h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Batman as a loss-leader? Good grief. If there's one character who doesn't need any sales help... I wonder why they didn't give this little push to a quality book that could really use the help (like, I don't know, JSA, or... sheesh, I'd not realised how of my favourite DC books had folded lately...).

I assume that the reason for using Batman for this comic was to appeal to people who don't read comics, and of all the DCU characters (with the possible exception of Superman) Batman is the one with a profile high enough that non-comics readers will have heard of him and might be interested in him.

Of course, there have been more than a few murmurings that DC haven't really handled this ten cent comic particularly well as a promotional tool, as existing comics readers found it a bit dull, or a cynical attempt to launch yet another multiple-title crossover story, and the drawn-out recap seemed somewhat patronising.

And I note with interest that Marvel are set to trump this with a *9* cent Fantastic Four comic.

Well I suppose that's a bit more like it, the FF have a big name recognition factor, but not quite the same sales as all those X-guys or the Spider-dude.

DC are a bit up a tree here, aren't they? Virtually all the charcters with big enough recognition to shift a book like this don't need the sales support... I suppose they could've done a Batman and the Outsiders type thing and used Batman to introduce a raft of new faces...

The comics industry as whole ins in deep, deep, trouble. Marvel's Chapter 11 bankruptcy sent shockwaves through a fragile industry and it seems that loss leading may be a real way out of the problem.
I haven't read a Marvel comic for aeons, but I have heard good things about Joe Quesada's editorial stance. However, Marvel's failure to capitalise on the X-Men movie was monstrous, and really was quite unbelievable.
DC's sales have been steadily slipping for several years, and the industry as a whole is seeking new ways to find new readers.
The most interesting plans are actually coming from TokyPop, who have announvced that several of their longer runing series are to be appearing as graphic novels only from now on. Whether this will be successful remains to be seen but it is an interesting move from a company that has a very stable market share nd the backing of major Japanese investors.

Sad but true. I think it will take some bold thoughts to save the day. Marvel's Ultimate line is a step in the right direction.

But I can't help thinking that it's not a coincidence that most of the best writers in the medium (people like Alan Moore and Frank Miller) tend to steer well clear of the big two companies (odd things like DK2 excepted). I read the first seven issues of Moore's Top Ten recently and nearly wept with joy. Any serious publisher would surely bend over backwards to get a talent like that on board...

'tis also a pity that the comics industry aren't taken at all seriously. Where's the reviews in broadsheet newspapers (they'll review the most banal pop releases but not the most serious of comics?), where's their spot on Late Review or the like?

This is why I end up hardly ever buying comics - well, the reason I'm not buying anything at the moment is 'cos I'm skint - it's so difficult to tell what's good and what's not through mainstream media forms.

(yes, I know I should make the effort to find alternatives...)

Top two picks atm, DG;
Blade of the Immortal (Dark Horse) and DK2 (DC).
Miller does it again...

"'tis also a pity that the comics industry aren't taken at all seriously. Where's the reviews in broadsheet newspapers (they'll review the most banal pop releases but not the most serious of comics?), where's their spot on Late Review or the like?"

Well, Chris Ware's excellent 'Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Boy On Earth' won the Telegraph First Book Award (I think... going from memory here) and this got it scrutiny in lots of highbrow circles, including the Late Review, in which it was summarily dismissed, Tom Paulin comparing its design to 'a bottle of Domestos' and saying it was 'horrible'.

So you like DK2, BluesShark?

Personally, I think it's awful (art that looks like it took 5 minutes, vomitous colouring and a story that was a horrible pale shadow of DKR), but there you go...

And Marvel's current output is actually extremely good; Quesada and Jemas really have dragged their output up to scratch, and have loads of top creators working for them: Morrison, Millar, Bendis, Straczynski, Ennis, Quitely, Kordey, JRJr, etc etc etc. Yes, their response to the X-Men movie was dire, but you can bet your life Joey Q and Bill J won't miss out on anything like that again.

God, I've turned into a Marvel apologist! What're the chances of that happening, eh?

Marvel apologist's be damned.

Yeah I like 'DK2'. Bats get to kick the big blue boy scout all round the block again. That's enough to make it a winner for me.
I actually think it will be a tale that can't be judged until the end. Miller *is* a political extremist, and his story-telling shows that. It's no '300', but it's still better than most of the rubbish we have to put up with from the big two.

Until a year ago I was solidly a DC and ABC reader, but since then I've started picking up the Marvel Ultimates and I've been hugely impressed. Also I've been buying the Ennis/Dillon Punisher series, the ongoing book isn't nearly as good as the limited series (pizza, anyone?) but you're still guaranteed a quality book with those two.

Never seen what the fuss what about Ennis. Takes all sorts, though.

Of all Ennis' stuff I've read, Preacher is head and shoulders the best, but possibly 6-12 issues too long; it really loses focus towards the end.

Lately, though, Ennis has really gone off the boil. Fury's really tired and uninteresting, Punisher is such a dull character that even Ennis can't make him more than a 2D nutter, and War Story (although quite nice in places) struck me as a flash and expensive version of those little 'Commando' comics that used to be everywhere a few years ago.

And on the subject of DK2, yes it will almost certainly read better once collected, but the horrendous hype and woeful dialogue did it no favours.

"Buttfirst it to the batcave!"

I came to Ennis' stuff via Hitman. Any comic where the main character pukes on Batman at the climax of the first issue can't help but be a classic.

I know what you mean about Preacher outstaying its welcome - there was a very saggy bit near the end, the whole Salvation story added nothing. Hulk Smash! was a disappointment too.

But the bit in Punisher with the polar bears... or the Irish cleaning lady... or the morbidly obese neighbour and the pizza... or where the Punisher gets brained with his own toilet... irresistible stuff.

I re-read DK2 last night.
What strikes me as most remarkable, particularly post Sept. 11th, is how *incredibly* politically radical it is. I can only assume that DC didn't notice that Batman is here taking the stance of the terrorist, bringing down legitimate, if corrupt, government simply because HE doesn't like it.
"Damn the bat-torpedoes!"

Hmmm... I'd disagree about DK2 being politically radical per se, as the government is clearly being manipulated by Brainiac and Lex Luthor, and so it's essentially another case of superheroes vs supervillains.

In the original DKR, by contrast, Batman wasn't merely fighting the Joker and Two-Face, he was having to face a society and a world with no respect for him and for what he represents. Not just the aggressive hostility of the Mutants, but also the scorn and fear of the general populace.

I guess that is my main gripe with DK2, now that I'm thinking about it- in DKR, Gotham City comes across as such a vivid and thoroughly fleshed-out place, with believable people and a recognisable basis in reality, all handled with remarkable subtlety. In DK2, half the action takes place in outer space, at an atomic level, or in the batcave...

I can see that point. I think, on a personal level, DK2 is a huge retrograde step for Miller in any event.
I enjoyed the thing, but it's nowhere near his best work.
But I do think it's more radical than it looks. Superman's stance is essentially that whatever the reasons, he is supporting a legitimate government because they allow him to continue saving lives. Bats, on the other hand, is literally prepared to sacrifice *everything* in a search for the truth.
Issue three is the only one that was written post Sept. 11, so I shall be interested to see what that has in store for us.

I shall be joining in this discussion in six months or so, whenever the TPB comes out.

TPB?

Trade PaperBack.
Collected edition.
Graphic Novel.
Whatever takes your fancy.

Erm, I'd best shut up then, so as not to spoil your fun by giving away too much of the plot.