Why does Yahoo Sports think DC isn't well funded?
Yahoo Sports reported that DC's made a sponsoring deal with NASCAR to cross-promote their superheroes. The article takes a silly turn when they say:
And even 2nd/3rd tier Marvel heroes may not be getting recognition as wide as they think: what's the Thor movie done for the comics? The simple answer is - not much. But they're right about the reboots. It's done more harm than good to the DCU.
DC, meanwhile, is suffering at the hands of its better-organized and better-funded rivals. DC's primary superhero competition is Marvel Comics, which, as you may have noticed, has had a wee bit of success lately with properties like the Avengers, Iron Man, Spider-Man, the X-Men, Captain America, Thor, and so on spreading from the funnybooks straight into the American consciousness. Everyone knows who Superman and Batman are, yes, but beyond that, the track record of DC heroes making the leap from niche heroes to worldwide icons is pretty weak. (Plus, DC has a habit of completely rebooting the universe in which its heroes live every few years. Sound like anyone you know?)Since when hasn't DC, as a Time Warner division, gotten good funding? (Not that they deserve it with the poor storytelling job they're doing.) Marvel may be better organized (except in comics storytelling, that is), but to say DC doesn't get good funding is monumentally absurd.
And even 2nd/3rd tier Marvel heroes may not be getting recognition as wide as they think: what's the Thor movie done for the comics? The simple answer is - not much. But they're right about the reboots. It's done more harm than good to the DCU.
DC is on the verge of breaking huge into other media, with both movies and TV shows in the near future that will push its properties into new markets and minds. [...]Except for the comics, I'm afraid. As always, these new ventures are done at the full expense of the printed books, and even their digital offerings online haven't registered any significant audience.
The key, then, is getting people who know what they're doing to manage both properties. Both fandoms are notoriously harsh on outsiders, and any attempt to shoehorn NASCAR drivers into comic books or superheroes onto the racetrack is likely to be met with loud howls of protest from the longtime fans.Oh, that's ridiculous. As selfish as some of the more aimless, insular would-be readers can be, I don't think they'd have a problem with stories featuring racecars, and besides, the sports themes alone aren't the problem. It's the quality of storytelling that is, but don't count on any of those aforementioned insulars to care. I'll bet racing fans, by contrast, would be a lot more welcoming of superheroes advertised on sport cars, but wouldn't count on them to buy 4 dollar pamphlets, though even if they did, I wouldn't recommend they buy books that are badly written.
Labels: dc comics, licensed products, marvel comics, msm propaganda
DC isn't well-funded? Marvel used to grumble about DC having an advantage in funding because "they have Daddy Warnerbucks to fall back on." I don't know if that situation has changed since Disney acquired Marvel.
And cross promotion between DC and NASCAR? The fanboys who still read comics are salon socialists who fancy themselves intellectuals. They wouldn't be caught dead at a stock car race, or any other event that has a blue collar, working class, "redneck" image. And comic book fans are so few in number that even if every DC fan suddenly started going to races, it would not boost NASCAR's attendance to any noticeable degree.
And NASCAR fans are adults who have no interest in reading comic books. That's true of the general public, BTW. The success of superhero movies has not translated into increased comic book sales. The medium is the message, and when the medium is comics, the message is still either "this is for kids" or "this is for nerds."
Also, a lot of NASCAR fans would not like the comics medium's current emphasis on left-wing politics, especially its "blame America first" mantra. And they would not want their kids exposed to the graphic violence and sexual suggestiveness.
NASCAR is already the fastest growing sport in the US, so they really have little need of this deal. As for DC, it looks like they are desperately grasping at straws.
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