Episode 1536 Talkback - Comic Talk

Adam_Murdough · February 2015

Take three cups of enthusiastic response to DC's newly-announced slate of post-'Convergence' series and miniseries, stir in a pinch of excitement over developments at Marvel Studios, and you've got your daily serving of CGS Comic Talk! Season to taste, and enjoy! (1:02:25)

Listen here.

nweathington · February 2015

Sorry @Adam_Murdough, Hitch is in fact British.

Adam_Murdough · February 2015

nweathington said:
Sorry @Adam_Murdough, Hitch is in fact British.

Yeah, so I thought. Thanks, Eric.

Elsiebub · February 2015

Listening now.

Extra thanks to Shane for pointing how that many of the new DC series are in fact minis. This is the first time I've heard that, after glancing at like four different write-ups on like four different sites over the past week. Granted, I did not scrutinize every write-up super closely (because, honestly, I'm not that interested in many of the titles...), but I never saw it mentioned that ANY of these were mini-series. The whole time I've been thinking "A lot of these really seem like they SHOULD be minis, not ongoings..." and now lo and behold Shane finally tells me that this is so!

Annie Wu is indeed a great artist and, imo, she's been the best thing about Hawkeye since about issue 10 or so. Awesome artist and I'm instantly interested in Black Canary if she's on it.

Keep up the good work, guys. I'm going back to listening...

deadpool · February 2015

I wish i could be there for the 10th anniv .

Always wanted to make to some event to support you guys

Hopefully i'll make the 20th

AlbertCampion · February 2015

Some of the new titles sound interesting, but overall, the feeling I get is that DC seems to be flailing about without a plan or direction. First it was all of the cancellations from the first wave, then the second wave, then the "gimmicks" every September, then convergence/divergence, then the cancellations of half of their books and a whole new crop of books. They've tried war books, fantasy books, westerns, multiple Batman books, Green Lantern books, and different combinations of Superman match-ups. We've had Phantom Stranger, Pandora, Trinity of Sin, a white-bread John Constantine, and now what I expect will be a watered-down Hellblazer. They just don't appear to have a cohesive strategy. Instead they appear to be frantically throwing books out there, hoping some will stick.

nweathington · February 2015

AlbertCampion said:
Some of the new titles sound interesting, but overall, the feeling I get is that DC seems to be flailing about without a plan or direction. First it was all of the cancellations from the first wave, then the second wave, then the "gimmicks" every September, then convergence/divergence, then the cancellations of half of their books and a whole new crop of books. They've tried war books, fantasy books, westerns, multiple Batman books, Green Lantern books, and different combinations of Superman match-ups. We've had Phantom Stranger, Pandora, Trinity of Sin, a white-bread John Constantine, and now what I expect will be a watered-down Hellblazer. They just don't appear to have a cohesive strategy. Instead they appear to be frantically throwing books out there, hoping some will stick.

I think they did have a cohesive strategy when they launched the New52 line. And I think they've stuck with that strategy for the most part. Yeah, they tried to utilize a variety of genres in their line, and why not? DC has always been diverse in that way, more so than Marvel I think. The problem as I see it is that, while there was variety in the subject matter, there was very little variety in the tone of the books. They all felt more or less the same, just with a different cast of characters and a different setting.

I'm enjoying what Marvel is doing now more than I have in years, and it's because they have such a wide variety of books—from Squirrel Girl to Moon Knight—and they seem to be letting the creators do their thing for the most part. It looks like DC may finally be stepping away from the Dark Side and getting back to what they used to do best. I'm not getting too excited just yet, but there is hope at least.

JaceTheComicSource · February 2015

Elsiebub said:
Listening now.

Extra thanks to Shane for pointing how that many of the new DC series are in fact minis. This is the first time I've heard that, after glancing at like four different write-ups on like four different sites over the past week. Granted, I did not scrutinize every write-up super closely (because, honestly, I'm not that interested in many of the titles...), but I never saw it mentioned that ANY of these were mini-series. The whole time I've been thinking "A lot of these really seem like they SHOULD be minis, not ongoings..." and now lo and behold Shane finally tells me that this is so!

Annie Wu is indeed a great artist and, imo, she's been the best thing about Hawkeye since about issue 10 or so. Awesome artist and I'm instantly interested in Black Canary if she's on it.

Keep up the good work, guys. I'm going back to listening...

Hey guys a few thoughts on the episode. While doing research for my own DC Comics Special Episode I put out on the 6th I came across a post that said the retailers were told that Hitch has been working on JLA for two years. Hopefully that means he can keep on schedule for quite a while.

As far as what plan DC has, I think they are just trying to put out diverse and quality stories and not worrying so much about continuity like Shane said. I believe they see the success of such a wide and diverse line-up of books over at Image and they want some of those dollars. Whether it works or not is another story.

Regarding on-going's vs. mini's, when the announcement was first made many news site such as CBR had some of the titles listed as mini's and I believe on DC's own site on their announcement page they had some titles listed as mini's, but per DC's request the label of mini's was removed from all titles. I have a feeling that this early on they don't want to be locked into anything for sure. That being said some of this clearly will work better as mini's

Shawn138 · February 2015

I always love the Comic Talk episodes! As far as some of the new DC series go, I'm interested enough to pick up at least the first issues of most of them to sample the variety of the books. Starfire, Bat-Mite, and Bizarro will be automatic purchases for sure!I understand the need to keep what is working (selling) and trim the fat to try something new, but I was disappointed to see the cancellation of the Supergirl book. I was just coming back on board the title with the new "Crucible" storyline and have liked what I've read so far. A shame. Some of the continuing titles that are getting new creative teams seem interesting, too. Overall, though, I think it's a good shift in DC's mindset and a step in the right direction for the company! Cheers on a great episode, guys!

alienal · February 2015

I like the Comic Talk episodes a lot also. It allows me to hear what you guys are excited about and also your thoughts on stuff I've heard about (but have nobody to talk to about). I'm excited about the DC titles too. A little disappointed about the lack of a Legion title, but maybe that will come later. The Marvel Studios announcement is pretty cool. I'm gonna love to see Spidey in the REAL MCU. Laters..