Throwback Thursday - One Year of DC's New 52 (2 Years Later)

This was originally posted on my Tumblr back on August 31, 2012. Funny how I haven't read any comics in at least a year now. 

One Year of DC’s New 52 - Growing Up

While this isn’t really a response to Ryan over at The Signal Watch, it is inspired by his recent post about DC’s relaunch and growing up and, well, life, I guess. I don’t necessarily agree with everything he says, though I don’t completely disagree either. Just minor details. Anyway it’s a very good post so be sure to check it out here.

So, it’s been one year since DC’s relaunch and I’ve been a big defender of it from the onset. The idea of a fresh start to the universe was just appealing and frankly, necessary. Whether it needed to be a full reboot or not, something had to be done. Characters like Wonder Woman and Superman were just not working anymore. Batman was, which is why nothing was really changed there. I had tired of Green Lantern, but it still had an audience as well. Either way, I welcomed a reboot. Once the books were out and I tried most of  them, what stood out to me was the idea that they were publishing a variety of books with different creators and tones to appeal to a wider audience. They weren’t setting out to appeal to everyone with every title. Who can afford 52 books a month, after all? Take the Batman family for example. Early on, I realized I wasn’t going to be reading all of them. I did not care for Dark Knight or Detective Comics. Not my thing, though a lot of people did like those. But the Batman title, with Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo continues to be one of my favorite books, a year later. And as long as that team (particularly Snyder) is involved, it will likely be the only superhero book I’ll continue to read a year from now. 

In addition to the varied tone, the representation of genre in the new books has kept me interested in DC at a time when I’ve been moving further and further away from an interest in reading about men in tights. Books like Swamp Thing, Animal Man and Frankenstein, while they take place in the same universe as Justice League are far from being the same kind of book as Justice League. Even Wonder Woman has basically been a Vertigo book under Azzarello, which suits me fine. Granted, I follow creators such as Lemire and Snyder closely and would probably read their grocery lists, so I’m not sure I would be reading these books if someone else were writing them. Matt Kindt took over Frankenstein at the perfect time, as I had just gotten into his style as well. And, by the way, creator turn around and cancellations were to be expected since many of the books were basically an experiment, and during a time when publishing a book that doesn’t sell is not really an option, so I can’t fault them for that. Whether or not creators left under bad circumstances, I don’t necessarily worry too much about, and I don’t say that as some blind defense of DC. But my concern is really just the books themselves.

If there is one glaring problem with the New 52 it’s the continuity issue. If you ask me, the mistake isn’t that the continuity doesn’t make sense, it’s that the concept of continuity between a wide range of books should be completely abandoned. I read Batman and Wonder Woman. I do not read Justice League, nor do I care how those characters are represented in that book. For me, it works out, so far. There is no “Batman” as a character. There is only the Batman as interpreted by whoever is currently writing him. Grant Morrison himself played with this idea in his run by trying to incorporate every version of the character into canon. It was bold and fun, but ultimately, it doesn’t really work outside of his run. I don’t mind if one creator tells a story that directly contradicts what another did before. The truth is that that has always been the case in comics. The idea of continuity was only forced onto the medium in an attempt to market to us as we got older and make us buy more books. It doesn’t have to be that way.

I do worry that eventually, possibly soon, DC will try to start shoehorning events from one book into another. They’ll want to try to get me to buy more books again, and in desperation will resort to this old tactic. So far, though, the two crossovers I’ve dealt with, The Court of Owls and The Rot, have happened organically within the series themselves. What’s more, with The Court of Owls, I did not, nor did I feel like I had to, read any of the other Batman books. And this is key, because this is what has reduced my Marvel reading to almost nothing. I am no longer interested in giant, company wide events that “change everything,” which I know is ironic since I’m defending a relaunch that came from just that. Basically, I just want to read my book, month to month, and not worry about a “big picture.” If I’m not already interested in Justice League, interrupting my Batman story because The Justice League is in a heated battle against the Teen Titans, is not going to go far in making me buy either of those two books. In fact, that just happened over at Marvel and I dropped Wolverine and The X-Men as a result.

I’m also completely ok with characters being changed. I always say it’s in the execution. So the idea of changing Superman, for example, is not problematic to me. The problem is that the reality of the relaunch was that the new version of Superman, even Morrison’s, just wasn’t interesting to me. In the case of Morrison, I just feel he already told the only Superman story that ever needed telling in All Star Superman. But again, not every book is for me. And that’s fine. I’ll read the ones that are until they aren’t.

You know what else wasn’t for me, after all? Before Watchmen. I defended the idea of it and still do. But after trying a few of the first issues, what I found was that it just wasn’t necessary. In his post, Ryan talks about how superhero comics are no longer exploring anything meaningful. I can totally see that, though I don’t see anything wrong with that necessarily (a good story can just be a good story). However, I think that observation nails absolutely what I didn’t like about the Before Watchmen books I read. It turns out that anything Alan Moore didn’t already explore in the original, has been explored, deconstructed and reconstructed in the countless stories inspired by Watchmen. Books like The Authroity, which Ryan mentions, have filled any gaps. I’m not saying it wouldn’t have been possible to make the Before Watchmen books relevant or at least not seem redundant, but again, it’s all in the execution and I don’t think they executed. I could be wrong since I only read the first issue of a few of them, though. I might check them out when they get collected.

Overall, the fact is, we’re all growing up (FINALLY!). I’m 39 now with a daughter and another child on the way. That’s not to say we should give up comics, or even superhero comics. But we’re not going to be into the same things anymore. What’s more, for years now, we’ve been the target audience for Marvel and DC and it’s no secret that that has been a huge mistake on their part. They have not cultivated new readers along the way. Now they are taking action because they are waking up to the fact that we are slowly moving away from their product anyway. At least I am. I read a lot more independent books than I ever have, and virtually none of those are superhero books. So no, they aren’t publishing books for us. For that, I am glad, actually. I’d rather they continue than die with me. I’d rather whole new generations grow up on virtually unrecognizable versions of the same characters I love than to see the characters completely go away. I want to hear my kids, in 35 years, complaining about how DC broke up Superman and Wonder Woman.

Comics of the Week - Girls, Boys, etc.

I continue to call this a good time for comics. There's one more week left of DC #1's and for me, it seems to be winding down, but each week, I find something to be surprised by. Meanwhile, other books are coming out that are just as good. But I'll just focus on the DC books this time.

I've been singing the praises of Scott Snyder, particularly his work on Detective Comics, for months now. I was really looking forward to Batman #1 and his teaming up with Greg Capullo on art. I suspected this would be my favorite book of the relaunch. It was good, but I don't think it was my favorite. I may have over hyped myself on it. Snyder is still right on, bringing something new to Batman, this time, Bruce. But something is off. Capullo's art is fine, though, I prefer the Batman scenes. His Bruce Wayne comes off too much like a pretty boy to me. But I think the problem I have is not with either the writer or the artist. The Batbooks were on a roll for the past couple of years, and when the reboot was announced I was worried they'd ruin a good thing. Then we learned that the events of the past few years would still play into the continuity of the Bat Family. The problem is, in practice, that doesn't work. It's easy to say "well, don't think about it too much," and just take the stories for what they are. And I am. But, it's hard to get past the idea that these characters could have grown and become what they are now, and yet, Bruce is somehow younger. I just get the feeling, in the back of my obsessive nerd brain, that the timeline is about to get real muddy, real fast. I'm still reading though. As I said, Snyder is still on point, introducing a new mystery that is sure to unravel into another great story arc.

There are two reasons I read Blue Beetle #1. One is that I'm interested in seeing what is being put out there for younger readers and this is supposed to be a teen book. The other reason is that this a Hispanic character and as a Hispanic character myself, I am curious about DC's diversity initiative (my words). On the first point, I think the book pulls it off. As I was reading the opening scenes, I was reminded of Invincible. I think this has a lot of potential in attracting new, younger readers. The action is there (and beautifully so, with art by Ig Guara and Ruy Jose) and the teen age drama is there. Some of the story is a little convoluted, but I think it will clear up as the series goes along. As for the Hispanic thing, it's complicated. I appreciate that the book is written by Tony Bedard, who is Puerto Rican. And there is nothing to be offended by here. But, and this really comes to personal taste, I am not a fan of minority characters, in this case Hispanic, that are almost exclusively surrounded by more minority characters. Granted, this is one issue and we are only being introduced to the characters, but I wish there had been more diversity within the cast of characters Jaime Reyes hangs out with. Other than that, the Spanglish was kept to a respectable level, although I could live with never seeing a character use the word "Chica" again. I want to see this develop and see how Jaime is incorporated into the rest of the DCU.

The Internets are on fire this week (again), because Batman and Catwoman had graphic sex in Catwoman #1 written by Judd Winick with art by Guillem March. Well, there's more to what has people upset than that. Here we have Catwoman being introduced, half naked from the start, fumbling along, until Bruce shows up. I won't go into the whole representation of women issue here (maybe later), but I didn't really care for this issue because it came across as a cheap attempt at being titillating. Oh, look Batman and Catwoman are doing it, in costume, for several pages. It wasn't all that interesting, didn't tell us anything about the characters and really just stood out as being superhero porn. Now, there's nothing wrong with that, per se, but at the end of the day, it is boring. The rest of the DC books have ended in cliffhangers that make you want to pick up the next issue to see what happens next. Judging by the last panel of this issue, next month, we'll be treated to Batman taking a nap. Exciting stuff. Once you get beyond the sexy, there's really nothing else holding this together. Had this taken place in issue 4, after some actual character and plot had been developed, I would likely have a different opinion on the whole thing. As it is, although I am curious to see where this goes from here, there are way too many books out that are actually telling stories, so I'll likely just read about it than read the actual book.

Kyle Higgins does a good job re-introducing Dick Grayson as Nightwing in Nightwing #1. There is mention that he took on the role of Batman while Bruce was "away" and that's about all that you really need to know about it. In that sense, I think this book is the one that does the best at dealing with the muddy timeline I mentioned earlier. We're immediately off onto something new for Dick, and although it's related to his past with the circus, it doesn't feel like it's muddled by how much time has actually passed since his parents were murdered and he was taken in by Bruce. At its heart, this is just a story about Dick, and the continuity isn't the main focus. This could turn out to be one of the better surprises of the relaunch as time goes on, if it maintains its focus.

And this is the other book that has the Internets ablaze this week. For my money, the representation of Starfire in Red Hood and The Outlaws #1 is only one part of the problem, though. The whole issue is basically cheap one liners and over the top mayhem. I get that it's not for me. I understand the audience for this is likely 13 year old boys who want to see some badass dudes do badass things and have hot chics run around half naked while they do it. Catering to your target audience however is not the same as pandering to them. You can write something for 13 year old boys without writing it as if you were a 13 year old boy yourself. There is a lack of imagination in this book that I think will be apparent, even to most walking hormones, once they get over the hot orange lady who has sex on a whim. And about that. I'm a father and I'm pretty sure when my 2 year old girl is old enough, if she were to read comics, this would be a huge problem for her. Make no mistake about it, and I know there has been debate online, this is an example of women being objectified, not empowered. Luckily, I'm willing to bet the book won't last long.

A first issue should introduce you to a character, give you some background on them, set up the major conflict and get you interested in the next issue. If that's done well, more than likely, it's done through action more so than a lot of exposition. Supergirl #1, by Michale Green and Michael Johnson, with art by Mahmud Asrar delivers on all counts. From the opening page, there's momentum that continues to build. The inner monologue is minimal, but tells us all we need to know at the right moments. The more I think about this issue, the more I think it was my favorite this week. In a week where Catwoman and Starfire were put through the ringer, it's good to see a female character get introduced in such an impactful manner, without resorting to unnecessary sexualizing. I never read Supergirl before, but I'm on board with this series. I hope they keep it up.

I'm calling it, folks, this is the Wonder Woman series she's always needed. Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang are cooking something here that I'm confident will be considered legendary. Right off, we don't even see Diana until several pages in and rather than try to give us an origin or some grandiose exposition, they just show us who she is. Setting up the mythological aspects in more of a horror tone really brings the whole concept down to earth, too. I think in the long run, it will make her more relatable. Like many out there, I've wanted to like Wonder Woman for a long time, but there has not been a series that really allowed for her to reach her full potential as a character. This is the time for it, and this is the book. Wonder Woman should be graceful, elegant, adventurous, brave, protective and more. Although we only get a small glimpse of her in action here, she is all those things. The pants or no pants argument is completely moot, which goes to show that it's about how the character is written, not so much how they are drawn. Having said that though, Chiang totally captures her personality in his clean, simple style. This is just a good book with a good team on it.

Comics of the Week - More #1's

This was a HUGE week. It felt like a stronger week than last one, with no real losers. What we do have is more and more variety. This is a great time for comics. I can't stress enough how there really is something for everybody coming out. That's what comics are supposed to be. Not everyone will like every book, but every book should appeal to someone. Hopefully this is only the beginning.

This is one I was worried about when the reboot was announced. The relationship between Damian and Dick Grayson in the past couple of years was a huge part of what made the Batman books so much fun, particularly this title. Having Damian team up with his father, in Batman and Robin #1, while possibly interesting, seemed wrong to me at first. I'm not sure yet whether this works in the long run, but in this issue Tomasi gives us a fresh take on the Batman and Robin relationship. Yes, past Robins were Bruce's adopted sons, but this is different. Damian actually calls him father. Ironically, though, they don't know each other at all at this point, really. Damian is still a know it all little prick here, which is critical to making the character work. Bruce seems much softer and the point of this story seems to be that he's redefining himself, by letting go of the past.. I'm not entirely on board with that, yet, as I don't know where it's going, but I'm willing to ride it out for a little longer to see.  The main thing about this book is that it retained the fun of the last couple of years.

For some reason, I only read a couple of issues, here and there, of Rucka and J.H. Williams III's acclaimed run on Detective Comics featuring Batwoman. The few issues I read were beautiful, but I think I lost the thread of the story and never went back. I plan on correcting that soon. Meanwhile, Batwoman #1 is fantastic. Art like this is beyond special. Here, J.H. Williams is also co-writing with W. Hayden Blackman, and if there's a weakness it's a couple of lines in badly translated Spanish in one scene that really took me out of the story. Other than that, this issue was right on. The action scenes are fluid and the layouts are phenomenal. The art is telling the story here the way you dream a comic book should. There are several artists getting writing duties in the new DCU, but I am going to go on a limb and say J.H. Williams is the best suited for this transition. It's clear, even from a quick glance at his layouts, that he is not thinking in single panels. His pages flow and move and even in the quiet moments, he is conveying emotions and moods like few artists do. As for the story itself, it's classic Batman with a couple of twists. Batwoman is a character I'm not that familiar with, but I'm looking forward to changing that in the coming months.

I am not a fan of Fantasy and I've never really liked Etrigan as a character. I was not going to get Demon Knights #1 and only picked it up because my buddy at the shop said he didn't normally like the Demon either but this book was fun. He was right on. This was a ton of fun, and thinking about it now, 2 days after reading it, I'm finding I like it even more. I think what helps it is that it's not mired in stereotypical Fantasy tropes. It really feels like a modern story, except for the setting. Also, the Demon is not speaking olde English or rhyming, so it's not overly silly. We have a love triangle with a twist, a team of misfits coming together, an exploding baby, dragons, wizards, swords, etc. You know, fun. With a capital F. There really isn't much more to say except pick this up. It takes place in the Dark Ages and while it will likely tie in to last week's Stormwatch (also written by Paul Cornell) and the upcoming Justice League Dark, one thing about the new DC so far is that it seems you can read a book without worrying too much about following continuity in other books. Hopefully, this stays true.

Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #1 is a wild one. You have Frankenstein, who was apparently on Mars before this issue begins, working with Father Time, who is now in the body of a sassy little girl and teamed up with a host of creature commandos, including his estranged wife, to fight monsters. Oh, and their base is a miniaturized city, created by Ray Palmer, floating in a tiny globe. It's been described as being similar to Hellboy, which I can see. But I think there's also a bit of Fantastic Four and Shield thrown in, as well. You have science and occult coming together with a certain wacky fun that somehow all blends together in a delicious smoothie of awesome. Having read Lemire's indie work in Essex County and Sweet Tooth, I have to say I didn't see this level of fun and humor coming. His range has left me more impressed with his work. While reading this, I was blown away by how sucked in I was. This was my favorite book this week and I can't wait to read more.

The thing about Resurrection Man #1 that really made it stand out is that it just sort of started, without a lot of explanation, and yet it still worked. I came into this knowing the concept, but not the character. Basically, Mitch Shelly dies and comes back to life with a new random power, repeatedly. Right off, the premise had me hooked, which is why I picked it up. Overall, I think Abnett and Lanning did a great job of making this fun and interesting and mysterious. But then at the end, there were a series of phone conversations that sort of stopped this from being great and only made it good. All the exposition that was unnecessary and avoided at the beginning of the issue came at the end, in a repetitive and clunky way that stuck out like sore, cliched thumb. Still, I'm going to give this series a shot based on the rest of this issue.

And then there's Ultimate Spider-Man #1. For some reason, I've never read a Spider-Man story that really grabbed me. I've never had much interest in the character, though in theory, he's exactly what I like. I recently read Spider-Man Blue, by Loeb and Sales and the whole time I was a little bored. I just couldn't really relate to the characters, for some reason. So, along comes Miles Morales and it's ironic that at the ripe age of 38, I may have found a Spider-Man I can actually read and enjoy. Interestingly enough, he's not Spider-Man in this issue. It's just the beginning. But what we do see is a boy with a family and real world problems. We get characters with depth and situations that ring true. I have to say, this is the best Bendis I've read since Alias. I actually forgot it was written by him until now. He really did focus on story and character here, rather than dialogue. If he continues to do that, I'm in. I can't wait to see how Sara Pichelli draws Miles in costume, in action.

Comics of the Week

One good thing about the DC reboot is that, at least this week, it was a great week for comics. That's not to say everything was a winner, but it was interesting and varied with a good chance that something would stick. Fresh takes and good set ups.

The thing about Grant Morrison is that while he can go to really trippy, surreal and nearly impossible to understand places, he can also get to the heart of what makes a character tick in a mythological sense. With Action Comics #1, he is going to the roots of Superman and doing what no one has been able to do in who knows how long now. For years I've heard (and often said) that Superman was irrelevant, too powerful, outdated, boring, etc. Something had to be done to make the character interesting again. Many attempts have been made to make him hip and relevant, but they all just tried to modernize him and mostly missed the point entirely. Morrison goes back to the forgotten roots here, giving us a Superman on the streets, without all his god-like powers yet, living on the edge in a world that fears him. From the pieced together costume to the attitude, I think this is the right way to develop the character into something that can once again be a character we can relate to. As expected, this is one of my favorite #1's and I will definitely be reading this each month.

Speaking of Morrison, his run on Animal Man in the 80's is a prime example of how a creator can take a character you normally may not be interested in and hook you. But now it's Jeff Lemire's turn and he not only brings it, he brings it to another level. This was easily my favorite of the #1's this week, and as the internets can attest, I'm not alone. Lemire is one of the best writers working today and this is a perfect example of what he does. It's a superhero story, it's a family drama, it's a horror tale, it's all of that and more. Right from the opening prose section that gives us a background on the character in a way that doesn't feel forced, it's clear Lemire is bringing a little piece of the meta aspects of Morrison's run, but making it his own. By the last page, it's something else entirely that had me say out loud "Yeah, I'm in." The art by Travel Forman is also a standout. It's clean and odd and beautiful. It makes you uneasy and captivates you all at once, which is perfect for this material. I almost didn't pick this up, because although I like Lemire, I'm not a huge Animal Man guy, but now, I can't wait for the next issue.

When the reboot titles and creative teams were announced, my biggest disappointment was probably that Scott Snyder was off Detective Comics and moved to Batman. As I've said, his run on Detective is legendary already. Instead, we get Tony Daniels, writing and drawing Detective Comics and based on his work on the Batman title before the reboot, I was not excited. I have to say, this issue was better than that. His art was never the issue, and here it is good as always, if not better. It's clear, however, that he either is getting better at the storytelling or his editors have stepped up to address some of the previous problems. The story itself is a basic Joker vs. Batman affair, with the Joker in his serial killer persona. That's all well and good. The last image is what is apparently setting something up that really could be interesting even if we have no idea at this point what it could be. Overall, though, this issue is definitely geared for the new reader. Some of the dialogue, for those of us who know Batman and have read him for years, comes off a little hokey. To someone who's never read Batman, though, I could see it working. I can't fault Daniels for that, but this may not be my Batman book. Still, I want to see where he's going with the Joker here.

Here's a book I only read because of the creator, and almost didn't. Scott Snyder's Swamp Thing may or may not hook me on the character, but that doesn't mean I won't be reading this book. At this point, if Snyder publishes a grocery list, I will consider reading it. I can't even really put my finger on exactly what makes his work excellent, but I think it's a combination of elements. Some writers you can say they are really good at this one thing, whether it's overall emotion, character, a specific genre, action, etc. With Snyder, it's a complete package type of thing that just stands out somehow. His work is somehow character driven and plot driven at the same time. It's brimming with mood and emotion and things happen organically. It doesn't hurt that he's paired with great artists who can tell a visual story with all the elements, like Yanick Paquette does in this issue. Like Animal Man, this is a horror story, but it is more than that. The word is that this will actually cross over with Animal Man and the idea of Lemire and Snyder working together on a big story boggles my mind. I'm on board with this.

Reboot This!

Well, I haven't finished reading all my books this week, but thought I should post something. Not much going on in the comics world this week though. . . .

I'm not going to blog about the DC rebooting thing (much)  I'll just say this. It's a business decision that is between DC and their accountants. Clearly, they have to do something to get new readers, which will be good for old readers in the long run, since no new readers would likely mean no new comics at some point in the not to distant future. As readers, all we are really in any position to judge is the comics themselves, the stories we read. To complain about that before we have even seen the stories is crazy. I don't read comics because I love the stories that were already told, years ago. If that were the case, I'd keep reading those same stories (which, in many ways, the industry has been serving up the same stories for a long time). I read comics because I enjoy the medium, and there are certain creators I follow. and yes, there are characters I like. But if those characters don't change, I will lose interest. In any case, I say to everyone afraid of change to chill out. Wait for the books then decide. And to those that are saying how the books coming out now don't matter, you're insane. Now is probably the best time to read them. Saying they don't matter now is like putting down a book you really enjoy because there's only 3 chapters left.

Anyway, this week's books. . . I'm still working on them so I don't know what my pick will be. But, I went back and started reading Jonathan Hickman's run on Fantastic Four, starting with #570. Wow. That's really good stuff. I was already enjoying the FF series, but what he was doing with the actual Fantastic Four series before the relaunch is epic. Hickman is most definitely one of the best writers working in comics in the last several years.