Do People Still Read Comics?

[Carlston]

If people didn't read them, the companies wouldn't make enough money to print more...so yeah.

I used to enjoy certain series until ever three months someone was killed and brought back to well...sell more comics. Like watching season endings of crappy tv shows begging for a re-up.

 

[tahrey]

Haven't really ever so much time or money to properly invest in that sort of thing (or, heck, get to a comics shop), but I do dripfeed through a fair array of online ones.

Those I really like, that end up also with paper copies, I'm happy to buy. More graphic novels by that point I suppose, but close enough for me. It came from a daily/weekly published kind of source.

Then there's something a bit easier to hold onto, to preserve long past when the author's webhosting may expire, to re-read and enjoy in a way that's easier on the eyes and can be taken more places, more easily flipped through and shared. And the resolution's a hell of a lot better too.

The more traditional superhero kind of comics, I dabbled with for a while ... can't really be bothered with them. It gets samey. And hard to store Plus they're quite expensive for the amount of entertainment you actually score.

Shonen Jump / Eagle / etc kind of comics-compilation magazines that run certain serials in them I also like, as it fits my budget and my attention span, and is sort of like a "best of" of what's sort of current. Plus you can often find them in a "normal" shop (supermarket, stationers, newsagent) without making a special trip.
I was big into Manga Mania way back when (got almost all of Akira that way, for a start), and "CLiNT" is trying a similar thing with Mike Millar and his friends. Its is bloody hard to get hold of without actually ordering online or getting a subscription though, I usually find the latest issue by accident in a random supermarket when NOT looking for it.

 

[Stilt-Man]

If they aren't more popular, then they're at least more-acceptable as recreational reading. I think it's due, in part, to the popularity of the various comic book movies in recent years.

When I was a kid, comics were dismissed as a waste of time by authority figures, and nerdy by peers. Sometimes, graphic novels were okay. [Back then, graphic novels were occasional releases by comic book companies with higher-quality paper and artwork, and often more-mature themes. Now the term is synonymous with comic books.] Nowadays, it's hip/interestingly-alternative to read them.

In terms of sales and subscriptions, I can't say.

 

[b1u3too]

Not hugely popular these days, and I'll be the billionth to pull a Bob and blame the hilarious continuity of American superhero comics.

I'll admit that I love comics though, mostly the weird ones. I love Neil Gaiman's Sandman Library, and just got into Joe Hill's Locke & Key.
So yeah, there's the odd title that people can get into without the continuity, and the real geeks that aren't afraid of it will jump at it. But it's one of the less accessible mediums of today, so it's taken a hit to other means of storytelling.
Like video games.
Wat?

 

[Hollock]

Yup, and I plan on going out in a few hours to buy mooooooooore. mwhahahaha.

 

[BENZOOKA]

Never really read comic books. Definitely not those of DC/Marvel/Sandwich.

They must have a market still. Otherwise there wouldn't be any anymore.

 

[Ekit]

I read comics.

Calvin and Hobbes FTW!!

 

[baddude1337]

I only recently got into comics due to the Marvel Films and games. Only really read Deadpool ones, my current fave being the Deadpool & Cable series. And I only tend to get the TPB's as their cheaper and I don't know any comic shops even close to me.

 

[EHKOS]

Yeah, I read the Marvel Noir series.

 

[Ren3004]

I never read many comics, I know superheroes mainly from cartoons. I did have a couple of issues, but nothing much. With all the recent superhero films, I started reading more of them, especially graphic novels and collections.

 

[The DSM]

Yes, like most stuff it has a cult following.

I read Batman Year One recently and it was amazing.

 

[Taffette19]

I love Comics, Batman and The Walking Dead especially. Watchmen too.

I think physical copies are better, especially if you want to get something like The Walking Dead in Britain. If you like it then it's worth spending money on.

 

[SketchyFK]

I used to read alot of comics at uni. Now not so much. Maybe the odd one or two titles but nothing extensive. Tbh, there isn't much in the way of good comics currently.

As a side note i started out as a marvel fan and then moved over to dc. does that make me bad?

 

[Theo Rob]

i read deadpool and punisher
moon knight aswell kinda

not that much of a DC fan but if possible i read the odd batman

 

[PurplePlatypus]

Yes of course people still do.
At least people still make them and people have been making movies out of them so I can only assume it?s doing pretty ok.

 

[FalloutJack]

Do I read comics books? What a silly question...

[HEADING=1]Oh, go on, Jack. Tell 'em who you read almost as much as Hellblazer.[/HEADING]

Hey, do you mind? I'm trying to write here.

[HEADING=1]Someone isn't being very honest. Shall I tell them instead?[/HEADING]

What? No, don't do that!

[HEADING=1]He likes Deadpool, everybody! He's friggin' insane too and- GHHK!![/HEADING]

*Strangles inner-voice*

No talking out of turn, damn you!

 

[thylasos]

Alan Moore stuff, primarily, but the odd dalliance into other stuff. Can't afford anything new right now, though.

 

[Nalgas D. Lemur]

I don't and never have read super hero comics (DC/Marvel) etc.

You'd be surprised how good some of them are, like Batman: Arkham Asylum (most demented art ever) or Superman: Red Son (I never guessed Superman could actually produce an interesting story).

Red Son is actually at the top of my list of things to get/read. Possibly my favorite comic book story ever is a Superman-based one, oddly enough, considering how sick of the main-line DC/Marvel stuff I've been for years. Superman: Secret Identity (which is sadly out of print last time I checked but can still be tracked down) is absolutely great. It's only four issues/one TPB, and completely non-canon and a hypothetical "what if" kind of thing, and it's relatively low on action for a superhero comic, but it's really well-written and takes a really interesting approach to the question "Can a superhero comic be used as a vehicle to explore what it means to be a man?" As in, all aspects of manhood/masculinity, from childhood through becoming an adult, and even fatherhood and old age.

Anyway, yes, I still read comics. Not much of the DC or Marvel stuff in the main storylines/universes anymore, but I have plenty to keep me busy. I've been actively keeping up with stuff like Astro City and The Boys and Empowered as they come out, along with filling in gaps in my collection, like getting the rest of the Transmetropolitan and Sandman stuff I'm missing. Might as well pimp Nextwave and Castle Waiting while I'm at it. Heh.