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*looks at monthly superhero comics*
*looks at daytime soap operas*
*sighs deeply* https://twitter.com/jpalmiotti/status/1287583740479393794
*looks at daytime soap operas*
*sighs deeply* https://twitter.com/jpalmiotti/status/1287583740479393794
Screw it! Let's chop it up. In order to foster creativity, one has to do what is going to enrage reactionary consumers--hire new creators, explore new cultural settings, and invest in self-contained stories.
Daytime soaps bring nothing new to the table. They recycle the same stories over and over. We still adore them because they are comforting and familiar and we root for particular characters like they are athletes. We pass down being a fan from generation to generation.
Luckily for fans of romance and tawdry spectacle, we now have more than daytime soaps. We have weekly nighttime dramas, reality shows, movies, Nollywood, Korean dramas, etc. And there are even a couple of daytime soaps still hanging on.
Monthly superhero comics are the daytime soaps of the cape genre in the comics medium. Without question. And they have suffered from very similar issues over time.
Those issues? A shrinking audience due to how people prefer to consume entertainment. New fans of recently introduced minority characters being met with aggressive behavior by long-term bigoted viewers. A sharp decrease in advertising dollars.
And I am part of the problem on multiple fronts! I traded soaps for reality shows and nighttime dramas long ago and never looked back. One Life to Live when Insecure exists? Are you crazy?
Soaps have handled this in an extremely depressing way--doing what they have always done until someone finally turns the lights out. Perhaps the monthly cape comic will follow that path too.
The superhero genre is going to continue to thrive. The comics medium will continue to thrive. Monthly cape comics sold in the direct market? I don't know, bruh. All My Children ain't around anymore for a reason.
I can't close this out without bringing up telenovelas! Perhaps they have the right idea. They don't last forever. The story is told and wrapped up and a new one is started with all new characters and the same beloved actors.
This would be akin to ending a comic universe after a few years and starting a new one with all the same creators working on totally different characters. Imagine DC just up and switching the main universe to Earth 7 next year but keeping all their current employees.
Amusingly enough, that was pretty much like the start of Image Comics, no?
My God, what if DC just...did that? Gathered together all of their notable creators and just said, "Make a universe but WB gets first look and recoups all salaries through a portion of trade sales."
I wonder how many creators would be down.
I wonder how many creators would be down.
