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I´m a DC skeptic, on the fence about the reshuffles but without any more information on creative teams and the premise of the rebirth and the setup for the #1s its pretty hard to decide either way (love/hate).
Going back to Nightwing from Grayson needs a good hook to keep me, same for a relaunched Batgirl. No Martian Manhunter so I dont need to make a decision at all there? The Batman and JL storylines have been sooo long lately, not every story needs 12 issues... If Tom King moves to Batman and/or JL I suppose I will at least sample them, and whatever title Snyder ends up on.
I hope we get a Legion of Super-Heroes title out of this.
If they really did take a step back and figure out what makes the various characters, teams and titles cool and embrace that then this could be the turn around DC needs. I think they should have announced Rebirth with that video instead of the meaningless image.
Depending how much, if any, of the old backstories gets integrated into the new titles, this might turn out to be a "deboot" with them undoing a few of the changes they made in the New 52. I hope that isn't the case but if it is, expect me to use the "deboot" term until it catches on.
Yeah, our shop is going to have a hard time figuring out what to do with this. DC has been an absolute stinker lately for sales. Aside from the mainline Batman/Harley stuff. Honestly, we are reserving judgment until we know that components from the legacy are coming back. The one thing that I do like hearing is the line-wide pricing of $2.99. All of a sudden it becomes more palatable to hook onto a good bi-weekly Batman title, or take a chance on something.
I will say this - Tom King going exclusive with DC is a big win for them. We know people like Ethan van Sciver are a lock, as they have cut their teeth, and gotten the leeway with DC. But for a rising star, who by all intents, could easily have independent books, and continue to work in both Marvel and DC, to choose to go all in with DC tells me one thing. It tells me that DC is serious about this. They have to be assuring a good living for someone to give up what a creator owned title can do for you. Kudos to them for that.
My overall hope is that we do get away from the 12 issue story arcs, and have solid creators on solid titles that I can easily point a new reader to, and say - you won't be lost when you pick this one up. I haven't been able to do that with Batman in . . . well . . . yeah, long time!
I jumped on with the new 52, i wonder if a deboot will be very confusing for me without any special ties or memories to prenu52 DC...
Take a note from Brand new day, skip ahead and just run with it, make good stories true to the heart of the characters, without any complicated mashups of continuities and different verions that makes my head hurt...
compsolut wrote:My overall hope is that we do get away from the 12 issue story arcs, and have solid creators on solid titles that I can easily point a new reader to, and say - you won't be lost when you pick this one up.
I completely agree with you on this. Every issue needs to be accessible to new readers even if they build into a larger story (which they should). Each comic also need to provide a decent enough return on the $2.99 investment that readers are satisfied with what they got and want the next issue.
I'm excited that DC is trying to do some additional fan service for long time fans. Hopefully this brings back fans that went astray and keeps additional older fans from leaving. Further, the new number ones with the line wide $2.99 pricing should help bring in new readers.
Let's hope they capitalize on all of this with solid stories. Otherwise, this will be nothing more than a momentary stimulus at best and at worst drives people away.
I'm most excited to see what the $2.99 pricing does to the market on whole. Do we see Marvel pull back from $4.99 prices? How does the indie/craft market react to the pricing?
I wish some creative teams were announced, but I respect DC's mea culpa. Since Bob Wayne retired, I believe DC has done a poor job of convincing customers the company is passionate about its legacy. No shade against Dan Didio and Jim Lee, but they never could quite capture Wayne's magic. Even though Jim Lee has been with DC for years, I still primarily associate him with X-Men and Image (Wildstorm and Homage Studios). I always see Dan Didio as the New Coke (or new flavor) of DC. Sometimes it tastes good, sometimes it does not work. When Geoff Johns talks about his passion for DC, I really feel it. That is probably because of his track record working in the trenches on these characters; I have seen is passion on the page more frequently.
I am fine with change as long as the legacy of the title/character is respected. I always believed that DC always did a good job of hitting on the theme of legacy. During the James Robinson, David Goyer, Geoff Johns era of JSA/Justice Society, character legacies were being handed off left and right but it respected what had come before. One of the core problems with the New 52, is that feeling was gone (or at least dramatically diminished). I know that everything is not going to be perfect. For example, I believe Wally West's ethnicity will not be reversed. However, as a consumer I want to feel there are more pluses than minuses.
Finally, I am all for $2.99 books if they are 20 pages! I just assume the books will be 20 pages. I don't like to always assume things because we have gotten burned before.
My Random unordered thoughts:
• Are Annuals done? If we're doing twice month there really isn't a need any more right?
• Are the Fall Specials (Villains, #0, Futures End) done? I liked those
• Too bad no Metal Men, Doom Patrol, The Question or Phantom Stranger
• Can artists keep up with twice a month? I’d bet it ends up being closer to 18-a-year…not twice a month
• Great opportunity to get deboot into the Oxford English Dictionary
• So are we on the fourth Constantine book in about that many years? (I'm counting JL-Dark as a Constantine book)…lets figure that character out
• If we’re debooting…bring back editor’s notes so I have an idea of where/what in time is being referenced
• I'm going to be missing Catwoman & Sinestro
• Two Batgirl books? That seems about one or two too many
• “DRAWING THE LINE AT $2.99”!
These could be fun. It guessing at least the Super Sons will take place on another Earth than the main one.
I wonder if Superwoman could star Power Girl from Earth 2. She is currently wearing the S insignia. I agree, Super Sons could star on the Earth featured on Earth-16 of the Multiversity.
compsolut wrote:Yeah, our shop is going to have a hard time figuring out what to do with this. DC has been an absolute stinker lately for sales. Aside from the mainline Batman/Harley stuff. Honestly, we are reserving judgment until we know that components from the legacy are coming back. The one thing that I do like hearing is the line-wide pricing of $2.99. All of a sudden it becomes more palatable to hook onto a good bi-weekly Batman title, or take a chance on something.
I will say this - Tom King going exclusive with DC is a big win for them. We know people like Ethan van Sciver are a lock, as they have cut their teeth, and gotten the leeway with DC. But for a rising star, who by all intents, could easily have independent books, and continue to work in both Marvel and DC, to choose to go all in with DC tells me one thing. It tells me that DC is serious about this. They have to be assuring a good living for someone to give up what a creator owned title can do for you. Kudos to them for that.
My overall hope is that we do get away from the 12 issue story arcs, and have solid creators on solid titles that I can easily point a new reader to, and say - you won't be lost when you pick this one up. I haven't been able to do that with Batman in . . . well . . . yeah, long time!
I completely understand where you're coming from. My shop got burnt on the Convergence titles and the Future End 1-shots, and well most of the big DC events.
What's really hard to figure out is how to let already existing Pull Box member know what coming up, who (if any) do you automatically transfer over to the new titles. Grayson to Nightwing is a sure bet.
