Comments on: Why don’t you listen anymore? Why don’t you CARE?!?

By: Craig

Craig — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 17:56:26 +0000

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.

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 17:19:41 +0000

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.

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 15:08:31 +0000

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!