# New DC Universe = New Coke? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 31, 2011, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dc-universe-new-coke/583897 "2011-05-31T21:17:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dc-universe-new-coke/583897/41 "2011-06-01T17:41:26Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > In that case, this is going to suck. As others have noted, way too many of those major continuity events are themselves about the convoluted story lines, or include crap that needs to be eradicated once and for all. I don’t see how they could have done it any other way. Maybe you don’t follow comics, but they’re a serial medium, with long term plot threads that resolve slowly - there are some that have been teased in the last year that won’t have even started by September. If Dan Didio came out and said “Yeah, all that cool stuff we promised - psych!” They’d lose most of their remaining readership, and then the lookie-loos fascinated by the new number ones wouldn’t stick either, and they’ve basically shot themselves in the foot. Hell, comic books are one of the reasons I learned to read - and I’d drop them if they chucked out all that continuity. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dc-universe-new-coke/583897/42 "2011-06-01T18:11:46Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > I don’t see how they could have done it any other way. Maybe you don’t follow comics, but they’re a serial medium, with long term plot threads that resolve slowly - there are some that have been teased in the last year that won’t have even started by September. If Dan Didio came out and said “Yeah, all that cool stuff we promised - psych!” They’d lose most of their remaining readership, and then the lookie-loos fascinated by the new number ones wouldn’t stick either, and they’ve basically shot themselves in the foot. People might start to hate Dan DiDio! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dc-universe-new-coke/583897/43 "2011-06-01T19:15:38Z")
> [@Suil\_Dubh](#): > > Oh lordy, the Marvel “New Universe” comics were terrible. > > These came out when I was in high school. I was at the height of my comic-book fandom then, and even to my 14-year-old mind I thought these titles were lousy. Story, art, character design: everything was bad, bad, bad. > > Starting a new, simpler universe was a great idea on paper, but the execution in the “New Universe” titles was horrible. Err… no offense to any of the creators should you ever find and read this thread. Hey I liked Merc. Apparently, I was the only one who did though. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dc-universe-new-coke/583897/44 "2011-06-01T20:42:01Z")
[Here is a shot of the cover of Jim Lee’s _Justice League_ #1.](http://www.newsarama.com/multimedia/img_display.php?pic=SkxfQ3YxLmpwZ3xVUERBVEVELCBMYXJnZXIgSlVTVElDRSBMRUFHVUUgIzEgQ292ZXJ8fGNvbWljcw==)Spiked hair, and Supes definitely looks younger. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dc-universe-new-coke/583897/45 "2011-06-01T21:33:50Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > [Here is a shot of the cover of Jim Lee’s _Justice League_ #1.](http://www.newsarama.com/multimedia/img_display.php?pic=SkxfQ3YxLmpwZ3xVUERBVEVELCBMYXJnZXIgSlVTVElDRSBMRUFHVUUgIzEgQ292ZXJ8fGNvbWljcw==)Spiked hair, and Supes definitely looks younger. I liked Aquaman better with a beard. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dc-universe-new-coke/583897/46 "2011-06-01T21:59:24Z")
It is times like these that I seriously wonder if I (I’m 36) will outlive mainstream comics. I don’t think Marvel and DC will ever die entirely. Some corporate entity has to exist to license video games, t-shirts, movies and toys. I also think the fringe comics will continue to be published. But I don’t know how the capes will survive. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dc-universe-new-coke/583897/47 "2011-06-01T23:15:20Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > I liked Aquaman better with a beard. By beard, do you mean Wonder Woman? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dc-universe-new-coke/583897/48 "2011-06-01T23:33:57Z")
Slightly off-topic, but [What if Brightest Day was a (one-issue) Silver Age comic?](http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/05/31/silver-age-war-light-green-lantern/) ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dc-universe-new-coke/583897/49 "2011-06-01T23:54:39Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Now we know why the super soldier formula worked…Steve Rogers is a mutant. > > I’ve seen second grade drawings that had better perspective. What’s better, is that’s a drawing from halfway through the series when someone pointed out “Um, dude? Why does Captain-freakin’-America have a Nazi [waffenampt](http://www.pistole38.nl/manufacturers/manufacturers.html) on his forehead?” (Answer: Because it looked kewl. So what if it was a Nazi symbol?") Seriously–it’s a freakin’ Nazi symbol that was stamped on guns. It was so egregious (it’s not as obvious in that pic, but if you see it head-on, it’s obvious) that when Leifield was kicked off the book about 2/3ds of the way through, the new writer made a plot point about it being proof that Cap was being mind-controlled by the Red Skull (or something to that effect) A funny review of the first issue: [http://www.dailyraider.com/index.php?id=4035](http://www.dailyraider.com/index.php?id=4035) And regarding the re-reboot, I wonder if this is a one-month gimmick. There’s 52 worlds in the multiverse, 52 new number 1s. Regardless. 52x$3.00=$156.00. That’s insane. Is the idea to glut the market? To intentionally have a ton of books with really low sales numbers? Plus, the last reboot was about 2007 or so (Infinite Crisis) and really, we don’t need a reboot from that. It was done right and _fixed_ things. ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dc-universe-new-coke/583897/50 "2011-06-02T05:05:34Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > If Dan Didio came out and said “Yeah, all that cool stuff we promised - psych!” Half the cool stuff they promise never arrives anyway 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dc-universe-new-coke/583897/51 "2011-06-02T06:21:38Z")
Print 'em on newsprint and charge a buck for 'em, and I’d pick up a stack and check 'em out. Four bucks a pop, no. Joe ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dc-universe-new-coke/583897/52 "2011-06-02T10:59:23Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > What’s better, is that’s a drawing from halfway through the series when someone pointed out “Um, dude? Why does Captain-freakin’-America have a Nazi [waffenampt](http://www.pistole38.nl/manufacturers/manufacturers.html) on his forehead?” (Answer: Because it looked kewl. So what if it was a Nazi symbol?") I have trouble believing that Liefeld drew an actual waffenampt on Cap’s forehead. Because that would imply he’d actually used a reference for something he drew, and his entire output as an artist argues strongly against that ever happening. He was probably trying to draw an American eagle, and was just characteristically off-model. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dc-universe-new-coke/583897/53 "2011-06-02T12:14:54Z")
No–somewhere he said “Hey, I saw it somewhere and it looked kewl–how was _I_ supposed to know that it was like a Nazi symbol? (Uh–Nazis were the _bad guys_ in that war, right?)” Ok, maybe I paraphrased him just a little :p, but when (IIRC) Peter David when after him for that series in (I think) CBR, his “defense” was similar to the above: he’d seen the stylized eagle of the waffenampt and thought it was kewlier than the **A** for Cap’s forehead. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dc-universe-new-coke/583897/54 "2011-06-02T16:03:47Z")
And as more information emerges, it’s looking more and more like a halfboot - sorry, the rainbow lantern corps are still there, and getting their own title - but on the other hands, Barbara Gordon’s going to be Batgirl again, wiping The Killing Joke from continuity. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dc-universe-new-coke/583897/55 "2011-06-02T16:54:56Z")
> [@Jihi](#): > > Yeah, that story was [Heroes Reborn](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroes_Reborn), I remember that, it didn’t last long. [This is why.](http://etopuzlu.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/liefeld-cap.jpg) I’d love to see what he looks like when facing the other way. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dc-universe-new-coke/583897/56 "2011-06-02T18:24:17Z")
I was the biggest comic-geek. I sold my last collection to get the down payment for my house. haven’t read them in over 20 years. But, I did have a friend turn me on to _Astro City_, _The Ultimates_, _The Authority_ and _Fables_. Good stuff. if more comics were like that, i’d still be buying them. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dc-universe-new-coke/583897/57 "2011-06-02T18:56:12Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > I was the biggest comic-geek. I sold my last collection to get the down payment for my house. haven’t read them in over 20 years. > > But, > > I did have a friend turn me on to _Astro City_, _The Ultimates_, _The Authority_ and _Fables_. Good stuff. if more comics were like that, i’d still be buying them. How would you like to become a fan again, with _no_ upfront cost? I know where you can read all the current books, from cover to cover, and find just what you are looking for. ---
**Author:** ![tripthicket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripthicket/32/297_2.png) [@tripthicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tripthicket)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dc-universe-new-coke/583897/58 "2011-06-02T19:08:13Z")
After reading since the mid-60s (I remember an issue with Supergirl and another with the Legion), and after years of slowly-fermenting disillusionment and disgust with the state of the comics industry, I stopped buying comics cold turkey around 4, maybe 5 years ago. I doubt it will be the savior of comic books, but I will be watching for the details of this online model that DC is purporting to be developing. The cost will have to be very reasonable to lure me back for even a handful of titles. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dc-universe-new-coke/583897/59 "2011-06-02T19:29:51Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > How would you like to become a fan again, with _no_ upfront cost? I know where you can read all the current books, from cover to cover, and find just what you are looking for. If it involves a computer I’m not in the running, I don’t own one, never have. I post from work. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dc-universe-new-coke/583897/60 "2011-06-02T19:45:33Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > If it involves a computer I’m not in the running, I don’t own one, never have. I post from work. Nope-the real thing. You can even take it home with you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dc-universe-new-coke/583897.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dc-universe-new-coke/583897.md?page=4)