As I grew up with comics there were numerous ways to get your fix. Of course there were the comic strips, and many toys and other products might give you a free mini-comic, but the two big ones were the monthly or bimonthly periodical, often called the “floppies”, and the graphic novel, a bigger story too small to be a regular comic that would take longer to read, like a novel. The periodicals would give you a monthly (or bimonthly but I’m not writing that every time) adventure with a main plot and a running subplot, like a TV series. You’d also have the extra sized annual, one-shot, or other special. These were still quick reads and easy to bring with you. It’s now the comic book got away from the newspapers and became a format on its own.
The graphic novel was a special thing. While some were collections of longer story arcs or collecting the works of a particularly famous creator, the majority were original stories. This is where the big events happened, or a story that could focus on a character than didn’t have enough of a fan following for their own series but still had enough fans or a writer had a story they wanted to tell with that character. There were also the occasional gimmicks like alternate universes, a comic done all on computer (both Batman and Iron Man had one of these), or something along those lines. Graphic novels are not special anymore.
In a time where stories are written for the trade, it might as well be a graphic novel. Few people are writing for periodicals anymore, as I’ve lamented many times and will again. However, I’ve been thinking about how trade writing and so many trade collections coming out has basically ruined what the graphic novel was for. The nature of the graphic novel has been damaged thanks to the trade collections, and even indie publishers are guilty of this.
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Why I’m Not Interested In DC’s “Absolute” Universe
I’m also not impressed with the glove straps.
One of the definitions for “absolute” in the Oxford dictionary goes “viewed or existing independently and not in relation to other things; not relative or comparative”. This is surrounded on a Google search by two other definitions: “not qualified or diminished in any way; total” and “noun Philosophy a value or principle which is regarded as universally valid or which may be viewed without relation to other things”. These three seem to describe what numerous fans see as DC’s answer to Marvel’s “Ultimate” Universe, the “Absolute Universe”.
In a video where the creator was talking about how excited he was for the Absolute universe I commented on why I wasn’t. I might have been more harsh than intended, or not, but I got accused of being closed minded, of potentially missing a good story because of a narrow perspective. This point of view annoys me. There are 24 hours in a day, roughly 8 of which we spend sleeping (more if you’re tired a lot like I am…I also spend too much time in the bathroom), plus the time eating, doing jobs and chores, spending time with loved ones, and having decades and centuries of stories to consume. Few people will ever read every story ever, even if they stick to one format like comics. If fact, I doubt anyone will completely read every publically available comic out there. I don’t have time for things that don’t look like something I want to read.
Thus far, that includes Absolute Batman and the other Absolute titles we know about thus far. That is not a slam against anyone who likes it, though nowadays we seem to act like it is. It just means I have no interest in this, and I have a blog so I can tell you WHY I’m not interested in the Absolute universe. So since I’m here, let’s do that.
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Posted by ShadowWing Tronix on October 18, 2024 in DC Spotlight and tagged Absolute Batman, Absolute DC, Absolute Superman, commentary, DC Comics, DC Universe.
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