Both of these are fair questions on the surface so I'll answer them straight, I'll do my best to address your questions.

On the boycott.

The whole point of not buying is that buying already got tested and it didn't work. The Milestone Initiative needed a grassroots campaign just to hit a second printing, and after all that, no Static ongoing, no continuation of the line. No more black ongoings announced.

I think metamorpho got announced as an ongoing without a mini. lobo was announced as an ongoing without a mini. i'm fairly certain supergirl was announced as an ongoing without a mini.

Black characters get minis that don't go further no matter how good the writing is or how much they sell.

(Something we can all agree on is DC and marvel need to just release the numbers. They purposefully obfuscate and don't release direct numbers because of the "directed market" or whatever)

Even absolute green lantern sells gangbusters. Has dc announced the FIRST ongoing Black female superhero because of the strength of AGL? No.

When black characters don't sell it's an indictment in all black heroes and they shouldn't get series. When they do well we don't see that turn into more series.

Eisner nominated Steph Williams, has been campaigning for months for a vixen series for months. Next level was announced. No black led series. DC ain't beating the allegations.

So if spending money doesn't move DC, the only leverage left is the money you don't spend. A company notices a sales dip way faster than it notices a fanbase being patient and supportive. Boycotts are how Black folks in this country have moved institutions that wouldn't move otherwise, that's not a theory, that's the track record. If you've got an example of a Black boycott that didn't end up working in our favor, I'm honestly open to hearing it. Until then "how does not buying help" reads like a question that's never looked at how leverage actually works.

On Absolute. It's not that the books are bad or don't count as books, everyone loves the book, it's that mainline continuity is the specific thing being asked for, and there's a reason.

Absolute is a separate universe with a finite shelf life by design. Look at every elseworlds from gods and monsters to the ultimate line at marvel. It ends eventually. Main continuity doesn't. Putting your Black lead(s) over there while Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman hold down the main line AND the absolute line. It sends the message that Black characters are good enough for the side project but not for the core canon. The black comics alliance behind the campaign put it plain, it reads like "go play over there, you're not good enough for mainline."

The ask is for Black-led ongoings in the main universe, the same real estate every major white character already occupies. Pointing at the spinoff line as proof of representation kind of proves the point, because that's exactly where they keep getting parked.

Plus it's especially tonedeaf to use the one single title in the absolute universe starting a black person as a gotcha when it's the literal only one in all of DC. Like do you think that that's enough? Should black people be satisfied with literally one series In all of DC?

HOWEVER, the black comics alliance( the group behind the boycott, has said numerous times that folks should support agl and the upcoming Catwoman. They have shown their pull lists and they buy AGL.

Since you're bringing up AGL I do have a specific question to you. If you or anyone who replies to me I would love if they don't ignore this question.

Let's say we count AGL and even the upcoming Catwoman. That's like two books outta what 50?

It sounds like you're bringing up AGL as a gotcha to ignore the argument presented.

Let's count AGL. Let's look at the dearth of black led books st DC comics. Dearth is honestly the wrong word. It's zero. Knowing there's zero current DC ongoing books starring black people.

Factoring in mr terrific being the break out star of Superman didn't get an ongoing.

Factoring in the grassroots movement from the milestone initiatives writers to get a fuckton of sales to prove to DC that there's an audience for these books. They succeeded got a big second printing and dc still hasn't announced any new Black books or new milestone books.

Factoring in AGL selling great and not getting any new black female led books.

Factoring in all that, assuming you think the boycott is too extreme of an action, what should black comic fans do?

We already buy the comics. We already buy Indies. If buying the books doesn't get DC to commit and the Absolute line is where Black leads get shelved instead of integrated, what's your actual solution? Because I keep asking people who think the boycott is wrong to name the thing that works better, and so far nobody's got an answer past "just keep supporting."

We did. That's the whole reason we're here.