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

[Trekker4747]

I'm a bit mixed on the art. It looks good but also a touch rough, like some excess line needed erasing out or something. It also looked like on Superman there were scars? (!) Maybe from the tests and they'll heal when he gets re-exposed to sunlight? In the preview it also interestingly suggests how strong Superman is if he can basically bench-press the weight of the entire planet over the course of five days and only just begin to break a sweat through a single bead of it. Tells you a lot about how much he has to holdback when fighting or doing anything, really.

 

[Admiral_Young]

All Star Superman kind of touched on Clark's strength as well. Morrison had him at his most powerful. Almost like in "Kingdom Come". The only part of this that bugs me is Scott Lobdell's writing. I know he is just going to annoy me at some point which makes me not want to get this.

 

[Trekker4747]

Yeah, but in AS-Superman wasn't his strength and other powers enhanced due to over-exposure to the sun's radiation?

 

[Admiral_Young]

Grant Morrison interview from NYCC. He talks about his desire to write an episode of "Doctor Who" but mostly focuses on the end of Action Comics, what he originally planned, and the finale of his Batman run. I think he reveals the name of who the Little Guy is in this as well...and mentions his un announced project (which I assume is his Wonder Woman project?).

http://www.newsarama.com/common/media/video/player.php?aid=47839

 

[theenglish]

I think you missed the point of Phantom Stranger. He had to deliver Rachel to the people who could train her in her abilities. The only people who could do this are her father and his minions. If this doesnt occur she will never become Raven and be strong enough to stand against him when the time comes. Rachel would have just been a tortured young girl unable to control her ability wandering the Earth feeling only pain. Now that would have been evil.
I was more interested in this family he had at the end of the story. Are they figments of his mind or some real family he has in an effort to find some happiness? Will their deaths make him even more a stranger? I am looking forward to finding out.

And if time moves faster where she is, then she could be in the Teen Titans sooner rather than later.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Justice League #13: I have to agree with the previous poster about this issue. If this was the first book post Lee, I detected an incredible different. I also agree with House of UIster about Tony Daniel art. Giving him a break from writing so he could fully focus on his art work might turn into a wise decision. I'm also surprisingly enjoying how Johns is handling the Superman and Wonder Woman relationship. The League itself doesn't seem to be fully united yet, but still working together towards that. There are problems, but they're still at least reasonably functional. I think I'm going to continue. This impressed me.

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

And if time moves faster where she is, then she could be in the Teen Titans sooner rather than later.

Of course, the problem being that her joining the Teen Titans means being in the horrible Teen Titans book.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Just when I thought Lobdell couldn't annoy me...

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/superman-13-clark-quits-daily-planet.html

Also it's not the actual quitting that annoys me, it is the explanation for it. Even Morrison had Clark working at the planet still at his most powerful. I suppose it could be interesting still.

 

[Fist McStrongpunch]

I love that.

 

[Derishton]

We've seen Clark on TV before, so this isn't much different. I never quite bought Clark as a TV anchor, largely because it would seem impossible for him to always make the daily broadcasts given his other job. Similarly, I think he'll miss the big scoops if he's running a Drudge style site: "Sorry, Bruce, can you handle Doomsday on your own for a few minutes while I upload a blog post on that Senator's affair with an underage Thangarian?"

 

[theenglish]

Just when I thought Lobdell couldn't annoy me...

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/superman-13-clark-quits-daily-planet.html

Also it's not the actual quitting that annoys me, it is the explanation for it. Even Morrison had Clark working at the planet still at his most powerful. I suppose it could be interesting still.

This just looks like a story arc as opposed to a change of the status quo.

 

[Captain Craig]

I hardly had any books this past week so I went back and got Sword of Sorcery #1&2 and as a back-to-back read enjoyed that as much as I had hoped. Looks to be an interesting type of fantasy world they have set up.

I've never read the original 80's material or any follow up so this was my first solid intro to the characters and the environments. I may not have gone for the "main line" of heroes in this nu52 but I feel I did utilize the spirit of it by trying 85% characters new to me.

In the back up Beowulf, is that a character we should know or have a clue to? Obviously they wanted us to see that the "Iron Trolls" were stamped with WayneTech. This is an apocalyptic scenario where society has essentially had a reversal it seems, back to the 14th century type lifestyle.

Between some titles being cancelled and me trimming back on others overall I've enjoyed my nu52. I'm only just getting some of the TPB's now for the first superhero books though.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I hardly had any books this past week so I went back and got Sword of Sorcery #1&2 and as a back-to-back read enjoyed that as much as I had hoped. Looks to be an interesting type of fantasy world they have set up.

I've never read the original 80's material or any follow up so this was my first solid intro to the characters and the environments. I may not have gone for the "main line" of heroes in this nu52 but I feel I did utilize the spirit of it by trying 85% characters new to me.

In the back up Beowulf, is that a character we should know or have a clue to? Obviously they wanted us to see that the "Iron Trolls" were stamped with WayneTech. This is an apocalyptic scenario where society has essentially had a reversal it seems, back to the 14th century type lifestyle.

Between some titles being cancelled and me trimming back on others overall I've enjoyed my nu52. I'm only just getting some of the TPB's now for the first superhero books though.

14th? Try the 5th Century.

Beowulf is character in story found in an manuscript that dates to somewhere between the 8th and 11th Century. The story is probably older than that. It's thought of as one of the earliest example of "English" literature.

Beowulf starred in a DC comic back in the 1970s. The book was an attempt to get in on the Sword and Sorcery genre made popular by Marvel's Conan. He later appeared in Wonder Woman's book in 2008 along side DC's other 70's S&S characters, Stalker and Claw.The current version seems to be a post-apocalyptic SF take on the character/legend

 

[Captain Craig]

I wasn't trying to be precise, sure 5th century works fine. I've never read the historical version or DC's so that's why I was asking. I'm aware of the main points of the story only. I knew it had historical ties but wasn't that concerned cause it might be changed some to fit into DC's version.

 

[the G-man]

Just when I thought Lobdell couldn't annoy me...

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/superman-13-clark-quits-daily-planet.html

Also it's not the actual quitting that annoys me, it is the explanation for it. Even Morrison had Clark working at the planet still at his most powerful. I suppose it could be interesting still.

The thing is: it didn't have to be an either/or. Most major newspapers have bloggers on staff.

 

[The Lensman]

We've seen Clark on TV before, so this isn't much different. I never quite bought Clark as a TV anchor, largely because it would seem impossible for him to always make the daily broadcasts given his other job. Similarly, I think he'll miss the big scoops if he's running a Drudge style site: "Sorry, Bruce, can you handle Doomsday on your own for a few minutes while I upload a blog post on that Senator's affair with an underage Thangarian?"

When I heard that they were rebooting the DCU back when, I said that I couldn't take any attempt at modernizing Superman seriously unless they dumped the reporter angle. That in this day and age Clark Kent would be blogging, not be a reporter. So this is a good step in the right direction. Look, there is a specific reason that Clark Kent is a newspaper reporter and that reason is quickly going the way of the dinosaur. And frankly it's laughable that they haven't had the balls to understand this, and understand just how little today's younger readers give a shit about newspapers.

Want Clark Kent to look even more stale and out of date? Keep him at the Daily Planet for nostalgia's sake.

Want him to look contemporary? Then you're going to have to take a good look out the window, and see how things are done in 2012. It's time to ditch the horse and buggy and get an automobile. Most people get their news off the internet, not from newspapers. So I hope DC has figured this out and doesn't go back.

As for "missing the big scoops"....he's Superman, I don't think he'll be missing those. And the time it takes to blog about it, for Superman, is less time than it took you to read this sentence.

So I say good move DC, this is what it's going to take to modernize the Man Of Steel.

 

[the G-man]

However, as mentioned before, there was no reason he couldn't have been a blogger for the Daily Planet and make the Planet a print and web presence. That would have modernized his job but still allowed for the DP supporting cast, etc.

 

[Kai "the spy"]

Besides, what bothers me most about this issue is the sentiment that Clark Kent would leave the Planet in protest of its becoming a meaningless tabloid, but Perry White wouldn't. Seriously, Clark is the secret identity of Superman, basically his cover, so the Planet for all intents and purposes is a day job, even though one he cares about. But Perry put his entire life into the Planet. The Planet's reputation is his life achievement. If someone was to revolt against this commercialization of the DP, it would be Perry, not Clark.

 

[the G-man]

I suppose an argument can be made that Perry might see himself as too old to start over. But, really, yeah...NuDC seems to have forgotten that Clark's primary mission in life isn't being a reporter, it's being Superman.


Between that and the fact that DC could have easily had Clark as a blogger for the Planet (in fact, they could have rebooted him as one instead of waiting for this 'big event), I'd say this is just Lodbell's thinly veiled fantasy of how he, himself, would like to stick it to 'the man.'

 

[Professor Zoom]

Want him to look contemporary? Then you're going to have to take a good look out the window, and see how things are done in 2012. It's time to ditch the horse and buggy and get an automobile. Most people get their news off the internet, not from newspapers. So I hope DC has figured this out and doesn't go back.

You mean news off the internet that is written by reporters who are supported by either newspapers or news websites like Huffington Post?