After the 21st Batman related title I saw, I stopped scrolling. Oh well. When the books I'm currently collecting end, guess I'm pretty much done with DC.
The problem is, most of the non-Batman books aren't selling that well, not even Justice League, Superman or Wonder Woman. Even Green Lantern, which used to be really big just ten years ago, doesn't seem to sell that much anymore. On the other hand, anything Bat-related sells really well. So, while I'm not happy about it, all the Batman titles allow DC to actually publish all their other titles. That's also why titles like LoSH haven't returned yet, why JL Dark was turned into a back-up feature for JL. That's why they put Arthur/Aquaman and Green Arrow into a team-up mini-series, because they hope those who really like one character but don't care about the other will still buy the book. As for LoSH, there's been speculation for a while now that it might eventually become a back-up feature. They might have tried to make it the back-up for the Jon Kent Superman book, but the bean counters apparently don't think that book can't sell for a $ 4.99 cover price. That, or the sales of the previous LoSH book have been abysmal.
This idea from Bendis that he needs a "big story" is either BS or shows how much he doesn't understand what made the Legion great. It wasn't only about the A story--it was about the characters and their struggles. Legion works best when we have personal stories that are ongoing--that's how you get people invested in the characters. It was one of the first DC books along with New Teen Titans that really showed the power of ongoing story lines where characters develop and grow. The way the new book is, although I enjoyed the story, we haven't really learned very much about most of the characters.
Agreed. I'm an LSH fan since the Grell era. I would definitely like more character development, whatever comes next.
Non sequitur, but I would love to have Hickman have a go at the Legion, but on the other hand that might be a bit to obvious.
I remember when I read the DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics by the late great Dennis O'Neil, he referrenced Paul Levitz' approach to serialized writing, where he had several ongoing plotlines, A, B, and C, with A being the main plotline. When plotline A would come to it's conclusion, plotline B would reach an escalation point to make it the new plotline A, C would become B, and a new plotline C would be introduced.
That's funny, I always found it to be his weakness. At least with Avengers, it seemed he had a big epic plot in mind and just forced the characters in to get from beginning to end with no real heart to any of them otherwise.
You know what? My bad! I was thinking Kirkman! He is also a master at A B and C plot structures (Invincible). That said, I like Hickman's work too.
Joshua Williamson is taking over Batman after Tynion leaves this fall. This is not a choice that excites me.
Due to several pandemic-related issues, there's going to be a lot of delays. And Bendis, in his Newsletter, teased both Naomi Season 2 and the return of LoSH.
It seems that Mark Waid, Bryan Hitch, and Kevin Nowlan have a three-issue Black Label Superman book planned for next year: https://twitter.com/THEBRYANHITCH/status/1435890554596962308 Waid's dislike of the Clark/Lois marriage aside ( -- seriously, Mark, what the actual fuck?), he's written some great Superman stories, and Hitch is an exciting and dynamic artist when he's on his game. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to this.
Hopefully a small series like this with plenty of lead time will mean Hitch will be able to have everything done before the series actually starts getting published. Anyone else have a problem with the actual size of Black Label series--I mean their physical dimensions?