Also they're killing Spider-Man in Ultimate.
I'll believe it when I see it.
But yeah, they're doing a "death of" and then replacing him, anyway. And I suspect they will pull a Fury and give us a black Spider-Man.
What would be fucking awesome would be if they pulled a fast one and used this new Spidey as the lead on the upcoming Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon (and this would also help soften the blow of Spectacular's cancellation), but I doubt they'll go as far as that.
What do you guys think would actually help save comics as a whole?
Well, again, I think DC's relaunch idea is actually a good one on paper: ditch the baggage and give readers a book they can just pick up and enjoy without having to read 10 other books this month and 50 years' worth of backstory. And tone down the sex and violence so that parents are okay with buying them for their kids.
It would be nice to see them back on newsstands and in supermarkets, too, but I increasingly fear that that ship's sailed; the print periodical business as a whole is in serious trouble and I don't know if comics can make inroads where everybody else is suffering.
That said, it looks like they're making inroads at bookstores. Bookstores have been the main place people have bought comics for at least a decade anyway, and now they're starting to sell single issues instead of just collections. That's not a bad thing.
Other than that? Well, remind people that comics aren't just superheroes. The single best reminder we've got going right now is The Walking Dead TV show. Game of Thrones and other big multimedia tie-ins will help with that. Fifty million superhero movies won't, but they'll at least get a few people to buy the comics. Unless they suck.
I also think the 20-to-22-page for $3-$4 format is a barrier. As I said above, I really like the IDEA of anthologies like Dark Horse Presents and Strange Adventures, but their respective #1's were underwhelming. Mark Millar's CLiNT is gorgeous (and you can quote me on that) but it's sophomoric even by Mark Millar's standards; the articles are downright embarrassing. And you can't sell it in the checkout line (though it might do all right sitting next to Maxim on the rack).
There's also digital distribution to think of, and they've made some inroads. But right now it's extremely fragmented in terms of formats and stores, and they cost too much besides. And really, not that many people have iPads and I wouldn't want to read a comic on anything smaller.