DC Universe "digital experience"

Mr_Cosmic

DC is launching a new digital subscription service called DC Universe. So far all we know is that members will have unlimited access to new live action shows such as Swamp Thing, Titans, etc.

DC says that these shows are "one of the many incredible things your membership will include.." I'm hoping they tie digital comics(like Marvel Unlimited) into this as well.


http://www.newsweek.com/dc-streaming-service-universe-membership-cost-release-date-comics-908923

Bryan

All these digital services are pretty much guaranteeing that none of them will see my ongoing business. I will get one for a month or two while I binge what I want to see, then cancel and move on to the next. I already do it with Netflix, Marvel Unlimited, and will probably do a couple months of Hulu this summer after Castle Rock drops.

I wonder if that will be the norm, or if people will pick one or two and stick with them. I also wonder how many will be sustainable.

All that said, this could be a good deal if it includes a Marvel Unlimited competitor like you mentioned.

dubbat138

I am tempted to get this service once the Doom Patrol show hits. My only qualm about the show is that for some reason Cyborg is a member of the team.

Torchsong

I'm a card-carrying DC Fanboy, so if anything *was* going to get me to adopt another digital service, it'd be this.

It'll come down to price-point. I've already got Netflix, Amazon, and Crunchyroll going, so I can't really justify another service unless it's affordable or there's serious bang for the buck.

And good lord, DC, come up with a Marvel Unlimited service for pete's sake! Do you *KNOW* how much I'd use that?

nweathington

Torchsong said:

And good lord, DC, come up with a Marvel Unlimited service for pete's sake! Do you *KNOW* how much I'd use that?

I'd sign up for it if they included all of Mort Meskin’s “Johnny Quick” and “Vigilante” stories which they’ve never reprinted, and all of Alex Toth’s work for them, most of which has never been reprinted. And all the non-licensed material Bob Oksner did for them, most of which has never been reprinted. (Of course, if they could work out an arrangement to include The Adventures of Bob Hope, The Adventures of Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis, Pat Boone, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Ozzie and Harriet, etc., I’d be ecstatic).

nweathington

nweathington said:

I'd sign up for it if they included all of Mort Meskin’s “Johnny Quick” and “Vigilante” stories which they’ve never reprinted

Every time I think about this, it irritates me to no end. Meskin’s JQ and Vigilante stories were hugely influential on everyone from Gil Kane, to Alex Toth, to Carmine Infantino, to Jack freaking Kirby. People always talk about the influence of Kirby and Eisner, and rightfully so, but Meskin isn’t that far behind them in terms of his impact on the medium. He just left the field early on to make real money and so people tend to forget about him. And I can count on one hand with fingers to spare how many of those stories DC has ever reprinted. As an historian and comic art lover, it’s extremely frustrating.

David_D

nweathington said:

Torchsong said:

And good lord, DC, come up with a Marvel Unlimited service for pete's sake! Do you *KNOW* how much I'd use that?

I'd sign up for it if they included all of Mort Meskin’s “Johnny Quick” and “Vigilante” stories which they’ve never reprinted, and all of Alex Toth’s work for them, most of which has never been reprinted. And all the non-licensed material Bob Oksner did for them, most of which has never been reprinted. (Of course, if they could work out an arrangement to include The Adventures of Bob Hope, The Adventures of Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis, Pat Boone, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Ozzie and Harriet, etc., I’d be ecstatic).

The process nerd in me would love to see wat happens when you need to talk Bob Hope IPs these days. Who’s at a desk for that in 2018?? I imagine someone who can spend a lot of time golfing.

nweathington

David_D said:

nweathington said:

Torchsong said:

And good lord, DC, come up with a Marvel Unlimited service for pete's sake! Do you *KNOW* how much I'd use that?

I'd sign up for it if they included all of Mort Meskin’s “Johnny Quick” and “Vigilante” stories which they’ve never reprinted, and all of Alex Toth’s work for them, most of which has never been reprinted. And all the non-licensed material Bob Oksner did for them, most of which has never been reprinted. (Of course, if they could work out an arrangement to include The Adventures of Bob Hope, The Adventures of Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis, Pat Boone, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Ozzie and Harriet, etc., I’d be ecstatic).

The process nerd in me would love to see wat happens when you need to talk Bob Hope IPs these days. Who’s at a desk for that in 2018?? I imagine someone who can spend a lot of time golfing.

I'm sure Linda Hope has a lawyer who would be more than happy to answer DC’s queries. Though I'm sure that lawyer also has other clients to keep them busy.

David_D

nweathington said:

David_D said:

nweathington said:

Torchsong said:

And good lord, DC, come up with a Marvel Unlimited service for pete's sake! Do you *KNOW* how much I'd use that?

I'd sign up for it if they included all of Mort Meskin’s “Johnny Quick” and “Vigilante” stories which they’ve never reprinted, and all of Alex Toth’s work for them, most of which has never been reprinted. And all the non-licensed material Bob Oksner did for them, most of which has never been reprinted. (Of course, if they could work out an arrangement to include The Adventures of Bob Hope, The Adventures of Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis, Pat Boone, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Ozzie and Harriet, etc., I’d be ecstatic).

The process nerd in me would love to see wat happens when you need to talk Bob Hope IPs these days. Who’s at a desk for that in 2018?? I imagine someone who can spend a lot of time golfing.

I'm sure Linda Hope has a lawyer who would be more than happy to answer DC’s queries. Though I'm sure that lawyer also has other clients to keep them busy.

I’m sure you’re right. Though I would like to imagine some eager junior associate given the Bob Hope IP and a number to hit. To go get out there and make Bob Hope deals.

nweathington

David_D said:

nweathington said:

David_D said:

nweathington said:

Torchsong said:

And good lord, DC, come up with a Marvel Unlimited service for pete's sake! Do you *KNOW* how much I'd use that?

I'd sign up for it if they included all of Mort Meskin’s “Johnny Quick” and “Vigilante” stories which they’ve never reprinted, and all of Alex Toth’s work for them, most of which has never been reprinted. And all the non-licensed material Bob Oksner did for them, most of which has never been reprinted. (Of course, if they could work out an arrangement to include The Adventures of Bob Hope, The Adventures of Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis, Pat Boone, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Ozzie and Harriet, etc., I’d be ecstatic).

The process nerd in me would love to see wat happens when you need to talk Bob Hope IPs these days. Who’s at a desk for that in 2018?? I imagine someone who can spend a lot of time golfing.

I'm sure Linda Hope has a lawyer who would be more than happy to answer DC’s queries. Though I'm sure that lawyer also has other clients to keep them busy.

I’m sure you’re right. Though I would like to imagine some eager junior associate given the Bob Hope IP and a number to hit. To go get out there and make Bob Hope deals.

And I think Hope Enterprises Inc. is still around.

fredzilla

Torchsong said:

I'm a card-carrying DC Fanboy, so if anything *was* going to get me to adopt another digital service, it'd be this.

It'll come down to price-point. I've already got Netflix, Amazon, and Crunchyroll going, so I can't really justify another service unless it's affordable or there's serious bang for the buck.

And good lord, DC, come up with a Marvel Unlimited service for pete's sake! Do you *KNOW* how much I'd use that?

I agree. But what's a good price point for you? I remember when Netflix was $7.99. I recently got an email that said they're raising the cost to $11.99. same thing with Amazon Prime. I remember when it was $79/year, but they just sent me an email a month ago stating that the cost was going to $119/year. These subscription services are slowly becoming what cable iS.

I can justify Netflix since we watch so much of it. I can justify AP because it's nice to have 2-Day deliveries. As much as I'd like, I can't justify adding more to my bill on something that we don't even know is good yet. I'll let the buzz build and then if I can swing it, maybe I'll check it out.

I'm also concerned about oversaturation. I love superheroes on TV and film, but this bubble is eventually going to burst.

mphil

What I want from this service is to know that I can use it to watch *all* of DC's stuff. That might mean a delay in some cases, like the films and CW shows, but eventually anything over a certain age should be on this channel.

So every DCAU show should be here. All animated movies older than ~8 months or so. The CW shows should come around the same time that they hit Netflix.

I've been stung in the past by BTAS or some other show being on Amazon/Netflix for a while then they lose the contract... then it comes back a few months later. What I want to pay for in this service is to *know* it's going to be there, eventually.

If they can provide me that then I'll give them ~10/month. There's a lot of good DC content out there.

Torchsong

fredzilla said:

I agree. But what's a good price point for you?

I'm in the same boat/philosophy you are with Netflix and AP (although with AP I really would like to see some increased bang for the bucks they're asking (how about guaranteed 2-day no matter what I order unless it's a Sherman Tank or something?), so I'll go with the third example - Crunchyroll.

Crunchyroll costs me $6.99 a month and gives me tons of anime shows I want to watch (and admittedly just as many I don't). They're on a constant update cycle, so I never want for new content, and they offer a (very limited) manga reading aspect to it (which I'll admit I have not used (yet!)). There's live action Japanese and Korean shows as well, so the variety can't be beat.

DC needs to hit that kind of model and arguably come close to that price point. I don't think they have enough content yet unless they start adding in things nobody wants to watch (Catwoman (Halle Berry) anyone?) which really won't entice new viewers.

Give me an MU feature and I'd be all in. They could even go a step beyond - "Hey, did you enjoy that episode of Titans you just watched? Well did you know the book and issue that inspired it is available to read on your DC Nation app? Click here!"

mphil

Don't read if you want to avoid spoilers. A pretty glowing review of Titans.

http://splashreport.com/exclusive-titans-story-details-are-here/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

mwhitt80

nweathington said:

Torchsong said:

And good lord, DC, come up with a Marvel Unlimited service for pete's sake! Do you *KNOW* how much I'd use that?

And all the non-licensed material Bob Oksner did for them, most of which has never been reprinted. (Of course, if they could work out an arrangement to include The Adventures of Bob Hope, The Adventures of Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis, Pat Boone, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Ozzie and Harriet, etc., I’d be ecstatic).

Ha! First time I've read this thread.
Earth O.

mphil

The Titans trailer is out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5dIwGAYcWk

mphil

My take is, this looks a little bit better than CW DC, but not quite at the Netflix Marvel level. A lot of brooding teenager stuff here. That's ok though, I'll still watch it.

fredzilla

Doubling down on the Snyder-verse

i_am_scifi

Stargirl has been added to the DCU slate! I'm sure that @ShaneKelly is quite pleased with that news. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/stargirl-series-latest-addition-dc-universe-svod-service-1128481

Peter

For those who want to know, here's the price point:
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/dc-universe-price-will-be-7499-anually-1128329

"$74.99 (plus tax, in applicable areas), with a monthly subscription of $7.99 also available at launch. All fans who pre-order before launch will receive an additional three months at no cost."

Less than I thought!

David_D

Very reasonable price point. And an enticement for those that are up for doing that first year in advance.

Looking forward to seeing how expansive the comics catalogue is. I will need to have a better sense of that before I commit, but I am hopeful.

Mihawk

I thought Titans looked like a fan made thing, I think some YouTube shows look better than this looked. In particular Starfire looks awful.

We'll see? But my interest in this took a huge nosedive.

mphil

I've seen that sentiment a bit online but I guess I don't see how this looks any lower budget than the typical CW show.

Vertighost

I just saw the Titans trailer and as a huge fan of Wolfman/Perez (probably my favorite comic series of all time) I was pleasantly surprised that I liked a good portion of it. Even throwing Changeling/Beast Boy in there in the right colors. My only question was: What's with the cursing?

David_D

Amalgamated!

DAR

F*ck Batman.

bats00

David_D said:

Looking forward to seeing how expansive the comics catalogue is. I will need to have a better sense of that before I commit, but I am hopeful.

According to this IGN article (https://tinyurl.com/y8lfwkul) "Sample titles in the rotating comics collection include 52 (2006), Action Comics (1938), Adventure Comics (1958), Aquaman (2011), Batman (2002), Cyborg (2015), Deathstroke (2014), Detective Comics (1939), Green Arrow: Year One (2007), Green Lantern (2011), Harley Quinn (2013), JLA (1997), Justice League (2011), My Greatest Adventure (1963), Suicide Squad (2011), Superman/Batman (2004), Swamp Thing (1972), Teen Titans (1965), The Flash (2011), and Wonder Woman (2011)."

I have not been able to find more information that that. There also isn't anything telling us how many issues from each title will be available. Every issue of Action? Just some?

Now, I'm not too worried about that because I have had Marvel Unlimited for years and it is amazing how expansive their library is compared to five years ago. What concerns me is the phrase "rotating comic collection".

mphil

There was a live stream you can see here hosted by Kevin Smith where they announced DC Daily, a daily show that replaces the old DC All Access show.

No word on how long the episodes will be, but given the large cast I'm guessing it will be a half hour to an hour. John Barrowman is one of the hosts, so that's pretty exciting.

Other announcements people might be interested in: the DC Universe streaming service will go live on Batman Day, September 15th.

Titans will be released about a month later, on October 12th. They are going to do one episode per week though, not dropping the entire season. Lame, but given it's their only exclusive content right now (other than the Daily show) I can't blame them for doing it that way.

There's another YouTube video, which I can't find right now, which goes over the app a bit. I'm pretty impressed. They seem to have put a lot of work into making comic reading work on TVs and it looks pretty good. I look forward to trying that out.

luckymustard

mphil said:

Titans will be released about a month later, on October 12th. They are going to do one episode per week though, not dropping the entire season. Lame, but given it's their only exclusive content right now (other than the Daily show) I can't blame them for doing it that way.

The reason for one episode per week, seems to be because they promise one totally brand new episode of one of their shows once a week (sometimes more) for hopefully, from my point of view, years to come. Titans' first season (or half of it, maybe) will have enough episodes to do that til the end of the year.

mphil

Yeah, good point, I hadn't heard about that but it makes sense.

One thing I've been thinking about is how they could potentially do a lot of discussion types of shows / specials. Imagine if DC Universe had existed when Batman 50 came out. Wouldn't it have made sense to do an hour special about it, have discussion with some people, including Tom King, etc.? Or imagine when Doomsday Clock finally finishes (if it ever finishes), wouldn't you like to see a show about that? Talking about the implications it will have and what not.

And this could extend to their new shows. Why not have a "Talking Dead" style weekly discussion show for Titans that is released the same time as the new episode? They have one of those for Stranger Things, but I don't feel it works as well due to the episodes all dropping at once.

I suppose that DC Daily will partially serve this purpose, but since that show is focused on news I don't know if they'll dedicate as much time to these discussions as I would want.

mphil

If you preordered, the app is available now and you can log in and use it (for Android at least).