The reason I disagree with you is that it was a good seller until Lazarus Planet. IMO - it is set in the past, isn't fully in continuity and is not branded as a Dawn of DC book, so while it's good, it's not necessary. Plus, it's biggest thing it did was set up Lazarus Planet! Waid is having fun with guest stars, but the Metal Men, Doom Patrol, Metamorpho etc isn't going to get casuals interested.
Exactly Jim. Almost all the reasons people are giving fail the test. The comic sold quite well for some time. Waid haters didn't buy it from the start. Wes and Aaron completely ignored what the real question should be- why have sales declined month by month.
@@Mangobed717 it's a fun book, but it's not all that necessary. It also feels like it became a bit more niche with the guest stars. I think a lot of people who like it shifted over to Dawn of DC books, including the Shazam book with Waid and Mora.
@@Mangobed717 Here is a crazy theory - World's Finest is suffering because DC is actually starting to put out better books, so fans have more options then they did a year ago
I only picked up copies of the first 12 issues based on the strength of reviews.....it has been solid but at this point I rather not have Waid on my pull list.
I think it's a case of "too little, too late". A large number of people that used to read these types of comics have been driven out by DC long time ago.
Because no matter how good a story is, the $3.99-$4.99 cover price for 22 pages does not justify a purchase from me. I’d rather wait for the trade. The decision I made back in February 2023 to not get new singles has been one of the best decisions I’ve made this year so far.
Agreed. I get 55 pages of pure story, no ads, for 26$ when i buy a french bande dessines. Superior colors and superior quality paper. You *know* where the money went
01:24 You nailed it here for me. They didn't just drive me off passed the gate so I can keep looking in wishing to be part of the cool kids club. They gave me a space shuttle and sent me to the moon. I can't care now even if I wanted to. They made me apathetic to it. Other than a handful of youtube channels, I don't interact with comic books or the community at all.
World's finest's stories are set in the past. This is how DC and Waid create more textures and depth of the DC universe. It's a good strategy, but it also means it has very little connectivity to whatever happens right now. That may turn off some readers.
World's Finest, Shazam, and Star Girl was good while it lasted. I'm also enjoying Justice Society.. it's not fantastic, but worth it, and I think it's going to get better once there is an established status quo.
@@Bolbi145 manga is an entirely different beast. Stop comparing the two. Manga isn't being published by a comic studio. Behemoth fiction houses like Random House or Hachette & midsized magazine publishers are doing manga. Japan is a hyper literate society & they're only exporting to the States the best performers or the stuff that does extremely well on the scanalation sites.
Dan Mora's art and Ryan Parrott's writing is what got me back into Power Rangers passionately since both Lightspeed Rescue and Power Rangers Samurai on Nicktoons And the first book from Dan I got was Klaus, And that is a modern masterpiece if ever there was one, EASILY Grant Morrison's BEST work, hands down, albeit I haven't read WE3 yet
I agree with Aaron in this part, I really love when the universe is connected and everything makes sense. But many people in comics and movies are just crying every time a story is not stand alone.
For me after the issue with Diversity and Comics, I made a personal mental note to never check out anything from Waid ever again. Only reason I checked this out was because a friend whose opinion I value wouldn't stop gushing about this book.
Same here. Also other stories of harassment during Waid's time at CrossGen. I would rather pirate the book, if I ever get curious, but no way in Hell will I pay for Waid's work. He deserves to be jobless.
To me, DC characters need people who understand them and who can best present them into the world. Mark Waid understand DC. You may not like him but he always put DC in the best light. The problem with DC is that you have too many people who don't care about DC, (who prefers Marvel) in charge of DC.
1- I don't think enough people know about it. I like Mark Waid's writing, but I don't even know about the series until I saw it on the stands. 2- DC as a whole has done some irreversible damage to the brand.
If Mark Waid conducted himself better and wouldn't slander others work then maybe I would be game. DC had a great thing with Rebirth and the abruptly dropped it for the Bendis mob era pushed me away.
That happened to me also. In 2017, I was reading 13 DC titles. By 2019, I was down to just 3 books. By December 2021, I was only reading Superman '78. In 2022, I no longer had any DC titles in my pull list. In 2023, I don't bother anymore.
@@chubbyteddymonsterproducti1320 Yuck! Tom King is the worst! It's like all the other shitty writers & artists working on Marvel/DC, who keep being rewarded for failures.
It’s a shame that Mark Waid’s online behavior seems to have alienated so many people because when he is on his A-game, he is one of the best comic book writers.
A book written by Mark Waid will not get one red cent from me. The thought of reading a book of his makes me ill. Why do people constantly complain about the same creators like Antos, Ayala, and Franklin, but give Waid a pass? He may not be pulling his crap publicly anymore, but I'm willing to bet he's still being a raging psychopath behind the scenes. I've said it before, if you can't stand the way things are in comics but support people like Mark Waid, you need to sit down and have a good think about things. He needs to go.
I'm subscribed to the app so I can read all of the old comics before TDS ruined the industry. They recently put up the latest Jaime Reyes miniseries, and I gave it a shot because of the movie coming up. A few pages in, there is a page or two of Spanish panels with no translation. With about 70% of their current line, they tell you to get lost in the first few pages. I didn't start reading WF until someone convinced me a few issues ago. A lot of DC authors basically beg you not to read their work. Thank goodness for Jeremy Adams
They did that for one issue in his original post-crisis series (because we was dealing with his Grandma in Mexico) and even though they did provide some translations in the back of the trade paperback, I never bothered to ever read that issue. Some gimmicks turn off as many readers as they attract.
Tried to tell a great friend how good World's Finest is & that he was missing out. His reply "I will NEVER buy anything from Mark Waid". The damage has been done, & it's not up too me to change anyone's mind on how they've been made to feel.
Yes worlds finest is good and has great art but it’s not something that’s going to get new readers interested. It really is just a overachieving secondary title. It’s also more of a old school feel which people don’t always like.
@@fishin4bass2002 No 2000's is full of dark and edge storylines that ruined the classic ideliasm of the universe.Everything sucks in DC nowadays because of the bad decisions from the 2000's.
@@fishin4bass2002 Mature and complex?No way, it's just desconstruction and bad characterizations after all.Many bronze Age stuff is very better than dark and edge storylines.DC is supposed to be idealistic and a bright place.Not a dark place.
The damage Tom King did to Batman is forever. As is the damage done to Superman by Tom Taylor, sure it wasn't the REAL Superman, but most casual comic fans don't know this.
The only thing Tom Taylor's EVER done of note would be DCeased and Injustice Year Zero, maybe even Marvel Dark Ages, that's what he excels at, dark future books
As i said to you a couple months ago i think its alot of things. Till recently the superman brand has been a mess that it's only just getting out of. The batman brand is over used and getting weaker every month so you can't even get people to check this out cause of batman cause there cash strapped by dc having 40 batman books. Add in the fact this book doesn't fit with anything else and some people won't buy anything mark waid and unfortunately the best book will probably end and only become well known after it ends
The comic book audience isn't as big as it used to be, Rising prices drove a lot of people away. Then these horrible writers came along and drove away more of the audience. You're not not going to see comics selling a million copies from hardcore fans like in the 90s.
No company that employs Tee Franklin and her ilk will ever get a cent of my money. At some point we have to stop giving our money to people who hate us.
I started World's Finest after your recommendation and I am glad I did. At first, I couldn't find it because i was searching for at 'W" in the racks. I was surprised to find it in the "B' section near Batman.
Been reading comics for over 40 years and imho Marvel comics have never been worse. Every book I was reading from DC was canceled or put on hiatus, and IDW lost the rights to all their comics I was reading. That leaves Marvel as my sole hope, (I've been a Marvel guy since I could read), but I cannot get into anything they are publishing these days. I worshipped the X-men from my elementary school days and now I can't even read them. I still buy my books every month but I haven't read any since around September 2021.
Jim has Stan Lee’s old job of brand ambassador. For some reason DC had to give Jim a management title. Probably because of the amount of money they have to pay him not to go to Marvel. The big question is who is actually do Jim’s job for Jim and why are they so bad at it?
I ignored the book when it first came out simply because of Waid’s name on it. I’ve (almost) always liked him as a writer, but his lunatic antics over the last few years turned me off. I finally decided to give it a chance since you guys suck it off every month, and now it’s on my pull list. Good comics from Marvel and DC are just so rare these days, and Waid seems to be acting like an adult again, so as long as he stays mostly sane and puts out quality work, I’ll buy this.
I wouldn't have checked it out if you guys hadn't mention it. With DC and Mark Waid who is woke in real life, I had no interest until you guys said it was good.
Mark Waid is how good writers used to be. They can be assholes in their own life but can write great stuff without letting their real life’s really influence their work. Some of the best creatives are complete pos’s lol.
@@PapaMartyo4331 There comes a point where one MUST NOT separate the artist from the art. For example, if Waid molested a minor tomorrow, would you continue to read his stuff or support it financially, simply because it is "good"? I see a lot of people will support The Flash film, despite Ezra Miller assaulting women & grooming minors. Seems the moral compass of those people is messed up.
It’s likely that Batman/Superman: World’s Finest isn’t selling because although it’s set in the Silver/Bronze Age of Comics, we don’t know what year this series is set in because of anachronisms and contradicting continuity that is set in the mid-to-late 60s, 70s, or early-80s.
No brand trust. The majority of long-term consumers dropped their pull lists ten years ago. $5-7 is too much for a floppy, even a good one. But who can afford to take that chance? Most local stores bow are comic shops in name only. They're Funko Pop stores with four months worth of unsellable floppies decorating the shelves.
Comics are simply too expensive and even World's Finest is not as well written as your typical popular Manga. It's that simple. And Manga is (mostly) free online. I love Mark Waid and his return to silver age sensibilities with a modern day twist is exactly what appeals to me, but I'm 54 years old male who is part of a dying demographic of classic comic reader. A new generation of potential reader appears to want more than an over-priced floppy. They want a great story that is cheap, accessible, popular and preferably supported and supplemented by video games and other forms of social media. Purchasing comic books feels like WORK. Travelling to a comic shop (assuming you can even find one) typically results in being overwhelmed by the selection and not having any idea what character to buy or even where to start. Assuming you get over that hurdle, you then must agree to pay $5.00 for 22 pages of an incomplete story..... only to be told that it will be another 5 months before the story 'arc' completes with no guarantee of actual resolution of all the plot lines. Why bother?
"WF" is the only DC book I read right now (dropped "Batman" after the Failsafe arc was over). Even though I was never much of a DC reader (outside Batman) I've enjoyed the book and the characters Waid has introduced so far. I didn't know anything about Metamorpho or Metal Men, and very little about Doom Patrol, so it's nice to learn about these characters. I feel Clark and Bruce are written very faithfully to their established personalities and I enjoy that a lot. They actually like and respect each other, instead of constantly going at each other. Long as Waid and Mora are on this book, I'll likely keep reading it.
I mean, honestly, is the FailSafe Saga even worth it? I mean, I've watched Comics explained review it And it made me a believer, And I love Batman The Knight and need to check out Batman Urban Legends, but maybe he was only good for a three arc deal, I mean, I love love Sex Criminals, And his Daredevil run made me a believer too, but I'm worried bout Steve/Chip
@@TMF979Resurge It's not so good that I would recommend someone go out of their way to read it (re: Failsafe Arc). It was zdarsky's first arc, and it started decently, and just wanted to see how it ended (had to press my "I believe" button really hard at the end, as even for comics, it was stretching verisimilitude far more than is easy to accept).
I’ve really enjoyed Waid’s World Finest. I buy comics by character, and I give it 3 issues. If it doesn’t peak my interest it’ll get dumped. The comic prices are just outrageous now a days
My wife & I both read Batman•Superman World’s Finest. We recommend it to everyone. Besides that comic, we both read Moon Knight. I also read Lord of the Jungle, Flash, Justice Society of America and Stargirl. I am looking forward to Green Arrow, Shazam and Conan as well. I read, and miss, Eratic and Avengers: War Across Time. Am I missing anything?
One of the other major problems is the DC/Lunar deal which drove comic book stores away from ordering DC comics. Hey, Mark Waid's Archie is a lot of fun. No problems with Waid, much bigger problems with DC.
i disagree that DC isn't the industry leader in Aaron's lifetime back before 2020, DC sold like crazy the issue for this month would sell the following month. Basically an issue that sold 60,000 had a guaranteed another 60,000 the following month. No Marvel issue could do that.
Due to the inconsistencies with the Marvel digital editions, it finally broke this camels back. I just wont continue to prop up over-priced, under-whelming single issue comics. I was hanging with The Flash from DC, SAVAGE DRAGON from IMAGE and a handful of Marvel titles such as IRON MAN, X-MEN, ASM and FF a few others. I really valued the digital collection, and enjoyed reading those while traveling and in general gradually became a fan of getting a digital version. The restrictions and timelines became too much of a hassle, and I was having issues getting codes for various non-sensical reasons. It's a hobby I simple don't have the time, money and energy for. Partly due to increased interest in other activities, the costs and poor quality and customer service I cancelled decades worth of subscriptions. I have a life-time supply of comics, I'm considering downsizing by 2/3 and just enjoy my favorite characters and runs that I still have.
one problem that you didn't mention is: the title. yes, there was a classic Superman/Batman comic by the title of 'World's Finest' for decades, but a lot of people born in or after the 80s probably aren't familiar with it. so if all they see on the shelf are the big letters in the title, ignoring the much smaller "Batman * Superman" at the top, they probably won't care. also, as good as Dan Mora is being dynamic and storytelling with his art inside the comic, I don't think his coves are that exciting or intriguing. DC needs better marketing in general and should be promoting this book more. also, Aaron, I like the your idea about having cheaper versions of comics just to get it out to a larger audience and to solicit younger/all ages books to doctors, dentists, children's hospitals etc., though I don't know if they still have magazines in the waiting rooms anymore.
It is nice to hear that Wade can so something quite noble from time to time, but he has done so many awful things that I cannot find it in my to support his work.
Black widow with wade and samnee is damn near a masterpiece. But I have heard samnee did almost the entire thing and used wades name more than his writing.
Out of all the DC books out now, Batman/Superman World's Finest is the best they've got. In the 6 months that has passed since this video came out I have switched from primarily DC to primarily Marvel. I've dropped Nightwing, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Flash and Wonder Woman. I've picked up The Incredible Hulk, Immortal Thor, Fantastic Four, Blade, The Amazing Spiderman, Avengers, and Daredevil. The only thing I still get from DC is of course World's Finest and also Batman/Detective, Superman/Action, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Batman and Robin and Shazam. I collect too many titles, sigh.
I went to my comic shop few weeks ago picked up my new World’s Finest ish & Ghost Rider - which is really good (I think..) those are the only 2 titles I’m subscribed too, the only two I can stomach really .. spent 140$ on back ish tho.. picked up some Invaders, New Teen Titans, a really nice 8 ish run of Marvel Two in Ones .. a great Neil Adams Pacific Comics cover on Time Force and some old DC war issues (Kubert covers) ya can’t go wrong with these. If you’re into comics & you love comics & the history it has to offer you’ll find out what’s out. By the way Aaron you’re killin’ it with Miss Meow it’s been super fun and very enjoyable to read. The whole Merc line is fire buddy. Got ‘em all.
For me, personally, it’s all about page count. I’m not buying floppies with 20 pages of “story” for $5. I’m waiting for trade collections of this series.
Wes hit the nail on the head, Im a huge DC fan and I like Batman a lot but Ive always liked him best on the justice league. I became burnt out on Batman about 2-3 years ago that doesnt mean I dont automatically avoid his titles because throw enough darts on the board you will hit a few bullseyes and they have, the problem is there is zero excitement seeing him in any random issue or unique title anymore.
DC drove me off pretty much anything they have with future state. And then look at most of their writing staff. Plus mark waid champions didn’t make me eager. I jumped on with issue ten. Now it’s one of the titles I most look forward to
It's a good book, But the last few stories haven't been as strong as the first arc was. Still okay, but I'm not eagerly anticipating like I was in the beginning. I do appreciate seeing some little used characters get some panel time... but I think honestly, the batman burn-out is real and it extends to this title.
I feel this. I checked out. Comics suck nowadays, and a few rare good ones won’t help anymore. I’m not even reading Batman ever since Fear State ended.
It a shame because of oversaturation of mediocre Batman books that World Finest sales aren't higher it a great book and way better then the mainline Batman book
This channel turned me on to World's Finest. Thanks for that. I honestly have no idea what weird, gross stuff Waid gets up to. I don't think i want to, if it'll mess up this great comic for me.
