[Comics Wank]What It Would Take To Get Me To Buy Marvel/DC
Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 9:56 pm
The Big Two have lost me lately - not overnight, but over a period of years, and it's just been months since I bought anything from either of them. With the demise of Hellblazer and the advent of the New 52, I've essentially lost interest in DC. Even the remaining Vertigo titles are meh - Fables should have been cut off at the knees ages ago, and as much as I love Mike Carey I got fucking bored with The Unwritten after the Harry Potter bit wore thin. Marvel isn't much better - Marvel Now does nothing for me, and while there are still characters and storylines that genuinely interest and excite me, for the most part the larger plots just leave me cold or genuinely disappoint me - M-Day, Dark Reign, Silent Invasion, Fear Itself, Age of Ultron have all been pretty meh for me. The craptacular takes on Spider-Man have been really painful compared to some of the really excellent writing expended on Secret Warriors, Secret Avengers, &c.
The thing is, I don't get why that should be. In recent years both companies have done the unimaginable and really reinvigorated some previously derelict properties - Green Lantern, Moonknight, Iron Fist, Batman (Batwoman & Batman, Inc. in particular), Thor, Captain America/Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, Swamp Thing & Animal Man in New 52 - but I don't feel they've really capitalized on those successes, or maybe just the really sucky way they've handled them, particularly with devastatingly bad crossovers.
So I find myself mainly following indie series these days - including select titles from Image and Dark Horse to pick out the Minor Two. I buy issues of Conan, Prophet, and Usagi Yojimbo as they come out and pick up the trades for Hellboy and its spinoffs, Eric Powell's The Goon, etc. I like self-contained miniseries like Hawken and Sergio Argones' Funnies, and anthology titles like Dark Horse Presents and 2000 AD. I buy everything that Howard Chaykin writes and illustrates, and at least take a look at whatever Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, and Steve Niles are doing.
In other words, I like a lot of variety outside the superhero market, I prefer quality, quirky titles rather than endless series, and there's a distinct trend to liking the more mature (but not necessarily pornographic) side of things. Marvel & DC as they are now just aren't made for me - 99% hero comics, a lot of interplay between titles but no real continuity after the 52/Now shift, and zero consistency on writing and art quality. There's not a lot of vision and the smaller titles in both companies tend to get less promotion, sinking out of sight quickly when they don't sell.
Which is really kind of unfortunate, because there is some great stuff out there. Planet Hulk was as brilliant as World War Hulk was ridiculous, but even WWH had its moments. I still remember how much I enjoyed Dr. Strange and Brother Voodoo in the pages of New Avengers, and wished that Marvel could re-invest in an ongoing magical title that didn't suck - the last time they ever tried anything like that was when they gave Warren Ellis free reign on the character. I might not care for all aspects of New 52, but I was definitely pinked when Swamp Thing and Animal Man got their own series again.
And the thing is, I understand I'm not their main market anymore. I've seen the sales charts over at The Beat, I know Hellblazer has been on a slow, terminal decline for the last decade. Most of the titles I enjoy rarely break 10,000 sales for a given issue, and the big Justice League and Avengers books often sell more than ten times that. But I refuse to believe my dollars aren't worth having, or that more thought and planning to improve the quality of their line towards my market segment would be to the detriment of all. So what did they do right, and what did they do wrong, and what can they do to make it better?
I think Marvel & DC comics are at their best when there is a fairly clear line between the mature and non-mature comics. I know efforts like MarvelMAX with explicit content never really flew off the shelves, but I think you do need some delineation between kid/young adult and more grown-up fare. Marvel's "street" level properties like the Punisher, Moonknight, and Iron Fist; and old Vertigo properties like Hellblazer, Animal Man, and Swamp Thing, really benefit from a more mature take on things. It's good to contrast the New Avengers with the Secret Avengers, Justice League vs. Justice League Dark. That doesn't mean every issue should feature graphic rape, abortion, nudity, &c, but the creators should be free to include those and other themes in more mature books. It's hard to picture Superman talking with a white magician that might be Jesus, it's not hard to see John Constantine asking him if he's got a light.
I don't think superhero books are passe, but I do think as the bread and butter of Marvel & DC they dominate the market too much - series like Fantastic Four that are vast, aging dinosaurs that seem to reset to status quo ante after every creative team finishes their run, and are subject to some really terrible transformations in the meantime. So I think experiments in miniseries, either on the edge of the superhero genre or in different genres, should be encouraged. Dark Horse and Image seem to have really hit a stride with series-of-miniseries, collecting plot arcs and maintaining continuity without running into monster-of-the-week issues that plague titles like Superman and Fantastic Four.
Certain creators needs to step back and stop taking turns on established series. I'm just going to name some names: Dan Slott. J. Michael Straczynski. Joe Quesada. Geoff Johns. I know that might strike some of you as unfair, particularly given the love Staczynski somehow has, but seriously - look at his seriously. He has the reverse Midas touch. Every established property he graces with his presence goes down the crapper. I don't care if Joe Quesada was responsible for the direction of One New Day, JMS needs to stop being given money. Geoff Johns just is not as smart as he thinks he is. Multicolored lanterns? Brilliant! Darkest Night? Cool. Brightest Day? Terribad. There's literally no excuse to employ these people when there are so many more talented people in the industry. Get John Ostrander and Tim Truman to do a Spiderman storyline, and the world will read that! I'd love to see Kieron Gellen's take on Superman or Wonder Woman. Marvel should never use Joe Quesada when John Paul Leon or J. H. Williams III exists in this universe. I don't care if they're busy. Wait. It's worth it.
I think Marvel in particular has learned a lesson about letting new, established authors the ability to come in and really invigorate old, semi-retired properties. Dan Abnett turned around Marvel's cosmic line. Warren Ellis made the Ultimates interesting. Gail Simone is probably the one writer that could really do some fascinating things with Red Sonja. I'd like to see more of that, and I guess I'd like to see more of the lesson it teaches: it's okay to try new things, and to give creator's their own lead on their projects.
What this boils down to is, I think, Marvel and DC should each come out with an anthology book along the lines of Dark Horse Presents, but skewed to their properties. Call them What If? and Elseworlds, just to take two established properties. The thing about these properties is that they're going to be small, innovative, mostly self-contained stories by both crazy new artists and writers and brilliant established writers and artists. They can use as much of the established characters and continuity as they want without being bound by it, and free of the content restrictions of the established books. So maybe Howard Chaykin writes a Superman story where in an effort to overcome kryptonite, he starts injecting himself with liquid K and slowly realizes he's become addicted to it even as it's killing him - and that's a story about Supes having to get clean, and how even for him it's hard and a neverending battle. That would be brilliant. Or maybe we just get a one-shot Hellblazer story from Warren Ellis about the first time he really teamed up with Aquaman, and that's brilliant too. Or maybe Gail Simone writes a stand-along Lois Lane story. Brilliant again. And yeah, maybe Marvel and DC do the Dark Horse idea and use their What If/Elseworlds books as a platform to test out how fans like a new series concept before they actually launch the series. That has to be worth something, doesn't it? Instead of tossing out a series with no support and little promotion and hoping it swims?
The thing is, I don't get why that should be. In recent years both companies have done the unimaginable and really reinvigorated some previously derelict properties - Green Lantern, Moonknight, Iron Fist, Batman (Batwoman & Batman, Inc. in particular), Thor, Captain America/Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, Swamp Thing & Animal Man in New 52 - but I don't feel they've really capitalized on those successes, or maybe just the really sucky way they've handled them, particularly with devastatingly bad crossovers.
So I find myself mainly following indie series these days - including select titles from Image and Dark Horse to pick out the Minor Two. I buy issues of Conan, Prophet, and Usagi Yojimbo as they come out and pick up the trades for Hellboy and its spinoffs, Eric Powell's The Goon, etc. I like self-contained miniseries like Hawken and Sergio Argones' Funnies, and anthology titles like Dark Horse Presents and 2000 AD. I buy everything that Howard Chaykin writes and illustrates, and at least take a look at whatever Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, and Steve Niles are doing.
In other words, I like a lot of variety outside the superhero market, I prefer quality, quirky titles rather than endless series, and there's a distinct trend to liking the more mature (but not necessarily pornographic) side of things. Marvel & DC as they are now just aren't made for me - 99% hero comics, a lot of interplay between titles but no real continuity after the 52/Now shift, and zero consistency on writing and art quality. There's not a lot of vision and the smaller titles in both companies tend to get less promotion, sinking out of sight quickly when they don't sell.
Which is really kind of unfortunate, because there is some great stuff out there. Planet Hulk was as brilliant as World War Hulk was ridiculous, but even WWH had its moments. I still remember how much I enjoyed Dr. Strange and Brother Voodoo in the pages of New Avengers, and wished that Marvel could re-invest in an ongoing magical title that didn't suck - the last time they ever tried anything like that was when they gave Warren Ellis free reign on the character. I might not care for all aspects of New 52, but I was definitely pinked when Swamp Thing and Animal Man got their own series again.
And the thing is, I understand I'm not their main market anymore. I've seen the sales charts over at The Beat, I know Hellblazer has been on a slow, terminal decline for the last decade. Most of the titles I enjoy rarely break 10,000 sales for a given issue, and the big Justice League and Avengers books often sell more than ten times that. But I refuse to believe my dollars aren't worth having, or that more thought and planning to improve the quality of their line towards my market segment would be to the detriment of all. So what did they do right, and what did they do wrong, and what can they do to make it better?
I think Marvel & DC comics are at their best when there is a fairly clear line between the mature and non-mature comics. I know efforts like MarvelMAX with explicit content never really flew off the shelves, but I think you do need some delineation between kid/young adult and more grown-up fare. Marvel's "street" level properties like the Punisher, Moonknight, and Iron Fist; and old Vertigo properties like Hellblazer, Animal Man, and Swamp Thing, really benefit from a more mature take on things. It's good to contrast the New Avengers with the Secret Avengers, Justice League vs. Justice League Dark. That doesn't mean every issue should feature graphic rape, abortion, nudity, &c, but the creators should be free to include those and other themes in more mature books. It's hard to picture Superman talking with a white magician that might be Jesus, it's not hard to see John Constantine asking him if he's got a light.
I don't think superhero books are passe, but I do think as the bread and butter of Marvel & DC they dominate the market too much - series like Fantastic Four that are vast, aging dinosaurs that seem to reset to status quo ante after every creative team finishes their run, and are subject to some really terrible transformations in the meantime. So I think experiments in miniseries, either on the edge of the superhero genre or in different genres, should be encouraged. Dark Horse and Image seem to have really hit a stride with series-of-miniseries, collecting plot arcs and maintaining continuity without running into monster-of-the-week issues that plague titles like Superman and Fantastic Four.
Certain creators needs to step back and stop taking turns on established series. I'm just going to name some names: Dan Slott. J. Michael Straczynski. Joe Quesada. Geoff Johns. I know that might strike some of you as unfair, particularly given the love Staczynski somehow has, but seriously - look at his seriously. He has the reverse Midas touch. Every established property he graces with his presence goes down the crapper. I don't care if Joe Quesada was responsible for the direction of One New Day, JMS needs to stop being given money. Geoff Johns just is not as smart as he thinks he is. Multicolored lanterns? Brilliant! Darkest Night? Cool. Brightest Day? Terribad. There's literally no excuse to employ these people when there are so many more talented people in the industry. Get John Ostrander and Tim Truman to do a Spiderman storyline, and the world will read that! I'd love to see Kieron Gellen's take on Superman or Wonder Woman. Marvel should never use Joe Quesada when John Paul Leon or J. H. Williams III exists in this universe. I don't care if they're busy. Wait. It's worth it.
I think Marvel in particular has learned a lesson about letting new, established authors the ability to come in and really invigorate old, semi-retired properties. Dan Abnett turned around Marvel's cosmic line. Warren Ellis made the Ultimates interesting. Gail Simone is probably the one writer that could really do some fascinating things with Red Sonja. I'd like to see more of that, and I guess I'd like to see more of the lesson it teaches: it's okay to try new things, and to give creator's their own lead on their projects.
What this boils down to is, I think, Marvel and DC should each come out with an anthology book along the lines of Dark Horse Presents, but skewed to their properties. Call them What If? and Elseworlds, just to take two established properties. The thing about these properties is that they're going to be small, innovative, mostly self-contained stories by both crazy new artists and writers and brilliant established writers and artists. They can use as much of the established characters and continuity as they want without being bound by it, and free of the content restrictions of the established books. So maybe Howard Chaykin writes a Superman story where in an effort to overcome kryptonite, he starts injecting himself with liquid K and slowly realizes he's become addicted to it even as it's killing him - and that's a story about Supes having to get clean, and how even for him it's hard and a neverending battle. That would be brilliant. Or maybe we just get a one-shot Hellblazer story from Warren Ellis about the first time he really teamed up with Aquaman, and that's brilliant too. Or maybe Gail Simone writes a stand-along Lois Lane story. Brilliant again. And yeah, maybe Marvel and DC do the Dark Horse idea and use their What If/Elseworlds books as a platform to test out how fans like a new series concept before they actually launch the series. That has to be worth something, doesn't it? Instead of tossing out a series with no support and little promotion and hoping it swims?
