Is Marvel's "Minority"/PC Month trying too hard?

[gwangung]

I really encourage people to read this article for a couple of reasons. This is a stock market investor website so IMO it's interesting to see an investor assessment of Marvel's latest marketing ploy. Females now make up 40% of Marvel's comics market (at least per an analysis of the Facebook market). 40 percent! Let that sink in a second. Marvel can no longer take their female audience for granted or continue to portray their female characters purely to appeal to the boys/men who read these comics. Marvel not only wants the female market, they need this market if they are going to continue to boost sales. This latest marketing campaign was not aimed at the existing comics reading fandom. It was aimed at the mainstream media to raise awareness of Marvel's products, and apparently this approach is working. Finally, The Motley Fool article also agrees that if Marvel really wants to encourage diversity, they should stop with the temporary gimmicks and create new, interesting characters. Short term marketing tricks only bump up sales and profits temporarily.

Like Ms. Marvel, eh?

Let's not think that this is an either/or strategy, then. A short range set of tactics can lead to longer term growth if there are books that can look to the longer term.

[ed2962]

I agree with you that announcing the female Thor on The View was unlikely to reach the most of the female audience who already read comics or who might be considering reading comics. IMO, The View is kinda ridiculous and gimmicky, but lots of people do watch it. I was surprised the other day when a female anchor on one of the local news stations mentioned that Thor was going to become a female. (I think they'd been talking about the summer movie schedule.) She looked extremely pleased at the very idea of a female Thor so I think that talking about this on The View has had some good consequences.

I expect that Marvel has already plotted out the entire female Thor story arc, including passing Mjolnir back over to Thor once he's ready to become 'worthy' again. I'm having flashbacks to Dr. Strange stepping down as Sorcerer Supreme for a while because he felt 'unworthy' and Brother Voodoo got to be Sorcerer Supreme for a while... but only until Hickman needed to use Strange at full power again in his run on New Avengers. Then, bang! Strange was suddenly 'worthy' again and got to be Sorcerer Supreme again.

No less a website than the investor website The Motley Fool has chimed in on the way that Marvel has marketed the changes to Thor and Captain America, here:
http://www.fool.com/investing/genera...-to-boost.aspx

They make a couple of very interesting points.


I really encourage people to read this article for a couple of reasons. This is a stock market investor website so IMO it's interesting to see an investor assessment of Marvel's latest marketing ploy. Females now make up 40% of Marvel's comics market (at least per an analysis of the Facebook market). 40 percent! Let that sink in a second. Marvel can no longer take their female audience for granted or continue to portray their female characters purely to appeal to the boys/men who read these comics. Marvel not only wants the female market, they need this market if they are going to continue to boost sales. This latest marketing campaign was not aimed at the existing comics reading fandom. It was aimed at the mainstream media to raise awareness of Marvel's products, and apparently this approach is working. Finally, The Motley Fool article also agrees that if Marvel really wants to encourage diversity, they should stop with the temporary gimmicks and create new, interesting characters. Short term marketing tricks only bump up sales and profits temporarily.

This was a very level headed article, but it states the obvious. Of course, this is a stunt. Marvel is constantly doing stunts and gimmicks. Marvel's doing something as a sales spike? It must be Tuesday.

The writer does ask why doesn't Marvel create more original minority characters, but he must know that they have. Again there's no reason why Marvel can't do both, original and legacy characters.

Again, while I want to see more characters get pushed on their own, I don't see how replacement heroes are somehow inherently bad for diversity.

[Clea]

Like Ms. Marvel, eh?

Let's not think that this is an either/or strategy, then. A short range set of tactics can lead to longer term growth if there are books that can look to the longer term.

Yes, I agree with you. Often short term, splashy marketing stunts can be used to pave the way for more long term, substantial strategy changes. What Marvel is doing right now is letting the non-comics reading mainstream public know that they are promoting a more diverse set of characters (even if only for a few months). It doesn't matter to me if Marvel is doing this because TPTB genuinely want to diversify their product because it's the right thing to do (which it is), or only because it's the financially smart thing to do. I don't care about their motives, TBH. At the end of the day, this is a business, comics are a product to be sold at a profit, and there is a huge, untapped market out there who don't buy comics right now because they want to see more diversity in the stories. The movies have raised the profile of the Marvel comics characters to an astonishing degree. So far as I'm concerned, diversifying the characters is long overdue, financially smart, and will only help to extend the viability of the comics industry.

[skyvolt2000]

So what happens when the book doesn't do well? Do they acknowledge their part in it or do they shrug and point to it as another example of how "female characters just don't sell"?

You will see trolls run out and say that's why you shouldn't give a female and ESPECIALLY a minority a solo series. They don't sell.

Yet not one person will ask how many folks actually got to see the book in a store?
How many saw the trades?
How many even knew about it?

You have too many outside factors to deal with before you can talk about the contents of the book.

And even when you try to show proof of females/minorities that have sold-the trolls don't want to hear it.

I mean when you start break it down a lot of minorities/females have had more success than many of their overrated male counterparts.

Finally, The Motley Fool article also agrees that if Marvel really wants to encourage diversity, they should stop with the temporary gimmicks and create new, interesting characters. Short term marketing tricks only bump up sales and profits temporarily.

Even if you do that, you will see the same issues and complaints. The issue has always been when that new character fails is no one is allowed to use them elsewhere like we see with Static and for a long time Blue Marvel. Yet that white one that failed will pop up again.

[Kasper Cole]

How many times do people have point out that Marvel IS creating new characters and trying to revitalize older characters before people stop complaining about them NOT doing that?

repeating the same thing over and over again doesn't make you right when there's ample evidence that shows you're wrong.

[gwangung]

Yes, I agree with you. Often short term, splashy marketing stunts can be used to pave the way for more long term, substantial strategy changes. What Marvel is doing right now is letting the non-comics reading mainstream public know that they are promoting a more diverse set of characters (even if only for a few months). It doesn't matter to me if Marvel is doing this because TPTB genuinely want to diversify their product because it's the right thing to do (which it is), or only because it's the financially smart thing to do. I don't care about their motives, TBH. At the end of the day, this is a business, comics are a product to be sold at a profit, and there is a huge, untapped market out there who don't buy comics right now because they want to see more diversity in the stories. The movies have raised the profile of the Marvel comics characters to an astonishing degree. So far as I'm concerned, diversifying the characters is long overdue, financially smart, and will only help to extend the viability of the comics industry.

Yes, putting out books like SHE HULK, MS. MARVEL, CAPTAIN MARVEL, BLACK WIDOW seems to be the other part of a marketing strategy. The gimmicks raises awareness among current non-readers; the idea seems to be to get them to read something (and it helps that more than a few of them feature non-traditional art, like SHE HULK) and they can see the more diverse offerings. They could probably afford to be even MORE diverse, but I think focussing on just the gimmicks is selling the company short.

[Silvermoth]

Considering they didn't announce a black panther movie or captain marvel they could probably actually try a bit harder (referring to thread title)

[chongjasmine]

I don't like to see my favourite character Thor turned into a lady.
I wish Marvel didn't change the gender of Thor.

[ed2962]

I don't like to see my favourite character Thor turned into a lady.
I wish Marvel didn't change the gender of Thor.

Thor isn't actually being turned into a woman. A female is just using is hammer for a while. Traditional Thor will still be in the comics.

[saiths]

I don't like to see my favourite character Thor turned into a lady.
I wish Marvel didn't change the gender of Thor.

sorry, buddy but much like the real world, ladies exist too.

[BroHomo]

[S.php?11412-REVIEW-Storm-1[/URL]


*sigh*
We've been through this before. That is (to be blunt) a lie. The review threads for Young Avengers were always dominated by the reviews, and all (but one poster, to my memory) liked Prodigy and most liked him a lot. So I have no idea where you are getting this "more complaints about Prodigy than reviews" in Young Avengers from, because it's a flat out lie to say that. And I use the word "lie" because this is something you have been told before. Repeatedly. So to bring it up again is not "ill informed" (you've been told), this... is a lie. You are lying, by repeating something you have been repeatedly told is not true.

And the reason it angers me is you have so many true examples of people having issue with a minority character (beyond just having issue with the character), why must you resort to lies? It hurts your arguement, and (in the long run) makes posters start to question if ANYTHING you say isn't doctored, exaggerated or tainted. Please, stop lying about Young Avengers. It just hurts your arguement in the long run.

I didn't like Prodigy...

[aja_christopher]

"For Asgard! Women cosplaying as the new Thor"

"It has only been two weeks since Marvel announced that that a woman would take up Thor’s hammer in the comics, but attendees at Comic-Con 2014 have eagerly embraced the news. This year, Marvel is the top choice for cosplayers looking for inspiration, and mixed in with all the Deadpools, Captain Americas, and Winter Soldiers, we found a number of women wielding Mjolnir and excited about the direction Marvel is taking its comics..."

thor.jpg

http://www.theverge.com/entertainmen...s-the-new-thor

[Clea]

NPR has an article up today about the new female Thor and female comics readers:
http://www.npr.org/2014/07/27/332615...ntent=20140727

When the news broke that Thor, the hyper-masculine thunder god, had become a woman, my Twitter feed exploded. It seemed like everybody had something to say. "Who will play the female Thor in the movies?" came up a lot. Meanwhile, I first had to figure out who Thor was. To me, stories about superheroes were for nerdy white guys imagining a world where they could lift heavy things and somehow get the girl. In short, boring.

More proof that Marvel's marketing campaign for this event is drawing the attention of the mainstream audience who had previously brushed off comics as being solely for 'nerdy white guys.' I do think that the 'nerdy white guys' image is still out there but it's got to change if this medium is going to survive, IMO.

[Kasper Cole]

NPR has an article up today about the new female Thor and female comics readers:
http://www.npr.org/2014/07/27/332615...ntent=20140727



More proof that Marvel's marketing campaign for this event is drawing the attention of the mainstream audience who had previously brushed off comics as being solely for 'nerdy white guys.' I do think that the 'nerdy white guys' image is still out there but it's got to change if this medium is going to survive, IMO.

I get the feeling that person is lying. Given how huge the Marvel films are and the fact that Thor is based on a Norse myth you have to really have your head in the sand to not know who that is.

[Clea]

I get the feeling that person is lying. Given how huge the Marvel films are and the fact that Thor is based on a Norse myth you have to really have your head in the sand to not know who that is.

I doubt it. Frankly, this woman sounds exactly like one of my sisters. Despite my decades of enthusiasm for comics and my retailing/other experience with them, this sister has never seen a comics movie, couldn't tell you the names of any of the Norse gods, and only knows the big three DC comicbook characters on sight: Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.

For too many years than I can count, when I mentioned my love of comics to some of female friends and acquaintances, I heard the following: 'Comics are for boys or nerdy single guys,' or 'Gross, look how they draw women. They look like hookers. How can you read those?' Clearly this is changing. More females are reading comics now than ever before. I think the movies and tv shows have a lot to do with this, as does the ease of buying digital comics.