Comics XII: All New, All Twelve

[red snow]

the latest Saga was probably the best in a while. There is a panel with Ghus that's possibly the best thing Staples has ever done. The last page reveal is also pretty tantalising as well. No more until August although BKV promises the next arc is as close to an event this comic will get.

[Nictarion]

5 hours ago, red snow said:

the latest Saga was probably the best in a while. There is a panel with Ghus that's possibly the best thing Staples has ever done. The last page reveal is also pretty tantalising as well. No more until August although BKV promises the next arc is as close to an event this comic will get.

I love Ghus. 

Nice to finally get the big reunion

Good twist at the end of Low. 

Picked up a book from Black Mask Studios called 4 Kids Walk Into A Bank. Not familiar with the writer or artist, but I really liked it. Pretty funny 1st issue. Think it's a 5 part story. 

[GallowKnight]

20 hours ago, red snow said:

I read the Spider-verse collection over the weekend. The collection is an absolute bargain in terms of pages per dollar. The event feels like a kid playing with all his spidey action figures and Slott somehow makes it work as a comic. The collection is let down by the really weird decision to print the collection out of order. They simply clump each miniseries together at the end eg we get Spider-woman 1-4, then Scarlet Spiders 1-3 even their story intermingles with Amazing Spider-man printed up front. It's a really odd decision on the editorial team's part. Maybe they were concerened people wouldn't like the jumping around but from a story point of view the minis are spoiled before you ever get to read them. Some of the tie-ins are a drop in qulity art and story wise so they maybe felt it was better to protect the main series? I've no idea probably a damned if you do, damned if you don't. I guess the event itself can be commended for being coherent within the main comic story and using the tie-ins to expand on some elements. Still highlights the inherent problems with event books though.

I stopped reading Spider-Man because I wanted to wait for the Spider-Verse to be complete before I read it but then I just never picked it up. Maybe I should do that?

[red snow]

20 minutes ago, The_Gallows_Knight said:

I stopped reading Spider-Man because I wanted to wait for the Spider-Verse to be complete before I read it but then I just never picked it up. Maybe I should do that?

It appears to have the vast majority of the story in the trade. I'd find an actual reading order online and do it that way if you want to read it as one giant coherent story though. It's a bargain for the amount of material and it is quite good fun

[GallowKnight]

21 hours ago, red snow said:

It appears to have the vast majority of the story in the trade. I'd find an actual reading order online and do it that way if you want to read it as one giant coherent story though. It's a bargain for the amount of material and it is quite good fun

Well I guess I'm going to check it out then. Although I have gotten the distinct impression that Slott writes a better Spider-Ock than he actually writes the Peter Parker version.

[red snow]

22 minutes ago, The_Gallows_Knight said:

Well I guess I'm going to check it out then. Although I have gotten the distinct impression that Slott writes a better Spider-Ock than he actually writes the Peter Parker version.

There's plenty of Spider-Ock in the event so you should be entertained. I agree that I enjoyed the comic more with him in it too. Weirdly, I think Slott is actually better with darker characters. Not that he's bad with spidey but Peter can be a bit dull in his goody persona. I think Slott did some Batman stories back in the day - I should try and find them. He's so well known as the "fun" guy it's hard to see him in any other mode.

[red snow]

Our posts seem to be reflecting comics at large given the drop in sales. Graphic novel sales still seem pretty healthy though.

I think Marvel and DC should take note of titles like Batman and Amazing Spider-man to see what readers respond to on a regular basis. I think it's no coincidence those titles are pretty self-contained (they only tend to have events that spill into other books not the other way around).

DC is definitely taking a chance moving Snyder off that book given how incredibly consistent sales have been. DC must be hoping readers at least give Tom King's first issue a try and he'll have to burst out the gate.

Speaking of chances - Darth Vader's cancellation also seems like a crazy move given its performance and the general downturn. I wonder if it's Disney mandated or genuinely just that Kieron Gillen has finished the story he wants to tell? I'd have thought MArvel would have just found someone else to continue writing but maybe there is stricter editorial on those books in the sense they aren't allowed to do filler and stories have to be approved because of the whole canonicity issue.

[all swedes are racist]

Super sad news. Darwyn Cooke passed away last night. Both 2016 and cancer can fuck right off

[GallowKnight]

3 hours ago, R'hllors Red Lobster said:

Super sad news. Darwyn Cooke passed away last night. Both 2016 and cancer can fuck right off

Aw, that's a damn shame.

R.I.P

[red snow]

5 hours ago, R'hllors Red Lobster said:

Super sad news. Darwyn Cooke passed away last night. Both 2016 and cancer can fuck right off

That's a real shame - he was a distinctive talent in the medium. Far too young to be taken by cancer.

[GallowKnight]

It feels like an appropriate time to post this piece of artwork. Truly a master at his craft.

[red snow]

In fine tradition the entireity of the DC Rebirth comic has been leaked and all the comic newsites are scrabbling to dissect everything that occurs in it. It sounds sort of fun and the big reveal is bound to piss loads of folk off but I think it's at least a cool meta-idea.

Do i need to buy a copy on Wednesday? Probably not anymore but DC had to make some changes again and this will probably boost things for a while - especially when the character(s) behind the event start turning up.

[Teng Ai Hui]

I was very happy with DC Universe Rebirth #1.  (Thankfully, I missed all the online spoilers.)  The antagonist is a fresh idea.  I'm anxious to read more.  Yet, I'm nervous as the previous crossover events that I have read -- Godhead, Futures End, Convergence, Robin War -- were wastes of time.

[Little Valkyrie]

Rebirth was brilliant in that it was a DC meta event (COIE, Zero Hour, Infinite Crisis, Final Crisis) that was one and done in 80 pages and $2.99.  Think about it mainly with regards to what it opens up in the universe, including two things very dear to my heart: the return of the Justice Society, and a functional Legion of Super Heroes.  And fans of younger characters got Ryan Choi and Jackson Hyde back into their comics.

[red snow]

I'm with you two Rebirth was the most interesting thing I've read in DC (and marvel) for a while in terms of meta/line-wide branding. Love the idea of Manhattan creating the new52 and the idea that "Mr Oz" is Ozymandias and the Killing joke era Joker is comedian really clicks for me. We've always suspected the Watchmen characters would be folded into the DCU but this is actually an interesting way of doing so with them being almost god-like and manipulating an entire line of comics. That and that series (along with Dark Knight Returns) was the beginning of grim and gritty infecting the main line of comics. I'm fascninated to see how it plays out although the worry is it will devolve over time and it's clear Johns is going to be hands off for the forseeable future. I think I may even check a few of the rebirth books out of the back of the one-shot. I'd like there to be a title/titles that follows up the watchmen aspect - I'm sure they'll point it out to us.

Hats off to DC for delivering a comic that does its job in getting me interest in their upcoming books.

[Bastard of Boston]

Yeah, I'm excited for Rebirth as well, but it's sobering to keep in mind that this will be the only book Johns writes. Even if he was writing monthly, he can't write the entire line. Sure, it's great that he's overseeing it, but you have to be wary of DC's other writers' ability to pick up where he left off. Here's hoping.

I'm of the mind that nobody -- mostly -- would've been complaining about the New 52 had the books been good. The problem with their last relaunch was a severe deficiency in creative teams. I swear the New 52 Relaunch felt like I was reading Image Comics, back when it first launched in the 90s -- everything felt so dated, not fresh.

DC does have some quality creators I am looking forward to watching, though -- I'm most excited about Tom King on Batman and Rucka on Wonder Woman. I loved Midnighter, so I'm curious to see where Steve Orlando goes on Supergirl. Also, Abnett on Titans and Aquaman. I'll give all the books a shot, though. I want this to work.

I feel compelled to comment on Cap: Steve Rogers. Social media continues to decay our culture from the inside out. Everyone is always looking for the next thing to be outraged over. Not saying people aren't allowed to be upset, but leave it to the Internet to perpetuate hysteria. God forbid anyone wait to see where this goes before going outside to burn their books. I didn't even think the book was bad -- I'm intrigued. That's all you really want from a #1 issue.

[GallowKnight]

7 hours ago, Bastard of Boston said:

I feel compelled to comment on Cap: Steve Rogers. Social media continues to decay our culture from the inside out. Everyone is always looking for the next thing to be outraged over. Not saying people aren't allowed to be upset, but leave it to the Internet to perpetuate hysteria. God forbid anyone wait to see where this goes before going outside to burn their books. I didn't even think the book was bad -- I'm intrigued. That's all you really want from a #1 issue.

And it's not like it is going to last and be the status quo for Steve Rogers.

[mormont]

7 hours ago, Bastard of Boston said:

 God forbid anyone wait to see where this goes before going outside to burn their books.

I get what you're saying, but think you're wrong. The vast majority of the criticism I have seen has fully acknowledged all of the directions the creators might be, and probably are, going with this plotline. The criticism is that no matter where this goes, the idea of using this as a starting point for any plotline is inherently a bad one.

The closest analogy I can think of is if a writer were to 'fridge' a female character as a starting point. You don't need to wait to see where that goes to say it's problematic to start from there.

[JGP]

Yup. Also, to my mind anyway, it takes nature right out of the equation in regard to heroism. It's all about nurture then? Oh... ok.

[Bastard of Boston]

But, again, nobody is looking to see where this goes. There's no context. It's a panel of Captain America saying, "Hail Hydra." People have written this arc before it's been written by Spencer. Christ, there's a meme floating around, including a panel -- by Kirby, himself -- with Cap saluting Red Skull.

I found the actual page.

Comics are art. It's disconcerting that so many think that, because something offends them, it shouldn't exist. Is it fair to think this arc is just a typical trope, meant for shock value/headlines? Sure. It's completely fair to be turned off by the story/tactic. However, the hysteria created by this comic is absolute overkill. It's fair to opt not to read something because you feel it's in poor taste. However, I am absolutely against this movement to attack its existence by lashing out at the writer/publisher. If you don't like it, don't read it and leave it at that.

In the past, nobody could really overreact to this type of thing because it required commitment. Social media has made it too easy. You don't need to be committed to anything to be outraged. You just have to log onto Twitter for five minutes.