tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post5110268831767512335..comments2024-01-02T07:48:42.623-05:00Comments on Comics And...Other Imaginary Tales: Is DC Dying or Just in a funk?Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352163584546054887noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-76163737709506741532009-03-13T13:44:00.000-04:002009-03-13T13:44:00.000-04:00Bjooks - I have gotten rid of almost all my long b...Bjooks - I have gotten rid of almost all my long boxes and I now just mail my new comics off to three friends. Of course my hard cover and trade collection threaten to overwhelm me, but they are more accessible and easier to get to then long boxes.<BR/><BR/>I think you are right that the DCU has seen better days and at this point I have to admit it will be very easy to drop the DCU. I also agree then when the old stuff is more enjoyable then the new it is time to move on.<BR/><BR/>We will let you know when it is safe to come back in the water.Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00352163584546054887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-23272571298373511152009-03-13T11:53:00.000-04:002009-03-13T11:53:00.000-04:00Thanks for the concern, guys. I'm touched :-) He...Thanks for the concern, guys. I'm touched :-) <BR/><BR/>Here's the thing: I've realized that I'm not in love with the <I>medium</I> of comics so much as I was a really big fan of the DCU, and the DCU has seen better days. <BR/> Thus I decided to bow out for a while, so that when I pick things back up again (which will likely happen at some point), there will be a nice selection of trades I've missed so I can get back on the wagon, only as a trade-only reader. There's only one floppy I miss still getting: <I>Tiny Titans.</I><BR/><BR/>Sure, there's great Vertigo stuff, and great indy stuff (if you can separate wheat from chaff), and those are areas I hope to return when I get back as a TPB reader. Two particular Vertigo books -- <I>House of Mystery</I> and <I>Madame Xanadu</I> -- were enjoyable enough for me that, if they've not been cancelled by now, I'll be picking them up in trade sometime later this year. Same with <I>Perhapanauts</I>, same with the new <I>Umbrella Academy</I>. And I'll be getting the <I>Final Crisis</I> hardbound edition, especially seeing that it collects <I>Superman Beyond</I>. Those Crisis books came close to keeping me in the game a few months more, but the delays killed it for me.<BR/> <BR/>I was one of those folks who'd saved over 90% of all comics I'd ever bought. My collection was large enough I could have built a small igloo-style house for a family of four from the long & short boxes I have. But it's become a Titano-sized monkey on my back, so I'm in the process now of shaving that monkey and teaching him who's boss.<BR/><BR/>So don't worry -- I'll get back in the game eventually. Heck, I still check in on my fave comics sites every week or two. For now, though, I'm re-reading old books and trades I already have -- the early Byrne/Ordway Superman run, the early Perez WW run, the Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire JL. It's been more fun than the past year's worth of new comics. I guess that says it all -- when I was enjoying 25-year-old comics more than new ones, it knew it was time to take a break.Bjookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12291386425592619782noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-77888017407503324532009-03-13T10:02:00.000-04:002009-03-13T10:02:00.000-04:00Bjooks-You can't leave comics!!! The problem isn'...Bjooks-<BR/><BR/>You can't leave comics!!! The problem isn't you (well maybe) but the comics you read. I stopped most of the mainstream stuff a couple years ago but I found lots of new stuff in the indies. Let me know if you need 'guaranteed good reads' and I'll hook you up.<BR/><BR/>There's a whole big world of comics outside of the adventures of Spandex Continutiy ManAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-83886368122027191522009-03-12T20:31:00.000-04:002009-03-12T20:31:00.000-04:00Bjooks - By a more cohesive universe I want the DC...Bjooks - By a more cohesive universe I want the DCU in general to make more sense. Some books need to form the general spine of the universe, but it does not need slavish devotion. One thing you said did make me remember that I miss Elseworld stories which DC got away from. I loved some of those and they were good solid stories. <BR/><BR/><BR/>And you quit comics??? Come back, go the Vertigo / Indy route, plenty of good stuff there. <BR/>And as for Johns, I think he is a solid writer and I know he does love the silver age stuff but he usually modernizes it and he is the guiding hand behind the JSA which has more generation heroes then any other group. I was under the impression that Didio wanted Barry back and Johns is just their go to guy.Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00352163584546054887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-73015176445986347382009-03-12T19:20:00.000-04:002009-03-12T19:20:00.000-04:00Jim wrote: I love DC and I want them to succeed bu...<B>Jim wrote:</B> <BR/><I>I love DC and I want them to succeed but they need a more cohesive universe.</I><BR/><BR/>While I agree with your premise that DC has some serious issues, I'm not sure I agree about the solution. A big part of the problem for me is DC's slavish insistance on a cohesive universe at the expense of simple, good stories. It feels much like the early 90s, when telling a good story meant much less than tricking readers into buying big miniseries with many crossovers and multiple covers. Only this time, instead of tricking the customers into buying crap because they can, today's publishers (not just DC) are doing the same to make up for a quickly dwindling market. And the tricks only serve to drive more of the market away. Wash, rinse, repeat.<BR/><BR/>I didn't make it to the end of Final Crisis (I enjoyed it until I finally quit comics cold turkey at Thanxgiving), but I think a big part of the <I>sturm and drang</I> after it ended is because for years during this endless Crisis (and more specifically Countdown), we'd been led to believe that this universe cohesion mattered, that it was leading to something. But it wasn't. All it led to were bad stories stinking up the joint to such a degree that I don't care about the good ones anymore either.<BR/><BR/><B>Jim wrote:</B><BR/><I>DC needs a plan. . . . Under Didio DC has had spectacular success and spectacular failures, but it is very clear that the company is floundering and the current plans do not look like they will be fixing any of it soon. In fact with out Geoff Johns major projects they seem to have little else.</I><BR/><BR/>It's ironic you both deride DC for bringing back so much of the Silver Age DCU while also praising Geoff Johns as their only good writer, because next to Didio, Johns is the one primarily responsible for the Silver Age revival.<BR/><BR/>GL: Rebirth left a horrible taste in my mouth, as did JSA long before the book became JSofA. The idea of Johns doing a Flash: Rebirth series made me spit up in my mouth a little and killed whatever hope I had of the DCU remaining the home of generational heroes. I know he has his fans, but as long as Johns is with DC I don't expect them to break from blind Silver Age worship anytime soon.Bjookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12291386425592619782noreply@blogger.com