DC Comics is on a tear right now. ICv2 released their top selling books for the month of November, and nine of the top ten are all DC (Batman, the Absolute books, “H2SH”, the Batman DC K.O. tie-in, and DC K.O.). A year ago this would have seemed impossible and two years ago, no one would have ever expected this. The oldest superhero publisher has been working hard to make their books the best they can, and it’s working. For the first time in a long time, DC Comics is winning, and it reminds me another time that DC “won” and the reason why.
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Right now, the reason behind DC’s victory is honestly pretty simple: it’s the writing. For several years now, the creators and editors of the company have been rebuilding their universe, bringing characters and teams to comic store shelves that haven’t been there in a long time. DC has some of the best writers in the industry right now, and it’s just like another time, when DC was being beaten in the sales charts most of the time, but was still winning with critics and fans: the ’90s. ’90s DC was amazing on another level, and it was up against two publishers that seemed to hold all the cards.
DC in the ’90s Was Able to Create the Best Books Because They Cared About the Writing More than the Art
The ’90s are an extremely interesting time in comic history. The ’80s had been great for Marvel and DC, with both publishers building talented rosters of creators. However, Marvel was all about the artists, and this allowed them to begin the ’90s with their greatest sales successes ever with Spider-Man #1, X-Force #1, and X-Men (Vol. 2) #1. Big event stories drove the industry in the early years of the decade, with DC getting in on it with stories like “Death of Superman” and “Knightfall”. However, while they were doing that, books like Swamp Thing, Animal Man, Doom Patrol, Shade the Changing Man, The Sandman, and more were all building the legend that would become Vertigo.
While Marvel had been grabbing all of the greatest artists, DC was gobbling up writers. Alan Moore, Brian Bolland, and Dave Gibbons in the ’80s had opened the door for UK creators. The company brought in talent who would be counted as the greatest of all time like Grant Morrison, Peter Milligan, Garth Ennis, and more. American writers like Mark Waid were working on books like The Flash, the Superman team had pros like Louise Simonson and Roger Stern, and things went fairly well. However, it wouldn’t be until the mid ’90s when DC would really take off.
It began with the rise of the Vertigo imprint in 1993, which allowed creators the freedom of the indies with the power of DC Comics. The Legion of Superheroes had a pretty great reboot, modernizing the team. Aquaman had an amazing reboot from Peter David (who would also give readers an amazing Supergirl and Young Justice). The Flash was brilliant, The Golden Age and Starman made modern fans love the Golden Age legacy of the publisher. They were rebuilding their teen heroes with Robin, Impulse, and Superboy. There were missteps (Extreme Justice and Hawkman, anyone?), but the publisher was allowing its creators to do their jobs. Marvel wanted events and to chase Image. DC just wanted to put out amazing comics, and it worked.
Morrison’s JLA would cement DC’s new age of awesome. Hitman was unlike any superhero book on the stands. Aztek, Hourman, Chase, Chronos, and Resurrection Man were all new books that might not have sold the best, but were brilliantly written (seriously, if you can find Chase, get it; I did and I never regretted it). Kingdom Come has become a legend, and the last four years of the 20th century would see DC put out the best-written superhero comics of the decade. Marvel did have Thunderbolts, Untold Tales of Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, and the “Heroes Return” books, but it was basically too little, too late. ’90s DC was always trying something new, always concentrating on the stories, not the image or the events or the trends, and it paid off beautifully. It’s the same energy I feel in DC right now.
DC Is More Willing to Let Its Creator Write and It’s Paid Off
The ’90s have gone down as the decade of style over substance, with Marvel and Image fighting over the collectors market and nearly destroying the entire industry. However, in the whole decade DC kept their writing strong. Going back and reading ’90s DC is a joy, whereas going back and reading old Marvel reveals some pretty art most of the time and not much else. No one re-reads ’90s Image; they thumb through them and oogle the art. The publisher let its creators create and it paid off. And they’re doing the same thing today.
DC Comics feels like they care more about the stories and the characters than Marvel does, and it’s paying off. The Absolute books have stayed on top for over a year now, and books like Superman, Justice League Unlimited, and Wonder Woman have all made in-roads to the top. DC fans are excited about the future, and the company is putting out the best-written comics of the Big Two (I love Marvel too, but I wouldn’t say I’ve enjoyed the publisher’s output lately). Good writing will always win out and DC is proving that once again.
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