Is 2022 the worst year in DC's history since the 70s?

[Greenfirefox78]

Franchises like Justice League, Green Lantern or Titans do not have a book for the first time in decades. Other major characters such as Green Arrow, Aquaman, Suicide Squad, Legion of Superheroes or Shazam also don't have a book. Batman has taken over ~50% of the line (and 13 out of 17 of the ongoing series), sometimes more. You'd have to go back to the DC implosion to find a line that's abysmal as this one.

Sales are trash, the only characters in the top 50 are Batman and Nightwing (the latter who has an A-list creative team carrying it, mind you). We don't have exact data but back in 2019 and 2020 many major characters were hitting record lows and it looks like the situation has only become worse since then. Dark Crisis looks like a flop so far, generating little buzz and excitement.

How can DC even turn this around? Especially with Zaslav the butcher waiting in a corner.

[Noodle]

Short answer? "No." Long answer? "No, it is not."

Franchises like Justice League, Green Lantern or Titans do not have a book for the first time in decades. Other major characters such as Green Arrow, Aquaman, Suicide Squad, Legion of Superheroes or Shazam also don't have a book.

There is a Shazam book coming out currently. And aside from Suicide Squad and the Legion, all of those characters are currently involved with Dark Crisis, so it's pretty obvious most, if not all of them are going to get new books spinning out of it.

[Greenfirefox78]

Short answer? "No." Long answer? "No, it is not."



There is a Shazam book coming out currently. And aside from Suicide Squad and the Legion, all of those characters are currently involved with Dark Crisis, so it's pretty obvious most, if not all of them are going to get new books spinning out of it.

I will believe it when I see it. So far nothing has been announced and DC's current editorial have not given me any reasons to believe in them

I recall when people complained about the amount of vatbooks during the early Infinite Frontier days and people like you tried to assure us it was just temporary. Bullshit. Those were the good ol' days compared to what we have now.

[Noodle]

I will believe it when I see it. So far nothing has been announced and DC's current editorial have not given me any reasons to believe in them

If that's how you want to view it, cool. They've already confirmed something Green Lantern is on the way, they just haven't announced it yet.

I recall when people complained about the amount of vatbooks during the early Infinite Frontier days and people like you tried to assure us it was just temporary.

"People like me"? You don't even know me. I've been keeping tally of the amount of Bat-related books versus other books in the monthly solicitation threads since April pointing out the abundance of Bat-books. I've been very vocal about how lopsided it is at the moment. Maybe don't jump to conclusions just because someone disagrees with you on something.

[Mike]

As someone whom started reading comics in the 1970s.
The last decade has been way worse then the 70s.

[D.Z]

The business changed for DC, so they did budget cuts, so reducing titles and picking what works more recently. So be it Batman and alt worlds on top over all.

This decline is only what NU52 tried to delay for years.

Also nobody has the real numbers anymore for sales.

Quality is relative to the fan's perspective.

[Felipe Silveira]

Worse than the New 52 and Didio destroying Rebirth? I think not.
I feel a hole in the DC lineup, that's true.

[Buried Alien]

Though it wasn't exactly burning up the sales charts (in fact, sales tanked dangerously) during the 1970s, that decade wasn't a fallow period for DC. Corporate wasn't successful in making the numbers add up profitably, especially late in the decade, but creatively, DC was far from bankrupt during the decade of disco. I first encountered and fell in love with DC Comics and its mythos during the 1970s, after all, and it's still my default, Platonic image of what the DC Omniverse is. Therefore, I would not use the 1970s as a benchmark for misery in terms of DC Comics.

I would say 2015 was the weakest year in recent DC history. I personally liked CONVERGENCE (which was what DC was mostly about in 2015), but I know it wasn't exactly a huge fan hit. I had no idea what DC YOU was trying to accomplish, but I'm pretty sure it failed.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Holt]

Mods, the people cry out for a consolidated "Is DC dying?" thread!

[Robanker]

Mods, the people cry out for a consolidated "Is DC dying?" thread!

Please. Be the heroes we need, not the ones we deserve.

[MajorHoy]

Is 2022 the worst year in DC's history since the 70s?

I'm buying very little from DC these days, but I generally enjoyed the 1970s and feel there were stretches during the 1990s that were worse.

[9th.]

Green Lantern just had a book this year, I believe it's in the middle of relaunching. So did did Aquaman (I believe there's a black label book out). Shazam also has a book and Suicide Squad comes and goes. Not sure what Green Arrows situation is, I'll admit that's kinda weird.

[Gaastra]

Were the 70s books that bad?

[Robanker]

Were the 70s books that bad?

This is trading less on the books and more on the knowledge of the '78 DC implosion while simultaneously trading in outrage from people who are nostalgic for when they started vs today.

Basically, it's old people complaining about new **** and heavy strawmanning. And I say that as a 20+ year reader who loves and prefers many books that were published before my time.

DC Fandom has a loud subset who whine that the sky is falling and every new day is the worst ever and a sign of the end times.

[skyvolt2000]

Were the 70s books that bad?

Depends on who you are...

However no one can say it was diverse in content. Books that would see fits throw if they came out today by certain parts of the fandom like House of Mystery, Men of War and others.
Lois Lane was a top seller. Let that sink in.

This is just folks complaining more about WHO is on the cover versus actual story content. Along with selective history.

We went 4 years without a Green Lantern book-1986-1990.

Green Arrow has gone 5 years and 3 years (TWICE) without a book. He is current at 2 years without a title just starring him.

Aquaman had gone 8 years and 2 years (more than once) without a book.


Some stuff got held up by Dark Crisis like the ending of John Stewart's run under Throne.

And WHY demand books be put out now??? Too much stuff is going on at DC and other companies in terms of crappy events and annoying crossovers.

A new Green Arrow book would be buried by X-Men and Batman events.

Waiting till say March or even Summer would be an advantage to DC.

And don't we have some milestones happening next year????

Milestone turns 30.
Nubia turns 50
Professor Zoom turns 60
Doom Patrol turns 60
Jason Todd turns 40
Amethyst hits 40
Outsiders hit 40
Lobo turns 40
Todd Rice and Infinity Inc turn 40
Gen 13, Stormwatch, Steel and Conner Kent turn 30

So maybe just maybe they are waiting on next year for stuff. Nubia's first appearance is being reprinted next year.