In a lot of ways, the holidays are about tradition. Everyone’s got ’em. It might be a family latke recipe, or getting together to watch Die Hard, or arranging the Christmas tree ornaments so the cats don’t knock them off the lowest branches. Here at Multiversity, we have an annual tradition of looking at shared comic book universes and politely ask them to do something differently. It’s one part new years resolution, one part gift giving- to us, every one!
Today we are looking at the most venerable of publishers, Detective Comics Comics, or DC Comics if you’re a normal person. Our staff loves DC characters, and we love DC stories, but there was a certain intangible feeling we were looking for, a special something that was missing. Through our suggestions, we try to get to the bottom of it, and we figure out what we’d love to see from DC in the new year.
Follow through on the Superman line
The last three Superman initiatives, Rebirth, the Bendis era, and Infinite Frontier, each started with massive potential but fizzled out towards the end. This revitalized Superman family under Williamson, PKJ, and Taylor certainly feels like a concerted effort to make Superman a central part of DC’s publishing line again, but I’m worried that energy will again quickly fizzle once the first few arcs have run their course. I’m very excited to see what Nick Dragotta brings to the Superman book, as well as what types of stories the expanded Action Comics format allows. I also hope DC continues to replenish the line after the Jon Kent miniseries ends, and that they have specific plans for that character moving forward. – Zach Wilkerson
Embrace DC Universe Infinite Ultra
Let’s get this out of the way: this has at least two too many adjectives on it. I know they are trying to differentiate levels of membership, but this is just too much.
Anyway, I’m not here to bury the service, but celebrate it! While, like Marvel Unlimited, the platform that you are using it on can change your experience considerably (MU works 10x better on a tablet; DCUIU work far better as a desktop experience), DC is doing some really exciting stuff with the newest update to the platform. Having book appear just 30 days after print is a huge deal for readers, and the occasionally day and date release that has already happened once or twice is a very exciting incentive for folks to upgrade to the higher tier.
But more than that, the service can be used for so much more. Debut some ‘free to DCUIU’ books that can only be found there initially. Curate some reading lists that inform current events. With adding (most) of the Vertigo titles into the service, the service now has a staggering amount of DC content, with more being added all the time. Yes, there are still major holes (what’s up with only two issues of “Warlord?”), but DC is getting to that stuff.
I know this is a tricky gambit because you don’t want to alienate brick and mortar stores, but the idea should be clear: if you’re serious about DC Comics, you need to be an Ultra subscriber. – Brian Salvatore
For the Love of the New Gods, STOP. WITH. THE. MASSIVE. EVENTS.
I get it. Events are good. Events sell. Events are a staple of the superhero genre but one of the best things that ‘Rebirth’ did was put a moratorium on the big crossover event for a while. There were smaller one or two issue crossovers that happened within the lines where it made sense, sure, but things like “Dark Nights: Metal” and “Convergence” weren’t happening every single year. “Doomsday Clock” was doing its own thing – for better or for worse – and the whole DC universe wasn’t stopping every 3 months to have a tie-in or stopping like “Secret Wars.”
I’m exhausted and I haven’t even READ “Dark Crisis.” In 2023, once “Lazarus Planet” or whatever has finished, let the events rest for a while. Please DC. Please. – Elias Rosner
While We’re At It, Please Retire “Dark” From Your Event Titles
Continued belowI think if I see the word “Dark” in a DC event title, I just might riot. It has lost all meaning by this point. – Elias Rosner
Embrace legacy
Coming out of “Dark Crisis” and “Nightwing,” it seems that DC is finally ready to put Dick Grayson at the head of the DCU. I would love to see a new Titans book take point as the flagship “team book” of the DCU, perhaps paired with a new “Young Justice” to highlig, ht some of the newer heroes. We definitely need to revisit the “Teen Titans Academy” characters in some capacity and the more Sideways content we get, the better. – Zach Wilkerson
Don’t Forget the Corps
Two of the upcoming ‘Dawn of DC’ titles are Green Lantern ones, focusing on Hal Jordan and John Stewart, respectively. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with those characters or titles, the reason that Green Lantern as a concept is so great is the scope and power of the Green Lantern Corps. When Kyle Rayner was the ‘last’ Green Lantern, the concept was upended, and it made the stories feel totally different than the 25 years that came before it. But those sort of moves don’t work all the time and, as far as we can tell, the GLC is still an entity, it just isn’t one with a title.
Change that. Make a title that focuses on the Corps. “Batman: Urban Legends” is a perfect model for a relaunched “Tales of the Green Lantern Corps” title. There are so many more interesting ring-slingers than the two that always get the focus. Hell, anchor the book with a Hal story if you like, but give us as much/more time with other characters, too. – Brian Salvatore
DRM-free Comics Wen?
Maybe 2023 will be the year that DC Comics starts offering DRM-free purchases of digital comics. I was holding out hope that Amazon would have used its monopolistic power to pressure these big companies into joining the DRM-free backup program through ComiXology like Apple did for music way back when but NOPE. Instead they said “fuck you,” killed the program entirely, and now I can’t even buy the rest of “Department of Truth” and make my own reading order since Image shut down its storefront years ago due to the ascendency of ComiXology.
I doubt this will ever in a million years happen, especially not under the thumb of Zaslav and Discovery. But this is a wishlist. If by some miracle they start letting people purchase comics through DCI – and verify previous purchases in ComiXology – and then allowing us the ability to download them to create custom reading orders and whatnot (as is our right with purchased products,) then I want to at least put the vibes out there that it’s a good move. – Elias Rosner
Let Mark Waid go nutty with “The Kingdom”
We’ve seen DC revisit “Kingdom Come” countless times, but now that Mark Waid is back at DC, it seems only appropriate that he return to one of his greatest works, “The Kingdom.” Imagine a maxiseries (or even an ongoing) following up on the events of The Kingdom. It’s a rich world with unique characters that begs to be explored. I’m officially campaigning for the return of Hyperman in 2023. – Zach Wilkerson
Let Jason Todd Evolve
Jason Todd has been back in comics as Red Hood for 17 years now, more than tripling his time as Robin. When he was brought back, the character felt very new and different, especially as part of the Bat-family.
But let’s talk turkey: aside from a few isolated runs, that was the last time that Jason was a really intriguing character. Sure, the Artemis/Bizarro/Red Hood “Outlaws” run had some good stuff in it, but a lot of that wasn’t due to Jason. And yes, the recent Chip Zdarsky series in “Batman: Urban Legends” was about the closest we’ve had to an ‘essential’ Red Hood story in a decade.
So let’s take that and run with it. Let Jason evolve. It appears, like Zach says, that Dick Grayson is looking to be a more central part of the DCU. So let Jason be the new Dick, in that he needs a world built around him. Don’t just shove him in Gotham or Blüdhaven, but give him a real mission and a supporting cast. Bring back the Outlaws if you want, just don’t give them to Scott Lobdell. But Jason shouldn’t just be ‘angry dude who will kill you’ anymore. The resurrected Jason Todd is past his teenage angst phase. Let him become something new.- Brian Salvatore
Continued belowMake events matter again
DC’s record on big events is on a trend of diminishing returns, with “Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths” being the most disappointing event since…”Forever Evil?” Now that “Dark Crisis” finally seems to be making good on what “Death Metal” seemed to promise, I hope we can move on from these by the number, nostalgia driven events that seem AI generate to elicit the Leo point. – Zach Wilkerson
Dial H for Hero
Get the last team back on this title (especially Quinones) and I will be a happy man. Even happier than if you launched a new Renee Montoya Question & Batwoman book. Both would be good though. – Elias Rosner
Give Josie Campbell a bigger role
There is no one on the planet happier that Mark Waid and Dan Mora are doing a new “Shazam” series next year. I was texting my DC3cast co-hosts and getting mad that they didn’t instantly respond. But through that enthusiasm, I was legitimately sad that Josie Campbell wasn’t getting a longer run on the Shazam characters, because her “New Champion of Shazam” has been so damn good.
But, let’s spin this into gold: Give Campbell something new to do. Let her write a Teen Titans book. Give Campbell one of the “Action Comics” Super-family backupsLet her take over the very dull Wonder Woman titles.
DC has broken a few new excellent writers over the past few years (Jeremy Adams, Tim Sheridan), and Campbell deserves to be in that conversation as well. Let Campbell get a high-profile ongoing, and see what you really have here. – Brian Salvatore
Bring Back Young Animal and Wonder Comics. And Hill House. Maybe even Vertigo. Or any imprint really.
I miss Young Animal. I’m not sure if the project is dead because of DC, Gerard Way not having time, or what but for the couple years that thing existed, DC was putting out the kind of weird and wacky stuff I really dug. The same was true for Wonder Comics, though that one went kablooey after Bendis fell out of favor at DC and his promised Jinxworld imprint never really materialized. And what’s up with Hill House?! We got one title last year and that was it.
DC has always been a strong believer in imprints but it feels like they’re trying really hard right now not to have any and that’s a damn shame. Besides the OGN line, there’s really only DC Horror (Hill House’s replacement, I guess?) And no. Black Label doesn’t count.
I’ve always advocated for these weird little corners of their line and for a bit, I thought it was turning around so I wouldn’t have to keep begging but here we are. DC. PLease. In 2023, commit to your imprints. Let the titles have their corners and be weird and fun and amazing. – Elias Rosner
Make one-shots for the Forgotten 13 heroes
“The New Golden Age” had one of the coolest stunts of the year, featuring fake Who’s Who pages for new Golden Age characters. I would love to see one-shots that reimagine the classic issues referenced as “first appearances” to feature these new characters. I imagine it working something like the series revival one-shots from “Blackest Night.” It’s a log shot, but it would certainly go a long way toward building up whatever Johns is doing with these characters. – Zach Wilkerson
Give the JSA a non-Geoff Johns book (sooner than later)
No one was more critical/scared of the new Geoff Johns status quo spinning out of “The New Golden Age” #1 than I was. I’ve been burned before, and I felt that Johns was playing with fire and didn’t really have a good sense for what the fire’s purpose was. But now that the “Doomsday Clock” elements have somewhat slipped into the background, what Johns is doing is very satisfying and fun. But, having said that, Johns is telling a very specific story for a very specific purpose. While the book is called “Justice Society of America,” it isn’t really a book about that team.
But the reality is that there hasn’t been a ‘true’ JSA book in 11 years. “Earth 2” was sort of that, but not really, and we’ve been promised the JSA proper since ‘Rebirth’ was launched in 2016. And so while I get that you may not want two JSA books running concurrently, do something with those characters in the meanwhile, and prep for a relaunch (maybe as “JSA” to distinguish?) for December 2023.
What to do until then? Teen Titans Academy needs to be rebuilt and the instructors are off planet, so the JSA are the new instructors for “Teen Titans Academy: Justice.” Jon Kent needs to work with a team because his dad fears he’s not enough of a team player. “Superman and the Society” miniseries. The JSA decides that the ‘of America’ part of their name means that worlds need more Justice Societies. They put together a new team of non-American heroes. “Justice Society International” is born. There are lots of ways to make the JSA relevant aside from whatever Johns is doing. Don’t undo his work, buttress it with a story that is more connected to the overarching DCU. – Brian Salvatore
