I read through all of the DC New 52 annuals from last week – Detective Comics, Flash, Green Lantern, Justice League International and Superman – and what jumped out at me was that not one of them was a standalone story; the closest were JLI and Superman, neither of which were direct continuations of storylines from the ongoing title, but in both cases, they set up things that’ll play out in future issues (or other series). That’s not to say that they weren’t any good (The Flash Annual was so good, in fact, that I ended up going out and picking up the issues of the series I’d missed), but I found myself oddly nostalgic for the days when an annual meant an entirely standalone story that showcased the series for newcomers.
And yet – When was the last time an annual did that? Marvel’s annuals are mini-crossover events, it seems like, with three annuals forming one storyline in most cases, and the others reading like extended fill-ins instead of Big Stories That Had To Be Told. Thinking back, I remember a lot of “Summer Events” taking over annuals of my youth – The Evolutionary War! Eclipso: The Darkness Within! Atlantis Attacks! Armageddon 2001! – and it strikes me that the kind of annual I find myself wanting is something that hasn’t really been the norm for more than two decades.
So am I just being an old man? Are annuals best served by connecting them to the monthly titles or each other, especially in this kind of market, or do other people long for the days where you could pay your $4.99 (Five dollars for a comic book etc.) and have a complete done-in-one experience that felt like an event in and of itself?
September 4th, 2012 at 11:13 am
I would love to have them be a done-in-one like you, Graeme, but I also realize that would cause me to buy a lot less of them. I think that, as a business model, DC is doing the right thing, tying them into ongoing storylines. Having them be events in themselves (i.e. Marvel’s annuals, Armageddon, etc.) would get me ignoring all of them completely.
However, I think it would be awesome for the Annuals to be a showcase for talent that would not be able to committ to a monthly schedule. A done-in-one with Adam Hughes art? With Neil Gaiman writing? That might be something worth paying $5 for, with me buying it because I want to, not because I feel I will be missing the end of a storyline if I don’t.
September 4th, 2012 at 11:14 am
“I found myself oddly nostalgic for the days when an annual meant an entirely standalone story that showcased the series for newcomers.”
Sounds the original intent of the “.1″ initiative from Marvel…..
September 4th, 2012 at 12:02 pm
I also remember when the Annuals had absolutely no effect on what was going on in the title and thus there was no reason for them to actually exist. Now they seem to exist as larger issues that generally either conclude or start the big story in the book.(the the Legion Year 1 Annual from 1994 or so) Also, didn’t DC not do any annuals from 2000 (or 2001 depending on how you count the Our Worlds at War specials) until just a couple years ago?
September 4th, 2012 at 12:15 pm
I think that the closest thing they have for Annuals nowadays, are the seasonal books that come out at Christmas and occasionally Halloween. They have several short stories, and they don’t pertain to anything in particular, other than a way to tell a brief story. But I like them, the way that I used to like Annuals.
I liked most of the recent Annuals, but you’re right, they just continue an ongoing story.
September 4th, 2012 at 1:21 pm
A few years ago, many people at the big publishers – I recall DiDio specifically but I think some Marvel guys made this argument too – were saying how they wished Annuals “mattered” again. Supposedly, the glory age of Annuals was when a story would build up all year in the main title and then find an extra-sized capper in the Annual. Like this happened in ’70s Avengers comics or some such?
I feel like they started to reorient this kind of Annual for the market when Judd Winnick did that Batman one with the Jim Aparo Death In The Family pages.
So the answer to your question is that you’re an old man but not old enough to be on the same wavelength as the old men who run the companies.
September 4th, 2012 at 2:19 pm
I actually remember when annuals were linked to big events in the monthlies. The first annual I ever bought was the conclusion of a big story in Fury of Firestorm.
September 4th, 2012 at 5:51 pm
1982-1985 was the real heyday of the DC Annuals. (They started up again after almost two decades away in 1982)
Titans, Firestorm, JLA and probably a few others (Legion?) all had stories that started or climaxed with the Annuals.
At the same time, some were standalone stories as well. Though most “mattered” to the book’s main story lines.
SW
September 4th, 2012 at 6:16 pm
again graeme gets it s wrong the best annuals were in the days where Dc set up the events of a major storyline to follow or all the storylines from the past few months ending in that issue [Legion;Firestorm;Titans ;Outsiders;Infinity ;All Star Squadron;Warlord. and Swamp Thing..all were great examples —- the stand alone stories tended to be the lesser ones….
again graeme take you head out of your fantwat as-s and actually understand what you post about
September 4th, 2012 at 6:21 pm
Annuals always mattered for me because it was special….longer story…different artist…the standalone was worth the price…I also don’t mind events (Armageddon 2001 all tied in but were cool standalones, too) but when annuals of books it read are part two or three and tie in to series I DON’T subscribe to….well, that’s when I had my LCS stop ALL annuals!
September 4th, 2012 at 8:26 pm
My favorite Annual is the Swamp Thing annual during Alan Moore’s run where he must rescue Abby’s soul from hell. I remember thinking the stories couldn’t possibly get more epic than that. Boy, was I wrong.
September 4th, 2012 at 9:23 pm
What’s a blog post by Graemecracker for nowadays???…. — i know!!!!!! pretty much useless!!!!!
September 5th, 2012 at 4:13 am
So am I just being an old man? Are annuals best served by connecting them to the monthly titles or each other, especially in this kind of market, or do other people long for the days where you could pay your $4.99 (Five dollars for a comic book etc.) and have a complete done-in-one experience that felt like an event in and of itself?
September 5th, 2012 at 4:42 am
I am glad that the Annual is tie to the current storyline and it allow the writer/artist more room to developed the subplot and artwork. The writer can created a new villain and new character background.
September 5th, 2012 at 2:20 pm
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