So there’s been a lot written lately about the current state and direction of DC Comics and the response to the DC You push. Some people are drawing comparisons to the DC Implosion while many fans are publically fretting about the fate of their favorite titles.
All of this news seems to dovetail rather unfortunately into my final look at the DC You titles; the ones I skipped.
I often feel bad about not picking up titles, especially if they’re in danger of getting cancelled I know I’m only one person, but I do feel bad for the people who poured their time and energy into the book creating it and those fans who feel in love with it.
That said, I do have a budget and I’ve barely got enough time to read the books that I actually do pick up. So here are the DC You books that I skipped and my reasoning for not picking them up.
Batman Beyond – I’ve always been late to the Batman Beyond party. I never really watched the cartoon until it started getting rerun on Cartoon Network and I eventually picked up the complete series on DVD. And as much as I enjoyed the show, I was never really sold on it being part of the mainstream DCU.
I will say that I was less than impressed with how things turned out in Futures End for Batman Beyond, which didn’t really sell me on the concept of it as a solo title. Also, Futures End kind of burned me out on the notion of dark dystopian futures.
Black Canary – I genuinely feel bad for Black Canary. I guess there was a concerted effort with The New 52 to make Dinah less of Ollie’s running partner and more of her own character. While I appreciate the effort, I can’t say I was the biggest fan of what The New 52 Dinah ended up being. I dropped Birds of Prey shortly before the book was cancelled and never bothered to look back.
And while I enjoyed Dinah’s appearances in Batgirl, I wasn’t completely sold on her new status quo as frontwoman for a band. It felt to me like the definition of “trying too hard”. It felt like the sort of thing that we’ll look back on and shake our heads at, like jumpsuit Wonder Woman or power gauntlet Hal Jordan.
Constantine: The Hellblazer – As someone who has over half of the Hellblazer run, I’ll be damned if I support a watered down John Constantine. If I want a fix of John, I’ll pick up trades for the half of Hellblzer I don’t have.
Earth 2: Society – I actually did try out the first two issues of this book, but they didn’t take. While I enjoy the Earth 2 characters, I did not like what became of them in World’s End or even in their own title leading up to World’s End.
I will say that I enjoyed the art on two issues that I read, but I’m pretty much over reading stories about worlds recovering from horrible destruction and society trying to rebuild itself. Those stories just depress me at this point.
Red Hood/Arsenal – The New 52 has been a mixed blessing to these two title characters. On one hand Jason Todd’s back-story is more convoluted than ever before. On the other hand Roy is no longer having alley hallucinations involving dead cats.
The original incarnation of this title is yet another book that I dropped early on (though not early enough to spare me some of Jason Todd’s new mythology) so given that Lobdell was still the creative source behind the book, I figured I’d just as well skip this one.
Starfire – I’ve never been all that interested in Kori. Maybe it’s because I found her birth name to be kind of awful or because I found her original naïve alien portrayal less than enjoyable. So while I was intrigued by her portrayal in The New 52, I still wasn’t completely sold on the character.
And ultimately that’s what kept me away from this book; just a general lack of interest. While I trust the creators involved in the book, their involvement isn’t enough to me to invest in a character I’ve never really been drawn to.
Harley Quinn & Power Girl – I’ve actually decided not to pick up any new Harley Quinn titles, until I’ve completed my run of her original series. Which means I won’t be picked up any new Harley Quinn book for the foreseeable future.
And that’s my paltry attempt to explain why I didn’t pick up every DC You title that was offered. Now that I’ve unburdened myself, hopefully I’ll finally get a good night’s sleep.
Well that does it for another week. Since it’s Wednesday, how about you hit up your local comic shop and buy some fresh new comics!
