well, you're doing an awful lot of worrying about something that "need not happen".
Really?
I suppose that
is an awful lot of worrying....
Or are you implying that me taking the time to clarify my meaning at length qualifies as some kind of obsessive fearfulness? I'm only following your example here.
but there's no reason to think the "similarity" will bring your fears to fruition.
Actually, circumstances being what they are between the two mediums (which I've already mentioned), I'd say the concern is well placed.
Also, you have a bad habit of abusing quotations. I didn't use the word "similarity."
arkham city is not the first batman game to be successful. the 90s batfilms and 90s toons were both popular - in fact, much more so. there were correlations, synergies, and comparables, but in the end, they each remained their own world.
The consumer climate today is much different from the 90s when the videogame demographic was in its infancy and consisting of mostly sub-20 something year olds. And nowadays, people have a lot more to lose; there's more incentive to encourage and/or enforce synergy. Viral promotional campaigns that cross mediums (beyond just ads in comics) is really not that hard of a concept to grasp.
that is, actually, the point. this is your opinion. with emphasis both on "your" and "opinion."
I've been speaking generally throughout this thread. I know you've been desperately trying to keep me from doing so in an attempt to confine my meaning to a matter of personal preference. But I've been paying very little attention to your efforts.
Enjoyment is subjective. Quality can be quantified. And--again--generally, the former is correlative to the latter. Just as certain literary tropes are correlative to overall bad writing. Sales tend to be a reflection of this.
If you just have a problem admitting that writing you like happens to be low quality, that's understandable but it completely ignores the point here. I mean, I'll admit I enjoyed a lot of Joe Kelly's run on JLA; a lot of fan-service there that made me giddy (of course, now that I've grown up a bit, it's harder to admit). But I'll always be able to acknowledge that the writing was terrible: all flair, zero quality.
However, if you really want to argue that quality
doesn't tend to wain noticeably with an increase in bodies, that's your prerogative, but don't expect me to correspond with ignorance based on the sheer principle of "yeah, well...that's just like...uh...your opinion man."
i've read a lot of shit batman stories over the years, and i'd say nine times out of ten, the reason for "shit" had nothing to do with batfamily or crossover.
If every Batman story up till now used only a minimal amount of characters, refrained from a barrage of team ups, kept the character from corresponding with crossover events (be they family or otherwise), the sales would be two to three times better than what they have been. Bad solo stories and all. Because the writing would be better.
"that's just yer opinion pariah!"
Yeah. But it's the correct one.
i feel you're ignoring the loophole of there being no "perfect environment." like, ok, maybe its annoying and restricting writing about the sun being eaten by ...uh... a sun eater, and how that affects the real-world batman universe. but isn't that just as restraining / exhausting as explaining how the joker escaped arkham for the 50th time?
No. 'Cuz regardless, there's still fewer characters to deal with. Not saying its easy to come up with decent Joker scheme. But focusing your energy on that is more practical than juggling a boatload of characters. The book says "Batman." Not Batman family. Or Flash family. Or Superman family. Or Wonder Woman family...
its the writer's job to find a way to tell a good story in his way, regardless of the external issues.
And you think it makes sense to make it as difficult as possible for the writer to do said job?
Again, I'm not going to put blame squarely on the writer when the conditions are ridiculous and beyond the hope of any writer no matter how good he or she is.
for the record, in addition to already knowing these aspects of the job before you become a writer, i think it's also the writer's job to enjoy these challenges.
Whether they enjoy writing within those confines or not isn't going to make the writing practical or even decent.
damian/grayson is not something i'd want to see permanently, nor is it something i think could continue to hit. i'd also, as said, greatly prefer bruce wayne batman. but it was incredibly well done, and perfectly suited for the title - especially with so much of the tale revolving specifically around bruce and his absence. if you give it a fair shot, there's a good deal there to enjoy
Wouldn't this mean that it simply would have been better to give the two characters their book rather than something showcased as a Batman feature?
