Well, another San Diego Comic-Con is now in the books! One company really caught my attention again!
ANOTHER SDCC FULL OF FUN AND FACTS!
Some of the news meant a lot to me because of the fandoms I travel in, including the upcoming Star Trek events (the Puppet Trek, for instance) and Starfleet Academy, Ultimate Spider-Man coming to an end in issue #24 (a Spidey book that actually ends?), and many of the toy and statue info releases. Great!
But SDCC also reinforced what I have been noticing in the last several months… while the number of DC offerings coming out each month is decreasing, the number of Dynamite! books I buy is definitely increasing!
Maybe I was just born at the right time, but all the properties that Dynamite! is releasing resonate with me, like the just-announced Supernatural and Buffy the Vampire Slayer titles on the way. Also, I’m so getting into the animated characters getting another chance at life, including Silverhawks (which I never watched when it was on TV, by the way), the upcoming The Blue Falcon & Dynomutt (not to be confused with Dynomutt & The Blue Falcon a la Scooby Doo), Harley Quinn & Elvira (written by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti), and even Thundercats and The Powerpuff Girls. There is one property I can’t get into, even with David Pepose writing it, and that’s Captain Planet. I have tried multiple times to appreciate it, but that hero and his sidekicks just don’t work for me. Ah, well! His Space Ghost continues to sparkle, even with a second season of books on the way!
You can tell the owner of my local comics shop has noticed the difference… This week, the owner included the Dynamite Dispatches publication with the DC Connect monthly release. Thank you!
NOSTALGIA SELLS!
I often talk about how creators shouldn’t try to reinvent the wheel, go with what works, and all. But Dynamite! is making me change my mind, particularly when the books are done well. For instance, Space Ghost is exploring a part of that character’s lore that we haven’t seen before—the origin of Jan and Jace (and Blip, too, if we’re honest). Of course, along the way we’re discovering more about Space Ghost himself in how he reacts to those around him. It works!
When I was growing up, the show I loved so much was The Herculoids, and I have to mention that their comic really works! I hear the music playing in the background as I read each issue, but I’m impressed how the creative team is not only making the past come alive, but they are also adding to the lore of the Herculoids. If they will only explain how they got that name, I’ll really be happy!
I do have to wonder, though, how people who didn’t see those animated shows (not cartoons!) when they were younger. Their images and music are imprinted on my brain, but how do people who didn’t have that experience react to these comics? I hope that’s a positive one, and I base that on my reaction to Silverhawks which, as I previously mentioned, I didn’t watch. I’m into what’s going on, and it does make me want to track down those shows and catch up on what went on before. But I’m fully engaged into the series even without it, and I hope I’m not alone in that.
See, as a Star Trek fan, I’m discovering that more and more new fans are coming on board thanks to streaming and other ways of “catching up” with the shows. If I am on a discussion panel at a convention, I often ask how many in the audience actually watched the show when it first came on. These days, the answer to that question falls about 50/50, half the audience watching the shows recently via streaming, and the other half of us came on board back on “regular” TV or syndication.
Maybe it’s time for a new channel, one that shows the animated series that these comics were based on! Hey, I’d pay to see that!
KEEP IT UP, DYNAMITE!
Of course, I have questions about the upcoming Supernatural and Buffy comics. Will these books have “untold” stories that took place between show episodes, or will they be a complete reboot? I hope for the former, but I have a feeling we’re going to get the latter. I always dislike it when the comics disavow everything that happened previously because I remember and still enjoy those stories! Don’t make me regret that!
I also find myself wandering back to those days of yore, when there were even MORE animated shows that were on, maybe the ones I wasn’t as fond of. What about Birdman, Shazzan, or Moby Dick and the Mighty Mightor? Li’l Rock used to always make me cringe, but maybe he could be an adolescent now? That would be more fun! And the “Arabian Knights” feel of Shazzan would work for me, which I enjoyed just for the pure variety of it all! And I’d enjoy hearing “BIIIIIIIRRRDMANNNN!” again!
If I worked at Dynamite!, I would certainly be exploring those options and any others that could fit the pattern that’s working so well for them!
Granted, they could also be producing totally new material as well, and I’d be sure to give them a chance! I do have to request that they bring back The Owl, which I loved when he appeared a few decades back. But I’m a sucker for winged characters, so that may just be me. I did love that book, though!
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