“Presenting Miracleman by The Original Writer, and The Writer After That.”
I want to address a matter that’s been at the back of my mind. One that was spurred on by some unexpected shopping patterns at my store.
Over the last few days I’ve seen an uptick in sales on work by Neil Gaiman, graphic novels and comics and such. And the reason this surprises me is that, well, Mr. Gaiman is in some hot water at the moment. And frankly, it doesn’t look good.
Now, it’s possible folks haven’t heard about what’s been going on. Which is fair, a number of people restrict their interactions with comics to “buying comics” and don’t, say, pursue that interest via online news or whathaveyou.
It’s also possible that they have heard, and are buying the books out of some solidarity with Gaiman, showing him support in his time of need.
Or that they heard and don’t care one way or the other. He’s just a name on a spine or in a credit box, and that’s it. No particular attachment one way or the other.
Whatever the reason, and I am sure there are more nuanced ones that those options, nevertheless I saw more sales on his books than I’ve seen in a bit.
Thinking to a comparable circumstance, Warren Ellis‘ work I haven’t seen any interest in lately. I had a person picking up Transmetropolitan trades about the time news broke about him, but that was pretty much it, despite DC and other publishers keeping his work available for order.
And I get the occasional request for back issues of Joss Whedon‘s Astonishing X-Men. Marvel also has collections of this title either available or soon to be.
Which has me wondering, if/when Gaiman is found to be guilty of any or all accusations, what happens to his published work?
Look, I know all things considered, this is the least important part of the equation. Women getting their stories heard and everyone, including Gaiman, getting their day in court is top priority. “Publishing funnybooks” is the last thing anyone’s worrying about.
But I’m still curious. DC Comics has put a lot…I mean, a lot…into Gaiman’s Sandman. I presume that’s still a solid seller for them, in its multitude of formats. Plus, there’s a high profile TV show based on it, about to launch a second season, in which Gaiman himself was heavily involved. So there’s some real money at stake here.
Is Netflix going to pull Sandman off its service? Unlikely. Will it get a third season? Frankly, given that it’s Netflix, I’m surprised it got a second season, so if it were not renewed, that wouldn’t be a huge shock, and it may only likely be partially related to Gaiman’s conduct.
Just as it seems unlike DC will drop Sandman from its graphic novel backlist or any current or future projects. I expect both in DC’s case and the TV show’s case, if the Gaiman thing goes even more south than it already has, we’ll see a lot less “FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF…” blurbs in relation to him. Stuff will stay in print, like Ellis’ and Whedon’s, but without the huge “ANOTHER MASTERPIECE BY THIS GREAT WRITER” in the solicit copy.
I can see them as pushing the Sandman and related characters as being, well, “bigger” than the man who created them. Emphasizing other writers and artists who work on the material, new and old. Yes, Gaiman will likely still get checks, but aside from a tiny “created by” blurb inside you’ll never know he was ever involved. They’ll be “DC Comics Characters” more than “Neil Gaiman’s Characters.” Much like how Astonishing X-Men is an X-Men Story, not a Joss Whedon story.
And then there’s Miracleman.
Miracleman, with all its publishing and ownership travails, finally, finally continuing its story over the last year or so after a 30-something year interim, with Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham back at the helm.
It’s been noted before that Miracleman comics coming back haven’t been that big of a deal in today’s market, for varied reasons as “culture has moved on” and “Marvel really futzed it up.” Frankly the only sales pitch the series had for modern audiences was, and no slight meant to Mr. Buckingham, “Here Is A Comic Book Written by Neil Gaiman.”
Well, there goes that, probably.
There’s still a final chapter/mini-series pending, and I lay pretty good odds that it’s going to be drawn and written by Mark Buckingham. He’s already been listed as “co-writer” so I suspect that “co-” dropping off in short order. Maybe with an “additional material by NG” if necessary.
Given the DC Universe Rebirth-esque reveal at the end of this Timeless one-shot, it’s pretty safe to say Marvel’s anxious to get Marvelman (as distinct from Miracleman) into the Marvel Universe proper. As such, with controversy a-brewin’, Miracleman: The Dark Age may be pushed through a little more quickly than expected, so Marvel can get that behind them and into laying groundwork in their comics for that Marvelman movie someday.
Or they’ll just quash it entirely…”indefinite postponement” and all that. Who knows.
Outside of the unique Miracleman situation, I suspect no matter what happens, DC and other publishers aren’t going to give up their cash cows. They might try to disguise the cows a bit, changing the brands on their sides so it’s less obvious they came from Gaiman’s farm, but they’ll keep milking them as long as they can.
Again, none of this is important, considering the situation. It’s just something that crossed my mind and thought I’d try to work out here. Suffice to say…this situation is so very disappointing and saddening.
Maybe the people buying Gaiman works suspect that they might be going out of print soon.
well, this one is really painful to see. i’ve been a huge fan since Black Orchid #1 and have held him up as the ideal “male femenist” for decades. he surrounded himself with female friends and co-creators who had nothing but glowing things to say about him. so for me, this is truly terrible news because it will affect so many women, not just the poor victims (who i always believe). shame!
“If/when Gaiman is found to be guilty of any or all accusations, what happens..?”
What passes for ‘justice’ in these affairs often has nothing whatsoever to do with juries or judges — as demonstrated by what recently happened to Ed Piskor.
Most comic book creators who have been accused of terrible behavior have been just that: comic book creators. Gaiman is a popular author/ content creator who people who never picked up a comic book (even Sandman) have read. I wonder if we’re going to see a smaller version Johnny Depp/ Amber Heard situation: the women are smeared by a publicity campaign, and much of the public sides with the man who made things they like. I hope it doesn’t come to that, and Gaiman (one of my favorite writers) pays for any crimes he’s committed/ just goes away if nothing rises to criminal or civil offense. The whole situation is disheartening.
The part of the story that’s always missing for me is: how much did other people know this was going on?
Frequently, and I’ve read some asides to this effect about Gaiman, it’s an “open secret” in whatever industry that said predator is a predator. Why doesn’t anyone ever leverage their power over them before things erupt into public? As in, “we will kick you off your own show if you don’t stop/make this right” kind of power.
I suppose it comes down to: they’re making money for everyone involved, so best not to rock the boat. Or maybe that’s where the (icky) NDAs come into play. Or maybe Gaiman was able to keep things quiet because he kept his assaults domestic (as far as I can tell).
This is a thoroughly disappointing situation, but I’m not just disappointed in Gaiman. I’m also sad/angry that industries passively allow this sort of thing to happen. I don’t know for a fact that cracking down on predatory behavior in comics/film/publishing would stop sexual assault/coercion by big names, but it probably wouldn’t hurt.
Without commenting directly on this person and this situation, I will note that the Loud House continued production. Rick & Morty continues production. Ren & Stimpy got revived. The Nevers got cancelled, but I don’t have the sense that it had ever gained particular popularity.
Jesuswasbatman -gosh darn it, I’d meant to mention that. Thanks for bringing it up.
Oliver – that…is is a take on that situation I’m not going to agree with. Sorry about that.
Thom–
For me, the “open secret” was that he encouraged and engaged in sex with a lot of younger women “groupies” in the 90s-00s. I remember hearing a lot about it in the fan whisper nets at the time, but I dismissed it as “Neil’s a rock star.” Which I should NOT have done, but it was all whispers, no actual allegations. What has actually come out is far, far more disturbing than I ever thought.
As for “why doesn’t anyone speak up,” that has a lot to do with institutional power, both gender-wise and industry-wise. Neil Gaiman, Warren Ellis, they all had significant power both from being high level writers and from being male in a male-driven industry. Until fairly recently, that was enough to keep people very quiet. It’s not good, it’s not fair, and it’s changing far too slowly–but a certain recent example is a fine one of how a male creator can weaponize a situation against the people he abused when accusations come out.
I think of that “open secret” thing as something people can use to warn each other away from private meetings with him, but not something that could scotch a business deal. No one’s going to get pushed out of producing a Netflix show — especially one marketed largely around his authorship — because of an “open secret.” Especially because, given the amount of surprise among the audience, the open secret isn’t as open as people in the know may think.
“Just as it seems unlike DC will drop Sandman from its graphic novel backlist or any current or future projects.”
Yeah, I’d doubt it, too. It was popular AND well reviewed, and has been in print for, what now, 2 to 3 decades?