DC Comics is kinda/sorta trying to get comics back in the newspapers, or at least online, with its new effort, Wednesday Comics, debuting today. It includes a lot of top talent — Neil Gaiman, Mike Allred, Paul Pope, Walter Simonson, Kurt Busiek, Kyle Baker — working on some of the DC stars — Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman — and some of the more interesting players from the bench — Metamorpho, the Metal Men, and Kamandi.
USA Today will publish one of the strips in an online version every week. They’re starting with this gorgeously illustrated — but brief — Superman comic.
There are no plans to include the comics in the actual print edition of USA Today, or any other papers, as far as I know. Still, even a small step in the right direction is better than nothing. The reliably hilarious Chris Sims shows us the alternative: “15 Suicidally Depressing Newspaper Comic Strips.”
Newspaper editors don’t seem to realize people don’t want to face gray, bland and tiny soul-crushing scenes in the entertainment section. Maybe Wednesday Comics will create a demand for bold, colorful and interesting comic strips in newspapers again. You know. Stuff that people might actually like to read.
Hey, it’s worth a shot.
