Is DC Even Trying Anymore?

DC Comics. Home to powerhouses like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash...the list goes on and on. DC started in 1934 under the name of National Allied Publications. That is 88 years ago. I was in my late 20's when they started!

They are often referred to as one of the big two (along with chief rival, Marvel Comics, home to...well, you know if you are reading this). The problem nowadays, is that DC isn't a part of the big two. Outside of the Batman family of titles, it is on life support. And not even all of the Bat titles are doing well.

If you look at the top 100 sellers in the months of January through April, this is the high-level breakdown...

January DC had 26 titles in the top 100. 20 of those were Bat titles.
February DC had 26 yet again, with 17 being Bat titles.
March saw DC completely rebound (lmao) with 27 comics in the top 100. 18 of which belonged to ol' pointy ears.
April? 33 titles! WOW. Sit down. 21 were Bat titles.

Marvel is absolutely destroying DC. Outside of Batman, DC is not doing anything right. At all. They are writing comics for themselves, not for fans, clearly. Is there a wall at DC where they just throw crap and hope something sticks? This is a business that has a clear need for someone who can lead, not just manage. Huge difference, and DC is managing just fine. They are managing crap. They do not have the leadership required to rekindle the interest in even its core characters. Look at the Superman titles. Is there an excuse for what is happening there? Yes. Plenty. Is there a REASON? Nope.

Green Lantern? My favorite character/franchise. What in the hell? It's like watching Star Trek Discovery...there are a few cool parts, but largely no one gives a $#!+. It's entirely forgettable. 

While I enjoy Marvel, I have been a DC fan my entire life (well, for as long as I've been reading comics...probably not as an infant, where my prime focus was on food and not having a squishy diaper, I mean, come on).

It's hard to blame DC. Their parent is Warner, and they colossally interfere and place executive/creative ego over solid decision making. Marvel has actual cohesion, and Image has Spawn. And other Spawn titles. And other Spawns. This may look sarcastic as I type this, but they are legit fun books and are always visually incredible. 

So what is Marvel (and Image's Spawn) doing differently? It's less event-driven and they are absolutely more true to their characters. Marvel, for example, have created "woke" characters without fully overwriting their predecessors. That is great! Comics needs more diversity. 

Side note to Marvel...the best "F you" to the people appropriating the Punisher logo is just publishing nothing but stories where Frank Castle is laying waste to fringe right-wing groups. NOT that new, stupid logo. Stop.

Consistently well-written and drawn stories, fresh, NEW characters, and not alienating an older audience (who spends way more) are just a few ideas. Focus group a diverse reader selection, regularly. At this point I won't be surprised if the next big Bat event deals with alternate Earth Batmans who are warring with each other. Batman Right vs Batman Left. That way each political spectrum is covered.

Keep politics out of comics as much as possible. Readers do not want it, regardless of what a vocal minority of fans on Twitter may say.

Anyhoo, next blog will actually be why I love DC's Nightwing comic so much. Go figure.

Why is This Character Cool? Hawkman Edition

Wait, Hawkman is cool?

Don't question me, fake person.

Now that we can put that unpleasantness behind us, we can move forward. Hawkman has been synonymous with confusion. I'm going to estimate here, but I think he has had approximately 73 different origins since his first appearance in 1940.

Robert Venditti handles the latest incarnation of Carter Hall and his winged alter ego. As hesitant as I was to read anything about a character who is more confusing than new math is to a 40 year old, I decided to give it a shot.

I have never said in my life that Hawkman is my favorite book currently. WELL, IT IS.

Superhero Landings

Carter Hall is having not only flashbacks of his past incarnations, but he is crossing time and meeting them, too. We also learn that he has not just been reincarnated on earth, but also Krypton, for example. I am not sure if he has been reincarnated in Missouri (I don't consider that to be part of earth...more like an active portal to hell).

Venditti has succeeded in weaving a tale that pisses you off when the issue is done. Now I have to wait another month. I wonder what the pitch looked like at DC. Did Mr. Venditti pitch this? Or did DC? I imagine if it was the latter, Venditti had to have some hesitation, even if only internally. This is a character who has never seen triple digits in any of the 475 series that he has had over the years.

I hope the quality of this book can be sustained, as I can't get enough. On Twitter I gave it 9 out of 5 stars.  Here on the blog I will give it 9 out of 5 pieces of Nth Metal.

Buy it.

The Flash Annual #1 (Spoiler Free)

Who Remembers Wally West?

I love annuals. Some of my favorite stories have been in the comic annuals of olden times. Well, in the last 30 years. The Elseworlds Annuals had some stories I still go back to.

In The Flash, we get a Wally West tale, and while I won't spoil, he is looking for his place in the current time and place he finds himself in. Barry Allen and Kid Flash are major players in this story, and the ending sets up the next big arc.

Joshua Williamson writes with Howard Porter and Christian Duce tackling the art. Williamson, in particular, does a nice job getting to the heart of Wally, making him as familiar and inviting  as he was when Mark Waid took him to the next level.

Highly recommended. 5 out of 5 lightning bolts.

Jason Todd

Earthlings!!

Right.  So moving on...

Were you alive to remember Jason Todd's original run?  The two origins?  The 900 number?  I WAS THERE!!!  #whippersnappers

First off, the picture is just more brilliance from Jim Aparo.  He and Neal Adams are two of the first people I think of when it comes to Batman artists.  Their ability to bring emotion to the page was, and is, unparalleled. 

Fourthly, I thought the right decision was handed down at the time.  Kill off the little punk.  Since then, I have become less radical/emotional in my desire to see fictional characters put down.  In this case I am glad it happened.

If Jason Todd would have lived and continued on as Robin, two things would not have happened...

1.) Tim Drake (the best Robin there was).
2.) We would not have the Jason Todd we know today.

His character as the Red Hood has been amazing.  One of the brighter spots in the Bat-verse in the last 11 years.  That's right, he has been back for 11 years.  Crazy, huh?  His first appearance was in 1983, and was killed off in 1988.  He has more than doubled his life span this second go-around.

DC's Rebirth has reverted back to the origin of him being a kid that stole the tires off of the Batmobile, fixing the New 52's origin. He has new "outlaws" with him for Rebirth, Artemis, and Bizarro.  Cray cray, I know.  #sorryaboutthecraycray

Jason has been no angel since coming back, there's no question about it.  His presence adds depth to the Bat-family, and I am glad that he is out there.  It's one of those cases where the death of a character worked, in hindsight.  Of course, when he died back in '88, the death of comic characters weren't so ridiculously overdone. 

I have not done the math, but I would imagine that there are more DC/Marvel heroes that have died than haven't (A and B-listers, anyway).

Check out Rebirth's Red Hood and the Outlaws.  It's worth a read!

#hashtag

Quick Hits

Earthlings, I welcome you.

In this installment of our little venture, I am going to do a bunch of quick hits because I am incapable of keeping my attention on one or two items.  Sure, there are meds for that sort of thing, but I enjoy the chaos.  Let's roll...

• I do not know much about Megan Fitts, other than I just read a beautiful comic from her entitled Old Friend.  It is over on the Plume Snake website, along with many other refreshing titles.  Ms. Fitts also has a tumblr page you should check out.  What is more fun than stumbling upon cool things to read?  Aside from playing Destiny for 7 straight hours, not much.  Check it out!
• And when the hell is Tumblr going to purchase an "e"?  Pull it together, gang.
• Geoff Johns is the new president!!!  Forget Trump or Hillary, this is the presidency I am excited about.  Johns has proven himself time and time again to be a huge asset to DC Comics, and his hard work has paid off career-wise.  With his new responsibilities, I hope he can find time to write here and there.
• Oreos...they're delicious! #larrykingstylerambling
• The new Star Trek movie was a blast.  A lot of Trek purists do not like the reboot, but I have enjoyed them, and this movie was the best of the new ones, in my not-so-humble opinion.  When you complain about the new Trek, or the new Star Wars, or even the new Ghostbusters, please keep in mind no one has taken the old stuff away from you.  It's all still there.  Your memories of them are still there.  If they released the new Ghostbusters with the caveat that every copy of the original movies would disappear and your memories would be wiped clean, then by all means, act like a crybaby.  Until then, let's try and enjoy some entertainment.
• My 1st gen Kindle died.  I have prepared a 10,000 word eulogy.  Fortunately for you, I will spare you.  Hello new Kindle Fire!  
• Another Star Trek/Green Lantern crossover? Yes, please.
• I've started cleaning up some short stories I have been writing for years.  Maybe someday...
• Over at Field of Geeks, we recently did a review of Star Trek II: the Wrath of Khan.  With Trek's 50th anniversary, we thought it would be fun to discuss what is arguably the best of the films.  Next week we will tackle First Contact!
• How did this entry of my blog have thousands and thousands of hits?  Weird.  My posts range typically anywhere from 100-1000 hits.  Thanks, Mr. Grayson.
• Read anything by Gregg Hurwitz.  You're welcome.

Have a great week, kids.  We are recording a new podcast tomorrow with a ton of news items.  Once it is edited and available, I will link it here and on Twitter.

The Killing Joke

Let's start here...

The Killing Joke is a heavily anticipated animated movie brought to us from our friends at DC Comics.  If you are not familiar with the source material, let me introduce you to Barbara Gordon.  Barbara is the daughter of Gotham City police Commissioner Jim Gordon.

In real years, she is 48 years old, having her debut in 1967.  She was created for both the comics and the Adam West Batman series simultaneously, and has been a fan favorite ever since.  In March of 1988, as depicted in the beautiful Brian Bolland artwork above, Ms. Gordon was shot by the Joker, to be left paralyzed.  In the following panels, the Joker starts to undress her so he can photograph her.

Pretty gruesome stuff, right?

In the years that followed, Barbara Gordon would become an integral part of the DC Universe as Oracle.  Her prowess behind a keyboard assisted more than just the Bat-family over the years.  And yes, in true comics fashion, she eventually regained the use of her legs, becoming Batgirl, once again.

The movie, set to debut later this year, is either going to knock it out of the park, or it is going to inspire Batman v Superman levels of critique.  Obviously I hope it does well.  It is the iconic Joker story.  Ask any comic fan to name one story that comes to mind when they think of the Joker and The Killing Joke will top the list.  A Death in the Family would probably be second (Joker, less than a year later, kills the Jason Todd version of Robin).

How could this movie fail?  Well, the voice acting will not, as Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill reprise their roles as Batman and Joker, respectively.  See?  We are off to a great start!  If they deviate from, or dumb down the source material, then a lot of die hard comic fans will be up in arms.  If they do not deviate, the armchair activists are going to get upset all over again over the treatment of Barbara Gordon.

This is a controversial story to animate, and I look forward to it.

Steve's prediction: too early to tell.  I'm not predisposed to hate things (like critics and DC movies).  :)

Rebirth

Rebirth

re·birth

rēˈbərTH/

noun

noun: rebirth; noun: re-birth

1.    the process of being reincarnated or born again.

"the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth"

o    the action of reappearing or starting to flourish or increase after a decline; revival.

plural noun: rebirths; plural noun: re-births

"the rebirth of a defeated nation"

synonyms:

revival, renaissance, resurrection, reawakening, renewal, regeneration

DC Comics has had many “universe” shattering events in its time.  Some large (Crisis on Infinite Earths, Infinite Crisis, Final Crisis, Flashpoint) and some small (Armageddon 2001, Millennium).  If you see the word “Crisis” floating around, chances are high you are going to alienate somebody.

The next big event for DC, kicking off in May, is the highly anticipated “Another #$%^@ Crisis”.  It will highlight how our heroes handle their world’s lack of editorial foresight. 

But I kid.  Rebirth hits in May with an 80-page special written by Geoff Johns, and features an insanely talented group of artists in Ivan Reis, Phil Jimenez, Ethan Van Sciver, and Gary Frank.  With talent like that, they could price this at 20 bucks and I am in.

"Clark, what's with Eisenberg?"

The intent here is to incorporate elements of both the pre and post-Flashpoint universes.  I am excited to see this, because after pushing close to 20K (18K sounds like I am not committed) comics, the New 52 stalled me out.  My pull file at Mayhem comics?  Done.  Buying comics monthly?  Done.  Is Bruce Wayne still alive, dead, alive again, re-dead?  No idea.  Ok, I lied, I have been keeping up, but only thanks to various internet outlets.

In my post about Tim Drake (scroll down), I was starting to lose my taste for the New 52. It looks like DC is trying to change course, and I'm excited for the results.  Why?

Geoff Johns.  That's why.  If you liked Flash: Rebirth and Green Lantern: Rebirth, then my money is on his ability to respect the material while updating it.  The New 52 screwed up a lot.  Since cloning Johns is apparently not an option (yet, I have plans, kids), DC needs to be able to get back to the basics here.

3 Tips for DC from a 46 year old nerd:

1.) Good, character-driven (not action-driven) stories.  Don't leave out the action, of course, but we need to care about these characters.

2.) STOP fundamentally changing characters in crazy ways.  Alan Scott, for example.  I sincerely enjoy a diverse character set, but have it make sense.  I'd have rather seen Alan Scott come out of the closet than just being handed an all-of-a-sudden gay Alan Scott who was (pre-New 52) straight, married, and a father.  Or, and here's a crazy idea, create diverse characters?  I'm still waiting for the announcement of...

Superman is now an Indonesian Transsexual!

Seriously, knock it off.

3.) Before you create the next event/crisis, and completely alter the fictional universe, have you tried a focus group to gauge customer reaction?  If you have, shame on the last focus group.

Lastly, diversify your talent.  I'm not talking men/women, etc.  Diversity includes people and mindsets that represent all walks of life.  One name rings a bell: Chuck Dixon.  It is great to see some of the talent coming on board for Rebirth, but one horrible thing that comics (and other artistic mediums) falls victim to is allowing egos to rule over business decisions.

Take measured risks.  I am eager to say "Welcome back, DC."