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

[OdoWanKenobi]

Ok, to each his own. Personally Damian is one of my favorite new characters in recent years.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

So anyway, the Alan Scott thing seems a reasonable approach to retconning sexual orientation given that he and Garrick appear to be mainly new characters using the same names and powers.

Pretty much. Oddly enough, it's only different from the Silver Age re-invention in that the alter ego's kept their names as well.

E-2 Flash has a different origin and source of speed, and it looks to be the same for GL.

And while having the character not in the "main" universe is pretty safe....the vibe I'm getting is that on Earth-2, GL will fulfill the "Superman" role since E-2 Supes is dead. So at least in this world, their most prominent hero is gay.

It'll take a few issues to get used to, but I'm loving this fresh approach to the Golden Age characters and can't wait to see where they take it.

Agreed across the board.

 

[PsychoPere]

When I recently decided to give the New 52 a chance, I bought a whole bunch of issues #1 after Comixology dropped the ones from the "First Wave" to 99 cents.

I dropped Batman: The Dark Knight after that issue, and dropped Detective Comics after issue #4. I've also dropped Aquaman (after 4 issues); Batwing (after #4); Green Lantern: New Guardians (after #4); Justice League International (after #6); and Red Lanterns, Superman, and Teen Titans, all after their respective #1. I dropped Justice League after its first issue, then decided to give it another try with issues 7 and 8 but have since returned to the original decision.

I'm definitely keeping Action Comics, Batgirl, Batman, Batman and Robin, and Nightwing. I'm on the fence with Batwoman, The Flash, Justice League Dark, Supergirl, and Wonder Woman. I've still only read the first issue for both Green Lantern and GL Corps, so can't categorize either of those titles yet. I'm thinking about giving I, Vampire and Earth 2 a chance, and am definitely going to try out Batman Incorporated.

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

Ok, so Batman Annual #1 does some major revising to Mr. Freeze's origin. I'm not quite sure I like it.

Spoiler: Batman Annual #1

Basically, Nora was never his wife. She's someone who was frozen decades before, and that Fries had a creepy crush on from working in the cryo-lab where she was stored. Also, he murdered his mother as a child after she had an accident that left her unable to walk, and no longer right in the head.

Essentially, this changes Freeze from a tragic, and sympathetic villain into just another evil nutjob in Batman's rogues gallery. I know the previous origin was only first introduced in the Animated Series, but it was a good origin. That's why it bled over to every other format. It gave the character some depth, and made him stand out. We actually felt some sympathy for the villain, even if he was doing terrible deeds. That's gone, now.

 

[Captain Craig]

^^^
That is a craptacular origin 3.0 for Freeze. Booooo!!!

 

[Snaploud]

Ok, so Batman Annual #1 does some major revising to Mr. Freeze's origin. I'm not quite sure I like it.

Spoiler: Batman Annual #1

Basically, Nora was never his wife. She's someone who was frozen decades before, and that Fries had a creepy crush on from working in the cryo-lab where she was stored. Also, he murdered his mother as a child after she had an accident that left her unable to walk, and no longer right in the head.

Essentially, this changes Freeze from a tragic, and sympathetic villain into just another evil nutjob in Batman's rogues gallery. I know the previous origin was only first introduced in the Animated Series, but it was a good origin. That's why it bled over to every other format. It gave the character some depth, and made him stand out. We actually felt some sympathy for the villain, even if he was doing terrible deeds. That's gone, now.

*gags*

 

[Admiral_Young]

That'd be an example of stuff I've disliked...the pointless retconning or restructuring of origins. The Dark Knight had to be one of the WORST Batman titles I've ever read in years. I dropped it after the second issue of volume one, prior to the relaunch. Detective Comics was boring considering Tony Daniels was writing it. I'm down to the following books:

-Action Comics
-Aquaman
-Batman
-Batman and Robin
-Batman, Inc.
-Wonder Woman

 

[Turtletrekker]

The main things that keep me from embracing Marvel again is the 3.99 price point on their books.

IMHO, the best books Marvel publishes right now are...

Fantastic Four
Daredevil
Journey into Mystery
Winter Soldier
Avengers Academy

... and they are all $2.99.

 

[JD]

Ok, so Batman Annual #1 does some major revising to Mr. Freeze's origin. I'm not quite sure I like it.

Spoiler: Batman Annual #1

Basically, Nora was never his wife. She's someone who was frozen decades before, and that Fries had a creepy crush on from working in the cryo-lab where she was stored. Also, he murdered his mother as a child after she had an accident that left her unable to walk, and no longer right in the head.

Essentially, this changes Freeze from a tragic, and sympathetic villain into just another evil nutjob in Batman's rogues gallery. I know the previous origin was only first introduced in the Animated Series, but it was a good origin. That's why it bled over to every other format. It gave the character some depth, and made him stand out. We actually felt some sympathy for the villain, even if he was doing terrible deeds. That's gone, now.

Ugh, don't like that at all. Definitely prefer the old one. I always like it when the villains can be sympathetic characters.

 

[Saga]

Ok, so Batman Annual #1 does some major revising to Mr. Freeze's origin. I'm not quite sure I like it.

Spoiler: Batman Annual #1

Basically, Nora was never his wife. She's someone who was frozen decades before, and that Fries had a creepy crush on from working in the cryo-lab where she was stored. Also, he murdered his mother as a child after she had an accident that left her unable to walk, and no longer right in the head.

Essentially, this changes Freeze from a tragic, and sympathetic villain into just another evil nutjob in Batman's rogues gallery. I know the previous origin was only first introduced in the Animated Series, but it was a good origin. That's why it bled over to every other format. It gave the character some depth, and made him stand out. We actually felt some sympathy for the villain, even if he was doing terrible deeds. That's gone, now.

yeah, that was bad. like you said, Freeze goes from being sympathetic to just another murdering psycho that Batman beats up every other month.

 

[indianatrekker26]

i'm down to just 3 titles:
Justice League
Superman
Action Comics

I have enjoyed the last 3 issues of JL much more than i did the first 6 issues. Because now Geoff is finally building these characters up, and its not just a big action fest. Issue 9 is easily my favorite issue of JL yet.
I've enjoyed all the run of Action Comics so far, excepting issue 9, which was just too wacked out for me, even by Morrison standards. I'm hoping a return to the usual next issue.
Superman, i just don't know how i feel about this one. I seemed to be one of the few to enjoy George Perez's six issue run, but it read so much better in one sitting, than separately. And the Giffen/Jurgens run, so far, feels like something that would be happening about the mid-way through a team's run. And i just dont feel that Jurgens and Merino mix well, artwise.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Action
Superman
Superboy
Supergirl

Batman
Batman and Robin
Batgirl
Batwoman
Batwing
Nightwing
Birds of Prey

Justice League
Justice League International
Justice League Dark
Teen Titans


Aquaman
Flash
Green Lantern
Green Lantern Corps
New Guardians
Wonder Woman

Animal Man
Swamp Thing
Frankenstein
All Star Western
Stormwatch
Demon Knights

 

[Saga]

overall, the reboot has just made me grumpy. we've talked about this before but the 5 year thing just doesn't work for some characters/books. (yes, continuity is important damn it.) books like Aquaman and Swamp Thing are great...but we could have had those pre-reboot. i do like the new direction of Wonder Woman. the JMS stuff was not that great IMO. still reading the following comics:

Action Comics
Batgirl
Nightwing
Legion of Super Heroes
Justice League
Justice League Dark
Aquaman
Flash
Green Lantern
Wonder Woman
Animal Man
Swamp Thing
All Star Western
Demon Knights

thinking of taking a break from Supergirl and Hawkman. might pick em back up later.

 

[Hound of UIster]

Action
All Star
Animal Man/Swamp Thing
Aquaman
Batman
Batman Inc
Batwoman
Captain Atom
Demon Knights
Frankenstein
Dial H
Green Lantern
JLD
Wonder Woman

 

[Captain Craig]

All I got was Animal Man Annual #1.

 

[Admiral_Young]

I think I agree wholeheartedly with this article, and I usually don't.

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/one-year-later-worst-of-dc-new-52.html

Batman Annual #1: Despite the changes to Victor's backstory, I have to admit...I still liked the issue. I suspect that has to do with Snyder's writing. The art was fantastic as well. They should continue to use Tynion whenever Capullo isn't around for whatever reason.

 

[Mr Light]

Aside from a couple of standout books, I'm really not crazy about the New 52. I *liked* the old continuity, now everything is just a mess.

THE GREAT:
Green Lantern: I'm still loving Johns on GL!
Batman: great story, great art
Batman & Robin: great story, great art
Action Comics: Morrison on Superman, always good.

THE OKAY:
Justice League: wow. how incredibly disappointing.
GLC: not as good as its predecessor but I love the franchise.
GL: New Guardians: not as good as GLC but at least it has a lot of Corps characters.
JLI: I enjoyed the opening arc but this one not so much. art is good.
Aquaman: it's alright
Flash: it's alright
Red Hood: I'm only reading this for the art
Teen Titans / Superboy: I don't know why I'm still reading this...

 

[Agent Richard07]

My sampling of the new 52 has been going for 9 months now. Here's what I'm still into...

Aquaman: A well written, self aware title that's a cut above your average comic book.

Batgirl: A fun title that's written as if it's about a 20-something girl who just happens to be a crime fighter. I like the detail it goes into as it explores Barbara as a person.

Birds of Prey: A fun group of girls they are.

Green Lantern: New Guardians: I said it before and I'll say it again... I love the idea of a group made up of all the lantern corps. I also want to see where this thing is going.

Justice League Dark: The storylines aren't that good, but I like the characters and the use of magic.

Smallville: We finally get a version of Superman that picks up from the show. I'm in.

Supergirl: I like the character and I like seeing how this young woman adjusts to life in a new place.

Wonder Woman: The art is terrible and the story is barely holding me, but I'm a fan of the character.

Titles I still read but plan give up...

Action Comics: I'm done after the President Superman bit. I don't have any serious problem with the title, I'm just not interested enough to continue.

The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men: I'm a big Firestorm fan, and the current story is fascinating, but the title itself isn't holding me. I'm just not into the current characters or what they did with Firestorm.

Too early to decide if I want to stick with these...

Dial H, Earth 2, Saucer Country and World's Finest.

Non DC titles I got into...

Star Trek: More adventures with the rebooted crew.

The Shadow: I've been a Shadow fan since I saw the Alec Baldwin movie.

 

[PsychoPere]

I'm currently reading Batman #8, and I'm curious to see if anyone can help make sense of a small oddity. The Talons' hit list includes a Gotham City Deputy Sheriff, but why would the city jurisdiction have both a police department and a sheriff's department? Shouldn't it be Kane County Deputy Sheriff?

 

[the G-man]

In New York City, there is both a police departmant and a sheriff's office:
The sheriff is an officer of the court, and his primary purpose and function is to serve and execute the various legal processes and mandates issued not only by and for the several courts of the state and its subdivisions, but also for the legal community and the general public.
Divisional and bureau policies and procedures are consistent with New York State and court case law. These policies are designed and developed to insure the accurate, expeditious, and judicious service and execution of all matters relating to the enforcement of mandates and process, which includes the Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR), Judiciary Law (JL), Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL), Family Court Act (FCA), and others.
The Law Enforcement Bureau duties in the field of law consist of three main functions. All process received and acted upon by deputy sheriffs can be categorized into one of these three critical fields:

• The discovery and seizure of property
• The arrest of individuals
• The service of a great variety of mandates, orders and decrees from the various courts

The above link goes on to describe how NYC sheriffs make arrests for civil contempts and similar things.

The Gotham City sheriff's office may operate the same way.