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

Link

 

Marvel puts out more comics, by quite a bit. Most of their comics are 3.99 with a few at 2.99, unlike DC which is the other way around. They also double ship several of their big titles, something that DC doesn't currently do at all.

The fact that DC was able to dominate for 3 months is amazing and should be seen as a victory.

 

Temporary victory at best.

 

Not really. I mean, if DC really wants to make more money than Marvel, they should double ship books like Justice League, Batman, Action Comics, Green Lantern, Superman, and Detective Comics and increase the number of books they release as well as making all of the books 3.99, the success of the reboot probably could have lasted through 2012.

The fact that the numbers are still extremely close with Marvel's business model still being Marvel's business model is still a win in my book.

 

Haven't they released like multiple printings of their more successful books? I'm not saying that the relaunch wasn't a success, to a degree it was. I just think like all new things, the allure of it being something "new" and "kewl" is going to wear off once stories get boring and people start dropping more and more books. They wanted to make a huge splash and did so. As I've said before they're going to have to do something else to keep this market share dominate or else Marvel is going to climb over them.

 

Or a 'flash in the pan.' No business can sustain itself on a single spike, even if it lasts several months.

 

^ Exactly.


Stormwatch #5: This was decent. I'm really conflicted about if I'm going to drop or not. We get a quick overview of everyone's powers and some hints about their pasts...especially with J'onn. This Shadow Cabinet is perhaps the most interesting aspect of the series so far. I absolutely can't stand Midnighter's costume. Apollo still doesn't have his costume yet. Interesting "choice" for leader. I think this is going to be an ongoing sub-plot. This book I think is going to suck once Cornell is off. He really makes it work.

Action Comics #5: Woot!!! Origin story is revealed...or at least the Krypton part of it. Just awesome...and the last panel! Long Live the Legion! Interesting costume redesigns. Especially Cos's costume. Just loved everything about this issue.

 

What does "double shipping" a book mean?

 

Two different issues of the same book in a single month. This is status quo for The Amazing Spider-Man and then other high selling books or books they want to push get the treatment in different months. Basically releasing more than 12 issues a year.

Avengers Academy double-ships a lot (It's one of my favorites so I don't really mind). I bought issue #24 today and it premered the same month as Avengers, New Avengers Secret Avengers, which are only on #20. Fantastic Four is essentially double-shipping now that it and FF have split into two books.

Of course, Marvel was doing this on some books before DC's new 52 was even announced.

 

Looks like we might have to wait until at least issue 8 before we start seeing cancellations. I think I mentioned earlier in the thread that they would wait until most of their first arcs are concluded.

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/10-dc-new-52-titles-on-the-bubble-111103.html

 

Legion Lost: You know how terrible the first issue was. I know how terrible the first issue was. But then there's the next issue, and it turns out it is very surprisingly good! There's actually a fucking premise by issue two, which is basically a monster-of-the-week deal where the alien plague released in issue one transforms regular human dudes into superhumans and, by comic book law, they're likely to be total assholes once granted abilities beyond mortal ken.

Wildfire is delightfully self-loathing in issue 2. Not having a dick: world's worst superpower. Then again, he doesn't have testicles either. Does a man made out of energy have a sex drive? He wants to fuck Dawnstar, although honestly God knows why. Possibly because the two most personally obnoxious Legionnaires are the only ones who could stand to imagine the other one receiving even the momentary pleasure of an orgasm.

Issue 3's pretty good too, with a focus on Timber Wolf (the third most personally obnoxious Legionnaire!).

Why? It has this:



COMICS: YES.

Also a fight and some other good stuff. Pete Woods: still goods.

Grade: B+ (and academic probation lifted).

(Grader's note: did not buy the regular Legion book. I bought one issue of Levitz' fuck you to new readers, and that was enough for me. At least you could tell Fabian was sorta trying.)

Wonder Woman: Is fine. I only got issue 2. I think I like Zola and Hermes better than the lead and the villains, which probably isn't a good thing. I wasn't really compelled to immediately buy issue 3, so that doesn't speak immensely well of it, really. (P.S. Cliff Chiang is surely alright, but he is not a god. C'mon, Internet.)

Grade: B.

Flash: Still good. I understand a lot of people don't find Mob Rule very interesting (and it is a dumb name), but I like Manuel and his clones. I sort of like the Flash learning to think fast (I like the visual representation Manapul is using), but I'd like it better if it weren't a concept that was well-explored ten thousand years ago by ancient astronauts.

DID NOT LIKE the cameo of Leonard Snart as a guy with intrinsic cold powers who wasn't a loser who graduated to the big leagues because he snagged a science gun, put on a sweet pair of glasses, and didn't take no shit. I think that's missing the entire charm, such as it is, of Captain Cold.

Also, can anyone tell me who the hell Dr. Darwin What's It is supposed to be? And why there is a tank? Just sitting there? Those two pages were confusing.

Grade: B+ really, but on a curve? This is definitely an A.

Batwoman: This is great. You already know this! Far and away the best comic DC's currently publishing. Spoiler alert: Kate Kane is kind of a bitch, but it's nice to hear her admit it. It's also nice to see her relationship with Maggie Sawyer move along. Bow chicka wow wow. And damn, Flamebird got fucked up. Juxtaposing these latter items is maybe a little obvious, but it was executed in a pretty gut-wrenching and aesthetically adept way. Also, Agent Chase Masterson, or whatever her name is, makes a good antagonist. I wonder if Batwoman will really be unmasked next issue? I don't know. Probably not. But it's still pretty sweet. The only book I felt compelled to buy at full price to catch up to the present.

Grade: A+++++++++++plusplus.

I also bought Irredeemable because Marvel Comics is run by a bunch of jerks who won't put Daredevil out digitally, so I gave Mark Waid money this way instead. BTW, Comixology? The first four issues of a series you're selling individually at $1.99? Should not be sold in a package for $7.99. You see how that doesn't really make sense?

 

Action #5
If the past 4 issues were a introduction of the 40s Depression Era Superman. #5 then introduces all the 50s science fiction aspects of Superman that he is more well known for. In the preview we have got the Phantom Zone villains, but in the meat of the issue we also have the Legion with Kal wearing his Jim Lee designed armor and new villains from the future. Morrison also sneaks in a new origin for Brainiac, who is now definitely Kryptonian in origin ala the Superman Animated Cartoon and who I suspect is the narrator for this issue.

The Legion's brief appearance frankly was better than all the shit that Levitz has been writing for the past 4 months. The origin also ties up the remains of the faux!Krypto that Lex shows off in #2 and it turns out that was just a deformed calf that Jonathan Kent gave to the army to throw them off.

And the backup for Action was very nice too. For a writer who was doing the comic for the Brave and the Bold cartoon, this was a lot better than I expected.

Swamp Thing/Animal Man
These two book are just two different parts of one big story. I don't think Lemire was kidding when he said that they are planning for a year long crossover. My guess are that the two casts will meet in the middle: in the Great American Desert that is suppose to be the center of power for the Sethe/Other/Black/Rot. In Swamp Thing the Green comes under fire from the servant of the Rot that seeks to burn out the Parliament of the Trees and Abby seems to be set up as Alec's opposite in the Rot. No way her brother is going to be his opposite given how easily he was taken out. I think she is fated to be the skeleton girl like Alec will eventually become a new Swamp Thing. Likewise in Animal Man, the Rot via one of the Hunters literally infects the Red via the flies we saw in the first issue of Swamp Thing and forcing the Baker family to go on the run. At least they have solved their family pet problem.

 

^ I totally agree with you. Once more Morrison honouring and paying homage to past continuity.

 

Unshocked. I think I may be the only person here who gave Lost another shot though.

Yep, no way they'd have cracked that code, given four, or even five whole minutes.



Also, Jeff Lemire can say what Jeff Lemire wants to, but I ain't buying Swamp Thing!

The biggest appeal of Animal Man is Travel Foreman's Stephen Gammell-like, "Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark" art anyway. It just occurred to me that I forgot to review Animal Man. I guess the story didn't leave that much of an impression on me. -_- And as well it shouldn't have, since it's basically in the same place it was at the end of issue 2.

 

^ I'm surprised you've still stuck with Legion Lost. I've just become totally disinterested with what Levitz has been doing lately. I kind of hope that maybe Chris Roberson takes over because the Star Trek/Legion crossover has been epics so far!

 

I'd heard it got better, and I wanted to give Pete Woods money. It turns out it was pretty well worth it, at least at $2 an issue.

Issue 2 does, however, contain the unfortunate line, "You have to fight fire--WITH WILDFIRE!" Oh. (Though it's redeemed somewhat when Timber Wolf calls him retarded in so many words.)

 

Would that be Barry or Wally?

 

Actually, what you predicted most recently was that DC's sales would return to their pre-nuDC levels by September. That's quite a different thing.

Action this month was kind of...meh. I like the characterizations of the Kents and their frustrations in attempting to have kids a lot more than the Krypton origin story, which recycles a lot of old detail without freshening it at all.

Green Lantern remains underwhelming.

 

I have a hard time dropping titles. I look at my comic boxes and I see runs that I should have dropped a long time ago and yet, there are issue after unsatisfying issue in my possession. As I've said earlier, I took the relaunch as an opportunity to drop books that didn't interest me without being several months in and debating buying another issue or finally dropping it.

Hence my decision to drop Legion Lost and I've not regretted it. Even hearing it got better doesn't entice me.