How successful is it to begin with?
USA Today writes about Neil Gaiman's penning "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?" as part of the whole needless Batman RIP storyline. They ask at the start:
Will success kill Batman?Maybe not, but if editorial keeps on doing things like this that are only publicity-stunt quality, that certainly could, sooner or later.
What makes this "death" go beyond the usual circulation booster is the talent involved. Helping to bury Batman will be best-selling novelist Neil Gaiman, who created the goth-cult Sandman comic 20 years ago.In that case, why bother? Gaiman was undoubtably hired just for name value, but after all these years, there's less chance he'll be as much of a sales draw as Alan Moore might've been when he wrote "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" back in 1986. Mainly because, the editorial mandate behind this is far less likely to allow for a really good story.
Gaiman is writing a two-issue tribute to the character, starting with Batman #686 and tentatively titled Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?, due in February.
"This is my last Batman story," he says. "And in some ways, it could be seen as every last Batman story."
Labels: dc comics, msm propaganda
