Writing for the Trades

If there's one thing the hip kids want in their comics, it's trade paperbacks. That's right - gone are the days of the 28 page story with a beginning and end - now, it's beginning, tons of middle, and end.

OK, OK, I'm being a crotchety old comics fan...but trades are cool, especially when they print stuff that's either out-of-print or deserves the treatment. Which comics, you ask?

Just my suggestions - your mileage may vary. There was a similar thread on Howling Curmudgeons; I couldn't find the direct link the specific thread. (Plus, the majority of these are DC related)

Sugar and Spike: I think this was discussed on Mike's blog; granted, they may deserve the DC Archive treatment, but a trade would make it more family-friendly, and affordable.

Inferior Five - Granted, they were only popular in the late 60s for a handful of issues (click here for more comprehensive history), but satire in comics isn't all that popular, unless the comics in question are done by John Byrne. (OK, cheap shot). This is another group that may "deserve" Archive treatment, but is probably best served with a trade.

Doc Savage (Marvel & Millenium runs) & Doc Savage/Shadow: Conflagration Man - Both Doc Savage and The Shadow are pulp archetypes (and both published by Conde Nast) who have had great influence on comics. Marvel, in the mid-1970s, had a short run of Doc Savage comics (including a team-up with The Whing!) . In addition, DC had both comics based on both characters, and Conflagration Man was their crossover. Finally, the short-lived Millenium Comics had "done Doc right"- any of these runs would be worthy of collection.

America Vs. The JSA - I'm a sucker for DC's Golden Age characters; this is a pre-Crisis story that takes place on Earth-2, but is also an excellent "summary" of the JSA's history. (Roy Thomas really did his homework on this one). If DC can publish pre-Crisis stories in their Crisis on Multiple Earths collections, they can do this one as well. Slap an Elseworlds label on it - we won't care.

I'm sure all of you out there in blogland have your own suggestions - chime right in!