Musing: Writing for the Trade

So a a fairly interesting read discussing Brad Meltzer's recently finished JLA arc tipped me off to this topic.

Read that article before reading this.

Or don't. Ya know, you don't have to. I just think you should.

But why take my advice?

Oh, that's what this whole blog is about? What a novel idea!

So you read it? Good! Read on!


Let me share with you my thoughts on Melter's JLA arc. I wasn't a big fan of 1-5. I thought there were some cool ideas, but, I wasn't taken with it enough. Wait though, it's a six issue story arc! What about issue 6?

I thought #6 was really good. There were a few moments I didn't love, but I really dug this issue.

You're following this: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 not really worth it to me. 6 very much worth it.

I'm not sure this is entirely Meltzer's fault. I mean, obviously, he was responsible for the writing, and if he couldn't fill the story with enough awesome for six issues than maybe he shouldn't tell it, but! their seems to be a lot of pressure to write for the trade in the industry.

I think multi issue story arcs are a good thing. I think the more story you can tell, the better. However, I don't like the mandate to tell six part stories. I understand it, trades sell in book stores, and book stores probably bring in some decent coin, but that doesn't mean I like it. I think it stifles creativity. Not every story can be told well in a standardized amount of pages. Not to mention the cliff hanger that needs to be written in at the end of every issue to keep the reader interested for a month.

I'm not sure what to do about the situation. It's a format that works pretty well. But, I don't think it works as well as it could from a creative stand point.