How could DC Comics sales be revived?

[Felipe Silveira]

Honestly I think for the most part it would be better if the Outside media would stick closer to the source material (unless they doing something with a really obscure character), if the comics start to constantly change to reflect the newest movie or TV show or what ever, they would likely even lose more readers.

Having on the other hand shows that stick close to the allready published material, might actually generate some sales (it works at least pretty well for Manga).

It's not just doing, it's how to do it.
Moon Knight is selling well, because in addition to the show, it's written by someone who is getting better and better, Jed McKay, if it was written by, I don't know, Jason Aaron, it would have sunk in the third issue.

[Lee Stone]

The line is disorganised. Sales of everything not starring Bruce Wayne are down everywhere. Only a few DC books without Batman are featured in the Top 100 comics list each month.

The commentary above is not an opinion, by the way. I can provide links to monthly sales figures and the month's top 100 selling books. Currently, DC Comics is in a terrible position.

How would you resolve this? What would you use as a relaunch? What kind of weeklies would there be, and how many? Why would you choose to do this?

How could iconic figures like Superman and Wonder Woman be revived?

Welcome new member to the DC Comics forum on CBR.

What do you think they can do?

[Nomads1]

I'd also love DC to do something like that.

But, for those of us who have been around a while, remember right after Crisis on Infinite Earths we had

It was a wonderful presentation, but DC started changing things from it almost immediately (like with Captain Atom).

Yes, it's without a doubt a BEAUTIFUL book (George Perez at his peak, what would you expect?), but not very useful in getting an understanding of what the continuity would be like, when they were deciding (and changing it) as they went.

Peace

PS: But, yes, I'd also love for a series that tried to make sense of DC's current general continuity.

[Restingvoice]

First, ask why people who used to buy stopped buying
Second, ask why people who are interested are not buying yet
Third, ask to those who already regularly buy comics, what will make you buy more?

Me, I'm just broke. It's really tight. So I just read free Webtoon these days and I keep sharing news and reading orders when I find a new fan who can

I keep up with main universe spoilers for lore update because I learned during Rebirth that when I don't pay attention in real time, I will miss on some behind the scenes reason for why some changes happen and in story lore change because they no longer announce it.

As for comics I'm still interested to buy or keep up if I have money, it's the usual. Plot and lore related books comes first, so Williamson's books then favorite characters. I'm really not interested in Flashpoint world or characters so I keep up with lore spoiler only for that.

But assuming I can buy again, the old rule still applies. Once they create a problem and run out of explanation, I stop buying. Until they can give me an explanation. Like I stopped reading New 52 because I see the inconsistency, Rebirth because it's clear they're still fixing the universe.

What will make me buy more? Having more money will be nice, lol, it's less the content for me, because my number 1 aim is lore

How to fix?
1. Stop with the Bat-obsession
DC made a base assumption that all the cancelled non-Bat titles would just shift readers over to the Bat titles.
Nope. My monthly expenditure on comics has dropped by 50% over the last 5 years.
I would easily be spending those dollars on monthly JSA, Legion, Titans, Shazam, Superboy titles.

2. Don't rush to new status quos.
I'm all about evolving the status quo, and NOT leaving characters trapped in an endless loop of sameness.
(The failed BatCat marriage is why I dropped half the batbooks). But the move to so much sudden change feels like an equally knee jerk reaction.
Talk about so much missed opportunity with Jon as Suberboy and Super Sons content. We went from decades of no movement to all of it all at once.

(Apologies for deleting number 3 and 4 but that's because it's not your own reason but number 1 and 2 are)

I agree with everything to a point. #4 I have a issue with. I have been going to two of the same comic shops for paper copy books for 40 years. I love them both. I have seen stores go under over the years which is sad. Where books are sold in smaller shops/malls/outlets people still love to go. It is like a 2nd home.

I agree there needs to be a big digital thing but never...i mean never get rid of the books.

The only reason I don't buy floppies is because they're super expensive in comparison to digital or trades, so for me it's next level buying, if one day I'm rich. So I don't want them gone especially since people are still buying and enjoying it.

[skyvolt2000]

Honestly I think for the most part it would be better if the Outside media would stick closer to the source material (unless they doing something with a really obscure character), if the comics start to constantly change to reflect the newest movie or TV show or what ever, they would likely even lose more readers.

If this was such an issue....

Why wasn't for GI Joe? Transformers? Alf? Star Trek and every other comic based on a tv show?

Transformers the comics did NOT match with the cartoon. We did not see Galvatron or Rodimus Prime until an alternative universe 2 parter.
GI Joe did not match the show. Doc, Quick Kick and others that were killed off were NOT killed off in the show like they were in comics.
Star Trek-excluding the IDW series that introduced a new character that was in the Into Darkness Movie-those books (at DC mainly) took place in between the movies and at time ignored because they killed off folks that were still alive in the novels.
Boom Power Rangers is just now on the Rocky, Adam and Aisha era and have shown other rangers teams.

3. More synchronicity with outside media
"Oh but then they'd be selling out".
When the young kid comes into the LCS for the first (and possibly only) time, they want to find stories of the characters they saw in movies and TV.
That's what keeps them coming back.

Here a headline for you.... what if said character is NOT in the comics?

Static-only ONCE was he in a comic and on tv at the same time. ONCE. What stores SOLD his few trades??? There is a reason his trades were going for blood money on EBAY.
What book is Bumblebee in? Ms Martian? Cyborg?

Oh if they ARE in a book-how many are written decently? And not just background fodder? Cyborg? John Stewart? Most of the Teen Titans? Wallace West (when NOT by Priest).

I think comics are too much of a niche market to ever increase sales.

Have you seen the price of kid's books???

The Big Book of DC Super Friends (DC Super Friends) (Big Golden Book) Hardcover – Picture Book, 48 pages $20 book.
Heroes Help! (DC Shazam!): Featuring Black Adam! (Little Golden Book) Hardcover 24 pages $6 book
World of Reading: This is Miles Morales Paperback – Sticker Book 32 pages $5
Miles Morales (Marvel Spider-Man) (Little Golden Book) Hardcover – Picture Book 24 pages $5 A top seller for children.

DC only does these for Batman, Superman, Flash and Hal as the Superfriends. The last one used 1980s art and pretty much anyone Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez drew.
Marvel does EVERYBODY.

[Username taken]

Yes they have.

However those boosts have come non super hero related books. Mainly from Boom, Image and other companies that have always been around and in some cases were already active in outside of comic book store market.

Image has different versions of Spawn running around. NOBODY is screaming "Al Simmons is the only Spawn".

Red Sonja and Vampirella are getting series after series and NOBODY is throwing shade or fits about what volume they are on.
Image, Valiant, Dynamite, Aftershock, Boom, IDW, Oni Press, Darkhorse, Titan and Scout have tossed out diverse books with diverse leads and NOBODY has thrown a fit about it.
Dynamite books average 5-6 variant covers an issue. NOBODY complains about that.

NOBODY is concerned about sales with those companies. Many of those books like Something is Killing Children and Saga have beaten Dc SOUNDLY.

Yet when DC does ANY of the above-FITS are thrown.
Folks go OUT of their way to belittle diverse books and characters.
Folks will write an essay as to how Duke Thomas and Jace Fox have RUINED Batman.
Wonder Woman is unreadable because of Jara.
"I am offended that Tim Drake's book says Best Robin and Batman wanted Duke to be BETTER than Robin".
One animated cartoon makes Hal Jordan look bad.
These books are UNREADABLE! Why because I looked at the COVER!
How DARE!!!!!!!! DC try to expand readership with New Age Heroes.
How DARE!!!!!!!! DC does Far Sector, Doom Patrol, Shade the Changeling Girl and Mother Panic.
How DARE!!!!!!! DC does OGN with Beast Boy, Raven, Nubia and Aqualad.
Doomsday is here!

Want to fix DC's sales?????

1) Quality of a book does not matter if you choose not to READ it. So that conversation needs to GO. Because too many folks are concerned MORE with WHO is on the cover versus actual story.

2) Everyone needs to worry about the book that they are READING. If one is NOT reading New Batman-the sales on that book are NOT your business. It's not stopping you from reading Flash.

3) Stop hate buying books you don't want.

4) David Walker encourages this-if you like a book write a review about it. Especially on Amazon. If Flash is the best book NO ONE is reading-help to change that.

If someone thinks Hal Jordan is boring-recommend some books instead of John Stewart and Teen Lantern bashing.

If you think a book is bad-EXPLAIN why and leave out the toxic nonsense. Calling Fitzmartin a diversity hire pandering to Twitter and Tumblr does NOT help. Stick to what is in the book.

5) Just because YOU don't like a character does not mean everyone else does. See #2.

6) (blank) is NOT the reason (blank) does not have a book. Peacemaker is NOT the reason why JSA does not have a book.

7) NOTHING is wrong with trying an issue of a book through WHATEVER means you can.

Exactly my thinking.

The "outside of superhero" comics are generally more diverse than superhero comics.

And independents are a FAR more diverse than Marvel and DC.

EDIT: "Something is killing the children" is one of the best comics on the stand. And it has a female lead. Yeah...

[LordMikel]

They need to stop looking at sales 3 months from now and develop a 5 year plan.
Stop doing writing to get headlines. That is shock jock writing. It seems like it is a good plan, but long term, I do not think it is.
Advertise. I probably would have picked up the Batman / Fables crossover, if I had heard about it before issue 6.
Stop listening to the 1%. Some people in this thread have some great ideas, and others have been shit. Now do some research and figure that out on your own. You should have a big marketing department to do a lot of that research.

[Punjabi_Hitman]

They can start by shrinking the batman line. Lead to freeing up extra dollars. If people get bored enough with not getting enough comics to read they will then branch to other lines. But if their extra cash is all taken up by batman books then that will never happen as inflation keeps skyrocketing.

Also revamp the digital app make it far more friendly to use, so more people are willing to buy digital that don't want physical periodicals because of space issues or other reasons.

[MajorHoy]

I guess something like a line wide relaunch, with concentrating on the classic versions of the characters (basically Rebirth 2.0) with some good creative team (and more importantly good editors) could do it...

Rebirth "1.0" didn't really help that well in the long-run, so why try a "2.0" version? Are you assuming DC knows what they did wrong the first time and won't repeat those mistakes? Are you assuming enough readers that jumped ship during Rebirth "1.0" will give DC another chance for "2.0"?

Yes, it's without a doubt a BEAUTIFUL book (George Perez at his peak, what would you expect?), but not very useful in getting an understanding of what the continuity would be like, when they were deciding (and changing it) as they went . . .
. . . But, yes, I'd also love for a series that tried to make sense of DC's current general continuity.

Are you assuming people at DC actually know / agree on what constitutes "current general continuity"?

They can start by shrinking the batman line. Lead to freeing up extra dollars. If people get bored enough with not getting enough comics to read they will then branch to other lines. But if their extra cash is all taken up by batman books then that will never happen as inflation keeps skyrocketing.

You're assuming DC's non-Batman books will see an increase in sales if there are fewer Bat-books on the stands?

There's no chance people will take their extra $'s and instead spend them on comic books from companies other than DC instead?

[Aahz]

Rebirth "1.0" didn't really help that well in the long-run, so why try a "2.0" version?

It worked till they messed it up. Rebirth had initially fantasic sales.

Are you assuming DC knows what they did wrong the first time and won't repeat those mistakes?

Unfortunately they likely will. That#s why I said they need better editors.

Are you assuming enough readers that jumped ship during Rebirth "1.0" will give DC another chance for "2.0"?

Probably more than if they try to bring in new readers, at least on the short run.

[Restingvoice]

Can all of you please stop talking about what other people may do and just say what you yourself will do? I genuinely can't tell when the assumptions start or end when the talking is about other people and we're on page 4 of people questioning everyone's assumptions

If you're already buying, what will make you buy more?
If you're currently not buying, what will make you buy?

Of course people here only represent a very small section of buyers but it will be more concrete

Also I'm curious too

[9th.]

- They need to lower those prices before they do anything. What exactly am I paying $4-$5 for? Why would I go bankrupt to pay to read a series I don't know I like yet when I can go pay $2 a month on the Viz app and read 100s of chapters??? I always say the big 2 should be HAPPY people are buying comics at all with the current price, piracy, and the sheer amount of entertainment competing for the peoples dollar. Superheroes are huge now but the books themselves are still niche.

- Secondly they need to capture more fans that aren't reading yet, if it takes a webtoon to do that rather than a Black Label book then so be it. New Justice League movie coming out? cool, give away a free redeemable digital code to the first issue or volume opening weeknd.

- More outside media, this isn't always a guarantee but it helps.

- A better App, it absolutely needs to have current issues if people are paying. None of that you gotta wait months for the newest issue, that's not quick enough for the times we live in. Also a good comprehensive guide/reading list.

[Agent Z]

3. More synchronicity with outside media
"Oh but then they'd be selling out". Baloney. This idea goes back to including Jimmy Olsen in the funny books.
When the young kid comes into the LCS for the first (and possibly only) time, they want to find stories of the characters they saw in movies and TV.
That's what keeps them coming back. When they don't find anything recognizable, like a Legends book, or a Supergirl they recognize, or their favorites like White Canary...
goodbye forever. DC has been fighting this for at least a decade...while their sales improved? Nope.

The problem is that DC's adaptations are as inconsistent as their comics. Just for example, no two versions of Black Canary that you see in movies/tv shows are exactly the same and the Arrowverse had four different people using that name. Should Jimmy Olsen now be a black guy because he was played by Mechad Brooks? Should Aquaman be Polynesian because of Jason Momoa (and no, I'm not just talking about giving him Momoa's tattoos)? Which outside media is DC supposed to synchronize with?

[scary harpy]

Can all of you please stop talking about what other people may do and just say what you yourself will do? I genuinely can't tell when the assumptions start or end when the talking is about other people and we're on page 4 of people questioning everyone's assumptions

If you're already buying, what will make you buy more?
If you're currently not buying, what will make you buy?

Of course people here only represent a very small section of buyers but it will be more concrete

Also I'm curious too

I am currently not buying. My last comic was Robins #6.

I would buy comics if they were fun again. Comics should be fun!

Scooby Doo Team Up and Batman & Scooby Doo are the best examples of fun comics that I can think of.

I know many would not enjoy this approach. For them, there could be a black label or mature line.

[SebastianS]

I can only speak for myself.

I developed a strong connection with certain characters, stories, and status quo (mid to late 90s, very early 2000). Since 2004, DC has been moving farther and farther away from them and so I have been spending less and less in DC comics, to the point I am nowadays, where I am not buying DC comics consistently.

If DC wanted to get me back, they would have to revert to the characters, stories, and status quo I am familiar, and have a strong connection, with.