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Here’s how you, as a superhero comics publisher, can get me to read your books.

Tell me a complete story.

I’m not interested in picking up serial comic books every month for the rest of my life. I’ve moved on from that kind of consumption; frankly, publishers have only themselves to blame. Uneven quality and constant cross-overs keep me from being that kind of shopper anymore.

Dark Horse’s B.P.R.D. is the perfect example of how to do this right. They have been doing focused and complete story arcs for years. Knowing that I’m buying into a complete story line makes it really easy for me to dive in on a somewhat monthly title.

Sure, I mostly read trades these days, but there are still books I’ll pick up month to month if I think they’re worth it. I’m a sucker for mini-series starring characters I love.

Which brings me to…

Figure out how to tell great, but focused, stories with classic characters.

I don’t read monthly superhero titles anymore. Even ones I really like; I just don’t have the comic attention span for that kind of thing anymore. The last run of superhero comics I bought at the store every month was the Bendis/Maleev run on Daredevil. Was it great? It sure was. But when I checked out for a little bit (which I invariably do, because hey, I’m an adult who does a lot more than read comic books) I didn’t find a place to check back in.

But I can respect that. Life goes on, even when I’m not reading your monthly title. But what about all those characters who don’t have a monthly title? Give me some “every once in awhile” mini-series action. It’s perfect for a reader like me. I can get in and get out with a satisfying storyline and feel like I’ve not missed a ton of continuity.

For some reason, Marvel does this with my favorite superhero, Dr. Strange, all the time. This isn’t why he’s one of my favorites, but it doesn’t hurt. DC did a similar thing with a Dr. Fate (another favorite– I’m a slut for occult doctors apparently) a few years back.

(Granted, for Dr. Strange, it always reads like a failed reboot. I can’t wait for the day when they give that character to someone to a horror writer. The scale of his superhero-ness is all off. He should be fighting cultists, scheming against the fiends of hell, and barely getting out with his head attached in fights against things that no man, not even the Sorceror Surpeme, could hope to understand.)

I’m never going to go back to reading five X-Men books a month. That time in my life has passed. But superhero comics could have me back if they would publish short, interesting story lines that don’t require me to stay current with the last decade of that publisher’s catalog.

One of the reasons I loved Marvel’s Ultimates line when it launched was the sense that there was this smaller, contained universe that I could enjoy. I didn’t need to read three X-titles to keep up; I could just read one. I got little bits of favorites like Daredevil and Dr. Strange through mini-series and team-up one-shots.

But then it bloated into cross-overs and the serials lost their edge and sense of cohesive story. It became just another version of the universe I had abandoned.

I realize that this model is incompatible with the current big two giant IP continuity conglomeration they’ve made out of their characters. They just can’t help themselves. That’s probably a big part of the reason I spend most of my superhero comics dollars with publishers like Image and Dark Horse– they give me the complete chunks I need. I just wish I could get a little bit of those classic superheroes I love in that mix too.

Give me a Dr. Strange book circa the late 60′s that doesn’t have the burden of being the magical deus ex machine of the Marvel universe for the last three decades. Give me an uber-cool Nick Fury, super spy, battling modern day terrorists and corporate espionage but without the need for SHIELD to be a piece of glue holding a dozen books together. And do it six issues at a time.

PS–Marvel, if you want to bring back an A/B style Strange Tales featuring a rebooted and universe-schismed Dr. Strange and Nick Fury, I’m your guy. I’ll have a script in your office yesterday.