If Hulk Expands his Brand, Shouldn't You?

Expanding your brand is important. You can't rely on a single idea to carry you through. Coca-Cola needs Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Caffeine Free, and (of course) Caffeine Free Diet Coke in order to cover all their bases.

Thats why the Hulk expands his brand. Why settle for regular green Hulk when you can also get Red Hulk, Grey Hulk, Smart Hulk, Rampaging Hulk, Future Hulk, etc? And then you have She-Hulk, Red She Hulk, Savage She-Hulk, A-Bomb, ad nauseum.

The Hulk knows that once you identified something that consumers like, its important to build off of that preference. Tweak your brand a little here, a little there and you can ram different variations down the consumers' throats for all eternity.

I mean, you can never have too much of a good thing. Right?

Right?

Variant Cover to "Prelude to Deadpool Corps #1" by Ed McGuinness

... I think I smell "Ecocomics X-Treme" on the horizon...

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Question for Readers: What Are The Recession Proof Industries In Comic Books?

((The person who comments with the best answer to this question will win a prize, which will be a comic book of his or her choice for under $20, assuming it is available at my local shop. Please note, we will not ship internationally).

The recession has affected many aspects of the American economy, causing spending to drop and industry to shrivel. But as always, some businesses have shown their resiliency and great resistance to the economic downturn. As always, the movie industry is still relatively flourishing despite the economy. Alcohol is still being purchased despite raised taxes and overall higher prices. Waste management still thrives because people want their garbage removed in a timely manner. To a degree, these industries seem to be recession proof.

But the fictional world of a comic book changes America's economic landscape. Industries that would thrive in reality could falter easily in a comic's fictional world. But surely some industries in the comic book world must have the same level of recession-proof security that some real ones do.

Here are my pick's for recession proof industries in the comic book world:

1) Purple pants manufacturers. The Hulk will always need them. And for the Hulk, 1 pair equals 1 use. He is a market unto himself.


2) The construction/repair industry. We've already gone over this one.

3) Spandex manufacturers. Who would have thought it would be such an important resource? Especially after break-dancing starting to lose momentum. But it seems like spandex clothing is very popular in comic books despite the high possibility of chafing.

4) Indestructible shield polish makers. Has Captain America's shield ever not been shiny? Even after being slammed in dirt and covered in vampire blood?

5) Clothing designers of easy to open white button-down shirts. Superman rips one of those up roughly every five seconds.

6) Jet airplane insignia painters. Every hero team needs a means of transportation and every means of transportation needs to have the team's logo plastered all over it. The average airplane painter could make an entire career out of painting "X"s, "A"s, "4"s, "JLA"s, and "S.H.I.E.L.D"s on all manner of flying vehicles. And since these vehicles are always getting blown up you never have to worry about repeat customers.

7) Superhero/supervillain massage and chiropractor. Do you have any idea the cramps you can get from being stretched in all directions by Plastic Man? And being hit with an optic blast will at the very least disturb the alignment of your spine.

8) Silk Cuts. John Constantine's personal brand of tobacco will never go out of business.

But of course the vigorous demands of the comic book economy means that there may be many more "recession-proof" fields I haven't thought of. Any more ideas are of course welcome.

Note: This is actually a post by Mark that is posted under Shadowbanker's name.

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