This week’s DC Nation column has Dan DiDio putting a question to Wonder Woman readers (and comics fans in general, as I’m sure the people who feel vested in such a discussion goes beyond the title’s audience): Should Wonder Woman, which is one of DC’s most consistently-published books sincs superheroes were invented even as it get canceled once a decade or so, return to its “original” numbering and turn the upcoming #45 to #600, reflective of the number of ongoing, monthly Wonder Woman issues that have been printed?
This is, of course, a thorny question. When I was growing up, Superman and Spider-Man were relaunched with new “first issues” to take advantage of popular creative teams or to build interest in the properties. As a teenager, Superman #75 seemed like it was going to be the most important comic book published in my lifetime (hey, I was a kid, okay?), and X-Men #1′s cover sprung to mind whenever someone mentioned either the X-Men or its artist, Jim Lee, as my first mental reference. As these books have been folded into other titles, canceled or returned to their old numbering (along with many other examples of the same kind of fuzzy math), I’ve felt a little pang of something giving way–even though really I wasn’t reading them anymore anyway, and whatever I might have felt I was “losing” had been gone for years as the publishers routinely changed creative rosters. But there’s always some heat generated by this discussion; should Geoff Johns’ Green Lantern or Jeph Loeb’s Hulk assume the numbering of one (or collect the numbers and add together all) of their predecessors?
At any rate, DC seems ready to make the change with Wonder Woman, but wants to generate some interest in doing so. With Marvel’s 70th anniversary happening and so many extra-sized or event-related one-shots or issues coming out (and with a number of issues returning to their old numbering just in time for milestone issues), they had a built-in notification system to let the readers know that the #600 that came after #50 didn’t represent a sea change for Captain America‘s creative or editorial direction. DC doesn’t have anything like that and so instead they’re turning to interactivity.
That’s right–if you want to see Wonder Woman #45 magically transform into Wonder Woman #600, you have to write to Dan DiDio. Six-hundred postcards from fans asking for the change will make the change happen. DiDio’s column explains the arguments for the change (Wonder Woman is an important part of DC’s history and the numberings on Batman and Superman dwarf hers, so it makes her seem less-than) and against it (big numbers are daunting to potential new readers who don’t want to feel weighed down by continuity), and lays out this challenge to the readers, which makes fans an integral part of the decision-making process.
Given that six hundred is a relatively small number (far less than the letter-writing campaigns to save Manhunter reportedly generated a few years ago), it seems likely that we’ll see this happen…but I doubt it’s a slam-dunk. I wonder if aside from a very vocal group of fans who are passionate on either side of the issue, whether enough fans will be motivated to actually engage in the ritual of mailing something from the post office in order to make this happen.
September 11th, 2009 at 10:26 am
Ross, that’s rubbish about WW being ‘cancelled once a decade or so’. It’s been technically cancelled twice – once in the Eighties and once in the Noughties, both times for a planned relaunch within months.
Unlike that young Turk Booster Gold, whose series was cancelled for about 20 years!
And boy, this is late – I emailed Newsarama about out little campaign mid-June, to no avail!
September 11th, 2009 at 10:27 am
And apols for my typing finger, RUSS!
September 11th, 2009 at 10:38 am
Call me crazy (Crazy!) but I just mailed 5 postcards this morning to get the numbering to 600. I know we’re only supposed to send one postcard per person but I just really wanted to make my voice heard, and plus I had, like, the best wonder woman postcards ever that I was dying to use! I think going to 600 numbering is the best way to respect one of the greatest superhero creations of all time. She deserves to be on par with Supes and Bats.
September 11th, 2009 at 11:15 am
I think DC is going to do this no matter how many postcards they receive.
They just want to get the readers involved a bit so it doesn’t come off as a pure stunt like when Marvel renumbers their books.
I mean, Didio has said he’s had about 40 postcards for quite some time now. At least since San Diego, if not prior…
September 11th, 2009 at 11:38 am
I want to thank DD for using my back-of-the-card design to showcase the drive, but wonder how he determines “multiple mailings.” If he receives the same design card from, say, 50 different people in different locations, does that register to him as only one card sent? Does he count postcards from different folks that originate from the same zip code as a “multiple mailing”?
That would explain why he claims he has received so few postcards.
http://www.carolastrickland.com/comics/wwcentral/index.html for info for others to use to join in. USPS postage costs for a postcard is 28¢.
September 11th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Nothing DC does or doesn’t do will make Wonder Woman a success. She’s a cipher of a character that the vast majority of fans dont’ care about. If it weren’t for Lynda Carter’s work in the 70s, WW would be about as high profile as Red Tornado.
September 11th, 2009 at 11:42 am
I would expect at best a #45/600 co-numbering on the cover, a la the recent Adventure Comics #1 cover. It would then be followed by a return to the regular numbering leading to a double sized #50.
Not that there is anything good or bad about changing, but I think Didio would look silly doing a 180 on the renumbering topic after the criticisms he has given Marvel for the #600 renumbering they have been doing. Kind of like how Joe Q criticized DC for being AOL-TW owned for so long, only to have to about-face after being bought by Disney.
September 11th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
DC is already sort of doing this with Adventure. On the alternate cover, a faint 500-something is visible behind the number of the issue in the brand new run. Of course, seeing as how this is the first reboot of Adventure, the case is somewhat different.
September 11th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
i agree with that idea.Wonder Woman needs #600 on her covers to show how long shes been around.About 3 months ago i got into a discussion with somebody when they said that Wonder Woman isn’t a popular character because her book dosent have a huge issue number on it.I think with a #600 on the cover it would remind a lot of people that shes been in print for a lot longer than a lot of people think.Normally im not a fan of renumbering because its a pain in the butt when i try and organize my collection but in this case i would make a exception.
September 11th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Wonder Woman was not canceled but re-booted. Wonder Woman 600 is a Fantastic idea!
September 11th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
If enough people write, asking Didio to step down from his job, will he do that too?
Just askin’.
September 12th, 2009 at 4:58 am
I would settles for the covers stating:
Vol.3 45/ 6oo
September 12th, 2009 at 11:17 am
I would settle for good stories.
September 12th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Yep, the old (already?) renumber/launch trick. The line between marketing anniversaries and sincere celebration gets ever so thinner by the day.
September 13th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
I’d only want this if Flash and Green Lantern and maybe a few more of the titles with big cumilative numbers around Wonder Woman level were included too. What makes Wonder Woman so special beyond editorial pushing her as the token female of the company
September 13th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
Flash and GL are legacy characters and were replaced time and time again… therefore starting a new volume with #1 is justified… and it doesnt make sense to cumulate the number of issues since each volume featured a different character…
Wonder Woman has been in constant publication since 1940s… she deserves a 600… (just like the other big boys)