Is it me or does it seem that a lot of comic book creators are incapable of telling a story in less then four or six issues? It seems to be a trend across media that the solo self-contained story is going away, and everyone is trying to write a massive epic. In comics it seems everything is written for trades. But I feel this is hurting comics in some regards.

1. Writing for trades means that fewer stories are being made per year (usually 2-3).

2. It also means that their are fewer opportunities for new characters to be introduced. Just put yourself in the shoes of a creator. You know you have only 2 or 3 stories to tell that year. Are you more likely to use that limited opportunity to create a new villain or use it to finally put that one Joker story that you’ve had in your head since childhood onto paper? It’s part of the reason why older characters like Batman and Superman have larger rogue’s galleries then newer characters.

3. It also makes it harder for new creators to break in. Most creators get their shot at the big to via writing one shots .