Pull List:
DC: Batman, Nightwing, Red Hood: Outlaw, Detective Comics, Superman, Action Comics, Young Justice, Legion of Superheroes, John Constantine: Hellblazer, Batman Beyond, Dark Nights: Death Metal
MARVEL: Fantastic Four, Daredevil, The Immortal Hulk, Venom, Web of Venom, Dawn of X
BOOM STUDIOS: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow, Angel and Spike
DARK HORSE: Bill and Ted are doomed.
IMAGE: The Walking Dead: Deluxe
There was once a time when editors cared about the characters and could be considered custodians for our fictitious friends... now it's all about shock tactics, death and darkness. Then they push the big reset button and everything you knew about your favourite character is wrong.
As to Doomsday Clock which was meant to bring back the Justice Society and as captured by bleedingcool.com ...
...Doomsday Clock #10 was solicited for the last week of March 2019.
On February 28th, it slipped from 27th of March to the 3rd of April.
On March the 7th, it slipped back to the 10th of April.
On March the 13th it slipped back to 17th April.
On March the 20th, it slipped back to the 24th April.
On March the 27th, it slipped into May 1st.
On April the 3rd it slipped another week to May 8th.
Last week it slipped another week to May 15th.
Can you guess what happened this week? Can you? That’s right… May 22nd.
Which was also the date that Doomsday Clock #11 was meant to come out. That has now slipped a week to May 29th.
I'm guessing those delays are due to the folks at the top such as Didio and Lee as Geoff's vision of Rebirth is now their vision! Another example of DC dumping on their fans and I'm kind of glad, I'm not paying for their retirement fund anymore
Last edited by Doctor Kent Nelson; 04-18-2019 at 07:07 AM.
But if you're passionate about the character, then sometimes it's understandable to weather a publishing drought in the hope that things will eventually turn out right.
I'm not reading the book (gave up on it back during the New52 when Robert Venditti and Van Jensen took over as the writers), but from what I've heard about the current run it sounds like part of the problem may be that writer Joshua Williamson is being held back in what he was hoping to do by things outside of his control.
Reading the comments on this thread, I am reminded of how I felt when DC wasn't publishing ANY SHAZAM! stuff. During that time, I stuck to purchasing two books per month: Hulk and Justice League. Around the holidays and my birthday in December, I would also purchase a collected reprint of SHAZAM! I did this for a few years; still do, when I pick up the latest iteration of the SHAZAM! comic. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm for comic books in general is not how it was, as recent as ten years ago. In fact, I was so frustrated at the state of affairs of comics, that I simply gave away my own collection of comics (twenty years worth), even knowing that I could have gotten a pretty penny for them. And, I don't have any regrets doing so. Better to give them away to someone who is a collector, rather than toss them in the garbage.
But, yeah, I know the feeling, fan of Dr. Fate...
I'm so sorry to hear that, but know exactly where you're coming from. Don't understand some of the creative and editorial decisions myself. DC were on a roll, and now it seems they want to go polar opposite to what got the fans excited.Didio's stance on 'Nightwing' is lunacy. Apparently he doesn't like the character. Tough' Didio, many do and it's the many that generate sales that generate money. Three times now he has allowed the character to be almost killed off, twice blocked, but character morphed into something else!? If Grayson and West, not safe' poor Kent had no chance! I'm hoping we reach a situation again where Didio & Lee had to be bailed out, which is what exactly what 'Rebirth' was about. If they haven't learnt then they should not be allowed to jump on any new 'initiative and claim any credit. Bet 'Rebirth' really rankled Didio. Obvious lessons Weren't learnt, as he is now wellbeing on presenting us with a 'New 52' mk 2. Of course there were great things delivered with the 'New 52' but it did lack coherence and wiped 'legacy.'
I don't believe in "pandering" to any reader -- old or young.
I think most comics readers today are over 30 -- certainly the ones who buy the most comics.
I don't know what constitutes an "older reader," but I think there are more readers over 30 than under. 30-45 or 30-50 is probably the biggest audience.
That's a wide range, and there are going to be a wide variety of tastes in that group, but you can't throw away the older fans until you have other fans to replace them, and the current comics selling and distribution paradigm isn't attracting tons of new long term fans.
I think it's obvious that DiDio knows that better than anyone, which is why he's been trying new formats like crazy recently: DC Ink, DC Zoom, and DC Black Label are all designed to appeal to the casual reader rather than the fan who is knowledgeable about every iteration of DC continuity.
You don't have to know any prior history to be able to understand the Mera: Tidebreaker OGN or Super Sons: The Polarshield Project or even Batman: Damned.
I think this will sustain the comics industry better than trying to keep both Wally fans and Barry fans happy because comics fandom is rarely completely happy.
Getting comics material into new markets and presenting them in new formats is where the focus should be and that's where DiDio is doing the right thing. This is probably why DiDio still has his job, and if these initiatives don't pan out, it may be why he loses his job, not because of fan wars between Barry and Wally or Hal and Kyle. Business executives at AT&T above DiDio don't understand or care about that, and they shouldn't.
Another idea: I'm hoping that the DC Universe Streaming Service gets merged into the larger WarnerMedia SS so that digital comics can be offered as a bonus feature when watching a DC movie or TV show. That might get some kid interested in reading the source material of the characters he's watching in movies, TV, and streaming.
That being said, he does need to step back from the main DC comics line a bit so he can see that it doesn't need to cater 100% to his personal tastes.
I can understand where the OP is coming from. I’m a huge fan of Jaime Reyes as I love his story and I believe he means a lot culturally, but DC has a bad habit of burying him for years at a time. I lose a lot of interest when he’s not around. Maybe the most well known hispanic superhero and DC just shelves him. Put him on a freaking team if his solo doesn’t sell.