This past week, DC Comics announced a new direction and a new team on “Batgirl”, one of their longest running books. Very rarely does an announcement in comics receive as much love in comics as this one did, and for it to be one from DC? That makes it even more astounding.
But just because it earned a lot of excitement on the internet doesn’t mean the job is done. In fact, we’re hoping that DC has learned some things from this experience, as those things could lead to some huge boosts to their Q appeal. On today’s Countdown, I’m taking a look at the five biggest takeaways we hope DC has picked up on from this, and as an added bonus, one thing we hope readers take away from it as well. Take a look, and share your thoughts in the comments. It’s been a marvelous time for comic fans of all varieties, and there is a lot we can all take from it.
1. Women Care About DC’s Comics if They Deliver…
One young girl saying she's inspired by Batgirl is worth 20 dudes complaining that the costume looks "hipster"
— Cameron Stewart (@cameronMstewart) July 13, 2014
My daughter and I just high fives because we realized we could read the new #Batgirl together.
— Moms Read Comics (@charmingred) July 11, 2014
Just look at what this point says: women care about DC’s books if they deliver something that is quality and relatable. You look throughout social media and there is all kinds of evidence of this being true through the prism of the “Batgirl” announcement, as women took to social media to declare their love and admiration of both the redesign and what the team was looking to bring to the table. What Cameron Stewart said in the first tweet is a big reason why they’re succeeding already – the creative team seems to genuinely want to connect with its audience, and that includes women – and the second tweet shows how thoroughly they are connecting in a multi-generational sense.
It’s a pretty simple recipe for success with women readers. Deliver a quality story that respects women and not in a way that feels forced, and they will respond. Everything about the “Batgirl” hoopla feels organic, and that is recognized by its potential audience. If DC treats their readers with respect, they get it in return. It’s that easy, and it gives me hope for more women reader friendly books coming on the horizon.
2. …And So Do Younger Readers
As you may recall, DC once effectively said “We make comics for 45 year olds” (to Paul Pope, to be specific), and people didn’t like that. After all, comics are for everybody, and once upon a time, they were predominantly for kids. So for something like this to capture the attention of the generation who is more into Tumblr and “Adventure Time” and things like that is pretty spectacular, and shows that maybe – JUST MAYBE – they’re a demographic that shouldn’t be ignored. To get more on the subject, I – the 30 year old – reached out to Multiversity’s youngest writer, James Johnston, for insight into the response to the “Batgirl” announcement.
Here is what he had to say:
As Multiversity’s #millenial consultant, I’m speaking for everyone born post-1995 by saying that we’re pretty darn thrilled about the new Batgirl creative team. Some of us have been DC fans for a long time and were thrilled when the New 52 came around and DC was talking about how it was ready to reach out to a new audience. Unfortunately, that new demographic they were reaching for turned out to be people who bought collectors’ item issues in the 90’s and serial killers. While we were in the corner, listening to our indie-punk and working on our aesthetics, DC’s been feeding us a couple smooth one-liners that never really last for long like “I, Vampire”, “OMAC” and Lemire and Sorrentino’s “Green Arrow” before proceeding to whisper stuff in our ear like “We understand selfies and hook-up culture hahaha. Oh and gay people, amirite? We don’t need to see them get married! Also do you think Harley Quinn would look hotter as a juggalo?”
Continued belowIt wasn’t hard for Marvel to swoop in and David Wooderson us teens away from DC. It’s taken a couple years but DC seems to finally be wising up with Burnside Batgirl and Gotham Academy. While other ventures into attracting younger audience like Bunker in “Teen Titans” and selfie variants have come off as trying way too hard, the costume design and cover alone have caused us millennials to rejoice. Not because DC’s trying to win us back but because they’re not “trying hard” at all. I have a friend who, no matter what, will never read a comic but she reblogged the design notes that showed how Batgirl’s costume shouldn’t be drawn with stupid balloon breasts and said it was the best thing she’d seen from western comics in years.
Young readers don’t want books that are actively trying to come off as “young adult” titles. It’s like hanging out with another student who’s clearly a narc and also kind of misogynist. But with DC’s recent developments they seem to be calming down, taking a look outside a window, and going “Hey. Let’s publish a book for young readers that feels like it was created in 2014.”
That’s all we’ve ever asked.
(Note: I’m not crapping on Simone’s “Batgirl” run. I love Alysia Yeoh and “Batgirl” has actually been one of the better New 52 books. You can probably guess what books I actually am subtweeting.)
3. Readers Will Respond to Art That Doesn’t Fit Their House Style
Somewhat inexplicably, since the New 52 arrived, DC has employed a bit of a house style to their art. I’m not sure if it’s related to Jim Lee being the co-publisher or what, but a lot of its books had a 90’s Image/Wildstorm like look. While I’m not a fan of the style – at least not anymore – many do like it, but for the majority of a line to have the same look isn’t good for anyone.
That’s why it’s so fantastic to see DC bring in someone like Babs Tarr on art on “Batgirl.” Tarr has an atypical art style from what we’ve come to expect from DC, with Tarr bringing in more Eastern comics influences that, as Heidi McDonald accurately pointed out, feel more at home on Tumblr than in an old issue of Wizard.
Everyone went wild over her being announced on the book, and with Cameron Stewart being her sequential sensei on the book, she should be dynamite in her first efforts as a sequential artist. Combine that with Karl Kerschl being announced on “Gotham Academy” and Shawn Crystal on “Arkham Manor” and you have three artists that you wouldn’t expect to see on a DC title, and us all being thankful for that.
4. Women Characters Can Intrigue Without Being Objects of Lust
More than anything tied to the announcement, the new costume with its simple and functional look spurred the imagination of fans, creators and more. Just look at the Batgirl of Burnside Tumblr for evidence of that. It collects the outrageous amounts of fan art that has been generated since the book and the redesign was revealed, and while Batgirl has always been a popular character, I’m not sure she’s ever driven hundreds of artists to drop everything they’re doing to try their hand at bringing a design to life.
Many women characters in DC are known for their sexified looks, with Harley Quinn going from a beloved, classic design to an overly revealing corset look, Power Girl popularizing the boob window look, and Wonder Girl using…whatever support it requires to have this happen. They’re lusty looks, and ones that many women readers find difficult to connect with. The Batgirl redesign though? Who couldn’t wear that? Hell, I could wear that! That jacket looks comfortable as all hell, and stylish as well!
It’s inoffensive, but not in a bland way. It connects with all levels, and it’s the type of look that is instantly classic and memorable, and not because of how revealing it is. That is important to many readers.
5. Hire Exciting Creators, Get Excitement Back from Readers
Continued belowThe last point is a huge one, as none of this would have happened without them: if you give readers a team worth getting excited over, they just might do that. Cameron Stewart and Jordie Bellaire are both Eisner nominated creators, and Babs Tarr and Brenden Fletcher are exciting choices that are filled with promise and potential. I don’t mean to defame anyone else, but if they just put on someone tried, true but ultimately unspectacular as you can find on many of their titles, you wouldn’t have gotten the same level of excitement.
When creators with big, innovative ideas and fresh approaches are given the chance to do good things, they’ll do just that. When you do that, readers get excited, and sales increase (ideally). Marvel has seen books like “Hawkeye” and “She-Hulk” do far better than expected, and it’s because top notch creators like Matt Fraction and Dave Aja and Charles Soule and Javier Pulido are unleashed to do their thing. For DC, if they learn to tap into a similar vein, I imagine they’ll see improvements to both their publishing line and their bottom one.
The Final Point for Readers
1. All This Means Nothing If We Don’t Buy It
Do you remember last year when DC did Villain’s Month with fancy lenticular covers and less than ideal subjects and creative teams, and how it wasn’t very good yet it sold really, really well? Well, because that was a success, DC is running it back with their Future’s End month that brings those lenticular covers and the dicey creative teams/concepts back.
What are our takeaways from that? DC pays attention to what works and what doesn’t, which makes perfect sense considering they are a business, and that’s what businesses do to achieve success.
What does that mean for us, the readers? It’s simple: if you think “Batgirl” looks like the bee’s knees and the next big thing, and you want DC to believe that this is an important title for all readers – women, young, whomever – then you make sure your shop gets it ordered for you, and you make sure your friends do the same with their shops. All of the internet excitement will be for naught if “Batgirl” #35 arrives and its sales are lower than what preceded it. The easiest way for us to get DC to believe that these types of books are important is for it to be a success, and we are a huge part of that. I know people aren’t fond of others telling them what books to buy, but this is one case where your pre-orders could make all the difference in the world.
If you believe in what “Batgirl” represents, make sure your shop has one waiting for you in October. It’s important for that to happen.
