Marc Alan Fishman: Dear Marvel and DC…

Marc Alan Fishman

Marc Alan Fishman is a graphic designer, digital artist, writer, and most importantly a native born Chicagoan. When he's not making websites, drawing and writing for his indie company Unshaven Comics, or rooting for the Bears... he's a dedicated husband and father. When you're not enjoying his column here on ComicMix, feel free to catch his comic book reviews weekly at MichaelDavisWorld, and check out his books and cartoons at Unshaven Comics.

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1 Response

  1. Chuck Williams says:

    This article exemplifies my opinion of the endless cycle of events that Marvel and DC seem locked into….especially this:

    “[[Marvel and DC]] seem to forget that after every one of these universe shattering events comes fallout. Canceled series of stalwart brands. Bold new books that will be canceled long before their given a chance to find a rhythm and fan base.”

    If I could peg my biggest gripe about the event cycles, it’s that too many comics I was enjoying have been cancelled in the wake of these so-called “epics”, and usually not because of poor sales. More often than not, the cancellations are due to some status quo being altered that makes it difficult, if not impossible, for certain books to continue. Perhaps a lead character or characters in the series were killed in the prior event, usually for no better reason than shock value, or those characters have been appropriated for some “new direction” in the aftermath; in either case, leaving a hole in the existing series that leaves it unable to go on. Perhaps the specific cause that the series lead was fighting for (or against) has been rendered moot by the event. In any case, I’ve seen too many good books fall in the name of “all flash, no substance” events that, in my opinion, rarely turn out to have as much story potential as the series that they sweep away in the process.

    What I want to see most is a single year of no events from Marvel and DC. One year to let writers tell an ongoing story without being interrupted or hijacked by the event du jour. Now, I’m not saying, “no crossovers”; these characters exist in a shared universe, so of course they should be crossing paths with each other all the time. What I want is a more organic shared universe, as both publishers once had, as opposed to the imposed crossovers, where a single writer or small core of writers seem to declare, “THIS is what’s happening in our shared universe right now, and everyone has to make their series tie in with it somehow, even if it disrupts or completely destroys the ongoing story you’re trying to tell”.

    That will never happen at this point, of course–not without a significant portion of the readership rejecting the event cycle outright and ceasing to (literally) buy into it. But an old comics-reading grump can hope and dream….