Destroying your Brand: DC Comics and Catwoman

Destroying your brand
DC Comics and Catwoman

Catwoman
First appearance Batman #1
Created by Bob Kane
Julie Newmar
Fan favorite
Autobiography of Bruce WayneMarried, Child, Helena Wayne the Huntress
1992 Batman Returns – Michelle Pfeifer
As a property: Catwoman is bulletproof

And yet…
The cancer that will destroy the character, devalue the Batman franchise and endanger the entity of DC Comics is already active.
Miller
O’Neil
Writer track to management
Immaturity
Entrenchment

“Denny” O'Neil
Invented Talia al Ghul as love interest as writer
Became editor
Demands Doug Moench break up Batman & Catwoman romance established
“She didn’t even know why she was doing this”

Denny O’neil
Demands SECOND break up, this time Catwoman “revillainized” to eliminate contact between characters entirely
Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns Catwoman is brutally raped by the Joker
Frank Miller’s Year One makes her a prostitute
Reprint collections for Batman Returns downplay and misrepresent the history of Batman and Catwoman romance in the comics and include Denny’s creation Talia al Ghul.

Denny O’neil
Publications such as Tales of the Dark Knight purporting to be impartial history downplay and misrepresent Batman and Catwoman romance and present Denny’s creation Talia al Ghul as Batman’s “True Love.”
Denny dictates to fans in letters column and at comic conventions that Talia is Batman’s true love.

Settle down and do your #*(^@ job
Bride of the Demon

“Elseworld” sex and offspring
Bride of the Demon written by Mike Barrblatant attempt by publishers appease O’neil in hopes that if his character gets to have sex with Batman, he’ll focus on managing the franchise.
Elseworld: What if, “Imaginary Story” Not real for purposes of “Continuity”
Fans (of that era) are smart and perfectly well aware“Fine, you got your lady laid. Now settle down and do your fucking job.”

It didn’t work
O’Neil then spent all his time trying to make Bride of the Demon and its sequel “Continuity” (i.e. not an “Elseworld”)
And trying to remove The Long Halloween from continuity, presumably because it contained a Batman/Catwmoan romance, and declare it to be the Elseworld.
The Long Halloween is the inspiration for fabulously successful Christopher Nolan film The Dark Knight

Solo Comic
Catwoman Solo Comic launches in 1993
O’Neil forbids appearances by Batman or Gotham characters, attempting to pre-emptively destroy possibility of romance and possibly outright sabotage the title.
Ban lifted at Issue #50 – Return of Doug Moench.

End Part IPart II: New Direction
Ed Brubaker: Trying to be Miller 20 years too late
Costume: Snoopy’s goggles?
Rejected by fans
PR efforts to present failure as success
Game Changer: THE INTERNET
Punishing Fans
Pregnancy storyline
Making Talia and her child continuity

Destroying your Brand: DC Comics and Catwoman

by branding-disasters on Apr 11, 2011

Accessibility

Categories

Upload Details

Usage Rights

Statistics

Destroying your Brand: DC Comics and Catwoman Presentation Transcript