DC Comics Reboot

[BentonGrey]

Agreed.  Entirely, entirely agreed.  If I wanted it digital, I'd have bought it digital.

[daglob]

Agreed.  Entirely, entirely agreed.  If I wanted it digital, I'd have bought it digital.

Me too.

[HarryTrotter]

http://www.theouthousers.com/index.php/news/137183-dc-dynamite-teaming-up-for-batman-proto-batman-crossover.html
Im sure this will interest some people,Batman will be teaming up with The Shadow.Written by Scott Snyder and Steve Orlando.

[Silver Shocker]

Neat. Scott Snyder's a good Batman writer so that'll probably turn out good. Not sure if I'll end up reading it, as I'm not really a fan of the Shadow.

[kkhohoho]

So I came up with what I think would be a pretty kickass Elseworlds the other day and I figured I might as well post it up here. Here goes:

'In another time and another place, the Earth has been devastated in a nuclear war centuries ago, and is only now just starting to pick up the pieces. In spite of this, hope springs eternal, and a kindly old couple have managed to hold on to that despite there seemingly being no reason to do so. As such, when they find a strange rocket carrying an infant in the middle of nowhere, rather than leaving him to his fate, they take him in and raise him as their own, with the boy growing up and learning to be the best he can be even in the worst of times. And so when the boy comes of age and discovers the true limits of his abilities, he decides to use his powers to wander the wastelands, help who he can, and try to bring some light to the darkness; to save the world from itself. But the question is, as the Man Of Steel may find himself asking time and time again during his travels, is it a world worth saving? (The answer: Yes. Yes it is.) '

Whaddya' think?

[daglob]

Sounds better than quite a few I've seen.

Spoiler

For the second story you could have him run into a mysterious woman from a lost tribe of Amazons and a tactical genius who is searching for the bandits who killed his parents.

[kkhohoho]

Sounds better than quite a few I've seen.

Spoiler

For the second story you could have him run into a mysterious woman from a lost tribe of Amazons and a tactical genius who is searching for the bandits who killed his parents.

Thanks. Hm. Maybe I should do something with that...

Spoiler

And then in the third story, after they all start traveling together as a kickass trio, they discover the whereabouts of the bandits that killed our genius' parents. They've recently joined with a burgeoning movement to create a new Empire set to bring civilization back to the world while trampling the little people under its' heel, and it just so happens to be led by a certain bald mastermind who's even more of a genius than the trios' own...

[HarryTrotter]

There is an interview with Warren Ellis(bit of a Rasputin vibe there) in todays issues;and Im even more excited about The Wild Storm now.First issue out on February 15.
In other news DC put on hold all of the announced collections that included works of Gerard Jones.Understandable,but probably disappointing for a lot of people.

[SickAlice]

In short on here on Rebirth imo. Green Lantern books have fallen a long way for what used to be my mainstays. The adage " if it isn't broke don't fix it " should have been applied here, especially to a property that was selling like hotcakes and always spawning several spin-offs. The Superman books are some of the more interesting and the Bat books are pretty good reads. JL isn't doing it for me. Suicide Squad is one of the more 2-dimensional runs to be sure. Teen Titans has promise, too early to say. I love Doom Patrol but if I learned anything about this series is it lives up to it's name and will be cancelled before I get to know it so I'm not getting too attached. Shade is my top DC read right now. Flash is pretty good every month. Above all else it knows how to relate the characters personal struggles between the action and give me a reason to care what happens. Much of the rest I can take or leave. Not bad nor compelling. Overall better than that last blip of a tagline but not getting me up early to my LCS either. Lastly, I think the idea of chasing the Watchmen mythos is an interesting concept on paper but in the long run a bad move because there is no way DC will be able to escape the notion that it's regurgitated and playing on popularity. That isn't to say it couldn't churn out good reading between the pages but I think it will end up going down as a grey mark when the smoke clears.

[HarryTrotter]

Wild Storm #1 was pretty good.There is a LOT of introductions and a LOT of characters for one issue.But all things considered,a pretty promising start.

[HarryTrotter]

We have several options of who Clark Kent might be.Im betting on Magog.

[kkhohoho]

We have several options of who Clark Kent might be.Im betting on Magog.

Which one? The awesome Kingdom Come one or the kinda-lame JSA one?

[HarryTrotter]

Im guessing Kingdom Come one.Or a third one?

[Silver Shocker]

I'm not sure. Based on future solicits there's two candidates I don't think will be the real one. Magog might make the most sense story-wise.

Pt. 1 was a decent start to the crossover IMO. The art was notably different but that's because before now I was only reading Action.

That reminds me, I had a comment on last week's Action Comics that I meant to post but forgot to.

2 milkshakes, 4 apple pies and what I assume is sort kind of strudel? I eat more junk food than I probably should and I don't think I'd want to eat that much. Farm boy sure eats a lot.

[SickAlice]

I haven't made any guesses and am sort of letting myself get surprised. I'm assuming Convergence plays into this whole thing whereas but who knows. Also noting solicits there's a cover where Clark is opening his suit to reveal a specific Superman emblem, that being the one from Death Of Superman. I have to figure that's a hint.
http://www.dccomics.com/comics/action-comics-2016/action-comics-975

[HarryTrotter]

After the Flash crossover,the next guest at Batman titles will be Swamp Thing.Do we need Tom Kings take on Swamp Thing?

[kkhohoho]

After the Flash crossover,the next guest at Batman titles will be Swamp Thing.Do we need Tom Kings take on Swamp Thing?

Unless Tom King is an impossible anagram for Alan Moore, then not really, no. (JK. Mostly.)

[HarryTrotter]

Judging from all the hype about him,somebody at DC seems to think so.
IMO the last good Swamp Thing run was by Mark Millar(seriously,it was great). And don't even get me started on the Brightest day.

[spydermann93]

Looks like DC is doing another crossover:

https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/02/16/dc-comics-looney-tunes-theyve-done-hanna-barbera/

And a few more here:

http://comicvine.gamespot.com/forums/gen-discussion-1/dclooney-tunes-crossover-update-1859479/#33

[SickAlice]

Like asking if we need a new Robocop movie. The company pays the copyright and the franchise pulled in good numbers in a time. We'll see anything that sold iterated over again for some years. Like for example how Animal Man, Doom Patrol, X-Force and Cloak & Dagger pop out of the gopher hole again and again. Thus will Swamp Thing. It's easier to recognize the business constants as tropes and rather than boggle oneself about them, use them as a measuring stick to recognize either original content or well done traditional art.

[HarryTrotter]

Revival is not my problem.Tom King is my problem.

[Silver Shocker]

So surprisingly, no one posted about this yet. Fake Clark Kent is....

Spoiler

MR. MXYZSPTLK!  Can't say I was really expecting that, but when reading the comic the clues were certainly there, I'm actually pretty disappointed in myself that I didn't figure it out in advance.

I think this might be the only comic I've ever read featuring Mxy. I've never been a fan of the character, except when he was voiced by GILBERT GOTTFRIED in Superman TAS. I also liked the oldschool cartoon look they gave him in that show, which is replicated in a college image in this comic.

Speaking of which, I really enjoyed the backup story (written by Paul Dini). My disappointment though, is that Ian Churchill's art looks a lot better when he's doing a spot on imitation of other artist's styles instead of his own.

[HarryTrotter]

So like I said I would,I got around to Justice League of America #1-2.And seeing how disappointing Hitches JL is,is this one better?TBH,Im not sure,maybe?
Anyhow,Batman gathered a bunch of CW characters and Lobo to form his own Justice League.Why,exactly?Reis does a great job on the artwork.Orlando does a mediocre job on the writing.
Extremists,the group based on Marvel villains,invade this dimension.For reason they are not so sure about themselves.They have a new member based on Green Goblin.Which makes sense.And then it gets weird.

Spoiler

Lord Havok threatens to kill Ryan Choi and Batman offers his life in exchange.You think Batman is bluffing and planing a double cross?No,he really goes with that.But good thing that Diehard turns against the other Extremists...and then the bad guys teleport away.From a fight they were wining.To occupy a fictional country that the JLA now has to infiltrate.So that went from Crime Syndicate to Outsiders/Suicide Squad in half an issues.

[Glitch Girl]

Just found out one of my favorite lesser-known artists, Stjepan Sejic, has gotten an Aquaman gig.

Some sample images for ya.
http://nebezial.deviantart.com/art/just-some-seaside-stuff-660676719
http://nebezial.deviantart.com/art/so-i-discovered-i-really-like-mera-665933484

[HarryTrotter]

Isnt he the guy who does softcore porn webcomics?

[Glitch Girl]

A coule, but he's also done Rat Queens, Death Vigil, and Switch (the Witchblade spinoff that is surprisingly less porny than the original)

Plus one of my all time favorite Wonder Woman drawings: link here

[spydermann93]

A coule, but he's also done Rat Queens, Death Vigil, and Switch (the Witchblade spinoff that is surprisingly less porny than the original)

Plus one of my all time favorite Wonder Woman drawings: link here

Holy crap, I've actually seen this guys work before! I never knew his name, but that Wonder Woman piece is definitely one that I've seen before and it's one of my favorite depictions as well.

That Mera drawing is beautiful! wow!

EDIT: And this one, too! This was always hilarious to me: http://nebezial.deviantart.com/art/daily-dose-of-stupid-and-obvious-451328123

[The_Baroness]

*cough and removes the dust and spiderwebs from her corner*

uhmm ahem... hi... long time no see and no talk. *waves around*

After pretty much quitting comics with New 52, Rebirth brought me back (Even hunted down and completed Convergence and some stories relevant to new continuity like Lois & Clark mini). I have to say, Rebirth is really doing it for me, for the most part.

Aquaman is just fantastic, not only the focus on Arthur and Mera, but the supporting cast is pretty solid, unlike other books.

Green Arrow started a bit rocky, but have quickly become one of the strongest books of the whole rebirth.

Nightwing, was good, but as soon as he went to Blüdhaven the title just took on a new strength

The Superman titles are a real delight so far... I recently took on re reading ALL the Superman titles from 86 to 2010...  I'm currently at 93... and the Rebirth titles just feel like I got my old friend back. It is something quite beyond words, really. I really love to see Clark and Lois dealing with parenthood, something I would have love to see more for other characters (Ideally, for me... let ALL characters grow old... I mean by now the classic JLA lineup should be between their 50s and 60 and the First Titans generation in their mid 30s as main heroes... but that is another discussion)

Batman... I am not happy with this title... some ideas are ok... but overall it is just a big disappointment. I don't care about Brawler Supreme Batman... I want the Detective one, I want the one who NOT ALWAYS won... the one who WAS NOT PREPARED FOR EVERYTHING, but had to stumble first and THEN come back prepared... I want the Batman that felt like EVERY victim was his fault for not being able to save them... not this detached figure that seemingly feels nothing at all.

Detective Comics is interesting, specially the way they handled Steph... god... I was cheering her on when she tongue lashed Bruce. <3 Steph! Glad to see Cass... but I rather have her as Batgirl. A bit puzzled by the way they are redeeming someone like Clayface but refuse to even acknowledge how other characters have progressed beyond the term villain. Once again the need to keep a status quo ends up hurting the characters and the stories. Long ago we got Riddler, Two Face and even Ivy either recovering, working a (semi) honest job, or working alongside a team of heroes... and suddenly... boop... all reset.

Batgirl and Batgirl & Birds of Prey... Batgirl title started to take a hold on me a lot more after the Ivy issue (That was a pretty fun story as well) I'm till not over the de aging of Barbara done by the Burnside run... but seems we are stuck with that. Love that in the annual they are trying to rekindle the legendary friendship between Babs and Kara. Hopefully we'll see more of Alysia as well. Regarding the Birds of Prey... It is not a bad book but it is missing something. Not a fan of the new oracle either.

Blue Beetle has not been excellent but quite good, and one of my dreams has become true... Ted Kord acting as a mentor for Jaime. My 2 favorite Beetles together!!!

New Superman. The title I was most skeptical at first, turned out to be one of the strongest completely new entries. It took till issue 4 to completely grab me but they avoided ALL the pits I feared it would fall into, and has only become a strongest title afterwards. I hope we get to see a bit more of the Great Ten too.

Both Green Lantern titles are entertaining to me. Really really love Jessica... I do get to identify with her way too much, cause we both ahve to deal with quite similar struggles and it is handled really well.

Titans is another love letter to me... I love these characters, I love that they recovered this bond of friendship and that we have Wally back!! (Now if we could only get Barry to sacrifice himself and then a Wally/Wally teamup..)

The Flash is a pretty cool title as well. I'll always keep my stance that Barry should have remained dead (Same for Hal for that matter) In my view, the Legacy moved on (Doesn't mean we can't have MORE Barry adventures, just set them in their proper time) But despite that opinion, it is a pretty good book. Considering Barry started this whole emss in universe... I d feel he may have to end it...

Teen Titans. This is a mixed bag to me. I love some of the thigns being done but I just can't get pass some of the things... De aging Gar, Starfire and Raven is just a crummy move.  Raven and Starfire should be with the other Titans and same age bracket (Not a highschooler like Raven on her mini) And furthermore... either of these 3 should be the proper leaders of the team, instead of that unlikable brat Damian. There is also the problem that... with Wally making people remember... then Raven, Gar and Starfire will get to remember being older, and what will happen with Victor once he remembers being with the Titans before?

Justice League... ehhh not good. This is one of that just does not do it for me. The storytelling is bland, they are also stepping on the toes of the other creative teams by messing with parts of the mythos of the characters... and seems to focus way too much on Batman and Superman... They already have plenty of titles to be showcased, we need to see the roster expand and shift focus to characters without a solo title run, and get a better writer as well.

Suicide Squad, started quite bland, but after the JL vs SS crossover things have picked up quite nicely, finally. The current story is very interesting and seems they have become more comfortable with the characters.

Deathstroke. Not an easy book... quite the contrary, really... it does not pull punches and gives very good interlocking stories. Priest is doing a wonderful job here.

Cyborg is ok, but the whole machine or human seems to have been told many other times before with him.

Harley... yeah no... this is... ok the stories can be entertaining, but can someone tell how come she is both here and prisoner on Belle Reeve at the same time? Thank you. And why all her "stories" feel like a discount Deadpool wannabe type of storytelling? Harley has a lot more potential and she is being wasted and overexposed for this zany title, imho.

Wonder Woman is one of my highlights as well. Just everything about it makes me love the title more.

JLA: is just starting, but shaping up pretty interesting so far. Still a couple of points here. Why is Lobo here? Sorry but genocidal maniac is not a heroic char in my books... (He fits way more with LEGION and the villainous Vril Dox II) I think Frost striving for redemption IS an interesting thing... and then the sore thumb ... (yes, even worse than Lobo). Why is Batman here as well?  *sighs* I used to like Batman (way more when he was Dick, i might add) but this is a character that has had DECADES of overexposure. I do hope the rumors of a switcheroo there are true.

Supergirl and Superwoman are both fun titles. Don't think there is much left for Superwoman now, considering the events of Superman Reborn... but I would love to be proven wrong. Love the many [expletive deleted] characters appearing here, but they need to be shown a bit more. Supergirl... after seeing pre crisis Kara a few times, I just wish they had managed to bring THAT Kara back instead of this one... Even if i like her stories, she will always feel like not living up to her true potential due to that.

Regarding the minis: They have been/are fun

Apollo / Midnighter was really fun to read, brought back some old characters and redeemed one of the worst stereotypical characters made in the 80s, giving him a great presence. Gregorio was simply fantastic on his brief appearance. I still think these 2 should not be on the main Universe but on an alt Earth (There is no Effing way they can go around killing the way they used to and not become a target for the many super teams around... seriously)

Death of Hawkman was really good in my opinion. Despite the name the real star here was Adam Strange (Who can say no to Adam Strange, really?) Pretty good story with some nice twist here and there. The epilogue with this week's special meeting the Quest family just was the icing of the cake.

Captain Atom. Cary Bates is back writing Nate... and it shows the love he has for the character. Issue 2 was the highlight so far, but it is shaping up to be one of the best things out of Rebirth so far. Finally seeing the Nathaniel Adam i loved from the original run of Bates in late 80s

Ok... that was a lot of rambling.

Also, I strongly recommend Stjepan's Sunstone. As someone who has been on that lifestyle for a while, it just read way too true, and the way he gives life to characters and dialogue is a wonderful treat.

Now... I have to keep cleaning my corner here... so much dust and webs still around...

[Tomato]

Finally buckled down and read the Titans and Teen Titans books, the former being the first DC book since the Aquaman marriage debacle I actually paid money for... and I found them to both be really, really enjoyable. Teen Titans is a bit weaker, since unlike Titans it didn't have as strong a start (the opening arc is basically just a Damian Wayne story... which is fine, but it failed to really take advantage of the characters it has) nor is there as clear of a plan in place for long term development... but I also like elements of the cast a bit more, since they feel more fresh.

Real quick, I want to respond to a few of the Baroness' comments.

Spoiler

First, I think there's some understandable confusion about the nature of Wally and the changes to history. It was established in both Titans Hunt AND Titans proper that while this Wally DOES recall the life of his pre-n52 counterpart because of the speed force, he's actually a time-displaced version of the new-52's original Wally West... The "Tenth Titan" who was present during the fight with Mr Twister which caused the Titans to erase the memories of their version of the team from history. The memories they have are from THAT timeline... as seen from the fact that every flashback features the N52 costumes rather than the pre-flashpoint ones. Victor, Garth, and Koriand'r were not a part of that team as far as we know, and are therefore not subject to the same mind-fixing that Wally gave the others.

That being said, the "deaging" is not something unique to this version of the Teen Titans either. Prior to even the reboot, Raven had been attending high school as "Rachel Roth" due to being reborn in a teenage body. And Garth... well, he's Garth. The only one that seems "deaged" is maybe Starfire, but she is also clearly the eldest in the group, and any "de-aging" on her part could be due to the artist rather than any intent to make her younger. All the comic says is that she's "young" like the others, which could refer to a 25 year old woman.

As for Damian being the leader... we don't know that he really is yet. He fell into that role because the opening arc was about him, but aside from him saying he is we don't really see the team respecting him like they would a team leader. Aqualad might end up filling that slot once he's an actual member.

[HarryTrotter]

Just so you dont get too relaxed,there will be a summer event.Dark Days.Something about Batman an Nth metal?Be afraid.