So far I am not unimpressed with what has been put out there. I really enjoyed Batgirl (sorry no spoilers here), and most of the others and I am interested in seeing where the stories go. I am still bummed about the art for Wonder Woman but if the story is as awesome as the current books promise then I might be able to overlook it.
I think by the end of the month I will have a definite idea of what books will be worth it to me and what ones I will probably follow just to finish out the initial arc and then pass on the rest, unless they sucker me with another awesome storyline arc.It’s still up in the air for me as we have only seen about a 3rd of the books and the next few weeks will be the make it or break it point for them I think.
Ah, see I’m the opposite, possibly just because I’m an artist. I can overlook a poor story in a comic for good art, but if it’s got bad art it’s not worth my time.
I am a huge fan of Wonder Woman but if the art remains bad I will probably not continue to read it after the initial story arc regardless of how good the next story is. I am hoping that the art I have seen so far is just the cover and the interior will be better. Of course, all art is subjective and it may continue to sell books to people that like that style of art. It all reminds me of those dark days of the New Mutants and the horrible surreal art that they used for almost 2 years I can’t remember the artists name, as I burned it from my memory but it truly made my eyes bleed even though the story was really good.
Oh well, I still have a week yet before I have to decide if I am going to put my hard earned money down on it.
You’re probably thinking of Bill Sienkiewicz, he did the art for Frank Miller’s Elektra also. I’ll have to check it out, Cliff Chiang has been hit or miss in the past for me. I liked his Green Arrow and Spectre stuff but was not a fan of his Detective Comics. My girlfriend is really the Wonder Woman fan, I like the character but really despise her supporting cast and villains. I think she’s best used in a team book.
After Crisis on Infinite Earths in the late 80’s and early 90’s they rewrote her origins and reimaged her. Her history drastically changed and most of her villains and supporting cast were mystical in nature or had divine origins (Ares, Hermes, etc.) she also had the Cheetah which was cool. That was when Perez was writing and drawing the book and after he left i’m not sure where they went with it.They also briefly had a romance with Superman as she is almost the same power level as he is but it didn’t work out. Its going to have to be written really smart and interesting to keep readers coming back for more this time around.
The only time I’ve seen her written in a way that was compelling to me was in the Justice League and JLU animated series. Though, truth be told, the same could be said of most of DC’s characters. They manage to have these iconic superheroes that everyone recognizes, but the most lackluster, boring, and convoluted comics around. Even Batman (who none can argue is the coolest hero ever) has terrible comics. I can count the number of interesting printed DC stories on my fingers, and most of them are Green Lantern. On the flip side though, nearly everything they’ve done in animation since Batman: The Animated Series has been fantastic.
As a side note, one of the reasons that Batman series was so great is because for the people creating it, not only based it on Tim Burton’s movie, they made every episode as if it were a short movie. They also gave it a nice dark feel by always using black paper as the base, even in the bright sunny scenes.
Oh, absolutely, Bruce Timm is a genius. I started using the DCAU as cannon because it’s much easier to introduce someone to the characters if they’re worth caring about.
I’ve always believed that Marvel had better characters and stories but of late that has proven to be somewhat harder to find as they concentrate more on the motion picture side of things and less on making cohesive and engaging stories int heir books. Most of DC’s characters I will agree lack substance (with the obvious exception of the Batman who is the coolest hero in comics and on screen) and seem to be way more powerful than they should be overall. My least favorite DC hero has to be Superman. Not because of his origins or beliefs but because of his powers and power level. There is no single hero that can match him in sheer power and abilities (other than Batman and only because he is THE MAN). If you know his weakness then he’s boned but beyond that he is untouchable. Marvel heroes have depth of character are interesting because they have faults and have weaknesses that are easily exploited by even the lowest of villains, but they come back stronger and win the day.
I am uninspired by Marvel’s latest mega-story Fear Itself. It had such potential to be great and it fell flat. The story is a convoluted mess the books are scattered and not very cohesive with the story. There seems to be no clear direction that its moving in. I liked Civil War and its aftermath story arcs but this one is kind of bleh. Of the two Flashpoint was better because it was consistent and interesting enough to get me to read it.
I’ll continue to give the New 52 a chance but if Marvel gets their act together soon they may fall to the wayside.
I used to work at a comic store, so I was reading everything for a few years, but I grew up on Marvel predominantly. I agree with absolutely everything you said in that last post, but I haven’t really read anything since Secret Invasion, around which time I got burned out. With the direction Marvel took things in both 616 and Ultimate, I sort of began to view the Death of Captain America as the end of the Marvel universe. It’s a good stopping point and it all happened fairly well. Recently I picked up the first trades of Avengers, New Avengers, and Secret Avengers, and the only one I didn’t really get into was Secret. The “Avengers Proper” books had a very old-style sensibility, and that was refreshing.
As for Superman, he is WAY overpowered, even with kryptonite. What I loved about the animated series is that they toned his powers down so he ended up getting beaten up a lot, but they also deal with the concept of him abusing his power, and make him a bit less of a boy scout. Bruce Timm should be awarded a medal for making me like Superman. A medal from the President.
I have SUCH a nerd crush on Bruce Timm. I’ve just started seeing this awesome X-23 that he did, floating around the internet. I love how he can do art that is cheesecakey, but still adorable and fun. Certainly doesn’t hurt that he draws one of my favorite pairs pretty frequently
eh the new 52 :-\not as bad as i had initially thought it was gonna be. i picked up batgirl, JlA and JLI. wasn’t impressed. im just really upset that Red Robin was cancelled it was one of my favorite comics had a really good run, it made tim drake the next batman to be, only better but in the new relaunch looks like hes a kid again and his costume kind of blows. but im not too bummed i still have loads of back issues in the old DCU i need. after that im going marvel lol.
Cheesecake/beefcake. Art that is sexy, often just for the sake of being sexy, or just improbably unclothed for the scenario. There is good/inoffensive stuff like Timm’s or this. It at least makes sense for Supes to have removed his shirt to rip a tree out of the ground. And then there’s stuff that is not so good. Like what is even going on here? And there’s stuff that is straight up AWFUL like Witchblade (NSFW-ish) or Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose(also NSFW-ish).
Think all those super cut leather-underwear-and-cape-clad guys from the 300 movie. Certainly not something I mind watching, but there is no realistic reason for them to not be wearing things like ARMOR and CLOTHING! Or those old school pin-up girls who just “happen” to walk over an air grate at the wrong time or get their skirts caught in door or whatever.
She’s on my list of comic costumes I really want to do. Along with Lady Blackhawk, She-Hulk (shut up 5’ nothing She-Hulk is so legit! :P), Misfit, Black Canary, Dagger (if I could find a Cloak to match), Kitty Pryde’s original, self made costume… So many!
Hahaha, could there be any more vines? “Yes, I know she’s already called the Witch of the Black Rose, but people won’t get that unless we draw vines everywhere. Make it happen, Bob.”
