The last thing any company wants to hear after experimenting with a new product, service, or method of delivery, is that they lost too much money trying to make it work. For DC Comics, this meant the entire revamping of the comic universe — a humanized Superman, a “Gordonized” Batman, hipster techie Batgirl, and many other titles that were instant classic hits (Harley Quinn by Palmiotti and Conner, for instance), or instant failures (Klarion by Ann Nocenti with art by Trevor McCarthy only made it to six issues before cancellation…remember THAT train wreck?).
Unfortunately, it looks like playing around with everyone’s favorite characters has not boded well for the media giant. On the morning of August 25, 2015, Bleeding Cool reported that they suffered a loss of $2 million, which, according to Bleeding Cool’s undisclosed sources, is due to what the DC execs refer to as “Batgirling” the company’s most popular titles (note that this doesn’t mean that they think Batgirl is a bad book, it is just a term they coined to describe how far away from the status quo the titles have gotten.
With DC Entertainment’s MASSIVE film schedule starting next year with the highly-anticipated (even if you don’t support Batfleck, we know you’ll see it)Â Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, this huge loss of revenue may (notice I said MAY. This isn’t a guarantee, just speculation) spook the company into snapping back to what was considered the norm for their characters. No more experimentation, no more taking the characters into uncharted territory, just back to what we knew and loved before writers began to play with them — all-powerful Superman (who could beat Goku any day of the week, even IF he had blue hair…just saying), Bruce Wayne putting back on the cape and cowl, and everything going back to the way it was pre-“New 52.”
I’m not suggesting that this is something that is going to happen, or that it’s something that we WANT to happen — I mean, sure, maybe SOME people out there will breathe a sigh of relief if the DC comics lineup goes back to the “meat and potatoes” of storytelling — but the way I see it, DC Entertainment stands to make several billion dollars from their film lineup if everything goes to plan, so in the long run, what’s $2 million to them?
I don’t think the company will snap back to “what works.” Experimentation exists for the sole purpose of testing the waters. Instead of going back to the status quo, keep what works, get rid of what doesn’t, and fill those empty spaces with new projects. I bet a lot of people would absolutely LOVE to see Static Shock make his triumphant return…just saying, DC.
What do YOU think? Should DC go back to the way it was before the “New 52?” Or should they stay the course and keep trying out new things?
