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

[Allyn Gibson]

I'm also re-reading the Perez/Wolfman Titans series, in the new omnibus, and remembering how ground-breaking it was. I'm not sure why DC got rid of that legacy, although I imagine if you're trying to get rid of Wally West and Donna Troy, the original Titans are a continuity problem

It's clear in Red Hood and the Outlaws #1 that Starfire and Roy were teammates at some point in the past. And in Teen Titans #2 Tim makes reference to the existence of previous Titans teams.

I'm not sure that Donna has to be problematical to exist in the DCnU. The Wonder Girl backstory isn't going to fit, but all the stuff with Cronus and the Titans (in other words, the Troia origin) would likely work.

 

[Professor Zoom]

I want fully reheated Giffen/deMatteis.

*sigh* I'm afraid it never will be again....

 

[Derishton]

It's clear in Red Hood and the Outlaws #1 that Starfire and Roy were teammates at some point in the past. And in Teen Titans #2 Tim makes reference to the existence of previous Titans teams.

I'm not sure that Donna has to be problematical to exist in the DCnU. The Wonder Girl backstory isn't going to fit, but all the stuff with Cronus and the Titans (in other words, the Troia origin) would likely work.

I knew about the Starfire/Roy connection, and hadn't heard about Tim's quick comment. So I see what you're saying, but there does seem to be some significant debate about whether those earlier teams ever included the Wolfman/Perez team. As with the JLI, the legacy aspect of the later teams was so front and center that without the New Teen Titans it would seem to fall apart. But I'm willing to wait and see.

As for Donna Troy, continuity confusion is kinda her thing ... why would you take that away from her? (But I agree Troia would work.)

 

[Derishton]

You know, I'm suddenly wondering if the mysterious purple woman isn't Troia in some new form.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

The books only need to "go in a new direction to work" if there's some evidence that significant numbers of existing readers have been lost as a result of the reboot - because anything is new to first-time readers.

Thus far, fan board declarations that DC has alienated long-time readers remain anecdotal and without support from sales figures.

 

[Myasishchev]

Say, dudes, have they mentioned what Lana Lang's status is in the new continuity? Boinking Pete Ross? Wasting away in Smallville? CEO of Lexcorp (hahaha--I guess that MBA from Phoenix University really paid off)? I reckon her showing up would be more interesting than Superman trying to deprogram super-powered lesbians.

Granted, I don't think anyone wants a return to the untenable superdickery of the 1960s (or do we?), but it wouldn't necessarily have to cover the same ground. It'd be interesting to see someone play with a romantic relationship there if Lang still knew Kent and Superman were one and the same, and this bridge got burnt quick back in 1987.

Anyway:

This kind of shit may fly on Krypton, son, but here on Earth this is considered creepy.

By the way, the fan-submitted hairstyles are mostly awful, except one that looks like it was submitted by a time traveler from 1990.

Seriously, that one (C) is pretty great. But a ponytail? And it almost won? I guess this really was the 1960s--you've gotta be high.

And does anyone remember that Diamond Dogs cut she was wearing for maybe like one issue in the early 2000s? Hilarious. Hey babe, your hair's all right.

 

[Derishton]

Thus far, fan board declarations that DC has alienated long-time readers remain anecdotal and without support from sales figures.

I never said that. Please allow me a moment to remove the straw from my mouth.

I like the reboot. I want to like JLI. Something seems off with it besides the terrible dialogue, and I suspect that it's a problem of getting too far from several characters' roots and history. I agree with your defense of Morrison's Superman on exactly the same lines; it gets back to some of the best and earliest depictions of the character. JLI just looks like several minor properties brought together because they used to be a part of a successful book. I think the book would have been better off suggesting none of these characters knew each other before - if Justice League could start with a flashback arc, so could JLI.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Lana's status has not been clarified in the 52 Verse. For some reason I'm guessing we won't see a mention out of her...although I didn't think the Legion would get a mention and Morrison referenced them in the first issue!!!

 

[Trekker4747]

Say, dudes, have they mentioned what Lana Lang's status is in the new continuity? Boinking Pete Ross? Wasting away in Smallville? CEO of Lexcorp (hahaha--I guess that MBA from Phoenix University really paid off)? I reckon her showing up would be more interesting than Superman trying to deprogram super-powered lesbians.

Granted, I don't think anyone wants a return to the untenable superdickery of the 1960s (or do we?), but it wouldn't necessarily have to cover the same ground. It'd be interesting to see someone play with a romantic relationship there if Lang still knew Kent and Superman were one and the same, and this bridge got burnt quick back in 1987.

Anyway:

This kind of shit may fly on Krypton, son, but here on Earth this is considered creepy.

By the way, the fan-submitted hairstyles are mostly awful, except one that looks like it was submitted by a time traveler from 1990.

Seriously, that one (C) is pretty great. But a ponytail? And it almost won? I guess this really was the 1960s--you've gotta be high.

And does anyone remember that Diamond Dogs cut she was wearing for maybe like one issue in the early 2000s? Hilarious. Hey babe, your hair's all right.

I like B, C looks too... "butch" to me.

 

[Myasishchev]

^The pompadour bouffant (A) is the only one that's actually hideous, I guess--no one has ever pulled that look off. But the ponytail strikes me as wrong. The flip in D is so very of its time, so can be forgiven, even if it's really sort of bad. E is actually ok, I suppose.

Pixie cuts (C) are great (if you've got the face to pull it off, i.e. narrow and high-cheekboned, i.e. thin and pretty), but the only person I know who wore one in the time period was Audrey Hepburn, and that's not even a Hepburn-style pixie, but looks very poofy, hairsprayed and late 80s. ETA: I was looking it up, apparently Mia Farrow, Goldie Hawn, Twiggy, Jean Seberg, and Shirley Maclaine all wore pixies too in the 1960s. I am incorrect.

Speaking of time travel, it's weird how much image B looks like Teri Hatcher.

Also, did they forget how the alphabet goes? A, F, C, E, B... the hell?

Lana's status has not been clarified in the 52 Verse. For some reason I'm guessing we won't see a mention out of her...although I didn't think the Legion would get a mention and Morrison referenced them in the first issue!!!

Could be right. Lana Lang is a character that people seem to have struggled with post-Man of Steel. Like, "what's she good for?" Well, there are obvious answers, like being a friend who actually knows the secret, but even that winds up obviated when Kent and Lane drop the pretense and lies.

So you get nonsense like some random woman whose professional apogee was a position as a newsanchor* becoming a CEO of the world's wealthiest closely-held corporation (remember that time Chris Jansing was named CEO of Koch Industries? it was weird!).

*And that didn't even happen in post-Crisis continuity.

I guess that's the trouble when you create a character to fill a very shallow role ("Superman's girl friend when he was a boy", graduating to "Lois Lane's even more unbalanced romantic rival").

Interestingly (well, to me), going through the SGFLL letter columns, Lang actually had a pretty significant fan base, with folks asking for a regular Lang feature, and a fair number of what we'd call shippers nowadays, who thought Superman should marry her.

I guess my point is that if you're going to go to the trouble of ruining the best relationship in comics history, at least do it in the service of something more intrinsically interesting than rehashing 1987-1991 all over (or, as was originally feared and the spectre of which still haunts us, fanfiction we're asked to pay for). Especially when I don't really have much faith that it'll be done better. Just took a look at some of those issues, and look at Dan McLeod's art! where did that guy go? he could frame a shot like a motherfucker:

Wow.

 

[sojourner]

Was that "pop" from Clark getting a chubby and killing her mid kiss?

 

[Myasishchev]

Thanks a lot, Larry Niven. Jeez!

 

[Admiral_Young]

I am a big fan of how Lana was used in John Bryne's relaunch and in Superman: For All Seasons as Clark's high school love interest and confidant. Lana is the first person that he tells his secret to (Smallville wrecked this by using it as a plot device to create unnecessary drama and drive fans crazy) and she has had to deal with it. As much as I like the character I'm not really sure she is actually needed yet or at all in the 52 Verse. That being said I would like to see her.


Came across this site...for artists to do their own renderings on The New 52...and as you will see Marvel as well. Mostly crap on the site but there are some gems as well.

http://dcfifty-too.blogspot.com/search/label/DC Fifty-Too

 

[JoeZhang]

Just a random aside - I knew that Kryptonite was created for the radio show but I never realised why - the actor playing Superman was taking two weeks off and they needed a reason why Superman couldn't speak!

 

[Trekker4747]

I should correct and say I like "B." That's what I get for viewing the image on my phone where I couldn't read the letters and assuming they were in logical order.

 

[Agent Richard07]

Speaking of time travel, it's weird how much image B looks like Teri Hatcher.

That was my first thought as well.

Anyway, I'm just now catching up on the new 52.

Action Comics #1 and Superman #1: Not overly impressed, but I like the stuff between Lois and Clark, and the new daily Planet building looks great. It has helicopter pads while still keeping the big planet thing at the top.

Batgirl #1 and #2: Great to see Babs back in action. I think this one is well written. The story is compelling and I really like Barbara's internal diaolog with it's detailed insight into all her difficulties. Great stuff. Her roommate is annoying though, with the "Gordon Barbara Gordon" shtick.

The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #1: I've always been a big fan of Firestorm as a concept and he's still fascinating even with all the changes he's gone through over the years. I still miss the days of Ronnie Raymond and Professor Martin Stein though. Anyway, this issue felt pretty rushed and the setup wasn't too compelling, but I do like the idea that a number of people all over the world have been transformed into "firestorms" due to some experiment. It's a better concept than the comic book-ish freak accident reasoning from decades ago. I wonder what they have planned for professor Stein. The subway graffiti from Batgirl #2 that said "Stein is alive" or something to that effect, was a nice touch.

Green Lantern: New Guardians #1 and #2: Love it. I like seeing a Green Lantern comic that incorporates all the power ring groups. This should be interesting. I even wondered what would happen if someone put on all the rings, and sure enough...

Catwoman #1 and #2: Batman and Catwoman get it on while still in costume. Never seen anything like that before and I got a real kick out of it. I read that "10 Things We Don't Like" article and I don't know what the big deal is about the sex. It was well done and pretty tame. If it were any more subtle, it wouldn't be worth including.

Supergirl #1: Took me about 5 minutes to read. It wasn't very compelling, but I picked up the second issue anyway just to see where it goes.

 

[Myasishchev]

I am a big fan of how Lana was used in John Bryne's relaunch and in Superman: For All Seasons as Clark's high school love interest and confidant. Lana is the first person that he tells his secret to (Smallville wrecked this by using it as a plot device to create unnecessary drama and drive fans crazy) and she has had to deal with it. As much as I like the character I'm not really sure she is actually needed yet or at all in the 52 Verse. That being said I would like to see her.


Came across this site...for artists to do their own renderings on The New 52...and as you will see Marvel as well. Mostly crap on the site but there are some gems as well.

http://dcfifty-too.blogspot.com/search/label/DC%20Fifty-Too

Yeah, it's weird how the project raises questions ranging from "why do I care about your shitty fanart?" to "what is the difference between this and what's actually being produced?" and "why don't you have a job? you should have a job" I'd totally read Weird War Tales, for example, that's a killer high concept (DEATH IS MY COMMANDING OFFICER!). And obviously any Lois Lane book that didn't try to be about a "resistance" or something awful like that would be welcome. And a 3D OMAC? Neat.

Also, iirc, Mike Maihack's actually done some short Supergirl/Batgirl fan-comics which are indeed rather good.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Thus far, fan board declarations that DC has alienated long-time readers remain anecdotal and without support from sales figures.

I never said that. Please allow me a moment to remove the straw from my mouth.

No one suggested that you did, so don't fuss.

 

[Captain Craig]

I just read
Justice League Dark #2 - Good read, real curious to see where this first arc is headed. Zatanna could've passed as Catwoman in all that black and riding that crotch rocket. The issue was lacking on more players in the book for my taste but I feel like that's going to change next issue.

I,Vampire #2 - Played like it was overlapping with issue 1 for the first few pages. I like the art in this and am still feeling it out. It's just decent enough for me to continue with the first arc.

 

[Agent Richard07]

I have a new-found interest in magic and the like, so I'm looking forward to reading Voodoo and Justice League Dark. I wish they had a Doctor Fate title.