pictures, politics & geekery

An interview with Saranga of New Readers... Start Here!

I talked to Saranga of New Readers… Start Here! about Supergirl, LGBTQ representation in comics, and how the Big Two could do better at reaching new readers.

Check it out:

They don’t advertise enough. They especially don’t advertise outside of comics fans. In the UK, many people don’t even realise you can buy regular monthly Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, X-Men comics. It’s not advertised. With all the recent superhero films DC and Marvel should be advertising their websites as part of the pre-movie trailers. They should be giving sample comics away at the screenings. They shouldn’t rely on Free Comic Book Day, because the only folks that go to that, are already reading comics.

The comics industry should advertise themselves in magazines, on TV, on national or local news sites. Not on internet comic forums, or in their own books, or on the Big Bang Theory. They should advertise in arenas where people who have never heard of DC and Marvel will see the adverts. They should send samples to school and public libraries.

And when they do that, they should widen their target market. Don’t restrict themselves to 18-35 year old males (they are already buying the comics). Don’t create covers of iconic characters that look like Catwoman #0. Concentrate on telling good stories without succumbing to crossover hell. Create comics for young children, older children, teenagers, adults and old adults. And then tell them about the [rest of their] comics.

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This was fun.