Are teenagers not reading X-Men as much as they used to?

[QUOTE=Kitty&Piotr<3;5899008]Gundam is on my list of things to get into.[/QUOTE]

Now that's a fun coincidence.

Little off topic then.
As mentioned above, sites like MAHQ were a great source for informations and summaries in the pre-wikipedia age and these days there is a dedicated wiki for it too, with similar amount of in depth content.

Given the scope and age of the franchise, there is no shame in reading summaries of the shows, individual episode or even entire settings first before actualy watching any of the animes.

However what ever one wants to just start their research into the franchise or jump into one of the shows straight away, i would advice starting with the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime first, since it not only establishes the extremly expanded Universal Century (UC) universe, but also establishes re-occuring technologies, character archetypes and mech designs (the titual Gundam obviously, but also cannon fodder enemy designs), which keep getting referenced or re-used in following shows, including those of the "Alternate Universes".
It also got compiled nicely into 3 movies, which cuts down the story without losing any of the most important stages.

Because for those who are interested in the franchise overall, the alternate universe shows can be a bit of a pitfall, since while they are easier to get into (newer graphics and animations, plus no previous continuity), they also tend to either copy the original show directly or try to be as different from it as possible. Which might not give the best impression of what the franchise is about or popular for.

[QUOTE=shooshoomanjoe;5899267]American comics have a long back history but you don't have to know all of it to understand what's going on. That's why they have jumping on points for new readers.[/QUOTE]

The often proclaimed jumping on points, tend to be mocked as "jumping off points" for a reason though, since the constant relaunches are actualy making it more difficult to get into these comics, by constantly messing up continuity, interrupting or short cutting stories, reset numbering and re-use the same name over and over.

[QUOTE=Habis;5897462]Most manga sales are from a few titles, the cream of the crop.

As for why the most popular manga sell better than the most popular American comics... You can buy a manga and have the complete series, from the first issue to the last, in nice tomes; that encourage collectors to buy rather than to pirate...

X-Men comics, on the other hand, started in 1963 and there are hundreds of issues printed, not to mention that you have to buy like another dozen titles (X-Force, X-Factor, Excalibur...etc.) in order to have the complete story, and it keeps going on.

There is no way a kid will try to have everything, and having just a part feels like having the middle chapters of a novel but not the beginning... that discourages collectors... so they just read whatever they want to read from internet.

There is also the fact that Marvel Comics aren't newbie-friendly. They basically run on nostalgia... most stories and characters don't make much sense unless you are familiar with the X-Men and their history, and very often is hard to like the characters and their choices unless you already know and love them... Like, imagine start reading Captain America during Secret Empire, or Avengers during Time Runs Out, or X-Men during Age of Apocalypse... how are you supposed to know that lots of the characters are subversions of established characters? how can you feel the emotional impact of these stories if you don't know who Steve Rogers, Reed Richards, Magneto...etc., are?

You are [B][I]forced[/I][/B] to go to the pirating sites and read a ton of comics in order to catch up, and once you have done that... why start buying?[/QUOTE]

I think this is a part of it but there are other issues some fixable and some with the way media is viewed and consumed not so much......and as it relates to manga it depends on the manga many are quite easy to pick up and go for the most part but not all.....I just also think they're giving the ppl what they want by and large.

I remember a lot of people saying negative things about videogames and how expensive they were and etc etc and Joe Liberian whole campaign to ban violent video games but look at the industry now? The difference? Changing with the times.

[QUOTE=LordUltimus;5890158]I'm honestly seeing less and less teenagers reading X-Men nowadays. I know they exist, but among [B]teen Marvel comic readers even the Champions resonates more with them.[/B]

Is it just me?[/QUOTE]

Modern teens don't read comics. They mostly watch the movies.

Also excuse me?

[QUOTE=skyvolt2000;5897626]A few things

1) There are kids reading comic related books. It's the format that they are reading it on is the issue. Archie has ZERO issue with digest sales to the tune of $5-7 million a year. Because most comic book stores have stopped selling the books including the ones folks actually wanted to read like Archie Afterlife.

2. [B]Yes the manga sells but when you look at Amazon top comic sales in general, to kids and Young adults-guess who you see? At any given time and in some cases EVERY time.
Beast Boys & Raven's books, Batman, Harley, Ms Marvel, Miles, Peter Parker, Hulk, Spider Gwen, Guardians of the Galaxy, Jane Foster, Carol Danvers, Black Panther, Brawn, Moon Girl, Squirrel Girl and same version of the Avengers. With honorable mentions to Thor, Falcon, Iron Man, Thanos, Scarlet Witch and Daredevil.[/B]

X-Men are MIA unless there is an X-Men movie. Same when Winter Soldier & Falcon aired-Marvel would have made a killing if The Truth was in stock. Hawkeye, Wandavision and Dr Strange as well.

Notice for DC you only see 4 folks. Pretty you remove Batman, Harley, Joker & Catwoman-toss in Beast Boy & Raven and Superman versus Klan-Dc does not exist.

3. Here is another issue. Who KIDS like tend to be the ones the gatekeeping fandom don't like or will throw a FIT if Marvel or DC tries anything with them.

How many pages of complains will we see if Marvel did an Inhumans book? Be honest folks.
We had comic book stores owners BASH Marvel for making other books for Black Panther and Dr Strange when they had movies come out.
The same folks who SCREAM movies and tv shows [B][U]don't matter[/U][/B] when it comes to say Static. Yet will praise DC if they gave a book to say Booster Gold or Deathstroke after he guest starred on a show.

4. TOXIC fans have to go. There are fandoms so toxic I would NEVER by a book starring that character. They will claim they are not but too bad apples keep ruining stuff. I should NEVER hear about folks getting VERBALLY abused in a store asking for certain books. Especially CHILDREN.


As for finding a starting point-I guess we all FORGOT how we got into comics. The FIRST X-Men book I read and OWNED was Uncanny X-Men 266.

I mean how many here watched All My Children or soaps? Aside from Passions & Bold & Beautiful & Sunset Beach-I wasn't alive when the rest started.[/QUOTE]

Manga and Superhero books have their own section in Teen and Young Adult books. It's still mostly manga titles when they're all together.

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[QUOTE=rcaguy;5897819]You really don't know very much about manga, do you? A good deal of that stuff is harder to follow than anything ever put out by DC or Marvel, especially when you're dealing with really obscure volumes of material that has never been translated into English, and a good deal of the longer running titles is full of stuff that never been and will never be officially or unofficially translated (basically because of it's nature.)

You argument is basically a straw one.[/QUOTE]

You're acting as if DC and Marvel never put out material that now only exist as floopies cuz they never got collected in trade or never got reprinted so your only way to read them is some crappy scans someone uploaded.

[QUOTE=Triniking1234;5904446]Modern teens don't read comics. They mostly watch the movies.

Also excuse me?[/QUOTE]

Actually they do read comics, just not american ones. I can go to my local bookstore and see manga on more shelves than sci-fi or Mystery. The only thing thats matching Manga on the amount of shelves space are the young adult novels.

Xmen mostly have an older adult audience because either we are from the 80s heyday of the xmen or we grew up with Xmen: TAS (me). Anyone younger probably knows the xmen only from the movies which are a mixed bag. One of the great downsides of American superhero comics being these endless stories means its just not newbie friendly. There is always the eternal debate on where the heck does a new reader start? Manga makes it simple. Pick up Vol 1 of a manga and read it till the end and most Manga stories are finite in nature. Theres a start and finish (outside some popular never ending stories like One Piece).

I can't speak for teenagers but [B]I[/B] haven't read any X-books for many years. Nothing in the current line-up has any interest for me. I'd much rather stick with the comics I enjoyed back in the day.

On the subject of expense, digital comics particularly cost way too much. I just won't pay for new release titles. I'll wait for a trade of something I want to have been published for a few months, when you can usually get it at a discount.

[QUOTE=Foon4000;5899186]There's a far greater diversity of soap-opera/action/wierdoschool/sci-fi mash-ups in manga at the moment, particularly for girls and LGBT+ teens. If I was a teen today I'd probably be into Yuri on Ice and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure over the X-titles. Marvel need to learn more from the Japanese industry.[/QUOTE]

Yuri on Ice isn't manga. It's an original anime.

Now, the Japanese industry isn't really "LGBT+ friendly". The stories with same sex couples are often aimed to straight people (and often falls into sexualization).

I mean, anecdotal evidence, but comic sales can benefits from movie releases, even if they are older ones. My sister got into Cate's ghost rider specifically because of the nicholas cage movie.

[QUOTE=LordUltimus;5890158]I'm honestly seeing less and less teenagers reading X-Men nowadays. I know they exist, but among teen Marvel comic readers even the Champions resonates more with them.

Is it just me?[/QUOTE]

Why would they read something they likely don't know exist? They aren't where millions of people go weekly anymore. They cost $5-7 a issue. There aren't any advertising for them when Marvel could easily have ads during Twitch streams and on Youtube, Tick Tok and on any online site they visit regularly. The only people Marvel and DC actually advertise comic books to are current and lifelong customers. People have tried justifying their awful ideas that ran off millions of customers by claiming that they were being replaced with kids and teens. Where are they at?



Movies have almost zero impact on comic books because people don't know they exist because Marvel and DC don't advertise them. A simple trailer before every movie would help tremendously.

[QUOTE=nnelg;5914849]Why would they read something they likely don't know exist? They aren't where millions of people go weekly anymore. They cost $5-7 a issue. There aren't any advertising for them when Marvel could easily have ads during Twitch streams and on Youtube, Tick Tok and on any online site they visit regularly. The only people Marvel and DC actually advertise comic books to are current and lifelong customers. People have tried justifying their awful ideas ran off millions of customers by claiming that they were being replaced with kids and teens. Where are they at?[/QUOTE]

I mean at the bare minimum, that Krakoa video they made is like two years too late.

The problem as a whole is that American publishers don't know how to market their own comics.
Personally, I think movie theatres should be given special variants/ graphic novels they can see whenever a movie is being shown.

The question isn't why aren't teenagers reading X-Men? The question should be why aren't teenagers being advertised to read X-Men?

I think the Marvel Unlimited app should be advertised before every MCU movie, that's at least something to push sales forward.

[QUOTE=FFJamie94;5914869]The problem as a whole is that American publishers don't know how to market their own comics.
Personally, I think movie theatres should be given special variants/ graphic novels they can see whenever a movie is being shown.

The question isn't why aren't teenagers reading X-Men? The question should be why aren't teenagers being advertised to read X-Men?

I think the Marvel Unlimited app should be advertised before every MCU movie, that's at least something to push sales forward.[/QUOTE]

This right here. Or how hard is it to drop free comic book day on disney + so people can scroll through the images and read the comics or why isn't there a section on disney plus that unlimited members can read their comics on their tv or whatever. there is just so much that can be done to make comics what they should be rather than focusing on non factors like the "expensiveness" i mean just read the market, some are so consumption conscious instead of focusing on how can companies be increasing prices etc to get in front of employee gains while still making profits they aren't even paying attention to their gains being wiped out by faux inflation.

[QUOTE=nnelg;5914849]
[B]Movies have almost zero impact on comic books [/B]because people don't know they exist because Marvel and DC don't advertise them. A simple trailer before every movie would help tremendously.[/QUOTE]

Not True to a certain point.

They do boost trades. That is IF you have something in trade with whoever is in that movie.


[QUOTE]You're acting as if DC and Marvel never put out material that now only exist as floopies cuz they never got collected in trade or never got reprinted so your only way to read them is some crappy scans someone uploaded.[/QUOTE]

Yeah where is Ultraverse at? Milestone? New Universe?

Lets not forget Action Comics and all those anthology comics are not in trade.

George Perez's 1996 Teen Titans run is not in trade and might be the only series of his NOT in trade.

Also how many POC do not have stuff in trades??? Steel is on the Superman show on the CW-his 5 year comic book run is NOT in trade.


[QUOTE]The question should be why aren't teenagers being advertised to read X-Men?[/QUOTE]

Because every single TIME Marvel or DC has tried to promote BEYOND the comic book store-who throws a HUGER hissy fit?

Marvel tried something with Mosaic at Barnes & Nobles and you though Marvel committed treason with the pushback they got.

Dc tried the 1000 pagers and both do 3-4 comic book packs-guess who took issue with it? You know how many times I have seen those 100 pagers at Target? ONCE Wal-Mart? NEVER. 3-4 packs? Marvel ONCE-DC a few times.

Comic book fans want to be gatekeepers and keep folks out. Look at how many dismiss trade sales. Almost every single comic that attracts hate are among the top trade sellers

DC has found a lot of success with AU graphic novels for teens and Marvel has had some success with their graphic novels aimed at middle school aged kids with Ms. Marvel: Stretched Thin and Miles Morales: Shock Waves.

I am surprised that Marvel has not published a whole line of X-Men graphic novels aimed at teenagers.