Should DC focus more on one shot stories rather than multi issue arcs?

[Timothy Hunter]

One of the foremost reasons why new readers are said to experience difficulty in getting into monthly comics is attributed to the "made for the trade" nature of comic books. Great swaths of people just don't have the patience to go to a comic store every week to read a narrative that is stretched out to. 6 months or even longer.


Personally in my opinion, it would be much more sustainable model for the the generality of monthly DC publications to consist of one shot narratives in contrast to overly long arcs that don't warrant the amount of issues that are dedicated to them.

While this might seem extreme in today's enviroment, this has been done before. This form of storytelling was the norm in the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and to a lesser degree, 80s and 90s.

Does this mean there will be no subplots? No. Does this mean that continuity will take a backseat? No. All this direction would signify is a more welcoming experience for potential readers wherein every issue is -- more or less--- a jumping on point.


What do you think? Should comic book single issue be more self contained?

[king81992]

More one shots are good, but what we need are shorter story arcs. A lot of writers dedicate their entire run to one long arc and the payoff is never good. I'd like more one shot stories and 2-4 chapter story arcs.

[DevilBat66]

Yeah. I would liek it of they just shortened the story arcs in general. Not many really need much more than 3 or 4 issues max.

[kjn]

Pretty much agree. Shorter arcs are good, and I think it's telling that many of the best received stories I've read lately have been one- or two-shots.

[Brad]

If anyone wants suggestions on fairly recent series that had many (not all) single issue stories, try Jonah Hex and Astro City. To answer the question, i don't think this will do much to attract new readers. That probably requires a dramatic shift in the distribution/price model. DC's Walmart experiment may be a step in the right direction.

[Adekis]

I definitely like one shots. I don't feel like there are a lot of them.

[The Darknight Detective]

Writers, with the help of a good editor, should tell their stories without padding them (yeah, I know that's so easy to do ). If the story needs ten comics to tell it correctly or only half of one, that's how long it should be.

[Ilan Preskovsky]

I don't think it will do much to impact new readers - many of whom, I'm sure, would rather buy trades anyway - but, for my own personal enjoyment, more short story arcs and one-shots would be great. They generally feel like you're getting more bang for your buck, you're not waiting six months or more for the conclusion to a story arc and tighter constrictions means that you can't have entire issues of two characters hitting each other. Longer arcs for the sake of story and especially character are cool but most of the "decompressed" stories that bother me are those that over-rely on boring action scenes to pad out a story that could really be oe fifth of its length.

[Timothy Hunter]

Writers, with the help of a good editor, should tell their stories without padding them (yeah, I know that's so easy to do ). If the story needs ten comics to tell it correctly or only half of one, that's how long it should be.

While I stand by my previous stance, I must say that there is a time and a place for storylines with multiple chapters, but in my mind, this occasion should only be for instances wherein the story is bound to have ginormous ramifications for the character. For instance, a storyline such as The Great Darkness Saga, the Judas Contract, Knightfall, Emerald Dawn, etcetera would probably warrant the "made for the trade treatment".

[kingaliencracker]

It'll never happen. Everything is geared towards the TPB market.

[Kyer]

I like reading trades rather than single issue magazines.
That said, would LOVE a trade full of one shots. Some of my favorite stories are one shots.

[Timothy Hunter]

I don't think it will do much to impact new readers - many of whom, I'm sure, would rather buy trades anyway

You are right and you are wrong. I'm sure a 10 to 20 dollar trade paperback consisting of 6 to 9 issues that you can easily come across at a book store or if you're lucky, Target, and with an essentially complete story seems more appealing to the non comics readers than a crappy 20 page comic book that you can only get online or at the increasingly rare comic book store, and has only most of the time 1/6th of the whole story.

However, trades in and of themselves cannot sustain the entire comic industry. Comic companies must be more effective in attracting new readers to their monthly ongoings.

[Pohzee]

Save the 6-12 issue arcs for mini/maxi series. And give me more of them.

[Timothy Hunter]

It'll never happen. Everything is geared towards the TPB market.

Honestly, most typical Trades flow better when they collect one shot issues that aren't particularly interconnected with one another, rather than collecting a continuous, 6issue "epic".

Most decompressed comics read just as padded in trade as they do in single issues.

[Ilan Preskovsky]

You are right and you are wrong. I'm sure a 10 to 20 dollar trade paperback consisting of 6 to 9 issues that you can easily come across at a book store or if you're lucky, Target, and with an essentially complete story seems more appealing to the non comics readers than a crappy 20 page comic book that you can only get online or at the increasingly rare comic book store, and has only most of the time 1/6th of the whole story.

However, trades in and of themselves cannot sustain the entire comic industry. Comic companies must be more effective in attracting new readers to their monthly ongoings.

I'm not entirely sure if you're right on this. Yes, for the current form of the comics industry to thrive, those periodicals are absolutely crucial. The problem is getting new readers into comic book stores in the first place. That's the big advantage of trades and/ or graphic novels - as well as, in theory, stuff like the Target and Walmart comics. I don't believe that the comics industry is in any way doomed (by the looks of things, Western civilization may well fall first) but I don't think it's impossible that it will transform quite substantially into something that can be easily sold at supermarkets and bookstores. I hope not, as I enjoy the Wednesday Warrior model - I'm just not convinced that it can ever be the future.