This comment, in the middle of a Millarworld thread about what publishers need to do to capitalize on the successful launch of DC’s New 52, stood out to me:
One thing Marvel really needs to do to capitalize on potential new readers brought in by DCs 52 initiative is get off the event train and make their comics accessible again. The Ultimate line is off to a good start with it’s relaunch, but that’s 4 titles (one that’s a mini).
It stood out because, having finished Fear Itself last week, doesn’t this mean that Marvel is theoretically at an accessible point in its publishing line right now? Especially with the relaunch of the entire X-Men line, and new line-ups in the Avengers books…?
I started thinking about the structure of Marvel’s publishing over the last few years, and how off-putting the massive uber-epic storylines may be for new readers – Something like the Civil War/The Initiative/Secret Invasion/Dark Reign/Siege cycle may have been entertaining for longtime readers, but how inviting was it for newcomers, who wouldn’t necessarily understand who Norman Osborn was, who the Skrulls were, and so on? I’d never really thought about that before, and it made me wonder about Marvel’s current strategy, which seems to be the same thing, only bigger – Fear Itself leading to The Fearless and Shattered Heroes and Battle Scars at the same time as Schism leads to Regenesis, both of which are apparently leading to some massive storyline next year… With DC pushing titles as individual stories right now (Reminiscent of how Marvel was, back when Bill Jemas and Joe Quesada took over, in fact), is this the smartest move Marvel could make, because it differentiates them from their competition? Or are they doubling down on their existing fanbase at the cost of any new readers who may have been tempted by the movies?
October 24th, 2011 at 8:57 pm
Big stories are a terrible place to jump in as a new reader. It’s like coming into a movie during the third act. You don’t get most of what is happening and don’t care about the characters. Marvel has been one long third act since 2004.
DC’s 52 aimed to bring in curious new readers who suddenly have a comic shop in their pocket (or tablet). Marvel is lengthening their events and adding 3.99 tie ins to milk more from their current readers. It’s disappointing as a Marvel fan. Hindsight being 20/20, I was sceptical of the big DC reboot, but now it seems brilliant and the only option.
October 24th, 2011 at 10:05 pm
I came back to comics during Civil War. I loved that story, despite its flaws, since everything was new to me. I’m guessing it’s not big stories that should get people jumping in, it’s changes in status quo, which the Big 2 seem to love to do soooo much.
October 24th, 2011 at 10:25 pm
Here’s my dumb idea. What if comics publishers published 2 stores in each book. One would always be a one-shot and the other can be event/arc stuff. I know that sounds crazy but wouldn’t that kind of be the best of both worlds? Then any reader could jump on any time they want and read the one-shot and if the on-going in interesting they can continue, otherwise not. Besides, isn’t that how all comics started: Brave and the Bold, Sensation, Action, Journey into Mystery, Astonishing Tales, etc? Were they all anthologies?
(told you it was a dumb idea)
Cheers
October 25th, 2011 at 9:16 am
Jumping on points are a myth.
October 25th, 2011 at 11:20 am
Event overkill is real.
But having said that, let’s not oversimplify things and say that readers are too stupid to catch on to long time story elements that may be a bit obscure.
Soap operas have gone for decades without any set “jumping on point”, letting storylines come and go all the time. (and without the benefit of ‘back issues’)
March 6th, 2012 at 11:35 am
I’m a new comic reader all thanks to the DC’s New 52. Before then, I’d never really read any monthly books, although I did vaguely follow the Ultimate X-Men (I think) when it launched around the time of the first Bryan Singer movie.
My main resistance to ever diving into comics before was because of all the decades of mythology I was clueless about. With the New 52, I feel like I’m there at the beginning and I’m now picking up 2-3 titles a week – all of them DC.
I would like to get into X-Men again, but I have no idea where to start. It sounds like Marvel’s strategy is completely anti-DC’s, so I was hoping maybe some more seasoned X-Men fans could offer suggestions for upcoming X-men titles which might serve as a good jumping on point for a newbie? I’ve tried looking at Marve’s website, but they only promote older, digital titles rather than new ones for newcomers.
I appreciate any insight y’all could give. Thanks!!