What exactly makes you keep buying a comic?

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What exactly makes you keep buying a comic?

 
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What exactly makes you keep buying a comic?

Post by Crawler »

The question here is once you start buying a comic, what makes you decide to KEEP buying it? Just pick the answer that is MOST important to you. If you pick 'Other' please post to explain.

I'm setting up a pair of polls to attempt semi-scientific research. Please vote in the other one, as well.
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What exactly makes you keep buying a comic?

Post by SheCat »

Good, well-established characters. Strong writing and artwork are really important too, but good characters is of necessity.
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What exactly makes you keep buying a comic?

Post by Crawler »

By established characters, I meant like you'll only keep buying a book as long as it has certain characters in it...
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What exactly makes you keep buying a comic?

Post by Ult_Sm86 »

Well sure you can look at it like that I see established characters as characters who made an impression. That's what I look for sometimes. Though the characters that are my favorite are one of the key things that keep me buying the series that I buy.
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What exactly makes you keep buying a comic?

Post by Garble »

If I get attatched to characters and start to really care about them, I'll stick with the book even if it goes through a lot of changes.

For me, it's all about the characters. If you can make a character seem really alive, and make them interesting and likeable (not neccesarily because their happy or friendly all the time) then you can have them sit around and play cards and it will still be a good read.

When Death first appeared in Niel Gaimen's Sandman series, that issue quickly became the most popular issue of the series yet (and still is one of the most popular). Even though it is essentially just a conversation between a brother and sister.
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What exactly makes you keep buying a comic?

Post by taekwondodo »

My dissatisfaction with Uncanny has pretty much proven this point to me - don't really like it (art or writing wise) but I keep buying it in hopes of Kurt getting some good moments. Hasn't worked so far, but I guess I do have a few vague, optimistic tendencies in that regard. I'll doubtless switch over to whatever book he ends up in.
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What exactly makes you keep buying a comic?

Post by Warbird »

Though art is really important, I won't keep reading a book if the story is weak. Even if there's not a stand out charicter for me, or exceptionally good art, a really good plot will keep me into it. I really don't think anything can replace good writing.
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What exactly makes you keep buying a comic?

Post by NightPoofer »

I would have to say strong artwork and strong writing, but not too serious. I'd like to see something funny every once in a while to break the mood. The artwork can be great too.

For characters, they should have a good sense of humor, and a couple who don't really quite get it. That makes it funny. Characters who I know helps cause, I have a little background knowledge about them. I guess those are some things that keep me buying.
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What exactly makes you keep buying a comic?

Post by Bamfette »

writing. good writing can overcome bad artwork (most of the time, unless it's REALLY bad) but bad writing can't be saved by the prettiest of artwork, as far as i am concerned. I will also read something with characters i don't know at all so long as i like the writing, and i will STOP reading something with my favourite characters if i don't like the writing.
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What exactly makes you keep buying a comic?

Post by Bamf Bunny »

I picked just one answer for the poll, but here's a longer one ...

I like a compelling story that leaves me wanting to know what happens next. It doesn't have to be a cliffhanger; I just like to have some investment in both the characters and what's been happening to them.

Books that don't have a continuing story (Julie Doucet's "Dirty Plotte" leaps to mind) usually have both good writing and good art. If one's mediocre, the other had better be superb.

I've read anthology comics as well, and usually there it's because the editor's consistently good at having enough stories I'll like every issue to justify the cost.

With series books, I like to see a moderately consistent schedule. Yes, I know, you can't hurry art ... but if a book hasn't come out for eight months and it's a continuing story, I may not remember enough about the previous issues to enjoy this one.

And, yes, sometimes I've kept buying something that used to be good in the hopes it's just going through a temporary slump. I don't do it for long, though.
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What exactly makes you keep buying a comic?

Post by Northstars Love »

I went with strong writing. One of the reasons why I left comics was the writing became quite dull in the Uncanny books at the time. Jim Lee was the artist but I was so used to, and spoiled by the fact, I enjoyed the past stories and I had hoped that it would continue. But unfortunately they became ho-hum after a while and I stopped reading. But over the ten years of not reading the books I did long to pick up a book and start reading them again. Then the feeling of whether the writing was enjoyable came into play and I kinda shrugged it off and forgot about picking up another book.Not to mention the prices of the books were getting out of line. I was collecting titles I didn't read just because I thought they would become valuable later on.

Funny. When I started reading UC again I swore that was the only book I'd read because Nighty was in it. But now I must read at least ten titles a month. And one of those being DC.
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What exactly makes you keep buying a comic?

Post by Tatu »

I pretty much second what andy said, if you can make me fall in love with the characters, and find them interesting, i'll keep buying, All of what i buy is because of that reason, I've fallen for the characters and their personalities.
Originally posted by Garble
If I get attatched to characters and start to really care about them, I'll stick with the book even if it goes through a lot of changes.

For me, it's all about the characters
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What exactly makes you keep buying a comic?

Post by The Drastic Spastic »

Writing. It basically comes down to whether I care what happens next. But all the clever plotting in the world doesn't make any difference if the characters are flat and uninspired.
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What exactly makes you keep buying a comic?

Post by nightcrawler30 »

for me it is the strong artwork and the way the writer can make the story unfold.
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What exactly makes you keep buying a comic?

Post by Sorte Springer »

I keep buying the comic books in order to be able to complain about them.
When I was 8 years old I fell fatally in love with Batman, when I was 11 the same thing happened with me and X-men.
I have a massive and still growing collection of comic books featuring these heros, and yet most of the time when I read a new comic I think there is something wrong with them.
The writers are too eager to touch on "taboo subject matter", the art is too experimental, the characters are "out of character" and so on.
The new stories are never as good as the first stories I read, and yet I keep buying.
I can´t find a rational explanation to my behavior.
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What exactly makes you keep buying a comic?

Post by The Drastic Spastic »

Originally posted by Sorte Springer
I keep buying the comic books in order to be able to complain about them.
When I was 8 years old I fell fatally in love with Batman, when I was 11 the same thing happened with me and X-men.
I have a massive and still growing collection of comic books featuring these heros, and yet most of the time when I read a new comic I think there is something wrong with them.
The writers are too eager to touch on "taboo subject matter", the art is too experimental, the characters are "out of character" and so on.
The new stories are never as good as the first stories I read, and yet I keep buying.
I can´t find a rational explanation to my behavior.
At least youre honest. :D
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What exactly makes you keep buying a comic?

Post by scheherazade »

I read for the characters. Mostly established ones, so that I can read more about their characters, but, if a new character is getting fleshed out wonderfully, I will read whatever book they're in. *g*
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