Comics Books Are Dying!

[@VuotoPneumaNN]

This is probably the most intelligent and compassionate thing anyone has said on the whole Piskor affair.

[@invisiblefan2387]

I don’t think comic are DYING. But they’re faaaaar from thriving. They could be alot better and need a “kick in the pants.”

[@nilus2k]

I think they are fine. They are niche hobby. In the niche is where good art is formed. If they got to mainstream they’d become more of a business then an art and that is rarely a good thing

[@fengusburnt]

Completely agree. I find that the majority of fans are very defensive of the industry. People take offense at the idea that things could or should be improved. I find this baffling: the better the industry does, the more good comics and creators there will be. Loosely connecting to another part of the video: I think Ed Piskor really understood this, and spent a lot of his time and energy acting as outreach to expand the parts of the comic industry he really loved.

[@fengusburnt]

@@nilus2k I disagree with this a great deal. Something isn't good because it's less well known. If more people read comics, there would be more opportunity for comic creators, and more good comics would be created. It would be good for everyone.

[@olliehearton]

One of the biggest long term damages was the exclusive move to comic book stores. Not that those stores shouldn't exist, but being the only option isolated the market a great deal.

[@invisiblefan2387]

@@olliehearton: Would it cut into struggling store sales or could it boost them?

[@NerdettesNewsStand]

Your Ed Piskor selection, better stated than anyone online

[@StrangeBrainParts]

Thank you, Tristen.

[@noneofyourbusiness4616]

​@adayaweekI'm subscribed to this channel and was relatively closely following this story as it unfolded. I didn't see this channel post that.

[@ReflexVE]

@adayaweekYou are likely thinking of Comic Tropes, and he stated nothing that wasn't public knowledge. And yes, it appears Ed was a minor groomer. His death is still a tragedy as all deaths are, but for some of us watching him take final shots at his victims while acknowledging what he did is where we get off the sympathy train. Nobody wanted him to do this, people wanted him to take accountability for his actions, apologize to his victims and try to be better.

[@KClouisville]

@@ReflexVE Lol. Who is "we"? The star chamber of justice you've set up? The fact you're lying or misrepresenting the facts right now tells me all I need to know about you and your kind. He took "finals shots at his victims"? He acknowledged that talking to the 17 year old was stupid on his part. The other people you call "victims"...without even using an "alleged" is very telling. Both presented allegations (that even if they were true would not probably ever end up in any court of law) with zero evidence that they ever happened besides them saying it, or in the 3rd woman's case, with no way of knowing what the tone was or how the request to draw her nude was ever made. So yeah, he went after the 2nd allegation maker, because he said all of what she claimed were lies (and asked if there were a way for a court to reveal the DM's between them, etc....something I find it hard to believe someone who knew they were guilty of what was claimed would do). If someone made up stuff about me when I was already in such a place, I'd be pretty angry as well. People like YOU (or your collective "we") are the reason he felt there was no other option than to do what he did. It took only a matter of days of online furor for him for lose a contract on future work, have an exhibition shut down, lose business associates and have the news camped outside his and his parents' homes. While online he's being called a pedophile, having people say he's doing a comic strip on kids because he's into little children, and even having those Internet arbiters of justice (probably people a lot like yourself) flat out making up shit about him and the story itself. So cut the bullshit about you ever even being on some kind of "sympathy train". You're a sad, little social vampire.

[@ArtisticSoul347]

One of my favorite things about your channel is that you present your videos without an agenda. You review comics and/or their creators, give your opinions on why you did or did not enjoy them, and then leave the viewers to decide for themselves. I appreciate that when so many creators are happy to try to tell you what to think.

[@thegreygoblin5165]

My problems is that comics have gotten kind of insulor, they retreated to speciality shops and became harder to find. Not to mention, if your comic shop owner is onery or rude then it's very easy to get turned off and in most towns (in my experience) I've only seen one or maybe two comic shops so if your local owner isn't cool or good at their job then oof

[@juniorjames7076]

Be nice to your (friendly) neighborhood comic shop owner. Its a stressful business.

[@olliehearton]

As a kid I could never buy new comics because we didn't know where our local shops were, or they were in a really bad part of my town. Also being a kid I'd have to rely on my mom to drive me, and if she didn't feel like it then it wasn't happening. If they were still available in places like grocery stores then I could have picked up the latest Amazing Spider-Man while at Savemart or Grocery Outlet with my mom. Or, I could have in this hypothetical if comics didn't cost $4-$5 for a single issue on average. Then being a kid with no money I'd be out of luck again.

[@Johnmrobinson-vb5vd]

Absolutely

[@colinynwa]

Thank you for addressing the tragic events surrounding Ed Piskor with such clarity and straightforward sense.

[@Josephrace1991]

Very good video and thank you for addressing the Cartoonist Kayfabe tragedy it is a terrible thing.

[@gungalgeno-7077]

When it comes to comics as a medium, I will say it’s still a niche to the overall public. Yeah, everyone knows Spider-Man, Superman, and Batman, even Wonder Woman and the Flash. But how many people would actively buy a weekly DC/Marvel comic? Outside of the movies and animated series both companies put out, how many fans of the live action/animated show stuff would go out their way to buy the current weekly comic? I don’t think comics are dying per say. It’s just not hitting the mainstream market. Which is fine, it doesn’t have to. It can still be a very popular niche that makes a lotta money because the fans are dedicated. Besides, a lotta days people are willing to binge watch something that spans a couple episodes that would probably take a full day or two to watch, rather than read something that can take upwards to a couple days to a week. It just depends on the person.

[@keithr9640]

Excellent video. Final statements at the end were very well put. You have my admiration for how well you presented the situation and the things contributing to and surrounding it.

[@robertopulitano8093]

Man, I don't know you, you don't know me. I´m in Argentina, you are in Canada. But I just want you to know that I love you and I love your work. Thanks for everything

[@zainmudassir2964]

I'm from Pakistan and I love him too❤

[@mozi7987]

@@zainmudassir2964cool which city? Is it easy to get comics in pakistan?

[@carloscrecelius9597]

Might be my anti-social tendencies talking but i prefer your more dispassionate, fact-based style to other videos which push the "comics camaraderie ". My mom used to give us welcome home handshakes.

[@TopDrawer_Art]

When it comes to the question of "Are comic books dying?", I think most people are not refering to the entirity of the comic book medium, but the traditional American comicbook industry model - the “Big”2 (Marvel & DC) duopoly, the direct market, the monthly floppies, the overall “capeshit” genre (derogatory name most people call the superhero genre now out of spite). With the obvious exclusion of companies that almost exclusively publish Japanese manga, which is almost wrongly perceived by the public as almost a medium of its own - talking about companies like Viz Media, Seven Seas, Kodansha, even Dark Horse to an extent, they even once admited their Manga sales is what keeping their company afloat; and the all-age and YA graphic novels published by companies Scholastics, Abrams, etc. The Franco-Belgian scene is doing just fine (though still lacks the same push for international success that Manga has successfully achieved imo). It is safe to say the comicbook medium is here to stay. Wouldn't say the same when it comes to the tradition American monthly comicbook model, unfortunately. The Big 2 side of the industry has created too much bad blood with its audiences, years before the days of "wokisms" - it's funny most people seem to choose to forget , or are willing to rewrite history, when it comes to the days when fans were (rightfully imo) getting fed up with all the forced events and the status quo changing gimmicks of the 2000s and early 2010s, as a pitiful mean to rack up more monthly sales - the complete failure of the Amazing Spider-Man as a title, post-One More Day, is a great example of a grudge most readers, young and old, still have with these companies, their editorial and their creative teams, to this day. The complete saturation of pointless events like Marvel's Civil War 2 and Secret Empire, and DC's Identity Crisis, Infinite Crisis and Heroes in Crisis, where beloved characters are cheaply killed off or have their characterization completely altered to create easy buzz and hate sales. Fans wised up and stopped caring for these titles all together. The gimmick run its course. As for the indie side of things, with books published by Image, Boom, IDW. The problem stands on the perseption that most readers have with these titles as glorified Hollywood/streaming service pitches - which is true that a lot of stinkers were released right after the success story that was The Walking Dead, in which a lot of hacks saw that and went out to try and recreate that success...Forgetting that they should've done an interesting book first and foremost, instead of chasing that trend. Sorry for the long wall of text, just my 2 cents. Great video as always! And don't forget your marching orders: READ MORE COMICS! (RIP)

[@quickflash2studios232]

You’ve gained a subscriber, you are obviously an intelligent person and deliver your points very well and in depth. Its refreshing compared to a lot of other channels.

[@TechnicolorGhosts]

I remember reading somewhere (and i can't currently find where i read it so feel free to disregard this as anecdotal evidence) that while the comics that land in the top 75 of Comichron and other sale tracking sites have plateaued in sales, the comics below them have increase by a noticeable margin. The example given compared the chart in 2007 to the corresponding chart in 2017, which showed a significant bump in sales. Obviously this is a small factor, but, to me at least, it shows that while the big Two publishers have an established fanbase that grows in millimeters, independents are gaining more foothold in the industry and are starting to command more mainstream attention compared to 15-20 years ago.

[@nicholassmart4790]

3:47 In South Africa, for a long time pre-TV (we only got TV in the 1970s), adults enjoyed photo-comics as entertainment.

[@juniorjames7076]

Latin America too!

[@normalguy4548]

@@juniorjames7076In Mexico, the legendary lucha libre wrestler El Santo had a photo-comic done of him, it was called: El Santo, el Enmascarado de Plata. They called them fotonovelas. Instead of fighting wrestlers, he instead fought supernatural beings like vampires. The creator of the comic, Jose G. Cruz hired El Santo to “act” in the photos he took (and photos he found in promotions) and got rich without paying El Santo royalties for using his image. By the late 70s, he was selling 900,000 copies per issue.

[@SlapstickGenius23]

@@juniorjames7076 ahh, even I thought Mexican comics were huge back then in Latin America.

[@ctbinary42]

Very sad note to end on but it needed to be said. SBP is an island of calm upon a sea of irrationality

[@larrydupp3988]

Manga is considered a separate category I think because of the major cost difference and variety of genres in Manga. Superhero comics are a very specific, very niche vein of comics while Manga you have essentially every genre under the sun available, and because Manga is printed on cheap paper with no color ink, it can be much cheaper, with much more per book. Plus, Manga is simple to get into because most stories have a clear beginning, even if their end seems nowhere in sight

[@notsosmartguy6254]

All I will about the "comics are dying" is that if they are it's not really a quality issue, even at the big 2. Yes there are book I genuinely don't like but I don't read them I focus on the ones I do.outside of grifters with agendas and drama behind the scenes I feel like a lot of the negativity comes from people inability to drop books and stop talking book they aren't enjoying and failing to elevate books they like. Also about the "Manga as separate" thing I feel like the people who push that often fail to bring up how grueling the Manga industry is. We should take notice more then ever about that after the recent loss of Akira Toryama.

[@EnerKaizer]

Also, everyone who brings up the argument about manga is basically just parroting nonsense - because Manga also has a lot of issues currently as well. Besides the ever increasing grueling working conditions for their creators, which even affected beloved series like HunterXHunter or My Hero Academia for example, there is also the fact that they are going through the same boom and bust now like western comics. MHA was the last manga to gain main stream popularity world wide, and many "hyped up" series like chainsaw-man and the like flunder around - so much so that many people in the industry fear the day One-Piece finishes, considering that series is basically holding that market afloat. There is an honest concern about the manga industry in Japan being about to head into its first real crash sooner then later, which is also reflected into what gets adapted currently into animation. It's either very "raunchy" stuff, or it is a ton of remakes - sound familiar?

[@syaif7292]

​@@EnerKaizer well said!

[@juniorjames7076]

I'm in my 50s. I have adult friends who NEVER touched comics in the 1990s, suddenly reading Sandman, Maus, and Love & Rockets in the 2000s. They've watched documentaries/movies on Crumb or Harvey Pekar, etc. I think we are lowkey in the middle of a Golden Age.

[@Jean-Paul-Lane-Valley]

Not to mention, manga has a different approach for distribution, both in Asia and overseas. Western comic book single issues haven't been a thing here for decades in my country, collections are your way to go here if you want tk support the industry.

[@olliehearton]

Akira Toriyama joked that he probably shaved 10-15 years off of his life from making weekly comics. After his passing I don't know if he was joking anymore.

[@Sorrelhas]

"How does mattt works the same way as me but gets a bajillion views" By using thumbnails full of arrows and circles, provocative and borderline clickbaity titles, snappy and fastpaced editing, and glossing over details and nuance

[@sarawelling5271]

Yours is a voice of reason and decency.

[@fengusburnt]

I think I have an idea why Matttt's videos might get more attention than yours. I don't want this idea to come off as insulting: you are probably my favorite comic tube creator, and I find your taste and insights very insightful. So please, don't take this as trollling or griping: I just think it might be something you don't see. Matttt's video are full of optimism. He's enthusiastic and comes across as invested in the creators he discusses. You're videos are very analytical and detached: and also you are much more willing to speak negatively about a great deal of things. You are also, in my estimation, much more willing to speak negatively about aspects of comics, creators and the wider industry you take issue with. Please don't take this as me telling you to make sunshine and rainbows content or something. I like what you make a great deal. But, when it comes to what has a broader appeal, I think it makes sense Matttt's impassioned, hopefully stories about creators he love would achieve that. It's the main difference I see. See you in the future, in a universe strange and beautiful...

[@modDJ-gg7gk]

Well said at the end about Ed. Thanks for what you do in this space your one of the best.

[@DIRK_STRANGLER]

I've talked about the "are comics dying" conversation a lot, and I think your definition is wrong (or, more precisely, "pointed in the wrong direction"). I mean more specifically direct market issue-by-issue comic sales as a form of distribution. Graphic novels still obviously sell well, and Manga does crazy good numbers sometimes, and collections of direct market comics can sell really well on occasion, but single issue sales have stayed low, outside of freak single issue successes with multiple printings like 2014's MS. MARVEL #1 most big two comics stay in the 50k to 120k range, and non big 2 stuff usually stays lower. Its not like there's new comics stores popping up either, and the average age of the comic book reader has only gone up (I believe 35-36, last time I saw someone do a demographics report), which seems to imply that, like television, the majority of comic readers are people who started reading single issues as a kid and just continued to this day. I don't think broadcast television will ever fully die, if sheerly for the fact that the "core" channels receive massive government subsidies for simply existing, but direct market single issue comics are a much more fickle and deprioritized medium. Comics, in some form, will always be popular, in the same way movies or books always will, but I think traditional forms of distribution can die or change. I was born in the early 2000s in a top 30 most populated US city and despite being a massive comic book fan I've never bought a single new issue in my life because I never lived near a comic books tore (and by the time I learned how to drive single issues cost 4 bucks an issue, which is way too much for 26-32 pages, especially when trade paperbacks and manga give you way more bang for your buck). A lot of people have opinions on this subject (Many if not half of which are based on personal opinions about diversity or perceived diversity in the medium & industry that has little actual material correlation with who things play out) but i think this focus on distribution and availability, is in my opinion, the most accurate angle to look at it from. Sorry for writing so much though, whoops

[@juniorjames7076]

I'm in my 50s. I have friends and family members who NEVER touched or read comics in the '90s who were suddenly reading Sandman, Maus, Love & Rockets, and other graphic novels by the mid 2000s. It's still kinda shocking for me to see Barnes & Nobles bookstores and public libraries with full sections/rooms devoted to comic books- which was unheard of the 1980s (my childhood)!!! I guess people never realize it when they are in the middle of a effing Golden Age!!

[@DIRK_STRANGLER]

@@juniorjames7076 Oh yeah, I'd say people read more comics now than they ever have (at least since newspapers were a primary source of american entertainment). The thing thing is outside of an occasional successful graphic novel most of the comics people read are the classics or foreign stuff. Not to say thats bad (Hell, thats what i read most of by far anyway) but its just so odd so much talent and money in this industry is focused on a form of comics that comparatively few people read at all (the single issue). Looking at image and the big two you do see new talent come in but its way less than just about any time in history. It seems to me this focus on the direct market as compared to bookstore distribution probably held back most of a generations worth of new talent. Im just kind of waiting till one of the big two or image finally realise that focusing mostly on bookstores is probably a far better business choice. I never saw anybody i knew read a new single issue comic in my life outside of hardcore comic book fans, but i saw my own grandmother reading a graphic novel from barnes and noble because it was available and recommended. Bookstores and amazon and the like seem like the clear future, i just wonder when that future will finally fully come around

[@xombiekat13]

I don't disagree with most of what you said but you aren't including digital sales when you talk about the direct market. The last book I worked on for a top 4 publisher did better digitally than in print (and if you factored in the fucking pirated numbers which on one single thieving website tripled physical sales you'd see more readers than at any time in comic history).

[@Jean-Paul-Lane-Valley]

The mention of Matttt is funny, because sometimes I mix up both of you guys. Either way, both awesome content creators.

[@CNTconnoisseur]

Comics would take off if Marvel or DC came out with a modern-style app. 10 bucks a month. You get the entire back catalog and all new comics every week. Give a 3 month free trial to get people hooked on the decades and decades of comics that they couldn't possibly read in that time. They'd make an exponential profit compared to now. But it would have to be properly marketed and intuitive. You should be able to select comics by character or decade and have links to other related storylines.

[@MaxP_88]

I think the problem is a quality one. In a market where the dominant genre has been and still is, superheroes, I think comics have lost a lot of what made them fun an exciting. And it's logical, a lot of what could be done with these characters was already done. You can only make killing Superman, a Crisis or a Civil War impactful the first time. Many modern writers can write great creator owned stuff, but I don't think there are many great "pure superhero writers" around anymore. And it is what it is. Things change, and all genres have their peaks. I do think there may be a way around it if the next generation starts incorporating some of the energy of manga (without looking as a cheap copy), as artists like Dan Mora and Jorge Jimenez do.

[@brittlby4016]

It is depressing that with the largest cultural advertising campaign in history (MCU and DCEU) that the big two are taking home such a small portion of readership compared to Manga and Bon Dessine in their respective markets. I’m not suggesting this is a contributing factor to the big two’s alleged decline, but I would suggest it certainly SEEMS as if Manga’s success suggests a hunger for sequential art. So I don’t think suggestions like “people are reading less” or “folks can access hero comics online” holds much water given those sister markets thriving.

[@TheSkaOreo]

Comic books are actively scaring off potential buyers because of their unwieldy lore and numerous titles for singular characters. Also manga is just cheaper.

[@juniorjames7076]

Marvel and DC declined to trash in the 2000s chasing Hollywood dreams. Meanwhile, we are in the middle of a Golden Age for small independent publishing works.

[@VuotoPneumaNN]

The point is: manga makes sense and superhero comics don't. With Manga you know that at one point the story would be complete. It has a clear beginning and it will have an end. Plus tankobons offer a lot of content for very cheap. Why would I buy a Captain America comic that has eons of confusing continuity behind it instead of that? Even the longer-going Manga like One Piece aren't that much hard to read from the beginning and are at least part of one same story. A lot of western independent books work like that too, but they are overshadowed by the amount of useless superhero trash. I mean, the same thing is happening with Marvel movies now: they kinda had a pretty satisfying ending with endgame, but now the more content they add, the more people are gonna be overwhelmed and uninterested.

[@FemboyCatGaming]

Manga also aims for a way younger demo then modern comics. Like read a superhero manga like MHA and its basically on the depth level of like pre to early claremont X-men

[@VuotoPneumaNN]

@@FemboyCatGaming There's plenty of manga for adults.

[@drt576giv]

The issue in this argument is that some people mean by dying sometimes people mean "marvel and DC are on the brink of collapse any day now" that's stupid but sometimes people mean "comics have been on a steady decline since the 90s" and that's just true.

[@TheCubecrafer]

if they would do an and official wiki for all charaters + you could read all comics on the offical website and do auction for all old comic books in good condition. It would drive sales like mad! call it the netflix for comics

[@radiak55]

I do apologize for just singling out the Piskor situation but in these moments where online vitriol is getting out of hand, I did want to underline that it's important to mention. For whatever he had done, all what came were allegations and if need be, he would have needed to answer to justice and due process. I appreciate that you did bring this up as I think is a bit irresponsible for other channels to play deaf ears on this. I don't think it should be the responsibility of every comics tube creator to put up a lengthy video addressing very hard hitting subjects but playing as if nothing happened and carrying on is terrible in my opinion. In this day and age were what sells is engagement on extreme ends of any topic, there are also some that feel the need to be online warriors without playing fully well to the consequences. Again, if Piskor did commit a crime, he should answer to the due process. But what happened, I think, was people not knowing how to manage an always delicate situation (even for the sake of any who may have been harmed) instead of virtue signaling. His end was still at his hand but from the bits I gather on his personality, seems to have been a very lonely personality who may have reached out for connection in an inappropriate situation, pushed further and feeling like his only solution was what he did. For all we seem to talk about comics and stories of heroes in extraordinary circumstances, I often find myself puzzled by the so called fans. Those who choose to take the wrong lessons instead of what these characters apparently seem to inspire. It may be a bit odd to say this in closing but I do wonder what characters may think on situations like these. Such as Flash or Spider-Man whom have been written with the mindset of going thru tragedy but still seeing the good in people and hopefully correct them along the way. Piskor's situation are allegations at the moment, but if turned out to be true and even if he did abuse people if terrible ways, it is not up to random vigilantes online. He should go thru the due process and face the consequences of his actions, as expected of all.

[@KClouisville]

I don't disagree with anything you said. However, the issue to me is, unless further information ever comes out, none of the allegations about Piskor would ever have put him in a criminal court. Therefore, you end up with people in the comics "community", some of whom seemed to have appointed themselves as arbiters of "justice" and deciders of what consequences there should be and what being held "accountable" constitutes....those people drive the narrative. Some of those people didn't like him before all this for whatever reasons, be they valid or not, and were practically having a party on places like Twitter when the allegations surfaced. They pushed the initial allegation into such extreme ways that people on social media were making all sorts of claims: "He's grooming little children", "He writes books for young adults because he's a pedophile!", etc. etc. This, despite the fact that even the young lady who showed off the DM's stated he never talked to her about sexual stuff, asked for or sent nudes, etc...none of that. She just wanted people to know she, in hindsight, felt creeped out about it. He, himself, admitted it was stupid to be having the conversation with her in his suicide note, but denied the other allegations (also of which, neither involved anything criminal even if true and involved two women his age...one actually might have been older than him). I can't say every person he named in his note was culpable in leading him to the actions he ended up taking, but one for sure stoked the flames and I've yet to see her apologize for it. She made multiple tweets about him having a "burner" Twitter account, and she stated through his burner account, he was following Comicsgate people and was making "queer-bashing" homophobic statements and was trying to defend himself by saying the age of consent in PA was 16 (mind you, this in a situation where, by the own original accuser's account, she and Piskor never met and never engaged even in any kind of cyber-sex or whatever). Well guess what? That "burner account" she matter of factly stated was Piskor's and used as a cudgel to attack him with, is still posting on Twitter, long after Piskor's body has gone cold. Did she apologize for it? Say she jumped the gun and maybe should have used a bit more caution with her words? Nope! She just deleted the Tweets and moved on as if nothing happend.

[@radiak55]

@@KClouisville I'm unaware of the social media side besides the repercussions from bad actors. Mostly because I wish to keep sanity and not delve into what I described as online warriors. Like many things in the current online landscape of algorithm driven engagement, it all boils down to rage baited interactions that then quickly lead to moral panic outcries. I also wanted to underline the reason for my wording was to be fair and set aside my own personal opinion. To which I do agree with you, that from what I've read, there was no act that would put him on trial besides the moral reprehensible act itself of contacting a minor with a ver odd context. I was unaware of his later comments on it yet regardless of what he did, would still face the law if applicable. I was unaware that comic world personalities were involved in this besides just on or two who apparently had a negative reception towards Piskor prior to all of this, for whatever reason. And then tried to get the moral high ground without all the facts. To finally offer a non apology mixed in with paying respects to Piskor's survivors. But not to derail much. I still want to sound off and appreciate what Overlord did in addressing this with tact and respect along with being professional on a very delicate situation. I have more respect for him as I can understand his personality may be a bit at odds with trying to be impartial when it comes to the BTS drama in comics. But here in a very real situation kept it honest and professional. In the miriad of problems with this niche of YT dealing with comics I have a higher degree of respect with those who are not shy to stand ground on serious matters. This being one of them and not just on "comics are dying" "gone woke" etc and the othe usual moral panics

[@scorcher64]

I've always wondered why there's such a hard mainstream focus on just Marvel and DC. I enjoyed many American comics from publishers including Dark Horse, Image, Top Cow, Detective, Antarctic Press, Archie, etc. It would be nice to see series from others get expanded on.

[@Luis-jl6oh]

I've been feeling unwell lately, but listening to the book 'How to Stop Worrying and Start Living', I find myself gradually letting go of my anxieties. I highly recommend it.

[@SydneyTamar2003]

I would say more of mainstream comics like DC and Marvel are dying. People are venturing outside of them and reading either different publications, indie,or manga

[@edson_E_O]

Thank you for your videos and for speaking about Ed. Keep up the great work

[@junhyuboh2594]

Thank you. Someone finally said it. When some people mention comic books are dying, why are they separating manga and comic books? When some people mention wokeness is killing the industry, why do they never give a good example of what they actually like? For me, comic book was not just an entertainment or an artistic form. It was a place of communication, and to socialize. But now I am tired of it. People arguing and discussing about comic books not based on what they like, but based on the political agenda they follow. I stopped going to the comic book based communities, and naturally stopped reading comic books as much as I used to. There are still good comics, especially in Japan, they have a big enough market for the comic books that has niche taste.

[@javib2978]

To me, books, video games, and manga. Are self-contained stories. There are standalone stories in the world of Marvel and DC, like in the main continuity. There is also stories set in a corner of the main universe, kids graphic novels and comics, and stories set outside of continuity as a whole. I can choose on how to view them any I want to. This is my choice. The same applies to video games, kids comics, underground comics, and films as well. I am okay with books, video games, and comic adaptations do their own thing, and directors and producers alike have right to do what they want to do with these adaptations of the source material. Even if goes against the message of the source material. I am okay with it. Fans, directors, and studio producers have rights too. No one is right or wrong with adapting books, video games, comics, manga, and other source material that was based on. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses alike. No one is perfect, and there is no need to judge a product by it's cover. That is what life is all about.

[@Conejoazul2018]

My biggest fear is basically everything going digital, remember you don't own something digital you are just renting it.

[@ardagoksoy]

RIP ed piskor

[@ogreface8]

🙏

[@TitularHeroine]

🕊 🌅

[@GeahkBurchill]

I’ll say only this, as a new subscriber but also someone who knows a trifling amount about what the current KZbin algorithm prefers. Matttt appears on camera, with a set behind him and makes a specific effort to appear friendly in a slightly intimate way. He knows what KZbin wants. KZbin wants parasociality. None of this takes away anything from Matttt’s content. It’s also some of the best comics content on the platform. It’s just that he _also_ does what the algorithm wants of him.

[@normalguy4548]

Great video, do you have any website where I can find out more about Nerve Go Man?

[@StuartHamilton-r9v]

The question is even more niche--are AMERICAN comic books dying? That is why people are pitting manga sales against Marvel & DC sales. These two American companies account for a huge percentage of comic shop business, & if they go away the direct market model collapses or changes in radical ways. You sidestep the "woke" aspect, but I think for those of us who have been collecting for decades, it matters that "canon" was violated in order to promote social agendas--e.g. lesbian Black Cat and gay Ice Man are not the Iceman and Black Cat I grew up with. You may gain some audience with these changes, but it seems to have alienated a huge segment of long time financial supporters. Manga doesn't have a "canon" so none of that baggage exists. Lastly, inter-generationally, we share comics we love with our kids. Endless identity politics agendas are just not what we love about comics, so the big two are also losing a portion of the next generation as a readership. Aside from that, you've done a good job pointing out how the storytelling quality of the Marvel/DC product has declined while the price has gone up. True hits like Alex Ross' Fantastic Four book speak to inter-generational fans: great art, great story, respect for the canon, & free from any discernable agenda other than to make a good comic.

[@calvinkatt662]

As to the "Comics Books Are Dying! " topic, I'm curious as to how well printed comics are selling these days. With all print media (newspapers, magazines, etc) declining in sales, it seems inevitable that comic books will eventually become digital only at some point. How soon that will happen, I have no idea.

[@alvaroperez1020]

Newspapers and magazines normally lose their worth a few days after they're published, weeks at most. There's no value in having them in paper when they're all on the internet, and you can get the news or info from their digital version, or anywhere else. But comics, like good ol' books, always have value to be collected as physical objects, even if the digital option exists. I don't think neither will completely abandon the physical version. There will always be people who want to read their stories on paper rather than on a screen.

[@johncole015]

Marvel and DC did this to themselves when every single month became an event or a reboot.

[@normanlennox4949]

It's funny you mention working with Matttt, to know how he gets views. I've not yet delved into his channel, as I watch yours instead.

[@johnnydropkicks]

I think that Matttt makes some really good videos. Your mileage may vary, but I’d check him out. He makes about one video every two months, only has a dozen videos, and somehow has like 175K subscribers.

[@superhetoric]

I was "there" when he uploaded his first video and it got huge in a matter of days and wondered to myself if it was just algo doing its thing or what. there was no info about him in the description nor was there any sort of other social media. his content is great so I'm not complaining!

[@colinynwa]

Look we all know he (Mat of too many Ts) has an army of magic squirrels that use each fibre of their magic bushy tails to create a KZbin account. and then each account watches Matttts videos using their enchanted acorns. Hence the views. SBPs only has an army of naked mole rats and so you see the problem...

[@johnnydropkicks]

@@colinynwa Your comment is the exact plot of an “Unbeatable Squirrel Girl” story arc! Okay, not really. 🙂

[@0warlocknsoulgem0]

There has been a recent AI comic created that I found a lot of pleasure in. Meating People: A Beginners Guide. The book itself feels a touch disjointed. But the writer seemed to have a clear intention at the books outset.

[@Eyrrll]

The American comic book market is definitely dying. It actually has been since the late 1960s but there have been a couple of surges (like in the early 90s) that have slowed the decline a bit. Part of the current problem is that the industry is bottoming out with low circulations and has a very “circling the drain” feeling. Publishers are paying horrible rates, which results in inferior talent, leading to lower sales, leading to even lower pay rates… cycling slowly down. That said, bad circulation methods have probably been the root cause to everything… other problems (such as “wokeness”) just piled on as the decline advanced.

[@CaptainXJ]

Is the woke in the room with you now?

[@Eyrrll]

@@CaptainXJ “Wokeness” doesn’t bother me nearly as much as the horrible writing and extreme changes to well established characters.

[@LiaStuart-1881]

The whole mangas/anime better argument to demean comics as idle conversation is really tiring and depressing considering the manga/anime industry pipeline is dying so its just using mangas "apparent" current popularized to kick and art form. Mangas Cheeper to produce and less time intensive to make to. with a manga to anime pipeline that works well withing the animation industry in Japan helping sell volumes it's GREAT. however it's killing itself all the same in a different way the whole Japanese anime industry is really struggling if I look BEYOND the surface Dying even is the term used by people with more ability to speak on the issue that i can but to summarize manga is killing authors and punishing them withing the industry if they dont sacrifice of themselves. From what I've been told manga has alot of issues selling when the details come down to it such as most manga volumes being bigger then comic issues making it so that even with comics with color taking longer to make page for page some manga volumes made under humane conditions take long enough to make for interest to wane along with alot of buyers liking to by however when buying from stores which is the easiest way for young readers to get ahold of the book they can be defaced by much younger kids that got ahold of the unplastic wrapped volume such as ripped pages drawn on pages and more so kids with an allowance may shy away from the investment along with issues such as piracy making physical buying of volumes by younger Readers low. Ontop of that anime is getting too taxing to produce with current studio highs being seen as a striving point. the price of animation being high with studios not wanting to pay that price leads to worker abuse so insane i sometimes have to remember that the current anime industry is built on from what I've heard multiple failed unionization attampts and ceo paychecks so long they could be used TP avengers tower. Theres only so long the abuse can last before the love of animation in the industry reachs its breaking point.... Also from what ive heard most of the money back from the investment in anime comes from merch relying on a follower based thats HYPER INVESTED as its hard to sue over merch rights in this country from merch shops selling merch of the series without paying the studio.... However most people only wanna talk about how much better anime is since its not woke or what ever that means so they'll ignore the obvious warning signs of an industry going critical for there arguments that there least favorite marvel movie that made enough money back at the box office to feed a small country even if it was bad really sucks or something... I hate toxic comic/manga discourse why are people like this 😢

[@Kijani777]

I really appreciate you stepping outside of your norms to address the horrifically sad situation related to Ed. Thank you for bringing necessary sobriety and class to a topic I’m sure you hated having to comment on.

[@alexnejako777]

they really aren't for kids anymore . certainly not within the budget of a kid who gets $10 a week for doing chores as an allowance . they'd probably rather spend it on something else.

[@jackderricourt84]

Thanks for the touching statement. Ambiguity is hard to find on KZbin these days. It's possible to feel two things at once -- some of the most beautiful comics allow us to do just that.

[@brettrobson5739]

Why are we avoiding the word Fumetti?

[@SlapstickGenius23]

Hmm, I guess the Fumetti word is sometimes synonymous with comics containing live action photos. In its home country, it does refer to a variety of Italian language comics.

[@angelmanfredy]

Holy crap I am just learning Ed Piskor is gone. Sad😢

[@TetsuDeinonychus]

Me too! It basically happened overnight!

[@SexyMEFFER]

Two weeks ago EP was thriving! Think about that for a second ...was he really?

[@SexyMEFFER]

@adayaweek I've pizza in the oven, dude. Very important stuff going on here.

[@oliverortiz5226]

Well said and thank you for saying what you said about Piskor. I enjoyed his work and the Kayfabe series. I wish what happened hadn't happened. I feel saddened by these events and I feel sad for what his family and Jim Rugg are going through. The ones we leave behind are the ones who truly suffer. I appreciate you and again thank you.

[@d-manthecaptain1382]

I wasn't expecting to see about Piskor here, I had no idea. At first, I was expecting you to discuss Toriyama with how vague that question was phrased

[@astrith]

What I really cannot understand is how little your channel and your works is known to the wider public. All your materials are very well thought out, highly informative and interesting. Hopefully the situation will soon be changing for the better (fingers crossed!)

[@indyatmn420]

I'm a big fan of this work, but let's all be honest with ourselves: nuanced assessments of niche things like comics (often obscure or old ones) are generally NOT popular. Having said that, I think if this channel keeps going, it will eventually have enough people that he can do this full time. At least I hope so. I'd have to check out this Matt with Four T's. Does he cover the same relatively obscure things with the same level of nuance? If not, I can assume he will have alot more subscribers.

[@astrith]

@@indyatmn420 You might be right. The assessments are quite in-depth as well, it's not just "look big green dude smash stuff, cooooool!" type of reviews. Matt's content is good. Very well researched and presented. That said though I still prefer the SBP :)

[@SamMcDonald83]

Curious to learn more about Go-man. I searched online but there seems to be nothing about this title other than some very nice covers.

[@StrangeBrainParts]

More about Go-Man should be forthcoming. Probably this week.

[@nunyabizness6595]

You and Comics Tropes are doing yeoman work but i findd your seriousness on this topic well researched and fascinating. Thank you.❤❤❤

[@jimgillespie6109]

If you ever do decide to explore portions of Kirby's Fourth World as depicted by others, I recommend the Mister Miracle revival from the late '70s. The first several issues are by Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers. The second half of the series is by Steve Gerber and Michael Golden. Interesting take on the character. RIP Ed Piskor.

[@indyatmn420]

Thanks for the recommend. I've been reading Kirby's Mister Miracle and really enjoying it (mostly for the art and for the - for the lack of a better word - impulsive nature of the writing). I've been putting off the non-Kirby follow ups but have more incentive to check them out now.

[@morockapdx7174]

Glad to hear you are on the mend. Keep up the good work, I always enjoy your videos.

[@Tonydash23]

I just bought Devil Dinosaur 1-3 for my 11 yr old nephew , he asked for them and read it immediately after I gave them to him 😂

[@Liveforfilms]

Oh Strangehaven. Forgot all about that one. Must dig it out again. A great video. Thank you

[@soarel325]

Big Two cape comics have been little but a testbed for movie ideas for the entertainment giants who own Marvel and DC since ~2011 or so. This isn’t a new state of affairs, but the state the American (cape) comics industry has been in for well over a decade. I don’t think American comics writ large are dead or dying, but the days of Marvel and DC as anything but R&D for slop blockbusters are long, long over.

[@indyatmn420]

Was Strangehaven ever finished? I recall liking that and the creator just stopping. Although if my memory serves, he did write a great Alan Moore review/tribute book, but no Strangehaven.

[@Jo-Jet]

I feel like I've been hearing how comic in the US have been dying for nearly 10 years now. Granted, I feel like things could be done better for it. Such as I feel personally the single issue monthly format doesn't really work well now a days. I myself stopped buying single issue back in 2016 and only do trade collected versions now. Plus as you pointed out, it mostly targets Marvel and DC as failing, but yet they are still around, and often ignore Image, Darkhorse, Oni Press, and any other comic publishers. And the argument of Western Comics Vs Manga, is such a pointless thing to have. Both have their own issue and benefits to them.

[@daelen.cclark]

How often have people been saying “comics are totally dying”?

[@johnnydropkicks]

*Comics are totally dying!* 🙂

[@hjwilson11]

Since the 80s.

[@andrewallen-peat]

Since the 70s, when Marv Wolfman told a fan at a convention that comics wouldn't be around in 10 years. Here we are 50 years since that comment and this industry is still here and getting more exposure. 😂

[@mttylerdurden9]

Since the 60s.

[@andrewallen-peat]

@@mttylerdurden9 F-k! Probably since the 50s! Ever since a lot of publishers (like Fawcett) started dying off and the whole moral panic about “crime comics”, the birth of the Comics Code, and so much more. The only time people *haven’t* been saying comics are dying is the 40s, the so-called Golden Age. And I’m starting to get pessimistic about that too

[@MegaFROMOUTERSPACE]

Excellent as usual. And thank you for your measured take on Ed Piskor's passing.

[@KenLieck]

You want a great modern-day fumetti? Check out the roughly two dozen issues of John Byrne's "Star Trek: New Visions". Byrne took the old "Fotonovelization" format used to adapt TOS episodes to paperback in past decades and used it to create sequels, spinoffs and just plain new episodes from the five year mission and beyond. Byrne has the look, mood and spirit down perfectly, and also tosses in occasional one and two pagers to address little details that may have been left dangling between TOS and TAS...

[@TitularHeroine]

I bought a roommate some of those one Christmas. They are pretty cool.

[@walterhoward5512]

I think it is fair to say that the direct market is dying. Comics as a medium and art form is quite healthy, though.

[@residentgrigo4701]

John Byrne and Walt Simonson wrote good 4th World ongings in the 90s to early 00s. Cosmic Odyssey is good. Morrison and King also get them. I even liked John´s The Darkseid War and the toon film loosely based on it. The DCAU had a good take and Zack Snyder was also off to a good start (Kirby´s son praised heavily ZSJL) but WB had to pull a WB. I wouldn´t even say that Kirby was the best 4th World writer.

[@caincha]

I'd argue that comics are not dying quite the opposite. The many many new publishers popping here and there indicate to me that comics are actually going through a period similar to the early 90s except there's no speculation bubble to inflate the sales - but the fact that the amount of titles are vast and various should say something about it. Superhero comics on the other hand are (or could be) on a steep decline mostly cause the die hard fans from the 70s 80s and 90s just can't take it anymore nonsense and it's very hard to get new readers when there are decades of backstories to get into. Not to mention the point on the video: bad movies drag the comics down even further. I was a huge Marvel fan from the decades mentioned above and good DC and Image fan but since late 2000s I just can't take it. Every year a 'world changing' event that usually goes back to the previous status quo (if nothing changes for real then what's the point?) so I been leaning more and more to non-superhero comics ever since. Which pains me to say cause I still love Spider-Man, X-Men and Batman and Spawn it's just that I rather see a cartoon (DC cartoons are THE best still!) or re-read the issues I remember to love than trying to read modern garbage. The 'woke' point I agree: bad writing is bad writing, if done well (i.e.: non-preachy in my opinion) I wouldn't mind at all. As for paper vs digital I'm conflicted: by the end of 2000s I had over 7000 issues in my collection so I do miss having a 'library' in my home. On the other hand as mentioned on the video I can have that same 7000 (and more!) on my hard drive and transfer hundreds at a time to my iPad all without needing a extra room just to keep my collection. Not to mention how much paper comics cost today (and I rather spend that money in action figures - there, I said it 😅) and the care a paper collection requires against humidity and bugs and so on... Would love to have a paper comics collection but sadly it's just not practical anymore.. And to summarize, a request: any chance of more videos indicating good modern superhero comics (like the Miracle Man video) and good non-superhero comics we should look it up (like WorkdTr33)? Not sure if it would be good for your YT analytics but I for one am eager to know modern stuff that could bring me back to the fold (pun intended 😊)

[@SIQN-]

Is that actual footage of you drawing/inking? If so, great looking piece.

[@danielg.w5733]

I love how this is almost purely an anglo-american issue. Physical comics have shrunk globally a little bit but overall the global market is pretty healthy. in the States and Canada it is really just because comics here have always sold less than in other major markets plus the post comics code disdain for the medium preventing consistent penetration in the wider market. Even manga doesn't sell that much in the english market when you compare sales with places like france and italy. in general the English speaking market is as small as it always was in comparison with less effort being made by Direct market publishers to Penetrate the mainstream. Basically, it just needs better advertising lol

[@andresrienzi8518]

I became a fan of your channel with the ending of this video

[@komicsreviewer8505]

Print media has been dying for decades now.

[@AldousOnTheFarm]

Good episode.

[@kuku873]

great video I'm going to check out faceless & the family plus bloodrik.

[@luciferfernandez7094]

As a non American comic book reader is annoying AF how Americans consider comics as just superheroes floppies and only those of Marvel or DC at that - a whole medium and industry reduced to superhero events! I’ve got some magazines from 1994 that exhaustively cover how comics were on the verge of dying… Good choice on avoiding comic drama; IMO is the main reason why goddamn American comics are “dying” and it sucks the dying is propagating to creators.

[@mttylerdurden9]

I agree.People constantly forget that American comics are more than just marvel and DC. Image comics, Darkhorse comics, boom studios, AWA, dynamite, Oni Press, and many others make up the American comic market.

[@robling1937]

Wow man, you and I have so many similar opinions and takes on things. Love watching your videos.

[@bvarsho1]

Clean Room! Now, there's a title deserving of additional attention.

[@AstorDee]

Wonderful words on Piskor. 🖤

[@espysyn]

It wasn't until this very video that I knew about the existence of matttt. Funny enough one of their videos is in the recommended below.

[@theragoooverlord5021]

.... marvel and DC out out content to capitise on their movies you say...while the mcu was in its prime all characters in screen were replaced by dei characters in comics which noone read. Might want to rethink the video content.

[@cghirardo5951]

I appreciate what you said regarding Ed Piskor.

[@stevesorensen7069]

I love your work!

[@hjwilson11]

If you say comics are dying and then you say "woke" or you hate the movies you are wrong. Comics having been "dying" since the 80s. Ugh

[@TheDoorspook11c]

Man if you listen to all these people comics been dying since the seventies. Just a way for us to keep buying little pieces of paper with drawings on them. And we do. 😊

[@cdavid0715]

Kinda hard to say that when the biggest comic sales are in the 90s

[@Jones25ful]

@@cdavid0715 ”the most comics were sold in 1992” “the most houses were sold in 2007” “the most NFT’s were sold in 2021” “the most website domains were sold in 2000” Anyone who uses the early 1990s as a talking point about the health of comics has dropped off, doesn’t know what they are talking about.

[@mttylerdurden9]

More like since the 50s, ever since the comics code authority stunted the growth of American comics.

[@OM19_MO79]

All media has been dying since ever. However, in the case of comic books, today is probably the worst time for them since the speculation era. Thanks to the MCU, comic books have become accessories to the media they’ve spawned. Once the movie or serialized live-action venue loses traction or flops, comic books go along with them. The corporate mandates don’t leave much room for creativity or effort, they need to be out quick and they have to sell quick, which makes them go to the usual places: multiversal crossover events revolving around the same character. This has made them predictable and boring, you always know you’ll get gruesome temporary deaths, new costumes, 70 alternate versions of a popular character, one final battle and everything resets and gets slightly rewritten. If a miracle doesn’t happen in the short term, comic books have their days numbered, even in digital form.

[@FelipeAlejandroVasquezOlea]

Thank You sir.

[@hsatin20]

Very well stated regarding Ed Piskor.

[@afroscifizianzcomix7836]

Great work as always. Always a pleasure to hear your opinions 👍

[@sonofsound]

Another great vid! FYI, Marvel no longer has the rights to The Human Fly.

[@pulsarstargrave256]

Is the medium dying? Yes and no. 5 bucks for a 32 page "Flimsy" is untenable and is on its way out. Most Manga published in the U.S. are for kids while mainstream DC/Marvel superhero books seem to be written for 30 year olds! Some laugh at Todd McFarlane but he knows his audience! If Vertigo and Karen Berger were still at DC, I.would probably read more DC Comics, instead of Indies, Oldies and Trades!😢

[@hornedgod2873]

Manga and American comics are distinct categories.

[@rasheedknox2140]

Peace and blessings to you good sir.

[@GermanShible]

Do you use an AI voice for your videos?

[@StrangeBrainParts]

I find it amusing when I'm asked that. I used to joke that I am AI, but that's become less funny in recent times. But, no...that's my actual speaking voice. Everyone in my Discord voice chat can attest that a real person is behind the vocals.

[@GermanShible]

@@StrangeBrainParts lmao the “realness” is more evident in the older videos I think. Change in production? New mic? Just spent the better part of the day watching through most of the vids. Subscribed shortly after a few. It’s good stuff!

[@holedplot]

Thank you for using youtube as a decent human being. All the best to you.

[@SicSemperBeats]

Ayo you a claymore fan? Thats one of my favorite manga.

[@juniorjames7076]

Comics are not dying. We are lowkey in the middle of another Golden Age, whether here in the US, or Europe or Asia. I'm 50. I had friends/relatives who NEVER touched or read comics in the '90s who were suddenly reading Neil Gaiman's Sandman, Maus, Love & Rockets, Saga, etc by the mid 2000s! Barnes & Nobles and other commercial bookstores now carry as many comics as some comic shops (unheard of in the 1980s)! Go visit Europe (Paris, Prague, Istanbul) and you will see graphic novel culture in full bloom on thier newsstands and bookstores too. No need to even mention the explosion of comic cons worldwide. Marvel and DC IP's declined to trash in the 2000s chasing Hollywood, but "comic books" have been accepted as a thriving literary art form since the late 1990s.

[@carlgibson285]

I think it's also worth noting that back issue sales are just as strong, if not stronger, than ever, even back issues from the Big Two, only most of those sales are happening on sites like Ebay instead of in comic-book stores.

[@mattputnam5220]

First Post!?! Your channel is awesome!!!

[@iandoucett4599]

Matttt gets more clicks because you are a very transactional content creator.

[@3L_B4R7O]

The opinions about the state of the comic book industry remind me a lot of Schrödinger's cat.

[@unclecreepy2022]

Glad I found you bud