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Frankly, I wish that DC would copy Marvel more on what's really working: not 'reboots', just updated origins that fit the times. For example, during Batman:Knightfall, Scarecrow sent a booby-trapped VHS cassette to the police. If this were a Marvel property, should a writer need to refer back to that storyline today, the cassette would be retconned to a DVD or blu-ray, or even a download link (complete with a virus or some malware that their MacAfee/Avast couldn't detect...). But there's no need to say 'that story didn't happen. Here's the Nu52 rebooted Scarecrow who NEVER used VHS.'
I don't like Marvel's renumbering, but I can live with it. Especially with a few other key elements that Marvel's currently providing.
Accessible issues. Mark Waid is great at this. I saw this on his Twitter feed yesterday, in fact. In response to a query from a fan:
he said:
Not every arc. Every. Issue.
You know something? For whatever reason, I've never been a big Spidey reader. Weird, because I was a huge fan of Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends as a kid. I didn't (and don't) dislike the character. I just never really felt I wanted to read more. Well, thanks to Marvel Unlimited, I decided that I wanted to read the Civil War event. When I finished the core books, I started looking at tie-ins, including the Spidey books. And... even though I think the last Spider-Man title I read was either the annual where he and MJ tie the knot or Web of Spider-Man #1, I had absolutely no problem picking up the story. I didn't need to know about the first 45 years. I just dove in and started reading. In other words, while Waid is a great example of what I'm talking about, it's not just Waid. It's Straczyinski (sp?), it's Bendis, it's Soule, it's Brubaker... it's Marvel.
With DC? Half the time, I need to read back issues to follow the plot month to month. Because not only are the stories less accessible... they're less memorable.
Give me serious storylines, but make them easy to follow. Remember to put a little bit of lightness, not necessarily comedy relief (though that's okay too) in to balance the grim-and-gritty. And there's nothing wrong with grim-and-gritty. Daredevil was noir for decades, but every so often, he got to make (or hear!) a joke. (Full disclosure: I started reading DD in the middle of Volume 3. My introduction, unless we count my reading a reprint of his origin years ago, was to Waid's version. I have since gone back and read all the back issues I could get off Comixology and Marvel Unlimited and while I have enjoyed reading the Bendis-Brubaker-Diggle years, I freely acknowledge that I probably enjoyed them as much as I did because I'd already read current DD and knew that as dark and grim as Volume 2 got, there was going to be a brighter day coming.)
Where DC is going wrong is in trying to imitate Marvel's sizzle... but missing the point that the reason for that sizzle is that Marvel remembered to put steak on the grill! And until DC figures that out... their sizzle? Is going to be a lot closer to a hiss.
I don't like Marvel's renumbering, but I can live with it. Especially with a few other key elements that Marvel's currently providing.
Accessible issues. Mark Waid is great at this. I saw this on his Twitter feed yesterday, in fact. In response to a query from a fan:
@MarkWaid I do have a question regarding DD#1. Do I have to have read the previous run to "get it"? I have it in the read pile.
he said:
Never. Never, ever, ever, unless I fail to do my job. Every issue HAS to stand on its own as well as be part of a series.
Not every arc. Every. Issue.
You know something? For whatever reason, I've never been a big Spidey reader. Weird, because I was a huge fan of Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends as a kid. I didn't (and don't) dislike the character. I just never really felt I wanted to read more. Well, thanks to Marvel Unlimited, I decided that I wanted to read the Civil War event. When I finished the core books, I started looking at tie-ins, including the Spidey books. And... even though I think the last Spider-Man title I read was either the annual where he and MJ tie the knot or Web of Spider-Man #1, I had absolutely no problem picking up the story. I didn't need to know about the first 45 years. I just dove in and started reading. In other words, while Waid is a great example of what I'm talking about, it's not just Waid. It's Straczyinski (sp?), it's Bendis, it's Soule, it's Brubaker... it's Marvel.
With DC? Half the time, I need to read back issues to follow the plot month to month. Because not only are the stories less accessible... they're less memorable.
Give me serious storylines, but make them easy to follow. Remember to put a little bit of lightness, not necessarily comedy relief (though that's okay too) in to balance the grim-and-gritty. And there's nothing wrong with grim-and-gritty. Daredevil was noir for decades, but every so often, he got to make (or hear!) a joke. (Full disclosure: I started reading DD in the middle of Volume 3. My introduction, unless we count my reading a reprint of his origin years ago, was to Waid's version. I have since gone back and read all the back issues I could get off Comixology and Marvel Unlimited and while I have enjoyed reading the Bendis-Brubaker-Diggle years, I freely acknowledge that I probably enjoyed them as much as I did because I'd already read current DD and knew that as dark and grim as Volume 2 got, there was going to be a brighter day coming.)
Where DC is going wrong is in trying to imitate Marvel's sizzle... but missing the point that the reason for that sizzle is that Marvel remembered to put steak on the grill! And until DC figures that out... their sizzle? Is going to be a lot closer to a hiss.
