Sunday Comics....on Wednesday!

I've been pretty disenchanted with the output of both Marvel and DC Comics of late. Their mutual obsession with bloated mega-events, soaring cover prices, and lack of innovation have really taken a toll on my enthusiasm for the current comics scene. However, some recent news out of DC Comics piqued my interest...news that demonstrated somebody at that publisher is finally thinking outside of the box.

Seeking to recapture the fun and excitement of the Sunday newspaper comics of yesteryear, Wednesday Comics will be a weekly series printed in a fold-out 14" x 20" format. The 12-part project will kick off this summer and feature sixteen strips by some of the industry's top creators...such as Walt Simonson, Dave Gibbons, Kurt Busiek, Kyle Baker, Mike Allred, and even Joe Kubert! Best of all, the stories will be set outside the complex continuity of DC's regular titles, making the series accessible to anyone with a love for DC's classic pantheon of characters.

I know a number of my readers are either unfamiliar with or have lost enthusiasm for current comics...but Wednesday Comics sounds like something you might also be interested in. I'll be sure to let you know when it hits the stores (and how much it'll actually cost....a piece of information that, so far, hasn't found its way into the P.R.).

Hats off to DC for trying something new and accessible to people who don't have a PHD in Advanced Continuity Comprehension. Add to that the novelty of reading comic strips that don't suck (unlike my Sunday newspaper's), and you've got yourself a huge potential hit.

Comments

[Chris Tolworthy]

Agreed! That's pretty much how comics were in Britain until the 1980s. For me, it's just how comics should be.

[WesC]

comic strips that dont suck?!?!?!?

I'm sorry I'm too young to remember such a time when such was even a possibility.

With very few exceptions (Calvin and Hobbes, The Farside) The comic strip section has been a source of depression for a long, long time.

One comic that I always hated as a kid was Dennis the Menace. As an adult I'm really impressed by Hank Ketcham and his ghost's ability to spot blacks and pull off some really nice compositions. Other than that, the comics section here is pretty dreadful most of the time.

I have the Smithsonian collection of Comic Strips and I'm constantly amazed and inspired by the comic strip artist from the first half of the 20th century, some truly outstanding work is in there.