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"By the mother of pain!" I like it. I can never make my mind up about the GL family of books. I like the galactic space cops idea but something, I'm not sure what, rubs me the wrong way. Maybe it's Hal?

I like Frankenstein! Really enjoyed Frankencastle and was sad to see it ending so soon. If we can get some crosovers with the regular DC guys it would be even better.

And I still can't imagine how a book about Red Lanterns could work. But that preview was really weird.

Batwoman and Suicide Squad arrived this morning. I really liked them both, best two so far for me.

I picked up a swath of titles last night but haven't had a chance to read them. I'm most excited about B&R, Red Lanterns, and Deathstroke so those will likely be my first stops. I've been catching up on Blackest Night lately so I also want to see Sinestro back in the GLCorps in GL1. Should be weird!

@MDS: Did you read the last Batwoman arc? It was pretty weird so what you're describing seems pretty well in-line.

I've never really brought a DC comic before this restart, well other then the very occasional Batman UK combo comic thingy they do over here thats a year or so out of date.

So I'd not seen her stuff before, just liked what I have read about her, and like her costume.


Waiting on Batman, Birds of Prey, Red Hood and Carwoman now.

Also considering Teen Titans atm, but not sure.

TT is definitely on my list, as I am a big Tim Drake fan.

It's interesting that you never bought a DC Comic before but are getting into them now -- what about the New 52 snagged your wallet?

I'll be honest here, that for a long time in the nineties I collected Marvel and as a younger man brought into the whole 'us v's them' mentality going around at the time. So didn't pick up DC because of some ill-perceived fanboy behaviour.

However since about 99' I've not really picked up comics at all. Then last year the shop (ie our family store, which is a supermarker/newsagent village shop) started getting in odd comics randomly, our distributor sends stuff on occasion we don't ask for just to see how it sells.

So I was able to pick up a few Batman UK edition comics, then since about May this year I began getting the Astonishing Spiderman UK combo comic, and the X-men combo.
They usually consist of two old issues, one from about a year or so ago, and usually another from the classic era.

So when they announced the new 52, it occured to me, I'd enjoyed the DC films, cartoons series over the years, more so than may 'favoured' Marvel ones. Realised I'd been a fool in my youth, and decided to give them a shot as it seemed a logical place to step back in.

So my first picks are based around characters I have enjoyed via other media.
Batman, Batwoman, JL for the series, and I liked Cyborg in TT, Catwoman, Batgirl, Red Hood for Starfire. Almost silly reasons to pick them, but I am enjoying the chance to follow stories in comic form again.

Teen Titans is a fave show of mine, real shame it got canned, although I am not sure as obviously the comic Teen Titans are not anything similar, although I am sure it'll be an interesting read.

Has Raven been placed anywhere in the new 52 btw? I can't see her name in any of the team ups, but I may have missed one.

She's not on any lineup. She was minor villain in Flashpoint, not that it means anything in the new verse.

If you liked the Teen Titans cartoon, I hope you're watching "Young Justice".

@Manchu - Ah okay, sadly most of my DC knowledge comes from the odd bit of Net reading, and other media, where obviously they are often nothing alike.

Just wondering was all.


@Kan, is it in a similar vein?

It is. It's quite nice though, I was impressed by it.

Ah looks like that hasn't reached us yet Kan, I am sure it will soon mind and aye one I'll be looking out for.

We only got Thundercats last week, and I was quite impressed with the reboot of it.

Young Justice is more in line with Batman TAS and Justice League unlimited than with Teen Titans. It is also quite awesome.

Yesterday I bought Resurrection Man, Frankenstein, Legion Lost, Batman and Robin and Demon Knights.

Only read, quickly, Res. Man and Demon Knights, but they've both piques my interest enough to stay on the pull list. The latter , whilst perhaps a little exposition heavy in parts, but it is the get-the-team-together issue so it's understandable, seems delightfully quirky. I'm a sucker for things Arthurian related as well so no surprise really.

Finally finished the second week of DC comics.
Demon Knights: Had no interest in this title. Art was good though and the story while slow to start I think has enough to hook me in for a few more issues. You get Etrigan, Vandal Savage, Madame Xanadu? The Shining Knight and a couple others I didn't recognize. The book reminded me a lot of the Seven Soldiers of Victory so I'll follow it for a bit.

Grifter: Another I knew nothing about and frankly did not impress me. The art is actually quite good and while the story was a little interesting it just wasn't enough to garner a second issue for me.

Mister Terrific: One of my 6 month pulls. Art was passable and the story was a little slow and confusing. We get flash backs and visits from the future. We didn't get to see Mr. Terrific be particularly smart. Not a stellar first issue but I'll be sticking with it to see if it shapes up.

Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E.: Interesting concept for me. Another of my 6 month pulls. Basic start, we get introduced to the team, we get a tour of S.H.A.D.E. HQ and we get a start on a mission. A big WTF for anyone that just read the Flashpoint Frankenstein though. Frank knows no one from the team and some backgrounds are different. Reboot though. I liked the comic save for one thing. Why is Father Time a preteen Japanese girl and even though they explain he gets a new form every decade why does he insist on wearing the schoolgirl outfit?

Superboy: OK, we start with him being cloned again. Looks like tactile TK powers again. Mystery redhead that is pretty obvious who it is though it was surprising to see this Wildstorm character added to DC main stream. We get a preview of who they want Superboy to go against and fans of Young Justice will probably be excited. All in all a good comic though I'm on the fence whether I'll pick up another issue.

Red Lanterns: Starts with Angry Cat being angry. I like Angry Cat. Then we see Atrocius (sp) turning soft (well not being psychotically homicidal and the Red Lanterns starting to lose respect for him. Larfleeze is now a red lantern...not sure many will like that. I just couldn't get into this book, despite my love for Angry Cat. No second chance from me.

Death Stroke: I went in not wanting to like this book and went away with a totally different reason to dislike it. I expected over the top violence, and there was. Sadly though what Death Stroke does in this book in no way was impressive. I expected a hard hit for someone of his caliber, instead we get full page splash of him entering the hit site and several panels of a boring fight. Then some uneasy dialogue between him and the hit target. He also gets shackled with an irritating crew. Only shining point is he doesn't finish the issue with an irritating crew. Basically I found the issue boring and won't be visiting this one again.

Batman and Robin: Just couldn't get into this one. To start I'm not a big Bat family fan. Suddenly Bruce has a son and the kid is the most soulless being I've seen. Mocking Bruce for morning his parent's deaths, not caring that they were his grandparents. Basically a head strong idiot with batman trained skills. The art though was good. Another no go for me.

Green Lantern: Sinestro as a reluctant Green lantern. I like this idea. Sinestro seeing his Yellow Lanterns terrorizing his home world. I like this. Sinestro going to a depowered Hal Jordan and asking for his help. Not sure about this since they give no reason why Hal is depowered. Art was good, his battle with a Yellow Lantern was nice. I'll probably go for another couple of issues.

Batwoman: Gorgeous Art work, confusing story. Mostly because I know nothing of this character. I can't really anything bad about this book but I'm just not sure if it grabs me. We'll see.

Suicide Squad: Two reasons I hate this book. Harley Quinn's new pycho slut look and Amanda Waller now a slim and sexy model type. I liked the old Harley look, it wa sfun and it lent to her opponents underestimating her. The new outfit is just trashy. Amanda Waller has always been a favorite of mine. I liked her stocky look, she actually looked like a woman hardened criminals would be scared of. Now we see a thin pretty girl. Do not like. Oh.. the story? It was crap. Not interesting at all. Art was fine. Not gonna pick this one up again.

Legion Lost: We get a group of not so popular or known Legion folk. Tellus, Dawnstar, Tyroc (and not a funkadelic Tyroc either), Gates, Wildfire, Timber Wolf and Yera, a female shapeshifter. Their time bubble is damaged as they chase a criminal to the past. He's had a day head start on them and seems to have released something nasty. Did I mention they have Tellus and Gates? Tellus and Gates! I freaking love Tellus and Gates! Good art to boot. Another 6 month pull for me.

Resurrection Man: Knew nothing about this book. The art is good the story good. Nothing great about either, just good. We get introduced to the man and his starnge power of dying and coming back with a new power. Seems the powers above and below both have keen interest in a man who can't die. I think this one piqued my interest just enough to go for a few more issues.

All in all not as good a week as last week.
Speacking of last week. I finally got hold of both Batgirl and Animal Man.
Batgirl was good. I loved the art. I liked seeing Babs mobile and kicking booty. Seems Killing Joke did happen and she was "cured", how we don't know yet. A bat book I like. Possibly because Babs is positive and uplifting, not grim and gritty. Will look at a few more.

Animal Man was very good. We get the Red, the animal version of Swampthing's Green. The Red does not look to be happy. The Green does not look to be happy. I think we're going to get an Animal Man and Swampthing cross over soon. I like this.

Batman, Birds of Prey and Catwoman arrived this morning.

I couldn't find BofP at the shop last night! Dammit!

That anti-Catwoman article is bollocks. I won't pretend to be offended by boobies to appease any malcontents, least of all the crowd that only likes "realistic proportions" in comic books.

Andrew Wheeler wrote:This must be what nerds think feminism looks like.

A little autobiographical, I'd say.

Andrew Wheeler wrote:Even Oracle, a popular female hero who has to rely on her brains rather than her athleticism, has been rolled back to a generic previous incarnation, thus bumping two other established characters out of the picture. She’s not wearing hot pants yet, but she has made the DC universe a less diverse and inclusive place.

You ever get the sense that people write blogs just to write blogs? Gail Simone must feel some regret -- she's partially responsible for these slogan-mouthing "sensitive" critics who are now turning the tables on her. I do wish these fethers would actually think about the comics instead of boiling it down to some kind of quota ... oh wait:

Andrew Wheeler wrote:There is room in comics for sexually aggressive female heroes. There is room for under-dressed bad girls, and heaven knows there always will be. [...] But first you need to build a diverse landscape. Even with good books like Wonder Woman and Batwoman, DC isn’t doing that. It only has seven female-led titles among its new 52.

We'll need nineteen more female-led books before it's okay that Catwoman is sexy and has nice boobies.

Also, Mr. Wheeler never once mentioned Jaime Reyes. Porque no? Ah, right: no boobies at stake.

I'm looking forward to Catwoman. Although I really don't understand, why Paul Dini isn't writing anything in the reboot.

Anyways, back in Marvelland the disjointed Fear Itself is wrapping up. The story probably isn't that bad but I couldn't really say because it's hard to follow. My main problem with it is that the story was all told in mini-series. Now obviously all mega-events are attempts to sell more comics but these has been the worst one of all. Usually, the event is still going on in other titles so you can just collect your usual stuff and be in the know. So for example, previously if I just collected Avengers I would know what's happening to the Avengers in the Civil War and whatnot. With Fear Itself if you collect Avengers you get unimportant side tales of the Avengers for the part and important plot progression stuff happens in something called "Fear Itself: Avengers" which would be a 3 part mini or something. Pretty blatant attempt to make me double up on every title I already collect.
So in summary: worst event ever (insert comic book guy voice).

Final two comics arrived this morning, although I am going to Ipswich on Friday and if the comic shop has them I won't lie, the temptation to get Nightwing and Voodoo #1 will be strong.

So I got Dark Knight and Red Hood.

.

For me, the whole "New 52" has been mostly disappointing.

DC tried to have it both ways:

1) "This is all new, reboot, no need to worry about the past - jump on NOW new readers!"

2) "Worry not old readers, this is NOT a reboot, most/some/a bit of all that came before is still in play. Maybe."

End result - rather unimpressive really.

About a 40% 'hit' rate for me...

I can't defend the Starfire thing. It creeped me out if I'm honest. The going explanation is that this is just how Tamaraens are. I'm not buying it. As it stands she's somewhere between a robot assassin and a blow-up doll. As much as men love to hate on men (see Andrew Wheeler on Selina Kyle above), I don't think anyone can sincerely say this Starfire is a male fantasy. She's not a very compelling character as-is so my money is on "something's wrong with her and that's part of the arc." Maybe this is just one big event like the cynics have prophesied.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh wait: http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/09/21/dc-firestar-sex/

No matter how stupid it is, someone out there is willing to blame it on "male sex fantasies." (Although, in this case, Lobdell does it to himself -- having that kid with the camera was not cute.)



That's more like it.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/09/23/dancing-with-the-starfires/

You think there will ever be a news site reporting what the moderators of DakkaDakka don't want you to know?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
And some insight into Lobdell?

“Yes, there were a lot of people there, it had become quite the conversation piece. There was a lot of discussion about Kory and her sexuality the day before this issue went to press.”

“There were a handful of staff, mostly other women, who believed the writer was trying to equate being a strong woman with being, frankly, a slut. No one said that the writer was misogynistic, just that perhaps he was writing from a male perspective. It was firmly suggested to him that he could accentuate the character’s past as a sex slave. And that this might be an explanation for her sexuality, that she was acting out in her new life.”

“However, we were told he was adamant that Kory not be portrayed as a victim. The argument was made that if she was acting out sexually because of her past it mind that she mentally never left the prison planet.”

“In the end a compromise was struck and the sentence “I am a woman” [originally placed at the top of the third panel above] was lost.”

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/09/22/behind-the-
scenes-on-starfire-and-red-hood-and-the-outlaws-1/

Some good reads there Manchu.

I must admit I meant the sexual thing in my post above, as I'm not bothered by the idea of her having relationships.

However what really is the point if she feels nothing for those she is with, the whole feeling is nailed by a post on Bleeding Cool, putting her akin to either she is treating Humanity as a large swathe of sex toys, or she herself is in fact a sex toy for the reader.

Neither makes for an interesting character.

I really hope you are right Manchu, and this is revealled as something is wrong, and some of the old Starfire comes back.




On a side note, what would folks rate as their fave three relaunch issues.

Partially wondering if any are really standing out between the folks here, that I should maybe pick up tomorrow if available.

Mine are probably.

Batman
Batgirl
Suicide Squad

I don't think I can do a top three. I loved GL1 and thought Red Lanterns was a good read, too, if you like the GL lineup. If I absolutely have to pick, I liked Nightwing the best -- more for where it's going than where it went in issue one. Then again, Dick Grayson is my favorite character ...

... which brings us back to Starfire, who really loved Dick. Er. You see what I mean -- Starfire as utterly head-over-heals-in-love with an nonreciprocating Dick Grayson ... yeah, now that's a fantasy. (As an aside: First, what the hell is a "sexual fantasy" as opposed to a "romantic fantasy"? Second, what makes said fantasy "male"?) Most people would like to be unconditionally loved by a beautiful if alien being like Starfire. The idea of such a dream being reduced to a flat-out, out-of-the-blue offer for sex (which in this case makes a query like "can I use you bathroom?" seem deeply intimate) is just gross.

I feel bad for Starfire. This writing is like rape in the sense that associating the word "sexual" with it seems off, at least for those who don't think "sexual" is a bad and dirty word. Characters like Starfire have established personalities and they exist quite apart from their writers by this point.It feels like Lobdell forced her to, you know? And, yep, that's just gross.

Yeah, unless its not there I'll be grabbing a Nightwing #1 tomorrow for certain.

I also fully agree with the Starfire comments.

http://www.digitalspy.com/comics/news/a342872/dc-responds-to-starfire-controversy.html

@DC: Just to be clear, the depiction of sexy wimmins are not what's wrong here. But you knew that, right?

More nattering:

http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/09/22/starfire-catwoman-sex-superheroine/

If you walk away from comics, or even just DC comics, over two issues (and, in my view, only one of them is even problematic) then I have to say ... I don't really believe you've ever cared about comics short of, you know, having something to bitch about in your blog. (Obviously, Laura Hudson isn't only a blogoholic but she made the teasy claim, not me.) And if this is getting to you in 2011, what they hell attracted you to comics in the first place? Probably the genderlessness of comicbooks 20 years ago.

But I'll let her talk (about Catwoman 1):

Laura Hudson wrote:That is in fact all we see of her for two pages: shots of her breasts. Most problematically, we are shown her breasts and her body over and over for two pages, but NOT her face. No joke, we get a very clear and detailed shot of her butt in black latex before we ever see her face looks like. Can't you show us the playful or confident look in her eye as she puts on her sexy costume? Because without that it's impossible to connect with the character on any other level than a boner, and I'm afraid I don't have one of those.

That ain't all your missing, ma'am. You are also missing the point of why any of this is noteworthy much less anger-worthy.

Laura Hudson wrote:Like I said, I'm on board with the hot ladies; part of what got me into comics back in the day was being a 12-year-old girl who looked at strong, beautiful characters like Rogue and Jean Grey and Storm and wanted to be like them in large part because they were so sexy and confident and had exciting romances.

Kaaaay, so what's the problem?

Laura Hudson wrote:And while as with all aesthetic opinions your mileage may vary, this does not look sexy to me; it looks like a creepy fanfiction drawing.

So she doesn't like it, personally. And this means that women are universally denigrated by it ... ?

Laura Hudson wrote:I mean literally, why is that last page a full-page splash of Batman actually penetrating Catwoman? [...] They just wanted to see Catwoman and Batman bang on a roof. And that is the whole problem with this false notion of "sexually liberated" female characters: These aren't those women. [...] They read like men's voices coming out of women's faces.

Your criticism of a page with no dialog is that the dialog doesn't sound like a woman's voice. *golf clap*

She must have seen the issue here because she went on to give this helpful example:

Laura Hudson wrote:Or worse, they read like the straight girls who make out with each other at clubs, not because they enjoy making out with women but because they desperately want guys to pay attention to them.

There's so much wrong here. Girls should not want guys' attention? Only gay women have the right (privilege?) to make out with women? A charitable reading of this is "women are motivated by more than the need to titillate me" but that's not what she said. In fact, what she said is a jumble of ideas that reflect her own confused but undoubtedly self-righteous opinions on gender and society. And this response just doesn't work for the Catwoman example. As a wiser head managed to argue:

Shoshana Kessock wrote: Now, I did defend the Catwoman #1 portrayal as in my eyes an all right representation of Catwoman. Why, might you ask, is this different? Because the actions in that comic were completely in line with what I expect from Catwoman. This portrayal of Starfire as empty eye-candy is not in line with the portrayal I've expected of the orange alien princess of old. This, folks, is what I'd classify as objectification at it's worst and being told to check the ratings isn't the point. The point is not for someone to please think of the children. It's for someone to please respect that adults might find this offensive as well.

Thanks, Shoshana, for reminding us that we don't get outraged just to be outraged just because the rest of the internet is outraged just because it's fun to be outraged.

http://www.ology.com/technology/dcs-response-sexy-starfire-backlash-check-ratings

Aye, Shoshana is spot on there.

Also agree, the whole quiting after two issues is pretty pathetic. I'm generally happy, I'll give Red Hood another three or four issues to see if there is more to Starfire than what issue one is letting on, but thats the only one I have a doubt over at the moment.

Well, as far as Ms. Hudson goes, sure -- she should trash Red Hood if she hated that comic so much (justifiably so) but walking away from comics which have been her "whole life for 20 years" is ... unbelievable? And superficial, if she actually does it.

One day, MDS, people will be up their asses about porn, I'm sure. Not anti-porn protestors or whatever but actual porn fans. I can hear it now: "There aren't enough midgets -- doesn't this industry value diversity?"

Finally, I get the distinct impression that someone that infuriated by straight girls making out to get guys' attention knows a little bit about getting guys' attention. Like being the only chick at the comic store for 20 years ... I'm not saying that's why she likes comics but the whole tone of her article is what a misogynistic oppressor like myself would call "attention whoring."

And speaking of superficiality and attention-whoring:

http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2011/09/patton-oswalt-swears-off-dc-comics-over-survey-encounter/

Dude better be sure never to get caught with any DC books in his hands for the rest of the rapidly shrinking amount of time that anyone would care.

Manchu rocks!

Spot on commentary.

Now, however, weren't you the slightest bit perturbed by Dick's seemingly casual acceptance of two police officers being murdered right in front of him?