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As the year draws to a close it would seem that for the first time
in several years the comic book industry might finally be on an
upswing of sorts. The quality of comics has certainly reached a
zenith for the nearly every company, could it be possible that
2002 will see sales begin to reach corresponding levels?
Through looking back at the developments among the industry
this year it looks as if the major companies have things on track
more than ever, yet there is always room for improvement.
Seeing as you are reading about comic books on the Internet it
is fairly certain that youve read at least 20 press releases from
Bill Jemas and Joe Quesada this year, if not this week. Although
this regime came into power in 2000 at Marvel, 2001 was the
year where their plans have begun to kick into full gear. Nearly
every development on a Marvel title is greeted with a press
release of some sort that has featured statements from Quesada
and or Jemas. Not since Stan Lee during Marvels heyday has
the company been headed by such a public figurehead. The
resultant hype has led to a large buzz for nearly any product
Marvel releases, but is this buzz coming at a price.
One of the major problems with Jemas and Quesadas public
statements is the frequent use of cheap shots taken at DC and
other companies. Coupled with outrageous statements aimed at
retailers who dont approve of Marvels policies and there has
been no lack of controversy emanating from the House of Ideas
this year. The major problem with this lies in whether fans shrug
these sorts of comments off or whether they will tire of them
over time. Its great to see that both men care so greatly about
the product they release and want to champion their product yet
at times the comments they make overshadow whatever product
they are trying to promote. In 2002 it will be interesting to see if
these sort of over-the-top statements continue, and what effect,
if any, they will have on Marvels product and sales.
From a creative standpoint it would be difficult to deny that
Marvel has massively overhauled their company and has brought
new life to many titles that have been severely lacking for years.
Progressive creators such as Peter Milligan, Brian Michael
Bendis, Grant Morrison, Mike Allred, and Igor Kordey have
been put on high profile assignments where as five years ago it is
unlikely any of these creators would be working on a third tier
title. Coupled with product lines such as the Ultimate titles and
the new mature readers Max line show that Marvel is truly trying
to diversify and expand their product base. Add in the fact that
Marvel is establishing a trade paperback program and are
beginning to add emphasis on this previously neglected market,
and it seems clear that Marvel is certainly on the right track.
For DC Comics the year has been much less progressive, and
the quality of the titles has been much more variable. For the
most part DC has seemed more intent on a status quo approach,
not responding much to Marvels verbal jabs and remaining
fairly low key in terms of championing products. This isnt to
say that there is anything wrong with the status quo necessarily,
but there have been some major choices in product presentation
that seem questionable in retrospect.
DCs most highly touted product of the year would have to be
the massive Our Worlds at War series that ran through nearly all
of the DC Universe titles. Featuring crossovers through nearly
every regular title as well as a multitude of oversized special this
event was hyped as having massive repercussions for many of
the titles. With the exception of the Superman and Wonder
Woman titles it seems as if any involvement from other books
was merely for the point of tie-in, and any after-effects were
virtually non-existent. Most of the character deaths promised in
the series have been undone or an "out" has been set up for the
death to be undone down the line. Had the series not been so
massively hyped none of this would have been a problem
necessarily, but running a crossover storyline over a several
month period and then failing to meet expectations is a very bad
development for the entire product line. Even worse, within a
few months another crossover, Jokers Last Laugh, was set
loose in the DCU involving more tie-in storylines that disrupted
the storylines of many ongoing titles.
This also leads to my major complaint involving the two major
characters of DC Comics: Batman and Superman. There is
obviously a demand for bother characters (as well as their
supporting characters) to support nearly ten titles each a month.
Yet it seems that every few months there is a crossover among
the Superman titles or the Batman titles that requires a reader to
buy all of the books to get a complete story. To become a
regular reader of any Batman comic requires a commitment
much larger than buying one title a month. There is the
expectation for the reader that to read Detective Comics, they
will also have to purchase Robin, Nightwing, Gotham Knights,
Birds of Prey, Batgirl, Batman and numerous tie-in specials.
Similarly to follow Superman readers will find themselves buying
all four of the core Superman titles as well as titles like Supergirl
and Superboy also coming into play. It is severely frustrating
that to follow the adventures of either of the most iconic figures
in modern popular culture a reader would be expected to spend
in surplus of $20 every month.
Lest it sound like I have a vendetta against DC Comics, they are
responsible for the majority of my favorite comic books over the
past year. Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins have revitalized the
Flash with a gritty, fast-paced feel. The book is accessible to
new readers on a monthly basis yet still draws upon elements of
the characters past to provide an engaging ongoing story that
evolves every month. Geoff Johns, along with David Goyer and
Steve Sadowski, is also making the JSA one of the must read
comics today. Intense action and constant twists and turns have
made this the premier superhero book in the market today, with
even Wizard Magazine championing the book as comic of the
year.
Green Arrow has obviously been a massive success for DC
Comics under the pen of Kevin Smith, and his upcoming The
Brave and The Bold series will no doubt be the crown jewel of
DCs monthly output. It would be impossible to ignore
Decembers release of Dark Knight 2 from Frank Miller as
another major feather in DCs cap. Although this title has yet to
be released the sales are incredibly high for the initial print run,
made even more amazing considering the book carries a $7.95
price tag. With DC running advertisements for DK2 in several
major forums it is possible this could be the book that the
industry has needed to bring new readers and old into the
medium.
As far as progressive works both of DCs major imprints,
Vertigo and Wildstorm, have continued to set the standard as to
revolutionary works in the comic industry. With titles like 100
Bullets, Transmetropolitan, American Century and Hellblazer
Vertigo continues to produce a batch of mature reader books
that are certain to appeal to a very different, yet equally
significant, section of the market than the core DC line. These
are the books that dominate the trade paperback market and
rightfully so. Along with past Vertigo books like Preacher and
Sandman, DC has been able to market these trade paperbacks
aggressively in major book outlets with success that is nearly
unprecedented. Vertigo is the modern example that led Marvel
to try their hands at a mature readers line again, and in many
ways is the breeding ground for the up and coming writers and
artists in the industry.
For a group that was once a very art oriented company things
have changed a great deal with Wildstorm. The Authority has
had more buzz surrounding it than nearly any regular title in
recent memory and has been one of the few titles to see a
significant increase in readers on a monthly basis. Wildstorm has
developed similar mature storyline based products from the
success of The Authority such as The Monarchy, The
Establishment and a revamped Wildcats. In addition to these
titles are the Alan Moore headed ABC Comics titles that have
been setting new standards of quality among a variety of genres.
Between the upcoming Eye of the Storm mature readers line and
the ongoing ABC titles it looks as if Wildstorm will be a major
creative force in the upcoming year.
Unfortunately the creative fate of Wildstorm seems somewhat in
doubt at this point. Just as the Authority was gaining major
momentum and new readers DC pulled a variety of changes that
have kept the book from being released regularly. While losing
artist Frank Quitely to Marvel was by no means DCs fault, it
was decided to push the title back for several months and have a
guest creative team fill the gap with a story arc before continuing
the ongoing tale. Yet right when the title was set to return to
shelves it was pulled again due to sensitivity over the 9-11
incident. While I understand DCs thoughtfulness in these
sensitive times, it seems somewhat a double standard that the
Authority title has been so significantly singled out for content.
Several titles in the core DC line have featured scenes of cities
destroyed in books no less prominent than the Flash and
Superman. A recently released series Haven features a large
city being destroyed by aliens. The Authority should be one of
the premier books that DC publishes, but unfortunately it looks
as if they have a vendetta of sorts against this book. Hopefully
over the course of 2002 DC will allow Wildstorm to continue
full steam ahead on the Authority and will allow the book to
regain the momentum it once held.
The most refreshing thing about looking back at 2001 is that for
the first time in a long time we can finally look at the industry and
sigh a breath of relief. The industry crash that was such a concern for
so many years seems to be more unlikely than ever. While it
would be a stretch to say that the year 2002 will be a critical one
for the comic marketplace, it will certainly be the first year in half
a decade in which anything truly could happen. While a boom
similar to the speculator explosion of the early 90s is unlikely it
is possible that enhanced media coverage will bring new readers
to the medium that will stick with it and become regular readers.
At the same time there is the chance that despite the increase in
all-around quality there will be little-to-no change in sales or
readership.
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