DC Universe (streaming/digital comics service)

[Velorath]

Looks like WB is getting closer to launching this thing, and there's some some of Beta sign up for it here. The Beta starts in August with the service officially launching in the Fall.

Exclusive content consists of live action shows Titans, Doom Patrol, and Swamp Thing, and animated Young Justice and Harley Quinn series. There's older stuff like the Wonder Woman TV show, the Christopher Reeve Superman movies, and B:TAS (no word on Adam West Batman from what I've seen). They seem to be starting with a handful of animated movies with plans to add more in. More than anything it seems like their digital comics selection will determine the real value of this package.

I'm not a massive DC fan and I'm not dying to add another subscription on top of the various things I already subscribe to, but I'm at least marginally curious to see where they go with this.

[HaemishM]

I signed up for the beta but I agree, the amount of digital comics they offer is what will make this worth considering. If it's not up to Marvel Unlimited's library real quickly, it won't be worth it.

[HaemishM]

I looked at the comics listing for this as it's live now. Fuck a bunch of this. The most recent series that started in 2016 (many of which have over 30 issues) have maybe 1-3 issues available on the service.

Did I say fuck this? Yeah, fuck this.

[Velorath]

Yeah it seems pretty disjointed. Older series that have just one random issue from the middle of the run. Stuff like Identity Crisis or Green Lantern: Rebirth that only have the first issue. Sure, maybe in those cases they're trying not to cut into graphic novel sales so they just want to give people a taste of something (shitty) like Identity Crisis, but what's the reasoning for having issues 1-28 of Hitman without the rest of the run? Those trades haven't been in print in a long time. Issues 2-4 of Crisis on Infinite Earths but no issue #1? This is just sloppy.

[HaemishM]

Maybe it's one of those things that will get better as their team gets more time to add issues but right now, it certainly doesn't appear worth it for the comics reader. Not having their most current issues (even if it's 6 months behind like Marvel Unlimited) of books that they are already selling digital versions of is just inexcusable.

[Velorath]

It begs the question of why they felt the need to launch the service now though. Titans doesn't release for a month and it the only original content they actually have close to being ready. Doom Patrol just started filming. Swamp Thing is still announcing casting. They seem to have a lot of DC's animated stuff (although they've only put up two seasons of B:TAS so far, and don't have most of the movies from 2016 or later except for Death of Superman and a couple others) so I guess if someone wants to get into that stuff maybe it's worthwhile but I really don't see why they didn't just push this back until next year.

[Khaldun]

Certainly doesn't grab me. If I let me read through the back catalog of about the last 5-8 years of DC's output, which I didn't buy, I'd be interested.

[jgsugden]

It begs the question of why they felt the need to launch the service now though. Titans doesn't release for a month and it the only original content they actually have close to being ready. Doom Patrol just started filming. Swamp Thing is still announcing casting. They seem to have a lot of DC's animated stuff (although they've only put up two seasons of B:TAS so far, and don't have most of the movies from 2016 or later except for Death of Superman and a couple others) so I guess if someone wants to get into that stuff maybe it's worthwhile but I really don't see why they didn't just push this back until next year.

It gives them time to work out kinks before mass subscription... This is a demo phase under a different name.

[Khaldun]

This is one of those things where both ways are bad--it's bad to launch a full service in a way that's only got minimal skeletons of the content you eventually plan to mount because you lose whatever attention you get for the launch once the word gets around that it's got no value; it's bad to launch a full service in a way that's technically craptastic because people cancel in disgust.

And yet some folks *do* manage to thread that needle. I think basically they spend enough money in-house to get it right and they hire the right people to develop, that's all. I'm almost more fascinated by deep-pocketed owners of deep libraries of IP who have consistently fucked up every single digital launch or transmedia strategy at every single stage of the digital economy. Wizards of the Coast, say, or Warner Brothers.

[Raguel]

Does it go back to the Silver Age (maybe even Golden)? I'm more interested in the old stuff tbh.

[slog]

I think this goes here.  I've been watching Doom Patrol and actually enjoying it.  Normally I hate everything Superhero, but this one is different.  I didn't know any of the characters or backstory before watching the show which probably helped.

https://www.dcuniverse.com/videos/doom-patrol/181/

[Khaldun]

Yeah--and the whole service is a lot better now. (Naturally just in time for them to fold it into some other ill-considered WB service. Sigh). Titans also surprised me--it's also actually kind of good.

[slog]

Anyone watch Doom Patrol Season 2 yet?