In its long and storied history, DC Comics has been through a lot of changes. The publisher began the whole superhero game with the introduction of Superman, expanded it by introducing the first super-team, the Justice Society of America, and brought the concept of the multiverse to comics.

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However, not all of the changes the publisher has been through have been as lauded as others. In recent years, DC has been working hard to regain readers after some missteps. 2020 marks the beginning of a new decade, a clean slate. This list is going to look at some things they should do to keep on the right path... and things they should avoid.

10 Thing They Should Do: More Black Label Books

DC's Black Label books have mostly been big hits with fans. Telling more mature, out of continuity tales, they are an important part of the legacy of DC Comics. Some of the biggest DC books of all time, books like The Dark Knight Returns, JLA: The Nail, and Kingdom Come, have been differing takes on the DC Universe that didn't fit into the mainline.

With Vertigo's shuttering and all of their books moved over to the Black Label, there is a tremendous opportunity to do things that Marvel isn't doing. Characters like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman have gotten their Black Label books, now it's time for the less popular parts of the DCU to get their turn.

9 Thing They Shouldn't Do: Flood The Black Label With Batman Books

Batman sells. This is one of those rules of the universe that feels like it is written in stone. Batman puts butts in the seats and because of that, characters related to him also sell. The first Black Label book was a Batman one (with its attendant controversy) and right now, there are three other Batman Black Label books- Batman: Curse Of The White Knight, Harleen, and Joker: Killer Smile. While Batman only stars in one, the other two books are tangentially related to the Dark Knight.

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As good as these books are, DC needs to put a limit on how many Batman and Batman-related books they have the Black Label do. The DC Universe is a huge place full of great characters. Give them a chance.

8 Thing They Should Do: Keep Snagging The Best Writers In The Industry

Right now, of the Big Two, DC has the best writers in the industry working for them. Writers like Grant Morrison, Scott Snyder, Brian Michael Bendis, G. Willow Wilson, Matt Fraction, Kelly Sue DeConnick, and Jeff Lemire are some of the biggest scribes in comics and they are all working for DC right now. The only other comic company that can even hold a candle to that amount of writing talent is Image Comics.

DC needs to keep getting this caliber of writing talent. This is very reminiscent of the mid to late 90s- Marvel was the sales leader, but DC had most of the industry's best writers. This led to a creative renaissance at the company and kept them competitive.

7 Thing They Shouldn't Do: Depend Too Much On The Tried And True Talent

The only problem with having all of the biggest name writers is that they are being put on the biggest books. Newer writers aren't given as much of a chance to shine. When a guy like Grant Morrison is around, a proven writer with one of the best sales records in comics, he gets the first pick of what to write, while a newer writer is stuck toiling elsewhere.

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DC needs to work on expanding its talent pool as well as getting the big names. Letting the young talent shine is the best way to do this. A writer like Bendis can sell anything; maybe put a young creator with a great pitch on something like Legion Of Superheroes or a similar book. Build talent up.

6 Thing They Should Do: Pop Up Imprints

DC had the right idea when they let Gerard Way start the Young Animal imprint- let a bunch of creators loose on some unused ideas like the Doom Patrol and Cave Carson, let them tweak some existing stuff, like a Shade book that focused on a female alien in the Madness Vest taking over an Earth girl or introducing a new vigilante to Gotham, and watch the books sell.

After the success of Young Animal, DC let Warren Ellis reboot the Wildstorm Universe, bringing back the Authority and other concepts, while Bendis reintroduced Young Justice, the Dial H For Hero Dial, and the Wonder Twins, while also creating a new hero. All of these imprints have been a success, shining a light on different parts of the DC Universe.

5 Thing They Shouldn't Do: Go Crazy With The Event Books

The seven Batmen from Dark Knights Metal

One of the biggest complaints fans of Marvel have is that there are too many event books. Every year, there's the big company-wide crossover book and then there are multiple events for Spider-Man books, X-Men books, Avengers books, et cetera. This sort of publishing burns readers out, as they are forced to read and buy books they wouldn't enjoy to get the story.

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DC hasn't fallen into this trap nearly as much in recent years. There's only been one bona fide event book since Rebirth: Dark Knights: Metal. DC needs to keep this up. Event books should be events, not a yearly, expected thing.

4 Thing They Should Do: Give Big Books More Lead Time So The Creative Team Can Hit The Deadlines

Doomsday Clock Superman

Doomsday Clock just ended. The 12 issue maxiseries was both a sequel to and crossover with Watchmen and was meant to tie up story threads that had been woven since DC Rebirth #1. Unfortunately, the book was chronically late and that hurt it a lot. A lot of fans stopped caring and that's a shame.

Not hitting deadlines makes readers very unhappy and has an adverse effect on the entire line, especially if the book was meant to tie up some big stuff. DC will have to be smarter about this in the future.

3 Thing They Shouldn't Do: Be Too Editorially Driven

Another big problem at Marvel is that it's very easy to see the editorial strings in nearly everything the company does. In fact, Marvel has always had EICs who set the pace of the line in obvious ways instead of letting the writers and artists do that sort of thing.

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While editorial oversight is needed, too heavy of a hand can turn readers off. Not every writer can have Grant Morrison style contracts stating they don't have to do what editorial says; too much oversight can stifle creativity and that's something DC definitely doesn't need.

2 Thing They Should Do: Take Advantage Of All Of Their Properties

Recently, DC made the smart decision to bring back two of the biggest parts of their universe: the Legion Of Superheroes and the Justice Society of America. Fans had been clamoring for the return of these two teams and DC made it happen.

There are plenty of other DC properties that haven't been dusted off in a long time, but with the right creative team attached could do gangbusters in sales. DC has some of the best hidden gems in all of comics and they need to take advantage of this.

1 Thing They Shouldn't Do: Keep Putting All Of Their Eggs In The Big Baskets

DC Big Three Cropped

As stated earlier, Batman sells. Same with Superman and Wonder Woman. DC's Big Three gets a lot of love, appearing multiple books and getting some of the best talents in the industry to work on them. This makes sense, but it's not always the best thing.

DC needs to remember to throw some love to some of their lower-tier characters, putting A-list creative teams on them to get fans to pick up the books. This will pay dividends in sales and make them more competitive with Marvel.

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