DC should take a page from the Justice League Unlimited show

[tib2d2]

Just finished watching Justice League Unlimited with my son. I think he enjoyed it even more than the preceding Justice League series since JLU featured so man different heroes and villains.

DC should take a page from JLU as how a Justice League monthly should be. Much shorter story arcs, occasional one and done stories, featuring characters outside of main crew from the first series. But also had running story plots that would be referenced and also built upon throughout the show. Really well done, I'd love so have a JL comic book series like this show was.

[LordMikel]

There is this fine line. Without the big name, the book doesn't sell. But how many big names do you need to get it to sell?

Of course, just like in wrestling, if you don't promote the up and coming stars, how will they get to be the big name stars?

[DrNewGod]

Just finished watching Justice League Unlimited with my son. I think he enjoyed it even more than the preceding Justice League series since JLU featured so man different heroes and villains.

DC should take a page from JLU as how a Justice League monthly should be. Much shorter story arcs, occasional one and done stories, featuring characters outside of main crew from the first series. But also had running story plots that would be referenced and also built upon throughout the show. Really well done, I'd love so have a JL comic book series like this show was.

I agree with you. That's sort of the way JL was written late in the Bronze Age. I find myself suspecting that DC editorial has convinced itself that only a few of their properties have any value.

[tib2d2]

There is this fine line. Without the big name, the book doesn't sell. But how many big names do you need to get it to sell?

Of course, just like in wrestling, if you don't promote the up and coming stars, how will they get to be the big name stars?

Yes that's an excellent point. Even if the writing gets glowing reviews, its going to struggle without the Big JL staples on the cover.

[LifeIsILL]

Yes that's an excellent point. Even if the writing gets glowing reviews, its going to struggle without the Big JL staples on the cover.

Wasn't Tom King's Mister Miracle selling out everywhere?

[king81992]

Wasn't Tom King's Mister Miracle selling out everywhere?

King's books tend to sell and get praised by critics(I can't understand why), but fans have problem with how he handles characters.

[Ra-El]

There is this fine line. Without the big name, the book doesn't sell. But how many big names do you need to get it to sell?

Of course, just like in wrestling, if you don't promote the up and coming stars, how will they get to be the big name stars?

Only one. Batman.

[Alpha]

King's books tend to sell and get praised by critics(I can't understand why), but fans have problem with how he handles characters.

Plenty of fans still like them. I do admit that I haven't liked Strange Adventures all that much (not bad, but not very engaging either), but Rorschach has been great storytelling. Not much meaning yet, but if you just take it as a noir mystery, it has been very engaging.

But this has nothing to do with the discussion. I agree that Justice League Unlimited is a good format.

[Jekyll]

I agree with you. That's sort of the way JL was written late in the Bronze Age. I find myself suspecting that DC editorial has convinced itself that only a few of their properties have any value.

Yep! This is clear by the same retired lines they keep trying to shove down our throats.

[DrNewGod]

Funny thing is, 52 should have taught DC that a good team, with a great story idea can make even B or C list players sell. Guess they missed the point.

[Lee Stone]

Basically the Satellite League of the Bronze Age.
And, yes, I agree on everything listed.

[Riv86672]

...But how many big names do you need to get it to sell?

Only one. Batman.

The good thing about the JLU format is you can always have at least one (or two or all) The Trinity from issue to issue to draw the fanboys in. They don’t necessarily have to take the lead though.

[tib2d2]

The good thing about the JLU format is you can always have at least one (or two or all) The Trinity from issue to issue to draw the fanboys in. They don’t necessarily have to take the lead though.

Very true, they can be there for appearances, and on occasion when the story dictates they be involved.

[Comic-Reader Lad]

I gotta admit that when I was a kid reading Satellite-era JLA, any JLA story that didn't feature Superman (few and far between) was of little interest to me. I sometimes had to force myself to read it -- like the JLA issue that Steve Englehart wrote that only had Aquaman, Elongated Man, and the Atom where they met his Mantis stand-in, Willow.

That issue was boring to me then, and even today it stands as the one issue in his run that I just don't care about.

So, I get why DC feels that the big guns have to be featured in JLA. As I got older, I was able to handle the Superman-less Justice League International, but I always prefer my JLA with Superman and the major DC heroes.

Still, maybe they could revive Justice League Task Force as a secondary title with Martian Manhunter manning the satellite and dispatching ad hoc teams of heroes to handle crises where their powers fit the situations. That setup would sort of be like JLU and even a big gun or two could appear in each arc.

[Kaijudo]

Seems to me the solution to a JLU-lilke book would be to incorporate a plan like they did for 52: make the book weekly with multiple creative teams. Then, you can give more attention to multiple characters all at once. A storyline featuring one group of characters can last four months while other storylines featuring other characters can be two issues, or even one-shots, all the while making sure every character has some kind of story/moment worthy of them.