Ilan Strasser of Fat Moose Comics and Games in Whippany, New Jersey, saw James Meeley's response on content published by the Big Two comic publishers (see 'James Meeley of Ron's Coin & Collectibles on Big Two Content'), and feels that the Big Two should do more experimentation themselves:
I wanted to thank James Meeley for his comments. However, I do take exception to one thing he said. James indicated that I should not expect change from the Big Two. Historically, that has proven to be the case. But does that make it right? Wouldn't it be that much easier for Marvel and DC to try new concepts as opposed to smaller alternative publishers or hopeful new startups?
After all, Marvel and DC have the benefits of an established corporate identity, as well as significant cash-flow from both their editorial and licensing divisions. Even a lousy selling Marvel comic can come out of the gates with initial orders of 5-15 copies per store. Many self-published or other small press comics might be lucky to get trial orders of 1-3 copies since most stores dread the idea of getting stuck with unknown, untested product.
Sure, Marvel & DC are the two big players in an admittedly small and steadily sinking boat. This gives them the leeway to try new creative directions with their established characters without much risk. All they need to do is avoid self-parody, self-mimicry or the production of outright garbage.
But they are also best positioned to try new character and story ideas in an effort to expand their bottom lines and the marketplace in general. It is highly admirable that even though DC often gets the lower percentage of dollar and volume sales each month, they get those percentages with a much more varied and appealing lineup of books. It is scary to think how much Marvel's revenues would sink if their major characters only had one title each and if they didn't put out one horrible mini-series after another.
In conclusion, while independent publishing may give us some of the higher quality titles in the comic universe, it is only Marvel and DC that have the power to reverse the industry's decline, or at least, to keep it from getting worse. That will only happen when they are proactive instead of reactive.
The opinions expressed in this Talk Back article are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.
