Archon:

I'm currently navigating solely by reference to the creator/author. It's not a perfect system but it's better than my old method of buying whichever comic had the ninja hottie with the most disproportionate chest-to-waist size.

Actually, I'd say that navigating by author is pretty much the only sensible way to buy comics. (My FLCS actually sorts their comics by author, and has them all on shelves with the collected versions at the front of the shop and the individuals hidden at the back so it actually feels like walking into a bookshop rather than a dingy comic shop with suspicious stains on the lifesize Wonder Woman cutout.

GloatingSwine:

Actually, I'd say that navigating by author is pretty much the only sensible way to buy comics. (My FLCS actually sorts their comics by author, and has them all on shelves with the collected versions at the front of the shop and the individuals hidden at the back so it actually feels like walking into a bookshop rather than a dingy comic shop with suspicious stains on the lifesize Wonder Woman cutout.

This is a much more complex topic than it seems on the surface. I recommend navigating by author when dealing with mainstream publishers like DC and Marvel and their branch labels but there are also great smaller publishing houses with very talented authors and artists that are just breaking into the industry or chose to go a indie route.
Also I feel compelled to add that when browsing by author it is more important to avoid authors you already know you don't like than avoiding authors you've never heard of, otherwise you end up overlooking a lot of great material (but of course you also run into a lot of crap along the way).

Since we are on a primarily gaming site look at it this way; what would the future of the game development industry be if consumers only bought and/or played titles with established/high profile developer's names on them?

Wow, only just noticed this one.

Thank you Escapist for going ahead with these articles.