I was reading Dirk Manning’s ‘Write or Wrong’ column on www.newsarama.com in which he was banging on about how ‘The Dark Knight’ was a cool movie, obviously on it’s way to top box office ever and all that. The points he followed up his intro with were of the ‘that’ll teach folk to assume comics are for kids’-variety and how can comics publishers/creators benefit from such an upsurge of interest in comic-book properties? Especially when the interest shown is by people who think comics are basically The Beano and the licensed stuff on the shelves in Tesco? Aside from the fact that the majority of people who do think like that are happily immersed in a virtual fantasy world already when you consider the millions of games consoles sold, has anyone wondered whether that the culture has changed so drastically that the simple pleasure of reading has now become, for some, an effort? For some it actually is, I don’t mean (and do not, in any way, mock) those who have difficulty with the printed word.

I mean naturally lazy fuckers who cannot be arsed to read anything properly because it requires effort! Yes, we all get a taste of what that can be like when one gets a document regarding some work bollocks, or a legal form, and we scan it over too quickly because Man Utd are just kicking off. We all do it, but there is a hardcore group for which that level of interpreting text is just too much effort, ever. I think that group will grow because the change in society is an interesting one and not necessarily negative. The need, or not, to read is linked to the plethora of multimedia options available to all sections of the population. Who writes letters anymore? Most ‘kids’ simply text and email, both forms of communication in which spelling and grammar are low on the list of priorities. That said, phone texting may prove to be the foundation for international communication. An evolution in language that will bring people together? I’ll move on before I get any deeper. Another interesting aspect to Mr. Manning’s column was a fresh angle on the strategies available to hook in new readers and how publishers/creators convince the X-Box players that it ain’t all about Bats, Supes and Spides. A parallel is drawn between the millions of dollars spent on promotion by the movie studios and Free Comic Book day, the obvious principle being speculate to accumulate. That option is, for indie creators, both the best and least attractive method of promotion. Of course we’d like to flood the LCS with our stuff and raise awareness of home produced comics. It’s too expensive, even if we’re talking photocopied minis, to attain the coverage required is still a prohibitive outlay. Advertising is a cash haemorrhaging exercise. I know indie publishers who have advertised free copies to readers that respond, only to get little or no take up. So you’ve spent a wad producing your stuff and letting it be known that you will give some copies away? Nobody wants to know – that’s a kick in the guts.

The internet is probably the most cost effective method of self-promotion available to the common person (i.e.: you and I, my friend). We can create our own sites for bugger all, or at least next to nothing, and establish a presence that can be detected by someone googling the words ‘indie’ and/or ‘comics’. Well, they’ll detect you eventually. My problem is the sheer volume of info on the www means that getting noticed is another up hill struggle.

All negativity aside, there are some go-getters out there. Comic-con tables and booths are manned by dozens of indie creators with unrivalled enthusiasm and Hassan’s idea of targeting bookstores as an alternate, additional market to the LCS is one that requires further investigation. Perhaps the future of independently produced comics lies within the realms of the tpb graphic novel/album sector. The idea that ‘The Dark Knight’ can have returns beyond the box-office by gaining new readership is probably, at best, optimistic. However, consider this. As a kid, I’d bought UK Marvels off and on, but like most kids couldn’t be arsed with regular purchases and had more important things to worry about like football. ‘Star Wars’ came along and along with it the Marvel adaptation (also published by the UK branch) which did reignite my interest in comics in general.

Who knows? Perhaps another boom, with the attendant increased opportunities, is just around the corner.

Chris Atkins writes a column for RedEye magazine and has self published comics himself, as is currently working on "Urban Serial" with Ed Doyle.