FAITH MANAGES: Slightly Brown

“Well it wasn’t shit” should not be the first thought after reading a comic!

But that’s been the first thing on my mind after reading quite a few that have been the comic version of Roller Cola (google is your friend) and what disturbs me more is that some of these comics are getting rave reviews from others in this dwindling field. This doesn’t concern me in the sense that to each their own and if you found something to enjoy in a comic like Garfield Summer Special then more power to you, and I admire anyone who can write with crayons. What does concern me is how low the bar seems to be when it comes to releasing mediocre comics. There’s a lot of vanilla from the big two. The licensed stuff from IDW and company doesn’t get off Scot free either, relying on brand recognition to flush the odd stubborn property can only carry a turd so far out to sea.

I know that with a few exceptions no comic creator wants to do a crap comic, the intent to produce something at the very least, enjoyable is always there, except in Garfield SS where the intent was to give people cancer by reading it… NO stop it it’s over, move on… Â So why are we getting so much of the comic equivalent to muesli?

It could be cooperate pushing, shovel out more Avengers because the movie was huge, thus diluting the product with exhausted teams, it could be marketing pushing for more of what was popular in the nineties because that was the hey day for comic Â sales (the reasons for the high sales were far from creative excellence back then) ala DC. Or it could just be a shitty nostalgia trip for a quick buck ala Boom and a certain orange cat. Endless number ones leading to endless number twos, filler issues because the office is moving across the country or worse yet the words “BECAUSE YOU DEMANDED IT” plastered on the cover. Unless it’s neutering, fantards should demand nothing.

It’s all of these things and more. Image has as many misses as hits because it’s creative freedoms are both a blessing and a curse. The list goes on.

Then there’s me, I do 12 hour shifts and repeatedly have weeks where I’d cheerfully get hit by a bus rather than go to that place that employs me, so what kind of score do you think an average comic might get just because I read it full of piss and vinegar?

So is there a solution to slightly shitty comics? Well I could get a decent nights sleep to ensure a fair assessment of a comics potential browness for a start but ultimately I think there’s as many solutions as reasons; streamline your Avengers books, move on from the nineties, stop doing cash ins, allow more creative freedom but get a sharp editor to keep you in shape.

I don’t know, I just know I love comics and I’m fed up of reading the equivalent to beige wallpaper, at least the utterly shit ones can give you a good place to vent your spleen, have you seen my new cat skin wallet? It’s orange.