We’re back! Because Derek was at the Royal Rumble, we recorded this on Thursday and we’ve been dying to share it with you guys. This week, Derek and Tyler look at the State of DC Comics in part one of a two part series about the Big Two. This podcast not only gives an honest look from the fans perspective, but it also breaks down each New 52 category since it launched September 2011. There’s so much to talk about, that this is the biggest episode of The Comic Shoot yet at 1 Hour 20 Minutes!
We want to hear from you about this episode too! Comment below, send us an email at allcomic@outlook.com, use the website (all-comic.com) comment box, tweet us @AllComic_ do whatever you have to because we want your thought on this podcast and the New 52. Oh, and don’t forget to comment, rate and subscribe on iTunes!
Also want to give a quick shout out to Justin Orfanella since he sent us a great comment after we had recorded episode 04. So, thanks Justin!
So I have to say that I’m a bit at odds with the opinion you guys expressed with regards to the Bat-books. Now, to be fair, I haven’t been reading any of them from the start, just certain storylines that catch my attention. So the fact that I went into Death of the Family without having read Night/Court of the Owls may factor in to why I liked it. I didn’t have anything building up my expectations. However, I’m also a sucker for Joker stories, and I love all of the psychology that’s been going into his character ever since Alan Moore showed in The Killing Joke just how deep comics can delve into serious topics. That said, I will agree that the Bat-books have been hit or miss, and I haven’t been reading anything Zero Year. Still, I think you’ve been a bit too hard on DotF.
On the other hand, I do agree with the opinions expressed about Villains’ Month. DC really screwed the pooch on that one. I think I had five 3D covers on order after they were announced — and yeah, I know it’s gimmicky, but I really liked the 3D covers. I only actually got 2 of them at my comic shop, the 2 Earth-2 issues. I’ve since been able to get two of the other three from secondary retailers for a few extra dollars, but I’ve only ever seen The Joker’s Daughter online for $20 and up, with something like $40 being the highest I’ve personally seen. Now, I do feel that some comics may someday go up in value, though I doubt they’ll be anything I own, and certainly it won’t happen in my lifetime, with any modern comics at least. And I agree with what you guys said in episode 2…and 3…and a bit here too, that it’s pretty naiive and ridiculous to expect that if you hold onto a comic for a few years you’ll be able to buy a house with it or something. Maybe in the year 2230, New 52 #1’s will go for a bit of cash, but I doubt anything modern will ever become as legendary as Action Comics #1 or Amazing Fantasy #15. I’d be surprised if Batman, Inc. Vol. 2 #8 ever became more valuable than maybe $30, not that I think I’ll live to see it even hit that price. Anyway, tangent aside, DC would have been better served to oversaturate the market with 3D covers, because at least they’d be getting the money that way. Whoever picks up that Joker’s Daughter for $40+ isn’t giving that cash to DC, it’s going into the pocket of some scalper somewhere. If you don’t put any product out, you can’t complain about low sales. And though September was a good month for DC financially, I bet it would have been ever better if they’d actually released a sufficient amount of product.
On another topic, how do you guys feel about big cross-over events like Forever Evil and Zero Year? I think I might have an idea of the response to that question, but it must be asked. Personally, I don’t have much issue with them, if they’re done properly. But I don’t think DC has been doing it right. Forever Evil started out fine — I liked Villains’ Month, and I have the mini on my pull list. But I feel like half of the DCU is bogged down in Forever Evil tie-ins right now. Since my personal approach is often to buy singles of particular storylines if I haven’t been pulling the series from #1, this is kind of troubling to me, because there’s no room for any stories that I might want to start following. I don’t feel the need to buy the dozens of Forever Evil tie-ins they’re putting out, I’m content to allow the mini to tell the story. I just got Forever Evil #4 last week, and I feel like we’ve been in the event for a year — and it’s only halfway over!!! I feel like the same thing is happening to the Bat-family with Zero Year. Again, I haven’t read it, but I’ve gotten the impression that it’s basically a retelling of Batman’s origins and Miller’s Year One, in some ways, and I don’t think we needed yet another one of those stories. I was really glad to see the start of the Gothtopia story in Detective Comics #27, because not only is it an interesting story that I want to read, it’s also how I feel events should be done. All told, including tie-ins, the event takes up 10 issues. I get wanting to tell a sprawling story of epic proportions, but it’s overkill at this point. You don’t need a year’s worth of comics within a few months to tell this one story. It probably was a bad idea to run Zero Year and Forever Evil simultaneously too, since it seems like a lot of the DCU is really just mired in long, slow-moving stories with little room for new ideas, but the issue of timing is completely different from this one.
So yeah, those are my thoughts. And thanks for the shout-out!! =D Looking forward to the next episode, you guys make Mondays worthwhile.
Thanks so much Justin! Great comment, glad you posted it up here. Personally, I’ve completely stayed away from FOREVER EVIL and I’ve pulled out my BATMAN issues (#21-#24) for ZERO YEAR to take another read and stab at it. It didn’t do anything the first time but it deserves one more shot, I think. Listen for another shout out next week, too, on our State of Marvel Comics episode!
Really enjoyed this guys. I share a lot of the same opinions as you guys especially Tyler’s on bullshit events and gimmicks.
Looking to hearing the Marvel one later tonight!
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