#hopefully when i swallow this Ugly Pill to be the 'mature one' | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dammitadolfnomorecake · 5 years

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Caramel Skin Under A Purple Rain prt 27 full draft

Napping was all Lance’s body wanted to do. His mind wanted to finish sorting baby clothes with Keith, but his yawns wouldn’t stop. The last two days had been lazy days. They’d taken Kosmo up to see the cave where the Blue Lion had slept for so long. His busted knee hated every moment of it. Kosmo acting like a Shepard as he herded him away from everything he deemed dangerous with a gentle fanged mouth around his hand. Melancholy tugging on his heart as he stared at the blue markings from the ancient race who’d seen blue land. He’d always thought the Paladin’s of the past as those who’d left the markings for those of the future. Lance thought it’d bring him some kind of peace of mind, yet it only brought his time as a Paladin crashing back. His mind flooded with feelings of isolation and loneliness. Things were better now. He honestly didn’t know how they’d survived what they had. They’d all be so young. So young and so insecure. He’d been so stupid. His stupid flirting and desperate need to be acknowledged... He wanted to die of embarrassment when he thought of himself. No wonder Keith had brushed him off upon his return. Kuron had been right. Kuron had been every time he’d lorded over him. Every time he’d rubbed his incompetence in his face. Every harder than necessary blow during training. Every scoff... He wasn’t as over it as he’d thought. Shiro was Shiro again... And if Shiro had remembered any of what had happened, he’d thankfully kept it to himself. They’d spent a few long moments both reflecting on their Voltron adventures before leaving, Lance knew he wasn’t doing a very good job hiding his struggle from Keith. Keith simply wrapping his arm around his waist, silently being there without pushing for which Lance was extremely grateful. After returning from visiting Blue’s resting place, Keith had left him alone for a bit. Lance not wanting to shackle him down, accepted he too might need space after what had happened. For his husband it’d technically been a decade since they hurtled off on their adventure. Keith had matured so much, he was practically a different person. His clinging baby fat had morphed into long lean lines. He no longer carried himself with the air of isolation and loneliness. He was now taller and broader than ever. His body carrying far too many scary scars, yet each scar was proof that he’d survived. His long black hair no longer a mullet, though that name would never get old. The immaturity of youth had been thoroughly scrubbed away as they were all forced to grow up far too fast. Maybe that was why now that they had found some kind of peace, things like “adulting” went out the window. They had the time to the things young lovers did. They had the time to play hooky, to shirk responsibilities and obligations. It may because they were both recovering, but Lance hated the moments they spent apart due to his depression or need for sleep. He hated the hours spent throwing his guts up, when he’d rather be on the move, doing and seeing new things with Keith. With Keith’s father’s clothes to go through, he’d started taking things from the packing boxes slowly and carefully. The residual scents of washing powder and dust hung to the garments, then again, after 19 years or so he shouldn’t have been expecting to find any traces of his father-in-law’s scent. He supposed it was a little creepy to be trying to trace his scent. Lance was simply curious if his husband smelt more of his mother than father. Lance was still sorting clothes when Keith had walked in with a shit eating grin on his face. Placing the box he had in his hold on the floor, Keith ruined all Lance’s carefully sorted piles, before dropping them all back into the box they come from. Ignoring his spluttered complaints, Keith took his knife from his belt, cutting through the top tape of the box he’d brought in. Grabbing something out the top, he stuffed it in his pockets, then carried it over and upended it. Smug as hell as Lance took several long moments to realise his husband had brought him maternity clothes. Plain. Simple. Non-frilly. Non-flowery. Maternity clothes. Ugly crying, he couldn’t even thank his husband. He was way too happy, and way too shocked to remember Spanish, let alone English. This is what lead to then doing what must have been a dozen washes, of his clothes, and then the baby clothes and blankets. Yeah. He’d gotten completely carried away with all the washing, but the ideal of jeans that didn’t cut into his belly was to tempting. Folding the tiny onesie in his hold, Lance yawned again. Keith taking the onesie from his hold and carefully placing it in the bag with the others. Despite Daehra and Lucteal both knowing of his pregnancy, it still felt a little awkward. He wasn’t coping with the changes his body was going through, and though they meant well, he didn’t look forward to Daehra hovering over him as she knew he would. Plus, Marco didn’t know he was pregnant, so everything was being repacked to be unpacked without his older brother around. The secret of his pregnancy had been spreading, Lance missing the closeness of only he, Keith and Shiro knowing. Medical staff didn’t count. Soon he’d have no choice but to tell Krolia, who’d tell Kolivan. Curtis, because he and Shiro were a package deal. His papi... then his siblings. Each time he thought of how many people were left to judge him, he felt sick to his stomach. Keith was still adjusting to the idea of being a father... He’d need to tell his team... His team that Lance was still to face... Then there was Hunk, Shay and Pidge... He just knew it wasn’t going to go well. He was medical oddity. A freak of nature “Babe, you ok?” “Yeah” “Tired again?” “A bit” Leaning into Keith, his husband felt warm. Frowning at the unexpected warmth, Lance brought his palm to Keith’s forehead “What are you doing?” “You’re hot” Taking his hand, Keith snorted “Thanks. So are you” If he hadn’t been concerned, Lance would have rolled his eyes “I think you have a fever. Do you feel sick?” There was a tick long pause “Maybe a little hot...” Groaning, Lance sat up, taking the opportunity to really stare at his husband. Keith looked sick. He couldn’t pick up anything in his scent, but he’d spent Vargas staring at Keith’s face. He knew when he was in pain. He knew when he was sick “You’re sick. Come on, let’s get you to bed and settled” Keith growled softly “I’m not sick” “And I’m not pregnant. You’re sick, buster. Let me check your foot. I bet your infection’s got worse again” Sass was his defence. He was scared. He’d missed the symptoms. He should have been paying more attention of Keith’s needs “It’s nothing” “Keith. If you don’t get up and march your arse to bed right now, I will knock you out and carry you there myself. Why didn’t you tell me you were sick!?” “I don’t know... I didn’t really notice it until you pointed it out” “What kind of excuse is that!? Come on, we’re going to bed” Grabbing Keith’s hand, he didn’t care that he was scattering baby clothes as he pulled Keith to his feet “Well someone’s eager” That one earned the eye roll “Yes. I’m eager to make sure you’re not getting sick because we haven’t been monitoring your foot like we have. I’m so fucking stupid. Of course it wasn’t healed. It’s not like your neck. No. That healed... you had a whole fucking branch in your foot. Stupid, Lance... stupid. You have one fucking job...” “Babe...” Keith tried to calm him, Lance ignoring it in favour of limping as fast as he could with Keith in tow. Peeling off his husband’s sock, Keith’s foot was definitely infected. A small lump having formed under the tiny pinprick sized remaining scab, while red lines ran from the site “It’s infected” Wriggling his toes, Keith tried to peer down at the bottom of his foot, which was impossible. His foot was in Lance’s hold “Are you sure?” “Keith. I’m going to hit you. Why didn’t you tell me that it hurt!?” “It didn’t? I mean, it felt a little weird this morning...” “This morning!” Screeching at Keith, it was now afternoon, nearly evening. It’d been that bad for that long?! “Dios. Don’t go yelling like that. I’m fine. I’ll take a nap...” Who’d taught this el estúpido ,Spanish? “Why didn’t you tell me? Kosmo, make sure he doesn’t move. Or I’ll castrate both of you” Retrieving the med kit, the pain pills in the pack seemed to stare at him. His heart starting to race the longer he stared at them. Growling at himself, he shook two pills out the pack, before limping to the kitchen to retrieve a water pack for Keith. Returning to their room, his husband had started sweating, his hands slightly shaky as he took the pills and swallowed them down without protest. Keith must have been feeling like quiznak to be so obliging. Catching his arm as Lance placed down the water pack, Keith gave him a smile “It’s not that bad. You’re not an idiot. I didn’t notice” “I should have... You’re my husband and I didn’t...” Shaking his head, he didn’t want to have this conversation. He was stupid. He was. Moving to sit down by the first aid kit, he sighed at himself. He was stupid. Whether Keith admitted it or not “I’m going to look at your foot. It might hurt a bit, but hopefully anything that’s been in there will drain out” “Babe. It’s fine. It’s not even that sore” “You took both pills without me asking! You wouldn’t do that if it was nothing!” “I would when I knew you’d be upset. I was too wrapped up in thinking about our twins in these tiny little clothes to think about much else... babies are small, aren’t they?” “Some are. Twins are usually smaller because there’s only so much space they can take up” “That’s so weird” Lance might be the rambler when he was sleepy, but he was now enjoying listening to Keith’s sleepy rambles. He felt sick to the very bottom of his stomach that he’d missed all the signs “Tell me about it. Actually, tell me about it. It’ll keep you distracted” “You’re like growing two people in you. What if they’re dickheads? Or like weird food... or brussel sprouts? What if they can’t pilot? What if they get air-sick?” Grabbing what he needed from the first aid kit, Lance slathered the bump with antibiotic cream “No child of yours would dare get air-sick” “That tickles” “Good, because it’s about to get painful. What else have to you discovered about twins?” Taking the scalpel, this was probably an awful idea. He nearly forgot to put the gauze underneath Keith’s foot to catch anything that came out. What came out had him gagging. There was a small sliver of plant matter that finally oozed out once the initial rush of blood and gunk passed. It reeked. Keith needed to be on antibiotics, and he didn’t have any. Five days into their precious holiday, and now they were going to have to leave early. Working out what he could, Keith didn’t take it well. He kept trying to free his foot and hit him in the nose more than once as Lance wrestled with him. For a big bad Blade’s operative, Keith was being a woose “Are you done yet?” Folding up the dirty gauze he’d been wiping over the wound, Lance sighed at his husband. He knew he was terrible at this sort of thing, but he was sure he was doing better than Keith. His knee still felt as if it was stuffed full of razor blades, yet he’d kept most of his grumblings to himself “You’re not going to like this. Either we do a hospital trip over to Garrison city, or we’re heading to the outpost two days early” Crossing his arms, Keith looked like an angry toddler as he huffed “I’m sure it’s not that bad” “It’s literally a piece of bramble from the planet that sent you all crazy. The whole planet was anti-Galra and your human side didn’t help at all. Yes, it is that bad. Now make your mind up. The hospital or Daehra” Keith glared at him for a long moment “Are you sure I need to go?” Unfolding the piece of dirty gauze in his hold, Keith wrinkled his nose. Lance dry heaving as he rushed to scrunch it back up “Yeah. It stinks. I don’t know how the fuck they missed it, but I’m not fucking happy. And I’m not letting you off that easy. An infection can easily turn to blood poisoning or sepsis. Do you want to lose your arms and legs? Because sometimes that’s the only way to save someone!” “Alright. Ok. We’ll go to the hospital” “Thank you. Let me clean this all up, then we’ll go. No poking at it while I’m gone. I want to let it drain a little more before I cover it up” Kosmo wasn’t keen on being left behind, and Keith wasn’t keen on letting him pilot his ship. Reminding his husband that “idiots who didn’t pay attention to their infections were made to sit in the passenger seats where they were expected to remain quiet”, didn’t sit well with him at all. Keith trying to be covert as he began picking at the tape holding the non-stick wound pad on. Pulling his knife from his boot, Lance threw it at the dash beside Keith’s booted “good foot”, causing his husband to yelp in shock. Given he wasn’t sorry, Lance didn’t apologise. As he piloted the ship to the designated landing area on the outskirts of the city, he played back everything that had happened. All he could think of was in the rocky terrain where Blue’s cave had been, Keith must have irritated and dislodged the fragment. His foot had been getting better. The wound shrinking every day... because he’d made sure to check when he remembered. He’d stopped verbally asking as Keith would get annoyed. Now he was kicking himself. Catching a hover-taxi to the hospital, Lance nearly forgot his crutches, and his wallet in his rush to get Keith into the hands of someone more professional than he was. He’d cleaned the wound out with a saline wash from the first aid kit. Bits of red looking gunk dribbling out as he did. It took three rinses for him to be happy. Keith, on the other hand, certainly wasn’t happy. Not that Lance was thrilled over their current predicament. He hated hospitals. He hated the smell of the disinfectant. He felt like he was being judged as a junky, despite them having no knowledge of his condition. Talking first with the triage nurse, then with the registrar, they were asked to wait in the relatively empty waiting room. Being Paladins meant they had free healthcare, as did their families. His heart ached over the fact the same couldn’t be said for everyone. It felt like a totally dick move to charge people thousands of dollars when everyone had a basic right to all the same services. They hadn’t fought in a galactic war just to line the pockets of the greedy. He’d never tell Keith, yet if he was faced with some of the rich that blamed the poor for being poor, he wasn’t sure he wouldn’t shoot them. With Keith feeling so poorly, Lance held his hand tightly, rubbing his cheek against his husbands upper arm in an effort to comfort him. Keith had his fair share of bad memories when it came to hospitals. He’d expected him to opt for Daehra, but Keith wasn’t ready to return to space. The incident having carved a deep and ugly scar inside, where his love couldn’t magically make it all better. When Keith was called through, Lance explained what had happened as his husband was sulking with the biggest pout he’d ever seen on his lips. Examining the wound, Keith behaved himself as he was prodded at.. before being offered the use of a pod to heal the minor injury. They’d have to head over to the garrison if they took the offer. Selfishly torn, Lance prayed Keith wouldn’t take the offer. He wanted Keith safe, well, and in one piece. He also feared Keith going into a pod and never coming out again. Realising his working himself into a panic attack over the idea of Keith being trapped behind that thin pane of glass forever, he wrapped his arms around himself in a self hug. Breathe in. Hold. Release. Patience yields focus. Breathe in. Hold. Release. As Lance worked his way back out of the sprouting panic attack, Keith accepted the offer of antibiotics instead, as they’d be staying with a medical professional in a few days anyway. Recleaning and dressing Keith’s foot, his husband was given crutches to keep him off it. It wasn’t until Keith started getting huffy over accelerated Galra healing that Lance felt he could breathe again. They made a fine pair. Both of them on crutches, both of them wanting to hold the door open for the other. Keith’s pride getting in the way when he limped forward, growling at the slow pace. Both of them quiznakking idiots who couldn’t follow doctors orders. Keith had tried to get him in trouble by mentioning how Lance was still in quite a bit of pain from his sprained knee. Which was ignored. The doctor simply raising an eyebrow, before getting back to explaining how Keith needed to take one tablet three times a day with meals. * With Keith off his feet, Lance was determined to be the perfect husband. The fact that his anxieties wouldn’t give him a moments rest, nor the nausea that left him with a crippling headache as he cooked for them, didn’t stop him. Sleeping off his fever, Lance went on a preparation spree. He cooked up all the food that was left in the shack, making enough meals that they’d be taking some back to the outpost. He swept the wood floors, then ran the mop over them. Cleaned up the baby clothes that he been scattered, tears rolling down his face because of how tiny and precious they all were. Their two tiny miracles... That he still hadn’t decided on where he’d be giving birth. Altea had all his medical records, but his counsellor was on Erathus... Dios knew he could use a long talk with them... He wasn’t recovered from what had happened on the training mission. Keith’s words would echo in his ears. The way they snapped at him would come flooding back without want. He was trying to be ok, because when it was just the two of them, Keith made everything better by being at his side. He felt stronger with him. Not so useless and cowardly... and not quite so out of control. The temptation to swallow down half a dozen painkillers had only been killed by Keith’s need of them. He’d thought his knee would heal faster than it had been. Two movements on crutches and it was still tender, despite icing and elevating it. The Cuban had the suspicion that his sister sitting on his leg had worsened the damage, but he didn’t want to appear a cry baby over a sore knee. Not when Keith was actually ill. He’d cried pathetically over missing the signs and symptoms as he changed the cold compress across Keith’s forehead. His husband treated him like he was the most precious treasure in existence, yet he’d let him down by not paying enough attention. And... and it scared him. It scared him so badly that Keith could be so sick and he’d missed it. He never asked if he still felt pain from having that bone sample taken from his wrist, or where Lance had accidentally electrocuted him. Hearing Keith scream his name, Lance flew into a blind panic, bumping into the walls of the shack as he rushed. Thrashing on the bed, Keith was mid-nightmare. Lunging forward, his stupid knee twisted, Lance letting out his own pained cry as he clutched his knee. The brace was off because wearing it was bulky and uncomfortable. Now he regretted it. Holding his knee, he hobbled to the bed before sitting on the edge and taking Keith’s shoulders into his hands “Keith. Babe... Babe, you need to wake up for me” Keith fought his hold, Lance afraid he was going to have to slap him, when his husband’s eyes suddenly shot open. Disorientated, it took Keith a few moments to meet his eyes. When he did, his husband crumpled. Gathering him up, Lance rubbed his back as he hushed him softly “You’re ok, mullet. You’re ok... it was just a dream” Nodding, Keith still clung to him tightly “Sorry” “It’s alright. As long as you’re alright... I’ve got you” “I had a nightmare” Mumbled into his shoulder, Keith continued to shake “I noticed. Do you want to tell me?” “It’s stupid” Trust his husband to call anything he couldn’t handle “stupid” “It’s not stupid. We both have nightmares, babe. We can’t help it...” “But it is...” “Were you chased by giant ducks?” Keith snorted wetly, Lance nuzzling his hair “No. No. Allura came back and she and Lotor killed you... I couldn’t stop them. They cut... they... she...” “Ok. Ok. Deep breaths for me. I’m here” Knowing it was Allura hurt. She’d done this to his body in the first place, and he’d been blissfully free of her hauntings for a small while now. He made an educated guess that they’d done something about the twins in his nightmare, by the way Keith shook harder when he got to “they cut...” “It was awful” “I know, babe. But she’s gone. They’re both gone. And we’re all safe... We’re all safe... I’m safe” “I can’t lose you... or the twins... I can’t be left behind again” “Shhhh... I’m not leaving. You’re my husband... two halves of the same idiot” “I’m sorry. I can’t believe I’m crying over a stupid dream” “Babe, it’s not the first time and I know it sucks, but I’m here. Being home must have brought back up so much for you... but I’m ok. Your babies are ok... we’re ok” “It felt...” “It felt way too real?” Keith nodded. Lance knew exactly what he meant. He’d seen Keith killed in front of him more than he liked to admit, or think about “Here, lay back down so I can hold you properly. You can rub the belly as much as you want” Sniffling, Keith leaned back. His husband’s eyes red rimmed and face a total mess. Smiling softly, Lance leaned in to kiss him, wishing he could kiss the pain away “Sorry...” “Don’t even think about apologising again. You’re my husband, Keith. The father of our twins. And one hell of a bad arse with his share of scars. We’ve been through some really really scary things, but we’re safe here in the shack. Just the two... three... five of us...?” Yeah. 5. Them. Their fur son and their twins. 5... His drawn out math drawing a smile from Keith, Keith returning the kiss with a soft nuzzle “Our family’s really getting bigger” “Yep. I think I’ve popped further... but I’d have to check the photos...” “You’ve been taking photos?” “I know I’ve gotten bigger since we got here... I took some... I... wanted to want this too, but it’s hard seeing my body growing bigger” Nuzzling harder, Keith’s kiss was more ”sexual” than ”comforting”. Keith’s wrists moving to rub at his neck “You’re beautiful. You’re so fucking beautiful...” “And you’re a mess. Now lay down so you can have cuddles” It took a good hour of pampering attention on Lance’s stomach for Keith to settle. Lance was barely conscious, the feel of Keith’s slightly rough fingertips lulling him like the world’s sweetest lullaby into a feeling of safety and security that his anxieties hadn’t allowed. Growing babies took so much out of him. He’d found a new respect for every working pregnant woman. His body wanted sleep. He wanted sleep. His bladder wanted freedom. Keith needed him awake. Keith was more important to him than his own rest and needs. His husband wasn’t able to “lay still”, he wouldn’t stop rubbing at the taunt skin as he kissed and nuzzled the swell... after forcing Lance to pull his shirt off so he could double check that Lance hadn’t been gutted for their twins. Crawling back up to rest with his head on Lance’s arm, Keith snuggled into his chest “Feeling better?” “Yeah. I’ve calmed down... My instincts got the better of me. That dream... I could feel your blood on my hands as I tried to keep your organs from falling out. Lotor, he was holding our twins. Allura...” “They’re gone. Allura and Lotor are gone. You don’t need to keep thinking about it” “I know” “Then you’ll be ok with taking a nap? I’m pretty beat” “I don’t think I can. Not yet” “Then do that creepy thing you do when you watch me sleep” “It’s not creepy. It’s the only time you’re quiet” Keith was joking. He was joking and he knew it... Yet it stung “My bad. I’ve cleaned through the shack and did the meal prep. It just needs to be popped in the microwave when you get hungry. You can go ahead and eat when you feel like it, but don’t forget to take your meds when you do, and don’t forget you need to use your crutches” Keith picked up on his hurt. His husband frowning “Did I say something wrong?” Forcing a smile for Keith’s sake, Lance squashed his pain down “Nah. I’m just tired from growing your babies. Nothing that a nap won’t fix” “Alright... you were yawning constantly” “Because it’s hard work... I feel like I could sleep for a year” “Then you should have come to bed. You’re supposed to stay off your knee” “I didn’t want to disturb you. You had a long day” “That’s not excuse. You’re not supposed to be doing the housework in my shack. You’re my husband” “And you’re my husband. Is it so crazy that I might want to be there for you too” “But it’s my job to take care of you...” Job... It was a job to take care of him... No. He wasn’t going to cry. Keith was right. He was a job. A whole lot of hard work that his husband didn’t need.

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onyx-archer · 6 years

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My Idea for the Future of Comic Books.

I've been telling people in my personal life that like comics (and few that at least like to hear about weird ideas I have) that the current release method for comics is slowly killing the industry, among other things. I've put a lot of thought into how to fix the problem, and while I'm no expert, I think it comes down to a number of factors. All of it will be under the cut, as to not overwhelm you if you don’t want to read it. Keep in mind that this more or less entirely pertains to the Big Two (Marvel and DC), but can be applied to all but the smallest publishers really.

All of the issues I can see with the industry are as follows:

1. Limited Distribution: The Direct Market makes it harder for people to get into comics. Be it because of the hobby's requirement to go to a hobbyist store of some kind, or hope that they can find a copy on Amazon. Digital stuff does help a little, but that leads into the next problem.

2. Digital Prices/Digital Marketshare: From what little we as a community know about digital sales, thanks to a few bits of info that can be gleamed from smaller, indie creators, we know that there isn't a super huge digital market for comics yet. This would probably improve if the publishers stopped charging print cover prices for digital books, but that probably won't happen any time soon. Of course, digital markets come with the advent of piracy, but it's not like that was entirely avoidable thanks to scanning groups.

3. The Release Format: I'm gonna say something a little controversial here: single issues aren't really worth the price at this point. I say this because of how story arcs for comics these days are typically written; stories are very rarely self contained single issue affairs anymore. This also plays into the comics only being available for purchase through extremely limited channels, whereas you can sell a graphic novel or a trade paperback in more easily accessible markets than hobbyist stores like Comic Book stores. The single issues also tend to sit unsold because it's easy to over ship them, which is evident in basically every comic book store in North America.

4. Marketing: This issue is mostly aimed at Marvel, but can be applied universally. A big issue Marvel has is that they launch books with little fanfare, only to cancel them 6 issues in because of low sales. The books basically just get axed because they aren't marketed properly to potential fans. Tent pole titles like Spider-Man get marketed, sure, but for every Spider-Man or Thor, there's a character with a smaller fanbase that's getting snubbed because the big books hog all of the marketing budget, making it harder for them to gain any sizable fan traction.

I could also throw overall quality of storytelling/writing, but that's more of subjective issue in most cases. After all, just because I don't like the writing of recent Spider-Man material doesn't mean nobody does. I could also throw in my problems with people in the comics industry being shitheads on social media, but that’s not important right now.

Anyway, my solution idea attempts to address the 4 big problems. It's basically as follows:

1. Changing Formats: This here's probably going to get me the most flack, but I don't really care. What I'm suggesting is a complete overhaul of the format of comics into something a little more enticing, and potentially profitable: graphic novels. Now, the industry already releases trade collections, but I think given the fact that most comic story lines are written for trade collections already, we might as well just get graphic novels instead. This has a number of benefits, but I'll get into that more as we go. One I’ll bring up now though is that Graphic Novels, over all, have a better shelf life than individual floppies.

2. Dial Back The Number of Releases: A big issue some smaller titles have right now is the lack of marketing, and this suggestion is a pretty reasonable way to limit the issue. What I'm suggesting is, along with the change in format, a company like Marvel only releases, at most, 4 things a week. Preferably, 2-3 books, but 4 is still within reason as far as I'm concerned. This, combined with a format change, will cut down on the ugly look of a pile of unsold issues, and can be stored more efficiently. It will also allow for a more efficient marketing, and less clutter on shelves, and if all companies adopted the practice, less competing for a reader’s attention.

3. Quarterly Release Schedule: Something that would be a byproduct of going to a graphic novel format would come with a release drawback, but at the same time, it would make each release easier to justify purchasing. If I only had to buy Spider-Man 4 times a year, for 20-25 bucks a pop, I'd be happy. Of course, to make sure you don't misunderstand, each volume would have to guarantee a conclusion to the story being told by the time the last page is turned. Sure, an ongoing subplot that ties stories together is fine, but it would make things easier to recommend to fresh eyes, as a more complete feeling story is more satisfying, and is easier to keep up with and/or remember.

4. Writer Rotation: This is a simple thing, but it's basically necessary to ensure a release schedule of graphic novels. The benefit of superhero material is that writers go from project to project with enough frequency, barring a few notable exceptions, so this would be a huge boon for a format change. The ideal number of writers is 2, but it can work with 3 or 4, but no more than 4. This would require a bit of teamwork on the part of the two writers, but it would allow for a more efficient output, giving each writer a window of 3 or so months to draft subsequent releases. I would also have at least 2 different main artists on board, just to make the process less daunting for a single main artist. This would come with the caviate that a writer can only remain on the book for, at most, 4-5 years at a time, to prevent burnout and/or creative stagnation. (I probably explained this poorly, but hopefully this one made sense)

5. A Variety Title: Something to keep things a little less stale, I’m proposing that each week, there’s what’s effectively an anthology/variety type book. It would, hypothetically, be similar to something like Weekly Shonen Jump, only it’d be under specific brandings. Marvel is easily the one company that I can point to an example of: Amazing Fantasy, Strange Tales, Tales to Astonish, Tales of Suspense, etc. Basically, these would be weekly titles that focus on a subset of Marvel’s characters for a number of purposes.

Short, self contained oneshot stories to help with the less frequent main title releases.

Test new solo titles for unproven characters before committing to a larger book.

For the sake of showcasing newer writers to the public to gauge reactions before handing them the keys to a bigger title.

The big thing is that these would be released monthly, and wouldn’t count towards the previously mentioned release of only 3-4 books a week. They would also be sold cheaper, and individual stories could be sold cheaply in a digital format.

6. Ship To Non-Specialty Stores: A benefit of a format change would be a wider set of options for the release of books on a more frequent basis. Book stores, or other retailers that have book sections (like Walmart) wouldn’t have a problem with stocking the stories in their book sections, allowing for more eyes to be on the comics. This would have to come with the caveat of either having a rating system like video games in a easily visible place, or simply limiting the more mature stuff to Amazon and more specialist stores. Still, it allows for more potential readers to find the books easier.

7. Lower the Digital Market Price: This one is a harder pill to swallow, but realistically, this would have to be done. Heck, this idea alone can ignore all of the previous ones, and that alone would probably boost digital sales. Most people buy digital goods because it’s marginally cheaper in some cases, and they don’t have to go anywhere. The cheaper price is usually the result of not needing to print actual copies of a product, but comics have failed to grasp this concept. I think it’s a no-brainer if you change the format, but it’s obviously something the current format needs to do too.

So yeah, that’s some shit I probably put way too much thought into, but those are just some ideas I have when it comes to fixing American Comics. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

#Comics #Comic Books #Rambling #Ideas #Ideas to Fix Comics #Graphic Novels #Marvel #Marvel Comics #DC Comics #DC #I'd put indies in here #but it's mostly for the big two #some thoughts #rant?#Fixing Comics #American Comics

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dammitadolfnomorecake · 5 years

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Caramel Skin Under A Purple Rain prt 27 full draft

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