Is "One Year Later" A Success?

[Jared H.]

DC made a bold move by moving its continuity one year in a single jump. How happy are you with the changes in the titles?

Before opening up the floor for discussion, my thoughts on some of the books:

Green Lantern: A title I had almost given up on before OYL, but the current direction is great. Hank Henshaw makes a great GL villain.

Flash: I'm not sure what to say about this. Flash post-Johns but pre-OYL was actually worse than the current drek in the title. But at the same time, I expected a LOT more from the relaunch than this. Then again, the stuff just before IC was meant as filler to bridge the gap until OYL, right? So I suppose I could and should compare it to the Johns run. and there's simply no comparison. The current run is doing nothing for me.

Superman: I think OYL has injected some much-needed vigor into the mythos, although not enough to get me to stick with the title on a monthly basis.

Batman: OYL has been nothing but good for Bats(aside from Batgirl, that is). Batdick is gone, and Dini and Morrison are writing some great stories.

Nightwing: crap before, and still crap now. Grayon's run did nothing for me, and Jones currently even less so.

Outsiders: Not much changed here, IMO. Still doesn't have the same "oomph" the first 12 issues did.

JLA: jury's still out on this one.

Teen Titans: the last few issues before OYL weren't great, but the current run has nothing going for it IMO. I like Johns, but this does not read well.

Wonder Woman: haven't read it.

JSA: I'll reserve judgment until the relaunch.

And the new series':

Atom: I like it. Not fantastic, but I like it.

Ion: slow start, but the recent issues have been quite good.

Blue Beetle: haven't read it.

Martian Manhunter: haven't read it.

Agree? disagree? Have more to add? Feel free!

The real question is: do you think the OYL push was a good idea? Has it created better stories?

[titanfan]

Sales wise, I think OYL has been a success. I'm just doing a "before and after" thing.

Green Lantern: Definitely better OYL

Flash: Too early to tell? Average so far, but I thought Flash wasn't the greatest pre-OYL too.

Superman: Better OYL, even though the status quo hasn't changed much.

Batman: Better.

Nightwing: Bad before, horrible now.

Aquaman: Better

Outsiders: I love the new roster, but it's been lukewarm so far.

Teen Titans: "Most Improved" award for me. Fantastic OYL.

WW: Better, but not worth the fact that they can't keep this book on a monthly schedule. Inexcusable.

JSA: The ghost storyline thing hasn't really been better OYL. But this book was pretty awful during IC anyway.

Hawkgirl: I actually like OYL better--but I think I might be the only person who thinks that...

LSH: Same. Supergirl in the book admittedly isn't as irritating as I thought.

Supergirl: Seems like a lot of filler type stories, post OYL.

Birds of Prey: The same. DC's most consistent book.

Catwoman: Slightly worse, just because I'm not interested in the new characters/pregnancy storyline.

Manhunter: The same. It was good before, and is good now.

Firestorm: Much better. Feels like the book is going somewhere now.

Of the new books, I'm liking Checkmate, Blue Beetle, and Atom the best. Uncle Sam has the potential to be good too.

[Cayman]

It's been ok. It's a clever gimmick at least. I don't think it's improved the storytelling any though, everything is either status quo or if a change has been made it seems inexplicable.

[Joe Acro]

I think One Year Later would have been better with 52, but maybe it's just me. They could have done, sort of, a Jim Lee Stormwatch approach.

[EZMOHR]

For the ones I have read...I will go with this...

Green Lantern- It has become a great book. Hank Henshaw is downright being written perfect. Now, the trick is not to over expose him.
VERDICT: BETTER OYL

The Flash- Said it last night. Wally West is my favorite comic character EVER. That being said, I'm not against Bart being Flash. Eventually all the heroes have to go. If Gandalf and Frodo could die..nobody is untouchable. And I think there is a good story in there somewhere. It just hasn't come out yet. The art has been horrendus as well. Once the artist is settled (please oh please get a artist that can handle the colorful world of The Flash) I can see this title getting better.
VERDICT: WORSE OYL

Wonder Woman- I'm just sorry there has been only two issues, because they have both been wonderful. And Greg Rucka isn't writing it. All I will say about that.
VERDICT: BETTER ONE YEAR LATER

Superman'verse- The Up, Up, and Away 8 issue arc was really great. The new ones....they just aren't doing it for me. Especially this Project whatever character who we know we will never see again...It just seems the could've used an established character for this arc. I'm just waiting for The Richard Donner Action Comics.
VERDICT: WORSE ONE YEAR LATER

Batman'verse- Dini's Batman stories are good, not great, but good reads. Morrison's Batman is not that good, but his freaking Bruce Wayne is balls to the wall good. Being the soul liker of the Jason Todd Batman before OYL, I think the Bat'verse has kept up the good stories since Broken City over 2 years ago.
VERDICT: BETTER ONE YEAR LATER

Teen Titans- It was circling the drain prior to OYL, save Conner Kent. It has become a nice read as of late. Ravager has become a cool character, I think Kid Devil is gonna go nuts eventually, and we all know that little cameo of the 52 Teen Titans during the time jump has caused major buzz in the commmunity. Plus making The Doom Patrol psychos was kind of cool.
VERDICT: BETTER ONE YEAR LATER

Justice League of America- I've only been a DC homer for like 3 years, so I'm cool with not towing the line. I will just say, after one issue, this is the best JLA (not withstanding the cartoon, which is awesome), ever. Sorry to the Giffen people, or the Satellite people....this incarnation is just gonna be better.
VERDICT: BETTER ONE YEAR LATER

The rest of the DC Universe- 52 has been awesome. Haven't dug the Steel angle yet, but Space angle rocks, Ralph's is just psycho enough to be awesome, Black Adam is still the best character development of the 2000's, Montoya, The Question, and Isis angle is not great, but is good enough for me to keep caring, and the whole Skeets, Booster Gold, Supernova thing has been great. All in all, 52 is working for me.

Now, I dropped Hawkwoman after two issues because it was atrocious, same with Green Arrow after The very anticlimactic Deathstroke rematch. Ion, Checkmate, and most dissapointing of all, Shadowpact, were not my cup of tea. The Trials of SHAZAM was a nice opening issue, and I can see it getting good, and the less said about The Blue Beetle and The Atom, the better.

Then there is the most dissappointing comic of all, OYL....AQUAMAN. It is like Kurt Buseik, a writer I really respect, had no idea who or what Aquaman is or was, and decided in a room one day "Hey, you know what, I really want to write a Conan/Legend comic, so that is what I'm gonna do with Aquaman, f' the mythos." I'm coming back once Conan is dead and gone, and this Dweller of the Deep is gone, and the real Aquaman comes back. Please Buseik, write a real Aquaman comic, I know it would ROCK.

[Gozwald73]

...Then there is the most dissappointing comic of all, OYL....AQUAMAN. It is like Kurt Buseik, a writer I really respect, had no idea who or what Aquaman is or was, and decided in a room one day "Hey, you know what, I really want to write a Conan/Legend comic, so that is what I'm gonna do with Aquaman, f' the mythos." I'm coming back once Conan is dead and gone, and this Dweller of the Deep is gone, and the real Aquaman comes back. Please Buseik, write a real Aquaman comic, I know it would ROCK.

yup, I hear ya brother. Gee I miss Orin terribly

:(

[PastePotPete]

Is OYL a success? We can only determine that by defining OYL's goals...

I feel the goals with the OYL jump were as follows...

1.) Create a great jumping-on point for new readers.

As pointed out in a review in The Onion's AV Club, DC was only moderately successful on this point. Sure, a lot of the titles rebooted, but someone who has never ever read Wonderwoman before in their life would be hard-pressed to make sense of the new Wonderwoman title. I've read comics a long time, but having never been a Wonderwoman fan, I had to wikipedia Donna Troy. Sure, Heinberg recaps a lot in narration boxes, but that's not enough. A new reader is going to feel like he or she is missing information.

Wonderwoman isn't the only book like this. Even new characters like Blue Beetle required some background on Infinite Crisis and the BB scarab to totally get up to speed.

Now, I think the new Wonderwoman title is a great read. I personally like it. But a good jumping on point? Hell, no.

2.) Return Iconic Characters to More Iconic Status

Superman and Batman have successfully been returned to more classic versions of themselves. But this was an editorial success only so far as editorial decided which teams to put on those books. Of course Grant Morrison and Kurt Busiek are going to return your characters to their classic iconic status. Morrison could give Mazing Man classic iconic status just by writing him.
As for Wonderwoman...see above!
And Hal Jordan's main character trait right now seems to be guilt from his actions in Emerald Twilight. If you're bringing him back, it's time to put that behind him.


3.) Remove some of the chains of continuity to free up the writers a bit.
While some tethers were cut, new ones were immediately formed. Catwoman's pregnancy, for example. Or writers who set up a mystery about what happened in the missing year that will take yet another year or more to resolve.

I don't think OYL made the DCU better in the long run. BUT--I do think some of the choices they've made regarding their art and writing teams HAVE made the DCU better. Also, I never thought the DCU needed a lot of fixing in the first place. :)

[Babylon23]

From a personal perspective, OYL has definitely worked for me. I'm now reading more DC titles than I have in years. My breakdown, based on what I've read:

Books I think have improved OYL

Green Lantern: Received a huge boost with OYL. Probably the most improved title OYL.

Teen Titans: Another greatly improved title.

Titles I've begun reading/have returned to OYL

JLA: JLA was all over the place pre-IC. The relaunch has me intrigued, and I've enjoyed the 2 issues to date.

Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis: I wasn't reading Aquaman before this, but the current title has me hooked.

Catwoman: I dropped this title when Brubaker left, but OYL brought me back.

Batman/Detective: Batman was pretty bad pre-IC. Now both titles have become must reads for me.

Robin: I hadn't read Robin since the early days of his ongoing. I've enjoyed it OYL (keeping in mind that I know next to nothing about Batgirl)

Superman/Action: Up, Up and Away really got Supes back on track. I haven't been this interested since the Byrne/Ordway days.

Hawkgirl: I dropped Hawkman shortly after John's departure, since I wasn't impressed with Palmiotti/Grey. Ive enjoyed the book since Simonson came onboard.

New series/miniseries

I've started buying Blue Beetle, Shadowpact, Checkmate, the Creeper and Green Lantern Corps, All good books, with Checkmate being a big surprise for me.

Book I'm most excited about

JSA: Without a doubt my favourite DC book, even during the IC crossover issues. I can't wait to see the new team.

Books that didn't work for me

Nightwing
Outsiders

[ninjapeps]

Even new characters like Blue Beetle required some background on Infinite Crisis and the BB scarab to totally get up to speed.
I don't fully agree with this. true, knowledge of Jaime's involvement in IC would help but they're covering that in an upcoming issue, aren't they?

as for the scarab, new readers know as much about it as he does so I don't see the problem. besides, it's acting in ways that it was never before revealed it could do. before this, who knew it could create techno-magical armor?

[aukevin]

DC was successful with OYL in terms of my buying I guess. I picked up a few new titles like Aquaman, Green Arrow, and Flash. They tried to get my with Checkmate and Blue Beetle but lost me before 3 issues.

I think Teen Titans, Robin, and Superman have been the best titles since OYL started. Nightwing has been a disaster, hopefully Wolfman brings it back.

[ForEverAncien]

Jury is still out.

[Matt K]

I'd say yes.

Before OYL I got 0 DC books

After OYL I get: Checkmate, Aquaman and Blue Beetle

[shaxper]

I
2.) Return Iconic Characters to More Iconic Status

Superman and Batman have successfully been returned to more classic versions of themselves. But this was an editorial success only so far as editorial decided which teams to put on those books. Of course Grant Morrison and Kurt Busiek are going to return your characters to their classic iconic status. Morrison could give Mazing Man classic iconic status just by writing him.
As for Wonderwoman...see above!
And Hal Jordan's main character trait right now seems to be guilt from his actions in Emerald Twilight. If you're bringing him back, it's time to put that behind him.



Well said. I think DC was only trying to return some characters to their classic incarnations though. It seems like DC's battle plan was to restore the waning core titles to their most succesful incarnations (Batman, Superman, JLA), try bold new changes with characters that were never very popular (Hawkman, Catwoman, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Blue Beetle, Shazam!), and leave relative freedom to creators of titles that were already doing pretty well (Green Lantern, Birds of Prey) or seemed beyond help (Demon and Manhunter - both candidates for cancellation at the time).

Looking at things in this light, I don't really think many of these projects turned out impressive results. Batman/Detective is a much stronger series now, but I'm not getting that sense from anything else DC is doing. Most of these series seem to have returned to their former level of excitement/interest once the initial shock of the OYL leap passed.

OYL was an opportunity to throw out new ideas, start new continuities and (mostly) bring in new creative teams to see if any bold new directions would stick. Honestly, though OYL made me interested enough to buy at least one issue of each OYL title, I haven't found any new favorites amongst them -- just a few titles that I'm still feeling "iffy" about nearly half a year later.

And (for the record) I think DC ruined Wonder Woman. While the new series seems mildly interesting thus far, it seems to have lost touch with the classic portrayal of WW that George Perez created in the late '80s. Love or hate Greg Rucka, but his run on WW was an attempted return to that portrayal, and I hate to see it largely being ignored again now. While WW is one of DC's "Big 3", she's the one that DC understands the least. They have no idea what makes her a great character, and their direction with her OYL (as compared to that of Supes and Batman) makes this very clear.

[milly3cat]

All writers like to do there own story with out having the past writers stories to worry about.
I think one year later was just to make the writers happy. (They hate continuity)

But new stories can be good for the readers too. Like Birds of Prey with Lady Shiva in it, was a fresh breeze to me.. I.M.O.

[nuclearman]

I think the one year later concept is working well and is a success... if sales of 52 are anything to go by ... they are selling well.

[drwho]

An odd thing happend to me. I had dropped the dc books for 3 months and then picked up martian manhunter, trials, uncle sam, and creeper and really was surprised how much I liked them. So I went and bought the issues i missed for the past 3 month and will be buying dc again. So I would say the event was a success.

I'm gonna be getting
Uncle Sam
Mystery in Space
Hawk girl
Catwoman
Checkmate
Aquaman
Batman
Detective
Trials
Creeper
Omac
Atom
Justiceleague
Wonder Woman
Man Hunter
Creeper
Birds of Prey
52
Green Lantern
Ion
Green Arrow
outsiders
teen titans
robin
Guess I needed a break from the dcu to realize how good the books were.:p