DC Relaunch Story Discussions ONLY (no market info or spec)

[400yrs]

but am seriously interested in why you like Shade and DC in general. I've never understood why anyone read DC (besides Batman) anyways.

DC used to strike a chord with uber geeks. Since the new 52, there isn't as much crazy *SQUEE* continuity to wrap their minds around (yet anyway).

It's kind of like if you spent time meticulously building a house of cards and then some cool dude walks by and flicks it over. You are going to get mad about it being knocked down, but the whole exercise of building it was pointless and masturbatory anyway. Pointless and masturbatory geekery is a pretty good way to describe DC and the subterfuge of continuity that came with it.

[Knightt]

Well DC has not been the "DC that I knew" for many years, but this New 52 has possibly hit the lowest point for me.

DC just feels like a mess to me and so to be slowly drifting away from DC after 32 years is pretty hard to stomach.

Wow, that does sound pretty painful and I can relate... my Top Three (Batman, Captain America and Punisher) have been through terrible changes over the past few years it seems. Seeing an entire universe implode and come out on the other end can be a bit/a lot traumatic. The sad thing with either of the top two, I felt that all I had to do was wait until whatever madness beset the company/title it would revert back to normalcy after a time. I suffered Grayson being the Batman for what seemed like an eternity and his return was... well, I don't know what it was because I still don't understand it nor do I want to. This is where the New 52 was good for me. I have to admit that if these (my Bat-Titles) revert to what was, I will be disappointed as this new line is (yer gonna hate this) a bit more Marvel-like (and that is used for lack of better words at the moment) and actually 'feels' real. Gotham is in it's own setting and I treat it like a self contained universe where the DC weirdos turn up every once in a while but the whole DC universe as a whole has been very goofy to me while Marvel at least kept it in New York and uh, well, ahem, do superheroes live anywhere else than New York ?

Another thing is that I have felt that substandard artists were working on the numerous Batman books and it is refreshing to see the upgrade in the art department. My chief complaint though is that there is no definitive look to the Batcave or Wayne Manor, it has more different looks than it does individual bats and even today there is no standardization of Bat's world just as there is no standard of how Avengers Mansion used to look. Very frustrating, "at least" Batman's new uniform is standardized and pretty consistent across the (HOW MANY???) Bat-Books out there.

It does give me a bit of hope that DC and it's new look seems to have gone over pretty well so far.... and to that, my hope lies in the fact that the new Valiant books may do well to play into this trend of newness. Hopefully the razzle-dazzle will not have lost it's shizzle by the time the books arrive and will not be received with the relative low yield of (what I consider to be a good ride so far) Atlas Comics.

Your analogy of how Valiant fans felt with the new Acclaim Valiant is very apt and I can appreciate how you feel, leon. I had quit the Valiant line after Birthquake so I did not experience it but I believe that I can empathize with you in that regard.

I too, like and read the Ultimate books. Sometimes I wish regular Marvel books were written like that but the level of violence and sex in the Ultimate titles would set me back as well as the DC titles increase in those same levels has tempered feelings towards them. I guess I am still looking for comics to be for kids and I am not ready for my kids to be exposed to what "my comic books" have to offer these days.

[caxiotis]

Just read a bunch of DC books. My assessment is almost exactly the same as last month. See below:

Animal Man #4 Again, this was amazing (5/5). Completely captivated.

Batwoman #4 (3.5/5) - Still good and consistent with prior issues. Still a slow pace, but enjoyable. Love the art.

Batman #4 (4/5) - Still really liking and awesome. Snyder kicking butt.

Swamp Thing #4 (3.5/5) - This issue was a better than the last issue and I enjoyed it. Want to see what happens next.

Wonder Woman #4 (3/5) - This is better than the last issue, but still not sure if I will keep reading. The first two issues were great and now the story is just okay. Also, I am not sure where this story is going. The end of the story arc I will reread the who story and then decide if I keep this series.

Dropped I, Vampire as was the weakest of the DC series' that I read and can't keep spending as much as I have lately.

[caxiotis]

Just read:

Animal Man 5 (5/5) and Swamp Thing 5 (4/5). Both were awesome and things are heating up big time by the end of the stories.

[400yrs]

Read Aquaman #4 and really liked it. Can't really say a lot about the storyline without spoilers, so I will just say that Aquaman and Mera went looking for the people that were taken. The comic was a quick read, as there was not a lot of dialogue (mostly art). I was hoping there would be some more meat to this issue as it was the last one in the story arc.

I just read this. It was a solid 4/5, but was probably the weakest issue in the run so far.

DC is using some really crappy paper stock for these books. I think they are using the same thing for the cover as well. The quality of the paper is pure crap.

[400yrs]

Wonder Woman #4 (3/5) - This is better than the last issue, but still not sure if I will keep reading. The first two issues were great and now the story is just okay. Also, I am not sure where this story is going. The end of the story arc I will reread the who story and then decide if I keep this series.

I agree that this issue was better than the last, but the word play got a bit old. I think this was just an origin story arc. I really don't have any idea where it's going either.

I really like the art, but I think I'm out on this one. I believe I have one more issue coming from DCBservice. That will be it, me thinks.

[400yrs]

Animal Man #4 Again, this was amazing (5/5). Completely captivated.

Yep 5/5. The only thing I didn't like was that they gave Maxine and exact age and 4 seems a bit young to me. I like Buddy's nickname for her "little wing".

That centerfold page was sweet.

[400yrs]

Swamp Thing #4 - 5/5. The pages in this were beautiful. I can see that Snyder is slowly building this up. He tends to have a slow burn approach and then he brings it all together. This was my favorite issue of the series so far.

[400yrs]

All Star Western 4. This was ok, but definitely not worth $4. Some of the pages by Moritat were beautiful while others looked like they were rushed. I still don't give a crap about the back up. One more coming from DCBservice and I'm out.

[caxiotis]

Just read Batman #5 and thought it was (5/5). Absolutely amazing. Snyder is kicking major *SQUEE*. I really don't want to add any spoilers, but this is seriously an awesome book.

[ian_house]

Just read Batman #5 and thought it was (5/5). Absolutely amazing. Snyder is kicking major *SQUEE*. I really don't want to add any spoilers, but this is seriously an awesome book.

Batman is actually keeping up with Invincible and Chew for innnovation, entertainment and suprise. Thats HIGH praise.

[Knightt]

I am still doing well in enjoying the DC that I am currently reading. The writing and art seem to be doing well by me (high praise indeed) and I think that I have gotten into the books that I will continue to read having tried them all and narrowing it down to the chosen few.

The majority of my books being read are Batman related but I am not reading all the Batman related books like Nightwing.

But, how do you guys think it it is going so far ?

[BruceReville]

The majority of my books being read are Batman related but I am not reading all the Batman related books like Nightwing.

I hate to say it but it seemed like it was all Batman - All the time - with the new relaunch to me.

[Knightt]

The majority of my books being read are Batman related but I am not reading all the Batman related books like Nightwing.

I hate to say it but it seemed like it was all Batman - All the time - with the new relaunch to me.

Yes, I've noticed that as well... He is like the Wolverine of the DC universe. Too much of a (good) thing is ultimately bad. Unless we're talking about poon tang.

[leonmallett]

...But, how do you guys think it it is going so far ?

I think I am reading less Dc books since the relaunch than at any point of my collecting through a pull list at a LCS, marking this the lowest point for me in at least 20 years (prior to having an LCS available, 80-90% of my reading was DC simply due to newsagent - read: news-stand - distribution in the UK).

So far then, not so good for me. I can think of current DC 3-5 titles I could drop and probably not miss them.

[Knightt]

And you have always been a DC fan ? Or Marvel ? Or... ?

[leonmallett]

And you have always been a DC fan ? Or Marvel ? Or... ?

I'd say 60-40 split DC to Marvel, maybe even more DC than that. A shame really, but the new DC isn't for me or my sensibilities in many ways.

[Knightt]

the new DC isn't for me or my sensibilities in many ways.

Same here, but here I sit reading DC comics. It says a lot about what Marvel is NOT doing for me right now.

[leonmallett]

the new DC isn't for me or my sensibilities in many ways.

Same here, but here I sit reading DC comics. It says a lot about what Marvel is NOT doing for me right now.

And about the lack of viable alternative contemporary/current super-hero books. Which makes me sad that some of the BOOM Stan Lee books went (I liked Soldier Zero and Traveller), that DH-GK hasn't worked out so far, that Atlas had no sense of schedule and most of all that DE have not done anyuthing with PSU books in over a year.

[400yrs]

Just read Batman #5 and thought it was (5/5). Absolutely amazing. Snyder is kicking major *SQUEE*. I really don't want to add any spoilers, but this is seriously an awesome book.

Batman is actually keeping up with Invincible and Chew for innnovation, entertainment and suprise. Thats HIGH praise.

I read a few books including Batman #5. It's getting high praise everywhere. I loved it, but the story-telling employed one of my pet peeves in comics. It was well done and made sense, but it's still one of my pet peeves. Therefore, 4/5 instead of 5/5.

Aquaman 5 - 4.5/5 - a solid one-off issue.

Flash 5 - 4/5

Wonder Woman - Done with this book. The dialogue was clunky. It's not bad, but I have to start making some room for the new Valiant stuff.

[caxiotis]

Just read Batman #5 and thought it was (5/5). Absolutely amazing. Snyder is kicking major *SQUEE*. I really don't want to add any spoilers, but this is seriously an awesome book.

Batman is actually keeping up with Invincible and Chew for innnovation, entertainment and suprise. Thats HIGH praise.

I read a few books including Batman #5. It's getting high praise everywhere. I loved it, but the story-telling employed one of my pet peeves in comics. It was well done and made sense, but it's still one of my pet peeves. Therefore, 4/5 instead of 5/5.

Aquaman 5 - 4.5/5 - a solid one-off issue.

Flash 5 - 4/5

Wonder Woman - Done with this book. The dialogue was clunky. It's not bad, but I have to start making some room for the new Valiant stuff.

Id your pet peeve turning you comic 360 degrees, while reading it?

[400yrs]

Id your pet peeve turning you comic 360 degrees, while reading it?

Yep. I don't like turning them sideways to read either.

[400yrs]

Swamp Thing #5. 5/5 even better than the last issue. The build is starting to pay off.

[400yrs]

Well...... There ain't much interest in this thread. I figured this would happen, but so early??????? Only 6 issues in to the new launch?????

IMO, this is a reflection on the rest of the comic fan base. By the end of this year, the New 52 will likely feel like a distant memory. I'll have a few more thoughts on this is a bit maybe......





With that being said, I'm still very much looking forward to the next issue of Flash. The next issue of Aquaman featuring Mera looks great and I've never even heard of Mera. Capt Cold previews have been AMAZING!!! and I'm still looking forward to Animal Man, Swamp Thing and Aquaman.


So I read Animal Man #5. What a fantastic cover! The story is friggin awesome. Love this book!

All Star Western #5. This is the last copy I pre-ordered. I enjoyed it, but still came away with the feeling that I'd rather have a done in one Jonah Hex story. The back-up was actually better than the main story.

[BruceReville]

I think what eventually turned me off from the new 52 and all other modern comics is that it takes like less than 5 minutes to read an issue. Artwork may be good, but I buy a comic to read and if I am done in 5 minutes then really what is the point. I have been rereading New Universe titles from the 80s and the one thing that has come to my attention is that is takes about 10 minutes to read a standard size issue - 20+ for the Annuals.