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Kooky seems to get what I'm on about... it's about just exposing people to things. I am adamant that if more people were just exposed to a lot of comics, they'd love them. I've gotten a LOT of folks into comics just by leaving them around my place (I used to live in a quasi-communal setting in Brooklyn), having one in my bag when I go out, etc. The comics I mention don't deal with fantasy or scifi or superheroes, and while those aren't always bad things, they are part of a negative stereotype of the medium, and aren't exactly general interest topics.
There's always been this accepted wisdom that superhero/fantasy/crime/horror/sci-fi is the mainstream of the medium because that's what sells the best historically, but I think that's only because the medium has always been a marginalized trash entertainment - I think that if marketed properly and put in the hands of the general population, the general interest, comedy, and literary comics would emerge as the most popular overall, just as in every other entertainment medium...
Why does no one ever think of the fact that superhero comics sell less and less with every passing year as having something to do with the majority of people out there simply NOT WANTING TO READ SUPERHERO COMICS?
I mean, think of it in a different context: jazz music used to be the top selling music in the US, but then was slowly stripped out by rock and r+b etc....the major record labels didn't stubbornly stick to only putting jazz acting against the market...they continued releasing jazz to the niche market that still wanted it, and put out records to satisfy the mass market as the bulk of their operation...
Comics are cool, and beautiful, exciting and smart. It's where the counterculture is, and will be. It's direct expression. It's our job to spread the word. Grant Morrison and Peter Milligan and Mike Allred and Mark Millar etc are doing their missionary work in the mainstream superhero comics, but that's only half of the equation: we need to bring the 'alternative' comics to the point where they outsell the superheroes. That should be the goal, I think. Still, it's not trying to validate what you like to others...it's more about letting people know things exist and make up their own minds, and drawing conclusions about 'coolness' on their own. Locust was going on about how he dislikes 'normal' people, and I can't say I feel so different...they aren't really who I'm talking about. I'm talking about exposing comics to cool, smart, well-read, artsy folks...it's amazing how many of these people are out there, people who are very much the target market for a lot of the comics discussed in this and other threads, and they don't even know these things EXIST.
What a lot of the comics I listed above have in common is that they are well crafted beautiful art objects, and look nice and pretty and attractive. Think of Chris Ware...this man could wow anybody with his attention to craft, detail, presentation, design, color, writing, etc. There's no reason why every kid in every art school in the country shouldn't have a big stack of comics in their room. It's amazing, I know so many illustration and fine art type people who bellyache constantly about how they don't have a venue anymore, that illustration doesn't matter to people, and they are totally ignorant of comics, the one medium where they can shine, let alone by innovative and relevant... I mean, going into commercial magazines or galleries is just asking to become bitter and fucked over, you know?
[ 09-11-2001: Message edited by: Flux = R.A.D. ] |
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basically, stephen holland is a savvy man, who knows what makes a store appealing to people who don't usually buy comics, and they have a hefty female customer-base as a result. 
online strips and graphic novels.