Do My DC Comics Matter Anymore?



As long as you enjoyed the stories, your comics will always matter.

 DC’s decision to reinvigorate their line of books by starting many of their titles over at #1, and cancelling several altogether, means we have some decisions to make about our comic book consumption.

Do we stop reading DC Comics until September?

Nope. But there’s a but. In my case at least. You couldn’t get me to stop reading Detective Comics, Power Girl, Batgirl, Green Lantern or Batman, Incorporated—even if DC had instead announced that they were going to stop publishing everything in September. However, I might stop buying some of the titles that I’ve been more lukewarm on and switch over to some more of the Flashpoint titles as they might give me some insight into the DCU after Flashpoint. Or I might just hold onto my money. Or buy that TPB I’ve been wanting.

Do any of my DC Comics matter anymore?

If you’re asking yourself this question, I don’t know why you’re reading comics. In 1986 John Byrne rebooted the entire Superman franchise. Yet, to this day, I will still pull out my copy of DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore and read what are two of the greatest Superman stories every published: “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow” and “For the Man Who Has Everything.” These are Golden Age Superman stories that are as perfect today as they were over 25 years ago.

As long as we enjoy the stories that our favorite writers and artists have produced, they’ll always matter. Identity Crisis, “Batman R.I.P”, Brightest Day, “Hush”, 52, “Tower of Babel”—whether or not these stories remain a part of cannon, they matter as long as we were compelled to read them. Even Amazons Attack!

Mark Waid magnificently retold Superman’s origin in 2002’s Superman: Birthright, extinguishing what Byrne had established in The Man of Steel. In 2010 Geoff Johns wrote Superman: Secret Identity. This was another solid retelling of Superman’s origin, but which also served to take Waid’s story out of cannon. But I will read any one of these books because I’ve enjoyed what each writer has uniquely brought to the table, whether  it’s a part of the character’s current history or not.

Good stories matter because they inspire our imagination to go wild, they make us giddy, they fill us with awe, they challenge our preconceived notions, and—above all—they entertain us. If you’re asking if the comic books you’re currently reading matter, since DC is rebooting their entire line in September, then I would question why you’re reading what you’re reading.