In comic books many publishers try to expand a certain title or story arcs into spinoffs and crossovers. While some of these are a whole a lot of fun (We would never have had the Avengers or Justice League) others can be downright frustrating, in that you have to buy comics you wouldn't have read on your own. What are the good things and bad things about comic book spinoffs and crossovers?
I think instead of looking at this issue in a Manichean way, whether it is good or bad, you could look at whether a crossover adds anything to the current story arc. If something is frustratingly bad then it could be because of poor integration or a "bad fit" for characters while good crossovers could be the opposite. I think by analyzing the quality of writing, art and the reasons why the crossover happened you can provide a deeper study of the practice rather than just a judgement of it. I think this article definitely has some great potential and is right on trend with not only our contemporary comic habits but also our movie watching habits as well. – DClarke10 years ago
When they become to confusing of the writer seems like they are just trying to make money off of something that shouldn't be there then it is bad
– Aim10 years ago
Pretty sure Deadpool has had a story arc with every single Marvel character, he is currently In Deadpool and Cable as of right now; but, he's has one with Spider-Man, Hawkeye, he killed the Avengers at one point, Deadpool Corps where he teamed with Lady Deadpool. Harley Quinn is currently with Power Girl in a series. There's so many crossovers and spin-offs happening! There's so much to talk about! – scoleman9 years ago
Comics are probably the best medium to tell spin-offs and crossovers because comics having fun and outlandish ideas is part of the fun of reading them. With that said, spin-offs can be both good and bad, depending on the character. Batgirl having her own comic series works because she already has a long and loyal fan following, so it makes sense for her to break off from Batman's comics. The reason Drax having his own series does not work is because he really works best when he is with the Guardians, otherwise he is kind of boring. – Aaron Hatch9 years ago
It will be interesting to see how crossovers and spinoffs are perceived differently by comic fans vs. film or TV shows. In the last decade, we have seen a growing number of films and TV shows that take this approach. While of course making profit is a major part of it, the success of such films may tell us a lot about demand on the part of the fans. – Arazoo Ferozan9 years ago