Actually this is sort of typical of the comic/graphic novel industry - which is quite different than television. With TV - if you think about it, the only writers the audience is aware of are the show-runners. Do you really pick tv shows based on who is writing them? (Outside of maybe Whedon - who was a show-runner.) People tend to pick them by what actor happens to be in them. Few people follow tv writers or even know their names.
But book writers? A whole other story. How many times do you purchase or pick up a book by an author you've never heard of or hadn't read before? And how many people do? Look at the NY Times Bestseller List - 90% of those titles are by writers who have been on the list before and are popular. Think about your flist - how many recommend new writers? Jim Butcher wasn't even in book stores for the first five novels, people got them on Amazon or by word of mouth. We had to hunt. James Marsters changed that - by doing the audio books. Then he finally hit the Best-seller list and the bookstores.
Same deal with comic books. They don't have the same audience as tv. It's also not as collaborative. The writer is more visible. When you pick up a comic book in a store - you check out who wrote it and drew it. If you talk to people who frequent comic book stores - they will talk about the writers and artists. If a book is signed by a particular writer or artist? It can be worth a lot of money - sometimes upwards of $1000, depending on the writer. Writers in comic book land are a bit like actors in tv land. Also the comic book audience is different than the tv audience, it's smaller for one thing, and very nitch. The people who read comics - care most about who the writer/artist is.
Example: a lot of people picked up Astonishing X-Men not because it was the X-men, but because Joss Whedon was writing them. Whedon was NOT an established X-men writer or a comic book writer - but he was a famous writer, beloved by comic book fans. If your friend wrote the Astonishing X-men - I doubt anyone would buy it. It would be a "tough" sale. People don't want to spend money on something that isn't a known quantity - or at least that's how marketing departments think.
How do we market this? How do we sell it?
IDW is a small time press - who needs names to sell their comics. Angel comics isn't going to sell based on its title alone. Even Wonder Woman - they got a best-selling female novelist to boost sales. That's another thing, comics aren't selling that well - they are always hunting ways to boost sales. So they go after established writers with a built in fanbase.
This is no different than book publishing. If you want to get a romance novel or sci-fi/fantasy novel published - you are more likely to get noticed if you can prove that you have a huge fan following either an on-line one via fanfic or are known elsewhere. Why do you think William Shatner gets published and has books sold? Because he's William Shatner and Trek fans will pick up his books. It's not fair, but hey - that's Capitalism.
no subject
But book writers? A whole other story. How many times do you purchase or pick up a book by an author you've never heard of or hadn't read before?
And how many people do? Look at the NY Times Bestseller List - 90% of those titles are by writers who have been on the list before and are popular. Think about your flist - how many recommend new writers? Jim Butcher wasn't even in book stores for the first five novels, people got them on Amazon or by word of mouth. We had to hunt. James Marsters changed that - by doing the audio books. Then he finally hit the Best-seller list and the bookstores.
Same deal with comic books. They don't have the same audience as tv. It's also not as collaborative. The writer is more visible. When you pick up a comic book in a store - you check out who wrote it and drew it.
If you talk to people who frequent comic book stores - they will talk about the writers and artists. If a book is signed by a particular writer or artist? It can be worth a lot of money - sometimes upwards of $1000, depending on the writer. Writers in comic book land are a bit like actors in tv land. Also the comic book audience is different than the tv audience, it's smaller for one thing, and very nitch. The people who read comics - care most about who the writer/artist is.
Example: a lot of people picked up Astonishing X-Men not because it was the X-men, but because Joss Whedon was writing them. Whedon was NOT an established X-men writer or a comic book writer - but he was a famous writer, beloved by comic book fans. If your friend wrote the Astonishing X-men - I doubt anyone would buy it. It would be a "tough" sale.
People don't want to spend money on something that isn't a known quantity - or at least that's how marketing departments think.
How do we market this? How do we sell it?
IDW is a small time press - who needs names to sell their comics. Angel comics isn't going to sell based on its title alone. Even Wonder Woman - they got a best-selling female novelist to boost sales. That's another thing, comics aren't selling that well - they are always hunting ways to boost sales. So they go after established writers with a built in fanbase.
This is no different than book publishing. If you want to get a romance novel or sci-fi/fantasy novel published - you are more likely to get noticed if you can prove that you have a huge fan following either an on-line one via fanfic or are known elsewhere. Why do you think William Shatner gets published and has books sold? Because he's William Shatner and Trek fans will pick up his books. It's not fair, but hey - that's Capitalism.