shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,867
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Post by shaxper on Apr 3, 2015 14:50:49 GMT -5
It's been a little over a year since Marvel launched the new Ms. Marvel, targeted at a young female audience, and that success has led them to try something similar with Spider-Woman (though it seems targeted at a slightly older female audience). What I'm wondering is whether this is just another example of a publisher appealing to a demographic (remember, back, in the '70s, when we suddenly had titles appealing to both girls and African American youth) or a sign of a larger upheaval in comicdom? It's been clear for nearly a decade now that, while the male population buying comics is largely an aging one, far more females than males are getting into comics for the first time. I wonder if we're seeing the early stages of a long term transformation in the comic book industry. And, if so, what will its ultimate shape be?
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Post by wildfire2099 on Apr 3, 2015 18:37:53 GMT -5
I think some of it is being done so they can say they did it... this way the next time someone says 'they're aren't enough female leads!' they can point out when they tried it.
OTOH, you're absolutely correct that females are the growing market... if they want to capture, say, my daughter and her buddies who love manga, they need to have something that resembles it a bit more. Ms. Marvel totally fits that bill. Perhaps Spider-Gwen does, too (I haven't read that)
I think they trick is finding those new readers without losing the old ones.
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,867
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Post by shaxper on Apr 3, 2015 18:43:50 GMT -5
I think some of it is being done so they can say they did it... this way the next time someone says 'they're aren't enough female leads!' they can point out when they tried it. OTOH, you're absolutely correct that females are the growing market... if they want to capture, say, my daughter and her buddies who love manga, they need to have something that resembles it a bit more. Ms. Marvel totally fits that bill. Perhaps Spider-Gwen does, too (I haven't read that) I think they trick is finding those new readers without losing the old ones. I'm not up on Spider Gwen. Is it all ages friendly? I'm pulling ms Marvel and Spider Woman for my daughter, wife, and I to read together. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Apr 3, 2015 18:46:05 GMT -5
Honesly, I'm not sure.. it seems like it by the marketing, but that can certainly be misleading. Not to get off topic right after you setting up these nice new sub forums, but Gotham Academy over at DC is a good one too.. it's VERY Manga, but firmly set in the DCU.. issue 6 just came out, so I'd expect a trade soon.
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Post by Pharozonk on Apr 3, 2015 18:46:52 GMT -5
I like that that they are trying to get more female readers, though the "generation Y shoutouts" pervasive in these series, like the omnipresence of social media and youth pop culture, do make me roll eyes.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Apr 3, 2015 20:35:15 GMT -5
Me too, a bit, but they work. My daughter literally jumped up and down when Ms. Marvel talked about 'shipping' Spiderman and Carol Danvers in her guest spot.
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Post by Pharozonk on Apr 3, 2015 20:56:43 GMT -5
Me too, a bit, but they work. My daughter literally jumped up and down when Ms. Marvel talked about 'shipping' Spiderman and Carol Danvers in her guest spot. On the other hand, dialogue like that makes me want to throw up.  |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Apr 3, 2015 21:27:09 GMT -5
I guess it's a good thing you don't hang around with 13-15 year old girls then  |
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Post by Pharozonk on Apr 3, 2015 21:42:18 GMT -5
I guess it's a good thing you don't hang around with 13-15 year old girls then Considering I was that age not that long ago myself, I don't want to anytime soon. |
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Post by Randle-El on Apr 3, 2015 21:46:31 GMT -5
I mentioned this in another thread, but I'm a fan of it. If you had asked me ten years ago, I wouldn't have cared either way, but as a father of two young girls (neither of which is old enough to read yet, but would love it if they developed an interest in comics when they do start reading) I think it's great that publishers are reaching out to female readers, and not just with stereotypical "girly" comics. Not that you can't share comics that have male leads with little girls, but there's definitely an aspirational, wish-fulfillment aspect of comics (or at least, superhero comics) that makes it more appealing if there's something about the hero you can relate to.
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Post by Spike-X on Apr 4, 2015 5:24:16 GMT -5
I think some of it is being done so they can say they did it... this way the next time someone says 'they're aren't enough female leads!' they can point out when they tried it. OTOH, you're absolutely correct that females are the growing market... if they want to capture, say, my daughter and her buddies who love manga, they need to have something that resembles it a bit more. Ms. Marvel totally fits that bill. Perhaps Spider-Gwen does, too (I haven't read that) I think they trick is finding those new readers without losing the old ones. I'm not up on Spider Gwen. Is it all ages friendly? I'm pulling ms Marvel and Spider Woman for my daughter, wife, and I to read together. I'd have no problem letting my nearly eleven-year-old daughter read it. |
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Post by Spike-X on Apr 4, 2015 5:25:35 GMT -5
I think they trick is finding those new readers without losing the old ones. There are still a staggering amount of comics out there being produced for the 'traditional' comics reader. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Apr 4, 2015 7:25:15 GMT -5
That's true.. the event trend seems to be really starting to get to people though.
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Post by Randle-El on Apr 4, 2015 8:10:04 GMT -5
I feel like people always complain about the overabundance of crossovers and events, but while I share that sentiment, the publishers do have a point when they respond by saying that sales = votes. As much as people voice complaints about events, they seem to sell awfully well, so I don't blame them for putting them out as much as they do. Until people start expressing event fatigue by not buying the book, they'll keep putting them out.
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Post by Spike-X on Apr 4, 2015 18:30:42 GMT -5
Yep.
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