*For More Information See The Internet

One thing that annoys me in comics today is the Internet. Now it’s not the obvious choice or spoilers, I’ve already mentioned them, or the online communities as I enjoy participating in them. What really annoys me is a publisher like DC and Marvel relying on the Internet to fill the readers in.

The best recent example of this is the Countdown series currently being released by DC.

Because we, the reader, can log onto the net and wiki a character they really don’t need to spend time explaining who they are, what their powers are and why they are doing we are doing. It is taken for granted that we already know this but not everyone knows the history of these universes.

Perhaps most comic fans do know this stuff but should a new reader really have to put so much effort into searching on the Internet to find out about character to enjoy and understand a story?

The best example of this in Countdown is not even naming characters or trying to explain their actions in the comic because we can log onto Newsarama and listen to Dini (A writer I love) and co. explain it all.

The internet should be used as a tool as I believe it plays a large part in the comic industry keeping afloat by involving it’s fans in endless discussion, interactions with the fans and instant access to news and gossip.

What the Internet should not be used as is a crutch. New readers, if there is such a thing, will not spend time hunting down answers on the Internet even if it does take minutes at the most. Comics should be accessible, not a task to try and comprehend. Everything you need should be found in the comic in your hand.

DC should take a page from Marvel, that page being the recap page.