Why I Buy Certain Comic Books

After two weeks and 8 bloggers worth of guest posts, it's finally time to bring this series to an end with my own reasons behind why I buy certain comic books.

Before getting on to my own reasons, I just want to thank each and every guest blogger for taking the time participate. I had a lot of fun reading your reasons for buying the books you do and, based on the number of responses in comments and email, I'm sure all of our readers enjoyed hearing your thoughts as well.

If anyone missed the original posts, be sure to check out the convenient index page with links to each of the guest posts by clicking here.

Like my What I Think DC Is Doing Wrong post, I've included several choice quotes from the reader comments over the past two weeks. While I couldn't quote everyone, I've tried my best to represent everyone's thoughts and opinions in the quotes, but there are obvious space concerns and I want to let everyone know that I did, in fact, read your comments, even if I didn't reply to or quote everyone.

That said, hit the jump for my reasons on why I buy certain comic books!

Why I Buy Certain Comic Books
by Kirk Warren

Is it the creator?

I'd almost go sixty-forty, art-story. If one or the other falls apart the whole is weaker for it.

- Dave  

In all honesty, I don't think creators are the reason behind why I buy the books I do. Sure, I end up buying a lot of titles from the same handful of creators, but their presence isn't the deciding factor.

For instance, I loved Nextwave and Thunderbolts, but I could care less for Warren Ellis' Astonishing X-Men or some of his creator owned work. Similarly, Darwyne Cooke is one of my favourite writers / artists, but I had no interest in his The Spirit and couldn't even get into it.

Conversely, bad creators make bad books and I routinely try to avoid those types of books due to the creator. People like Rob Liefeld, Jeph Loeb, Adam Beechan, etc.

[On the importance of art] To have an image to pop in your head is well over the worth of the cover price.

- The Dangster  

However, even when I know the book will probably be bad or know that those creators are attached, I still end up picking up the odd book featuring them, like the recent Batgirl or the first issues of Hulk and Ultimates 3.

While I say an individual creator doesn't really influence my decision, I typically will buy a book based on the story and writing first, artwork second. I'm of the mind it could be written with stick figure drawings on a cocktail napkin and I'd still buy it if the story was good. The same can't be said for a beautiful pin-up art-like book with god awful writing *coughUltiamtes3cough*.


The Company/Publisher?

Who publishes the book doesn't really affect my decision to buy a book or not, but I did grow up reading Marvel books first, particularly Spider-Man, and feel I have some sentimental attachment to the characters and universe.

Astonishing X-Men was far from my first comic, but it was my first X-Men comic -- not counting the crossover with New Teen Titans back in the 1980s -- and I picked it up because it was Joss Whedon.

- Kelson  

While I don't buy the book because it has that big 'M' on it, I do have a general preference for the 'realistic' Marvel characters with their real life problems and toned down power sets. This doesn't stop me from picking up a Blue Beetle or Batman or any other DC title, though.

One thing of note is that I'm fairly prejudiced against Image, Wildstorm and other 90's startups. While I love me some Walking Dead and Invincible, among the other odd book here or there, I can't help but look at a lot of Image or Wildstorm books, like Gen 13, Spawn, etc, and see the cheap 90's cash grabs with all style, no substance - even when I've never read these books. I know these titles have changed over the years, but still refuse to really give them a chance based on some twisted logic.

However, I'm not opposed to picking up a new title from these companies whenever one catches my eye, such as the previously mentioned Invincible or Walking Dead.


The Genre (space, super hero, crime, street level, etc)?

There's no real genre that stands out as something I have to own. Typically, it comes down to a combination of the writer and genre, though.

There's also the cross-referencing - having read Thunderbolts, I wondered what other stuff Ellis had done, and dug into Nextwave - which in turn gave me some experience of Stuart Immonen and thus clinched whether I would buy Ultimate Spider-Man: Death of the Goblin.

- Salieri  

I've never been a fan of crime fiction or cosmic level stuff and wouldn't really say I'm a fan of those genre, but put an Ed Brubaker on Daredevil, Criminal or Gotham Central and I'm in heaven or put Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (Nova, Guardians of the Galaxy) or Geoff Johns (Green Lantern) on a cosmic book and I'm sure I'm going to love it.

This might make it sound like the writer is the reason I'm buying the book, but Ed Brubaker on Uncanny X-Men with his cosmic Shi'ar story and everything else he's done on that title has been dreadful.

Similarly, many of Brian Bendis' detractors loathe him for his New & Mighty Avengers, but refuse to acknowledge his street level and dialogue oriented works, like Alias, Powers or Ultimate Spider-Man, and simply choose to ignore them in favour of bashing his higher selling work.

That's their right, of course, but the point I'm trying to make is that combine a writer in his genre of expertise and you'll get good stories and that means I'm going to be buying the book, regardless of who is writing it or what character it is. Why else would I buy a book about a 70's kung-fu artist (Iron Fist) who runs around in yellow booties if the writers weren't good enough to make that work?


Is it something to do with nostalgia (first comic you ever read, character you grew up reading, etc)?

I grew up with Batman: The Animated Series, X-Men, and Spider-Man: The Animated Series, so those were my main portals into the comics world.

- IslandLiberal  

As I told the guest posters when I was asking these questions, the first comic I ever read was Spider-Man and it was the first comic I ever collected, too. Much like Greg Hatcher with his love of Batman, regardless of how bad his title gets, I always feel like I have to know what's going on with Spider-Man. It's like a preconditioned response to look at the Spidey titles or previews whenever I'm at the shop or online.

While I hated JMS's magic totem origin nonsense and am displeased with the current OMD / BND continuity, I still find myself wanting to go buy Amazing Spider-Man even though I know I'll hate it.

He has a point about characters that he grew up with. I'm the same way with Spawn. I just have too big of a history with the title to ever drop it.

- Andrenn  

There aren't too many instances of this nostalgia factor taking over and I do try to resist the temptation, but when it hits, it's usually hard to ignore. One instance of nostaglia trumping common sense was with the resurgence of all the 80's cartoon properties, like Transformers and GI Joe. While the Dreamwave Transformers stuff wasn't terrible, looking back, I feel like I bought it almost entirely based on nostalgia.


Do you ever feel like you are buying a book out of obligation?

[On buying for obligation] I was lured [into Infinite Crisis] by the fact that I was promised seeing all the DC characters show up and having their moments.

- The Dangster  

When I first started reading comics, dropping a book was out of the question because it would break the run. I was reading Amazing Spider-Man and I wasn't about to have random missing issues whenever a bad run came along.

In fact, a lot of my early comic reading habits were dictated one way or another by the collector mentality. I couldn't justify trying out new books simply because I had to have that random one-shot or mini-series of Spider-Man or, later, X-Men and so on as the number of books I collected increased.

Similar to Eric, I quit reading Spider-Man, and comics in general, midway through the Final Chapter. While many claim the Clone Saga was the lowest point in Spider-Man's history, the Gathering of Five, Final Chapter and subsequent relaunch under Howard Mackie was about as low as you could possibly go and put the nail in the coffin of my comics buying youth.

While I had quit reading, my collector mentality kept me checking in periodically to fill out 'the holes' in my collection. I'm not sure what sparked my return to comics, but after a couple years of university and down time, I came back with a newfound appreciation for the books and the whole idea of 'breaking runs' or collecting books based on characters, regardless of quality, seemed ridiculous to me and I couldn't believe I ever used to do it.

Long story short, the act of buying a single issue used to be like an "until death due us part". I refused to branch off into other comics simply due to the fact I wouldn't / couldn't drop a bad book without breaking up my run.

I don't have a pull list; I don't subscribe to anything; I simply walk into a comic book store on Wednesday, read through what's new, and then buy whatever I really enjoyed.

- mq1986  

These days, I'm able to try out a random new title and drop it after one or two issues if I don't like it. While I get caught in that collector mentality once in while (that's my excuse for buying 52 issues of Countdown), I try my best to just drop bad books or books I don't enjoy and move on to new and better things.

The other major problem I have with my 'obligations' to buying comics is with a) the desire to know what's going on and b) the desire to sometimes review books I think other people want instead of the books I actually buy.

The first one can be summed up pretty easily with the collector mentality, but I do feel like I should be reading Secret Invasion or Final Crisis or whatever other major event is going on simply to know what's going on in comics. Sure, I can read Wikipedia or forums, but it's not the same for me. This habit leads to stuff like Countdown and many of its tie-ins or a large chunk of the eleventy billion Civil War tie-ins from a few years back.

Part b) is a recent occurance where I sometimes find myself 'sticking with' a book longer than I want to simply to review it for people. Secret Invasion or Batman RIP are examples of this. I feel like I should have dropped these titles by now, but both combine the event / need to know part a) with my desire to review it for the blog in part b) since a lot of people want to know what these books were like.


Do reviews or friends or message boards ever cause you to buy a book you'd regularly avoid?

I'm a reviews hound. Its not that I don't venture out on my own and check stuff out if it peeks my interest, but I'm not gonna buy and continually follow crap book by crap artist by crap writer just because I'm interested.

- mrpeepants  

Rarely do reviews ever sway my opinion on a book. I know what I like and, I'd like to think, why I like it and a review won't change or invalidate that for me.

However, I do read and use reviews and opinions, like those from the many guest posters from the past two weeks, as ways to discuss the books I'm reading or to gauge what new title or back issue I should pick up.

For a recent example of this, Geeked's review of I Kill Giants sparked me to have my shop order in a copy for me. We all have different opinions, likes and dislikes, but, in general, I've learned each of these people's tastes and how they line up with my own and know whether or not the book they are gushing over is something I'll like or not and if I should be picking up that trade they keep talking about or not.

So, yes, I do read and use reviews, but they do not dictate my purchases and a lot of the times, they end up being more for my own desire to have someone else's opinion in which to discuss my favourite books more than an actual review to know if I like the title or not.


Similarly, what makes you not buy a comic?

I try to find people (or websites) with similar tastes and look at what they're reading and see if it sounds any good, which is how I've become hooked on Manhunter.

- Bill  

I've mentioned a few things already, like certain creators, but one thing I didn't mention is how trades affect my purchasing habits.

Did you know I'm a huge Vertigo comic reader and collector? You wouldn't know it because I don't buy the monthlies. I own dozens of trades of Vertigo comics, and other indy imprints, from such titles as Fables, 100 Bullets, Y: The Last Man, Sandman, Lucifer, and the list goes on and on.

However, I don't buy them on a monthly basis because it's a) expensive and b) they don't read nearly as well, in my opinion, in monthly format. Most of these titles are what I'd define as graphic novels - not graphic singles. Reading Fables on a month to month basis is painful for me. I just can't stand the pace and waits between issues and it kills the momentum and story for me.

There's also the cost and presentation to speak of. While I don't mind shoving Random Super-Hero #293 into the longbox or paying the $2.99 a month for, I actually enjoy getting my indy titles in the nice trade format and stacked neatly on my shelf and the price, usually under $10 for six issues, can't be beat.

So, while I'm willing to give bad creators - yes, even Jeph Loeb - a chance every once in a while, ultimately, the trade format and the high costs of monthlies is what really stops me from buying a comic these days.


Conclusion

I hope you all enjoyed this series of posts where I, and other comic book bloggers, answer the question of why I buy the books I do. I originally came up with the idea while thinking about why I was buying certain comics during one of my recent pull list cullings and couldn't figure out why I had some of these books on the list other than to fill out gaps or what have you.

I really enjoyed finding out why my fellow bloggers and comic book reading commenters buy the books they do and it was interesting seeing how some people focus on writing while others art or how some buy certain characters based on what they grew up reading and so on.

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Evie Nagy from Awesomed By Comics on Why She Buys Certain Comic Books

This post marks the final follow-up guest post answering the question, Why Do You Buy Certain Comics?, and features an answer from a blogger I recently stumbled upon, Evie Nagy, after reading her blog, Awesomed By Comics.

Tomorrow, I'll post my own reasons as to why I buy the books I do and I'll be featuring some reader comments and excerpts, gathered from the numerous comments on the series of guest posts, too.

In a follow up to last week's series of guest posts, Evie Nagy, blogger from Awesomed By Comics, answers my question on why she buys the books she does. You can follow Evie on Twitter, too.


Why Do I Buy Certain Comic Books?
by Evie Nagy

Even a few weeks before Kirk asked bloggers and readers to share why they buy the comics they do, I had been thinking a lot about the subject, watching my stack get consistently taller and more expensive each week. Why is it so hard to be selective, standing in front of those pretty rectangles on the shelf? Can I come up with a system, a list of criteria, pin “Previews” pages to a dart board, something? Then Douglas Wolk forwarded me a post from Kip Manley’s blog Long Story Short Pier, in the middle of which Kip tells this anecdote about a former blogger whose site was gone but not forgotten:

“He wrote a brief squib in his long-lost blog, about something a friend of his said, when asked why he bought all those comics every month. Are they really that good? Are they any good at all?

Well, yes, they are any good at all, his friend said to this interlocutor. (Friend of a friend of a guy I’ve read on the internet whose blog I’m citing has gone the way of all æther.) But are they that good? See, and he hemmed and hawed a minute, as anybody would who’s spending that much money every month on ephemerally exciting attempts to maintain the iconicity, the brand equity that makes superheroes viable in the marketplace. And then he said, it’s like, you know, all this stuff is happening, right? I mean, sure, in comic books, yeah, but it’s happening there, and this is how I keep up. It’s like I’m reading the news, you know? Is the news that good?”

Now, I imagine if you’re a weekly buyer of mainstream superhero comics like me, that explanation might trigger an instantly defensive followed by slightly pathetic reaction. Of course I buy a good number of titles because of my love for a character or loyalty to a writer or excitement about a particular story arc (rarely, sadly, is art a primary consideration for me - see this post for an oblivious explanation). Like when I finish this post, I’m going to Forbidden Planet for a much-anticipated purely pleasure-motivated Echo/Mary Jane Terry Mooreathon. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t read certain mainstream universe titles even if they aren't that "good" for the sake of, to make it sound a little more noble, active citizenship in the comics-reading community.

I realized that if I could get, for example, Amazing Spider-Man via RSS feed, I probably would, such is my engagement with that book’s content. The set up, dialog and exposition of the current Brand New Day run is frankly one big sack of eye rolls for me. A lot of the jokes are a couple of decades out of date, or cringingly self-referential, or lack the subtlety and absurdity that defines my particular sense of humor. Some members of the “brain trust” are better than others, and there have been some moderately interesting twists, sure - I know plenty of people like Spider-Man right now for a variety of reasons, and I’m not saying it’s objectively bad, but in general it’s just not my bag. But do I buy it? Yes, every freaking week. Why? Because I want to know what happens—it’s Spider-Man, for pete’s (ha) sake, right? He’s a major character in the MU, what he does matters, he’s a current event. I want to be informed.

I feel obligated to keep up whether I’m truly enjoying myself or not.  

I would never consume any other kind of entertainment with this mindset—I’ll shelve a novel that isn’t doing anything for me, I only go to movies that look truly good, I’m more than happy to be the clueless outsider in office “Gossip Girl” discussions. I make my living as an editor at a music magazine, and I still haven’t heard the song at the top of our chart this week because I’d rather listen to my favorite album from three years ago for the 80th time. But superhero comics, they’re just different. They don’t have just one beginning or end; they aren’t defined by finite seasons; you can’t dance to them at your wedding (although you can take your guests to see Iron Man for your reception, as I did, but that’s a stand-alone movie). They are such an endless world unto themselves that I feel obligated to keep up whether I’m truly enjoying myself or not.

Is that misguided? Well, yeah, totally. But it’s also what makes comics reading much more than the sum of its parts. Sure, I should probably be spending my Amazing Spider-Man time and money on reading, like, the actual news. Or on going back to read trade collections of must-read comics from past years that I missed. And sometimes I evaluate my priorities and make the right choice - I decided early on not to read any of Countdown, for example. But I can’t pretend that I buy Mighty Avengers for all the same reasons I buy Ex-Machina (especially right now - did you know Elektra was a Skrull?).

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Ryan, "the Iowan", Schrodt from the Newsarama Review Board on Why He Buys Certain Comic Books

Marking the second follow-up guest post on Why Do You Buy Certain Comic Books comes by way of Ryan, "the Iowan", Schrodt, the recently appointed moderator of the Newsarama comic book review sub-forum and a fellow comic book reviewer who has been putting out his Weekly Review Power Rankings for the past several years, all of which can be found in said Newsarama sub-forum.

I had originally asked Ryan to guest post for the first wave of guest posts, but he was unable to participate due to personal commitments. Thankfully, some time cleared up in his schedule and he was able to share with us why he buys the books he does and I was more than happy to feature him in my follow up answers.

I know some people are afraid of the Newsarama forums and fanboy connotations associated with the posters there, but the reviewer sub-forum is a bastion of comic book review goodness and the only place you can find Ryan's, as well as other reviewers, comic book reviews. It's well worth checking out and I typically post some of my reveiws there every week.

I'll be spotlighting one more guest post tomorrow and then posting my own thoughts on the weekend, along with some excerpts from reader comments, to wrap up this series of posts. I've had several offers to do guest posts on different subjects already and you can look forward to seeing those in the coming weeks. I'll be posting some guidelines for guest posts in the coming days, as well, but, for now, feel free to contact me with any propositions for guest posts (or to request a guest post from me, if you'd like).

Hit the jump for Ryan's answer on why he buys the books he does!

In a follow up to last week's series of guest posts, Ryan, "the Iowan", Schrodt, moderator for Newsarama's Comic Book Review sub-forum, who also puts out the always excellent ranked comic book reviews in the Weekly Review Power Rankings, answers my question on why he buys the books he does.


Why Do I Buy Certain Comic Books?
by Ryan, "the Iowan", Schrodt

Asking me to explain why I buy the comics I do is a lot like asking me about what my favorite movie is - I can give you a long list, but chances are, it's going to change if you ask me again later and its fairly unlikely you’ll get the same answer twice. With that in mind, I’ll try my best to cover a variety of possible answers here.

I’m a compulsive completist at heart, so there are a large number of books that I can’t imagine not picking up, even if I’m not happy about the current direction.  

Like a large number of comic book readers, I’ll admit that I’m a compulsive completist at heart, so there are a large number of books that I can’t imagine not picking up, even if I’m not happy about the current direction. The two main Batman titles are a great example of that. I had stopped reading comics for about 10 years (when I discovered women and sports, mostly), but when I returned to comics during my senior year of college, I immediately clung to Batman and Detective Comics. They were two of my favorites as a kid and my love of the character quite often trumps the direction of the book. There are very few books like this, but once I’m hooked this deep, I find myself dropping $3 every month on the title, even if there are dozens of reasons not to.

I’m not one to follow writers religiously, but I’m always willing to give my favorites a shot, even if I’m not sold on the premise of the book or the characters that they are writing. In most cases, I find myself really enjoying the books and stick with them long term (a great example of this is Geoff Johns’s Justice Society of America or Garth Ennis’s The Boys). That doesn’t mean I’m going to stick with the book just because I really like the writer’s previous works. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge Ennis fan, but I still dropped Streets of Glory after the first few issues.

I’m less likely to pick up a book simply because of the artist, though its not entirely unheard of.  

I’m less likely to pick up a book simply because of the artist, though its not entirely unheard of. I am, however, much more likely to drop a book if I only like the artwork (I’m a huge Jamal Igle fan, but I couldn’t get into the story enough to justify picking up Superman’s Reign no matter how good Igle’s issues looked). On the flipside, if I hate the art, I’m quick to drop a book, even if the writing is good (I’ve given up on many a book in the last few years because of Howard Chaykin’s constipated facial expressions).

As I mentioned above with the Batman books, I was a veracious comics reader as a child and, in some respects, that does affect my current buying habits. My favorite books outside of the Bat-titles as a kid were the X-Men books. While I don’t obsessively pick up each issue of each X-title, I am much more forgiving than I am with other books. If I drop Superman because I don’t like one creator’s vision, I’m unlikely to ever come back unless there is something truly spectacular in the solicitations. If I drop Uncanny X-Men because I’m unhappy with the direction, I’m probably going to come back when the creative team changes or when a new storyline starts. I can’t seem to break away from the characters for too long.

I’m not crazy about “Big Event” books, but I know that, [as a reviewer], there is a certain expectation that I pick up books like Secret Invasion and Final Crisis.  

As a reviewer, I do occasionally find myself picking up books and sticking with them simply for the sake of writing reviews. I’m not crazy about “Big Event” books, but I know that there is a certain expectation that I pick up books like Secret Invasion and Final Crisis. I rarely regret picking these up, but I’m hesitant to drop them if things go sour because it’s a buzz book that my readers are going to expect me to review (which is why it took me months to drop Countdown when I was ready to after the first few issues).

In the last year or so, I’ve found myself picking up more and more books on the recommendations of others. As I’ve begun immersing myself more in various online discussion communities, I’ve begun to find certain reviewers and posters whose judgments I trust implicitly. If they recommend a book to me that I’d otherwise have looked it up, I’ll do my best to hunt down a copy. On the flipside, there are also reviewers whose taste I simply abhor and there have been a fair number of books I’ve avoided because of their glowing reviews.

Like most readers, I find myself drawn mostly to mainstream titles, which means lots of superheroes, science fiction, and licensed properties.  

Like most readers, I find myself drawn mostly to mainstream titles, which means lots of superheroes, science fiction, and licensed properties. My biggest problem with picking up new titles isn’t that I’m not open to them; it’s that they are rarely available to me each week at my shop. My town only has one LCS and the owner takes few risks on ordering new titles. I can always find a copy of Jeph Loeb’s new books to flip through, but if I want to check out a new Jonathan Hickman title, I’ve got to order it online. That’s caused me to be a bit more hesitant on picking up new “under the radar” titles, as I can rarely preview the book first. That’s where word-of-mouth recommendations and internet buzz really come in handy. Without those, I’d never have checked out some of my absolute favorite books and creators, such as Brian Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim series, anything by Josh Howard, and the supremely satisfying Elephantmen by Richard Starkings and Moritat.

That is one of the main reasons why I love going to conventions—there is always something new to try that I’d otherwise never have heard of. I may never have a chance to pick some of these books again, so I’ll grab just about anything if it catches my eye and holds my interest for more than a few seconds. It’s a crap shoot, as I’ll never know if I’m picking up the next Athena Voltaire or if I just paid $5 for hamster bedding.

In the end, I just try to approach all comics with an open mind (and, often, with an open wallet). There’s not tried-and-true method to my purchases, but there are patterns. Then again, you could ask me tomorrow and I might tell you that I’ve decided only to pick up books that are either written by Ed Brubaker or feature talking gorillas (neither of which are half-bad ideas when you think about it).

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Eric Rupe from The Comic Catalog on Why He Buys Certain Comic Books

As I said yesterday, I will be running several follow up guest posts answering my question, "why do you buy certain comic books?".

Today's guest blogger is Eric Rupe, from The Comic Catalog, and he chose to answer my question in the interview style format that I originally sent along as helper questions for the guest bloggers, similar to how Greg Hatcher answered the question in his guest post.

In a follow up to last week's series of guest posts, Eric Rupe, blogger and comic book reviewer at The Comic Catalog, chimes in on why he buys the books he does.


Why Do I Buy Certain Comic Books?
by Eric Rupe

Is it the writer?

Almost always, but there have been a few books recently that I have tried out based on concept alone; notably Captain Britain, Birds of Prey and Eternals, but the results have been mixed so I may shy away from doing it in the future. I love reading so the writer is the biggest draw for me. I just enjoy a great story and most artists don't "tell" great stories with their art but there are a couple that do. For example, J. G. Jones on Final Crisis.

A good writer draws you into the story and makes you care about the characters they are writing about and that is the main draw for me as a reader.  

A good writer draws you into the story and makes you care about the characters they are writing about and that is the main draw for me as a reader. Since that is the job of the writer that is the main factor when I decide to buy a book, no matter if I like the characters or not.

It is also the closest thing I have to a true quality control method. Yes, not everything put out by a specific writer will be good but it is the best way to ensure that I will enjoy a book when I buy it.


The Artist?

Even though comics are a highly visual medium, the art is probably the last thing I worry about when buying. I find most art inoffensive and can find something to appreciate from most art and artists so it isn't a big concern.

That said, I am a huge John Romita Jr. fanboy and will buy just about anything he does. Same goes for Mark Bagley. Him and JRJR also have a nostalgic factor involved since they were some of my favorite artists back when I was only reading Spider-Man books. J. H. Williams III is another artist whose work I am starting to love enough to check out on a book I might otherwise skip. Art can stop me from buying a book, though, but that rarely happens.


The Company/Publisher?

When I was a Marvel Zombie it mattered, but not that much anymore. I tend to stick with Marvel and DC books though because I like to be an informed buyer and it is hard to get the kind of information I want about indy books in order to make a decision about buying and whether or not I should buy them. That said, if a writer I read does a book for an indy publisher I will buy it if my LCS has it.


The Genre (space, super hero, crime, street level, etc)?

If a book doesn't fall under the broad category of "Superheroes", then I don't tend to buy it.  

I read comics for superheroes. Aside from the occasional movie, like The Dark Knight, or TV show, like JLU, it's hard to find good superhero stories, so I have to get them from comics. If a book doesn't fall under the broad category of "Superheroes", then I don't tend to buy it. I do dabble with Vertigo books, like Fables or House of Mystery, but I don't stray too far from superhero books. It also has to do with the fact that if I want a good spy, crime or space story I can go elsewhere but that is not to say I can't find those kinds of stories, and good ones at that, in comic form.


Is it something to do with the first comic book you bought as a child? For example, I love Spider-Man. It was the first comic book I ever read and I still want to buy it even when I dislike the stories or current direction, like JMS's run or the current BND direction.

I quit reading comics for a while* and was brought back into comics because of the Ultimate books, so I am always trying to read at least one book from that line and try to follow it on the internet. Given the chance I will buy any Ultimate book but I would never buy a book simply because of a nostalgia or other such reasons since I buy comics on a budget and can't afford to do so. If I could I would but that just isn't case at this time.


Do reviews or friends or message boards ever cause you to buy a book you'd regularly avoid?

I tend to be pretty stubborn when it comes to books that I refuse to buy, but the opinions of people I trust can get me to look at a book I may have missed or passed over.  

I tend to be pretty stubborn when it comes to books that I refuse to buy, but the opinions of people I trust can get me to look at a book I may have missed or passed over. For example, Kirk's reviews of Atomic Robo convinced me to get the trade and I will try any other Atomic Robo series that come out.


Similarly, what makes you not buy a book?

Jeph Loeb, Jeph Loeb, Jeph Loeb, Jeph Loeb, Jeph Loeb, Jeph Loeb.

There are also a few other creators whose work I avoid, like Howard Chaykin (when he is drawing anyway) and Greg Land (at least recently, as I enjoy some of his older work such as Phoenix Endsong).

I also tend to avoid Alex Ross projects since his Golden and Silver Age fetishes seems like fanboy whining to me, which I hate. That and I don't like his covers, but I have never read anything where he did the interiors. There are some writers that I find hit or miss, like Mark Guggenheim or Peter Milligan, and will only pick up their work in trade form if I hear good things about it.

I will also avoid certain writers on certain books. I am enjoying Ed Brubraker's Captain America but if he isn't working on a book that involves crime, spy or noir themes I won't pick it up. His Uncanny X-Men has been okay, but it is not up to his standards, so I won't get it.

In addition, even though I enjoy a lot of Bendis's writing I am going to pass on any standard superhero books he works on in the future like New and Might Avengers.

Certain status quo changes are another reason why I will pass on a book. I think that the OMD/BND status quo changes for Spider-Man are some of the dumbest ideas in recent comic history and, no matter how much I love Spider-Man, I am not going to pick up Amazing Spider-Man any time soon.

I also tend to avoid the X-Men franchise and rarely read their books unless someone like Morrison or Whedon is working on one. I will also get the occasional Wolverine arc if I like the creative team.

Of course, none of those rules are set in stone. JRJR is working on the Ultimate Captain America Annual with Loeb and the BND arc "New Ways to Die" with Slott so I'll probably pick both of those up at some point. I also read X-Factor, since it is removed enough from the other X-books, and got Messiah Complex even though I don't follow the X-Men.


Basically, to get back to the subject, why do you by the books you buy?

If I am not entertained by a book on some level then I am not going to keep reading.  

Entertainment, escapism, or an intellectual challenge. Yes, I realize how much of a smug elitist that last part sounds, but why else would I read a Grant Morrison comic? If I am not entertained by a book on some level then I am not going to keep reading.

It could be the story or it could be the characters but there needs to be something about the book that is interesting or entertaining enough to get me to read it. At the end of the day every book I buy on a regular basis has something that appeals to me. Whether it is simply entertaining(Millar's Ultimates), has some sort of escapist value(Ultimate Spider-Man), elicits an emotional response(JMS's Silver Surfer: Requiem and Tomasi's respective Final Crisis: Requiem), draws me into its world(Fables) or just challenges me as a reader(Grant Morrison's works).


*For those interested I quit during "The Final Chapter" story arc in the Spider-Man books before the '99 reboot. Marvel was teasing the return of Baby May in the books but when it turned out to be Aunt May I was incredibly pissed and quit reading comics all together since they were the only books I was reading at the time.

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Why Do You Buy Certain Comic Books?

Over the last two weeks, before all of the OYL Anniversary celebrations, I've been asking a series of other comic book bloggers why they buy certain comic books - whether it was the writer, artist, genre, etc. We've heard some great stories from a variety of bloggers, including:

• Greg Hatcher (Comics Should Be Good!)
• Lee Newman (Broken Frontier)
• Kristina Wright (Geeked)
• Rokk (Rokk's Comic Book Revolution)
• JK Parkin (Blog@Newsarama)

There was also the three follow up guest posts answering the same question by the following:

• Eric Rupe (The Comic Catalog)
• Ryan, "the Iowan", Schrodt (Newsarama Comic Book Review Forum)
• Evie Nagy (Awesomed By Comics)

So there’s the responses of 8 bloggers (plenty to chew on), but I’m interested to hear why YOU buy the books you do?

Some of you already gave me some or all of your reasons in the comments of these guest posts, and I thank you for that, but, for the rest of you, feel free to share your thoughts and reasons on why you buy certain books.

I'll be spotlighting a couple of follow up answers from other bloggers, who were inspired by my question and the other guest posters last week, and I, personally, will be collecitng your thoughts and ideas, similar to my What I Think DC Is Doing Wrong posts, and posting my own reasons on why I buy certain books at the end of the week.

So, what are your reasons for buying the books that you do?

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JK Parkin from Blog@Newsarama on Why He Buys Certain Comic Books

Last week, I asked several comic book related bloggers the simple question, "Why do you buy certain comic books?", with a list of possible reasons to help spark some debate, such as whether or not the writer, artist or publisher makes a difference.

The response was both immediate and thought provoking and it was interesting to see why these other bloggers, whom I read and respect, buy the books they do.

This post by JK Parkin, from Blog@Newsarama, marks the final part of my five part series of guest posts. Feel free to check out the previous entries from Greg Hatcher (Comics Should Be Good!), Lee Newman (Broken Frontier), Kristina Wright (Geeked) and Rokk (Rokk's Comic Book Revolution).

Today, JK Parkin, writer and blogger from Blog@Newsarama, answers my question on why he buys certain comics. You can also keep in touch with JK by following him on Twitter.


Why Do I Buy Certain Comic Books?
by JK Parkin

When I was much younger and first started buying comics, my filter for picking out a comic to buy was pretty simple -- the cover. I'd walk into a 7-Eleven, take the spinner rack for a spin, and see what jumped out at me.

Later on, I moved from the "cool cover" filter to the "cool character" filter. X-Men, Spider-Man, Teen Titans, Daredevil ... once I discovered comic shops in the 5th grade, I became obsessed not with just buying the monthly doses of these books, but filling in the holes in my collection by buying back issues.

Who the heck was this Grant Morrison guy, anyway?  

In high school, though, things started to change. The trips to the comic shop exposed me to books I'd never known had existed, by companies like Eclipse, First, and, eventually, Dark Horse. I still followed certain characters, but I started reading Comic Buyer's Guide, Amazing Heroes and other publications that talked about the creators. I became cognizant of the creative process behind comics. I joined APAs (Amateur Press Associations), and learned about even more cool comics from the zines I read, as people reviewed stuff I'd never even heard of. I remember reading about Animal Man, which I laughed off when I saw it in the store. Who the heck was this Grant Morrison guy, anyway? But the guys in Legends APA spoke highly of it, so I tried it out.

Typically I'll choose a book based on the writer first, artist second.  

Nowadays, my "filter" is driven by creators ... typically I'll choose a book based on the writer first, artist second. And I still get feedback from other people, but with the internet, that net goes a lot wider than just the 25 or so members of an APA. That's one of the things I enjoy about Blog@Newsarama - I know if there's a really great Marvel book out there that I somehow missed, Carla's going to tell me. Same with DC and Tom. Same with Michael May and what he calls that "middle tier." I probably would have missed Atomic Robo if it wasn't for him. And with Chris and the alt-comix stuff, and so on and so on. And I'm not just talking about on the blog itself; we have an email group we use to help manage the site, but we probably spend more time talking about other stuff, including good comics.

So my days of buying something based on its cover or the characters inside are probably long gone - nowadays, put a great team on a book, and I don't care who it's about.

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Rokk from Rokk's Comic Book Revolution on Why He Buys Certain Comic Books

Last week, I asked several comic book related bloggers the simple question, "Why do you buy certain comic books?", with a list of possible reasons to help spark some debate, such as whether or not the writer, artist or publisher makes a difference.

The response was both immediate and thought provoking and it was interesting to see why these other bloggers, whom I read and respect, buy the books they do.

Armed with the responses of my peers, I've put together a five part series of guest posts spotlighting each blogger's reasons. Today's post is the fourth part and is brought to you by Rokk, whom you can read comic book reviews from every week at Rokk's Comic Book Revolution. Feel free to read the previous answers from Greg Hatcher (Comics Should Be Good!), Lee Newman (Broken Frontier) and Kristina Wright (Geeked).

Today, Rokk, who reviews comics every week at his blog, Rokk's Comic Book Revolution, answers my question on why he buys certain comics.


Why Do I Buy Certain Comic Books?
by Rokk

A good read is a good read regardless of the publisher.  

One aspect that has never factored into my decision making process to purchase a comic book or not is the publisher of a certain comic book. I could care less if it a title is published by Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse, etc. A good read is a good read regardless of the publisher. I have never understood the entire Marvel versus DC mindset. To me it is akin to a person stating that they only watch television shows on NBC and would never watch a show on ABC. Or like a person stating that they only watch movies from MGM Studios and no other movie studio.

Having said that, I am absolutely guilty of being Marvel and DC centric. I do not read nearly enough comic books from the various independent presses like I should. Part of that is because I grew up with the 616 Universe and the DC Multiverse.

I remember that the first comic books that I ever purchased were two Marvel three-packs. You could see the covers to two of the three issues in the three-pack, but not the third one sandwiched in the middle. And you know what that means. The third issue hidden in the middle was always some wretched issue that Marvel could not unload anywhere else.

Nostalgia is a powerful force in my comic book reading habits.  

One of the three-packs displayed a Fantastic Four issue on one side and a Spider-Man issue on the other side. The second three-pack displayed an issue of Iron Man on one side and an issue of the Hulk on the other side. When I opened up the two three-packs the two hidden issues were The Two Gun Kid and Dazzler. I have to admit that I actually liked the issue of the Two Gun Kid.

Without a doubt, nostalgia is a powerful force in my comic book reading habits and DC and Marvel’s characters will always appeal to me more than characters from other publishers. Still, there are so many excellent comic books being published by independent presses. This is a weakness of mine and I really need to start sampling more titles outside of what Marvel and DC publish.

I do read Brubaker’s Criminal and a few other non-super hero titles, but as a general rule I have little interest in a comic book that does not deal with super heroes.  

Now, I will admit that I do have a massive preference for super hero comic books. Will I sample comic books from some other genres? Yes. But, they do not make up a significant portion of my comic book diet. I do read Ed Brubaker’s Criminal and a few other non-super hero titles, but as a general rule I have little interest in a comic book that does not deal with super heroes.

Now, I mentioned above that nostalgia is a powerful factor in why I purchase certain titles. And it is another weakness of mine that I will stick with a title out of nostalgia and a sense of loyalty even though the title has become practically unreadable. This occurred in the mid 1990’s with the X-Men. It also occurred with the Legion of Super Heroes during the TMK Legion and the DnA Legion. And most recently with what is currently going on with Amazing Spider-Man.

I have such strong bonds from my childhood with these characters that I cannot bring myself to drop these titles.  

I kept buying the X-Men and the Legion of Super Heroes out of a sense of obligation. And I am currently purchasing Amazing Spider-Man and a couple of other titles purely out of a sense of obligation. I hate that I do this, but I just cannot seem to help myself. I have such strong bonds from my childhood with these characters that I cannot bring myself to drop these titles.

However, despite all of these various factors that play into my comic book purchasing tendencies, the fact remains that writing is still the single most important factor in my decision to purchase a comic book. In my eyes, a title rises and falls with the quality of the writing. If a title is well written then I will purchase it regardless of the publisher or the quality of artwork.

Writing is still the single most important factor in my decision to purchase a comic book.  

I am completely writer centric. To me, the heart and soul of a comic book is the writing and the artwork is merely eye candy. Now, I certainly do not mean to diminish the impact that a talented artist can have on a comic book. A great artist can allow a writer’s story to practically leap off the page at the reader. A good artist can also properly convey the emotions and mood of the writer’s story.

Still, in the end, for me, the writing takes priority over the artwork. I can stick with a title like X-Factor that constantly rotates artists and often has some poor artwork because Peter David’s story is so well crafted. I loved Grant Morrison’s Animal Man despite the fact that the artwork was completely pedestrian. However, I simply cannot spend my money on a title that has “hot” artwork but has a thin story with weak writing. To me, great artwork is just a bonus.

And that leads me to another point in what induces me to purchase a comic book. While I am loyal to certain characters and will purchase their title regardless of how poor the writing is or not, I will also purchase titles based on the writer alone even if the title centers on a character that I have never liked before.

There are various comic books that I read simply because I love the writer. And once the writer leaves the comic book I stop purchasing it.   

Captain America is a good example of this pattern of mine. I have never even remotely liked Captain America at any point in my comic book reading life. However, when Ed Brubaker began writing Captain America, I immediately started purchasing this title. And once Ed Brubaker leaves Captain America I will probably go ahead and stop purchasing the title. There are various comic books that I read simply because I love the writer. And once the writer leaves the comic book I stop purchasing it.

Of course, I will also rely on recommendations from friends about certain comic books to try. I have several friends who are intelligent readers and I trust their opinions when it comes to comic books. I also will rely on comic book reviews. There are plenty of insightful and smartly written comic book reviews on the internet that can be quite helpful when deciding on whether or not to purchase a certain comic book.

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Kristina Wright from Geeked on Why She Buys Certain Comic Books

Last week, I asked several comic book related bloggers the simple question, "Why do you buy certain comic books?", with a list of possible reasons to help spark some debate, such as whether or not the writer, artist or publisher makes a difference.

The response was both immediate and thought provoking and it was interesting to see why these other bloggers, whom I read and respect, buy the books they do.

Armed with the responses of my peers, I've put together a five part series of guest posts spotlighting each blogger's reasons. Today's post marks the third part and is brought to you by Kristina Wright, more wildly known as GirlFridayK on her own blog, Geeked, and also works in a comic shop. Feel free to read the previous answers from Greg Hatcher, of Comics Should Be Good!, and Lee Newman, of Broken Frontier fame.

Today, Kristina Wright, who blogs about comics over at Geeked, answers my question on why she buys certain comics. You can also follow Kristina, who twits under the name, GirlFridayK, on Twitter.


Why Do I Buy Certain Comic Books?
by GirlFridayK

Kirk sent me an email and asked the question, "Why do you buy the books you do?" and accompanied that with an awesome invitation to write this guest post so I can give his readers a glimpse of the inner workings of my fine, female comic book store-working, blog writing mind, which comes up against dozens of books a week, and tell them why some get to be the lucky ones and why others don't (or, at least, this is how I prefer to translate the request, leave me my delusions).

I sat on down and worked on figuring it out – how hard can it be, answering that question? I know why I’m buying the books I do. Don't I?

I'm an art fan, I'm a writer fan, I may sometimes be entirely swayed by a particularly shiny cover. My genre interests are widespread and varied – I like stories. Don't you?  

A little harder than I'd thought, or, at least, harder to do concisely – there are so many reasons that play into whether or not I buy a book. I like the indie books just as much as I like the mainstream books (though, I’m not certain if anything in comics can be referred to as strictly 'mainstream', but for the purposes of this essay, humor me).

I’m an art fan, I'm a writer fan, I may sometimes be entirely swayed by a particularly shiny cover. My genre interests are widespread and varied – I like stories. Don't you?

I like all sorts of stories, from Jesus battling zombies to a strip joint magician and his rabbit and all the way over to anything where shit goes 'Boom' and people in spandex go 'Pow'. Anything creepy, anything absurd and original and clever. Like a worm making a home in a corpse. Anything that may make you think about what our media is really up to, and then give you a hard time debating whether or not to cheer on certain characters.*

I’ll pick up a book that may not particularly interest me if it’s a writer I’ve liked before.  

Primarily, though, I think I’d classify myself – if pressed – as a writer/artist supporter – I'll pick up a book that may not particularly interest me if it's a writer I've liked before. They'll get a fair shot from me, based on their previous work. My distaste for Brand New Day is widespread, but I picked up that first Phil Jimenez issue because he's an amazing artist and a great guy. I might not care for the story, but a look at the panels from someone whose work I admire will make the book that much more dynamic and engaging for me. I feel compelled to grab it, but I'm pretty sure not to grab any issues that aren't his.

Most of the time, I've found this loyalty works out for the best, like with Burn whose second issue never would have found its way home with me if it hadn't been Camilla D'Errico's art and story. But I grabbed it out of loyalty and was happily surprised at the good turn of things after a rocky first issue.

Finding a creator whose interest lay right where mine do is a nine times out of ten guarantee that the buy will be worth it. Steve Niles brings his genre with him wherever he goes, so I know that even when he slides over to DC, he'll be bringing something to the super hero table that I can sink my horror-loving teeth into. Gail Simone will be awesome wherever she goes, and where Gail goes, so goes Geeked.

I have a hard time letting go of something I’ve been collecting.  

Occasionally, it's series loyalty – even when I'm finding the current arc or arcs unsatisfying - I have a hard time letting go of something I've been collecting. Like JLA right now or Batman and the Outsiders. Maybe it's a bit of collector's OCD, because I know that I'll flip through my storage boxes later and be driven a little nuts by thirteen missing issues, even if I know those thirteen issues are useless. I have to have been collecting a book for a while before feeling beholden to it though. That said, I still dropped Teen Titans during this current writer.

If reviewers or bloggers I read and like spend eight paragraphs on a book in an attempt to explain how awesome it is, I’ll snag it to check it out. I can be a good lemming like that.  

I do, also, know that if reviewers or bloggers I read and like spend eight paragraphs on a book in an attempt to explain how awesome it is, I'll snag it to check it out. I can be a good lemming like that.

New books are different from all this – new books don’t have an artist / writer loyalty from me and clearly no series loyalty, so I'll be honest here - I read almost everything that's new. I'll eye it in Previews and make a note if it looks super-awesome, but no matter how awesome it looks, or doesn't look, I’ll pick it up and check it out. It's the 'support the littler guys' theory of things, because breaking into comics is damn hard and if they've gone so far as to get a book on the shelves, I'm pretty sure I can spare the attention to read at least the first issue to see what's what.

Sometimes this works out, sometimes it doesn’t – but a bad indie book is always better, in my opinion, than a bad Marvel or DC book. Go figure.

Kirk also posed, bless his Canadian heart, “What makes you not buy a book?” Haha. This is a much simpler answer – or, at least, has a lot less variables mucking up the equation. Shitty writing (bad dialogue, horrid characterizations, terrible plot lines) make me not buy them. I'll reference Titans here, as well as Teen Titans (God, they're just not having a good year, are they?) and the first issue of Batgirl. I'll pause to say DC is my favorite of the two huge companies, but it’s currently a love-hate sort of thing.

As I like to fantasize about being a writer myself, I tend to be harder on them than I am on artists. I can't draw and while I have no problems finding good art when I see it, unless it's really, really not to my taste, I have a harder time criticizing something I can't do. One day I'll post a picture of my stick figures on my blog to example this point. If the art on an issue is less-than-favorable, I'll let it slide a bit before deciding to drop it. And by 'a bit' I mean 'six months'. Bad writing, though? Not so much.

There’s series loyalty and then there’s masochism. I’m very much more of a sadist kind of woman.  

It took me two issues to drop Teen Titans - the self-insertions and characterization so shoddy it made my eye twitch plus an extremely annoying, extremely obvious plot line - I've found Sean McKeever's writing completely lack luster and unsatisfying. Mind you, this is a book I've gotten since the inception. I love these little bastards. And will love them again when a new writer hits it. There’s series loyalty and then there's masochism. I'm very much more of a sadist kind of woman.

Titans took me one issue – I only got the second to make fun of it some more, woe to the wallet that lost over my 'wit'. Don’t hand me a book filled with making awesome, strong female characters look and act more like they belong more in a porn rag than they do in a comic book. And don't make Cyborg, who should be one of the awesomest awesome that ever did awesome characters ever look like a complete idiot in a hover chair.

Was that concise? Probably not at all, but I did manage to keep the swearing down to a minimum. Good job me, and thanks for reading my opinions.


*In case you missed it, the books I referenced are: Jesus Hates Zombies, Charlatan Ball, anything super hero worth its salt (oh, let’s throw in an 'Especially Image Super Heroes' here, since right now? They really are where it's at, trust me), Wormwood and finally, The Nightly News.

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Lee Newman from Broken Frontier on Why He Buys Certain Comic Books

Today, I will be continuing my five part series of guest posts asking the question, "Why do you buy certain comic books?".

It's not as cut try a question as one might think. Do you buy a comic based on the writer, artist or publisher? Is it the genre, such as crime fiction or cosmic super-heroes? Do reviews or friends influence your purchases or do you buy certain books out of obligation, such as to "not break up a run"?

I asked these questions and more to a handful of other comic book bloggers over the past week and they've been kind enough to share their thoughts with me. I will be spotlighting each of the five bloggers every day this week (you can read the first part by clicking here) and today's answer comes by way of Lee Newman, staff writer at Broken Frontier!

Today, Lee Newman, manager of Ultimate Comics and staff writer at Broken Frontier, answers my question on why he buys certain comics.


Why Do I Buy Certain Comic Books?
by Lee Newman

There are some books, like Amazing Spider-Man and Justice League of America, that I buy regardless of anything. I just collect them.  

There are a myriad of reasons. There are some books, like Amazing Spider-Man and Justice League of America, that I buy regardless of anything. I just collect them. Batman and Spider-Man are the mainstays of my hobby. When I was about ten years old and read my first comic, it is was a dusty old copy of Peter Parker: the Spectacular Spider-Man. Several years later I discovered Batman in Detective Comics. When I went away from comics - I pretty much didn’t read any from 1992 through 2002 - those were the two characters who made my very first pull list.

The majority of the books I buy are because of the writer. If it says Vaughan, Willingham, Gaiman, or Ellis on the cover, it gets added to the pull. If it says Guggenheim, Dini, Fraction, or Johns on the cover, I will give it a shot. There are very few books written by guys like that that I will drop. I’m a writer, so the story is the draw to me.

If it says Vaughan, Willingham, Gaiman, or Ellis on the cover, it gets added to the pull.
  

Characters and art are nice, but I need a compelling story to keep me interested. I’ll take an issue of Y: The Last Man over any incarnation of Wolverine or The Incredible Hulk any day. Funny thing about that is they all are on my pull list.

Though, I do like art, as well, it has never been that big of a deal for me. Sure there are the lovely pencils by folks like Jim Lee. However, I can only think of four artists who are currently working that I will buy anything they do, regardless of story. They are Tim Sale, Ashley Wood, Ben Templesmith and Darwyn Cooke.

Everyone else, even the guys I praise, like Josh Howard, Ryan Kelly, Becky Cloonan and the ilk, are going to have to deliver a story as well. Fortunately, they have thus far.

If an artist wants me to take notice… they need to be unique.  

Ashley Wood is the most obvious example to me. When he did the Tank Girl book last year, I was elated. This was one of those characters that I just dug and here was my favorite artist on the book. Two issues in and I hated the writing, but the comic stayed on my pull - because Ashley Wood was drawing it. I just like looking at art by those guys and they transcend that typical comic art and try to do something unique. If an artist wants me to take notice… they need to be unique.

I flip through almost every new number one issue I see and probably buy about 80% of them.  

I also like to try out new things, I flip through almost every new number one issue I see and probably buy about 80% of them. Sure, you end up reading some crap, but for every Sanctuary I read, I discover a Pax Romana, a Sparks, or an Elephantmen.

Hit me with high concept and I’m sold. It is the reason books like Doc Frankenstien, The End League and House of Mystery get my seal of approval before they even hit the stands.

I also don’t hold grudges. I am not a Silver Surfer or Punisher fan, but with every new title or creative team, I give them a shot. Some things, like Captain America, are just waiting for the right people to handle it and tell that story which finally pulls me into that world.

There are also publishers who are gold… take Red 5 Comics, Arachaia Studio Press, Radical Comics or Viper. Even when they put out something I don’t like, like say Red 5’s Afterburn, it is still so much more creative then most of what Marvel or DC comics puts out.

It is a lot easier to make another Batman title than it is to come up with a new group of characters and a compelling story.

It is a lot easier to make another Batman title than it is to come up with a new group of characters and a compelling story.  

The revitalization of Image Comics over the last two or three years has been a joy to watch. If a publisher wants me to rave about their product, it’s really kind of easy - just take chances. Sure, you might put out a book that just perplexes me, like Charltan’s Ball, but you could also breathe new life into the medium by publishing something like The Sword.

There was a time when I pretty much bought anything that came in the shop. Being a manager of a comic shop has it’s privelages after all, but these days, I realize that I can’t read all of them. I have about 5000 books at home that I bought but have yet to read. They are organized by priority but inevitably there are books I will never get to. It’s not that I don’t want to - given enough time, I would probably get them all - but there isn’t that much time.

In the end, I am one of the most open minded readers I know. I give almost everything a shot. Heck, how do you think the big guys got so big, because there were people out there like me willing to give them a shot. And maybe one day, who knows, someone will write that Silver Surfer story that will make me understand what all the fuss is about.

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Greg Hatcher from Comics Should Be Good! on Why He Buys Certain Comic Books

To go with yesterday's announcement, today I will be kicking off a five part series of guest posts asking the question, "Why do you buy certain comic books?".

It's not as cut and dry a question as one might think. Do you buy a comic based on the writer, artist or publisher? Is it the genre, such as crime fiction or cosmic super-heroes? Do reviews or friends influence your purchases or do you buy certain books out of obligation, such as to "not break up a run"?

I asked these questions and more to a handful of other comic book bloggers over the past week and they've been kind enough to share their thoughts with me. I will be spotlighting each of the five bloggers every day this week, starting with Comics Should Be Good!'s Greg Hatcher.

Today, Greg Hatcher, from Comic Book Resources' Comics Should Be Good!, shares his reasons for buying the comics he does. Each blogger responded to my question differently and Greg has chosen to simply answer the list of questions I sent which expanded on the types of answers I was looking for.


Why Do I Buy Certain Comic Books?
by Greg Hatcher

Is it the writer?

Most of the time. I have guys whose work I enjoy and I follow their stuff. Some of it involves WHAT they're working on; I much prefer Greg Rucka when he's doing street-level crime books than a title like Adventures of Superman. Although I did find quite a few things to like about his Superman, too.


The Artist?

Almost never. I love comics art and I work as an illustrator and art instructor, the visual element is very important to me.... but it doesn't sell the book.

The visual element is very important to me.... but it doesn't sell the book.  

I have been reading comics for over forty years and I can count the times I bought a book for the art on one hand. In fact, two fingers...one was the Wonder Woman graphic novel "Amazonia", and the other wasn't even a comic; it was the Frank Frazetta book club editions of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom books.

Sometimes bad art puts me off a story. But even then it would have to be really, REALLY bad. About half of Steve Englehart's work on The Avengers had rushed, crappy art, but I am still very fond of that work.


The Company/Publisher?

Nah, not really.


The Genre (space, super hero, crime, street level, etc)?

I like genre stuff, period; books, comics, B-movies, whatever. So I'd have to say yes. I like superheroes and I like westerns and I like street-level crime stories. When a book finds a way to COMBINE those things into a sort of mashup like the new Lone Ranger from Matthews and Cariello, I think I've died and gone to heaven. Especially if the art's good too.

What I really like, though, is capital-A Adventure - something with that sort of "let's-go!" swashbuckling rock and roll vibe.

And lately when a major publisher does hit that vibe there's a kind of snark, almost a mean-spiritedness underneath it, like in the first volume of The Ultimates.  

It's a hard thing to put into words. The visceral excitement you get from movies like the new Iron Man or the Bond books by Ian Fleming or television like Burn Notice. It's serious but it's also fun, fast and loud.

I think that's the kind of excitement that comics can do really well, but you don't see it as much in recent years, not from the major publishers. You have to go looking for it. And lately when a major publisher does hit that vibe there's a kind of snark, almost a mean-spiritedness underneath it, like in the first volume of The Ultimates. When old fogeys (like me) grump about modern superhero comics, it's the innocence component of that hell-for-leather excitement we miss, I suspect. I have a strong hunch that's why so many critics swooned over New Frontier and All-Star Superman, because those books are doing it.


Is it something to do with the first comic book you bought as a child? For example, I love Spider-Man. It was the first comic book I ever read and I still want to buy it even when I dislike the stories or current direction, like JMS's run or the current BND direction.

If I don't at least know what Batman is up to, I feel like I've lost touch with comics.  

I'm always going to be a Bat guy on some level. I always have to LOOK. If I don't at least know what Batman is up to, I feel like I've lost touch with comics.

I also buy reprint volumes of stuff I know is crap just because I remember it fondly from my youth. No one is ever going to be putting Marvel's Godzilla or DC's solo Robin adventures on any best-of lists, but I adored those strips and I snapped up those reprint books the day they came out.


Do you ever feel like you are buying a book out of obligation? For instance, to a certain publisher, creator or because you don't want to "break up a run" or other reasons unrelated to the actual content or quality of the comic?

Never to the character, if that's what you mean. I love Batman but I won't buy a book just because Batman's in it. I have bought a lot of small-press indie stuff at gouger's prices because I wanted to support the guys doing it.

I love Batman but I won't buy a book just because Batman's in it.  

It's embarrassing, the number of badly-done $2 'zines we have around this house. But they're done by great guys who've been nice to my students, even done them sketches and stuff, so I feel like I should reciprocate.

Also, if someone sends a review copy of something I really, really like, I'll go buy it anyway, because I want to see it do well, and I feel absurdly guilty about them losing a sale because they sent me one for free. I've done that with several of the BOOM! Studio books they've sent us. Potter's Field, Cover Girl, Hunter's Moon.


Do reviews or friends or message boards ever cause you to buy a book you'd regularly avoid?

I pay attention to what my colleagues on the blog are into. Greg Burgas has got me to try a couple of things like Fallen Angel, though really, I think I'm about seventy degrees off most of what my partners on the blog like.... they are all WAY more into Grant Morrison's work than I am.

Sometimes I think my function is to be the guy that's obligated to suggest Grant Morrison's not all THAT. If you are reading Comics Should Be Good! and ALL of us agree on something? It's a good book, guaranteed. I think we all liked Potter's Field and All-Star Superman. I think those are the only unanimous thumbs-up reviews.


Similarly, what makes you not buy a comic?

I want ONE story in THIS book, here in my hand.  

If I have such a low opinion of the creator as a human being that it colors what I think of his work, I avoid it. There are guys in comics that have behaved so badly that I won't give them money. I won't name names but I bet you can think of a list of possibles pretty quickly if you've been a fan for a while.

Apart from that? I'll LOOK at most anything once, I try not to be a snob about only liking one thing; but spending money on it has become a much more considered decision. It's reached the point where a lot of times I won't buy a book just because of price. I do a lot less sampling than I used to. The thing that puts me off most is the idea of 'needing to get caught up.' This is why I have been slowly pruning Marvel and DC superhero books from my reserve list. I want ONE story in THIS book, here in my hand.

If you need Wikipedia to decipher the comic book in your hand, it's probably not worth bothering with.  

I don't want to have to try and find the other interstitial bits of it scattered across some sort of line-wide promotion. Some of our readers do their catching up via Wikipedia, but I think if you need Wikipedia to decipher the comic book in your hand, it's probably not worth bothering with. Certainly, that kills any sense of swashbucking excitement the book may have had if you're constantly having to look up things in an index to figure it out.

I want the book to be exciting enough and clear enough that if I do trip over something and need to decipher it from context, that a) there's enough there for me to do that and b) the story's worth the trouble. Last time that happened for me was Cover Girl from BOOM. I came into that one in the middle and was a little confused but it was still FUN. Enough fun that I broke my rule and went and got the previous issues to catch up.

I can justify a used 200-page trade for $7 a lot easier than a 22-page story for $3 or $4.  

Comics are getting too expensive to be casual reading any more, though. Most of my sampling these days is done via used trade paperbacks on Amazon, because those are great deals. I can justify a used 200-page trade for $7 a lot easier than a 22-page story for $3 or $4.

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