Why Is It So HARD For Marvel and DC to Publish GOOD Comics These Days?

The Marvel Universe is ending this year. And the DC Universe is just a Mess. At Marvel and DC the cycle for publishing comics the last 20 years has been: Gimmicks. Events. Cancellations. Reboots. Which are followed by more gimmicks, events, cancellations and reboots. Seriously, why is it so hard to for people at the Big two to publish good Comic books these days?

Both Marvel and DC are divisions of multibillion dollar corporations. DC Comics has been a subsidiary of Time Warner for over 35 years. Marvel Comics has been a subsidiary of Disney for close to five. But even with billion dollar budgets and staffs of hundreds of editors, writers and artists, neither company can consistently produce quality comics on a regular basis these days.

It’s funny How Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the Marvel Universe with a tenth of the money and Just Stan and Jack writing and drawing most of the comics in the 1960’s. And this is in addition to publishing romance comics, western comics, horror comics and teen comics like Patsy Walker at the same time they started publishing superheroes again.

And DC Comics ran like a well-oiled machine under Jeanette Kahn for over 25 years. A testament to her skill as an editor and a manager of the DC Comics brand. Pre-Crisis, Post Crisis, readers could just pick up any comic book and start reading. And In a month or two they were regular buyers of DC Comics.

The people working at Marvel and DC today act like it’s so hard to manage a universe of characters and create new stories for them. They think it’s impossible to make comics easy to read without pre-made entry points, reboots, and other events. I don’t know, is it that hard to produce comics? Is the history that hard to navigate? Is the continuity that bogged down? Or are most of the people working in comics today at the big two just thinking too hard about this?

Archie Comics has been around for about the same time as Marvel and DC. And they haven’t had a problem maintaining their quality in 75 or so years. In fact they’ve been expanding the last few years and trying a lot of new and exciting things with their catalog of characters. And the new comics they produce are as easy to get into as the old ones.

Image Comics hasn’t had a problem in the 25 years they’ve been publishing comics like Spawn and Savage Dragon. Neither has the new Valiant. Currently both are producing some of the best comics in the medium right now. Most people don’t have a problem with getting into their comics and enjoying them.

Webcomics artists don’t have a problem creating new stories or referencing previous material from their own work. R.K. Milholland’s Something*Positive has been around about 13 going on 14 years now. And Randy’s new strips are as fresh as the ones from 2002 when he started. And Jeph Jacques Questionable Content has been great for the past few years it’s been online. Most people don’t have a problem getting into these webcomics and others and following them even though many started YEARS ago.

DC’s veteran Animators didn’t have a problem with the history of DC Comics either. Paul Dini and Bruce Timm had no problem using DC Comics’ rich history to make the DC Animated Universe continuity run smoothly in between five different series. A real testament to quality when you consider the Batman Beyond a series set in the future of the Timmverse started in1999 seamlessly flows right into Justice League which came out in 2001 and Justice League Unlimited which started in 2003. And all these series flow seamlessly into Superman: The Animated Series which started in 1997 and Batman: The Amimated Series which started in 1992. What’s even crazier is that Static Shock which started airing in 2000 also flows just as seamlessly into all of the mentioned DC animated TV series with no problems.

And Greg Weisman had no problem using DC Comics rich history to make Young Justice and The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes animated series fresh and new while he adapted both classic and modern storylines from those comics a few years ago. On Avengers, Wiesman smoothly transitioned from Classic Marvel storylines like the Avengers Origin and the Masters of Evil from the 60’s to modern ones like Secret Invasion and Red Hulk without skipping a single beat. And on Young Justice Weisman took us from the Classic DC Universe, the modern DC Universe, the Milestone Universe and the History of the Teen Titans all while making DC’s young heroes fresh and new for a generation of fans.

All these animated programs featuring both Marvel and DC’s catalogs of characters are easy to follow. Easy to get into. Many even put a fresh take on some of the characters for new audiences.

And even I don’t have a problem writing serialized stories. I use the same approach to storytelling that Marvel and DC’s oldschool creative teams use when I write books and eBooks in the Isis series and the E’steem series. Every story is a single self-contained volume. Every story is its own entry point with its own beginning, middle and end. And events in almost every story connects with events other stories and larger novels like The Temptation of John Haynes seamlessly.

But the writers who work on major comic book characters like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider-man, Captain America and the Hulk today can’t use that same model for creating comics that are consistently fresh and entertaining. Seriously, what is everyone else doing right that Marvel and DC doing wrong?

It’s kind of embarrassing that an unemployed guy working out of his South Bronx bedroom on a shoestring budget can get a model for comic book storytelling to work on self-published books and eBooks but hundreds of employees at PAIR of divisions of a multibillion corporation can’t. Seriously, what are they paying these people for?

Almost everyone working at Marvel and DC from the editors to the interns will tell you: The continuity is too hard to work with. The character’s history is too long and convoluted.  The character’s look is dated. And this is why comics are hard to get into.

Excuses, excuses, excuses as I see it.

Here’s the deal: Maybe it’s not the characters or the continuity. Maybe the people working at Marvel and DC today just SUCK at publishing comics.

The way I see it the story paradigm for comic books isn’t broken. The big problem at Marvel and DC is people keep trying to fix things that aren’t broken in comics in an attempt to fix something else and then break things even further. And the main reason why they keep trying to fix things is because they have no idea how stories work in the comic book medium. That’s what’s leading to the vicious cycle of gimmicks, events retcons, cancellations and reboots at the big two.

Over the last 25 years Marvel and DC’s staff have done everything to solve the problem of their slowing sales. Their catalogs of characters have had dozens of  New costumes. New Logos. New powers. New premises. And a even a few brand New Universes. But the same creative people producing the same old results. Mediocre comics no one wants to buy at prices that get higher every year.

And when things don’t work these same people continue make the same old excuses. It’s the characters and the continuity. The same characters and continuity that worked well for everyone else before them like Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, Chuck Dixon, Mark Waid, Alex Ross, George Perez, Chris Claremont, John Byrne and Stan Lee and the late Jack Kirby. The same characters and continuity that would probably work well for me or many of these webcomic artists if we got jobs at Marvel and DC and worked with a competent editorial team leading the brand.

Marvel and DC have a lot of educated and skilled people working for them, but not a lot of craftspeople. Skill is technical, and you can get it in any college or art school, but Craft is something unique, something special. Craft is the combination of talent, skill, and experience that allows someone to instinctively know how to make something in the arts work. I believe if there were more craftspeople working at Marvel and DC they wouldn’t have half the problems they’re encountering right now with continuity and character histories. 

A Craftsperson understands the mechanics of writing and storyboarding. And unfortunately while we have a lot of talented people working at Marvel and DC they haven’t learned the craft of storytelling.

Craftspeople understand the mechanics and nuances of storytelling in a medium like comic books and how to make things work just right. They understand what words to use to set up a scene for an artist. They understand how much dialogue is enough to move a scene forward and where to put a plot point to keep the reader compelled to buy the next issue. They understand how to place the action just so in order for there to be room for the sound effects and the dialogue. They understand what facial expressions will convey the emotions or how to tell the story of an entire book in one single solitary image. When you look at a lot of the comics published at Marvel and DC these days, there’s a lot of words and pictures, but very little craft in them.

And sadly thanks to the excesses of the 1990’s there’s no one experienced enough to teach the craft of comic book storytelling to the next generation of talent working at Marvel or DC. Many of the veteran artists and writers like George Perez and Ron Frenz who used to work at Marvel and DC left are now working and places like Image, Valiant, Boom! Dynamite and Archie.

I’m thinking maybe that’s why their comics are so great these days. The creators know what craft is and instinctively know what makes a great comic book story.

The common denominator at Marvel and DC seem to be the editors and the creative people who and the editors who work there. I’m thinking instead of having another reboot of the characters and their universes, maybe there just needs to be a complete housecleaning at BOTH Marvel and DC. The way I see it The house of No Ideas and their Dysfunctional Competition need new blood and they needed it 10 years ago. Perhaps fresh talent under the direction of a seasoned craftsperson with publishing experience can utilize the histories of the characters and return to giving readers quality comics featuring Marvel and DC’s large catalog of heroes.

CELEBRATING ONE MILLION HITS!

www.shawnsjames.blogspot.com celebrated its one millionth hit this week. And I want to take a moment to thank all my readers all over the world for taking the time to read my blog. I really appreciate all your support.  

I also want to thank all those other bloggers like Bol.tumblr.com wordslikewhoa.com and Journal De La Reyna for sharing links to my site when I posted articles about the African-American community. Thanks to you driving traffic to my page articles I’ve written about Men’s issues, Black women and issues in the Black community reached a larger audience and helped a lot more people around the world.

And all my Facebook friends in groups like Say No to DC Reboot, I love My Comic Nerds, The Black Science Fiction Society, State of Black Science Fiction 2012 and The Good Brothers Side of the Game for reading my blog and sharing its information with other readers.

This blog has come a long way from 2007 and 2008 when I first started it. Originally it was just a place where I posted sample chapters of my books, promoted my work and wrote articles about issues in the Black community. Over the years the blog has grown so much in popularity now people regularly search for it on search engines like Yahoo!, Bing and Google every day. 

It took six years to build an audience of readers and I’m working hard to continue expanding to reach more readers with my writing. Recently I started doing YouTube videos and I’m trying to reach new readers there with content. This week I’m doing an Oscar Week campaign to get more Black people excited about screenwriting. All About Marilyn and an All About Nikki eBook will be FREE all Oscar weekend on Kindle. If you have Prime you can borrow these eBooks right now!

I know the posts have been spotty as of late with doubled up posts, but I’m trying to get the blog back on track. These days I have to do most of my work at the library due to the fact that’s the only place where I can get regular Internet access. I’ve got a lot more articles planned regarding men’s issues, the Black community and the comic book industry. And while I’m writing blogs I’m getting publications ready for the summer reading season. All those books and eBooks that people devour on the beach and the plane during their vacations are prepared in the winter and I’m right in the middle of revising some and writing others. It’s a lot of work, but I’m up for the challenge.

I’m trying to get a lot of projects ready for release like the Isis/E’steem Crossover, and the Stop Simpin Second Edition. I’m also planning another Kickstarter to pay for the covers of the Isis/E’steem Crossover, and I finally got a breakthrough on that new novel I started in 2014.

In addition, I’m working on YouTube videos in an effort to reach those on social media that don’t like to read. The videos feature the same type of content that’s on the blog and I’m finding my voice on social media speaking on topics that mean a lot to me. I’m planning on doing some writing videos soon so more people can understand the craft of writing and the techniques writers like myself use to create stories.

Even though I’ve been out of work for so long all the work I do on this blog and my paperbacks and eBooks is just like a full-time job. I get up at 6AM most days to start work on books blogs and videos. On some nights don’t go to bed until 1 or 2AM. It takes a lot of planning and organizing to put together paperbacks, eBooks and write two to three blogs a week. I have to manage time and a shoestring budget in the hopes of giving readers the best quality reading experience on the blog and in SJS DIRECT publications.

I really want to take a moment and thank those readers out there for helping me reach this milestone. Again, without your support this blog wouldn’t be as popular as it’s become. I’m hoping to keep the momentum going and keep moving forward. 

Shawn’s Experience at New York State Jury Duty

I just got through serving Jury Duty at the Bronx County Hall of Justice. And after doing my civic duty I can honestly say it wasn’t a great experience. I was just glad to get the two days done with so I could move on with my life.

I’ve heard a lot of horror stories about the construction of the Bronx County Hall of Justice and after experiencing that building I’ll say they’re true. Elevators that are too small, and courtrooms that are even tinier. Yeah, the light comes in from all the glass panels installed throughout the building. But I’d trade off all that flash for some substance. Things like larger courtrooms, and elevators big enough to hold more than four or five people.

At the Bronx County Hall of Justice the Jury Assembly Room has chairs that are too damn close together. There’s no space for a person to stretch out or even rest their arms. I mean if you’re going to take time out of people’s lives to do their civic duty at least make them comfortable. These seats are packed tight like a sardine can with no room for human legs or arms.

In comparison, the old Jury Assembly room of Bronx Courthouse on the Grand Concourse had chairs that had plenty of support and plenty of space. You didn’t mind spending a few days there.

Yeah, you can bring your laptop to the courthouse these days. But it’s not much of a plus. The Wi-Fi at the Bronx County Hall of Justice is absolutely shitty. I dare to say it’s on par with a 56K modem from 2000. On the second day I was there it kept cutting off and dropping.

Bronx County’s jury duty is SLOW if you get picked for case panels. Things…DRAG. On Tuesday I was chosen to be part of a panel at 11:30. And it literally felt like TIME STOPPED. Being on a jury is a big game of Hurry up and wait. Wait to assemble. Wait to go upstairs. Wait for the courtroom to open up. Wait for the formalities. The Judge introduces himself. The prosecutor introduces themselves. The defense introduces themselves and the defendant. The Judge tells us about the defendant and his crime. Asks some questions. Then He tells us the trial is supposed to be for three weeks. Anyone who has an issue can speak to the judge.

But it’s close to lunchtime. So we break for lunch. We’re supposed to return at 2:15. Things don’t get back on track until 2:45. The Jury spends time waiting. And waiting. The Jury is not seen as a priority. Their time is not seen as valuable. It’s more about legal process and procedure and not about showing us how important

After a long wait, finally I got to speak to the judge at 3:10 and got disqualified from the jury panel. I got given the ticket with my name and told to go back down to the Jury assembly room where I wait a few minutes more to get my Jury certificate. Two days of my life I’ll never get back. But on the plus side I made $40 a day.

I’d have to say my experience at the U.S. District Court in lower Manhattan was MUCH better than at the Bronx County Hall of Justice. The amenities at the Moynihan Courthouse blow the doors off the Bronx County Hall of Justice. Comfortable chairs, TV, and…FREE COFFEE! (well, there’s tea and cocoa,) If the Feds would just get Wi-Fi they’d be PERFECT.

On the judicial side, the Moynihan Courthouse runs like a MACHINE. As soon as you enter the jury assembly room they get right to business. Orientation and then Jurors are sent to panels. The judge and the lawyers get right to business. By the time lunch is over many of the jurors are vetted and the jury is about to get picked. No time is wasted. I wish they’d apply this approach to business at Bronx County.

On top of it the staff at the Moynihan Courthouse are a bit more friendly and provide a bit better customer service to Jurors. State courts employees’ seem apathetic and indifferent; just trying to get through the day. Federal Court workers seem to care about accommodating the jurors and getting making the experience as comfortable as possible, while state workers are more focused on just moving people along. Get em’ in, get em’ out.

If I had to suggest some improvements I’d love to see them space out those seats in the Jury Assembly Room at Bronx County Hall of Justice. It’s like a Got Damn JetBlue plane on there with the lack of leg and elbow room in between them. Yeah, those seats look nice, but they just are uncomfortable to sit in for extended periods of time, especially if you’re carrying a laptop or working with a tablet. I went into their reading room just to get away from those wretched seats.

The Reading Room is a nice open space with lots of room. However, they could use more comfortable chairs though throughout the courthouse. The wooden IKEA-esque seats and those space age benches on the floors look nice, but they are UNCOMFORTABLE to sit in. Who picked these seats? Marquis De Sade?

 And I’d also like for them to fix their Wi-fi so it’s a lot stronger. Wi-fi is a lifesaver when it works well. And the Wi-Fi at Bronx County Courthouse is not great at all. It’s spotty, slow and barely has the speed of a 56K modem. I couldn’t even get basic pictures to load on regular webpages or even Facebook. Great Wi-Fi at Jury Duty would allow guests to watch YouTube videos or stream a movie while Jurors waited to be picked for these panels.

Here’s a hint: Comfortable Jurors are a lot more objective in cases. And if they’re comfortable over 2-3 weeks of a trial they may take more time to

I’m just glad my term of Jury service at the Bronx County Hall of Justice is over.  For Now. If there’s a reason for NOT living in the Bronx, it’s doing a term of Jury service at their courthouse. If I had a choice, I’d take a Federal Jury Duty over a State Court any day. At least the Feds give you comfortable chairs, free coffee and they pay your bus fare in addition to your Jury Allowance. New York State needs to do better by its Jurors. If the State values justice then it needs to show jurors how valuable their time is by providing them with the best experience at its courthouses possible. 

R.K. Milholland’s Super Stupor-A Great Comic More Comic Fans Need To Read

 I’m a big fan of R.K. Millholland’s Something*Positive strip. I discovered the webcomic when I was working at City College’s Science Library back in 2008. And after reading my first strip and having a good laugh one Friday, I’d breezed through the first two years of Something*Positive in two hours! Since then I haven’t missed a Something *Positive strip in the last six years.

In addition to Something*Positive Randy also occasionally publishes two other strips, Rhymes With Witch and Super Stupor. For a few years he self-published a print version of Super Stupor. Usually he’d have a pre-order for them around the time of San Diego Comic Con. And when I had money back in 2009-2011 I made it a point to put in my pre-order for a copy of Super Stupor to show my support for his great work.

And it’d be worth every penny. A few months later I’d get an AWESOME comic with some of the best storytelling in the medium.

uper Stupor follows the adventures of various heroes such as Rumblebee, Arch-Angela and Punchline in the fictional town of Plight Heights. In between the adventures, there’s a lot of satirical humor that pokes fun at the genre of super hero comics in the style of Something*Positive. The humor and the storytelling work well together and make every issue of Super Stupor a boatload of fun to read.   

What makes Super Stupor comics great are the relationships between the characters. Randy has a way of writing that makes you CARE about the heroes and the villains in Plight Heights. The characters are so rich and multidimensional they leap off the page and become people you form a personal connection with. Instead of heroes in costumes you see the people behind the masks.  

One of the best issues in the series is Super Stupor #3 in this issue the survivors of the Cataclysm, an event similar to DC Comics’ Crisis such as Rumblebee Eye-Sore, and the Scaretaker are still trying to sort out their lives years after the event. After you read this comic you’ll never see a reboot or an event comic in the same way again. I highly recommend comic fans pick this one up, it’s a tear-jerker with a brilliant story.

Every issue of Super Stupor is a clinic on comic book storytelling. Randy Milholland is a brilliant writer with great skill in drawing panels and writing dialogue. He should have been hired to write comics for Marvel, DC, Image, one of these print comics publishers out here. He is a master of the craft of comic storytelling in words and pictures. Seeing his guestwork on other webcomics like Queen of Wands, Girls With Slingshots and Shorpacked! he maintains the spirit of other people’s characters while telling stories in his own distinct style. I’d love to see him work with some of Marvel or DC’s characters.

I’m eager to buy Super Stupor #5 whenever it comes out, But in between the daily S*P Strip his travels to comiccons, and Last Trick-or-treaters watercolors, Randy’s schedule is pretty busy. As an indie publisher myself who does everthing, I can understand. Yeah, that Temptation of John Haynes sequel is coming. One of these days. I just need time to write it. Maybe after Isis: Imitation of Life and E’steem: Back to School. Maybe.

I urge you pick up a copy of Super Stupor from Randy’s store. You’re definitely gonna love this series. Every comic you buy helps him pay bills so he can continue to keep publishing great comics. And I really urge everyone to Check out Something*Positive. It’s a great strip that you’ll l get you hooked on the first reading. 

DC Comics Ends the New 52…And Keeps the Same Universe

 

The ONLY DC UNIVERSE I'LL EVER ACKNOWLEDGE!

DC Comics is ending the New 52 in June after Convergence. And in its place will be…The same DC Universe the New 52 is set in.

Good Gravy.

After Convergence, DC Comics will be keeping 24 titles in their New Universe with the same numbering and launching 24 more titles in different universes. Dan Didio, Jim Lee, Bob Harras, and the DC Editorial regime continue to cock-tease comic fans in the efforts to get them to trick off their money like a bunch a pathetic Simps.

I wonder how many comic fans are wise to the game. Or how many have become wise to the game in the last four years.

The vicious cycle continues at DC. More new title launches. Which will probably be followed by a short-term surge in sales, which will be followed by a rapid sales decline, and more cancellations a few months later.

Business as usual under the Didio Regime. Promises of change but continuing to do the exact same thing. I doubt most of these new titles see a twelfth issue.

Albert Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing the exact same thing and expecting a different result. But I’m finding insanity is the norm in the comic book industry.

Didio’s spinning this talking about how comic fans want stories. How there will be less editorial control. More HOT AIR from a windbag who is a master of the art of bullshitting.

 The big problem is that neither Dan Didio nor anyone who works for him knows how to write a good comic book story. No one knows how to draw a quality page that tells a great story in pictures. No one has learned the craft of comic storytelling in his dysfunctional regime that is still run like early 1990’s Image Comics.

It’s even sadder when you consider that Image Comics editors, writers, and artists today have grown so much in their craft over the last twenty-five years that they’re publishing fan-favorite comics like Saga and The Walking Dead while DC struggles to sell iconic characters like Superman and Batman to a more and more indifferent audience tired of the cock-teasing, bullshitting and drama from DC’s dysfunctional editorial regime who can’t do anything without gimmicks or shock marketing some event with blood, gore, and death, death, and more death.

I know most fans thought that Convergence would end with the New 52 and a return to the Classic DC Universe most fans knew and loved. But the mistake many comic fans keep making is trusting Dan Didio. As long as he’s in charge all he’s going to do is keep pulling these attention whore stunts where he teases change and then YANKS it away just as fans start buying his comics again.

Well, I haven’t bought a new DC Comic since Didio became Editor-in Chief. And I haven’t bought a DC action figure since 2012 when my Mattel Club Infinite Earths subscription ran out. I’ve been DC merchandise free for two going on three years. And I probably won’t buy another DC Comics related product for the rest of my life.

And I’m comfortable saying that. There was a time a few years ago I couldn’t think of not having new DC figures in my collection or missing a DC TV series like Static Shock or Justice League Unlimited. But these days I could care less about DC or Marvel’s characters anymore or the merchandise based on them.

At this point I’m just indifferent to the gimmicks from the big two comic publishers. Last week when I was at Jury Duty and I read about the so-called end of the Marvel Universe on my laptop I didn’t even flinch. And when I read about the Post Convergence DC Universe this Saturday I was pretty indifferent.

That’s not a reaction a publisher should want a lifelong comic fan to have about their products. Praise means fans care. Anger means fans care. Indifference on the other hand means people like myself have moved on. And in the business world indifference is the KISS OF DEATH when it comes to products.

Right now I’m just indifferent to Dan Didio and his dysfunctional DC Universe in the same way I was indifferent to the redesigned Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme in 1988. Today GM doesn’t make Oldsmobiles anymore. Because Oldsmobile no longer exists. And I doubt Warner Brothers will continue publishing DC Comics in a few years for the same reason GM no longer produces Oldsmobiles: Declining sales and shrinking demand.

That’s what happens when customers become apathetic about a brand and become indifferent to their products.

In 2011, when I wrote my first blog denouncing the New 52 I cared about what happened within the DC Universe. But I realize these are not my heroes. So I give about as much a shit about them or what happens to them as I do about the New Marvel Universe coming up.  

Do I want the old DC Universe Back? Yeah, I do. But I realize They’re Time Warner’s property. And they can do whatever they want with them.

Moreover, I realize my money is my property. And I can do whatever I want with it. I don’t have to spend it on like DC’s crap comics, movies and merchandise. Right now there are too many GREAT comics being produced by Archie Comics, indies and webcomics like Bill Walko’s FUN The Hero Busine$$ strip, Jeph Jacques AWESOME Questionable Content, strip, and R.K. Millholland’s LEGENDARY Something *Positive strip for me to keep griping about DC and Marvel’s FUBAR comics anymore. The way I figure it I’ll give money to the indie comics and try to buy the self-published trades of webcomic artists so they can continue to have the money to keep producing great comics. I’m urging comic fans who read my blog to take the money they’d spend on Marvel and DC and show these independent writers and artists some support too. Many of these guys and gals are great people and they’d appreciate your hard-earned dollars more than Time Warner and Disney ever would.  

And I’ll take my time to focus on my own self-published projects as well. This summer I’m planning to publish a fun cross-over between the Isis and E’steem series, and I’m preparing to do a Kickstarter to pay a comic artist to do the cover for both books in a few weeks. A donation to my Kickstarter would be money better spent than on the weekly $50 or $100 haul of crappy Marvel and DC Comics. 13 years of stories in and the Isis series is still in the same universe and there will NEVER be a reboot as long as I’m publishing it. Every story is an entry point and every story is fun from first page to last for readers of all ages.

Reads like Oldschool Wonder Woman!

Wonder Woman fans, if you want to read stories that are just like the classic Princess Diana you knew and loved, check out my modern Isis series eBooks and paperbacks. Many of these stories like Isis: The Ultimate Fight and Isis: Power of the Princess were originally planned to be Wonder Woman stories under the hypothetical run I proposed on the blog a few years ago.

I’m not upset about the Post Convergence DC. I just don’t care anymore. Maybe in the last four years since the DC Universe I knew and loved ended I’ve grown up. Maybe I’ve finished my mourning for the old DC Universe. Maybe I’m ready to move on. While I’m still against DC Comics’ New Universe and the unprofessional way Dan Didio treats comic fans, I’d rather take my time and money and build up my own SJS DIRECT publishing imprint and support the work of talented indie artists and writers and make my characters and their characters household names. The fact of the matter is that I love the comic medium and I enjoy great comics. And I’m ready to enjoy the medium of storytelling with other publishers and share their stories with my friends and my blog readers out there.

2015 is the End of the Marvel Universe…..*SIGH*

 2015 is supposed to be the end of the Marvel Universe. And the end of the Ultimate Marvel Universe. After the third Secret Wars everything is supposed to change and never be the same. Again.  For the Umpmillionth time.

Good Gravy.

Didn’t we just have Marvel NOW three years ago? A big event that was supposed to make comics easier to access to new readers? An entry point that would make comics enjoyable again?

What happened in two years to make Marvel Comics so FUBAR that the Universe needs to end? Why do we need yet another reboot? Have the creative teams just painted themselves into yet another corner like they did in 1994-1996, 2001, 2005, 2009, and 2013? Seriously is it THAT HARD to write a 32-page comic book for 12 issues a year? Why can’t writers just get creative? Why can’t they just tell good stories? Why can’t they tap into Marvel’s rich history for story material? Why can’t they just pick up where another creator left off? Why do we need so many got damn new number one issues? Why do comics have to keep starting all over again the got damn time?

The sad thing is that no one at Marvel seems to have learned from their past mistakes. All of 1994 and 1995 (So many BAD stories and concepts I just can’t list them all.) Onslaught in 1996. Heroes Reborn in 1997.  Heroes Return 1998. The 2001 creative implosion. Civil War. The Heroic Age. The 2009 Marvel implosion. Marvel Now in 2013. All promising change. All Promising that things will never be the same. Marvel’s editors keep doing the exact same thing and expecting a different result.

The rest of the world calls this insanity, but insanity is becoming the norm at Marvel over the last 22 years.

What will happen after this latest reboot? More new number one issues. Another short-term spike in sales, followed by another rapid decline 12 to 24 months later. Time after time this has been the result, with Marvel losing more and more market share to indies like Image, BOOM! Dynamite Fantagraphics, Archie, and even Webcomics. None of which have rebooted a single title. And all of these publishers are currently producing some of the best comics in the medium right now while Marvel’s editors are still trying to figure out how to reinvent the wheel Stan Lee created 75 years ago.

The editors in chief at Marvel are still looking for a huge surge of readers to come back to comics. So they keep throwing shit at a wall with these gimmicks and stunts. I’m sorry but scores of new readers are not going to come back to comics. It doesn’t matter how many stunts Marvel does. It doesn’t matter how many reboots Marvel does. The 1990’s are OVER and everyone at Marvel needs to GET OVER IT.

The days of selling a million comics to speculators are OVER. And the time to start rebuilding the audience of new readers was 22 years ago. But instead of Marvel’s comic book editors and publishers rolling up their sleeves and doing the hard work of focusing on stories that get new and casual readers to care about their characters, they keep focusing on gimmick and shock marketing stunts to irk older fans and pander to speculators looking to make a fast dollar on an event.

Sadly many editors, writers and artists who came up in the comic medium during the 1990’s didn’t learn the craft of storytelling.  And they’re still trying to apply a 1990’s approach to the comic publishing business in a 21^st Century publishing world that changed in 2008. And that’s why Marvel Comics keep rebooting every 2 to 3 years instead of their creative teams doing the work of building a following for their characters through great storytelling.

It’s hard to tell your friends about a great new Marvel comic when Marvel titles get cancelled like clockwork every 24 to 36 months and rebooted with new number one issues with a brand new direction and a brand new premise. It’s hard to CARE about characters when you know everything you just read will end in 24 to 36 months and start over with a new number one issue. I mean, just when fans get into a Marvel comic, it’s cancelled. And if you look for a collected trade of said comics…it’s out of print. It’s hard to get into Marvel Comics because they don’t STAY in one DIRECTION LONG ENOUGH for readers to FIND THEM or GET TO KNOW ANYONE in their UNIVERSE.

Y’know what would really get the attention of a comic fan at Marvel? For something in their universe to actually STAY THE SAME for a while. For a character to wear the same costume for a while and maybe even keep the same codename and secret identity for a while. Have the same adventures for four or five years. Actually go a year or two without a mega cross-over event between every title. Just spend four or five years of creative teams telling great stories of good guys vs. bad guys. Take the time to establish some characters. Give them some roots. Establish their strengths and weaknesses. Have them build a rivalry with some bad guys. Build a rogues gallery. Give a creative team the space to tell some stories. Have them make a commitment to stay with a title for a while. Maybe if Marvel’s editors went this simple approach a title could go 50,75 or 100 issues for once.  And maybe readers could get into a character and become fans of the comic version of a character and not just the movie version of them.

If anything, the announcement of ending the Marvel universe is a sign of frustrated creative people throwing up their hands and GIVING UP. Unfortunately, the more Marvel’s editors promise us things will never be the same Marvel the more they actually wind up the being same as they were in 1994 and 1995. In three to five years the same dysfunctional editors will be telling us the Marvel Universe is back after the fourth Secret War. And Shawn will be saying I told you so just like I did back in 2012.

E'steem: Undercover Chapter 1

A flash of light takes John and I from the executive offices of the Morris Phillips Tower in Midtown Manhattan to the streets of his old South Bronx neighborhood. As we pass by his old elementary school on Washington Avenue, the husky handsome golden brown skinned man cracks a smile. Looking around at all the rundown buildings and housing projects on the street, I’m curious to find out how he found happiness in all this urban blight.

“You look happy.” I say catching John’s friendly brown eyes.

“Just thinking about back in the day when I was a kid.” John replies.

“I thought you hated school-”

“I didn’t mind afterschool.” John continues. “Especially Fridays. Back then Ma would get us a slice of pizza and a soda and I’d be able to start my weekend-”

That’s probably how he found love with his favorite comfort food. “At that shop across the street?” I inquire looking over at the series of stores below the rundown buildings across the street.

“Yeah, I bought many a slice there back in the day.”

I wonder if he’d be eager to participate in his old childhood routine with me for old times’ sake. “How about we get one now?”

“What do you want on your slice?”

“I’m feeling like pepperoni today.”

John and I dart across the street and down the block. Once we get across the street we step into a pizza shop that’s crowded with junior high school kids. As John and I approach the counter the kids are in awe at the sight of us dressed in our tailored business clothes. When the pizza chef catches our eyes he’s taken aback by John’s presence as he places our order.

“Two pepperoni slices.” John requests.

“Two minutes boss.” The chef replies.

On hearing the reply John rushes out of the store. “John, aren’t you going to wait for your slice?” I ask following him out onto the sidewalk.

John gives me a playful smile before answering my question. “Don’t you want to get a soda to go with your slice?”

“Er…they have sodas in the pizza shop-”

“That’s not how Mom used to do it back when I was a kid.”

Well, I wouldn’t want to break the family tradition. John leads me from the pizza shop a few steps down the block and into the grocery store on the corner. As we walk towards the refrigerated cases in the back, I’m surprised at how limited the selection is on the shelves. There’s more beer and junk food here than actual groceries. “This definitely isn’t the Morris Market.”

“Yeah, people here don’t get half the shopping options we have downtown.”

“Is that why you’re working so hard to diversify the selection of products in our retail spaces here?”

“Yeah. I want the people here to have the healthy eating options we have at those downtown delis.” John says opening up the sliding refrigerator case. “Diet Coke?”

“Nah, I think I’ll have a regular.”

“I thought you were watching your weight-”

Thanks to my Katian physiology I can eat virtually anything and still keep my sexy hourglass figure. But since he’s comfortable enough to take the time to share one of his childhood pastimes with me I can share one of my present day favorite comfort foods with him. “We have a busy schedule to get back to. And I’m gonna need the caffeine to keep up with you.”

John takes a regular coke off the shelf for me and a Sprite for himself. As we turn around and look at the selection of snacks on the shelf I notice a product that’s usually not sold in stores like this. “One of these things just doesn’t belong here...” I sing taking the box of Nabiskit Marshmallow cookies off the shelf.

“…One of these things just isn’t the same.” John sings back taking the box from me. “I thought these were Morris Market exclusive.”

“I thought they were too.” I reply. “Maybe they’re remainders-”

“I doubt our territory reps would distribute remaindered product here with factory firsts.” John continues.

“Is that what you know from your personal experience growing up here?”

“That’s what I learned from reading the monthly sales reports from the Nabiskit Territory reps.”

I had no idea he was that aware of what transpired in all of Morris Phillips’ businesses. “So how would Morris Market exclusive Marshmallow cookies wind up on a Bronx bodega shelf?”

“Good question.”

“Maybe we could ask the store owner where they came from-”

“I doubt you’d get any answers from anyone here.”

“How do you know that?”

“Personal experience.”

He’s got a point. The owners of this store are probably tied up in a dozen other illegal operations. Stolen Marshmallow cookies are probably the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the rackets they’re involved in. “I take the only answer we’d get is No Habla Ingles if we asked any questions.”

“Pretty much.” John continues. “The only way we’re going to find out what’s going on is to run the batch number at our computers downtown. If there’s theft going on we have to stop it at the source.”

“So you’re buying a box of Marshmallow cookies to snack on with your Sprite?”

“We’ll need the box for evidence.”