Not axed but BOTH need a reduction in the number of books they have.
Do we need 5-10 Batman focus books every month? NO.
Batman-solo book/team up with Robin or Signal
Detective Comics-Batman and friends/Batman centric stories
Batman Legends of Dark Knight-Batman solo ONLY stories
Superman
Action Comics
That is enough for him.
You still have to think about everyone else who does not buy their books nor care for Hal, Barry, WW, Harley or Aquaman.
Or do they not matter? Because many have taken the hint and left DC.
Folks continue to forget a lot of these guys have better success OUTSIDE of the entitlement zone know as comic book stores.
So Dc should just say we got Batman and be happy?
Ignore those sales charts of digital, trades and so on where it's Batman in the top 100 surrounded by Shuri, Riri Williams, Ms Marvel, Moon Girl, Wrong Earth, Saga, various Manga, Miles Morales & Buffy.
Not even bother to try to counter any of them because we got to stay with 22 safe books.
Not let someone take a shot with a risky character. Like Deathstroke's writer did with some Wakanda King. Who in 21 years went with a solo for 4 years and has a billion dollar movie.
Or let someone take a character KILLED and bought back and now like the Wakandan King has more years WITH a solo than without and a tv show with Ally McBeal.
Or Someone took a collection of TRASH and called it Justice League in 1987. Or a Kid Flash now known as Flash. Or a throw away character named Lobo.
Sometimes you have to take RISKS.
It isn't guaranteed, no. But why go to all the trouble of having them as a central mystery in Doomsday Clock if they weren't going to do something with them? I am more concerned with which writer at DC could do the JSA book when it finally does happen. Because I feel they have no one there who can do it justice.
I don't think this changes anything drastically but even if it did why are people acting like anthologies don't exist ...and as if there isn't a whole other comics industry that doesn't depend on anthologies (i.e. manga).
It's time for the American comic industry or rather the big 2 to follow the manga industry.
There are multiple japanese magazines that publish chapters of manga weekly and every 2 or 3 months they collect each individual manga into a volume.
Using Shonen Jump Weekly as an example they publish 25 serialized comics in their magazine. As someone who usually reads manga volumes or specific chapters of certain manga, I don't usually buy magazines but I think all 25 of the manga are published weekly with a few exceptions, like Boruto is monthly and Hunter x Hunter has a sporadic schedule.
Of course anthologies are not new to the american comic industry but I don't think the american industry relied on anthologies like the japanese industry do.
And obviously things would need to be modified for the American industry, I mean with manga there is only the mangaka who draws and writes (and maybe there is an assistant who helps), there is no colorist since manga is in black and white, these chapters are pushed out mostly every week where as in the States it's mostly every month, manga chapters don't have a set amount of pages while American comics are about 20 to 24 pages.
But I think with a few fixes here and there, DC (or Marvel) could publish a couple of anthologies and cut some of their publishing in half.
Last edited by kurenai24; 02-17-2019 at 09:54 PM.
My priority is black female characters; everything else is secondary.
~~
Marvel: Miles Morales, Riri Williams, Ororo Munroe, Thor, Quentin Quire.
DC Comics: Vixen, Batman, Bat Family, John Stewart, Roy Harper, Tempest, Poison Ivy, Raven.
Comics: Y: The Last Man, Justice League America (2009), Ultimate Comics: All New Spider-Man (2011)
Ships: Thororo/ThunderStorm, Vixen/hasn't been created, Jason Todd/Kathy Duquesne.
~~
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Ideally, yes. But Manga doesn't just thrive due to the fact they are anthologies (it is certainly one of the main reasons it does though.) Manga is predominantly published in B&W and on different quality paper. We also have to bare in mind that some Mangaka (unless they are popular) earn nowhere near what a writer does in the States (the bulk of their wealth comes from Tankôban sales and royalties.) Plus Manga is widely distributed in Japan and is accessible to everyone. The same can't be said in America. We are also talking about two different markets.
I think Marvel are on the right track with their digital first comics for characters who can't sustain a solo long-term (Luke Cage, Cloak And Dagger, Iron-Fist etc.) These are convenient as they slash numerous overheads normally associated with printing them as physical comics. I think it is a great compromise and allows Marvel to do something with lesser known characters. DC should try something similar (as well as maintaining their focus on Wal-Mart/Target distribution.)
The real problem isn't the characters. The cause is the business model the Big 2 continue to follow. It is outdated and simply isn't suitable for how society functions in this day and age. Examples -
1. Decompression allowed for publishers to expand into the book store market. But not many people have the patience to wait out a story for 6 months in order to read it. Marvel is trying to rectify this by shipping books bi-weekly and doing "event" level stories weekly. But now it becomes an issue of affordability.
2. Comics don't provide value for money. If given the choice between a 5 minute read vs hours of gameplay a kid will always go with the latter. Sad, but true.
3. Distribution. How many of us got into comics by stumbling across them at a newsstand or drugstore? I did. A little kid though? No chance. Because the books aren't where he or she can get to them. DC is working on addressing this now.
Original Wally only got brought back because of the backlash directed towards new Wally.At first I thought they did it to please alienated fans but then there were implications in Titans that original Wally's disappearance was connected to Dr. Manhattan's agenda. Then that angle was dropped. My guess is that Johns had different plans for original Wally but I'm guessing plans changed.
Well, DC just announced a Jimmy Olsen ongoing starting in June, so I guess we can put a lid on this rumor. If DC were going to significantly reduce their monthlies, Jimmy Olsen doesn't seem like a candidate who would get his own book.