COMICS CULTURE SHRAPNEL from CBEM 294
I want some new sweaters, a few CD's, some new Jelly Roll pens. I put a few books on the list... well, comic books anyway. I asked for my own copies of Superman: Peace on Earth and Batman: War on Crime. They're beautiful, they don't cost much... and my parents are used to this whole comic shopping thing by now. I remember staying up one Christmas Eve until 4am reading Sandman: Season of Mists, while listening to Smashing Pumpkins' Melloncollie and the Infinite Sadness. Pure bliss.
Then there are those things I don't dare to wish for. At least, not while I'm in a financial mess. Tuition is due right after New Years, and my parents are perpetually tight for cash. So last year they laughed at me when I asked for a Gameboy Color.
My affections have been stolen, I admit. I love video games. I love the graphics, I love the storylines, I like the opportunity to be someone else. In fact, it seems I love them for all the same reasons I should love comics.
People complain that video games are stealing comics' audience, and it's mostly true, because video games can offer things that comics can't. One is gameplay. Interactivity. Even a mediocre game is more involving than most comics, though this might be a problem with the writing. Give me an issue of Planetary and I'll be just as drawn in by it than I am with the latest Final Fantasy game. But otherwise, comic shelves offer little in appealing product.
Some of it is originality - I was playing my cousin's Dreamcast over Thanksgiving, drawn in by the sheer originality and quirkyness of the games. Shen Mue is an ultra-realistic, super-detailed virtual world. You are quite literally living another life. Jet Grind Radio is a pure sugar rush through the street of Tokyo, with a kickin' soundtrack. Shame I didn't get a chance to play Samba de Amigo: the controllers are maracas.
Maracas!!!
What would it take for comics to create this kind of excitement, this kind of buzz? Better stories and art are a given, but what else? More innovative packaging? Changing the format? It seems that only so much can be achieved on paper - perhaps the Internet will providing the revolution I look for. Or maybe I'm just reading too much Scott McCloud.
Thus I present my wish list. Things I would like to see soon, besides Metal Gear Solid 2. I want more fantasy comics in the vein of Squaresoft games. I like their stories, I think I'd like to read more. Producing comics that closely emulate the style of certain types of games might be a good way to draw gamers into the comics world, if pulled off correctly.
I'd like to see joint ventures between games and comics... you know, tie-ins? Each medium showing a different facet of the same storyline. Might encourage people to try something new, by having gamers buy comics and fanboys buy games. Hey, we buy crossovers, don't we?
Okay, that was evil. But it's just an idea. Okay, something definite I want is more comics on the web. I love them. Anything well-written, well-designed, good presentations for all. I like the diversity available, and in the comfort of my own home, too.
That last comment is a big deal for every entertainment industry now, I think. People like to stay home and be amused. Arcade profits are down, perhaps even non-existent because console systems are the big thing now. People are buying DVD's like there's no tomorrow. I wonder where it's all going to go with print?
The new year is coming soon, and doesn't that always brings promise for the future? Be optimistic, keep reading and keep playing. Make a wish list. Surely something will pay off eventually.
Just as sure that I'm going to find a sweater and some CD's under the tree at Christmas.