Yes, I’m sure you’ve seen many articles about the launch of the New DC Universe, which consisted of 52 brand new titles (well, some were more “brand-new” than others, as Batman, for instance, seemed to not notice that the universe had been rebooted) and happened ten years ago, in September 2011 (the first title, Justice League, launched in August, but then the rest came out in September). It was a big deal for a while, but it ultimately turned into a clusterfuck, with DC backpedaling five years later and continuing to futz with their “universe” because they can’t seem to help themselves. There’s an interesting (if very long) “oral history” of the project here, if you have a little time. I’m writing this today because on 2 October 2011, I wrote an epic review of every single #1 issue, and boy howdy, did it cause some consternation. I had a grand time writing it, and I tried to track DC’s commitment to diversity, because they claimed that diversity was a big part of the new line. Their track record was a bit less than stellar, I should point out. Anyway, it was on the front page of Comic Book Resources for a while, and whenever one of the blog’s post got on the front page, the crazy commenters came out, and we had a time. In case you missed it, it’s right here, and even if you don’t want to read reviews of ten-year-old comics that had no lasting impact on the comic book world, the comments are extremely fun to go through.
So that was the Nu-52. A traveshamockery of the highest order, and an event which shattered the comics internet for a bit. Good times!
Well, ten years on, *I* still find those reviews you wrote tasteless, *absolutely* tasteless…
Yeah, that was a weird adjective. They were many things, but I’m not sure how they were “tasteless.” I mean, in the specific sense that I have no taste, I get it, but a lot of people thought they were extra spicy! 🙂
DC could have taken the lesson from COIE that doing something big, spectacular and novel can produce good results. Instead they locked onto the idea that rebooting continuity is the solution to everything, even when there’s nothing to solve.
I think the New 52 isn’t quite as bad as its reputation suggests. It’s not all trash – in fact, reading Greg’s first-issue reviews, it was mostly mediocre with a sprinkling of great books (I still really like I, Vampire and OMAC) and a couple of truly horrible books (Red Lanterns, man…). Not too different from the pre-Flashpoint distribution of quality. I do think the problem is that even the good books didn’t necessarily feel that fresh, like the best post-Crisis books did. DC should have had some fresher talent on their NuDC books. It didn’t seem like there was the same equivalent if bringing over Mike Baron and John Ostrander from First, or Byrne/Miller from Marvel that we saw in 1987.
Peter: I don’t disagree, especially about the talent they brought in, which seemed … very recycled, to say the least. The books themselves, at least the first issues, weren’t terrible, they just felt … dull. Corporate-produced stuff. If you’re going to reboot, have some fun with it. A few books did that, but not enough. But yes, the talent thing is very much something they should have worked out. If the books weren’t selling well before the reboot and you use a lot of the same talent on the books after the reboot … well, perhaps you should check that out.
My, what a polite way to phrase things, Mr. Burgas. LOL 😉
DC seemed to think “none of our characters will be older than 25” would be a good hook for the books, which says a lot.
Good point. As always with both DC and Marvel, I wonder if they do any market research to find out who’s buying their books. If it’s nothing but young people, then go for it. But I suspect a majority of the reading public is old fuddy-duddies like me, and we don’t cotton to that young’un stuff! 🙂
Yes, they simultaneously acknowledge their core audience is old folks like us yet insist on gearing books for twentysomething fans.
“But I suspect a majority of the reading public is old fuddy-duddies like me, and we don’t cotton to that young’un stuff!”
Not anymore. Most of the audiences at the conventions I go to seem to be in the 35 and under crowd, and they seem to have very little knowledge or interest in the eras of comics that this collective prefers. And it’s not just about comics, but all entertainment. They can be all about ATTACK ON TITAN or ONE PIECE or DEATH NOTE or MY HERO ACADEMIA, but they legitimately won’t know jack about AKIRA, or APPLESEED, or GHOST IN THE SHELL, or other classic anime / manga and they look at you like you’re an alien if you try to strike up a conversation with them about it.
Which is pretty normal. I think people in most generations (with lots of individual exceptions of course) enjoy writers and TV contemporary with them, not the Dad Stuff of the previous eras. Pretty much all the Modern Masters Of Speculative Fiction from my teen years are now Dead Writers Who Deserve To Be Read More Often.
One thing that popped out skimming through comments that grimly amused me was your comment about DC apparently thinking that Scott Lobdell was the only one who could write teenagers. Yikes….
Reading that oral history of the Nu52 shows that while Didio wasn’t afraid to take big chances, he wasn’t great at planning.
I really like that they tried to get some non-superhero books out there. But would it have hurt them to take a couple days and actually plan things out a bit? Like, how many Robins there were?
And then Rebirth was even worse. OK, so the unmarried Superman is dead and the married one kind of merged with that timeline and so did Lois who is now older but no one notices? Because Dr. Manhattan did it? Because that totally how his powers worked in Watchmen… I still don’t understand that one.
Maybe DC should take a real risk and… try to tell good stories that aren’t about the multiverse being at risk?