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MODERN DAYS This is the last installment of Modern Days. It’s been a mad year, and I simply don’t have the time to continue it. Still, it’s been fun, even if I haven’t received nearly enough fan mail. It’s not even a year since I wrote the first installment of this column. Hell, this time last year (I’m writing this well ahead of the time you’ll see it) I’d never heard of PopImage. When I came to write the first installment of this column, I wrote it with a real enthusiasm, if not as much finesse as I might have liked. Still, over the last year, I like to think that the column has matured a bit, and I’ve learned to work within the restrictions I set myself with the work: each column has been written at one sitting, with absolutely no forethought as to a topic. Still, things have changed and it’s time to move on and start doing something new. Look back in your own life. What were you doing this time last year? What were you reading? Listening to? Thinking? If you’re anything like me, it was probably quite different to what you’re you’re thinking now. This time last year, I was in the middle of a science kick, reading Richard Dawkins and Michio Kaku, while now I’m reading Ian Sinclair and books on London’s ghosts and psychogeography. But oddly enough, the comics I’m reading haven’t changed. Actually, no, that’s not true. The comics I’m reading have changed, because I buy only high-quality works (or something like that). Still, most comics haven’t. What marks this year’s Fantastic Four from last? What’s different with Superman? Precious little. "No change, just the illusion of change." Isn’t that the mantra? And isn’t it really fucked up? Is there anyone here that actually thinks that this is any way to tell a story? I suspect that even the most ardent fan of "nostalgia comics" would agree that you can’t sustain a series on that sort of concept. Not a chance. Except that they keep on buying them. So, for the last time, a plea: Please stop. I’ve said it before: we have the power to make things change, if we vote with our wallets. Yet, I am alarmingly aware that there is a large faction within the readership of comics that like things the way they are. These people are filthy and disgusting in my sight. If you’re one of those people that panicked when you heard about Ultimate Marvel, afraid that your exclusive little toys would be taken from you, then firstly, seek professional help, and secondly, please stay away from me. Comics don’t change, and it’s killing them. They don’t change, because the mass of comics fans don’t want them to, or rather, don’t want to force them to. I hear people bemoaning the quality of the comics they buy all the time, but that doesn’t stop them shelling out their hard-earned on them. This isn’t just stupid, it’s sending comics companies the wrong message. It looks like we like things the way they are, and that means that comics will die. Not "may die". Will die. Their audience dwindles year by year, as kids grow up, and no-one replaces them. Just because you’re still reading comics at 20, 40, however old you are, doesn’t mean that you are in any way representative. Make no mistake, comics are still "for kids", because they’ve never behaved like they weren’t. Mind you, it’s not all doom and gloom. If you listen, you’ll catch Grant Morrisson and Mark Millar talking about the cyclical nature of the business, the boom-and-bust cycle of the industry. You’ll have heard them making noises about how it’s in the next five years or so that comics will become trendy again. I’m not sure I’d go quite so far as to try and put a timescale on it, but I’m inclined to agree – the pendulum will swing the other way again. If you look around, you can see the signs of it already. Creatively, the medium is reaching a high point. There’s more good work out there than there has been in years. It may not be in the mainstream of comics, but it is out there, and with the power of the internet, it’s much easier to hear about what’s good and what’s not. If you’re not buying good stuff, it’s no-one’s fault what but your own, because there are plenty of people out there who will point in the direction of the good stuff, whether if be reviewers on sites like this one, of participants in any one of the dozens of on-line comics communities. As the quality of comics is rising, we’re also starting to see a shift in the way in the industry publishes. Trade paperbacks are increasingly common. Original graphic novels are being produced with greater frequency. The comic form is mutating into something more credible, with great mainstream appeal. Yes, things are changing. But they’re not changing fast enough, and there are too many people that are happy with the status quo. Which just makes the job of encouraging and enacting changing harder. Still, the power is in your hands. Go out and start fucking using it. Right now. And on that note, I’m done. Hope you’ve enjoyed these columns.
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