It’s funny how comic fans can be fickle to the point where they will say “who cares about this comic? It doesn’t matter. It’s just a mini-series that doesn’t tie into continuity!” or things of that sort. Everyone is guilty about it once in a while, but finally a creator called people out for it. That creator? My new heroine, Colleen Coover.
Coover is a very talented comic artist, and someone who has never been afraid of speaking her mind about comics. Today, she went off on a rant she labeled “Cuz No One Asked For It” on Twitter (or #CuzNoOneAskedForIt), in which she talked about the aforementioned fickle fans.
She starts with…
I’ve seen a lot of new comics projects, ‘specially superhero, greeted by snarky commentors with a big “Who wants THIS?”
And then goes off on various projects that could have originally been met with the same snark, such as…
In 1975, Chris Claremont began a new story in a title that had been floundering in reprint Limbo for years called X-Men
But yeah, go on & whine that a company is trying to “flood the market” by publishing the odd mini-series here there.
She’s exactly right. When I look at the comics I love the most from this year in superhero comics, I think of books like Nick Spencer and CAFU’s “THUNDER Agents.” Does it tie into the main DCU? Not that we can tell so far. It’s a reimagining of a series that once existed long ago for DC, but one that didn’t have a passionate fanbase. In some people’s eyes, it shouldn’t be worth a buy. But it is for one simple reason: it’s an incredible comic.
It really should matter, because don’t we read comics because we want to be told a high quality story?
There are a lot of books out there that don’t “matter” or aren’t “wanted,” but when you get down to it, a lot of them are way better than the in-continuity books that are purchased and then lamented for dwindling quality by the same buyers.
Coover makes a very good point in her rant, and one that more people should pay attention to. Every great comic has to start somewhere. Just because it doesn’t appear to be important now, doesn’t mean it won’t be later. Think about that next time you’re lamenting the arrival of another series that doesn’t matter now.
