Earth 1985 - what would you like to see?

[phonogram12]

A entire line will never happen. One monthly title might though.

I concur. My only issue if it becomes a single ongoing is that it will suffer the same setback as a lot of new books over the past 20 years or so, starting off with an incredibly strong writing/art team only to pick up a less talented artist for the arc following and the rest of it's run. I've dropped so many titles after the first arc because of this. Creative teams entice me every bit as characters do.

[Tzigone]

I've dropped so many titles after the first arc because of this.

I will say this is something much more noticeable with modern (by which I mean bronze age and beyond) comics. The characters are created (or a new creative team moves takes over existing characters, to a lesser extent) with a story in mind. Characters or characterizations are crafted around that story. So after that story is done it's kind "now what?" Some characters have less purpose, or the next story just can't match the emotional weight of the first one because everything was designed around that first story. It's not that they can't succeed after that, but I've certainly noticed several go down hill after the start. Like the creative team has only one good story for each character in them. Characters that were created without arcs in mind tend to have more longevity to me.

[Jon Clark]

I will say this is something much more noticeable with modern (by which I mean bronze age and beyond) comics. The characters are created (or a new creative team moves takes over existing characters, to a lesser extent) with a story in mind. Characters or characterizations are crafted around that story. So after that story is done it's kind "now what?" Some characters have less purpose, or the next story just can't match the emotional weight of the first one because everything was designed around that first story. It's not that they can't succeed after that, but I've certainly noticed several go down hill after the start. Like the creative team has only one good story for each character in them. Characters that were created without arcs in mind tend to have more longevity to me.

I think it is also that more modern takes tend to allow creative teams to rework a lot of stuff. If you look at Superman or Batman at five or ten year intervals through their careers little changed- same basic supporting casts, home cities, etc. If they were created today you'd have Luthor or the Joker discarded by the next creative team in favor of their villain-du-jour who'd in turn be ignored by later teams. Clark Kent would have been a print reporter, a TV personality, a blogger a writer of books, in the space of 5 years while Batman was hunted by police, a deputized police agent, a street-level crime-fighter and a global adventurer over the same period. There is no time spent building a world for the characters before you up-end it.

[Mr.B]

But the dark stuff was far less frequent. And I really don't think we should have the same defining events - defeats the purpose of the world being different.

I'm not inclined to put anything that was published later into this continuity. And (according to wiki - have not read) this one has Danny Chase and his mom, and he's definitely a post-COIE character. And it kills Sarah Simms. And Donna is Troia, which her not having moved to that backstory is a significant point for some pre-COIE fans. I don't want Danny around.

The basis of those events had to come from somewhere.

[Vampire Savior]

I think it is also that more modern takes tend to allow creative teams to rework a lot of stuff. If you look at Superman or Batman at five or ten year intervals through their careers little changed- same basic supporting casts, home cities, etc. If they were created today you'd have Luthor or the Joker discarded by the next creative team in favor of their villain-du-jour who'd in turn be ignored by later teams. Clark Kent would have been a print reporter, a TV personality, a blogger a writer of books, in the space of 5 years while Batman was hunted by police, a deputized police agent, a street-level crime-fighter and a global adventurer over the same period. There is no time spent building a world for the characters before you up-end it.

That's mostly due to very lax editorial, I think. For example, as many know, back in the old days, you even had to draw Superman's face a certain way, or Spider-Man's webbing a certain way, and if you didn't, the editors would be on you. Nowadays, I think the editors more or less let creators do what they want (to a degree) and the editors aren't even particularly knowledgeable about the comics or characters they are curating. It's actually a bit of a known thing that the "editors don't read comics." I'm not saying they aren't comics fans in some way, but they often aren't the hyper geeks about the characters and events that they were in the days of Roy Thomas, Marv Wolfman, or Len Wein.

There are upsides and downsides to very tight editorial control. I think how well it goes is a case by case basis that depends on the specific editors and creators involved. Personally, I think DC is too loose. There isn't enough cohesion in the regular books and way too high a turnover rate with creators. No one can get anything going because the creative teams are gone in 6 issues, and the incoming creators often have no interest in building on what the previous team did, and NO ONE has a big picture vision for where they want to take many of these characters. I think, to a certain extent, the editors may even want things this way, in an effort to create "new jumping on points" all the time. But when you do that, no one can get invested in anything, because there's too much upheaval.

[Dataweaver]

The basis of those events had to come from somewhere.

They did. But that would be part of the post-Crisis timeline (what I'm referring to as Earth-Σ), and needn't be present on Earth-1985.

[scary harpy]

Darkstuff is DC. Iris death, dead aquababy etc.

But the dark stuff was far less frequent. And I really don't think we should have the same defining events - defeats the purpose of the world being different.

...

There is a difference between dark elements in some stories and an era of Grimdark.

[wickedmountain]

They did. But that would be part of the post-Crisis timeline (what I'm referring to as Earth-Σ), and needn't be present on Earth-1985.

I Want Earth-1985 and earth 2 as ongoing monthly titles , i don't want them gone after a event like Convergence where they Disappeared after that event ugh.

[Tzigone]

I Want Earth-1985 and earth 2 as ongoing monthly titles , i don't want them gone after a event like Convergence where they Disappeared after that event ugh.

But as an ongoing, it stands a better chance if it's more different than the post-COIE we had. With different new characters and different events happening. And maybe even different in tone. Probably a toss up there - either more of the same post-COIE characters, but with a different (probably less grim) tone or different characters with a similar tone. But even with the same characters, they need to be introduced in different ways or it's just post-COIE told all over again, and there's not point. Either way, Danny Chase needs to be avoided - the vast bulk of the fanbase hated him (so far as I can tell).

Of course, as I said, not using post-COIE characters and at least starting with older basic personalities of the pre-COIE characters while keeping a less dark (and definitely less event-driven) tone is probably best. Like I said, pre-COIE is less consistently dark, with fewer deaths and resurrections and fewer heroes treating each other and those around them poorly. Not none, but less than we have now.

[The I.A.D.C.]

I think it is also that more modern takes tend to allow creative teams to rework a lot of stuff. If you look at Superman or Batman at five or ten year intervals through their careers little changed- same basic supporting casts, home cities, etc. If they were created today you'd have Luthor or the Joker discarded by the next creative team in favor of their villain-du-jour who'd in turn be ignored by later teams. Clark Kent would have been a print reporter, a TV personality, a blogger a writer of books, in the space of 5 years while Batman was hunted by police, a deputized police agent, a street-level crime-fighter and a global adventurer over the same period. There is no time spent building a world for the characters before you up-end it.

This has been the case with Wonder Woman for decades.

[Tzigone]

This has been the case with Wonder Woman for decades.

I think the lack of consistent setting and supporting cast has been a detriment to her.

[wickedmountain]

Does anyone know when this timeline is coming out ?

[superduperman]

Does anyone know when this timeline is coming out ?

We don't know if they're even going to do anything with it yet. It's mostly there so fans don't feel like their entire pre-Crisis collection was a waste.

[wickedmountain]

DiDio said at NYCC he wants to make DC continuity less complicated and the mistake of the New 52 and reboots, in general, is they failed to understand “which stories matter” and “how these characters connect.” The Co-publisher added he doesn’t know what the future holds but there “is a high level of planning.”

This change to the DC Universe continuity comes after DiDio lamented that older fascimile issues sell better than a lot of their new comics.

“We do these Facsimile Editions where we reprint older issues of comics including all the old ads and stuff…and in some cases these are selling more than the new comics with these characters. People are more interested in buying the stories from 30 or 40 years ago than the contemporary stories, and that’s a failure on us.”







Hopefully This quote and Article prove otherwise .

[Dataweaver]

Hmm… maybe he finally gets it?

Nah… couldn't be.