8 Ways DC And Marvel Make It Impossible For Fans To Read Their Comics
8. Old Classics Go Out Of Print Way Too Quickly
Denys Cowan/DC Comics
A trend that has, thankfully, somewhat subsided in recent years, it must be said that both DC and Marvel aren't the best when it comes to preserving some of their more iconic storylines.
Granted, you'll never have to worry about Batman, Spider-Man or Daredevil having their greatest hits collect dust in a decade-old printing, but for other characters (like The Question), it's a very real possibility that their best stories will remain out of reach for the general public, locked behind extortionate listings on eBay and the odd tattered back-issue here and there.
Though Dennis O'Neil's series has yet to get a second running as either a hardcover or a trade-paperback, it is true that DC have been making an effort to bring their classics to a wider audience. Fans can now comfortably get their mitts on Neal Adams' stint on Deadman, and even Mike Grell's critically acclaimed albeit controversial take on Green Arrow has been given another go at print, with the creator's work on 'The Brave and the Bold' being the only notable absence to speak of.
Though there's still a way to go in bringing back some of the medium's most definitive books to store shelves - particularly so in Marvel's case - it is true that things are starting to improve. Slightly.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
