I’d like to go ahead and say that I am one hundred percent behind the idea of the DC relaunch. Really, it’s a great idea, and I hope it succeeds. That being said, there are more than a few things about the relaunch that are causing me to raise an eyebrow out of wariness. Chief among these is the idea of kicking off this reboot with fifty-two fresh new series in a single month. I’m not going to talk about how this is going to affect the market as a whole – other people that are more economically-savvy have already done that. Rather, I would like to discuss how releasing all of these series at once only hurts the books themselves, and how the smarter alternative was right under DC’s nose. Follow the cut for more.
I need to buy comics on a budget. Even if we went ahead and assumed that I only read and purchased DC comics (which is a very wrong assumption, but that’s besides the point), there is no way I would be able to buy all 52 of DC’s relaunched titles. I think it’s safe to say that very, very few people both have the disposable income to do so, and an even fewer amount would actually exercise their ability to do so. Maybe a few people will buy all the #1s, but beyond that first month? We’re talking slim numbers, here.
It’s not that DC can’t support 52 titles. That belief has already been proven false. Here’s what I’m worried about, though. A lot of people have a certain amount of comics that they limit themselves to each month when making their pre-orders. Personally? I tend to limit myself to fifteen $2.99-$3.99 books. Now, with the amount of series that ended (both DC books that I was buying and minis that have simply reached their conclusion) and the books that I’m simply dropping, I have room for six books that weren’t already on my pull. I’m sure this process sounds similar to many of you. Now, let’s assume that I only want to add new DC books to my pull, and have no interest in the long-awaited third volume of Casanova (remember what I said about assumptions?). Out of the 52, there are a lot of titles that fall into the “might be good category” – as in, the writer and/or artist is a relative newcomer and could bring some interesting new things to the table – but with room for only six books, can you blame me if I decide to instead opt for books with creators that I know and love? Obviously, there are plenty of comic fans that can afford more comics than I, but eventually everyone has to decide what is and isn’t going to make the cut, and being put up against big-name players right at the get go is a daunting task for any lesser known creators.
And that’s only talking in terms of creators. Let’s be honest, a large portion of sales when it comes to DC and Marvel come from character name recognition. Those new readers that are pulled in by the media attention are significantly more likely to go to the comic shop and pick up Batman than they are, say, Grifter. These books simply can’t compete with DC’s icons right off the bat – they need to be there for when people get bored with one of the big titles and find a spot open in their pull that they’re willing to take a “risk” with. Obviously, this has always been a problem for lesser-known characters, writers, and artists, but the danger of these books being canceled while only three issues in is only compounded by them launching at the same time as DC’s “big guns” (even if canceling a book at three issues is more up Marvel’s alley).
So what should have DC done instead? The answer is in their own solicits, they just don’t know it. DC Universe Presents is a new series that has a rotating creative team, with each new batch of architects choosing a different character or group of characters. That DC isn’t highlighting this as their springboard for new series and instead putting a bunch out right away that are going to struggle to make it past twelve issues is confusing to me. Obviously, the series would have to be retooled a bit, but it could work.
Think of it this way: instead of a monthly series, DC Universe Presents could be a bimonthly anthology, with a lot of the solicited ongoings appearing in the anthology’s pages instead. DC Notices that the issues featuring Kyle Higgins and Joe Bennett’s Deathstroke story have been selling particularly well and the story itself is critically well-received (hey, we’re dealing with hypotheticals here). As such, DC gives Higgins and Bennett an ongoing Deathstroke series. Since time has elapsed since the first big (but slightly smaller) batch of #1s, and also since their earlier work has received critical recognition, readers now are more likely to pick up this new series, rather than take the “wait and see” mentality that will probably send the “real” Deathstroke ongoing to an early grave – even if it’s better than the hypothetical anthological story that I made up.
Maybe I’m just a pessimist, but I don’t see many of these new series lasting over a year, and it’s because of poor timing. If DC really wanted these titles to succeed, I would think that they would try a variety of alternative methods to ensure their survival. Another idea would be to make some series online only, and “upgrade” them to print if they sell well enough. I’m just spitballing here. Sure, I and other comic fans that want more than just the staple people writing the staple characters can take that risk and buy series we aren’t so sure about, but things are going to fall through the cracks. Any good series that get canceled far too early are on DC’s hands, not ours as fans.
