Abandoning the Martyr Mentality

Three weeks ago, I wrote about the deluge of books Marvel was double shipping for the month, and discussed the potential ramifications of that on buying habits and long-term demand for comics in the direct market.  More recently, there has been a fair amount of reaction to the enormity of the event tie-ins being solicited by both Marvel (Fear Itself) and DC (Flashpoint).

 
Flashpoint Tie-Ins
 
Flashpoint Cover from DC Comics websiteExcluding the actual book, which is 5-issue limited series, DC has solicited the following Flashpoint related titles:
 
  • Flashpoint: Batman Knight of Vengeance (1-3)
  • Flashpoint: Secret Seven (1-3)
  • Flashpoint: Abin Sur – The Green Lantern (1-3)
  • Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint (1-3)
  • Flashpoint: Emperor Aquaman (1-3)
  • Flashpoint: Deathstroke and the Curse of the Ravager (1-3)
  • Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown (1-3)
  • Flashpoint: Citizen Cold (1-3)
  • Flashpoint: Wonder Woman and the Furies (1-3)
  • Flashpoint: Deadman and the Flying Graysons (1-3)
  • Flashpoint: Legion of Doom starring Heatwave (1-3)
  • Flashpoint: Lois Lane and the Resistance (1-3)
  • Flashpoint: The Outsider (1-3)
  • Flashpoint: Kid Flash Lost starring Bart Allen (1-3)
  • Flashpoint: Project Superman (1-3)
  • Flashpoint: Hal Jordan (1-3)
  • Flashpoint: Grodd of War (One Shot)
  • Flashpoint: Reverse Flash (One Shot)
  • Flashpoint: Green Arrow Industries (One Shot)
  • Flashpoint: The Canterbury Cricket (One Shot)
 
By my calculation that's 52 Flashpoint related tie-in issues already solicited, with the potential for more (since we have another three months of the event).  At $2.99 cover price, that amounts to $155.48 of comics, not to mention the $19.95 to buy the 5 issues of the main event book.
 
Fear Itself Tie-Ins
Fear Itself #1 Cover from Marvel Comics
 
Fear Itself, a 7-issue limited series (which is already underway), is no stranger to related tie-in issues and limited series, either:
 
  • Fear Itself: Sins’s Past (One Shot)
  • Fear Itself Spotlight (One Shot)
  • Fear Itself: The Home Front (1-7)
  • Fear Itself: Spider-Man (1-3)
  • Fear Itself: Youth in Revolt (1-6)
  • Fear Itself: Black Widow (One Shot)
  • Fear Itself: Deadpool (1-3)
  • Fear Itself: The Deep (1-4)
  • Fear Itself: Fearsome Four (1-4)
  • Fear Itself: FF (One Shot)
  • Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force (1-3)
  • Fear Itself: The Worthy (One Shot)
  • Fear Itself: Wolverine (1-3)
 
By my tally that’s 38 tie-in issues already announced with a total cover price of $124.62, on top of the $27.93 for the seven issues of the main event title.
 
Stating the Obvious – That’s a Lot of Tie-In Material
 
If you wanted to argue that DC and Marvel are taking “event marketing” to the next level, I won’t argue with you.  It’s hard to imagine it was just a few years ago that Paul Levitz was espousing the success of Sinestro Corps War and saying it would serve as the model for future “events” in the DCU (i.e., limited crossover and tie-ins, more focused).  The simple truth is the comic book industry is in a state of flux, with sales (in the direct market) languishing, and the book market struggling with the Borders closures.  It seems the executives at Marvel and DC firmly believe that what the audience wants is EVENTS. They want stories that “matter” and are clearly banking on the idea that line-wide storylines are going to give sales the boost they need.  Are they right? Do we want massive events? I guess we'll know the answer in about six months.
 
But…We are NOT Martyrs
 
The last few weeks I’ve heard a constant hum of criticism heaped at Marvel and DC because of the size of their publishing lines.  While no two complaints are exactly alike, the gist of the criticism falls into two buckets:
 
  1. Marvel and DC are doing their fans a disservice by putting out so many event tie-ins
  2. Marvel and DC are doing the retailers a disservice by putting out so many event tie-ins and double shipping books
 
Neither criticism is, to my mind, fair.  And frankly, I think anyone that believes those criticisms is ultimately doing a disservice to themselves and their fellow fans and retailers.
 
“A Disservice to the Fans”
 
Opium Poppy image from Britannica, Creative Commons AllowedHow on Earth is putting out lots of content a bad thing, when in fact you’re a content company?  Yet, I hear all the time lamentations from fans who say Marvel and DC are “forcing” fans to spend too much money on events.

Huh?  Did I miss the memo where it was revealed that comic book paper was laced with opiates?  Did someone not send me the link to Smoking Gun disclosing the long-standing campaign by Marvel and DC to lace their covers with subliminal messages imploring fans to buy everything with the same banner?

All kidding aside, there is truth in the idea of, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”  Most of us have been through a “comic book event” before.  By now we should know that not everything marketed to us is going to be a) vital to the core story, or b) great storytelling in its own right.  We should also know that Marvel and DC are in the business of selling us books. It’s their job. But it’s NOT our job, nor our duty, to blindly buy everything on the stands.  I’m constantly shocked at how many fans seem to think otherwise.  I actually had a friend tell me last week that, “Marvel and DC are killing me because they know I can’t bear to risk missing a key part of the story.”  That, my friend, is on YOU!  Dan DiDio and Axel Alonso do not have guns to our collective heads as we walk into our comic stores on Wednesday. No one is forcing anyone to buy anything they don’t want to, so let’s please stop acting like Marvel and DC have some mandate to limit their own production schedule because they know their fans can’t resist overspending otherwise.

 
“A Disservice to the Retailers”
 
As most of you know, a comic book retailer is really the “customer” as it relates to the publishers and Diamond.  Since most of what they buy is not returnable, if they guess wrong and buy too many copies of something, it’s their loss.  Those books will sit in inventory or be sold off at a fraction of the cover price just to recoup some cash flow.  With that in mind, I’m fully conscious of the idea that a large event can be stressful for retailers.  If they order too conservatively, they risk disappointing customers who can’t find the books on the shelves and have to look elsewhere.  If they over order, they’re faced with excess inventory.

But here’s the thing, this is not a new paradigm. For as long as the direct market system has existed, retailers have dealt with this very issue.  So while I can empathize with the educated guesswork they have to make in placing orders, I certainly don’t think we should act as though Marvel and DC are doing them a disservice.

Here’s the basic line of thinking:

 
  • Marvel and DC want to sell as many comics and trades as possible
  • They are backing these events because THEY believe it’s the best way to sell more product
  • Retailers make more, if they sell more
  • Ergo, Marvel and DC are hoping these events and double shipping schedules will benefit retailers
 
Now is there the potential for retailers to get stuck with lots of unsold inventory? Sure, but that is ON THEM.  It’s incumbent on any business owner to understand his/her customer base.  If a retailer is concerned that demand won’t be there for some of the Fear Itself or Flashpoint tie-ins, then they should be very conservative with their orders. There is no contractual obligation that says retailers must buy at least a few copies of everything Marvel and DC publish – yet you would think otherwise based on some of the complaints I hear.  I know a number of top notch comic book retailers that have no plans to carry any copies of many of these tie-ins, outside of the subscription pull-list customers who pre-ordered them.  That’s just smart business. It’s not Marvel and DC’s job to limit their production schedule because retailers feel compelled to order everything in Previews.  If retailers show more restraint, and more discipline, Marvel and DC will, in turn, give serious thought to the size of their publishing slates. But as long as retailers order willy nilly and then complain about unsold inventory, the publishers have precious little incentive to change their behavior.
 
Conclusion – Own Your Decisions
 
Marvel and DC are in the business of marketing their licensed characters in innumerable ways, and generating profits from said licenses.  It’s the job of their publishing divisions to maximize sales and profits.  If you want to raise an eyebrow at the long-term effectiveness of mega-events or variant covers or twice-a-month shipping, I’m right there with you.  But debating the merits of their strategies is a far cry from claiming that they owe fans or retailers some measure of restraint.  Until retailers are contractually obligated to order X copies of everything they publish, and until we find out that the publishers have secretly been embedding nicotine into every page, let’s remember that WE control our own destinies.
 
Fans…buy what you like and don’t worry about the rest.
 
Retailers…take measures to understand your customers and only stock what you think you can sell without putting your cash flow at risk.
 

Jason is a mutant with the ability to squeeze 36 hours into every 24-hour day, which is why he was able to convince his wife he had time to join the iFanboy team on top of running his business, raising his three sons, and most importantly, co-hosting the 11 O'Clock Comics podcast with his buddies Vince B, Chris Neseman and David Price. If you are one of the twelve people on Earth who want to read about comics, the stock market and football in rapid fire succession, you can follow him on Twitter.

Comments

  1. Great article Jason.

    I was looking through the Marvel July Solicitations and EVERY single major comic for them is a Fear Itself tie-in. At least DC is trying to publish their major books with stories not tieing into Flashpoint too much, or at all. Marvel is killing itself by having all their books tie in an event some people don’t want to read. 

  2. i decided to jump on fear itself. havent decided on flash point since im not really a flash fan. see, we make the choices marvel and dc dont have a gun to our heads. support what you like.

  3. Or, in other words, water is still blue.

    Generally I think the tie-ins are only of interest for those who already follow those particular series. Why would anyone who did not already follow them start now? Unless the tie-in premise looks to be mighty interesting on its own merits.

  4. This may be the best article I’ve ever read on this site. Well done, Jason.

  5. @nikbackm It seems like a logical conclusion, but you would be shocked at how many fans seem to think it’s the publishers jobs to keep them from buying too many comics.

  6. great article! I think the single deadliest term in comics that has been twisted out of control is “support the industry!” nothing wrong with it inherently, but its been twisted up to this religious/political/social cause grassroots thing. It seems to me that a lot of comics fans believe that its on them to keep comics alive…to keep shops in business…to keep creators children from starving. its not. 

    its just a fun hobby. Stop being a junkie and just have fun. 

    I do like your addiction comparison and there is a large component in that. Publishers are playing on that. They know  people will bitch but still buy. They are the corner hustler trying to up sell you on the harder stuff. thats what these events do..get you to know new (to you) characters and get you hooked on more books…if comics are like meth, at least they don’t Fruck up your teeth. =)

  7. @nikbackm  –so how to you explain other tie ins like “home front” and things like that? I think they are designed 1. to get you to add one more pull, 2. hook you on new (to you) characters. 

  8. My favorite article Jason has ever written (and they have all been stellar). Really hits the nail on the head.

  9. @JasonWood  Why did you not count the ongoings that’ll tie into Fear Itself or Booster Gold for Flashpoint?  Just curious.

    I’m all for events and just as with Blackest Night, I’ll be buying all the Flashpoint titles.  What bugs me, however, is that both companies seem to have their events at the same time.  I remember this with Siege and Blackest Night, and now it’s happening again.  Because of that, I’ll hardly be buying anything Fear Itself related besides the main title and the ongoings I already read.

  10. I’m buying none of them! w00p!

  11. @lifesend the ongoings are a different beast, at least relative to the “complaints” I keep hearing. People are taking issue with the fact that Marvel and DC are putting out all these tie-ins PLUS maintaining their ongoings. I’ve seen people compare Flashpoint to Age of Apocalypse, but that’s not a good comparison b/c Marvel, to their credit, stopped publishing the X-books during AoA. In today’s case, all of these tie-ins are on TOP of the ongoings.

  12. I agree. However in response to: “there’s no gun to our head”. That’s true but there’s definitely a certain pressure exerted on the fans via marketing. Yes you can ignore it but it’s still uncomforatble and I think the complaints may be coming from there. If advertising and marketing didn’t work, it wouldn’t exist. So the pressure put on the fans to buy more is real and shouldn’t be dismissed so casally in my opinion.

    I agree though that the most powerful way to protest the pressure is to vote with your money. Don’t buy. Don’t give in.

  13. @Wood: Your article did not go in the direction I thought it would.  You’re absolutely right.  People absolutely need to own their actions.

    For example, I will be buying all of the Flashpoint tie-ins.  I am enjoying almost everything that DC is putting out at the moment, so I want to go all-in and experience everything Flashpoint has to offer. Personally, I am happy that there are so many tie-ins.  I recognize that other people’s mileage may vary.

    On the other hand, I will only be buying the main Fear Itself mini-series and none of the tie-ins.  I want to see what Fraction has cooked up, which is why I am buying it, but I am taking Fraction at his word that you don’t NEED to buy any of the tie-ins.  I can let the rest of tie-ins go.

    I have a theory as to why people get so upset about event tie-ins.  I think people hate to have to make choices.  It’s much easier to buy “all” or “none” than it is to buy “some”.  The cognitive process of making a decision about which books to purchase does extract a cost on the reader.  And, for some people, making these types of decisions can be hard, and hence it costs them even more cognitively.  I think what people are often complaining about is the fact that they have to make a choice (assuming that they do not have a unlimited budget to buy comics) because they cannot buy everything they want.

  14. @ctrosejr  You’re 100% right. People hate to make choices, yet this is a hobby where almost be definition we need to choose. Even if one had the financial means to buy everything on the shelves, I don’t see how there would be enough time to consume it all. It mystifies me.

  15. The best way is to wait for trades.  That way you can find out (and save money) if the main mini-series is enough to understand/enjoy the story.

  16. @Wood  Ah, I see now.  Thanks.

    @JNewcomb  I’m with you, I think there’s a strong psychological component that needs to be taken into account when discussing fan reactions to the nature of event-comics.  You kind of have to get all Zen in order to abstain from consuming all that’s out there and remain content with what one can reasonably afford/consume, and that ain’t easy, as I can tell you from firsthand experience.

  17. Absolutely correct.

    For myself I’m buying the main Flashpoint and Fear Itself minis, and then the Project Superman series because it involves Gene Ha and Scott Snyder.  None of the others did anything to interest me.  I am, proudly, not a martyr!

  18. Hell yes Jason. That’s like me blaming Pepsi because I’m fat and my teeth are rotting. Yes, the product is delicious and their commercials are great, but I’m the one at the store with the choice. I don’t need to buy that. But then I do. That’s on me.

    It’s funny, I keep flirting with skipping an entire event. But I don’t think I’m allowed to. I have a unique position however. Given my druthers, I’d just as soon skip Fear Itself completely.

  19. @ctrosejr  –i think you definitely have something there. EVery trip to the comic shop is an exercise in self discipline and restraint for me. There are SOOO many things i want to get and try. NOt to mention all the trades. I’d literally go bankrupt if i just followed my impulses. I frequently see people at shops just grabbing books…as if they are free. I don’t get how its  possible to read all of those let alone afford. 

    @lifesend  — instead of Zen, i just know that my wife would justifiably murder me if i brought home $50 worth of comics on any given week =) Keeps my hoarding-ness and comic curiosity in check. 

  20. @Wood: Speaking as someone who has a 600+ issue regina pile, I often forget about the time it takes to consume comics when making my purchasing decisions.  50 cent bins are my downfall.

  21. @josh – why are you not allowed to?

  22. @josh: Do it!  Do it, Josh!  Skip Fear Itself.  Take a stand!  Be a man!  

  23. @josh: Yeah you have like, 10 other coworkers who can read it for you. Skip it! 🙂

  24. @josh  — ever think of buying 1 copy of required reading issues…aka “company books” to share around with the reviewers? Seems kinda crazy that you guys are buying stuff out of pocket that you don’t really want. Or is something like that against your guys’ ethics?

  25. @Josh Thanks. And yes, it’s not lost on me how there are people like you, Conor and Ron that really can’t make the choices I’m espousing. Fortunately you guys are the exception to the rule though. Now as for Conor’s decision to try Infestation…

     

  26. Good article, man.

    I don’t get the mentality about “having” to buy tie-ins either. The rare event in which a few tie-ins are kinda necessary to the plot (Final Crisis with the Superman and Batman tie-ins) is exceptionally rare indeed, and often the necessary plot element amounts to a one-sentence explanation (“Superman fought a Monitor vampire”, “Batman escaped Darkseid’s henchmen.”)

    Like you say, all this stuff is what we readers make of it. If you want to buy a tie-in, go for it. But base it on the actual content of the comics and the creators. Don’t commit yourself to buying a whole slew of books that you may not want (and then, worse, complain about having bought so many). I think what a lot of fans need to understand is that they don’t “need” to buy anything.

    Moreover, they don’t need to understand everything fully either. We’re at a point in mainstream comics where continuity barely exists. There’s no sense in buying every book featuring Wolverine in order to “understand” what the character is these days. The character is written differently in half the books; his day-to-day life can’t fit into everything that he’s shown as having done. And, on a larger scale, trying to “understand” a line-wide event is just as futile; it leads to irrelevant questions about “Why didn’t this character over here do something over there? What was the exact timeline down to the minute?” It’s just beside the point. Even 10-20 years ago, when continuity WAS managed much more tightly, you still didn’t need to read everything in order to “understand” things. Readers back then just got as much as they could out of the comics they read. We should learn some lessons from our younger selves and do the same.

  27. To me, it’s not so much being “forced” to buy all the tie-ins (I don’t),  but rather these big Marvel/DC content-blasts eating up retailer $$ that is then not available to purchase Indie books (for the 30% of comic shops that actually bother to get Indie books in any depth).

    Even Indie friendly shops need to manage their spending budget, and even those shops make the lion’s shjre of their money selling Marvel/DC, less available $$ for purchases means less choice on the racks for customers who come in & buy off the rack.

    People who have pull-lists and do pre-orders are not affected, they should get what they order, but that will not help the industry grow.

  28. @BBretall but that’s a fallacy IMHO. If a retailer thinks his customers will buy indie books, he will buy the indie books and eschew the event tie ins (e.g., Bergen Street and Isotope to name two). This idea that a retailer HAS to eat up his cash flow on these books is ludicrous, especially when they’ve spent years amassing $1 bins full of Big 2 overstock. It’s up to THEM to assess what sells and what’s wasteful.

    And let’s be honest, most of those shops wouldn’t take more chances on indie books, they would pocket the incremental cash flow. But that’s a debate for another time.
     

  29. Jason Wood is a smart man. Hear him.

  30. Someone had to say it. What I find interesting is that deep down, we all know this stuff. Thank you Jason, for forcing the conversation!

  31. @josh  Do it! Skip an event!!!

  32. Flashpoint is a great big Elseworlds story, so when it comes to the tie-in minis, I say the more the merrier!  These are outside of continuity and have the potential to be full of surprises, so I signed up for nearly all of them.

    Fear Itself…I’m only reading Home Front, because Christos Gage is always a win for me.  I don’t care about the event itself, and I’ve seen enough events to know that I’ll pick up on what I need by osmosis and by reading the books I was going to read anyway.   

  33. I’m actually opting out of a big event for the first time in my reading career with Fear Itself, I’m going to keep reading the books I already do and I know some will crossover but I’m not buying anything with Fear Itself in the title.  Missing the first issue was easier than expected, curious how the rest of the story will go

  34. @Wood  I used to help out at a friend’s comic shop (sometime around House of M I believe) that paid me in store credit, and I actually did run into the problem of not being able to consume the material fast enough. I was even buying double copies of books just because I had the extra store credit to spend and was already picking up everything I wanted to read. In that time I was reading just about every Marvel book, and decided to pick up every DC book with a One Year Later logo, just to see if there was anything I was missing out on. Then I would get home on Wednesdays and all of a sudden have 30 to 40 books to read, plus half of the last week’s books that I hadn’t gotten around to.

  35. @Wood Fair point, but I think the owners who “get it” (like James Sime of Isotope) are few & far between.   They don’t “think” their customers will buy Indie books, so they sell out of Nonplayer in 2 hours (if they even ordered it in the 1st place).  Yet they continue to build up $1 bin stock.

    As you said, the business acumen of the average comic shop owner is a debate for another day.

  36. The one thing this article doesn’t mention is the level of investment we, the readers, have put into the characters in DC and Marvel books.  I understand that they’re fictional characters but they are fictional characters that we have come to care about.  And if major changes to these character are going to be taking place outside their main book, a reader invested in a character HAS TO pick it up if he wants to know what is going on in the life of the character.  So while I agree with you that not everyone has  to buy every tie-in, those of us invested in the characters are faced with a dillema.  Especially when Marvel is already double printing the main books our characters appear in.

  37. @josh – On the one hand, I feel for you with the whole having to buy event book thing.  However, you and your colleagues are doing a service which I don’t think we mention enough, and that is you help us buyers to know what’s good to read and what’s utter crap (though your ripping of Fallen Sun last year almost got me to buy it just to watch the Hindenburg-like crash and burn).  We can then invest our money better.  If you guys praise a book, I’ll go back and get the issue or note to buy the trade.  Same for the users who post reviews here.  A little less “It must be mine on Wednesday!” mentality would be help too so we can watch the trends, especially on iffy books.

  38. @nukethewhalesagain  You’re speaking to the addictive nature of fandom. We all have it to varying degrees, but recognize YOU control that. No one is saying it’s easy, just that you shouldn’t blame the creators of this content you’ve come to love for making you want to buy what they’re selling.

  39. @nukethewhalesagain: No one HAS TO do anything when it comes to this hobby.  It is true that people who care about characters will feel compelled to buy tie-ins (or spin-offs or adjective-less titles or annuals) with those characters in them.  However, it is still the responsibility of the consumer to decide where their dollars go.  Fortunately, as froggulper pointed out, continuity rarely matters anymore.  If you’re still buying a book because your favorite character is in it, but you don’t really want to, you’ve got to stop it.

    As a life-long Spider-man fan, I used to buy every Spider-man title out there.  I no longer do that because I found that most of the brand extentions weren’t very good.  So, I cut back to only Amazing Spider-man.  No more tie-ins or spin-offs.  At the same time, I buy almost every Batman book out there (Batman, Detective, Batgirl, Batman Inc., Red Robin) but that’s because I like those books right now, not because I am tied to the character.  If the they stop being good, I will drop them. 

  40. @nukethewhalesagain  To some extent the publishers are helping break readers of their addiction.  I used to slavishly get all the books from Marvel (for instance) until they started publishing so many books that it became impractical to buy them all.  Then I realized I didn’t need to get them all after all.
    Then I’d get all the books in a particular franchise, until there was a combo of putting out so many books in the franchise AND crossing over with something else so getting all those became impractical.
    And, I’d get all the event books, until that finally got impractical.

    I understand the obsessive nature of collecting probably better than most (as anyone who’s seen my collection) BUT, once you realize you cannot get it ALL, then it becomes easier & easier to cut way back and pick and choose what you enjoy most.

    This is an unintended consequence of flooding the market, you get even your most obsessive fans to stop getting everything.  Declining sales may be an indicator of this.

  41. Good stuff.  I’ve definitely experienced enough BIG EVENTS over the last few years to know how to keep my personal hype in check and only buy the issues that interest me.  I’ve been disappointed by the event and excited by the event.  I’ve definitely bought too many issues at times.  If the ride sounds interesting to you, enjoy it.  Get off if you don’t.  In this case I may skip Fear Itself altogether but Flashpoint has several tie-ins that sound cool to me.

    I think the matyr attitude stems from the general and common perception that all transactions are somehow unfair and that there is usually a victim involved in any exchange of goods.  But any voluntary transaction is just that – two parties exchanging items each values higher than the other.  Sure, there is hype here, but there is certainly no coercion or threat of violence.

  42. This article really articulates a general sentiment that the guys on the show, and the web-site itself has been growing for a while now.  I appreciate this shit, and it helps people.

  43. @josh

    Dude, skip the event. I would much rather hear about books that aren’t being talked about then those that are dominating the headlines. Do what you gotta do, but there is at least an audience of one for something besides the most recent event book.

  44. @Josh @ScottH  I agree.  I think you’re an excellent choice for the Official iFanboy Indie Correspondent.  And Fables.

  45. My problem with Marvel/DC events – they’re handled in ways that frustrate and alienate new/returning readers.

    Someone who’s gotten out of comics but perhaps wants to wade back in…. or someone who’s seen one of the tentpole movies and wants to see what all the hubbub is about. They wander into the store two or three weeks after hearing about “Fear Itself” or “Flashpoint”…. and the experience is baffling and frustrating for the uninitiated. Often, retailers won’t want to lose potential sales so they obfuscate the truth about what you should and shouldn’t buy to “get” the “real” story. 

    It’s a terrible way to treat a potential new/returning customer – make them think they’re an idiot, or not hip enough, and quite often they leave frustrated and without purchasing anything and don’t return to the shop for months or years. I’ve seen that guy, I’ve been that guy.

    Sure, sites like iFanboy and podcasts like Word Balloon get frank and honest comments from the creators on the relative merit of the spinoffs. But the new customers do not use those sources of information.

    I was in a comic shop just the other day with an incredibly intelligent friend who mostly reads indie comics and TPBs but was willing to maybe try some superhero fare, I told him, “that Casanova guy has one called Fear Itself – if there’s ever a chance you might like something eventwise this might be it” — and the way the covers of the comics were designed, there were 3 or 4 titles – and the way they were shelved – only ones that had the visible banner of “Fear Itself” were the spinoffs. The actual first issue of the event had its title obscured by the comic beneath it in the shelving. His eyes gravitated to the ones with the visible title he’d just been told and he grabbed the (IMO) potentially least-likable spinoff of the entire batch, If I had not been there standing right next to him, already having knowledge of the series, and pointed out to him – “nah, that one’s B.S., this one is the real book,” he would’ve picked up the wrong book and written the entire thing off.

  46. Josh not covering the events would be like a political correspondent not watching or reading the state of union address. Maybe if it wasn’t a full time gig now, but when he says he might “have to”, I hear what he’s saying. It’s about professionalism.

    Comic readers. If you are feeling pressured into reading anything other than what you truly want to read, then you need to stop reading comics, and go on a “Quest For Intestinal Fortitude”. You need stones way more than you need to read another comic. Biggest bunch of whiny bullshit I have ever heard. I am glad the choices are out there. Have to make some hard choices deciding what to trim from your pull list? Try deciding on either food or heat for your family. That’s a hard choice. Don’t piss in anyone else’s punchbowl just because something isn’t your cup of tea, or you feel event buyers are what’s wrong with anything. Buy your shit. Hopefully enjoy what you get. Shut the fuck up about what others buy.

    On the other hand, the comic retail business, from what I can gather, is a strange business. The whole thing is bizarre to me. The stores have to buy product based on what they feel they are likely to sell? Even though that product may, in many instances, be an entire new title that has never been offered before? And then they can only buy it from ONE PLACE?! And they can’t return it?! Sounds like something from before government regulation days. I can only offer my opinion. My feeling is that this can’t last much longer as it is. Regardless of ‘Events’, I think that in twenty years or so, we will be sitting around saying “I can’t believe that system lasted as long as it did”. I have no idea what it will be, or when the “big change” is coming, but I truly hope that it comes from people being proactive. If it happens because the old system is now in smoldering ruins, a lot of truly good people will have to suffer. Nobody wants that.

  47. You mean I don’t have to read Fear Itself:Deadpool?

  48. Buy what you want; Wikipedia the rest.

  49. @josh  Well you already skipped Infestation! Why stop now?

  50. The problem is that Marvel and DC are putting fans in an all or nothing position. Yes, you can  just read the main series and get the story, but fans that feel like they’re missing a portion of the story may eventually just start skipping these events. Hopefully, they’ll start picking up other non-event books instead, but they may just stop buying comics entirely.

  51. @Wood, @ctrosejr : I understand that all buying decisions are a choice.  And really by choosing to read comics I have put myself at the mercy of the publishers.  But that’s why I complain.  I want to let them know with my words and actions (by buying or not buying comics) what displeases me. So I speak up when I feel like I am being taken advantage of.  For example, I felt I was taken advantage of during the Batman: RIP storyline.  I know DC and Grant Morrison have all said that it was all part of his grand plan.  But it didn’t feel right to tease Batman’s death for years only to have it take place in an unrelated book.  That’s what I mean when I talk about major character changes taking place outside the main book.  That was very frustrating and it caused me to drop Batman for a while. 

  52. Josh, there’s two other guys on your team reading Fear Itself and a harem of writers also reading it. Skip it!!! Then write about the experience. It’ll be fun! 

  53. @ResurrectionFlan  Josh didn’t skip Infestation. He read every issue just like I did. (He may not have finished the final issue, but he read all the rest.)

  54. Great article, and very true on the tie-in part. I don’t get why people feel that they will miss key parts of Flashpoint if they skip the tie-ins. In Blackest Night I’m pretty sure that none of the tie-ins were really necessary to the story, sure they may have given a tidbit here or there(Donna Troy getting infected, Bart Allen being resurected, how Hal gathered the colored corps) but to say that you HAD to read them to understand the story is ridiculous.

  55. @froggulper  Thats a really good point. By pumping so many titles into a ‘one single continuity’ universe Marvel and DC really have killed the whole concept.

  56. You are correct that crazy big event are not a disservice to fans of Marvel or DC.  I think they are a disservice to fans of the talent at Marvel and DC if their work is being compromised by the constraints of event servicing.  But that talent has to make a living in order to put out the indy books I prefer, so I don’t hold it against them.

  57. You know, I asserted that I was going to buy all of the Flashpoint tie-ins because it sounded like Elseworlds goodness.  Knowing now that there are 52 titles, me thinks I need to be a bit more selective.  Yowza!

    When I first got back into comics 6 years ago, I was totally the dude that you describe in this article.  But I’ve mellowed quite a bit and find the minimal stress and ennui quite nice.  Being selective guarantees that, for the most part, I’m always reading awesome stuff.

  58. I am skipping Fear Itself completely…with the exception of the books I’m reading that are getting forced into it. 🙁

  59. @Harper – you prefer indie books? I got all excited thinking there was someone else like me here, then I looked at your pull list and saw you’ve bought one indie book this year.

  60. I will only be buying the 7 actual issues of Fear Itself. I quit buying tie in books (unless I happen to already be reading a title that then ties in) back after Civil War. I just couldn’t keep up nor had the money. So I stopped. And you know what? It’s been great. I actually enjoy events again! I get a nice story with a bunch of heroes and it doesn’t break the bank.