Marvel executive says emphasis on diversity may have alienated readers

Marvel's VP is blaming declining comic book sales on the increased diversity and female characters, like Kamala Khan a Muslim girl who is Ms Marvel.

Marvel’s vice president of sales has blamed declining comic-book sales on the studio’s efforts to increase diversity and female characters, saying that readers “were turning their noses up” at diversity and “didn’t want female characters out there”.

Over recent years, Marvel has made efforts to include more diverse and more female characters, introducing new iterations of fan favourites including a female Thor; Riri Williams, a black teenager who took over the Iron Man storyline as Ironheart; Miles Morales, a biracial Spider-Man and Kamala Khan, a Muslim teenage girl who is the current Ms Marvel.

VP David Gabriel said old favorites where still doing well, but the readers didn't want more diversity, according to sales. He added he didn't know if it was true, but that is what the sales are telling Marvel.

But speaking at the Marvel retailer summit about the studio’s falling comic sales since October, David Gabriel told ICv2 that retailers had told him that fans were sticking to old favourites. “What we heard was that people didn’t want any more diversity,” he said. “They didn’t want female characters out there. That’s what we heard, whether we believe that or not.”

He added: “I don’t know that that’s really true, but that’s what we saw in sales … Any character that was diverse, any character that was new, our female characters, anything that was not a core Marvel character, people were turning their nose up.”

Mavel VP David Gabriel then wavered and fell off the reality horse.
He issued a clarifying statement. Anyone want to guess what he said?
Gabriel (must have gotten slapped around) said some retailes are "excited" about new heroes. He also pulled an "Obama let me be clear" that the new heroes are not going anywhere. And further more, Marvel is going to keep introducing unique characters that reflect new voices-blah blah blah.

www.theguardian.com...
Gabriel later issued a clarifying statement, saying that some retailers felt that some core Marvel heroes were being abandoned, but that there was a readership for characters like Ms Marvel and Miles Morales who “ARE excited about these new heroes”. He added: “And let me be clear, our new heroes are not going anywhere! We are proud and excited to keep introducing unique characters that reflect new voices and new experiences into the Marvel universe and pair them with our iconic heroes.

“We have also been hearing from stores that welcome and champion our new characters and titles and want more! … So we’re getting both sides of the story and the only upcoming change we’re making is to ensure we don’t lose focus [on] our core heroes.”

It may be more a matter of changing the existing ones rather than the introduction of new diverse heroes.

Dont reinvent the wheel, make new ones and then we will see what the world "wants". Same deal as remaking movies left and right, they invariably tank compared to the originals.

IMHO of course

It was known back in the 1980's, that interest in comic magazines took off when there was a recession. Everyone was looking for a super-hero to make the world a better place; Batman, Superman, X-men, Captain America. All those were in the teenage boys section of the store. Those story lines did have female characters, but the teenage girls had their own magazines with their own characters.

a reply to: Butterfinger

Agreed, it would seem that a relatable character was something that made a "hero" popular as well.

originally posted by: seasonal
Marvel's VP is blaming declining comic book sales on the increased diversity and female characters, like Kamala Khan a Muslim girl who is Ms Marvel.

There are some people who feel that unless every new hero is not a transgender female lesbian left-handed Muslim of color that "diversity" has failed. You can be as diverse as you want to prove your purity of political correctness by forcing this crap down everyone's throats, but if it doesn't sell, you go belly up.

a reply to: schuyler

At least the important comic book consumer segment has a choice to say thanks, but no thanks.

Diversity is championed from birth now.

Yey diversity, not only a word to reflect today's geographical make up within society, but they are a nifty U.K dance act et al.

When I think of helping others the first thing that comes to mind is Islam...

Every wore torn area on earth is awash in Muslim charities helping all the people of the world...especially non-believers...Islam is VERY kind to the kafir(non Muslim)...

Praise be the prophet and Aisha, mother of all believers...

-Chris

Diversity as in other ehnicitiies? Poor Marvel fan base, they prefer captain america, bat man, thor and superman to remain white.

I understand that they want to reach more people, and adding new characters could help with that but why do they have to replace iron man with a teenage girl?
Trying to get a bigger audience by changing existing characters may loose them more viewers than it gains them, are they out of ideas and just remaking the old ones hoping for it to be as good?
Make new ideas and see how it goes. if people don't want the new ones then don't continue with them.

When everyone is special, nobody is special. I find it dubious at best that society can rationalize expending any degree of energy on obtaining a "realistic" cross sampling of traits, races, background, life choices, or handicaps in their comic book characters when the entire genre is built on imaginary, unobtainable fascinations like grossly beneficial radioactive mutations, physics defying superpowers, and human/animal chimeras. They're comics... they're not real life. I'm fairly every little kid reading them is thinking "Wow, I wish I had the power of invisibility or could stop a skyscraper from collapsing using my super strength!" not "Oh man, I'd love to be like the Incredible Hulk, but Bruce Banner isn't a hermaphrodite Asian with a missing leg, so I can't really envision myself like the Hulk."

a reply to: seasonal

2 reasons 4 bad sales:
1- trying to fix something that wasnt broken.
2- marvel movies. Why read when i can just catch it at the theaters?

originally posted by: Idreamofme

2- marvel movies. Why read when i can just catch it at the theaters?

They incorporate cinema into promoting their numerous comic book franchises... BRILLIANT!!!

Then they gut out the now mainstream characters with SJW characters that totally contradict the original characters... RETARDED!!!

They could have just made all new characters of this gender and that SJW whatever, but instead they go the movie remake route like how most of these movie "remakes" would have been better if they just called it something else and sold it as being what wont piss off the cult fanbase. That is, people often hate these remakes because to the originals they're often crappy knockoffs, where otherwise no one would hate the films for that at least.

a reply to: burdman30ott6

When everyone is special, nobody is special.

"Special," is just a construct. It's an idea. It doesn't exist independently of the mind.

So I agree with you that forcing diversity into a culture make it contrived and therefor does not achieve the results that they are seeking.

You can't force people to stop thinking the way they do with policy. There needs to be a real (natural) cultural change, not forced onto us by big corporations with globalist business ethics.

A bit off topic but similar. I just was voicing my observation that the Super Bowl ads were pushing the diversity agenda and my liberal friend rushed to the conclusion that I must be against it. I just said it was different. When you are accustomed to Bud coomercials go daddy or pick up trucks it was odd for an old timer like me. If it sells more product go for it. But if turns your core fans off then adjust accordingly. Sports and comic are really designed for males so trying to reach more folks may or may not work in the long run.

a reply to: seasonal

Wow! Who would have imagined that kids don't care about PC nonsense? It's also the reason why American actors play roles in foreign remakes. I mean, do they really expect to sell movie tickets when the star is someone no one here has ever heard of speaking broken English? That's the great thing about liberal nonsense. They demand these things, then just kinda expect everyone to put their money into it. I mean, why haven't PC blowhards purchased hundreds of thousands of these comics to give away to kids?

Also, I find it hilarious that diversity tries to teach us not to nudge others by their most identifiable traits, will simultaneously doing just that.

nm

People do want female superheroes, like Batwoman, Wonderwoman, ect.
What they don't want is taking an old character like Thor or Iron Man and making them female just because the writers think diversity for the sake of diversity is good.

Not many people read comics. People who read comics want original characters with interesting stories, not old characters lazily transplanted into a different body. Write some original stuff and the people who like comics might actually start buying them again.

a reply to: Idreamofme

I find it funny that the VP of Marvel grew a set and may have told the truth. Then he must have had a good stern talk'in to and had to walk back his earlier comments.


If Marvel continues with this forced diversity no one really wants, they will march off the comic book cliff and there will be a bunch of graphic novel artists unemployed.