Post by defiant1 on Oct 2, 2010 9:17:40 GMT -5
Oct 2, 2010 0:04:15 GMT -5 G said:
The problem is that the comics industry is always trying to second guess what the collectors collectively want and they've thrown all the sound logic about marketing out the window.
It's like when a guy tries to be all agreeable and do whatever his wife wants when all she really wants is for him to have a spine and stand up for his own opinions. The comics industry needs that spine to run the business as it should be run without constantly looking at popularity rating on their titles.
They cater to a squeeky wheel, that loud minority, and kick the rest of us out in the alley.
That's one reason why I want to talk about it. Because it appears people have forgotten how it used to be and are content with it as is. But the numbers show they keep losing people.
What's troubling is I've been following some of these guys on twitter and watching them self promote themselves and it makes me nauseous. It's like the same 10 guys who have a little bit of pull keep going....
"I just teamed up with (insert like-minded artist) on the cover to (insert usual books). I must say, we did a great job together!"
The egos of these guys are amazing. They don't seem to talk about what the story is about. They don't tell you what the cover looks like or even care. If they do, its a link to the cover and when you look, you've seen it before. But in terms of telling readers what the book is about, its more often a case of "Can't wait for you guys to see what me and (so and so) came up with".
These guys need someone new to come in and show them how its done. They need their collective comic's ass kicked. They all have boners over themselves. They don't even care about what comes out as long as their name is on it and you think that is the main reason to buy.
Back in the day, it seemed like a book came out and you got it and then discovered who did it. Today its....you're supposed to care they did it and worry about the story and art later.
I talked to Georges about the Buffy covers. There were stretches where he has no idea what the script includes, but he has to submit a cover. He mentions the process in his sketchbooks. In some cases he almost knew enough to compose a relevant cover, but guessed completely wrong on the background setting. In his sketchbook he says they planned out certain perspective covers months ahead and implied that certain perspectives are intentionally placed into the publishing schedule.
I think if an editor told these guys what they had to draw, they'd do it. People seem to be afraid to tell an artist what he has to do. There are no consequences for making stupid covers.
df1