In Defence of DC Comics

- by Ninja Ross, 27 November 2013

People aren’t too fond of DC Comics lately. I have no idea why this is! It’s crazy, right? They’ve done nothing to warrant any kind of hatred or criticism! I mean, besides the Batwoman marriage thing. And the nude suicide thing. There was the comment about only writing comics for forty year olds. There’s Dan Didio’s unfortunate inability to not say stupid stuff... There’s that time they cancelled Hellblazer and I HATE THEM FOR THAT!!!

I mean... They’re not that bad. We all see the bad things and forget about all the good they’ve done! So, I’m going to go ahead and defend DC, telling you why you should adore them more than any other thing or person in your life.

1. When they get it right, THEY GET IT RIGHT.

Sure, they get it wrong a lot. I mean, more than any company that has been running for that long should get it wrong... But when they get it right, it’s like magic. Or, at least, it’s very good. Is that because it’s compared to the rubbish? Sure, it could be. But I don’t think it is.

Look at New 52 Initiative, for example; they tried something new, something that is not common with companies like this. They reset continuity (more or less...) and rearranged things. They put lesser known characters in the front. They made me like Green Lantern.

And books like Green Lantern (during Geoff Johns’ run), The Flash and Batman have been some of the best books DC has produced in a long time. It’s better than the majority of the stuff Marvel’s pumping out.

Even the mediocre stuff is ok. Batgirl is painfully mediocre, written by a mediocre writer, but it is VERY enjoyable all the same with some fantastic character moments that shine through the mediocrity (I keep writing mediocre because the word reminds me of yoghurt. Deal with it).

They’re also re-releasing the Hellblazer stuff, including stuff that’s never been collected before. They still cancelled the freaking book, but... I’ll stop complaining about that. Sorry.

Even this is OK!

But credit where credit’s due, folks; they’re doing good stuff.


2. They are single-handedly saving the grit industry.

DC isn’t just about comics, of course! They have movies and TV shows, too. And that is where they truly do their best for the world.

With each episode of Arrow and with each new Batman movie, DC puts millions of dollars into the grit and gravel industry. Did you know that they used several tons of the stuff for Bale’s Batman voice alone? That created hundreds of jobs.

And that’s just the voices. The amount of grit used in the editing process is incredible. It’s also used as a camera filter and even on the lighting on Batman movies.

With the gritty Superman movie reboot, they couldn’t use quite as much but that still helped graters live like kings and queens.

The unfortunate side effect is that the world is quickly running out of grit. Thankfully, they plan on mining Mars for red grit, which is even more potent since it’s red and stuff. Can you imagine? It’s like bloody grit. Imagine how intense a Batman movie could be with that stuff. Imagine what they can do for the Martian community.

BEHIND THE SCENES: A DC offices backroom.

3. They go easy on the big events.

OH MY GOD. Big events, man. I tells ya. Am I the only one who dropped the majority of Marvel books because of the big events? I can’t be. I decided to pick up a Marvel event not too long ago, to see if the break from Marvel would refresh my enthusiasm. That big event was Avengers vs. X-Men. You see the problem, right?

This was good, too! Not an event!

But DC doesn’t do that many big events, especially now. Sure, they do events within books and events that spread over the related titles (such as Court of Owls) but it’s not universe spanning, is it? It involves specific characters and no book is crammed into it without reason.

What was the last big event? The New 52? Marvel’s had a million big events since then. DC has events that are just the right size. Events that even the picky Goldilocks would like!

Keeping events small like this and avoiding huge ones for as long as you can, increases the impact of the stories. It makes the changes worth paying attention to. DC is also sticking with changes made. How long has the New 52 been going? Over a couple of years? That’s longer than the changes made in Marvel’s events.

Again, credit where credit’s due.

4. DC are all about helping other companies

Oh, DC is driving away talented creators with their dumb decisions, are they? Oh, boo hoo. Wake up, people! They’re doing it on purpose! You think they drove Rucka out by accident? You really think they annoyed J.H Williams and W Haden Blackman just because they thought it would be a good idea to ruin an award-winning, high profile book?

Bah! They were using these creators towards other companies! They were helping out the little guys!

They have to balance out their awesomeness with things like this. If they keep all of the talent for themselves, companies like Marvel and Image would collapse, unable to compete with everything. So, they drive out creators. They make mistakes like the very unfortunate suicide panel. For every excellent book, Dan Didio’s mouth helps balance things by spewing idiocy to help fertilise the seeds of competition and cooperation.

It’s a beautiful thing, when you think about it. Is Marvel GIVING AWAY their talent? No, they’re dragging them in, refusing to let them go. DC is just throwing them out. They’re letting Marvel survive. Good old DC.

Dan Didio, DC's Head of Leveling the Playing Field, at a grit convention.

And there you have it, folks. I hope I’ve helped you see DC for the amazing, generous company they really are. Next time you sneer at a Didio comment or another gritty movie, just remember what they doing for the world.

You are now enlightened.


So! Do you now view DC differently? You should! Got some more reasons (of all kinds) on why DC is so great? Let us know below!

Tagged: comics.

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