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DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

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DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

Old 01-28-16, 06:47 PM
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re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

By the way, the DC Rebirth has started. Today DC Comics announced the rebooted versions of the Hanna-Barbera division of comics. Don't know what to think of it except that the Future Quest book looks really cool















http://www.ew.com/2016/01/28/dc-ente...barbera-titles
Old 01-28-16, 08:06 PM
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re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

I don't know about the others, but I'm pretty excited about Future Quest. Johny Quest AND Space Ghost?! I'm sold right there, the others are just gravy. Reminds me of the Dynamite pulp heroes mash ups.
Old 01-28-16, 08:08 PM
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re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

Put Cooke, Amanda Conner and Chris Sprouse on anything and I won't complain. Even Jim Lee's over-rendered Scooby Doo is much better than the art style on the new Cartoon Network series.

But if Space Ghost Coast to Coast is out of continuity because of a Brak Prime punch, I'm out.
Old 01-28-16, 11:19 PM
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re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

I look forward to seeing a serious Space Ghost.
Old 01-29-16, 02:07 AM
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re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

DC already did a serious Space Ghost with Joe Kelly and Ariel Olivetti some years back, telling his origin. I only remember because the mini had Alex Ross on covers.
Old 01-29-16, 12:27 PM
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re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

Originally Posted by Trevor
I don't know about the others, but I'm pretty excited about Future Quest. Johny Quest AND Space Ghost?! I'm sold right there, the others are just gravy. Reminds me of the Dynamite pulp heroes mash ups.
Yeah, I'll pick that one up for at least a few issues. I really enjoyed the "serious" Space Ghost mini that came out some time back. As long as they're *true* to the Saturday cartoon versions I'll be good with them.

Am I the only one who thinks The Flintstones characters are drawn like "trailer trash?"
Old 01-29-16, 12:37 PM
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re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

Originally Posted by fujishig
DC already did a serious Space Ghost with Joe Kelly and Ariel Olivetti some years back, telling his origin. I only remember because the mini had Alex Ross on covers.
I must have missed it.
Old 01-29-16, 12:40 PM
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re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

Jonny Quest and Space Ghost look pretty much the same, but the others look like bad fan modernizations.
Old 01-29-16, 01:39 PM
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re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

Wow, Betty looks pretty hot for some reaso- oh, Amanda Connor. That explains it!
Old 01-30-16, 09:32 PM
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re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

I think DC is missing the boat with these Hanna-Barbera comics. They look like they're geared toward adults and are going to hope they make sales based on nostalgia. Awful modernizations is an understatement. Those Scooby Doo and Flintstones covers are atrocious.

In reality, DC should be pumping out these franchises as All Ages books (probably along with Looney Toons - is DC doing anything with Looney Toons?) and try to hook some younger readers, ideally in synergy with some of these franchises actually having shows on Cartoon Network.

If they want to sell Hanna-Barbera books to adults based on nostalgia then they should have actually stuck with the Space Ghost Coast to Coast and Harvey Birdman versions as far as those characters go.

DC seems to be hoping for the "Mark Waid Fiona Staples Archie" magic but you can't just do Mad Max style Wacky Races covers and hope you're going to get that. That's not how any of this works.

But to be fair it's not like Disney has been much better. They pretty much killed their American cartoon comics being published at Boom when they bought Marvel, and only now are they bringing back the successful Darkwing Duck to some publisher I've never heard of while Marvel hasn't done much other than do some reprints of Boom material for Muppets and Pixar properties. It's not like Boom is a threat to Marvel - just give them the license and let them publish the stuff if they're finding an audience to pay for it. Marvel seems to have its hands full between the normal capes comics and Star Wars anyway.
Old 01-31-16, 12:02 AM
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re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

Originally Posted by kodave
I think DC is missing the boat with these Hanna-Barbera comics. They look like they're geared toward adults and are going to hope they make sales based on nostalgia. Awful modernizations is an understatement. Those Scooby Doo and Flintstones covers are atrocious.

In reality, DC should be pumping out these franchises as All Ages books (probably along with Looney Toons - is DC doing anything with Looney Toons?) and try to hook some younger readers, ideally in synergy with some of these franchises actually having shows on Cartoon Network.

If they want to sell Hanna-Barbera books to adults based on nostalgia then they should have actually stuck with the Space Ghost Coast to Coast and Harvey Birdman versions as far as those characters go.

DC seems to be hoping for the "Mark Waid Fiona Staples Archie" magic but you can't just do Mad Max style Wacky Races covers and hope you're going to get that. That's not how any of this works.

But to be fair it's not like Disney has been much better. They pretty much killed their American cartoon comics being published at Boom when they bought Marvel, and only now are they bringing back the successful Darkwing Duck to some publisher I've never heard of while Marvel hasn't done much other than do some reprints of Boom material for Muppets and Pixar properties. It's not like Boom is a threat to Marvel - just give them the license and let them publish the stuff if they're finding an audience to pay for it. Marvel seems to have its hands full between the normal capes comics and Star Wars anyway.
The thing is that with the exception of Scooby Doo, the current generation doesn't know or care of any of these other Hannah-Barberra cartoons. Currently, there is all-ages books for Looney Tunes, and 2 different comic books for Scooby (regular series and a really fun Team-Up series). With the exception of the Team-Up, all other books sell horribly. Again, the new generation doesn't care about them.

I actually think that it's a great idea to start selling these books to adults, because they are the ones that grew up with these characters. Similar to Batman '66 and Wonder Woman '77, these books will appeal to baby boomers and some Gen-Xers. The stupid thing WB does is that the current cartoons on Cartoon Network have been licensed to other companies like IDW and Boom and guess what? They sell really well. Adventure Time, Regular Show and other popular Cartoon Network toons bring a lot of revenue to Boom and IDW. Why isn't DC making these books? I don't know, but all signs point to corporate ineptitude. In addition, other characters from the early years of Cartoon Network, like Samurai Jack and Powderpuff Girls, have been licensed to IDW. Those are titles that do pretty well with Gen X, Gen Y and millennials. The only cartoon from CN that has an actual comic book tie-in right now is Teen Titans Go!
Old 01-31-16, 11:38 AM
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re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

Looks like an early April Fools joke.
Old 01-31-16, 01:44 PM
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re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

Originally Posted by Red Hood
The thing is that with the exception of Scooby Doo, the current generation doesn't know or care of any of these other Hannah-Barberra cartoons. Currently, there is all-ages books for Looney Tunes, and 2 different comic books for Scooby (regular series and a really fun Team-Up series). With the exception of the Team-Up, all other books sell horribly. Again, the new generation doesn't care about them.

I actually think that it's a great idea to start selling these books to adults, because they are the ones that grew up with these characters. Similar to Batman '66 and Wonder Woman '77, these books will appeal to baby boomers and some Gen-Xers. The stupid thing WB does is that the current cartoons on Cartoon Network have been licensed to other companies like IDW and Boom and guess what? They sell really well. Adventure Time, Regular Show and other popular Cartoon Network toons bring a lot of revenue to Boom and IDW. Why isn't DC making these books? I don't know, but all signs point to corporate ineptitude. In addition, other characters from the early years of Cartoon Network, like Samurai Jack and Powderpuff Girls, have been licensed to IDW. Those are titles that do pretty well with Gen X, Gen Y and millennials. The only cartoon from CN that has an actual comic book tie-in right now is Teen Titans Go!
The majority of adults that grew up watching the H-B cartoons are likely 45+ years old and represent around 10% of the comics buying market. Scooby-Doo and Flintstones certainly have more name value. Scooby has obviously been around over the years but Flintstones haven't been relevant in animated form since the 80s. And all due respect to the failed Jonny Quest 90s reboot and reruns of old H-B properties on Cartoon Network in the 90s, but I doubt those really hooked a new generation of fans. DC is likely too late to cash in on nostalgia in a profitable way in comic book format. This type of project should have come out at least 10 years ago.

It's quite obvious that the nostalgia cash-in market has been 80s centric for a while - GI Joe, Transformers, TMNT, etc. and heading into 90s territory - Power Rangers, etc. The people who grew up on that stuff are in their mid 20s to late 30s and are the biggest segment of comics purchasers. DC for whatever reason licensed 80's cartoon He-Man from Mattel in 2012 and they're still rolling with He-Man comics. I think Boom is still rolling with 80's cult classic Big Trouble in Little China.

That's why I think if DC wants to make money on these H-B properties, they should get ahead of the curve and go for those late 90s/early 00s properties and somehow continue Space Ghost Coast to Coast, The Brak Show, Harvey Birdman and Sealab 2021. Those Adult Swim precursor shows. (Obviously there are some challenges in continuing a talk show mockery format in sequential art, and challenges in the mocking of old H-B animation in sequential art.)

And where are the comics for things like Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Venture Bros, etc.? It seems like a no brainer. Especially since there's got to be pretty good overlap in Adult Swim viewers and comic book fans. (Though I would guess today's Adult Swim viewers skew significantly younger than the Adult Swim fans of yesteryear, but it's the older Adult Swim fans who are in the prime comics purchasing market right now anyway.)

It would also be incredibly smart for someone to pick up the Archer license for comics, though that probably wouldn't be DC or Marvel at this point. But I guess other than He-Man, DC probably won't pick up licenses and neither will Marvel thanks to their respective parent companies. Archer is probably something for IDW to make money on comics-wise.
Old 01-31-16, 05:35 PM
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Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

Mod note: added '2016' to thread title.
Old 02-01-16, 02:29 AM
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Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

Wait, who still thinks kids buy and read comics?

I'll admit I buy the looney tunes, scooby and teen titans go comics for my kids but if they had to spend their own money, there's no way they would buy them.
Old 02-01-16, 02:52 AM
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Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

Originally Posted by kodave
The majority of adults that grew up watching the H-B cartoons are likely 45+ years old and represent around 10% of the comics buying market
Are you sure about that? I thought the average comic buyer was around 40 years old.
Old 02-01-16, 07:28 AM
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Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

Originally Posted by fujishig
Wait, who still thinks kids buy and read comics?

I'll admit I buy the looney tunes, scooby and teen titans go comics for my kids but if they had to spend their own money, there's no way they would buy them.

Man, that was true for my house as well. I tried to get my kid into comics so many times but I always had to buy them. When we would go to a comic shop, he would be interested and would look at several. But if it was coming out of his pocket, he would pass every time. He even said, "That comic is 3 bucks. I only get $4 a week allowance." (at the time which was several years ago)
Old 02-01-16, 09:51 AM
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Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

The Flintstones now look strangely inappropriate. Maybe I'm "old fashioned" but tattooing up Shaggy/Fred Scooby Doo seems wrong.

It is amusing to see a more serious take on these characters, character evolution is important.
Old 02-01-16, 10:39 AM
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Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

Yeah Future Quest seems like it might be okay. The rest of those though I don't think I'd have any interest in other than possibly Scooby Apocalypse just for curiosity. I don't like that they've made Shaggy look like a hipster though.
Old 02-01-16, 11:40 AM
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Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

Originally Posted by Spiderbite
Man, that was true for my house as well. I tried to get my kid into comics so many times but I always had to buy them. When we would go to a comic shop, he would be interested and would look at several. But if it was coming out of his pocket, he would pass every time. He even said, "That comic is 3 bucks. I only get $4 a week allowance." (at the time which was several years ago)
That's exactly how it was with my son and now my grandson. My son added "I can just read what you buy, dad, and it doesn't cost me anything." I currently purchase a couple of titles each month for my grandson (12) and oldest granddaughter (9) but there's currently ~6 months of issues they've not even bothered to read. I'm looking at just dropping them because if they're not going to read them then why bother? Prices are kind of sad and part of the cause of kids getting out of the habit. When I was 12 I could purchase 4-5 titles a *week* with my meager $1 allowance. According to inflation calculators that $.12 comic *should* cost ~$.90 today. I think my grandson gets ~$10/week and he's more interested in saving that to buy video games than spending it on comics.
Old 02-01-16, 12:20 PM
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Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

I don't remember the $.12 days but in my day I could get 5 or 6 a week with my $5 allowance. However back then there were far from 20 comics a month I wanted to read so my weekly allowance was never all dedicated to comics. There is just too much stuff out now and it's too expensive. In my day I could collect Uncanny X-Men and X-Factor and not feel obligated to read New Mutants. Even with the annual crossovers like Inferno, Fall of the Mutants and Mutant Massacre I could get the full story just by reading what I purchased every other month.
Old 02-01-16, 12:32 PM
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Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

That's why I just buy trades mostly. A lot cheaper and more convenient to read anyways.
Old 02-01-16, 12:41 PM
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Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

Children aren't going out and buying comics anymore, which is why the companies don't bother aiming much material at them. Their entertainment market is heavily serviced now by competing cartoon networks and the children's app/book market. Marvel and DC are quite aware children don't have the necessary budget to spend money on comics these days.
Old 02-01-16, 12:56 PM
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Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

Originally Posted by kodave
DC for whatever reason licensed 80's cartoon He-Man from Mattel in 2012 and they're still rolling with He-Man comics.
DC & Mattel have had a strong relationship for awhile (since at least 2008), with Mattel doing stuff for the Nolan Batman films, as well as taking on the (at one point) very successful DC Universe Classics line of action figures (before DiDio and friends ruined that too). That continued into the less successful Man of Steel and Green Lantern movies, but they're still together, and that close relationship is very likely how the He-Man comics came about.

Meanwhile, I'm still very thankful that nu52 broke me of collecting nearly every DC Superhero book, including 250,300, or longer runs of Batman, Detective, Action, Superman, Advs. of Superman, Hellblazer, etc. Too many titles that I really didn't like anymore, and my obsessive collecting made me buy all the variants too. nu52 allowed me to put that all behind me and switch to TPB's and HC's of only the books I actually liked (primarily Vertigo, DH, Image, etc.). There were a couple DC titles at the beginning, like All-Star Western as it was a continuation of Jonah Hex, or Resurrection Man, as I'd enjoyed the first series, but once they ended I was done and am not going back. Though I am thankful that they've been doing so many reprints of late, allowing me to buy stuff that I missed the first time, like Suicide Squad or Spectre.

Last edited by Strapped4Cash; 02-01-16 at 01:05 PM.
Old 02-01-16, 02:25 PM
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Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016

Originally Posted by Spiderbite
Man, that was true for my house as well. I tried to get my kid into comics so many times but I always had to buy them. When we would go to a comic shop, he would be interested and would look at several. But if it was coming out of his pocket, he would pass every time. He even said, "That comic is 3 bucks. I only get $4 a week allowance." (at the time which was several years ago)
Originally Posted by BobO'Link
That's exactly how it was with my son and now my grandson. My son added "I can just read what you buy, dad, and it doesn't cost me anything." I currently purchase a couple of titles each month for my grandson (12) and oldest granddaughter (9) but there's currently ~6 months of issues they've not even bothered to read. I'm looking at just dropping them because if they're not going to read them then why bother? Prices are kind of sad and part of the cause of kids getting out of the habit. When I was 12 I could purchase 4-5 titles a *week* with my meager $1 allowance. According to inflation calculators that $.12 comic *should* cost ~$.90 today. I think my grandson gets ~$10/week and he's more interested in saving that to buy video games than spending it on comics.
The crazy thing is, I don't think I would even recommend my kids to buy comics off the rack. Maybe a 99c bin or a 99c sale. The only reason I get them is because I add them to my dcbs order, and I get like 50% off. In addition to the DC titles (and if they come out with a DC Girls line of comics, I'll probably buy that too), I get the IDW Disney comics and some of the Tinkerbell stuff and pokemon manga. But it's like I'm trying to foster this love of comics in my kids, when even I think it's a waste of their money. I'm such a bad parent...

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