Head Lopper and Release Schedules

A part of what makes comic books so hard for the average consumer to get into is due to the way that comics are released. On average, each new issue sells for around $4, and readers will get roughly 20 pages of content that makes up a chapter of an on-going story or a stand-alone narrative. In other words, comics are expensive, and readers need to wait for fairly long stretches of time before being able to complete a given story. In Marvel and DC, the average story arc lasts around 6 issues, and with new issues dropping once a month for a respective series, that means that many people wait for 6 months at a time for a start and end to a story they’re invested in.

This not only requires a large amount of dedication, remembering to purchase an issue on a given Wednesday of each month, but continued interest, enough so that the reader bothers to do so. Many books can struggle to grab a reader’s attention, especially when they may only get a snippet of content for their time and money.

There are some books, however, that look to break this mold. Case and point, Head Lopper. This Image Comics series, when active, releases an issue once every 3 months, but delivers more than double the content (an average of 50 pages) for a discounted price ($6 brand new, which is better value-per-page).

A part of author Andrew MacLean’s success comes from the fact that he originally began his comic book journey as a freelancer, publishing through Kickstarter support. Only after his comics had begun making the rounds had it been passed to some of the heads of Image Comics, who reached out to publish all further releases of the book. In establishing himself as a creator with a particular schedule, publishers were aware of what to expect from him, thus allowing him more flexibility and freedom in that regard.

Additionally, as MacLean noted in the release of his first issue of the series:

MacLean also takes lengthy breaks between story arcs, giving himself a year or more to determine where he wants to go next before diving in to the next stage of protagonist Norgal’s adventure.

To someone just getting into comics, this may sound even worse than what you may normally expect. Needing to wait longer stretches of time for each entry in a series? And long sabbaticals between arcs? It can certainly sound underwhelming from the outside, but when considering the hurdles in comic book creation this avoids, patience may be a small price to pay.

The comic book industry is a fast-paced industry, its hand forced by the constant consumerism that is expected. With comics being a lesser-utilized hobby, it means that big publishers are often pressured to release content at a breakneck pace to keep their doors open, even the biggest names in town. DC and Marvel have, in the past, gone so far as to release on-going series bi-weekly, a practice that leads to a lot of cutting corners. Artists are swapped out every couple of weeks in order to keep pace with the release schedule, with 3 distinct art teams drawing for the same series at the same time. This can lead to a very choppy, inconsistent reading experience that devalues a singular image of a story if the narrative wasn’t designed to benefit from the constant artistic shifts.

And even releasing comics at the monthly pace can be enough to drive creative minds away from the mainstream comic companies. Image Comics is particularly well-liked for accommodating the needs of their creative teams, with creators coming and going as best fits their busy schedules. Infamously, the creators of the incredibly popular series Saga, Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples, stepped away from the series in 2018, promising to return to it at a future date. While this has left readers in suspense for some time, the promise of the series’ eventual return on the terms of the original creators means we’ll be getting the content they intended at the caliber we’ve come to expect rather than something rushed for the sake of deadlines.

Head Lopper is not only a series that breaks all the rules in regards to how it’s released, but does so in a way that benefits both the creator and the consumer. MacLean gets to tell his story how he wants, and we get more high-quality content for our dollar. That being said, I can completely understand why some may be frustrated by the sporadic release schedule, especially when first delving into comics. Luckily, collected volumes are not only easier to find and pick up, they collect a larger portion of the story that will ideally get you hooked in to what the book is about without having to wait for another installment. Head Lopper has 3 volumes out now that I’d highly recommend checking out if you find Mike Spicer’s art as mesmerizing as I do:

That’s all from me today, but let me know your thoughts below, and I’ll see ya’ll back here next week!