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In Wizard Magazine 175 (May 2006) issue there was an article about the “100 Best Single Issues Since You Were Born”. Yes, I’m still reading the May issue and I will probably get to the others soon enough; but, this article got me thinking about a struggle I’vealways had with comic books. We have all gotten a comic book, maybe even subscribed to a comic book, only to find that the conclusion to the story was continued in a completely different title. In fact, I was talking to a friend about this topic today.
There are some times that across over makes since. For instance, the “Sacrifice” arc last summer concluded in a Wonder Woman title–I think, I’m going off memory here. This makes since because Wonder Woman was very invovled in the story. But, did the other issues need to be in Action, Adventures of Superman, and Superman? No, they could’ve simply followed along one title. Now, on the other hand, I did like the fact that I went to “The Viking” and picked up the next instalment of the story each week. However, my concern is for the new buyer. Does this hurt the business when the buyer has to find a comic book store to finish reading the story in the comic? Comic Book Stores will say–“YES!”, but too many new readers would say, “No!” and walk away from comics all together.
That is why the Single comic book issues are so important. Sometimes it is nice to have the story wrapped up in a tight package at the end. Other times, it is good to look forward to the on-going serial. The Spider-Man comic books that are sold in Target are all single issue. They attract new readers. My wife even sent me one! (Which I still have, by the way.) DC needs to do more of these “One Shots”. They are enjoyable to read, they bring in new readers, and they are good for the business.
[…] The greatness of these books is found in a complex story that is slowly making its way issue by issue. While I have said before that I strongly support the single issue story in comics, if all comics were written like this one sales would skyrocket. […]