Originally published February 1, 2002, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1472
As we continue our little time-traveling venture by looking at the results of the “What will the Year 2002 be like?” survey from ten years ago, I have to say I’m gratified by the response I’ve been getting thus far. Folks seem genuinely intrigued by both the hits and the misses of the respondents.
Thus far, for those who might just be coming aboard, back in the year 1992 (which seems as far off to me now as 2002 did then) readers of CBG predicted that: Marvel would be the top company (instead it’s neck and neck with DC); Image would most likely be gone (it isn’t, outlasting Valiant, Innovation, Now, Comico, Eclipse, Malibu, Disney and Personality); the top-selling comic would be one that wasn’t being published at the time (which DK2 wasn’t); that Iron Man was the most likely hero to be killed off and replaced (Jim Rhodes, Iron Man at the time, didn’t die, but was replaced by Tony Stark); Mark Gruenwald would be editor in chief at Marvel (obviously wrong, sadly); Mike Carlin would be editor in chief at DC (one for two); that Rob Liefeld would be the anti-Christ (no comment); that Youngblood #4 would just be hitting the stands (it came out in 1993); that the standard Marvel Comic would be 32 pages and cost $2.50 (one for two, although the true quality Marvel books, such as—I dunno—Captain Marvel really are $2.50).
Mushing on:
If Warners ever unloads DC Comics, it will probably be bought by:
The Japanese 67 30.59%
Marvel 37 16.89%
Jim Shooter 24 10.96%
Disney 22 10.05%
Ross Perot 11 5.02%
Image 7 3.20%
Seduction of the Innocent 4 1.83%
Krause Publications 2 0.91%
Ted Turner 2 0.91%
Malibu 2 0.91%
Well, this one’s a kick in the head, ain’t it? In point of fact, DC Comics was indeed bought by someone else, namely America Online. But it never occurred to anyone (well, I know it sure didn’t occur to me) that AOL would effectively buy Warners as well. I mean, sure, nominally it’s a merger, but one of the first things AOL did was shut down all the Warner Bros. Stores (dámņ them!) So that pretty much showed who’s boss. It also pìššëd me off royally. I liked having all the Harry Potter stuff in one place.
And hey… remember when Ross Perot was such a personality that eleven respondents named him as the most likely to buy DC? Boy, that guy just evaporated, didn’t he? Know what? I miss him. He was loonier than Daffy Duck, but I maintain—as I did before—that a speech from him on 9/11 would have been more memorable than FDR after Pearl Harbor. “You Afghans… you turn over bin Laden right now! I mean now! Put him on a plane, I want him here in twelve hours! If not, we’re just gonna keep dropping A-bombs until we take you all down, because one of you might be bin Laden in disguise! I mean it! I’ll do it! I got the football right here! See? Here’s the button! My finger’s resting on the button! I’ll nuke ya! Y’know I will, ’cause I’m crazy as a bedbug!”
The majority of comics will be produced by:
Writer/artist teams 170 (77.63%)
Writer/artists 42 (19.18%)
The majority of comics produced will feature:
Characters owned by the publisher and produced as straight work-for-hire (example, Marvel): 121 (55.25%)
Characters owned by the creator and published by someone else, wherein the publisher assumes most of the risk (example, Epic): 42 (19.18%)
Characters owned by the creator and published by someone else, wherein the publisher is essentially a hired hand (example, Image): 40 (18.26%)
Characters owned by the creator, published by the creator (example, Cerebus): 13 (5.94%).
I will confess that I haven’t done a detailed count on these two topics, but the impression I get from looking over the Diamond Comics top 300 is that, yes indeed, the majority of comics are produced by writer/artist teams. And yes, the Marvel avenue of straight-up work-for-hire remains the way it is, for the most part, done. Interestingly, Epic no longer exists, and the deal that Image had at the time that the poll was taken—in which Malibu handled the actual publishing responsibilities—has long since ceased. As near as I can tell, Image is now a blend of different aspects of all four types of publishing arrangements… which might explain why they managed to confound expectations and survive for a decade.
Check off all of the following which will actively be used as marketing gimmicks:
Trading/Holo cards 135 (61.64%)
Signed ltd. Edit. 134 (61.19%)
Prebagged comics 129 (58.90%)
Hologram covers 129 (58.90%)
Foil covers 121 (55.25%)
Multiple covers 114 (52.05%)
Talking covers 108 (49.32%)
Flexidiscs 97 (44.29%)
Scratch & sniff 96 (43.84%)
Pop-up books 6 ( 2.74%)
Floppy disks 4 ( 1.83%)
Holograms 4 ( 1.83%)
Multiple endings, same story 3 ( 1.37%)
Virtual reality 2 ( 0.91%)
#0 Origin issues 2 ( 0.91%)
I admit I don’t recall some of these at all. “Talking covers?” Did someone do talking covers? “Virtual reality” as a marketing gimmick? “Scratch & sniff?” I think there was an issue of Ren and Stimpy that had that. I’m trying to figure out whether I tossed in stuff that didn’t exist yet, but I thought might, or this stuff actually did come out and I just don’t remember it (and am probably the better for it.)
In any event, I haven’t been maintaining detailed track of what’s being used to push comic books these days. So I consulted with the fine folks at the comic store I frequent, Fourth World Comics in Smithtown, New York. According to them, of that entire list, the only gimmicks that are still used with any frequency are Signed limited editions, Multiple covers, and #0 origin issues. Granted, with the bottom falling out of the speculation market, we lost a lot of good comic stores. On the other hand, we also seem to have lost all the crap that publishers were using to try and finagle people into plunking down money for increasingly annoying covers wrapped around increasingly lousy product. Nowadays the only thing to determine whether a comic stands or falls is the quality of the book itself… that, and whether it’s about mutants.
Check off all the following places that you think Seduction of the Innocent will be playing:
Street corners 92 (42.01%)
San Diego Comic-Con 76 (34.70%)
Chicago Comicon 71 (32.42%)
The Disney Channel 47 (21.46%)
Atlanta Fantasy Fair 44 (20.09%)
Great Eastern Conventions 38 (17.35%)
Caesar’s Palace 36 (16.44%)
Dragon Con 29 (13.24%)
I’m trying to remember why the hëll I asked this question. Probably because I really like the band, I’m friends with the guys, and I was hoping they’d be back at San Diego. Well, as it turned out, Seduction did indeed make at least one, if not more, appearances at the Comic Con since the poll was taken. As for the year 2002 (which is, after all, what this poll is all about) they’re not scheduled anywhere yet that I know of. Hey San Diego… it’d be great to see Seduction rockin’ the house again. Just a suggestion.
More visions of future past next week.
(Peter David can be written to at P.O. Box 239, Bayport, NY 11705.)
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