I've recently read an issue of INCREDIBLE HULK (issue #606). It's a fantastic issue with a great story that builds in the "Fall of Hulks" storyline. It also has tremendous art.
After reading it though, I couldn't help but wonder why comics are so temperamental. By that I mean they are wildly inconsistent, being great one issue then miserable the next. I can't figure this out. It mainly has to do with the Marvel comics I read (Hulk, Spider-Man, The Avengers). Why can't there be any consistent quality output.
When Stan Lee created these characters it seemed like they were all amazing. That was the "Golden Age" of Marvel. But now there's so many different storylines and so many different characters that it's hard to keep up with. On top of that, one of the reasons, if not the main one, is the constant fluctuation of creators. Marvel is really bad with this. They are always changing writers and artists. It really gets annoying. I'll get into a series and it seems to be clicking. The story is there and the art is wonderful. Then, the next issue there's a different artist and I am taken aback. I can't understand.
Perhaps it's not the company. Maybe it's the creators themselves. Maybe they get tired of the same characters and want to move on. I doubt that. Many of these writers and artist love these characters and don't grow tired of them easily. Plus, I'm sure they love the consistent work that working on the same series for an extended period of time would provide. Take Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley for example. They worked together on ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN for one hundred and eleven issues. That's the record for the longest continuous run on a mainstream Marvel superhero comic. That beat Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's record. I'm sure that was a pleasure for them to do, and more would do it if they had the chance.
This sporadic upheaval has caused me to grow tired and weary of comics. I still love them and I will probably always read them (I might even be able to write them), but I can't stick with these major titles when they change so much, so often.
My favorite on-going series is THE WALKING DEAD created by Robert Kirkman. He is still the writer going on issue 72. There have been only two different artists. It's consistently pleases me. Now this is a creator-owned series. That means Kirkman owns it and IMAGE publishes and distributes it. That tells me something--Kirkman wants to keep writing it. He loves to do so. He likes the series. He doesn't want it to change so dramatically in terms of whose writing it. I feel more writers and artists would do so, given the chance.
In my opinion its because comics continue to grow. It seems that in this day and age if something isn't bringing in money then they will change it to see if they can make more money. Plus I think the artist have other work to do and don't get the opportunity to do more than what they are hired for. Plus there is only so much you can do with characters. That is the reason why I don't like American comics as much because I want a solid story (beginning, middle, end). That way it can stay consistent. That is why I like manga. The story and art are all done by the same person. Almost all manga is done like THE WALKING DEAD. Its created and made by one artist. Plus, the storyline usually ends!
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