Monday, 22 May 2006
I’m already inclined towards being grumpy at DC this week. Last Wednesday, I made my first trip to the comic shop in four weeks (spending only $40, half of what I used to have budgeted for monthlies) and picked up the latest Manhunter as well as issues 4-6 of Hard Time. In both series, I see long term stories being set up and I know that I’ll never see them fulfill their potential… which is how I frequently end up feeling when I discover a great comic. That’s a sentiment I’m really tired of feeling.
Yeah, I understand that these titles get cancelled because they’re unprofitable. Truthfully, I don’t care anymore. As a customer I feel taken for granted and I’m no longer having a hard time finding good comics.
I’ve been feeling this way for a while now, though seeing two interesting stories not being told makes the wound feel fresh again.
However, DC’s managed to irk me further by sending a cease and desist letter to a comic creator publishing a comic titled Minx.
@#$% you DC, okay? You didn’t care the slightest bit to help out your title that was called The Minx. It lasted, what eight issues? You’ve done practically nothing to make The Minx a title that would be associated with you aside from filing the paperwork. You know what The Minx means to me as a trademark? It’s the sign of a long history of disappointment and frustration. You know what The Minx™ means to the average comic reader? Nada, this title is only remembered by fans of Peter Milligan, Sean Phillips, Vertigo Comics and people who’ve spent years paying a lot of attention to the comics biz.
Besides, aren’t we getting close to seven years since your disinterested, “lets throw it against the wall and see if it sticks, but get that Deadenders ready to throw, just in case” attempt at selling this title? (And for this reason any “But they have to protect their trademark or risk losing it.” argument gets laughed — or screamed — at, DC’s on the verge of giving it up anyway.)
Perhaps DC’s right in the letter-of-the-law sense — I don’t care, I’m looking at this situation as a customer. (And I often point out that, ideally, trademarks protect both customers and intellectual property owners since many instances of trademark infringement are a matter of false advertising.) All I’m seeing is another reminder of how DC has let me down repeatedly, along with the impression that the only value DC sees in their brilliant but cancelled titles comes when they offer an opportunity for their lawyers to make things difficult for a small competitor.
May 23rd, 2006 at 10:23 am
“Yeah, I understand that these titles get cancelled because they’re unprofitable. Truthfully, I don’t care anymore. As a customer I feel taken for granted and I’m no longer having a hard time finding good comics. I’ve been feeling this way for a while now, though seeing two interesting stories not being told makes the wound feel fresh again.”
But this is the lament of the comic-book fan in general, isn’t it? Its been going on as long as I’ve been reading - I think I’ve built up callouses to the whole “good books getting cancelled while crap continues to sell”, and even the “but I started reading this at issue 1 and the story didn’t actually end” over the years. But I find the same thing happens in TV - I’m just not paying for it, so maybe it is less irritating because of that.
“And for this reason any “But they have to protect their trademark or risk losing it.” argument gets laughed — or screamed — at, DC’s on the verge of giving it up anyway.”
Don’t count on it - DC and Marvel are BOTH trademark misers. I fully expect some kind of “The Minx” one-shot or miniseries to come out so that DC can maintain the trademark on the title - it may not even be related to the Milligan book at all, but they’ll use the title for fear that someone else will snap it up and use it.
May 23rd, 2006 at 2:47 pm
While I’m empathetic with you about series getting cancelled before they can finish, I’ll point out (as did Jer) that the same thing happens on TV. I disagree that it’s less irritating with TV, too– I’ll trade you 12 future issues of Hard Time for another season of Arrested Development, hands down.
At any rate, I now find myself increasingly attracted to series that have perscribed endings– 52, for example, or Grant Morrison’s Seven Soldiers, or his 12 issue run on All-Star Supes. These series might have their flaws, (although I shake my proverbial stick at you every time you moan about 7S) but at least I know they’re going to finish in a remotely satistfying way.
May 23rd, 2006 at 6:00 pm
[...] Sure, you can argue that DC may not have known about such small press projects… but similarly, you can also argue that DC has abandoned the title in the 8 years since they’ve done nothing with the comic. 5 comments so far [...]
May 23rd, 2006 at 6:10 pm
A lot of my frustration is that there’s a downwards spiral at work, one that I’m becoming a part. DC sees their money better invested in marketing 52 than Manhunter, so it doesn’t sell well. Since readers have seen these barely-promoted titles fail, they avoid them. Since they sell poorly, DC sees less reason to try to get them to work and seems to put out these titles either to push for shelf space or (it seems) to try to claim the trademark.
At least with DVD we can get complete stories out of these frustratingly short-lived TV shows. I found Arrested Development’s finale pretty satisfying, to the point that I stopped feeling bad about the cancellation. While I would have loved to see a second season of Wonderfalls, the DVD set I own is very satisfying without suggesting great stories never told (aside from ideas mentioned in interviews). They’re not setting up interesting arcs in episode 11 that dissappear in episode 13… not nowadays when you can still make that money selling the full story to the most dedicated segment of the audience.
Seeing what Marvel’s been able to do with the emerging bookstore market, there are ways to getting these stuggling series to pay off… which is part of the problem, I guess. I used to see DC as slightly ahead of the curve, but now they’ve got so many competitors that have jumped ahead of them. I’m feeling the pain of a relationship I’ve outgrown and facing the necessity of a breakup. At this point, its mostly misplaced loyalty that keeps me a DC customer.
November 28th, 2006 at 8:26 am
[...] So. DC has announced a graphic novel imprint aimed at teenage girls and… sheesh, they’re calling it “Minx”? Does this sound like a sensible move for a company who’s creative output has been criticized for repeatedly reducing its female characters into victims or sexualized objects to regain an audience it has alienated over the years? Is this all about proving that there was more to that legal nastiness other than screeching “Mine! Keep away!” [...]