Direct Current 2.0

Week of August 10, 2013

Where the author comes back from the missing and talks about a Fox.

By Jim Durdan

So something funny happened on the way to the creation of this column, I got a new job. Sometimes things are just meant to happen and this was one of those times. I was called in for an interview on a Monday, and by 5 PM on that Tuesday I had a new job in an industry I have worked in and loved. I am currently an assistant director at a large publishing company that specializes in trade publications, indeed I am now working on the largest trade publication of its kind in the US.

Because of my suddenly found and renewed career I found myself with way too much to do this week and not enough time to do it. So, unfortunately, the column was pushed back till this weekend.  In the future Direct Currents 2.0 will be moving from a Tuesday publication date to a Saturday/Sunday date. This will also allow me to take a look at what was published during the week and comment on it. So, that you for the patience, and a huge thank you to Sean and Jim for understating about the lateness of the project.  Saluda to all of you!

One of the reasons I wanted to do a weekly gig involving DC Comics was that on occasion I wanted to take a look back at the past and help “flesh out” some of the creative genius that has gone before the modern era.  But, and this was very important to me, I didn’t want to do the usual articles that pop up all the time talking about Siegel and Shuster or Bob Kane, or Jack “The King” Kirby, I wanted to take a look at some of the creative forces that have so shaped the modern era, but have, by and large, been forgotten by modern fans.  This article is the first of those that will look back and throw a spotlight and forgotten genius.

Continue reading DC Currents 2.0 Week of August 10th, 2013 →

Direct Current 2.0

Week of July 31, 2013

DC Comics at 100, you are looking great for your age!

By Jim Durdan

OK, before anyone gets to irate and begins to protest that DC Comics is only 75 years old, I already know that. The 100 I mention is that this is the 100^th week for the New 52. 23 months ago DC launched its experiment in rebooting the whole line.

With the release this week of Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox I thought it would be a good time to take a look back over the last two years and see how things have shaped up, where they may be going, and where there might be some room for improvement.

I think most people agree that DC did this to bolster sales. While DC and Marvel constitute the big 2, DC is always the 2 in that statement.  For example in July 2011, the last month before the reboot Marvel had a market share of 39.43% as opposed to DC’s 30.55%. (http://www.newsarama.com/8145-no-dcnu-effect-in-july-2011-sales-spider-island-rules.html) Historically this is on par for the differences between the two companies over the last decade plus.

If you jump ahead to October 2011, a full month into the launch of the new 52, something remarkable happened.  DC had 42.47% of the market to Marvels 29.1%. That is a huge shift. Within 2 months DC collapsed Marvels share of the market by 5o%. (http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/11/04/dc-smashes-marvel-marketshare-in-october-taking-51-of-sales/) It would seem that the relaunch was a great success at least in the short term. But now we are two years down the road, what do the numbers look like now?

In June of this year, which is the latest numbers we have available, DC’s share of the market is 32.03% while Marvels is 38.09% So the effect of the New 52 revamp is still there, but it is much smaller than it used to be. DC is selling more books than it did pre 52, but nowhere near the numbers October 2011. Why? There are a myriad of reasons. The most important being that a lot of people bought into the hype of the 52 launch, people who hadn’t read comics in years came back and bought the first few issues, and then they lapsed, and walked away again.  Another reason, and one that is hard to determine the qualitative effect of, is the unevenness of some of the titles. There is no doubt that the creative teams on Action, Superman, Detective and Batman brought their “A” games. The same cannot be said for other titles. I have said in the past that I will not be a force of negativity on the internet, there is way to much of that as it is, but sometimes you just have to call it like you see it. Some of the relaunched titles were just not very well thought out.

Continue reading Direct Currents 2.0 7/30/2013 Week 3 →