Why Do We Fall?

Remember this moment? Remember this question? "Why
do we fall, Bruce?"

So we can lie on the floor stubbornly insisting we haven't?

So we can sit with our aching ass on the cold terrazzo insisting that gravity is a myth?

How about repeating like a politico's talking points that it's not the floor at all and we are, in actuality, on Dancing With the Stars foxtrotting with Jennifer Gray?

No. Why do we fall? So we learn how to get up.

I recently saw a piece on the 10 biggest WTF moments in comics. Not surprising which company took home the trophy for the big #1.

In 1998, DC made the mother of all WTF decisions when they opted to change the character of Superman. This character that had stood for 60 years, and had just been killed off a few years prior to show his utter importance not only to comics but to the world, was out the door...

A change of costume or marriage status is one thing, but completely altering everything that established the character as an American icon in the first place is something else entirely.

Several readers marked this as the first pock of the disease which has consumed just about all the characters now, the first blatant sign that those entrusted to write these characters have no understanding of what defines them or of their iconic significance in the greater world outside their Thursday To-Do list.

But not me. For once, I'm going to stand between DC and the ones throwing stones, because here's the thing: as soon as they realized the ground had given way under their feet and they were falling into a deep pit with a bunch of angry bats baring their teeth and hissing bat-spittle into their faces, they changed him back. The article itself admits "the explanation to get him back to normal was quite vague, probably a result of the severe backlash of comic book fans and their desire to fix the problem as quickly as possible."

They didn't tap Wizard to call it a giant step forward in comics, they didn't embark on a PR campaign to try and convince the terminally stupid that unsweetened lemon juice tastes just like water, they didn't figure there would be a new crop of gullible half-wits who would be coming along any minute to replace the 80% of their readership heading out the door. They didn't think up even worst things to do to Superman to punish the fans for not accepting the fiasco. They got up. That's why we fall. And if we can't get our asses out of that hole on our own, we scream for help before the rest of the ground gives and we fall farther.

Remember a few weeks ago I said The Reaper is out there, and DC's attitude that it's okay to mess things up further/they'll fix it (or not) next year was horrifically out of touch with the reality that there may not BE a next year? Anyone who thought I was being melodramatic, please turn and wave goodbye to Wizard. It's gone, as of yesterday. All staff let go. If a new online magazine transpires to replace it, the focus is to be on pop culture and the non-comics media where these characters still thrive. Not print comics.

Do I have your attention now, boys?

Fantastic Four is snuffing a major character today. What makes this different from past fan-inflaming stunts is that it's the first under Disney. That means if it doesn't work out (and by "work out" I don't mean by the comics definition 'people hate it' but the definition of everyone else on the planet), then those responsible are going to be introduced to a concept that is new to them but familiar to everyone else who works for a living: consequences. You make a bad decision, you piss off customers, you materially damage a company's assets, there are consequences. I don't think it's a bad thing. It's not going to be a pleasant adjustment. Growing up often isn't. But it's pretty much the only choice the medium has if it wants to survive.

Why do fall? Well, eventually to learn how to get up. For some though, there is an intermediary step: to learn to recognize the hole, and then to accept that the hole is not the place to be.

On a lighter note, it's a big week for Cat-Tales. The Dracula spinoff Capes and Bats releases its penultimate chapter today, and there's a plot twist that absolutely nobody saw coming--but which was right in front of us the entire time. I have to admit, I was floored when I read it. Scared the cat with my gasps of surprise. We're also less than 48 hours from the launch of a new feature to make life easier for our mobile friends. Work is underway on the new chapter of Trophies, while reviews continue to come in on À Bon Chat, Bon Rat.

Chris Dee
www.catwoman-cattales.com
cattales.yuku.com
cattales.wikispaces.com

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Vancouver, Domino’s Pizza and You (know who you are)

Okay, who watched it?  This is supposed to be the Cat-Tales blog, and we’ll get to that in a second.  But first, who watched the closing ceremonies? 

For anyone who missed it, it began with what I can only described as “Previously on the Vancouver Winter Olympics…”  Lights up on those 3 raised prongs, with the fourth stubbornly in its Opening Ceremonies position of stubborn unraised stuckage.  Out comes what my stagehand friends are already dubbing “Techie-Clown”, who takes a hammer from his toolbelt and gets the thing into position, and on we go.

That’s just awesome.  It’s having the sense of humor to say “OOPS” on the big stage.  The world was watching, we dropped the ball big time, and we’re the first to laugh at it.  How can you  not love that? 

Then there’s Domino’s Pizza.  I was in (ironically) a pizza shop the other day and they had CNBC running.  Fourth quarter earnings from Domino’s Pizza are through the roof.  There’s this thoroughly depressing chart depicting fifty companies with the same basic type of customer in terms of income, geography, etc.  For the last 6 quarters, they’re all doing pretty much the same thing: down, down, down, down, and down.  No real surprise there.  Then, last month, there’s this one red line on the graph whose head pops up while everybody else goes down.  Domino’s.  WTF?  Domino’s?  Really?  Domino’s pizza?   Yep.  You know why?  The “we were making a really stinky product” campaign.  The “We were the only ones not admitting and now we are and we’re fixing it” campaign.  Domino’s own CEO came right out and said they were doing everything right in terms of corporate identity, advertising, logistics, business model, staffing—everything right except THE PRODUCT.  They problem wasn’t the advertising, the economy, or the staff, it was as fundamental as the crust, the sauce and the cheese.  They admitted it and then they fixed it.  Reward:  record profits.

I’m just sayin’. 

Okay, enough of that crap, back to CT.  It was a really good week for the Tales.  Chapter 3: Gallows Humor was released, and Jokers fans were pleased to see that even though this was laughing boy’s first major appearance since The Dark Knight, Cat-Tales Joker is still very much Cat-Tales Joker  (Accept no substitutes, Kiddies!  HAHAHAHAHAAAA!  Discontinue use if you experience sudden bouts of sanity or develop normal skin pigmentation.) 

IMO, the landmark Joker escapades in other media occur when Big J is trying to make a point.  From driving Jim Gordon crazy (to prove that all it takes to turn anybody into him is one really bad day) to the TDK Joker’s blow up the other ferry challenge (Milleresque attempt to prove everyone is just as corrupt, ugly and morally bankrupt as he is), the cruelty and carnage is not cruelty & carnage for its own sake.  It’s to make a point. That’s not something our CT Joker excels at.  He just doesn’t have the attention span, most days.  I’d say that’s a big reason he’s come to rely on Harley more than he ever planned to: she carries the one.  In Gallows Humor, he did have a point to begin with, but as BenRG noticed, he started having so much fun, the whys behind it got away from him.  Silly ass. 

Anyway, the chapter was very well received, and Jacker’s first foray into another rogue’s theme seems to have been sufficiently creepy.  The other development last week was that I finally got around to swapping out the old artwork on the website.  For those who aren’t aware, “Wanders Nowhere,” the CT insider who pens the Capes and Bats spinoff, is a fantastically talented cgi artist.  Last year he made a virtual Gotham City and allowed me to take a bunch of snapshots of our favorite feline in situ, prowling the rooftops as nature intended.  Those pictures have been sitting here on my harddrive for at least 6 months, waiting… waiting… waiting.  Finally I got around to popping them into place.  It’s nice to have a more realistic Catwoman up there, just to help with that division between The Post and Reality. 

Chris Dee
www.catwoman-cattales.com 
cattales.yuku.com
cattales.wikispaces.com

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A New Golden Age of DC Comics

Hey Chips,

You do indeed get credit for the find.  Your post was the first I had heard of any of this.  As you know, I have been out of that world for many years, but Geoff Johns is certainly one of the names I remember, and as one of the good guys.  Indeed, THE good guy.  I seem to recall he was affectionately known as “Other Geoff” in my old comic shop, to distinguish phonetically from Uncle Jeph (said with equal affection).  And “Jim” is Jim Lee?  Can’t say I have any opinion there, other than he is a spectacularly talented artist.  I don’t know any of his views in terms of creative philosophy, Cat or otherwise.  

Anyway, you asked for my thoughts, such as they are.  

Snark first, then we’ll get serious:

The only triumvirates I’ve ever heard of ended with the rich guy under house arrest while the other two fought a civil war until the one not named Caesar is driven into Egypt, where he died by his own hand or someone else’s.  If it were me, and I wasn’t named Caesar, I wouldn’t be keen on trying it again.  

Serious answer?  Well… 

I think a new Golden Age of DC Comics is achievable in our lifetime.  Honestly.  We had a collective epiphany in the late ‘80s that this isn’t kid’s stuff.  That there is not just a market but a hunger for complex, realistic and adult stories about these characters we collectively love.  We immediately took a wrong term in defining what “complex, realistic and adult” mean.  We took a 25 year detour, but that potential still exists.  Look at all the readers who might have given up on the comics but never gave up the characters or what they should be.  Look at TDK, that’s what happens when you understand, respect and keep the essence of what the characters are and use them in truly sophisticated, mature and complex storytelling.  It takes 3 years and a hundred million dollars to do on that level.  Comics have the ability to produce far more – not as much as they think, perhaps.  There is only so much you can turn out and still keep it good.  But through that medium, we can get more than one wholly satisfying Batman outing in 3 years.

So yes, in my opinion, an actual honest-to-god Renaissance is possible.  But it can only begin with an apology.  I question whether Geoff, Jim, and those who appointed them are aware of just how much bad will has been created over the last 10+ years.  More is needed than another retcon, reboot or “new direction”.  I don’t know what is needed.  I don’t pretend to know.  I do know this:  You cannot set out to deliberately anger, disappoint and offend people, take away something they enjoyed and laugh at their cries of outrage, and then offer a half-assed reboot like a dozen others.  

Someone I absolutely adore once said to me “You may forget the exact words, but you never forget how people made you feel.”

I expand it to:  You may not be able to articulate it, but you never forget how people made you feel.

I have gotten a lot of email over the years from people who are angry, betrayed, bitter, belittled, heartbroken, deceived, paranoid, beaten, broken, despairing, exasperated and exhausted.  Few had the self-knowledge, vocabulary and energy to express it coherently, but all have been kicked in the stomach.  Unlike me, they didn’t note names.  They can’t say J’accuse Ed Brubaker. They do know the name of the company: DC Comics.  

How do you fix that?  I have no fucking idea.  I wish them all the luck in the world, but I have no earthly idea how you FIX this.  

That’s my reaction, Chips.  I wish it was more… something.  

Chris Dee 

www.catwoman-cattales.com

cattales.yuku.com

cattales.wikispaces.com

Thank you for reading. If you are viewing this post anywhere other than The Catitat you are reading a mirror. Please visit the original posting in The Catitat to leave a comment.

P.S. My inner Joker is furious I did not use that last sentence to plug More Cowbell.