What was wrong with heroes being straight?

My guess is being a straight super hero is not as profitable as it once used to be. We're living in a day and age where headlines have to grab attention and people no longer have time to read numerous issues to tell if a comic is great or not. Word of mouth doesn't seem to travel far when people say a particular comic is good. I think comic people have become jaded. We've seen it all and rehashed stories have been of the been there, done that variety. Besides that, there haven't been any true Classics in a long, long time. Gone are the days when something like The Watchmen can blow us away. We can rehash it all we want, it doesn't have the same punch the 2nd time around. Same for the legacy that has been known as Valiant Comics over the years. While the current incarnation may be the strongest it has looked in some time compared to other very failed attempts to bring the legend back, its extremely doubtful that even VEI's current launch will grab comic fandom the way the original Valiant Comics led by Jim Shooter did. And also gone are long running sagas in the the vein of the Dark Phoenix Saga. Often seen as a benchmark of comic greatness back during its time, the current crop of fickle comic readers could care less to see a story of that magnitude develop over a 30 - 35 issue arc where bits and pieces played out slowly until the saga climaxed with the Death of Phoenix with X-Men #137. Today's comic readers can barely have their attention held for 4 issues straight, let alone 12. Once we get beyond that, you're left with only die hard fans who loved the character(s) through thick and thin anyway. No, today's fickle bunch of readers want the headline now and grab the issue or couple issues in the coming weeks or months and call it a day. And it can't just be any old headline either. Death is completely played out. No one cares if a hero quits his career or group or joins the fray. There are no turning points the old fashioned way anymore. There is no room for all the normal cliches of comics. We have to find new ways to shock and awe the crowd.

Unfortunately I think it caters to many believing that it is all in the name of their cause. Let's turn Spider-Man black so we can filter out the injustice of an unequal slant of white characters that have held the mantle for decades on end. Albeit we'll do it in the Ultimate line so no one has to take it too seriously if the tradition white audience gets bent out of shape. Hell, let's throw Obama in some comics and look like we've overcome and progressed not only as a nation but as comic creators too. Soon enough, even these headlines start fading in the background. How about, lets reboot and start all these long running comics over at #1? Giving every collector out their a chance to start fresh! Never mind the collector who has collected 30+ years and made it his or her pursuit to try and track down every issue of Batman or Superman. There isn't enough of those guys around anyway. Let's give everyone a new starting point. Hey, most people don't know when a starting point is anymore. Back in my day, a starting point was anytime you picked up a new comic. Whether it was issue #1 or #238, it didn't matter. If you opened the comic, it was a starting point for you. Nah, that's too tough. There is too much back story for most fans to be concerned with history. Lets tell them when they should jump on a comic by creating point one comics (.1). So now instead of holding issue #36 and not knowing anything that is going on. A readier can hold 36.1 and know right away that they are at the beginning dag nabbit.

Unfortunately, just as fast and furious as these ideas hit, they fade away. No one cares now that comics are on issue #12 after being rebooted. The headline is done and over. What now? Well, the power that be are running out of ideas. Except they thought of one they hadn't exploited very much yet. Lets go ahead and play the gay card. I guess it comes down to who played it better? I don't personally find either to be so great but I have to say I appreciate Marvel's method a lot more than DC's. Marvel had outted Northstar a full 20 years ago. Its something we all knew about him and digested a long, long time ago. It would almost make sense in his storyline that he would eventually want to get married. DC on the other hand chose to alter the history of a living legend, Green Lantern. One of comics 1st Superheroes and just recently had his own movie. While the Northstar character was well known and could even be seen as coming, none of us were ready to see DC alter a character like Green Lantern and make 70 years of history being someone we never knew. The question I have for DC is why? Why do this to THIS character? Northstar was a B-Lister on his best day. No, more of a bench warmer C-Lister. Its not that A-Listers are not entitled to be gay, but why do it to someone with this much of a magnitude and history?

A lot of gays, sympathizers and liberals will applaud Marvel and DC and claim we are stepping out from the hatred and bigotry and making the world a better place. I call BullShit on this. I don't think Marvel and DC gives a damn how people feel about it. While they drape themselves with an American flag and tell the public they are proud of what they are doing, in reality the main motivation is to make another headline and have another quick money grab. One that will be fast and furious and just like the rest, will be old news in just a few months time. What then Marvel and DC? How many ways do you have left to progress us as a nation? You done forgot how to write epics and classics. You done sold your soul and turned your back to what had been working for comics for all these decades. We now live in a time where comics have 1/10th the print runs they had 20 years ago. While they seemingly seem proud of where they stand, in any other business the leaders of these companies would have been long since fired for having such a horrible track record. It's easy to stand behind movies and digital comics and fluff your way into saying that things have never looked brighter and the world of comics have never been brighter, in reality, the leadership up top has never been weaker and the printed comic itself has never seemed less relevant.

Applaud now if you will. You won't give a shit 6 months from now. That's just the way things are these days.