Is 2012 the Year for Comic Book Indies?

If you follow many creators' social networking pages, you have heard that a lot of mainstream writers have independent projects scheduled for the coming year. Some are even leaving mainstream comics entertainment completely to focus on their own projects. Is this going to make 2012 the year that creator-owned projects breakthrough to the mainstream?

Historically, this happened in the late 1980s. Properties like ElfQuest, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Cerebus gained mainstream acceptance in the late 1980s, leading to the launch of Image. But Image quickly became just another publisher, reinventing itself as an independent publisher in its original vein only in the last several years. In the meanwhile, independent comics kind of fell off the radar - but only to an extent.

Dark Horse has seen several of its projects on the big screen in recent years, and Image had several properties on TV in the 1990s. Other independent publishers have had deals and treatments based on their works, as well. However, mainstream comic books continue to outsell independent publishers and titles. This was true even in the late 1980s and has really only ever been challenged in the 1990s, with the launch of Image.

According to creators, the Big Twos' reliance on gimmicks hasn't done them any disservice, but I think otherwise; I believe people are finally tired of the constant gimmicks and are gravitating more toward simply good work. I think a lot of this is based on the Internet - the creators' presence and interaction with fans, as well as word-of-mouth promotion - which these same creators blame for piracy and the continued downfall of the print industry, in general.

I also believe that people are growing out of their nostalgic phase, and the superhero on film has seen its apex and is now in decline. There are many of us who enjoy comic books on their own merits - as alternative entertainment, not alternate (to movies, TV, and other media) entertainment - and we are not being served. Mainstream comics keep trying to compete with larger entertainment venues, while independent comics celebrate the medium, and fans connect with that.

2012 may well be the year for Indies, but I am not certain. It's still early in that game, especially as the field itself becomes more discombobulated as print continues to decline in popularity. I would think 2013 or even later to be the year of the Indies, and see 2012 as a year of change - across the industry - change on a level that really will change the Marvel Universe forever. I could be wrong, but people are going to gravitate toward better product, and the independent market offers more content and fewer gimmicks than the Big Two; and it's still too early for the independent market to really pop.

© C Harris Lynn, 2011