Because all it does is make things confusing. You've got to figure out what stories happened in what series, and if you're talking about them you have to specify which volume you're talking about. It was a lot easier when Avengers was just one volume and all you had to worry about were issue numbers.
Yes. I totally agree, but the time of continuous numbering has been gone. It is now no more confusing to say AVENGERS #1 vol 8 than it is to say AVENGERS #1 (1998) Heroes Return (or whenever that was
). Marvel and DC have killed the numbering love.
In MY perfect comic publishing world, if a series was 12 issues long, "TITLE #1" would come out in Jan 2013 and then "TITLE #12 - The Finale" would come out in Dec 2013 (followed the next week by an "annual"
) and that would be it for that numbering and we could then get off this issue thing and just call them by year.
"Hey, did you read DEFENDERS 2014? Man, it was great!"
or
"Don't bother picking up any of the JUSTICE LEAGUE 2015. Most of it is drawn by ..."
Well, that is not entirely true. In my "Perfect World" there would be no-more floppies and every comic would be in trade or HC format. You always hear "it reads better in trade" or "this would make a great trade". You never hear "Oh, this trade would have been so much better in monthly format". Ya know why, because none of them would be. Trades and HC are the best way to read a story.
Plus then, all this issue crap would be redundant, as each trade or "Book" could just have a title. Oh how sweet a world.
But more than that, it's just a money grab.
Well of course it is. That is what companies do. They try and make money ... and the most they can. Maybe if fans would stick around on titles when they reach issue 58, companies wouldn't have to re-number just to get the sales, but as it works better than not, I don't blame them for doing it.
And before anyone says "well, if the wrote good enough stories that people would want to stick around ..."
, let me stop you. Attrition is a natural occurrence regardless of how good something is. Just as curiosity in "issue #1" helps drive sales, the staleness of "issue #29" will drive them away. We are an easily bored bunch of bi-peds.
And I don't complain about indie titles because I generally don't read them unless it's an all-time favorite writer or some licensed comic of something I'm into.
Well you are, sadly, not alone. I wish more people would get away from the big two. It's not their fault, but these character's stories have been around forever. Only so much you can do before it gets, like it is now; re-hashed, re-done, re-treated and repeated
Oh, and the digital thing is cool. I didn't even know about that.
Yes, very cool.