DC to REBOOT???

[Myasishchev]

He's now wearing a chin-spike...a chin-spike.... if that doesn't say repressed, I'm not sure what does. Anyway, as discussed before, the marriage is going to be the least of their problems as characters in the DCU.

"More Lemonade Midnighter?"

"Why thank you Martian Manhunter that would be lovely".

I might buy that comic.

 

[the G-man]

Midnighter and Apollo in the DCU is going to be a disaster. They're nothing but spit takes on Batman and Supes with the gay angle thrown in. Yes, they're effective satire but they are still satire.

Putting them in the actual DCU, at some point either they're completely neutered or you need to have the "real" guys take them out.

 

[JoeZhang]

Midnighter and Apollo in the DCU is going to be a disaster. They're nothing but spit takes on Batman and Supes with the gay angle thrown in. Yes, they're effective satire but they are still satire.

Putting them in the actual DCU, at some point either they're completely neutered or you need to have the "real" guys take them out.

They make as much sense as in the DCU as a freddie film where Freddie tickles small children to sleep.

 

[Turtletrekker]

This is... well, it's potentially interesting, but it misses entirely the point of Superman...

I tend to agree. I have to preface this next comment by stating that I have never read anything written by Grant Morrison in the past, but this just doesn't sound interesting to me at all.

Oh, well, you totally should...

I have actually been thinking about catching up on his "Batman" run via trade paperback, but would need to find a list of the appropriate trades to buy and figure out how much it would cost me.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Couple of pages here from, you know - Action 1, Justice League 1 and Batman 1:

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/07...ustice-league-1-action-comics-1-and-batman-1/

Joker's an ugly customer. Supes is a very young man.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Capullo's Joker kind of reminds me of an uglier version of the Killing Joke version. Yeah those were from the free preview book that is coming out tomorrow.

 

[Myasishchev]

I tend to agree. I have to preface this next comment by stating that I have never read anything written by Grant Morrison in the past, but this just doesn't sound interesting to me at all.

Oh, well, you totally should...

I have actually been thinking about catching up on his "Batman" run via trade paperback, but would need to find a list of the appropriate trades to buy and figure out how much it would cost me.

For my money, it's really not his best work, or even adequate work. I've given Morrison's Batman more tries than any comic reasonably deserves, basically because I'm a huge Morrison fan. At the same time, some people have clearly responded to it. I couldn't tell you why.

I'd recommend The Filth as both one of the writer's major works and an economically sensible primer. It's classic Morrison subject matter (if you want to be cynical, it's about the writer doing drugs) and most excellent Chris Weston art (he clearly does not do drugs, because that line is fine). However, if you don't like Cronenberg-esque body horror stories, any given Grant Morrison/Howard Porter JLA trade will work (starts with New World Order, which is one of the better JLA stories ever written).

Of course, the magnum opus is The Invisibles. Tonally, it's basically The Filth except five times longer and not really quite as good.

 

[Admiral_Young]

"Batman, Inc" has felt kind of disjointed during it's first arc. The first and sixth issues of the opening arc were brilliant. The Batwoman crossover was crazy esoteric (almost too much for my tastes). I'm gonna continue though at least until Leviathan is revealed.

 

[the G-man]

Morrison is simply not a good Batman writer. He is (at least to date) a good Superman writer.

 

[Admiral_Young]

I'd disagree with that. He's been one of the best Batman writers in the modern era in my opinion. Just his execution isn't always there in some arcs.

I dunno if we can call him a good Superman writer yet. "All Star Superman" was wonderful and remains my favorite Superman story but it was a one off and always intended as it's own entity. He wrote Superman pretty basically during his JLA run. We'll be able to see what he does with Superman starting in Sep.

 

[C_Miller]

Yeah, his Batman run has been the only time I've really enjoyed the character in an extended setting. I think the reason a lot of people aren't too fond of it is because he plays into Batman tropes that a lot of people have forgotten about and made fun of for years. That's kind of Morrison's thing though. He really takes the whole history of a character and consolidates it into a single run. He did it with JLA, All-Star Superman, New X-Men, and now he's currently doing it with Batman. The only difference is with Batman is that a lot of people don't like some of the sillier aspects of his history.

 

[Admiral_Young]

^ Exactly.

 

[Python Trek]

I see this argument all the time, and I don't buy it. Continuity only ties a writer's hands if he lets it.

I know - I see this comeback all the time on the Internet, but writers and other creators just continue doing what they know they need to do to tell their stories nonetheless and that's one thing that's not going to change. Continuity mavens will continue to be frustrated and dismayed that creators "don't get it" and the entertainment industry will roll ahead anyway.

The only real way to avoid this is, frankly, to deep-six the notion of these eternally-renewing, endless franchises and properties altogether. Tolkein, or J.K. Rowling and Warners can "get continuity right" - more or less - because they're telling stories with a beginning and a middle and an end. If you want to watch Star Trek or Doctor Who or Spider-Man from your cradle to your grave, though, you'll just have to accept this kind of continual mutation, reset and revision.

Just don't refer to old baggage, and the old baggage doesn't matter any more! Pretty simple.

Generally I prefer this approach myself - "retiring continuity," it's called - but how exactly do you do that with stuff like Supes' marriage to Lois when that no longer serves its purpose? The creators should have their hands tied throughout time because of creative decisions made by other people that the folks involved now feel are dragging the property down? Uh-uh; no way. After a while no one will want to work on the property except for fanboys who will cater to the biases of the hard core who privilege continuity above everything else, the audience declines and the property dies.

I still don't get the part about "tied hands". If you approach a character, and you don't like what you have to work with, go make up your own damn character---don't fuck with mine. In other words, don't blow up Vulcan and don't give Spidey "totem powers".

 

[Mike Farley]

The problem is that you have writers that whose goal isn't to service the character, but rather to leave their mark on the series.

I wouldn't call Morrison a good Batman or Superman writer. He is, however, an amazing Animal Man writer.

 

[the G-man]

I'd disagree with that. He's been one of the best Batman writers in the modern era in my opinion. Just his execution isn't always there in some arcs.

His Batman plays up all the 50s-60s sci-fi/fantasy elements that are anathema to the core of the character and just adds a sheen of "ultraviolence" to pretend its not silver age fan wank. Add in his creation of the whole "with enough prep time Uber-bat can do anything" myth and he's done nothing with the character that rings true to the generally accepted version of who Batman is (the O'Neill, Englehart, Dini, Nolan version of Batman).

I'm happy you enjoy it but I don't and think it does a lot of long term harm to the character.

 

[Myasishchev]

Yeah, his Batman run has been the only time I've really enjoyed the character in an extended setting. I think the reason a lot of people aren't too fond of it is because he plays into Batman tropes that a lot of people have forgotten about and made fun of for years. That's kind of Morrison's thing though. He really takes the whole history of a character and consolidates it into a single run. He did it with JLA, All-Star Superman, New X-Men, and now he's currently doing it with Batman. The only difference is with Batman is that a lot of people don't like some of the sillier aspects of his history.

I actually liked the Batman of Zurr-En-Arrh and Bat-Mite stuff. Best parts of RIP.*

I disliked the mediocre, wildly uneven art and the disjointed, everything-is-a-Final-Crisis writing style that Morrison's been degenerating into for a while. Like, on his best day, Morrison's still going to be a little incoherent, but starting with Batman, he also seemed to lose his flow. And the flow is everything to a Morrison-style script.

Also, Batman Incorporated (which I usually refer to as Torts Incorporated) really struck me as kind of a bad idea. Besides the fact that Bruce Wayne would spend now until doomsday in court and someone would eventually, by eventually I mean immediately, figure out that he's the Actual Batman, a bunch of faux-foreign** Batmen isn't really that interesting, and I have strong doubts about the strength of any given Batman, Inc., concept, because unless I miss my guess, it's a bunch of orientalized clone takes on an existing one.

*Except for the really clever scene in the art museum. Oh wait, that was the only good part of And Son.
**Seriously, Batman of Africa. What the hell.

Anyway, the second month's worth of Superman solicits is in.

Supergirl #2

Get ready for a super-smackdown as Supergirl fights her cousin, The Man of Steel! What could cause these two to come to blows? Can the teenage Supergirl hold her own against the adult Superman? Well, let's just say she's got a trick or two up those fancy new sleeves of hers...

Okay, let's ignore the fact that comics solicit writing is probably the lowest form of the English language, and look instead at the content. I'm tentatively intrigued about the Supergirl direction, which seems very in line with my own thoughts, and I like Asrar's art, but I'm still trepid about it, given that the writers are the Mikes Green and Johnson, who are rather terrible.
​

 

[Saga]

the only issues of Batman Incorporated i really liked were the Batwoman ones...and those were pretty far out. the ones with Catwoman in Japan were alright i suppose. still haven't got around to reading RIP though.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Flipped through the DC 52#1's preview and it sucked. Pretty much just like a solicits list with some minor tid bit descriptions. It does contain a lame five page preview of "Justice League #1" that sucks. It looks like Batman is gonna be portrayed as an ass in the past.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

But Batman is a paranoid ass - at least where characters like Jordan are concerned. It's actually harder to see him working and playing well with others at the beginning.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Okay, let's ignore the fact that comics solicit writing is probably the lowest form of the English language...

Sorry. Offense taken. I feel utterly insulted. Comics solicit writing keeps food on my table.