The D.C. Implosion, Is History On The Verge Of Repeating Itself? Options

[G-Man]

A recent string of cancelled titles at D.C that includes books such as Robin, Nightwing, Catwoman, Birds of Prey, Blue Beatle, Manhunter on the list and concrens about Green Arrow and Black Canary as well as Titans....reminded me and a friend of mine about what some people referred to as the D.C. Implosion of the 70's.

Between the years of 1975-1978 D.C added a total of 57 books to their printing schedule. They also added several ongoing back up features to main titles like the Flash and Action Comics. And they created several monthly "double sized" Dollar Comic Books such as World's Finest, G.I. Combat, and Adventure Comics (all of which were just regular sized books just months before).....all in what was dubbed by the company as the D.C Explosion.



The last wave of these books...eight titles begun in 1978...would be cancelled just a few months later as the country continued to back peddle into a deeper recession. The energy crisis, un-rest in Iran, and a major blizzard that hammered states from the eastern seaboard all the way into the Mid-West were all contributing factors that saw D.C slash over two dozen titles, delay or scrap plans for several more...and do away with plans to create new back up series in some of the books that were eventually cancelled.

Detective Comics was even going to be cancelled with issue #480...until a last minute decision was made to save the title by merging it with Batman Family....a book that was outselling Detective on the stands

Books started to fall from spinner racks like cascading dominos.....here is a list of the books that saw their end brought about by the events mentioned above.

All Star Comics
Aquaman-the unfinished stories would conclude in Adventure Comics
Army At War
Batman Family-merged with Detective Comics in order to prevent the cancellation of Detective Comics
Battle Classics- a reprint title
Black Lightning-unfinished stories would conclude in World's Finest
Claw the Unconquered
Creeper-would become a back up in Action Comics
Doorway to Nightmare-would merge with the Unexpected
Dynamic Classics-another reprint book
Firestorm-unfinished story would conclude in the Flash
Freedom Fighters
House Of Secrets-would merge with the Unexpected
Joker
Kamandi
Karate Kid
Man-Bat
Miracle Man
New Gods-story would conclude in Adventure Comics
Secret Society of Super-Villains-unfinished story was supposed to conclude in Showcase..but Showcase would also get cancelled...the last story never saw completion.



Secrets of the Haunted House-would actually be revised a year later and run for four years before being cancelled again.
Shade, The Changing Man-unfinished story would conclude in Detective Comics
Shazam-unfinished stories would appear in World's Finest
Showcase-unfinished Deadman story would conclude in Adventure Comics
Steel, The Indestructible Man-unfinished story would conclude four years later in All Star Squadron
The Witching Hour-merges with the Unexpected



Six more books that were supposed to be launched in 1978 had their fates altered as well.

Demand Classics-another reprint title never saw the light of day
Deserter-a new western title suffered the same fate
Star Slayer- a new concept by Mike Grell would be sold instead to Pacific Comics
Swamp Thing-was delayed four years until 1982 and then only the movie was the true reason the book was intially released
Vixen-what would have been the historical debut of the first black super-heroine was re-worked into a story idea for Justice League of America
Western Classics-yet another reprint title halted before going to print



Work had already begun for several new ongoing back up series that had to be halted due to the fact the book these stories were supposed to appear in were cancelled...or the book the book they were supposed to appear in had that same page count given to another character from a cancelled title.

These projects included.

Captain Comet-was supposed to appear in Secret Society of Super-Villains
Man From Nowhere-a new concept from writer Roger McKenzie was never developed
Manhunter From Mars-was supposed to appear in Aquaman
Metal Men-were supposed to appear in Adventure Comics
Vigilante-was supposed to appear in Action Comics

The fallout from this major shake up included...Jack Kirby and Steve Dtko returning to Marvel Comics once they learned books they were working on were slated to be cancelled.

Now ...30 years later....could history be on the verge of repeating itself. The nation's unemployment is the highest it has been...since 1978.

Consumer confidence the lowest it has been since 1967. Gas prices recently saw their highest prices ever...they are currently at the same price as when Bush took office eight years ago...but we all know how fast they can change at any given moment.

We're stuck in war nobody wants to be in.

Hurricanes, droughts, and ice storms get more and more severe each passing year.

All the while D.C.Comics....churn out three different Teen Titans books each month. a new weekly series each year...major events, crossovers, and limited series.

And ....not to just pick on D.C.....Marvel is no better in this regard. Amazing Spider-Man bi-weekly. A different Avengers and X-Men book for every day of the week. The Ultimate Line...Marvel Adventures.

Keep an eye on the comic market. Things are going to happen soon.

"Those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it."

[AaronSmith]

I used to love finding those double-sized dollar books in the back issue bins. I remember buying a bunch of the World's Finest dollar books. They had a Superman/Batman main story, and then a whole bunch of back-up features, like Shazam, Black Lightning, Green Arrow, Plastic Man, etc.

[Jason Berek-Lewi...]

The problem is that DC and Marvel have been cannablizing their own readers for years, by putting out dozens of Batman titles or Superman titles or Spidey or X-Men etc, all operating in the same continuity and many with inter-connected stories, or part of large cross over events. We used to have one big cross over a year, now it's just rolling crossovers.

The problem is that all of this only caters to exisiting, long time fans and it actually SHUTS OUT new readers. I deliberately have stayed away from DC because they seem to stumble from one event to the next ... Marvel are not much better and with the exception of Ultimate books, I haven't read a Marvel U title in years.

Indy is where it's at if you want to draw in new readers. Usually, it's far less complicated and you can read the whole story in one comic...

[G-Man]

Chiming back in...a comment or two about the past two posts....I used to love reading World's Finest as a kid...and man are those books hard to find now. They don't even have them listed at Mile High Comics...or least not where I have looked for them thus far.

And I would agree that Indy books are much better nowadays...and I can't really believe I just said that. Just a few years ago I would have never made such a statement but after what has occured in mainstream comics over the last few years...all the writers that abuse the characters left in their care by those that have come before just for an extra buck here and there....versus creators who respect the characters they come up with....and use death to develop story instead of sales figues.

When an writer for an independent comic kills off a character....it's because...

1. That was the plan all along.
2. It develops the story...which the writer actually cares about and hopes to make as interesting as high quality as possible.

An "underground" or "indy" book doesn't kill off characters to generate sales figures...because there's not enough interest in the book or the characters involved in it to develop the shock value the big companies are looking for so that "gimmick" is thrown out from the moment the story is conceived.

And the big companies do it so often they don't even get the "shock and awe" they're going for. It's over used and cliche....case in point....D.C is already planning to bring back Martian Manhunter next year after killing him off this past summer.

Why?

A good guess is they want to cash in on the character...seeing how there's serious talk about a Martian Manhunter t.v series in development on the C.W to evnetually replace Smallville.

So why did Morrison kill Martian Manhunter in the first place?

Did it shock anybody? No.

Did it help develop the story? No.

Did it sell one or two more books? Yes.

Did it piss anybody off? Yes.

I can see a day...very soon...when I'm no longer collecting any mainstream books....and that could be when (hopefully not for a long while yet) Brubaker leaves both Captain America and Daredevil.

In the mean time make sure you guys drop by the "Pub"....the new column that went up earlier today ....Peter discusses some of these very same concerns.

[Sean Collins]

very good points made Bill, I'm one that is a firm believer in my own work that dead is dead & I like to take a look at the way that it affects the characters that knew the characters that passed , I think that is a much more interesting story then this character is dead but don't worry he/she will be back 6 to 12 issues later lol

[Glen Davis]

To be honest, I'm not even sure that the death of MM even sold any more books.

The implosion was caused by overextending their line during a slump, and stupidly falling for a trick from Marvel when they said they were going to raise the price of their books. some say the implosion was really caused by panic when severe snowstorms prevented the delivery of books in the northeast and the company paniced and cancelled books that weren't doing all that badly.

I think DC's current problems are all self inflicted. Too much lazy storytelling, too many events that gonowhere, and too much groupthink.

[Glen Davis]

Rereading this, I remember really wanting to learn about the Odd Man so prominent in the advertising.

[Bill Love Novel ...]

Are we going to see a new DC Implosion? Things don't look so bad when you look at the fact that Robin and Nightwing aren't being so much cancelled as retitled. (At least for a while.) Even Birds of Prey will give way to an Oracle mini-series. There will always be books trimmed due to low sales. Is this the start of a long-term trend? Dan Didio is understandably concerned about recent economic trends. We're more likely to see a cut back in the release of mini-series this year. When people start to worry more about spending, which titles become more vulnerable? A one-shot or mini-series? Maybe they are more attractive because they don't ask for a long term commitment. Do team books do better? (More characters per page!)

There will only be a DC (or Marvel) Implosion if we change our buying habits. What makes you decide to drop a title you have been reading?

[G-Man]

When a book starts to frustrate me more than entertain me....and being a long time collector that happens when I feel that a lack of respect for the stories and the creators that have come before occurs or when the characters I have known and loved for years start to act like completley different characters or total strangers...it's time to go.

I know what I buy...or don't buy...doesn't really affect the big picture. But my money comes hard....my time once used can never be replaced....and when I feel I'm wasteing both....it's time to go.

Comics is a safe haven. A place I go to escape the real world....in that sense I'm an addict. My drug of choice...comics...when the buzz wears off...it's time to go.

[David O'Leary]

I know what I buy...or don't buy...doesn't really affect the big picture. But my money comes hard....my time once used can never be replaced....and when I feel I'm wasteing both....it's time to go.

Comics is a safe haven. A place I go to escape the real world....in that sense I'm an addict. My drug of choice...comics...when the buzz wears off...it's time to go.

Excellent point my man.

[Gordon_D]

Indy is where it's at if you want to draw in new readers. Usually, it's far less complicated and you can read the whole story in one comic...

I wholeheartedly agree - I think that more and more indie comics, with an increasingly non-super-heroic content....are going to be the books to watch.

[Cary]

indy comics regardless of genre are the place of the future. as someone who publishes an indy superhero book i can tell you it's not easy. everyone looks at you like you're nuts. "why would you do that? don't you know there's no market for superheroes outside the big 2?" tell that to the guy that publishes the Cadre. Mat Nastos sells as many copies of his books as he FEELS like selling. if he's not all that into it this month, he'll dial it back. next month if he wants his numbers back up, not a problem. it's not that there's no market. it's that we've become so Diamond centric. fans and retailers are lazy. but as to the topic here, i think we are definitely headed for an implosion in both Marvel and DC. you can't keep mining the stories of 20 years ago for new stuff today indefinitely. eventually they're gonna run out of gold and end up scratching their heads, coming back to basics and writing real engaging stuff again. but first we have to endure fifty new crisis and whatever stupid even Marvel has going this week.

[ChadStrohl]

Didn't both DC and Marvel tank a while in the 90's after they both started cranking out End-o-th'-world storylines one right after another? It seems it all part of the see-saw. It took the new infusion of writers to come in a sweep up the broken peices... but I think what even these new writers discovered, is that it's almost impossible to pave any new ground when a charcter has been coming out once a month (sometimes in more than one book) for almost fifty years or more. The tried and true always wins. Bendis can't help but ruin Daredevil's life and bring him face to face with Bullseye much like Miller did in the 80's. Somebody's out to kill mutants... alot of mutants. Days of Future Past is revered mythology in the annals of Comic Lore, but everything that ripples out from that (which everything mutant related seemed to do for a long, long, time) follows the physical laws of physics, it loses energy and gets weaker as it moves outward.

The reality may be that Spider-Man and Superman and all those guys may have run out of stories... or rather stories worth telling without retreading its own overdone themes. The solution for DC and Marvel seems to be all related to shock value anymore, although I can't accurately say that because I barely even read the stuff anymore. I stopped reading back in 1990 as well. Maybe that makes me somewhat somewhat psyclic

So... yes Bill, I think I'm in the camp that says we're about to see another crash, sometime after DC releases Crisis in Infinite Batcaves, in which the war over the cowl (or whatever) isn't solved and the call to become Batman is answered by the multitude of Batmen from all the worlds destroyed in the Crisis, because - lets face it - Batman is too dang smart to be killed by something as inconsequential as an apocalypse. He obviously would have a contingency plan. Crisis in Infinite Batcaves will resolve the debate once and for all of who would win in a fight between Batman and Batman. My vote's with Batman, the real one, because he had a contingency plan against their contingency plans. Have I lost anybody yet?

[Crazz]

I think everyone tanked in the mid 90's, not just Marvel and DC, and it wasn't because of end of the world crossovers, but speculation and variant covers over saturating the market. You can find tons of articles about this with a google search though.

I don't know if DC is going to implode again, any more than Marvel is, but the market could definitely be a little more healthier and consumer friendly IMHO. There are some months and weeks in which I think we are right back in 1993 again when I see a comic ship with 4 different covers and a company put out over 20 books in a week (with a good many of them really not being quality stuff).

Maybe I am wrong, but I think what has a greater chance of doing in the current market and forcing everyone to regroup is going to be the pressure everyone seems to be under to have "Superstar" artists or teams working on books! Every time I hear ANY publish start talking about a book that is getting a bunch of big names on it (or one big name for the smaller companies.....ie Alex Ross & Dynamite) I already count on the fact that the book will have scheduling problems to the point that my excitement level is either gone or severely dented by the time it wraps up.

Just look at the following short list I am putting down off the top of my head about books that have done just this

ANYTHING that was related to Civil War
Final Crisis
Legion of Superheroes: Legion of 3 Worlds
Wolverine--Old Man Logan Storyline
Superman--Last Son Storyline
Project Superpowers
All-Star Batman & Robin (in 2007 only 1 issue came out!!!)
Infinite Crisis


Like I said, that was just off the top of my head. I am not going to fault any company for multiple issues tying into an event (unless the stories suck) because they are a business and they are supposed to make us want to buy more of their product, but when they can't get it right, get it out on time, and they don't pressure their distributor to get the books out EVERY Wednesday that isn't a Holiday, they are risking the long term viability of their products.

Just my 2 cents worth.

[ChadStrohl]

The variant cover issue is an excellent point Crazz. I don't know how the rest of the comic buying community operates, so all I can say is how I approach buying comics. A variant cover does nothing to sway me either way. It seems like that's a selling tool against those who buy comics as a collectable item. I'm more interested in the story under that cover and I want stories that have some substance. Me being a Spider-Man fan since I can remember, I was cringing at the big Spidey moments that came stringing along over the last couple of years... The Other, which really did nothing by way of story and if I remember right, it really didn't end, it just sort of faded off into the next big moment which I think was Civil War and the whole identity revelation. Then it's Back in Black, then its "God knows what" because I stopped reading.

I guess what I'd like to see is something a little tamer in the whole industry. If sales are declining in spite of all these big events and crossovers, then something is obviously wrong with the model. In my perfect world of comic buying, I would like to see a return to the basics. Throw out seven or eight one shots where the hero(es) battles various rogue gallery enemies and the story is complete in one issue (two at most) while something sinister lurks in the background, then for the rest of the year's run to be some "event" which doesn't even have to be life changing, apocalyptic, or designed for shock value. Just make it entertaining.