Rants from the Red Room. Part 2: The Old Guard.

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RedRoomWriter

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Edited By RedRoomWriter

Welcome to Part 2 of RFTRR where I discuss all things Modern comics in a honest way, where no topic is skated around like Bobbi Drake on an Ice Slide but Dove into like Kitty Pryde fighting a Sentinel.

This time around I'll be covering the Old Guard, better known as the Comic purists, the fans of the older comics, what they mean to companies like Marvel & DC, what Marvel & DC could do to win them over and my general thoughts on those that absolutely won't accept Modern comics.

Despite popular opinion, Marvel aren't just after your wallets!
Despite popular opinion, Marvel aren't just after your wallets!

One of the common misconceptions that flies around the Global world of the Internet is that Marvel and DC "simply don't care about their fans" I've seen numberous blogs, articles and even been part of many an active discussion on Twitter and in Real Life with people that genuinely believe that the big two simply don't care anymore, that they write poor stories that have plenty of "Cash Cow" Value and little substance beneath the surface.

In some regards, yes they do have a point, afterall like all businesses Marvel & DC have to pay the bills, they have to pay their staff, resources, upkeep costs, etc, running companies that are on a "multinational" scale especially in the day of age of constantly rising Taxation and public spending cuts isn't an easy thing so they have to keep the Wolves from the door somehow, but that isn't to say that Money is the entire motivating force behind Modern writing at all.

It's currently the "In" thing to hate Marvel and DC and honestly, sometimes it's just baseless mindless Bandwagoning of people trying to be what the internet likes to call "Hipsters"...the "I liked it before it was cool" people.

In Soviet Russia, Money Makes You! (Okay that was terrible)
In Soviet Russia, Money Makes You! (Okay that was terrible)

Initially I was hesitant about DC's "New 52" and Marvels "NOW" campaign, afterall both of them have been extremely large shakeups of the status quo, from team changes to costume redesigns even to whole retcons in some regards, but it's not like comics have never done anything like this before (Superboy Primes Retcon Punch, Franklin Richards and the Heroes Reborn world) and it's not like Retcons and revamps won't ever happen again. To me it's a change of pace, perhaps even direction of which some of it you are going to highly dislike and some of it you are going to agree with entirely, this is how things change in a persistent continuity and just like a Marriage..."For Better or Worse" really strikes true in the heart of every comic fan.

Age of Ultron.... a powerful representation of everything the Old Guard fears....Change.
Age of Ultron.... a powerful representation of everything the Old Guard fears....Change.

Unfortunatley, for every fan that is willing to go along for the ride and might find themselves enjoying it...there are those amongst us that sit and fester on hatred when it comes to change, I know, sometimes even I can behave that way and I know a lot of people that are that way, it's difficult to see the things you love, the continuity that you may have grown up with, change in a way that it may not be instantly recognisable, they may have even altered everything you loved about your favorite character or they may not even be appearing on the pages of the comics anymore (Just ask every Stephanie Brown fan, they know what it's like to have something they love stripped away so cruely, so Richard Rider fans...you are not alone)...but as the old saying goes, everything happens for a reason.

Just because "you" loved the way that character was doesn't mean that everyone else did, Sales figures speak volumes when it comes to popularity contests (Winter Soldier recently got axed as it simply wasn't selling despite the quality writing) and if your character isn't selling...then its probably a good indication they may be cancelled or altered in some way.

This again, isn't because the comic books are just after your wallet, it's because clearly something isn't working if they aren't generating enough interest, as such heartbreak is likely inevitable.

Guardians of the Galaxy Old Guard and Angela...the two will never get along.
Guardians of the Galaxy Old Guard and Angela...the two will never get along.

This brings me to a rather personal point with one of my older favorite characters being brought back from the litteral comic void, Angela of the original Spawn series joining Marvel has these Old Guard litterally frothing at the mouth...For every comment you see that says "Who's Angela? NOBODY That's who", "Angela sucks, she wasn't even a big character" and even "Gaiman is a <Explicitive> Sellout" You can pretty much guarantee, The Guardians of the Galaxy Old Guard are behind it.

But here is the thing, do those of you that behave in such a way really think it's going to change anything? Do you honestly think that spouting hatred in such a way is going to bring back the glory days of Richard Rider, Drax, Starlord, Quasar, Groot, Rocket Racoon, Gamora, Cosmo (The Telepathic Russian Spacedog for those that don't know) and Adam Warlock?

No, it just makes you look bitter, unchanging and unwilling to accept...maybe that old lineup just wasn't popular enough?

I too have been forced to accept a change I wasn't neccessarly happy with (still not truth be told, but the sales figures are also indicating it too) Secret Avengers being pretty much the unofficial-official movie tie-in comic, I was totally unhappy with the idea of the changes, but you know something?

I gave it a chance! I sat and read the comics, thus I am in much more of a position to say if it works or not, of which I can honestly say...

Secret Avengers Vol 2 is pretty much a big failure and needs a drastic change of direction or it won't make it to past issue 15!

Is it because of the characters? Not really, "Marcus" Nick Fury Jr seems to fit quite well actually, as does suprisingly Agent Phil Coulson (he seems to have gotten better as the stories go on) it's more the reimagined direction to characters that were fine in the first place (and already quite popular, Hawkeyes solo run is a best seller afterall, Black Widow was one of the biggest success stories of the late 90's/early 00's Heroic Age) neither of them needed to change in any way and the fans are showing their distaste with their wallets.

One is not amused!
One is not amused!

So what can companies like Marvel and DC really do to appease these old guard? In a lot of ways I honestly do not think they can...Afterall not everything you do will be popular and you always take a risk when doing retcons and revamps to continuity especially when it comes to certain Niche followings.

But there is a lot these old guard can do to help companies like Marvel and DC....

They can start by actually reading the comics they love, showing actual support, perhaps attending the comic con panels, constructive critism is better than shouting out the odds over social media (admittedly I think many of us have been guilty of this, the problem with social media is it's so easy to voice your opinion on an easy to access stage than to think rationally) and the companies are more likely to listen to well constructed arguments than spewing Bile all over the internet about how much "They Hate Bendis" (Bendis has done both good and bad in the comics world, admittedly more Good than Bad, I just wish he would get better at writing female characters).

They could make petitions, form social groups, show their love and admiration in a positive way for their favorite characters and stories, try and garner more support for a series they may love to see it continue, People power is a great thing when used in the right way....

But right now it's being used so very wrong, Bandwagon hate trains never lead to anything except bitterness and until they change their whole approach...

Marvel and DC are likely to dismiss these views as a minority group of vocal Trolls that never cared enough in the first place!

Another Slice of Humble Pie, served piping hot!