OMG -A Hooper Monday (??) Sermon of sorts

I cannot imagine doing this myself but I hear three other Indie publishers (US based) have decided to quit because "no one reads comics unless theyare Marvel or DC" and "This virus has **** up our year of events".

Now I have tried to help by offering to promote their books or link their websites but, no: they are going.

At a time when Marvel and DC have not been publishing comics and Diamond distributor crapped out its own nose you might think people who are really into comics might try Indies. No.

I have so many comics that are Indie because a cover draws my attention, I take a quick peek inside and bought it. Now if I get home and the book is crap it is crap but I TRIED it. I have had a lot of fun reading Indie comics that are drawn amateurishly. Not laughing at the art -you draw the way you draw and if you publish a comic and feel proud of iot getting verbal or online abuse about your "crappy art" is NOT what you deserve. Did you enjoy writing and/or drawing it? Was it fun? Then that is what matters. It's creative and I will not shout down people who do comics to be creative or have fun.

The best review I ever gave a Small Press Comic...well, I flicked through it and thought "crap". Then I sat down to read it and every page was pure fun and you could tell that the creator was having fun (I need to look up the title again I think it featured in a Comics World review back in the early 1990s!).

If you look at some of the most successful Indie comics, some made into movies, the art work varied in quality.

A lot of successful European comics/bandes dessinees are not what you would call a "slick style" or "What you would call pro comics standard".  The truth is that there is no such thing as a "pro comics style".  Jack Kirby -anatomy etc sometimes "out there" but sheer brilliance and you see many try to copy and fail since. In fact, writing that I just realised that the list could go on forever.  John Buscema -incredible artist and with Tom Palmer inking the art was almost photographic. If you weigh up the 'industry standard' by Buscema and Palmer...everyone fails.

If you look at Golden Age artists -US or UK- then most fail.

Everyone is different. Everyone has a style of their own.

Now what do those artists do if the publishers are going?  Stack supermarket shelves? If you are an artist you cannot really "turn it off" so do they self publish in an environment where very few actually support or buy Indie or Small Press comics?

I would say "oddly enough" but I've found it is not that odd; "sexy" covers -naked or topless females and especially the variants of one title featuring various "poses" tend to sell well. Before you say "Typical immature male fantasies" I should point out that a lot of women buy these comics. During my extremely poorly paid and ripped off "adult erotic comics" writer I was told on three occasions that the most mail (letters) received came from women -including ones asking if they could be drawn into the books! I've even had conversations about those books with some very well known female comic creators who read the books and found nothing wrong with them.

You see, if people want that sort of thing then why not? Some like to just have super heroes, some monsters and vampires and others crime noir. Comics cover them all and they are all drawn in varying styles.

Just as I would urge anyone to support Indie Music and Indie films I urge anyone who really has an interest in comics to try Indie. Perhaps the fear is that once you've had black and white you'll never go back?

So think about it. A lot of publishers have gone out of business inthe last few years and if you are a collector into the financial side of comics then Indies have limited low print runs.

To any Indie comics publishers out there facing that precipice I'd say not to give up.