On Selling Comics: My Problem With Marvel's Crossovers

I sell comics and games for a living. I love my job. I've been a comics fan for thirty-three years, since I was 11. I've been a part of the store I run for same time. It's pretty cool.

Right now I have a problem with Marvel's Crossover events. For the last ten years, from my perspective, their Crossovers merely feature one group of Heroes fighting another group of Heroes. And not only am I tired of it, but it's sending the wrong message.

Growing up, comics, especially super-heroes gave me an escape from the problems of my own life. I was small and had a big mouth, so I had my share of bullies. Super-heroes inspired me, they helped shape who I am today, they taught me social issues and science, and they made me love reading and art. I liked being able to see, generally, good guy winning against the bad guy.

Now maybe heroes vs heroes sells better. But sometimes, you need to look at the message your sending. Both Marvel and DC have made strides in diversity and inclusiveness. But what benefit is that if all Marvel does is make the in-fighitng more inclusive and diverse? Is that a real win?

I hope somebody at Marvel is watching DC kick their ass, sales-wise and maybe, just maybe somebody is noticing that people need heroes. They need people to stick together.

Big Trouble

My normal posting will be interrupted as a roll out a new Point of Sale System for our stores.

However, today Big Trouble in Little China #1 hit my store from Boom! Studios.  It's written by John Carpenter and Eric Powell (The Goon).

Check it out.

Another Free Comic Book Day Come and Gone

I think this is the 11th Free Comic Book Day I've worked.  I won't say they get any easier, but each year we learn a new piece of that puzzle.

It's a mixed blessing.  It's not free for us, it runs about $6000.00, but it's part of our marketing for the year.  And we see at least 1000 new customers, but we convert probably less than 10 as "regulars".
But they know are name and know where we are and we make the best of the situation.

I have to give the publishers high marks for this year, because there were more comics for kids than I can remember and that is a good thing.

The Valiant Harbinger Wars preview converted me to a become a regular reader and the Absolution FCBD and Strangers FCBD books hooked me, as well.

All in all it was a good day that marked the end of a 10 day work week.

Plus, David Mack (Creator of Kabuki and writer and artist for Daredevil) was in the store signing and sketching.  I've known David for years and he's shopped with us probably as long as I have, but his talent as a painter and illustrator is phenomenal.  Mindblowing, really.  It was an honor and a treat to watch him work in inks.

R.I.P.? Again?!!

So DC Comics is killing off Robin...Damian Wayne this time.  Apparently this was Grant Morrison's idea all along.  Does anyone truly believe that Grant's storyline was ever logically laid out enough to come to this conclusion?

It's a shame that Marvel and DC keep coming back to killing their intellectual properties to spur sales.  I guess either the editorial staff has forgotten the lengths they went to to bring Jason Todd back, or even sadder none of that staff were around a few years ago and might not know who Jason Todd or Damian is...

It's great when killing a character who is ten years old is seen as a "good move".  Maybe we can make Batman attempt suicide next.

And I wonder have the creative types or the editorial types thought about how odd it will be for Batman to have Robing die and Bruce Wayne's son disappear?  I guess I'm overthinking it.

DC Tries it's hand at the "Political Super Hero Genre"

In the wake of six titles currently part of DC's "New 52", the comics publisher announced The Movement and The Green Team as part of their replacements.

The former series seeks to identify with the so-called 99% and the latter to the so-called 1%.

I firmly believe a deft hand can make a politically-charged property work, however I don't feel that Gail Simone has that talent, but I'm unfamiliar with Art Balthazar.

Unfortunately both books seem to be symptomatic of what's wrong with american comic books these days.  Marvel and DC don't want the aging customers they have and aim their titles at the college age reader, who aren't reading their books.  They want the audience they care little for to read material that isn't aimed at them and can't understand what's going wrong.  So they generate crossovers, reboots, renumbering, costume changes,  and killing characters off (temporarily) in lieu of quality stories.

I understand that comics are often ahead of the curve on social issues and accept and even applaud it, but both companies really need to understand that the best comic book "published" in the last decade came out last may and was a film called The Avengers.  When hollywood nails your property better than you, it's time to realize you have a very, very big problem.

I hate the Joker...

Not just for the obvious reasons of being a mass murderer.  Or the customers who walk into my store telling me "how cool" he is (Really?  A psychopath is cool?).

It's really DC's fault (They even have a page dedicated to his body count!  And Batman's.

Over the last 20 years, writers of the Dark Knight have continued trying to trump each other with the amount of carnage and mayhem the Clown Prince of Crime has caused.  And his body count.  And then Batman sends him back to Arkham Asylum, where we all know he's going to escape.

Hell, Batman even protected the Joker when a Gotham crime boss hired Hitman to kill him.

So DC hides behind Batman's Code versus Killing to protect a murdering lunatic.  I guess whatever state Gotham City is in doesn't have the Death Penalty?!

We're not dealing with Batman comics written for kids, at least in the regular DC continuity, anymore.  Having Joker tried for his grisly murders wouldn't be "over the heads" of their audience these days.

No, as far as I'm concerned every time the Joker get outs and kills someone, it's on the Batman's head.  He's complicit in the crimes.  After all, if you put someone in a sanitarium where they have repeatedly broken out, your aiding and abetting his murders.  Isn't the definition of insanity trying the same action and expecting different results?  That really does go to support that Batman and Joker are just different sides of the same coin.

Rick Remender is a bloody genius!

I have run a comic book store for the last 13 years and I have trouble keeping up with all of the reboots, especially from Marvel Comics.  Marvel Now appeared to me as a pretty normal reaction to DC's New 52.  But I've been generally surprised at the quality of most of the titles.

I wasn't expecting much out of Uncanny Avengers (Brian Bendis's run has not been my favorite), but when I saw Rick Remender writing it, I decided to give it a look.  Boy I'm glad I did.  #1 was good, but #2 just knocked my socks off!  In a way that Stan and Jack must have back in the day.  Seriously, it's a very modern book, but it seems to understand all of those cool, over-the-top ideas that "Stan the Man" and "King Kirby" put off for so many years.

Check out Uncanny Avengers, it's possibly the coolest presentation I've seen of the Red Skull in years (and yeah, I'm a big fan of Brubaker's Cap).

Disney Bought Lucasfilm

I'm sure most of you have heard the news that Disney acquired Lucasfilm for 4.05 Billion.

Personally, I'm pretty happy about this.  Disney wants "boy brands" and I think they will handle it well.

And I'm hopeful that George Lucas won't be allowed anywhere near the Director Chair for Episode 7.

As an aside, I wonder if there is any chance of seeing more of Willow?

As a further aside, I've understood that Lucas owned 5% of Hasbro.  I wonder if that means that Disney could end up with those shares?

World Design by the King, himself, Jack Kirby!

Over on RPG.Net, there is a thread about what system to go with this image.

I'm not sure the thread shouldn't be what system WOULDN'T work with this image?!

Gorilla Communes!  Nuclear People!  A Tiger Empire, excuse me EXPANDING Tiger Empire.  Intelligent.  Killer.  Whales.

I've been working up the Ironcloaks milieu for running D&D Next demos in the store and have openly espoused my love of 13th Age, but I'm not sure this shouldn't be the focus of my RPG adventures for the rest of my life!

Not that 13th Age wouldn't be a good fit...maybe I need to jot down the Icons...Kamandi could be the Crusader...

What system would you run it in?

Goodbye Joe

I'm sad to share it, but Joe Kubert has passed away at the age of 85.  Joe's contribution to comics in general and DC Comics, in particular, is huge.  His son's Adam and Andy are still in the industry and he founded the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art in 1976.  His most famous work was done on Sgt. Rock.

I'll miss you Joe and my heart goes out to your family.

Battle Beasts #1

Last week Battle Beasts #1 hit the stands, published by IDW.  I can't say there was much lore for the creators to draw from, but the premise was interesting and I'll keep reading it.  The art is very, very good and I hope the Valerio Schiti gets more attention.

I wish some of the old toy designs had been featured prominently, but I'm just glad to see something being done with the property.  At this point, unless your a huge Battle Beast nerd, you probably have a 50/50 chance of enjoying the story.  Hopefully, future issues will increase that ratio.

Alex Ross does a Pulp Heroes Crossover: Masks

Dynamite just announced that this November, Alex Ross, will not only due the covers, but the interior art on a crossover featuring the Shadow, Zorro, Green Hornet, Kato, Black Bat, Miss Fury and the Spider.  The book is written by Chris Roberson, who quit DC over treatment of creator rights, culminating with the Before Watchmen stories. Ironically, he's writing several characters who have slipped into the Public Domain and the creators aren't getting any form of payment for the use of the characters.

This could be a pretty decent story and the art is sure to be top notch.

The cover preview alone is a seller for me.

G.I. Combat #1

This week DC Comics launched a new G.I. Combat series as part of its NEW 52 line-up.  Specifically, it features The War That Time Forgot, which is a major inspiration for several elements of my WEIRD WAR STORIES game that, hopefully, will return from hiatus this month.

After the Avacyn Restored Prerelease, today is basically my monday, so I've not yet read the issue.  But I intend to do it soon and will post my thoughts.

I can't recommend the Showcase Presents: War That Time Forgot Trade Paperback enough, if you want to see the silver age stories where these ideas originated.

U is for Uatu

Marvel Universe's The Watcher, known to a select few as Uatu, has made many appearances throughout Marvel Comic's publishing history.  However, the focus of this post is the various series of the comic, What If.  

I always enjoyed seeing how different changepoints in Marvel history would turn out.  Seeing the ramifications of different decisions and catastrophes would impact those characters was very enlightening.  In my opinion a Gamemaster needs to constantly be ready for What If.

I try to think about consequences and ramifications when building stories for my players.  Each decision they make should move the story along somehow.  As much as I love plotting out a whole campaign in advance, the player's actions should be the spotlight.  In many ways, I'm the Watcher for their game.  I set the scene and provide interaction, but their presence should be the changepoint for a whole new world.  One, neither they or I could have foreseen.  What If this particular group played through my adventure?

F is for Frazetta

He is the Death Dealer and that is all you need to know.

Frank Frazetta is inspiration on canvas, his work made you want to read a book or see a film.  It grabs you by the heart, digs upward to your brain, and kicks you into whatever world he painted on that page.  A world just for you, that he brought to life, just for you.  That is Frank Frazetta's power and legacy.  You see his work and you understand Karl Jung and his Archetypes.  Maybe Frazetta was narrowcasting his work to Jung in the past, who knows?  It doesn't really matter, nothing but his artwork does.  Sadly, my words cannot begin to do his paintings justice, so instead of wasting more of your time trying to describe his work, you can be treated to a selection of it below.