Spoilers Ruin Comic Books

SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!  SPOILER ALERT!   

That warning's used quite often in fandom’s parlance, isn't it? Ever since the days of Sphinx and their prophecies, we've always been both fascinated and terrified by reports of the future. Does knowing the plot ahead of time diminish your enjoyment of a comic?  Do spoilers matter? The hot spoilers du jour concern the true face of Parallax in the GREEN LANTERN movie and the plot of THE WOLVERINE. Those are the ones that've been brought down by cease-and-desist letters in this ever-escalating cold war of information in entertainment. 

And it does feel like espionage these days, doesn't it? You had cagey solicits in the past, sure, but now, blacked out previews are a regular occurring, as are fake titles (remember SENTRY: FALLEN SUN?) and even out-and-out fake covers (remember the red herring line-ups for X-STATIX #1)  Fans are trying so hard to outwit that stuff, though, that it's hard to keep any secrets.  

Sometimes, even simple scheduling will let the cat out of the bag. G-Man was keen to point out that the funeral issue for the Sentry (the aforementioned FALLEN SUN special) came out the same day as his death in SIEGE #4. Even if you stayed totally clear of spoilers online, you could've blown the surprise for yourself if you read those in the wrong order. == TEASER ==

Like a lot of discussion topics, this "threat" isn’t anything new - - not by any stretch. A LCS manager I know told me that the solicits for Superman’s return ran at the same time his death happened. Speaking from my own experience, we all knew that the non-mutant heroes were going to die at the end of ONSLAUGHT while we were reading it. Why? Because the infamous HEROES REBORN line had been announced while that crossover was still underway. It was easy to deduce the result, sure, but the exact means weren't obvious. 

And perhaps that’s the key.    

When I discussed the revolving door of death in superheroes a little while back, I brought up the difference between "smarks" and "marks" in pro wrestling. Deaths are traditionally some of the biggest spoilers, so the thinking probably applies to every kind of surprise. Most fans know where the story’s going, so perhaps we play along as if we don’t because the real fun is in the execution. Perhaps.

Let's bring this back to the ONSLAUGHT saga. When I first got into collecting comics (like before I was 10) my M.O. was to basically spoil every comic I picked up for myself.  I’d flip through the whole thing right away without really reading any of it and then, once I’d done that a couple times, I’d go back and actually read the thing.   Perhaps I would've enjoyed the comics more if I'd, you know, experienced them as intended, but that takes a little discipline, and I didn't have much of that then. So I suppose I experienced an odd bit of fearful symmetry during ONSLAUGHT,because it started with me flipping immediately to the end of X-MEN #56 to (14-YEAR-OLD SPOILER ALERT!) find out that Onslaught was really Prof. X and it ended with me exercising some maddening self-control to experience ONSLAUGHT: MARVEL UNIVERSE, one page at a time. The internet wasn't as all-encompassing then as it is today, of course, so it was still easier to be surprised.

I've been playing devil's advocate a bit, here. I prefer to be surprised, always. I’m willing to take a chance on an unknown comic with just a good cover and an intriguing synopsis simply because I want to be surprised. I think it’s an unfortunate consequence of this era's media saturation that we're given so many morsels before we get to the actual product. It’s sort of like how your birthday would feel less special if you got presents scattered over the month instead of all at once. Even though this kind of thing is basically what I deal in these days (call it a job hazard!) I still hate knowing where a story’s going  ahead of time. It feels like I'm cheating a well-crafted story, doing that.

 "Let's bring this back to the ONSLAUGHT saga. When I first got into collecting comics (like before I was 10) my M.O. was to basically spoil every comic I picked up for myself.  I’d flip through the whole thing right away without really reading any of it and then, once I’d done that a couple times, I’d go back and actually read the thing."
 
I STILL do that!

I think on the one hand, not knowing anything gives you a fresh perspective, and the chance to be really taken in by the plot twists and surprises.  But at the same time, a truly great work stands on its own, even if you know everything that happens.  Everyone knows New York gets destroyed at the end of Watchmen, but that knowledge doesn't make the story less great.  Death of Gwen Stacy is right there in the title, but that doesn't lessen the impact the story still has.  Not knowing spoilers is great, but the mark of a truly classic story is if spoilers fail to detract from the story.

As much as I like solicits, they can effect enjoyment of comics.  I am convince Death's appearance would of not had all he 5 Stars it did if it wasn't for the solicits.  Her appearance in Action was okay, nothing magical.  But because of he hoopla people who never seen her before were loving it.  If there was no media buzz, that issue would of had a different impact.
 
I enjoyed the X-statix red herring covers.  I wonder how much Peter Milligan prewrote and how much was just fluid.  Any of his throw away characters in X-Force/X-Statix could of been interesting characters in their own right.
 
Spoils do ruin comics, it has made it that the comics are character driven, instead of story.  The fans care what will happen next to the character, not what the story is really about.  
 
I still give a comic a flip, I have to its part of the tradition I have with them.

" As much as I like solicits, they can effect enjoyment of comics.  I am convince Death's appearance would of not had all he 5 Stars it did if it wasn't for the solicits.  Her appearance in Action was okay, nothing magical.  But because of he hoopla people who never seen her before were loving it.  If there was no media buzz, that issue would of had a different impact.  I enjoyed the X-statix red herring covers.  I wonder how much Peter Milligan prewrote and how much was just fluid.  Any of his throw away characters in X-Force/X-Statix could of been interesting characters in their own right.  Spoils do ruin comics, it has made it that the comics are character driven, instead of story.  The fans care what will happen next to the character, not what the story is really about.    I still give a comic a flip, I have to its part of the tradition I have with them. "

I actually rarely care about spoilers. Sometimes I actively like them.

It is an unfortunate part of the industry. The hype needs to be built in advance but it does hamper stories at times.
 
Still, in the end it is always about the journey over the destination.

personally, like knowing the story before i get into it, i hate suspense. I mean of course i feel like a detective and sometimes when i'm reading through i'll be like,..maybe it's that guy cos he had this connection,...but if it's spoiled for me i really dont care. (unless someone i KNOW beats me to it) I actually read the storyline on wikipedia too. 

If I'm unable to get my comics on time, then I actively encourage spoilers

I would prefer watching/reading comic reviews with spoilers IMO

If the development & tension within the story is done right, it'll be an enjoyable experience even if you know the reveal. Obviously it's more surprising if you don't know, but I don't think knowing spoilers should compromise a quality story.

I thought this image was Johnny Storm and until I read the article and saw the yellow in the photo.
 

" @Silkcuts: I've read most of the Sandman books. "

I don't like it when people spoil things in general. Movies, games, comics, whatever. Yes, if the story's good, it'll still be good, but sometimes knowing what's to come before hand is sometimes the difference between good and great with me.

I don't mind spoilers. I think the reason people like them or seek them out is as simple as impatience. But impatience isn't always a bad thing; it means you're really into the story. Or maybe a story has been lackluster and a spoiler will let you know if it's all coming to a head, or just dragging on and you can save some money (especially when the cover has nothing to do with the inside of the book).  
 
When I read a review, I like to hear more about what actually happens in the story not just a 2 sentence synopsis (not all the details and spoilers, but the plot points. That's why I love the Unscripteds but really don't care for the many written Review posts). If i were buying issues at the LCS every week, NOT having spoilers would be costly, but because I go for trades (as i mention all the time) I can read a review on Amazon or Wikipedia get most of the story points, but still be surprised by how the characters get to those points. I've wasted so much money on mediocre, boring, or just plain bad comics because of a cool cover with characters I sorta liked prior to the rise of the internet and spoilers (the best example was a Green Lantern #55, awesome cover, boring terrible issue) and only ONCE did i get a bad trade that I didn't think I knew enough about (Batman Cacophony, if you were curious).

"I am biased because I am one of the bigger Vertigo guys on the vine, Aztek is the only one I know for sure who loves the imprint more then I."

Spoilers make ppl who can't afford to buy comics happy. 

They don't bother me all that much. I mean after years of reading comics it's very, very, very, hard to surprise me anymore especially in hero comics. Much like pro wrestling we seen this dance before, and we can almost with exact certainty tell who's going to die, or how, and when they'll be back. 

I can't remember the last time anything in comics was ruined for me, but I think this is because I am the spoiler of my group. Once I read something crazy want to talk about it right away but my friends my not have gotten around to seeing it yet, so I may blurt a few things now and then but only cause I want to get their opinion or see if they saw something I didn't. 
Im trying to think of a time someone spoiled a plot for me but I keep getting nothing, honestly if you told me Cyclops was beheaded by Daken you wouldn't ruin anything for me, it would make me want to read that book even more.

its annoying, but many of the deaths are kept secret.  and i often go to spoilers just to catch up on the universe.  i think what matters more is the execution. 

Spoilers don't really matter, in the end the same story has been told before in another manner in another universe.   

No, comics are like movies, they are really predictable...

There's nothing to spoil in comics. This isn't Agatha Christie. It's pretty easy to figure these things out. 
 
Its kind of like when Andre the Giant who was banned from WWF came back as the Giant Machine with a mask (when he was suspended temporarily)...or when Hogan was "Mr. America" for a short time.  
 
You'd think this was "Who shot JR?!?!" hysteria by the way some people overreact to spoilers in comics.

Depends on what. If I really want to know something then a spoiler is ok. Often times I don't like spoilers tho, it ruins some comics/books/movies and so on.

I'm okay with spoiler  in comics, as long as they don't show to much.

I don't care about spoilers at all. I'm in it for the ride, not the destination. If anything, I find spoilers make the ride more fun because I'm constantly thinking, how is such-and-such going to come about?

I have never really been bothered by spoilers.  If the story is good enough you should be able to enjoy it when you know the ending, kinda like when you watch a movie for the second time.

I hate being spoiled.

it sucks that companies have to tell you every time there is going to be a surprise in a book. they dont explain it, but they say "secret revealed" or "death of a character." the reason they do that is so they can advertise it and hype it enough as much as they can without lying because i think all they really care about is selling books. it makes it much less of a surprise (therefore less entertaining/exciting) when the book is really hyped up and guarentees a surprise.

The one good benefit to being 19 months behind on my reading is that any spoilers I hear I forget about long before I get to read it :P sure there are a few bigger things that I can't forget but I'm usually still a little surprised mainly because I don't know when exactly it's happening in what I read I just know it's coming eventually.

" @Silkcuts said:

"I am biased because I am one of the bigger Vertigo guys on the vine, Aztek is the only one I know for sure who loves the imprint more then I."

ahem don't forget about me :P I've read at least 97% of the vertigo comics published ever, the left over 3% that I haven't read is stuff I didn't like like sandman, lucifer, invisibles, and some of the books of magics or the stuff that was published in the past 19 months since I'm behind on reading. "

" @Silkcuts:  It was a marketing stunt that definitely worked. I enjoyed her dialogue but I really thought Lex was going to die or something. "

" @Silkcuts:  Did you really expect an appearance of Death in the main DCU to be good in the first place? DCU has a horrible track record for taking back Vertigo properties; Animal Man, Vigilante, and Doom Patrol come to mind.  I think it is more of a spoiler to know Death was coming to the DCU and because of who she is and where she is you automatically know nobody is really going to die and then Death is spoiled for good. "

" @Silkcuts:  At least it had a good cover :P  I wish DC would just release a statement explaining their views on Vertigo and if they plan on having a future for it and what it might be cause it is a shame what it has become and as far as the fans see DC could care less as then pound another nail in Vertigo's coffin. If Vertigo was handled like it was its own indie company like Avatar or even Archaia it would be doing so much better, the entire line would increase in sales with proper marketing, doesn't even need to be super expensive marketing, plenty of small companies do very well on small budgets. "