#ericstephenson

As an individual who is passionate about the comics industry and is a part of it I think the message Eric Stephenson gave at ComicsPRO in Atlanta, Georgia is a very important one that retailers, publishers, creators and readers need to stand up and pay attention to.

Here's what he had to say:

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Stephenson is effectively saying in his speech that the Direct Market is still hugely relevant and important to the industry, if not vital and our audience is growing so we should be looking to the future instead of firmly rooting ourselves in the past. I'm very passionate about progress, innovation and improvement within the industry and feel similarly about the status quo.

Weekly and bi-weekly shipping, inflated cover prices, gimmick covers and variant covers with unrealistic incentives ARE diminishing to the industry.

He goes on to state that sustainability of the medium and the vitality of the marketplace should be our focus, and strength will not be found through nostalgia and continuing to appeal to a demographic that is dying.

Stephenson definitely has a point here...take the character Superman for example. He represents a particular period in American comic book history the "Golden Age of Comic Books" (Late 1930's to the early 1950's) when the archetype of the superhero was first conceived and defined. Granted the creation of Superman made comic books into a major industry and the superhero was undoubtedly the Golden Age's most significant contribution to popular culture but the relevance of these stories were more applicable and resonated at that time in history for a reason. During World War II the heavily war themed subject matter provided young readers hope in the form of easily read tales of the triumph of good over evil. However during Post-war era the popularity of superheroes diminished in favor of more diverse subject areas.

Fast forward to the 'Modern Age of Comic Books, and in the wake of revolutionary groundwork laid out by people such as Alan Moore and Frank Miller who actively changed the industry they were apart of from around the mid eighties onwards and again later in the nineties with the likes of Grant Morrison and Warren Ellis, the comics landscape is almost unrecognisable...it is a medium that is deeply broad, complex, sophisticated, transcendent, culturally relevant and which independent comics now flourish.

Unfortunately the major publishing houses became increasingly commercialised and for them it wasn't about pushing boundaries and steering the medium forwards creatively and artistically in the new millennium, but more about marketing, profits, shareholders. Out of this grew an inevitable injection of the superhero back into mainstream consciousness in the form of the superhero movie revolution, which publishers have undoubtedly capitalised on.

Whilst this certainly hasn't hurt the comic book industry we need to ask ourselves has it fairly represented it to a wider audience? The answer is no.

People know and are already familiar with characters like Superman, Batman, Spider-Man and the X-Men, the reality is that comics have a lot more to offer and the use of these commercial properties has not translated to a landfall of increased readership.

People instead look to the comic book industry instead and all they see is Marvel and DC comic book superheroes. What has happened is the industry hasn't necessarily gained the wider audience it needs and deserves but its been malformed instead. Whilst these films may have appealed to adults they haven't advanced the medium or provided challenging content and innovation. They have just encouraged ideas to be repurposed and limited creativity.

The Walking Dead on the other hand (with the support of new creativity) came out of nowhere and in little over 7 years has become a hit television series. This is a reactionary response to the success of the comic not the re-launch or re-boot of an existing idea by someone else. Image Comics and Robert Kirkman should be proud (i'm sure they are).

In todays current market Image Comics support new creativity, offer more original content and are trying to expand the marketplace whilst the rest of the entertainment industry is solely focused on re-makes, re-boots and sequels. Stephenson explains "We need to be on the frontline with the biggest, boldest, and best of the new ideas that will keep this industry healthy and strong for years to come."

He's not wrong...it is fairly evident that Eric Stephenson is tremendously proud of Image Comics and in a time where creative industries are lacking originality, ideas and are solely invested in prolonging existing IPs they should be the one's to set the tone and standard, to show everyone how it should be done.

In my mind there is absolutely no doubt they have been for years and will continue to do so in the future.