DC’s Wednesday Comics
Have you even heard of Wednesday Comics? I’m not just talking about the day that comics get shipped to comic book stores, which is indeed wednesday. I’m talking about DC’s summer event, releasing newspaper sized comic books with pages done by a dozen different creative teams, all printed on newsprint for $3.99. Watch the video to take a look at what every Wednesday in July will have in store!
Now you’ve got an idea of what Wednesday Comics is. Sara Jaffe of Newsarama blog posted an article analyzing this weekly comic book. Some of the people I have talked to about Wednesday Comics says that it could be a hit or miss. I believe it could be successful, but I have doubts whether or not a $3.99 price point is a good sell for a comic on newsprint quality paper. But it does have superstar artists featured, yielding beauitful artwork. But will readers really care for it?
Some stories are one-shots (one page stories), and others will continue throughout the weeks. USA Today is even featuring the Superman story by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso on their front pages. But with print journalism dying, comics being cut from the funny pages, Wednesday Comics is a curious comic. One observation that Jaffe makes is that the newsprint pages is that the comic stirs up feelings of nostalgia. Opening up these pages and kicking back with a cup of joe is a feeling I came across, and I will never feel it with a webcomic.
Before television, newspapers featured a comics section with comics that spanned entire pages. DC does the same thing here, publishing oversized pages of comics that allow enough time for its reader to jump into the story. This is how one page serialized comics should be. The extra space for more than ten panels a page gives a lot more bang for the buck, which is something that online comics that are serialized a page a week lacks. Being only a week apart, people can really get into a story and follow the adventures week by week (just like Dick Tracy and The Spirit!).
Another point I want to bring up is the marketing strategy this gives to DC properties. I was sold on the creative teams that were involved with this project. But after I was hooked, they reeled me in with some of DC’s all-star superheroes and introduced me to some new ones that the world hasn’t seen too much of. Those new characters have the possibility to entice me to look for back issues, or possibly pick up their seperate titles the next time I’m at the comics store.
Wednesday Comics is like a variety show featuring DC characters that wouldn’t get to be showcased unless placed alongside heavy hitting superhero names. It’s ingenius! It is like having a guest star in a regular comic, but this is better because the guest star isn’t just a side-character but instead a hero of his/her own story! You can really see the passion towards comics the writers and artists because they really brought their A-game. This Wednesday better continue on with that energy!
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