COMICS PORTAL: Are Alternate Lines the Future of Comics?

With Marvel’s Ultimate line and now DC’s Absolute Comics selling so well, are “normal” timeline comics on the way out?

There’s been quite a lot of discussion about how to take the comics industry into the future. Do we lower or raise issue prices? Do we carefully monitor the continuity of the books? Should we make sure both collectors and other fans are happy with all the decisions being made? What can we do to increase sales and the popularity of comics?

Based on the fact that Marvel is going to soon be celebrating their first year with their Ultimate line back on the stands and that DC has been selling out the initial issues of their Absolute books, should we be mixing things up more?

Of course, both the House of Ideas and DC want to “have their cake and eat it, too.” They want the “regular” continuity to continue on while they produce and sell the alternate lines. As a decades-long fan of the industry, I have to wonder… what will happen if the alternate books actually and clearly outsell the “regular” books? Do we abandon the years-old continuities in favor of the newer, “hipper” timelines that seem to sell out in local comics shops?

The debate rages on across the Internet and among fans when they discuss the state of the industry today. Many of my friends, some of whom abandoned “the books” a few years back, are back in line to pick up the “new” stuff. One of my friends is busily collecting as many different covers of Absolute Batman #1 as he can, hoping to get each and every one. And that includes the upcoming second and third printings! He just can’t get enough!

Also, let’s not forget the hubbub that surrounded the debut of several of Marvel’s Ultimate books. Word reached the Internet that a goodly number of the initial issues of those comics had somehow “vanished,” making the copies anyone could find at a local comics shop “must have” purchases! So they left the shops as soon as they were put up for sale.

That “feeding frenzy” doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon!

I remember when the Superman of one recent DC reboot was replaced by the Man of Steel of the past. He actually proved more popular than the “new, improved” guy.

That surprised me quite a bit! Hey, that previous Superman had a tough time actually selling many copies of his monthly title. But it seems like, compared to the replacement, he actually looked better to fans! Who would have thought that would be the case?

Is that something we might see again? Could the Absolute Superman replace the “real” Man of Steel in DC? If his book sells better, you can be sure there will be some debate taking place at DC HQ.

Look, I’m a long-time Bat-fan, and I have enjoyed the many, many iterations of the Dark Knight over the decades. Yes, he’s been different depending on who is writing or drawing the big Batguy, but I’ve always believed these have been different aspects of the same hero. We’re just seeing him through a different lens, that’s all.

Also, Miles Morales actually started out as an “Ultimate” Spider-Man. Now, he’s part of the “regular” Marvel Universe. Might he go back to his roots if the Ultimate line actually gets more popular than the “regular” monthly Marvel offerings?

I have to say that, what’s most important to me is that the industry survive and even thrive moving into the years ahead.

Some of my friends who are fans are particularly invested in certain comics they have already read. “They are the most important stories in the industry,” one of them tells me regularly.  Those tales MUST always be part of the comics continuity he’s reading.

He is one of those fans who wail loud and long whenever DC “reboots” their lines. “My favorite stories had been be a part of the comics canon,” he says. I like to point out to him that he already owns those books, and he can go back and re-read them whenever he likes. “That’s not good enough,” he likes to tell me. “Those stories need to be an important part of my favorite hero in the upcoming comics if they want me to buy and read them!”

See, this is where he and I have to agree to disagree. I’ve been watching Batman on TV since the 1960s, from Adam West to the actors who have played the Dark Knight in his various versions. They are ALL Batman to me. Do I have favorites? Of course I do! But I can still go to the theater and watch the current actor playing the Dark Knight even though he’s not the one I like best. He’s still A Batman, so I’ll support him.

It’s the same with the comics. I mean, I LOVED Absolute Batman #1! It soared, it made smoke pour out of my ears, it was so good! Does that mean I don’t want to read any of the previous Batman comics? To be punny, “absolutely” not! I do have to say, though, that when Scott Snyder is scripting the Dark Knight, it’s magic!

So, I have already bought and read and enjoyed Absolute Wonder Woman #1, which is also selling out! Variant covers for her are fetching big bucks on eBay and other site. Is that version my favorite of the Amazonian princess? No, but I can still read it, dive into it, and happily enjoy the story being told. It’s still a very good story, after all! They have even turned the world against saying the word, “Amazon,” for goodness sake!

I think we have to abandon this determined clutching hold of certain versions, saying we won’t take anything else. We have to be as open-minded as we can be for the comics industry to survive. So, I’m happy to read Absolute Batman, Batman ’66, Batman ’89, and the current Batman books from Chip Zdarsky. It’s all Batman to me!

As long as the stories make sense, tell a good tale, and engage me on every level possible, I’m there. And that’s not only for Batman! It’s also for as many comics heroes as I can enjoy! For example, I’m anxious to read the upcoming Aquaman book, too!

What do you think? If you can go back and return to a story you loved, does it ever really go away? Does the fact that there are so many versions of Batman that are popular makes him a better or a worse character? Even if you have a favorite version of your favorite hero, does that make you not interested in buying other iterations? Whatever your opinion, feel free to share it in the space below!

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