DC NEW 52 Wrap Rap: Part 2

RH: If in a month, or six months, or a year, sales are exactly back to what they were, is this a total failure? Or did the line need a shot in the arm anyway? How much regret do you foresee DC feeling at some point down the road?

MG: No matter what, I think it’s going to be seen as a slight success, unless the numbers plummet even further than where they were at pre-reboot. The line definitely needed that boost, that breath of fresh air; whatever you want to call it, DC needed it. There was so much fat dragging down this universe. And if the sales go up just for a few months, it will show them change doesn’t need to be scary, and that even when it makes the fans angry, we’ll come back for more. I really hope that they don’t regret it, and keep making decisions that reflect a willingness to try new things.

RH: I agree. It probably puts a lot of pressure on them, but in some cases, not enough. Before we get into the absolute garbage, what were the books that you were surprised to see on the list, and then turned out to be totally unnecessary?

MG: There were a good amount of those… Both “Legion” books, “OMAC”, “Static Shock”, “Hawk and Dove”, “Firestorm”. Were people really demanding all of these? Was someone going to be severely upset they weren’t going to be able to find out what “Death Stroke” has been up to? These choices baffle me. What were yours?

RH:Not to mention four Batman books, along with Nightwing, Batgirl, and Batwoman. And four (four!!!) Green Lantern books. Do you think that we could sit here and think of other DC characters that were more deserving of their own title, or do you think 52 books was just way too many?

MG: I think DC is way too smitten with the number 52- it’s pretty ambitious to put out that many new titles. There are definitely other characters better suited for their own books; I’d much rather read a Lex Luthor book than Death Stroke, and some of the characters who only show up in team books would be awesome solo. Maybe give Constantine his own book again, and chop off one of the Batman books. Blasphemy, I know.

RH: Specifically, what was the absolute worst of the line  and/or what do you think is not long for this world?

MG: Oh man, so many to choose from. Legion of Super-Heroes and Legion Lost for sure, these have always been some of the lamest and worst written characters and nothing has changed. They attempted to give Blue Beetle a new spin, and spun him into total dogshit. Everything in that book has been done before, and far better.

RH: I HATED Batman: The Dark Knight. If it was the only Batman book, that would have been a bummer. But with three others, including Scott Snyder’s which was favorite out of all 52, there is absolutely no need for this. Firestorm fits right in with what you said about Blue Beetle. Other steaming piles include Red Lanterns, Mister Terrific, Hawkman, and Green Arrow. These are books that would have had their finger on the cancellation button anyway, so it’s not really a surprise. The big one though was Superman. This was a snorefest the whole way through, with nary a snooze button in sight. I couldn’t believe they would drop the ball this much on their number one property. Fortunately they have Action Comics by Grant Morrison, which shows a lot of promise.

MG: I didn’t hate Batman: The Dark Knight, but it was definitely unnecessary when compared to the other three. They each have an obvious angle, where that book is just kind of there. I don’t think Green Arrow would be cancelled in the old world, he’s a pretty popular character that they only took the absolute worst pieces for the reboot, which was disappointing. When the majority of these books inevitably fail, do you think they’ll just go back to the pre-reboot universe, or do you think they’ll reassign the staff of those books, or fire them as they should?

RH: Unless something crazy bad happens, like Disney buys DC, and the only way the characters exist are in the comic books that Marvel characters read, I think DC will have  a longer leash then they used to, and then start canceling or firing. I don’t really believe in a good character as much as I do a good writer, and hardly have any books I would continue to read if they put a bad writer on it. Admitting defeat, and going back to the old way, would be a huge blow to DC and the industry, especially with a fanbase that is so hardcore about continuity and reading comics that “matter”, or have implications in the bigger universe. I have heard on the internet  that the hooded woman that appears in every first issue serves as a reset button, and she can reset this universe to the old universe or a new new universe anytime she wants.

MG: I want to see the parallel universe where Wolverine reads about Batman. That would blow my mind a little. I agree with the “following the writer not the character” method. Good writers have shown how they can take lame-ass characters and make them not only fun to read, but elevated above characters normally thought of as “classic”; i.e. Animal Man over Green Arrow. I used to think I’d read Green Arrow no matter what, just based on my affinity towards the character, but I’m not touching that again unless a writer I know to be great takes over. I hope the hooded woman turns out to be something way cooler than just a reset button, something we haven’t even imagined yet….

RH: Over the last four weeks, we read 52 books, which was both kind of fun and harder than I thought. You are now off the hook, and able to pick whatever you want to read for the rest of your life. Don’t tell me how many books you think you’re going to read in October, but…honestly…how many of the 52 do you think you will actually read?

MG: The answer might’ve been different if it was just from the top of my head, but staring at the complete list, there’s 24 titles I’ll continue to read, at least for another few issues. Which is way more than I expected from myself… I feel a little dirty. How about you?

RH: I’m counting about 15 that I will definitely be back for. I would say 15 others will depend on time and money. The rest, I will be waiting for writer or artist replacements. There’s a part of me that is glad that my number isn’t 52, but I have a much lower number than I thought I would. I know everyone can’t like everything, but 15 is a bad ratio. I’m also a little sad that, starting this Wednesday, I will have no longer read everything in an entire universe’s continuity, something that I got to “enjoy” for a whole month.

MG: There’s definitely been a sense of accomplishment with the whole thing. And as someone who goes back and forth with how into comics I am, this was a giant shove into having them consume most of my free time, so maybe in that light this whole thing could be considered a success.

RH: So what do you want to tackle this month? Every issue of Cerebus?

MG: I don’t even know what that is.

RH: I don’t know either. Good night, everybody!