In their Quixotic quest to lure in new readers, DC Comics is relaunching, restarting, rebooting…whatever, all their titles this September and starting over from issue number one; not on just some as they ended up doing in 1985 after the first Crisis.
What makes this latest Hail Mary pass different from their previous umpteen attempts is that DC’s 52 titles will now be available in a digital format on the same day as they hit the comic book stores. Pretty cool for my friends who reside in remote places. I am concerned about how this will affect my local shops (Rogues Gallery and Dragon’s Lair). With me, they have nothing to sweat. I buy a few titles reliably, read them once or twice, then pass them on to new homes. (I got out of the collecting element years ago.) Meanwhile, there are others who have found digital sources years ago; I will state no judgment but if we’ve ever discussed this in person before, you would know my stance. The fate of DC’s digital distribution will be determined by an audience less dedicated to technology and direct-sales shops…oh, and price. Eight years ago, iTunes was the same way: those who were stealing music weren’t curtailed and still aren’t despite Limewire going under.
However, I guess I’ve been wrong about DC’s ongoing, every-several-years rebooting strategy. I suppose it works for brief stretches because they’ve continued doing it since the Nineties after past ‘event-shaking’ Eighties crossovers failed: Legends, Millenium, Invasion! and Armageddon: 2000 readily come to mind. I disagree on DC’s course of action but for reasons other than fanboy cynicism or accusations of greed. DC and to some extent Marvel underestimate the audience’s ability to absorb the backstories their characters have. The people who will become lifelong fans can figure these things out pretty quickly. The casual ones can get the core gist too. As I’ve argued before, The Lord of the Rings film trilogy was an enormous success and in order to this, it had to lure in the “straights,” an inside joke from my friend Steve the artist. Comic books’ audience finds it, not the other way around. By trying to simplify matters with ‘jumping-off’ points, they come off as over-eager.
Case in point. When I was younger, my friend Jon loaned his collection of New Teen Titans. It sadly didn’t start from issue one, it was closer to number 18 or 20. This failed to deter my enjoyment though. I was able to figure out why Deathstroke hated the heroes through flashbacks, references, etc.; the same regarding the team’s history with Brother Blood, the Fearsome Five and HIVE. There was no need to hunt down the missing issues. Nowadays, it’s no problem, DC reprints material into trade-paperbacks a year or two later so Jon could’ve fill the gaps. My larger point is that long-standing superhero comics are similar to TV soap operas, they honestly don’t require too much mental investment to come up to speed on for newbies or for those who missed a couple years. Therefore, remembering the differences between Earth-1 and Earth-2 isn’t as hard as the ‘brane Science they gave birth too.
I think there will be a silver lining. Currently, I have been contemplating ending my sub to JLA. It’s a great title with a rich legacy, just not with this incarnation (I want to say volume four). The team has never had a consistent lineup, it’s practically a revolving door (last time I checked, active members included Dr. Light II, Vixen and Black Lightning) and all momentum keeps evaporating due to crossovers bleeding into it: some nonsense requiring issues of JSA and Legion of Superheroes or the atrocious Darkest Night (I can only hope the reboot eliminates all the other colored lanterns). Maybe, just maybe, JLA #1 (volume five?) can start with the heavy-hitters everybody loved from the Sixties, The Superfriends and CN’s Justice League, sprinkle in a couple lesser characters and run with it for three years before they have a Detroit moment. Make it a dedicated team book as it was meant to be.