Tags Posts tagged with "DC Comics"

Tag: DC Comics

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Check out our Spoiler Filled Dark Nights Metal #4 Review! Thrashing with childlike fervor against fear's domineering stranglehold, the hero claws for any weapon to...
Reminiscing About Kenner's "Super Powers" Action Figure Line
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The 80s were arguably the golden age for toylines. That decade alone gave us Masters of the Universe, Transformers, GI Joe and Thundercats. However, the one line that stands out from the...
DC's Doomsday Clock #1 Review (SPOILERS INCLUDED)
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The comic event of the year finally hit the comic shelves as DC Comics released the first issue of Doomsday Clock! The world of Watchmen and the DC Universe collide! Did...
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DC Comics set the comic universe ablaze when they announced the signing of longtime Marvel writer Brian Michael Bendis to an exclusive contract. https://twitter.com/DCComics/status/927901459521331205 For those not familiar...
Required Reading: DC HOUSE OF HORROR #1 Review
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Check out our Spoiler-Filled DC HOUSE OF HORROR #1 Review If there’s somethin’ strange in the Multiverse, who ya' gonna’ call? Halloween: That special time of...
As a life-long comic book fan, it pains me to write this: the comic book industry is hurting. According to Comic Chron, this past September "closed out the worst quarter year-over year" in nearly 15 years. Comic book movies are more popular than ever, so how can this be? How can the source for those billion-dollar movies be selling so poorly? Let's look at the numbers first and give you an idea how far sales have plummeted for comic books. Marvel's signature series now is still arguably The Amazing Spider-Man. Ten years ago, writer J. Michael Strakzynski was on it and in September of 2007, the web-slinger's book sold 146,170 copies that month. That same month, New Avengers sold 112,780 copies. Both series were in the top five that month. Now let's flash forward to September of 2017. The Amazing Spider-Man, with writer Dan Slott, came in at number 17 and sold 58,885 copies. That is a 60% drop in sales for your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. A book selling around 60,000 copies in 2007 would have ranked you around the 30th spot that month. As for the Avengers, they rank 64th for last month with 33,967. How much of a percentage drop is that in sales? Thanks Bill and Ted! Comic sales in general are down ten percent from last year with roughly $392 million in sales. 2007 as a whole had $429 million, which was up 9% from 2006. I know the year isn't over yet, but they probably won't reach $430 million. So, what can the comic industry do as a whole to stop the bleeding and get people to actually buy comics again? Here are some suggestions from a comic enthusiast who doesn't want his hobby to go the way of the dinosaur. Reduce The Number of Titles Published "The number of titles you publish are too damn high!"- Jimmy McMillan, probably. Remember him, kids? DC and Marvel are incredibly guilty of this. With 52 titles from DC, even that was too much. I know I covered this before and sound like a broken record at this point to all two of my loyal readers, but they both need to remember the old chestnut of "quality over quantity." One thing Marvel has done is go overboard with the Avengers and X-Men titles. Being an Avenger used to be an honor in Marvel. Now, it's as easy as signing up for a Discover Card. "Keith, aside from that hacky joke, wouldn't reducing the titles they publish reduce their sales numbers?" No. Think about it for a second. If you only publish one Avengers title, that's the only Avengers title available on the market. People will have no choice but to buy it if they want to get an Avengers title. If you offer four or five Avengers titles, you've cannabalized your own market. DC is guilty of this too. We don't need a Batman book for every single day of the year, nor a Justice League team for every mood. When you flood the market with so much of the same thing, people get tired of it. Reduce the Cover Prices The cover price for this special book from 2004 is $3.50. You can't even buy regular Marvel title for that price anymore. Photo Credit: Marvel Want to know a good way to make sure a book doesn't sell? Give it an outrageous cover price. This year, The Amazing Spider-Man #25 had a cover price of $10. Yes, it was an anniversary issue, but holy crap! Ten dollars for a comic book? You kidding me? NO. "Nobody is forcing you to buy it." Yeah, but you shouldn't force fans to spend $10 on a brand-new comic book. When you give brand-new comics high price tags, you kill impulse buying. You make the book inaccessible to potential new readers. Why do that? Advertise the Comics on TV Marvel and DC have multiple shows on network TV these days with Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Agents of SHIELD, The Gifted and countless more. You have a golden opportunity to advertise the comics on these shows, so why not have little trailers for upcoming comics? They plugged the first issue of Steve Rogers: Captain America during the Captain America special that aired on ABC last year. That issue sold almost 100,000 copies. Think it would have sold that much had it not been for the mention on the TV special? No. I know Marvel made trailers like this for the comic mini-series Age of Ultron... ...But they have them exclusively online. Show them on television and I guarantee you'll get new readers headed to local comic shops. You reach a much wider audience with TV ads than just replying to articles from us, Newsarama, Comics Alliance or Previews. Don't Have Every Title Available Digitally Photo Credit: Digital Meets Culture I don't have the sales numbers to back it up, but Im guessing that digitally available titles are taking a respectable number of sales from hard copies. Yeah, it's convenient that you don't have to leave the house or apartment to get the latest issue of The Despicable Deadpool, but what's hurting the sales numbers is the fact every title is available digitally. I just prefer having a comic book in my hands. To me, there is something missing when you download a comic to your iPad or Kindle. You would definitely increase print sales if titles weren't available digitally. Maybe have low-selling titles available as digital-only, and the more popular titles available exclusively in print. That way, everybody wins and you stop wasting ink and paper on titles that just simply don't move on the shelves. When you buy a comic digitally, you are also hurting your local comic shop. I don't mean for "Angel" by Sarah McLachlin to start playing in your head, but think about your local shop next time you want to download a comic rather than buying it. You're taking money away from them. Make High-Quality Books I know this is rather subjective and not everyone has the same taste, but if you want to bring people back into the stores, make high-quality books. I know no editor at a comic book company sits in their office and says to themselves, "Let's publish a ton of crap this month!" However, I can't help but notice that the quality of a lot of comics has dropped. I know the artists try their hardest, but a lot of the Marvel titles, frankly, have bad artwork. They look way too cartoonish. Look at this art from the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl and the All New Guardians of the Galaxy. Photo Credit: Marvel Comics Photo Credit: Marvel Tell me if that artwork would have even seen the light of day back in the '90s or '00s. "Well, it's better than anything you could draw, Keith!" Yeah, buddy. And that's why I'm not an artist. DC is guilty if this too. When they relaunched Superman in 2011 with the New 52, the artwork was OK, but the story was bad even by writer George Perez's admission due to editorial mix-ups. What should have been one of the key titles from DC wound up being a dud. So, with all that in mind, let's hope someone at the DC office or the House of Ideas see this article and take some of my points into consideration. Have any ideas of your own that could save the industry? Hit me up in the comment section below!
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As a life-long comic book fan, it pains me to write this: the comic book industry is hurting. According to Comic Chron, this past September...
COMICS

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It was announced a few weeks ago that director Martin Scorsese may be involved in bringing an origin story of legendary Batman villain, the...
5 Things We Need to See in the Shazam Movie
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Did you know that David Sandberg, the director of the Shazam movie, has already posted a “script” that involves a 10-year-old Billy Batson getting...
Who Is Steppenwolf? Get to Know the Big Baddie of the Justice League Movie
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Ciaran Hinds of Game of Thrones and Rome fame is playing the main villain in the Justice League movie, and if you’re like most casual...
Fueling frightened children’s distorted dreams with nightmarish scenarios and soaking their sheets with gallons of urine, nyctophobia has played some part in every person’s life at some point. Traditionally defined as an intense fear of the dark, nyctophobia is better interpreted as the “brain’s disfigured perception of what would, or could, happen when in a dark environment.” What if that squeaking sound is actually the nose of a bloodthirsty clown waiting underneath the bed for the opportune moment? Is that terrifying rustling sound a snake slithering underneath your sheets while you slumber? What if those horrendous hissing noises are snake-clowns waiting for you to doze off before biting you with their venomous fangs and filling your veins with a poison that ruins your complexion and contorts your face into a perpetually villainous grin? Good luck sleeping tonight. “I know Fear, Diana… The further I follow this mystery, the more frightened I become. Every question leads to more questions.” – Batman, Dark Days: The Casting Whether preying on the cowardly and superstitious, or enduring assaults from villains embracing it as their modus operandi, Batman is thematically engulfed by the concept of fear. This fear of the unknown, and his unquenchable thirst for knowledge often drives the character to develop contingencies regarding a plethora of “What If?” scenarios. In some instances, these strategic battle plans have been implemented by various villains to do harm to Batman as well as his comrades. In Dark Days: The Casting, Synder and Tynion IV use this fear to propel Batman down this path into “The Dark.” Although some of the puzzle pieces have begun to fit together as questions have been answered, more queries have been raised regarding this emergency. However, knowing that the puzzle should come together in the shape of the bat should be useful. It’s just frustrating that a majority of the pieces are as dark as night. Here are 3 answers and 3 questions from Dark Days: The Casting. 3 Answers: 1. Who Are the Immortal Men? Are You Afraid of “The Dark?” 3 Answers and 3 Questions from Dark Days: The CastingOne of the largest questions surrounding Dark Days: The Forge regarded the identities of the mysterious Immortal Men. Originally, it was speculated that Klarn as well as Vandal Savage might be two members of the Immortal Men due to the regenerative nature of Nth Metal and the origin of their powers. Synder and Tynion IV seemingly confirm this notion as well as other famous members when Carter Hall narrates, “We had found them over many lifetimes, lurking out of sight in human history, unchanging, all-seeing. We had heard rumors of the Rhyming Demon of Camelot. Brothers who keep secrets and mysteries. A man as old as America. The grove of ancient humanoid plants. Keepers of Mysteries and Secrets. Of Sorcerers, Shining Knights, Cavemen, and Phantom Strangers of all stripes. None had ever thought to bring them together. The Immortals.” Although the identities of many of the Immortals, such as Etrigan and Phantom Stranger, are alluded to with this narration, only The Wizard Shazam, Ra’s Al Ghul, and Ms. Seward are mentioned specifically by name throughout the issue. Certainly, many of these individuals may not be current members of the group or the upcoming comic book. However, this quote does provides some insight regarding potential members of the group’s current incarnation. The inclusion of a collection of sonnets written by Etrigan the Demon in the upcoming comic series would be epic. 2. What Is Their Connection to Nth Metal? Are You Afraid of “The Dark?” 3 Answers and 3 Questions from Dark Days: The Casting Each of the members appears to have some connection to the metal. In many instances, the members’ powers of immortality or regeneration seem to originate from contact with the metal. Additionally, it appears that some of these members may have constructed mystical weapons using alloys of Nth Metal. Hephaestus used the eighth metal to construct the sunblade and The Wizard Shazam’s dagger was constructed from the ninth metal. Although the degrees of connection may vary between individual members, Nth Metal appears to be a common denominator. 3. What Are Elaine Thomas’ Secrets? Are You Afraid of “The Dark?” 3 Answers and 3 Questions from Dark Days: The Casting Elaine and Duke Thomas’ connection to Nth Metal appears to be more personal than originally believed. This is explained as the Joker uses Duke to break free from his prison. He then reveals that detected Dionesium toxicity in Elaine and Duke Thomas’ blood has resulted in the designation M-E-T-A. Both individuals are revealed to possess superpowers as the result of this toxicity. Although Elaine’s abilities are never explored, the reader witnesses the manifestation of Duke’s powers as he emits a powerful yellow light from his body. As a result, Duke will potentially play a more pivotal role to signaling the success of Batman’s mission against “The Dark.” 3 Questions: 1. Why Would the Gods Help Batman When They Know His Actions Will Usher in a Dark Crisis? Are You Afraid of “The Dark?” 3 Answers and 3 Questions from Dark Days: The Casting“They believe a war is coming. A war that will not only shape the earth, but the cosmos themselves. A crisis that will shake the very firmament and douse the light of creation.” – Wonder Woman, Dark Days: The Casting One of the largest questions surrounding Dark Days: The Casting surrounds the true motivation of the gods. Through Carter Hall and the Joker’s narration, it is revealed that this is not the first time that this Dark Crisis has nearly befell the Earth. The Wizard Shazam even acknowledges that the metal brought forth a terrible demon bent on destruction. As a result, rational thought would suggest that the gods would not wish to usher in this crisis through enabling Batman’s multiverse-destructive behavior with fancy flame-based weapons. One potential explanation could be that the gods know that this crisis is ultimately unavoidable. As a result, they wish to arm Batman with the light of the sunblade to combat the darkness. There is no better way to combat a darkness that will douse the light of creation than with a flaming sword that is a perpetual source of light. Wonder Woman even implores Bruce to not give up light in favor of the dark. Unfortunately, it appears that she has tragically forgotten his other nickname: The DARK Knight. Bats favor the dark. 2. Who Is the Bat-Demon? Why Has He Been Waiting for Bruce Wayne Since Before the Dawn of Civilization? Are You Afraid of “The Dark?” 3 Answers and 3 Questions from Dark Days: The Casting Revealed during the juxtaposition of Carter Hall and Joker’s narration, this scourge of mankind has taken the form of a bat. It is also explained that this demon has been staring at the world from “The Dark” as it waits for someone. Ultimately, it is suggested that the individual that this demon anticipates is Batman. One can assume it is due to that fact that the demon knows Batman will free him from his prison. One theory is that this demon is the latest interpretation of the demon, Barbatos. This demon and its legend were last explored by Grant Morrison during The Return of Bruce Wayne. During this story, members of The Black Glove attempted to sacrifice Bruce to gain immortality from the demon. The demon’s previous connections to immortality are thematically similar to the various iterations of immortality granted by Nth Metal and its various alloys. This adds a certain amount of credence to this “working theory.” However, how could this demon have known of Batman since before his creation? Is the demon prophetic? 3. Additionally, Who Are the Robed Cultists? Who Are They Planning to Sacrifice? Have They Been Preparing Bruce Wayne to Become a Bat-Man for His Entire Life? Additionally, Who Are the Robed Cultists? Who Are They Planning to Sacrifice? Have They Been Preparing Bruce Wayne to Become a Bat-Man for His Entire Life? During the events of The Return of Bruce Wayne, the Miagani Tribe was inspired by Bruce’s heroic actions to worship bats. If the bat-demon that cursed the Nth Metal is truly Barbatos, then these robed cultists must certainly be a modern iteration of the Miagani Tribe. It is also apparent that these cultists wish to sacrifice Bruce in order to release the bat demon. The attempted, or successful, sacrifice of Bruce during Dark Knights: Metal would also satisfy the Joker’s recurring statement that all of this has happened before as Bruce was nearly sacrificed for a bat-demon during the events of The Return of Bruce Wayne. Additionally, legends of a Bat-Man passed down from one generation to the next would ultimately provide the cult with information regarding Bruce. Thus, they would be able to influence Batman’s creation from a young age. Hopefully, you remember to bring your nightlight to help you combat “The Dark” during Dark Nights: Metal. What other connections did you see in Dark Days: The Casting? Is there anything that we have missed in this issue? What other questions do you have from Dark Days: The Casting? Sound off in the comment section below!
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Fueling frightened children’s distorted dreams with nightmarish scenarios and soaking their sheets with gallons of urine, nyctophobia has played some part in every person’s...
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