Comic Books Have Come a Long Way

I used to read comic books as a kid, starting as early as when I was 7 or 8 years old.  I was not an avid reader - I occasionally bought an issue, so I missed out on a large portion of the continuity.  Even so, I was still drawn into the partial stories in those small issues.

As an adult, I occasionally read graphic novels - I'm not a fanatic, but I do enjoy them.  Over the years I have amassed a collection of Manga as well.

One of the largest graphic novels
I've read...until now.

Recently I purchased and read The Sculptor, by Scott McCloud.  I enjoyed both Understanding Comics and Reinventing Comics (his "comics about comics" book), but had never read any of his fiction before.  The Sculptor is kind of an intimidating tome for a graphic novel at a whopping 487 pages (this seems kind of small compared to some Manga collections that I've seen, but I've read this is normal in Japan).  But, the book is a tad smaller in height than a standard hardcover fiction book.

Over the years, I've read some collections of comics - that is, several issues of a comic book from years past collected into a single volume as a "graphic novel".  These come in a fairly standardized size for the genre - just like most mass market paperbacks have similar dimensions.

I'm addicted to science fiction, and I'm a big fan of the first two movies in the Alien franchise (Alien, Aliens).  I also really enjoyed the first Predator movie (the one with "Governor Arnold" - the Danny Glover one was passable), and I like the concept of the Alien vs. Predator franchise (the movies were so-so, but I've enjoyed a few of the graphic novels).  While Prometheus wasn't the greatest movie in the canon, I did enjoy aspects of it, and I'm looking forward to future movies eventually tying Alien/Prometheus together.

When I saw that there was a crossover story that covered all 4 series (Prometheus, Aliens, Aliens vs. Predator, and Predator), I was very interested, so I ordered it:  Prometheus;  The Complete Fire and Stone.  It arrived this week and was an immense surprise when I opened the box.  Knowing that this was 16 collected issues (4 from each series), I expected it to be larger than normal - but, the picture on Amazon did not do it justice.

THIS BOOK IS HUGE!

A comparison.

Here it is pictured with Howard the Duck (a standard comic collection - 400+ pages), a standard mass market paperback (first in a new Predator series - around 300 pages), and Jim Butcher's new hardcover, The Aeronaut's Windlass (600+ pages - minus the dust jacket).  As you can see, Prometheus towers over the others.  And it isn't just tall - 480 oversize pages!

Here it is side by side with The Aeronaut's Windlass.  It is printed on quality paper, weighs in at 6.6 pounds, and retails for $50 (the price is significantly lower on Amazon).  This is an entirely different world from the days when all 16 issues constituting this story could be had for a whopping $4 or less (when I was 8, I think most comic books were $0.25).  This is easily the largest "comic", and potentially one of the largest books in general that I have ever purchased (that wasn't a hardcover dictionary or Calculus book).

The price for this volume is not all that surprising these days - there are many graphic novels and collections ranging from $35 - $50.  The market has transitioned the same way as the board game market.  When I was a teenager, a $25 game was considered almost ludicrous (and most games over $20 could not turn a profit).  These days, there are games priced between $75 and $100 and they sell well!

The comic book has definitely grown up!  In addition to comics continuing to grow, Hollywood has turned into a superhero movie making machine!

It is interesting to stop every so often and see how all aspects of our lives have changed
 in the last 25 - 30 years (not just technology).  Ferris Bueller would be so proud!