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psychop_rex (psychop_rex) wrote in scans_daily,

That's partially true, but I think you may be going a little far in one direction here. Look at the brouhaha that arose when 'Blue Beetle' was cancelled, just as an example. That was a popular book - it didn't have anywhere near the name recognition that a Batman or Superman book would have, but it was steadily growing in popularity, it had a devoted following, and fans howled like mad when it was cancelled. One could argue, of course, that it was, in a sense, a legacy book, and therefore more of the same, but it was doing some new and innovative things, and it starred a character who had never even been seen before that. For that matter, check out 'Agents of Atlas' - that was a miniseries based on obscure characters from back in the '50's, and it's still around, and gaining name-recognition.
I think the problem is, yes, partially with the fans, but more to do with the publishers not giving the comics a long enough period to attract a fanbase. Unless you keep your ear constantly pressed to the grapevine, most people are going to miss out on the launching of many new comics - and even for those who do pay that much attention, a lot of stuff speeds right past them. These things take time - you have to get past first impressions, see what the book is like. Maybe you pick up issue #5, and decide not to continue with the series until you've tracked down the first four issues. Unless something has instant name recognition, a lot of readers are only going to learn about it after the fact, because the people in charge don't WANT to give the readers time to get acquainted. They want money - now. That's all they care about. If a book doesn't make a certain amount of money in a certain amount of time, it gets yanked, whether it's built up a readership or not.
Also, one could argue that while, yes, comic fans do tend to raise a stink when writers change things around, that has something to do with the fact that for some time now, most of those changes have been played for shock value. Look at the constant cavalcade of deaths, turmoil, and general Earth-shattering kabooms we've had in the last few years - I'd complain, too. When you're dealing with a fan who bombards DC with hate mail when they give Green Lantern a new logo, then you're talking about a dyed-in-the-wool fanatic who needs to get out more - when you're deailing with someone who complains because his favorite character has had ten close friends and family members wiped out in the last year, then you're talking about someone with a reasonable grievance.
ALSO also, in my opinion, the whole 'no changes' thing can only last so long, because at the moment, Marvel and DC are pretty much pandering to the long-time fans whose devotion to comics goes back to the Silver Age. Eventually, however, time will take its toll, and they'll have to start focusing more on the younger readers - which arguably they've already started doing with things like the 'Ultimate' and 'All-Star' books. There's nothing wrong with mining the past for inspiration, but eventually that inspiration will dry up, and they'll be forced to look more to the future.