DC Comics November 2021 Solicitations

[MajorHoy]

. . . Marvel has found some success by keeping their book numbering low. If a book starts to dip in sales, they just cancel it and relaunch a few months later. DC may need to relaunch and restart their titles from #1.

But even that is only a temporary solution because don't numbers typically drop again after the first few issues?

[Vathlonian]

In the before times, a company could put a big name creative team on a mid level character and it would potentially become a big seller. Johns and Reis had Aquaman regularly outselling Spider-Man. It seems like the era of big name creators has passed. I don't think DC or Marvel has anyone right now that can make a book a hit just by having their name on the cover. Superman by Morrison and Janin can't even generate excitement.

Marvel has found some success by keeping their book numbering low. If a book starts to dip in sales, they just cancel it and relaunch a few months later. DC may need to relaunch and restart their titles from #1.

to be brutally frank...Superman isn't doing itself any favors by preserving Bendis's status quo that declined worse than rebirth

the first issue of Superman rebirth sold 105,000 copies and declined to Bendis's level in 2-3 years

the first issue of Bendis sold 133,000 and declined even lower than rebirth in 12 months...a faster and steeper decline from a higher beginning

Son of Kal-El had a second printing, but it was the fact that Tom Taylor is simply an incredible marketing genius with a social media following and Jon is still a popular character regardless of what his haters in the internet bubble think he is.

however, PKJ is flatlining...because PKJ isn't tom taylor

he isn't anything brand wise

if Bendis wasn't given the keys to the kingdom to fuck everything up, and they left the nasty business of aging up Jon to Death Metal(like they originally planned), gave Tomasi and jurgens two more years of kid Jon stories

PKJ wouldn't be paying for Bendis's crappy decisions

[cranger]

and Hickman on the X-books shows big names creators can drive sales.

It's just that Superman and the Authority is a side book in what's apparently an alternate future with minimal impact on the rest of DC. I mean it showcases a problem that DC's A-list have very little interest in the mainline and are more interested in side-books and side projects.

Immortal Hulk did alright for a Hulk book at the start due to word of mouth about the different take, but that book exploded because of speculators, not Ewing, combined with some apparently smart variant cover strategies. A lot of Marvel books have benefitted from similar circumstances. While the MCU may not be bringing in the millions of new readers, it is enough for the comic book flippers and investors to demand to spend hundreds of dollars on the first appearance of a character that no one is going to remember in six months and everyone else to race out and buy a copy so they don't miss out.

Hickman's X-Men had one of the biggest promotional budgets for comics in recent memory and they pulled out all the stops to hype that book. Even then, HoXPoX was a slow pick up, and again word of mouth drove more readers to check it out than the name of writer. And let's not pretend the X-Men have been hurting for readers, the only problem that franchise has ever had is Marvel intentionally handicapping it.

[D.Z]

Market wants Batman and is less interested in many non Batman stuff.

[Vathlonian]

Immortal Hulk did alright for a Hulk book at the start due to word of mouth about the different take, but that book exploded because of speculators, not Ewing, combined with some apparently smart variant cover strategies. A lot of Marvel books have benefitted from similar circumstances. While the MCU may not be bringing in the millions of new readers, it is enough for the comic book flippers and investors to demand to spend hundreds of dollars on the first appearance of a character that no one is going to remember in six months and everyone else to race out and buy a copy so they don't miss out.

Hickman's X-Men had one of the biggest promotional budgets for comics in recent memory and they pulled out all the stops to hype that book. Even then, HoXPoX was a slow pick up, and again word of mouth drove more readers to check it out than the name of writer. And let's not pretend the X-Men have been hurting for readers, the only problem that franchise has ever had is Marvel intentionally handicapping it.

the MCU may not bring millions of readers

they almost certainly incentivize the comics to preserve radical ideas

sam wilson is still captain america after 5 YEARS

[Vordan]

the MCU may not bring millions of readers

they almost certainly incentivize the comics to preserve radical ideas

sam wilson is still captain america after 5 YEARS

Actually no lol, Sam only recently became Cap again. He gave up the mantle after Secret Empire and went back to being Falcon. It’s only in the recent United States of Captain America book that he took up the mantle again.

[Frontier]

Actually no lol, Sam only recently became Cap again. He gave up the mantle after Secret Empire and went back to being Falcon. It’s only in the recent United States of Captain America book that he took up the mantle again.

I'm honestly not expecting him to still be wearing it by the time the mini ends, but I guess you never know.

[Vordan]

to be brutally frank...Superman isn't doing itself any favors by preserving Bendis's status quo that declined worse than rebirth

the first issue of Superman rebirth sold 105,000 copies and declined to Bendis's level in 2-3 years

the first issue of Bendis sold 133,000 and declined even lower than rebirth in 12 months...a faster and steeper decline from a higher beginning

Son of Kal-El had a second printing, but it was the fact that Tom Taylor is simply an incredible marketing genius with a social media following and Jon is still a popular character regardless of what his haters in the internet bubble think he is.

however, PKJ is flatlining...because PKJ isn't tom taylor

he isn't anything brand wise

if Bendis wasn't given the keys to the kingdom to fuck everything up, and they left the nasty business of aging up Jon to Death Metal(like they originally planned), gave Tomasi and jurgens two more years of kid Jon stories

PKJ wouldn't be paying for Bendis's crappy decisions

I doubt it’s that. Wally returning to the mantle is something the fans have been begging for for a long time, and it’s good! Jeremy Adam’s has done a great job, even totally cleansed Wally of HiC. The book is selling terribly regardless. Across the line DC as a whole is pretty damn solid, but because they didn’t do a linewide relaunch to get peoples attention, they simply aren’t getting people to check out their books.

I’m expecting a linewide relaunch after Williamson’s 2022 event book.

I'm honestly not expecting him to still be wearing it by the time the mini ends, but I guess you never know.

I am. Falcon doesn’t sell and Sam has the mantle going forward in the MCU. Steve will probably share the mantle with Sam, same as Miles and Peter. That seems to be the norm, the white OGs sharing their mantles with their legacies who are usually not white or not straight. Aquaman is doing it, Batman, GL, etc.

[MajorHoy]

. . . Across the line DC as a whole is pretty damn solid, but because they didn’t do a linewide relaunch to get peoples attention, they simply aren’t getting people to check out their books...

But their big plan to a major-league reboot/relaunch/reset got kneecapped shortly before it was suppose to happen, so all they can basically do is tread water for the entire line until they have a new plan in place that could result in a line-wide relaunch.

[manwhohaseverything]

to be brutally frank...Superman isn't doing itself any favors by preserving Bendis's status quo that declined worse than rebirth

the first issue of Superman rebirth sold 105,000 copies and declined to Bendis's level in 2-3 years

the first issue of Bendis sold 133,000 and declined even lower than rebirth in 12 months...a faster and steeper decline from a higher beginning

Son of Kal-El had a second printing, but it was the fact that Tom Taylor is simply an incredible marketing genius with a social media following and Jon is still a popular character regardless of what his haters in the internet bubble think he is.

however, PKJ is flatlining...because PKJ isn't tom taylor

he isn't anything brand wise

if Bendis wasn't given the keys to the kingdom to fuck everything up, and they left the nasty business of aging up Jon to Death Metal(like they originally planned), gave Tomasi and jurgens two more years of kid Jon stories

PKJ wouldn't be paying for Bendis's crappy decisions

Superman comics suck because constant status quo shifts and soap opera type storytelling..That too with nonsensical explanations.Bendis didn't start that problem.It started before with the shoving birthright into continuity..They began to think all they need is magical imp to change things and people would buy this stuff.

But their big plan to a major-league reboot/relaunch/reset got kneecapped shortly before it was suppose to happen, so all they can basically do is tread water for the entire line until they have a new plan in place that could result in a line-wide relaunch.

Instead of relaunching at the drop of a dime.They should learn to fridge somethings for awhile.not that it could work.I mean,legion of superheroes still don't sell.I am bet if superman or ww or green lantern goes away for little bit and comes back with a bang.The glorious return would attract people.

[Vathlonian]

I doubt it’s that. Wally returning to the mantle is something the fans have been begging for for a long time, and it’s good! Jeremy Adam’s has done a great job, even totally cleansed Wally of HiC. The book is selling terribly regardless. Across the line DC as a whole is pretty damn solid, but because they didn’t do a linewide relaunch to get peoples attention, they simply aren’t getting people to check out their books.

I’m expecting a linewide relaunch after Williamson’s 2022 event book.

I wonder what the relaunch is going to look like...they have been slowly but surely leading into a status quo very similar to 5G with Batman leaving, Superman leaving, with Wonder Woman ready to pass her mantle as well as Kaldur becoming the new Aquaman.

They are also leading to aquababy

They are devoted to this basic direction

[Frontier]

I am. Falcon doesn’t sell and Sam has the mantle going forward in the MCU. Steve will probably share the mantle with Sam, same as Miles and Peter. That seems to be the norm, the white OGs sharing their mantles with their legacies who are usually not white or not straight. Aquaman is doing it, Batman, GL, etc.

Sam didn't even sell that great as Cap so I don't think it's going to mean that much unless the next Cap book is a dual Cap book, which I'm not expecting.

I don't think the market can sustain multiple versions of the same character outside Spider-Man.

[Mike]

There may be a lot of Batbooks but I'll be getting....nothing.

[Vordan]

Sam didn't even sell that great as Cap so I don't think it's going to mean that much unless the next Cap book is a dual Cap book, which I'm not expecting.

I don't think the market can sustain multiple versions of the same character outside Spider-Man.

Maybe he’ll sell better now that the MCU has introduced people to the concept of him as Cap? I don’t know what the plan is but I believe he will keep the mantle. I agree that the market can only support so many shared mantles though. Bats, Supes, and Spidey and that’s basically it.

[HsssH]

Hmm, it depends if you want to count All-Star comics (a team book where she only cameo'd as the JSA's secretary) but the early 40s with the Wonder Woman solo title, Sensation Comics, Comics Cavalcade , and the aforementioned JSA book.

Right. So, isn't it kinda funny that WW currently has historic number of books published, but the entire thread is people complaining about Batman and talking about how DC doesn't care about anything else? Why are they publishing 4 WW books if they don't care about her?