DC's New 52: Reviews and Discussion (Spoilers welcolme and likely)

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by JD, Aug 30, 2011.

  1. Myasishchev

    Myasishchev Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 20, 2009
    Location:
    America after the rain
    I'd have read a Mera, book, yeah. I kind of expected her to be more in this, too. She comes in like "Oh right! Aquaman has a wife and this takes place in 'present day'! Shoot!"

    I still overall did like it though.

    Grifter. Mr. Terrific's gotten decent reviews afaik, despite a couple of exchanges of dialogue that make it sound more like Tyroc: The Series than any Mr. Terrific book. "HOW ABOUT JUST 'THANKS MR. BLACK MAN FOR SAVING ME'?" "IS THIS BECAUSE I'M A WHITE GIRL?"

    See, it sort of works in Firestorm, because Jason Rusch is a kid, and kind of supposed to be an asshole with a chip on his shoulder from being a nerd instead of a jock so he blames it on racism through a fit of cognitive dissonance, but at the same time he winds up making a valid point even though his reasons are all wrong.

    Whereas in the pages of Terrific I've seen it's 1)nonsensical, since he's talking to a black guy and 2)unpleasant, as Karen Starr is supposed to be a grown-ass woman with people skills.

    Anyway, also Red Hood and the Outlaws. Catwoman will inexplicably survive. But I would bet a coke Grifter doesn't make it past 6. It's truly awful.
     
  2. Admiral_Young

    Admiral_Young Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2002
    Location:
    Gotham
    That'd be funny if all the Wildstorm books get cancelled first...
     
  3. JoeZhang

    JoeZhang Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2008
    That doesn't actually mean anything - this is how that trick works - with the titles that you don't expect to do very well, you underprint on the first run, they then sell out, you then print more.

    Going back to Mister Terrific I just thought the artwork was something I'd expect from a small press not DC.

    Talking of Wildstorm books, I actually quite liked Voodoo and it actually made me want to pick up the next issue - it's also weird how it had more flesh on display than Red Hood but because of context it didn't feel forced or exploitative.
     
  4. Admiral_Young

    Admiral_Young Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2002
    Location:
    Gotham
    I still think DC will allow each of the 52 to reach the end of their first arcs before making any decisions on what will go first.
     
  5. C_Miller

    C_Miller Captain Captain

    Joined:
    May 24, 2009
    Location:
    Geneseo, NY
    I can easily see Grifter and Voodoo being canceled first. I also don't see much of a readership base in I, Vampire which was actually really good. In my ideal world, DC would let it run 12 issues and the writer would do his best to tell the story of the War of the Vampires in those 12 issues.
     
  6. JoeZhang

    JoeZhang Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2008
    Which is likely six issues? I think I remember Didio saying that they will chop anything that under-performs pretty quickly.
     
  7. Admiral_Young

    Admiral_Young Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2002
    Location:
    Gotham
    ^ Interesting. I must have missed that comment...but yeah I think each book's arc is six issues. Some maybe four.
     
  8. C_Miller

    C_Miller Captain Captain

    Joined:
    May 24, 2009
    Location:
    Geneseo, NY
    I hate to be a pessimist, but I have a feeling that a lot of books were created as kind of beautiful losers, to use a political science term. In politics you never want to throw out all of your cards (especially if you're bound to fail), but you always want politicians on reserve for the future, in some cases you want your best. So DC decided to lead out with several titles that they weren't especially confidant with to create room for new titles in 2012.

    I think this cavalierness with canceling titles could backfire on them though. One of the things that I really liked about DC back in the day was their willingness to try new things and keep them going if they have good fan response. Manhunter, Blue Beetle, Shadowpact, Gotham Central and countless others lasted a lot longer than their sales would normally dictate due to good fan response. I have no doubt Xombie and THUNDER Agents would have been the same way. I think that if all of these obscure titles get quickly canceled without a proper chance, some of the fan base could turn very quickly and begin to wonder if it's worth it to get books when they first come out. I don't know, just a thought.
     
  9. JoeZhang

    JoeZhang Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2008
    It's actually the business model - they know before they launch that most of those titles will be cancelled or relaunched within two years - the trick is simply to pull the plug while they are still profitable and launch something else that you are pretty certain will fail.
     
  10. Admiral Buzzkill

    Admiral Buzzkill Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2001
    "Good fan response" = buying enough of the books to keep the lights on.

    Exactly so.
     
    Last edited: Sep 29, 2011
  11. Hound of UIster

    Hound of UIster Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 26, 2002
    Currently not even DC knows.
     
  12. C_Miller

    C_Miller Captain Captain

    Joined:
    May 24, 2009
    Location:
    Geneseo, NY
    Right, but several years ago, DC kept a lot of books such as the ones I mentioned going even through low sales. The sales of Gotham Central never warranted it to last as long as it did. 45 issues, if I recall correctly. Manhunter lasted 38 through low sales. Blue Beetle lasted 36.

    I guess another question is if they're going to look at it through a comparative lens. Like for example just cut the lowest selling ten or so after six issues or if there's actually a cut off mark that they're looking for. In the eyes of DC marketing, this relaunch was a massive success. All the books went to second printings and while I expect a drop off in sales, I'm going to hope that the quality titles remain strong.

    I think there is a slight chance that if it's not a proportion and they're actually trying to hit a mark for sales that very few if none will be canceled after six issues. I actually can't wait to see the gross sales figures for September. I know DC is going to dominate the sales chart, but it'll be interesting to see where some of the sleeper hits fit in like Animal Man and Swamp Thing.
     
  13. Admiral Buzzkill

    Admiral Buzzkill Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2001
    Exactly. That means that the book didn't have "good fan response" unless you define that as a few people talking a lot.

    Mikel Janin exclusive to DC Entertainment
     
  14. Nerys Myk

    Nerys Myk A Spock and a smile Premium Member

    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2001
    Location:
    AI Generated Madness
    The art in Voodoo was for the most part well done, though nothing about the character or story really grabbed me. I wasn't even sure why the character/book is called "Voodoo". So I checked the wiki and under abilities I found:
    Is there anything she can't do?????????? I think even Superman pales in comparison on the multipower front.

    Though from reading the character history, they must have added the voodoo magic thing later, after actully thinking about the name.
     
  15. Hound of UIster

    Hound of UIster Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 26, 2002
    The actual voodoo stuff was from her own miniseries by Alan Moore.
     
  16. JoeZhang

    JoeZhang Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2008
    since this is the de-facto DC thread:

    http://www.comicsbeat.com/2011/09/2...00-graphic-novels-exclusively-on-kindle-fire/
     
  17. Admiral Buzzkill

    Admiral Buzzkill Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2001
  18. Broccoli

    Broccoli Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 3, 2001
    Location:
    Broccoli
    I bet Action Comics gets canceled first...


    :shifty:
     
  19. Admiral Buzzkill

    Admiral Buzzkill Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2001
    Yeah...that's not happening. :lol:
     
  20. Broccoli

    Broccoli Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 3, 2001
    Location:
    Broccoli
    Could you imagine the fan rage if it did?