One of the the things I’ve seen talked about a lot is that DC needs an imprint for legacy heroes and more books out of time and continuity. I have to agree. DC hasn’t really given legacy characters the proper respect since New 52 started (cuz Didio and Jim Lee dislike legacy characters) and it hasn’t really been corrected, though there have been attempts. And books that aren’t set in the main universe or set in either the past or the future of the main universe has been where DC in recent years have shined. So why not have an imprint for them as well? Or maybe why not combine the 2 ideas into a single imprint?
Why you ask? Well, I was not a fan of imprints thinking they were unnecessary - if you feel there needs to be more teen hero [books] in the universe then just put out more teen hero books, it doesn’t need to be something different, that is until somebody explained to me imprints are managed differently and the way the characters are utilized in the universe are not by DC’s main editorial. That’s when I started to like the idea. I want to see more of that and I think these aspects that DC has been lacking in could give fans exactly that!
In my opinion, for a legacy characters imprint to work Nightwing and the Titans would need to be TOP priority! This would give Nightwing better management and out of the hands of main DC editorial and unshackle him from the Batfam. This would also finally bring back the Titans the right way and give them the proper respect as a team. Other characters/titles could be Stargirl, JSA (present day working with Stargirl), Black Lightning (similar to the show bringing his kids front and center with him), and Blue Beetle.
With an imprint that works outside of present time or even continuity itself you could have Batman Beyond back in the Bruce Time verse instead of the future in the main DC universe, A JSA and Watchmen combo set in the 40s (which could also be used to bring more legacy into the universe), and Detective, Action, and even Sensational Comics set back in the DCnU or even a completely new continuity or scattered throughout time with the legacy numbering. So many possibilities…
If DC ever did an imprint for legacy heroes and/or titles outside of present time or continuity what or who would you like to see?
I partly agree. I don’t think everything needs to be connected. But it is very helpful to have some set history/timeline for their characters. I mean, look at the new 52 or Rebirth. N52 had writers just randomly picking and choosing where the character(s) they were working on was at in their careers, Batman was only a decade into his career and managed cram all 4 Robins into it, the Justice League was just forming for the first time after they had been heroes forever and nobody really knew each other, the Titans never existed before the silver spoon Robin and the second wave of legacy characters, Nightwing had already been Robin, Nightwing, Batman, and then back to Nightwing, etc. Then Rebirth with the “everything happened, everything’s important” ideal you have everyone getting back this so called lost decade of their lives but nobody is aged up, Donna Troy somehow managed to be a Titan as a teen but was made from clay as an adult in N52, Dick was Robin from like 9 or 10 but yet because “everything happened” but yet N52 he didn’t become Robin until he was like 16 which is like when they say the Titans formed, if everything happen that would also mean Barbara was a council woman and like AT LEAST 6 years older rocking Robin’s cradle tweet, tweet , the JL woulda formed early in their careers, the JSA woulda came before them, etc. So many contradicting puzzle pieces and nothing to tell us what the truth is. That is why I hate these relaunches because they’re always trynna fix something but never actually fix the timeline or tell us what is or what isn’t anymore.
Not everything needs to connect or be apart of the same timeline, in the same [present] time, in the same continuity, or even the same universe they own both Vertigo (which is it’s own universe that they never really do anything with) and Wildstom comics they coulda totally fleshed out and made whole thing out of, but either way you still need to give everyone enough info to say this is everything you need to know, this is what really happened, etc. for the main continuity as well.
They are huge fans of many legacy characters. They have given books to Barry Allen (Flash 2), Hal Jordan (Green Lantern 2), John Stewart (Green Lantern 4), Jessica Cruz (Green Lantern 7), Michael Holt (Mr Terrific 2), Barbara gordon (I think there was a Batgirl before her), Damian (Robin 6), Tim (Robin 4).
This kind of reminds me of what Marvel attempted with Ultimate Marvel. It was really fun and exciting for a while, and much easier to get into than mainstream continuity (especially at that time), but after Spider-Man and X-Men none of the other titles seemed to do as well and it all came together in that hideous trainwreck that was Ultimatum.
I was actually thinking about this kind of thing the other day, mostly with the Justice League. Part of me likes seeing the membership change and see new characters get the spotlight. But then there’s also a part of me that likes being able to pick up Justice League each month and seeing the same main seven characters in the same kinds of adventures. I think it’s nice to have both types of titles, ideally.
Well, that’s the problem I think. Anything can be great when it’s done right and with the proper planning, which hasn’t been DC’s forte in awhile so I can see why you would think that. But I have to say, DC has done one major imprint with “Wonder Comics”. Did it last? nope. But while it was going on most people seemed to think it was the best stuff they were doing. That’s the thing with these relaunches like Rebirth and the coming Infinite Frontier, and even an imprint like Wonder Comics, they are ideals but after about a year or two they’re tossed aside to go right back to the same old habits and mistakes. It’s a tired, repetitive process, but id DC were to just double down and actually stick to the ideals the DCU as a whole would be better off for it.
Just because a character gets a book doesn’t mean they are treated well or even well respected like y’all think it is. And just because they even remotely like these few character doesn’t mean they have respected and not screwed over every other legacy character there is! Stewart, Cruz, and Holt haven’t even gotten the proper development in their own comics! DC doesn’t treat any of these characters as legacy characters. None of the characters that came before them have even been acknowledged except in few random events over the past decade which they were then forgotten about afterwards. Damian only gets his importance from being Bruce’s biological son and Tim (aka the silver spoon Robin) is only remotely cared for when he’s Robin which he is right now.
Yup and she’s not even acknowledged as even existing let alone being Batgirl anymore. Hell, has she even been seen since the golden age? Barbara’s Batgirl is not treated like a legacy character (even though she is). That’s what the whole New 52 is, taking the legacy out of the universe even though the DCU was built on legacy! That’s the problem with prime earth in general and it has yet to be fixed.
But it’s hard to treat Barbara as a legacy character when Betty isn’t canon most of the time anymore.
Fair point with the new 52. She was first erased after the first crisis though, I think
This isn’t about the shows (which Stargirl is the only show to do legacy right which is why I like it), this is about what’s happening in the comics. Don’t change the subject of medium.
Thank you! Was she even acknowledged as ever being Batgirl in whatever this is? I don’t even know if this DCnU or N52 But the art looks familiar who is this?
So like I said, random events/stories as JLA, Forever Evil were a an event and a title that didn’t last long, and Injustice and DKR are out of continuity, and lanterns other than Hal getting little to no development in their specific comics on top of Alan Scott not really being the first lantern making Hal not really a legacy character anymore. For everything that was in main continuity not only didn’t last long, but once it was over it was all forgotten about and went right back to the same old thing. DC has failed in adding legacy back in the DCU because we’re still in a continuity that was meant to take that away and one of the two people that came up with that idea is still in charge (Jim Lee).
