I went over it twice and honestly it just doesn't make sense to me.. I mean I get it but given the current direction of both marvel and DC it just.. It just doesn't seem like were looking at the same comics for this statement to be made. Maybe I'm just crazy.
New 52 ended up primarily getting old readers back in, but yea. Comic sales have gone up due to these events.
"I think we as an industry fell into this pattern of not caring about new readers anymore." is a real problem, DC's got a habit of not even trying for female readers/not worrying about stuff that can turn them off, but I don't think the problem has to do with high issue numbers or being too 'comic-y'.
I think it's simply a matter of having to do stuff that appeals to different groups and then, and this is very important, sticking with it, not canning it after a single year if it doesn't do super-well (DC's Minx imprint). To get new audiences, you need to build them slowly, develop cult followings and be happy with them, and then once you have a couple small followings of multiple books going, then you can leverage that into something big. You need the foothold before you get the explosion.
Jump has closed down and gone all-digital in the US.
There have been some attempts at anthology, they just don't normally last too long.
Comics are the healthiest sector in the magazine business, which has mostly sunk like a rock over the last few years where comics have slowly expanded. The TPB and digital markets both continue to expand as well.
Both Europe and Japan has comics too. Europe's just tend not to blow up big when they come over here (which I think is a shame).
So does South America, come to thing of it. It just doesn't come up much, because the demand is largely met by US comics.
It was a general comment- the comics medium isn't doing badly.
The traditional floppies are doing well (literally twice their low-point in the 90s after the big crash), and then you've got these two other growth areas. But to a large extent, digital and TPB are just bonuses- the floppies are still the cornerstone of business, and that's not a mistake, they are in fact doing well.
I don't know man, Marvel tries to push female characters all the time. She Hulk. Red She Hulk. Ms Marvel. X-23. Spider-woman, Black Widow (did Lady Ghost rider have an ongoing for a while? I forget). They've all had solo series (most of them even got more than one crack at carrying a solo) over the last five years. It's just no one seems to be picking them up, even when they are critically accomplished like X-23 was. X-Men Legacy was pretty much a Rogue solo for years, and JitM is the Lady Sif show right now. Sure DC has a Wonder Woman and Catwoman solo running in perpetuity (and usually a Batgirl in some form or another) but Marvel is constantly testing the water with new female characters solo books... it's just that no one wants to jump in.
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Yes, literally twice as much as the low point after the 90s bubble.
Not doing as well as the bubble, but that was a stupid bubble and far less stable than now.
They weren't doing that badly either, '10 outperformed anything in the '95-05 period, often by a lot (and notably, was in a recession), and movies don't affect sales much at all. Like, we wish they did, but the effect is really minimal.
There is plenty of good comics. Even aside from the big two, the non-big two market is expanding with hits like Saga, Walking Dead, and so on.
They really didn't try hard with New 52 ^^;;
Decreased number of female books, put only one female character on the main JLA, JLI didn't treat it's female characters very well, Catwoman's and Starfire's blatant fanservice are a turn-off to two potentially female-friendly characters, the fact that all Batgirls but one were erased while all Robins stayed around, etc..
Also, they had literally one female writer at launch, across 52 books. You might not remember it, but that caused enough controversy that DC publicly apologized and said they'd search out more female creators.
They've picked up some, doing World's Finest with Powergirl and Huntress, and Amethyst by a female writer (the only female writer from the aforementioned initiative apparently), but, like, we're talking it's arguable whether they're even where they were at pre-reboot, it's not exactly what one would call a 'push' for female readers.
You might not be aware of it, but DC has gotten a lot of well-deserved flak recently for it's handling of females, be it characters or fans.
Marvel's pushing Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers), Sif (in Journey into Mystery), their team books have a much heavier female presence with several female team leaders (only female team leader in DC is on BoP), and heck, is doing an all-female X-men team by an A-list writer. Also very importantly, they aren't doing anything like the Starfire redo, the turned-up-sex on Catwoman, the Rapazons in WW, or anything else that turns off potential female readers.
DC just had a few female lead books on the top 100 for CBR. Batwoman and Wonder Woman, which are gold, IMO. Not to mention BOP, Catwoman, Batgirl (high seller), and Amythest. That's just from the top of my head. They have more female books than Marvel.
I think that's because they actually have to try harder, since DC's females will automatically sell. Batgirl is a horrible book (Sorry, PR. but it will still sale. Same with Catwoman who is highly recognizable. DC still pushes some obscure female books like Amythest.
DC has more solo female books, but less female presence in team books / female characters
And of the ones you named, Catwoman's highly sexified-towards-men, Wonder Woman had her origin reworked to be more male centric (her powers now derive from a male god rather than a goddess, her combat skills come from training from a male rather than the amazons, and her morals not coming from the Amazons either).
Heck, Amethyst, what you might think as a shoe-in for younger female readers/female readers looking for a fun book, opened up with a gang attempting to rape a side-character.
There's no effort to avoid problematic issues that put off female readers, even in female books. Only Batwoman and BoP are good in that area.
Marvel's never had too much success with female solo books, but it's solidly presented female characters are both more numerous and more solidly presented in-universe. Picking up an X-book just feels female-friendlier than DC.
Yeah, before the relaunch, Marvel only had one solo female book and that was X-23. They don't sell very well. DC has team books like Birds of Prey and have pushed females in team books as well like JLA and JSA.
I'm not saying Marvel doesn't try to push female characters. I just think DC does more, and that, even if you wanted to say Marvel did as much, Fraction's comment is still way off.
Well New 52 was different, and DC seems to be rectifying it I think.
I honestly don't agree about Catwoman tbh.
As far as Wonder Woman goes, sure, she's been shifted, but I don't see how they've necessarily put off female readers.
KMC Community Forums
Jan 31st, 2013 08:32 AM
but it will still sale. Same with Catwoman who is highly recognizable. DC still pushes some obscure female books like Amythest.
