Comics Portal: ‘Go Buy Something Else!’

There’s a strange trend in the entertainment industry these days: Telling customers NOT to pick up their product!

‘GO WATCH SOMETHING ELSE!’

This trend became really obvious to me recently during an interview with the showrunner for The Boys, which will soon be streaming their fourth season.

Eric Kripke told the person interviewing him that anyone bothered by his show’s perspective (often called “woke”) should “go watch something else.” That’s an interesting way of marketing a series these days! It’s particularly fascinating given the numbers on viewership right now. Yes, this might have worked when the pandemic was still keeping everyone at home, wondering what they should do or watch next. But now that things have opened up at least some? It’s not a choice I would make, for sure!

“I clearly have a perspective, and I’m not shy about pulling that perspective in the show,” Kripke said. “Anyone who wants to call the show ‘woke’ or whatever, that’s OK. Go watch something else.”

For those who are coming to the party late, The Boys is based on a comic with the same name and with some of the same elements. Homelander, obviously the show’s Superman, is very self-obsessed and has no problems using his powers to “take out” anyone who opposes him. He’s blonde and blue-eyed, something of a referral to the Nazi Germany perspective on humanity, and he doesn’t hesitate to indulge any passion he feels at any time, including using his heat vision to cause the person he’s unhappy with to explode or get turned into ashes.

It’s superheroes as if they were more realistic, so it’s a program many of us have to watch with our eyes half-open because we are ready to cringe at any moment. Since The Boys is based on comics, I feel the need to keep up with what the show is doing. Is it my favorite superhero viewing? Not hardly, but if you believe everybody is a nasty “POS” as they put it, you’ll really enjoy this romp of sex and intimidation!

‘DON’T DO THAT!’

Now, some of us, when told NOT to do something, just can’t help but do it! We show our independence and our interest in separating ourselves from the crowd, so we run headlong into what others might consider a dangerous situation.

When police officers or firefighters do this, many of us applaud their self-sacrifice! But when someone says not to put your hand directly into a fire, well, that’s an alert to be heeded. However, some of us have to get seriously burned before we understand why we’ve been given the warning. We just don’t “get” the concern any other way!

In my experience, though, most people will actually listen to someone who says not to engage in certain behaviors that seem to be dangerous. I guess there are enough of us who have to learn for themselves that some creators in entertainment want that audience to dive in and find out on their own!

SOME COMIC CREATORS ALSO USE THIS TACTIC

I’m not going to name names, but I have noticed that this seems to be a strategy some comics creators and marketers prefer to employ. “You definitely shouldn’t buy or read my book!” I’ve heard some say. “It’s too dangerous for you!”

Granted, that’s just too alluring for some fans! They have to dive head first in and see for themselves!

This strategy apparently attracts the audience they want to buy or read their comic. However, given the reduced numbers of comic buyers we are currently experiencing, I don’t think this is a good idea. That number is constantly shrinking since the results often hinder a person from taking part in buying comics, among other things!

Of course, some books, like DC’s Black Label imprint, are obviously not intended for younger readers. That’s a clear indication to parents and other caregivers that children really shouldn’t read the book. And that is not meant to be a lure for kids, either!

An important part of comics creation is the marketing and labeling of your books. Last week, I talked about how accessible the tools for making comics have become. Social media has made spreading the word about your book a lot easier than the days of DC and Marvel being the “Big Two” that had a stranglehold on the industry.

Now, there are literally hundreds of comics publishing companies around, and many don’t seem to read the very books they produce! If they do, they certainly don’t seem to be concerned about fan reaction and influence!

TELL A GOOD STORY!

I know I’ve said this many times before, but it certainly bears repeating! If you tell a good story, you are likely to get the right kind of attention!

Then, too, certain books are meant to tell certain kinds of tales. For instance, when Jonathan Kent took over the mantle of Superman, I really didn’t enjoy those comics because they just weren’t telling “Superman” stories! I recently have also been unhappy with the Batman comic because he’s not fighting crime—instead, he’s having to fuss with a robot version of himself. If I read my comics right, that storyline may be headed into an “Absolute Power” event this summer, so I’m withholding more criticism. But it just hasn’t been Batman to me!

These days, I honestly miss the feeling of rushing to my local comics shop, picking up my weekly “stash,” then running home so I could “dive in” to the good stories! I would get lost in the comics!

That experience, sadly, is becoming much rarer these days. Many books are just time-killers, wasting 5-to-10 minutes of my life. The good ones are still out there, but you have to work and search very hard in order to find them! But I continue to look week after week to locate and support those excellent stories!

What do you think? Are you the kind of person who heeds warnings, or do you need to experience things for yourself? Are good stories the name of the comics game? Or is it more about relationships—a person with another person or one’s relationship with oneself? Whatever your opinions, be sure to share them in the space below!

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