I was wondering if its just me or does the Comic industry in the US have such a hard time KILLING their main characters and ending a comic series? Unlike Japan when they would say "Ok this is the final volume nothing more", Marvel and DC would like to lead you that A died but then make 3 more new series retelling A again.
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Anonymous2005-10-18 16:38
And how many times where characters brought back in Dragonball? Manga has plenty of series with zomg he came back moments or sequels/extentions. One thing you don't see quite as much of(not counting amateur doujins) is a series being retold again and again by different writers/artists. Might have something to do with who owns the story or characters in a work.
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Anonymous2005-10-18 16:38 (sage)
gah, where=were
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Anonymous2005-10-21 16:19
Because US comics are published indefinitely as long as they make money. People have to come up with stories. For some writers, those stories involve fucking up someone else's story by saying it was a dream involving a clone of someone's brother who was an alien imposter in disguise the whole time, and that his previous origin is actually fake because the new improved origin is being explained right now and is more important.
Even if you did kill off most of the characters, you'd have future versions that resemble their older counterparts in name or costume. Part of it lies in the shared universe concept, where the story really can't end unless the entire company goes bankrupt. The majority of manga are self contained stories, but for some reason that's seen as too independent in the US (especially when they have a great chance at being cancelled, see Image).
Vertigo, on the other hand, kicks ass.
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sodacat2005-10-21 22:42
All you have to do to kill a comic character is make a DTDVD movie about them and air it on Sci Fi channel. Worked for Man Thing.
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Anonymous2005-10-22 1:04
I will always have my Giant Sized Man Thing.
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Anonymous2005-10-22 3:48
>>6
Heh, you said "Giant Sized Man Thing." Comedy Gold!
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Anonymous2005-10-22 3:49
>>6
Heh, you said "Giant Sized Man Thing." Comedy Gold!
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Anonymous2005-10-22 21:00
How about Jonny the Homicidal Maniac, have any of you ever read that little comic, its the beast thing EVER. more blood and gore then santa trying to give presents to a homicidal goth....wait....I think that actually happens in the book......
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Anonymous2005-10-24 5:32
>>9
Little? Is that sarcasm? JTHM is the greatest thing to ever happen to Hot Topic bosnian kids since the no-slip razor blade.
And yes, everyone has heard of Johnny. I dare you to find someone on 4chan that hasn't read at least one page of it.
>>11
I'm sorry, but logically you do not exist. The laws of 4Chan nature prohibit your existance. Now go read the friggen comic and become one of us...
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Vinz2005-12-03 19:39
>>11
I'll double that!
Plus the art looks too much like that Feith guy's. No sale here.
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Anonymous2005-12-29 21:11
I thought the difference had to with character creators having exclusive rights to their characters in Japan while in the US, the characters belong to the company.
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Anonymous2005-12-30 12:26
You mean like Image Comics?
Oh shi-
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Anonymous2006-01-13 0:01
Image, lol.
Where McFarlane and Liefeld gained mass infamy for their hideous scrawlings.
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Anonymous2006-01-13 0:15
US comics kill characters when sales are low. This is what happened to batman
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Anonymous2006-02-04 6:24
>>17
but there are still new batman comics and franchises, no?
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Anonymous2006-02-04 16:39
>>18
True, US characters come back to life anytime there's profit involved...
Stuff like that happens in Japan too. i.e: Saint Seiya. Those guys' resurrections would make Jesus die (again) of envy.
there was a quote that went (i'm probably killing it and should google it for clarity)... "the best characters are the ones that never change." or something similar... to put it moot'ly it's all about branding or brand recognition and it's built into the audience not the brand. we'll gravitate towards what we recognize so Marvel and others companies who rely on decades of trend observation have probably noticed that if they mature their characters too much they loose readers. there's also the success of Garfield, Calvin and Hobbs, etc. characters that never change. i'm done here anybody wanna elaborate?
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Anonymous2006-02-22 17:38
Garfield and Calvin and Hobbes are COMPLETELY different. Garfield defines stale and unfunny, while Bill Watterson stopped making Calvin and Hobbes comics before people stopped liking them. Best to go out on a high note.