COMICS PORTAL: Show “Business”

During September, DC Comics released their “Villains’ Month” titles with a regular cover and one that was in 3D. If you want to see just how popular the latter actually were, take a few minutes to look out on eBay. You’ll find a great many of them for sale at prices that surprise even me, including Batman: The Dark Knight #23.4 featuring the Joker’s Daughter.

Many of us have to accept the fact that some comics will probably always be sold with multiple covers. Seems like many number one’s in particular get that treatment.

JUST WHAT IS SHOW “BUSINESS?”

That got me thinking about the fact that comics are still part of show business. One of my friends has insisted for years that money shouldn’t play a role in the making of genre/comics productions. They should be done “for the love of it,” he likes to say.

The bad news is that even creative people have to eat and pay bills.

In times past, kings and queens used to pay artisans large sums of money so they could write music for them or paint magnificent works of art. I don’t think any of them ever started on these projects without getting paid. And I think in some countries, that process still happens.

WHAT WOULD IT BE LIKE TODAY IF IT WERE LESS “BUSINESS” AND MORE “SHOW?”

It would be great if it were otherwise. Joss Whedon could send word out via the Internet that he’s going to create a new Buffy The Vampire Slayer spin-off TV show. Money would just automatically flow in from fans around the world. It could be written, filmed and aired without any kind of commercial interruptions.

Or he could make a triumphant return to Astonishing X-Men and people would fork over their hard-earned shekels so the issues could arrive on our doorsteps when they were finished. Wouldn’t that be great?

REALITY CHECK

The sad thing is, that ain’t gonna happen any time soon.

There’s a reason why stores order books in advance. They need to have enough product to be able to sell to their customers. You can always tell a store where the manager has no idea what his customers want. The shop either has way too many copies of certain books or never has enough. Like many other things, this is a business, and it can be dull, it can be boring at times (like when someone who works in a store has to bag and board for hours at a time), but it needs to function that way in order for us to buy what we want.

Now, if a reader of this column has a brilliant idea on how to change things for the better, I’m all ears (or eyes, I guess), and I’d be happy to post what you have in mind sometime in the future. I’d love that to happen. Hey, I wouldn’t even charge … too much … to publicize your great idea.

All that said, nothing lasts forever. Does anyone even remember what a floppy disc is? Or a videocassette player? Or an album made of plastic that was played with diamond-tipped needles? Those things are pretty much long gone. And maybe the way we do things now will change and be less show “business.” I just don’t see it happening any time soon.