differenzeartistiche:

gailsimone:

Yikes. That made me miss some characters bad. Quite a few of them haven't been used much for a good while, but some I still think of as active and vital.

I don't really have many answers about the suggestions people made. I know who is coming up in my books and a couple others, and I know some…

That is a nice post, Gail.

And what I'm about to write is not directed at you.

But I think what you wrote perfectly captures why I'm angry at DC right now. You're (as in DC, not you directly) focusing on new characters. You're erasing or benching long-time fan favorites because their presence requires a lot of backstory. You're changing and oversimplifying the characters you don't erase because you don't want the baggage of their past on your shoulders. And all because you're looking for new readers. I have read all the reboot books so far and I have not found ONE single thing that made me aware that you still want your old readers to give a damn about this universe and these characters, who are now mostly strangers to long-time readers like me. In fact Animal Man was my favorite book from last week because it was the only one in which something of the old Buddy Baker was still there.

But the rest? The idiotic 5 years timeline, Superman being a jerk, the JLI just forming thus erasing everything that happened in one of the very best DC books ever, just to name a few things (I won't even go into the Batgirl thing because I respect you too much)? All for the benefit of new readers. Characters who are older than most DC writers and editors are being erased because you want more money coming from a new, larger demographic. And in all that I wonder - do you still want my money? I won't even ask if you still CARE about me and the rest of your loyal fans because I'm not that naive, but I hope your company at least realizes that the old money is so tired of this.

Knowing that Connor Hawke, Donna Troy and Wally West just to name a few just won't be around anymore only because their stories are confusing for some new kid who is just picking up a comic book for the first time doesn't make me bittersweet. It makes me fucking angry. I was a kid who picked up one of your comic books for the first time too, not too long ago, and because I had faith in YOUR characters that I immediately fell in love with I had no problem whatsoever enjoying everything DC had to offer. I wish DC had the same faith in its characters that I have, or at least used to have.

If DC wants new readers and is doing everything it can to get them, fine. You have the right to try to make a buck just like everyone else. But if I have to read one more editorial by Dan DiDio or Jim Lee about how much you respect your old-time fans and how you're trying to make things pleasant for us too, I think I'll just never buy a DC book ever again. I don't like being lied to.

I appreciate it, and of course, obviously, I'm in that machine, so there's no reason to separate me from criticism of it. 

You were very candid, that's fine.  To be equally candid, I think most of us are also conflicted to varying degrees. A lot of the work I've devoted my life to for the past several years may no longer be in continuity, characters I love are not yet back in the universe I care the most about…it's not easy stuff.

Making a buck isn't my motivation. I have an exclusive contract, DC guarantees me a certain number of pages a month, and it's the same book rate regardless of which book I write. I don't think it's the main motivation for most creators that I've spoken with…there are other ways to write and make more money. I routinely get pitched to come work on this tv show or that one, and they always say the same thing, "come work here in tv and make some real money."

But we are a niche industry in a bad economy with a bruised distribution system in a world that reads fewer and fewer books, let alone periodicals.  It's not just DC, Marvel's in the same boat, having the same struggles. I often see people here talking about market share, but honestly, market share is barely even a consideration anymore.  If you look at the sales of comics for the past couple years, even on the critically beloved books, the readership was dwindling. And on the b- and c- list books, that's not sustainable.

Everyone always says, well, just tell good stories.  But the stories that are MOST loved here are not getting retailer or reader support in large numbers. Secret Six, Batgirl, Jonah Hex, Power Girl, on and on, and that's just at DC. It's the same thing at Marvel.

I've said this a lot, I was not an immediate convert to the relaunch and I still am conflicted about aspects of it. I had zero assignments for quite a while because I had problems with what was being offered to me. But I did come around when I started to see what the creative teams were coming up with. Now I'm optimistic, but I'm a bit guarded still about some of my favorites, hoping for the best, certainly.

I always think people of good conscience can disagree. But my feeling is that this move was a DESPERATELY needed shot in the arm to retailers. Almost every store I talk to says people are coming back who have been gone for years. That was not going to happen with the status quo that had been previously established. It's a question of, do we continue doing what is losing readers on our best books every single month, guaranteeing their cancellation eventually, or do you try something big?

So something needed to happen. Or the conversation we would be having in a couple years would be very different, you know?

To specifically address your question about long-time loyal readers, that's a tough one. Marketing people say marketing stuff and some of it has been a little groan-inducing.  But there IS also a sense of enthusiasm that's genuine. I've said a bunch of times that there will be mistakes and screw-ups, but that was true before the relaunch as well. I'm not in marketing. I don't even remember issue numbers. But I do like to hear retailers tell me it's their best week in eight years, or that they opened a ton of new pull lists, or that people are coming in off the street to buy the books.

I may not be answering your point directly…I might not have an answer that helps. So these are just my thoughts, not from DC and not from marketing.

I think the DCU is pretty elastic. We're talking about one of the largest shared universes in history. It's stretchable, and the characters in it are also stretchable. And it's got a lot of corners and alleys…characters benched now are not likely to be gone forever. And you know, things do get a little intimidating sometimes after 70 years, or even 10 years, to try to keep up with. I've always enjoyed different takes on characters—I think there's room for Batman Beyond and Batman: Year One and the Chris Nolan movies and the Brave and the Bold cartoon.

Actually, I do think I have a point for long-term readers, now that I think about it. It's the b- and c- level books. I've talked about this on the other thread, but the relaunch gives us a CHANCE to launch beloved cult characters that have rarely, if ever, been able to grab a toehold in the marketplace.  It's not DC or Marvel being mean…they launch books like HAWKEYE and MOCKINGBIRD and SECRET SIX with the best of intentions. But it is almost IMPOSSIBLE for a bunch of reasons to make those books a success.

Sales is a tripod. The publisher, the retailer, and the reader. The conventional wisdom here is that it's all the publisher, I routinely see things that just fly in the face of reality and common sense.  Marvel doesn't put out a book hoping it will fail and then canceling it to be mean. Those calls are hard to make and hard to hear.  And we never talk about retailer decision making and reader support, which are equally vital to a successful book.  We don't blame the readers for a book failing, but if that reader purchase support isn't there, the book will be cancelled.

The upside of this is that for the first time in a couple decades, characters that are beloved but not always a commercial smash are racked and treated almost identically to the icon books. It's already having an effect…some of these characters are gaining an audience that is nearly unimaginable in the previous status quo.  And I think that IS aimed at loyal readers to a large degree, characters like Deadman, Static, Firestorm (cross your fingers), Swamp Thing, Animal Man, on and on, those names have routinely meant almost nothing on the sales charts for the past couple decades. Now there's a chance to be reading a great Static book or Animal Man book.  That seems to me to be a real boon for long-term loyalists.

Not sure if that helps, but those are my quick thoughts on it. I am happier about some of these obscurities than the icon books. They always sell to a degree, the obscure stuff, not so much.

Hope that makes a little bit of sense, anyway!

Thanks for the post, I appreciate it, it's a fair argument to make. i just think it comes from a position that most everything was okay before the relaunch, and it really wasn't, at least not for any kind of viable growth.