Comments on: Initial Minx thoughts

by: BPearce

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 21:50:25 +0000

Perhaps the emphasis here was more on the appeal of the content itself to that elusive demographic, rather than chasing after it with some sort of half-thought-out marketing scheme that girls will buy into this line mostly because it’s not written by men.

Someone made an observation on another venue, and I agree with it, that there doesn’t seem to be much of an explanation as to why this is such an bad idea — the views expressed seem to strike me as a justification for these beliefs, rather than any real explanation for them.

by: Elayne Riggs

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 18:06:21 +0000

“(I mean, if you follow that logic, shouldn’t all these books be written and drawn by teenaged girls?)” No Brian, but if the books are marketed towards a demographic that it’s been clearly shown (witness shoujo manga) will want to buy stuff written by women (i.e., people who USED to be teenaged girls), it stands to reason that Berger and Bond may have wished to put more emphasis on this aspect of their marketing. I consider it a matter of logic, not “quotas,” in the same way that the infamous (among liberal political bloggers) Clinton blogger lunch in Harlem should have logically striven for more diverse attendance rather than considering inviting non-white bloggers to be quota-driven.

by: CBrown

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 15:55:46 +0000

I’ve read that NYT article several times, and I really can’t see why everyone’s so p.o.’d about it. To me, it seems clear that Karen Berger was really saying it was time to get those girls reading DC product. Is the source of complaint that when Berger says, “It’s time we got teenage girls reading comics,” she is speaking not for DC Comics, but for the entire industry? That same article goes on to specifically state that Minx is DC’s attempt to recapture the girls who are reading manga.

Are Berger’s comments in the NYT article “P.R.-like?” Uh … yeah. A feature article in the New York Times is a huge P.R. opportunity. It’s aimed at a larger general audience who maybe really hasn’t ever heard of manga. What would you have had Beger say? “It’s time our company attempted to regain a demographic we gave up on decades ago, which has since provided the producers and importers of manga with a substantial market share!” Yeah, the suits at Time-Warner would have been THRILLED with that pull-quote!

by: The Beat

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 07:37:02 +0000

Uh oh wait until you read tomorrow’s Beat.

by: BPearce

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 05:57:17 +0000

Thank you, thank you, thank you for not completely buying into the complaints that there aren’t enough female creators working on these books. (I mean, if you follow that logic, shouldn’t all these books be written and drawn by teenaged girls?)

I’d prefer work be judged on it’s own merit.

by: Aaron A.

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 03:44:35 +0000

“Zero market research?” I knew it! They didn’t delay our books for months and months to do marketing research and focus groups… they did it for SPITE! Well played, Ms. Bond… Well played.

I agree it’s the same old same old, though. I’ve seen all the books so far, and every one has Batman in it.

by: John

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 03:15:11 +0000

To me, the Karen Berger article and its clarification made it sound like DC did zero market research for this, and are just releasing the same old same old under a new doomed imprint.

by: Walt

Thu, 30 Nov 2006 23:21:27 +0000

No question DC’s move in incorporating Young Adult oriented authors in order to grab young eyeballs is a good one, even though it could be seen more as a game of playing catchup to the imported manga.

I’ll be interested to see how Alloy really plays into this whole equation.

by: Rivkah

Thu, 30 Nov 2006 18:52:44 +0000

I’m glad to see the clarification! I thought the original interview was a little offputting in the responses they chose, especially that same “It’s time we got teenage girls reading comics,” and I liked her answer as ICV2. I especially appreciated her clarifying what she views as the difference between more “manga style” and “American style”: “We’re doing a more straight-forward American grid style, four-to-six panels per page kind of thing.”

Karen sounds like she knows what she’s doing, and even though there’s been a lot of debate over the name of the imprint itself (which appears to vary according to where you grew up in the US as to whether or not it’s a derrogatory term), I think this line has a lot more potential than any other girl’s comics DC has attempted in the past. The premise of what they’ve put up so far is the kinds of stuff I would have liked reading as a teen, though I’m curious how much of a role the art and traditional pacing will play in sales as well.