As Long As We Don’t Say Anything

A really disappointing article accessible through the "Publishers Weekly Comics Weekly" e-mail underlines many of the problems that anyone has working with the larger comics publishers when it comes to self-serving spin. DC Comics executives Paul Levitz and Stephanie Fierman together is a great get of which many news sources can only dream. DC's backlist is a fine subject. Unfortunately, the resulting article is little more than a public relations session.

* First, DC Comics won't release numbers, so none of their assertions can be examined under the light of cold, hard fact. (Simply because numbers demand context is no reason to abandon numbers.) This means we have no idea what, say, "strong effect" means when it comes to Endless Nights driving sales to Neil Gaiman's backlist. I see no reason to give DC the benefit of the doubt when it comes to characterizing this fairly, or, really, to ever give them a free platform to make such assertions without noting this fact.

* Second, some of what DC says seems really dubious. "Superstores increase the depth of selection of our books" runs counter to a lot of conventional wisdom that says comic shops carry far more than the couple of racks at Barnes and Noble. "We have the most diverse backlist of any comics publisher" is arguable at best.

* Third, some of the statements beg for obvious follow-up. This statement on Hollywood's effect on graphic novel sales -- "Look at Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's League of Extraordinary of Gentlemen graphic novel series. A relatively modest film jumped the LOEG graphic novels to #1 sellers" -- just begs a question about a market outcome some direct market retailers strongly assert, that a movie spikes sales but then kills them long-term.

If any of the PWCW people out there wish to defend the article on its own terms, or suggest something along the lines that it should be read not as a report on DC's backlist but a survey on DC's attitudes towards their backlist, I'd be happy to run their letter. Everyone knows how difficult it can be to maintain relationships with publishers who see news sources as marketing vehicles. I think it's imperative to suggest comics readers embrace a level of massive skepticism, not just for sites and writers with limited budgets who embrace a limited scope for their work, but for magazines of record with paid staff and all the access in the world.
 
posted 6:11 am PST | Permalink
 

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