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

[400yrs]

Thought we should start a thread just dedicated to story discussion of the new 52 since most of the other threads seem to be about what has sold out and what they are selling for.

[StarBrand]

Good idea. I should be reading Action 1 shortly.

[400yrs]

I've only picked up 2 books so far and both appear to be horror books - Animal Man #1 and Swamp Thing #1

Swamp Thing #1 - Scott Snyder (writer) and Yanick Paquette (artist). This book looks like it is going to be a slow burn book. The first issue was interesting and focused on plant science a bit which was interesting, but the art was a bit hard to make out in some spots. Although I have faith in Snyder, I don't think I'll be buying #2, but will see how it goes and maybe buy a trade.

Animal Man #1 - Jeff Lemire (writer) and Travel Foreman (artist). This one did not disappoint at all. This looks like another horror book that heavily involves family. That's really cool. I love Jeff Lemire as a writer and I really enjoyed Travel Foreman's work on Immortal Iron Fist. The art here is great. It looks clean like the new DD a bit and when the style switches over to the dream state, it's darker and violent. Foreman is the kind of guy I would've like to see on the new Valiant. The use of colors is great as well. I'm definitely sticking with this one for a while.


I saw Action #1 on the stand, but I passed. I haven't liked anything I've read from Grant Morrison in quite a while. If I end up hearing that it's good Morrison and not Meta-Morrison, then I may give it a shot.

So far, 1/2 on the books I've read. I may try and find a copy of Batgirl / Batwoman or whatever came out today.

[Jersen]

I'll be in on this around the beginning of next month when I get my books, haha!

[BruceReville]

Copied from another thread

The hardest thing for some people is trying to put these stories in any type of chronology. (Me I just read and enjoy)

JLA takes place 5 years in the past.
JLI takes place after the formation of the JLA. How far after?
Action Comics takes place 6 months before the events in JLA 1.
Superman shows up in Swamp Thing in Now time.
Batman shows up in Batwing in Now time as well.

4 different time periods in the first 2 weeks of the new releases. Also some books I liked - some I was like UGH!

Men of War - Hawk & Dove - Green Arrow -- Bad.
Action Comics - Batgirl - Swamp Thing - Detective Comics -- Great.
The others are good to decent with Animal Man being --- read it and see.

I took my buddy to get his copies during lunch and we have been at work reading them all since and both been discussing our likes and dislikes about the comics. He is typically a Marvel but his interest was piqued and I just had to feed his hunger.

[400yrs]

From the interviews I've heard with writers, I didn't hear anyone say it, but it sounds like there was no timeline dictated to the writers. They are just trying to tell their best stories.

I'm fine with that. However, DC has always been the most continuity-intense line and the DC readers are trying to put it all together. I'm sure the DC staff had to know that was coming, but I think they are still just trying to put their best stories out there and not worrying about timelines. That way, casual fans or non-readers will be drawn in as they don't care about continuity. They just want to be entertained.


Reading the first few pages of JL #1 did throw me for a loop though when I didn't know that was coming.

[Savant]

I saw Action #1 on the stand, but I passed. I haven't liked anything I've read from Grant Morrison in quite a while. If I end up hearing that it's good Morrison and not Meta-Morrison, then I may give it a shot.

So far, 1/2 on the books I've read. I may try and find a copy of Batgirl / Batwoman or whatever came out today.

I've loved the majority of Morrison's work on Batman, so I have been into his recent writing....But, I didn't care much for Action Comics #1. There were some excellent aspects to the book, but, overall, it felt off. Perhaps some of it was due to Superman's cocky attitude and such, which is a far cry from his personality for the past few decades (If not more). Some will argue that he's a teenager, and teens are apt to act that way, especially when finding out they have these power-sets, but Superman has predominantly been shown as someone who had solid values taught to him from his small-town foster parents.

I bought Batgirl #1. The artwork was nice, but the story didn't grab me.

Detective Comics #1 was a slight surprise, in that it was a lot better than what I remember reading of Tony Daniel's work in the past. Still not that great, but an improvement over his past work. I'm not entirely sure if I care for the new Batman/Joker dynamic (Although it remains to be seen if what happened at the end involved the actual Joker or a copycat).

Stormwatch was somewhat interesting. I didn't like it much, but I'm curious as to how it'll go.

Overall, I don't really care to buy further issues of any of the four titles, but I might give a couple of the second issues a shot.

[superman-prime]

only read JL so far the rest are on the way the only thing i did not like was GL the rest was pretty good

[StarBrand]

Well, I didn't get a chance to read Action 1 yet, but I heard it has the origin for the new DC universe, so I'm looking forward to that.
I'm also going to check out both Batman books, and Green Lantern and Aquaman, though those are coming at the end of the month from MOC.

[ian_house]

Copied from another thread

The hardest thing for some people is trying to put these stories in any type of chronology. (Me I just read and enjoy)

JLA takes place 5 years in the past.
JLI takes place after the formation of the JLA. How far after?
Action Comics takes place 6 months before the events in JLA 1.
Superman shows up in Swamp Thing in Now time.
Batman shows up in Batwing in Now time as well.

4 different time periods in the first 2 weeks of the new releases. Also some books I liked - some I was like UGH!

Men of War - Hawk & Dove - Green Arrow -- Bad.
Action Comics - Batgirl - Swamp Thing - Detective Comics -- Great.
The others are good to decent with Animal Man being --- read it and see.

I took my buddy to get his copies during lunch and we have been at work reading them all since and both been discussing our likes and dislikes about the comics. He is typically a Marvel but his interest was piqued and I just had to feed his hunger.

4 time periods? I see 5 years ago (ish) and now. And why does crossing over make any difference? They are building a universe not 52 seperate books.

[ian_house]

Picked up a majority of the books that were out this week, all the stuff I wanted to try popped up this week!

Action Comics - Off to an interesting start, definitely not the Supes we are used to but I trust Morrisson and should get interesting.

Animal Man - Best book of the new DCU up to now. And one of the best books I've read in years. Read it 3 times last night. It's soo good to see Buddy and his family back in print and handled so well. If you don't have it, go get it!!!

Batgirl - Pretty unimpressive. Simone cracked out a generic story and has up to now overlooked how Barbara got out of the chair. The book also then has the cheek to question an able bodied persons opinion and phrasing about being stuck in a wheelchair. I don't like the way Simone has handled this whole furore and think I won't be following this. I also can't see its place in the new DCU Barbara Gordon seems outdated, especially as an able bodied hero. Plus she is in direct competition with Batwoman which looks more modern and visually stunning.

Detective Comics - I'm not a fan of Tony Daniel and was tempted not to get this, but its a TEC #1. And I was pleasantly suprised, it's an enjoyable enough dark gritty TEC story set up. There are some off points, a mishapen Batman jumping across rooftops, a horrible bit of dialogue that ended with 'I'm Batman'. But overall much better than expected.

Justice League International - A pretty generic forming of team 1st issue. I like that Booster is getting some more respect.

Stormwatch - Didn't get it. Immediately dropped. Have like Cornell in the past too.

Swamp Thing - Excellent as well. It appears the 'dark' side of the DCU is going to be the one to watch. Not as impressive as Animal Man but a great start, plus it's Snyder so I have alot of faith.

[BruceReville]

Copied from another thread

The hardest thing for some people is trying to put these stories in any type of chronology. (Me I just read and enjoy)

JLA takes place 5 years in the past.
JLI takes place after the formation of the JLA. How far after?
Action Comics takes place 6 months before the events in JLA 1.
Superman shows up in Swamp Thing in Now time.
Batman shows up in Batwing in Now time as well.

4 different time periods in the first 2 weeks of the new releases. Also some books I liked - some I was like UGH!

Men of War - Hawk & Dove - Green Arrow -- Bad.
Action Comics - Batgirl - Swamp Thing - Detective Comics -- Great.
The others are good to decent with Animal Man being --- read it and see.

I took my buddy to get his copies during lunch and we have been at work reading them all since and both been discussing our likes and dislikes about the comics. He is typically a Marvel but his interest was piqued and I just had to feed his hunger.

4 time periods? I see 5 years ago (ish) and now. And why does crossing over make any difference? They are building a universe not 52 seperate books.

Ok time periods may not have been the right word. Four different periods of time in the past 5 years?

6 months before JLA - JLA - After JLA is formed - & real time. And besides I said I just read to enjoy. I figured the continuity thing would be a b!tch for those who really dwell on that. Me I just read to enjoy.

[ian_house]

Copied from another thread

The hardest thing for some people is trying to put these stories in any type of chronology. (Me I just read and enjoy)

JLA takes place 5 years in the past.
JLI takes place after the formation of the JLA. How far after?
Action Comics takes place 6 months before the events in JLA 1.
Superman shows up in Swamp Thing in Now time.
Batman shows up in Batwing in Now time as well.

4 different time periods in the first 2 weeks of the new releases. Also some books I liked - some I was like UGH!

Men of War - Hawk & Dove - Green Arrow -- Bad.
Action Comics - Batgirl - Swamp Thing - Detective Comics -- Great.
The others are good to decent with Animal Man being --- read it and see.

I took my buddy to get his copies during lunch and we have been at work reading them all since and both been discussing our likes and dislikes about the comics. He is typically a Marvel but his interest was piqued and I just had to feed his hunger.

4 time periods? I see 5 years ago (ish) and now. And why does crossing over make any difference? They are building a universe not 52 seperate books.

Ok time periods may not have been the right word. Four different periods of time in the past 5 years?

6 months before JLA - JLA - After JLA is formed - & real time. And besides I said I just read to enjoy. I figured the continuity thing would be a b!tch for those who really dwell on that. Me I just read to enjoy.

I was just suprised anyone noticed. Action and JLA are in the past, the rest are current.

No suprises that Hawk & Dove sucked though. What was up with Green Arrow? And hows Men of War set up?

[Cyberstrike]

Batgirl - Pretty unimpressive. Simone cracked out a generic story and has up to now overlooked how Barbara got out of the chair. The book also then has the cheek to question an able bodied persons opinion and phrasing about being stuck in a wheelchair. I don't like the way Simone has handled this whole furore and think I won't be following this. I also can't see its place in the new DCU Barbara Gordon seems outdated, especially as an able bodied hero. Plus she is in direct competition with Batwoman which looks more modern and visually stunning..

Plus the fact that the current Batwoman is a lesbian and that alone is going to get that book a LOT more attention. I was actually considered buying Batwoman #1 but decided not to.

[caxiotis]

I bought JL, Action, Detective, and Animal Man. I am going to read JL and Animal Man tonight. Read Action and Detective last night. I thought they were both okay (not great, but not bad either). Both seem to have a lot of potential, so I am probably going to pick up the next issues.

Looking forward to Batwoman, Green Lantern, and Aquaman. Still not sure if I am going to pick up Batman. I have no interest in the rest of the books.

The gimmac worked as before the relaunch I was only reading GL and now plan on picking up seven titles.

[JonesyAZ]

I will be getting all 52 books upon release; the first 13 were waiting in my LCS box yesterday...woo hoo!

We will be doing a "New 52" special on "Only The Valiant" so I will save my issue-by-issue opinions until then, but I can honestly say that the 5 books I read last night were all very enjoyable and refreshing

[sd2416]

I think its hard to shake 20+ years of the way a character was and just be able to clear your mind and go into a new universe without comparing the two, intentionally or not.

[Chiclo]

I read Justice League 1 and my reaction was "what a great jumping off point".

My wife is excited about it, though. She is not normally so optimistic. Quite out of character for her.

[geocarr]

I read Justice League 1 and my reaction was "what a great jumping off point".

My wife is excited about it, though. She is not normally so optimistic. Quite out of character for her.

For me, I think this at least partially stems from my investment in these characters and desire to see them succeed. Same is true for the Valiant characters.

[cplsimon]

I really liked the direction they went with Men of War. I think this title can be a good way to ground events in the "real world" they got me on board for at least a couple of more issues.

Animal man and swamp thing were OK I think they have potential.

[400yrs]

Still not sure if I am going to pick up Batman.

It's by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. It was the only book that I was 100% on from the get-go. At least check out reviews. I think that book and Animal man are likely to be the good ones.




I read Batgirl #1 to see what the fuss was about. It was good. As ian said above, it was a bit cliche, but still good. Gail Simone is the kind of writer that I always think is solid, but never fully realizes what she could. I feel the same about Andy Diggle. I doubt I will get the next one because I have no interest in Barbara Gordon, but it appears to be a solid book.

It was interesting that they are incorporating the paralization in this story at all. I thought they'd get away from it rather than make it the focal point of the story. That is a detractor for me that the book will have a crutch to go to.

[400yrs]

Justice League #1 - This was only 24 story pages and it read pretty quickly. Other than milking people, I don't see why this was $3.99.

The story itself, as many have said, was good, not great. It's definitely going ot be a decompressed book that will likely read better as a trade. I don't think I'll be picking up #2, but I didn't think I was going to try #1 either.... so....

[Chiclo]

Justice League #1 - This was only 24 story pages and it read pretty quickly. Other than milking people, I don't see why this was $3.99.

The story itself, as many have said, was good, not great. It's definitely going ot be a decompressed book that will likely read better as a trade. I don't think I'll be picking up #2, but I didn't think I was going to try #1 either.... so....

In DC's defense, the pledge for books at $2.99 was for a 20 page comic. You get 4 extra pages for that extra dollar.

Did I say that was offered in their defense? A quarter per page doesn't sound like that great of a deal but then you could make claims of "a $5.99 value" and advertise that it is two dollars off.

[400yrs]

The length / time of the read compared to most regular comics nowadays was only worth about $2.25. That sucker read quickly.



Detective #1 - The art and colors in this were great. The story was fine. If you like a typical Batman vs. Joker story, you will love this. The last page was pretty cool. For me, most Batman stories just ring a bit hollow.

[400yrs]

Action #1 - This one didn't interest me at all. The middle felt like a Spider-Man rip-off. He actually stops a bullet and a train in this one. At least it was a few pages longer than JL. This one was 29 story pages (weird number).