“Wonder Woman” Will Bring Women To Superhero Movies, Says Time Warner CEO
And when the most recent Fantastic Four movie catastrophe came out there was an article published on comicbook.com entitled:
Fantastic Four: Why Casting A Black Actor As The Human Torch Might Make A Movie Better
And then there are the lures set out for teens, like this one from birthmoviesdeath.com:
DC Decides Superheroes Are For Girls Too
The byline on this one spells things out bluntly:
The comic company launches a multimedia attempt to capture the teen girl market
And the list goes on and on about how movies and comics, by targeting a certain demographic or choosing the right ethnic group, will now rake in millions where prior it was doomed to failure. This may work for cigarettes and clothing, but it’s not a “one-size-fits-all” rule.
I’ll spell it out for all the Harvard Business Masters and Doctorate recipients who can’t get it on their own.
1.) Women currently make up 51% of the comic reading population.
2.) As a matter of fact, data shows that men make up the majority of comic book readers until they reach their 50’s, then women make up the majority of the readers.
3.) If you look at ethnicity Hispanics take the prize with the most readers, followed by Asian Americans, and then African Americans.
(All information gleaned from www.graphicpolicy.com which covers the numbers behind comic books.)
So what does it all mean? Whatever you want it to. I could us it to prove that as women get older they are more likely to read comic books, I could try to prove that male and female readership relies heavily on the “generation” they were born in, or I could use common sense and toss all of this information out the window.
What about the demographics are they clearly missing? (These answers are courtesy of me and a whole lot of common sense.)
Before we get to that, however, let’s look at the generations previously referenced as I will be using them in the upcoming paragraphs:
1927 - 1945: Silent Generation or Traditionalists
(currently 70 - 88 years old)
1946 - 1964: Baby Boomers
(currently 51 - 69 years old)
1965 - 1983: Generation X or the Busters
(currently 32 - 50 years old)
1984 - 2002: Generation Y or the Millenials
(currently 13 - 31 years old)
2003 - ?: Generation Z or the Digital Generation
(currently up to 12 years old)
It appears to me that the ones with the most expendable income for comic books, comic movies, comic collections, etc. are Baby Boomers or Gen X’ers. They are also the ones that make up a significant part of the parenting group. Keep this in mind as we move on to the “Ages” of comic books:
1500s - 1828: The Pioneer Age of Comics
1883 - 1938: The Platinum Age
1646 - 1900: Also known as the “Victorian Age”
1938 - 1945: Golden Age
1946 - 1956: Atom Age
1956 - 1970: Silver Age
1970 - 1984: Bronze Age
1980 - 1987: Also known as the “Iron Age"
1984 - 1992: Copper Age
1992 - Present: Modern Age
You will see that the Baby Boomers and Gen Xers are getting their first comics in the Golden Age of Comics. They are now the ones talking to their kids about comics, spending their time watching superhero movies together with their kids and some of them even own comic book stores. In other words, the groups of people who were introduced to comics in their Golden Age are now the ones that are guiding the opinions of their children in regard to comics, controlling the drawing, editing, distribution and buying and selling of comic books.
Wow! Two HUGE generations of people coincidentally come to being in the Golden Age of Comics and live through the subsequent ages to today.
I can hear your thoughts, “Amazing! The comic industry has a huge chance here! Don’t they? I mean, it seems like they might...wait....I don’t know what you want me to say...” It’s OK, let me help by telling you that if you had people who LOVED comics at the head of the companies you would be right. But you don’t. You have “business people” who only see dollar signs.
Getting away from the demographic nonsense and back to increased revenue lies in the form of a question.
“What was it that attracted you to comics and made you want to read and collect them?”
If the buyers/collectors were honest, they would admit the following truths:
-The genders had NOTHING to do with your purchase. My guess is that in your youth you could tell me how many male and female characters there were, but it had NOTHING to do with your concern for diversity. It’s because there were barely more than 50 superheroes in existence.
-The ethnicity had NOTHING to do with your purchase. I would bet a substantial sum of money that when “Black Lightning” was introduced you didn’t think, “Finally! An African-American character!” You said, “Wow, he is so cool!” And, do me a favor, save all of your racist arguments for some other blog. I don’t entertain such things here.
If the publishers were honest, they would admit the following truths:
-Ethnicity and gender were only considered to make sure no one was offended. For instance, Stan Lee was concerned about the color of the Hulk because he didn’t want anyone to feel offended. The Hulk’s color had more to do with ink issues and being offensive than sales dollars.
-Their concern was making sure they kept the reader interested, not represented. At the end of many books from the Silver Age you can read their previews of upcoming editions bragging about what was coming next and any new character or storyline introductions. There was a pride in writing comics and a desperation to please the reader that showed through.
So, why is it that companies are focusing more on demographics, even if it means letting quality slide? It’s because they have made the choice to reduce creativity and development in order to make sure that everyone is happy and represented, including all ages, ethnicities, religions, genders, species, hairstyles, etc. In the short run this may seem like a good idea, but in the long run it’s a loser every time. The reason is simple, if you try to please everyone then you’re not going to make anything that is honestly yours.
Now, let’s get back to the question that led us here:
Remember When Movies and Comics Focused on Quality Not Demographics?
Yes, I do.
I remember WANTING to see what happens next, to the point of getting anxiety as the release date moved closer. Now, Marvel is starting to ask a sad question at the end of its books: “You Want To Know What Happens Next?”. It’s sad not only because it’s a dumb question, but also because I no longer know if I want to.
I’m not the sharpest axe in the shed, but I do know that there are certain things that need to be considered now that didn’t matter as much back then. I know that if large enough groups of readers start to drop their subscriptions it could mean trouble. I also know that in this litigious society there are dangers that weren’t as...well....dangerous as they were back then.
I also know that there are large groups of us who grow tired of Civil War II (Oh, you didn’t know this was coming? Well it is....), Contest of Champions II, Secret Wars II, Batman vs. Superman for the 300th time, seeing a new Batsuit every comic, and on and on. What happened to originality? It met diversity.
Do an exercise with me for just a minute. Humor me.
Sit back and think for a minute of when you were much younger. Remember how excited you got to buy the next comic in your favorite series. You went to the closest store, spent your last cent, and tore into that comic like it was a candy bar. You read through with reckless abandon, not caring about creases and tears, and gasped in awe as you read the ending. Your next stop was your best friend’s house to talk about what happened and talk about how you would have done it. Then the bad news...you had to wait another week to see what happened next. Life was so unfair!!!
Do you remember that? If you’re looking to increase sales don’t worry about markets or demographics, worry about bringing back that feeling. The first step: divide up the grad students you have working for you (who have never read or had interest in a comic book) into groups of 10. Replace each group with 1 person whose love for comics surpassed everything else when they were younger. Step two: let the artists and writers keep their characters and give them more artistic license. Give those two steps 6 months, then we’ll move on to step 3.
I want to end with a saying that is not mine, it’s by someone named “Anonymous”. He/She has written alot of pieces that I like:
Work for a CAUSE, not APPLAUSE. Live life to EXPRESS, not to IMPRESS. Don’t strive to make your presence NOTICED, just make your absence FELT.
Are you listening publishers?
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