Buried Alien - THE FASTEST POST ALIVE!
First CBR Appearance (Historical): November, 1996
First CBR Appearance (Modern): April, 2014
I just question whether the line would be able to support past, present, and future storylines, especially when the key will be a level of cohesiveness that will be difficult to maintain.
Will the 5G Batman stuff be more relevant or pertinent then the 4GBatman stuff? Or whatever present-day Batman is? Should we just treat it as an Elseworld's comic at this point?
I'm just not sure how this will all work.
Let's not be so sure. I am buying less comics than ever in my life. I suspect I will be buying less in the future.
I still love the characters...but I don't love the stories anymore.
That's not reassuring.
I reiterate: I'm buying very few comics because I dislike the modern stories.
I look forward to the next Batman cartoon...and that's about I'm looking forward to.
What gives good cause that this will not end in a sales boost but decline is that Bendis hasn’t sold that great & Batman has been in decline + DC best selling books are slightly out of continuity in Doomsday Clock or completely out of continuity in Black Label books + DCeased.
...except the old guard doesn't always come back. If we (I'm lumping myself in that group) did, then we wouldn't see the shutting down of LCSs across the board, and the industry wouldn't need to resort to stunts like "5G" to keep afloat. The fact is it's been diminishing returns for years and years. Sure, certain gimmicks such as New 52 can generate a bit of a temporary buzz. But how long did that last before the books started dipping back and below their pre-N52 numbers?
I've been one of the most super patient fans you'll come by. But my limit will be replacing Clark as Superman on any kind of long-term basis.
And that's the diminishing returns. You can't squeeze blood from a turnip.
I look at a book like Immortal Hulk and wonder why the industry can't use that as a template or example of what it could be. Here's a title that took the core concept of Hulk and without replacing him was able to put a new spin on the character that is now outselling Batman without even really trying.
When the industry allows things to happen naturally, the fans will not only support it but we'll advocate for it.
"There's magic in the sound of analog audio." - CNET.
I meant old guard in regards to the characters not the fans.
If the Internet was a thing in the late 50s there would have never been a Hal Jordan or Barry Allen because people would just scream they are "replacing" Alan and Jay and shunting them off to another earth to diminish them.
Again, this is a story. One that may or may not even happen, by a creative team we don't even know yet, around a plot we don't even know, yet everyone is talking like this is the death of DC. Everyone's pre-decided to hate it based on next to no information. When you choose to hate it right out the gate obviously you're never going to even give it a chance to be good.
Last edited by Noodle; 10-08-2019 at 06:55 PM.
Last Read: Aquaman & The Flash: Voidsong
Monthly Pull List: Birds of Prey, Daredevil, Geiger, Green Arrow, Justice Ducks, Justice Society of America, Negaduck, Nightwing, Phantom Road, Shazam!, Space Ghost, Suicide Squad: Dream Team, Thundercats, Titans
And Kamala Khan and Carol Danvers. Though Carol took over a deceased hero's name, and Kamala then took her previous one, so both mantles were vacant and aren't shared (at least not in Marvel Comics).
That change happened after he left the book though. Though I can imagine he won't like that the trades aren't called Spider-Man at all (they're just called Miles Morales).
Appreciation Thread Indexes
Marvel | Spider-Man | X-Men | NEW!! DC Comics | Batman | Superman | Wonder Woman
So, I haven't been following this announcement too closely. But regarding the idea of breaking the line apart and publishing multiple books from each generation......
I have no idea if this is what DC is thinking, and I'm not saying it's a good idea but.....that might not be the worst thing. Functionally, this is just the return of the multiverse. That's what it could end up looking like. I think I can even see the business sense in trying it.
Each generation is, roughly, an era of DC history right? Golden, Silver Age, etc. And all those versions exist on a single timeline, but have different histories. Which means one generation's continuity won't impact another's. If DC runs books set in an approximation of those eras, then everyone gets a shot at what they want. Fans of the rough and tumble Superman from the Golden Age can get that guy, post-Crisis fans can get the Superdad, pre-Crisis fans can get the strange visitor from a distant planet. And new fans get a new Superman, without tons of baggage and history behind him. Now DC gets multiple attempts to get your money by running multiple versions. And different generations means you don't have to read the other versions if you don't want to. More options, easier to follow (unless you try reading them all maybe).
And I'd be willing to bet DC believes this might be how they break into new demographics too. Didio is big on getting new readers, but it's hard to do that in the direct market. But some of their imprints are doing really well in trade and digital markets so DC might be hoping to sneak more of their line through those avenues, slowly oozing their sales out of the LCS and Diamond deal.
But they wouldn't be forced into maintaining cohesiveness across the whole line. At least not any more than they already are. DC publishes what, around 50 books a month, and 90% of them share a continuity. But if you've got five different generations, each with their own continuity, then you normally only have to keep track of 10 books. Sounds easier to me. If a crossover between generations hits (and they will) you'll have to brush up on their continuity, but that's what they do already so it's not like it's extra work.
I'm not sure that will (theoretically) matter as much anymore. But odds are the generation with the most recognizable Batman and Superman will be the most important generation.Will the 5G Batman stuff be more relevant or pertinent then the 4GBatman stuff? Or whatever present-day Batman is? Should we just treat it as an Elseworld's comic at this point?
I doubt even DC is sure how it'll all work.I'm just not sure how this will all work.
I dunno, they've been real big on imprints lately. Seems like for a while there every other week had DC announcing a new one. And it seems like it's working out okay, or is at least something the company is comfortable with and believes in. So what happens when they turn their main line into a series of five independent but connected imprints? Maybe people will just read the books they like?
And this would give those creators a little more freedom. Not total freedom or anything, but a lot more wiggle room.
Like I said, this is (theoretically) just the return of the multiverse. We always say we want that, we always say the best books are the ones that aren't reigned in by continuity and get to be creative. Well, this is the multiverse but with the added bonus of being "one timeline" so DC can pretend it's all important. Crossovers aren't hard to do since dimensional travel has been fairly common since the Silver Age, so most generations have access (and it's easy enough to introduce it to G1). Creators will have more room to experiment since classic versions will be available in other generations.
Completists will hate it but it might improve DC's odds of finding new fans while keeping old ones semi-comfortable. It'd be a big change to how things have been done, but.....this industry needs big changes. Maybe not this one, but.....time will tell.
Last edited by Ascended; 10-08-2019 at 07:38 PM.
"We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."
~ Black Panther.