The New 52 general discussion

Friday said:
Swamp Thing is almost always good. It brings out the best in creators.
Click to expand...

I've actually been kind of disappointed in it until the last issue. It had its strengths, but it's been roundly getting its ass kicked by Animal Man. But this issue was pretty great.

ProjectX2 said:
I thought Earth 2 was surprisingly good, Dial H was interesting enough to stick with for a while, and the New 52 FCBD thing was a mess that probably put off both new and old readers. Pandora's Box? The Question? Trinity War? What the hell is going on? I already don't care about this event and it hasn't even started.

I'll stick with the titles that don't make me question my sanity after I've read them: a.k.a. the comics that could have easily been published in the old DC Universe. I might just be an angry old man but I find it incredible that it only took a few months for this "new" universe to become as needlessly complicated as the old one. I guess that's what happens when you try to do a reboot and a revamp at the same time. You can't have your cake and eat it too.
Click to expand...

No, I realized a few months ago that the new universe reads pretty much exactly the same as the old universe and gave up caring about almost all of the books.

E said:
Can you summarize or explain? I didn't read that issue.
Click to expand...

There are seven wizards from seven cultures that control all magic and they punished Pandora for opening a box (with eternal life) and turned Judas into the Phantom Stranger for being Judas, and turned some guy into an amnesiac immortal the Question for being a dick or something. And now in the present day Pandora's stolen her box from some secret room full of artifacts and inside of it was a skull necklace from Hot Topic, and in the future a bunch of superheroes are going to fight a bunch of other superheroes for some reason.

I didn't think it was needlessly complicated. Just... bad.... as Geoff Johns stories sometimes have a tendency to be. It looks like he's trying to do an action figure franchiser thing with Shazam same as he did with the various color corps. It's certainly not the best foot for DC to put forward for new readers. And it just plain wasn't good.
 
E said:
Can you summarize or explain? I didn't read that issue.
Click to expand...

Zombipanda said:
There are seven wizards from seven cultures that control all magic and they punished Pandora for opening a box (with eternal life) and turned Judas into the Phantom Stranger for being Judas, and turned some guy into an amnesiac immortal the Question for being a dick or something. And now in the present day Pandora's stolen her box from some secret room full of artifacts and inside of it was a skull necklace from Hot Topic, and in the future a bunch of superheroes are going to fight a bunch of other superheroes for some reason.
Click to expand...

Now imagine this is your very first DC comic. This is what they put out to attract new readers.
 
ProjectX2 said:
Now imagine this is your very first DC comic. This is what they put out to attract new readers.
Click to expand...

Well, that's the problem. They assume new readers are going to be walking into a comic shop.

This myth of "attracting new readers" using the same outdated direct market system is absolutely laughable.
 
Zombipanda said:
There are seven wizards from seven cultures that control all magic and they punished Pandora for opening a box (with eternal life) and turned Judas into the Phantom Stranger for being Judas, and turned some guy into an amnesiac immortal the Question for being a dick or something. And now in the present day Pandora's stolen her box from some secret room full of artifacts and inside of it was a skull necklace from Hot Topic, and in the future a bunch of superheroes are going to fight a bunch of other superheroes for some reason.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Doesn't really sound like something I'd be interested in.

It sounds like something Marvel was really bad at in the 90s - these far-reaching, important cosmic type stories staring characters that no reader could possibly care about.

Dial H For Hero was decent. I'll keep with that for a while.
 
I liked Action Comics #9. Definitely a step up from the previous 8 issues, which really surprised me in their mediocrity considering Grant Morrison wrote them.

A spinoff or secondary set of stories with Superman of Earth 23 would be cool.
 
E said:
I liked Action Comics #9. Definitely a step up from the previous 8 issues, which really surprised me in their mediocrity considering Grant Morrison wrote them.

A spinoff or secondary set of stories with Superman of Earth 23 would be cool.
Click to expand...

I assume the whole bit with Superman-23 is going to end up tying back in to Morrison's run further down the line, so it might be better to leave it as it is.

As for Action Comics in general, I felt like it started off a little weak but with a lot of potential. A lot of great ideas not fully realized. And then once the build-up to Brainiac started, it completely derailed. This was the best issue by far, and I hope it's a sign of Morrison finding solid footing.
 
I agree. Action Comics #9 was the first issue that came close to All-Star Superman's greatness. The rest has been pretty dull, but I did like the whole Brainiac = the internet thing.
 
Zombipanda said:
I've actually been kind of disappointed in it until the last issue. It had its strengths, but it's been roundly getting its ass kicked by Animal Man. But this issue was pretty great.
Click to expand...

The first few issues didn't do much for me but once he introduced the little Arcane kid it took off.

'm extra confused by the Question. After all the good work they've done with the character in the last few years I don't understand why they'd do such a major change to him. This isn't a revamp or a reboot. Its throwing out everything and using an exsisting character design for a new character. Its stupid.

And its also stupid that the best issue of Morrison's Action is the first one that doesn't have Earth 1 Superman in it.
 
Detective #9 was decent. The series itself hasn't been much to talk about but maybe the Court of Owls tie-ins are going to raise the bar for some of the other Batman books not titled Batman.

Earth 2 was also pretty good, although as of right now I can't remember a single thing that happened in it.
 
E said:
Detective #9 was decent. The series itself hasn't been much to talk about but maybe the Court of Owls tie-ins are going to raise the bar for some of the other Batman books not titled Batman.

Earth 2 was also pretty good, although as of right now I can't remember a single thing that happened in it.
Click to expand...

Well Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman all died. There was that.
 
Friday said:
Well Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman all died. There was that.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah. That was pretty major I guess.
 
I have yet to pick up anything beyond issue #1 of justice league from the new line of comics. Now some time has passed i want to know, is it worth the money? Overall is it being handle decently?
 
Deathrex said:
I have yet to pick up anything beyond issue #1 of justice league from the new line of comics. Now some time has passed i want to know, is it worth the money? Overall is it being handle decently?
Click to expand...

It's not all that much different from before the relaunch. None of the books are really redefining the genre but there's a few great books, a few terrible books, and a lot in between.

They've done a decent job of folding some semi-indie talent into the line but also seem strangely obsessed with pumping out books by mostly forgotten artists and writers from the garish nineties boom. Liefeld is inexplicably plotting three books. At the same time, they seem pretty good about keeping in low selling titles that have critical prestige attached while at the same time replacing the real drek with new books. And a few of the books are doing a great job of putting the artist front and center rather than focus on the writer, and the result is actually pretty stellar. Batwoman and Flash are both well worth it on the art and layout alone. I'm sure picking up some of the books would be worth it for you. What interests you?
 
Zombipanda said:
but also seem strangely obsessed with pumping out books by mostly forgotten artists and writers from the garish nineties boom. Liefeld is inexplicably plotting three books.
Click to expand...

Yeah, this is baffling to me. I don't know if it's a cost-cutting move or if they are trying to get this kind of thing trending again, for whatever reason.
 
E said:
Yeah, this is baffling to me. I don't know if it's a cost-cutting move or if they are trying to get this kind of thing trending again, for whatever reason.
Click to expand...

Well, the rumor I've heard (and it sounds legitimate) is that it has more to do with the new editor, Bob Harras, who edited Marvel and Wildstorm in the nineties. He's pallies with a lot of the old nineties blood like Lobdell, Liefeld, and Nicieza. So, an old dinosaur relying on people he knows.
 
Last edited:
So, I was going to undertake the task of reading and reviewing the first story arc of all of the relaunched books but I.... I just can't do it.

There is so much garbage being published by DC right now.

(and holy ****. I've never read his stuff before, but I'm entirely certain now that Tom DeFalco is the worst writer in the history of language)
 
Last edited:
Zombipanda said:
(and holy ****. I've never read his stuff before, but I'm entirely certain now that Tom DeFalco is the worst writer in the history of language)
Click to expand...

We were just talking about how bad he is in another thread, but yeah, he probably is. His clone saga mini a couple years ago was the worst.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top