DC Comics lays off many

[billd91]

Apart from what "The Death of Superman" meant from the creative, financial, and collectible angles, it also represented the loss of any real consequence to the stories. Death was no longer death and the industry was willing to profit off such "events" in what could be called unfair ways, by the buying public.

That may be a case in which the buzz reached well outside the fandom community - but we had already been burned on that before when Jean Grey came back from the dead and we found that her suicide at the climax of the Dark Phoenix saga was just a phoenix-force body with her mind imprinted on it. Besides, villains were escaping certain death time and time again - so lack of consequences wasn't exactly new. It's just that the Jean Grey return was a case in which an extremely powerful story, one of the apexes of story telling in serial comic form, was undermined. It just never got the hype that the Superman story got.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Apart from what "The Death of Superman" meant from the creative, financial, and collectible angles, it also represented the loss of any real consequence to the stories. Death was no longer death and the industry was willing to profit off such "events" in what could be called unfair ways, by the buying public.

Not that Superman hadn't died before. I remember one of the "100 Page Super Special" volumes in which Superman was killed in Kandor, because he was just as vulnerable as any other Kryptonian there. When his body was removed from the bottled city he just sprung back to life because he was invulnerable again. Complete hand-wave and not the only one from the Silver or Golden Age, however, these weren't massively advertised "events" that had people dumping major cash on something that would be similarly hand-waved. Though I've bought a few graphic novels since that time, my days of buying comics runs were over then.

Hmmm, I recall being cynical about his death "sticking" even back then.

Although Gwen Stacy, Jason Todd and Barry Allen hadn't returned at that point

Spoiler

(but have since),

it felt like plenty of others had died and come back. Although I can't think of any other examples from 1991 or earlier off the top of my head.

 

[Ryujin]

That may be a case in which the buzz reached well outside the fandom community - but we had already been burned on that before when Jean Grey came back from the dead and we found that her suicide at the climax of the Dark Phoenix saga was just a phoenix-force body with her mind imprinted on it. Besides, villains were escaping certain death time and time again - so lack of consequences wasn't exactly new. It's just that the Jean Grey return was a case in which an extremely powerful story, one of the apexes of story telling in serial comic form, was undermined. It just never got the hype that the Superman story got.

I remember the Dark Phoenix Saga. I was still buying/reading then (had been since the mid-'60s). It wasn't billed as an "event" in the way that "The Death of Superman" was. The former was more in the vein of the previous Superman story that I related, though on a larger scale. The latter was billed as a game changer that honestly, definitely wasn't going to be yoinked back. It definitely was a game changer, though not in the way that was billed. It broke trust with the readers. True, consequence in comics wasn't a big thing. I gave evidence of such (that for some reason you didn't quote). However, the sort of crass commercialism of a manufactured "event" hadn't really been seen before. It sure became the norm, though, and rather quickly at that.

 

[Legatus Legionis]

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[MNblockhead]

Never was a big fan of comics. Even when I was at the target age in the 70s and 80s, I found the stories to be weak sauce. But I've probably read more graphic novels in the past 10 years than in the rest of my life altogether. I started by reading some of the books I my sons were getting from the library (Bones, Amulet, etc.). Then I started reading various web comics. Comixology made it possible to cherry pick from among the best story lines from more famous properties (esp. those written by Alan Moore). But I generally find that the more famous properties are not what I enjoy the most. I enjoy discovering and reading series like Saga, Rat Queens, Over the Wall/Stonebreaker, etc.

Seems there is more great content, more easily obtained now than ever before.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Never was a big fan of comics. Even when I was at the target age in the 70s and 80s, I found the stories to be weak sauce. But I've probably read more graphic novels in the past 10 years than in the rest of my life altogether. I started by reading some of the books I my sons were getting from the library (Bones, Amulet, etc.). Then I started reading various web comics. Comixology made it possible to cherry pick from among the best story lines from more famous properties (esp. those written by Alan Moore). But I generally find that the more famous properties are not what I enjoy the most. I enjoy discovering and reading series like Saga, Rat Queens, Over the Wall/Stonebreaker, etc.

Seems there is more great content, more easily obtained now than ever before.

You are not wrong MN.

I might even say this is the second golden age of comics fiction. We can cite most of the MCU films and TV shows; some of the DCCU films, TV shows, animated shows; the rise of the graphic novel, especially in the tween space, published by major book publishers (Graphix, First Second, Random House Graphic, etc); the mainstreaming of anime and manga artistic styles; and finally the incredible proliferation of web comics. The list goes on; but suffice it to say, if you like comics style fiction then this is a great time to be alive.

But I'd say it's paradoxically also the age of the slow decline of floppy 22 page magazines. tbh, I'm not sure that's a bad thing.

Even I, who had been buying floppies for years regularly, since college - so we're talking since around 1984 or 1985 - finally cut the cord and now I only purchase graphic novel collections. I go to the comic shop once every 2 weeks now, see what's on the stands, and then ask the store to reserve volume 1 of the collected TP of the comic book. Eventually of course, it will no longer be economically feasible for the store to keep stocking the floppies of the kind of books I like, and I wont' hear of those comics any more. Which I am ok with. There are other avenues I can get info about graphic novels from. As long as the shop keeps being willing to order graphic novels for me...

(Why do I buy GNs at full price from my FLCS? well, it's the 2nd shop I worked at, and the only one still left in my town, and I have a relationship with the owner)

 

[MNblockhead]

Yeah, I never found the "floppies" worth the price. For series I really like, I'll subscribe on Amazon/Comixology and read on an iPad. I'm not a collector and don't find the traditional comic-book magazine format particularly appealing. Would much rather read on high-quality paper in an anthology book or read on a tablet PC.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Yeah, I never found the "floppies" worth the price. For series I really like, I'll subscribe on Amazon/Comixology and read on an iPad. I'm not a collector and don't find the traditional comic-book magazine format particularly appealing. Would much rather read on high-quality paper in an anthology book or read on a tablet PC.

Yeah, for me - I found I was just letting the floppies stack up until I had a book length qty of comics to read. So i thought why not just cut out the middle man and buy the book instead...