I Conducted A Survey. . . Part 1

When I've discussed the DC retooling, either here or with myself, the thing I try to keep in mind is it isn't aimed at me. DC's out to expand the audience, bring in people who are aware of their characters, but don't buy the comics. I wanted to see how they did, so I e-mailed two friends of mine with a request:

'DC Comics is doing this big renumbering/reboot thing with their line of comics. They seem to think that, combined with offering digital versions of them on the day the print version is released, will net them a bunch of new readers, rather than relying on the same old die-hards (like me). What I'm wondering is if you two would be willing, when you have the time, to look over the solicits and just e-mail me your thoughts?'

It goes on from there, but it's just some suggestions on what to look for, nothing critical. Both the fellas have read and bought comics in the past, but not for a long time. But they've watched some of the various cartoons, and several of the superhero movies, so they clearly have that interest, it simply hasn't translated into buying comics. Which makes them perfect test cases, right?

Haven't heard back from Alex yet, but Papafred did send me some quick thoughts this afternoon. So I'll post them and we'll go from there.

'I haven't had a comic in awhile but 3-4 bucks seems a bit high for a comic? Is that normal?

I like Harley Quinn, she rocks. . . (he includes a link to the Suicide Squad cover)

But she always rocks. . .

I'm not sure if I'm familiar enough with the art in these comics to even notice they are a rebooted version of critique it much. Most of them seem to look a bit 90s-ish, rather than the glossy look of now.'

Right out of the gate we have concerns about the price, which isn't encouraging. I did forget to mention the digital price drops after the first month, but I let him know, so maybe that makes a difference.

I find it hilarious that he echoed the comments I've seen allover the comic blogs about how this feels like a hop in the Wayback Machine to the '90s. I didn't expect that at all, but it greatly amuses me.

Now I really want to see Alex' comments. I think he's stayed in the superhero stuff a little more than Papafred, but mostly because they look at things differently, so it should be interesting.

How about it, audience? Any of you tried running the DC That's Coming past your non-comic buying friends to see their reactions? If so, how it'd go? If they punched you in the face, you may need new friends.