Print

[boox909]

Fact: "Combined sales of graphic novels and comic books in the U.S. and Canada hit $705 million in 2007

[John C]

Well, I think Marvel might be on the verge of "getting it," but it looks more like DC is thinking about just turning all the old stock into cartoons, one at a time, which is destined to be a failure if only on a cost basis.

But they're still going to face a lot of trouble, because they're going to want subscriptions and viewings, whereas every customer wants downloads, because nobody wants to re-up in five years to check on that one issue of Jimmy Olsen.

Oh, well.  Maybe they'll get there eventually.  I doubt it, honestly, but they might.  And Marvel long before DC, since DC has to clear any business decision with the paranoid fossils at Time-Warner.

Actually, I suspect that, in the long run, Marvel will abandon trying to make a living on comics.  They'll become a loss leader to convince people to go to see their movies.  DC'll probably continue on this silly cartoon approach, with Warner releasing them as DVD-based products.  But they won't get far into the backstock, of course, because it's a LOT of work for each issue.

[loopyjoe]

...it looks more like DC is thinking about just turning all the old stock into cartoons, one at a time...

Are you referring to the so-called "motion comics" like Watchmen?

[John C]

Yeah.  I haven't seen either of them (I believe it's Watchmen and a Batman story, neither sold at a venue I use), so I can't comment on the quality.  They might be quite good, for all I know, or they might look like the 1960s Marvel cartoons.  The idea even seems interesting and worth pursuing.  However, there's no possible way they'll ever be able to even record the audio for seventy years of publishing backstock.  It'd take too long and cost too much to do it.

[narfstar]

Malibu came out with comics on CD and Crossgen on DVD with the limited animation thing. Neither was successful

[loopyjoe]

I got the Watchmen one from d******. It was a lot better than I expected (and a lot better than those old Marvel efforts!). The biggest flaw is hearing the female character speaking with a man's voice!

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Hi Loopy, being as we are trying to stay clear of any hint that we are connected to any 'pirated' scans (our scans are all in the Public Domain but that might not stop someone from still taking a shot at us) we try to avoid even the most remote chance of attracting negative attention.  So any direct links to copyrighted materials or sources for them should be avoided.  That's why I've adjusted your post and the reference to 'you know where.'  Nothing personal of course, the subject and your comments were very interesting.  I'd not heard about the Watchmen audio book so your opinion on it was informative.

Hopefully no offence was taken.  Take care,
-Yoc

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No offence taken, Yoc. I'm new to this forum, as you know, and that consideration didn't occur to me. Thanks for handling it as you did instead of deleting the comment. I'll be more careful in future.

[misappear]

boox909,

I appreciate your coment about the "horrid profiteering" by Marvel and DC.  Because, in my mind, it is true.

Marvel and DC have value to me in their archives and special projects.  Almost nothing that is currently being published mainline has any relevance to me at all. 

As a high school teacher, I can tell you that my students only recognize either company by their films and not their printed matter.  I have said in the past, and will continue to state that there is no next generation for the printed form per se.  Sure, there may emerge a hybrid, or an evolution of the form, but no one will convince me that today's teenagers will grow into readers of the present 32 page form.

And you know, that's OK.  That's life.  Maybe something worthwhile may emerge.  We'll see.  (It's not like we've read everything already done yet!)

There's an analogy to Matheson's I Am Legend and the future of comic readers rolling around in my head.  I must need a nap.   

--Dave

[John C]

As a sidenote, before I forget, a friend who likes iTunes let me watch the Motion Comic.  It's just shy of "awful," and if my cost estimates are at all accurate, it's a dismal failure.  It really is just a step above the old Marvel cartoons, but has the added "bonus" of wooden voice acting.

Anyway...

no one will convince me that today's teenagers will grow into readers of the present 32 page form.

On the other hand, I've lived through the end of music, the end of dance (twice), the end of comedic television, certainly the end of radio, the death of the television networks, and the end of reading.  All of them are still alive and kicking, though not necessarily in that order.

The last is probably the most instructive, though.  When I was in high school (1990-ish), it was shocking that anybody might read recreationally.  Only the "weird" kids read (and why would they, after being force-fed "The Scarlet Letter" and terrible translations of "The Odyssey?").  And, logically, if kids didn't read in high school, they wouldn't grow up to be readers.

That prediction was mostly correct.

However, there's a new generation, and their drug of choice has been Harry Potter.  Big, heavy novels that I can't finish because they're so boring.  At least, they're boring to me.  Kids and younger adults tear it up and obsess about the world, just like comic book fans do theirs.  And now they're out of books in the series, so, unsurprisingly, they've moved on to other books.  Kids in my neighborhood ask me for reading recommendations, and even I'm bewildered about it.

So, I think comics CAN be something that interests kids.  But they have to be about things kids might find interesting and they need to be put in places where kids might find them.  It's not hard, it's just that it's a new business line, and that's a hard sell to an existing company that's turning a profit.

[boox909]

There's an analogy to Matheson's I Am Legend and the future of comic readers rolling around in my head.  I must need a nap.   

--Dave

That is a fantastic book...I Am Legend...I thought the latest film version was 'okay' -- I like Vincent Price version best out of the three I have seen.

B. 

[Yoc]

I didn't mind 'Last Man' but I thought Price looked old for the role.  I bet he didn't enjoy all the lifting and running at that age either.