Well, Convergence is upon us. Two months full of revisiting abandoned realities? It seems like something I’d be totally into, right? I actually wish I could say that I’m more excited than I am.
I think that part of the reason I’m not particularly excited is that there’s very little sense of illusion involved in this “event.” Convergence is only happening to allow DC to move and settle in Burbank. That’s it, that’s all. It’s just a ploy to buy some time and fill a gap.
Granted, this isn’t really anything new. DC used to do “Fifth Week” events, for months that had an extra Wednesday in them. And I used to eat those up. I loved New Year’s Evil, GirlFrenzy, Tangent, Sins of Youth, Justice Society Returns and V2K. Hell, I even enjoyed The Kingdom, Circle of Fire.
Those were all events designed to fill that shipping gap. Yet, all those events felt fun. New Year’s Evil gave the villains a showcase, something that’s still a novelty. GirlFrenzy shone the spotlight on female characters, something that’s still an issue today. Tangent was a fun exercise in world-building. Sins of Youth is like a quintessential comic book premise and Justice Society Returns was something that people were ready for.
But Convergence has very little pretense. It’s literally DC dusting off toys relegated to the shelf for one more go-round because they need to have product on the shelves for two months. It’s a business decision and nothing more.
Honestly as a comic fan, Convergence almost feels like reopening an old wound. I didn’t really gripe and complain all that much about how Flashpoint demolished my beloved universe, mainly because I tried to be optimistic. But revisiting these worlds, realities and characters really just reminds me how much I miss those scenarios.
I miss Barbara Gordon as Oracle and Wally West not only as The Flash, but also as a family man. I miss when Tim Drake had a personality and was a likable character and I miss when Jason Todd was the black sheep of the Bat family, not just the one with the most attitude.
These are characterizations and characters that I genuinely miss. But why revisit them in some hodgepodge event that’s almost guaranteed to tarnish the pleasant memories I have of them, when I can just as easily revisit those original books? I still have them. They’d be easy to reread.
And I get that DC doesn’t want readers to write off two months worth of stories, so Convergence actually “counts.” But “count” really just means characters are going to die and having read World’s End for it’s entire run, I’m kind of done with death and gloom.
Of course, DC is also promising sneak peeks at some of June’s new books, included in Convergence titles, but I still don’t know if that’s enough to hook me.
I really just may cut back on books for two months. I’ve never “waited for the trade” before, but this may be the time. It’ll be collected eventually and if not, I’m sure Convergence titles will be easy finds come con season.
So, that’s me contemplating Convergence. I still haven’t made up my mind, but I’m leaning towards sitting it out.
Well, it’s Wednesday, which means fresh new comics at you local comic shop. Go out and buy some.
