Morally Pure

Originally published May 12, 1995, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1121

I sympathize with Mr. Sweet’s letter in CBG #1118, discussing how retailers will be the ones who are genuinely hurt by Marvel boycotts, whereas Marvel won’t feel a thing.

I say this not because Preston chose to use, as an example, The Incredible Hulk (although don’t think I don’t appreciate it). No, I say this for two reasons:

Reason #1: His thoughts dovetailed with my own as expressed in my column in #1115. Comic readers may still not have locked into the theory that they might be incidental to Ron Perelman’s long-term plans. If (I stress if, but… if) Marvel is trying to position itself, in conjunction with New World, as a multi-media entertainment concern, then (as someone, I don’t recall who, pointed out to me) Marvel Comics could be to Marvel Entertainment what Disney Comics are to Disney.

Those who endeavor to dismiss this theory out of hand claim it’s unsupportable because Marvel doesn’t have any properties with real stature, reach, or serious recognizability. For those skeptics I have precisely four words: Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. If that’s too many words, I’ll substitute one word: Barney.

All it takes is hitting upon that one hot property, that one red hot license. Purely as a guess, I’d theorize that licenses such as Power Rangers or Barney make as much money in one year as Marvel comic book retail sales makes in the course of five years, maybe ten. Yeah, sure, there’s a Power Rangers comic… now. But people who are laboring under the delusion that Marvel Entertainment needs the comic books to generate money or character interest are simply not thinking big enough.

Not only that, but Power Rangers and Barney are the ideal to which a comic book company would aspire: Characters for whom no one person is considered indispensable. Production company Saban dropped three of the six actors in Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, replaced them with three new ones, and the series didn’t miss a beat. And do you really think that the guy inside the Barney costume would be in a tremendous position for salary renegotiation? “I want a better deal or I walk.” “Okity-dokee! See ya!”

Yet fans talk of boycotting Marvel. Well, if the hypotheticals I put forward are correct, fans are simply helping Marvel out. Retailers (presuming they can adjust their orders fast enough) might be able to survive if fans take that withheld money and plug it into DCs and independents. But thus far, most of what I’ve seen has been Indys and retailers on one side shouting, “Support independent publishers!” and on the other side are fans shouting, “Boycott Marvel!” And I’m not entirely certain that the two sides are completely in sync. There might be a communications gap, and it’s a gap that could swallow a considerable number of retailers. Not to mention distributors, going bankrupt because of unpaid debts.

Leaving the field free, of course, for the advent of Marvel stores. Perhaps Marvel might like to send fans a nice card or a bouquet of flowers, since retailer-busting boycotts will go a long way towards clearing the playing field.

Here’s Marvel on the brink of entering new, vast, and grossly profitable realms, and there are still people in this industry claiming that Marvel has doomed itself. It’s absurd. Is Marvel’s current course a guaranteed success? Hardly. But it’s not the sure-fire failure that some pundits would smugly claim. Many people said David Caruso was a fool whose career was certainly doomed after leaving NYPD Blue because they wouldn’t give him $100,000 per episode. So now he’s being offered $2-$3 million a picture for the comparatively leisurely life of movie acting. Foolishness isn’t in actions so much as it is in results.

Reason #2: Some people weren’t satisfied with boycotting Marvel. Some people, so I hear, were hot on boycotting any creator who even works for Marvel.

Me, for example.

I’ll tell ya, I’m relieved that I’ve already gone on record as saying that boycotts, for the most part, are wastes of time and hurt the wrong people (me, I tend to boycott boycotts.) That way the following shouldn’t come across merely as self-serving.

I’m one of the more highly visible writers still working for Marvel. I’m also one of Marvel’s most highly visible critics. Apparently some fans consider the two to be mutually exclusive.

Fans have stridently demanded, How can I possibly criticize Marvel’s business actions, and yet continue to write comics? If I work for them (it is theorized) then actually I’m approving everything they’re doing. If the direct market collapses, why that must be fine by me.

I’ve endeavored to point out that working for a company does not automatically mean that one is in agreement with everything the company does.

I’ve further pointed out that I’m working on the writing side. That my job, as a writer, is to turn out the best stories I can. Period. That if editorial decisions are made which continually impede my ability to do so, then I am obliged to leave the assignment (as I have in the past). That is the only circumstance under which I can and should depart a book or, for that matter, a company.

But to those who sit in judgment of what and what is not appropriate for me, that’s not good enough. I should leave Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man 2099, it’s been stated, because heck, I can afford it (I can?) and if I don’t leave, then I agree with everything Marvel’s doing (I do?)

But what if I really listened to the fans and pundits and critics? Attended to those who are telling me where it is and is not okay for me to be.

I speculated on this on Usenet. I don’t remember exactly what I said, since I wrote it off the top of my head, but it went something like this.

Deciding that my continuing to associate with Marvel puts money into the pockets of a company whose actions I disagree with, I announce that I’m cutting all ties with Marvel.

This garners some huzzahs and atta-boys from those who would determine my career path for me. Some letters to CBG, perhaps. Discussion on computer boards. A few phone calls. That sort of thing.

Some people drop Incredible Hulk. Some. But not a ton. The vast majority decide that they’re going to stick around for an issue or two just to see what happens and where the book is going to go. Heck, if they make the Hulk dumb again, it might bring back all those readers who dropped the title when he wised up.

Or perhaps Marvel announces that–just for the sake of an example–Mark Waid will be taking over the writing. Or perhaps Alan Davis will take over both writing and drawing of the series. They have their own fan followings. And who knows? Maybe they’ll produce better stuff than I’ve been doing.

So… I leave Incredible Hulk. Who gets hurt by it? Fans who liked my work on Hulk.

That’s pretty much it.

Marvel? Not likely. Marvel has too many options, too many ways of getting around it.

Would Marvel be crippled by my departure? Get serious. I’m one writer. Big deal. Marvel survived Jack Kirby going to DC, for God’s sake. My departure would barely cause a ripple in the pond.

So… I’ve left Marvel. Several weeks pass. The hubbub dies down. People go on to talk about other things.

Three months pass. My leaving Marvel is ooollld news.

Six months pass, and no one remembers my grand gesture.

Meantime, DC announces… oh, I dunno… that they’re forming an exclusive distributorship with Diamond. Or they’re going to start handling comic distribution themselves through their video arm.

People are up in arms. This is it. Final nail in the coffin of the direct market.

How can I continue to write Aquaman? How can I continue to support the self-serving machinations of DC? Just as my working on Hulk or Spider-Man 2099 can be seen as an endorsement of all decisions Marvel makes, so too would sticking with Aquaman be seen as approval of DC’s decisions.

So I have to leave Aquaman immediately. Maybe they could turn the writing assignment on that over to Mark Wade (Wade? Get it? Because it’s water-related and… oh, never mind.)

So…

Now what? Now where do I go?

Image? There’s a thought. Except those-who-determine-career-paths proclaimed at various times that Dave Sim or Neil Gaiman or Frank Miller had “sold out” because they did work for Image. And none of those gents ever said a harsh word about Image. Me, I’ve dared to write columns that (gasp!) critiqued Image. Therefore, for me to do any work for Image would be an even greater crime than Sim’s, Gaiman’s or Miller’s similar “transgressions.” My own feelings on the matter are secondary; I must bow to the will of the public. After all, that’s why I left Marvel, right?

Dark Horse? Maybe. Although, you know, a lot of people complained when Dark Horse started producing licensed tie-in comics because that’s not what Independent comics are supposed to do. I wouldn’t want to upset anyone by working with a publisher who carries with it even the perception of improper behavior.

There’s several other companies I know of as well, but I’ve heard complaints from various creators about shabby treatment at those places. So if I work for those companies, I’d be endorsing and tacitly approving of such shenanigans. Can’t have that.

As my bills mount up, as retailers go under from the boycotts, I decide that maybe I’d better get out of comics altogether. Maybe I can write more scripts for Babylon 5… no, wait! B5 is owned by Time-Warner, who also owns DC Comics. I can’t work for Time-Warner, the evil company which helped polish off the direct market.

More Star Trek novels, perhaps? But, y’know, Paramount made tons of business decisions that Gene Roddenberry hated. It’s all quite thoroughly chronicled. Not only that, but Roddenberry himself made decisions that were unfair to other writers I consider to be friends. Better to just pull out of Star Trek entirely.

I’ll also have to discontinue my development deal with Nickelodeon, because Nick is owned by Viacom, which owns Paramount.

I could continue to try and break into movies, which hasn’t exactly been fruitful so far. Except, y’know, the entire movie industry is rife with back-biting, unfair deals, and scurrilous accounting practices (just ask Art Buchwald.) These are business practices I cannot be seen to condone. Forget movies.

Back to novels. Except if you thought studios had byzantine payment structures, you should see publishers. No, that’s out, too.

So here I am, unable to earn a living at my trade. I could self-publish, I suppose. Sure hope I can support a family on it.

Although, y’know…

I really don’t approve of the direction this country’s going. Don’t like the current representation in government. A lot of people I didn’t vote for are running things, and I don’t like the things my tax dollars are being spent on. But if I stay, then that’s tacit approval of everything that’s going on.

Yup. No choice for it. I’m going to have to find someplace to move myself and my family to. Someplace where I can feel morally pure.

I’d let you know where that is, except… well, I can’t continue writing this column. Why? Because advertising money from Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse and other companies help support CBG.

It’s been fun.

See you next lifetime.

(Peter David, former writer of stuff, can be written to at Number Two Frozen Tundra Place, the North Pole. Please send warm blankets, food, and money.)