DC to REBOOT???

[Professor Zoom]

Some interesting bits in this week's Comic Shop News. I don't know if this has been revealed elsewhere (after 150 pages, anything could be out there), but I found some new things to me.

* Superman's cape is his baby blanket. Morrison compares it to Linus and his blanket.

His super baby blanket? Meh. I guess there has to be SOME reason he puts on a cape... Of course, most kids do it to look like Superman...

* Lex Luthor is a government consultant who is a "good guy" in the book. Lex is still bald.
* The New Gods are slated to make an appearance in Multiversity (scheduled for 2012). Also, the multiverse still exists and Multiversity is supposed to touch upon it.

Always liked the idea of the New Gods...

* The unknown female character in the Justice League promo image is Lady Luck.
* Steel is making an appearance in Action Comics.
* All the previous versions of the Teen Titans still happened.

Soooo.... in the "five years" of the reNuDCU they've gone with ALL of those Titans? Like Batman has gone through 14 Robins?

It's like the attrition rate at McDonald's...

I think they should've just said, this is a reboot. Some stuff might be carried over. You'll have to read and find out.

All this equivocating will bite them in the ass later.

 

[Mr Light]

Aside from erasing embarrassing past stories from the Silver Age, I never really saw the need for rebooting continuity. They say the characters are getting too old, but think about it. Each issue of a comic book runs directly into the next. The time span of a comic is usually 1-2 days.

So in the 900 issues of Action Comics, the amount of actual elasped time would only be about 1,800 days, or 60 months, or.... FIVE YEARS! Funny how that worked out.

You just have to keep the past nebulous in its setting with a shifting timescale...

Man, I just thought of something. So 9/11 happened before Superman existed now?

 

[Mike Farley]

And Bush Jr was president when he debuted. I wonder what Bill Clinton was doing at his funeral then?

 

[OsmiumJohnnycake]

So does everyone else feel that the past few months of DC comics have been complete filler? It feels like all the good creative teams and stories ended 6 months ago and we've been getting interims until the relaunch. Batman and Robin... Supergirl... Wonder Woman and Superman for the entire year thanks JMS... Bird of Prey... Booster Gold... post-Lex Action Comics... Power Girl...

I've been enjoying the last Supergirl arc. It doesn't feel like filler at all to me, just regular comic book stuff. I don't recall the current writer's name at all and I don't know if she has any previous writing credits, but I'm glad she got a chance.

I don't hate the WW arc like some people do. It's been okay. But If DC knew two years ago about the reboot, I wish they'd have just let Gail write the last year*.

I do get a pointless filler from Teen Titans, though. I don't think the book has been good for a long time (not sure why I keep reading it), but then Krul came on and it was fun having Damian show up but then they spend awhile introducing a brand new member of the team and focusing on how it affects Raven, and I can't help but feel this is a plotline that would benefit if you knew you had more than a couple issues left. And then the Superboy Prime stuff feels like the Doomsday stuff over in Action - just a bunch of fight scenes until the clock runs out.

If there's one comic that I've been really hating that I'm hoping makes a comeback because of the relaunch, it's JLA.

*Assuming the relaunch has been planned since Fall 2009, what was the point of even relaunching Birds of Prey and throwing JMS on WW? Why not wait until the relaunch to do the "Okay, NOW pay attention to Wonder Woman" press stuff? Surely Gail could have written 14 more issues of WW. More surely than JMS could/did.

 

[Mr Light]

I haven't read JLA lately but it hasn't felt very exciting in a very long time, aside from briefly at the onset of the post-Infinite Crisis relaunch. That should really be DC's AAA title the way The Avengers is for Marvel. It should have their best talent on it and it should be the biggest most important book on the stands.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Scott Snyder's Detective Comics run put a nice little bow wrap on Dick Grayson's time as Batman. He handles the character really well, shame to see Dick go back to being Nightwing again but I am looking forward to seeing how Kyle Higgins handles the character. Also looking forward to seeing what kind of supporting role that Dick will play in "Batgirl" given the ending of Detective Comics.

Cassandra was just made Black Bat in Batman, Inc so they're already changing her identity? I wish they would just come flat out and tell us stuff. People are going to buy the books or they won't. It's frustrating all this vague crap they've been spouting.

As for stuff feeling like filler, yes I would agree. Books like Batman and Robin especially felt like filler. Supergirl, the end of Batgirl, and Power Girl. Teen Titans does. Flashpoint aside (which I've not liked at all as I've mentioned before, think it has been a jumbled mess for the most part with horribly bad pacing) Superman "Grounded" had a sound premise to start with but should never have been a year long arc and I agree with Mr. Light they should have ended with "War of the Supermen". Paul Cornell's Reign of the Doomsday's arc (aside from the terrific art work) has been useless. They should have just stopped after the Luthor story was finished.

 

[Nerys Myk]

And Bush Jr was president when he debuted. I wonder what Bill Clinton was doing at his funeral then?

Whoever is/was President five years ago would be at the funeral. In a few years it will be Obama. Thats how comic book time works.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Obama is President of the Flashpoint DCU. They had some fictional DCU President in the actual reality. I'm guessing Obama will be President in the relaunch continuity. Obama of course is the sitting President in the Marvel Universe and Ultimate Universe as well.

 

[JD]

^Didn't he even appear in a Spider-Man comic? I know he was at least on the cover of one.

 

[Myasishchev]

^Didn't he even appear in a Spider-Man comic? I know he was at least on the cover of one.

He kicked the Scorpion in fucking face.

 

[Captain Craig]

Cassandra was just made Black Bat in Batman, Inc so they're already changing her identity? I wish they would just come flat out and tell us stuff. People are going to buy the books or they won't. It's frustrating all this vague crap they've been spouting.

They've got to work on her cowl.
Her costume is essentially her old Batgirl costume with a Huntress style face mask. I hate it.

 

[Stevil2001]

Obama is President of the Flashpoint DCU. They had some fictional DCU President in the actual reality. I'm guessing Obama will be President in the relaunch continuity. Obama of course is the sitting President in the Marvel Universe and Ultimate Universe as well.

Obama was seen calling for Superman to fight Doomsday in Action Comics, I believe.

 

[Admiral_Young]

^ Interesting. He wasn't President during New Krypton so this must have been a recent change lol. DC even did their own Election Book during the 08 Federal Election. I don't know why I can't think of the dude's name.

Also I'm another one who thinks Phil Hester improved the JMS "Wonder Woman" run. The second half of the arc has been terrific and we find out everything about the "new" Diana and why things were the way they were.

 

[Captain Craig]

Also I'm another one who thinks Phil Hester improved the JMS "Wonder Woman" run. The second half of the arc has been terrific and we find out everything about the "new" Diana and why things were the way they were.

Phil Hester is impressive imo, His Green Hornet over at Dynamite Comics has been really good picking the title up from Kevin Smith.

 

[Admiral_Young]

^ One of my favourite comics right now. I really wish Kevin had been able to make his version over Seth Rogen's.

 

[Mr Light]

I haven't read Scott Snyder's Detective Comics yet but I have heard good things.

Yeah, Cassandra's new costume is ass. Her original costume was SO COOL LOOKING why did they get rid of it?! I loved the faceless mouthless look! She looked so bad ass!

 

[Gov Kodos]

I thought that Wonder Woman improved dramatically once JMS left and Phil Hester took over. I don't know what Chris Roberson could possibly have done with the mess he was handed in Superman though.

Then Paul Cornell ended up having to finish up that stupid Doomsday storyline that had nothing to do with his book but somehow ended up there anyway...

I would have loved to have gotten a real Paul Cornell driven Superman book, even if it was just these last few months before the relaunch.

Taken on its own merits the Odyssey storyline in Wonder Woman has been OK. I liked the short beginning with JMS and Hester has been fine in continuing the story. It is the premise that I find repetative (essentially another 'Who is Wonder Woman' story) and wish Simone had just continued her run, even though I couldn't stand it, rather than start a new arc which is only going to be abandoned at the end. One thing the Wonder Woman book does suffer from is new writers dropping the previous writer's cast and location. The reader has no ongoing hook on which to follow so one has to be very invested in following Diana herself, or like the works of the new writer, or come on briefly at the outset for the 'all new direction' and see if it's something that might be worth following an arc of.

 

[Myasishchev]

I haven't read Scott Snyder's Detective Comics yet but I have heard good things.

Yeah, Cassandra's new costume is ass. Her original costume was SO COOL LOOKING why did they get rid of it?! I loved the faceless mouthless look! She looked so bad ass!

Yeah, that shit was beyond Thunderdome.

I really dislike the new costume.

 

[Admiral_Young]

I want to know why they got rid of Bruce's Batman Incorporated costume for his two regular books (just another excuse for a costume tweak?)

 

[Icemizer]

Of course Admiral another costume means another toy sold to someone, Have to have lots of costumes and 52 new ones shortly to debut.
I'm not sure we can say any books have been filler specific. Many of them would have been dull even without the 52 coming out. Superman has been woeful for a year, Teen Titans aweful, I personally hated the Luthor arc in Action(in the minority I admit), Superman/Batman hasnt been good in years, Justice League teeters month to month, JSA Allstars fell to a quick death, JSA not much better, Outsiders bad since year 2, Rebels stalled after a year. Now some series were chugging along well but its as good a time as any to give things a fresh start.