Ever feel like some fandom spaces are less about celebrating what you love and more about… well, grumbling? You’re not alone. There’s a definite undercurrent in some communities that feels less like joyful appreciation and more like a reactionary incubator full of really bad faith hot-takes. These spaces often have a nostalgia for the apparent ‘golden age’ of yore and a suspicion towards the present, and conspiratorial thinking about the ‘bad guys’ ruining the memory of this cherished IP. This has been a common trend in much of the media landscape, from 2014’s Gamergate, to the weird reactions of the new He-man and She-Ra series (which were both pretty good IMHO) to the social media pile-on when comic guy, Glenn O'Leary, said in a short form video that he thought the American comic industry was dying. What followed was a vicious social media attack as many people criticised him, including comic writers and creatives, on X (née Twitter).
It got me thinking about the comic scene and how I've seen in change since I got into the world about 35 years ago. I fell in love with comics during the late 80s. My best friend at the time showed me his small comic collection and I remember listening to Jean Michel Jarre and reading them. The art, stories and dynamism shown on the page blew me away and I was hooked. I knew many of the characters through TV shows, cartoons and pop culture but this was my first experience of the actual comics.
This shop was the centre of the world in terms of my interests for many years.
I remember vividly going to bed excited to visit our local comic book store, Rodney's Books and Games. The makeup of the shop was strange but cool; at the top was owner Rodney who sold second hand books and in the basement was Ian, the mid-30 pony tailed guy who sold the comics and manga. I'd been visiting this place for quite a while as I was really into the Fighting Fantasy books by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson and they sold second hand copies for a very reasonable price a couple of quid. I'd never really ventured downstairs as that was where the men and older teenagers hung out.
There was a connecting space as at the top were rows of comic book boxes with grab bags, £1 a piece, which contained about 4 to 5 comics. The corners were snipped off but it was a cheap way to read loads of comics really easily. Sure, you'd never get a story arc but back then it was a great way to be introduced to a wealth of comics and creative teams. For the shop it was a great way to get rid of back issues and for the customers it was a great way to get a great diet of comics and develop your tastes. It was an excellent idea and worked well I thought.
I loved visiting every Saturday morning with my best mate and spending our pocket money. However, the mid-90’s were when I stopped collecting comics, this was when the comics boom started. I had only a little amount of pocket money and the possibility of getting a girlfriend, socialising with friends by going to the cinema or Pizza Hut buffet whilst collecting all the variants and crossovers made it all too hard for me to keep up with everything.
Also, factor in the price rise in comics (from about 80p to about £1.50 to some being over £2) and I was out of the game. Speculators made it hard to collect the comics I wanted and when I could get it, the comic seller had usually jacked up the price. The biggest example I have is I was a huge Iron Man fan, I'd followed it since reading a mates issue of 270, which I bought and still have. I'd buy monthly issues for months but the Death of Tony Stark was the next issue (#284) and I couldn't find it for love nor reasonable money. The comic guy had backed and boarded it onto the wall for an extortionate price before I'd even been able to buy it.
I also collected Flair Cards and loved them for their stunning artwork, interesting facts and good quality card and foil effects but then that became a speculative bubble too. I knew this was happening when my group of equally geeky friends suddenly saw many more of our student peers collecting the cards in the playground, it became a phenomenon.
After my young cool uncle lent me Akira and Devilman, I got into manga and that was my thing for the next decade or so. I built an impressive collection including Alita, Kare Kano, Death Note and more but the sheer amount of trash meant I fell out of love with that too.
When I got my first proper paid weekend job in Peacocks, as well as saving some, I'd buy CDs, DVDs but also graphic novels. My friend was a Hellblazer fan and I loved it. I found that with graphic novels you'd usually get a whole story arc and the prices wouldn't be speculated on. That's when I discovered the Vertigo line and collected The Sandman, Preacher and also the entire Hellblazer run.
I've amassed a sizable collection of over 700 and have continued collecting, getting only the stuff I want to read. I don't follow trends or hype cycles but follow the creatives or characters I want. Comic shop staff would also recommended me stuff bespoke to my tastes and were rarely wrong.
When Marvel went through a resurgence I picked up many graphic novels, jumping on the Marvel Now imprint. Marvel Now, which ran from 2012 to 2015, offered a gentle step up for people getting into the scene without the 40, 50 or more years of accretion; they were just solid comics done well with characters who we all knew from the pop culture zeitgeist or from our youth. It reinvigorated many of the characters and brought many new readers into the scene. A lot of that was I doubtably from the success of the films but also the runs were amazing with some fresh ideas and super creative teams. Some of my favourites included Squirrel Girl, Ms. Marvel and She Hulk. I visited Gosh, Orbital and Forbidden Planet in London monthly and the comic shops would be buzzing with diverse faces. It was a huge difference from when I would visit these places in the late 90s and 00s and see a pretty homogenous group.
But my overwhelming feeling is that the comic scene is tough now. Marvel and DC keep doing constant reboots with new creative teams and the consistency and quality has reduced. I saw it with the New 52- I loved Constantine but when they wrapped that up into this new homogenous thing it lost me and many other fans. Vertigo was an amazing brand and to collapse that was nuts in my opinion. To lose a run that was in the hundreds returned to a 'new' #1 was heartbreaking as every relaunch only encouraged diminished returns. Fool me once... etc.
Ms Marvel was an important character for me as she represented my world and culture in a way mainstream comics had not shown before. I've collected all her comics but felt her death was lame... It didn't have payoff and felt like a gimmick. Having said that, her death was beautifully done with Kamala’s real culture and Islam represented well and accurately. The characters recite the Al-Falaq or The Daybreak, the 113th chapter of the Qur’an something I never would have dreamt of in my youth.
I only get a few single issues a year and usually they are for the big events like the death of Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel) or the first appearance of Spider Boy, and even then I don't stress about variants, foils etc... life's too short.
My feeling is that Glenn and many comic book shop owners are correct and I think their passion comes from a place of love and knowledge not hate. The points made are pretty valid but, for me, the big issues here are value for money, space (and lack of it) and overchoice. The cost of living has affected many and so cutback are inevitable.
Covid exacerbated the decline of comic shops so that expert bespoke knowledge was lost. Luckily, I have a comic shop near me and he's a swell guys who I chat to about the scene but he has a limited inventory. I do miss the London hubbub where there'd be late night creator meetups, signings, game sessions, special releases etc. I would be able to meet my tribe and the sense of community was palpable.
I've also realised that much of the fanbase has aged out. Many don't want to lug crates of comics as it's a chore, especially when you are constantly moving places when renting. The marquee names, the Jim Lee's, Alan Moore's, Chris Claremont's, John Byrne's, Grant Morrison's and Neal Adams' of the world have either passed left the industry or moved on to Hollywood or other pastures so the big name draws are gone too. I love the Indie scene and have a healthy amount but the big two are the draw for the regular punter. A high tide raises all ships...
When you throw in the saturation of television and movies you realise that there is a massive problem: if you aren't a Disney + subscriber you miss a lot of the content and possibly continuity. I'm a Disney+ subscriber but I've not watched a lot of the Marvel movies or series as there's simply too much. Streaming has killed patience and people don't want to wait 6 months to finish a 6 part story arc (if they're lucky), especially if it's not a consistent cohesive team you can get behind.
My daughter is into the comic scene and she loves it but I've curated her intake through my knowledge and homespun expertise. She loves The Lumberjanes, Hilda, the work of Raina Telgemeier, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur and Rabbit vs. Monkey, as well as The Beano but she is missing the comic book staff expertise and bespoke recommends and I feel sad for her. I feel lucky to have been around when the scene was booming, finding my people and having that sense of community, but I do feel it will pick up again. All it takes is a period of reflection and, like when the derth of lacklustre manga threatened the whole industry in the early to mid 00s, a hard reset.
I know it will happen but when and at what cost we will see. Meanwhile, I'll keep buying the comics by the creatives that interest me and avoid the more toxic online discourse.
LINK- What Comics Have Taught Me
LINK- Battle Angel Alita: And So It Ends
LINK- The Moomins 80's Soundtrack Vinyl Review
LINK- Inspector Gadget Retro Soundtrack Review
LINK- Ulysses 31 Retro Soundtrack Review
LINK- The Mysterious Cities of Gold Retro Soundtrack Review
LINK- Sonic Mania Video Game Vinyl Soundtrack
