DC to REBOOT???

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

Where was this confirmed (that he was not writing TT)?

He denied it himself via Twitter.

 

[Captain Craig]

The Wildstorm piece is interesting. Does DC now wholly own them? This being used to incorporate them ala the Charleston Characters is a good move if there is no concern about them being yanked back out.

DC has owned Jim Lee's Wildstorm characters outright since he sold his studio to DC in '98. Or was it '97?

I thought they were on a glorified long term lease with the option to buy. That if they bought them Jim Lee got a huge type of payout in some manner. I thought this news was they opted to buy.

, if the Wildstorm characters are going to be part of the new DCU, imagine a world where the Justice League and the Authority co-exist.

Hold on to your hats for that one!!!

Also, anyone know if any of the Milestone imprint characters will be getting some exposure? A few should I think?

That would be a great idea. A world that has Gotham and Metropolis has room for Dakota, surely?

Surely.
I mean DC long ago incorporated others universes into theirs. Captain Marvel, Blue Beetle, Captain Atom etc. Heck they've been so well incorporated that I often find people on message boards who never knew they weren't always DC characters. Time for that to start with Wildstorm and really blend in Milestone.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Without debating the numbers, how can you say not many at all? I don't know, you don't know.

Yes, I do know.

The answer to "how many readers will it take to make a difference?" is "not many at all," because the answer to "how many people buy comics now?" is "not many at all."

cute.

And completely true. Increase sales a couple of thousand per issue - pretty easily done when curiosity and the impulse to buy is separated from purchase by only a link and a download - and reduce distribution costs accordingly. Big and immediate difference.

If new readers are anywhere, they're reading and buying on the Internet. If they won't buy here, then there are no new readers to be found.

EXACTLY. My question for DC is why do they think it's access that has prevented them from finding New...er young readers. Comic stores have been around for awhile, yet it's ebbing. Why do they think merely being able to purchase online will reach these new young readers?

Because the Internet is where people are spending their time and their dollars. There's no "merely" here. If you're in media and your focus isn't online right now, you're done.

As already noted, I'm a geezer - way behind the curve. I buy my books online. I buy my music on line. Hell, I buy half my clothes online.

Borders filed for bankruptcy not long ago. They'll probably survive - but Amazon's selling more books on Kindle now than on paper, and that's not going to be less true next year or the next or the next or...

This announcement is the kind of thing that's blindingly obvious once it's been made. Here's a prediction: Marvel will make some noncommittal and dismissive noises about this in the next little bit - probably some genuflecting toward their "direct sales partners" while they're at it - but within a year they'll do exactly the same, with or without making a point of it.

IE: This is the way Continuity is now, deal with it and follow the story

Yep. It's not the first time, and won't be the last.

 

[Professor Zoom]

Because the Internet is where people are spending their time and their dollars. There's no "merely" here. If you're in media and your focus isn't online right now, you're done.

Right. I agree with you. Remember when I said that it was about time they moved to digital comics? We're not disagreeing about this move... we're disagreeing that it's going to reach new readers.

As already noted, I'm a geezer - way behind the curve. I buy my books online. I buy my music on line. Hell, I buy half my clothes online.

So do I. Well. Not the clothes. But, the books.

What I'm curious is: what are YOUNG buyers buying online? what are THEY choosing to read? What steps will DC be taking to get them interested in a form of content they weren't interested in before?

Borders filed for bankruptcy not long ago. They'll probably survive - but Amazon's selling more books on Kindle now than on paper, and that's not going to be less true next year or the next or the next or...

Right. I agree. We're not disagreeing about the move to digital, but whether or not it's going to appeal to new young readers.

This announcement is the kind of thing that's blindingly obvious once it's been made. Here's a prediction: Marvel will make some noncommittal and dismissive noises about this in the next little bit - probably some genuflecting toward their "direct sales partners" while they're at it - but within a year they'll do exactly the same, with or without making a point of it.

They would be fools not to. Don't they already have some sort of club or subscription that you can read some of there books online? I don't remember if they do or not, or if it was something being talked about.

DC and Marvel should also open up their archives and put those up online for purchase as well.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

What I'm curious is: what are YOUNG buyers buying online? what are THEY choosing to read? What steps will DC be taking to get them interested in a form of content they weren't interested in before?

Make it easily available. Make the content more interesting in a comtemporary fashion - this is their stated intent.

Might that intent fail? Of course. That said, there's nothing flawed in either the strategy or the intention. We've read what the new market strategy is, but we haven't seen any new content by which to judge that aspect of it.

Maybe there is no interest among young people in superhero comics as they exist now. Well, that's not a reason not to move online - the only choice is to continue to fail with their current outdated sales network and production/distribution methods, or reduce costs and eventually fail while making every sensible attempt to succeed in the modern marketplace.

And in terms of making changes to appeal to new readers...they launch 52 titles online and some of them will probably catch on, while many will fail (while costing less to produce than they do now) - and that sales feedback will tell DC what's reaching a new audience and what's not. And there is no way to get that feedback that's nearly as certain and reliable as jumping into the marketplace and finding it out directly from the consumers they hope to reach.

This isn't the answer to "saving" superhero comics - it's the beginning of the first really game-changing attempt to do so.

 

[Admiral_Young]

I'm curious...out of those people in this thread discussing the "business" side of the reboot..how many of you guys have actually been reading? Or are you just discussing for discussions sake?

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Lately I've mainly read Green Lantern in its various permutations and the occasional graphic novel or trade collection - GL's the only one I consistently care about. There's a comic shop about five blocks from my place; haven't been there in two years or maybe longer - I used to drop by with a friend who no longer lives in the neighborhood.

 

[Broccoli]

I read the comics in the store. If the store owner comes up to me, I say that I'm still looking. I then go hide in a dark corner to read all the new releases that week and leave empty handed. I leave the comics in a haphazard pile in said corner.

After about three weeks, I am asked to never return.

 

[Admiral_Young]

To answer my own question I've limited myself to reading most of the Bat family books. Lost interest in Superman after the first three issues of "Grounded". I love Paul Cornell's Action Comics. Been reading Power Girl and enjoying that. That's about it. I gave up on Green Lantern after Blackest Night. Oh, and I'm of course reading Flashpoint.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I read the comics in the store. If the store owner comes up to me, I say that I'm still looking. I then go hide in a dark corner to read all the new releases that week and leave empty handed. I leave the comics in a haphazard pile in said corner.

After about three weeks, I am asked to never return.

Well, I hope you mark your place.

 

[Professor Zoom]

I'm curious...out of those people in this thread discussing the "business" side of the reboot..how many of you guys have actually been reading? Or are you just discussing for discussions sake?

I used to read monthlies. Quite a bit. About 5, 6 years ago I started cutting down and now I don't buy any monthlies.

I buy the occasional trade or graphic novel, but I sorta keep my ear on what's going on with the characters, etc.

 

[shivkala]

It definitely seems like this came out of left field.

So, if some titles won't get creative changes, which ones will those be, aside from Green Lantern? And does this include Green Lantern Corps and Green Lantern: Emerald Knights? Will some of the 52 books include 3 GL titles?

I'm really hoping Scott Snyder and the rotating art team of Jock and Francesco Francavilla on Detective Comics is on that short list, as I've heard nothing but critical praise for their work (and it's well deserved!).

I'd bet dollars to donuts that Batman is Grant Morrison's for the taking.

I'll echo the sentiment that I hope Bryan Q. Millar stays on Batgirl one way or the other, though it would be nice if he got to keep writing Steph.

I keep hearing how JT Krul is bringing people back to Teen Titans, and since I'm one of them, I'll say I hope he stays on with Nicola Scott.

A lot of people have also been praising Legion of Super-Heroes with Paul Levitz at the helm. While I'm not a huge fan, I do still read the book and find it entertaining, but not as great as everyone says it is. That being said, would they kick their former president off the title? I'm betting there's a Legion title by Levitz in addition to the Legion Lost title that Rich Johnston posted about yesterday.

As for the other titles, I'd say it's a fair shot that Justice Society and Wonder Woman will be getting new creative teams. Honestly, most of the rest of the DC titles will probably face a new creative team with this relaunch, but I really hope the ones I mentioned stay the same.

 

[Broccoli]

So, if this is a hard reboot, what will the dividing line term? Pre-Flashpoint/Post-Flashpoint?

 

[The Super Brando]

I just love that people are crying over this DC reboot.

Every appeal to the way things have always been. Every demand for nostalgia. Every outrage over a new version of a costume. Every curse of all things new and fresh.

For years comics have been enslaved by these grumpy "get off my lawn" fanatics keeping everything stale and old, and now change is coming and there's nothing they can do about it.

Their tears taste delicious.

 

[A beaker full of death]

I just think it's funny that people are bitching about the very same thing that happened to me in 1986. Get over it, kiddies. This is what happens when they try to tie every damn character into every damn "arc" (whatever happened to just telling a story?). They end up with a complete mess and have to reboot.
I, for one, am laughing my ass off.

 

[Admiral_Young]

@Broccoli...it's Post-Flashpoint. Flashpoint#5 is the only comic shipping from DC in August. Then Sep...the reboot starts.

 

[theenglish]

The Wildstorm piece is interesting. Does DC now wholly own them? This being used to incorporate them ala the Charleston Characters is a good move if there is no concern about them being yanked back out.

DC has owned Jim Lee's Wildstorm characters outright since he sold his studio to DC in '98. Or was it '97?

So, if the Wildstorm characters are going to be part of the new DCU, imagine a world where the Justice League and the Authority co-exist.

They have existed in the same multiverse since 52, haven't they?

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

This reminds me a little of '86 too - except that nothing happened "to me" - things changed, as they always do, and changed for the better.

 

[Admiral_Young]

^ Indeed. Maybe this is one of the reasons why I'm not really having a freak out about this.

 

[God Magnus]

Yeah, I'll be very disappointed if Powergirl gets too much of a coverup.

I'm with you on that. It may make me sound a bit immature, but the PG costume (along with Zatanna and Huntress) may be among the most impractical, but they look great on the comic page and would hate to see them go.