Reilly2040's Blog

So, with week 2 of the reboot/relaunch, I have to admit, as someone who was quite sceptical about the whole thing, there’s a lot to recommend it here.

Its really no surprise that Action Comics was excellent. A Superman whose powers aren’t quite up there yet, and a nice reference to Smallville early on (at least, I have to assume it was intentional ). Its interesting to see Clark pushed more into a Green Arrow esque role here, but it works, especially with the idea that this is Superman starting out. He’s not at the level of cosmic threats yet (although Luthor’s dialogue hints towards something coming). Morrison’s on good form here, and Rags Morale’s artwork is great. I do wish artists would stop overusing the Superman with glowing red eyes thing, but that’s just a personal peeve.  To be honest, given that this is the premier Superman title, and is probably the earliest set of the superhero books in the new 52, I think they could’ve easily used this as the launch title instead of Justice League.  Really strong first issue that shows Clark as much more of a Superboy than a Superman, and also a nice showcase of Luthor.  Very interested to see how this book develops.

Batgirl, also lived up to the hype.  Its no secret I had  a lot of misgivings about the book.  Barbara’s role as Oracle had been a big part of the DCU for years, and the character of Batgirl had gone on to enjoy success first with Cassie, and then more recently with Steph.  To be honest, pre-reboot the Steph Batgirl series by Bryan Millar was one of the best books DC was putting out, so I really disliked the way it had the rug pulled out from under it.  However, then DC put Gail Simone on the book, who was possibly the only writer that could’ve convinced me to pick it up.  And Gail came through brilliantly.

Instead of being ignored or rebooted, the story nicely uses Barbara’s disability throughout the book. I did have a nagging wish for more of a bridge between this and the previous series, which is a peril of not rebooting as cleanly as Superman has – but I do find myself itching to know what happened with Steph and why Barabara’s walking – only one of those questions is likely to be answered in the near future though.

The way Gail used the fact that Barbara was new to being back out as Batgirl worked brilliantly, and her characterisation using The Killing Joke is built up to the point where Barbara freezes when a gun is pointed at her, causing her rescue of someone to go badly wrong.  Its powerful stuff, and despite really being against Barbara’s reinstatement as Batgirl, I now can’t recommend it enough.  Between this and Action Comics, DC couldn’t have asked for a better couple of books for this first proper week of the reboot.

JLI was fun, but entirely setup. Dan Jurgens definitely convinced me he can pull off this team book though after writing Booster Gold’s solo adventures for so many years, but I was quite surprised just how quickly Guy exited the title. Frankly putting him on the cover was a bit cheeky (makes me wonder if he was sticking around longer in the initial plans?). For me, it seemed to carry on the tone of the recent Generation Lost series I enjoyed, so I’m happy.   It was nice to see Booster brought in from the beginning as the team leader, and it feels like the dialogue between the team is just right to capture that lighter hearted JLI feeling.  I’m also a big fan of the friendly relationship between Booster and Batman, something that in this rebooted universe is pretty unexpected. I assume there’s a story there that’s going to be revealed at somepoint (I’m not going to be surprised if this is the original timeline Booster who went to the DCNu’s Bruce for help after finding himself stuck here – we know Bruce found out about the timeline changes from Barry).

Animal Man was a nice surprise too. Really well written and intriguing. I had been going to skip it, but I was glad I didn’t. There’s some nice balancing of the superheroics, Buddie’s domestic life, and the horror elements.

The two books that didn’t blow me away were Detective Comics (enjoyable, but didn’t feel as fresh as the other books to me – I have to wonder if not rebooting Batman and Green Lantern in a similar way is going to make them stick out in all this), and Stormwatch, which I’d expected really good things from but didn’t really grab me (And good lord, Midnighter’s new costume is bloody awful – although that’s not a complaint restricted to him in this new DCU). I have to wonder if Stormwatch was just juggling too many characters in its first issue. And the fact that part of the setup seems to hang off of a Superman issue that’s not out for a couple of weeks seems a weird decision.

So overall, as someone who wasn’t entirely convinced of the reboot, this first proper week of books did a lot to convince me.  Action Comics, Batgirl, JLI and Animal Man are all books I’m definitely going to keep picking up.

Okay, I’ve got a tonne of comics posts waiting on me sorting them out, but given the massive news last night, I just felt I had to weigh in.

Okay, so for those that missed it, DC is relaunching its entire line of superhero comics at the end of August.  The end of Flashpoint is going to mark a reboot point for the DCU, featuring many of the characters with redesigned costumes, and some with tweaked or overhauled origins.  With this relaunch, DC are also going to make their entire line of superhero comics available digitally through Comixology on the same day as the print versions are released.

Wow.

Firstly, possibly the biggest game-changing part of this news, that may really impact the market is the announcement that all of DC’s main superhero books are going for a day-and-date digital release.  Frankly, that aspect really shocked me.

While DC have played with day-and-date digital releases on some of their titles, few of those books have been what I would call A-list.  I would have been surprised enough if DC had announced that something like Green Lantern would go digital, but for every book, its a massive step.  One no other company has come near.  And given that DC were pretty late to the digital comics market compared to the other publishers, its a real surprise to see them being the ones to make this move.

I’ve never made any bones about liking the digital format.  With the exchange rate it works out cheaper per-book for me, and means I can carry my comics with me on my phone, rather than worry about the increasingly non-existent storage space in my home for all these monthlies.  Now admittedly, there will probably be some books I continue to get the print versions of.  Most likely any GL books DC continue to put out.  However, I can also see me grabbing some books I otherwise might not have, since the lower cost of the digital books makes it easier for me to justify.

It will be very interesting to see how this plays out.  DC are obviously banking on the majority of current collectors sticking with print for the most part, while allowing new or more casual fans to grab the digital copies.  With the comics market having shrunk massively over the years, it’ll be interesting to see if this digital move opens it up again.  I can only assume DC were getting some very positive numbers from the digital sales of its current day-and-date books, like Batman Beyond.

If this does go well, I can only assume other companies will also make the jump, which might see me expanding the number of Marvel books I pick up again (their love of the $3.99 price point having made regularly collecting a number of Marvel books unsustainable for me).  Although how this will all impact the local comic shops will remain to be seen.

From a creative/continuity point of view, things still seem very much mixed for me.  Some aspects I’m ok with, others make me pretty wary.  Various details are slowly coming out now, but we’re far from a complete picture.

Green Lantern is going to continue pretty much unchanged.  Not really a surprise given the popularity of the franchise, and the fact that Geoff’s been steering it for years anyway.  Meanwhile there are rumours of Superman and Lois Lane’s marriage vanishing to make way for a Superman/Wonder Woman romance.  Hmmmm, not sure about that.   Such things are the realm of Elseworlds, and while I’ve got no major problems with Superman and Wonder Woman hooking up, cross-franchise relationships generally don’t tend to end that well (Kyle/Donna, Kyle/Jade, Green Arrow/Black Canary) as individual creative teams start to get constrained by them.  Also, Superman and Lois Lane is a classic DCU relationship.  Its ok in worlds like Kingdom Come, but I’m not sure at all about it in the main DCU.   We’ll see if this rumour turns out to be true or if its not quite what it sounds like.

Similarly the rumour that Batgirl is going to be returned to Barbara Gordon.  To be honest, she’s a character that’s far more interesting as Oracle, and fills in a vital role in the Bat-family.  Not to mention portraying an incredibly positive role model for disabled readers, one that has often been praised.  And to be honest, I’m a big fan of the Stephanie Batgirl (far more than I expected to be, given how much I liked Cassie in the role previously).  Its one of DC’s best books on a monthly basis with a great balance in characterisation and fun.  If this is true, then I’m not sure I can see me continuing to pick it up.   And with no Oracle, what does that mean for the Birds of Prey?

I am pleased to see the JLI back, and being under the stewardship of Dan Jurgens suggests to me this book may replace Booster Gold.  If so, that’s a shame, but if I still get Dan writing Booster on a monthly basis, I’ll be happy.  That said, the lack of Blue Beetle on the cover is a bit disappointing (unless he’s going to turn up in Teen Titans or somewhere else).   And Booster’s new costume looks pretty ugly in comparison to his current one.  Guy Gardner being back on the team should be good fun (although I wonder how that’ll tie in with him being on Oa over in GLC).

It is nice to see some of the new books giving lesser known characters a shot as well.  I’ve always liked the modern Mr Terrific from JSA, so it’ll be interesting to see what his book is like (another that I might’ve skipped in print, but will probably check out with the cheaper digital version).  Saying that, it doesn’t strike me as a book that will be a big seller, so I wonder how many of these relaunched books will stick around long term.

The fact that some of these books seem to be including Wildstorm titles is interesting.  Granted, I’ve got almost no investment in that line, but I’d be tempted by a new Authority book.  That said, how the Wildstorm characters interact with the wider DCU will be interesting.  I just can’t see the Authority and the JLA sharing a universe…

There’s obviously a very mixed reaction in fandom to this announcement, however I’m cautiously optimistic about it.  While there are definitely aspects I’m not immediately keen on (and bare in mind quite a lot of our information is still technically rumours from Bleeding Cool, with DC only slowly releasing official info like the GL titles), there’s no denying the boldness of this move to try and reinvigorate DC’s books in the market.  If the digital sales pay off, DC could get a substantial number of new readers, who this is obviously targetting.  I just hope though that they’re careful about how they handle these tweaks and changes for regular readers.  Some characters sound like they’re getting substantially altered, and DC’s track record on these reboots is wobbly.  While Green Lantern is the smash hit everyone will invariably bring up, the Barry Allen Flash series has had a much shakier start.  I just hope that as more confirmed details about characters and books come out, it reassures readers (including myself), that this isn’t just about Barbara Gordon Batgirl or some silver age-agenda (as DC have been accused of in the past), and instead there is a concrete, long-term plan in place here for the future of these characters.

With all the fuss about Brightest Day, its easy to overlook the fact that DC actually have a second fortnightly series on the go, which is actually a Brightest Day tie-in itself: Justice League – Generation Lost.

When it was announced, I’d been really excited about the project, as it was focused on the old JLI team (or what was left of them).  They’ve long been fan-favourites as those books were filled with great characters and a brilliant sense of humour and dialogue.

However the first two issues I found to be a major disappointment.  Spinning out of Brightest Day, Max Lord performs his biggest mind control experiment ever, wiping all knowledge of his existence from the world.   The only ones left who know who he is are his old team mates from the JLI, Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Fire and Ice who must find some way to expose him.

The main problem with the first couple of issues was that they just seemed too serious.  The sparkle and wit that the team was associated with was gone, and I quickly lost all interest in the series.

However I then heard that things had picked up a bit, and not only that, I discovered that the series was being released every fortnight on the DC Comics iPhone application in line with the paper release.

This was ideal, as it provided a cheaper way to pick up the issues to give the series another chance.  And so I picked up issues 3 and 4.

We’re now up to issue 8, and the amount this series has turned around from those first two issues has been amazing.  The pacing has been great throughout, with the story moving on quickly as the team attempt to track down Maxwell Lord.

There’s been some interesting new elements thrown in as well. Blue Beetle Jamie Reyes joining the team was a bit of a no-brainer. He’s picked up Ted Koord’s legacy, and has worked with the JLI on several occassions. He’s also a character that DC are looking to push heavily, and this series presents an ideal place for him.

However more important was the addition of the new Rocket Red to the team. The Rocket Red who previously worked with the JLI was killed some time ago, and its a spot that’s long sat dormant on the team (although Mary Marvel would often be added as another heavy hitter).

The new Rocket Red has really brought that missing element to the book. Humour. Straight away from his debut issue, that spark that made the JLI so popular arrived with him. Between that and the nice pace of the book, as the team infiltrate Checkmate and we discover Captain Atom knows the true cost of letting Max run unchecked, this book has really clicked into place for me, becoming one I’m really looking forward to every fortnight. All credit to the writer Judd Winnick, its an incredible turn around for me.

I have to mention quickly the digital format, as its something I’ve been vocal about supporting on this blog for a while.   Don’t get me wrong, its absolutely not a replacement for a proper, physical comic book.   However, with me trying to cut back on books as $3.99 slowly becomes a more prominent price for new books, and storage space vanishes in my house, its a great option for picking up those books I might otherwise have skipped, and its great to see DC finally starting to make some headway with the digital stuff, rather than just leaving it to the pirates.

I like being able to log on with my iPod Touch every fortnight and download this book, however its still a bit disappointing to see that Generation Lost seems to be about the only book DC is doing this kind of regular release with. Marvel is still way ahead of them in this game, and I really hope that Generation Lost does well as a digital book, so that DC can be convinced to further support this medium.

I’ve just been looking at Action Figure Insider’s DC Direct gallery from the NYCC.

There’s some really nice stuff there, including some nice close-up, hi-res pictures of the upcoming Blackest Night figures (well, minus the two “surprise” figures anyway).   They looked really nice in the preview shot we’d been, but these pictures are even better, and they show that Saint Walker does indeed have his headtail that looked noticably missing in the earlier picture.

There’s also a really nice prop collection of the various Corps rings in Blackest Night, which I may or may not be able to resist depending on its cost.

There’s some new JLI figures that look good (aways a sucker for Blue and Gold figures, although I’m not sure if this one will replace my 52 Booster Gold.  A Ted Koord to go with him will be good though).

Finally the Adam Hughes statues are really nice.   Again, probably out of my budget though.  Not to mention the wife probably wouldn’t be pleased