posted
Ok, so for almost a year now I've kind of been in "I don't care" mode when it comes to comics. All I've been buying are occasional trades from amazon. Most of those archives, showcases, essentials etc. no monthlies whatsoever.
And then, last week, I bought on a whim DC's HUGE New 52 omnibus. It reprints all 52 first issues from last September. I've been reading, and I must say I'm impressed with much of it. I doubt I'll ever buy the "pamphlets" on a monthly basis at a CBS again, but I will be buying the trades of many of these books.
I know it's stupid for me to talk about books you all read 8 months ago..... But what the hey. Here's my impressions so far:
My favorites? Hands down AQUAMAN and WONDER WOMAN. I love that aquaman is a badass, but he has the same lameass rep in the DCnU as he does in the real world. I also love that he is *not* all animal rights-ish He eats fish and makes it clear he does *not* talk to them. He just controls them. As for Wonder Woman, love the art and the portrayal of the mythology. Love the Gaiman Endless-esque Greek gods. As far as reboots go, a Huge improvement on the mind numbingly boring and wordy Perez reboot.
Justice League International was just bland and cliché ridden. Too bad, cause I love these characters. This book also suffered from the "some histories have been rebooted and some haven't" syndrome. Do these heroes have a shared history anymore? Was there a Global Guardians? Do Fire and Ice even know each other anymore? Meh.
I was shocked how much I enjoyed the Green Lantern family of books. A franchise I never read much. GREEN LANTERN CORPS seems to be a "buddy cop" book staring Guy Gardner and John Stewart. It's fun. And is it just me, or is Guy Gardner pretty sexy these days? I'm not sure what's going on in NEW GUARDIANS with Kyle Ryner and all those rings, but I want to find out.
The RED LANTERNS fascinated me when Mera was one back during blackest night, and I'm still intrigued. But I feel like Milligan is missing an opportunity. The book is about rage as a driving force. That's cool. But everyone's becoming a Red Lantern because their race was decimated in a intergalactic war or something. That's boring. Of *course* someone in that situation would be enraged. Mera was a fascinating Red Lantern because her rage stemmed from long unspoken blame and resentment. I'd *love* to see a human become a Red Lantern and their motivating rage be no more than the ennui and alienation of modern life.
Certain titles are intriguing enough to make me interested in books I would normally ignore. SWAMP THING for example. I love the idea that plants are violent and vicious, only on a scale so slow we can't perceive it. But will one neat idea hold my interest in the long run? I kinda doubt it.
Still a lot more to read, but I'm looking forward to revisiting many of these titles. Kudos to DC for daring to try something drastic and following through.
posted
I agree. Great to read your thoughts, KidChaos.
RE: DC Universe Presents #8 - A solid, if not spectacular, finale. Didio and Ordway succeeded in giving us a version of the Challengers of the Unknown that has potential. I hope to see more of them.
-------------------- No regrets, Coyote.
From: Missouri | Registered: Oct 2003
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Reading all the # 1's in this omnibus has jazzed me up for comics again!
I don't think I'll go back to buying monthly pamphlets. There's only one CBS left in town, and the guy is kind of a creep who owns it....
If I can figure out how to download digital comics on my iPad, I would love to buy them that way. I'm working the midnight shift at the nursing home here and some nights are soooo slow. Catching up with some of the new 52 I like might make the nights go by quicker!
Anways, I still have most of the omnibus to get through at home. I was reading the Batman section tonight, my god, Bats got three times the titles as poor superman! I'm curious if the Batman titles will be well written enough to overcome my history of lack of interest in the character...
-------------------- "are you forgetting that I was a professional twice over- an analyst and a therapist. The world's first analrapist."
posted
Good to read your review KC. I was wondering why DC would put out a collection of all their #1s in a book - and now see it would interest people who are into TPBs or just skipped the initial launch.
Batman and Detective have been pretty well received around here. I'm reading Batman for the first time in years.
Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
If you're no longer buying pamphlets, I totes recommend checking out digital comics, kc! Comixology pretty much rocks!
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
So as the April 2012 sales start to come out, it's clear that a big portion of the DCnU is simply selling like crap. Obviously they kept a few going to get to #12 so they could release a second trade, but I'm surprised they even did that. Captain Atom, for instance, is selling at a dismal level.
With August we get a number of #12 issues. I have a feeling we'll get a few announcements of cancellations too. There are a lot of serious contenders: Captain Atom, Hawkman, Firestorm, Blue Bettle, Deathstroke, Grifter, Voodoo, Resurrection Man, Batwing, I Vampire, and even series I like such as Frankenstein & Demon Knights. But I have a feeling they'll only do 6 again, and replace those 6 with more series. I'd actually prefer if they just cancelled 8 or so and replaced them with 6 to get away from this crazy notion they should have 52 ongoing series.
Legion Lost is kind of on the bubble but it sells a lot better than most of those series I just listed. I also think I, Vampire has a longer shelf life because DC is hoping trade sales will pick up with the bookstore crowd.
Surprisingly, All-Star Western sells pretty good! Better than every series I've mentiond so far. At a $3.99 price point, it also makes more money. Glad its safe.
Usually, solicitations come mid-month so we'll know for sure if they're cancelling anything in August in a few days. Probably at the end of the week with the full solicits out next Monday.
September is the #0 month, and I can't see DC wasting that marketing ploy on a series like Captain Atom that sells two copies (one for J.T. Krul's mom and the other for Dan Didio). Probably the next round of DC series will begin with #0 in Sept. And *probably* 3 of those will be cancelled next June.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Cobalt Kid: The Shade has been nothing short of fantastic. Having my boy Javier Pulido stop in for two issues was icing on the cake.
I've been meaning to ask you if you were getting this, Des... I know what an UBERfan of Darwyn Cooke you are and his art on #4's Times Past story was awesome.
quote:Originally posted by Cobalt Kid: It sure was! That issue rocked my face off. Almost all the art has been superb so far--Cully Hamner and Javier Pullido also brought their A game.
Also, each new artist essentially exists as it's own arc, so it's all done in ones and 2-parters with an over-arching story.
Jill Thompson stopped in for the latest story, and like the previous artists, rocked the hell out of it.
Fantastic Times Past story in 1902 that gets into the Shade's first encounter with a member of his own family after he's become the Shade.
This series has been a major high point of DC's output since the DCnU began.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Four new series announced this morning: Amethyst, Team Seven, Talon and Phantom Stranger. Unclear on what will be cancelled to make room, but Captain Atom *has* to be one.
I've been waiting for Amythest since we found out she'd play a big part in the DC cartoon hour (or whatever it's called). No clue on the creative team. The actual title of the series may be Sword and Sorcery.
Team Seven will be different than it's original Wildstorm incarnation, including several DC characters as referenced in their own series: Black Canary, Steve Trevor, Deathstroke and Amanda Waller. No word on creative team yet, though we'll probably learn today.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Amethyst is a sure bet for me as well! It makes sense if they are honest about diversifying their line.
It sounds like it'll also have sword & sorcery back-ups, so probably Warlord, or Silent Knight or something.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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This new comic, which is being co-plotted by Batman writer Scott Snyder, introduces a new "anti-hero on the run" to the DCU. Calvin Rose, the only Talon to escape from the control of the Court of Owls, will be traveling all around the DCU as he is hunted by his former masters. While the story spins out of the Court of Owls storyline that is running through the first year of Snyder's Batman, the title character is a brand new one.
As the comic launches in September, Snyder will be working on plots with James Tynion IV, his co-writer on the Batman back-ups. Talon will feature art by Guillem March.
Sword of Sorcery
This new series, which DiDio described as "a new anthology book in the same vein as All-Star Western," will launch with the return of Amethyst to the New 52. Written by Christy Marx with art by Aaron Lopresti, the comic will show how Amethyst finds out she's the lost princess of Gemworld, and she's being hunted by her murderous aunt. The comic will launch with a back-up story about Beowulf and Grendel, written by Tony Bedard with art by Jesus Saiz.
The Phantom Stranger:
Written by DiDio with art by Brent Anderson, The Phantom Stranger will spin out of the character's recent appearances in Justice League and DC's Free Comic Book Day story. It promises to tell more about the mysterious origin of the character who seems to have biblical ties and his connection to the purple-hooded woman Pandora.
Team Seven:
Set in the early days of the DC Universe, Team Seven will show how the emergence of Superman touched off the formation of counter measures against superheroes. The comic, which is being written by relative newcomer Justin Jordan with art by Jesus Merino, will have a team composed of Amanda Waller, Dinah Lance, Steve Trevor, John Lynch, Alex Fairchild, Cole Cash and Slade Wilson.
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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