On Friday, DC Comics changed everything. And I don’t mean in the usual, all bark, no bite sort of way we see from the comic industry, but in a real, genuine way. Not unlike its original New 52 relaunch, DC made sweeping changes to its line, keeping 25 titles while revealing 24 titles that are set to launch post “Convergence”. In the process, they did what they always said the New 52 was all about – “This was a chance to start, not at the beginning, but at a point where our characters are younger and the stories are being told for today’s audience,” as DC co-publisher Jim Lee once said about the original relaunch – as they’ve seemingly made a push to make many characters more relatable and less like everything we’ve come to expect from superheroes, while also bringing in creators who are a bit atypical for DC but very capable of greatness. As DC’s other co-publisher, Dan Didio, said in Friday’s press release, “In this new era of storytelling, story will trump continuity as we continue to empower creators to tell the best stories in the industry.”
If everything is as Lee and Didio say and these creators are given the chance to do what they do best, many of these books could and should be very good. Involving people like Yang, Wu, Rob Williams, Ben Oliver, Ming Doyle, Steve Orlando, Emanuela Lupacchino and more is the right direction to go, and like the fact that they’ve entrusted much of their line to unexpected characters, they’ve done so with the creative teams as well. All of us can benefit from that.
But why do I have a bad feeling about all of this?
It’s complicated, but here goes. Once upon a time, DC was considered to be deliberately adversarial by many outsiders. That’s not just in the New 52, as I remember at an Emerald City ComiCon 2010 panel, DC story editor (and panel lead) Ian Sattler had a demeanor that could only be described as “confrontational” towards those asking questions, but in recent years, this reputation has grown. If they weren’t perceived by outsiders as sticking their heads in the sand in regards to controversial topics, most took what DC did and said as being directly in conflict with what its fan base wanted and was looking for.
And a big part of me is concerned that is the case, as Friday’s announcement looks like an overcorrection in the other direction. And I don’t mean that from a qualitative standpoint. For the most part, I’m genuinely excited about the changes they made and chances they took, both from a creator standpoint and a character one. But by choosing characters like Bat-Mite, Bizarro, and Prez to lead this new wave, has DC doomed this new direction from the very get go? At least partially, the answer is possibly yes.
It’s easy to desire that success they saw with Batgirl, but the fact it was Barbara Gordon – a beloved character – at the center of it all made it far easier for it to catch on in a major way. As much as I love the guy, can Dogwelder drive that type of excitement? Can the new Doomsday? Can the Omega Men? Not likely. DC was smart with many of the more unexpected books, announcing many of them as finite series from day one. But I’d be genuinely surprised if half the new series are still around this time next year, with many of them having the markings of DC’s next “Vibe” or “Katana”.
But what the hell do I know? It’s easy to sit here and share portends for an ill fated future, but I’m only making educated guesses based off my personal industry knowledge. For better insight into what these announcements could mean for DC’s future, I turned to those who sell these books to people you and me -comic retailers – to get a better perspective on the potential of these titles.
Steve Anderson, Third Eye Comics, Annapolis, MD:
“I think the move in June by DC is awesome, and one of the most promising moves they’ve made since NEW 52 began. It’s a little confusing as to how they plan to market it — is it a return to old continuity and a departure from the NEW 52 continuity or is it the NEW 52 continuity but without the NEW 52 branding?
If I was them, I’d put considerable marketing muscle into getting across WHAT it is in that regard. Otherwise, it’s fantastic — the STARFIRE, ROBIN SON OF BATMAN, BATMAN BEYOND, HELLBLAZER, and several others are going to do incredible.
I’m personally really excited and already making plans for how we can give it big support in-store.”
G. Scott Tomlin, Comics Dungeon, Seattle, WA:
“The DC announcement is an interesting one and we are excited about DC embracing the emerging audience in comics. My gut reaction is that only a few titles will have the lasting impact we are looking for. Having 24 new titles dilutes the focus a bit too much, where Marvel has had success with single titles being released one at a time like Black Widow, Ms Marvel, Squirrel Girl and just to A-Force. Additionally, I would like to see more diversity in the creative teams, I do like seeing new creators in the re-launch. As for the ones that stand out to me as ones that could last beyond the first 6-12 months, Bat-mite and Bizarro have the potential to bridge generations and genders if the writing is solid. DC has shown they can do with some of their humor focused title. I am interested to see what Prez, We are Robin and Starfire will bring these look like good departures from the current tone in the DCU and have a chance to bring new readers. I am not sure I see the next Ms Marvel or Squirrel Girl title here, but I do see some good second tier sellers. I so want to see the fun brought back into the DCU and this gives me hope we will have at least a couple more fun titles ongoing. The proof will be when we hear more about the stories we are expecting to see.”
Patrick Brower, Challengers Comics + Conversation, Chicago IL:
Continued below“While 24 titles is a lot to announce in a single month, I feel more confident in the sales potential for a lot of these titles. Challengers has always been pretty much the opposite of Diamond monthly sales chart, so we’re excited for the less traditional books such as BIZARRO with what promises to be just wonderful art by Gustavo Duarte, and BLACK CANARY which looks to fit seamlessly into current BATGIRL continuity (and Batgirl is a strong seller for us). When I was a kid in the 70’s, I was always amazed at the variety of genres associated with DC Comics. Super-heroes, war, fantasy, horror, so many different kinds of comics. And then the variety slipped away and super-heroes became the marketplace. Now, more than ever, that variety is back. They may not all last, but I, for one, appreciate that the diversity has returned. I can’t say I’ve seen descriptions for all 24 new books, but I’m certainly excited for creators such as David Messina, Ming Doyle, Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew, and I have strong hopes for the New DC Universe.”
All three retailers share something that is important when it comes to an announcement like this: hope. To varying degrees, all of them have things to be excited about, from the promise of fun, to the creators DC chose, or the books themselves. While they readily admit that not all of the books will work necessarily – and anyone who looks at that lineup knows that to be the case – they still celebrate DC for being bold in their attempt.
And that’s where I realized I was wrong.
On Friday, DC did what we’ve always asked of them – or at least they tried to – and they deserve to be praised for the effort. No matter the fate of the books, we’re fortunate to have unique takes from promising voices like Yang, Wu, Orlando and others, and DC is better off going for it on mid to lower tier books rather than just playing it safe like usual. After all, many of these books may have higher risk associated with them, but for once, they could pay huge dividends for both DC and readers down the line. For now, it’s the first time since the New 52 was announced that DC feels like a land of infinite possibilities, and that’s a very refreshing change from the status quo.
