MayoReport-2008-07-Comics

[JohnMayo]

Kirkman didn't exactly say that Marvel & DC should target younger audiences. He said that they should try to appeal to the all-ages demographic that they used to target.

Kirkman clearly said that DC and Marvel should focus on bringing in new and younger readers. He never used the phrase all-ages. His statements in his video and on Word Balloon indicate to me that he sees DC and Marvel as entry ramps for both readers and creators to get into comics and that both should move on beyond that after a while. I see where he is coming from and partially agree and disagree with him on this.

[JohnMayo]

When was the last time another artist was the sole reason for an increase in sales on a comic, as opposed to a writer like Millar or Morrison?

Jim Lee on Batman and/or All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder?

[Lobo]

When was the last time another artist was the sole reason for an increase in sales on a comic, as opposed to a writer like Millar or Morrison?

Jim Lee on Batman and/or All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder?

Jim Lee isn't "another artist." He's the artist I mentioned.

[JohnMayo]

When was the last time another artist was the sole reason for an increase in sales on a comic, as opposed to a writer like Millar or Morrison?

Jim Lee on Batman and/or All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder?

Jim Lee isn't "another artist." He's the artist I mentioned.

So he is... [WebWiz29] My bad...

I can't really think of another artist with that sort of drawing power (pardon the pun) these days...

[Lobo]

Kirkman didn't exactly say that Marvel & DC should target younger audiences. He said that they should try to appeal to the all-ages demographic that they used to target.

Kirkman clearly said that DC and Marvel should focus on bringing in new and younger readers. He never used the phrase all-ages. His statements in his video and on Word Balloon indicate to me that he sees DC and Marvel as entry ramps for both readers and creators to get into comics and that both should move on beyond that after a while. I see where he is coming from and partially agree and disagree with him on this.

Okay, I just re-listened to the video (I'm working, and watching wasn't necessary). Kirkman definitely said that DC & Marvel should be "appealing to kids."

He also said that he feels that the Adventures lines, "talk down to kids to a certain extent, and that's not what kids want. Kids want to feel like they're reading something that's not necessarily meant for them, but appropriate for them."

So while he didn't specifically use the words "all-ages", that's what I took from this statement.

[Lobo]

So he is... [WebWiz29] My bad...

I can't really think of another artist with that sort of drawing power (pardon the pun) these days...

Me neither, but I'm confident the writers I listed do. This is why I said that while artists had the cache when Image was founded, the tide has turned in the favor of writers (and Jim Lee ).

[JohnMayo]

Okay, I just re-listened to the video (I'm working, and watching wasn't necessary). Kirkman definitely said that DC & Marvel should be "appealing to kids."

He also said that he feels that the Adventures lines, "talk down to kids to a certain extent, and that's not what kids want. Kids want to feel like they're reading something that's not necessarily meant for them, but appropriate for them."

So while he didn't specifically use the words "all-ages", that's what I took from this statement.

He seemed to be saying that DC and Marvel should go for the younger audience and leave the more sophisticated and mature stuff for the other publishers. I took his comments about the Marvel Adventures line as him seeing those titles as not working because that aren't about the "real" versions of the characters.

New readers seem to often be equated with younger readers. While I agree that younger readers are needed as we will all grow old and died eventually, shouldn't publishers be trying to get whatever new readers they can regardless of how old those people might be?