The Comic-Book Thread

[c marvel]

I have always said I did not get into comics as a kid but your post got me thinking. Are Mad and Cracked considered comics? I always thought of them as parody magazines. I often bought Mad in my youth and sometimes bought Cracked. I also realized that I did buy more comics than I realized, I just did not but the mainstream comics. Even as a child I leaned to darker tales so the comics I bought were Creepy, Eerie, Vampirella etc. So I guess I did buy comics as a child!

Confession is good for the soul. ~Cap

[Martin]

Confession is good for the soul. ~Cap

In my case it was more realization than confession.

[c marvel]

I ordered The Lone Ranger and Tonto: Frontier Justice paperback. This is the second all new collection of The Lone Ranger & Tonto stories from Moonstone Books. The first collection from MB was really nice-except the editor was asleep on the job and the book was chock full of typos. I also ordered The Lone Ranger / Green Hornet: Champions of Justice Paperback. This looked fascinating. I've never read any of The Green Hornet stories, only The Lone Ranger.

Cap

[khaos]

I have lots of comics. No idea at even an estimate of how many I have. I still have 11 long boxes my boss at my old job gave me I have barely looked through. I haven't worked there for almost 5 years. Maybe I'll look at them before I move soon.

[JJ123]

I have always said I did not get into comics as a kid but your post got me thinking. Are Mad and Cracked considered comics? I always thought of them as parody magazines. I often bought Mad in my youth and sometimes bought Cracked. I also realized that I did buy more comics than I realized, I just did not but the mainstream comics. Even as a child I leaned to darker tales so the comics I bought were Creepy, Eerie, Vampirella etc. So I guess I did buy comics as a child!

I think you're correct -- Mad/Cracked would be magazines, not necessarily comics, but the overlap of interest would certainly be understandable, and of course comic shops carry both. Not sure what the original version of Mad would be considered...I assume a comic, since I don't think it had features, mostly parodies of other comics/movies/programming in comic form. I'm a big fan of the movie/TV spoofs, and used to love Cracked when they published issues continuing mostly those pieces and no short features. Like a time capsule of pop culture....

[Marmaduke Grigsby]

MAD and Cracked are both considered comic books, as are many other magazine-sized publications. They are both listed in the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, and so are all of the MAD magazine imitations. (Crazy, Sick, etc.) Back in the old days, all comic books were referred to as "comic magazines".

I think the general gauge has always been, if the publication contains mostly sequential art then it is a comic book, regardless of size. Marvel published a ton of magazine-sized comics in the 1970s.

[TacomaDiver]

I think the differences between comics and magazines can simply be up to the individual. Maybe it's a generational thing too.

It's like comics and graphic novels. It drives me bonkers that people refer to TPBs as Graphic Novels. No, they're trades. Graphic Novels were larger sized format (maybe 8.5 x 11?) nicer paper, thicker covers, original stories, and only sold in comic book stores. Marvel used to do legit Graphic Novels - for example - X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills - was actually numbered as Marvel Graphic Novel #5. But nowadays, it seems that GNs are generic references to simple trades.

Get off my internet lawn . . .

(As a side note - since I did the $0.02 Marvel Unlimited, I know they ahve some of these old GNs on there - I'm going to have to revisit some of these, or simply read them for the first time since I didn't have access to comic stores so I never saw them when they originally came out.)

[Martin]

I think the differences between comics and magazines can simply be up to the individual. Maybe it's a generational thing too.

It's like comics and graphic novels. It drives me bonkers that people refer to TPBs as Graphic Novels. No, they're trades. Graphic Novels were larger sized format (maybe 8.5 x 11?) nicer paper, thicker covers, original stories, and only sold in comic book stores. Marvel used to do legit Graphic Novels - for example - X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills - was actually numbered as Marvel Graphic Novel #5. But nowadays, it seems that GNs are generic references to simple trades.

Get off my internet lawn . . .

(As a side note - since I did the $0.02 Marvel Unlimited, I know they ahve some of these old GNs on there - I'm going to have to revisit some of these, or simply read them for the first time since I didn't have access to comic stores so I never saw them when they originally came out.)

I thought the term 'Graphic Novel' was just another term for a book containing comics. For example Joe Hill's Locke & Key was written in 6 comic arcs. Each arc was released as a graphic novel. They have been released in hardback and soft cover. Would both versions be graphic novels?

[TacomaDiver]

I thought the term 'Graphic Novel' was just another term for a book containing comics. For example Joe Hill's Locke & Key was written in 6 comic arcs. Each arc was released as a graphic novel. They have been released in hardback and soft cover. Would both versions be graphic novels?

To me this is a trade collection - either a soft or hard cover. But the term graphic novel has evolved.

Plus the trades kind of ruin stories for me. I’ve been going through quite a bit of Marvel comics because of their app, and newer comics are kind of frustrating because they’re obviously written for the inevitable trade so everything is wrapped up in six issues. Nothing seems to have time to develop or breathe. It’s all so rushed. But trades are important to the industry so I get that.

[Martin]

To me this is a trade collection - either a soft or hard cover. But the term graphic novel has evolved.

Plus the trades kind of ruin stories for me. I’ve been going through quite a bit of Marvel comics because of their app, and newer comics are kind of frustrating because they’re obviously written for the inevitable trade so everything is wrapped up in six issues. Nothing seems to have time to develop or breathe. It’s all so rushed. But trades are important to the industry so I get that.

I do understand your point and can only base my view on the Locke & Key series. None of those arcs felt rushed or too long to me, it was simply great story telling and it was jointly told by the words and the images. It was the first time I had ever followed a story that was much about the images as the words and I really enjoyed it.

[Marmaduke Grigsby]

I think TacomaDiver is correct, Trades are a collection of previously published individual comics, Graphic Novels contain one long story that has never been published before.

[c marvel]

Embarrassed? I think that's awesome! I only have somewhere around 20,000.

This is the third time I've gotten involved with comic books. One collection was destroyed by a flood. I didn't think I would wind up with three boxes of comics, one of trade paperbacks and one of hardcover comic collections/comic themed books. I'd love to sell or trade the Iron Man Marvel Masterworks hardcovers. For years there was only one IM Marvel Masterworks hardcover and now there are 11 IM Marvel Masterworks?


Cap

[dannyboy121070]

I just received Full Bleed Volume 2, have only looked through it so far but it looks like a winner.

This is irksome...I supported this on Kickstarter, and haven't received my copy yet. Hope it didn't get delivered while I was on vacation......

[Martin]

This is irksome...I supported this on Kickstarter, and haven't received my copy yet. Hope it didn't get delivered while I was on vacation......

If you are concerned drop them an email [email protected] .

[dannyboy121070]

If you are concerned drop them an email [email protected] .

I contacted them on Kickstarter, Martin, but haven't heard back. I'll try your suggestion if I don't hear from them by tomorrow. Thanks!