If I Ran DC, part four: Justice League through World's Finest

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This is it, the final part of my If I Ran DC series. In this portion of the article I'll tackle some of DC's biggest comic books, including Justice League, Justice Society of America, Superman and Wonder Woman. Who's writing and drawing what, and what two characters have I (sort of) brought back to life?

The above is from: http://www.earth-2.net/articles/if-i-ran-dc-04

[Dread]

You're on the mark with this one! JSA, JLA vs. GLC, WW, Outsiders. Me likey. Plus, Superman and Grant Morrison makes me smile any day.

[James D.]

Your explanation of your World's Finest series is amazing and I couldn't agree more.

[Malpractice]

Judd Winick on Robin........................ugh :grumble:

the fact that you are employing Judd Winick at all bothers me but especially on my favorite book.

[Stavros]

I'd really dig a Justice Society book based back in the day. The JSA: Golden Age book by Robinson really whetted my appetite for retro heroes and to see the intricacies of the JSA in thier prime would be fantastic. Personally I'd set a finite life on the book, like a lot of indy series have. The only problem is that agreeing such terms with Cooke may prove difficult since even doing 6 issues a year for 8-10 years is a big commitment for a writer/artist. I'd really like to see a more mignolaesque style, possibly using the artist who took over Hellboy for him, P.Craig Russell. In terms of writing if you need alternates the obvious choice is James Robinson. Controlling the whole era makes for a far more defined story.

My only real gripe with your list is removing Robin from the Titans. The Titans is where he goes to be accepted by his peers, he really needs his friends and he really needs to show that he can be taken seriously on a larger stage with and against powered foes. Robins own rogues don't always cut it when it comes to demonstrating how significant Robin can be to the DCU. Yes you can show Robin trying to be normal by day in school and superhero at night, but I think it hurts both Robin and the Titans keeping them apart. He's at the stage now where he can mentor upcoming heroes like Blue Beetle and really pull off the role as the senior titan now that Cyborg is elsewhere. I'm also looking forward to potential clashes between the Titans and the current Outsiders again, since the dynamic between their leaders is very interesting. It could even be the first time that Robin outshines Batman by proving to be the better team leader (in the end a great source of pride for Bruce as Tim might become the son that outstrips his own legend in the end). I guess I've thought quite a bit about these two teams and I'm pretty happy with how they are set up right now and the potential they have for future storylines.

And Malpractice, Judd Winick is very good on the right books and I think he could work wonders on Robin.

Personally I like the idea of a single writer having a collection of books that he works on that are linked in tone and style. Brubaker's work on Iron Fist, Daredevil and Captain America has energised those books since word of mouth on the quality of each leaks interest over to the others. If Winick covered Green Arrow/Black Canary, Robin and JLA those might become books to watch. Cheung is a great choice to put with Winick on JLA since I'd like to see some of his books drown in a less cartoonish style.

World's Finest could become either a sister book to JLA or a true successor. Either way I'd be truly interested to see this trio fulfill thier supposed potential. Ditching Batman/Superman and the current Worlds Finest in favor of this Super-book would really spark interest in DCU continuity at a time when relentless crossover events are testing the patience of the readers.

One final rule I'd put in place. DC can have big events, but they need to be grounded in real issues. No more Crises. There were a dozen neat ideas for larger stories crammed into the Infinite Crisis and instead they simply happened all at once.

Actually the final rule is that any writer using Jason Todd must be kept under strict editorial oversight, preferably by Judd Winick.

[Missy]

Judd Winick gets a lot of hate. Hell, he almost gets more hate than Joe Quesada. But why...?

Stavros: You're right, Cooke isn't a monthly kind of guy, and I should have put JSA on a six-week or bimonthly schedule. But keep in mind my second rule: Creators will be given a 12-month head start. Due to that, Cooke should be able to get at least eight issues in the can before the book ever launches.

Robin not being included in the Teen Titans perfectly fits what's going on with the character. He needs help, yet he's becoming more and more like Batman: unable to ask for help, and pulling away from those who love him.

Several times I thought about putting one writer on a group of books, but nothing really fit. The only two ideas I had were to put Bendis on Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and World's Finest or to put him on Batman, Catwoman, Nightwing and Robin. Both seemed too fanboyish (and easy), so I dropped the idea of allowing him to run the DC ship. While I like the idea of one writer forging the line's future, that mentality can also hurt a company. What if the writer gets sick, bored or quits? So though I gave Judd four comics (Challengers of the Unknown, Justice League, Red Hood and Robin), they're all unrelated. Robin and Justice League are the only two which might connect, but those meetings would be rare.

Since Jason Todd's book falls under the Showcase line (RE: If I Ran DC, part one), no one would be allowed to use him in a core DC comic. As it stands, Judd is the only writer who can touch Jason.

Thanks for all of the feedback, guys!