DC to reboot pretty much everything in September

[haLobEnder]

A few interviews/articles on specific series have been showing up on CBR recently. Here's one on Voodoo and another on I, Vampire. The Voodoo one is infuriatingly vague, but my interest in I, Vampire has risen significantly.

Of course the lack of female creators is also a hot topic. Gail Simone --the only female writer on the new DCU-- has chimed in.

I'm sorry, but there's no way people can argue with a straight face that there isn't a bias for male creators in comics. There's a shit ton of talented female indie writers and artists they could have approached to do work for them, instead it seems like multiple titles were given to Bob Harras' Boy's Club from the Marvel days.

[Sci-2]

A few interviews/articles on specific series have been showing up on CBR recently. Here's one on Voodoo and another on I, Vampire. The Voodoo one is infuriatingly vague, but my interest in I, Vampire has risen significantly.

Of course the lack of female creators is also a hot topic. Gail Simone --the only female writer on the new DCU-- has chimed in.

I'm sorry, but there's no way people can argue with a straight face that there isn't a bias for male creators in comics. There's a shit ton of talented female indie writers and artists they could have approached to do work for them, instead it seems like multiple titles were given to Bob Harras' Boy's Club from the Marvel days.

Which indie female writers would you have picked and what have they written? - I ask because I want to check out their stuff, doubt I'll spend too much the DC books save for a few you mentioned before.

thanks,

Sci

[red snow]

Of course the lack of female creators is also a hot topic. Gail Simone --the only female writer on the new DCU-- has chimed in.

I'm sorry, but there's no way people can argue with a straight face that there isn't a bias for male creators in comics. There's a shit ton of talented female indie writers and artists they could have approached to do work for them, instead it seems like multiple titles were given to Bob Harras' Boy's Club from the Marvel days.

I guess it depends how many female comic writers want to write superhero comics. You'd think there'd still be more than one, even if they prefer doing indie comics.

I'm going to get the Green Lantern titles as they are the only ones I suspect will continue pretty much unchanged.

Batwoman - as this is the series JH Williams was already working on over a year ago.

Stormwatch. Curious

Action comics. Curious

Aquaman. Possibly. Mainly for Ivan Reis' artwork but I was surprised at how Aquaman worked in "brightest day"

5 titles out of 52 is a lot less than the 14 I was collecting and I had started reading Zatanna but can't be bothered now i know it's finishing. It's a shame really as with the $2.99 price fix i was starting to dabble in some other DC titles from my savings. I think with the money I'm saving I can start catching up on some vertigo trades and some of the image ones as well.

In a weird way it's all the new titles or titles that haven't been around for a long time that I may eventually test out as i have zero investment in the characters eg the war titles and the supernatural ones. I'll really have to wait until I read some reviews or check them out in store before i consider buying them though.

[haLobEnder]

Which indie female writers would you have picked and what have they written? - I ask because I want to check out their stuff, doubt I'll spend too much the DC books save for a few you mentioned before.

thanks,

Sci

The two that came immediately to mind on the writing front were G. Willow Wilson (not really indie having worked for DC/Vertigo before) and Carla Speed McNeil. Don't even know if McNeil would go for something like that, but my point is they give male indie writers --Nick Spencer, Jonathan Hickman-- a shot in the big leagues all the time, why not reach out to a female indie?

As far as artists go, Rebekah Isaacs is one of my absolute favorite artists working right now and I wish they'd put her on an ongoing.

There's others too. I not making the argument that the comic book field disproportionately attracts males over females, just that there WERE options out there that they could have gone with to help bridge that gap.

[haLobEnder]

5 titles out of 52 is a lot less than the 14 I was collecting and I had started reading Zatanna but can't be bothered now i know it's finishing. It's a shame really as with the $2.99 price fix i was starting to dabble in some other DC titles from my savings. I think with the money I'm saving I can start catching up on some vertigo trades and some of the image ones as well.

Same thing happened to me when Madame Xanadu was cancelled.

I only collect 3 or 4 monthly series at the moment, it's all that my disposable income will allow. I catch up on several others in trade or deluxe editions but there's no way I'll be able to pick up more than a handful of these titles in ANY format.

I really wonder what they were thinking launching these titles all at the same time like this; There's no way all 52 are going to take off, and sadly the series I'm most interested in will probably be the first casualties. Many of the books probably could do well enough if DC staggered the releases and allowed for word of mouth to catch on, but as it stands many titles are going to be drowned in the flood.

[Sci-2]

The two that came immediately to mind on the writing front were G. Willow Wilson (not really indie having worked for DC/Vertigo before) and Carla Speed McNeil. Don't even know if McNeil would go for something like that, but my point is they give male indie writers --Nick Spencer, Jonathan Hickman-- a shot in the big leagues all the time, why not reach out to a female indie?

As far as artists go, Rebekah Isaacs is one of my absolute favorite artists working right now and I wish they'd put her on an ongoing.

There's others too. I not making the argument that the comic book field disproportionately attracts males over females, just that there WERE options out there that they could have gone with to help bridge that gap.

Carla Speed McNeil wrote Finder right? Oh man, that would be be something!

[red snow]

Same thing happened to me when Madame Xanadu was cancelled.

I only collect 3 or 4 monthly series at the moment, it's all that my disposable income will allow. I catch up on several others in trade or deluxe editions but there's no way I'll be able to pick up more than a handful of these titles in ANY format.

I really wonder what they were thinking launching these titles all at the same time like this; There's no way all 52 are going to take off, and sadly the series I'm most interested in will probably be the first casualties. Many of the books probably could do well enough if DC staggered the releases and allowed for word of mouth to catch on, but as it stands many titles are going to be drowned in the flood.

52 titles at a minimum of $3 (a few of them are extra-sized $4) is going to cost $150 plus. You're going to have to be a serious fan with a hell of a disposable income to manage that. As you say it probably means the smaller non-superhero books are the ones that will feel the brunt. I really hope DC tests the digital waters as a way of potentially keeping the small titles afloat. They could do a $5 package deal for the war books/ supernatural books for example. The other idea is to make issue 1 free a month after the launch - although this is a tricky one to do as if they let us know it could damage sales of the relaunch and if they don't it will piss people off who paid for them. If the first issues are only web-based that would help and to be honest if the whole point of the reboot is to get new viewers then this is the kind of thing they need to do - think long term. If people don't check oout issue 1 of OMAC etc then they aren't going to check out issue 2 either.

Newsarama just posted a very bad researched article on characters missing from the relaunch. The biggest mistake was claiming Batman Beyond has been dropped. If we can find quotes from the writer saying they'll be back after the main launch then you'd expect a comics journalist to find out too. The other unreasonable thing he bemoaned was the lack of Black lightning. I think this is just a case of them choosing Static Shock (who had a successful cartoon and is a teenager) who has essentially the same powers as the older Black lightning. It sucks if you are a BL fan though but I can see why DC made that particular decision.

[Bahimiron]

Have they said if The Fury of Firestorm will feature both Ronnie and Jason or just Ronnie? If it's the latter, pass. I really like Jason.

Edit: Looks like Wikipedia says they're both on it. Which is a plus. But it's written by Gail Simone. Which is not.

Oh well. I'll get the first issue. Where 'get the first issue' means 'read it at my local Barnes and Noble and decide based on that if I'll pick up the eventual trade'.

[haLobEnder]

52 titles at a minimum of $3 (a few of them are extra-sized $4) is going to cost $150 plus. You're going to have to be a serious fan with a hell of a disposable income to manage that. As you say it probably means the smaller non-superhero books are the ones that will feel the brunt. I really hope DC tests the digital waters as a way of potentially keeping the small titles afloat. They could do a $5 package deal for the war books/ supernatural books for example. The other idea is to make issue 1 free a month after the launch - although this is a tricky one to do as if they let us know it could damage sales of the relaunch and if they don't it will piss people off who paid for them. If the first issues are only web-based that would help and to be honest if the whole point of the reboot is to get new viewers then this is the kind of thing they need to do - think long term. If people don't check oout issue 1 of OMAC etc then they aren't going to check out issue 2 either.

They used to be pretty good about making the first issues of series free (or the first trade in a series cheap). That's how I discovered several of my favourite Vertigo series.

Still, I think the plan for digital is they release same day at the same cost as you'd find at the comic shop then after a month they drop the price by a dollar; I could see them eventually making those first issues free but probably not before the first batch of trades comes out.

[Sci-2]

They used to be pretty good about making the first issues of series free (or the first trade in a series cheap). That's how I discovered several of my favourite Vertigo series.

Still, I think the plan for digital is they release same day at the same cost as you'd find at the comic shop then after a month they drop the price by a dollar; I could see them eventually making those first issues free but probably not before the first batch of trades comes out.

I wish they'd have a DCU Line, an "Ultimates" Line, and then a bunch of Elseworlds stories. I really doubt the average person is going to wade through continuity, which is what hooks a lot of regular fans, but people looking at trades in Barnes are more likely to pick up cool trades with interesting stories having good art.

Is Arkham Asylum in the same universe as Year One or Dark Knight Returns or Long Halloween? I don't care and I think the people they are trying to reach wouldn't either.

[red snow]

I wish they'd have a DCU Line, an "Ultimates" Line, and then a bunch of Elseworlds stories. I really doubt the average person is going to wade through continuity, which is what hooks a lot of regular fans, but people looking at trades in Barnes are more likely to pick up cool trades with interesting stories having good art.

Is Arkham Asylum in the same universe as Year One or Dark Knight Returns or Long Halloween? I don't care and I think the people they are trying to reach wouldn't either.

It's a good point on the continuity. One good thing about the launch so far is that there doesn't appear to be a a lot of interconnectivity between books. This is a big plus for new readers as it means they can understand what is happening in "I, vampire" without having to read "swanp-thing" and "justice League". It's fine for them to do a small "genre" crossover 6-months in but the titles need to stand or fall on their own merit for a while. I'd be a fool to think there won't be a mega 52 title "crisis" in a year's time though. If the relaunch fails, I'm sure it will be a crisis that results in the destruction of a year's worth of stories.

Comicbookresources has an interesting poll regarding what readers are most likely to buy. Some of the titles appear quite polarsing and many seem to be doomed before they begin - although i can see "I, vampire" maybe doing well if it plays to the "true blood/twilight" camp and is marketed towards girls.

[Joanna vander Poele]

Not even a DC fan, really, but I'm overblown by how ridiculous and stupid the new Harley Quinn looks. Totally insulting.

And yeah, I'm interested in how how many of these titles will last after a year or two.

[red snow]

Not even a DC fan, really, but I'm overblown by how ridiculous and stupid the new Harley Quinn looks. Totally insulting.

And yeah, I'm interested in how how many of these titles will last after a year or two.

I could have understood if they'd made her look like the Arkham Asylum game version as that's where a lot of potential new readers are. I'll have to check how that title is selling as that's a fairly sensible outreach book.

EDIT: I was just checking the May sales charts and I can understand why DC feels the need to do something drastic. Those figures are pretty abysmal and it's not like Marvel can be happy about them either. Considering there was an upward trend at the start of the century with sales of 300K at some point and pretty consistent 100K top tenners, something has gone wrong and needs to be fixed. I think the recession and prices can partly be blamed but that kind of attrition should have levelled out a bit by now. I still like to blame the crossovers as they are cannibalistic in nature and were largely absent/modest when sales were peaking several years ago.

[Galactus]

Have they said if The Fury of Firestorm will feature both Ronnie and Jason or just Ronnie? If it's the latter, pass. I really like Jason.

Edit: Looks like Wikipedia says they're both on it. Which is a plus. But it's written by Gail Simone. Which is not.

Oh well. I'll get the first issue. Where 'get the first issue' means 'read it at my local Barnes and Noble and decide based on that if I'll pick up the eventual trade'.

Huh, I think you're honestly the first person I've seen who doesen't like Gail Simone. (I don't read DC, so I have no opinion)

Also, that bit about Gail's tweet just made me imagine a Kate Beaton written Batman.

I'D SO FUCKING READ THAT!

[haLobEnder]

Super excited for Demon Knights now after reading this:

People who play "Dragon Age," who enjoy "Game of Thrones," there's a certain atmosphere, a certain passion, a characterfulness alongside lots and lots of bloodthirstiness, and emphasis on action. I think that mix is what we're presenting here. There are a lot of surprises. It's meant to be a big world you can buy into. If you're a fantasy fan and have always kind of shied away from superheroes and don't know where to start, you'll find yourself in a familiar but hopefully not clichéd world here. This is the kind of fantasy I like, and it's the first time I've ever got to do this in comics. It's not built on previous sword and sorcery in comics. It's not built on Robert E. Howard, it's built on George Martin -- not that I don't think Howard's a wonderful writer.

That's Paul Cornell (Demon Knights writer) name dropping both Dragon Age and GRRM in a single paragraph: First issue definitely gets a buy from me :P

[red snow]

Super excited for Demon Knights now after reading this:

That's Paul Cornell (Demon Knights writer) name dropping both Dragon Age and GRRM in a single paragraph: First issue definitely gets a buy from me :P

The guy knows how to market things to the current audiences, that's for sure. It's good that DC are trying new things but unless this comic gets new readers from GOT and Dragon Age fans then I don't see it lasting that long because sadly non-superheroes don't really work in Marvel/DC unless it has a vertigo label slapped on it. I can't stand Etrigan and his rhyming so Cornell will have had to significantly tweaked that character for me to read a book featuring him.

[haLobEnder]

The guy knows how to market things to the current audiences, that's for sure. It's good that DC are trying new things but unless this comic gets new readers from GOT and Dragon Age fans then I don't see it lasting that long because sadly non-superheroes don't really work in Marvel/DC unless it has a vertigo label slapped on it. I can't stand Etrigan and his rhyming so Cornell will have had to significantly tweaked that character for me to read a book featuring him.

Never read anything where Etrigan has actual spoken lines. Seen him in the background of a few of the titles I read, but never as a main character. That said, I usually want to murder rhyming characters in anything I read, so they better use it sparingly.

[Sci-2]

You know, seeing as they are rebooting continuity once again, and things will get reversed, it'd be great if they actually did something fun with the characters. I'm assuming Green Arrow won't be a killer so why not have him start assassinating dictators or something?

Just seems like they are going into September on a whimper.

[red snow]

Never read anything where Etrigan has actual spoken lines. Seen him in the background of a few of the titles I read, but never as a main character. That said, I usually want to murder rhyming characters in anything I read, so they better use it sparingly.

Etrigan should be seen and not heard. The only other character that annoys me more is fucking Bizarro. I got so sick of all his negative talk. Even worse was the fact that there isn't a steadfast rule to how they do his speech making it even more confusing and annoying. Me am not amusing/ Me am unfunny and all that bollocks. If Bizarro is banished in the reboot, i'll be happy.

[peterbound]

Whew, finally got a chance to get in today and get my box o' books. Told the owner i wanted nothing to do with DC and to cancel all my DC titles (to be fair it was only action and Detective comics). He told me I was the 3rd person today to say the same thing.