The Comic Book Audience: Does anyone here side with or disagree with what this creator is saying?

[QUOTE]I have to admit, I’m frustrated. Sales on the book continue to drop and there doesn’t seem to be much I can do to stop it. I’ve tried everything I can.

I got a big-name voice actor to do my trailer.

[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOaGZnUmiI0[/url]

I got national news coverage.

[url]http://www.cbs8.com/story/26129122/disabled-artist-draws-with-pen-in-his-mouth[/url]
[url]http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Comic-Con-Artist-Larime-Taylor-San-Diego-268765551.html[/url]
[url]http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/disabled-artist-draws-with-a-pen-in-his-mouth/[/url]
[url]https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=16&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CHcQFjAP&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.myfoxdc.com%2Fstory%2F26134712%2Fartist-draws-comics-using-his-mouth&ei=7a77U6GSHcan8gH--IGgBw&usg=AFQjCNGgzqWjUpR5y5QJOFixQUlKcfktEw&sig2=1M0ZorNHsZ-c3zWyJExC3g[/url]

I switched the book to color.

[IMG]http://media.tumblr.com/880d0ce82454ecc4c5488add5cd10a8a/tumblr_inline_navtwqUGgM1rfafc9.jpg[/IMG]

Nothing seems to be working.

It’s a critically acclaimed series, with an average of 8.9 out of 10 over 59 reviews. It’s good. I say that without a hint of arrogance. It really is a good series.

[B]So the conclusion I’m coming to is that people really don’t want female-led books. Unless it’s Harley Quinn, Wonder Woman or Batgirl.

They really don’t want characters of color, racial diversity, or LGBT representation.

What I’m learning is that I should be drawing and writing books about dudes and the oversexed badgirls they fool around with. I can’t make a living doing what I’m doing, so why not sell out, right? That’s where the money is.

Except I really DON’T believe that. I BELIEVE in what I’m doing. I believe that there’s an audience for it.

It’s time for that audience to step up.[/B]

CALL or GO INTO your local comic shop and order the trade. The order number is APR140534. Don’t get it at Amazon, tell your comic book store there are readers. Monthlies aren’t sold on Amazon, and monthlies are how I make a living.

CALL or GO INTO your local comic shop and order the first two issues of the next volume. The order numbers are JUL140458, and AUG140691.

[B]If you really want to see more diversity in comics, it starts with supporting the books that are already trying to make a difference. I’m not the only one. RACHEL RISING, GENIUS, CONCRETE PARK and many other great books about strong women and people of color are out there and they need your support.
[/B]
Without it, we’ll have to close up shop.[/QUOTE]

[url]http://larime.tumblr.com/post/95767643880/the-book-is-on-lifesupport[/url]

Honestly, from my viewpoint, things sort of [I][U]do[/U][/I] look pretty dire.

[B]Monthlies aren’t sold on Amazon, and monthlies are how I make a living.
[/B]

That's pretty much the problem right there. If indie creators are relying on monthlies to survive, then yeah, stick to spandex and bad girls.

Can't blame someone for trying to get word out. Sadly though, every month there are new titles coming out (especially from Image) and budgets are limited. It's hard to stand out in the pack (though his is a great story, and I wish him success), and harder still to get most people to venture outside of their comfort zone. I'm guilty of it myself.

I buy around 40 regular monthly titles, and a bunch of things that come out semi-regularly (or once in a blue moon) and feel like I spend too much, but then I see 10 or so titles I'm pretty sure I'd also enjoy if I could afford to pick them up (not to mention probably another 10-20 I'm not even aware of). Big pie, and it's not like Netflix or cable where it's a part of a package and you can pick and choose with no cost. It's a commitment, especially if they're planning to stick it out (and the track record of new monthlies not always lasting past 20-30 issues making people nervous about getting invested). As with most things creative and commercial, the only thing that can be done is to keep putting out the very best product you can and hoping word gets out.

Fatale and Velvet did/are doing pretty well. I'm not sure about Rachel Rising but it's Moore's second female-led series (the first was Echo, unless you also count Strangers In Paradise). And of course there is Mind Mgmt and Sex Criminals, two of the most critically-acclaimed comics around right now.

So I'm not sure the whole "female leads don't sell" angle is entirely accurate. A Voice in the Dark is pretty bleak stuff: "normal" girl loves killing people and is on her way to becoming a serial killer, most of the victims are good-looking affluent girls and there's a lot of sexual content. The sex is mostly not very pleasant as it involves rape, exploitation, betrayal and the like.

That said, it's well written and drawn and has a character-driven focus. But it also comes across as being written by a guy, in particular the focus on young, upper middle class, attractive female victims. In real life, women are relatively rarely murdered (you are many times more likely to be killed if you're a guy and it goes way up if you're a black guy) so that part of the series seems cliched and eye-rollingly exploitative, at least to me.

In the end, it's a book about a serial killer who predominantly kills young women. Aside from the twist that it's a young woman who is doing the killing, it's just not a creative standout compared to the titles I mentioned earlier. I should add the disclaimer that maybe it's changed in nature since I last read it.

makes me feel like if I don't buy his comic I'm bigoted. Maybe I can want female/ethnic characters and still not be into his particular comic.

agree with asking the audience to step up

the problem is, the audience doesn't like being "told"

I personally don't like this particular comic, it's kind of a creepy story about a serial killer and despite it getting good reviews I didn't feel it was that well told or authentic feeling. Like cgh said, despite the killer being a woman it's so, so clearly a dark dude fantasy. But the overall point, that the Wednesday warriors who buy comics each week are more interested in superheroes than dark, troubling indies is well-made. It might be better to find another format or distribution method for this particular book. I know it's on Comixology, I wonder how well it does there.

My great uncle once told me 'You can have dreams, or you can pay rent'

its rare one gets to do both, but its on you to realize when it is or is not going to happen

Belief doesn't buy groceries

The stumbling point, as always, is that quality will equal sales. There's rarely a correlation between the two. I think that having a minority lead probably isn't helping matters, but I think the overall major problem is that Larime, despite being a fantastic talent, isn't that well known amongst the comics buying audience. You can point to [i]Saga[/i], [i]Fatale[/i], [i]Velvet[/i], or [i]Sex Criminals[/i], but the truth is that it was the creators that sold those books [i]before[/i] we ever knew how good they were. I don't mind Larime calling out fandom because there's nothing else he can really do to get most fans outside of their comfort zone besides getting recruited at the Big Two, which doesn't help with [i]Voice in the Dark[/i] right now.

[QUOTE=FanboyStranger;454617]The stumbling point, as always, is that quality will equal sales. There's rarely a correlation between the two. I think that having a minority lead probably isn't helping matters, but I think the overall major problem is that Larime, despite being a fantastic talent, isn't that well known amongst the comics buying audience. You can point to [i]Saga[/i], [i]Fatale[/i], [i]Velvet[/i], or [i]Sex Criminals[/i], but the truth is that it was the creators that sold those books [i]before[/i] we ever knew how good they were. I don't mind Larime calling out fandom because there's nothing else he can really do to get most fans outside of their comfort zone besides getting recruited at the Big Two, which doesn't help with [i]Voice in the Dark[/i] right now.[/QUOTE]

True. Hell, sometimes quality hurts, because then your work gets a reputation for being highbrow or artistic or other things that aren't mainstream.

[QUOTE=Arvandor;454179][B]Monthlies aren’t sold on Amazon, and monthlies are how I make a living.
[/B]

That's pretty much the problem right there. If indie creators are relying on monthlies to survive, then yeah, stick to spandex and bad girls.[/QUOTE]

Laramie's stuff does have an audience but it isn't the folks who go to the comic shop every Wednesday.

Unfortunately, Kindle mostly does trades.

It doesn't help any that there is a lot of crime fiction, noir and neo-noir on the stands now that is in competition with him for the segment of the audience that he can get.

[QUOTE=FanboyStranger;454617] You can point to [i]Saga[/i], [i]Fatale[/i], [i]Velvet[/i], or [i]Sex Criminals[/i], but the truth is that it was the creators that sold those books [i]before[/i] we ever knew how good they were. [/QUOTE]

True, though you can say this about most non-Big Two comics. Would Black Science be a hit without Remender's name on it? Etc. There are exceptions though, like Rat Queens (another female-led title). But it does seem as though most top-selling independent titles are driven by well-known creators.

So yeah, in the end I'd say the female-lead part is the least of this title's problems. A lack of name recognition and a not-in-a-good-way creepiness are probably bigger factors.

Wait. Aren't tons of Big 2 books chock full of violence and creepiness to begin with?

Most of those titles have no problem selling.

Considering some of my most favorite comics have strong female leads, no I don't agree with Larime. Rat Queens represents the LGBT community well and has a very ethnic diverse cast. It's in my top 5 list for sure.

I think the bigger issue here is the price of comics. People have a limited budget so people are not picking up as many titles as they used to. I know this is the case for me. There's tons of comics that I would love to pick up but right now I feel my monthly pull list is already out of control. I now only pick up only my most favorite books monthly and trade wait for books that have gotten good reviews that I feel I would enjoy.

They also have a built in fanbase

These books have to build an audience and compete for eyeballs

Saga, well word of mouth got that big, I personally don't dig it but people seem to like it