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Saturday, January 23, 2016 

Relaunching to reflect TV and films won't salvage DC

It's been less than 5 years since DC ran their publicity stunt to relaunch nearly their whole universe (save for Green Lantern and Batman), and now, they're doing it yet again, this time for the sake of their TV and film productions:
This June, DC Comics will undergo yet another continuity reboot of its ongoing fictional mythology with brand-new issue #1’s. If this sounds familiar, just hold on a minute. Unlike DC’s 2011 relaunch, the New 52, which had its share detractors and fans alike, this relaunch will tailor the comics to better resemble DC’s TV shows and nascent cinematic universe, which more formally kicks off this year with Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad. And it may wind up being the best, boldest move at a time when DC’s comics desperately need one.
Nope. It won't. It hasn't helped Marvel, mostly because of the cover prices, and also because the stories in the pamphlets themselves have none of the charm or value that the gems of the past do. It's also because they destroyed characterization past writers worked so hard to develop, and because DC went miles out of their way to make their series' viewpoints even bleaker than Marvel's. Setting up the comics to resemble the movies is little more than signaling they don't think the audience can understand when liberties are taken with screen adaptations. It's also another confirmation the comics no longer stand on their own, and are now a second banana to the films and TV shows.

Besides, they already went to such lengths to mandate the comics resemble the films early on, so this isn't really anything new. It's just another excuse for a stunt to raise sales artificially with new Number Ones, and the series proceed to taper off on the charts later. There's nothing to see here, and anybody who knows Dan DiDio's record will only keep staying away so long as he's still there.

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Yet another reboot!?

Publishing comics that closely resemble the TV shows and movies might not be a bad idea, but they would need to make them available in places where the general public could find them. A lot of people are not into comics, and don't want to make a special trip to a comic book specialty shop. But they might buy a comic with characters they recognize (Batman, Avengers, Superman, Guardians of the Galaxy), if they see it on sale in their local drug store or grocery store.

Also, the comics would have to be kid-friendly.

They do not sell at the local drug or grocery store anymore.

I feel like there is some crossover appeal, however, it does not go in the direction that this incentive would have us believe. I truly believe that people who read comic books also do enjoy the television shows and movies. That, however, appears to only be a one-way road. People who are fans of the TV shows and movies have little to no interest in reading comic books.

Adjusting the comics universe to come more inline with their live action counterparts is an attempt at widening their readership, though it will only alienate long-time readers and attract zero new readers. I am not looking forward to this REBIRTH if this is what they have in store for us.

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  • From Jerusalem, Israel
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