I've always thought that one of the reasons Marvel eventually became more popular than DC was the way they treated their fans. Marvel at least pretended to like their fans, and get excited (although Stan could slip the shiv in if you got mouthy...). DC? Well, in the good old days, they almost seemed to resent that fact that people liked their stories, and might be motivated to bother them. No surprise, as DC has always hated its readers.
Our evidence this week? Adventure Comics #409 (1971). Supergirl was starring in Adventure those days. Also in those days, DC was experimenting with a 52 pages for 25¢ format (sigh...52 pages these days goes for about $9.43...). Which meant that most DC mags in those days were going to have a reprint included to fill out those 52 pages.
So, logically enough, the editors pulled this one out:
We all recognize this one...it's the classic Supergirl vs. Satan Girl Legion story from Adventure Comics #313 (1963). It's a pretty good pick for a story to reprint, as it features both Adventure's current star, and it's former headliner.
Hey, wait...what's that editor's blurb at the bottom??
Are you kidding me?
DC in those days always seemed to be using Supergirl to entice female readers, inviting them to design costumes and such.
And yet this same DC complains, publicly, when female readers want to see a story featuring female characters?? How affronted they seem that people wanted a story that featured female Legionnaires.
Are you serious? You decide to insult fans who are passionate enough to write in and care about your comics? "Women libs"?!?!?! What the hell does that even mean? Was that even a proper slang term in 1971, or were DC editors so out of touch they randomly threw together terms they misheard on Laugh-In?
Really? You have a letters page in your book, with an address printed for people to send you mail...and you're asking them to "stop writing?" Is your staff having trouble handling all the mail, or just that from "women libs?"
DC Comics' slogan at the time went something like this: "We want you to read our comics, but don't dare bother us, silly women. Just give us the quarter and shut up. And keep those free costume ideas for us to use coming in."
Tomorrow: You know whom DC hated even more than its readers? Stay tuned...
Our evidence this week? Adventure Comics #409 (1971). Supergirl was starring in Adventure those days. Also in those days, DC was experimenting with a 52 pages for 25¢ format (sigh...52 pages these days goes for about $9.43...). Which meant that most DC mags in those days were going to have a reprint included to fill out those 52 pages.
So, logically enough, the editors pulled this one out:
We all recognize this one...it's the classic Supergirl vs. Satan Girl Legion story from Adventure Comics #313 (1963). It's a pretty good pick for a story to reprint, as it features both Adventure's current star, and it's former headliner.Hey, wait...what's that editor's blurb at the bottom??
Are you kidding me?DC in those days always seemed to be using Supergirl to entice female readers, inviting them to design costumes and such.
And yet this same DC complains, publicly, when female readers want to see a story featuring female characters?? How affronted they seem that people wanted a story that featured female Legionnaires.
Are you serious? You decide to insult fans who are passionate enough to write in and care about your comics? "Women libs"?!?!?! What the hell does that even mean? Was that even a proper slang term in 1971, or were DC editors so out of touch they randomly threw together terms they misheard on Laugh-In?Really? You have a letters page in your book, with an address printed for people to send you mail...and you're asking them to "stop writing?" Is your staff having trouble handling all the mail, or just that from "women libs?"
DC Comics' slogan at the time went something like this: "We want you to read our comics, but don't dare bother us, silly women. Just give us the quarter and shut up. And keep those free costume ideas for us to use coming in."
Tomorrow: You know whom DC hated even more than its readers? Stay tuned...
2 comments:
It's like having a "Price Is Right" episode with the words "Fuck you, old people! Why don't you all just die already?" flashing across the screen in the opening intro.
You have no sense of humor.
Epic misread.
Pitiful.
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