I HATE IT HERE – TRIUMPHANT RETURN!

So due to moving house/no internet/going to Download Festival/Shortlisting the books for SICBA Awards. I’ve been absent for the last few weeks, but as of now, I’m back, Baby!

So to kick things off I want to say a huge thanks to John and Sha for allowing me to be a part of the SICBA awards, it’s been an amazing experience and I’ve read some incredible books through it, the Shortlist has been announced and voting is on the Saturday of Comic-con.

On to the article! More recently with the page, we’ve been trying new things like the Superman Spoiler-cast, new daily features on the website, and trying to get as much news and discussion to you guys as possible. This got me thinking though, about the “big picture” which is ultimately be the go to place for news/reviews and all things comicbook, however, there does seem to be alot of competition out there with new pages/sites popping up every day, which lead to another thought (i know, two in one day, i’m surprised a didn’t break something) and that’s that there is very little originality in the mainstream anymore.

Age of Ultron has just wrapped up, and I don’t know why, but I got my hopes up that *this* was going to be the one that changed it, where the summer cross over wasn’t just about selling more books, with a ropey ending that was just one more cliffhanger designed to make you have to buy 4 new titles every month, using a plot device that has been over used and bastardized over the years, going right back to the first crisis and Infinity Gauntlet. Obviously i was wrong.

I understand how industry works, and I know that at the end of the day it’s all about money and getting new readers in, it’s not for us; the hardened geek; anymore. We’re the minority and the dependable, we don’t vote with our wallets anymore, we just buck up and buy away. STOP DOING IT! I know the collector in you says you need to have the full run, that it’ll get better, it’s just a bad bit. THIS IS NOT GOOD it means that anyone looking at the numbers sees that bit that noone liked as just another number that didn’t fall! This is what we’re here for and pages like us, if something is good/got good again, we’ll tell you!

Anyway, one last point as this is getting on abit. Originality is still there, it always has been, it’s not went anywhere. The only thing to do now is look alittle harder. Through SICBA i’ve read an amazing wealth of good books that are totally original, well written and drawn and all home grown. Books like The Standard or And The Emily’s Gone by John Lees, No More Heroes by Gordon McLean, Neil Slorance’s new book “An Astronomers Journal”, and Dark Ascension by James Devlin are all incredible and well worth a read.

Support your local stores and scene, vote with your wallets. Say no to bland, rehashes and yes to new, exciting and fresh pieces of literature!

Love and Bullets,
Chris

---

The writer of this piece was:
Chris Bennet
Article: I Hate It Here
You can also find Chris on Facebook.