Should the anthology titles be more like 2000AD for example?

[Bor]

To reiterate: 2000AD does not really do short stories. The anthology format has for decades been the standard format in British comics, but they aren't all short stories-they are serialized stories. Anthology does not have to mean short self contained stories, and in fact, it generally doesn't mean that at all.

I agree completely. While it is a diffrent genre denmark has had a weekly issue of donald duck come out for more than 60 years. Such an issue usually contain several stories with diffrent disney characters. Often a couple of stories are one-shots and the last one is a multi-part story. And yes I know its not the same exact thing, but the format I think could work with american superhero comics too. The only real quistion for me is if it should be divided after genre (eg. superhero, dark line etc) or after family (eg. batman, superman etc)

[Jadenewt]

DC is right now publishing a 40-page, full-color monthly anthology of 3 fringe properties for $4 that is doing okay. And solid creative teams including Dustin Nguyen, Howard Porter, and Norm Breyfogle. There's no reason a similar book with more popular properties and the same level of talent couldn't do even better.

Batman Beyond Unlimited is actually reprinting the stories from three of DCs online original series. Not stories created for an anthology per se.

[MajorHoy]

To reiterate: 2000AD does not really do short stories. The anthology format has for decades been the standard format in British comics, but they aren't all short stories-they are serialized stories. Anthology does not have to mean short self contained stories, and in fact, it generally doesn't mean that at all.

But my original point, Tony, was the tendency of many DC (and probably Marvel) comic book writers have of excessive stretching out of stories that take six or more issues when they could easily have been told in three or four. If they're writing shorter chapters in anthologies, those stories may wind up taking more than a year or two to tell (when they probably could have been comfortably written over six-to-eight issues if they didn't rely so much on multiple splash pages and three pages showing the character eating a single cookie).

[MajorHoy]

The licensing for stuff like Dragon Ball is not cheap.

And again, things in comics, just like everywhere else, are cyclical. Just because something hasn't been popular in recent memory doesn't mean they never will be. You can't take something that may have been true for a while and just accept it as an immutable fact for all-time.

DC is right now publishing a 40-page, full-color monthly anthology of 3 fringe properties for $4 that is doing okay. And solid creative teams including Dustin Nguyen, Howard Porter, and Norm Breyfogle. There's no reason a similar book with more popular properties and the same level of talent couldn't do even better.

Speaking of cyclical, aren't Teen-age Mutant Ninja Turtles big yet again?

[tony ingram]

But my original point, Tony, was the tendency of many DC (and probably Marvel) comic book writers have of excessive stretching out of stories that take six or more issues when they could easily have been told in three or four. If they're writing shorter chapters in anthologies, those stories may wind up taking more than a year or two to tell (when they probably could have been comfortably written over six-to-eight issues if they didn't rely so much on multiple splash pages and three pages showing the character eating a single cookie).

No, because it requires a different discipline. Each five page segment has to have some action, it has to move the story along and end on a dramatic note. The writers would have to adapt to that.

[MajorHoy]

No, because it requires a different discipline. Each five page segment has to have some action, it has to move the story along and end on a dramatic note. The writers would have to adapt to that.

"Would have to" doesn't always mean "will" or "can".

And don't say writers who can't change will be out of work; how many writers with no apparent talent still have jobs at DC and Marvel these days? (I won't name names, but everyone can probably list a few.)

[stk]

Batman Beyond Unlimited is actually reprinting the stories from three of DCs online original series. Not stories created for an anthology per se.

Yes, I know that. It doesn't matter where the material comes from. It's still an anthology. An anthology of shorter page-count story chapters originally released on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.

[Rafa-Rivas-2099]

Because of my enjoyment of the movie "Dredd" i started to pick up some copies of the british anthology title 2000A.D., a comic which is very popular at english comic fans. And i had a lot of fun with these issues and will absolutly buy it from now on.

If you don't know 2000AD, its weekly, it has between 30 and 40 pages for around 4 or five stories or story parts every issue. Some stories have more pages every week, some stories less.

I think for DC, this is the way to go with their anthologies (Sword of Sorcery, Gi Combat, DC Universe Presents). The biggest problem is the shipping of one issue per month. If you don't like for example one of the two stories in Gi Combat, you will not buy the title for 6 or more months. If it would be released weekly, you would have a new chance to find a story you like almost every second month. I would level up the release to 4 issues every month, with 3 stories parallel every issue (Sword of Sorcery for example the current line-up plus one).

I think DC should simply move these troubled titles more in this direction and less in the direction they take at the moment.

I actuatlly proposed the same at the old DC Message Boards.

2000AD is weekly and has 5 or 6 features. DC has monthlies and a wider audience so:

Detective: Batman, Elongated Man, Slam, Det Chimp, Question, Sherlock Holmes
Action: Superman, Captain Atom, Blue (Ted) & Gold, Hawkman, Sgt. Rock, Green Lantern
Adventure: Aquaman, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Atom, Legion of Super-Heroes
Sensation: Wonder Woman, Zatanna, Firestorm, Wildcat, Flash, Atom

House of Mystery: Martian Manhunter, Swamp Thing, Frankenstein, Animal Man, the Endless
All-Star Western: Hex, Bat Lash, Apache Chief, Pow Wow Smith, El Diablo, Cinnamon
Mystery in Space: Adam Strange, Lobo, Challengers, Space Cabbie, LEGION, Rip Hunter
More Fun: Captain Marvel, Plastic Man, Fire & Ice, Angel & the Ape, Super Buddies, Freakazoid!

Asking too much:

Oddysey: Anthro, Viking Prince, Camelot, Black Pirate, Kamandi
Sci-fi: Atom, Challengers, Flash, Rip Hunter, Doom Patrol
Spy: King Faraday, Human Target, Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey