Met some old friends at the con and shooting the breeze. Asked them where they buy their comics these days. The answer: Kinokuniya.
I know Kino has a policy of bringing in the trades and graphic novels but leaving the single issues to the comics shops. A balance, a trade-off as we need the comics shops alive to keep the fandom/community going. Or just a place to hang out if you are old school like me.
Looks like the balance is shifting. Or perceptions are. Comics = trades and graphic novels. Hardly anyone (has the time?) to follow and buy singles. Arguments have been made in the US about the importance of single issues. Not everyone has the luxury to work on a long story. What/Who's going to pay the bills when you spent months working on a 100 page graphic novel? Most comics companies do not pay advances like book publishers. Single issues is still the norm for most.
So what the views of comics shops owners in all these? I actually suggested that the con should have such a debate, about the state of the scene and industry. But alas...
Debate on the comics scene? That's an interesting idea i had years ago. The thing is, in my experience of promoting comics (not very successful), is that Singaporeans do not want to be most intellectual about their comics.
ReplyDeleteThe most intellectual remarks ever made by Singaporeans i have heard is at Kino where a guy tries to show off his knowledge to his friend or girlfriend, and sometimes a debate or two pops up in the conversations. That is as (pseudo-)intellectual as it will ever be.
I have actually done a bit of observation on comic readers in Singapore, and I'm still looking for someone who looks at comics intellectually, not that I want to be a snob about it (as if many fanboys aren't snobbish), but rather no one is doing it, so i thought it'd be cool to sort of be different from the other readers by taking comics even more seriously and academically than them. But guess what, i am all alone in the comics scene.
How readers want to read these comics should be decided by the readers themselves and not the publishers.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I like them collected into thicker volumes. Easier to read and collect.
I get my individual issues from G&B (cheaper) and my graphic novels/TPBs from Comics Mart. I read quite a bit of indie publications and Comics Mart has a more reliable order system. I'll only drop by Kino. when they have the member sales to pick up any books that I haven't already.
ReplyDeletehttp://opentrolley.com.sg
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