I don't know about you, but after seeing the massive success Marvel has had with The Avengers and realizing that groundwork had been laid in a deliberate fashion for over the last five years, I couldn't help but wonder why the folks at DC couldn't do the same…or why they wouldn't simply copy that model with their own Justice League franchise.  After all, while The Avengers has big names like Captain America and Iron Man, the Justice League has Superman and Batman which are much more recognizable to the general public.  Or at least they were.

This sort of transmedia storytelling is how franchises like these can succeed or fail, and it's just part of what Columbia College Chicago professors Michael Niederman, Michael Fry, Josef Steiff and Tom Dowd explore in their new book, “Storytelling Across Worlds.”  In an interview with THR, Niederman explains how and why Marvel has been able to have success while DC has not, and also explores some of the reasons certain franchises have had success in this space while others weren't so lucky.

To read the full interview, click here.