Over in her on-line blog at Comicon.com, in an entry entitled “Quality or Ramifications”…since apparently the two are mutually exclusive…Heidi MacDonald cited a question asked by a retailer during the Spidey press conference on September 1. The retailer said his readers were concerned that they would read eleven issues of Spider-Man having “spider-cancer” and at the end of the storyline, he’d be cured, and there’d be no ramifications. He asked if if there would be any lasting impact as a consequence of the storyline. I said, “Yes.” Heidi then wrote:
“The Pulse’s transcript doesn’t make it clear, but David’s yes meant tat (sic) there would, indeed be ramifications.
“Which made us wonder…what “ramifications” did WATCHMEN have? or DARK KNIGHT? Or SANDMAN?
We have no idea of THE OTHER will be any good, but we would have thought that a good, solid story would sell more in the long run than mere ramifications.”
An interesting question. Would that Heidi had actually asked it during the press conference. Instead, with over a dozen retailers and on-line reporters there, as I recall she was the only one who took a pass on asking any questions whatsoever. Of course, maybe she hadn’t thought of it at the time. She could have e-mailed me later. Or gotten my phone number at the Dragon*Con hotel from Marvel and called me. Didn’t do either. Oookay.
In answer to the question directed to me that she never actually asked, I submit the following scenario:
“Peter, will there be ramifications?”
“Well, you know, why can’t we just tell a good story and let that be enough?”
“So you’re saying there will be no long term impact after fans have invested in twelve issues of this storyline.”
“I didn’t say that. But I can guarantee you it’ll be a really good story.”
That loud thud you would then hear would be orders dropping like a rock. So I’ll go with my answer rather than Heidi’s, thanks.
And as for her other question, the obvious answer is that it shows a shocking lapse of understanding of the nature and requirements of on-going serialized stories as compared to series with a beginning, middle and end. In picking up limited series in particular, all readers are looking for is a good story. When they’re being asked to embark on reading a mega-crossover and investing the time and money into reading books they ordinarily aren’t reading, a good story simply isn’t enough. Perhaps it should be…but it’s not. As the retailer’s question makes clear, they want to know they’re going to be present at a major turning point in the protagonist’s fictional life. That’s part of what MAKES it a good story. As a matter of fact–and this is purely speculation on my part–it may well be that one of the reasons various limited or spin-off series nowadays have such a rough slog in terms of sales is specifically because they’re seen as NOT having any sort of impact on the “main” storylines presented in the ongoing titles.
And the less obvious answer is, Yes, you bet your ášš the series in question had ramifications. “Watchmen” and “Dark Knight” were responsible for launching a grim-and-gritty mentality into comics that continues to this day (“Identity Crisis” owes far more to Moore and Miller than it does to Marv Wolfman). And the ramification of “Sandman” was that it was responsible for launching the entire “Vertigo” line. The ramifications of “Sandman” are “Fables” and “Y.”
It’s just that no one knew that at the time.
So that’s the answer to Heidi’s question.
Which she never asked me.
PAD
• 
Recent Comments