Over the past 3 years at DVDTalk, on the BookTalk forum there has been a constant and growing community of posters who discuss comic books. We are often forced to discuss in one topic per month that usually explodes into several hundred posts that vary wildly in topic and in tone of discussion. I am formally requesting the opening of a subforum in which to solely discuss the Sequential Art format.

Comics, like movies and most other forms of entertainment, come out on a regular basis - every Wednesday to be exact, with over 70 years of comics history behind it that generate many more posts of worthwhile discussion. Oftentimes posters receive their comics several weeks after they've been released due to being members of subscription services. This by far is the greatest hindrance of the comics thread, as the discussion of certain particular comic releases becomes highly fragmented. Oftentimes discussion concerning either a particular single issue of a comic or a series as a whole will be separated by dozens of posts and several topic pages. Furthermore, recommendations for comics that are often overlooked due to lack of press and promotion are often lost in a sea of posts and pushed pages back as discussion continues forward.

It is also too easy to shoehorn all comics into one singular typology. While they do all share a particular style, even that can be wildly diverse at times. There are as many different types of comics as there are readers, and the industry itself caters to an extremely large spectrum of interests. There are the prototypical super hero bonanzas, but there are also comics that examine the human experience, politics, love, work, death, and yes, even comics that comment on comics themselves. Every thread usually leads to an enormous amount of varied discussion that takes very different tones.

The fragmented nature of these posts notwithstanding, threads are quickly becoming repetitive. It has been the case the past year that a thread will be dominated by several questions with the exact same concern only to be answered over and over again as the discussion pushes them further and further back into the thread. Most of these do not have anything to do directly with the comics medium but rather issues concerning status of subscription services, shipping dates for comics, and comics that have shipped late. Regardless of the issue, it is quickly becoming a plague that hampers discussion by veering a thread off course.

Lastly, we are always looking to expand the ranks of those willing to partake in an immensely satisfying yet obscure hobby. Making information readily available to those willing to venture into the comics medium will be made easier by not having a single thread in which a new question can possibly get lost in the midst of a heated debate. It is ultimately our goal to expand our discussion beyond its current limitations.

I second this. A comics subforum under Book Talk would be welcome.

Fully endorse this idea. Talking about the entire universe of comics in a single monthly thread is derailing many discussions.

Eh, I can live without a subforum. Oh wait a second. I'm supposed to support the idea. So yeah, yeah, I'm down with a subforum. Maybe this'll be more inviting to those who wish to discuss lesser known books who are currently shying away because of all the hero talk.

I'm all for a subforum!

I'm for it!

I second that.

A subforum for the least active forum on the boards?

Same here

just use the horror sub forum...no one else is....

Actually, I like this idea. Having comics discussion in Book Talk makes about as much sense as having magazine discussion in there.

This seems like a great idea.

Am I to understand there'll be pie & punch served in this new forum?

I actually like this idea too. Better then a Horror sub forum, anyway.

i'd also like to see a comics subforum

i'm in.

Will there be more longwinded posts about the Sequential Art format???

I'm not opposed to this.

Count on it.

There's a horror sub-forum?

But serioulsy....

Until I read your post I didn't care one way or the other about a subforum especially since I don't read most of what you Marvel/Indie girls talk about each month, and I don't order from DCBS or whatever the name of that place is.

But your post makes a lot of sense so I'll throw my support behind a Comic Subforum. A Subforum will make it easier to segregate topics and avoid ones we don't personally care about.

As far as the Horror Sub, it may have low traffic but it's still pretty cool.

ha ha

The Monthly Comic Threads are always getting lotsa action even if it's the same shit every month from the same people, myself included.

No robo in our Marvel threads!!


Just kidding!!



sorta

In that case, I'm in.