DC's Dan DiDio Out as Co-Publisher

[Johnny]

I didn't see what you were responding to, but my point was less about skin color and more that I don't think that's terribly relevant to WB as a whole because comics haven't actually been able to turn movie popularity into more readers. The comics not matching the movies isn't a big deal because the comics are chump change in the grand scheme of things. Like Ascended mentioned, the true value Marvel and DC have to their parent companies are as IP farms.

I can agree with that, but at the same time isn't it a bit sad that in the grand scheme of things the main purpose those fictional universes serve is to provide source material for outside media adaptations that Hollywood makes billions off of that doesn't help the comic side of things at all.

[Rich Johnston]

I think Beat has the more accurate assessment. The idea that they’re approving Luke Fox Batman because they plan on having him take over for Battison smacks of bs to me. They’ll just keep rebooting these characters.

Think about the animated films.

[Restingvoice]

I honestly don't think kids want a monthly book they have to keep buying to get a complete story. It makes sense to set up a line that makes actual books aimed at kids. Manga is huge among teenagers because it doesn't require a monthly investment. You buy the books as they come out in complete volumes. If you think that we can get kids with the same model we have now, I disagree. I think we need to use what they are already use to.

We've repeatedly had the discussion about trades being a more viable source of getting comics to kids and teens, but I think the price is still an issue there too. Especially when you compare it to your average manga collection, which offers more content at a cheaper price point.

Yea if they wanna compete with manga then they really need to do the same format. 180 pages black and white monthly vs 18 pages full color monthly, unless you're already a fan, it's obvious who's gonna win.

[Johnny]

And what it says about the people is that they're looking for characters they know and recognize.
Also, I said nothing about people sharing the same color as anyone, so don't even attempt to put that on me.

You speculated that one of the reasons movies didn't impact comic sales could be people being put off by the comic side doing stupid stuff such as having a white Batman in the movies and a black one on the comics. Then you followed it by mentioning that as a new reader you experienced "the same type of thing" when you saw a white GL in the comics after seeing a black one on TV. If that wasn't meant to be about color, then cool, I have no reason not to believe you, but someone can get the wrong idea the way that comment was structured. Also, and this is beside the point, but I think if people who watched the DCAU paid attention to what they were watching, they probably wouldn't be surprised to see a white GL in the comics.

[Johnny]

Think about the animated films.

What about them, they use different characters all the time. There's different Justice League rosters in animation, different Green Lanterns, different Flashes or Kid Flashes, different Titan teams, etc. You can have Luke Fox Batman in animation with or without him taking over in the comics.

[Restingvoice]

You speculated that one of the reasons movies didn't impact comic sales could be people being put off by the comic side doing stupid stuff such as having a white Batman in the movies and a black one on the comics. Then you followed it by mentioning that as a new reader you experienced "the same type of thing" when you saw a white GL in the comics after seeing a black one on TV. If that wasn't meant to be about color, then cool, I have no reason not to believe you, but someone can get the wrong idea the way that comment was structured. Also, and this is beside the point, but I think if people who watched the DCAU paid attention to what they were watching, they probably wouldn't be surprised to see a white GL in the comics.

A lot of them don't. When Green Lantern movie came out, people were yelling that Gl is supposed to be black on DC's Facebook page, some even say it's racist.

A similar thing happened in the first Injustice game. Cyborg's Classic 80s NTT skin came out, and people are calling it ugly and asking for his classic costume. By classic, they mean the one in the cartoon.

A few others show up to correct them of course, but the people who thought wrong were not insignificant.

Oh, that reminds me. A lot of people thought Batwoman and Batgirl are the same. Some didn't know she's been lesbian for a while. A few deride the trailer because they thought Alice is just a female Joker.

That said, people have different reasons not to buy comics, some not interested at all since they already watch it on tv.

[dornwolf]

Yea if they wanna compete with manga then they really need to do the same format. 180 pages black and white monthly vs 18 pages full color monthly, unless you're already a fan, it's obvious who's gonna win.

Which as made me wonder if it wouldn't benefit DC and Marvel and the rest of the publishers to just bundle all there content into big ass Jump size releases instead if piecemeal.

[Johnny]

A lot of them don't. When Green Lantern movie came out, people were yelling that Gl is supposed to be black on DC's Facebook page, some even say it's racist.

If by "people" you mean some small contingent of uninformed fools on social media who decided to overreact instead of doing a 5 second google search, then I'd agree. This absurd nontroversy seems just as idiotic now as it did back then and people still try to make it sound like it was something bigger than it actually was. The whole Snyder Cut thing is so much bigger and yet in the grand scheme of things just as irrelevant.

[Vampire Savior]

You speculated that one of the reasons movies didn't impact comic sales could be people being put off by the comic side doing stupid stuff such as having a white Batman in the movies and a black one on the comics. Then you followed it by mentioning that as a new reader you experienced "the same type of thing" when you saw a white GL in the comics after seeing a black one on TV. If that wasn't meant to be about color, then cool, I have no reason not to believe you, but someone can get the wrong idea the way that comment was structured.

Also, and this is beside the point, but I think if people who watched the DCAU paid attention to what they were watching, they probably wouldn't be surprised to see a white GL in the comics.

I'm pretty sure people who were looking specifically for and expecting the black Green Lantern who they saw on TV in who knows how many episodes weren't looking for or expecting a white one, regardless of anything.

People looking specifically for and expecting a white Batman that they might see in a movie are not expecting to find a black one in comics when they go to look.

This is very, very, very basic stuff that has little to nothing to do with matching colors of characters and readers. And it should be easy to see why people would be turned off when they find such things in the current comics after being enticed to look into them after consuming some other new media.

[Holt]

What about them, they use different characters all the time. There's different Justice League rosters in animation, different Green Lanterns, different Flashes or Kids Flashes, different Titan teams, etc. You can have Luke Fox Batman in animation with or without him taking over in the comics.

I think that's what he's saying. Notice how heavily the recent films have drawn on the New 52.

[scary harpy]

Well, I can literally tell you what it was like being a kid. I never wanted to read Justice League Adventures because it was a throwaway Happy Meal type comic and cheap. It had no continuity with anything and was just a waste of time. I would want to read "the real" Justice League comic despite it not resembling my favorite show where as the Justice League Adventures did. I was able to discern that one seemed dumbed down and didn't seem to have much effort put into it. Besides, the adventures were mostly one and done throw aways that left me feeling empty. Nothing of substance. Had it been as good as the cartoon it was based on (which wasn't dumbed down at all), that would be a different story, but it clearly wasn't.

What I wanted to happen was for the "real" Justice League comic to resemble my favorite show more, but done with the level of effort and ability as "the real" Justice League comic. By the way, I never really got what I wanted. EVER. Typical with me and DC Comics

This says a lot!

Knowing what young people experienced then can tell us how they perceive DC comics now.

By the way, I never really got what I wanted. EVER. Typical with me and DC Comics

Not just you.

After 4 decades of buying DC comics, I'm down to 4 titles...and soon down to 2 titles. (Two 12 issue maxi-series are ending.)

DC does not excite me anymore.

I'm afraid to try a new comic because I'm so tired of being disappointed.

[Frontier]

Think about the animated films.

What, like the DTV's? Or are we expecting DC to start producing their own Into the Spider-Verse equivalents?

I think that's what he's saying. Notice how heavily the recent films have drawn on the New 52.

Said films have also backpedaled a lot from the New 52 stuff.

[Lee]

If by "people" you mean some small contingent of uninformed fools on social media who decided to overreact instead of doing a 5 second google search, then I'd agree.

I wouldn't call them uninformed fools for not being comic readers. Warner Bros. told them that Green Lantern was a black man for years. Then Warner Bros. released a film where Green Lantern was a white man.

It was brand inconsistency, and it left a segment of the mainstream audience confused and/or frustrated.

[skyvolt2000]

If by "people" you mean some small contingent of uninformed fools on social media who decided to overreact instead of doing a 5 second google search, then I'd agree.

People as in the parents of kids who watch Justice League and saw a black GL. The same black GL that was made into merchandise that was sold in Target & Wal-Mart. The general public who don't waste time in comic book stores are going to go by what they see on the shelves and in tv.

From 1986-2011-Hal Jordan was MIA in mainstream media. WHOSE FAULT IS THAT?
If stuff with Hal was comic book store exclusives and never sniff Wal-mart-WHOSE FAULT IS THAT?
If you had ZERO stuff in the mainstream public that made it 100% clear that John Stewart was one of MANY GLs beyond their cameo on Superman with Kyle-WHOSE FAULT IS THAT?

DC COMICS is to blame. Because they did NOT do their JOB to EDUCATE the public. The public's knowledge is limited to what they SEE-generally.

Luke Fox is being DEFINED by that Batwoman show. Not his 3 trades or the fact he has 2 action figure as Batwing at Target.
Steel is DEFINED by that Shaq movie not his 52 issue run that never made a trade.

Which as made me wonder if it wouldn't benefit DC and Marvel and the rest of the publishers to just bundle all there content into big ass Jump size releases instead if piecemeal.

You can to a point. You would still have an issue with shelf space and WHO get what.

Lets say you did a Batman Digest 300 pages for $7. All stories are 30 pages and you get 10. Aside from Batman-who else gets in there?

Batman, Batgirl, Nightwing, Catwoman, Batwoman, Tim Drake, Red Hood, Harley, Birds of Prey and Damian. Now you got an issue-Outsiders, Duke, Harper, Cass, Stephanie, Batwing and others say HI. You have to rotate that roster (Not Batman).

And you still have to deal with folks who don't want to read about certain folks.

The floppies deal with this. Unless you are going to do a $10 book with say 100 pages for all your titles and you put them out on a limited basis.

Maybe something like this-

Jan, March & May-Batman & The Outsiders come out.
Feb, April & June-Birds of Prey comes out in that slot.
July, Sept & Nov-Nightwing takes over
Aug, Oct & Dec-Red Hood

I am also looking at someone's budget. Fans know you got 3 months of spending $30. The rest of the time-you got $30 to do whatever.

This also allow better quality control. You are getting a complete story and this allows better feedback. You can rotate creative teams as well.

[Johnny]

I wouldn't call them uninformed fools for not being comic readers. Warner Bros. told them that Green Lantern was a black man for years. Then Warner Bros. released a film where Green Lantern was a white man.

It was brand inconsistency, and it left a segment of the mainstream audience confused and/or frustrated.

This "segment of the mainstream audience" was a lot smaller than people still try to make it out to be. And they were not uninformed because they weren't comic readers, they were uninformed because they apparently didn't even know the name of the character they were watching on that cartoon and still decided to yell "whitewashing" anyway. Like I said, if they had done a quick google search or actually paid attention to the show they were watching, they'd likely remember that Green Lantern was a mantle and not a single character.