Welcome to a new feature at the Revolution. A manifesto is defined as a public declaration of principles and intentions. I (Jim) will be talking about what I think is right and wrong in the world of comics. Other members of the Revolution will join in when they are able.
I would like to hear suggestions about what you, the reader, wants to see discussed.
Thank you,
Jim
Second Features-are they what we thought they would be?
DC has been running the “Second Features” for a few months now. Are they successful? For the most part, reviews seem to be less positive than DC hoped for. It seems like the fans like the Metal Men feature but the other features are not generating positive comments.
What makes the Metal Men feature different from the others? Giffen/DeMatteis/Maquire are providing a story with a beginning, middle, and end in each episode. They are incorporating subplots to get the reader to look forward to the next story. This is good storytelling, plain and simple.
Anyone who takes a writing class has heard it stated that every story should have a beginning, middle, and end. This is writing 101. Followers of the Revolution have heard us say that this is something that is missing from many of today’s comics.
Goodwin and Simonson obviously were inspired by Eisner when they worked on Manhunter. “Cathedral Perilous” was one of the best Eisner homages I have seen. In an interview, Simonson said that they tried to fit a 22 page story into 8 pages.
The readers found out more about the mystery behind the Manhunter with each episode. Fans reacted favorably to their efforts. The editor canceled Manhunter because he did not like it but the fans still rave about their series to this day.
The Second Feature experiment could be a hit for DC if they would look at what worked in the past. It is time for the creators to buy a copy of Eisner Comics and Sequential Art and memorize it. Eisner wrote the handbook but not many creators seem willing to use it.
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Jim
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2 thoughts on “Revolutionary Manifesto #1: Second Features-Are They What We Thought They Would Be?”
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Good God! Was that really Manhunter's costume?! Sometimes less IS more..,. somebody get Mike Grell to redesign that costume stat!!!
-Seafire
I think that you oversimplify things a bit.
Firstly, several of the co-features are characters who had their own title (or mini) prior to their new status, Manhunter and Blue Beetle come to mind immediately. I don't think that it's fair to Andreyko and Sturges to have editorial mandate that they submit "one and done" stories when some of the readers want the dangling subplots from their departed ongoings to be resolved.
Your solution would probably work well with The Question, but not as well with Captain Atom. The Ravager could go either way.
I really don't know what the prober way to gauge the success or failure of the co-feature program is, but to be fair it's got a couple strikes against it. Fans of the main book, who aren't interested in the co-feature are going to resent having to pay more for a story they don't care for. Fans of those co-features who had their own books are still probably smarting from the cancellation of said titles.
I really don't think there's a happy medium to be reached in this situation.
Myself, I'm enjoying The Question and Manhunter, with Blue Beetle shortly after (I just don't dig Norton's art.) The Legion, Ravager and Captain Atom are tolerable, but they don't really impress me.