The TRUTH about this ‘Blackout’

There was a short-lived boycott of DC Comics over apparently not having enough ongoing series centered around Black characters. I wanted to chime in — not in defense of DC, not attacking anyone — but from the perspective of a publisher. Because there’s a lot more going on here than what’s on the surface.
First thing you have to do is look beyond what someone is saying, especially online. These are activists, not general customers. They look for problems and they look for platforms. There are really only two kinds of Black projects they invest attention in — highly recognizable brands with heavy investment behind them, or projects that validate their sociopolitical views with an obsession over identity. In either case, the support is surface level. They’re largely not paying customers.
That’s why they’ll verbally support a derivative of a major IP over a brand new original character. They see legitimacy in the mainstream — not in the work itself. They want the popularity and adoration without the grit and grind of convincing actual buyers. Look at how they handle those of us publishing Black characters that don’t fit their bill. Two of our top-selling ongoing series at the Rippaverse are built around Black characters. No matter what we do, our projects are treated as lesser — and in some cases we’re outright attacked. I’m not asking for their support. I just want people to understand what’s really going on.
They were demanding these DC titles get a two-year immunity from cancellation. That tells you everything. They don’t care about the economics of publishing. They want the publisher to eat the cost. They want reckless investments because they care more about status than viability. They like the idea of Black characters and they’ll post about them, but they want somebody else to incur the financial burden.
That’s the reality every company in this space is figuring out — how do you separate the noise from the actual demand? Because the noise is loud. But the noise doesn’t buy books.
If you’re a creator, publisher, or anyone trying to understand how this industry actually works — this is it.