The New 52 #1's... your thoughts?

[samurainoir]

Finally found some time to read Batgirl #2 and Shade #1. Robinson is back in fine form with Shade... it really does have the Starman vibe to it. Shade vs Deathstroke is pretty cool, although those of us who actually are familiar with Shade know better than to be shocked by the cliffhanger. I really do like his relationship with Hope O'Dare.

I also really appreciate that Simone is finding a rich vein of story and character development in portraying Babs as someone who cannot just jump right back into the superhero game after so long an absence, coupled with the initial trauma and rehabilitation from her injuries. Glad that they are attempting to introduce a new bad guy with his own set of motivations, and not just retread killer moth or whomever for the umpteenth time.

[ctc]

>But can they maintain those sales?

DC has done a reboot almost every year for a decade now, and I think if they didn’t work, they wouldn’t keep doing them. But what does it mean to “work?” I still feel the idea is to boost sales for the year, and yeah; it works. Does it have staying power? No, but I don’t think it HAS to: they get a big boost of sales right off the bat, and by the time they’ve trickled off it’s time for the NEXT reboot.

I’m a little surprised by the numbers, but not by the overall effect. It’s not that different from how superhero comics always worked, although the reboots came every three to five years, and were usually a little less blatant. (“Beginning HERE; a bold, new chapter in the life of character-X!!!!” was all you got.)

Don C.

[boynightwing]

I don't think they expect all 52 to be hits. They've already started adding some mini series like Penguin and Huntress which could become regulars if the others don't work out.

I know I've dropped Green Arrow, Suicide Squad, and a few others. But I did go back and pick up Demon Knights.

[The Toyroom]

^ Time will tell....I've gotten past the "collect 'em all" or the "wait and see" mentality...if they can't deliver after 2 or 3 issues, they're gone. I've got too many anyway

[MIB41]

^^^ Oh I absolutely agree. It was a gimmick. But a gimmick is only as good as the story in comics. Perhaps this gimmick will also translate into the biggest cancellation of titles as well. There could be a very big downside to this as well.

[The Toyroom]

Here is a recent article on the sales... Best in 20 years!

DCs New 52 Numbers Are In: Best Sales in 20 Years!

But can they maintain those sales?...I'm hearing about a lot of people (self included) jumping off books after only two issues in...

[boynightwing]

^ Good for them! I may not have agreed with all their decisions. And I hated Justice League #1, but if it's bringing in new people and revitalizing sales, I guess it worked out.

When I was at the comic store on Wednesday, he had got his books a little later then usual and he likes to bag and board everything before selling them, so I was waiting a bit and chit chatting as I did so. By the time he was ready to put the books out, there were over a dozen people in the store. Which is a lot because it's a small place. As he put stacks out, people were pretty much taking them right away.

[MIB41]

Here is a recent article on the sales... Best in 20 years!

DCs New 52 Numbers Are In: Best Sales in 20 Years!

[Riffster]

Loving Batgirl so far

[The Toyroom]

On the fence with Demon Knights right now, it has some fun dialogue and characters, but I'm not a huge fan of this kind of fantasy book to begin with and the story hasn't really grabbed me with two issues in the can.

I have the 1st two issues on order

Tried out My Greatest Adventure because I like Robotman, but not really interested in the other two features. Not much of the charm of Cliff Steele left in this reinvention.

I wasn't impressed with these characters when they appeared in "Weird Worlds"...

[The Toyroom]

I'm dumping Justice League International and Detective Comics after two issues....as much as I love Dan Jurgens handling Booster Gold it's just not cutting it for me in JLI. I don't care enough about the other characters to hang around for a Booster fix. And Detective by Tony Daniels is just bad...

[samurainoir]

Decided I'm done with Batman and Robin with the second issue. I'm finding the dialogue kind of stale and it really isn't as breezy as the Morrison stuff. Not really so interested in Ducard's other follower either. It's perfectly readable, but hasn't really grabbed me too much.

On the fence with Demon Knights right now, it has some fun dialogue and characters, but I'm not a huge fan of this kind of fantasy book to begin with and the story hasn't really grabbed me with two issues in the can.

Tried out My Greatest Adventure because I like Robotman, but not really interested in the other two features. Not much of the charm of Cliff Steele left in this reinvention.

Liked this week's Green Lantern with Sinestro and Hal.

Shade and Batgirl are on my reading pile, looking forward to those two.

[number 6]

Reis is a Beast On Aquaman , but I am also disapointed if the Blackest Night stuff is stripped from the character .

I finally got a chance to read a copy of this and my impression that Aquaman is being treated like Batman and Green Lantern in that they're retaining his pre-Flashpoint continuity.

There's no direct references to Blackest Night/Brightest Day, but there is mention of the fact that Aquaman was at first rejected by the Atlanteans, then later became their king, only to now turn his back on rulership. It doesn't explicitly state that Mera and Aquaman are married, but they're clearly in a committed relationship and have a history together. And, of course, there's the whole long standing history of Aquaman being 'nobodys favorite hero'. All of that sounds like pre-Flashpoint continuity to me but maybe I'm reading too much into it.

And yes, the artwork is excellent. I especially enjoyed little details like the scenery outside the window at the fish-n-chips place. Very well done.



BTW, DC has been making alot of noise about all of these issues selling out and going into later printings. But part of this was also to push digital sales of these issues and I haven't heard anything about those sales numbers.

[samurainoir]

Folks should give Warren Ellis' run on Secret Avengers a try. Art is so-so, but there is a kind of bizarre action comedy vibe he's got going on with each issue being a self contained mission impossible chase for WMD's within the Marvel U.

I'm enjoying having a more light hearted Daredevil in the hands of Waid, but for me the best issue to feature the character in recent memory is the issue of New Avengers where Mike Deodato showcases his new Neal Adams inspired style.

Kind of interesting that Bruaker takes Bucky Cap off the table by killing him off, only to spin off a WW2 series with him as the POV focus. I'm enjoying Cap and Bucky more than the regular Cap title right now... Although I am a big fan of McNiven's stuff, which seems to be acquiring a Travis Charest vibe to it.

[madmarva]

Anthony, those three are at the top of my Marvel list. Daredevil's great right now and Captain America and Bucky is a book I've wanted to see forever. I love Cap during WWII, and the new take on Bucky's role is a great update that makes sense.

For those who haven't tried Cap and Bucky, it's from Bucky's point of view, but with plenty of Cap. The last issue had a nice guest role for Sub-Mariner.

I've enjoyed the new Thor book, too. I like the Iron Man series, but it's so boggled up in the Fear Itself storyline right now that it's not as good as when it concentrated on Iron Man stories.

I still like FF, but it's fractured off into so many different storylines at the moment that the quality has suffered.

The best thing in Bendis' Avengers books was the prose, re-telling of Avengers history in the back of the comis. I think they are collecting this for some point in the future. He used an interview style with various characters giving their take on key Avengers storylines. But now, he's taken that idea and implemented it in the actual comic book story were the first several pages of an issue are just talking-heads pages with the members being interviewed following the Fear Itself outcome. It's an effective way to lend some character to exposition and to catch readers up on previous events, but to me it's not a great way to use two pages of art and also ruins some suspense.