Message to DC

[sinisteri]

What the readers want?

Good story.

Restarting the universe to plea for new readers and interest fails to answer the need for good story. The problem with rewrites lies in the fact that the appeal of the new and different is built on the tried and true past. Selling a the revised idea relies on pulling on the memories of what is being thrown out. If the ideas and concepts were so very great, they could survive independent of using the iconic names of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.

Funny, people who do not read comics picture Wonder Woman from 70s television. When I show them pictures of Wonder Woman from the last year, they are not impressed with the visual. And some folks are wondering why Superman today needs a cute littel red accessory around his waist.

If the movie Green Lantern is any indication, the current DC may not be strong on story.

Funny again, cartoons Young Justice and Brave and Bold somehow give good story. So, it is possible.

Hmmm....

[G:The Last Man]

well put. 

DC had good intentions, but I think that the majority that I've sampled aren't anything special, that required a complete reboot.

Brave and Bold has been awesome lately....especially the Bat Mite episodes!

[Perry]

It is easy for fans to be upset at a company for making changes to a product that those very same fans enjoy. How ever, when those fans are leaving that product on the shelves, buying less and less of that product year after year, that company will not survive.

Fans, being away from any financial responsibilities that the company has, can still complain that if you only made that product "new and improved" (by making good stories, for example) then the product will survive, but that is not what the past has shown us. Even the product with fantastic ingredients, new labeling and a lower price will not bring buyers of that product back into the fold.

Sure, the new and improved product (now with added Grant Morrison) will obtain more buyers, but these buyers are already buyers of a similar product anyway. The total amount of buyers is still lessening each year.

Bottom line, I don't blame DC for trying this. Their readership was dwindling, they were constantly losing sales and the future was looking grim. Yes fans are not going to like some ... most of the changes. That is because they were fans already. This company is trying to get new fans. Trying to make more people love the books and characters that we have all loved. I for one, praise them for it.

Before this "relaunch" I bought 2 or 3 DC titles a month. I am now up to 20 (Still wanting to drop it to a at least 10), and while I am sure DC is happy they got me to buy more DC, they are honestly trying to get people not like me into the stores. The people that have left comics years ago and of course, the people that never had the joy of reading comics.

Go read some of the comic shop responses to this new DC effort. A lot of owners are seeing an increase in DC sales (by a huge margin), but more importantly ... most importantly ... they are seeing a lot of NEW faces coming into their stores for the first time.

Essentially, my way of thinking, and it certainly could be flawed  is that if you can double the amount of readers, increase cash flow, obtain the money to hire better creators, it is a lot easier to concentrate on making good stories ... with the characters us fans have loved.

[Perry]

However ....

Having just seen the last few pages of the new CATWOMAN #1, I want to admit that this is not good for anyone. No, this is not why I just praised DC for about 12 hours ago. This is crap. I hope NO new readers read that crap.
 

[Jeff]

Bottom line, I don't blame DC for trying this. Their readership was dwindling, they were constantly losing sales and the future was looking grim. Yes fans are not going to like some ... most of the changes. That is because they were fans already. This company is trying to get new fans. Trying to make more people love the books and characters that we have all loved. I for one, praise them for it.

Right on!  It's just like how we kept buying Spider-Man after that whole Mephisto/marriage erasure thing.

Oh..uh... Wait a minute....

 

[sinisteri]

Perry,

Your last post tickled me. A lot. I get why DC did it. I wish them and comics in general well. As I said, I like the alternate versions as depicted in cartoons such as  Justice League, Brave and Bold and Young Justice. The current event is a stunt to draw new readers, but it the actual content is not "good story" then the readers are not staying.

I am reading them. I actually liked Wonder Woman, but did the entire DCU need to reboot for me to like the title? No. I honestly just want good, solid stories where the focus is the character NOT the big event.

I am hanging in there for now.

[Perry]

 
Sadly, what I found, so far and by in large, the best books are the ones that were the best books already. The Bat related titles and the GL titles are still very strong, but I must admit it appears DC may have squandered an opportunity with some of the "newer" books because they are just dreadful.

horrible writing (Frankenstein and Catwoman... yes, I know, kinda batman related) and art that turns me right away (Animal Man and Stormwatch) just easily killed 4 books for me.

That's not even including the next 2 weeks of books I haven't read.

DC should have made it a lot harder for me to drop to 20 titles. They didn't. Now in all fairness, it is going to be difficult for me to try and drop to 10 ... but I remain hopeful.

[sinisteri]

Not liking the reset.

However, I too am hopeful. Another point of confusion, what remains and what does not? Lots of major events  with a horde of characters(which may or may not exist in the way we read them) crammed into a few years. Again I point out, selling new ideas based on the memory and attachments to the old/outdating concepts.

Time will tell.