What is DC doing right?

[Buried Alien]

All right. Enough with the negativity. Not *everything* DC Comics is publishing these days can be wrong or bad.

How about a little discussion on what's going right at DC these days?

Let me start: JUSTICE was awesome.


Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Cayman]

Letting Blue Beetle continue despite middling sales.

[Expletive Deleted]

The Showcase series is excellent, both in terms of production values (relatively speaking) and in terms of the choice of material to reprint.

[RichStanz]

Let me start: JUSTICE was awesome.

I'll agree, and add:

Gail Simone's Birds of Prey and All-New Atom
The new Blue Beetle series by John Rogers
Jonah Hex
All-Star Superman
Grant Morrison's Batman
Paul Dini's Detective Comics
Sinestro Corps was good, summer fun.
Meltzer's line-up for JLA is great.
Catwoman has been quietly chugging along with an enjoyable storyline.
Cooke's The Spirit
Jeff Smith's Shazam
The JSA
Rucka's Checkmate
I enjoy, I think every Vertigo book.
Plus, I still like most of the Wildstorm books (set in the Wildstorm Universe)

Looking forward to:
Simone on Wonder Woman
McKeever on Teen Titans *and* Birds of Prey
McDuffie on JLA
The new Booster Gold series
The crazy #666 issues of Batman and Superman
Ostrander back on the Suicide Squad
Green Arrow: Year One
The return of Manhunter
Tony Bedard's Black Canary mini-series
The Batman: Harley and Ivy trade
More Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters

[Jack Zodiac]

Darwyn Cooke's The Spirit. Morrison's All-Star Superman. Smith's Shazam: The Monster Society of Evil. Showcases and Archives. Blue Beetle. The Atom. Giving C-list characters a chance.

[CYOTI]

What they are doing right?

All New Atom
Blue Beetle
Birds of Prey
Brave and the Bold
Catwoman
Checkmate
Detective Comics
Green Lantern
JLA & JSA Classified
JLA & JSA
Robin
Nightwing
Trials of Shazam

[Cayman]

The Showcase series is excellent, both in terms of production values (relatively speaking) and in terms of the choice of material to reprint.

Good one, I'm addicted to those volumes.

I wish they'd do one of short-lived Ditko series like The Creeper and Shade The Changing Man.

[Expletive Deleted]

They printed an entire volume of "The War That Time Forgot" stories, so anything's possible.

Dang, I love that book.

[titanfan]

Things they are doing right:

- They are giving high quality middle/lower level titles a fighting chance. Manhunter, Blue Beetle, Checkmate off the top of my head. Firestorm got a pretty decent run for it's sales. You rarely have the days of comics being cancelled with an under 10 issue run anymore.

- They also have a pretty diverse line. You have a wide variety of books out there. It would be so easy to make every book a Batman/JLA spin-off, but they've resisted attempts to over-expose their top franchises too much.

- They listen to readers. I'm sure some people will disagree with me here--but I think they do listen eventually. In the comic book industry, it's impossible to react instantly, but they'll make changes when they have to. For example, they stopped killing the JLI characters, Fixed Nightwing, Tried to solve the Wonder Woman fiasco, Trying to fix Flash, Brought back Manhunter, Tried to explain Batgirl, Replaced the writer/artist on Titans, etc.

- Signing high quality talent to exclusive deals. It seems like they're winning the battle with Marvel in terms of signing all of the various high profile talent out there. It seems like for every one Marvel gets, DC gets two.

- They give away better stuff at conventions!

[The Shadow]

JUSTICE was awesome.


DAMN skippy!

I'm LOVING Paul Dini's Detective Comics (Morrison's is for the "bad" thread ;) )
Anything written by Gail Simone (can't wait for her Wonder Woman!)
Jonah Hex is DC's surprise book... so DAMN good!!!!
LOVED the first JSA arc... the confusing JLA/Legion story was crap (... what exactly happened and why??? :confused: ) but now that it's out of the way Johns can get back to telling awesome JSA tales.

... honestly I'm out of stuff I LOVE at the moment... IMO Marvel's firing on all cylinders while DC's engine is decidedly not.

[Billy]

Not much, but alot of my interests lie in places DC have no interest in. Two of my favourite characters are dead, and the other is retired.

Letting WaK reboot Legion of Super Heroes and finally making it as fresh and entertaining as the past.

Waid's Brave and The Bold - great concept, different Team ups with the same ongoing story.

Justice!!! - Man, I wish this was the DCU! Thats Aquaman!

Return of Suicide Squad - Nuff said

Checkmate - Great intelligent read, with great characters.

Superman titles are fun, if they came out on time, and didn't have annoying fillin issues..wait I'm being Negative!

The Spirit - Great read! Great Art!

Green Lantern - I don't read this, but having Hal Jordon and the great concept of the corps back, was the right move. This is what they should do with Aquaman, back to the basics.

Showcases - Great to see some past comics regularly collected.

[The Shadow]

- They listen to readers. /snip/ Fixed Nightwing, Tried to solve the Wonder Woman fiasco, Trying to fix Flash, Brought back Manhunter, Tried to explain Batgirl, Replaced the writer/artist on Titans, etc.
Regarding Nightwing... Devin was on the book for over 3 YEARS... they didn't listen to the readers as much as the cash registers that stopped ringing.

Regarding Flash: See Nightwing... only sooner.

And Wonder Woman wasn't a "fix" as much as a desire to actually have product on the shelves. They are still finishing Heinberg's story... so they didn't do anything but temporarily move on.

- Signing high quality talent to exclusive deals. It seems like they're winning the battle with Marvel in terms of signing all of the various high profile talent out there. It seems like for every one Marvel gets, DC gets two.
I dunno... I think they're pretty equal to be honest... I think DC has some of the better writers but Marvel's got em in the art department.

[Billage]

-Justice = best JLA story ever

-Green Lantern and the Sinestro Corps War

-JSA and JLA

-All Star Superman remains the new crack

-Brave and the Bold

[CYOTI]

Regarding Flash: See Nightwing... only sooner.
Weren't the plans for killing Bart formulated even before the dip in sales?

[jv2k]

The whole Green Lantern mythos starting with rebirth. I love the direction they've taken and how they finally brought the corps back. The whole sinestro thing seems like it is going to be epic as well. Its a shame that Amazon Attacks is the current big event. Of course this also means the event will be self contained and cheap :D

The spirit. Nuff said.

JSA

Detective comics. I've loved Paul Dini's writing since I was 3 or 4 years old. He was the perfect choice for this book.

Checkmate minus the Outsiders crossover.

Brave and the Bold is a great a book.

JSA classified is still hit or miss but DC seems to have started to use the book to tell some stories with the individual heroes.

Multiverse is back.

Alex Ross mini series

Anything Darwyn Cooke touches.

All Star superman

The upcoming mini series that is finally making Wonder Girl let go of her generic angsty teen girl characterization!

Never mentioning Kyle Raynor's gay friend Terry again.

Not killing off nightwing.

Not killing off Jason Todd again(yes he shouldn't have come back but it happened and they might as well make use of him)

Toning down Batman's jerkness.

I don't know what they did but I'm really enjoying the superman books lately.

Superman one year later

Batman one year later

JLA classified up until a the last few arcs.

52

Fleshing out black adam(though they should be beaten for what they did to him after that).

Taking Meltzer off JLA

Bringing back Mark Waid to flash. Even though I hate the circumstances and enjoyed Guggenheim's run Waid knows how to write Wally well.

And some other stuff I forgot to mention.

[stillanerd]

I certainly agree with the consensus regarding Paul Dini's run on Detective Comics. He's been consistently putting out some of the best Batman stories we've seen in years. Likewise, enormous credit has to go to Geoff Johns for single-handedly reinvigorating the Green Lantern franchise. And Grant Morrison's All-Star Superman is just a great mesh of everything that made Superman Superman (too bad it's schedule isn't monthly).

[Brad Barton]

I definitely think Sinestro Corps was "right".

If DC could pull off more stories like that, they'd have me picking up a lot more titles than I do now. As it is, I'm definitely on board for the Sinestro Corps crossover and Countdown...

Another thing DC does right is landing good talent and keeping them. Ivan Reis, Geoff Johns, Ed Benes, Rags Morales, Mark Waid, Judd Winick, Ethan Van Sciver, Greg Rucka and now Jim Lee....all highly respected and extremely talented creators that throw their hats primarily in the DC ring.

I've said a few times Marvel need to find a way to steal Ivan Reis from DC....they just don't seem to be able to do it.

[Fatguy]

Yea, Green Lantern is probably the coolest DC hero and they are treating him according ;)

That's definetly right by me. Also, taking a big leap and testing the market with a weekly, year long series and having amazing success with it is no small bussiness accomplishment.

[Suzanne]

-JLA and JSA; Putting Dwayne McDuffie on the former

-Reviving the Multiverse

-Giving Black Canary a mini-series

-Giving Mary Marvel spotlight in "Countdown"

-Gail Simone on Wonderwoman

-Keeping low profile books in print

-Their pool of artists and writers

-Showcase

[Hatut Zeraze]

There are a number of things, but I want to start with one: Checkmate.

I love that comic.

[Pól Rua]

Whatever your feelings on the story, from the point-of-view of sales, '52' was a triumph.
While popular in Britain, weekly anthology titles have NEVER sold in the US, and DC managed it, by not telling people it was an anthology.

Similarly, the Showcase series has been excellent. One of the strengths of DC Comics is its incredible history and diversity, and by alternating Showcases between 1st tier superheroes, 2nd tier superheroes and non-superhero titles, it's given us the chance not only to read classic tales of Superman and the JLA, but of Metamorpho, The Metal Men, Jonah Hex, House of Mystery and the War That Time Forgot.

On a similar front, kudos for DC's archives for keeping alive stuff like Eisner's Spirit, Cole's Plastic Man, the Blackhawks, Captain Marvel, The THUNDER Agents and many many others (even if I can't afford them... raxxinfraxxin!).

The Vertigo imprint has been a huge success, and has resulted in an increased audience for a wide range of crime, horror, science fiction, fantasy and other genres, as well as exposure for some incredible talents.

The stuff produced by DC Direct remains of very high quality overall. And while some of it doesn't float my boat as much as others, most of the stuff produced is fun and exciting, as well as being well-made.

Admittedly, I slam a lot of decisions made by modern day DC under Dan DiDio, but I only kvetch because I love.

[Ilash]

For all of my problems with DC, they are doing much more right than wrong. Off the top of my head:

52 was a solid read and a huge success on a production level.

Dwayne (JLU) McDuffie writing JLA in a few months.

Waid writing Wally West again.

The Spirit!

Brave and the Bold!

Detective Comics and Batman are both pretty great right now, even if Morrison did have a rocky start.

All Star Superman!

All Star Batman if you see it as a ridiculous over the top parody, is great fun. When it comes out.

Superman and Action are plagued by fill-ins and lateness but, especially on the main stories, they're better than they've been in years.

Green Lantern is a damn good read month in and month out.

So is Gail Simone's Birds of Prey.

Sean McKeever's runs on Teen Titans and Birds of Prey look really promising.

Crossover aside, Johns' Justice Society is a great read.

Jeff Smith's Shazam!

[mosdef]

Two words:

Sinestro Corps

[Infra-Man]

Could be doing a whole lot more, but at least there's:

Dini on Detective Comics
Cooke's The Spirit
Smith's Shazam: Monster Society of Evil
The Showcase collections
Sinestro Corps
All-Star Superman (when it comes out, that is)

[Trey]

Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Frank Miller, Jim Lee, Superman, Batman.

[DaeJi]

Justice limited series, Sinestro Corps, interesting new Titan's line-up, Simons on Wonder woman, Shazam: Monster Society of Evil, not bring back Barry Allen.

[Rattlehead]

The Brave and the Bold is hell of a lot of fun.

Dini's Detective are some of the best Batman stories I've ever read, and while anybody can pick them up and know what's going on there is a running theme being set up.

Green Lantern rocks.

For the most part, Wildstorm is allowed to do it's thing.

Justice Society is how a team book shoud be done.

52 was a risky endeavor that paid off well.

For better or worse, they aren't afraid to try new things with their characters.

I don't particularly like Judd Winick, but I give them credit for allowing him to write the way he wants to.

[Ilash]

Oh yeah, one I forgot. DC has heroes that actually act like heroes.

[Karl O'Neill]

batman
green lantern
superman
countdown
sinestro corps
brave and the bold
The flash
wonder woman
Jonah hex
the spirit
fables

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Morrison & Quitely's All Star Superman is exactly the kind of Superman comic I've been waiting for years to see. It's so rare to find creators who understand that Superman isn't just another superhero. He's THE superhero and his stories need to be worthy of the character.

Johns, Reis, Gibbons & Gleeson are doing similarly fantastic stuff with the Green Lantern concepts. After ten years of nothing but Peter Parker with a power ring and the never-ending creative disaster that was Hal Jordan, I'm glad somebody finally realises how epic Green Lantern is supposed to be.

[The Shadow]

Morrison & Quitely's All Star Superman is exactly the kind of Superman comic I've been waiting for years to see. It's so rare to find creators who understand that Superman isn't just another superhero. He's THE superhero and his stories need to be worthy of the character.
Have you not enjoyed the Busiek Superman??

IMO that's better than Morrison's.

[Deus ex Chris]

I dunno... I think they're pretty equal to be honest... I think DC has some of the better writers but Marvel's got em in the art department.
Seriously? DC has Morrison and Rucka. Everyone else is, well, mediocre, amateurish, or just horrible. Marvel has them beat in both departments.

Anyway, All-Star Superman is the way to go. It's the only title DC is putting out that I actually enjoy.

[Ilash]

Seriously? DC has Morrison and Rucka. Everyone else is, well, mediocre, amateurish, or just horrible. Marvel has them beat in both departments.

Anyway, All-Star Superman is the way to go. It's the only title DC is putting out that I actually enjoy.

Yeah, right. These writers at the very least equal Marvel's best talent (with examples of their best work in brackets):

Gail Simone (Birds of Prey, Welcome to Tranquility)
Kurt Busiek (Superman: Secret Idenitity, Astro City)
Mark Waid (The Flash, Brave and the Bold)
Darwyn Cooke (The Spirit, New Frontier)
Paul Dini (Detective Comics, Batman: The Animated Series)
Geoff Johns (Green Lantern, The Flash)
Jeff Smith (Bone, Shazam)
Bill Willingham (Fables, Shadowpact)

And I'm sure there's more that I'm forgetting.

[Ilash]

Have you not enjoyed the Busiek Superman??

IMO that's better than Morrison's.

It's funny that both Morrison and Busiek are writing really classic takes on the character but they're completely different from one another. Busiek's is more human, while Morrison's is more the "Ultimate Superhero".

[projectnrm]

What DC's doing right:

Green Lantern
Spirit
All-Star Superman

...yeah, that's about it.

[Deus ex Chris]

Yeah, right. These writers at the very least equal Marvel's best talent (with examples of their best work in brackets):
I'll give you Cooke, but the rest of them I completely disagree with. Their current projects all speak for themselves, and they don't say very much.

[Ilash]

I'll give you Cooke, but the rest of them I completely disagree with. Their current projects all speak for themselves, and they don't say very much.

Well, each to their own I guess. Out of curiosity, who do you see as great writers over at Marvel?

[jv2k]

Seriously? DC has Morrison and Rucka. Everyone else is, well, mediocre, amateurish, or just horrible. Marvel has them beat in both departments.

Anyway, All-Star Superman is the way to go. It's the only title DC is putting out that I actually enjoy.
Personally I'd say it's the opposite. I think marvels currently pretty bad outside their ultimate line.

[Deus ex Chris]

Well, each to their own I guess. Out of curiosity, who do you see as great writers over at Marvel?
Great Writers: Brubaker, Carey, Millar, Bendis, Whedon, and PAD.

And the good writers who are also currently doing better mainstream work than those you mentioned: Kyle & Yost, Fraction, Gage, Giffen, and Cornell.

I think they all tend to rise above the kind of mediocrity and outright horror that is currently plaguing DC. It's actually frustrating. I was absolutely adoring DC during the build up to Infinite Crisis (which turned out to be pretty disappointing) and 52 was really good as well. However, these days, DC feels like it did ten years ago, and that is definitely not a compliment.

[Ilash]

Great Writers: Brubaker, Carey, Millar, Bendis, Whedon, and PAD.

Bendis' work on Ultimate Spidey and Powers is superb but his mainstream Marvel stuff looks pretty bad to me.

Mike Carey's best stuff is over at DC - at Vertigo to be precise. His superhero work has never really interested me.

Whedon is great but he only has a few issues left of both Runaways and Astonishing X-Men, both which come out very infrequently so I question just how much of an impact his writing has on Marvel.

X-Factor is flat out great but have you read PAD's Friendly Neighborhood Spidey? It's really not good.

I'll give you Brubaker though I'm not much for crime stories so a fair amount of his stuff doesn't appeal to me that much.

The only Mark Millar stuff I've really liked are Superman: Red Son and his Flash stuff - both at DC. I actually think he would probably be better over at DC because he does seem to like and respect their characters more. Civil War was an abominable piece of nonsense where wholesale character assassination reigned supreme, logic was thrown out of the window and it turned the Marvel Universe into something that I have very little interest in. The Ultimates is fine for a dumb action comic but again, I don't like his characterization and some of the dialog is really ropey in a way that the worst that is typical of made for TV action flicks .

So yes, there is some good stuff but DC more than holds its own against these guys. Also, I should mention that I really dislike the Marvel Universe as it stands right now so even the good writers are burdened by the post-Civil War mess.

And the good writers who are also currently doing better mainstream work than those you mentioned: Kyle & Yost, Fraction, Gage, Giffen, and Cornell.

Giffen is pretty great but he's hardly Marvel-exclusive. I've heard good things about Fraction and Gage but I haven't read anything by them yet. Not sure about the others.

I think they all tend to rise above the kind of mediocrity and outright horror that is currently plaguing DC. It's actually frustrating. I was absolutely adoring DC during the build up to Infinite Crisis (which turned out to be pretty disappointing) and 52 was really good as well. However, these days, DC feels like it did ten years ago, and that is definitely not a compliment.

Huh, I liked a fair amount of DC back then so we're clearly on different pages here.

[Kevinroc]

Bendis' work on Ultimate Spidey and Powers is superb but his mainstream Marvel stuff looks pretty bad to me.

It's actually not. His Daredevil run was the best of the bunch, to be sure.

Mike Carey's best stuff is over at DC - at Vertigo to be precise. His superhero work has never really interested me.

I do think Carey's Vertigo work is his best comic book work.

Whedon is great but he only has a few issues left of both Runaways and Astonishing X-Men, both which come out very infrequently so I question just how much of an impact his writing has on Marvel.

His biggest contribution was the return of Colossus. Other than that, I'd say his stuff is solid (albeit late in the case of X-Men) but not the best of the best.

X-Factor is flat out great but have you read PAD's Friendly Neighborhood Spidey? It's really not good.

FNS is good. Not anywhere near X-Factor, though.

I'll give you Brubaker though I'm not much for crime stories so a fair amount of his stuff doesn't appeal to me that much.

Iron Fist is pure comic book awesome. That's all there is to it.

The only Mark Millar stuff I've really liked are Superman: Red Son and his Flash stuff - both at DC. I actually think he would probably be better over at DC because he does seem to like and respect their characters more. Civil War was an abominable piece of nonsense where wholesale character assassination reigned supreme, logic was thrown out of the window and it turned the Marvel Universe into something that I have very little interest in. The Ultimates is fine for a dumb action comic but again, I don't like his characterization and some of the dialog is really ropey in a way that the worst that is typical of made for TV action flicks .

So yes, there is some good stuff but DC more than holds its own against these guys. Also, I should mention that I really dislike the Marvel Universe as it stands right now so even the good writers are burdened by the post-Civil War mess.

The post Civil War Marvel Universe has been doing a good job holding my interest. But it's all about fear.

I'd say World War Hulk is a good example of that. They were afraid of the Hulk, so they sent him away. Now he's back and really pissed off.

Giffen is pretty great but he's hardly Marvel-exclusive. I've heard good things about Fraction and Gage but I haven't read anything by them yet. Not sure about the others.

A few words on Fraction. Iron Fist is pure comic book awesome. That's all there is to it.

Gage is good too. He took a real smoke and mirrors plot (World War Hulk: X-Men) and made a Hulk vs. the X-Men mini into something special. That's talent.

I'd also mention Greg Pak (Incredible Hulk) and Dan Slott (She-Hulk) as other great writers at Marvel right now.

[Ilash]

It's actually not. His Daredevil run was the best of the bunch, to be sure.

Yeah, I have really got to read that. I'm talking more about the more conventional superhero stuff he's involved with.


FNS is good. Not anywhere near X-Factor, though.


Well, to be fair, I do think mainstream Spider-man is an unholy mess but the FNS that I have read was some pretty dire stuff.


The post Civil War Marvel Universe has been doing a good job holding my interest. But it's all about fear.

I'd say World War Hulk is a good example of that. They were afraid of the Hulk, so they sent him away. Now he's back and really pissed off.

A few words on Fraction. Iron Fist is pure comic book awesome. That's all there is to it.

Gage is good too. He took a real smoke and mirrors plot (World War Hulk: X-Men) and made a Hulk vs. the X-Men mini into something special. That's talent.

I'd also mention Greg Pak (Incredible Hulk) and Dan Slott (She-Hulk) as other great writers at Marvel right now.

Actually Slott's She Hulk is the perfect example of why I hate the Marvel Universe now. Prior to Civil War, She Hulk was a really fun, fresh comic but since Civil War it became a book that had trouble finding a proper tone - Marvel has simply become far to dark and "realistic" for She Hulk to really fit in any more. It would have been much better if it just ignored the rest of the Marvel U and did it's own thing, like X-Factor does to a large extent.

I simply have no interest in reading Marvel comics that are strongly tied to the direction that Marvel has gone in. I posted this on the "What is DC doing wrong thread" but I basically think the whole tone that they're trying to establish throughout the Marvel Universe doesn't fit conventional superhero comics at all. DC have gone in the complete opposite direction, eschewing realism for it's far more fantastical, and yes sometimes silly, universe and history. DC's approach has its problems no doubt but it just feels like a better atmosphere for superhero comics to really thrive in.

[Citizen V]

Putting out more paperbacks,DC has decades worth of history.If DC is smart enough to expand its paperback line to other comic titles,then this would be a huge success.Secondly,DC is holding itself better than Marvel.

[Kevinroc]

Yeah, I have really got to read that. I'm talking more about the more conventional superhero stuff he's involved with.

His conventional super hero stuff is... different... But the New Avengers: Illuminati mini actually isn't bad (well, #3 was just rather confusing).

Well, to be fair, I do think mainstream Spider-man is an unholy mess but the FNS that I have read was some pretty dire stuff.

Coming soon... JJJ vs. Spider-Man. Good times...

Actually Slott's She Hulk is the perfect example of why I hate the Marvel Universe now. Prior to Civil War, She Hulk was a really fun, fresh comic but since Civil War it became a book that had trouble finding a proper tone - Marvel has simply become far to dark and "realistic" for She Hulk to really fit in any more. It would have been much better if it just ignored the rest of the Marvel U and did it's own thing, like X-Factor does to a large extent.

The Planet Without a Hulk arc (which mostly served as a World War Hulk Prologue) was actually quite good. And the current arc about the trial of the Leader is really just showing the book as Dan Slott tends to write it. Shame he's leaving soon. But I have no doubt that Peter David will do a great job as the new She-Hulk writer.

I simply have no interest in reading Marvel comics that are strongly tied to the direction that Marvel has gone in. I posted this on the "What is DC doing wrong thread" but I basically think the whole tone that they're trying to establish throughout the Marvel Universe doesn't fit conventional superhero comics at all. DC have gone in the complete opposite direction, eschewing realism for it's far more fantastical, and yes sometimes silly, universe and history. DC's approach has its problems no doubt but it just feels like a better atmosphere for superhero comics to really thrive in.

I think we have rather strange definitions of the fantastical in comics. I'd much rather read about people running away from the Hulk in terror than seeing Bart Allen being murdered because DC feels they haven't killed enough characters yet.

[jam37wcc]

I feel kind of bad because I went said most of what I dislike about DC at the moment so I will come over here and say what I like.

Green Lantern - Since Rebirth he has become one of my favorite characters a few years and he is laready up there with X-Men and Spider-Man. That is hard to do but I love the whole GL Universe right now.

Really thats all I have right now if I think of something else I'll come back and post again.

[Ilash]

I think we have rather strange definitions of the fantastical in comics. I'd much rather read about people running away from the Hulk in terror than seeing Bart Allen being murdered because DC feels they haven't killed enough characters yet.

Crap, got me here. As my reply on the other thread may have indicated, I'm not actually entirely happy with DC's tone right now and yes, their embracing of the more old school goofy superhero elements hasn't yet gelled with some of their other tendencies. And yes, they really do need to stop killing everyone they can get their hands on because it's lazy writing and there is no way that most of these deaths won't be canceled out in a few months. And yet their universe still seems closer to the ideal than Marvel's currently does.

[DubipR]

What's DC doing right:

1. Jonah Hex
2. The Spirit
3. All Star Superman
4. The entire Vertigo line- IMO, the best reads that DC as a company is putting out.
5. Starlin's upcoming New Gods- that promo piece looks excellent
6. Grant Morrison
7. Darwyn Cooke
8. Stormwatch- the consistantly good Wildstorm book
9. The Showcase books- even though I'd like to see a continuity timeline in their books like the Essentials have.

[Kevinroc]

Crap, got me here. As my reply on the other thread may have indicated, I'm not actually entirely happy with DC's tone right now and yes, their embracing of the more old school goofy superhero elements hasn't yet gelled with some of their other tendencies. And yes, they really do need to stop killing everyone they can get their hands on because it's lazy writing and there is no way that most of these deaths won't be canceled out in a few months. And yet their universe still seems closer to the ideal than Marvel's currently does.

Look at it like this. The DCU is supposed to seem like the ideal. The Marvel U. was built to be a more gritty place.

With all this fear and death, it's the Marvel U. that feels more true to itself right now than the DCU.

That's not to say DC isn't doing good books. I still enjoy titles published by DC and their various imprints. People have mentioned these books. But given the sales numbers, I wonder how long DC can publish books like Blue Beetle.

[Ilash]

Look at it like this. The DCU is supposed to seem like the ideal. The Marvel U. was built to be a more gritty place.


I see your point here but I do think that there is only so much grittiness and realism the Marvel U really should indulge in before it starts to clash with the intrinsic silliness and fantastic nature of the superhero. After Civil War, I personally feel that it went well over that line.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Have you not enjoyed the Busiek Superman??

IMO that's better than Morrison's.

It's good, but it hasn't knocked my socks off. While I usually love Pacheco's art, his inability to make Clark Kent look anything other than Superman with glasses bugs me after seeing Quitely show how distinct the two personas are supposed to be.

I did love the Young Gods issue though. That was a hoot.

[Tyr]

Ok I'll throw in my two cents...lets see what are they doing right.

Leading Jodi Picoult have a run in Wonder Woman, ok so theres some problems there, but at least she got a chance to do it.

Giving Wonder Woman to Gail Simone to write.

Alex Ross...everything Alex Ross.

That there not spawning multi-comic family issues, or at least not nearly as much as marvel is.

DCAU

[The Shadow]

Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Frank Miller, Jim Lee, Superman, Batman.

At least 50% of that list has got to be a joke... and the non-joke stuff starts with G, F and S.

[David O Burcham]

The best thing DC is doing right is that the vast majority of their writers and artists actually seem to like working on super-hero funny books.

[The Scribe]

Blue Beetle

Shadowpact

Jason Todd is from an alternate Earth. (I'd accept him if he was.)

Green Lantern and bringing back the Green Lantern Corps.

Sinestro Corps

Showcasing "lesser" characters in 52, Marvel needs to follow suit.

Brave and the Bold

Mystery in Space

JSA

Multiverse is back.

New Gods by Jim Starlin

Dwayne McDuffie on JLA

Jodi Picoult

Johnny DC, all mainstream comics should be for all-ages. They can keep everything else in Vertigo titles.

Things DC is doing/did wrong.

Judd Winick

Aquaman

Brad Meltzer

All-Star, especially Batman

Identity Crisis

[Jack Zodiac]

Oh yeah, I can't believe I forgot. Even if the manner in which it occurred was sort of contrived, bringing back Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps is probably the best thing DC's done to their traditional superhero books, next to putting Busiek on Superman.

[davros42]

Look at it like this. The DCU is supposed to seem like the ideal. The Marvel U. was built to be a more gritty place.

Yes, because Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were sooooooooooo gritty. There were Marvel comics before that big Punisher/Ghost Rider/Wolverine boom in the '90s you know.

I should probably say what I think they're doing right too, well:

Superman, Batman, and Green Lantern are all probably as good (if not better) than they've ever been.

Between Justice and JLA and Dwayne McDuffie's arrival, the Justice League is going strong.

Mark Waid will hopefully do a better job on Flash than he has on LSH.

Gail Simone will almost certainly make Wonder Woman worth reading.

That right there gets almost all of DC's core properties on track. And beyond that, it's fantastic that they let Blue Beetle, Manhunter, Checkmate all keep going. Vertigo and Wildstorm is just the icing on the cake really.

[jerrymcl89]

What DC is getting right is probably about two-thirds of the books they are publishing.

Among the big guys, Superman, Batman, Detective, Green Lantern, JSA, JLA, Brave & the Bold, All-Star Superman. Wonder Woman should be righted once Gail Simone takes over,Flash should be in good hands at least as long as Waid writes it, and Action should start hitting it's stride with Kubert off the title.

Among the little guys, Blue Beetle, All-New Atom, Shadowpact, Catwoman, Manhunter, Jonah Hex, and the Spirit are all excellent titles, albeit not strong selling ones.

[Eliseu Gouveia]

What is DC doing right?

Well, they brought back Ice.

They bring back Stephanie Brown, Lady Maxima, Katma tui and reactivate the Batgirl comic, I´ll be a happy camper. :P

[Babylon23]

I'm liking a lot of DC output at the moment. Titles that I think DC is doing right:

JSA - Best DC book overall for me

Green Lantern/GLC - Best revitalisation of a franchise in a long time, and 2 series that continue to exceed my already high expectations. I've always loved the Corps, so I'm glad to see themback and prominent.

All-Star Superman - Classic high concept Superman
Superman - Busieks take is different to Morrison's but equally good in its own right.

Batman/Detective - 2 different takes of Batman, but I enjoy both. I'm glad that 90's Batdick seems to be fading into memory.

Blue Beetle/Atom/Manhunter - Great new takes on classic characters that DC has shown a great deal of support for. I hope DC continues to support these books.

JLA - I've enjoyed Meltzer's run so far, and I'm happy to see the stoplight on b and c-list members. I grew bored of the Big 7 format after Morrison left and I'm glad DC has decided to approach the book differently.

Birds of Prey - Gail Simone can do no wrong in my mind.

Y the Last Man/Fables - Excellent Vertigo books. I'm glad the Vertigo is continuing to present very different material to the standard superhero fare.

Ex Machina/Astro City - Easily my favourite Wildstorm books.

General things that I'm liking from DC's current approach:

A greater spotlight on c-list characters. DC has some great characters that just need the right creators to shine the spotlight on them. DC is really trying to work with these character, and while some of their efforts have been hit and miss, I appreciate the effort.

Trying to correct their mistakes - DC made some mistakes during OYL and I'm glad to see them trying to correct those mistakes. Gail Simone on Wonder Woman and Gary Frank replacing Adam Kubert will hopefully ensure an end to the huge delays in publication. Waid on Flash will hopefully get that book back to where it should be.

Naming McDuffie as Meltzer's replacement on JLA is long overdue. He hsould have been on the book a long time ago.

The Multiverse - I was never confused by the pre-Crisis DCU even as a young reader. Most of my favourite DC stories from my youth featured the Multiverse in some way, from the JLA/JSA crossovers to All-Star Squadron and Infinity Inc. I love the Multiverse and I'm glad to see it back.

Things I'm really looking forward to:

Suicide Squad by Ostrander. Long overdue.
Batman and the Outsiders.

[NMoline]

I'll tell you what they are doing right... making me almost completely disinterested in Marvel right now. Outside of Annihilation there is nothing in Marvel that is keeping me interested as much as the entire DCU is doing to me now. I love everything Countdown, I love the way DC is always trying to reach back to its old continuity but also not afraid to change it. Marvel always ends up at the status quo. Hell after Civil War everything seems to be back to normal.

[DaeJi]

I think as DC moves further away from 52 and OYL I'm finding myself more interested in it's titles. Still hesitant to really get into anything until they are done with Countdown and Final Crisis though, but for now I'm not completely against DC like I was a year ago. But I fully plan to get Sinestro Corps and maybe check out the Flash.

[Shellhead]

One thing that DC is definitely doing right is that they are still telling stories about heroes.

Marvel's Ultimate line featured many familiar Marvel heroes depicted as amoral jerks, and now we are seeing the same in the mainstream Marvel Universe. Who needs villains when you have "heroes" like Iron Man, Hulk, Mr. Fantastic and Hank Pym? In the 70s, I was buying nearly every comic that Marvel published, but now I just buy one.

[Kevinroc]

One thing that DC is definitely doing right is that they are still telling stories about heroes.


Until they kill them... :p

[zhivago]

Well, in my opinion what DC is definitely doing right is bringing that special feeling of the superhero books from my youth. I mean I'm delighted to read the Green Lantern (which is in my opinion the best mainstream superhero comic on the market today), the Corps, The Brave and the Bold is just that what it is, Action Comics are great and so are Detective Comics. Plus Nightwing is back on the right track, Jonah Hex is a great read and we have Checkmate and soon Suicide Squad (I'm really looking forward to this book). And in my opinion JSA and JLA outclass New & Mighty Avengers. They had also put some spotlight on Adam Strange, Omega Men and the rest of the cosmic characters.
If they could make up their mind what to do with Aquaman...........

[MichaelMogg]

I think it's really difficult to say what's being done right per se. I could say -- as others have done -- that Jonah Hex is one of the best DC titles, and someone else can think it's utter crap. So talking specifics almost has no meaning. What I do think you can say, is that they have a nice diversity, especially if you include their imprints, like Vertigo, Wildstorm, and now Minx. Vertigo has released some DCU crossover titles/characters -- like Animal Man and Creeper -- which help bridge (or create interest) the imprint and the DCU.

I also think it's good that they print good books that aren't necessarily part of "continuity", like Justice.

[BlackRay]

What is right:

Uncle Sam and his Freedom Fighters
Shadowpact
Countdown

Manhunter
Black Lightning in JLofA
Black Mary
Jason Todd

Gail Simone
Geoff Johns
Paul Dini

Batman Begins

What is wrong:

Winnick

Superman Returns
DC reps at Six Flags

The Flashes minus Jay
Checkmate
Lobo
Hawkgirl

[HotRod_Tim]

Probably the best story running in the DCU right now, the Sinestro Corps War, can easily just be picked up and read in Green Lantern but I highly recommend getting GL: Corps just to get another side to the war. Dave Gibbon's writing is spot-on and Gleason's art is phenomenal.

Mark Waid will be returning to the Wally West Flash he's so accustomed to writing with Daniel Acuna's.....unique...art along as well. With the death of Bart Allen and Wally and Co's return from who knows where, things should really get interesting in the Flash-verse.

JLA has it's last ish with Brad Meltzer before Dwayne McDuffie steps in and brings the Injustice League with him.

Meanwhile, JSA has a couple of filler issues coming up until October with the return of the Kingdom Come Superman! And with Geoff Johns and Alex Ross collaborating on the script (and John's love for all things classic DCU!!!!) you can't lose!

Countdown's still chugging along but I'm intrigued as to where it's leading to. With these future projects coming up like Salvation Run and Final Crisis, a DC fanboy couldn't get more excited. Especially considering that Grant Morrison and JG Jones are working on Final Crisis. JG JONES!!!!!!!! That's intense! Every page is gonna be droolariffic art.

So anyone who says the DCU is steering in the wrong direction, think again!