Marvel and DC Comics have abused comic book readers for the longest time. The comic industry keeps lowering the bar of the products and destroying beloved characters like Spider-Man, Batman, X-Men, and more with ideas that would never have been approved for What If? Stories by editors in the 1980s, let alone be part of the main continuity. In a recent interview with Popverse, Batman & Robin writer Joshua Williamson admits the comic industry upsets fans intentionally as a cynical marketing ploy.
The comic industry is dying. Nearly every week, there’s a new news story about a beloved comic shop closing down, most recently Comic Town in Ohio becoming a casualty of the industry’s antics over the last several years. It became a comic industry secret as to why. If you ask any comic shop owner behind closed doors, they’ll tell you no one wants to read the diversity hire replacement characters of beloved classic books, but Marvel and DC Comics writers keep pushing them on comic book readers.
Full panic erupted among comic industry pros and insiders when Glenn O’Leary’s rant about self-insert characters from hack writers at Marvel and DC Comics went viral. He laid out the frustrations of comic book readers everywhere when telling the industry: if you’re writing Iron Man, write Iron Man, not a representation of you in an Iron Man suit.
It seems to be something that would be easy for professional writers to accomplish, simply honoring the legacy of Marvel and DC Comics before. Yet, for some reason, they keep doing the same thing repeatedly, which kills comic book sales. Retailers in a meeting back in the days of Dan DiDio’s tenure even lashed out because they would replace Batman with a black counterpart, which thankfully stopped DC Comics from replacing Bruce Wayne, at least for now.
Fans can’t help but wonder why Marvel and DC Comics keep doing this. There have been countless discussions where comic book readers have begged writers to create their own characters and stop trying to replace old ones, yet the comic industry does the same thing. Joshua Williamson answered why in a mask-off moment.
“When people are happy, they spend less,” Joshua Williamson said about the comic books he writes. “It sucks, but it is a pattern that I’ve seen in my time at DC.”
Joshua Williamson accidentally implied what we’ve all been speculating for years: Marvel and DC Comics make these changes to characters to upset fans and get talk of the changes happening in hopes of a slight short-term sales boost. Unfortunately, while someone like Joshua Williamson knows it might get him a little publicity to make Batman & Robin gay (which he hasn’t done yet, but who knows?), every time, it turns off long-term readers who eventually quit the hobby because they’re sick of DC Comics ruining franchises with degeneracy.
“It’s not just about, ‘Oh, I want to piss people off,'” Joshua Williamson continued. He then talked about putting characters on “rollercoasters” in vague statements about his writing style. It may not be “just” about upsetting fans, but it’s a large portion of what they attempt to do, something a far cry from what Stan Lee and company used to do when making their stories.
Joshua Williamson admits it’s all a cynical marketing ploy in the comic industry, stating, “Sometimes people get really angry, and they spend money.”
These companies completely disrespect comic book readers because they know the fans will rubberneck and pick up the book where their favorite characters get ruined just to see what’s happening. Marvel and DC Comics clearly resent their customer base and believe their readers are stupid, which is why we’ve had this cycle of woke over the last decade which never seems to end.
What do you think about Joshua Williamson’s comments on Marvel and DC Comics abusing comic book readers? Leave a comment and let us know.
NEXT: New York Times Writer Drops Bombshell: Hollywood Believes That Superhero Movies Are Not Woke Enough
Short term thinking destroys the industry
Can I be reading this correctly? This author actually believes that putting out a shoddy product causes people to get so angry that they… buy more of the shoddy product? He really believes that, doesn’t he?
Well, he’s right in a way — I HAVE been spending more money on comics: CyberFrog, Flying Sparks, Florida Man, etc.
The short-term benefits derived from these controversies are detrimental for both DC and their primary rival, Marvel Comics. Market statistics from Japan and Europe demonstrate that consumers are open to purchasing comics featuring new characters created by lesser-known artists. The critical problem with the two major American comic publishers is their reluctance to recruit new talent with innovative ideas and promote their work. Instead, they prefer to adhere to the same risk-averse strategies they have employed over the past decade.
When creators aim to introduce “risky” elements, they might increase Iron Man’s Menin levels or alter the Son of Superman’s orientation while still referring to him as Superman. If Marvel had developed Riri Williams, also known as “Iron Heart,” as a super-genius mutant with metal manipulation powers who chose to become a hero inspired by Iron Man, it would likely be well-received. However, the issue arises when the character is not sufficiently differentiated from Iron Man or when there isn’t enough done to engage the audience’s interest in her, leading to her being perceived as a catalyst for trivial online disputes over fictional characters.
To increase their sales, DC Entertainment and Marvel Entertainment should concentrate on producing captivating books, hiring writers who are passionate about creating engaging stories, avoiding dull political narratives, and introducing fresh, intriguing characters. Comics have evolved since the 60s and 70s, and with the internet, these companies can readily promote new characters and their stories. they have no excuses not to.