YGO Uncensored- Draconmouth: The Thoughts of Jaya Lakshmi

For the record, I’m NOT talking about actual death in the US. September 11^th still haunts me and I’m amazed at how many people are starving in our country where it’s becoming dangerous to say if anyone is fat. No, I’m talking about death on a different scale: death in American comics. For starters, are American heroes immortal?

It may sound like an obvious question, since the thrilling three (Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman) are still around, not to mention Green Lantern, the Flash, Teen Titans, and even the Justice Society. Anyone remember the Death of Superman saga? Everyone made a big deal about it, but then he came back to life and everyone forgot about it. We can’t blame ourselves because it now seems that writers sometimes “kill” off these heroes only to bring them back a month later. Look, the artwork may be great and DC and Marvel have existed since the 1930s, but I am willing to let go of my favorite characters after some point for good. “After some point” I interpret as “going on too long and losing steam. Someone please end the comic already.”

Not ALL American comics are like this. There’s American manga from Oni Press and Tokyopop; we have Jeff Smith’s Bone and Neil Gaiman’s Sandman. No one seems to mention Oni Press, but recently American manga has appeared in newspapers. Jeff Smith and Neil Gaiman’s works are mentioned frequently, however, so there is some hope. In both Bone and Sandman, when a character died they stayed dead. This included side characters, supporting cast, and protagonists. There was no reanimation, no time travel, no alternate universes, and definitely no historical rewrites.

Another thing is that when these comics ended, they ended. Bone, I think, deserves a sequel, but Jeff Smith has shown no interest in doing one. The most he has done is two miniseries, which are prequels. As for Sandman, the only things done recently are a prose anthology of Sandman stories as well as a comic book collection of these strange stories. I haven’t read up to the story’s conclusion, but I’ve read Neil Gaiman’s other works and I trust his judgment in choosing an ending. In other words, both authors cared more about the story itself than its marketability. Tokyopop as of now only allows their American writers to write three-volume series while many Oni Press books only have one. If Oni Press does have any ongoing series, then they’re taking a pretty long time to make the second volumes for the series in question.

The question, then, is why do DC and Marvel stick to the same heroes over and over again? Is it because they know that people will buy the comics anyway or give them a chance since they’re Superman and Batman or related to the latter? Is it because the people at DC don’t believe in imagination? (I’m inclined to believe this explanation.) There’s only so many times you can have Superman battle Lex Luthor and avoid death or defeat. Not all readers will buy the gory action scenes; not all will absorb the erotic costumes either. I’m also wondering why you now have about three different titles for each superhero. Actually, why have you even stuck with the DC Universe? You had the chance to end it in Infinite Crisis and start over. (Technically you did, but why not create a new universe altogether instead of rewriting the characters’ histories?)

Manga, however, isn’t that innocent either in terms of either American or Japanese; many shoujo mangas feature the same plot elements over and over again. So do the ghost mangas except for ones like Bleach and Shaman King. Some series have gone on forever like Inuyasha. But that doesn’t excuse the Americans. Both parties have to improve. (Besides, there’s plenty of original and entertaining manga that make up for the drivel that does make it to the US.)

Let’s talk about more how long series run. Let’s get more specific into something like comic strips. Do any of you read the Sunday page or the daily funnies? If you don’t, I don’t blame you. I read the comics every day, but even I know that most of the stuff on the two-page spread is nothing but garbage. Kevin has spoken about this on www.thecomicbookguy.com under the editorial “Come Home Snoopy”, but I feel compelled to write something as well. Garfield is no longer funny except on rare occasions; Dennis the Menace, Peanuts and the Boondocks are in rerun form as the cartoonists are either dead or on sabbatical, and let’s face it people: Grand Avenue, Hagar the Horrible, The Wizard of Id, Baldo, The Lockhorns, Close to Home, Marmaduke, and Beetle Bailey are not remotely entertaining, even if they once were. Some have been running too long, some are just not funny, and some need an art overhaul. I can stand soap opera strips, but that’s my limit. My newspaper replaced Get Fuzzy with Pearls Before Swine, not realizing that both strips are good enough to earn their own space without fighting each other.

It’s also getting harder for comic strips to break into the business because so many old comic strips are in the paper. If no one likes you the first time, then you’re out. Pearls Before Swine, which is the newest comic strip so far, spent a year online before entering newspapers. I don’t wish to speak ill of fan followings, as they are useful in this case, but why can’t people wake up and smell the roses? There are other fish in the sea; when your pet dies, look for another one.

This brings us to the issue of web-comics. How long should a comic on the Internet run before the author decides to quit? Let’s examine how one sees a web-comic. The good news is that a person doesn’t have to read a comic strip online like they have to in the newspaper. You just type in a URL or Google it or follow a link from another website. More good news is that a person has to pay for their web-comic to be online (although HTML may allow for free posting), so if it becomes unpopular, then the author will have to close the site, leaving the archives out or printing it on paper or letting it mold into oblivion. I have never seen this happen as I read only two web-comics and Penny Arcade once in a while.

Why don’t all comics publish on the web then to see if they’re popular? For one thing it’s risky to do if you’re not syndicated and you should not rely on the web solely for income. Most of the money you make comes from ads and donations. People won’t give you donations unless you’ve established yourself or they really like your comic. That money has to go to paying the bandwidth you’re allowed to use. Do you have time to invest for a web-comic? Can you accept that you won’t make money from it because not all of us are like Penny Arcade or PVP? And are you willing to finish drawing it when the time has come? Will your readers be willing to say goodbye?

If you can’t live with Superman graphic novels and Garfield in the newspaper or the idea of publishing a web-comic, then I’m talking to the wrong people. I respect your opinion, but I could never be you. I learned a long time ago that it’s all right to let go because there are other comics worth reading.