Off My Mind: Why Word of Mouth isn't Enough for Great Indie Comics

Drawing more attention to indie titles is a lot harder than any of you think--it's not just a matter of trying to give them more of the spotlight and the constant pattern of it falling on the big two; just as the article mentioned, consumers often time will go with more of their comfort-level of comics--they're hooked on familiarity. The trick is to convince THEM to step outside their comfort zones and take a risk. So here's MY challenge to the rest of you Viners: take some time out of your regular comic reading schedules, find a friend or two who has some interest in comics, and introduce them to indies that you feel may be good for them. Same goes with you--take a break from the Big Two and all their overexposed characters and read nothing but indies for a little bit. C'mon, I dare ya. I triple dog dare ya. Seriously:

I MEAN IT.

I'm a pretty casual Comics fan but I've always really enjoyed Witchblade. Sadly, it is usually not stocked by my LCS. I'm going to give Comixology another try since I see they have Witchblade now.

Indie comics not having space in the local comic store is probably the toughest challenge they face. No one can buy it if they can't see it.

i will admit. when i go to the comic shop, i will buy a mainstream or big 2 comic (mostly DC now) than i will buy an indie book. most of my indie books i buy in trades and when i do it is usually online or when i get angry at amazon, hit up the comic shop. you have to give amazon props for looking at the buying habits of comic readers because after i bought tons of batman and other DC books, it sent me an email for other books, all image, and idw and whatnot and what i read i love. if people opened their eyes and realized that many of their fave mainstream writers started at image or vertigo, or idw or dark horse, they would probably go crazy. or be super interested. open your eyes folks. these companies just do not find a writer because he submitted something to marvel or DC. they grinded to get to where they are now

a new series cannot stand against years of history and a universe full of popular characters. follow a comic from child hood to adult hood means a lot. most independent books are very mature and dont attract the young reader to grow with it

I've been trying for a while to get into Indie comics. I was hesitant like the article said but I remember going to NYCC 2011 and attending a panel with Filip Sabik, publisher of Top Cow, and hearing him speak about indie publishers and the passion he had made me want to check some out. I am now a fan of Artifacts and the Top Cow U but the LCS near me does not seem to carry those titles.

I think it's a combination of consumer dollars and publishers reaching out to vendors to carry their books. It's hard though, but these books need to continue.

I personally love image comics, i started getting into Invincible about a year ago and its now by far one of my favorite titles. I would suggest the book to everyone who is a comic reader and try to its just hard to get people on board with publishers that they don't already know and have a trust in, people just need to take a little leap of faith and try to spread their wings.

@lorex: @satanmode: It doesn't work like that. Comicvine is contingent on it's readership to stay afloat. Premium memberships is what keeps Whiskey Media in business. If you want to see more indie coverage, shell out the $50 a year and pay for a membership. More writers = more content. You can't do more with less.

i have a limited budget to buy comics, so for me to pick up an indie book over an established book i'm reading is really hard. i'll some times pick one up an indie if i have a little extra cash, but to replace a book that i currently read is near impossible. even if a current book is lacking and an indie i took a chance on is really good, there is always a chance that i might miss important story elements in my regular book.

i do have a little extra cash right now, so does anyone have any good recomendations that i could pick up on comixology right now?

@spiderbat87: yes i do , i have no idea why i wrote dark horse lol

I have found myself actually shying AWAY from big published comics and looking for more obscure places and sources.

I was a massive Marvel fanboy back when I was in school and now I am nearly 30 and in the past few years I am so happy I have stepped outside the "Marvel" box :D

May I suggest our MONSTERVERSE books if you seek quality independent horror comics? Created with talents like John Cassaday, Bruce Timm and more. Issue two comes out in March and features a stunning cover by make-up artist Rick Baker.

Our graphic novel series, FLESH AND BLOOD, recently won BEST ORIGINAL HORROR GN OF 2011 at ComicMonsters.com.

FLESH AND BLOOD is written by Robert Tinnell and illustrated by Neil Vokes.

MONSTERVERSE and BELA LUGOSI on FACEBOOK!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dallas-TX/Comics-from-the-MONSTERVERSE/118838267124?ref=mf

MONSTERVERSE Official Site

http://www.monsterverse.com/

MONSTERVERSE on TWITTER

http://www.twitter.com/monsterverse

MONSTERVERSE PROJECTS BLOG

http://monsterverseblog.blogspot.com/

FLESH AND BLOOD: A GRAPHIC NOVEL SERIES

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Flesh-and-Blood-A-Graphic-Novel-Series/194996407210317

I'll throw in, since I obviously have spoken up a few times about this recently. Your logic half alludes me here. Marvel and DC's comic books outsell other publishers and that's why they;re books are more known? No. There books are more known because they're more promoted, ei: word of mouth. Advertising. You see these characters on television, in movies, in cartoons, on toy shelves, on folders, on toothbrushes, on underpants, on candy wrappers in the gas station, in other products adverts, ect. But that somewhat beleaguers the actual point. What does what comic sells more have to do with what you choose to review and discuss, especially given it's already known, that it is already well known about anyways? Your not a salesmen to the best of my knowledge, you are a journalist and hobbyist having fun and working at the same time, and your audience isn't solicitors it's comic readers, underline comic, in general. People with heavy interest in the art and medium itself. Personally, that means my interest is not in what sales what company nor book does. I could care, but I could really care less. I'm no more a salesperson for say Zenescope, nor IDW, nor Vertigo than you yourself actually are. What I am is an Comicvine.com member and a reader. For awhile now I find myself spending a lot of time at CBR, and I will tell you why: There I can get information on comic books, and especially information I don't already because just by logical assertion I already know books with Batman and Spider-man are in print in whose reading them, so why would I need to be informed that they are, or that in this issue Batman and Spider-man will have a conflict with " insert name " member of their rogues gallery? I used to read Wizard Magazine rather heavily, which as you know has been a wildly successful publication in terms, and one might conclude that you yourself would look to their success and the reason for it as a source of inspiration as you find yourself engaged in the exact same field of news coverage as they did. Well, the reason that publication was so successful and sought, and the reason I really enjoyed it as well, was not because they went out of their way to prop the most selling in the industry. This is clear to the casual eye just by looking at the covers. At the height of their success, the X-Men books were the top selling books consistently, period, no debate there at all. Did every cover grace an image of X-Men on it? No, it didn't. There covers featured characters from various bodies of work, often, characters like Witchblade whom you've mentioned, and the Darkness from the same publisher. And Erik Larson's The Savage Dragon. And Spawn. And Bone. And Wildcats. And Gen 13. And so on. Were these the top selling books in the industry at the time? Nope, X-Men was. Were they the most well know, and safest characters as you have put it here? Nope, The X-Men were, Spider-man was, Batman was, Superman was, the Flash was, ect. Inside a Wizard issue there was the real huge interest for me. Was it laden with coverage of these aforementioned safe/go-to characters? Nope. In fact, most of the articles about those characters actually challenged the integrity of their related comics, and of the Big Two. Inside, the Wizard issues has a round robust and extremely diverse coverage, always making strides to point out the most vague and likely very well unknown of things, and to do so in a manner that treated them with equal merit as anything else. And that, is why I enjoyed reading it, for one. I loved what any audience loves: Seeing something new. Learning something new. Experiencing new art. I loved finding out about all these odd little details and products in the industry and from around the world there. I loved the adventure I was being taken on, rather than the cliche staleness of the same old news. The second, was the journalists, the Wizard name. After awhile they became known to me, and I was not only as much interested in what new things I would be discovering when leafing through the pages, but that it was coming from people I now spent time of my life with getting to know and respect the opinions of. But bringing up the money, as you seem to conclude that's what matters. Wizard costs money, but I willingly paid it, in addition to what I paid for comics, and in fact, reading it came before many. But there was yet another publication that also contained the same well rounded, diverse, cultured and interesting comic book news and imagery that Wizard did, and it was Comic Shop News, and that one was 100% free, didn't cost even a penny. Bringing this now around to you and why it applies. Again note what I care about. I'm going to CBR but I'm not really involved in their articles nor forums. Instead, I'm reading solicits. In fact, I save those pages directly to my hard drive for later use. All of them, every company. When I'm reading through them I find an occurrence. I zip through the DC and Marvel ones. At just a glance, I already know whats contained within. Maybe I'll stop at that one with a different title. That 1-shot or new mini series coming out. Some third stringer book. Then, with other companies, the Indy as we like to call them, I'm actually captivated. I spend and take my time reading those solicits in detail, and inspect the cover images. Because this is, and pardon the pun, news to me. So with that in mind it could be assumed that I actually read a round selection of comics, one that isn't graciously selective to DC nor Marvel. So I already completed your challenge me, your welcome, and looking at most of these responses, not that it's a surprise since I've spent well over three years here and know these people, apparently I'm not the only one, and maybe still, we aren't the ones who need to answer that challenge, because we don't read just Marvel and DC here, nor do we cater to your safe and sound theory, rather, we are the dedicated enthusiasts and that is part of why we gather here together in the first place. So why complain to you? Well first, I'm not complaining, I know that much personally. I just complemented you a few days ago on your coverage of a Swedish Indy comic book. Often I find people dig for motivation behind my compliments when there is none, and there isn't much I can do for that. I'm a Renaissance in an era I shouldn't be. But more to the point I'm just talking, speaking my mind, the same as you or anyone is here, and I'm telling you how I feel about what your saying, which I believe is the point and natural recourse here. Now, the thing is, I don't like spending my time at CBR, nor reading through solicits. Solicits are...cold. There like reading the ingredients off the side of a Cheerios box. Or a fortune from a fortune cookie. Ect. I'm on Comicvine for reasons, the easy to guess one is because I'm interested in comic books. But that's not what keeps me captivated, because I can get all that from reading comics. So is it the aforementioned finding something new thing? Well not really, because as you yourself are even saying here, your not really even providing that. So what is it? It's a community. That's why. Because I love and care for the people here, especially for everything that makes them diverse and interesting. And of course as a result of caring for them, I care for what they think and say, their opinions matter to me. Coming finally to you and why I request you talk more about a diverse range of books. Sure I can go find out what's in print, and for sale, and in development on those machine printed solicits, and in books, ect. But, I know you. I know you, and Babs, and Tom Pinchuck, and inferiorego, and xerox_kitty, and this is important: I care about you and what the rest of the staff think, and I want to hear what you think about these other Indy books G-Man. I don't want to know what CBR thinks, I don't know them, I don't understand them or know their quirks, and I really don't care about them. I care what you think, and I relate to what you think in that I can either decide to or not to read a comic, but much more importantly, I care about talking about you and others about these books. I'm not here to read the comics, or hear a sales pitch. I'm here to read you and the rest of Comicvine's staffs, and the userships opinions. So, in that, does what books is making the most money really matter, and should it even dictate what you write about. No, I don't think it does nor should even be considered, since what I'm here for is you. Ultimately, what you write about and do is your choice to state the grossly obvious, but to your thoughts therefore mine in return. Would I like you to talk about something other than stuff I've been beaten over the head to death with before you even mentioned it. Yes, I believe I laid that much out. And would your word of mouth help to sell comics? Yes, because people would now know about something they didn't from someone they believe in, care about, and trust, from the site they feel equally about. Sound dramatic? No, because the fact that people are here indicates it's the truth, and that I'm even bothering with this long winded diatribe should indicate my intent. Last, will your word of mouth make titles climb to the top of the corporate sales ladder? Who cares, that's the right answer. I don't and neither should you, because that's neither of our prerogatives, and this isn't the CNBC stock exchange. It's your peoples site, and were all here to here and your great entertaining opinions every day or so. You can tell me a story about how you gargled mouthwash this morning and I'm going to check it out. So will others as you'll know when they post some kind of commentary. So you can also talk to me about books that are not top sellers, and that I don't know as much about as I would like to, and I will be captivated. Any of that, which at the end of things is my opinion mind you, I retort, and challenge you, to give some Indy books a try, and try something different, and come on her and talk about them more often, and put aside the whole notion that what books are the top twenty sellers are whats the most important, or even an obligation for that matter, and given the truth is myself and most other dedicated comic readers already answered you challenge prior to it even being issued and read a variety of comics. You'll be liked again either way, and your articles are well done regardless of the subject anyways, but why not, and that's really always the correct question to ask. And sure, you guys do an occasional one. Another thing here too, it's not just the coverage of vague books, or even Indy books. What this lined logic also of following the top sellers numbers also seems to influence is your coverage or not of otherwise popular books and ones with characters that have heavy interest invested in them among the users here. Like for example: Spider-Island. You didn't cover it. We really didn't even get much Amazing Spider-man at all. You did post the solicits for some of the tie-ins months in advance, bu that was it, and no real opinions of yours since there couldn't be as the books weren't even available yet. Your reasoning was it wasn't the top selling book, therefore no one was reading it nor interested in Spider-man. You yourself said you enjoyed the read otherwise, and I went on to cover the even as best I could instead, which is, my writing and composition are terrible so I copy and pasted the again empty solicits instead. Instead we were hit with repeat articles with images of what the Avengers special Asgardian forged costumes looked like in Fear Itself, first shadowed then revealed, and of course, and I'm sure you know exactly how much real interest there was about that here, and as well how poorly it was received anyways, and ended up just to be a sales pitch and not a very integral nor important part of the story as it were. But, it was making a lot of money, so there's that? You picked up after the end once the event itself drove ASM's sales up higher, and a Scarlet Spider, something you had invested much of your journalism in prior became relevant again. The only real coverage I saw here of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles book, which I consider pretty popular and important characters in the scheme of things, was due to the first issue achieving huge sales and going into immediate reprint status. But you must know that that logic isn't sound, not by a long shot. Those are just Diamond Distributors numbers, they are for stock and sales purposes, and it ends there. They do not indicate, nor dictate, what readers actual interests are, which are definitely Spider-man, and are actually comics in general. Just because a book is selling less than another does not mean no one is reading it either. Just because five people are into one thing, doesn't make the other four into something else invisible. Food for thought, and since you brought it up, there's your answer. Mind you this comes from me, who is nobody and some not successful important person as far as anyone is concerned, so take any of it how you wish to. Though I can tell you an inkling I know for fact for...some reason, is that accolades in any end of the entertainment spectrum is not currently gaged by the figures pulled in nor by pandering to what already sells, it's judged and applauded by originality, ei: something "new and relatively unheard of" and going against the grain. Hence why Micheal Bay's shelf is not lined with Oscar awards for best director despite his films pulling in the big bank rolls. So, in order of what people are saying that your noticing, and what they are requesting, key word, not demanding, nor complaining about you, is perhaps a few more of these issues out there getting some good coverage, maybe a few that you mentioned in your OP. And if not, it was worth a try anyways. Personally I want to know what you think of say Infestation 2, or would have loved to here what you thought of the sequel to Alex Ross's Marvels, or the GIJOE books given the film is coming out soon, and Transformers, as we have a dedicated fanbase to those books here, and yes, The Ghostbusters, since they are good reads and a popular entity, or Critter, or Lenore, or Lady Death, or any of the huge number of comics, well known and by well known and respected pioneers of the industry, or not, ect. I read a few of those myself, but what does Comicvine think of them, that is what I'm looking for here. Your a good journalist, and I want to know whats in your head about these things.

- in summary and underlining the points

-- This a site filled with comic extremists. We already read a diverse collection of comics. The wiki work done here is a testament to that.

-- There is no connection between what are the top ten to twenty most profiting books and why people want to see reviews of them by you. The motive isn't to boost the sales of the books, they only print as many copies as they do anyways.

I guess a way to look at why I don't agree with your logic is this: Let's list a few names here and then go over to Diamond Distributors list and look at what their comic sales show - Aquaman, Transformers, GIJOE, Star Trek, Star Wars, True Blood, Doctor Who, Ghostbusters, Sonic The Hedgehog, Alice In Wonderland, Disney related characters, Adventure Time, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Hellboy guitarist Tom Morello, Alex Ross, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The X-Men, Wolverine, Spider-man, The Incredible Hulk, The Fantastic Four, Army Of Darkness, Dick Tracy, LEGO, Flash Gordon, 30 Days Of Night, Anne Rice, H.P. Lovecraft, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, Godzilla, Jurassic Park, Duke Nukem, Mark Twain, Robert Kirkman, Sherlock Holmes, vampires, zombies and Stephen King.

All of the listed have some things in common. They all have people who are interested in them, and they all have some sort of comic publication if not many attached to them that is or will be released in the first quarter of this year. Now, taking a look on Diamond Distributor's list, which by definition, is a list of the number of bulk orders retailers made from their company, not which readers actually bought and not mindful of details like where retailers where actually required to order a certain amount of product in bulk and the incentives offered as far as returns go, and of course the actual books that didn't sell to customers and those either put in back issue bins and or packaged and returned for credit on a latter order. According to this list, Aquaman proceeds all of the things on the list, in fact and of course none of them are even in the top ten, only DC related titles are. In fact all of these entities a incredibly low compared to bulk orders of both DC and Marvel issues. So, going by your logic, if we made projections inquiring which of these was the most popular, being had the most people in existence that were interested in the subject, in comic readers or outside of that, as well an assumption of what subject what get more views here than the others, Aquaman stands tall at the top of that list, in fact he is monstrously more popular than the rest and scores of people will view topics about him, whereas maybe one or two will even bother with the rest. I'm not certain nor can I be what caused you to look at things in such a fashion, but personally I not only disagree, I also think your math fails here as well. If you asked me which of these entities had the least amount of people that were interested in it by and large, I would quickly say Aquaman, and I believe I would be right.

-- People don't read your articles because of interest in which books are selling more than the others. They read your articles because your popular, and liked, and their interested in your opinions.

-- It stand to reason that since the above doesn't matter, you can review what ever. It is your choice, not mine nor anyone elses what you do, but also, why not. If all else it makes you stand out, and that yes will get you more views if that's what you feel is important in picking your subject matter, and it's understandable that it would be. The most unique topics here are the ones that pull in the most interest. Though again, by logic your topics will only get the amount of views they would either way, because again people are here for you before all else.Yes your cool, did no one inform you? :P

Maybe someone could be the dedicated independent article writer (not that other people can't do it).

Also adding independent issues, authors, characters, publishers, reviews, etc. to this site helps. See if a comic you like is here, or just pick a publisher, genre, writer, or whatever. Even if you only do 3 issues a week, that's over 150 a year.

i have a limited budget to buy comics, so for me to pick up an indie book over an established book i'm reading is really hard. i'll some times pick one up an indie if i have a little extra cash, but to replace a book that i currently read is near impossible. even if a current book is lacking and an indie i took a chance on is really good, there is always a chance that i might miss important story elements in my regular book.

i do have a little extra cash right now, so does anyone have any good recomendations that i could pick up on comixology right now?

@nnotdead: You might also try looking in your local library for trades. They may tend to stock the Big Two, but I've seen hardbacks for Invincible at my local library, along with trades for The Walking Dead, Buffy, and other non-DC or Marvel properties. Sometimes you can read these for free, just by doing a search in your local library catalog, or by using their ILL service!

@rupertbollinger: i love cats

The only indie comic I have read so far was Fray by Joss Whedon and I really enjoyed it! I only found out about this comic through Joss Whedon's works with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and I was interested in how well structured this story was.
 
So about the state of indie comics, I agree that there needs to be more recognition for the indie comics since most of the time, I hear mostly reviews about Marvel or DC comics, even though there are a couple of reviews on indie comics.  However, I think the reason why indie comics are not as well known as Marvel and DC comics are is because Marvel and DC comics have the most merchandise for their franchises and there are barely any indie related comics that have any kind of merchandising that would make it well known to the public.  Probably one of the few indie comics that are well known to the public are "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "The Walking Dead" because they both have TV series that are based off their franchise.
 
I also think that some comic companies are afraid of trying something totally different because they want to make a profit out to the comics, but that would occasionally mean that they only sell comics that would sell and therefore, a lot of the lesser known comics are often thrown to the side for the sake of profit.  I think that the comic companies that sell indie comics need to take a chance and try something different, even though making money is important, but this would be a good way for more fans to recognize the indie comics that are not well known to the public.

You do a good job at selling us when you do review the indy scene though, G-man. Two I've bought and loved due to your reviews are Cowboy Ninja Viking and Mesmos Delivery. So grateful to you for those=)

I wonder if print runs can be related to sales rating. An "Indie" book like Fables probably has a print of of 20,000 copies. Whereas the DC New 52 books like Batman are 100,000 plus. Even if you want to get your hands on the new buzz indie comic, first issues can sell out fast. The low print runs make sense for the smaller publisher as they can't afford to lose money on a large print run if its not a hit....

@cjc1303: I still don't consider Image to be Indie, and Robert Kirkman, sometimes putts in other comics at the end for artist!

@cjc1303: I still don't consider Image to be Indie, and Robert Kirkman, sometimes putts in other comics at the end for artist!

@lorex said:

Hate to say this G-Man but you are part of the system that focuses most the attention onto the big publishers leaving the indies out in the cold in terms of press coverage and attention. Marvel or DC will announce their next big event, whatever it may be and shortly there are numerous articles on this website about that event and what that will mean for their respective universes. The indies cant match the hype machines DC and Marvel have available to them thus they get less attention. Also every Wednesday there will almost always be a review of a comic with Batman in it and another with Wolverine. The rest will mostly be reviews from other Marvel or DC comics with the occasional indie thrown in. Some might say the site is covering the titles the fans are most interested in. That may be true but how are we the fans that are not in the know suppost to find out about the good indie comics out there if the comic news site they go to does not prominently display that info. Generally I think the staff of Comic Vine does a good job but you need to spread your focus around more to the entire comic book industry.

Bong, bong.

@CATPANEXE:

Oy, that was a lot! But I feel where you're coming from. I really don't come to CV for staff reviews/articles anymore. Honestly, I come to update my blog, hit the forums, etc. I joined this site because I couldn't help becoming a member of the community. When I want an opinion on a book I do check out certain staff members reviews. But I make my ultimate decision via LCS word of mouth and a general reception by the CV Users. When I want news about books that genuinely interest me I check out other sites. I come here to build and shoot the breeze. Like you said, I think most of use viners are very well versed and have diverse taste in comics. And lord knows most of us have been promoting them on our own for a while. So for myself at least, I can say I've been holding the line in this battle for a good while.

That being said, I highly suggest reading the following titles; Morning Glories, The Unwritten, Fatale, Invincible, Infinite Vacation, Hellblazer, American Vampire, Severed, Xombi (not indy but it may as well be a vertigo book and the trade's out now),& many other titles I've listed here

@CATPANEXE:

Oy, that was a lot! But I feel where you're coming from. I really don't come to CV for staff reviews/articles anymore. Honestly, I come to update my blog, hit the forums, etc. I joined this site because I couldn't help becoming a member of the community. When I want an opinion on a book I do check out certain staff members reviews. But I make my ultimate decision via LCS word of mouth and a general reception by the CV Users. When I want news about books that genuinely interest me I check out other sites. I come here to build and shoot the breeze. Like you said, I think most of use viners are very well versed and have diverse taste in comics. And lord knows most of us have been promoting them on our own for a while. So for myself at least, I can say I've been holding the line in this battle for a good while.

That being said, I highly suggest reading the following titles; Morning Glories, The Unwritten, Fatale, Invincible, Infinite Vacation, Hellblazer, American Vampire, Severed, Xombi (not indy but it may as well be a vertigo book and the trade's out now),& many other titles I've listed here

I suggest that comicvine do a Top 10 or even Top 5 indies of the month to get them some much needed publicity. You guys have a lot of pull and maybe a good word will give readers that much needed push to go out on a limb or maybe a bad review will stop some readers from having a stigma about buying indie comics.

Also, if your a reader then download the first issue (or even the first arc or two depending on how long the series has been going) from a torrent and if you like it, buy it, if not then you didn't waste your money.

Personally, I would suggest: Irredeemable, Luther Strode, Orchid, The Umbrella Academy, and Xenoholics.

@lorex said:

Hate to say this G-Man but you are part of the system that focuses most the attention onto the big publishers leaving the indies out in the cold in terms of press coverage and attention. Marvel or DC will announce their next big event, whatever it may be and shortly there are numerous articles on this website about that event and what that will mean for their respective universes. The indies cant match the hype machines DC and Marvel have available to them thus they get less attention. Also every Wednesday there will almost always be a review of a comic with Batman in it and another with Wolverine. The rest will mostly be reviews from other Marvel or DC comics with the occasional indie thrown in. Some might say the site is covering the titles the fans are most interested in. That may be true but how are we the fans that are not in the know suppost to find out about the good indie comics out there if the comic news site they go to does not prominently display that info. Generally I think the staff of Comic Vine does a good job but you need to spread your focus around more to the entire comic book industry.

Aside from being a major DC fan, I have an extensive back catalogue of Hellboy and BPRD TBPs (alongside the Lobster Johnson and Abe Sapien ones, as well as various others Graphic Novels the likes of Tank Girl, Ex Machina, and some Ben Templesmith works like Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse and 30 Days of Night. 
 
I was checking out the Comixology app (which I have) and I noticed there are quite a lot of first issues that are free to download and read for the more indie series' out there.  As a example I browsed the Templesmith section and found the first issue of Singularity 7 on there for free. I read it and thought it was great! 
 
I know I'm up for some more indie comic reviews, especially for those I can download (legally) for free so that others can just as easily give them a go too! 

That's what I've been saying.

If your tired of seeing the same stuff...read other material. Read Top Cow/ Dark Horse some manga really...DC/Marvel they have become so predictable its almost a waste to even go into a deep thought about someone dying.

Deadpool...shit he'll comeback like Johnny Storm. Just like Bruce Wayne will be batman (unless in an else-world), Wonder Woman won't retire and be Queen cause of New 52 etc.etc...Really

I like some of the stories that come out of DC/Marvel but I do read other stuff for more BEEF!!

Darkness!! Best Ability and Worst Curse of an ability to have...NO SEX or you DIE!...NOOO (but he did pull it off for those that don't know).

Vampire Hunter D (THE NOVELS) not those illustrated manga's, the Original's. Dark Horse is putting those out.

Nemesis

Hack & Slash

Shi

Spawn_hell Al's gone after #600! but still...600 comics and a New GUY...THATS AN EVENT!

Powers_ This would make a great Live Action TV Show!

Blade of The Immortal

Berserk!

Cyber Force

High School of the Dead

JTHM (Johnny The Homicidal Maniac) My Favorite! This is done by the same guy behind Invader Zim.

I'm sure we all got hitters to fill this page, but these are some of mine (I got more).

Out of everything in DC/Marvel I'm still only really excited about Red Lanterns having a series and Finally a Red Lantern of Earth! Hell not to make us seem even more high up on ourselves but, Red Lantern seems more likely than Green showing up all the time.

@JonesDeini said:

Bong, bong.

Ok, what are you doing about it? Whiskey Media isn't like CBR or iFanboy - they don't rely on advertising. If you want more coverage pay for a premium membership. The more money Whiskey Media gets, the more writers they can hire.

@GiveUpNed said:

@JonesDeini said:

Bong, bong.

Ok, what are you doing about it? Whiskey Media isn't like CBR or iFanboy - they don't rely on advertising. If you want more coverage pay for a premium membership. The more money Whiskey Media gets, the more writers they can hire.

Why would anyone buy premium membership when they have nothing to gain from it. Getting premium doesn't automatically mean new writers would be hired and it's unlikely that they would be based off the whim of a single person.

If the staff wants me to pay to read their articles, then they'll have to actually take the initiative and produce stuff I'd be willing to pay to read.

Who is that guy in the picture?

@GiveUpNed said:

@lorex: @satanmode: It doesn't work like that. Comicvine is contingent on it's readership to stay afloat. Premium memberships is what keeps Whiskey Media in business. If you want to see more indie coverage, shell out the $50 a year and pay for a membership. More writers = more content. You can't do more with less.

While I understand your point, I respectfully disagree. I think there are other voices in this thread (some with Premium memberships, some without) that would agree that increased coverage of non Marvel/DC titles would add value to this site. In my opinion, dropping a tiny 3 paragraph article like "Should Villains Have Their Own Ongoing Series?" and replacing it with a review of a great indie title (that was also promoted at the top of the CV homepage) would not hurt their bottom line. And if that happened once a week, it seems like it would make a lot of people in this thread happy.

In regard to memberships, CV has let a number of things fall by the wayside that I enjoyed most about it when I first discovered it. I don't know the reasons why it has happened, but it has. No disrespect to the CV staff or affiliated people, but I won't pay $50 in hope of a return to greater days. To me, a membership payment means you approve of the direction of the site, not that you wish it to reverse its course. If CV could improve the scope of its coverage, that would be a return to something I could get behind.

@CATPANEXE said:

... What I am is an Comicvine.com member and a reader. For awhile now I find myself spending a lot of time at CBR, and I will tell you why: There I can get information on comic books, and especially information I don't already because just by logical assertion I already know books with Batman and Spider-man are in print in whose reading them, so why would I need to be informed that they are, or that in this issue Batman and Spider-man will have a conflict with " insert name " member of their rogues gallery?...

Agreed. I've been visiting Bleeding Cool a bunch recently for the same reason.

This site is compendium of knowledge, great article

I agree that indies are the way to go, with the output of Image, IDW, and Dark Horse(among other) being so good, my stack each week has had less from the big 2, and more from smaller companies. And it always feels better giving your money to something that is creator owned. We talk about the Kirkman's and Spencer's new New Image book "Thief of Thieves" in our last episode of A Comic Book Look:

http://inveteratemediajunkies.com/2012/02/14/a-comic-book-look-comic-book-show-episode-30-variants-thief-of-thieves-and-more-new-comic-reviews/

@G-Man

@Decoy Elite said:

@GiveUpNed said:

@JonesDeini said:

Bong, bong.

Ok, what are you doing about it? Whiskey Media isn't like CBR or iFanboy - they don't rely on advertising. If you want more coverage pay for a premium membership. The more money Whiskey Media gets, the more writers they can hire.

Why would anyone buy premium membership when they have nothing to gain from it. Getting premium doesn't automatically mean new writers would be hired and it's unlikely that they would be based off the whim of a single person.

If the staff wants me to pay to read their articles, then they'll have to actually take the initiative and produce stuff I'd be willing to pay to read.

Sorry I am actually shocked at GiveUpNed's reply! and fully agree with Decoy on this. What you are asking people to do is invest in the site so they may get the content they want...Lets have a look at it like this I go to the shop and want a mars bar...but the shop does not have Mars bars...But they say if I invest the 50 bucks that I "May" get a mars bar...but wait look there is a shop over the road selling Mars bars at no cost! Guess where I am going to go.

It is a poor excuse to say that the site does not write more about Indie comics because they do not have the staff and we need the users (who contribute on a large scale to the database and the forums) to pay so they can have something they want to read. I have been a member here for just shy of six years, been a mod and the Indie comics hardly get covered, sure there has been the odd thing here and there that gets brought up. Which is fine, as I understand that Marvel and DC are a big pull for Comicvine and they get attention. The articles are always well written and most of the time enjoyable.

But to say that you need people to buy the content they want is just cheap and shocking.

<----paid member. Have been since it was first offered. I don't pay because I expect special content (although the premium videos are nice). I pay because I like to support awesome people doing pretty cool things (and because I was/am a CV addict and it gives me access to the mobile site) and being a paid member is a way for me to 'donate' to Whiskey Media.

To say that I should pay in order to receive good quality content is absolutely ludicrous. I shouldn't pay in order to gain something and then hey maybe by some chance they'll have something I like behind the pay wall. No, they should be enticing people to pay. That's how a business works. You have a product that people want and you offer said product. You don't go 'hey...maybe if you pay, we'll some day give you the product that you want'. What the heck kind of logic is that?

Fully agree with Arrow and Decoy on this one.

@Final Arrow:

were is this shop that offers you free mars bars that you speak of?
BB

I have to agree. I think its hard enough for the big boys, imagine for indie writers.

I like Indie comics the way they are now. You bring in more people, that's just begging for more crappy writers and poor storyline decisions.

I like Indie comics the way they are now. You bring in more people, that's just begging for more crappy writers and poor storyline decisions.

Indie comics work better as graphic novels. If I was and indie publisher I would just release I series of one-shot's and re-prints of one-shots and then if interest grew for a paticular title I would than release a graphic novel sequal as many pages as it took to finish the story at a reasonable price. expecting someone to pay 4 bucks or more on a chance that the title might be good isn't a good business model. I also like how DC/Marvel advertised "Infestation 2 from IDW" in Stormwatch and New Mutants storylines. I wonder where those creatures came from?

Everyone if you can come to the Image Comics Expo in Oakland California Feb24-26!!!! Im going and so are hundreds of others and i know if you love and support image/Topcow/ and all Image related titles youll have a blast. IMAGE.

Most part of my pull-list are created owned or indie.