New Batman comic

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 2:43 am

Thinking of getting a subscription to the new Batman comic from our local shop. Anybody read it yet? Wondering if it's going to be worth a subscription.

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 3:35 am

I'm taking the relaunch of the DC Universe as an excuse to finally stop giving the last tiny vestige of a fuck about DC, so I can't be of much help. But I hear the Batwoman relaunch is good.

AtemHutlrt · Post by **AtemHutlrt** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 3:46 am

I'm thinking of getting the new Swamp Thing and Animal Man, though I haven't purchased an actual comic book in at least 15 years.

Bonefish · Post by **Bonefish** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 5:07 am

What is a DC?

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 12:35 pm

Ancient History wrote:I'm taking the relaunch of the DC Universe as an excuse to finally stop giving the last tiny vestige of a fuck about DC, so I can't be of much help.

The only comics I've purchased in the last few years, other than a few TPBs are Gotham Central, so I've been out of touch. The last one of those I bought was a couple years ago. What's been going on with DC that has you ready to write them off? Has the art or the writing been bad? Are they revamping in a way that's ruining the the genre...please elaborate.

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 1:40 pm

DC comics has decided to scrap their entire universe and relaunch from Year 0 with 52 titles, allowing readers to not have to have read the last fifty-odd years of comic histories and failed reboots to understand what's going on. It's a fresh take on their entire comic line, and a ballsy move, which I approve of.

The execution...well, I hear good things about many of the comics. The art is mostly industry standard, few stand-outs except J. H. Williams III, and that's a matter of personal taste. Writing? <shrug> I can't say I ever liked anything Gail Simone has done, and Geoff Johns is really hit and fucking miss with me - the end of the Green Lantern War was just a fucking mess.

So, I'm bowing out of the DC Universe for a while. Probably still pick up Hellblazer, but unless they come out with a miniseries that really appeals to me, I'm not going to try and get in on the ground floor with the rest of the crowd.

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 1:50 pm

Ancient History wrote:DC comics has decided to scrap their entire universe and relaunch from Year 0 with 52 titles, allowing readers to not have to have read the last fifty-odd years of comic histories and failed reboots to understand what's going on. It's a fresh take on their entire comic line, and a ballsy move, which I approve of.

I had no idea this was going on...not sure how I feel about that. I love origin stuff when it's done right, but my guess is they're not going to do the entire story line chronologically (from the character's standpoint).

I think I'll head to the comic shop today and pick up a few beginning issues if the different characters...maybe I'll do a bit of an eval on them.

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 2:11 pm

I had to stop reading Batman when they let Grant Morrison fuck it all up, with RIP Batman. Morrison just plain screwed it all up for me. I haven't read of the relaunch stuff yet, and I don't immediately recognize any of the names attached to it but I hope to check it out.

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 3:10 pm

Morrison is an acquired taste, and he really needs his own room and schedule to shine. All-Star Superman, for example, was awesome.

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 3:59 pm

I won't say I've never enjoyed Morrison, but like Warren Ellis I think his stature in the comic world is vastly over inflated.

Jeff Hauze · Post by **Jeff Hauze** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 4:05 pm

Serious Paul wrote:I won't say I've never enjoyed Morrison, but like Warren Ellis I think his stature in the comic world is vastly over inflated.

Agreed. Most specifically in reference to Transmetropolitan. Never could dig that one, and yet apparently I should be crucified for not doing so, according to its fanatics...*cough* I mean fans.

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 5:36 pm

Well that's some B.S. The comic shop's website says they're open on Sundays. Just got back from there...sign on the door says closed on Sundays. We've had several comic shops close in the last few years...only other 2 still open are in East Lansing, and I'm not heading over there today. Guess I'll have to stop by sometime later in the week.

AtemHutlrt · Post by **AtemHutlrt** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 3:12 pm

I've been more-or-less bedridden for a couple days, so I downloaded and read a few of the New 52 books. Overall, they're pretty "meh", but there are a few I might follow: Swamp Thing and Animal Man were pretty solid, though not mind-blowing; Detective Comics was decent [though I didn't care for the new Batman], and Batwoman was, indeed, pretty damn good. The one real surprise in the bunch was Frankenstein; I downloaded it on a whim, and found it quite entertaining.

And, man, I apparently hate the current state of mainstream comic art. The only issue I thought actually looked decent was Batwoman. Everything else was incredibly mediocre, or downright abysmal. From a technical standpoint, it's all pretty solid, but, Jesus Christ, check out some of these botched abortions:

Derp!

Hurp!

Derp durr herp!

AtemHutlrt · Post by **AtemHutlrt** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 3:21 pm

Oh, and I did try to actually buy these comics, but, apparently, that's not really possible. Like U.J., I encountered some difficulty catching my preferred local comic shop during business hours, so I ended up going to the larger, better-stocked, but completely fucking horrible store on the other side of town. That place is owned and operated by a dude who makes Comic Book Guy look like Brad Pitt, though, miraculously, he wasn't a complete dick this time. He did inform me, though, that it's basically impossible to find a lot of these issues after a day or two on the shelves, and that the copies that are available are selling in the $8-9 range. Yeah, no thanks. The comic book industry sure doesn't do a good job of making this easy for the casual reader.

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 3:59 pm

I was disappointed at their choice to continue exploring Batman as a father. I get why some people could find appeal in it-but frankly it's a little too butch ghey for me. And add to that a lackluster plot that left me feeling like I'd missed 50 issues and i think 52 is going to be something I'll skip.

I keep hearing people discuss Animal Man, Frankenstein and Swamp Thing (A character I just never could get into.) So I may try one or all of those.

AtemHutlrt · Post by **AtemHutlrt** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 4:21 pm

Serious Paul wrote:I was disappointed at their choice to continue exploring Batman as a father. I get why some people could find appeal in it-but frankly it's a little too butch ghey for me. And add to that a lackluster plot that left me feeling like I'd missed 50 issues and i think 52 is going to be something I'll skip.

I felt exactly the same way about the new Batman. For a first issue, there sure is a lot of back-story there that I'm completely unfamiliar with, and, yeah, Batdad is a terrible concept, IMO. I just prefer the Bat-universe without the kids, in general. The only Batman story featuring Robin that I remember really liking was Dark Victory. Have you read the new Detective Comics, Paul? It's not the most inventive thing ever, but it's a pretty straightforward Batman story, and it's pretty decent.

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 4:27 pm

i read the old stuff, but I stopped when they brought Morrison in. I'll take a look again at it.