Green Lantern Franchise: What Would YOU do?

[Redjack]

Nope Diamonds numbers still take account a large % of the sales from the direct market.

You and Donald Trump have something in common. You both like to discredit evidence to spin the narrative the way you like it.....I hear he needs a new a new marketing campaigner, you might want to sign up.Nope Diamonds numbers still take account a large % of the sales from the direct market.

You and Donald Trump have something in common. You both like to discredit evidence to spin the narrative the way you like it.....I hear he needs a new a new marketing campaigner, you might want to sign up.

Hey. You're entitled to your opinion. A lot of folks think, really think, the Earth is flat.

I have no reason to argue this point. Having worked on a title whose numbers WERE abysmal (two, in fact), I can say, definitively, ours are not. Had they been, the run would have been cut as is always the case when sales drop below projections for more than a month or two.

Instead of that, we were upped, first from 8 issues to 10 and then from 10 to 12 on this 1st arc.

I know you hated the fact that Hal wasn't the focus and that my fan tweets about the character ruffled a few feathers but, at the end of the day, all we have are actual facts, many of which, you simply cannot know because they aren't distributed to the public. The facts you DO have are, as I've pointed out, skewed because it's impossible for DIAMOND to accurately report DC's sales as DIAMOND no longer distributes their comics.

This bugs you. I get it. But it doesn't change the facts. Which, as always, are with me.

I apologize, again, to the thread and will no longer be engaging with this poster.

[Captain Nostalgia]

Can you please focus on the topic or create your own about your supposed insight into sales that are never properly reported?

Apologies I am, but I am not the one who is doing the attacking.

I was simply responding to a poster as to why there are not multiple Green Lantern titles, and I was going to leave it at that.

[Captain Nostalgia]

Hey. You're entitled to your opinion. A lot of folks think, really think, the Earth is flat.

I have no reason to argue this point. Having worked on a title whose numbers WERE abysmal (two, in fact), I can say, definitively, ours are not. Had they been, the run would have been cut as is always the case when sales drop below projections for more than a month or two.

Instead of that, we were upped, first from 8 issues to 10 and then from 10 to 12 to close out the 1st arc.

I know you hated the fact that Hal wasn't the focus and that my fan tweets about the character ruffled a few feathers but, at the end of the day, all we have are actual facts, many of which, you simply cannot know because they aren't distributed to the public. The facts you DO have are, as I've pointed out, skewed because impossible for DIAMOND to accurately report DC's sales as DIAMOND no longer distributes their comics.

This bugs you. I get it. But it doesn't change the facts. Which, as always, are with me.

We've just been handed the riot act by the forum creator.

Do me a favour and go crunch the numbers for yourself instead of denying the empirical evidence.

I can't argue with someone who invalidates credible evidence, (but that how fake news operates) you've come on here and made a a couple of wrong assumptions....and personally you reek of politics.

take care.

[Stanlos]

Hey. You're entitled to your opinion. A lot of folks think, really think, the Earth is flat.

Is there not MATH where these people are?

[Johnny]

False.

Sales for this last year have been roughly the same as those of Morrison/Sharp's second season.

So, without the "marquee character" or a comic book star team of creators and without a plot that was focused on familiar things, and featuring characters that weren't as well-known, we held the same numbers as the stars who came right before us.

If our numbers are "abysmal," so were theirs. Which, of course, they aren't and weren't.

Would it be fair to mention the Morrison book was never promoted by DC, while your run was both launched from a line-wide initiative and advertised better in comparison. Grant Morrison is a name, of course, but not the kind of name they were in the past, while the "marquee character" you referenced hasn't been treated as a real marquee character by DC for quite some time now. Given the circumstances is it the most fair sales comparison to make.

On a side note, is that why you were told to destroy the central power battery, since they wanted to have at least some familiar plot in the series?

[Redjack]

Would it be fair to mention the Morrison book was never promoted by DC, while your run was both launched from a line-wide initiative and advertised better in comparison. Grant Morrison is a name, of course, but not the kind of name they were in the past, while the "marquee character" you referenced hasn't been treated as a real marquee character by DC for quite some time now. Given the circumstances is it the most fair sales comparison to make.

I don't know about the publicity for Morrison/Sharp. But the notion that Grant Morrison NEEDS any more publicity behind their name at this point is sort of ludicrous. Grant's name is a guarantee that a certain number of fans will definitely show up to buy whatever they write. That is not true of me or anyone on my team.

IF DC did push us more (and I'm not sure they did) it would likely be BECAUSE none of us are big name comic book stars and the book was absolutely not featuring Hal.

In addition, Hal, exclusively, was the star of THE GREEN LANTERN, having literally mind-bending solo adventures for 2+ years prior to me showing up. Was there a long break between the end of the Morrison/Sharp run and the beginning of ours? I don't believe so. We also overlapped the end of FAR SECTOR. He had a solo story in FUTURE STATE #2. The idea that Hal has been given short shrift is, very simply, nonsense. The actual numbers don't support that view.

He even appears in half the issues of this arc and has meaningful participation in its events, both in the central story and in the annual. He's central to DC vs VAMPIRES and seems to be pivotal in Dark Crisis. So much for my (or DC's) "Hal hatred." Nonsense.

On a side note, is that why you were told to destroy the central power battery, since they wanted to have at least some familiar plot in the series?

I have no idea why they wanted that done but it was locked in before my arrival and survived the changing of multiple senior editors. There was no discussion of including or omitting anything familiar to the audience.

Once I was running the book the job was to shake things up for John (my original plan) and for the corps at large.

That said, this entire arc is filled with so many DC universe easter eggs, references, connections and callbacks i don't think one can describe it as "unfamiliar."

[Sodam Yat]

Would it be fair to mention the Morrison book was never promoted by DC, while your run was both launched from a line-wide initiative and advertised better in comparison. Grant Morrison is a name, of course, but not the kind of name they were in the past, while the "marquee character" you referenced hasn't been treated as a real marquee character by DC for quite some time now. Given the circumstances is it the most fair sales comparison to make.

On a side note, is that why you were told to destroy the central power battery, since they wanted to have at least some familiar plot in the series?

Well the Green Lantern book needed promotion because the creative team doesn't have the big name like Morrison. Which is why you seen John appearing in the Frontier cover and editors added Dexter Soy to do the first couple of issues, since the current artist(s) doesn't have such recognition. DC doesn't need much effort for a book to succeed with a big name attach to it. Green Lantern Season One and Two does prove that Morrison may not be as big as he once was, though. After Grant Morrison's run, they still had plans for him to be the primary GL in a book under a big name writer. I'm sure if it wasn't for that writer quitting, Hal would've been on the Frontier cover and not John. So I don't think DC gave up on Hal. He has a big role in the Dark Crisis event. Outside media is a different story, though.

[Redjack]

...After Grant Morrison's run, they still had plans for him to be the primary GL in a book under a big name writer. I'm sure if it wasn't for that writer quitting, Hal would've been on the Frontier cover and not John. So I don't think DC gave up on Hal. He has a big role in the Dark Crisis event. Outside media is a different story, though.

Also true.

[krazijoe]

as a HUGE GL fan and casual reader, I have no clue who all these new characters are and why we need more Earth Representation. As for all the GLs and what to do?
Hal is the main Earth GL, end of story.
Guy, Have him and his Bar appear in some stories or even mini's and have him don the ring in major stories as backup.
John, Have him be in every other team book that needs a GL and/or have him be the main trainer of GL's
Kyle. Kill him. Never liked him. Or throw the White on him and have him do some deep space stuff, or just kill him.
Baz. I like him but where does he fit in? Sidekick in some Corps books or team with Jessica in Deep Space stuff
Jessica, Didn't like her since day 1. Maybe have the Ring of Valthoom come back somehow and take her over and make her evil.
The others? No clue some Far Sector lady and a kid? Either just write them out some how to get them to another Earth or Elseworlds story.
The Future, No new Earth GL's until someone dies or LEGIT Retires.

[Midnight_v]

*Sigh* yeah basically what I saw coming pages and pages of people arguing about sales and favorites and diversity instead of cool ideas.

This franchise and dc as a whole is pretty miserable and in my opinion because the legacy thing and its ramifications are unmanageable at this point.

But wow the outside media thing is horrible. Just the worst. Hal and by extensions the GL'S just getting bodied constantly ffs.

That being said I think I had the best idea in the thread. Making it a team ensemble book.

But listening to all this rhetoric... maybe a "Green Lantern: presents" style book would be better where you get 3 writers on 1 book writing "tales" so everyone gets to see their favorite"

But I'm staring to think it's more along the lines of "There can be only one" as opposed to "Find a franchise strategy that would work or be cool"

[NathanS]

Part of it is, DC's only ever done the full ensemble thing for any length of time once during Engleheart's run. The early 90's started as one, but quickly moved Guy to being well, just Guy and John off to MOSAIC and then to being a Guardian. Then Kyle's whole introduction was based on the premise that 'not only is multiple Earth Lanterns bad, but multiple Lanterns period is bad, there needs to be one in the whole universe. in fact Guy with the yellow ring is too close to being a GL, that needs to go to" A franchise that has spent 99% of its existence focused on one lead Lantern at a time is naturally going to have an issue switching to an ensemble set up and making it stick. Even more so when one of the leads is as bitterly divisive as Hal.

[skyvolt2000]

Part of it is, DC's only ever done the full ensemble thing for any length of time once during Engleheart's run. The early 90's started as one, but quickly moved Guy to being well, just Guy and John off to MOSAIC and then to being a Guardian. Then Kyle's whole introduction was based on the premise that 'not only is multiple Earth Lanterns bad, but multiple Lanterns period is bad, there needs to be one in the whole universe. in fact Guy with the yellow ring is too close to being a GL, that needs to go to" A franchise that has spent 99% of its existence focused on one lead Lantern at a time is naturally going to have an issue switching to an ensemble set up and making it stick. Even more so when one of the leads is as bitterly divisive as Hal.

The 90s run gave you arc for Hal, John & Guy. Then it lead to Guy getting his own book and later John. Then came the mess known as Coast City getting blasted.

So you had 3 books and only one (John's) was a victim of an editor and not sales.

[NathanS]

The 90s run gave you arc for Hal, John & Guy. Then it lead to Guy getting his own book and later John. Then came the mess known as Coast City getting blasted.

So you had 3 books and only one (John's) was a victim of an editor and not sales.

Yes, you had three books, but only one was Green Lantern, full stop. Each character was slotted into a clear niche. Hal is Green Lantern doing the corps stuff and mix of Earth and space. Guy is a lone mostly Earthbound hero with no GL in its title. John is purely space with the MOSAIC thing and stops being a GL and becomes a Guardian. Engleheart is the only time in which they did 'everyone is GL with the exact same powers and base of operations, shared villains and status quo.' It was a full-on team book with the whole 'shared headquarters thing like TT, LoSH, X-Men ect.

[9th.]

Sounds like we need an Urban Legends style book for GL, or I guess they can revamp Tales of Green Lantern. The problem with that is there's more lanterns outside of humans that also deserve to have their stories told.

[Thephantasm]

But I'm staring to think it's more along the lines of "There can be only one" as opposed to "Find a franchise strategy that would work or be cool"

Although Hal isn't my fav, I would be interested in buying his book or a kyle book if they can deliver stories that I want. I don't think it's just a one lantern situation, maybe fewer lanterns to be focused on but certainly there's room for more than one.

Also for all this killing talk, I thought I'd add that Jessica was the reason I got interested in Green lantern. Even though the dcau was my childhood, John didn't do anything for me. But Jessica (and hal and pals too) got me invested and made me really dig into the green lantern lore. Now it's one of my favourite parts of dc. And I've been a hardcore dc fan ever since I was a kid watching the dcau on saturday mornings. From what I see on reddit, quite a few people feel the same way.

Legacy is a big part of dc's dna, and there should be a place for it even in the gl franchise.