Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2013 November 23

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November 23

Marvel comics

Hi guys,

I come from France and as many Europeans, I don't know anything about US comics. I'd like to know some things about it:

1. Does every super hero still has a comics running every week? like Batman or Superman, are they still published?
2. Are comic books about only one character or can you find stories about Hulk, Thor, Batman, etc in the same book?
3. We always see soft books in movies, do you have hard ones too? Like the comics we have in Europe (Asterix for example if you've ever heard about it)
4. Are those stories short stories are is it a long story to follow weeks after weeks? Could I buy any new comics or would I be totally lost in the story?
5. What is the average price of a new comics book? Are they popular amongst all ages and social categories in the States?
6. And last questions, are European comics famous in US? Do you know about Smurfs, Tintin, Asterix or Spirou?

Thanks a lot!

Eric 92.97.194.203 (talk) 17:08, 23 November 2013 (UTC)

I numbered your list for easier answering. For 6, most Americans old enough know the Smurfs, it was a very popular TV cartoon here for while. There was also a fairly recent movie, so youngsters probably also know them. I learned about Asterix from the video games he appeared in (some really good ones at the end of the 90s arcade era). Tintin also had a recent US movie, I don't know who Spirou is. I can't speak for all Americans, but most of those names have at least some currency here :) SemanticMantis (talk) 17:23, 23 November 2013 (UTC)

1. Superhero books are generally not weekly. I think some newspapers still carry the daily Spiderman/Superman comic, but like most other strips in the paper, they're more like fossils than actual entertainment. Most comic books are published monthly or bi-monthly (meaning every two months).
2. Well, there are team books, such as Uncanny X-Men or The Avengers, and numerous solo books. Marvel has occasionally experimented with anthology series, but they rarely seem to do well these days. Back in the 1960s, they were much more popular (Tales of Suspense, Tales to Astonish and so on).
3. Yes, there are hardbound comic books. They're usually referred to as graphic novels.
4. There is a mixture, but most series contain ongoing stories. For this reason, series are often "stopped" and restarted in a new volume, with a new #1 issue. If you start reading with a first issue, you'll usually arrive at the beginning of a new story, or at least you'll get a proper explanation of backstory.
5. Comics prices vary, but they're usually around $2-$3 per issue, sometimes more. There's a breakdown here and the text also explains some history of the pricing practices.
6. They're not conventionally famous. The animated Smurfs TV series was quite popular back in the 1980s and the recent movies have of course raised public awareness. The Tintin movie did very poorly in North America (but well overseas) and I think this points to a general difference in popularity. I grew up with and loved Asterix (I'm Canadian, by the way, not American, if that makes a difference to the answers), but again, he's not very popular in North America in general. I had never heard of Spirou. When North Americans are in the mood for non-North American comics, Japanese manga is the overwhelming first choice. European creators such as Alan Moore and Alan Davis are quite well known, but their earlier, European, work is largely unknown.

If you have any other questions, feel free to drop me a line on my talk page (or here, of course). Matt Deres (talk) 21:08, 23 November 2013 (UTC)

Hmm, I guess I only answered half of #5. There are people of all walks of life who read comic books. However, superhero comics are still pretty firmly a "males age 18-49" thing. The price point frankly makes it tricky for kids to get interested in them unless they know someone with a collection. The distribution is also very different than it used to be; growing up in the 1980s, every drug store and grocery store had a spinner rack (Really?! No article? Okay, a spinner rack) or two with all the latest issues. Nowadays, such stores only have a handful of comics and they're crammed in with the juvenile magazines. Instead, comic books are mostly sold via specialty shops, as described in our direct market article. A great source of material and so forth, but they're much rarer than grocery stores and so require a special trip to even get to. Marvel and DC have tried many times (often ham-handedly)to raise the level of female readership, but with only limited success. The audience for a comic book movie such as the recent Thor was a pretty even split between males and females; girls are a much rarer occurrence in the comics shop, though it's much better than it used to be. People over 50 tend not to be big comic readers; they were raised at a time when comics were seen as juvenile nonsense and often gave up reading in their childhood. Matt Deres (talk) 22:06, 23 November 2013 (UTC)

Not just spinner racks but a few comics used to have digest books and be sold at the checkout. Archie, what else? Rmhermen (talk) 17:59, 24 November 2013 (UTC)

Here's a link to Spirou, a disambiguation page for various articles about the character. Oh and I am obviously some sort of weird 57 year old comic book reader. CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 00:49, 24 November 2013 (UTC)

Most of the famous American comic book characters are still published regularly (though their market penetration is much weaker than in the past), and the most famous ones, such as Batman and Superman, appear in more than one title. Everyone knows about the Smurfs, but most people think of them only as an animated cartoon. The majority of people have heard of Tintin and Asterix. (Incidentally, I see that my spellchecker does not recognize Tintin or Asterix, although it does recognize Smurfs.) Except for a few hardcore comics fans, nobody has heard of any other European comics, including Spirou. John M Baker (talk) 12:45, 25 November 2013 (UTC)

I'm not so sure about the frequency of publication generally being monthly or bi-monthly. I think it's more like fortnightly. For example, this site gives 23 Oct for Savage Wolverine #10, then you can page forward for the next few issues, which are 13 Nov, 27 Nov and 18 Dec. There are similar schedules for other comics elsewhere on the site. --Viennese Waltz 12:59, 25 November 2013 (UTC)

In the golden and silver ages of comics, no comic was published more frequently than monthly, except for The Spirit, which was a weekly newspaper supplement, and Captain Marvel Adventures, which I believe was tri-weekly at the height of its popularity. There have been some experimental, usually short-term, publications since then on a more frequent schedule, such as the weekly 52. According to our article, Savage Wolverine is a monthly. John M Baker (talk) 00:06, 26 November 2013 (UTC)

Movie question

Isn't there a movie which tells the story of serial killer Tsutomu Miyazaki. I have read so, and this is the wallpaper but I do not understand Japanese to read the wallpaper. What's the name of the movie? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.178.144.232 (talk) 17:33, 23 November 2013 (UTC)

baseball player who had a buzzcut about a year ago

Hi, I'm looking for a particular Baseball player, which about a year ago had a buzzcut(about 6mm). Before the cut he had a medium hairstyle. one of the reporter has said he has a girly hair. his hair is brown, he is white, and some black eyes. Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.127.63.163 (talk) 19:12, 23 November 2013 (UTC)

Any clue which team? (And where is Jayron when we need him?) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:49, 24 November 2013 (UTC)

My google-fu has given me this, which indicates it MAY be Wil Myers of the Tampa Bay Rays, but given the vagueness of the question, it's just too hard to pin down. --Jayron32 05:18, 24 November 2013 (UTC)

Googling "baseball player" and "girly hair" gets me this terrible story. It won't help much, but it's more relevant than the other nine top results (mostly about football). InedibleHulk (talk) 04:03, 24 November 2013 (UTC)

Tim Lincecum went from shoulder length hair to close cropped at some point in the last year or so. I don't remember if it ever went to a full buzz cut or if it fits the time frame that the OP. MarnetteD | Talk 05:34, 24 November 2013 (UTC)