dc – Page 3 – Cheryl Lynn Eaton

06•26•12

To the max.

I would love for DC Comics to launch a very small line (five titles maximum) for mature readers. No, I don’t feel that the “Edge” or “Dark” lines are suitable for older readers seeking adult themes. I would like to see a line akin to the Marvel MAX imprint. Honestly, I was an avid reader of the Wildstorm line of comic books and I feel as if those properties have been watered down and mishandled since the recent DC revision. I think introducing alternate “MAX” versions of these characters in a mature line would satisfy readers like me.

In DC’s mature line, superheroics would shift to the background. The focus would be on smart crime, spy, war, humor, and adventure stories. The line would focus on cult favorites such as Wildcats, Lobo, Hitman, The Authority, Xombi, Team 7, and Checkmate. It would not be a place where children’s icons ran amok. Batman would be nothing more than an urban legend in this universe—akin to the Jersey Devil. There’d be no Diana or Amazons, only Coda. And, of course, Kal-El would happily spend his days as a lead scientist on Krypton. And would never be mentioned or seen.

Think about the modest success of the Extreme line. Think about a Waller war hawk gunning for old Team 7 members who have gone off the grid. Think about a Wildcats book exploring superhero decadence. Think about “bang babies” and urban blight. Think about a satirical space adventure or “buddy cop” comic featuring Guy Gardner dragging his prisoner Lobo across the galaxy to stand trial.

I’d have two ongoings—Wildcats and The Authority. Rotating miniseries would account for the remaining three books.

Why not give it a shot? You’ll need something in that vein once Before Watchmen is no longer shiny and new—properties for the cable companies to salivate over. Remember, there are some places the trinity simply cannot tread.

04•27•12

Ether.

My last post concentrated on damage control tactics for DC regarding the Before Watchmen project and DC’s early termination of Chris Roberson’s stint with the company. I’d like to use this post to “hop over the fence” and discuss possible ways in which independent companies such as Image and Dark Horse can capitalize on DC’s large public presence and apparent marketing weaknesses.

DC is an industry behemoth—fat, sluggish, and slow, but also massively powerful. Its size is a blessing that affords it the best spot in Previews, constant press from popular news sites, and the rapt attention of a legion of long-devoted fans. Its size is also a curse. It has become an antiquated bureaucracy, limiting its speed. It is unable to make adjustments quickly in regards to negative press, unhappy fans, or dissatisfied talent. Any action required is initially bound by ribbons of red tape unfurled by editors elucidating edicts from on high. Its inflexible nature forces it down narrow paths that will one day restrict its growth, for example, catering to a shrinking subset of homogeneous readers or allowing nepotism to dictate the talent pool. But we all know what DC is. The question for the competition is this, how can we—as independent publishers—make money from it?

In my last post, I stated that DC should make moves to appear creator-friendly. Dark Horse and Image need to show that they are truly creator-friendly and sabotage any inroads made by DC into their creator-owned domain. And much to my pleasant surprise (because there is nothing that delights me more than a shrewd PR move), this is already occurring—cheaply and efficiently. Again, DC’s size affords it instant publicity. Attacks on the behemoth bring publicity too. A simple blog post from Stephenson or a Facebook interaction between Mignola and Hama will be picked up by news blogs and fan sites to be carried far and wide. And, amusingly, DC has played directly into their hands by responding, naming, and calling attention to both the attacks and the competition, assuming the role of Ja Rule instead of Jay Z. Think long and hard about the fates of both of these public personas, and of the two men who challenged them.

But it is not enough to simply stick and move. The comic industry is, to put it mildly, incestuous. Of course, its incestuous nature allows for certain deals to be easily made. Creators move from project to project with a speed that rivals the label-hopping of current rap stars or suitor-switching of video vixens. A young industry hotshot cuts his teeth at Image, builds his reputation at DC or Marvel, and perhaps has another dalliance with an independent publisher when the restrictive nature of the two conglomerates occasionally curtails his creativity. The goal of the independent publisher is to increase the frequency of said dalliances until a permanent relationship with a creator is formed and it becomes the first option a creator considers when attempting to launch a project. How can one accomplish this goal? Spit game. Editors from Image and Dark Horse need to aggressively pursue well-known creators working at Marvel and DC—especially now that budgetary concerns at both companies have forced the conclusion of certain exclusivity contracts. Woo them with words that prove you can provide the best of both worlds—the freedom of Kickstarter and the security of a long-standing company. Not only will you be rewarded with a successful project, but the publicity that comes from a former unhappy and currently famous creator raving about his new “crew” and disparaging his old one is icing on the cake.

However, some successes cannot be stolen or sabotaged. Sometimes, they must be methodically recreated. DC sits upon a tower of icons and industry lynchpins. Said tower was not created overnight, but required decades of creative input and calculated marketing. When I say that DC’s success should be recreated, I do not mean that companies should produce thinly-veiled versions of DC characters. No, what should be copied is DC’s slow and steady method of building franchises and brands. I want Graham’s excellent work on Prophet to be bound as soon as possible to be pushed as a mainstay for college literature courses. I want to see Hellboy and B.P.R.D. constantly cycling through high-profile film, television, and comic projects, never getting a chance to fade from the mainstream’s collective memory. I want to see an Empowered short story published in Playboy. I want a copy of King City to be found in every Barnes & Noble.

What I don’t want is for a creator with exceptional talent and an interesting project to be handed nothing more than a logo and a handshake. Foster loyalty, foster a crew, and then foster an image (no pun intended). Show and prove.

04•26•12

You played yourself.

The title of this post, apt and rapped, owes its life to De La, of course, from a song that has long been one of my favorites. DC has indeed played itself, and we’ve all watched—some of us in horror and some of us in amusement—as the company rode an initial wave of success brought about by its superhero relaunch only to crash upon the shores of a horrid public relations catastrophe with Before Watchmen. With each negative statement publicly made via blog posts, interviews, and news reports, DC is in grave danger of losing the reins of this publicity behemoth, something no company wants to have happen. When you lose control of the marketing, you lose control of your money.

I’m not going to discuss the ethical implications of Alan Moore’s treatment (or Chris Roberson’s, for that matter) here. A much better job of that has been done elsewhere. Besides, my tweets were mercenary in tone and were focused on the only thing of importance to DC: How can we get people to stop badmouthing us in the press and embrace the Before Watchmen project?

The solution is found in something near and dear to many of us—rap music.

In the earlier days of the nineties and aughts, when rap could equal commercial success but still had legitimate ties to black urban youth culture, record executives who wanted to sell their new rapper to lucrative middle and upper class white audiences still had to have the “streets cosign.” In other words, poor black kids made stars, rich white kids gave them money so they could shine.

Before Watchmen is that star. The indie comics community—both reader and creator? “The streets.” And the rest of us? Bored white kids with pockets chock full of money. DC’s first mistake was thinking it could sell directly to the masses and ignore rumblings from the indie circuit. Jamal Henricks standing out in front of Marcy Projects in 1995 damn sure didn’t want some suit trying to sell him soulless suburban rap. And he and his crew could end a career with one bad comment. Ask Kwame. Likewise, Brendan the English professor who reads The Comics Reporter and uses Watchmen for his class on ethics in literature doesn’t want to hear a slick Before Watchmen sales pitch. The trust fund kids who play poor in Williamsburg and dig the indie comics scene don’t want to hear from company men in Green Lantern t-shirts and baseball caps. And the men and women who are the working poor that make up the indie comics scene certainly don’t want to hear from Lee (who, though a nice man, has a terrible reputation for being a sell-out), Didio (who bleeds and breathes commercialism), and JMS (who, whether deservedly or not, currently has a reputation for being a rich blowhard dismissive of creators’ rights).

That’s a serious problem, because those groups I just listed? That’s DC’s free Before Watchmen street team. You think the retailer who tweets about Scarlet Witch’s tits is going to sell Before Watchmen to college bookstores and libraries? You think the fanboy cosplaying as Nightwing is going to push Before Watchmen projects at Barnes & Noble? No. And the people who would? Right now DC’s free street team thinks the worst of DC and the Before Watchmen project—an assembly of scabs, leeches, and cornball sell-outs. This attitude must be rectified. But how?

First and foremost is to announce a creator-owned imprint—big names, big press, and contracts that are deemed fair and acceptable by the industry. DC needs to be seen as creator-friendly. I commented earlier regarding the subject:

“What’s needed is a ‘keep creators happy’ imprint. Are you a big name? Have you produced a commercial success for us? Let us do the same for you. Terrible Company Man POV: Look, we swiped you from Image and let you beef your name up with DC characters, why should we hand you back? Main goal: Keep that DC logo on all books that draw eyes. Some will make a ton of money, some will make a little. It’s all publicity. Most articles about the Walking Dead TV show have an Image mention tucked away. Tying your company name to a success is always good.”
Cheryl Lynn Eaton

Next up is to quietly pull incendiary hucksters from the table. This is a Watchmen project, not Teen Titans. Move creators with good reputations like Conner and Azzarello to the forefront. Focus on Jae Lee instead of Jim. Think quirky instead of commercial. Biggie never danced in a shiny suit.

Finally, damage control for the Roberson situation is required. Of course, the best approach would have been to let Roberson leave when he had announced he would leave instead of pulling him from a project.

“So, you slip in a co-writer with Roberson. Someone young and eager that Roberson can shape and show the ropes. And you treat that kid nicely. When Roberson bounces, you have a baby Roberson in place that has swiped some of Roberson’s shine and his small fan following. As talented? Maybe not since she’ll be younger and less skilled. But she’ll only get better. And yes, you get a woman in there to keep fans from bitching about the co-writer deal. ‘Oh, we thought you wanted more women in comics.'”
Cheryl Lynn Eaton

Of course, DC went for the worst possible PR move and yanked Roberson instead, but they can improve upon the situation by assigning a female writer of YA fantasy novels to the Fairest title.

Long story short, I’m very interested to see if DC manages to turn things around. Right now the company is walking a tense tightrope between Drake and Yung Berg and Image is eyeing chains hungrily. We’ll see.

09•15•11

Another brick.

It’s not about reducing the number of visually unique characters. It’s not about sending a derogatory message regarding people who are fat. It’s not about the sexualization of all female characters.

It’s about making the decision to use a character that people are fond of—and changing the key attributes that made readers fond of the character in the first place. Listen, given how black women are devalued in the media in regards to physical attractiveness, I’m always happy to see a young, svelte, sexually attractive black woman in a popular form of entertainment. But DC’s editorial staff did not have to change the attributes of Amanda Waller in order to make that happen. Flint and Onyx are currently sitting in limbo and could have easily been adapted to assume such a role. Given Onyx’s role as a law-breaking vigilante, she could have appeared as a character within the suicide squad sans any character tweaking.

But Amanda Waller? Waller is a strategist. She uses her brain and technology, not brawn. In fact, she focuses so intently on her career and the intricate plots she so carefully constructs that she often ignores the body completely. She moves boldly into dangerous situations, blithely relying on whatever weapon she has at hand to subdue her foe. She enjoys creature comforts like good food and good drink—which has resulted in weight-related illnesses. She smart, she’s scary, and her only weakness is the fatty part of the steak.

And you know what? Fans love that about her. Fans love the fact that this insanely competent woman doesn’t fit the mold and yet is able to move men and women of steel around like chess pieces. It’s a key part of her character.

And DC’s editorial department wiped that away because Angela Bassett is thin. And that’s silly. No one expects the comic to be a carbon copy of the film. Is Perry White now black? Does Catwoman have long hair? Does Batman have brown hair instead of black? No, of course not.

To make a long story short, there is no need to change what your audience expects and is comforted by unless it will (1) improve sales and (2) make for a better story. Appealing art aside, is a thin, young Amanda Waller going to bring in more fans than she has turned off? Is she going to allow for interesting new stories that wouldn’t have been available if the character had not been changed visually? Personally, I think subtracting from Waller’s weight and age makes her a bit bland and unrealistic. What woman in her twenties would be a high-ranking government official? Plus, one now has a character that is no different from Vixen visually. This is akin to Storm and Misty Knight looking the same.

On the other hand, this small change has received a huge amount of publicity. And changing the character’s weight and age to match the characters surrounding her has now opened up the possibility for new romantic arcs. Honestly, I’m not sure how I would have handled that one. There are benefits and drawbacks to each option available.

But when it’s all said and done? I just plain miss “The Wall.”

03•08•10

Prince of power.

“Similarly, the chance to write Wonder Woman–the nearest analogue to Superman in the DCU–is massively exciting. She’s a vital, powerful character, and we hope to bring a more contemporary sensibility to her character while retaining everything that makes her unique.”
J. Michael Straczynski

No. Wonder Woman is the nearest analogue to Superman in the same way that Thor is the nearest analogue to Captain America. Guys, it’s not Batman and the Supertwins. Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman are called DC’s trinity for a reason. They each bring something different to the table—or they would if DC didn’t continually cling to sexist attitudes about women and hamstring good writers.

Batman is the shadow. He’s the vigilante. Superman is the Boy Scout. He’s the good and faithful soldier. And Wonder Woman is the warrior and conqueror. However, she doesn’t want to conquer people; she wants to conquer life. Look at Thor or Hercules. That’s the nearest Wonder Woman analogue. She should be out there celebrating sisterhood! She should be enjoying wine and sex and music and wrestling and battles and kicking ass in God of War III. She should have a big belly laugh that startles people and kind, shining eyes. She should be able to drink Guy Gardner under the table and thoroughly enjoy doing so. She should be a bit rough around the edges. She eats with her hands. She slaps people a bit too hard on the back when joking with them. She makes Wally nervous when tossing his kids entirely too high in the air. She should be taller than Batman and Superman. And she should have no problem snapping necks or beheading a fool if necessary. Because she’s a warrior, damn it. But only when necessary. And she’d sleep like a baby an hour after doing it.

But that Wonder Woman will never exist. Because there are t-shirts to be sold. And Madonna/Whore (Wonder Woman/Power Girl?) dichotomies to be upheld. And sadly, some fans can’t envision a female warrior that isn’t specifically designed to cater to a man’s libido. And others are enraged by the idea that an Amazon might actually behave like one.