Yesterday, Gail Simone – as she is apt to do – asked an interesting question on Twitter:
What was the last big breakout DC/marvel character that WASN'T ultra-violent? Serious question.
— Gail Cup Avenger (@GailSimone) January 25, 2014
It’s a fascinating question, as it left even the most knowledgeable of comic fans and creators stumped, and with good reason: there hasn’t really been one in the last few decades, unless you expand either your search or your definition of “breakout.”
I wanted to examine this question though in a more extended fashion to try and ascertain why exactly this is the case, but to do that, I’m going to remove one element of her discussion in ultra violence. While it is an interesting wrinkle, the fact that there hasn’t been a character that has blown up in comics without carrying a 200 pound gun in the past 30 years isn’t nearly as interesting to me as the fact that Marvel and DC haven’t really had one – regardless of violence level – since the century turned.
Why is that? As a society, people are perpetually in pursuit of the new, from that hot new Thai place on the corner to that new social media app that lets you share 3 seconds of your voice with someone before disappearing forever, yet in the little slice of life that is comics “new” is not a word that appears often save for in a marketing sense. It certainly is strange.
So let’s get to it shall we.
Where Have All the Breakouts Gone?
In response to Simone’s tweet (and the ones that followed), a deluge of names came out, ranging anywhere from seemingly legit answers like the Young Avengers and Animal Man to oddities such as Amethyst and Pepper Potts. As Simone quickly pointed out, even the best of suggestions were limited in their viability, as both “Young Avengers” and “Animal Man” had recently been canceled (although YA went away primarily because creators Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelive wrapped their run).
Young Avengers #1: 71,254 issues shipped
Young Avengers #14: 22,692
Animal Man #1: 41,382
Animal Man #26: 18,823
Those two beacons of quality and fan esteem, for all the vocal support they generated, hardly fit the breakout mold, as nebulous of a term as that can be.
The only option that really, truly fits at Marvel and DC over the past 15 or 20 years is Miles Morales as Spider-Man. Over a span of 27 issues, Morales has both generated ample ardor from his fan base and seen success in sales, generating nearly 90,000 issues ordered back in September of 2011 for its number one, and keeping that going to the tune of 31,462 with its 28th issue in October of 2013 (it then became tied to an event for a bit, so let’s ignore that for now).
But one character in twenty or so years for Marvel and DC? That’s pretty ugly.
Breakouts are happening though. They’re only doing so in another realm of the comic world, with creator-owned seeing far more success in unleashing new characters to the general populace.
Going back to the beginning of the timeframe for this discussion, the early 90’s saw a raft of characters breaking out, as Image’s arrival gave us Todd McFarlane’s Spawn (arguably the biggest character launch in the past thirty five years), Jim Lee’s WildCATs (led by hardass soldier of fortune Grifter) and an array of others.
Continued belowIn 1991, Jeff Smith’s “Bone” launched, and while it was greeted with little initial fanfare, it eventually blossomed into a runaway hit for all-ages, selling 6 million copies in North America (which is astounding). Characters like Smiley Bone and even the Rat Creatures are known to huge gobs of people the world over, thanks to Smith’s brilliant work.
Bringing things back to modern times, Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard’s “The Walking Dead” has been the century’s biggest success in comics so far, becoming a huge seller both in its collected editions and monthly releases, generating the most popular show on television in AMC’s adaptation of it, and making characters like Michonne and The Governor subjects of weekly water cooler discussions.
“Saga” more recently has found enormous success, regularly increasing its sales for its monthly title, towering over the sales charts for collected editions, and having even a supporting character in Lying Cat front a hot piece of cultural attire.
In short, there are breakouts in comics today.
Even non-violent ones.
They’re just not happening at Marvel and DC.
Why Not Marvel and DC?
Here’s a better question: why would creators bring new characters to Marvel and DC?
As I (and Peter Krause) asked Simone on Twitter, what’s their motivation? What’s the incentive in creating a brand new, potentially hugely viable piece of content for Marvel and DC when they could release the same character and idea at Image or elsewhere and gain all the benefit for their work?
If, somehow, Robert Kirkman had somehow released “The Walking Dead” at Marvel in some sort of new imprint that wasn’t creator-owned, he probably wouldn’t be the guy we know today. Sure, it’d still be a good comic, and he’d still be successful, but AMC would be airing Marvel’s “The Walking Dead” if at all.
Unleashing a new idea or new character or concept anywhere but somewhere creators can retain the rights would be hugely counter-productive for themselves, and it’s something every creator is well-versed in given the highly public disputes over “Watchmen” and Superman’s rights (amongst others).
Not only that, but why would Marvel or DC have interest in releasing new characters, or unleashing new versions of old ones? New characters, while fun for readers quite often, rarely succeed in the industry (as I’ve noted throughout this piece) and simply prove less valuable to Marvel or DC than publishing another iteration of Batman or the Avengers.
Meanwhile, the Wolverine mini-series “Origin II” was the number one seller for December, with 7 Spider-Man titles, 2 Avengers titles, 8 Justice League/Batman/Superman titles and 3 X-Men titles taking spots in the top 22 for sales. The only other book that made the top 22?
“The Walking Dead.”
So if Marvel and DC have no motivation to publish titles with new characters and creators have no incentive to bring their characters to them, why would we ever see something new at the Big Two?
Hope for Tomorrow
Now, with all that said, is there hope for those desperate for something new at Marvel or DC? Just a little slice of refreshing, inspired character creation on the corporate level?
I think so, and her name is Kamala Khan.
The star of the upcoming “Ms. Marvel” title at Marvel has already earned a mountain of press, with every news organization on the planet wanting to chime in about the idea that Marvel’s next big superhero could be a teenaged Muslim from Jersey. Pre-release buzz on the title that is set to debut next month is towering, as people really, truly (seemingly) want to know what the story of this girl is. From everything we’ve seen on the book by writer G. Willow Wilson and artist Adrian Alphona, this is one title that will be worth it.
Continued belowBut in comics, converting buzz and internet popularity into sales is another thing entirely (as Graeme McMillan noted in the discussion).
If you based comic sales on an algorithm that marries Tumblr and Twitter appearances with cosplayer viability, “Young Avengers” is by far the biggest selling comic on the planet.
But that isn’t the world we live in, as sales do not equal social media hype.
The question for me is, if all of these people are so hyped about books like “Young Avengers”, then why aren’t we seeing it in sales? Is this a case where we have a highly vocal minority, a frightening level of piracy or some combination of both? It’s probably the combination, but it often is frustrating to see the comics internet get so up in arms about the need for support of new ideas and controversial topics, yet those ideas and topics falling by the wayside when those actionable items actually cost money.
Time will tell if this new “Ms. Marvel” will be the hero a generation and an entire people have been waiting for, but Kamala Khan in many ways will act as a measuring stick in the ongoing comparison between internet hype and actual success.
Here’s hoping that not only is “Ms. Marvel” a great book, but it finally gives us a definitive answer in the affirmative to Simone’s question, because the industry sure could use it.
Our Role in All of This
We say this a lot on Multiversity, but we do it because it never stops being true: we’re all a part of this.
There isn’t a magical formula in creating a new character and making a new book a success. If there was, every comic creator would live in a mansion and Marvel’s offices would be like Stratton Oakmont’s in “The Wolf of Wall Street” perpetually. It takes our support to make them work.
If you want a new book – like “Ms. Marvel” – to succeed, tell your retailer. Ultimately, comic “sales” aren’t really sales in the traditional sense, they are orders from retailers. Most retailers order huge on #1 issues (thus, the constant relaunches) and drop precipitously from there, even though orders for #2 are due before the first issue is released.
Because of that, new characters and new comics are facing a huge roadblock in finding their audience.
So be vocal and be active. If there is a new character you are eager to support, get out there and tell your retailer and tell your friends. It’s not enough to just talk about it on Tumblr or Twitter, you need to make sure that your pull list is updated, that your friends pull list is updated, and that you are spreading the excitement of those books that you love. The sales of issue #1 aren’t what defines a book as a success so much as the sales for #3 and #4, when the buzz has died down and books find their true level.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter where a book is published and if a new character stars in it or not, it still can’t survive without you. So if you are really desperate for a new character or comic to succeed, start with nine simple words:
“I’d like to add this to my pull list.”
