Fans more Interested in Old DC than Current DC?

[Dr. Ellingham]

We all have our own concerns with DC's output. But our individual gripes do not necessarily correlate to DC's issues. Their issues are at least two-fold:

1. Their characters are available in other media, which if it drives interest to comics, draws that interest to the classic stories that served as inspiration.

2. Similarly but more importantly, their new stuff competes against the best of their old stuff for relevance.

That can't be overstated. Their classic books and runs serve as better introductions to the characters than their modern output - O'Neil/Adams Batman, Batman Year One, New Teen Titans, All-Star Superman, etc.

A tangential concern is how interwoven and insular comics became over the last 25 years, as a result of playing exclusively to the longtime fan's preferences -sooo many characters, individual stories being driven by a "universe" arc, etc.

I can't quantify that issue, but it's there.

[Electricmastro]

We all have our own concerns with DC's output. But our individual gripes do not necessarily correlate to DC's issues. Their issues are at least two-fold:

1. Their characters are available in other media, which if it drives interest to comics, draws that interest to the classic stories that served as inspiration.

2. Similarly but more importantly, their new stuff competes against the best of their old stuff for relevance.

That can't be overstated. Their classic books and runs serve as better introductions to the characters than their modern output - O'Neil/Adams Batman, Batman Year One, New Teen Titans, All-Star Superman, etc.

A tangential concern is how interwoven and insular comics became over the last 25 years, as a result of playing exclusively to the longtime fan's preferences -sooo many characters, individual stories being driven by a "universe" arc, etc.

I can't quantify that issue, but it's there.

Yep, I think the newest DC stories (2000s and 2010s) I've seen get widespread acclaim are Batman: Hush, All-Star Superman, Superman: Red Son, Green Lantern: Rebirth, Identity Crisis, Wonder Woman: Blood, Batman: The Black Mirror, and Superman for All Seasons, but even with that said, the acclaim for those probably doesn't even come close to the acclaim some of the 1980s and 1990s stories have gotten.

[Buried Alien]

There's also, way, way much MORE old DC than current DC.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Electricmastro]

There's also, way, way much MORE old DC than current DC.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

It becomes more apparent when looking at DC's pre-21st century titles, several of which managed to stack up at least 100 issues:

Superboy/Superboy starring the Legion of Super-Heroes/Legion of Super-Heroes (1949-1987) - 354 issues

Flash Comics/The Flash (1940-1949, 1959-1985) - 350 issues

Wonder Woman (1942-1986) - 329 issues

Justice League of America (1960-1987) - 261 issues

Green Lantern/Green Lantern Corps (1960-1988) - 224 issues

Swamp Thing Vol 2 (1982-1996) - 171 issues

Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen (1954-1974) - 163 issues

Green Arrow Vol 2 (1988-1998) - 137 issues

Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane (1958-1974) - 137 issues

Legion of Super-Heroes Vol 4 (1989-2000) - 125 issues

[babyblob]

I really enjoy the older comics and here is why. I read comics as an escape. I enjoyed the older goofy story lines like Flash fighting cloud people. Newer comics seem darker and work too much real life issues into them. I have had a crappy life, Moved alot abusive parents drug problems prison times. So my life has enough dark stuff in it. THats why I enjoy the older comics. Because they were light hearted and fun. I liked that the heroes seemed friends and comrades in arms. I mean when Batman can team up with The Metal Men and show them respect as crime fighters. It was just a simpler time for me it seems. THat is why I read very little new stuff and stick mostly to older stuff.

[phonogram12]

hopefully more thoughtful than they did before reading.

THIS.

10 characters.

[DrNewGod]

I really enjoy the older comics and here is why. I read comics as an escape. I enjoyed the older goofy story lines like Flash fighting cloud people. Newer comics seem darker and work too much real life issues into them. I have had a crappy life, Moved alot abusive parents drug problems prison times. So my life has enough dark stuff in it. THats why I enjoy the older comics. Because they were light hearted and fun. I liked that the heroes seemed friends and comrades in arms. I mean when Batman can team up with The Metal Men and show them respect as crime fighters. It was just a simpler time for me it seems. THat is why I read very little new stuff and stick mostly to older stuff.

First. I'm sorry that the road was so hard.

Second, my road was far smoother, and yet, my reasons are the same as yours. I sometimes think publishers and editors lost their grip on the difference between what works well for an Elseworlds, and what works for an on-going.

[gooch4011]

For the most part, I'm the same way with Marvel. Their comics have also, in my opinion, grown much more cynical.

The fact that modern comics has taken a serious turn towards being a propaganda tool for Left and Far Left politics is also a problem. Even if you 100% agree with the political views put forth, I'd think the echo chamber would get tiresome. Plus, everyone needs a break from politics in order to maintain some sanity and perspective. Sadly, such a break is increasingly difficult to find in entertainment. Marvel and DC both do this, but I think Marvel does it more.

This This and more of This. There is nothing wrong with having political themes in your comics I mean look at X-Men but a lot of this stuff is on the nose modern politics. I read comics to get away from all of that. It feels like a lot of the writers just want to wrap some agenda into their stories which in turn hurt the story. These writers need to be more focused on writing a good story first and foremost.

Another problem I have is a lot of new writers are just writing characters just so out of character. Examples being like the recent Domino runs, Thomas Wayne is King's Batman run. Just things like that. I mean look how they did Wally West.

[Vampire Savior]

What I find interesting, is that the people who want/like/defend woke comics would be crying bloody murder if the comics had right wing agendas or were pro-Trump. There would be cries of racism, homophobia, and whatever else all over the place, and calls to boycott everywhere (actually, I already see enough of this). And I say this as someone who doesn't really have a dog in that fight. The only thing I'm really interested in here is good comics. Why I'm saying this is to hopefully give some people some perspective. Take how you feel about getting right wing agendas rammed at you in your entertainment, and apply it here. How you might feel is probably kind of like how some others feel when confronted with this onslaught of blatantly woke books and characters.

[BBally]

If young readers really are showing more appreciation for old stories than current ones, I wonder if that means DC's Bronze Age stories will finally get their due especially Elliot S! Maggin's run on Superman.

[mikelmcknight72]

I really enjoy the older comics and here is why. I read comics as an escape. I enjoyed the older goofy story lines like Flash fighting cloud people. Newer comics seem darker and work too much real life issues into them. I have had a crappy life, Moved alot abusive parents drug problems prison times. So my life has enough dark stuff in it. THats why I enjoy the older comics. Because they were light hearted and fun. I liked that the heroes seemed friends and comrades in arms. I mean when Batman can team up with The Metal Men and show them respect as crime fighters. It was just a simpler time for me it seems. THat is why I read very little new stuff and stick mostly to older stuff.

I feel much the same way for a lot of the same reasons. Even as a middle aged man, I still have severe PTSD, anxiety, and sleep disorders as a result of the things I witnessed and the abuse I survived. I also saw a lot of illness and death, and we moved frequently (four different grade school, three different middle schools). Comics in the 1980s and reprints of the older stuff were my lifeline. Even at their darkest, there was an intrinsic optimism and light to them. The heroes were the closest I had to real friends.

To me, Earth 2 in the New 52 epitomized the worst trends of modern comics. It was initially written fairly well, but it was so dark and cynical. Jay, Allen, Al, and the rest were never meant to be dark and cynical.

[BBally]

What I find interesting, is that the people who want/like/defend woke comics would be crying bloody murder if the comics had right wing agendas or were pro-Trump. There would be cries of racism, homophobia, and whatever else all over the place, and calls to boycott everywhere (actually, I already see enough of this). And I say this as someone who doesn't really have a dog in that fight. The only thing I'm really interested in here is good comics. Why I'm saying this is to hopefully give some people some perspective. Take how you feel about getting right wing agendas rammed at you in your entertainment, and apply it here. How you might feel is probably kind of like how some others feel when confronted with this onslaught of blatantly woke books and characters.

While I do agree about the hypocrisy surrounding this practice and that a number of "woke" pieces of media are more annoying than insightful, give me a choice between a comic with left wing leaning which portrays muslims like me in a more positive light and comic with a right wing leaning that demonizes muslims like me, I'd rather have the former exist. That's why I didn't feel like continuing reading Nexus despite it being a really good comic because in the second half of its run the creative team Mike Baron and Steve Rude created a culture that was a thinly disguised stand in for Muslims (even Mike Baron who along with artist Steve Rude is said to have strong Right wing views confirmed that was his intention in an interview) and it wasn't a flattering portrayal.

[Vampire Savior]

While I do agree about the hypocrisy surrounding this practice and that a number of "woke" pieces of media are more annoying than insightful, give me a choice between a comic with left wing leaning which portrays muslims like me in a more positive light and comic with a right wing leaning that demonizes muslims like me, I'd rather have the former exist. That's why I didn't feel like continuing reading Nexus despite it being a really good comic because in the second half of its run the creative team Mike Baron and Steve Rude created a culture that was a thinly disguised stand in for Muslims (even Mike Baron who along with artist Steve Rude is said to have strong Right wing views confirmed that was his intention in an interview) and it wasn't a flattering portrayal.

I will concede the point that far right views tend to be (at least, in my opinion) more hateful than far left views, which tend to promote inclusion more. Though far leftists can have their own sort of venom, such as attempting to damage or destroy the lives of anyone who thinks differently than them. These types preach tolerance, but sometimes won't tolerate people with opposing views.

If creators were jamming right wing politics in mainstream DC and Marvel comics, I'd have similar criticisms, perhaps even stronger ones depending on what they were putting in there. But the main point, which I think you understood, is that not everyone wants to be beaten over the head with politics when reading superhero comics. Especially with characters these creators didn't create, which weren't created for such purposes.

Yes, naysayer (I'm not specifically referring to the individual I quoted earlier), there are examples of this happening throughout comic history, but that still doesn't mean I think it is a good idea. And typically, the negative propaganda wasn't directed at the target audience. For example, I'm pretty sure DC wasn't selling comics to the Empire of Japan or Nazi Germany.

[Electricmastro]

While I do agree about the hypocrisy surrounding this practice and that a number of "woke" pieces of media are more annoying than insightful, give me a choice between a comic with left wing leaning which portrays muslims like me in a more positive light and comic with a right wing leaning that demonizes muslims like me, I'd rather have the former exist. That's why I didn't feel like continuing reading Nexus despite it being a really good comic because in the second half of its run the creative team Mike Baron and Steve Rude created a culture that was a thinly disguised stand in for Muslims (even Mike Baron who along with artist Steve Rude is said to have strong Right wing views confirmed that was his intention in an interview) and it wasn't a flattering portrayal.

Well comics can have both good quality storytelling and good portrayals of characters of various different walks of life after all, Muslims included. Speaking of which, would you say Simon Baz is an example of a well-done Muslim superhero?

[BBally]

Well comics can have both good quality and good portrayals of characters of various different walks of life after all, Muslims included. Speaking of which, would you say Simon Baz is an example of a well-done Muslim superhero?

Not at first, his original run was too on the nose on the whole post-911 atmosphere and the fact Simon Baz's pre-superhero life involved an attempt to steal a car, compared to the original pre-Secret Wars run of Kamala Khan Ms. Marvel and a previous Marvel character Faiza Hussein aka. Excalibur from Paul Cornell's Captain Britain and MI:13, Simon Baz wasn't all that great. But then when he was teamed up with Jessica Cruz and joined the Justice League during Bryan Hitch run on the title during Rebirth, I really started to warm up to Baz especially since around that MARVEL kind of ruined Kamala Khan with the way they over hyped her making her a member of All New Avengers, poor writing on the character outside her own title and that first relaunch hurt her momentum (although her relaunch title after Secret Wars isn't as bad as the Comics Gate crowd want you to believe), too bad he was removed from the line up when Hitch left and Cruz is getting most of the love as far being the new kid on the block in the Green Lantern mythos.