“Can Alternatives Sell?” by Gary Groth (1991) (responses to "So Far, So Bad")

Maybe it's Tucker Stone doing it

So Dave Sim said a lot of crazy things over the years, but one thing he's absolutely right about is this: if you aren't keeping up a monthly schedule then your never going to keep up an audience.

There are very few Frank Miller's and Alan Moore's of the world who have a built in fanbase that will wait patiently, months and sometimes years between releases.

Today, the format (Monthly 24 page Comic Vs Daily/Weekly Webcomic) might be different but the principal is the same. Too many artists start taking on commissions, doing shows or getting involved with Internet Drama and don't focus on the damn book.

>most comic publishers don't give a shit

This.

Ed Piskor was on the podcast talking about how one point in the early 90's there was a deli in his town with an account to Diamond and they just ordered and sold whatever the fuck.

It is

people have forgotten but one of the reasons Kirby is King was his speed

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Byrne's an asshole but his thing about how an artist should be able to do a 22 page book a month makes sense. a page a day and weekends off more or less

I think Sim is right, but at the same time people sometimes have things going on in their lives that throw off-track. And the reality is that sometimes, if you want to do a monthly on a regular basis, you'll end up doing shortcuts. Even Sim arguably did this with the text pages and some repeating panels and having Gerhard on board rather than drawing it all himself.

I think that at first, you have to prove you can do good work while monthly and build up the audience, and if you're really, really good, then the audience will be more forgiving of delays provided you meet their minimum threshold.

Not the op but Yas Forums could use some people trying to elevate the discourse around here, or even just expose people to quality journalism surrounding comics.

This board and the site for the most part doesn't care about that

Yas Forums generally sucking doesnt mean you dont try and improve it

Sure and I like these threads but /lit/ maybe is the only board that tries these type of discussions on a more regular basis than the other medium boards.

Byrne is very good at writing/drawing/lettering a monthly book on time, but there are times when he does shortcuts as well (like curbing the number of backgrounds or doing flashbacks where he's recreating the old comic he's referencing), but these sort of make sense on a practical basis.

I think it's not just being on time but also value for your money.

>every known force in the universe conspires against being rewarded for giving a shit

Normally I disagree with Groth about everything but in this case...

>I perceive Barbie as a good thing for the market in the long term. You may not want to believe it, but the young girl who discovers the art form through Barbie may someday grow up to lo Love and Rockets. Every potential customer is a good thing, regardless of how the became exposed in the first place. All it takes is time, patience and good retailers.

This is such a basic, obvious reality that I can't understand why people can't wrap their heads around.

>Barbie ran for 63 issues from 1991-1996

Holy fuck.

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I'm pretty sure that's where Amanda Conner got her start

I get why Groth says that the idea Barbie readers will become Love and Rocket readers is kind of a trickle-down idea, but I remember on the Warren Ellis forum there were people on there who said they got interested in comics through Rom and Micronauts and Transformers (much to Ellis' chagrin), so it does work in some way.

Not every girl who reads Barbie will stay with comics, much less go find new ones. But that doesn't mean it isn't worth trying.

Also in case anyone is wondering what that letter was addressing, it's Groth's editorial in and if that link doesn't work go to desuarchive.org/co/thread/114194509

I like how you talk about elevating the discourse of the boards and then proceed to talk like a valley girl in your very next post.

>Rom and Micronauts and Transformers

I can't think of anyone over 30 who read an alternative or Indi comic before a Marvel/DC

>This is such a basic, obvious reality that I can't understand why people can't wrap their heads around.

Because once comics stopped being sold to kids (with the exception of Archie and Garfield) comic publishers started catering toward the direct market customers who where increasingly becoming older.

1986 is kind of the turning point when Marvel/DC made more off of direct market distribution than newsstand distribution. From there it just declines and declines. I was 10 years old in 2002 and there where still comics (Exiles, Cable and Deadpool, Simpsons) in my local convenience store. By 2012 just Simpsons and Sonic, now none.

I'm a complicated person user

I miss comics being at the grocery store ngl. I had a few random batman and superman comics as a kid.

Other things I miss:
Print shonen jump
Wizard even though it turned into just big 2 add space

You'll only fail.