Which ongoings can DC sell?

[Trey Strain Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Trey Strain]

Look at the numbers, and go as far back as you want to. They'll keep telling you the same thing, over and over.

Batman
Superman
Detective Comics
Action Comics
Justice League
Titans
Wonder Woman
Green Lantern
The Flash

And maybe:
Aquaman
Green Arrow
Teen Titans
Suicide Squad

A JSA title set in this day and time will probably sell, if they'll ever pull their heads out of their asses and launch it. Possibly an LOS title like that too.

You might be able to squeeze another Green Lantern title and another Flash title in there, and maybe even an ongoing with the Charlton characters. But that's it. Nothing else.

You can say, "If they'll give such-and-such title a chance, and promote it hard enough, I KNOW it'll sell -- because I'm just so damned enthusiastic about it!"

No it won't.

[Michael Heide Heide Finition Find all posts View Profile Close Michael Heide]

Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Justice League.
Action and Detective, Aquaman unless they try another weird revamping like Sword of Atlantis. These days, Harley Quinn.

Everything else has no staying power beyond an all-star writer/artist team that stays for more than 12 issues. Legion of Super-Heroes wouldn't sell without Bendis. Both Titans and Teen Titans have floundered ever since they took away Cyborg to dump him on the Justice League. Even Suicide Squad needed a Jim Lee to sell the last time around, and it's currently just around because Tom Taylor had a massive success with DCeased, so they gave him carte blanche.

[Ωmega Man Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Ωmega Man]

Green Lantern is kinda odd. And you can compare the numbers. At Kyle's lowest point [the Ben Raab penned Kyle era from GL vol. 3 #165-175] issue #165 sold 37.7k units. Issue #175 sold 29.7k units. The fact that GL: Blackstars #3 by Grant Morrison of all people is only selling 29.8k in units proves beyond any shadow of doubt that at his worst Kyle Rayner can still sell an ongoing title on par with the crap they're trying to push now with 'seasons' and superstar creative teams.

Every single time I saw those gen:LOCK comics in the solicits I asked myself why Kyle wasn't back in an ongoing creating giant mecha robots if that was something DC really felt they wanted to sell. Kyle sells. DC apparently thinks there's still a market for characters with similarities to popular anime and manga. It's a no brainer that for some time now hasn't come about because of the possibility it might outsell the 'flagship character'. Same reason ginger Wally couldn't just get a solo Dark Flash title, there's a good chance he would've outsold Barry.



Meanwhile Miss Marvel is outselling Capt. Marvel and the folks over at Marvel could care less so long as their characters are selling. Their only competition is themselves as much as it is DC lol

[Michael Heide Heide Finition Find all posts View Profile Close Michael Heide]

Green Lantern is kinda odd. And you can compare the numbers. At Kyle's lowest point [the Ben Raab penned Kyle era from GL vol. 3 #165-175] issue #165 sold 37.7k units. Issue #175 sold 29.7k units. The fact that GL: Blackstars #3 by Grant Morrison of all people is only selling 29.8k in units proves beyond any shadow of doubt that at his worst Kyle Rayner can still sell an ongoing title on par with the crap they're trying to push now with 'seasons' and superstar creative teams. [...]

Kyle sells. DC apparently thinks there's still a market for characters with similarities to popular anime and manga. It's a no brainer that for some time now hasn't come about because of the possibility it might outsell the 'flagship character'. Same reason ginger Wally couldn't just get a solo Dark Flash title, there's a good chance he would've outsold Barry.

I agree in principle, but you can't compare the numbers like that. Stores have died en masse since then. People have switched to comixology, pirate bay or stopped reading comics at all.

Batman sold 83,371 in May 2004, in the middle of the Azzarello/Risso run. James Tynion's run started at 61,739 copies earlier this year, and that's the top 7 best-selling book that month.

16 years ago, Grant Morrison's New X-Men sold 117,253. Uncanny X-Men sold 86,430, and that was near the end of Chuck Austen! The two best selling issues of X-Men in Jan 2020, during the much-hyped Hickman reboot, sold 93,342 and 80,443, and you don't see me asking for Chuck Austen's return.

Yes, I still think that bringing back Hal, Barry, Jason Todd and other out-of-date concepts and characters was a terrible idea that halted the progression of the DCU. And I would love to see a Kyle Rayner book with a high-profile creative team that played to Kyle's strengths (set in NYC with Kyle's supporting cast, and I wouldn't mind the sales boost he got from being on the Justice League). But Morrison's Green Lantern sells better than expected when compared to the standard attrition of the industry as a whole.

[Andrew NDB Shot Caller Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew NDB]

Yes, I still think that bringing back Hal, Barry, Jason Todd and other out-of-date concepts and characters was a terrible idea that halted the progression of the DCU. And I would love to see a Kyle Rayner book with a high-profile creative team that played to Kyle's strengths (set in NYC with Kyle's supporting cast, and I wouldn't mind the sales boost he got from being on the Justice League). But Morrison's Green Lantern sells better than expected when compared to the standard attrition of the industry as a whole.

Yes! Verily.

And while I realize it's stupid to do so, I mourn "The Green Lantern" that could have been, written by Morrison and starring Kyle Rayner. And what that could have been like.

[Ωmega Man Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Ωmega Man]

IMHO anything Morrison could do for Hal he could do infinitely better with Kyle.

I generally think when the Rebirth branding faded away, DC let creators drop the proverbial ball. At the end of the New52 Superman's identity was no longer secret. However, Bendis comes around like its some big original idea of his and uses that plot device. Then the Darkstars were the final threat in GLC at the end of that Rebirth series, only to be turned around, recycled, and rebranded the Blackstars.

[Andrew NDB Shot Caller Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew NDB]

I generally think when the Rebirth branding faded away, DC let creators drop the proverbial ball. At the end of the New52 Superman's identity was no longer secret. However, Bendis comes around like its some big original idea of his and uses that plot device. Then the Darkstars were the final threat in GLC at the end of that Rebirth series, only to be turned around, recycled, and rebranded the Blackstars.

With Morrison, it's kind of like... he can write a DC story using specifics from a comic from 1965 and 1973... but he'll completely ignore the DC comics that came out a year ago, or five.

[Rotten2thecorps Alpha-Lantern Find all posts View Profile Close Rotten2thecorps]

I feel like most of them can work. It's just finding the talent and passion for said character. But I feel like the key to success is getting the core DCU Story down. Make the shows and Cartoons be Comic accurate. You need that sweet synergy.