The problem is that I think too many people think super-hero just
means costume crime-fighter. So, if heroes like Reed and Sue don't
focus on the criminal element like Spider-man, they're not super-
heroes (ie., crimefighters.) They don't allow for super-heroes to
include other types of heroic activities like exploration, rescue,
soldiering, etc. They feel stopping crime is the defining characteristic
of a super-hero.

My thought is, all costume crimefighters are super-heroes, but all
super-heroes are not necessarily costume crimefighters.

Though they're people who say Batman is a costume crimefighter, but
not a super-hero because he has no powers.

It's become fairly typical for creators to essentially hijack super-hero books and use them to tell non-super-hero stories because that's what the creator actually wants to do but no one will buy that kind of work.

Mike

Adam, have you checked out his Superman: For Tomorrow stoyline he
did with Jim Lee. From that day on I try to pass on whatever he
writes.

As far as books I'm looking to pick up...
Aquaman
Justice League
Action
Superman
Batman
Detective
Batman: TDK
Green Lantern
GL Corps
Blackhawks
OMAC
Suicide Squad
DC Universe Presents

That's a $40 to $50 dollar investment a month. I'll give them three
months to make me a believer. If after three months if they can't make
me excited to pick up an issue, I'm out.

I pre-ordered the 52 #1 issues from DCBService.com for $80 for all the issues. I figured I would give them a shot and how they looked.

Now, when the option came to buy all 52 #2 issues for $80, I passed on that. I would rather wait to see how I feel about the first set.

I suspect I will be down to 10 titles at the most after the #1.

From what I've read, stores are offering discounts on purchasing all 52 issues, which may explain the inflated numbers. A friend of mine who works in a comic shop was glad someone came in 'off the street' and ordered 10 copies of Action Comics 1. It looks like speculators may be creeping back in before comics die out completely <g>.

That chart confirms what I've long thought.  The traditional "doom and gloom" attitude toward comic sales is largely the byproduct of the collapse of DC from the late 60s on.  That's the traditional "doom and gloom" as opposed to the modern "doom and gloom" produced by the last two decades.

Mike