2 questions about Wildstorm

[van_line]

1. Did anything good come out of DC buying Wildstorm? Only one I can think of is that it made Jim Lee millions of dollars.

2. Why doesn't DC license out the wildstorm universe? Just seems like either intentionally or unintentionally they are destroying the brand. Why not do a marvel knights thing and let someone else use the characters??

[DaveEB]

Well, at first with DC owning Wildstorm we got higher quality books. Just all around higher quality printing. And the fact that Wildstorm has been around as long as it has is a testament to DC's commitment. Who knows how much longer WS would have stayed afloat had they stayed at Image. Maybe they'd be even smaller than they are today if they'd have stayed an indy, who knows? With DC, Wildstorm has the resources to make numerous attempts at trying to gain readership. DC has given them that chance. They'd more than likely be bankrupt if they tried to do these things as an indy publisher.

As for question two(which is really several questions)...I wrote a big tirade but decided to cut it short and say this...Mainly, I said that I have no problem with the current creative direction of WS. And secondly, Wildstorm itself is virtually what Marvel did with Marvel Knights only DC owns the WS studio while Marvel didn't own the studio that did Marvel Knights. Look at how many licensed properties WS does. Those are licensed properties that DC has acquired that they don't know what to do with. They give them to WS and let the studio handle them. The WSU is the studio's base but that's not all the studio does. DC could always lend out the WSU characters to other studios or they could even absorb them within house, but I feel WS as a studio would lose a lot if that were to happen.

[van_line]

And secondly, Wildstorm itself is virtually what Marvel did with Marvel Knights only DC owns the WS studio while Marvel didn't own the studio that did Marvel Knights.

when Marvel did the Marvel Knights deal it seemed like they gave them complete editorial freedom, which doesn't seem to be the case with DC and Wildstorm.

[DaveEB]

when Marvel did the Marvel Knights deal it seemed like they gave them complete editorial freedom, which doesn't seem to be the case with DC and Wildstorm.
Well, that's because DC owns Wildstorm. Wildstorm does have a relatively free editorial system, but the trouble has come when they do books that mock DC's cashcows. The two major instances where DC has mucked with WS editorially came when they had analogues of Superman and Batman be a gay couple(Authority) and when they published a book that totally took the piss out of ALL superhero comics(The Boys). Otherwise WS has been relatively free of editorial screw-jobs from DC--now I'm not taking into account all of the scheduling cockups(mainly with Morrison and Lee). Those things could just as easily come down to the individual creators taking on too much instead of editorial BS. Who's really to blame there? The creators or DC? It's just FUBAR all around. AND not taking into account Alan Moore's troubles with DC. That stems WAY back before even WS. Point being all other editorial choices for Wildstorm(with a rare exception) have been from WS editorial.

And I very much doubt that the Marvel knights crew had "complete editorial freedom." They couldn't have killed off Daredevil, for instance. I'm not privy to facts or anything but I very much doubt it.

[van_line]

Well, that's because DC owns Wildstorm. Wildstorm does have a relatively free editorial system, but the trouble has come when they do books that mock DC's cashcows. The two major instances where DC has mucked with WS editorially came when they had analogues of Superman and Batman be a gay couple(Authority) and when they published a book that totally took the piss out of ALL superhero comics(The Boys). Otherwise WS has been relatively free of editorial screw-jobs from DC--now I'm not taking into account all of the scheduling cockups(mainly with Morrison and Lee). Those things could just as easily come down to the individual creators taking on too much instead of editorial BS. Who's really to blame there? The creators or DC? It's just FUBAR all around. AND not taking into account Alan Moore's troubles with DC. That stems WAY back before even WS. Point being all other editorial choices for Wildstorm(with a rare exception) have been from WS editorial.

And I very much doubt that the Marvel knights crew had "complete editorial freedom." They couldn't have killed off Daredevil, for instance. I'm not privy to facts or anything but I very much doubt it.

I think the editorial changes on Authority had less to due with the characters being gay but with the graphic violence. I am talking when Arthur Adams was handling the art work.

[DaveEB]

I think the editorial changes on Authority had less to due with the characters being gay but with the graphic violence. I am talking when Arthur Adams was handling the art work.

That is true, but there's no doubt in my mind that the Apollo and Midnighter thing called attention to the book in the DC offices. Maybe if DC hadn't been watching the book already, they could've gotten away with the graphic violence or maybe not...There were mentions by Mark Millar about DC having it out for the Authority from the get-go of his run...more than likely because Ellis outed them and Millar came in directly after that. That's all hearsay, mind you.

[van_line]

i think the saddest thing about the authority/stormwatch and it's move to DC, etc was the fact that now every time apollo and midnighter show up there has to be a reference to their gayness. I think Warren Ellis handle them amazingly, they were characters and they were gay, now they are GAY and everything seems to resolve around their homosexuality.

[DaveEB]

i think the saddest thing about the authority/stormwatch and it's move to DC, etc was the fact that now every time apollo and midnighter show up there has to be a reference to their gayness. I think Warren Ellis handle them amazingly, they were characters and they were gay, now they are GAY and everything seems to resolve around their homosexuality.


So far Giffen hasn't done much with the gay thing in Midnighter...granted I haven't got the latest issue yet. There are times when it's been a big deal, but I think they've done a good job of not making it the focus of everything. Really it depends on who's writing. Ellis hinted at it, Millar made it "rockstar," Ennis bounced other people's homophobia off of him(Midnighter and the Kev series), and most other writers have danced around it(some more than others).

[Alex L]

1. Did anything good come out of DC buying Wildstorm? Only one I can think of is that it made Jim Lee millions of dollars.

2. Why doesn't DC license out the wildstorm universe? Just seems like either intentionally or unintentionally they are destroying the brand. Why not do a marvel knights thing and let someone else use the characters??

I think DC got a good universe to use as training ground for its up-and-coming talent, to give them a should-be monthly/bimonthly book and see how well they hold up.

If they decide to go this way, it's not necessarily a bad thing -- readers get to see artists and writers and inkers right "before they were famous" and since the spotlight's not on them/it's not the DC Universe proper, they have a bit more creative freedom to experiment.