What makes you buy a particular comic?

[chuck001]

I buy comics only of comic characters. Some of my favorite comics are Sandman, Green Hornet.

[SeqArtMark]

I like a good story but the reason I buy a comic is because of the art, namely the penciller. Most of the comics I own are just reference material since I only read them once; I peruse the art again and again. My thinking is that the art is what makes comic books different than other media. I love a good story (like I said) but I can find a good story in a movie or on TV or even a book so the only thing a comic gives me that those don't is good artwork. That's just me, though.

[killingyouguy]

This is another poll where there's no good choice.

I'm usually either buying a book because there's a general consensus that it's good, or because I'm a fan of the artist. In the latter case, I often don't even end up reading it, because the story's probably garbage.

That's the problem with buying for an artist. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big art nerd. And I will occasionally buy a book just because of the artist involved, or the colorist if it's Dean White - almost as a cheap art book, if that makes sense. But I buy comics to read them, not to look at them, so at the end of the day, everything comes down to writing. In most cases, that means a writer I know and love. Fraction, Ennis, Ellis, Bendis, Brubaker, Hickman, Morrison, Alan Moore etc. In some cases, it's a book I happen to pick up because I've heard it is good - like Locke and Key, or Chew, or the Unwritten. I'll admit to being a little too unwilling to try new stuff from people that aren't as established with me, unless I've heard great things. But I'm also pretty poor as comics get more expensive, and once I've got all the books that I HAVE to buy, the ones I might want to try become increasingly difficult to justify.

[Chris2.0]

In order:

Writer
Artist
Character

Perhaps because I'm a semi-published comic book writer...

And to be the Devilish Advocate - if one buys a comic just for the art, shouldn't one then buy only "silent" editions - without balloons or SFX? Or to go even further - the panels should be printed randomly, or all full splash page size?

But that cuts both ways - so I'll have to buy a script in comic book format!

So I want to change my vote - it's either the writer or artist... And then the character... And then the other creatives... Publisher comes last...

[crazyjedichicken]

i will buy anything, and i mean anything, with chris bachalo artwork on it! i'd buy condoms if he drew the cover, even if i had read multiple reports of them bursting or causing rashes! to a lesser extent the same goes for humberto ramos. this has lead to me to read many many bad comics as those guys do covers for anything! also bachalo has a tendency to be replaced in the middle of a run with truly crap artists and i tend to skip over those parts of the story!

[Lonrott]

I am drawn to a comic for it's art, but after two or three pages, I would only buy a comic for the story. Who tells the story doesn't really matter. A great artist is good to have but if he/she is just creating beautiful panels of nonsense, then I feel like...well go do a painting or something that is less story intensive. The story always wins out. The story can have a write or an artist alone can tell it, but if it isn't good then so what? A movie can have a great director but if the story makes no sense....then so what? Great actors, same thing.

[Hola-Avenger]

Art is what catches my attnetion, then that leads me to see who the writer is, sometimes u get an amazing color artist though which helps.

[watchdog]

Art is what catches my attnetion, then that leads me to see who the writer is, sometimes u get an amazing color artist though which helps.

-- my comment has been edited to preserve at least some small sense of nicety in this thread.

[The P.R. Man]

Oh, if he's trying to join the conversation, and isnt being an ass don't bag on the guy

[sadman2000]

I like to see a good mix of everything. I.E. if the art is terrible but the writing is good I'm not gonna buy it. I mean if I just want a good story I'll buy a novel. And I hate novels lol. To me, comics are the essence of collaboration, if one of the collaborators suck at their work, the comic is ruined in my mind. Comics need good art, just as much as they need a good story. Otherwise, you're better off with a novel or an artbook. Call me picky, but it's just the way I feel.