Case in Point - Shadowland: Elektra

There's been some shake-ups in the comics industry lately. Both Big Two companies have undergone a round or two of layoffs and restructurings, and both dropped prices on a handful of titles to a barely-affordable $2.99 (from the downright unaffordable $3.99-4.99), but the bigger news has been about online piracy and how we, the fans, are not "supporting" these heartless, and all-too-often artless, sharks.

First of all, of course we "support" these creators and to suggest otherwise is dishonest. More to the point, sales prove that the fans support their favorite titles and characters, and the Big Two have so devalued these that it's almost impossible to keep-up with even one title or character without spending $50.00+ each month, collecting titles in which the story continues or the character(s) appear(s); these days, their focus is on the creators -- the Names they believe will sell books.

Creators have always been an important, and highly-respected, draw for collectors and fans, but it wasn't until the 1990s that creators started dominating the pecking-order, largely because the industry began pushing these Names as the major draw. Fans learned early-on that a Big Name did not necessarily mean a better title -- Walt Simonson's legendary run on Thor was followed by an equally-legendary run on Fantastic Four... unfortunately, the latter was a legendary misfire (for one example). But it's true that we would buy pretty much anything with Todd McFarlane's or Jim Lee's name on it (for two examples). Of course, like characters and titles, creators' popularity waxes and wanes and -- in the case of comics -- the attention shifted from the artists to the writers.

Yet the industry is stunned, shocked, and saddened that we refuse to "support" these very creators, and don't know why we fans are being such "assholes."

Shadowland: Elektra is a case in point:

POSSIBLE SPOILERS

This $3.99 one-shot tie-in to the mega-crossover Shadowland event which changes Daredevil's universe FOREVER (42 years in the making) is literally nothing but padding. Elektra appears in the regular run of Shadowland (through Daredevil and the mini-series) and regular readers are lead to think this one-shot adds something to at least that aspect of the story. It does not. In fact, Shadowland: Elektra adds only one more over-priced comic book to your collection -- nothing to the character, the story, or anything else.

This single one-shot illustrates everything that is wrong with the industry. This is unwarranted greed unchecked, as Shadowland: Elektra is literally nothing more than the "events" which take place between the panels of the books directly telling the story; it is maybe a single page's progression stretched across 22 pages. The art and writing are sub-par, but then, they are merely rehashing the minutiae behind a singular plot-point in a much larger story -- a plot-point any reader grasps from its presentation in the actual story itself.

Shadowland: Elektra is a blatant and egregious product released for one reason and one reason only: To massage the market. It targets collectors, Elektra fans, and readers of the Shadowland saga, and pockets their hard-earned $5.00 without so much as a reach-around.

This is what the industry wants us to "support." And I'm not going to do it and I can't tell you to, either.

There were 22 blank pages when the creators involved started work on Shadowland: Elektra. In these pages, they could have provided some insight into the character, the story, Elektra's role in it, or about a dozen other things; instead, it's literally a story about Elektra climbing up to Daredevil's window -- an act she successfully completes earlier in the series. So, not only have we already seen what Shadowland: Elektra presents, it adds absolutely nothing to those events, the story, or any of the characters. That's just wrong.

Of course this always happened -- it happens in every industry, especially entertainment industries -- but it's literally gotten to the point that this practice is de rigeur for comics, so much so that I estimate some $100+ I spent on comic books in 2010 were wasted on pap like this. $100+ is a lot of money, but it's only about 20-25 comic books, and for $100+, I expect more and better. Add another $50+ for comics I never would have bought, but was forced to just to get the entire story told in one of my regular titles, and I spent at least $150 on comics I would not have purchased, had they not been promoted as being essential to a particular storyline.

$150 a year probably isn't that much to spend on "supporting" the various creators involved in these unwanted comics... except that I didn't, and don't, want them! It's not a personal attack on any person -- living, dead, or fictitious -- I just wouldn't have bought them for whatever reason, and I resent feeling coerced into doing so under what amounts to false pretenses. Of course, I wouldn't even have noticed this had they been better.

All I'm saying is: "Help me support you."

It takes a while to read 25 comic books, so I'd really appreciate it if the creators could spend a little time making sure they're... you know, worth spending that amount of time and money on. If this were to happen, I wouldn't even realize I'd bought $150 worth of comics I didn't really want; I'd just be happy because I had a shit-ton of comics I enjoy reading!

© C Harris Lynn, 2010