Originally Posted by
MRP
As Baseman pointed it, it goes beyond comics with the reading public. What are the most widely circulated books at most public libraries? Not the fine literature or new award winning critically acclaimed stuff, nosiree it's series romance books by Harlequin and the like )i.e. thing sread out of brand loyalty or genre fixation). And it's not the well reviewed critically acclaimed books that dominate the best-seller lists, it's the trashy thrillers like Dan Brown or Sue Grafton and the like churn out.
Reality television dominated ratings for how long now? It's a trash culture that dominates and sells lowest common denominator fare. Comics merely reflect the broader culture in terms of the proclivities of what gets consumed and sells and what doesn't. There are a small number of vocal people swimming against the tide, but the tide hasn't changed and shows no signs of doing so.
Enjoy the great books, recommended them to open-minded or like-minded folks, but don't expect them to be embraced by the masses as a whole until the masses proclivities change at all levels, not just in comics, and I doubt that's happening in my lifetime.
-M