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Waiting For Tommy XXXV
By Richard Johnston |
Is it really
mad, manic, messy, motivated Marvel versus staid, serious, yet
sorted DC? Chaos Versus Order? Shadows versus Vorlons? The USA
vs the USSR? A Cold War for Comics? It seems that way - and
it's getting worse. However it's not that simple. Both companies
do have their exceptions - Tom Brevoort shows all the signs
of being a DC editor trapped in the Madhouse, while Dan Didio
clearly has a Marvel mindset about the man and seems to enjoy
kicking things over and making a fuss. To what degree they can
influence the company around them is debatable. It seems what
initiatives they both create are not only defeated, but become
part of what they were fighting against. DC's streamlined procedures
became unnecessarily complex and became intertwined in company
politics, while Brevoort's more classic Marvel books, while
seen as keeping a certain audience, have been used to demonstrate
what not to do on other books. Kurt
Busiek's departure from The
Avengers, citing a lack of desire to compete with The
Ultimates, where New Marvel's heart really lies, is seen
as a very visible expression of that process.

FABLES: LEGENDS IN EXILE TPB |
Where
else does this attitude extend? Take trade paperbacks.
Marvel have taken to collecting books almost before
they're finished. Anything, everything, slap it on the
schedule, see if it bites, if it doesn't pull it off,
change the order, reduce the pages, whatever it takes
to get the damn things on the shelves.
DC
still haven't finished collecting Hitman, Transmetropolitan
or Authority.
They're slower, believing the market needs to pause
between initial serialisation and eventual collection.
Give the retailers time to sell the originals before
the collections, give readers reason to buy the originals
by postponing the eventual collection. Buy now, or wait
two years. |
Marvel
have the momentum, DC don't. And there have been unexpected
side-effects. Traditional wisdom has it that collecting recent
books in trade paperbacks damages the 'market value' of the
books it collects. That only if, say, Sandman trades weren't
available, the books would go for so much more. Maybe that
used to be true, but it seems that there are certain people
who are made aware of a comic by the trade paperback, and
then have to go back and get the original issues. In some
cases the trade seems to be making the original books collectible
by implying that they must be desirable if they're worthy
of a trade paperback.
It used
to be the case that people described themselves as Marvel
or DC customers. Crossing over was limited, it was like a
Catholic girl been seen out with a Protestant boy on the streets
of Belfast. Tongues wagged and you might lose a kneecap. Events
like Watchmen, Dark Knight and Man Of Steel helped blur that,
as did the almighty power of X-Men, but it took the breakaway
Image Comics to smash the 'zombie' system and allow people
to see that, actually, they could buy comics from another
publisher, and no they wouldn't be condemned for ever more.
The channel was crossed, the tunnels had been dug, suddenly
there was a lot more to play for, and lose. And when the market
came crashing down, it was all up for grabs.

TRANSFORMERS:
GENERATION ONE VOLUME 1 TPB |
But
now, the companies are defining themselves distinctly
in the marketplace. You go to Marvel for this, DC for
that, let Avatar, Image, Dreamwave's Transformers,
CrossGen,
Fantagraphics, Dark
Horse feed on what's left behind. CrossGen, expert
now at finding a totally distinct audience may well
rise up to challenge Marvel and DC, but it will be ignored.
After all, why would New Marvel Zombies or Old DC Devotees
want to look elsewhere?
And so the Cold War Of Comics begins anew. Not necessarily
a bad thing, it will generate some interesting comics
no doubt. But it can be frustrating for creators, retailers
and readers alike. |
Rich
Johnston writes the comics internet gossip column Lying
In The Gutters and is currently working on a new comic
book for publication.
Pages:
1 | 2
The
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