Do identity politics sell comics?

[Trey Strain Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Trey Strain]

What do you think?

http://thefederalist.com/2017/04/25/...hurting-sales/

[plastroncafe Alpha-Lantern Find all posts View Profile Close plastroncafe]

Identity politics have always sold comics.
Or is straight and white not an identity?

I mean hell, straight white and male is statistically a minority identity.

[Trey Strain Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Trey Strain]

I dunno. If I approached a comics publisher with a marketing proposal that had been shown would decrease his sales by 11 percent, I'm pretty sure he'd throw me out of his office.

[Big Daddy Dave Skywalker Moisture Farmer Find all posts View Profile Close Big Daddy Dave Skywalker]

It doesn't, or shouldn't, take a genius to realize that fans want their clasic heroes to be their classic heroes. Big shocker that their sales are dwindling.

[Trey Strain Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Trey Strain]

It doesn't, or shouldn't, take a genius to realize that fans want their clasic heroes to be their classic heroes. Big shocker that their sales are dwindling.

Besides that, it's just about impossible to get any major new super-hero over in comics now. I believe the last undisputed star that Marvel got over was Wolverine in 1974. Comics have not been a growth industry for a long time. They're well into the mature phase of their life cycle.

Any new super-hero who you add now will probably need to play a supporting role or a team role. You're not going to snap your fingers and get a black female substitute Iron Man over. That might sell, but don't bet your company on it.

[Big Daddy Dave Skywalker Moisture Farmer Find all posts View Profile Close Big Daddy Dave Skywalker]

They sure got Deadpool and Harley Quinn over. DC and Marvel shouldn't stop trying, but success is like catching lighning in a bottle. Thats why the classic heroes are the classic heroes they are.

I say they should keep trying, but stop this nonsense of replacing the popular heroes with chicks and minorities. It got old years ago.

[Trey Strain Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Trey Strain]

Yes, Deadpool has been around since 1991 and Kyle since 1994. That's still a long time ago. And Harley came from the Batman cartoons. So no breakout characters from the comics for a quarter-century. It's not impossible to break one out now in the comics, but the odds are very small.

Anyway, what the hell is wrong with creating supporting characters? Everybody doesn't have to be a star.

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

They sure got Deadpool and Harley Quinn over. DC and Marvel shouldn't stop trying, but success is like catching lighning in a bottle. . .

Well, even Harley hit big as Joker's girlfriend and sidekick. She's remained popular even apart from him as an antihero, but it seems like a lot of her fans miss her clown outfit/identity.

[Big Daddy Dave Skywalker Moisture Farmer Find all posts View Profile Close Big Daddy Dave Skywalker]

I still think DC shouldn't give up on trying with Static.

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

I still think DC shouldn't give up on trying with Static.

I never understood the appeal of Static and I say that as someone who thinks we lost a comics great when Dwayne McDuffie died.

[Ωmega Man Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Ωmega Man]

How many websites are going to bite this story like diversity is what killed the label? Read the original article. Of something like 103 new series published by Marvel in the last 2-3 years, only about 30 of them starred a more PC hero. 75% of those 100+ books still had white male leads.... and they STILL can't catch a break.

The diversity helped decrease sales, but it can't be considered the biggest factor. I blame it on the lame ass gimmick that is this patchwork planet, event fatigue, and the fact the end of events lately have been delayed despite the NEXT event starting already. And the fact they're handicapping their universe by not using characters as much who's film rights belong to Fox....

~//V\\~

[Ωmega Man Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Ωmega Man]

I never understood the appeal of Static and I say that as someone who thinks we lost a comics great when Dwayne McDuffie died.

Static was like the black equivalent of Spiderman in the Milestone universe. In the 90's the appeal was in how real the comic felt, just enough grit to see they were going more for realism in some situations. He had the same effect on the 90's that Black Lightning had in the 70's.

If you weren't a fan of Static, what great comics do you think McDuffie worked on? I thought his best work was as a writer for the JLU cartoon series myself. His JLoA was good, and he did it for the sole purpose of integrating the Milestone characters back into the DCU... then nothing came from it other than Static on a sub-par Teen Titans team. A Static series was planned and in production, then when McDuffie died it turned into a Static Special. Then the new52 Static just sucked...

~//V\\~

[Trey Strain Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Trey Strain]

Maybe "identity politics" isn't quite the way to put it. Maybe "virtue signaling" says it better.

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

Static was like the black equivalent of Spiderman in the Milestone universe. In the 90's the appeal was in how real the comic felt, just enough grit to see they were going more for realism in some situations. He had the same effect on the 90's that Black Lightning had in the 70's.

That's probably why, then. I don't like Superman and I like my comics mythic.

If you weren't a fan of Static, what great comics do you think McDuffie worked on? I thought his best work was as a writer for the JLU cartoon series myself...

That's it. His animation work. Although I do have some other McDuffie-scribed DC comics and I've always liked them, but can't remember what they were.

[Tazer That Evil, Yellow Bastiche Find all posts View Profile Close Tazer]

Yo.

The diversity helped decrease sales, but it can't be considered the biggest factor. I blame it on the lame ass gimmick that is this patchwork planet, event fatigue, and the fact the end of events lately have been delayed despite the NEXT event starting already. And the fact they're handicapping their universe by not using characters as much who's film rights belong to Fox....

Tazer