Paul Jenkins: DC Is "In The Toilet"

[ZariusTwo]

Writer Paul Jenkins bares his soul in a scathing open letter and interview with Bleedingcool. He's a bit rosier to Marvel and it's more a case of "they're doing something different and it's not for me", but when it comes to the "Distingushed Competition" he completly lets them have it.

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/06/...medium=twitter

Keep in mind: Marvel prior to the Marvel Knights line reinvigorating the brand, was handled by Bob Harris and his cronies as well

[Leo656]

Yikes. No surprises, though. DC's been flailing for a while now. He's right; when the industry is in a lull, the creators and their "life-altering" stories are the fix, but a few years and a few big events later the corporate mindset regains control and you have no freedom whatsoever. Forget "Watchmen"; "Identity Crisis" was the story that kickstarted the modern DC revival barely ten years ago, and I don't think THAT story would have a chance in hell of getting made today. Especially not in post-New 52 "Universe-Building Mode".

Further proof the reboot ended up doing more harm than good. Sales may not have reflected it, but DC as a whole was Just Fine after Final Crisis and Blackest Night. Sales may have been a little flat, but the DC readership was suffering from Event Fatigue after Identity Crisis, Infinite Crisis, 52, Countdown, Final Crisis, Blackest Night, and Brightest Day, to say nothing of the smaller "events" in between like World War 3 or the Amazons Attack. The books and the universe, as written, were fine, people just needed a break, sales were obviously going to slide at some point. Hitting the panic button, rebooting the entire universe and having to make everyone get on board with the new cohesive vision was a huge mistake. I feel it's almost entirely to blame for all the tensions currently at DC.

Compare how enthusiastic writers were back in 2005/6 to be working at DC, how writers like Kieth Giffen (who worked for both DC and Marvel at the time) would stroll into the Marvel offices and gloat about how "brilliant" DC's upcoming stories were, to now when post-reboot there are all these stories of how horrible it is to work there. It's a shame. Maybe if they "un-Flashpoint" the universe everyone can relax a little, and go back to telling great stories instead of trying to re-brand a mythology that was pretty well-established to begin with before they mucked it all up.

[Slade]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Maybe if they "un-Flashpoint" the universe everyone can relax a little, and go back to telling great stories instead of trying to re-brand a mythology that was pretty well-established to begin with before they mucked it all up.

God I wish, not that I don't read the Superman and Batman titles, but I'm actually more interested in the Batman stories than the Superman for the first time ever.

[Leo656]

Getting rid of Damien is a good start, I'll give 'em that. God, I hated that kid.

[The Sewer Lord]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Getting rid of Damien is a good start, I'll give 'em that. God, I hated that kid.

Didn't the '60s comics suck as hell. I prefer '70s onward comics. Heck, the '40s Captain Marvel was also better.

[Leo656]

Well, I wasn't around, but based on the large number of TPB stories I have, comics in general were pretty bad in the 60s. Probably because everyone was on serious drugs. Nowadays when it's mostly only Grant Morrison who drops acid and plots out an entire 12-issue mini-series, back then it was everyone, so nobody noticed all the ridiculous ideas floating around.