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Eric Jansen
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Posted: 20 August 2019 at 5:43pm | IP Logged | 1 post reply

The announcement of Bond 25 "No Time To Die" makes me think of the care the producers take with this character.  Every movie is an event, every casting change is news.  The Broccoli family has this one character to concentrate on, and they don't worry about trying to develop a whole family of franchises.

Taking the concept to comic books, I look at Archie Comics and how they focus on Archie and friends and usually neglect their super-heroes, some of which could really succeed in different media.  On the other hand, I'm sure it's probably been a good idea for them to focus.

When a company focuses on its key players, I think it's usually good for the characters.  Dynamite Comics has a lot of features, but with some like GREEN HORNET or JOHN CARTER, they really seem to give it their all, giving each (and their supporting characters) three or four series at a time.  Harris Comics had VAMPIRELLA and more Vampirella for decades--regular series, mini-series, magazines, etc.!  I never really thought she was that great, but she was what they had and they went all out with her and for her.

And then I look at DC Comics, and they have a lot of winners...that they neglect.  Sometimes, decades pass between series for former super-stars that they acquired from someone else.  If Dynamite or someone similar had SHAZAM, I'm pretty sure they'd be at least four monthlies at all times--(under whatever name was possible) CAPTAIN MARVEL, CAPTAIN MARVEL JR., MARY MARVEL, maybe THE MARVEL FAMILY, BULLETMAN, SPY SMASHER, even MINUTE MAN!  And PLASTIC MAN would be a headliner again.  PHANTOM LADY, DOLL MAN, BLACKHAWK--they'd all get series again...and the company would try really hard to keep them going.

But DC have an embarrassment of riches, so they leave a lot of stars on the shelf.  Are different imprints the answer?  I wish DC would start a Steve Ditko imprint--give one editor a small line-up to oversee--THE CREEPER, THE QUESTION, THE BLUE BEETLE and more could all be great.  And do a Jack Kirby imprint too!  A little corner of the DC universe starring ORION/NEW GODS, KAMANDI, MR. MIRACLE, OMAC---these are all great characters!  (Sure, MR. MIRACLE has his own comic right now, and all these have at one point or another, but what happens when that "cool" creative team moves on?)

What neglected characters would benefit from having one company (or imprint) concentrate on them?  Who would really benefit from that focus?


Edited by Eric Jansen on 20 August 2019 at 5:46pm
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Eric Jansen
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Posted: 20 August 2019 at 11:17pm | IP Logged | 2 post reply

And now the news just came that Sony and Disney/Marvel are splitting on the SPIDER-MAN films!  So, Sony is the sole producer for all Spider-Man-related films again which--like I sort of said above--could be good AND bad!  Good if you want movies based on VENOM and SPIDER-GWEN (which were going to happen anyway, but now there might be more), bad if you wanted to see Peter/Spidey interacting with more Marvel heroes (which, since there won't be any IRON MAN, CAPTAIN AMERICA, or AVENGERS movies for a long while, might not have been happening anyhow).

(And, no, this is not really a movie topic.  Just using that as an example of focus.)


Edited by Eric Jansen on 20 August 2019 at 11:18pm
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Brian Hague
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Posted: 21 August 2019 at 10:36pm | IP Logged | 3 post reply

Wait, wait... You're saying that it might be better... hang on. I need to process this... For there to be separate editorial offices, with each editor responsible for a handful of related titles rather than dumping everyone from Darkseid to Binky to Peter Porkchops to Plastic Man and Detective Chimp into one single, connected universe and stringing the whole mess together with moth-eaten cotton thread and the razor-sharp baling wire of Kontinuity?? That... that... just can't be possible...! Th- The Marvel Way of doing things is the ONLY way!! THE ONLY WAY, I tell you!! 

EVERYTHING must Konnect! Everything MUST stick together! You see (he said with patient desperation) we do NOT labor upon our individual stories alone! We strive upon a monumental loom whose great size and infinite complexity beggars the imagination! Everything must fit inside the boundaries of the loom! Everything MUST, I tell you, MUST tie together!! 

Why, why this notion of applying individual focus to individual titles and characters in NONSENSE, I tell you! The dangerous ramblings of a madman!! A MADMAN!! He'll destroy us all! And he means to do so! 

Friends, do not sacrifice the beauty and complexity of the Multiverse and a hundred thousand lovely alternate timelines for this... this... INSANITY of doing what is best for individual characters and focusing upon their needs at the expense of their inter-connectivity to the rest of the players in the corporate hopper! D-Don't you want Blue Beetle to meet Bugs Bunny and have their children marry to create a cute, little warren full of super-powered Warner/Charlton hybrids who will simultaneously build the futures of Space Ranger, Kamandi, and the Children of Doom in separate universal space globes and use their combined life-energies to take down the evil KronaKlones kreated by the fused Manhunter/Monitor kreature, StarBombBlasterBurst and his countless mind-kontrolled topless Amazons?? In one hundred and forty-two easy to kollect and komplete issues spread over the next six years? Don't you want that?

You can't have that and have a rational, internally-logical Plastic Man book at the same time, kids! Plas is going to HAVE to get tortured and dried out and crumbled and spread across the ocean floor for several centuries so he can match up with the tone of that Superman issue where the bad guy beat Mxyzptlk nearly to death to get him to stop coming into our dimension! So we can enjoy everything on EXACTLY the same level we enjoyed the Joker smashing Jason Todd's head in with a crowbar and everyone in Bludhaven dying of horrible chemical burns and toxins when Chemo was dropped on them! That's good comics, right? When Wonder Dog eats Marvin? That's what we want, right? So everything matches and nothing reads like itself, but instead like everything else?

Individual focus and allowing characters and titles to speak with their own voices is just plain nuts. Can't have that. No. NONONONONO...

Seriously, all kidding aside, DC (for example) doesn't just put out a New Gods book or a Blue Beetle/Question team-up title in part because they don't know how it's going to fit into their overall game plan for the next three years. Unless the Question ties into Omac's Global Peace organization which turns out to have been started by Batman's old foe No-Face, (tune in this summer for "The Final Face-Off!" a sixty-three part mini-series leading into next year's one hundred and seventy part maxi-series, "Blank Check" and its three-hundred and six part follow-up, "Filling In the Blanks,") then we really don't have room on the schedule for some pointless, off-on-its-own title doing nothing to contribute to the overall sales tapestry.


Edited by Brian Hague on 21 August 2019 at 10:40pm
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Brian Hague
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Posted: 21 August 2019 at 11:14pm | IP Logged | 4 post reply

Belaboring the point (because hey, it's late and I'm in a belaboring mood), DC could decide to put out a high quality, prestige comic featuring the Question and hire the cream of the crop to put it together. Ed Brubaker writing at the top of his game and pair him with a new hotshot who somehow combines the real-world approach of a Gray Morrow with the dynamism of an Alex Toth, all painted with the mastery of Norman Rockwell, and together they could come up with storyline after storyline that ab-so-lutely knocks the socks off readers; Mystery stories with twists no one ever saw coming and Human Drama that literally makes one weep, and they could do all of this consistently, month after month, rising to the top of the sales charts and none of it would matter...

Because they'd only be selling one book per month. How does that help DC? How does that help the rest of the line? This one little selfish prima donna over here in the corner doing its own thing every month? 

You know what you COULD do with that insufferable little Fauntleroy of a title though? Use it to build interest in the summer crossover. Establish that the reason no one can track down the bad guy this time is because he's secretly Cryll, Space Ranger's little shape-changing sidekick, and the reason he killed that guy is because the guy was a White Martian disguised as a human, and Cryll is a political refugee from the White Martian government and always has been! He's on Earth to warn J'Onn J'Onzz that the White Martians have a Martian Time Machine and mean to recreate Martian history so they have always been and always will be in charge! Tie it in with Wonder Woman where we learn the Roman War God Mars and his lieutenant, the Duke of Deception, once upon a time were deities of the warlike Whites on Mars and have them intrude upon the hapless denizens of Hub City, stripping them of their faces to make them more like their misbegotten "hero," the Question, and have Superman meet his predecessor from Earth-2 in Hypertime and question him about that time he and Orson Welles tried to warn the population of an actual invasion from the Red Planet! Throw in Bugs Bunny who's in over his head now that Marvin has revealed his true nature as an Immortal and grown to giant-size saying, "You didn't really think a fifth-dimensional scientist would look like a funny little man in a Gallic helmet, did you?" Bring it all back to the tie-in theme for the "White Supremacy" crossover event and tell readers the story continues this month over in Amethyst, Angel and the Ape, and Strange Sports Stories!

See, now... NOW you have a book that's a team player! Now you have a book with some zest and some syngery behind it! Now it's not just selling itself! It's selling Wonder Woman, Superman, Bugs Bunny, AND the summer crossover as well! Now it's doing its job!!

So what if it's stupid? Stupid feeds the bulldog. Letting books go off on their own and wander from the reservation is NOT the business these companies are in anymore. 

You may THINK you want a book starring the Question, but DC knows what you really NEED is a Question book that sells all of the other books at the same time! That's just common sense and sales savvy.


Edited by Brian Hague on 21 August 2019 at 11:17pm
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Eric Sofer
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Posted: 22 August 2019 at 8:53am | IP Logged | 5 post reply

Brian H. - you said Binky. Heh heh heh.

Eric J., I don't think a character needs to be unused (or underused) to benefit from attention. Let's look at a list of characters who shot to the top of the charts with the right creators:

(Sword of) the Atom
Daredevil
Swamp Thing
The Hulk
Green Arrow
The Guardians of the Galaxy

To paraphrase what Mr. Byrne so often quotes, it's not the character; it's the story and how well it's told. But the are no BAD characters.

Back in the day, Batman did not cross over with the Midnighter did not cross over with Bugs Bunny did not cross over with Sugar and Spike... well, until they did. But a really good story could start anywhere and sell; and a stink bomb could start anywhere and fall down flat (which has happened more than DC or Marvel have wanted.) So it's a nature of the story as much as the main character(s).

Myself, if I were running DC, would try a bit of a trick for six months. Publish Superman comics and Batman comics as single issue one-and-done stories in each issue. Publish Action comics and Detective comics as a six-part story arc. See which has more appeal... or see if they both sell equally. THAT might be a marker to how to focus on their characters.

Be aware that SOME might consider Superman a terrible character; how can his stories have any interest in them? Criminal launches his plan, this guy with super powers beyond counting super sneezes, and that ruins Luthor's plan again.

It depends on the stories (and maybe art.) Of course, these days, maybe it just IS the viability of the character that sells the books...
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Brian Hague
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Posted: 22 August 2019 at 3:26pm | IP Logged | 6 post reply

Eric S., I like that competing approach involving the Superman and Batman titles. I don't know that anyone actually does done-in-one storytelling anymore outside of the kid books, but it would be interesting to hear the bitching and moaning from fandom collected nonetheless about how they're being deprived of great, mature storylines and intellectually rewarding entertainment by an editorial staff determined to take us all back to 1962. 

You're also correct that there are some who simply don't like certain characters. After I explained to her why I didn't like the SHAZAM! film as a concept, my friend's fiance (the Lucas fan who lovedlovedloved THE PHANTOM MENACE so much she nearly killed us all hugging the steering wheel on a rainy highway while keening her adoration of Lucas's genius) had to take shots the next week at St. Elsewhere ("It is SO dated!!") and, yes, Superman, who it turns out is really, really boring and definitely NOT sexy. Maybe if Batman had never been invented, maybe he'd be okay, but as it is, he is SO-O-O-O boring!! SO boring!! 

There are some people who will simply never buy your book. There are some people who will never, ever sample a jar of pickled pig's feet (raises hand.) Those are not your audience. Those are not the people for whom the book should be tailored. No one should ever market a jar of pig's feet "NOW with peanut butter!" in the hopes that some peanut butter fan will buy it and fall in love with the pig's feet. 

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Brian Hague
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Posted: 22 August 2019 at 3:50pm | IP Logged | 7 post reply

It occurs to me that I've been rambling on so much about why characters or collections of characters don't receive individual attention that I haven't come up with any who would benefit from some. 

I can't get over how some are determined to fold the Sub-Mariner into every possible collective arrangement imaginable. He's Marvel's first mutant and a symbol to the entire mutant community. He's one of five (count 'em, five!) new hosts for the Phoenix Entity. He's a member of the ultra-super-secret-don'-tell-nobody-ever-ever-ever organization, the Order. And the Illuminati. And the Avengers. And the X-Men. 

Guys, Namor doesn't like any of these people. He's be just as happy watching them all drown. Happier, in fact. 

Every now and then he allows his head to be turned by a pretty girl and hangs about on the surface to see if he can't get a little something-something, but it's only her he's infatuated with. Betty Dean, back in the day. Sue Storm a bit later. Everybody else? Can go fish.

Literally, drown 'em and see if they turn into fish. 

A Namor book with a proper respect for his preference to remain underwater (and away from the politics and palace intrigue of Atlantis) with a healthy distrust and dislike for surface dwellers everywhere would be fun to read. Once a year or so, he comes up with a new plan to submerge New York. Or the entire West Coast. Drown 'em all and let Neptune sort it out. Misanthropy at its finest. 

His primary tie to the Marvel universe would be that he can't f*ckin' stand the Marvel Universe. Let's find some archaeological treasures under the sea. Catch up with the ol' Serpent Crown. Hidden races. An underwater Savage Land. Interdimensional water worlds. An occasional guest star now and again perhaps, but seriously, keep him off dry land and out of the limelight. He's not here to save us. He's here to bring on the next Great Flood.

Just a thought. I also would like to see some genuinely imaginative work done with the Marvel Family, old-school style, but I acknowledge that ship has sailed. And sunk. 

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Robert Bradley
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Posted: 22 August 2019 at 4:22pm | IP Logged | 8 post reply

Funny you should mention the Serpent Crown Brian.............

Edited by Robert Bradley on 22 August 2019 at 4:22pm
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Eric Jansen
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Posted: 22 August 2019 at 9:14pm | IP Logged | 9 post reply

I think the Marvel Cinematic Universe is looming large in a lot of people's thinking these days...but they're learning all the WRONG lessons!  "Gee, Captain America is a big deal in the movies, let's give him a chin strap and ski boots in the comics too!"  "All the movie characters are interacting, let's do MORE 'event' series that wind through all the comics!"  But, of course, the movies are just following Stan Lee's lead going back to the 60's when there were ten series and sometimes Spider-Man would visit the Fantastic Four or Dr. Strange might pop up somewhere.

Perhaps these things worked BECAUSE there were only TEN series to interact!  Ten series casually interacting is fun, sixty series crossing over in a universe-threatening "epic" every six months is ponderous.

A KIRBY imprint at DC could have 6 or 7 series, with the characters sometimes crossing over or teaming up.  The line-up could be--
CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN
THE DEMON
ORION & THE NEW GODS
MR. MIRACLE
THE GUARDIAN
KAMANDI
OMAC

Kamandi is a fabulous concept!  There should be 500 issues already, children's books, novels, movies, etc.  I'd love to see the Challengers and/or the Guardian trapped on Apokolips for an arc.  The New Gods need to be stars, not background characters in WONDER WOMAN or wherever.  In a 60-series DC, these are mostly lost in the din.  At a little company (or separate DC imprint), they'd get the star treatment.


Edited by Eric Jansen on 22 August 2019 at 9:20pm
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Eric Jansen
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Posted: 22 August 2019 at 9:40pm | IP Logged | 10 post reply

I guess DC just eliminated Vertigo and other imprints, which seems wrong to me.  They're doing age-ratings now instead, which really doesn't help create an identity.  Somebody might be inclined to buy all the Vertigo books--or all 7 of my proposed Kirby Imprint--but who's going to be excited about buying all the series with a little label in the corner that says "Recommended for 12-14 year-olds"?

And you're starting with the series, then figuring out which label to put on it.  Starting with the imprint idea first might lead you to come up with just the right books for what you're trying to do.  Say you want to do an imprint for kids around 12 years old (based, I would prefer, on the pre-CRISIS iconic and kid-friendly versions of the characters), I might do this line-up:

SUPERMAN (You could even hire Peter Krause to do his Curt Swan imitation!)
BATMAN (along the lines of the all-ages "Entry" series JB pitched years ago)
SUPERGIRL--Just give me a teenage Supergirl in high school without all the death/college/Darkseid/Peter David baggage that has piled up.
BATGIRL--I would also take a good Batgirl series that doesn't bring in grotesque serial killers or the KILLING JOKE.
ROBIN--I would love to see a Dick Grayson/Robin series that covers his early training by and adventures with Batman.
and maybe this would be the place to give us--
SHAZAM
PLASTIC MAN
LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES
TEEN TITANS
WONDER WOMAN

--and hire great, clear artists like Tom Grummett who seem to have fallen out of favor with all the dark and gritty (or boring and indy-looking) stuff of recent years.  Maybe simpler colors and cheaper paper to keep the cover price lower for kids--and self-contained stories!!


Edited by Eric Jansen on 22 August 2019 at 9:46pm
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