My favorite comic book, Doom Patrol, just got cancelled; in fact, the last issue shipped just this past Wednesday. However, even though I am sad that the book will be published no more, this development comes as no surprise. In fact, if I must admit it, Doom Patrol is a perfect example of many of the mistakes publishers make that I’ve been noting for the past few weeks.
It was a niche book that tried not to be and failed in its attempts. The team name Doom Patrol itself has existed since 1964, which should be a big clue that a book so entitled would not be inviting to new readers. But only one member of the team at that time period still exists, and thus the current version of the team is made almost entirely of new characters. This situation then alienated old fans because it wasn’t the old team (despite the fact that the old team hasn’t existed in years), and new readers spurned the book due to the continuity issues (even though those few it did have were well-explained as the story went along).
Might this book have succeeded more if it had gone all out and accepted, even reveled in, its niche status? It is quite possible. Many people who tried and disliked this book were long-time fans who were drawn in by the Doom Patrol name but were upset when it bore little resemblance to any of the past Doom Patrol series. The book might have done much better had it revived some of the old characters or even been a tale set in the Silver Age.
Conversely, could this book have accomplished more had it gone in the other direction? Would it have been better to just use those new characters to tell new stories? Again, it possibly might have helped this book succeed. Many readers in fact stated that they’d like the book just fine if it were called anything but Doom Patrol. They couldn’t get past the name itself.
Doom Patrol also openly emulated the style of manga. This trend could be seen somewhat in the art (the stylized backgrounds and attention to details especially) but was even more visible in storytelling technique. The comic employed a very slow-paced development of subplots, as well as characterization that lie beneath the surface of the heroes in the book. They didn’t tell us much about themselves, but their actions spoke volumes. But this methodology turned off a lot of readers who felt like nothing ever happened and that the characters were too obtuse.
Might the book then have benefited from being published in graphic novel form only? This possibility is also promising. I have been telling people for months that the book reads better as a whole, and those few who I managed to convert into readers were drawn in by looking at the big picture all at once. I would give my friends a large set of the issues (often the first nine issues—which I would sell to them for less than cover price or even give away). Then as they read they got to see the big picture all at once, seeing the overriding arcs and all the story and character development coming together over time.
In the end, however, Doom Patrol tried to appeal both to long-time fans and new readers, and thus it failed. To clarify, when I say “failed,” I mean that it failed to sell; creatively the book soared, as evidenced by the fact that the artist, Tan Eng Huat, won the comic book equivalent of “rookie of the year,” the Russ Manning Award, at last year’s Eisners. It is not only my favorite comic of the past few years but one of the best superhero books published in its time, because it walked that thin line and walked it well. I found the book had a healthy respect for the legacy left behind by the books that came before it, and it explored that rich sense of history while still striking out on its own to explore new territory in its own unique and quirky way.
I recognize however that I am in the minority. Most people simply weren’t satisfied with the book in the end because it wasn’t what they wanted it to be. Those few who accepted the book for what it was, as opposed to their expectations of the book, were generally quite pleased with the book from what I can see. It clearly was not a book for everyone, but as I said last week, an occasional niche book should be allowed. Not every book has to be for everyone, because as Barnum said “you can’t please all of the people all of the time.”
However in our current sales-driven market, a niche is very undesirable, because niche books don’t rake in the big bucks. Therefore, like so many decent books before it, Doom Patrol had to be cancelled. It joined an elite group of books that includes Chase, Chronos and Hourman, books that really spoke to a small audience but just never caught on. We’ve all run across them in other media; maybe you were a big fan of Sports Night when it was still on TV or you really enjoyed My So-Called Life back in the day. But despite the fact that these shows were creative, unique and touched you, they were cancelled, because you were not enough.
As for how this all relates to advocating comics, it is actually a vital reminder of the importance of pushing books on new readers, books that will reach and speak to those outside of the niche. Widely popular books allow publishers a little more leeway with their low-sellers, and the more copies of Batman that sell, the more likely it is that books like Doom Patrol will be allowed to survive.
So in order to draw in new readers, we need to search out books that are suited to that audience rather than just give them whatever comes to mind. You can give them books that can appeal to every man if they’re not in our fold yet, or you can give them superhero-laden, continuity-heavy books if they are already accustomed to such things. But you should never ever try to give them both at once; all it leads to is alienation.
