Uhhh...Do You Have Comic Event Fatigue (CEF)?

What happens to you when you hear "Dark Reign"? Civil War? Brightest Day, Blackest Night, Final Crisis? Does it make you cringe or jump for joy?

It's understandable if you are discouraged; the entire comic book industry looks to bring you deeper into their folds, and the release of an event series has a great impact on the buying community. It also gives the readers a lot to speculate over and discuss; now we can gather in internet forums and comic book shops, arguing over spidey's new costume or The Flash wearing a Blue Power Ring.

But these events also create comic book fatigue, and that's the big problem.

Lately, there's been an anti-rally, a cry against Comic Book Events as we've seen them displayed in the past. It turns out many of the readers become unnerved when their favorite character gets rebooted, gaining and losing powers, friends and family (this is also called a "Retcon").

With those people in mind, the real question becomes one of balance: How can the industry put together some really good events, while maintaining the original titles? Here are two points:

1. DC and Marvel may be releasing these events too often and too frequently. The Blackest Night event took a year and flew into The Brightest Day...it's been going on for 2 years, with numerous tie-ins and bi-monthly releases. Marvel tried us, no less, with Civil War and Dark Reign.

2. There's some form of "Birth-Death-Rebirth" cycle being overplayed. One day, we have universes trimmed; the next day, those excesses are back with even more complicated twists. (For example, DC brought back Aquaman and Marvel shifted Penance back to Speedball). Initially, there's nothing wrong with a hero returning, but if it starts to become the norm, the comics become harder to follow.

If you enjoy events, don't worry, there's currently two starting up: Marvel has begun Fear Itself and DC is preparing for Flashpoint (The Brightest Day event is almost over). Both intend to have many tie-ins and special titles, but what's more important is how they'll implement their stories. There's been a bit of blowback, and it appears the two industry giants are well-aware of potential reader dissatisfaction. With that in mind, let's see if they've adopted a new strategy...