And the capeshit comics are still basically impenetrable unless you are already reading them. Even if they promise a "full reset" every decade its still filled with hundreds of required readings to fully understand.
It pisses me off how much capeshit has held comics back. Hell, DC and Marvel have even held back capeshit from becoming good enough to warrant its apex position within the western comic industry. Without fail the comics I read that are from other publishers are superior offerings to whatever slop I've tried to engage with from Marvel.
There are maybe about three and a half good writers in the whole industry.
What's really funny is that "webcomics" have basically picked up all the slack of regular Western Comics and were more popular than them for a very long time.
And then they fell to the same trap, becoming shitty vehicles for political takes or shipping drama. Leaving very little of value to prevent the cringe factor from becoming their entire reputation.
Like, look at how relevant XKCD was and now how completely forgotten he is.
And good fucking riddance. There are few web comic writers I hate more than the guy who does XKCD.
Yes, I'm still fucking salty about his 'free speech' comic. Talk about a masks off moment, and probably one of the first instance I had shoved in my face about how alien leftists could be about things.
I actually knew him briefly through a mutual friend back before he blew up and became a big internet sensation. Dude was a little weird back then but I wouldn't have guessed just how far far off the deep end he would go. Said friend later told me that fame changed him. His younger brother was way more chill.
But yeah, "alien" is definitely an apt term for him.
Webcomics are the example I hold up as evidence that western comics have been held back. There is absolutely and appetite for western comics that aren't just Marvel/DC slop. There's a ton of stuff you can explore with the medium that just straight up isn't getting a chance to shine. I have read probably in the realm of hundreds of webcomics over the years and the shear number of gems I've come across that should have been seminal works in the broader culture but languished in obscurity before vanishing off the face of the internet is absolutely staggering. Even the capeshit genre had stronger showings in the realm of webcomics than what you can find at your local comic shop.
There is a reason why literal garbage like Crossed has half a dozen spinoffs, its because its a rare non-cape, non-kiddy Western Comic.
Shit its half the reason why Scott Pilgrim was remotely successful. It was something of serviceable quality. Which is also why anything of value calls itself a "graphic novel" now, because the label of comic itself stifles them.
And the capeshit comics are still basically impenetrable unless you are already reading them. Even if they promise a "full reset" every decade its still filled with hundreds of required readings to fully understand.
It pisses me off how much capeshit has held comics back. Hell, DC and Marvel have even held back capeshit from becoming good enough to warrant its apex position within the western comic industry. Without fail the comics I read that are from other publishers are superior offerings to whatever slop I've tried to engage with from Marvel.
There are maybe about three and a half good writers in the whole industry.
What's really funny is that "webcomics" have basically picked up all the slack of regular Western Comics and were more popular than them for a very long time.
And then they fell to the same trap, becoming shitty vehicles for political takes or shipping drama. Leaving very little of value to prevent the cringe factor from becoming their entire reputation.
Like, look at how relevant XKCD was and now how completely forgotten he is.
And good fucking riddance. There are few web comic writers I hate more than the guy who does XKCD.
Yes, I'm still fucking salty about his 'free speech' comic. Talk about a masks off moment, and probably one of the first instance I had shoved in my face about how alien leftists could be about things.
I actually knew him briefly through a mutual friend back before he blew up and became a big internet sensation. Dude was a little weird back then but I wouldn't have guessed just how far far off the deep end he would go. Said friend later told me that fame changed him. His younger brother was way more chill.
But yeah, "alien" is definitely an apt term for him.
What's funny is that he made a comic with only a single line in it that is anathemic to almost every Leftist belief.
He literally dismantled their entire political party's foundation and didn't even recognize it because he is too big brained for such simplicity.
Webcomics are the example I hold up as evidence that western comics have been held back. There is absolutely and appetite for western comics that aren't just Marvel/DC slop. There's a ton of stuff you can explore with the medium that just straight up isn't getting a chance to shine. I have read probably in the realm of hundreds of webcomics over the years and the shear number of gems I've come across that should have been seminal works in the broader culture but languished in obscurity before vanishing off the face of the internet is absolutely staggering. Even the capeshit genre had stronger showings in the realm of webcomics than what you can find at your local comic shop.
There is a reason why literal garbage like Crossed has half a dozen spinoffs, its because its a rare non-cape, non-kiddy Western Comic.
Shit its half the reason why Scott Pilgrim was remotely successful. It was something of serviceable quality. Which is also why anything of value calls itself a "graphic novel" now, because the label of comic itself stifles them.