Batman and Superman should just have one comic book each

[Calhoun07]

One title for each character, and that's it. Period. Everything else gets cancelled, or give Action Comics and Detective Comics to different characters, but they need to appear in one title only.

The thing that turns me off IMMENSELY with both DC and Marvel is continuing one story started in one title into another title all together. Back in the day, when I was reading Amazing Spider Man and Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider Man on a regular basis, both titles didn't cross over very much with story lines. I didn't HAVE to read both titles to stay up with one story.

I have tried to get Superman and Action Comics in the past and like wise with Batman and Detective Comics, but gave up with frustration when I soon discovered that one story I was reading was continued in a title I didn't even get. And since I pre order my comics like three months in advance and there are no comic shops in my immediate area to go to, I was just out of luck. I soon gave up the titles and was content with the Batman and Superman comics based on the animated shows.

DC (and Marvel to some extent, but DC is the worst offender of this continuing story lines across several different titles) needs to cancel ALL existing Superman and Batman books and consolodate them into one title for each character. Superman and Batman. Those comics will continue uninterrupted. And the current creative teams keep their jobs. But Batman and Superman would be released on a weekly schedule, and a different creative team would be responsible for a different week. This would allow them to carry story lines now carrying over from Action to Superman to Man of Steel to Supergirl to Krypto the Mighty Mutt to whatever and keep them all in the same title. It makes sense to me, it makes sense to other comic book readers I know, it's just why can't DC see this and just do it?

[The Flash]

My dad would die if they did that.........he gets all the Batman comics and that's it........he has no probs with it being so many.....not at all.

[Joker85]

I agree!! It gets really confusing.

[Eldermount]

How would this be really any different than how it's going down now? Okay, so there are four different titles each for Batman and Superman. If you consolidated down to one title and have the creative teams revolve on a four week rotation, how does that become different? Subscription costs would have to quadruple. You'd still be having to get a new comic each week to keep up with the story line.

I just don't see why this would be better than just subscribing to the four different titles.

[Calhoun07]

Originally posted by Eldermount
How would this be really any different than how it's going down now? Okay, so there are four different titles each for Batman and Superman. If you consolidated down to one title and have the creative teams revolve on a four week rotation, how does that become different? Subscription costs would have to quadruple. You'd still be having to get a new comic each week to keep up with the story line.

I just don't see why this would be better than just subscribing to the four different titles.

By having the story lines continue in one title such as Superman or Action Comics and doing away with the others, it's easier for the reader to not only keep up on the story (right now you have two numbering systems on the Batman and Superman comics as it is, the regular issue number then the number of the "chapter" or whatever for the story that week.) Also, when saving the back issues, it's easier to go back to read the stories when you got them all together. I have tried to go back to read some stories from the 80's when DC was starting to do this stuff, and I would realize that the Green Arrow story I was trying to read was continued in Detective Comics and I had no idea where the Detective Comics issue was.

It would greatly simplify things and also make it easier for newbies to jump on board. I suppose if you've been reading the comics for 20 years, that's something you are used to, but by just making it one weekly title, you're not asking the reader to buy any more than they are now (I believe there are at least four different Superman titles that can have one story line running thru them currently) and it makes it easier for new readers to jump in and to know they won't get lost in following one story line from one title to the next.

These days comic book sales are suffering enough. If you ask me, it's because DC makes it too hard for new readers to jump in. They may not be doing anything on purpose to make it hard, but it definately caters to the established fan rather than pull in the new convert. If anything, make them bi-weekly, and then just have two titles, Superman and Action Comics. That's all you really need anyway.

On a side note, did anybody notice that Marvel is going bi weekly with Daredevil?

[Beyond Batman]

When I met Devon Grayson, she made a good point. "If you don't like one of the Bat books, maybe you'd be more interested in another that's more appeaing to you."

All the books have consistancy, and so long as that is maintained, having more than 3 or 4 titles shouldn't be a problem nor confusing (for me at least). Yet, they each have their own styles. I collect all the titles, and some months others are better than others, but overall, I seem to enjoy them all. You also have to consider, DC is a universe, so somewhere along the lines heroes are gonna bump into other heroes... it's almost inevitable.

Another thing, it's also DC's way of marketing their other products. If you're a huge Batman fan, you'll be most likely to buy most of his books. Having his stories go into other books will make you buy that book.

For example, a few of the Nightwing books crossed over into Birds of Prey, a title I never picked up. But because the ctorylines continued into that series, I found BOP more interesting and I began picking up a few of those books. It's their way of "hook, line, and sinker!"

Why else would Batman have so many other spinoffs? Because he's a popular character that can sell. DC needs to make money too, right?

My two cents.
-Beyond Batman

[Eldermount]

Originally posted by calhoun07
By having the story lines continue in one title such as Superman or Action Comics and doing away with the others, it's easier for the reader to not only keep up on the story (right now you have two numbering systems on the Batman and Superman comics as it is, the regular issue number then the number of the "chapter" or whatever for the story that week.) Also, when saving the back issues, it's easier to go back to read the stories when you got them all together. I have tried to go back to read some stories from the 80's when DC was starting to do this stuff, and I would realize that the Green Arrow story I was trying to read was continued in Detective Comics and I had no idea where the Detective Comics issue was.

It would greatly simplify things and also make it easier for newbies to jump on board. I suppose if you've been reading the comics for 20 years, that's something you are used to, but by just making it one weekly title, you're not asking the reader to buy any more than they are now (I believe there are at least four different Superman titles that can have one story line running thru them currently) and it makes it easier for new readers to jump in and to know they won't get lost in following one story line from one title to the next.

Though I know it's not quite the same, I remember when DC ran Action Comics as a weekly comic. (It sounds like you probably remember that, too.) They made a run at it, and it didn't work. I also remember back when Action Comics, Adventures of Superman, and Superman ran different storylines that only ran through their individual titles. Fans complained that having different stories made no sense. Why would Superman be doing such and such in Action, when he's dealing with this totally different problem in Adventures of Superman? It sounds like either way you go, there are going to be unhappy fans.

These days comic book sales are suffering enough. If you ask me, it's because DC makes it too hard for new readers to jump in. They may not be doing anything on purpose to make it hard, but it definately caters to the established fan rather than pull in the new convert. If anything, make them bi-weekly, and then just have two titles, Superman and Action Comics. That's all you really need anyway.

It's been a while since I've purchased any of the titles you mentioned. (It got waaaay too expensive to buy all the titles I wanted, back when I was unemployed.) But back when they started doing this, after Man of Steel was introduced, I remember that the final text box on the final page would usually end with something along the lines of "Next week, in Adventures of Superman (or whatever appropriate title)...." Are they no longer doing that?

As for the comic slump, most industries have been suffering. I don't think you can realistically blame DC's practices for what's currently a national trend.

[Samhaine]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by calhoun07
[B]

(right now you have two numbering systems on the Batman and Superman comics as it is, the regular issue number then the number of the "chapter" or whatever for the story that week.) [\B][\QUOTE]



Untrue. On the 4 main Superman titles, they do have a number, in the little S-triangle, that numbers the Superman books each year. That is for the order.

The Batman books have no such numbering. In fact, they never had. Legends of the Dark Knight isn't even in the present.

On a side note, did anybody notice that Marvel is going bi weekly with Daredevil?

Only for issues 20-25. After that, it goes back to monthly, with Brian Michel Bendis writing.

[Calhoun07]

I'm not trying to blame DC for the current slump in the market for comics, just pointing out that they might make it more appealing to new comers if they would just simplify their titles and keep it to a couple per character.

The real problem with the market is that comics are just too expensive. It's not that long ago that a comic book costing 60¢ was really stretching it, and now they go for about three dollars a piece. That's what's hurting comics, not four Superman titles, six Batman titles, and what not, but those do tend to confuse the new readers and it doesn't help. If the comic book companies need to do anything, they need to stop printing ALL their comics on the really expensive paper. It may look great, it may make the comic book look more slick and collectible, but in the end, it's the expensive paper that turns people off from buying more titles. Cerebus has kept the same price and the same paper for the past several years while all others have gone up in price, which says something.

[Clayface]

I disagree with the idea of making it only one title per character. As Batman Beyond pointed out, there are often times that I don't care for a particular creative team, but I can always go off and read a different storyline in a different title. I love the fact that I have so many interpretations of the character to choose from, and would be disappointed if they paired it down to just one title.

I do, however, understand your issues with the crossover stuff. I can't stand when they cross one storyline over to another book - its annoying, and nothing more than a ploy to get people to try and read some of the other DC books. I think they should just stop this practice, but keep the various titles in existence.

[Nightwing]

I agree. But I think that covers spinoffs. I don't mind different interpretations. I actually favor them for the reasons stated by Beyond Batman. There are as many Batman titles as there are religions! lol. But making things more complicated is going to...well...make things more complicated. Calhoun brought up my most feared example: Spiderman.

You've got your Spiderman, your Peter Parker, your Peter-man, your Spider-Parker....Oy! Those were weird, but I wouldn't want to buy another if what I like is in one. If one comic doesn't appeal to me, I wouldn't want to have to buy copies of it just because my book of choice other book told me to since that's where the story is going to continue to be covered.

Now I remember what turned me off to comics 15 years ago in the days when everyone else started. Now, after being older, I find myself wanting to get in, but it's extremely difficult because of how certain things are.

[Calhoun07]

Originally posted by Nightwing
I agree. But I think that covers spinoffs. I don't mind different interpretations. I actually favor them for the reasons stated by Beyond Batman. There are as many Batman titles as there are religions! lol. But making things more complicated is going to...well...make things more complicated. Calhoun brought up my most feared example: Spiderman.

You've got your Spiderman, your Peter Parker, your Peter-man, your Spider-Parker....Oy! Those were weird, but I wouldn't want to buy another if what I like is in one. If one comic doesn't appeal to me, I wouldn't want to have to buy copies of it just because my book of choice other book told me to since that's where the story is going to continue to be covered.

Now I remember what turned me off to comics 15 years ago in the days when everyone else started. Now, after being older, I find myself wanting to get in, but it's extremely difficult because of how certain things are.

Well, I am starting to read Peter Parker and Amazing Spider Man again after a LONG hiatus from both books, and, at least for right now, both of them are stand alones, but they are kicking some serious butt. You better get in when you can!

As far as the objections to the one or two titles idea...I guess I can see it as far as Batman goes. I don't know if they have the continuing story lines in between several different titles that much (but they did for the time I tried collecting Batman and Detective Comics not too long ago) but Superman is always having cross story lines. I picked up Superman and Action Comics because I liked the creative teams on those books, but when I learned I had to read Man of Steel and some other title I didn't want to buy just to follow the story line from month to month, I found it frustrating and confusing. If Superman had one title, you could keep the same creative teams to put out the book on that schedule, and it wouldn't be any different than it is now except the covers would all have the same title and they would all follow the same numeric sequence.

I actually do have a better idea than that, tho. Make Superman and Action Comics STAND ALONE titles again! Have a cross over now and then, if you must, but keep the stories confined to one title. I would be more than willing to pick them up again if they would do that.

[Clayface]

For the most part, the Batman titles are stand alone. For a long while, they swore off the crossover storylines completely, but then along came Knightsend, Cataclysm, No man's Land, etc. They went crossover crazy for a while there. No, for the most part, the Batman titles are back to being stand alone, with an occasional crossover stryline, but I think they're coming up to another big crossover event this fall.

[Calhoun07]

Originally posted by Clayface
For the most part, the Batman titles are stand alone. For a long while, they swore off the crossover storylines completely, but then along came Knightsend, Cataclysm, No man's Land, etc. They went crossover crazy for a while there. No, for the most part, the Batman titles are back to being stand alone, with an occasional crossover stryline, but I think they're coming up to another big crossover event this fall.

You had me excited there for a mintute. I can handle picking up two books per month, but I am not up for some multi title cross over. If they would just stay away from them all together, I would read them.

[Clayface]

Originally posted by calhoun07

You had me excited there for a mintute. I can handle picking up two books per month, but I am not up for some multi title cross over. If they would just stay away from them all together, I would read them.

Unfortunately, that's just how it goes - its a common marketing trick in the comic industry. If you're looking for stand alone storylines, you just have hit things at the right time - the comics always bounce back and forth between stand alone stories, and crossover stories. You said you preorder comics - do you use Previews? They usually indicate there which storylines continue on and which don't. You can always just avoid those crossover storylines.

[JTMarsh]

One title for each character, and that's it. Period. Everything else gets cancelled, or give Action Comics and Detective Comics to different characters, but they need to appear in one title only.

The thing that turns me off IMMENSELY with both DC and Marvel is continuing one story started in one title into another title all together. Back in the day, when I was reading Amazing Spider Man and Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider Man on a regular basis, both titles didn't cross over very much with story lines. I didn't HAVE to read both titles to stay up with one story.

I have tried to get Superman and Action Comics in the past and like wise with Batman and Detective Comics, but gave up with frustration when I soon discovered that one story I was reading was continued in a title I didn't even get. And since I pre order my comics like three months in advance and there are no comic shops in my immediate area to go to, I was just out of luck. I soon gave up the titles and was content with the Batman and Superman comics based on the animated shows.

DC (and Marvel to some extent, but DC is the worst offender of this continuing story lines across several different titles) needs to cancel ALL existing Superman and Batman books and consolodate them into one title for each character. Superman and Batman. Those comics will continue uninterrupted. And the current creative teams keep their jobs. But Batman and Superman would be released on a weekly schedule, and a different creative team would be responsible for a different week. This would allow them to carry story lines now carrying over from Action to Superman to Man of Steel to Supergirl to Krypto the Mighty Mutt to whatever and keep them all in the same title. It makes sense to me, it makes sense to other comic book readers I know, it's just why can't DC see this and just do it?

I agree, trying to keep up with the multiple titles is just annoying, not to mention overexposing.