{"id":2643,"date":"2018-02-06T14:15:00","date_gmt":"2018-02-06T22:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comic-con.org\/toucan\/?p=2643"},"modified":"2024-01-09T14:21:16","modified_gmt":"2024-01-09T22:21:16","slug":"maggies-world-058-done-in-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comic-con.org\/toucan\/maggies-world-058-done-in-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Maggie’s World 058: Done in One"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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MAGGIE’S WORLD BY MAGGIE THOMPSON<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maggie’s World 058: Done in One<\/h1>\n\n\n
Maggie Thompson<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Krause Publications Designer Al West came up with this logo, introduced in\u00a0Comics Buyer\u2019s Guide<\/em>\u00a0#1168 (April 5, 1996). \u00a9 2018 F+W<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As I recall, I came up with the expression \u201cDone in One\u201d around 1994. It might have been in an editorial or in a review; in either case, it was in an issue of Comics Buyer\u2019s Guide<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why did I feel a need to create the term?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reason was that comic books had changed in more than price by then. Sure, when I began buying comics at the age of 4, the price had been a dime\u2014whereas in the mid-1990s, the standard tariff was 15 or 20 times that. But the cost wasn\u2019t the reason. The reason was that my 10\u00a2 in that earlier era had brought me at least one complete story. Sometimes several stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But by 1996, not only would, say, The Amazing Spider-Man<\/em> (for $1.50) contain only the second part of a three-part story\u2014but also, in order to read the complete \u201cMedia Blizzard\u201d tale, the fan had to buy The Sensational Spider-Man<\/em> (for $1.95) for the first part and Spider-Man<\/em> (for $1.95) for the wrap-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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All-Star Comics<\/em>\u00a0#33 wrapped up \u201cThe Revenge of Solomon Grundy!\u201d on page \u201cZ.\u201d Sure, he might come back\u2014but \u201cthe people of the world will be forever grateful.\u201d \u00a0The end. And the issue even carried other features as well as the cover-blurbed \u201cfull-length adventure.\u201d \u00a9 2018 DC Comics\u00a0The Spirit Section<\/em>\u00a0for November 23, 1947 featured a shorter story; Eisner wrapped up his feature in a tidy seven pages each week. \u00a9 2018 Will Eisner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The Olden, Golden Days \u2026<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

When I was a kid, we expected comics to have a beginning, middle, and end. Whether it was in Edgar Rice Burroughs\u2019<\/em> Tarzan<\/em>, Roy Rogers Comics<\/em>, Walt Disney\u2019s Comics and Stories<\/em>, or Detective Comics<\/em>, we got at least one story for our dime. There might be a \u201cback of the book\u201d serial (\u201cBrothers of the Spear\u201d in Tarzan<\/em>, for example), but it served much the same function as did motion-picture serials: as an add-on to the complete feature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And many comics amounted to short-story anthologies. At random: E.C.\u2019s Frontline Combat<\/em> #10 (1953) contained such stories as the chilling \u201cA Baby!\u201d\u2014and \u201cGeronimo!\u201d and \u201cNapoleon!\u201d and \u201cAnzio!\u201d Animal Comics <\/em>#25 included complete stories featuring Albert and Pogo, Jigger, Uncle Wiggily, and Rover. Before Thor became a comic book character, Marvel\u2019s Journey into Mystery<\/em> #29 contained \u201cThree Frightened People,\u201d \u201cThe Black Book,\u201d \u201cMr. Know-It-All, \u201cInto Thin Air!\u201d and \u201cSomeone Is in My Room.\u201d Obviously, I could go on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And they were (as we say) all in color for a dime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This meant that it was easy\u2014inviting\u2014to pick up an issue that looked interesting, glance through it for validation, and jump right into the continuity. You didn\u2019t have to be a member of the Captain Marvel Club to figure things out in Fawcett\u2019s Captain Marvel Adventures<\/em> #22 (March 26, 1943). In a little over 8 square inches, you learned that \u201cShazam\u201d stood for Solomon (wisdom), Hercules (strength), Atlas (stamina), Zeus (power), Achilles (courage), and Mercury (speed). And that, \u201cAll the powers of the greatest men in the history of the world have been gathered together and placed in the hands of the boy reporter Billy Batson, when he pronounces the name Shazam\u2014he becomes in a blinding flash of lightning the mighty Captain Marvel! Then when evil is defeated and justice again established, Marvel repeats the word and changes back to Billy! So amazing is the change that most people never realize what has happened!\u201d On with the stories! (And, yes, that issue also carried the bonus of the first chapter of the serial titled \u201cThe Monster Society of Evil.\u201d But it was just that: a bonus.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You could trade comics with buddies, pick up an issue from the newsstand, or even get an issue from a benevolent relative. And you could just start reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Then \u2026<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

What th\u2014! Marvel\u2019s Fantastic Four<\/em> began the way other comic books did. Each issue contained a set-up, a challenge, and the meeting of that challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But hey! Fantastic Four<\/em> #25 (April 1964) featured a clash between the Hulk and The Thing\u2014and #26 (May 1964) announced that its contents would feature \u201cthe great conclusion of the epic battle.\u201d Doggone it! A couple of bulky supers smashed each other\u2014but couldn\u2019t manage to wrap up the squabble in 22 pages? Heck, it even took 23 more pages!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of us thought that was a cop-out. It took 24\u00a2 to get the whole story! What a rip-off!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marvel better not try that again, you betcha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That idea would never catch on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fans would rebel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wait and see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, Heck.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Three decades later, I figured that comic books that wrapped up a complete story in a single issue needed to be identified as exceptions to multiple-issue tales. Such fare was unusual enough that it called for special notice. I still haven\u2019t been able to locate the first time I used the term in print. Nevertheless, I asked for a fast way to point to those unusual issues, and the Comics Buyer\u2019s Guide<\/em> designer came up with a logo. In 1996, I was able to write, \u201cToday, casual readers\u2014especially those new to comics\u2014may find it hard to locate a story they can read without having bought the preceding six issues or being obliged to buy the ensuing three. So, when we can, we plan to identify free-standing issues with the Done in One logo.\u201d We invited publishers and retailers to use it, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, life got in the way. We continued to use the term \u201cDone in One\u201d in our pages, but opportunities to use it became fewer. Heck, our own format eventually changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, while the neat logo never caught on, the convenience and clarity of \u201cDone in One\u201d as a descriptor often popped up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Two 21st century \u201cDone in One\u201d projects featured now-classic DC characters. This edition of\u00a0Mad Love<\/em>\u00a0even offered additional stand-alone stories to the 1994 original. This 2016 Wonder Woman release won an Eisner Award as the year\u2019s best new graphic album. \u00a9 2018 DC Comics<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Eventually \u2026<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Whereas even titles from Archie are tending toward serialized story arcs these days, there are still stand-alone comics. Magazine prices are higher than they used to be, and many of today\u2019s \u201cDone in One\u201d comics are books. But they are out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask for tips from your local comics shop for starters. It won\u2019t feature that \u201cDone in One\u201d logo, but I bet staffers can guide you to the sort of stand-alone entertainment that has brought new readers to the field for many years. Pick up a copy of Previews<\/em> while you\u2019re there: It\u2019s a sort of catalog of comics scheduled for shipping in a couple of months\u2014and it\u2019ll give you a feel for what\u2019s out there, including brief summaries of upcoming content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was going to single out comics publishers that specialize in stand-alones, but you\u2019ll be able to figure it out yourself via Previews<\/em> and shop staffers. Don\u2019t forget to look for \u201cDone in One\u201d books from such imprints as Graphix. For that matter, DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Fantagraphics, PS Artbooks, IDW, and Yoe Books are not alone in continuing to bring vintage material to new readers, with enough stand-alone stories to supply many months\u2019 worth of entertainment. Heck, you\u2019ll see that Archie is continuing to provide hefty collections of its old, stand-alone Riverdale stories, even while its ongoing series now feature multi-issue story arcs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And hey! There\u2019s another opportunity coming up in which to grab \u201cDone in One\u201d comics specially designed as jumping-on points for new readers. Not only is May 5 Cinco de Mayo, but this year it\u2019s also Free Comic Book Day. That\u2019s when comics shops buy tons of comics that they, in turn, will give away to customers. (By the way, the shops have to pay for the freebies they give away, so it\u2019d be nice if you buy something while you\u2019re there. But I digress.) Many FCBD issues provide stand-alone stories that do what so many comics have done over the years: introduce readers to the fun of combinations of words and pictures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See you in the comics shop!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Maggie\u2019s World by Maggie Thompson appears the first Tuesday of every month here on<\/em> Toucan!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Written by<\/p>\n\n\n

Maggie Thompson<\/div>\n\n\n

Published<\/p>\n\n\n