Geoff Johns: Angry DC Fanboy Target In 2010?

My buds in the Best Shots crew did their Best of 2009 list, along with looking forward to 2010.

One of the selections to watch in 2010 was Geoff Johns. I agree, but not for the same reasons.

I think Geoff has put himself into a spot where he can't satisfy expectations. He's performed at such a high level for a long time now. Normally, that is a case where fans give creators MORE benefit of the doubt. But when you've been going on as long as he has, it can often be the point where fans are LESS forgiving.

Writing four books a month and one of them was a bit of a disappointment? Must be losing his talent.

I think that his being on Infinite Crisis, Sinestro Corps War, and Blackest Night, on top of being the driving force behind Superman's current direction, has put him firmly in the cross-hairs of any fan disappointed with DC product in general. That's probably been a bit of a problem even before 2010, but the ending to Blackest Night and direction that DC propels its line in afterward can only take it to the Nth degree.

With Hollywood pulling him a little more each day, it increases the chances that his schedule impacts the quality of a comic book script here and there. The Flash movie pre-production is ramping up, Smallville might go another season that begs for more Johns' scripts and God only knows what other non-comic-book opportunities present themselves.

One of the few things shielding him from fans turning on him more is that he is a moving target. Over the last year, Johns dropped out of JSA and the main Superman titles. In 2010, while Johns returns to Flash, it is with Barry Allen and he moves on to new ground altogether (for him) with the Earth One take on Batman. I think it shows that he enjoys a challenge and still puts his all into his work, personally, but I believe it, also, helps him to avoid the whole "familiarity breeds contempt" (both for himself and fans of his work).

I think the angry fanboys are going to dial up their angry-fanboy-ness several notches in the coming year, even if Johns performs just as well as he did in the past year. Judging by Adventure Comics #5, I'd say he was able to deal comfortably with what has come his way.

I'm interested in seeing where things stand this time next year. Honestly, I hope I'm wrong, because I've enjoyed a great deal of his work over the years and, from listening to interviews and catching his panel appearances at conventions, just strikes me as one of the creators least deserving of catching grief from the fans (really, if more fans got to conventions and saw the passion the creators have for the characters and the medium, they'd shit on them much less on the internet, but that's a whole 'nother topic).

Why Geoff Isn't Publicly Fuming About BN6 Leak

You see, he can't control it. While he might be a bit mad about it, lashing out over it would make him seem just a bit too much like Superboy-Prime.

Which brings me to something that really bugs me. I'm not a fan of the overly angry fanboy, but the statement he makes about getting mad over something you can't control, even something you love, rings false in this example.

In the end, the angry fanboy is the consumer and a passionate one at that. The consumer will have control over DC Comics product long after Geoff's candle burns out. The amount of pull Johns has gotten at DC Comics owes more to number of fans buying the product than the quality of the work.

I'm a big fan of a lot of his work, but STARS & STRIPE went the way of the do-do, I'd imagine, more due to the lack of fans purchasing it than the skill he demonstrated on the book. There are, also, many times where issues or arcs of his books sold very well even when the finished product didn't read like he put forth his best effort.

It is all well and good if he wants to tell himself that the segment of the customer base that is most disgruntled with his work just has some control issues they need to get a handle on. But when he crafts an entire issue of a comic book around it and has the consumer pay $3.99 to read it, there would seem to be a bit of pride and arrogance on display.

In this day and age where more of the readers are migrating to downloading illegal bittorrents of the books that they feel addicted to reading but aren't so happy with that they feel guilty for stealing it, you might not want to poke some of them with a stick.

With how small the group still buying comics seems to be getting, I wonder whether a H.E.A.T.-level motivated group of readers unhappy with the direction Geoff Johns is taking the DCU would be able to put a big enough dent in the sales numbers of his books by encouraging folks to download and not buy his work? I doubt we'll ever find out, but I am definitely curious.

Wee!

Alex Segura says, "Lovely Francis Manapul art always makes Monday go by faster, no?"

Oui!

Knowing that Geoff Johns is writing something that teams Connor & Tim up in Adventure Comics #3 speeds it up even further. That's my new desktop wallpaper right there.