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

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

  1. Admiral_Young

    Admiral_Young Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2002
    Location:
    Gotham
    Why shouldn't a solution not be "read old stuff"? I can understand not having the time to do so for whatever reason, but if you are a fan taking time to invest in these characters and want a better understanding of why some are the way they are that is the simplest solution to me. Also there are other options like Wikipedia that can be helpful if you don't want to read stuff, that is what I do from time to time. Again I think these problems are part of DC wanting to eat all of it's cake and attempt to please all of it's fan base by having this meshed timeline.
     
  2. Stevil2001

    Stevil2001 Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2001
    Because it's a jumping-on point? It's 52 "all-new #1s," not 52 "all-new #65s." Trekker is the very kind of person DC needs to be reaching out to; why are they alienating him?
     
  3. Admiral_Young

    Admiral_Young Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2002
    Location:
    Gotham
    ^ They would argue that they're not and not to quibble but it's actually The NEW 52 not "all new". As my point before stated there is stuff carried over from arcs due to sales. It is not like we're taking a hardship reading a couple previous trades. Anyway...

    Batman and Robin #3: Finally. I really enjoyed this issue. The dynamic between Bruce and Damian is starting to round up. We get some more information about Nobody, it seems both he and Bruce know each other from the past. The art work is pretty good, Tomasai's writing is decent...better than Tony Daniels at any rate. This was enough to make me continue reading this arc.
     
  4. Trekker4747

    Trekker4747 Boldly going... Premium Member

    Joined:
    Jul 16, 2001
    Location:
    Trekker4747
    I used to be really into comics as a teenager but that's almost a couple of decades behind me now since I was last really into comics and a lot of the stuff I don't quite remember as I really wasn't into it enough back then to really dedicate all of it to memory. The "New 52" soft-reboot seemed like a good time to try and to re-invest interest into the comics and for the most part it has all been going well.

    My lack of understanding of Damian's backstory has nothing to do with anything, I just don't like him. In fact, I've never liked the idea of Robin and thought Batman works well enough on his own and doesn't need some teenaged doofus slowing him down. The way Robin, or previous Robins, have been treated in the other Bat-Books has been fine. I liked the use of Nightwing/Dick in Batgirl 3 and the use of the Robin(s) in "Batman" and in DC, but it's not completely working for me yet in B&R mostly because I'm not quite liking this Robin yet but with the "seduction of the dark-side"-like angle this book seemed to suggest it's going to go with it's slightly promising.

    I've no intention of trying to catch up on nearly two decades worth of missed story because, as said above, by starting off with all new #1s any back story should pretty much be either erased or better handled.

    Take how Barbra Gordon's paralysis has been handled so-far in Batgirl, we've mostly been told how it fits into the "new" timeline and what happened and, slowly, we're being told how Barbra got the use of her legs back and how her recovery is progressing.

    But it seems the Batman & Robin book is weighing itself down a lot more with backstory than the other books. I think even in "Batman #1" Bruce Wayne dons an exposition device that explains to him (us) who the various Robin(s) are and other small details.

    I'll continue reading B&R, and the other Bat Books, through their first arc but, right now, I'm thinking that "Batman" is the only one I'll continue following as it's really the only that has captured me.

    And it's not really the not knowing or remembering Damien's back-story that's making me not really be passionate about this book it's, again, that I just don't like the character or the Robin idea at all or at least how it's been shown so far.

    Well, as previously stated, the other books I've picked up (Superman/Girl titles, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash) have all taken some strides to while not do entire origin stories they also started off "fresh enough" for new readers to pick them up without having to deal with decades of backstory. Considering there are four Batman titles you'd think one of them could've been a cold, hard, reboot that shed the past and pretty much started over. Again, not necessarily with an origin story but something not so weighted down with the Batman mythos.
     
  5. Admiral_Young

    Admiral_Young Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2002
    Location:
    Gotham
    Fair Enough. Damian is one of my favourite characters in comics right now, he isn't well liked by most fans because, well he was created to be a punk ass kid. He's grown a lot though since he was first introduced since Dick Grayson worked with him. As some have said in the thread previous this current story line is a bit of a step back on that work that was previously done, but this issue did a lot to turn that around for me.
     
  6. C_Miller

    C_Miller Captain Captain

    Joined:
    May 24, 2009
    Location:
    Geneseo, NY
    I can see both sides. I am a success story in the old business model. I jumped into the DCU with Green Arrow #34, Flash #207, JLA #94, Green Lantern #176, Aquaman #15, JSA #59, Batman #620... and I'm pretty sure that was all I was reading at the time. All of those were advertised as jumping on points and I was able to read them without too much confusion. Yeah, there was stuff I didn't know about, but I spent a little bit of time and did some research. And there was some stuff I'd just have to accept. Like Wally West being married, Green Lantern was wandering in Space up until that point, Aquaman had a magic hand. It's the same case with Batman having a son. Either go back and read the fantastic Morrison run or don't and just accept that he has a son. The idea that he has a son is really not as complicated as a lot of the stuff I was forced to accept.

    I understand that this was advertised as a reboot and it can be frustrating, but if DC "pandered" to new readers and reach out to only them, what do they do in two or three years when this continuity is laid out? Do they scrap it all again? They can't just pander to the new readers coming in, they have to keep old fans too and some of these elements are most likely doing that. And personally, I don't understand the aversion that some new fans have for going back and reading older stories. There are a lot of good stories out there to be read. Continuity be damned.
     
  7. Hound of UIster

    Hound of UIster Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 26, 2002
    There is a thing called wikipedia. People should learn to take advantage of it.
     
  8. JoeZhang

    JoeZhang Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2008
    Why? What does that have to do with a line-wide relaunch being accessible to new readers?
     
  9. JoeZhang

    JoeZhang Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2008
    Johns really seems to have fallen out of love with Hal - here and in the Justice League, he's been written as being a little slow...
     
  10. Admiral_Young

    Admiral_Young Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2002
    Location:
    Gotham
    ^ It's okay to say idiot, I think it's been mentioned earlier in thread regarding Hal and frankly that is how he has been portrayed lately.
     
  11. C_Miller

    C_Miller Captain Captain

    Joined:
    May 24, 2009
    Location:
    Geneseo, NY
    Yeah. I've actually gone back and read the early part of Johns' run. Through Blackest Night and I think most if not all of that kind of justifies Johns' opinion of Hal and shows why he's the right guy for the job (although Rebirth does a little bit more telling than showing). I mean even back then you could call Hal one dimensional, but now he's just annoying and you can barely call him a hero.

    Oh well, I'll just go back and reread Secret Origin...
     
  12. Agent Richard07

    Agent Richard07 Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 20, 2001
    Aquaman #1: Wow, you guys were right. This one is really good. The writing is engaging and the little trip to the seafood restaurant was amusing and well done. Then there's the art. Everything blends with the narrative seamlessly. You can really see everything playing out like a movie, and doing so in pretty good detail. That's something you don't usually get with comic books. The whole thing is a cut above. I'm not big on Aquaman, but I'll pick up the next few issues just because of the quality.

    Teen Titans #1: Wonder Girl had my interest for a bit, but otherwise, I'm not too interested in the characters or the story. I don't think I'll continue with this title.

    Supergirl #2: It's an improvement over the first issue. This one actually has a story and I like seeing Kara learn to use her powers. I plan to keep up for the time being to see her adjust to life on Earth and possibly take on a secret identity.

    Batgirl #3: Gonna pick this up today. I'm already onboard.
     
  13. Trekker4747

    Trekker4747 Boldly going... Premium Member

    Joined:
    Jul 16, 2001
    Location:
    Trekker4747
    Yeah, as I said above Aquaman is quite impressive and I'm not an Aquaman fan either.
     
  14. JoeZhang

    JoeZhang Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2008
    I think Johns is doing a bit of repositioning here - so yeah, the ring does select people who have a lot of will-power but they might be a bit dim like Jordan or a fascist like Sinestro. I've never really enjoy his work but I'm quite liking this.
     
  15. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2004
    Location:
    Arizona, USA
    Looking back at some of the other stuff I've read, I realized that I really prefer to read a whole arc all at once, so I'm gonna hold off on The New 52 until they start finishing their first arcs. But, I am planning on reading some of the older stuff on Comixology instead, first up will be Batman: A Death in The Family. I'm probably gonna get it either tomarrow.
     
  16. Broccoli

    Broccoli Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 3, 2001
    Location:
    Broccoli
    I love this attempt at spin:

    Would coming in on the bottom of the pile still make it that?
     
  17. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2004
    Location:
    Arizona, USA
    ^I do love how the spin-people always find a way to call something a hit. I still don't understand how they can call TV shows that haven't even aired yet a hit.
     
  18. Allyn Gibson

    Allyn Gibson Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 16, 2000
    Location:
    South Pennsyltucky
    The second issue outsold all but 28 Marvel titles in October. (Yes, I looked at the sales charts and counted.) That's nothing to sneeze at.
     
  19. Myasishchev

    Myasishchev Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 20, 2009
    Location:
    America after the rain
    Death in the Family has some good points, but overall I remember it as being kind of terrible. The Joker's new job is one of those only-in-comics ideas, though. For better or worse.
     
  20. C_Miller

    C_Miller Captain Captain

    Joined:
    May 24, 2009
    Location:
    Geneseo, NY
    But that's a relatively new development in Johns' version of him. The closest I can recall is Mark Waid's Brave and the Bold version, where he was just irresponsible, not an idiot. And for the first half of Johns' run he had his irresponsibility, but he was competent and it's only gotten worse since the relaunch.