'm likely to stick with monthly issues rather than opt for essentially two Transformers stories a year, which is what I'd get if I was just buying trades.

To each his own. I love trades when it comes to catching up on back issues I"ve missed, or entire series (like JSA). But otherwise I'd rather enjoy my monthly fix.

If you want smaller chunks more frequently, that is fine. But, it is not reasonable to expect a complete story every issue.

That would, admittedly, be my preference. Detective Comics in the 90s often gave me a complete story every issue, and there's a lot of appeal in that approach. But it's rare these days.

[Mako Crab]

Or, if you do get a start to finish story, there is no reason to expect it to be worthwhile. (I am looking at "Marvel Adventures" here.)

That's just sad. Didn't used to be that way. Regardless of the length, writers should know how to tell a good story and work within their limits. Every now and then I'll read a really good one-page story in the TF Mosaics, so it can be done. Complaining that 22 pages isn't enough to tell a good story is like a chef blaming his ingredients for the crappy meal he made.

[Dominic]

Yeah, there are some really good "Mosaics". And, it is a crime that the people responsible for them are not being given professional work.

But, there is also a fair amount of crap. Strike that. There is more than a fair amount of crap in the "Mosaic" project.

And, there is a difference between telling a story and telling a worthwhile story. Give me an hour, and I could give you a page-length story without typos. (Yes, me without typos.) But, that story would not likely be worth reading.

Telling a worthwhile story in a short ranger of pages is difficult and few, if any, writers can do that consistently. And, people who can do that can usually use the same skill-sets to find better (paying) work elsewhere, so they are not going to bother with writing fiction to pay the bills.

That would, admittedly, be my preference. Detective Comics in the 90s often gave me a complete story every issue, and there's a lot of appeal in that approach. But it's rare these days.

That was a rare run of comics that was specifically set up to do that. And, while Grant's run on "Detective Comics" was arguably defining, not all of the stories were great unto themselves. And, come to think of it, there were more than a few 3 to 5 part arcs.


Dom
-and some stories simply cannot be told in one issue.

[BWprowl]

There's also the potential that someone crafting a longer, multi-part story can ensure themselves a longer work period. That is, so long as editorial and the readers don't lose patience and decide that they no longer CARE about how said ongoing story turns out (Hellooooo Furman!).

[Dominic]

I do not think that Furman was trying to milk the clock so much as he got comfortable in what was for all practical purposes a sinecure. He thought he had lifetime employment and got lazy.

And, remember, editorial has an incentive to milk the clock as well, so long as readers keep coming back.

Dom
-too tired to write JavaScript code right now.....

[BWprowl]

Dom
-too tired to write JavaScript code right now.....

Or post an actual reply, apparently.
EDIT: Never mind, you edited before I posted. That'll teach me to flap my yap prematurely.

[Dominic]

Sorry. Fixed.