It's been a while since I picked up an old comic at random for a quick read and besides bringing back memories of different days I am also reminded how different comics were back then. Since the closure of my local comic shop I have mostly ordered collected editions via Amazon or picked them up in Waterstone's. Most of the comics I buy via mail order are one-shots or limited series.
And here-in is the difference between then and now. The story in this issue of Batman was self contained and could be picked up along with other random titles which were also mostly even in the late eighties stories completed in the one issue. These days most stories are multi issue arcs and lots of titles have out of sequence tie-ins to major events and crossovers making random reading no longer possible.
The other more noticeable feature of old comics, especially the further you back) is how much more wordy these stories were. Even with a silent villain like Mime it took much longer to read than a modern comic.
Of course the market has changed and publishers do look to collected editions or trades as a major source of income but I would like to think that it was possible at least once in a while to just sit down with a pile of comics.
Oh and before I forget this is one of those weird adventures that could only happen in an old DC title. Someone's been stealing the knockers out of the church bells across the city. Enter the Mime. Silly but fun, just as sometimes comics should be.
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