IrishNinja
Member
You really don't.
for real - i bailed early on schism, house of M i finished but barely recall - i think he wanted to be fury-lite or something i guess?
You really don't.
In 2015 they were about 10% of the market but they were actually down from the year before. I don't think anyone has released the 2016 figures.
Umm...
I feel like I'm gonna lose my mind getting invested into another series that only lasts 9 goddamn issues.
I think the pricing has got to be part of it. $3.99 is just fucking steep.
When I was a kid, I was collecting like 10 books a week... but they were only like $1.50 to $1.99. I wouldn't let my kid collect 10 books a week now, the inflation on floppies is nuts and it makes no sense when translates to digital.
It's a long one but good.
I was an avid comic fan and had always had issues with stuff like this but Marvel in particular went off the FUCKING wall with this nonsense. Even for a fan like me its hard to keep up let alone give a shit.
So I just gave up on it because reading manga and stuff like Saga is easier and sometimes cheaper.
.
Every time I think about going back to American comics, I think about how little the editor-in-chief at Marvel thinks of me as a consumer. What a fucking douchebag. It really sucks too because DC is doing all the right things and they got punished by-proxy.
When you have a company whose management makes decisions to coddle/cater to creators like Nick Spencer over much, much better writers including G. Willow Wilson, Ta Nehisi Coates, David Walker, and Charles Soule, your company is going to get looked at sideways. Because it is obvious that there are high-ranking people in the company who are in charge of promoting and pushing talent, and they have bad instincts.
The business aspects of comics has always been a clusterfuck of one flavor or another, but when you add to that the people in charge consistently rewarding & promoting the least-skilled/talented writers on their bench? The spiral is only going to rotate faster & faster.
It's a company that has, for about a decade now, made sure to take care of all the wrong people populating its halls, and abandon/push out all the right ones.
When you have a company whose management makes decisions to coddle/cater to creators like Nick Spencer over much, much better writers including G. Willow Wilson, Ta Nehisi Coates, David Walker, and Charles Soule, your company is going to get looked at sideways. Because it is obvious that there are high-ranking people in the company who are in charge of promoting and pushing talent, and they have bad instincts.
The business aspects of comics has always been a clusterfuck of one flavor or another, but when you add to that the people in charge consistently rewarding & promoting the least-skilled/talented writers on their bench? The spiral is only going to rotate faster & faster.
It's a company that has, for about a decade now, made sure to take care of all the wrong people populating its halls, and abandon/push out all the right ones.
The fact that Marvel lost three of their "Architects" (Brubaker, Fraction and Hickman) is also a huge deal. They should have focused on keeping these guys happy and allowed their schedules to flow with creator-owned work. Instead they are all doing their own projects.
They gave 2 million to Rubio as well.
Outside of Walker I don't really agree with the names you picked.Soule is getting pushed with Astonishing X-Men and Vader coming, Wilson got A-Force before personal stuff got in the way, and Coates got a really big push. There are guys I would move up though in addition to some team shakeups.When you have a company whose management makes decisions to coddle/cater to creators like Nick Spencer over much, much better writers including G. Willow Wilson, Ta Nehisi Coates, David Walker, and Charles Soule, your company is going to get looked at sideways. Because it is obvious that there are high-ranking people in the company who are in charge of promoting and pushing talent, and they have bad instincts.
The business aspects of comics has always been a clusterfuck of one flavor or another, but when you add to that the people in charge consistently rewarding & promoting the least-skilled/talented writers on their bench? The spiral is only going to rotate faster & faster.
It's a company that has, for about a decade now, made sure to take care of all the wrong people populating its halls, and abandon/push out all the right ones.
Outside of Walker I don't really agree with the names you picked.Soule is getting pushed with Astonishing X-Men and Vader coming, Wilson got A-Force before personal stuff got in the way, and Coates got a really big push.
Slott and Bendis long overdue for the Chris Claremont treatment. Give them a little corner to play in. They're talented guys who shouldn't be on the biggest books anymore. Who could make a list of their best runs and not end up entirely with stuff from the early 00's? The MCU is eventually going to run out of ideas to harvest from that era, so even if we're going with the perspective that comics are loss-leader R&D for the films, why would you want these guys who are so clearly past their prime (in terms of Superhero comics at least) to keep plugging away at all your biggest characters?
Outside of Walker's Cage book I don't think that's a concern. The others are on books that are safe and still being promoted. Coates and Walker also only just started working for Marvel in 2016 with BP being Coates first comic. The people who put out good work tend to be move up the chain, but they are slow with it at times.They're not being pushed/supported like many other names. They're not being taken care of. They're being burnt out.
They routinely put brilliant writers/artists behind the 8-ball, watch them make hay out of inherently compromised situations despite poor management/leadership, and watch their books eat shit anyway after the initial marketing push when management decides that some other project, run by some lesser creative team, is worth the time and energy to maintain their company's spotlight.
They have their best people on a mid-tier (if you're lucky) treadmill and it's demoralizing.
They're not being pushed/supported like many other names. They're not being taken care of. They're being burnt out.
They routinely put brilliant writers/artists behind the 8-ball, watch them make hay out of inherently compromised situations despite poor management/leadership, and watch their books eat shit anyway after the initial marketing push when management decides that some other project, run by some lesser creative team, is worth the time and energy to maintain their company's spotlight.
They have their best people on a mid-tier (if you're lucky) treadmill and it's demoralizing.
The people who put out good work tend to be move up the chain, but they are slow with it at times.
Who got burned by moving up?Not all that often. And when they are moved up that chain, they get burnt for it. It is absolutely a concern.
Marvel is bad at prioritizing. Their company's creative culture is one built on fearing/distrusting quality talent, and nurturing/promoting mediocrity.
They want quality people to feel mediocre. People higher up the chain feel more in control that way. Because for a lot of these middle aged men, their sense of control is worth more to them than the satisfaction in knowing they helped facilitate great storytelling.
This isn't isolated to comics, of course. This sort of struggle happens in all sorts of entertainment industries. But it's really pronounced in comics, partially because of the size of the industry (which is really small/insular) and partially because of the medium's backstage culture.
MCU should've had a canonical comic line in tandem with the films. Easiest money they could make and they fucked it up.
Not all that often. And when they are moved up that chain, they get burnt for it. It is absolutely a concern.
Marvel is bad at prioritizing. Their company's creative culture is one built on fearing/distrusting quality talent, and nurturing/promoting mediocrity.
They want quality people to feel mediocre. People higher up the chain feel more in control that way. Because for a lot of these middle aged men, their sense of control is worth more to them than the satisfaction in knowing they helped facilitate great storytelling.
This isn't isolated to comics, of course. This sort of struggle happens in all sorts of entertainment industries. But it's really pronounced in comics, partially because of the size of the industry (which is really small/insular) and partially because of the medium's backstage culture.
Whale hunting is a death spiral. After a spike in quality during the early 00's due to a generation of really great creators, the market changed again. There's little incentive for star writers to put their all into Marvel when you can do creator-owned and make way more money down the line in a more fulfilling way. At least give new creators the incentive of having their work widely read if they're not going to own it.
When you have a company whose management makes decisions to coddle/cater to creators like Nick Spencer over much, much better writers including G. Willow Wilson, Ta Nehisi Coates, David Walker, and Charles Soule, your company is going to get looked at sideways. Because it is obvious that there are high-ranking people in the company who are in charge of promoting and pushing talent, and they have bad instincts.
The fact that Marvel lost three of their "Architects" (Brubaker, Fraction and Hickman) is also a huge deal. They should have focused on keeping these guys happy and allowed their schedules to flow with creator-owned work. Instead they are all doing their own projects.
Axel Alonso has got to go along with some of the other editorial higher-ups, new blood is needed.
Seriously. Writers and artists alike. The russian roulette you have to play to hope a big new series with a good writer doesn't get saddled with some Greg Land type that nobody but Marvel editors seems to like...
Slott and Bendis long overdue for the Chris Claremont treatment. Give them a little corner to play in. They're talented guys who shouldn't be on the biggest books anymore. Who could make a list of their best runs and not end up entirely with stuff from the early 00's? The MCU is eventually going to run out of ideas to harvest from that era, so even if we're going with the perspective that comics are loss-leader R&D for the films, why would you want these guys who are so clearly past their prime (in terms of Superhero comics at least) to keep plugging away at all your biggest characters?
Do you think that is also why Coates has been put in the "only write comics starring black people" corner and Wilson has been put in the "muslim hero" corner
Not all that often. And when they are moved up that chain, they get burnt for it. It is absolutely a concern.
Marvel is bad at prioritizing. Their company's creative culture is one built on fearing/distrusting quality talent, and nurturing/promoting mediocrity.
They want quality people to feel mediocre. People higher up the chain feel more in control that way. Because for a lot of these middle aged men, their sense of control is worth more to them than the satisfaction in knowing they helped facilitate great storytelling.
This isn't isolated to comics, of course. This sort of struggle happens in all sorts of entertainment industries. But it's really pronounced in comics, partially because of the size of the industry (which is really small/insular) and partially because of the medium's backstage culture.
That perfectly describes Marvel's handling of new writers lately. I remember everyone thought Coates writing Black Panther was gonna revolutionize Marvel.They want quality people to feel mediocre.
Wilson wrote some issues of X-Men a few years ago before it got cancelled.Do you think that is also why Coates has been put in the "only write comics starring black people" corner and Wilson has been put in the "muslim hero" corner
A lot of Black Panther fans actually hate the Coates run and the direction he decided to go.That perfectly describes Marvel's handling of new writers lately. I remember everyone thought Coates writing Black Panther was gonna revolutionize Marvel.
Wilson wrote some issues of X-Men a few years ago before it got cancelled.
A lot of Black Panther fans actually hate the Coates run and the direction he decided to go.
Wilson also worked on A-Force before she had to pull out.
A lot of Black Panther fans actually hate the Coates run and the direction he decided to go.
Wilson also worked on A-Force before she had to pull out.
She has written one Muslim character that she created three years ago and others are using the character so I don't see how that makes her "the Muslim writer".She wrote A-Force and X-Men when it was an all female book. So she's the Muslim writer and the girl writer. At least shes boxed into two corners instead of one.
A lot of Black Panther fans actually hate the Coates run and the direction he decided to go.
Do you think that is also why Coates has been put in the "only write comics starring black people" corner and Wilson has been put in the "muslim hero" corner
...by who?
Is it because they are boxed in, or because writers like to write about things that interest them when given the choice?
The industry isn't gonna fuck over colorist just to lower the prices. Colorist already get enough shit for not being credited on books. In comics they're as important as the writer and the drawer. Even indie comics see the value in having a colorist.Marvel and comic publishers need to:
- Drop the number of titles, for God's sake, it's insane.
- Reduce comic prices where possible. Hell, if they must, use cheap paper and black and white like manga issues - comic issues aren't fucking collectors items, they're disposable, collections are what trades are for, you can save the fancy colours for those, dammit.
- Going hand-in-hand with the above, monthly issues in the internet age are no longer excusable for single issues with so little content. Weekly issues should be the norm, though to do that you'll need to cut colour and have artists focus on a single title each, but less titles with a single consistent creative team on each one is something comics should be doing anyway. Writers can work on multiple titles, but not too many.
- Keep crossovers that require any kind of outside context to a bare minimum. Do events entirely within their own dedicated books.
- Broaden the audience and start selling comics in more places. The direct market model is fucking cancer.
- Do something about Diamond's monopoly.
- Stop relaunching issues, and try to make it a lot easier for readers to know which issues are standalones or even in arcs.
Modern comics could also do well to poach Jump's model of packaging comics in magazines rather than as individual issues - it encourages cross-pollination of audiences who can read issues of comics they originally didn't intend to look at and possibly find stuff that they didn't realize they'd be interested in.
The industry isn't gonna fuck over colorist just to lower the prices. Colorist already get enough shit for not being credited on books. In comics they're as important as the writer and the drawer. Even indie comics see the value in having a colorist.
A lot of the things done in the manga industry wouldn't work with comics. Breaking away from Diamond would probably be difficult and cause a price increase to pay for everything.
A lot of the things done in the manga industry wouldn't work with comics. Breaking away from Diamond would probably be difficult and cause a price increase to pay for everything.
Mostly accurate but a couple of the arguments feel too focused on things only hardcore fans care about - like the writers publicly being douchebags to fans at conventions.
But yeah, working in a comic shop, here are the problems we see both existing and new readers have:...snip
.
Despite an attempt by Gabriel to walk back the quote, the remarks kicked up another firestorm of criticism by those concerned Marvel was shifting the blame for poor sales on to diverse charactersparticularly since, contrary to the companys claims, sales data showed that minority-led books were actually doing relatively well compared to books starring white male characters.
There are comics where the drawers art style shines with the perfect colorist. They are important. More than half of Marvel and DC comics wouldn't look as good without a colorist.Let's not overstate the case. Are they valuable? Yes. Are they as important as the penciller, inker, or writer? No way in hell.
really? i wasn't aware of that, but then i've not followed much since Preist's run
also if you really wanna see when a writer wrecks shit for no reason, check out Kaare Andrew's Iron Fist run, it was awful & i dont know if the 2 series since then have bothered to fix things