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Thursday, June 23, 2005
Is it too late to comment?
First off, thank you to all who have sent congratulations my way, both on the comments section of this blog and elsewhere. I appreciate all of them very much.
Now, I would like to comment on DC's announcement (OH NO, NOT ANOTHER BLOGGER GOING OVER IT) about Grant Morrison's (DOES EVERY THIRD BLOG POST HAVE TO BE ABOUT HIM?) new position as revamp master (THE BLOG'S DON'T EVEN HAVE A GOOD NAME FOR HIS NEW JOB). I know, I'm probably the last place in the world that's going to offer commentary on the subject and you're probably all tired of reading about it but it does tie into something I talked about months ago.
In the middle of this Newsarama article Morrison mentions that his role is reminiscent of what Julius Schwartz was doing in the 1950's. I think that's an apt enough comparison but I can't help but feel a bit like Shane Bailey does when he worries that DC is reading his blog.
Of course, I know anyone at DC has about 1,000 better things to do than read this or anybody else's comic book blog. It's just that in this February post I say that DC should bring out that old Schwartz spirit and start re-inventing old heroes who were relevant for the Cold War and make them relevant for today (and then make them relevant for tomorrow when the need for such action reemerges). I'm a Morrison fan to an almost completest degree (I've got the issues of Steed & Mrs. Peel to prove it!) so the news that DC is willing to let his mind do the reinventing is one I receive with joy.
Yet I wonder, will it be enough? When I think of reinvention these days I wonder if just having one writer (albeit one helluva writer) come up with new takes on a character enough? I think the times call for not just a reinvention in terms of writing but a reinvention in terms of art, packaging and marketing. I would really like to see overhauls on DC properties (and not just small potatoes Doll Man), as well as overhauls in how they are presented, that are so outrageous that they appear new and exciting to kids more use to hookah bars and playing games in the Grand Theft Auto series than arguing over who is the best Green Lantern. Morrison gets a lot of mileage out of younger generations clashing with the older ones (he claims his New X-Men run was inspired by "The War on Kids" more than anything else) so why not put some of that energy into making over old DC properties (for the purposes of this argument, all of DC's properties are "old")? More traditional fans are scared off by a creator like Morrison as it is, so why not just go all the way and let Bryan Lee O'Malley and Corey Lewis go crazy with DC's world? Make the books available in digest-sized chunks and have the Direct Market be something of an afterthought when reaching people through bookstores and malls is so much more potent. You'll know you've reached success when every fan over the age of 30 says "my era has passed."
I suppose that won't happen, though. DC panders to their base more than politicians under Karl Rove do. DC shouldn’t totally ignore those who have grown up with these characters but they should be more aggressive in making sure other generations will want to grow up with their versions of these characters. Having Morrison bring in new energy is the best we'll see and that's not too bad. I just hope these new books are more Klarion the With Boy and less JLA: Classified. Even a writer like Morrison gives us a stinker sometimes.
Permanent Link: 3:12 PM |
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