Keeping track of Post-Rebirth Superman sales

[Vordan]

I doubt that they did it because everything was great. Many of the recent series were probably launched too early and they need time to catch up.

Baffling that DC can’t seem to get its shit together and needs constant events to try and bridge gaps. All of 2023 is basically one hastily slapped together event after another: Dark Crisis -> Lazarus Planet -> Knight Terrors -> Gotham War -> whatever Superman event is coming in 2024. None of them have been great, merely ok at best and downright awful at worst. Only one I have any hope for is the Superman event since that’s one they’ve been actually building towards and Williamson/PKJ did a great job working together in Action 1050. But will people be enthused about another Williamson event after Dark Crisis and Knight Terrors? I have my doubts.

Seems like no one at DC has any clue on how to do an event that isn’t either a shameless nostalgia cash-grab, Multiverse bullshit, or “maybe you heroes are the REAL villains”.

[Frontier]

Baffling that DC can’t seem to get its shit together and needs constant events to try and bridge gaps. All of 2023 is basically one hastily slapped together event after another: Dark Crisis -> Lazarus Planet -> Knight Terrors -> Gotham War -> whatever Superman event is coming in 2024. None of them have been great, merely ok at best and downright awful at worst. Only one I have any hope for is the Superman event since that’s one they’ve been actually building towards and Williamson/PKJ did a great job working together in Action 1050. But will people be enthused about another Williamson event after Dark Crisis and Knight Terrors? I have my doubts.

Seems like no one at DC has any clue on how to do an event that isn’t either a shameless nostalgia cash-grab, Multiverse bullshit, or “maybe you heroes are the REAL villains”.

Is Marvel any better though? Minus I guess the multiverse stuff.

[Vordan]

Is Marvel any better though? Minus I guess the multiverse stuff.

Wasn’t thinking of it in terms of which is better, but SKTCHD actually reports that a lot of retailers think Marvel is much worse than DC. They were pissed that Ultimate Invasion cost $9, and Marvel has their own heroes vs. heroes crap event coming this summer too. I just don’t care about Marvel like that, I’m down to Hulk, Scarlet Witch, Immortal X-Men, and whatever Hickman is doing, so a crap Marvel event derailing everything isn’t a concern for me since PKJ Hulk won’t be tying in.

[Frontier]

Wasn’t thinking of it in terms of which is better, but SKTCHD actually reports that a lot of retailers think Marvel is much worse than DC. They were pissed that Ultimate Invasion cost $9, and Marvel has their own heroes vs. heroes crap event coming this summer too. I just don’t care about Marvel like that, I’m down to Hulk, Scarlet Witch, Immortal X-Men, and whatever Hickman is doing, so a crap Marvel event derailing everything isn’t a concern for me since PKJ Hulk won’t be tying in.

What!? That's ridiculous. No single issue of a Hickman/Hitch comic is worth $9.

[The Frog Bros]

The timing of this current event as compared to Dawn of DC initiative just makes no sense. Weren’t they both planned and thought out far enough in advance to time it better? Maybe, maybe not. But why have an event this close to a small scale line rebranding (or whatever it is we’d call Dawn)?

There was a Simpsons episode (the 138th episode spectacular) where they asked how it stayed fresh after so long and what they had in store for the future. Hosted by the incredible Troy McClure, he said “wedding after wedding after wedding after wedding…” (all of which featured Selma of course ). I just feel like the comic mantra is “event after event after event after event…”

[Vordan]

What!? That's ridiculous. No single issue of a Hickman/Hitch comic is worth $9.

I thought it was a great issue but $9? No way. Seems to have sold pretty well, but perhaps not as much as it could have.

The timing of this current event as compared to Dawn of DC initiative just makes no sense. Weren’t they both planned and thought out far enough in advance to time it better? Maybe, maybe not. But why have an event this close to a small scale line rebranding (or whatever it is we’d call Dawn)?

There was a Simpsons episode (the 138th episode spectacular) where they asked how it stayed fresh after so long and what they had in store for the future. Hosted by the incredible Troy McClure, he said “wedding after wedding after wedding after wedding…” (all of which featured Selma of course ). I just feel like the comic mantra is “event after event after event after event…”

I believe the reason is that the artists need time to get ahead. Take Jamal Campbell: he’s a fantastic artist but he is very slow. KT Is buying him two months to get ahead so he can stay on Superman. Still why not just have filler artists come on board across the line for two months instead of another event? That’s what I would have done.

[The Frog Bros]

I thought it was a great issue but $9? No way. Seems to have sold pretty well, but perhaps not as much as it could have.

I believe the reason is that the artists need time to get ahead. Take Jamal Campbell: he’s a fantastic artist but he is very slow. KT Is buying him two months to get ahead so he can stay on Superman. Still why not just have filler artists come on board across the line for two months instead of another event? That’s what I would have done.

Right. Filler artists are not ideal but at least could have kept the momentum going. But I'm not reading KT so I won't speak to ill of it, I guess, ha. I do like horror stuff, but def event fatigue and the timing of this one was pretty off. At least it's only 2 months, which is not terrible I suppose.

[DABellWrites]

Baffling that DC can’t seem to get its shit together and needs constant events to try and bridge gaps. All of 2023 is basically one hastily slapped together event after another: Dark Crisis -> Lazarus Planet -> Knight Terrors -> Gotham War -> whatever Superman event is coming in 2024. None of them have been great, merely ok at best and downright awful at worst. Only one I have any hope for is the Superman event since that’s one they’ve been actually building towards and Williamson/PKJ did a great job working together in Action 1050. But will people be enthused about another Williamson event after Dark Crisis and Knight Terrors? I have my doubts.

Seems like no one at DC has any clue on how to do an event that isn’t either a shameless nostalgia cash-grab, Multiverse bullshit, or “maybe you heroes are the REAL villains”.

There's far too much going on at DC and it doesn't seem like anyone has any cohesion. DC really needs a captain to man the ship. I remember back in 2017-2018 when people were complaining about Year of the Villain, City of Bane, Event Leviathan, the Witching Hour, and Doomsday Clock. I don't see anything changed.

[HsssH]

The timing of this current event as compared to Dawn of DC initiative just makes no sense. Weren’t they both planned and thought out far enough in advance to time it better? Maybe, maybe not. But why have an event this close to a small scale line rebranding (or whatever it is we’d call Dawn)?

There was a Simpsons episode (the 138th episode spectacular) where they asked how it stayed fresh after so long and what they had in store for the future. Hosted by the incredible Troy McClure, he said “wedding after wedding after wedding after wedding…” (all of which featured Selma of course ). I just feel like the comic mantra is “event after event after event after event…”

You might also remember that Lazarus Planet came out right after Dark Crisis and had more of an impact on the DC's upcoming books. On paper it doesn't make sense that filler anthologies end up being more important than Crisis event, but this is how DC rolls these days.

[Vordan]

You might also remember that Lazarus Planet came out right after Dark Crisis and had more of an impact on the DC's upcoming books. On paper it doesn't make sense that filler anthologies end up being more important than Crisis event, but this is how DC rolls these days.

Dark Crisis ending with a whimper may have been related to Gunn’s announcement that the film side was getting rebooted and refocusing on the classics. Since then DC has basically abandoned all of their “next gen” characters. Jace is MIA and unlikely to show up again any time soon, Yara is in the same boat as Cassie with limited guest appearances, only Jon may continue to appear regularly but to what extent remains unknown. My hunch is DC Comics did another big pivot BTS to align with Gunn.

[Morgoth]

Dark Crisis ending with a whimper may have been related to Gunn’s announcement that the film side was getting rebooted and refocusing on the classics. Since then DC has basically abandoned all of their “next gen” characters. Jace is MIA and unlikely to show up again any time soon, Yara is in the same boat as Cassie with limited guest appearances, only Jon may continue to appear regularly but to what extent remains unknown. My hunch is DC Comics did another big pivot BTS to align with Gunn.

I really doubt Gunn has anything to do with this. Even without his factor, Future State gen sales were really bad and fans mostly hated them, and there was no new audience to support their books. It's not like Dark Crisis was changed in the middle of the story - focus on Nightwing and Titans was confirmed immediately, so, they made this decision to shift focus to them even before Gunn took over. Originally, of course, it was supposed to be about FS Justice League line-up, but sales, obviously, changed their mind.
But I believe, that because of Gunn some plans were changed this year, for instance, I'm sure Waid had completely different ending for Damian in Batman vs Robin, rather than just his return to Gotham. And Batman and Robin announcement was interestingly coincided with the announcement of Brave and Bold.

[Ascended]

Yeah I'm pretty sure Future State's low performance has more to do with it than Gunn, but comics do love their synergy so I'm sure the films played a role.

Don't know why they keep chasing synergy, far as I've heard it doesn't really accomplish much.

[Leancarp900]

Waid has outright said that the Wolfman/Perez Titans replacing the JL wasn't how Dark Crisis was originally going to end. It's a pivot they made halfway through the event.

It seems very likely it was originally going to be a Legacy JL roster composed of the Future State characters plus Dick, Wally and whoever else. Johns was probably hinting at this in Flashpoint Beyond (Fall of the Justice League ---> Rise of the Legacy League).

[Vordan]

Waid has outright said that the Wolfman/Perez Titans replacing the JL wasn't how Dark Crisis was originally going to end. It's a pivot they made halfway through the event.

It seems very likely it was originally going to be a Legacy JL roster composed of the Future State characters plus Dick, Wally and whoever else. Johns was probably hinting at this in Flashpoint Beyond (Fall of the Justice League ---> Rise of the Legacy League).

Where did Waid say that? Definitely seems like Dark Crisis was a victim of editorial meddling and shifting priorities (which doesn’t excuse it being a bore). Could be we’re all right: DC saw the weak sales for the FS crew, then Gunn made his announcement and DC decided to scrap their original plans and stick with the classics.

[Leancarp900]

Where did Waid say that? Definitely seems like Dark Crisis was a victim of editorial meddling and shifting priorities (which doesn’t excuse it being a bore). Could be we’re all right: DC saw the weak sales for the FS crew, then Gunn made his announcement and DC decided to scrap their original plans and stick with the classics.

It was in an interview. I think it was in WordBalloon?

I've read on Twitter that Williamson has said that the Future State characters will be the focus of Dawn of DC's year 2. Although I can't verify it.

I don't think Gunn's plans had much to do with it. Most likely they just realized sales outside of Batman were bad (for a good chunk of last year they only had like 4 ongoings that weren't Batman) and they needed a safer relaunch.