Michael Deeley has been reading comics since he was 12 years old. His first book was an issue of Silver Surfer by Jim Starlin, leading him to see all comics as ideological conflicts with big-ass fight scenes. At the very least, he expects a comic to be entertaining in some fashion, which is why he thinks Secret Wars II is better than Dark Knight Strikes Back. He has never work in the comics field, but he does have a belligerent attitude and a lot of free time.
During his brief intervals in the real world, Michael looks for a paying job that should, (theoretically) lead to a better life involving more comics, privacy, and women.
He currently lives between Pittsburgh, PA, and the Pittsburgh International Airport, in a suburb so new, it only has one McDonalds.
“In either '60 or '61 I said to my wife, Joanie, "This time, I'm really going to leave." She said, "Well, if you're determined to leave, why don't you first do a book or two the way you wanted to, no matter what the publisher says? The worst that can happen is that he'll fire you. You won't care, because you want to leave, but at least you'll get it out of your system."
-Stan Lee, His feelings before being asked to create a superhero comic, from an interview with filmforce.ign.com.
“I had a feel for it, that it was a good field.”
-Jack Liebowitz, On joining Harry Donenfeld as partners in publishing comics as National Periodicals, later called DC comics. From ’Millennium Edition: Detective Comics #1
And now, the long awaited, much-requested all-company reviews of the largest comic book publishers in the world: Marvel and DC Comics. I’ve decided to do them both at once so as to compare and contrast them. After all, nearly every comics fan can be divided into those who prefer Marvel over DC or vice versa. These guys are Coke and Pepsi, Democrats and Republicans, Playboy and Penthouse. They rule the industry! Everyone’s playing the game, but they own the field.
At least they used to.
Up until the 1990s, the positions of Marvel and DC as top dogs seemed unassailable. Both companies traced their histories back to the Golden Age of comics in the late 1930s. Originally called National Periodicals, DC had created the modern superhero comic and introduced may of the medium’s most famous characters in the 1930s and 40s. Timely Comics, Marvel’s original name, also contributed notable superheroes, such as Captain America, the Human Torch, and the Sub-Mariner. When DC revived superheroes in the 1950s, Timely responded with new heroes created by its editor Stan Lee. Lee’s characters were soon published under the name Marvel Comics.
The comics of Marvel and DC comics became the most famous and successful comics in the world. They dominated the industry for decades. Smaller publishers emerged, thanks to a direct market of comics shops and mail-order services. But the industry, the format, the very idea of what a comic book could be was controlled by the works of Marvel and DC.
Then, in 1992, Image Comics debuted. Founded by 7 former Marvel artists, the company’s first releases posted sales in the millions, far in excess of Marvel’s and DC’s numbers. The success of Image inspired the infamous Comic Book Glut of the 1990s which ultimately hurt comic book sales. Marvel, DC, and a handful of other publishers survived and continue to thrive. Weakened though they may be, Marvel remains the most popular comics publisher in the US, with DC still a close second. These two companies still dominate the industry with their characters and their products.
So it’s their fault the industry’s still in a slump.
Look, when you see someone whining about how much their life sucks, and you tell them to just get off their ass and do something abut it, even giving lots of valid ideas on how to go about it, and all they do is give excuses why those ideas won’t work, you ultimately conclude this person likes being miserable and will never change. So you leave him and go talk to somebody else. Marvel is like a fat guy too lazy to pick up the remote and just watches whatever’s on TV. DC is the privileged rich boy with money older than your grandpa complaining about his tax burden.
To understand why Marvel and DC have the power to improve the sales, and image, of comics, let’s take a closer look at what makes these publishers so distinctive:
Marvel Comics’ characters are known for being very flawed, “human” characters that readers can relate to. The books take place in a shared universe with a common history. Characters can interact with one another. This dates back to Stan Lee’s creation of the Marvel books in the 1960s. Lee was writing or plotting every Marvel book in those early years. Most of the books were drawn by Jack Kirby, or artists who could imitate his style. This resulted in the different Marvel comics having the same writing and art styles. The frequent crossovers between titles and characters meant a casual reader of one book could be familiar with characters in other books. All this helped the reader identify certain series as a Marvel comic book. Stan Lee didn’t know it, but he was practicing what we now call “brand-building”. Lee laid the foundations for the Marvel Comics’ universe and the Marvel brand name.
On the flipside, Marvel publishes very few books that aren’t tied to their universe or continuity. This means Marvel is almost exclusively superhero books. By limiting themselves to a specific genre, Marvel has tied its success to the popularity of its characters and the superhero genre itself. This has recently become a problem. The fan base for superhero comics, young males, has been taken by video games. A decreasing number of outlets for comics also makes it difficult to attracted new readers. Marvel has found success with movies based on its characters, but that has not translated into increased comics sales. As far as I can tell, Marvel remains the most popular publisher in the direct market entirely through the faithful following of adult readers. That should sustain them for another five years.
DC’s biggest difference from Marvel can be summed up in one word: diversification. DC is part of the Time/Warner corporate oligarchy, which includes two major movie studios (Warner and New Line), cable TV channels, magazines, the most popular news channel in the country, a broadcast TV network (with shows that attract large numbers of young viewers), TV production, an animation studio, the Cartoon Network, book publishing, music publishing, and a video game developer.
They also publish “MAD” magazine which could be regarded as the most popular comic in the country. You just know its selling more than 100,000 a month.
DC Comics reflects this diverse corporate structure. They publish a variety of books through different entities. They include:
DCU: The superhero books. These include the oldest and most famous characters in the world. Superman and Batman are as recognizable as Sherlock Holmes and James Bond.
Vertigo: Books for mature readers. These include horror titles like ‘Hellblazer’, fantasy books like ‘Fables’, action-suspense like ‘The Losers’, and sci-fi like ‘Y The Last Man’.
Wildstorm: Jim Lee’s studio, formerly of Image comics. Wildstorm’s books are also diverse. Most take place in a superhero universe, but with decidedly unconventional superheroes. Wildstorm is the home of ‘Gen 13’, ‘The Authority’, ‘Wildcats’, and ‘Sleeper’. It also has a line of creator-owned comics called Homage, through which it publishes ‘Astro City’.
And then there are the comics that aren’t so easy to classify. DC publishes a line of cartoon-based comics, featuring animated versions of their superheroes, as well as Scooby-Doo, Powerpuff Girls, and the Looney Tunes. At the other end of the spectrum, DC has the rights to reprint the works of Will Eisner, one of the greatest comics creators who ever lived. Eisner’s graphic novels are available through DC, as well as collections of his comic strip “The Spirit”. DC is also bringing the ‘Elfquest’ novels back into print. ‘Elfquest’ was a pioneering series in the world of self-publishing, ad is regarded as one of her best fantasy comics series ever made.
Last, but far from least, DC has an extensive catalog of graphic novels and trade paperbacks. Books include collected versions of recent best-sellers, original novels, and their Archives series. The Archives are hardbound collections of classic comics from the Golden and Silver Ages. Previous collections has included DC’s most famous characters and those originally published by other companies.
So, DC has the financial resources and media outlets of the largest entertainment company in the world. They publish comics that can appeal to every age group and cover enough genres to satisfy anyone’s taste. DC’s graphic novels represent the greatest comics stories and characters ever made, including ‘Watchmen’, ‘Sandman’, and ‘Transmetropolitan’. They’ve got the money, the means, and the merchandise to be the biggest comics publisher in the world.
So why aren’t they?
Think about it: If you had a product to sell and you had the means to reach EVERY HOME IN AMERICA, why wouldn’t you use it? If Time/Warner can justify putting an AOL disc into your mailbox every 3 months, they can justify sending a sampler of DC comics. Hell, with the marketing information they collect, they can tailor mailings to reach specific readers. On the “Smallville” e-mail list? Get a preview of ‘Superman: Birthright’. Bought a Warner-made horror movie? Get a glimpse of the new ‘Swamp Thing’. And there are subtle ways to go about it. Fluff news pieces about how comics reflect shifting cultural attitudes on CNN; Actors visibly reading comics on Warner-produced series like “The OC” and “ER”; maybe stick a mini-comic into the next Justin Timberlake CD. It seems so obvious! The roads are all there, why not take them? Levitz, Didio, call your corporate masters and tell them, “We have an idea that can make you more money.” Why isn’t this happening?
The only think I can think of is that a corporation is organized so each division acts independently of each other. Does this stop the movie studio from releasing a film’s soundtrack through the music division? Or the WB telling audiences what CDs have the music they heard during the preceding program? Of course not! So why can’t we use the same cross-promotions between DC Comics, Cartoon Network, the WB, and Warner Family Home Video? Sure, there are reviews in “Entertainment Weekly” and the DC Comics Zone on AOL. But dammit, there could be more. There’s no reason why DC comics and characters couldn’t be shoved down the public’s throat 24/7!
I don’t want to criticize Marvel and DC. They produce fine works. I’m just frustrated that neither of these publishers uses their resources to their fullest extent. The audience for comics is shrinking. New readers must be found. Marvel and DC have the product, the means, and the resources to attract them. The biggest obstacle is getting the comic into the readers’ hands. Comic shops alone aren’t enough. Or maybe it’s time the big boys opened stores of their own. . .
If you thought I was going to do a review of all, or even most, of Marvel and DC’s comics, yeah right! Those guys publish over 100 comics each month combined! Besides, Marvel and DC really are the Coke and Pepsi of comics. The only differences are a few details and brand loyalty. That, and DC publishes comics for people other than aging teen-agers.
And now for some of the new stuff from these guys:
Plastic Man 80-Page Giant #1 -
A reprinting of 6 stories from Plastic Man’s history, it includes the first appearances of Pals and Woozy Winks from ‘Police Comics’, ‘Plastic Man’, Vol. 2 #1 and #11, a Plas prose story, and a Dial h for Hero story where the boy hero turns into Plas. Overall, it’s not a bad package, but it’s hard to justify the book’s $7.00 price tag, ($10.75 Canadian). ‘Plastic Man’ #1 is a typically goofy late-60s comic book with puns and supervillain parodies. Sadly, it is also the worst art from Gil Kane I’ve ever seen. It’s a funny book, but it’s hard to believe the legendary Kane could’ve done something so clearly beneath his abilities. I found this to be an entertaining sampler of Golden and Silver Age humor comics. Had I the money, I’d buy the ‘Plastic Man Archives’ or Speigleman’s biography of creator Jack Cole.
Daredevil #55 -
Wolverine tells the story of The Two Dogs. Each dog represents different sides of a man’s personality; one good, one evil. Turns out, he heard the story from Maya’s father years ago. Wow. What a coincidence. Maya decides to become a storyteller, and there are some more metaphors about comics being the myths of the modern world.
Now, while I didn’t hate this story (it has a lot of depth and personal meaning), I still don’t think it was appropriate for the ‘Daredevil’ series. This should have been a mini-series or graphic novel. After this, I am looking forward to David Mack’s run on ‘Ultimate X-Men’. I hope he brings the same blending of spirituality and personality he did to this story.
Uncanny X-Men #435 -
Rob Garney and Mark Morales come back for the two part “Trial of the Juggernaut” story. Short version: Juggernaut fights Rhino, shows he can be a sensitive guy, and She-Hulk sleeps with him. It’s entertaining, and that’s all I ask.
Captain Marvel #17 -
More humor and action in the classic PAD style! Rick can’t see Epiphany which questions Genis’ already questionable sanity. Genis fights his sister on Titan. After the fight, Genis figures out that there’s an open time rift creating alternate versions of his family. Closing it sucks up his family, and himself. Meanwhile, The Kree, Skrull, and Shi’ar prepare for the war Genis was trying to prevent.
I’m still not happy about Azacenta’s art, but I’ve loving the story. Also, this could be the first Marvel comic to make a reference to the bad 1990s “Captain America” movie (check the billboards in the opening splash).
A couple I didn’t buy:
Ultimate Six #5 -
Osborn threatens to kill Aunt May and Mary Jane if Spidey doesn’t help the villains. Fortunately, May has been taken into custody by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and raising a ruckus about it. Nick Fury and the Ultimates figure out where the villains are going to attack and get there almost in time: The White House. Great story, but how did Fury figure out where the villains were going just by looking at Peter’s back pack?
New X-Men #150 -
Magneto gets beat-down like a bitch and Jean Grey dies again. Eh. I don’t know if Morrison is delivering a “meta-commentary” on the X-Men mythos, or if he’s exploring some of the social and moral implications of classic stories. All I see is a stylish retelling of the same stories, but with out the passion or heart of the originals. And I still can’t buy Cyclops cheating on Jean. What the hell?
Oh yeah, Beast believes that all the stuff that’s happened to them so far is leading up to something. But that’s not until the final story-arc, 150 years later!
And finally,
Raijin #40 -
Nemuri Kyoshiro has challenged a dojo to find an assassin. While battling the dojo’s master, he displays supernatural powers. The assassin has a vision of Jesus Christ over Nemuri. What could be the connection between the Messiah and this Christian-hating samurai?
In other stories, the game between Shohoku and Ryonan gets intense as Ryonan takes the lead! Another plane is hijacked, Saeba has a showdown with Prince Dayan and his army of women, Ling Wang and Kenshiro’s fight is cut short by the Kokakai, Baki gets Toba really pissed off, Yashiro Tasuke perfoms a favor for Gosaku the Tanuki, Valentine’s Day drives Shichiri Tasuke into hiding, and Keiji bids his father farewell from life. This issue also begins two new series of humor strips. “Irasshaimase, Japan” is a quirky look at Japanese society. “Twisted Tales” is modern retellings of Japanese fairy tales.
I showed this to a co-worker who hadn’t read comics in years. He’d never read a Japanese comic, and couldn’t figure out to read the pages right-to-left. So Gutsoon, you might want to put a note explaining how to read Japanese comics in the front and/or back of the book, like Tokyopop does with its books.
The other books I read were:
Kid Eternity #11-#14; Batman #596; Gotham Knights #22; Superman #175, ComiX3D: Amazing Spider-Man #30; Bob the Angry Flower: Coffee with Sinistar; Brath Prequel, using Comics on the Web; Negation Prequel, using the ‘Negation’ DVD, Vol. 1; Starman: Infernal Devices, (except the pages from issue #38 that the book doesn’t completely collect); Green Lantern #143; Action Comics #784; Bizarro Comics; She-Hulk, Vol. 2, #14-#17; and the “Nemuri Kyoshiro” stories from Raijin Comics #33-#40.
If all goes well, my next two columns should be up by Jan. 2. I want to finish this project before the end of the 2003 calendar year. Next one is my collection of quotes, followed by my thoughts on the year’s past columns.
