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Where is the Love? By Maxine Nelson
#1
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I read this article tonight and then i read it again. It's a small article, but it's obvious that the feelings expressed are heartfelt. Personally I feel that publishers seem to forget that they are producing a medium that is supposed to entertain. In the past comic books were often a source for great innovation and enjoyment. Today that same innovation is usually reserved by small or self published titles and the large publishers seem mostly content to rehash old stories or even resort to cheap gimmicks to cream a few extra pennies from their audience, we the comic buying public. While the comics industry is the same as any other in that the companies involved are out to make as much money for their backers and shareholders as possible, there is an inherent difference between a comic book publisher and most other service suppliers. The core reason for any comic publishers existance is to publish comics, to provide written and drawn entertainment to the comic buying masses. Too often these days I think publishers are looking more towards movie deals than to their core business and thus they arew actually losing sight of what their core customers want. Fun four color action. Plain and simple.
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#2
Maxine is a terrific writer and I'm really proud of the work she's done at the Comic Widows site. She's a friend and has always been loyal to all of my projects - both serious and silly. She is also one of the most passionate writers in comics fandom, so when you said 'heartfelt' you hit the nail on the head, Loyal. She cares about the comics and the characters the way I wish the professionals did.

Glenn Walker
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#3
local,

Glad you liked my article so much Smile .

It's a concern of mine that just grows greater with the passage of time.

A good example of reasons for my concern now is a new limited series out from DC (My fave comics company) called Identity Crisis.

That title may seem intriguing but from what I've read about this mini's first 3 issues (thru spoilers & reviews) it's main purpose seems to be slaughtering both the integrity & loved ones of many of their heroes.

I mean I've seen a lot of icky things in comics, but this mini's becoming a cake taker Sad.

And here's a sad fact for you: the mini's writer Brad Meltzer has explicitly said that this mini is mainly focusing on a big mystery involving several heroes & villians, with a few murders only being a small part of that.

So does DC have the guts to market the comic that way, to let us know it is an intriguing stunner of a mystery with some big shocks, the kind of marketing would've intrigued me?

Nope! DC dropped the ball :roll:.

The minute I saw the ad trailer for ID Crisis on DC's homepage I knew this mini was taking a trip down the toilet. It had flashing bloodied letters with a mere hint of a picture of some heroes.

Gruesome doesn't sell me on comics (I already get Promethea & Outsiders so I don't need another comic to add for my dark interests) but intrigue, thought & care do :wink: .

Even some readers enjoying this mini are concerned about it's sadistic content!

And an even sadder thing I can't think of one comic set in the DCU I'd feel comfy giving to a child under the age of 10. JL Adventures & Astro City come to mind, but while they're printed by DC, they're from offshoot companies & not set in DC's main universe.
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#4
Welcome aboard Maxine.

I coudn't agree more that the current contents of a lot of books are definitely aimed at the more mature reader which despite what the major industry players would like to tell us is their main customer these days - today's 8 to 10 year olds are more likely to spend their money on trading cards, video games etc than comic books.

Regarding ID Crisis specifically I haven't felt inclined towards it, after all do we need another 'Crisis' in DC?
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