Quote from: thecolorsblend on Tue, 28 Jan 2025, 22:37If you want to fix the industry (if such a thing is even possible anymore), then it has to begin with rooting out the activists and extremists. After that, you can keep the existing continuity or reboot or whatever.
To tangent, certain DC Comics properties have already been rebooted into unsustainability. Chief among them are probably Superman as well as the Legion Of Super-Heroes if you ask me. I don't think yet another reboot would do either property any favors.
QuoteFor as good as the Post-Crisis Superman might be, I'm truly starting to believe that Crisis On Infinite Earths, as a corrective measure for DC continuity, wasn't a good idea. Same thing with Zero Hour, Infinite Crisis, Flashpoint and every other "continuity fix" DC has ever attempted.
Quote from: Silver Nemesis on Wed, 29 Jan 2025, 21:04As someone who generally prefers old comics over modern, I'd definitely favour standalone or two-part stories over longer storylines. I get why they do multipart stories from a marketing perspective. They can more easily package them into trade paperbacks and release them as 'graphic novels'. But a series of good standalone stories linked by a subtle arc can be just as satisfying to read in TPB form. For example, Strange Apparitions/Dark Detective. Most issues in that run work as standalone stories, but there are also plotlines that unite them into a broader narrative (the Hugo Strange saga, Bruce's relationship with Silver, etc). The Batman '66 comics also comprised standalone stories that were fun to read in a collected format.
Again, this might just be me being an old git who prefers older comics, but if we're talking accessibility then making each individual issue stand on its own merits would offer the perfect remedy to crossover fatigue. I like the idea of a kid being able to pick up a random issue of Batman or Superman and make that comic his entry point into the series. I want that kid to enjoy the one issue he owns so much that he decides to spend his pocket money buying the next issue, and the one after, until he builds a collection that constitutes his Batman or his Superman, without regard for the overwhelming volume of comics and lore that came before.
I've been reading quite a few Silver and Bronze Age Superman comics lately, and while I love the Pre-Crisis version I've got to admit that John Byrne's re-launch was a great way of giving the character a clean slate and creating an entry point for new readers. I've never considered 'Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?' a canonical conclusion to the Earth-One Superman's story, but it does work as a possible final story that draws a line of demarcation before the restart. In retrospect, I wish they'd done that for every major DC character.
I suppose The Dark Knight Returns could be viewed as the Batman equivalent, as Bruce's age in that story roughly corresponds with the Silver Age/Adam West Batman. I don't think TDK is the canonical conclusion to the Silver Age Batman's adventures, but it works as a possible final story. Crisis on Infinite Earths proved to be the final story for the Barry Allen Flash, at least until they resurrected him years later.
Imagine if DC published a line of stories like that now. Each one offering a possible 'final story' for the current versions of DC's greatest heroes, each written and drawn by top industry talent, and each comprising no more than two or three issues. Alan Moore managed to tell an epic finale in just two issues with 'Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?' Today's top comic writers should be able to do the same. They could make it clear that this is the end of the current DCU before everything begins anew with a clean slate. I've fallen behind with DC in recent years, but a bold move like this might just recapture my interest.
QuoteOn the subject of streamlining the comics, I was just reading 'The Curse of the Atomic Skull' (Superman: The Man of Steel #7, November 1991), and the main topic on the letters page concerned the fact there were four monthly Superman titles in print at that time: Superman, Adventures of Superman, Action Comics and The Man of Steel. This was back when they had those little numbered triangles on the covers telling you which order to read them in. One fan wrote in saying that it was more like having one weekly Superman title than four monthly. Other fans wrote in praising the fact each of those titles had its own distinct style courtesy of their different creative teams.
This gave me an idea for how DC could streamline their comics while still offering enough work for creators and producing enough issues annually to release multiple trade paperbacks – why not start publishing their comics weekly instead of monthly? British comics were traditionally published once a week or once every two weeks and usually took the form of anthologies, with multiple creative teams working on them at the same time. If American comics adopted a similar strategy, they could have one weekly title for each major hero. Instead of publishing 52 titles a month, how about publishing 12 titles every week. Obviously one creative team couldn't produce multiple issues in so short a span, so you could have at least four separate creative teams working concurrently on each title under the guidance of a single editorial group.
If they were to publish 52 weekly issues a year for each title, then that would allow lots of comic creators a chance to work on the major series. It would also allow the editors a chance to test out new talent. They could reserve 10 of those 52 issues for new writers and artists. If they do a good job, give them more work. If the regular contributors attract a negative response from readers, they aren't locked into lengthy runs and can be moved onto something else. This system would also help promote standalone stories over lengthy multi-issue arcs. Occasionally the editors could give a proven writer-artist team the chance to work on a two or three-part storyline, and use new writers to cover for them while they're working on it.
This system would also be more meritocratic. Instead of a small number of people dominating a particular title with lengthy runs, you'd instead have lots of different people contributing and getting more/less work based on how well their individual issues were received by readers. It might not work, but it would be worth a try just to shake things up a bit.
Quote from: Silver Nemesis on Wed, 29 Jan 2025, 21:04I like that! Neal Adams on one side, Jim Lee on the other. I'd be happy with either one.
Quote from: thecolorsblend on Mon, 27 Jan 2025, 21:32That specific ingredient was already baked into the cake with Lady Gaga's participation.
Quote from: The Joker on Tue, 28 Jan 2025, 02:25That's what I'm thinking. It's less about a reboot, but more of a RESET. Bring back the more bronze age approach to storytelling (which would mean setting perimeters like stories being one-and-done, or 2-parters if it's necesssary, ect), and I would apply something of a laid back approach to continuity. Where a villain like Bane wouldn't have to be re-introduced (Want to read his intro for this new status quo? It's all right there in Vengeance of Bane by Dixon and Nolan), and the undertaking to storytelling would be akin to the bronze age/BTAS form. Straightforward, easy to follow, and almost 'comfort food' if you will.
Quote from: The Dark Knight on Tue, 28 Jan 2025, 13:51I'd rather Dick, but if it has Damian I guess that is generally familiar enough but different from what has been presented in the past. Bruce being a mentor and father figure is what I want to see again, period. As for the costume, go for the blue and gray. Screw it.
Quote from: thecolorsblend on Tue, 28 Jan 2025, 22:37If you want to fix the industry (if such a thing is even possible anymore), then it has to begin with rooting out the activists and extremists. After that, you can keep the existing continuity or reboot or whatever.