When It's A Good Time To Bow Out Of New Titles

General Discussion Comic Books
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With the recent discussion of the Death of the Justice League storyline that’s about to hit, I’ve seen some people say it’s a great “jumping off point” I can see where they’re coming from. A lot of newer DC Comics just don’t do it for me any more and it’s made me think of the times when I’ve bowed out of new comics and gone back to old favorites or diving into older books I never got to read before.

I remember both Convergence and the announcement that Bendis would be taking over the super-titles being instances where I said I should take a step back. With Convergence, I held onto reading some of the New 52 for as long as I could. I actually liked some titles a lot, but overall I could see this direction wasn’t working for me. I was really into the Dan Jurgens run on Action Comics and loved a lot of the Rebirth stuff. But when you add the disappointment that was Doomsday Clock along with the announcement that Bendis was taking over the super-books, I had a feeling it was time to step away. I gave the Man of Steel mini Bendis wrote a chance to see if I liked it and wanted to stay on, but I didn’t enjoy it.

While I keep up with current DC news, the only books I’m buying at the moment are Blue and Gold, Superman '78 and Batman '89. Everything else doesn’t pull me in. With all the big events, the dark multiverses, Future States and whatever else they’re throwing at the wall to see what sticks, I’m not seeing anything that’s grabbing my attention. I guess that’s a huge benefit to this app…I have literally DECADES of older comics that I know I’d like to check out instead.

All that being said, when do you know it’s a good time for you to step away from new titles?

P.S. If you do like the new stuff, then you’ve got my support. It may not be for me, but to be fair, I’m willing to bet there were people who checked out of comics Post-Crisis when I was a kid. I never heard them complain when I read my stuff.

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I’m pretty much in the same boat. I used to by all the bat family books; after the new 52 there were some great reads but overall I didn’t like the direction some of my favorites took, and I’m pretty sure everyone, even the most diehard fans are burned out on these events that are just gone get canceled or retconned a few issues after. I don’t consider it any of the writers faults either, I’m sure they’re told they need to do an event or participate in some cross over and have to work with what they’re given at the time. In Denny O’Neil’s guide to writing comics he talked about how big events like knight fall took months of planning and you had to make sure the core of the story was strong enough to support more than a few issues, which I don’t think most events do now.

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Funny… with this new announcement I feel like I could relate a little more to folks who don’t like New 52 or Bendis’ Superman, two things I see bashed frequently on forums that I actually enjoyed a lot, especially Bendis’ Superman (no disrespect to you disliking it). It’s this feeling that something is fundamentally changing that I really didn’t want to change. The prospect of the Justice League dying is not an appealing one to me, especially since I’ve read every issue since the beginning of New 52… so more than 10 years now. Taking away one of my favorite things doesn’t exactly excite me.

Nonetheless, calling it a jumping off point, for me would be an overreaction. My current DC diet, consists of about 15 or so books. I would list them, but don’t want to bore you. How many current series have I cancelled? Two: I Am Batman and Batman Catwoman. In the former, I the book fell flat for me. The latter I just found confusing as hell. If I’m interested in something, I will give it a chance. I’m interested in JL… so I will give this death, and eventual return, a chance.

If your question is when do I jump off new stuff completely? It would have to do with affordability. The moment I can’t sustain the habit is the moment I quit. I enjoy this ■■■■ and talking about it too much to leave over storytelling choices that don’t agree with my sensibilities. I’ll quit individual books, but not DC altogether. I just wish they quit “reshaping the DC universe” with every other event :slightly_smiling_face:.

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I mean, for me, a good time to bow out is when you stop being eager to read the book.

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Good point on the Denny O’Neil thing. I’m sure the big events these days are planned, but they also feel rushed.

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No offense taken at all, @moro. I’m not a Bendis guy, but I’ll never begrudge someone for liking his work :slight_smile:

Totally agree on the affordability thing. One of the first breaks I took was back in 2003 when I started college. I was picking up JSA since the first issue, but once school kicked in, my last issue was the Christmas one. Priorities took over.

Also agree that they should stop reshaping the DC Universe with every event. I loved Armageddon 2001 and Eclipso: The Darkness Within when I was a kid and while they’re big events, they didn’t alter the nature of the DCU. They were just fun epics.

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I just read what I want when I want no matter the era.

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Oh yea, I’ve had that. I remember really getting into Action Comics. When the Mister Majestic stuff kicked in, I wasn’t enjoying it anymore and bailed for a while. I didn’t see the point in spending money one something I wasn’t going to enjoy. I waited and ultimately came back when Johns and Frank were on the book.

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Well, it does feel like DC is desperately trying to do events to fill in the vacuum of James Tynion leaving.

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If you like Blue & Gold, you should really pick up One-Star Squadron. A lot of people are sleeping on it and it’s great, especially if you were a fan of JLI.

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I’ve heard good things!

It’s funny, the newer stuff I’m buying are these smaller character pieces. Not only are they well written but they also remind me of a simpler time when not everything had to be world-shattering. Some of my favorite Superman stuff have been the digital first stuff here on the app by Robert Venditti.

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I gave up my $200 a month comic book habit when I got married in 1993. Having comics on the app allows me to play catchup over 20 plus years as well as read the new to the app stuff. I hated death metal and would not have read it if it wasn’t on here .

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I was reading most DC and Marvel’s output, plus selected indie titles. I dropped most of DC when they announced Flashpoint and a dozen titles related to it, as it was just too m any titles every week, and then dropped the rest when New 52 was announced. Then because I found it so easy to drop, I dropped all of Marvel’s stuff because $4 a book was too much. I have little interest in reading any of the new stuff, and spend my time in the app reading older stuff.

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I started reading comics when I was 10-ish and then really started as a monthly reader around the Knightfall and Doomsday era. I kept reading for a long time, then had a period where I let subs pile up at the shop and I would bulk buy/read and then started bulk buying and just piling unread books and then completely stopped when I went to grad school. I stayed aware through those years and then started again with New 52. I read almost everything either through buying or borrowing and kept reading even when I wasn’t enjoying. I despised King’s run on Batman but kept borrowing out of habit and then gave Tynion a shot and disliked his run and dropped Batman completely. I tried Bendis but his writing isn’t my favorite and then aging Jon Kent was the last straw and I dropped Superman completely. Bendis was announced and I dropped Justice League. Now I read some Black Label and what I would consider Elseworlds (DC vs Vamps, Knights of Steel, Batman ‘89) and if I had to bet I’ll be reading nothing within two years. I don’t even find the comics on the app appealing and by the time new issues are added I know all twists and developments so it’s not interesting. A lot of this can genuinely be written off as my tastes changed but I also think DC has become a rudderless ship and the omniverse is just a cover for making a huge mess they don’t know how to fix.
The saddest thing I think I can say as a fan is that I have access to books and I’m not even interested in the current DC Universe for free.

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Rarely do I see a comic book fan say “maybe it’s me” so kudos to you for at least acknowledging the possibility. The old “they don’t make ‘em like they used to” adage applies to comic books just as much as it does to any other aspect of pop culture. I used to spend quite a bit on music in my teens & twenties, but couldn’t care less about 99% of what’s being put out nowadays. I cling to my Springsteen while the kids listen to Dua Lipa or what have you. I don’t mean this in absolute terms. On the spectrum from “my taste just doesn’t agree with current stuff” to “current stuff is utter ■■■■”, the truth for each person is probably somewhere in between.

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I think Doomsday Clock really let me know it was time to step back. Let’s forget the constant delays (which is nothing new for a Johns/Frank project) and his focus on newer characters he’s suddenly more interesting in writing than the main cast (which, sadly, is also a staple of Johns’ writing) and get to the heart of my issue with that series: what did it ultimately accomplish? Yes, it put the importance of Superman back on the table, but everything else was so muddled. Any goodwill built up during that initial DC Rebirth special went downhill as the series progressed. For a book that was supposed to change everything and be important for years, it’s not really in the conversation anymore. The same with The Three Jokers.

And that’s my issue these days. We waste so much time building up to these grand epics and halfway though the actual story, you see how scattered and unfocused these are. The endings are rarely satisfying and we move on from them to the next big event where the cycle begins anew.

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I still buy most DC Comics each week

I spent last month getting up to date, excepting King’s Supergirl

I have not read any comics in last two weeks, though I downloaded them from Comixology

Reading a series of issues

In general
They flow together much better

But most have their up and downs

Considering after
Future State

The current issues of NightWing and Flash in our library are mediocre but then becomes great

But Wonder Wonder’s travels to other dimensions was great but now it is not as good

Reading Batman was just exhausting and confusing

Bendis Justice League has a great cast of characters but poor dialogue plot and ridiculous villains

Both Titans titles have nowhere near the guality of Wolfman Perez and Geoff Johns.

Favorite Titles
Was
V Ram
Swamp Thing
Catwoman
But now
He is no longer the writer

Marvel
Only Fantastic Four and Daredevil
And an occasional Xmen
If Comic Book Roundup
Says it is good

For indies
Only if I like the writer
Mark Russell had an
Excellent Red Sonja

All in All
DC output very uneven

No Justice League
Better then
Bendis Justice League

There doesn’t seem to be anybody at the helm
In editorial
To give the line a direction

I do appreciate the titles
Associated with animation and film

Batman Adventures

Justice League Unlimited

Batman 89

Superman 78

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Always glad to hear from you @TurokSonOfStone1950!

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This is the fewest ongoing titles I’ve had from DC in more than thirty years.

HOWEVER

If there’s one saving grace to the Infinite Frontier era is that we’re getting mini series from elsewhere in the grand multiverse. Christopher Reeve’s Superman, Keaton’s Batman, comics based on the Batman and Justice League cartoons, Titans tv, and they just announced comics based on the CW series and the Snyderverse Flash. Plus some other great stuff that has nothing to do with the present day like Batman/ Superman, Super Sons, Crime Syndicate, One Star Squadron and Venditti’s World of Krypton.

At the end of the day, just buy what you like. If it’s three comics or thirty that’s OK. If it’s only three, that’s DC’s problem, not yours.

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I’m loving the Superman ‘78 and Batman ‘89 books!

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