Article originally written by Ryan Closs
Something about EiC Matt’s review of Nonplayer stuck out to me: he docked it for not being an ongoing. That doesn’t sit well with me, and it brings up something I’ve noticed among comic readers these days (and I felt the same way for a long time), that mini-series are somehow not as good as an ongoing. I hear a lot of “Oh it’s just a mini, I’ll wait for the trade if it’s good,” which, while I occasionally hear people trade-waiting with ongoings, seems to happen a LOT more with minis. These days I actually get more excited when a new series is announced as a mini as opposed to an ongoing.
One big reason I appreciate new books being solicited as minis is that I feel much more confident that I’ll get a complete story and that minis also seem to have fewer delays. There are obviously exceptions to that rule, just look at Stumptown (Editor’s Note: and The Twelve, Daredevil: The Target, Joe the Barbarian, Image United, and Infinite Vacation). That said, Joe Kelly released 3 new series in late 2008/early 2009, Four Eyes, I Kill Giants and Bad Dog. One of those came out on time: I Kill Giants AKA a mini. Four Eyes is now on hiatus and Bad Dog #4 only recently came out after a delay of over a year. I obviously can only speak for myself, but I find having a hard end-point in mind it’s easier for me focus on that ending than if it’s a big open-ended project. I work harder, faster and am generally more focused with an ending on the way. I would guess it’s the same for comic creators, and my extremely in depth and broad study I’ve done of books I’ve been reading seem to indicate that it might be.
Another big reason I prefer new books solicited as minis is it’s just more genuine (I’m looking at you Marvel). She-Hulks, Doctor Voodoo, SWORD just to name a few recent ongoings that were retroactively turned into minis either after the first issue was released or even after the first issue orders were in. I HATE this. I know I shouldn’t get my hopes up, but when I hear a book from Marvel/DC is going to be a new ongoing I’m hoping for at least a 12 issue run, and I’m definitely hoping for a complete story. Thankfully the three I mentioned earlier all ended at a natural points and worked well as minis. Then there’s Thor: The Mighty Avenger, solicited as an ongoing, and planned for at least 12 issues and cut off at the knees at issue 8. If Thor: TMA was solicited as a 6-issue mini we would have had a full, complete story and they could have released a Volume 2 if it did well.
The Mignola/Hellboy model is really where I’m seeing comics headed in the future. More and more of today’s best artists are too slow to put out a book every month, so being able to work in 4-6 issue chunks with lead time before each volume means we can see relatively consistent work from them. Dustin Weaver on SHIELD is a perfect example of this, as are the current batch of Ultimates books. We’re also seeing it for properties that can’t really support an ongoing title such as Hawkeye. I actively prefer this model when it comes to new stories; I know exactly what I’m in for and I know that if it does well I’ll get more of it in nice, digestible chunks.
Those chunks are really the key for me. I’m getting more and more tired of the never-ending carousel of Big 2 ongoing comics. We all know that no matter what happens things will reset back to the traditional status quo sooner than later. I’m starting to look for epic runs of these books more than just an ongoing I’ll ride along with until I die. Runs like Geoff Johns on JSA, Jason Aaron on Ghost Rider and right now Jonathan Hickman on FF. With JSA I wish I had left when Johns did, I was nothing but disappointed with what came after. I don’t need any more JSA, I can just read his run. I’m going to stop reading FF when Hickman leaves as well, barring a drastic drop in quality he’s going to have what will be “MY” run on Fantastic Four, which has had a great beginning, will hopefully have a great end and I’ll be happy with that. These runs were all longer than a traditional mini, but I really just want an epic story more than I want to follow these characters month in, month out, for years and years.
Look at TV, which in terms of release schedule is the media most like comic books, ongoings are like soap operas, whereas cycling minis are the high quality HBO/AMC/Showtime shows. They put out a short season of incredibly high-quality television and then take as much time as they need to produce the next season. What do you want? All My Children or The Wire? I think ongoings are really just a relic of days where comics were FAR more popular than they are now; they’re targeted towards the ever-shrinking group of people who have been reading forever and will continue reading forever. I look at books like Atomic Robo (one of the best books on the stand right now, go read it. Go.) and I think it’s the way of the future. They’re putting out a series of minis, and then releasing trades (our equivalent of DVDs) before the next “season” of Atomic Robo starts so anyone can catch up and jump on, just like with an awesome TV series. To my mind, this method of release is FAR more accessible and new reader friendly. Sure you can do the same with ongoings (and Boom has been especially good about that) but once you get up to 40? 50? That number can be a psychological barrier when people are more used to thinking “Season 3, episode 1” instead of “Episode 27”.
When the best selling comic sells in the low hundred thousands and shrinking, something has to change. Ongoings seem to almost exclusively work with existing properties, selling to the existing fanbase. We need to grow the industry and try to build new and exciting ideas. Testing the waters with a mini is safer, more likely to come out on time and almost guaranteed to have an actual ending. Mignola proved that these minis can work, he created a brand new idea and his Mignola-verse is still going strong with consistently great art and minimal delays (within each mini at least). If the Nonplayer mini does well, there’s no reason they can’t release a Nonplayer Volume 2 and, honestly, I’m much more interested in seeing the next Hellboy or Locke and Key than the next Batman anyway.
