The funny thing is, the things you've pointed out about problems (and possibilities) with comics in some ways are very similar to running RP on a shared-universe MUCK like Sinai ... or, at least, my various laments about the RP situation. I've just tended to draw my comparisons to TV shows rather than comics when trying to underscore my frustration.
Anyway, back to comics: my experience in comics is fairly limited.
* When I was a kid, a cousin of mine had an enormous collection of comics, including several titles such as X-Men (and the spin-offs that existed at the time), Micronauts, Star Wars, G.I. Joe, etc. I don't remember much in the way of particulars, but that's pretty much where I got my introduction to X-men ... and then, later encounters with the X-men in comics got confusing. There was this whole thing with a demi-god-like Phoenix, lots of alternate realities, etc.
* When I was in college, a friend of mine (who was also largely responsible for encouraging me to try gamemastering RPGs, and giving me some pointers on how to do so) was really into collecting comics. I ran into X-Men again, and it looked like a lot of the plotlines had been revised, and characters reinvented. Oh yeah, and I drew unicorns, and someone showed me "Xanadu," (Vicky Wyman, Eclipse Comics), saying, "Oh, you'll like this!" (Shudder.)
* Much more recently, I'd just go through the collections of koogrr and genesis_w for newer comics. That's how I discovered Bone (hurrah!), Kingdom Come (great art!), Mage (whoo!), and Sandman (interesting).
IMHO, when comics are concerned, I'm far more inclined to get to see a large segment of the story, all at once, rather than going month by month ... and to go by the recommendations of someone else who's more into comics than myself, rather than wading through all the offerings on my own.
I prefer beginnings, middles and endings for story arcs. Otherwise, it just gets tired. Everything must be bigger, better and more grand. And eventually, you get onto the multiverse scale of things, because you've already shown that a galaxy or a single universe is too small for the scale of power anymore. And there's all that baggage that keeps getting tagged on.
I can't blame the comics guys for reinventing their super heroes now and again - blatantly starting over, rather than trying to just slyly FORGET certain older plot points along the way. There are some core bits, some really interesting parts that are worth keeping and remembering. It'd be nice to just do a bit of editing, start over, and just keep the good parts.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2003-06-26 11:09 am (UTC)Anyway, back to comics: my experience in comics is fairly limited.
* When I was a kid, a cousin of mine had an enormous collection of comics, including several titles such as X-Men (and the spin-offs that existed at the time), Micronauts, Star Wars, G.I. Joe, etc. I don't remember much in the way of particulars, but that's pretty much where I got my introduction to X-men ... and then, later encounters with the X-men in comics got confusing. There was this whole thing with a demi-god-like Phoenix, lots of alternate realities, etc.
* When I was in college, a friend of mine (who was also largely responsible for encouraging me to try gamemastering RPGs, and giving me some pointers on how to do so) was really into collecting comics. I ran into X-Men again, and it looked like a lot of the plotlines had been revised, and characters reinvented. Oh yeah, and I drew unicorns, and someone showed me "Xanadu," (Vicky Wyman, Eclipse Comics), saying, "Oh, you'll like this!" (Shudder.)
* Much more recently, I'd just go through the collections of
IMHO, when comics are concerned, I'm far more inclined to get to see a large segment of the story, all at once, rather than going month by month ... and to go by the recommendations of someone else who's more into comics than myself, rather than wading through all the offerings on my own.
I prefer beginnings, middles and endings for story arcs. Otherwise, it just gets tired. Everything must be bigger, better and more grand. And eventually, you get onto the multiverse scale of things, because you've already shown that a galaxy or a single universe is too small for the scale of power anymore. And there's all that baggage that keeps getting tagged on.
I can't blame the comics guys for reinventing their super heroes now and again - blatantly starting over, rather than trying to just slyly FORGET certain older plot points along the way. There are some core bits, some really interesting parts that are worth keeping and remembering. It'd be nice to just do a bit of editing, start over, and just keep the good parts.