Some useful bits about upcoming "Rebirth"

[Tayswift]

Yeah, while I have my own issues with Marvel's attempts at synergy between the comics and the movies, I don't think that means synergy is a bad thing per se depending on how you use it.

Like, having a Supergirl or Vixen book, in-continuity, out around the time of their shows release or after they've subsequently been well-received doesn't seem like it could hurt, especially when both characters have a very passionate fanbase and at least one has never had a proper ongoing.

I'm not saying those comics should mimic or match the shows, though personally I wouldn't mind Supergirl sporting a version of her show costume in the comics right now (and not just in the tie-in comic) as well as Vixen sporting her cartoon design, but having them be out there in the comics while they also have a presence on TV or online seems like a smart idea.

Heck, Lemire actually had some synergy in his run, incorporating Diggle and "Team Arrow" into the book. The difference between that and what Kreisberg was doing was that it was less heavy-handed and was balanced out with original content like Lemire's version of the Outsiders and Emiko, which Kreisberg pretty much completely ignored.

itis about adding personality to the comic. I really don't want to read a comic 100% like movies or tv shows as the main comic, some influence can be good.

[Deniz Camp]

I agree that those types of editors need to leave ASAP along with those that are overly heavy-handed in their approach to editing. I think some of the other lines would do much better with a change in editorial staff myself and that it might lead to better quality writers on certain titles.



You really can't honestly and there's really no guarantee that even with a good editor and a good sounding pitch by a halfway decent writer that the idea will be executed well. Sometimes things sound better in a writer's own mind then they turn out to be on paper.

You never know, sure, but past work is the best predictor of execution you're likely to get.

If you've got a guy who pitches a great idea but has written a bunch of terrible comics, it's unlikely they've just been waiting for this one to become the next Alan Moore.

Writing is ALL execution; the ideas are everywhere, and cheaper than dirt.

[dan12456]

Yeah, while I have my own issues with Marvel's attempts at synergy between the comics and the movies, I don't think that means synergy is a bad thing per se depending on how you use it.

Like, having a Supergirl or Vixen book, in-continuity, out around the time of their shows release or after they've subsequently been well-received doesn't seem like it could hurt, especially when both characters have a very passionate fanbase and at least one has never had a proper ongoing.

I'm not saying those comics should mimic or match the shows, though personally I wouldn't mind Supergirl sporting a version of her show costume in the comics right now (and not just in the tie-in comic) as well as Vixen sporting her cartoon design, but having them be out there in the comics while they also have a presence on TV or online seems like a smart idea.

Heck, Lemire actually had some synergy in his run, incorporating Diggle and "Team Arrow" into the book. The difference between that and what Kreisberg was doing was that it was less heavy-handed and was balanced out with original content like Lemire's version of the Outsiders and Emiko, which Kreisberg pretty much completely ignored.

I honestly think Lemire's approach was the perfect way to do synergy. I had never read a comic before a couple years ago and started to because of Arrow. The first book I ever picked up was Kill Machine and it was a perfect entry point. It had characters I recognized (Oliver, Diggle, Shado and Count Vertigo) but in completely different roles. It also had a similar tone to the show but with an equally as ambitious and unique plotline.

By the time Kreisberg's run came out I was as much a comic fan as an Arrow one, so its hard to say if my experience as someone who started reading comics due to Arrow still applied, but I definitely stopped reading it after the first couple issues. It just wasn't interesting reading a lesser, carbon copy version of Arrow.

[RobinFan4880]

The problem with directly modeling the comics after other media is that other media tends to come and go but the comic continuity is here for decades. The Post-Crisis Universe saw 3 independent film versions of Batman (Batman/Returns, the two horrible 90's movies, the Dark Knight series) as well as at least four different animated versions (Timm, The Batman, Brave and the Bold and the other DC animated movies).

It would be difficult to tailor Batman in a way to appeal to fans of all of these properties.

Clearly in retrospect the Timm and Nolan versions of the character are the best but there are many irreconcilable differences between the two interpretations.

This only gets more muddied if we start to look at video games as well, not to mention offshoot properties like the Lego franchise.

What are we going to do when we have two distinct live action versions of Barry Allen running around, not to mention the animated movie version of the character or any future animated TV show version.

DC has to make hard decisions today that will affect what they can do in the future. So they need to tread lightly.

[Doctor Bifrost]

I have very mixed feelings about this. I do like to see new things tried. But, when I'm reading or viewing serial media (comic books series or TV series) I really like follow-through - the sense that the writers have thought about what they're doing and are heading somewhere with their stories. And that, if I open myself up to being engaged with the characters and situations I'm reading about, I won't have the rug unceremoniously pulled out from under me. Too often.

How many reboots/resets/rebirths do they need in a given span of time? Reading a lot of The New 52, it often feels to me like the editors and writers are communicating to us: hey, we're not very interested in what we've presented here, the way we've set up the characters and their world. I think we'll just switch direction now. Again.

And if they're not interested, how interested can they expect me to be?

On the other hand: The New 52 was, for me, the very worst rug-pulling reboot I've ever seen. (And I've been reading since long before Crisis on Infinite Earths.) A lot of what they've done I'm not enjoying anyway, and they keep changing it around. "Story Over Continuity" has often meant no follow-through at all, and a lot of confusion. So maybe this Rebirth will lead to a better environment overall.

And if it gives us a Supergirl more like the TV show - rather than one so defined by anger that it made sense to make her a Red Lantern - well, that, at least, would be a good thing!

But that's just me.

[JasonTodd428]

You never know, sure, but past work is the best predictor of execution you're likely to get.

If you've got a guy who pitches a great idea but has written a bunch of terrible comics, it's unlikely they've just been waiting for this one to become the next Alan Moore.

Writing is ALL execution; the ideas are everywhere, and cheaper than dirt.

One the other hand that terrible writer with a great pitch could be exactly the right fit for the comic he or she is pitching for and could find themselves writing their best work to date. You just never know. Admittedly there are writers that just aren't good no matter what but even good writers can have a bad day or even a string of bad comics and sometimes that can stem from being put on a book or character that just doesn't suit the writer. Even editors can make mistakes despite how talented a writer is.

[colonyofcells]

Whether there is a reboot or not for Supergirl, the origin of Supergirl is more or less the same krypton origin with every retelling (except for the old shape changing matrix origin and earth angel origin). The tv has good ideas in using lots of aliens in the show. I prefer even more aliens like the whole United Planets having aliens on earth via star gates, New Gods as aliens, Qward thunderers as aliens on earth, shadow demon aliens from Mobius, etc. The old Lois and Clark tv show also had lots of kryptonian survivors from a colony of krypton (New Krypton).