The inestimable Beau Smith has issued a challenge to Marvel and DC to spend a year telling nothing but done-in-one stories. You can read it here:
http://www.comicsbulletin.com/busted/121341903078446.htm
Of course, the thing is, when you’re issuing a challenge to someone, there should be some reciprocity. Like when a politician, for instance, issues a challenge to others to have campaigns that focus purely on the issues rather than dirt. There’s something at stake for the challenger as well, since he has to abide by the same rules or risk looking like a hypocrite.
What’s Beau putting on the line? Nada. He’s not saying that if Marvel and DC do this, then he will donate ten grand to the CBLDF or climb into a dunk tank or give up his column or something. It’s not like when I threw out the challenge to Marvel to maintain “Captain Marvel” at its then-current cover price and in exchange I would drop my writing fee to $20.99 until sales went up. Beau’s challenge is just, y’know, thrown out there. What’s at stake for Beau? Nothing, really.
What would Marvel and DC have at stake? Well, quite likely plummeting sales across the board. I mean, Marvel already DOES lines with done-in-one, easily accessible stories. They’re called “Marvel Adventures.” I’ve written a bunch of them. They sell for crap. For that matter, “Fallen Angel” exists in its own universe and has had any number of done-in-one stories. Yet when it was a DC title it was cancelled, and as an IDW title it still isn’t burning up the sales charts.
The harsh fact is that crossovers sell and independent stories devoid of contact or context with each other don’t, or at least not as well. Rather than issuing challenges to the companies to change what’s working for them, why not issue challenges to the readership to change their buying habits? And Beau can start by pledging to get subscriptions to every single issue of “Marvel Adventures” titles and to “Fallen Angel.” Sounds like a good way to put one’s money where one’s mouth is.
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