Blog Talkback: Rebooting DC: Worth It?

[GWOtaku]

Today on the blog, chdr takes issue with DC Comics' approach to its attempted reboot:

In essence, this reboot was made specifically for me. But if lessening confusion was what it was all about, then the amorphous nature of this reboot aims to do the exact opposite. In all seriousness, what is this? It's not a new continuity, because several old DC events (like Brightest Day) are still canon. It's not a new approach at the already-existing universe, because there are certain things that were changed from the original (like Barbara Gordon becoming Batgirl again). So what am I even looking at? Is this some kind of bizarro DC-verse where a Back to the Future-type mishap caused the present to be the same yet disturbingly different at the same time? Or did DC just say "screw it" and used a massively-hyped "reboot event" to conveniently get rid of the things they didn't like without need for an explanation? This whatever-it-is approach really disappoints me not because it changed too much, but because it doesn't change enough.

Read more!

[Shawn Hopkins]

Good essay chdr, you make some good points. I agree that DC's reboot is a crazy quilt of craziness and that it might have been better to start the whole thing over instead of this patchwork approach.

But I do think your criticisms of the comic book industry as a whole aren't something I can agree with.

I don't think continuity is really such a burden for new readers. You can pick up just about any Superman trade paperback and understand it all on its own. There's continuity in freaking Friends episodes, no one complains unless they get it wrong.

I think the main barrier to comics' popularity is that they're so damn expensive for the 10 minutes or so entertainment they offer, although the trade paperback format and ready availability at major bookstores have helped turn that around. Also, Marvel and DC are now doing a great job of keeping the "classic" stories in print, so if you want to read some pivotal moment in a character's history you no longer have to haunt comics shops and flea markets for years until you find all of it. And yes, there's Amazon and e-comics to make things even easier.

And I don't think DC editors are really shortsighted fans putting continuity above good storytelling, in fact I'm quite sure that the primary reason for this reboot was to create a jumping on point for new digital readers. And you'll have to note that DC's golden boy, Geoff Johns, has been given what seems like free reign to retcon and rewrite whatever he damn well pleases. That seems like a company that's interested in comics that sell a lot more than comics that satisfy nerds to me.

Finally, I don't think one can hold up manga as something that proves American comics are doing something wrong anymore. The manga market and the manga sections at bookstores have been shrinking for the last few years, there was a boom there for a while but it's a distant memory.

[Ed Liu]

I'm mostly with Shawn, although my take on printed comics' relative lack of popularity when superheroes are rampaging all over the place is a bit different.

I have also long maintained that continuity is not an actual barrier to entry in superhero comics any more than it's a barrier to entry to a manga with 25 volumes on the shelf or a TV series that's been on the air for a few years. However, over time, I've come to start thinking that it can be perceived to be a barrier to entry because, "I don't know where to start" is a perfectly valid reason not to even try anything. I've felt that way myself about a range of different things (jazz or classical music and, ironically, manga and anime) and it's hard to really jump into something that clearly has so much material available to you without easy-to-find entry points. I can say that Usagi Yojimbo is accessible just about anywhere you choose to start, but I understand that my willingness to leap in with volume 19 is the exception and not the rule.

I think DC and Marvel have both been abysmal at creating those good entry points because even when they DO make good entry points, there's no way to distinguish them from the OTHER potential entry points. How is someone from the outside looking in supposed to tell that you can jump straight into Matt Fraction's The Invincible Iron Man from the Iron Man movies when there's 25 other TPBs on a bookshelf that say "Iron Man" on them? How is anybody supposed to find Gail Simone's run on Wonder Woman, and how can they tell where those fall in relation to the George Perez TPBs and all the other Wonder Woman TPBs that have come before that? The thing that I think DC and Marvel needed to learn from manga was clear, distinctive, consistent trade dress and labeling. This is entirely inconsistent with their seeming requirement to have 12 Batman and Spider-Man books on the stands at once.

That great big "#1" on the front of those DC Comics is a psychological ploy to get people to say, "Oh, THAT'S where I can start." The only thing different about DC's effort now is that it's happening across the board (again) and it's attached to the digital initiative. I'd even say that the scale of the operation is really the only thing that makes this reboot different from all the other times they've relaunched comics with a new #1 (didn't Marvel and DC do this until they hit big anniversary issue #'s, when the "reverted" back to the old numbering?) or launched new titles for their iconic characters with a new #1.

The omission above of direct market stores above is not an accident. I think the monthly comic is a format on artificial life support, and if it continues at all, it will be because of digital. Following an ongoing saga that comes out in monthly installments and can stretch on for years requires a degree of obsessive-compulsive behavior that the overwhelming majority of consumers just won't commit to. It's the same reason why TV soap operas command such small but fiercely loyal customer bases, I think.

[Astrolupine]

I've been saying for years that DC could provide a better sense of accessability if they included 1 or 2 'Previously In...' pages at the start of the issue, with a brief event recap and cast introduction included, like Marvel did around '97/'98, and still do in most of their lineup.

But few have listened. And frankly, the patchwork ideal is becoming more frustrating to me now than the character designs and status quo alterations (Babs, mainly.).

[Manga4life]

Is rebooting DC worth it? I guess we wont quite know until it happens, but I'll tell you this; DC has a lot of people talking right now and some friends I know who are huge fans of the DC films like The Dark Knight, Green Lantern, and classic Superman movies are actually thinking about picking up comics for the first time since they were children. I think DC had this in mind and I think it just may pay off for them in the long run, but we won't really know until the sales figures come through.

All I know is that I'm excited!

[Antiyonder]

They should either move forward or start over altogether. Lets look at some glitches that happened because of going halfway:

- Wonder Girl is an established veteran hero, whereas the person who was suppose to be her mentor is a newbie.
- Silver Age Hawkman existed Post-Crisis because of no immediate plans to reboot him. Several years later, a reboot is not only done, but all of Silver Age Hawkman's Post-Crisis appearances are all gone.

Big example is Superboy and The Legion:
- Clark Kent wasn't Superboy, so a Pocket Universe is established to explain why the Legion was inspired by him and even met him frequently. Maybe not perfect, but satisfying.

- Later on, the Legion of Super Heroes is rebooted, thus no longer needing to keep the Superboy/Superman connection, so the Pocket Universe can be removed. Except, that the then current Supergirl originated from there, plus after killing the Phantom Zone criminals, Superman exiled himself into space and met The Eradicator, who was important to The Return of Superman. So we can't get rid of the Pocket Universe afterall.

[ryandcow]

-In 5 years Hal Jordan becomes the GL, goes crazy, dies, becomes the spectre, comes back to life, has the blackest night and sinestro corps war?
-time stream is closed, but Booster Gold exists?
Biggest problems IMO
I think it was a dreadful idea but I'm being really selfish since the only 2 ongoings and the one I planned to pick up are gone after the reboot. Also they're destroying Booster Gold's great character development.

[Lerkero]

Good editorial.

I agree, if DC is going to do something new they need to go all in. How can you call something Superman #1 if its just another soft relaunch? That's not something new, that's just marketing.

I enjoy reading about comic book mythology because of how ridiculously complicated and funny it is to try and follow. However, I will never pick up single issue comic books because 3-4 dollars for something that offers so little entertainment for the time it takes to read does not interest me (Manga is somewhat more tolerable). Occasionally I might pick up a trade when its on sale.

If DC were going to get someone like me to care about buying comic books they would have to ACTUALLY start over, and go digital or go cheap.

I don't have much confidence in this relaunch either. Let's see how long it takes the continuity and plot to become greatly complicated again.