Dave's Fanboy Sermon

Customer: "Hey, is there any way I can get a copy of Captain America 25? I've got to have one!"
Me: "Ummm, I thought you didn't like that book."
Customer: "Not normally, but he dies, right?"
Me: "Well, yes, that's been the story. Did you like Civil War?"
Customer: "Nah...I read the first two issues and dropped it after Spidey revealed his secret identity. It wasn't all that good."
Me: "So why do you want the Captain America issue, then? You know it's basically a coda to Civil War."
Customer: "Well, you know...he dies! That'd just be a good one to have."
Me: "You think he's going to stay dead?"
Customer: (after pause) "Uh, no. Not really."
Me: "So you want a book that is an epilog to a story you didn't like because a character you don't care about dies, even though you don't think he'll even stay dead?"
Customer: "Yeah! So...you got any?"

In case you're just returning from Mars, Captain America is dead, killed in the epilog to Civil War. The media went nuts, CNN, Dateline, news stories galore, it seems that this topic was on everyone's hot list. Now, on the one hand, I'm shocked that anyone is buying it, or taking it this seriously at all. I get amused at all the calls to my store, just begging for me to find a copy of this book, certain that it is going to be worth a fortune. "It'll be just like the Death Of Superman?" they say. "Really? You mean the same Death of Superman book that people were paying $200 right after it came out and now is lucky to bring $10-12?" I could answer, but I don't. There's no reason. The average person (read "non-comic fan") probably wouldn't even know that Superman got "better". Phoenix got "better", for that matter. So did Ghost Rider, Reed Richards, Doctor Doom, Colossus, Green Lantern, Robin... the list goes on and on.

Now death can be a useful tool in drama, and certainly literary characters have been killed only to return. However, the world of comics has overused this ploy so much that no one who actually reads the books takes it seriously anymore. and, in fact, this "event" really isn't for "us". It is for the civilians out there who don't read comics but know all about e-bay. It's stirring up a lot of publicity. Marvel is currently on everyone's mind. Sure, it's not all positive publicity, but Marvel's attitude has always been there is no such thing as negative publicity.

I often get asked why I'm so self righteous about things like this (and I am, no argument there) - why I don't just try to ride the trend and make a quick buck. Now, I have nothing against making a buck, quick or otherwise. But here's food for thought:
Civil War started out with a lot of promise. Initially everyone was really excited about it and the books were flying out the door. However, by the end of the series, it had lost most, if not all, of that excitement. As the story drug on, a lot of readers found that it didn't live up to its potential. By the time the 7th issue finally came out, I had lots of left over copies just sitting on my shelf. This was almost the series that "fizzled". The key word here is "almost". Because they kill a major character in the coda and suddenly that's all anyone can talk about. Was it well done? Most of the fans that I have talked to say no. These are comic readers, of course. The "outsiders" that wandered in to buy the book most likely didn't want to open the book and read it, potentially hurting their investment. But back to the fans, most seemed to think it was poorly handled and didn't really make sense when you took a moment to think about it - just like much of the Civil War series itself. But who cares? Marvel got exactly what they wanted. And they did it not by providing a great series that kept readers enthralled right to the end. They got it by a sensational ploy that grabbed headlines.

Over at DC, 52 has been a fantastic series. It has twisted and turned so well, nobody seems to be able to predict where it's going. Sales has slowly, but steadily risen with almost every issue. The general opinion (again, nothing scientific, just what I hear from fans) is that it beat Civil War hands done for consistency and enjoyability. However, have any of these books been "hot? Only the issues that feature BATWOMAN. Because Batwoman is a lesbian. It made the news. Them books are bound to be worth money because they introduce a lesbian superheroine! Sensational!

So if you're one of the big two comic companies, and you're trying to think of how to sell loads of books (which is, of course, their whole purpose for being), what are you going to do? Carefully construct a series that is well written and enthralling, that entertains your fans? Or grab a headline with a really sensational stunt? What message are we sending to DC and Marvel when we go nuts over any Batwoman appearance, or rush to buy a copy of Captain America when we normally wouldn't bother with the book? A friend of mine tells the story of seeing a woman on TV several years ago in one of the news stories about the Death of Superman issue. She held up a copy of the then hot book and said "I've just bought my child's college education."

You'd think that we'd learn from the past, but somehow we're attracted to these things like a cat to a ball of thread. The cycle continues and it's the same conversation, over and over:
Me: "So you want a book that is an epilog to a story you didn't like because a character you don't care about dies, even though you don't think he'll even stay dead?"
Customer: "Yeah! So...you got any?"
Me: "PT Barnum was right! There's a sucker born every minute."
Customer: "Barnum? Who's he?"
Me: "It doesn't matter. He's dead anyway."
Customer: "Really? uh...you got the issue where he died?"

Illustration by Gerald Kelley