can anyone explain why red hood and the outlaws is still a thing in DC Rebirth? 0_o

[Chrysalis_Changling]

I've heard more negative feedback than positive feedback on that book and last time i checked the books sales were horrendous

so why bring it back? did DC sign some sort of faustian deal with Lobdell where he gets to write whatever he wants for however long no matter how bad the sales are?

[JasonTodd428]

Short answer is that Jason is a bat character and he has his fans so they continue with the title. Also this new incarnation of the book seems to be a more street level type of book that is possibly more akin to UtRH then it predecessors were and there is a contingent of fans that has been clammering for such a take on the character. I guess DC is gambling that it will draw some of those fans to the title that weren't interested in it because the others have been too far off for what they were expecting for a Red Hood title. (That being a street level, serious and perhaps more villainous take on Jason Todd something like a Punisher lite.) The problem is DC left Lobdell on the title and that's going to make it a no go for a lot of those fans they are trying to tap whatever the actual direction of the book is. Fans simply either don't like him personally or don't like his work so they will continue to stay away even though they've been given what they wanted in the first place.

[Godlike13]

Street level with Bizzaro and Artemis?

As to the op, i have no idea.

[Outside_85]

Harras, more than likely, still thinks anyone buys books just because Lobdell is on it. From a tiny teaser over on Newsarama the books about Todd infiltrating the Gotham underworld... which is bound to go well with Bizarro around along with Artemis, two characters who traditionally have little time or patience for subtility (or understanding of it).

[Badou]

The only reason I can come up with why Jason didn't get a solo book is that for some reason they want to keep the Red Hood and the Outlaws brand alive. Maybe they have plans for it and think it is more useful than just a Red Hood solo book, but I don't know why. Maybe they think a Red Hood solo would be too similar to the Deathstroke book?

[Aioros22]

Editorial loves the premise behind the book?

[joybeans]

I've heard more negative feedback than positive feedback on that book and last time i checked the books sales were horrendous

so why bring it back? did DC sign some sort of faustian deal with Lobdell where he gets to write whatever he wants for however long no matter how bad the sales are?

Well, Red Hood/Arsenal, despite lukewarm reception, sold barely enough (and a bit better than more obscure books) for the character to merit a continuation. And with Rebirth falling back on familiar title names, Red Hood defaulted to the ongoing that lasted 40 issues. Sure, it deserves a lot of criticism for its writing, but it was able to stay just above cancellation numbers, and it's a book that can easily tie into Batfamily events for temporary sales boosts.

As for Lobdell, he works well with the editorial, and he gets scripts written on time, which is helpful for a publisher that needs to ship 50+ books a month.

[ekrolo2]

Lobdell's is writing THE definitive Jason Todd story-line and has been for years now. To deny the man to explore the multiple facets for the characters and directions he can take with him would be an outrage.

[JAG2045]

The only reason I can come up with why Jason didn't get a solo book is that for some reason they want to keep the Red Hood and the Outlaws brand alive. Maybe they have plans for it and think it is more useful than just a Red Hood solo book, but I don't know why. Maybe they think a Red Hood solo would be too similar to the Deathstroke book?

Maybe they thought the idea of a lone vigilante killing criminals would be branded a Punisher rip-off?

I would prefer Jason getting a solo book of him trying to find redemption and get back on better terms with the Bat-Family (I liked how he and Tim Drake were the "black sheep" of the nu52)

Hell I would have loved to see Jason & Jean Paul Valley team up but JPV died just before Jason came back

[TheNewFiftyForum]

Wasn't DiDio one of the driving forces behind resurrecting Jason Todd in the first place? And lets not forget that JT plays substantial roles in both the Arkham Games and Batman v. Superman, products that dwarf the comics in both commercial and pop cultural impact. I don't have much affinity for the character, but it makes sense for DC to keep pushing him.

[MajorHoy]

. . . Hell I would have loved to see Jason & Jean Paul Valley team up but JPV died just before Jason came back

I take it somebody wasn't reading Batman & Robin Eternal?







He's baaaaaaaack!

[Dzetoun]

DC has had fairly severe problems with Jason Todd for the last decade, really ever since his resurrection. As I've said before, UTRH, although a powerful and popular story, really didn't do them any favors with regard to building something that had long-term viability. I get the impression, based on comments in interviews and the like, that a lot of writers really don't like dealing with Jason, as they find it hard to fit him into Batman mythos. It's all very well to say, as Tynion did in Batman and Robin Eternal, that he is there to do things that Batman can't, but on a day-to-day basis that is difficult to actually portray without causing lots of problems.

For all the criticism leveled at him, Lobdell is really the only writer to ever make something of a success out of Jason over the longer term. I can see where DC wouldn't want to abandon the character, and also being wary of the problems they have encountered with Jason in the past, would decide to stick with what has worked better than anything else they've tried.

[Aioros22]

Loedbell, Winnick, Tomasi, Greg Pak..

The groundwork is there. The severe problems to me were mainly when they couldn´t follow up UTRH with lack of direction, other than Winnick, that is. You either run with it or you don`t. The number of appearances he`s had since the reboot tells me that a number of writers like to use him. I do recall the Bat writers panel saying Jason was the least favorite Robin, but since he hasn`t been Robin for decades, that doesn`t mean much to me. Maybe it makes them less fond of him than Dick, but as long they keep using him well, overall, I couldn`t care less. Dick has been around since the 40`s, Jason hasn`t.

You want him to be a mainstaim, you need to keep using him the best way you can for more than one generation to grow with him.

By the way, since the question is about the actual comic Title and not the character, I think the answer is Editorial does see potential in the tone of the book. It`s a collection of anti-heroes lead by the most popular voice of them, doing things that you usually see in action movies but opposing sometimes Batman and co. In some ways while not having half the branding power of Titans, I can actually see it growing - if it ends up doing it - as something that can fill up that kind of void.

[GreenLanternRanger]

As long as he stays the heck away from Teen Titans Lobdell can write Red Hood as long as he wants.

[AJpyro]

To the OP:

We redhood fans have mastered the ancient and deadly art of keeping a comic book despite all the odds. It was a hard and arduros journey and we lost many along the way, but it worked. It can't be used again however until 5 years are used up.