Chapter 70: The Comics Emperor's Disdain

The Simpsons isn't exactly for kids. You could say, the social impact of this comic is huge, being a kind of graphic novel that appeals to both young and old. In this era, comic companies were trying to change. Since the CCA thought comics should have educational value, they needed some depth. This was more or less the case, except for Marvel and DC, who still loved pushing their characters head-on; other comic companies were seeking change. At this moment, American comics went astray, merging with the satirical comics found in newspapers. Although some thoroughly profound comics emerged, they pushed the entire industry off track. Don't let Marvel's swagger fool you. No matter what type of movie they shoot, they make money, and Disney felt it was worth every penny of the five billion bucks they paid for the acquisition. But, did you know that Marvel didn't come up with any new characters in the '90s? The characters you saw in 2008 were already there in the '80s. After 2008, they were just living off the old fame. It's not just Marvel, DC was the same. This industry had already gone off track, starting to focus on social issues and politics. What's the essence of comics? Folks these days couldn't tell you. How can you abandon the joy that comics bring to people? Educational role? Come on! If we had to rely solely on comic books, what would be the use of schools and teachers? Besides The Simpsons, the LA branch had two other projects: one was Transformers, and the other Cowboy Bebop. Cowboy Bebop actually has a bit of the Guardians of the Galaxy vibe, with four people and a dog; the story's background is somewhat similar too. As a comic book, its performance was much better than Guardians of the Galaxy. There was a handsome guy and a goofy one. Their leading lady's character was perfectly set, except maybe her figure was a bit over the top. This comic aimed for the global market. Just look at the name; it's obvious it's aimed at foreigners. William White wasn't planning to continue using those art styles, trying to align the timeline with the Marvel Universe. In case he buys Marvel someday, this IP would be very valuable too. The idea of Cowboy Bebop robbing the Guardians of the Galaxy sounds pretty awesome. Anyway, the universe has already expanded; this big IP has even more branches than Star Wars. ... Marvel didn't think much of this so-called comic studio in Los Angeles. They had a big ace up their sleeve, which left every comic company dumbfounded. That ace was Stan Lee. The old man might not be good at business, but in other areas, he was flawless. Marvel had over five thousand comic characters, and most of them were this guy's creations. In William White's eyes, he was like someone with cheat codes. You could call him a legend; his imagination was simply unmatched through history. Without The Avengers, even Star Wars might not have existed. It's not that Lucas plagiarized, he was definitely inspired. Does Terminator have anything to do with Star Wars? The answer is yes. Cameron admitted he was inspired after seeing Star Wars. He was so awestruck he was sick for a while, with all sorts of weird images in his head, most vividly a robot hunting him. With these inspirations, he came up with the idea for this script. Star Wars was the same. Their Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers came before him, and these books grew up with him. It's only natural he got some ideas from them. For a studio, Marvel wasn't interested in knowing more. Even though this studio was really big, already bigger than some comic companies, Marvel wouldn't care about them before seeing any products. Comics were a deep water. Even DC was about to go under. How could a new company do any better? ... William White wasn't planning to catch anyone's attention. His main target wasn't America. The distribution channels here could drive a new company mad, not to mention that damn review department. William White felt those CCA jerks should all just drop dead. How people plan things is none of their business, yet they still want to meddle. If they have the guts, why don't they set up their own comic company, see if they even recognize themselves afterward? This was the most tragic era in comic history. A review board of self-righteous folks completely buried the future of American comics. During this time, there was no manga culture to speak of; the whole world was deliberately mimicking Americans. No one called it the ninth art yet. Comics were labeled as harmful to teenagers. With Stan Lee's skill, Marvel practically stood alone, with a variety of superheroes essentially promoting American mainstream values. As for that Viking Comics thing, insiders considered it kids' foolishness. You can't deny it, though; most people were more receptive to this idea. They didn't doubt William White's storytelling ability. But comics? Without someone like Stan Lee, talking about comics was just a waste of emotion. It was merely young people's playful antics. The folks at the comic studio in Los Angeles didn't see it that way. Though most of them were new, their ability to evaluate a comic was quite impressive. From the outline the boss provided, this wasn't about blind development. They had far-reaching plans, and the focus might not even be domestically. Besides this LA studio, they had two more setups, likely bigger than this one. You've got to admit, these comic companies were very arrogant. They didn't really pay attention to William White's plans. Compared to his software company and film company, the investment in the comic company was much bigger. Once he completed all his setups, even if it didn't match Marvel's brilliance, it wouldn't be all that different from DC. Thanks to a big hit in the futures market, William White clearly wasn't short on cash. He could progress gradually without rushing things. He wasn't planning to stick to the old ways. The comics nowadays seemed too crudely made. The art style wasn't just clumsy; the number of color pages was pitifully low. You say printing costs are high? Well, they are indeed a bit pricey, but the difference is not huge. The binding cost might be high in America, but printing isn't that expensive. Satirical comics might not care; black and white are still readable. But that's not the case with action-packed comics. Unless you're colorblind, you'd surely love color pages. William White planned to shake up the comic world hard. With a comics weekly as a start, he intended to print them like future fashion magazines, betting someone would support it. ***** https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.