Yes, but does McFarlane know coding?

Noop.

I don't think that people are downloading comics illegally because they don't want to take their pajamas off and go to the store. Other than that, I think he's right on the money about DCnu.

No, but I think a reasonably price/distribution model would get some downloaders moving from pirating to purchasing. I stopped downloading movie torrents because Netflix came up with a cheap and easy way for me to watch movies legally.

But he's correct about DC. And his Apple analogy was hilariously on target.

I found it refreshing that SOMEONE on the biz actually displays some good business sense and it's no wonder he has made a ton of money off his stuff. I like how he thinks to error on the side of making it cheaper, how it's inevitable and how he used real world example like Jobs. Well done, one guy I'd like to have a sit down with.

In particular, any video I've watched of McFarlane speaking, he comes across as a man who knows his mind and speaks it with piercing clarity. He doesn't waffle; he doesn't dodge.

I agree with most of what he's saying -- but then, none of it was Earth-shattering. Most of it was common sense and conclusions you reach with a little bit of critical thinking.

I'm truly baffled as to what DC is thinking in terms of the "52 books all at once" launch.

That said, we've seen Spawn go from a top ten book down to the bottom (or lower) of the top 100 selling books. Either Spawn has taken a backseat or he just doesn't know the comic business as well as he comes off in that video.

He also knows how to corner the market for steroid-tainted homerun baseballs.

I think it's a case of Spawn not having the legs that other franchises enjoy. He's also had his mind on other ventures. It's not that he's the smartest businessman in the world, but he knows the comics and collectables businesses. DC seems to be making some very basic errors. McFarlane's probably made similar mistakes on his own. But then he didn't have the resources and expertise of Time Warner behind him when he made those mistakes.

Perhaps, but it should be noted that McFarlane's toy lines have also taken a hit and aren't what they once were either.

That's because he stopped making KISS action figures.

I really think it's about not losing market share while they relaunch. If they reboot/relaunch a few books at a time, while letting others continue, it's a bit more confusing what's going on. If they essentially cancel everything and slowly release 8-10 books a month, their market share instantly disappears.

There's also the issue of existing subscriptions. As is, I think they can simply say, "If you have a subscription to Secret Six, you'll receive Suicide Squad instead for the duration", for example. Decrease the number of books they put out, and they can't really do that as well, meaning they'd probably be looking at a ton of refunds, even to people who might stick around for other series.

That's a complicated one. The industry semi-collapsed under the weight of a product glut linked with the global recession.

His line-choices were baffling to some though, as was his understanding of what his customers wanted. But he still had a dedicated consumer base.

I'd say he's partly to blame.

And as for Spawn, could it be that when it started, it seemed like a series that had an endpoint? His powers had that scale thing that reduced every time he used them. Now I don't think it's even same Spawn anymore, I wonder if that's a part of it?

I imagine it was a big chunk of it. I know that in my teens, when I was actually open to reading Spawn, I'd flip through issues and in every one of them, it was Spawn sitting in an alley, feeling sorry for himself.

Over time, the series just didn't have good enough writing to keep people aboard.

I think that the thought process was that a first issue won't sell worse than what any current issue is selling now--so anything would be an improvement--and that with it all happening at once it'll be a clean sweep. You won't have lingering pieces of the old reality sitting next to the new universe. If it was launched piecemeal they would have had old and new sharing the stands for months to come. There's also the matter that DC knows these won't all be huge--so why separate those out and try to focus on them when they could be part of a bigger stunt? Spreading it out wouldn't be the ballsy stunt that this is. DC is banking on some readers picking up the whole line--and at 52 books at $2.99 each--that absolutely is possible.

I just wish they would have done a year long balls-to-the-wall finale to the old universe to bring it to a close in style. If it ended with a bang and we got a "whatever happened to the man of tomorrow?" type ending to everything--that could have been epic. As it is--the old universe will peter out with plots still dangling and directions unresolved. I'd have preferred an ending that resolved everything and left us with, say, a world without superheroes that dovetailed into DKR or an epic bloodbath that wiped out everything. That would have been a blast--and it would give it closure in a way where there could be no turning back.

Correct me if I'm wrong, Erik, but you seem to be under the impression that DC is doing a "clean" reboot and not keeping some of the continuity from the past 25+ years.

I think they're going to reestablish some stuff and reboot others. I don't expect it to be completely clean.

I actually think they're being pussies about it. They're trying to cover their asses by keeping the few things that readers seem to like. I think, ultimately, that will make those few books less intriguing than the others and more confusing.

That was the biggest problem with Crisis--it left readers wondering what counted and what didn't, pre-Crisis.

I agree with Erik, who I wish I would have had time to say hi and catch up at SDCC as I haven't seen him in years. This smells of the same half-ass crap that caused all the problems after Crisis.

We should have had a send off to this universe, something epic, and let certain creators, maybe the ones who started it like JB, finish off the series. Then a clean brand new slate with maybe 20 books, 52 is too much and enough with the lame 52 already.

How cool would it have been if they did this and didn't tell anyone. You read all these final stories and thn this epic battle that ends with the universe destroyed! And fans wondered what the hell happened.

So many mind blowing ways they could have gone.

I'm thinking that they are hesitant to burn any continuity bridges.

"Don't say goodbye to Superboy. That particular barnacle is holding your popular Legion universe together and you may need him someday."