NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour Brings Comics to "Normals" - and Comics Can Learn from It

As an enthusiastic fan of National Public Radio and its "Monkey See" blog, I am, of course, devoted to its "Pop Culture Happy Hour" (for references to which, you can filter Twitter for #PCHH). Begun during the summer, the weekly podcast has become a treat to end the work week for many - and I should say before I go further that (full disclosure) two of the four participants are well known to me. Linda Holmes is a friend, and Stephen Thompson is a son. My son. So. In any case, it was of particular interest when I finally had a chance (following the delights of Black Friday) to settle down to listen to the November 26 event. While, as ever, there were a variety of pop-culture topics under discussion, a longer than usual chunk of the podcast was devoted to comic books. Comics commentator Glen Weldon, addressing the "non-comics folks" in the group, announced his plan to "dunk you into the turbid waters ... of the comics mainstream." (He also called them "three normals," which took them aback - with reason.) His initial plan had been to present each with a copy of Marvel's Spider-Girl #1 and Osborne #1, but both had been sold out at his local comics shop. (Collectors, take note.) Still in search of current iconic characters for the experiment, he purchased DC's one-shot Batman: The Return #1 and Batgirl #15 (each dated January 2011).

The discussion was revealing. The three "normals" are intelligent folks, deeply into popular culture and eager to find things to like in these issues. (In fact, there were gripes amid the ensuing posted comments from listeners that the participants had been too polite and eager to find things to like.) But the remarks included comments that it'd be handy for pros, as well as fans, to consider. The "normals" found, for example, that Batgirl was "easier to follow" than the "Done in One" one-shot. Stephen remarked that it would have been helpful to have had, say, a "60-second introduction" to what was going on. Among the barriers to entry was confusion over who was talking. (Weldon commented that thought balloons were a thing of the past - which, for some reason, I'd not internalized.) "These comics need to do more work," was another remark. Commenting on the difference from Silver Age comics, it was noted that these were "not as welcoming." "You need things to be clear."

Linda noted the distraction of ads for the newcomer, pointing out how confusing it would be, if - when reading a novel - a page of text advertising were occasionally inserted between story pages.

There's more - and it'd be great, if people (including pros) who are trying to increase the audience for mainstream comics would listen to what these adult "normals" have to say. "These comics need to do more work."

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Done in One

In the midst of researching something else, I stumbled over something I'd been looking for in the back issues of Comics Buyer's Guide: the introduction of a "Done in One" icon. I thought I'd coined the term some time earlier, and I've been trying to figure out specifically when that may have been, if so, but this is a first step. Here's what I wrote in CBG #1168 (April 5, 1996):

"The idea of a Done in One icon came to me as I mulled the changes that had been wrought in comics since the Golden Age. There were serials in Golden Age comics. (For one thing, very early comics consisted of strip reprints, and many of those had ongoing continuities, of course.) However, sales led many publishers to adopt the idea that free-standing short stories produced the best results for the medium, and before long even most anthology titles featured primarily tales with their beginning, middle, and end in the same issue. Some Dell titles (Tarzan, Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, etc.) featured one back-of-the-issue serial in addition to primary content, but basically for your dime you got at least one or more complete stories.

"When the Silver Age began, it was the same situation, based on that conventional wisdom. The DC super-hero stories which, in effect, began the Silver Age, were stories that were complete in an issue. It was Stan Lee who made a magnificent sales success out of taking several issues to tell a story -- and expanding the concept to be the standard for his line of super-hero material. (And, yes, Don and Maggie decried the practice and boldly stated that trying to serialize comic books would never work.)

"Today, casual readers -- especially those new to comics -- may find it hard to locate a story they can read without having bought the preceding six issues or being obliged to buy the ensuing three. So, when we can, we plan to identify free-standing issues with the Done in One logo.

"Any publishers want to use it? Retailers for special displays? Call me; we'll talk."

Well, no one did, but the "Done in One" term itself has become common parlance. My hunt for the first time I used it will continue. And I seem to recall that the reason we gave up using the icon in our reviews is that we switched layout systems at some point and the icon (designed by Al West) never made the transition.

[And let me note, hours later, that my quest for that first-time usage continues. I've now checked editorials and my reviews column in CBG #1155 (Jan. 5, 1996)-#1167 but have found no such reference. Was it earlier? Or did I actually coin the term for this use for the first time in #1168? Sigh.]

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