Adding to DC’s PR woes on the internet, it appears that even their own fans don’t support them anymore:
Not to long ago i posted a thread about Fans complaining about “miss-treatment” of comic characters. the response was less than stealer.
Well then i got to thinking. why do we as fans seem to complain as a whole, we who by the product’s, we who make the comic book companies money, why are our complaints mostly unheard?Granted we get some change, we save some titles, like Manhunter and Spider-girl. But for the most part, why do the companies not listen and comment on our complaints?
For example, Judd Winick, i don’t want a bashing thread, but i think it deserves some comment. I personally do not care for much of Judd’s work. I liked the Red hood arc in batman, but not much else. Green Arrow hasn’t been great and Outsiders is reverting back to pre-OYL arcs. Many fans complain that Judd is on an epic quest to create a new diverse, politically correct DCU, and i do not have a problem with that. But people claim that Green Arrow has no plot, doesn’t fit in continuity wise anywhere and is just a mess. Ollie being mayor has no significance, and blah blah blah. People claim his Shazam mini isn’t good, that it doesn’t make sense, etc. But he keeps writing the titles, and more fans stop reading, so why does DC not respond to fans outrage? Yes, many still buy the book, but how long ca that last? Sometime fans will hit their limit and stop buying the books. What will DC do then? Will they simply Cancel the title? Claiming not to know why the readers dropped the title?
This logic also applies to the Hawkwoman title, if Rumors hold true the title will be canceled soon. Fans have responded in a mixed way, saying its just boring, bad art, etc. Does DC not listen?
Companies like money, the need it, they want it, so shouldn’t they listen to the fans, those who buy the titles? Art can be changed, new writer brought in, a prime example of this can be Nightwing. Fans hated the OYL arc, and DC responded with Marv, can’t they do this more often?Granted some fans respond in a negative way, Bashing creators, starting flame threads and more. That will go unnoticed, and probably should. But if there are multiple flame threads on many sites shouldn’t that issue be addressed?
Consider the JLI, Terra 1 and 2, Cassandra Cain, the new Supergirl and more.
Fans are outraged by the “changes” that have happened to them, many complain, some don’t buy the titles, etc. What will happen to those characters? Many adult DC readers grew up with them, the JLI and Terra, and when DC kills them they feel as though DC is killing their childhood.This also affects Marvel, with Ultimates, Civil War and more. Fans response has been mixed.
Manhunter is another example. DC listened to fas and gave it a new 5 issue arc. Fans loved it, but then, before all 5 issues shipped they canceled it again. Granted i know that pre-issue sales are responsible for this,m but what about reorders and trade sales? What if they go up? Fans, myself included are wondering about this, and are hoping a second letter campaign will save the title. And it may.
Also, what about the lateness in most modern titles? All-Star Batman, All-Star superman, WILDcats, Ultimates, Moon Knight, Action Comics, Wonder Woman, Teen Titans, Green Lantern, Authority and more. I know many people who have dropped the titles due to the lateness. And maybe they should, are we really expected to buy a title that is called a monthly, or Bi-monthly that only ships every 4-5 months? sometimes once a year?
These issues are for the most part due to Companies wanting to let the Writers and artists give their ideal Vision. and that is a good thing, but there should be a limit. When we only get one issue a year, or when the scripts just don’t come in due to other jobs the writers have, should the fans suffer?
I know there is always the issue of fill-in artists, but sometimes they are needed. Should there be a limit to the amount of time the Publishers and fans should have to wait?Many fans are going the trade route, i my self may join that path soon. But what about the “Niche” titles that do not get formal, or even any trade format? For years fans have called for Titans Hunt, Ostrander’s Suicide Squad, O’Neil’s Question to be presented in trade format. Have they yet? No, should the Publishers realize that there is genuine demand for these titles? If they want to make money, which they do, shouldn’t they respond to fan’s demand? Isn’t the comic business a supply and demand procedure?
So my Question is, why do the Companies not respond to the fans questions, concerns and demands?
January 22nd, 2007 at 10:08 am
So much bull. DC’s job is to entertain fans, and they do try to do that. Their job is not to hermetically seal their universe in plastic, nor is it to simply write stories as dictated by the fans. Stories deal with expectation, surprise, suspense. Catering to the fans completely will lead to a bunch of boring 90s-level books.
I don’t understand fans that get so upset about character deaths. I mean, really. It’s comics; your childhood is still there! Any character can come back at a moment’s notice, also. Lots of fans then still want dead characters to stay dead. That fans think that anything in comics is permanent is ridiculous.
DC completely listened with regards to Manhunter, but the sales didn’t go up. Fans are always saying that they really want something but then don’t show up to buy or support it. Also, DC may indeed have plans to release some of those trades, but there are marketing reasons for waiting; they may want to tie-in with a revival, etc. Perhaps they don’t want to spoil the reveal.
Fans show their likes and dislikes with their wallets, not on Internet message boards. Sales are the only thing that DC is really ever going to respond to.
Next week we’ll have the argument about how comic companies cater too much to fans and should be absolutely accessible to anyone like in the 50s!
January 22nd, 2007 at 12:19 pm
Doesn’t the problem become either way, “Which fans do you listen to?” At any given moment, whether a comic or movie or song, in fact any piece of art, is up for debate on its qualities and faults. Nothing is universally loved or loathed.
Just because they don’t respond to one of our concerns doesn’t mean they are not catering to their market. “A camel is a horse designed by committee.”
It is their business to market what they believe to be the best product. If you disagree, you don’t purchase the book or listen to the song or go to the movie.
Imagine what would happen if they listened to everything fans said they want.
January 22nd, 2007 at 12:56 pm
I’d have to second the above comments. It’d probably be a pisspoor decision for either publisher to cater toward message board ramblings. Editorial decisions based on feverish internet posts rife with misspellings (i mean, just look at that thing…)? Yeh, I don’t think so.
There are plenty of places where these publishers can make improvements. Chronic lateness of books is certainly one of these areas. However, rather than catering to fanboy outrage, perhaps the publishers should open their ears to retailers, maybe set up some sort of Retailers’ Forum or Quorum or Summit. After all, both these factions (publisher and retailer) have the same object in mind, sale of more books.
There’s a lot of room for improvement in this industry… but it won’t be done via fanboy entitlement.