Would you buy a team title starring the Charlton characters?

[Trey Strain]

Heck why has batman never interacted with the charlton characters more especially nightshade they have similar stories and tropes more in common with them instead of the justice league

That's a good point. Maybe DC should move Batman out of Justice League, which would do fine without him, and into this title, which he could help to get over with the readers.

[scary harpy]

Heck why has batman never interacted with the charlton characters more especially nightshade they have similar stories and tropes more in common with them instead of the justice league

What about Punch & Jewelee?

[Ascended]

Is anyone starting to suspect that DC will launch a Watchmen title instead of doing this?

I strongly suspect it's been discussed. I think DC has been circling the idea for a while, actually. And obviously the Watchmen will play heavily into the resolution of the "missing decade," which will likely be the Crisis event that BleedingCool talked about a while back, that we've known was coming since 2016. But whether DC will decide a Watchmen ongoing would work and was worth the risk.....that I don't know.

I mean, if it was an easy slam-dunk, they'd have done it already.

Watchmen is a evergreen seller in trade, it's a strong IP with tons of comic-cultural clout, and the ongoing would generate a ton of noise initially. Johns introducing Not-Punch and Not-Jewelee could be seen as him laying the foundation for a sustainable/expanded roster, and Before Watchmen and Doomsday Clock could both be seen as DC testing the waters. And who knows, maybe DC has become desperate enough to try it.

But for all that, there seem to be concerns too. The setting and characters weren't designed to exist indefinitely. Some of the appeal could be lost in the translation to a ongoing serialized format. The original Watchmen's held in very high regard by fandom, and expectations for a monthly will be incredibly high. A subpar product will do damage to the company's credibility. It'll be expensive and difficult to produce. Doomsday Clock is only 12 issues, and they couldn't keep it together. That's a pretty bad omen. So we're looking at a high risk project and, because it's print, the potential gains aren't crazy impressive (even if it sold well).

But maybe DC is desperate enough now.

[Trey Strain]

I think this would have a much better chance of succeeding long-term than a Watchmen comic would -- although Watchmen would probably sell big for the first year or so, until people saw that it wasn't going to click as an ongoing. And moving Batman from Justice League to a Charlton comic would make its success very likely.

[Ascended]

I think this would have a much better chance of succeeding long-term than a Watchmen comic would -- although Watchmen would probably sell big for the first year or so, until people saw that it wasn't going to click as an ongoing. And moving Batman from Justice League to a Charlton comic would make its success very likely.

I do think the Charlton characters have more long-term viability than the Watchmen, as far as ongoing titles go. The Watchmen have a much bigger profile but they're not built for never-ending narratives and I think a lot of the established fandom would resist the idea of these characters being used in such a way.

Batman.....he'd help a Charlton title, sure, but as I recall he wasn't enough to save Orlando's JLA from lukewarm sale figures. I mean, I'd be fine with Batman on a Charlton team (rather indifferent either way, honestly) and his brand recognition would definitely be an asset, but it wouldn't secure success on its own. The title would have to have a solid creative team and a quality hook to set it apart from the herd.

[Trey Strain]

It should go without saying that a new comic would be more popular if it had a popular writer working on it. But this title wouldn't be about the writer. It would be about the characters.

DC kept printing Blue Beetle until its sales dropped all the way to 8K! What would be the rationale for not giving a Charlton TEAM title a chance, when it would probably do batter than any solo title that stars a Charlton character? Especially when characters who have repeatedly failed to sell comics, like Hawkman, keep getting another chance.

The numbers in this poll are encouraging. They should try it out. If it doesn't sell, then so what? At least they tried.

[Carabas]

DC kept printing Blue Beetle until its sales dropped all the way to 8K!

but IIRC the trades sold fairly well... Sales of floppies are no longer the only factor in how much a book makes.

The numbers in this poll are encouraging.

And numbers in the poll suggest that of the 15.011 comic book fans who have read this thread, 70 would buy it.

[Ascended]

but IIRC the trades sold fairly well... Sales of floppies are no longer the only factor in how much a book makes.

Oh, the direct market is barely worth paying attention to now. If something sells well there, great, we know it's making money. If it isn't? Big deal, it could very easily be selling like hotcakes on digital (pick your app), trade, Scholastic book orders, kindle......

The DM is still the biggest slice of pie by a big margin, but it's far from the whole thing now and its slice is shrinking every year (even as it's seen some growth, which is both astounding and a very positive sign for the industry). And I couldn't be happier about that.

[MajorHoy]

. . . And numbers in the poll suggest that of the 15,011 comic book fans who have read this thread, 70 would buy it.

Uh, it's not that (at that time) 15,011 different comic book fans looked at the thread; it's just that it was opened / looked at that many times.
If somebody has, say, ten posts in this thread, that's at least ten of those 15,011 openings, plus who knows how many more times that person upped the count by opening the thread without then posting anything.

[Carabas]

Uh, it's not that (at that time) 15,011 different comic book fans looked at the thread; it's just that it was opened / looked at that many times.

Okay, that is a very misleading and pointless number then.

[DrNewGod]

Only if the "team" was a very loose affair, leaving plenty of room for each character to have separate lives and stories. An occasional big group bash would be nice, but these guys aren't The Doom Patrol, and they shouldn't be handled as such.

[Midnight_v]

I'd read one, because I think "these guys" http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Justice_Battalion_(Earth-22) probbably have a book worth reading
if a few people need to be moved around.
Peter Cannon can be subbed out pretty easily with: Adrian Alexander: Thundermind, which would give an immediate gravitas to the book. Because honestly THE Great 10 have a "thundermind" who literally has the same
origin source powers as Peter Cannon. Check it:
ADRIAN ALEXANDER would be... Thundermind

"Peter Cannon, orphaned son of an American medical team, was raised in a Himalayan lamasery, where his parents had sacrificed their lives combating the dreaded Black Plague! After attaining the highest degree of mental and physical perfection, he was entrusted with the knowledge of the ancient scrolls that bore the secret writings of past generations of wise men! From them he learned concentration, mind over matter, the art of activating and the harnessing the unused portions of the brain, that made seemingly fantastic feats possible! Then he returned to America with his faithful friend, Tabu, and sought out a new life, in a new land, that required the emergence of Peter Cannon... Thunderbolt."
A recurring villain is the "Hooded One", another monk from the lamasary who resented the fact an outsider like Peter was given access to the sacred scrolls

Yeah because he actually stole what he needed to gain superpowers gaining access the powers of what he considered minor dieties, and destroying the availability of what gave him the power through improper use or malice/fear.
He did it to become a hero etc etc. but in the end he's an Ozymandias justifying his actions, but he's a kid miracle man figure who never turned his powers back off, and honestly couldn't if he tried.

Meanwhile

Thundermind

Thundermind
Thundermind or 雷念 (Léi Niàn) is Zou Kang, a history teacher at Beijing No. 8 Middle School who, on a tour of the Beijing Museum, accidentally recites aloud a sanskrit "trigger phrase" from an ancient Buddhist artifact. Afterwards, he transforms into Thundermind whenever he recites his trigger phrase and unlocks what he calls his full human potential, becoming a Bodhisattva with the power to access metahuman analogues of the powers listed in the Buddhist siddhis. http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Zou_Kang_(New_Earth)

He however, ended up with the whole shebang and posses a righteous indignation and a moral to bring justice to the other guy return the powers somehow to the rightful owner.

but like I said He's still "An Ozymandias" and goes about protecting himself by allying himself with this worlds Captain Atom....

Jaime Reyes is an Auto include not because I love him but because he has SO much going for him that he can sell books, his fan base is thirsty and if you go watch the cartoon with him in it you start to see why.

The other characters are ok, but a direction and powerset need to be chosen for them, and I could but i'm slightly pressed for time.

Judomaster is a really bad character, Name, Appearance, powers...at best she comes off like domino did in the Dp2 film, but really we can do a lot better. Hell even the Great 10 had ghost fox, and she had way more going for her
in story with less appearances. I can fix it but, really it needs a bunch of work.

Peace Maker. I feel like people rarely ever look at the wiki for this guy, but makes sense why Alan Moore took one look at that guy and made him the comedian. A pacifist so dedicated to peace he becomes a vigilante... I guess
I can see that a lot more in todays world than I could at any other part of history, with the rampant moral authoritarianism, and hypocrisy on all sides, but I'd just start with the version feature in Jaime Reyes blue beetle book
and work him from there.

Nightshade writes herself, but take the Countdown: Arena and pick the version that works the best in your mind.

The Question is a complicated character, but let me show a scene.

He goes into private sanctum (think of it how you will), he meditates or takes the drugs (doesn't matter which you see), and he's the only person visible on panel on
a dark background sitting. Zooms in on face.
Says "I have a question"
Next Page 3 panel page he's the same room across from 2 other Steve Ditko pastiches Mr.A/Roschach "STYLE" trenchcoat hats different masks
"I have a question" said in unison.
All looking in the same direction casting shadows on the darkness, and then from the top of page "Of course you do... you always do."

and its the Phantom Stranger standing looking at his multi-dimensional trenchcoat brigade. It struck me suddenly if you can't tie the phantoms stranger to the question somehow at this point, you could be doing it right instead.
Doesn't matter if you have The question maluing people like Rorschach or Conspiricy proofing the world like the cartoon, or both, but what matters there is that you expand the mythos and give him gravity.

For kicks if you wanted to ONLY if you wanted to be clever, you could have the question have an ally who is in the "Court of Owls" from the last few years batman books as a nod to you know who.

Captain Atom... honestly, we all know becomes Monarch one day. Final Destination. This should never happen in this book but some people legit KNOW this WILL happen one day and it causes reactions occasionally. Erstwhile...
the superhero community at large actually WANT to follow this guy. He does everything he's taken scores of classes on leadership, he is literally the Rival to superman when it comes to superhero community love.

Except batman. Batman hates this guy. Personally.
Boom You're Dead He's on of the few people who stands up to the "Goddamn Batgod"

The point is... everyone in the book, has to have their own mythology. They have to have their own gravitas, and development that occur, and... and this last part is just my own thing.


Change them, Drive them to be Iconic, interact with MORE people in the universe, for them to exist properly they really DO need to be as big as the justice league, without just being a justice league B-team.

I'd love to add allow from the Metal men for example. Let their universe grow instead of what ever other writer does. Isolate them and close them off for all the best stories.