Who's The Boss?: Why The Audience Has Always Been (And Will Be) The Comic Pro's Client!

[@legkick1]

They don't know who really pays their wages. Manga also is beating the American comic industry because look at where you can buy Manga! They are almost everywhere! Walmart, Target, Barnes N Noble. American comics companies do not care, they are just run by political idealogues. Thanks for the video James! Hope you and Heidi are well.

[@SequentialTreasures]

Just further proof of how these political ideologues don't know how to market and satisfy an audience. Manga's dominance shows the disconnect Western comic makers have with their audience, that the Manga creators don't. Thanks for your thoughts, as always, my friend.

[@benboru9013]

You tell them to go tell their slice-of-life stories about their politics in their own books, but they already know it won't sell and that's why they try so hard to cram it into Spider-Man and anything else they can get their hands on. Definitely not a lot of respect for the history or legacy of these characters.

[@SequentialTreasures]

Well, that's because they don't see the characters as the iconic touchstones they really are. For this type, it's merely a platform to launch their political bile from. That's why they don't go make their own political comics separate from everything else. Because while they would be able to do exactly what they are now, they wouldn't have the platform and attention they get doing it with a character like Spider-Man. And it is a waste (in their minds) to pump out "the message" when no one is listening. The point is to make people have to see it and interact with it (plus it turns escapism into "no escapism," which is also something they want). Doing their own solo thing doesn't accomplish that.

[@benboru9013]

@SequentialTreasures So true, and so sad :(

[@benboru9013]

Those are some rather ignorant takes from Busiek. Really, he's just trying to semantically justify bad behavior from he and his cohorts. At it's most basic, a customer is a client. So saying that the buying readers aren't clients is like saying that when you go in to a local restaurant to eat, you're not a client. Just because we don't go into the back and negotiate our dinner with the cook directly doesn't mean we don't have a client relationship. The cook is hired by, and operates, as part of the entity that is providing goods, and the consumers of those goods are the clients. Period. Once the cook contracts to engage in producing at item for sale (a meal) he now shares in that companies relationship with the client. Saying that it's just freelance doesn't change the dynamic between the company and client, only between the company and employee. It's basically only the difference between a long-term employee and a short term one. He's clearly just twisting semantics here in order to rationalize his, and others, self-serving positions. Once, you engage with an entity to serve a product to the client, you now share in the responsibility to that company's client base. NOT to yourself.

[@SequentialTreasures]

That is basically the point that Busiek (and many others) have been obfuscating for many years now, to justify and excuse their poor online and business behavior. It's simply an "otherizing" tactic. That way they can attack the readers who complain about their horrible work, or seeing the properties they have supported for years being subverted for political reasons, and they don't have to accept the fact they are quite literally biting the hand that feeds them. This is what happens to you when you become a political ideologue, who believes that anyone who doesn't think as you do is "evil." Really, the point in this video is what is at the core of the issues the industry is suffering with today. Once you have otherized your audience, the end of your business/industry is close at hand. Because you can't properly service an audience/client you hate. Which is exactly what has been happening in comics for the last decade. Thanks for your well-thought out comment. It's exactly the kind I always hope to get with this kind of videos.

[@benboru9013]

@@SequentialTreasures You bet, glad to have a place to share thoughts! You're exactly right, and it's an unfortunate situation to have to deal with. I just finished the full video, I really enjoyed it!