Impotent Fanboy Bitching

I’ve hesitated to say anything about the upcoming DCU Relaunch (Reboot?) for a couple reasons – One, simple lack of information. Despite the best efforts of Newsarama, Bleeding Cool, and the rest, I really feel like hard data is scarce on the ground.  Aside from creative teams and titles, much of what is out there in the ether is speculation. Even the art that we are seeing in the previews is shifting day-to-day as the recent “pants/no-pants” debacle with Wonder Woman indicates. So when I’m talking here, please understand that I don’t claim to know anything more than anyone else does. I’m reacting purely to the speculation, and my reactions are therefore suspect and subject to change as reality sinks in.

Second reason I’ve held off – Industry ambitions. As silly as it sounds, There is that element of my brain that warns that anyone with aspirations to work in comics should probably keep their opinions on the machinations of the Big Two firmly to themselves. But then again, regardless of my goals, I am a fan first and foremost. I have been for over 30 years, and I should at least be true to myself in that regard. So if anyone at DC is reading this, I do not mean to offend. I complain because I love. And if you are interested, I have "Power of Shazam" and "Challengers of the Unknown" pitches I would love to talk to you about. (Or Space Cabby. Come on! It’s like “Taxicab Confessions” in SPACE! It practically writes itself!)

I don't care what you say. This dude is AWESOME.

Third reason for my reticence – The stereotypical fanboy is one who is so consumed with complaints that he can’t actually stop and enjoy his hobby. I listen to people in stores or at cons, or I read things they have posted online, and I can’t understand why they’re still reading comics at all. There’s so bitter and joyless, it’s like the act of reading and collecting comics brings them physical pain. And yet, they keep queuing up.  It’s massively depressing. I don’t want to be THAT GUY.

Note: This isn’t isolated to comic enthusiasts. I went to a minor league hockey game a year or two ago with my buddy Ian. Attendance was sparce, but we still ended up sitting right by a trio of gentlemen who spent the entirety of the game bitching about how much they hated both teams, all the players, and most of the institution of hockey. I would like to clarify that there was nobody standing near them with a gun pressed to their temples. They seemed to be there of their own volition. It became clear from listening to them talk that they actually traveled all over the tri-state area, attending hockey games. AND THEY NEVER HAD FUN DOING IT. So much work for something that brought them so little happiness.

(Also, they stank like a garbage barge on fire. Apparently fanboy stench isn’t isolated to the comics community, either.)

So in an effort to make this as constructive as possible, let me not bombard you with a list of “complaints”, but rather a list of “concerns”.

THINGS THAT CONCERN ME ABOUT THE DCU RELAUNCH

1. MURKY CONTINUITY

Continuity is the big bugaboo of comics. Some fans, and a lot of creators, poo-poo the need for a cohesive continuity, believing that as long as they are telling good stories, the who-met-who-and-did-what-when shouldn’t matter. And, I will admit, too much continuity becomes troubling at a certain stage. If you’re paying attention to continuity, you have to reconcile a Batman that fought in world War Two, or a Superman who has been around since the Great Depression. 

But here is the dirty secret of super hero comic books – CONTINUITY MATTERS. People remember the stories they’ve read. Which means no matter how good your current Aresenal story is, you’ve also got to deal with a history where the character couldn’t get enough of an erection to hate-fuck his evil ex-girlfriend, so he went out and beat up some muggers with a dead cat. (Note to non-comics fans. I am NOT MAKING THIS SHIT UP).  You need to realize that the history of the characters will always affect your story in some fashion. And in a shared universe, that means dealing with the decisions of other creators.

There’s an entire argument for and against continuity to be made, by the way. But it’s a discussion for another blog. The concern I have with the DC Relaunch in terms of continuity is that they didn’t quite have it in them to do a full-stop reboot. Instead, they are doing a sort of “soft reboot” where certain things happened, but maybe not in the way we remember. This means that the recent Green Lantern storyline Blackest Night happened. But Hawkman and Firestorm couldn’t have been a part of it, because they are making their new debuts with the relaunch. It means that the Identity Crisis mini happened. But since Zatanna was never a member of the League, she couldn’t have been involved with the central plot of that mini, which was her magically wiping the memory of certain villains.

You can see where the headaches begin. DC is reportedly relying on readers to “makes sense of things for themselves”.  I am excited for the sweaty-handed slapfights that will likely ensue.

2. TOO MUCH, TOO SOON

DC’s releasing 52 new titles in the month of September. FIFTY-TWO. That seems like a huge market glut to me. And also seems to jeopardize the survival of some of the more fringe titles out there. I mean, I’m very interested in checking out the new books, with the new directions. But I’m not suddenly two hundred dollars richer every month, and I doubt anyone else is, either. I think we’re going to see some very promising, very exciting books get dropped by 2012 because of slow sales, not because the quality is poor, but because it’s too much, too soon.

Not to mention that out of those 52 books, there are multiple Batman, Superman, and Justice League books. Obviously, you want to go with what sells, if you’re DC. But I still think you’re strangling other books by overloading with the heavy hitters.

3. FIXING WHAT ISN’T BROKEN

This is a little picky, and I admit this, but… Did Superman NEED a costume redesign? Did Wonder Woman? Are sales really slow on these books because of the COSTUMES? Your characters are iconic. They are recognized as is worldwide. If people aren’t reading the books, the problem is probably not the uniforms.

4. WHERE ARE THE LADIES? WHERE IS THE NEW BLOOD?

The writing staff on the 52 new titles is very much a boys’ club. Aside from the always amazing Gail Simone (writing Batgirl and The Fury of Firestorm), there are NO WOMEN writing these books. 96% of the DCU is being written by men. And, with a few exceptions, the same handful of men. There are a million super insanely talented freelancers out there. Indie writers with unique voices and new perspectives? Where are they? If you’re trying to remake your universe, and increase your readership, why not bring in some new blood?

5. BABY WITH THE BATHWATER

I can’t quite fathom the decision making process behind which titles made the reboot, and which didn’t. Books like Green Lantern Corps and Batman Inc. make the cut. But books like Gail Simone’s insanely popular Secret Six don’t?

I CAN BE EXCITED ABOUT THINGS, TOO

Even with all my concerns, I’ll tell you a secret – I’m more excited about the DCU than I have been in years. There’s a lot of potential here. There are some ridiculously talented people on the staff of these books, and I think we are going to see some fantastic comics come out of this. And any continuity reboot, no matter how half-assed, means that certain characters who had been rendered “radioactive” by poor story decisions may have a chance at a second life.

Here are the five books I’m most excited for.

1. I, VAMPIRE by Josh Fialkov and Andrea Sorrentino

Josh Fialkov is the man, and the perfect example of the new blood I was talking about above. I, Vampire is an old school favorite of mine, and I’m excited to see it coming back in such capable hands.

2. RESURRECTION MAN by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, and Fernando Dagnino

I trust DnA in all things. They have yet to disappoint me with a book. And Resurrection Man is such a truly awesome character. Every time he dies, he comes back to life with a new super power! How freaking cool is that?

3. ALL-STAR WESTERN by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Grey, and Meridat

Popular wisdom seems to be that westerns are dead. But the idea of Jonah Hex fighting crime in a Wild West Gotham City and the origins of the Crime Bible are too cool to pass up.

4. BATGIRL by Gail Simone

I would follow Gail into a fire. In my opinion, she’s one of the best writers DC has right now (I’d put her in the top three, probably, with Geoff Johns and Grant Morrison). And I have missed Barbara Gordon as Batgirl. As much as I loved Oracle, I’m excited to see Babs back in the costume, and I’m excited that it’s Gail writing her.

5. ANIMAL MAN by Jeff Lemire, Travel Foreman, and Dan Green

Another favorite character of mine. If they can do anything even a 10th as cool as Morrison’s old take on the character, I will be sold on this for sure.

As always, thought, opinions, love letters, and hate mail welcome. Hit me up.

Hugs and kisses,

(The)Travis

P.S. I would like to do another Q&A blog next week. So if there are any Qs, you’d like to see me A, please send them to me. Hit me up on Facebook, via email, in the comments here, or on the Bendis Board at Jinxworld.com.