Are we ever going back to “small self-contained” stories in media?

[mathew101281]

I’m trying to think of the last time I saw Marvel of DC publish a one shot comic.
The big Hollywood studios have essentially abandoned any kind of movie that isn’t a franchise.
Even TV, the medium that was essentially built on episodic stories, is now geared towards season long story arches and bing viewing.

Is the small self contained story essentially dead? Will it ever comeback?

[GOLGO 13]

I’m trying to think of the last time I saw Marvel of DC publish a one shot comic.
The big Hollywood studios have essentially abandoned any kind of movie that isn’t a franchise.
Even TV, the medium that was essentially built on episodic stories, is now geared towards season long story arches and bing viewing.

Is the small self contained story essentially dead? Will it ever comeback?

Negative. Trend is writing for the trade which I don't mind since I don't do floppies.

[MajorHoy]

Negative. Trend is writing for the trade which I don't mind since I don't do floppies.

But trades don't have to have a single five-or-six issue story; trades can easily have stories that are one-three issues long but contain a total of five-six issues worth of the comic book series.

[worstblogever]

I just watched Star Wars: Visions.

Seemed like that's what that was. All were incredible pieces of storytelling that I don't think we'll ever see follow up on with gorgeous visuals, for the record.

[Gray Lensman]

The current X-Men run is self contained stories, although there is a metaplot bubbling under the surface.

[MRP]

Eventually the paradigm will switch back to shorter self-contained stories, but its doubtful it will be anytime soon. The trend towards long form and short form storytelling as the preferred form has gone back and forth time and again over the centuries through various formats for storytelling. Some formats lend themselves better to longform, others to short-form, but neither has been the dominant form in perpetuity, and both had grown and faded in popularity at various points, so there's no reason to believe that the current trend towards longform storytelling is the death knell for short-form. There is a cycle between the two, and it may be some time before longform fades in popularity and short-form ascends again, but it will happen eventually. Audience tastes are fickle and the only constant is change.

-M

[Jim Kelly]

If I ever win the lottery, I'd like to blow my money on publishing an anthology comic book, which would have three stories in each issue. Something like WASTELAND, but maybe more variety. Three stories of seven or eight pages would fill a regular 32 page comic book with ads. Four stories in a comic book without ads.

I think the challenge of telling a story in just eight pages or less would be a great test of talent. Will Eisner and his crew did it every week. The idea that longer is better is one of those stupid misconceptions among comic book fandom. In literature, haikus and sonnets are not considered lesser works just because they're short. The more that can be condensed into a short form, the more brilliant it can be.

As I always say,

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens

[MajorHoy]

. . . I think the challenge of telling a story in just eight pages or less would be a great test of talent. Will Eisner and his crew did it every week. The idea that longer is better is one of those stupid misconceptions among comic book fandom . . .

And back in the day, the typical comic book was filled with 6-8 panel pages with a lot of word balloons.

But these days there seem to be a desire for more artwork without as much clutter on the page. So it takes multiple pages to show / accomplish what would have been done in less than half a page. So even if comic book writers and artists could successfully go back to old-style storytelling, would enough people still buy a comic book in that format?

[CaptCleghorn]

The eight page complete story is definitely a rarity in today's market. But it's not extinct as can be seen by DC's color themed Trinity series. Marvel's also copying this idea. And yes, these are MAJOR superheroes, but the concept is there. The short story is truly a way for creators to test themselves within space limitations. I personally love these type of books as I get to see a variety of styles and talents without needing to worry about issues of continuity. This stuff is also seen in giant-sized anniversary issues.

But today's market is geared towards more detail filled stories. But nothing is carved in stoned and for sure no method is safe. If it sells, it will multiply.