Does anyone actually LIKE decompressed comics?

[matt.ishii]

I came into comics with manga, and i think 'decompression' is just allowing the story to flow more naturally. Admittedly, I think if you pay 3 bucks for 20 pages of comics, you better be getting your money's worth. That said, unbound by cost or time constraints or page count, I think decompression just leads to better storytelling.

Of course, we're always bound by those 3 things (especially in Western comics), so yeah, I'd usually rather have less decompression in monthly comics.

[Name]

You know, decompression is a tool, and like any other tool, it has its uses. If you have worthwhile stuff to fill those issues, then you know what, I have no beef. But if you let it drag on and just pad it out for issue length, then yeah, it can be a problem. If you have enough in the issue, not just in plot, but with regard to just plain quality moments, to justify the price, then it really won't show, and it won't be a problem. Some stories need room, some need containment.

[danielfelts]

I like that decompression, or writing toward the trade, encourages most creators to utilize the 3 Act Structure that appears in most Western storytelling.
On the other hand, every issue of Planetary is a self-contained treasure, and they all come together to form a love letter to the speculative fiction of the 20th century.

[SilverHammerMan]

In response to danielfelts, I must agree that Planetary is an amazing example of storytelling, the individual issues, especially the early ones, all tell their own self contained stories, but they still work as part of the same myth arc.
On the other hand, in response to Jay Kay, I very much disliked the origin in Ultimate Spider-Man. True, it supplies some very good characterization, but too me, it boils down to several issues of Peter Parker whining and getting bullied before something actually happens.
I guess it's a matter of differing tastes, personally, I have no problem with a longer myth arc, but I do prefer a story to have sub-stories, that are told in much shorter installments in single issues. The problem that I have with USM, and indeed much of the Ultimate Universe, is that it takes forever to tell a single story. My enjoyment of each issue is ENTIRELY dependent on my having read the previous issue. With Planetary on the other hand, I can easily go back and read my favorite issues as stand alone stories within the greater myth arc.

[Nerd is the Word]

I have no problem with decompression. I'm all for longer form stories if they are told well. I just think comics should embrace a more TV like story structure so you have these multi-part stories from time to time but then lots of done in one or two issue stories that have tiny amounts of overarching story to them. Currently you get a four to six part story, a filler issue, then your onto the next four to six part story.

Two good examples of decompression done well are Brand New Day and 52. Brand New Day was produced like a TV show so you had big stories then lots of smaller ones between them. 52 told a brilliant long form story from multiple points of view but didn't fall flat. This is mainly down to the release schedule for the book though. One issue a week for every week of the year kept the pace up.

An example of bad decompression is Invincible and The Walking Dead. As much as I love Kirkman and his writing you cannot just jump on with his books. You have to go from the start otherwise, especially in Invincible, you will be left wondering what the hell is going on when Kirkman brings back hanging plot threads and older characters.