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

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Myasishchev wrote:

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I prefer Lori Lemaris. Sure, she's an abomination and has no identifiable, human genitalia, but she does have telepathy.

No human genitalia and telepathy would be a depressing combination from her POV, I'd think, in dealing with guys like Clark or Aquaman.

[Myasishchev]

For this occasion I coin the phrase "love cloud."

Use it responsibly.

[Derishton]

Tomorrow's digital purchases (hopefully we're still doing this?): OMAC, Men of War, Action, Stormwatch, Batwing and possibly Hawk and Dove (but ONLY for the Deadman appearance - DC, just publish Deadman and Dove already. Nobody has ever cared about Hawk).

[shivkala]

Well, there rumors were true, Gail Simone is leaving Firestorm and Joe Harris will step in to co-write with Ethan Van Sciver.

I'm unfamiliar with his work, but since I'm a Firestorm fan and am currently getting the title, I'll see how it goes. Despite my love for the character, I'm moving this to my watchlist for dropping, since I haven't been bowled over by the first few issues, but am pulling through because I am curious how they handle it. Unfortunately for me and my wallet, I tend to hang on to titles that are going through creative changes but that don't grab me a little too long. Especially with Teen Titans a few years ago, I hung on after Geoff Johns left to see how it would go and wasn't impressed, but every time I went to drop it, they kept announcing new creative teams, and I kept hanging on hoping that the new team would make it more interesting. I dropped while McKeever was writing, before what I understand was an unmitigated disaster of Felcia Henderson writing the title. I did come back when J.T. Krul took over and was finally rewarded with some decent stories in time for the book to be handed to Lobdell, who, as I said last week, is doing a better job that I was expecting from him on the book.

I guess I'm a sucker when it comes to, "Yeah, it sucks now, but it'll get better," whether it's waiting for a new creative team to start or giving the new creative team more issues than I should to "get their bearings."

[Trekker4747]

Action Comics
Detective Comics

And I think that's it.

I may check out the Green Arrow books, how are they?

[Admiral_Young]

Green Arrow sucks in my opinion and reminds me too much of the Justin Hartley version...there's even a Chloe type character.

I'll be getting Action Comics, Justice League International, and Storrmwatch.

[Myasishchev]

Nothin'. I'm not sure if that's solely because of economic factors... though they're sufficient.

No, wait, shit: Animal Man. Oh well. Admiral Young! I task you to buy this comic in my place.

[Admiral_Young]

Animal Man? I've never been much of a fan to be honest.

[Myasishchev]

Totally bogus.




Well, since I can't contribute to the reviews and discussion of current comics, I figured I'd go into the old books. Don't worry, there are no words. Pictures say it all. From Superman and Legion of Super-Heroes, art by Gary Frank:















"I like to dissect girls. Did you know I'm utterly insane?"

THERE IS NO GOD, ONLY GARTH.

[Admiral_Young]

Ah Garth with his psycho eyes. That was a weird expression lol. Awesome panel though. Imra's expression is equally amusing especially taken into the context she has a massive crush on Clark

[Trekker4747]

He obviously suffers from Coloboma.

[Nerys Myk]

Come, on all three look deranged and pushing 40. But I think Frank makes everyone look that way.

[Hound of UIster]

Myasishchev wrote:

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Totally bogus.




Well, since I can't contribute to the reviews and discussion of current comics, I figured I'd go into the old books. Don't worry, there are no words. Pictures say it all. From Superman and Legion of Super-Heroes, art by Gary Frank:

translation:

HURR DURR DURR

OH NOES I DON'T LIKE HOW DRAWS PEOPLE

HE SUCKX.

Let me guess you think Frank Quitely is a shit artist because of his clay people right?

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I'll buy Action at Comixology later today.

Film at eleven.

[Myasishchev]

Hound of UIster wrote:

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translation:

Let me guess you think Frank Quitely is a shit artist because of his clay people right?

I'd be happy to give Frank the speckt for a lot of things. I observed once--but maybe that was somewhere else--that there's no one in American comics closer to being a really good artist and just not doing it for me than Gary Frank. And it all comes down to bizarre facial expressions. All of the other fundamentals are very strong--clear storytelling, design, blocking, and so forth.

Quitely's a difficult case. On one hand, he has produced amazing pages. On the other, sometimes his perpetual sneers and occasional ventures into off-model territory do weary the soul. And you know who the real hero is? Jamie Grant. That man made Quitely beautiful, and no one cares. Where's his parade?

I mean, I can talk shit about J.H. Williams III if you want me to. It's hard, but I can do it. "Sometimes it's preferable to be able to actually read a comic, rather than just appreciate that it's vacuously pretty." Oh, that hurt. That hurt a lot. Don't make me do it again.

...At least J.H. Williams III can reliably draw human faces registering appropriate reactions to what's happening around them...

That said:





I liked both of these very much. Brainiac's adorable!

Oh, and he drew Wildfire right every time.

...

And since I've decided to expend 1000 words on this shit, I guess I'll go ahead and capsulize the story: it starts out on the wrongest foot with about every terrible Superman trope I hate. Clark Kent is a weenie loner who has no friends, and in fact has never had friends. Superman is called to the future by his Legionnaire sort-of-friends and the sun is red and he loses his powers before he even steps out of the building he arrives in. Ugh.

However, it goes on from there and it's basically a pretty good, less depressing riff on Days of Future Past. Beyond those initial, personal annoyances, I think it may have been my favorite Geoff Johns comic ever--with the one caveat that Earth Man (Space Nazi seen in the image above) and his Justice League of Earth are fucking pathetic. And I don't mean they "generate pathos," I mean they suck and are lazily written.

It would've been a far superior story had Earth Man actually believed in his monstrous spiel, unable to see that Superman was real and uncomprehending of Superman's core message of hope/understanding/breaking shit because of his pain and self-delusion.

Instead, he's a neurotic who knows he's neurotic, and Johns, with a brutally on-the-nose portrayal of a reject's psychology that makes Hal Jordan's impression of Tucker from Red vs. Blue look nuanced, fails to convince. He's Anakin Skywalker, and it's lame. People like that cannot hold it together long enough to inspire people to give them handjobs out of pity, let alone join mass movements devoted to killin' foreigners.

Cool power set, though.