Originally Posted by
Comic-Reader Lad
I would like to see Adventure Comics brought back because of its historical significance. It was Wheeler-Nicholson's 2nd title (as "New Comics") and was folded into DC (along with More Fun Comics) when his pre-Detective Comics, Inc. companies went bankrupt.
However, in contrast to a lot of the DC anthologies of the day, Adventure Comics (like More Fun) never had a really strong identity as opposed to Action, Detective, Sensation, and All-Star.
Superboy and Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes were the longest running cover features followed by Supergirl. That takes us from 1946 to 1972. From 1972 until 1983 when it was canceled, the title was in constant change. So, when the title was Superman-related, it saw its biggest success.
However, Aquaman is arguably its longest-running backup feature, and finally in 1975 became a cover feature. So, maybe by that metric Adventure could be a second Aquaman comic, but DC already tried that with Aquaman and the Others, and it didn't last long.
I don't think Adventure Comics will ever be brought back again. The market has changed since the early 1980s. Comics aren't bought by browsers anymore; they're bought by collectors who buy every issue of a series they like. That's likely why formats like team up titles (e.g. Brave & Bold/Marvel Team-Up), tryout titles (Showcase/Marvel Premiere), and anthology titles (Adventure Comics) just don't appeal to the hardcore fan where they're getting something different each issue and quality varies widely.
Miniseries have largely taken the place of tryout and anthology titles, and teamups can happen within the pages of a regular series like "The Button" crossover between Batman and Flash. Also, these formats have been dismissed by fans because the stories in them "don't matter," and when comics cost 4 dollars each, you can't support a title just for fun.
Even Marvel's relatively successful Marvel Comics Presents anthology only sold because it had Wolverine every issue. It'll be interesting to see how the revival does.
Comics having dense continuity and high prices leads to fans wanting every issue they buy to count toward a larger narrative. In order for Adventure Comics to be brought back successfully, it would have to star a character who CAN support a 2nd book that "matters," but doesn't currently have one.
Is there such a character? Aside from Superman and Batman, no other DC character has shown they can support another ongoing, much less one where the character name appears in second position on the masthead.