Dan Didio has had to explain how his
new Post Convergence DC Universe works to readers on multiple occasions with
multiple articles.
Good Gravy.
If an editor has to explain a story
to their readers then something is wrong at that publishing house. Editors
don’t have to explain how things work in a story to readers, readers will
figure things out for themselves.
Most people can figure out a comic
book universe on their own in less than ten seconds. That’s how I figured
things out back when I discovered my brother’s comic collection when I was four
years old. I saw all the characters on the covers of an Avengers comic and
figured things out when I looked at other Marvel titles in his collection.
And that’s how I figured out comics
when I was fifteen when I started collecting DC Comics on my own in 1989. I had
read a lot of New Teen Titans back in my brother’s old comic collection. And in
New Teen Titans I learned that Wally West was Kid Flash. When I picked up a
Flash comic in 1989 and saw Wally West was the Flash, I figured things out.
And I figured thing with Fire. I had
read an old DC Comics Presents with Superman and the Global Gaurdians. In it
Beatriz De Costa was the Green Fury. I picked up a Giffen/DeMatteis Justice
League and soon figured out that Fire was the Green Fury.
And the funny thing was I never read
a single issue of Crisis of Infinite Earths. Yet at the age of 15 I was able to
figure out the DC Universe both Pre-crisis and Post Crisis by picking up a few
issues of Batman, Justice League, and Flash.
When a comic is written well readers
have no problem figuring out the entry points. When a comic book universe is
structured well readers won’t have a problem figuring out the world or the
entry points to it.
Because every story is an entry
point. A seasoned writer will treat each story as its own entity with its own
beginning, middle, and end. Yes certain events in certain stories interconnect.
But a reader will figure things out by the end of the story. And those elements
will have them picking up future titles in the series and the books of other
characters in the universe.
Why is getting a universe to work so
hard for Dan Didio at DC Comics? Why does he have to explain something that no
one really needs to explain? For over 75 years people have been getting into
fantasy and science fiction stories without a map like the one Dan Didio
created for his new DC Universe.
Back in the 1980’s no one needed to
explain Transformers to kids. Most kids figured out that the Autobots were the
good guys and the Decepticons were the bad guys. Sure the cartoon gave characters
like Optimus Prime, Megatron and Starscream a “voice” and a personality, but
most kids got into the world of Robots in Disguise without watching a single
episode in 1984.
And thirty years later and multiple
versions of Optimus Prime and his Autobot crew kids are still able to follow
the story of the Transformers in toy stores all over the world without a
problem.
And twenty years ago no needed to
explain Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to kids. Even with all the multicolored
rangers all the Dinozords, Megazords, Dragonzords, Titanuses and Ultrazords,
kids and their parents managed to figure it all out on the store shelf. Again,
the TV shows gave the toys a “voice” a personality most kids identified with,
but it was fairly easy for most to figure it out.
And kids still figure it out twenty
years later. We’ve had at least 23 different versions of Power Rangers in 23
different series. Yet kids still figure things out easily as they did in 1993
on a store shelf.
And just recently as 2009 No one at
Mattel needed to explain Monster High to kids. They just figure It out on the
shelf. The package tells the story of how Frankie Stien, Draculaura, Clawdeen
Wolf, Ghoulia Yelps and Cleo De Nile are the daughters of classic monsters.
And kids today have figured things
out seven going on six going on seven years later. Because it’s so easy to
follow, Monster High is now more popular than Barbie, Mattel’s once iconic
brand.
But we need a Map to explain the DC
Universe to readers. A map that the co-publisher has to continue to explain to
people again and again.
Good gravy.
Back in the 1940’s no one had to
explain the Golden Age DC Universe to people. In the 1950’s no one had to
explain the Silver Age DC Universe to people. And in the 1980’s no one needed
to explain the Post-Crisis DC Universe to people.
Even I don’t have to explain the SJS
DIRECT Universe to readers. People figure things out on their own. When it
comes to my fantasy titles most readers know that Isis: Trial of the Goddess
ties into Isis. And that The Temptation of John Haynes ties into Isis through
E’steem. And that the modern Isis series starts right after The Temptation of
John Haynes. People buy books at any point and follow the events in the
universe from the last book or the first book. Every story is an entry point.
And most of my readers aren’t veteran
comic fans with an understanding of the small intricate details of a characters’
history or a universe. No, they’re just average Joes and Janes all over this
world. What many in the comic book world would call casuals, readers who pick
up a book just based on a cover or a synopsis. If I can reach new readers with
time-tested story models the comic industry has used for close to 80 years then
why can’t DC Comics, a subsidiary of Time Warner do the exact same thing?
That’s the question many want DC’s
editorial to answer. But Dan Didio is too busy explaining his version of the DC
Universe to readers to figure out where he made his mistake. If you have to
explain a product to the customer then you’re not going to be able to sell that
product. If the customer can’t figure out how a product works on their own in
less than ten seconds they’re not going to buy that product. Business 101.
I find it sad that an indie publisher
like myself with a shoestring budget can make a universe of characters work but
a co-publisher of multinational brand with multi-million dollar budget can’t. I
find it even sadder that executives at Warner Brothers haven’t given this man
his walking papers after nearly fifteen straight years of failure. When one of
your top senior executives can’t figure out how the products they sell to
customers work, then that person shouldn’t be an executive at your
company.
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