This week Graeme McMillan wrote the dumbest article in the history of comic books. Dok and I’ve read many stupid takes over the past 6 years. But McMillan’s plan (or lack thereof) to save DC and Marvel in 2024 takes stupid to the next level. Worst of all, he ultimately blames fans demand for excellence for hurting American comics. Wes and Dok talk about thepopverse.com’s plan to save Marvel and DC comics and tear them a new one! The dumbest fricking comic book article I’ve read in my entire life.
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#marvel #dccomics #comicbooks
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how HOW can they still be this stupid?
to draw an analogy with cinema this is like saying if ONLY we had more black and white french films with subtitles about a couple and their search for baggettes then everything would be great as audiences FLOCK to it.
the saviour of cinema – and Warner Brothers TBH – last year was BARBIE.
No matter how much it disgusts the author THATs the reality of comics too. the backbone of this industry has always been targeting 9 to 14yr olds with dramatic action adventure with a splash of intrugue and romance.
not fkn weirdo sexual kink books and foodie scenes.
what marvel have done recently with spiderman and black panther in the ultimate line is a GOOD start on getting back to that.
Ditto for skybound who are KILLING it on the TF/JOE books.
as Doc pointed out this is COMERCIAL art, none of you feckers are picasso and even if you WERE THAT doenst sell spiderman !
You guys are acting really butthurt about this article. It was pretty fair, honestly.
The customer base is the problem.
Bring back the "classic" editors. Hire Jim Shooter as EIC of DC and let him kick a$$. Hire John Byrne as EIC of Marvel to rein everything in.
The current wave of young creators have no idea what they're doing and don't want to learn anything from those who built the industry.
Okay, Graeme. I could make "experimental" work. Like have a Green Lantern repair video game consoles. The comic would just be 22 pages of detailed art of circuit boards. It's the most experimental thing a comic could ever do. What would happen? It would FAIL. Because that is not what a Superhero book is suppose to be about. I don't care how much I love repairing game consoles. The majority will NEVER like a comic like that. And you would hate it too. Now, if I put this story in a Manga. Some X-con. Couldn't hold a job. Nearly homeless. And he had a old laptop with a webcam. Start making repair videos on like YouTube. That COULD work. I know my place where I shouldn't put things. Do you, Graeme?
Like I knew It, they will wait until the ship start to sink and the water is in their mouths so the finally try to save those comics, the joke writes himself.
The biggest issue is the leadership at marvel and dc need to understand that THEY themselves are the issue.
THEY cant repay the dei loans when no money is going into the company account.
Once that finally clicks into place THEY can clean house with the dogshit "writers" and editors. Until that happens marvel and dc will never get back to a good standard that people want to buy and pay the bs loans back.
Popverse says the readers are the problem?? Lol… no Wes you are spot on , they need better writers & creators and not these hacks doing it now
Tom King turns everything he touches to trash, but they keep giving him popular characters to ruin.
These people are idiots. They fundamentally misunderstand their place in the world. They ultimately work for the readers because without the readers buying their books, they won't have a job. Yet people today can't figure that out. They think they're in charge and everyone else needs to do what they want. This is where the marketplace needs to stop buying these crappy books. Walk away entirely. Stop propping up these garbage companies. It's the fault of people who want a complete run that the market is like this. Drive Marvel and DC out of business, or at least close enough that they panic and get back to writing good comics. Take your money and go do something else. Otherwise, nothing is ever going to change.
When what you're doing isn't working, try something new. Even if that "new" thing is just doing something old in a new way.
They hire the crud writers because they’re not willing to pay a good one.
Find audiences who are dumb enough to buy the comic books.
Part of it is the comic book industry did this to themselves. How does one actually "break in" to the comic book industry? Marvel and DC used to accept pitches or host tryouts. Now it seems to all be rooted in nepotism and kissing the right person's ass. How many potential Alan Moore and Grant Morrisons have never had a shot because they gave that job to someone who hits the right checkmark?
Mark Waid is still a name
But the rest are spot on
Playboi carti sells millions and has not rapped a single coherent sentence in his life. That is a pop star.
We need new voices but the indy sceme is a barren wastland of old peoples shlock. Wtf is my generation supposed to read. Mark "old ass" Waid
Wes its grown increasingly annoying that you guys ignore the fact comics needs new readers young readers.
These editors are failing becuase they dont know what to give the youth. Gaming thrived by catering to the youth and it still does. The biggest games are fortnite Minecraft and roblox. those are not for 40 year olds. Its gone beyond "want" at thos point they NEED new readers.
those 30-50 year olds they pissed off are not coming back its fools gold at this point. They got wise and left
Heck the biggest comic related content are kids books. They dont have to go as low as 6 year olds but maybe teens.
When will comic book fans learn to read what is put in front of us?
well that must have bin an short article right? I mean the solution is easy.
Step 1 fire all the hacks
Step 2 hire actual talent
Step 3 follow what they do in Japan. If you sell you can continue your run , but if your sales suck then your comic is canceled and you don't automatically get an new title.
Step 4 Stop searching for the mythical new audience as they don't excist
I don’t think that there are superstars anymore. Bendis may have been the last bankable name and he’s pretty much ruined his name by this point. The only name known to people outside of comics is Robert Kirkman and maybe McFarlane. Millar is big to geeks like us and his 2 Marvel events sold. But his ongoing runs on spider man and FF kinda flopped. I don’t see him as an answer if he can’t really sell an ongoing.
The answer is sadly new CEOs and new editors, and a company wide biography of each character, so they can treat these characters with the respect they deserve.
“We’re left with the biggest names of what’s left.”
-Dok
Exactly.
It used to be: 'Is this comic good enough for our fans?'.
Now it's: 'Are our fans good enough to read this'!!
Writers, writers, writers. That's all that's ever talked about in comics now. When I was a boy during the Bronze Age, we rarely talked about writers. We talked about the artists.
Comics are a visual medium. Promote artists, not writers. Maybe we need to go back to the good ol' Marvel Method of the Silver Age. You can still tell modern stories this way.
… and we’re back to the improvised Dok.
Not the best Dok.
Good video though.
0:00: 🤦♂️ Critique of an article lacking viable solutions to improve DC and Marvel in 2024.
2:56: 📚 Discussion on the challenges faced by comic book creators in attracting new audiences and revitalizing the industry.
6:05: 📰 Challenges in comic book industry due to readers' resistance to changes in character interpretations.
8:46: 📰 Industry's top creators leaving comics, leaving only lesser-known names to work on major titles at Marvel and DC.
12:00: 💥 Comic industry struggling due to lack of strong Marvel and DC, leading to failed attempts at character changes.
Timestamps by Tammy AI