I'm not a curmudgeony old man who wants his stuff left
alone, and I'm not a Mega-Fanboy who can't stand change.
Most of the comics I still partake of are unusual twists on old
notions or characters. I like diversity.
Change for its own sake? Not so much.
That said, I was really disappointed to hear the news of how
DC Comics is relaunching their entire line of titles later this
year.
These sorts of publicity stunts rarely succeed. The energy and
distinctness of new creative teams in the comics industry has
a shelf-life of about 3 months, and then the status quo comes raging
back into the vacuum.
Also, this is so desperate, so grand,
it really is whelming. You expect regular readers to test drive
52 new series, with finances what they are?
What is the appeal to new readers or non-comics
folks? To try out what seems like a sales gimmick?
What about all those years of stories, now--once again--
tossed to the roadside? Yes, it's challenging to find new things to say.
Yes, continuity is a bear. (But if the weight of continuity is
the restriction they are attempting to unload, who wants to bet
how many weeks before the coordination of an entire
universe's shared history gets shafted by a lack of
editorial coordination in the new DCU?
It's just kind of sad. All the homogenization I see in
the new, streamlined costumes is just a bad idea. One
artist to give a visual spark to an entire line of characters?
Where's the feeling? Where's the history?
Where's the uniqueness and flavor?
Oh well. It's been a while since I could afford a
4-color marvel anyway, and maybe this is the drastic
change the industry needs to reinvent itself.
I just know I've lost any and all interest in seeing characters
I once loved put through yet another blender.
Stick to something, DC. This just smacks of
lackluster sell-out and pandering.
Good luck with that.
