This new book series does pose some interesting questions. Who is the audience for these books-- comic readers or readers in general? Will people who don't normally read comics decide to buy these because of the format, or will they continue to ignore them because they don't read comics? Will the price point be off-putting to some people who are already feeling an economic burden having to buy twenty or thirty comics a month just to get a complete story? Is DC going into competition with itself (I felt this way about Marvel's Ultimate line and was wrong there, it seems)? Do regular comic readers need all that continuity baggage in order to feel more invested in the stories?
I foresee an immediate appeal to myself if the stories and art are up to snuff, but I wonder if they're ultimately doing these for an audience of one.
And I'm far from the typical "modern comic reader."
After all, I once called for the complete abandonment of the monthly magazine, an idea that gives ordinary comic shop patrons nightmares. While I prefer the novel format, I worry these new books might end up being mere curiosities, making a big splash due to their newness but in the end, not self-sustaining.
So it's a risk, and a calculated one. If it doesn't work, at least we'll have a few interesting books to read and a marketing concept to dissect. And I've long championed new formats for sequential storytelling. I'd love for this to work, moreso if the books themselves have any kind of quality. In fact, I'd love for them to push the concept even further.
No comments:
Post a Comment