I don't envy any reader trying to jump into superhero comics right now. Sure, there's a wealth of great material out there, with decades of classic stories and strong new material being published every single week. The problem is trying to figure out what to read and where to start. With books constantly being relaunched, rebooted, re-branded and whatever else, it can be all but impossible to know where to begin and in what order to follow an ongoing series.
That problem was perfectly highlighted by writer Eric Palicki last week, who tweeted the following image showing exactly what happens when someone searches for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1" on Comixology:
What is a newbie reader supposed to make of that? How are they supposed to know which of those books is the ideal starting point or what exactly the difference is between Guardians of the Vol. 1, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1: Legacy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1: Cosmic Avengers? I can look at those covers and know what stories each book includes and how they all connect to one another, but I read those stores as they were coming out on a monthly basis. If there are any Guardians fans who got turned onto the comics thanks to the new movie, they're in for a lot of hassle and confusion.
The problem extends to all sorts of franchises. Plug phrases like "Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1" or "Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1" into that search window and you're in for a similar shock. Nor is it limited only to Marvel. DC has so many Batman comics in its back catalog that you need some sort of futuristic quantum computer to sort through it all. Even relatively smaller franchises like Vampirella and Bloodshot have become increasingly confusing in recent years because of the constant cycle of relaunches.
The example I always point towards to illustrate how confusing this hobby can be involves Ed Brubaker's Captain America run. Brubaker took over the franchise when Marvel relaunched the series in 2005 as Captain America Vol. 5. That lasted 50 issues or so before the series reverted to its legacy numbering with Captain America #600. That numbering continued for a couple more years until Marvel relaunched the series again in 2011 as Captain America Vol. 6. But even as they relaunched the series, they also debuted a companion Winter Soldier comic. That's to say nothing of the various spinoff projects and mini-series that tied into that run, from Captain America Reborn to Steve Rogers: Super-Soldier to Captain America and Bucky.
It's incredibly difficult to go back and try to read all of that material in its intended order without having some sort of detailed guide. Even if you stick to reading the trade paperback collections rather than the individual issues, it's not an orderly case of moving from Captain America: Book 1 to Book 2 to Book 3 and so on. Instead, the naming scheme changes several times overt the course of that run. After a while, Marvel stopped giving the Brubaker Cap trades volume numbers at all. Readers are essentially left to look up the dates each trade was originally published and hope that they're on the right track.
Why does getting caught up on superhero comics have to be such a hassle? Isn't the point to be entertained, not feel like you're doing homework? Why is this the only form of media that requires so much effort to consume?
There are all sorts of factors involved in explaining why superhero movies don't do more to spark interest in superhero comics, but I think we can all agree that the needlessly difficult barrier of entry is a huge factor. One of the reasons the Walking Dead TV series has boosted readership of the Walking Dead comic is that it's extremely simple to dive into that comic. Whether you prefer to read the series in single-issue format or trade paperback format or through those massive Walking Dead Compendium books, there's a very clear, obvious reading order to follow. Maybe we'd see a bigger influx of readers for Captain America or Guardians of the Galaxy if those franchises were as easy to dive into.
The problem is that it's not really feasible for Marvel to take the Walking Dead route when it comes to publishing most of its comics. Sure, I'd love nothing more than for every ongoing series to stick to one orderly, consistent numbering scheme and stop with the constant relaunches. But those relaunches are often the only thing keeping a lot of books afloat over the long-term. Secret Empire writer Nick Spencer recently spoke to this problem on Twitter:
Seasonal relaunches get flack, but as a writer, I always appreciated sales and editorial finding a way to keep my story alive. If a book launches and after a year's attrition its hovering at a low number, there are two options really: kill it or relaunch it. Most creators are going to take option b every time. This is not to say there are no downsides, or that you don't encounter diminishing returns, but usually the decision comes down to this: They have a story or a creative team they believe in, it doesn't have a big enough audience, and they are trying to expose more people to it.
I don't think there's anything wrong with Marvel pursuing this "seasonal" approach to publishing. The market is changing rapidly, and publishers need to change with it. But because of those "diminishing returns" Spencer referenced, the annual relaunches seem more like a temporary stopgap than a lasting solution.
If any publisher has hit on the right solution to keeping big franchises afloat in this age of endless options and short attention spans, it's Dark Horse. If Marvel truly wants to embrace the seasonal model, they need to look at what Dark Horse has been doing for years with properties like Hellboy, BPRD and Conan. In each case, the creative teams are telling a long, continuous story, but one that's broken up into smaller, more digestible mini-series. Mike Mignola and his collaborators do a great job of ensuring that each new Hellboy mini-series serves as an accessible jumping-on point even as it adds to the larger, ongoing saga.
Despite the fact that the core Hellboy saga comprises over a dozen different mini-series, there's never any confusion as to what order fans should be reading these books if they want to follow the story from start to finish. Each individual issue includes a notation in the recap page that indicates exactly where that issue falls in the larger saga. And for trade-waiters, Dark Horse maintains an orderly "Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, etc" naming scheme. It's a straightforward system that keeps things simple for readers while still giving Dark Horse that constant sales boost with every new #1 issue.
This isn't to say the Hellboy model would carry over perfectly to Marvel's books. The sheer volume of comics Marvel puts out on a monthly basis is enough to complicate matters. Many of these books are constantly crossing over with each other and introducing new characters and plot twists that are picked up elsewhere down the road. Still, Dark Horse has managed to expand the shared Hellboy universe in various directions without abandoning the simple, streamlined publishing approach. In addition to the main Hellboy saga (which recently concluded in the pages of Hellboy in Hell), you have the ongoing BPRD series, the Abe Sapien solo books, the various Hellboy and the BPRD prequel mini-series and spinoff franchises like Witchfinder and Lobster Johnson. Each of those mini-franchises has its own internal numbering scheme and organized series of trade paperbacks. Most importantly, these books inform each other and build on each other without punishing readers who choose to only follow one or two.
it might be time for Marvel to pursue a strategy that involves leaning less on ongoing series and more on mini-series. Perhaps a few perennial flagship titles like Amazing Spider-Man, The Avengers and Uncanny X-Men should remain as ongoing books, with the rest of the Marvel line shifting to a more mini-series-driven approach. They're essentially doing that already with certain franchises. Marvel launched several new Guardians of the Galaxy comics last fall after Civil War II. Six months later, Marvel has already ended Star-Lord and replaced the Rocket Raccoon and Groot comics with replacement titles Rocket and I Am Groot. With relaunches coming more and more often now, the traditional ongoing series approach may no longer be viable for some franchises. And regardless of the approach Marvel takes on a month--to-month basis, the publisher needs to do better about making the trade paperback collections follow a clear, consistent numbering scheme.
If Marvel wants this seasonal approach to become more sustainable, it needs to find a way to make these constant relaunches simpler and easier to digest, especially for those readers who aren't following along on a monthly basis. Otherwise we're just going to keep seeing prospective new readers turn away before ever really getting started.
"Between the Panels" is a bi-weekly column from Jesse Schedeen that focuses on the world of comics. You can see more of his thoughts on comics and pop culture by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.
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