The Comic Book Thread (spoilers)

[Johnny Latino Heat]

From the ones I picked up, I just didn't quite like Action Comics having Superman acting more like Batman than with Superman, during the "interrogation" thing, but generally, and much to my surprise, I'm actually liking it.

[Boulder]

I picked up a decent amount of DC's books this week and I have to say, Animal Man was the best of the bunch. Awesome story, the art was great, and freaky as hell. It's way more of a horror book than a superhero book at this point, and it's definitely worth a look.

[Hewey]

I been in the mood to read some Spiderman. Other than Kraven's last hunt and Ultimate Spiderman, is there anything else somebody can recommend to me?

[Avenged Probably]

Having recently moved to a new city which has 3 comic book stores (as opposed to my previous home which only had one which opened 2 days a week and was hard to get to) I've started picking up some US books again.

I've always been a Marvel guy and not wanting to jump into the middle of anything where I won't get it. I've been getting Fear Itself and Schism, the main books. Both are good, but the latter is certainly more promising, especially being a huge X-fan, I'll probably end up getting at least 5 of the 8 X-titles when they do the "re-genesis" thing.

I'm also reading Amazing Spider-Man - Spider Island was as good enough jumping on point as any and so far seems like fun. The new Punisher series seems really good so far too, although issue #3 was slightly less good as the fight scene lasted most of the comic. Finally I've been reading Uncanny X-Force which as a long time X-fan, the Dark Angel Saga is brilliant with a great cast in that book too. Hoping it doesn't lose any of its awesomeness with re-genesis.

For the first time in a long time I bought a few DC titles, with the whole relaunch it seemed a great time to delve in as I'd wanted to for some time but never knew where to start. I picked up Justice League and Detective Comics, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. I'll be picking up a few more over the next few weeks too.

To any regular DC readers I see there's going to be Detective Comics, Batman and Batman: The Dark Knight... will there be any fundamental differences between these titles? Such as cast members, type of story or the general focus? Or are they likely to simply be just three books with different stories in?

[Your Mom]

Was there a storyline reason behind the DC reboot? Like is there an issue that explains it od did all the old stuff just suddenly end?

[Herr Matzat]

Bussineswise it´s to sync the printed release with the online release. Online seems to become more important for comic books (i love comics on my iPad, and comixology delivers a nice little extra compared to illegal scanns) and as always wen something newstartish or big happens it´s about the lack of sales.

If you want to read the story that they made up to explain this reboot within the comics you need to search for "Flashpoint". Sadly it realy feels a lot like something that just happens because bussines needs it (Flash one day wakes up and everything is different. BUILD UP! )

Anyway, some of the new books are supposed to be interesting. Animal Man is brilliant (writtten by the guy that writes "Sweet Tooth"), the Superman Reboot takes a chanse and Swamp Thing might be on to something.

[Dr. Rated-R]

Some comments on the New 52 stuff I've read so far. I'm hoping to sample every new #1. Some light spoilers but nothing too bad.

Action Comics: Meh. I like Superman's new look but I don't think I've ever enjoyed a Grant Morrison book and this one was no exception. It was mostly uninteresting and Superman just didn't feel much like Superman. I'm not even a fan of the character and it was still off-putting. I'll give the next issue a shot because he's Superman and I'm sure he'll be integral to the universe as a whole but I reeeeeeeally didn't care for it.

Animal Man: This was my first exposure to Animal Man. The opening page--a magazine interview with Buddy--was an awesome way to get inside the character's head. The comic that followed was a bit jarring at first--the art style is sort of atypical--but it hooks you really quickly. The relationship between Buddy and his family felt really real and it was awesome seeing the juxtaposition of super hero and functional family man. Most comics I've read go the opposite way with personal relationships. There's not a lot going on until the last few pages, but the big reveal at the end was done excellently. I had zero expectations going into this book beyond an irrational dislike for the name "Animal Man" and I left thinking it was one of the most enjoyable of the titles I've read so far. I'm really looking forward to the next issue.

Batgirl: It felt like a love letter to the Killing Joke. Barbara's new back story, keeping Killing Joke in-continuity, was done really well. It was also just really well-written. Her narration had personality, as did her interactions with her roommate. She felt like a real person. Is The Mirror new? I'm not terribly well-versed in the extended DCU. I like the character well enough so far, for what it's worth. It was delving into Barbara's personality that made the book work, though. Definitely checking out next month's. In terms of quality it was probably second only to Animal Man.

Batwing: A bit dull. Nothing overly offensive but nothing interesting either. I'll probably check it out next month to see the fallout from the last panel. I just hope the rest of the book is less boring next time.

Detective Comics: Fun stuff. Batman's new costume is somewhere between Dark Knight and Arkham Asylum and I love it. The interactions with Batman and Joker were fun and, once again, the final panel really has me interested in where things are going. Definitely checking it out again next month--but I would've anyways because it's Batman.

Justice League: Nothing earth-shattering or anything, but it set the stage for the entire relaunch. Not the deepest book, but it's not really supposed to be I guess. The bickering between Batman and Green Lantern was fun. I'm on board. Nothing bad about it at all; it just felt a bit paint-by-numbers.

Swamp Thing: Loved it. I'd put it just below Batgirl (and Animal Man) amongst the ones I've read so far. There isn't a lot that really happens, which is the biggest "problem" with the bulk of the ones I've sampled so far, but it's a fantastic introduction to Alec's character. I've only really read the Alan Moore Swamp Thing stuff and this seems pretty in-line with that. Another great final panel to really kick off the story. Superman plays a small part in this and I liked him a lot better here than in Morrison's portrayal. I'll totally keep up with this one. Really looking forward to the eventual interaction between Swamp Thing and Animal Man.

Overall, it's looking pretty promising. I'm hoping to finish up last week's releases tonight and then take care of this week's tomorrow. Really looking forward to it. It's nice to be able to comfortably slip into being a comics fan for once.

Edited September 16, 2011 by The Rated-R Superstar

[Apollo]

I've been reading up on this upcoming X-Men Regenesis. Don't get me wrong, it sounds cool - I've always been a fan of Marvel and the X-Men in particular, and the story of Schism sounds awesome - but is it a coincidence that it's happening around the same time as the DC reboot? I've only just heard about Regenesis, so I don't know if it's been planned for a while or what. Basically, do you think Marvel is reacting to DC here, or is there evidence to the contrary?

[GoGo Yubari]

I have no clue what the X-Men comics are doing but if anything, I feel like the DC reboot might partially be reacting to the relative success of Marvel's semi-reboot of the Spider-Man comics. Except the difference is that all they really did was retcon two things (Peter and Mary Jane's marriage, Harry Osborn's death) and then change the tone/world of the comics significantly but not immediately as if it had always been that way. So Marvel's really set the (recent) precedent more than DC has.

Still not bothering with DC, for the record. Animal Man and Batgirl are both admittedly tempting. Everything else sounds either not very interesting to me or outright infuriating ('sup Suicide Squad).

[Noah]

I'm rather enjoying the new Zorro comic from Silver Fox Comics.

Almost as good as the Sherlock Holmes comic from Black House.

[Timmoru Suzuki]

I brought my first comics in two years with Justice League 1 and Resurrection Man 1.

Justice League was fine, but didn't feel 'special,' for a reboot of such a huge title. The Batman/Lantern interaction was good, but it felt like it could have been any other (good) Super-hero team up comic.

I've really enjoyed some of Dan Abnett's work in the past (and recently interviewed him, but that's by-the-by) but I wasn't hugely sold on Resurrection Man. It started well, and the concept has got a lot of legs, but some of the dialogue, especially from the angels seemed bland and indistinct. It also suffers from doing so much to set up the concept and future arcs that not much actually happens in that issue. It's by no means bad and I believe that it will work really well when collected in a TPB, but as a single issue it was a bit lacking.

I might, and stress might, get Detective Comics, Batman and All Star Western. Maybe Swamp Thing at a push. Haven't really missed comics and I'm not going to go about spending the kind of money I was on them a couple of years ago.

[Herr Matzat]

Read "Y - The last man" during the last cupple of days. It´s a good book that delivers propper solutions to it´s mysterys.

[hugobomb]

Bought my first new comic in years today. Got the the new Batman #1 (The Scott Snyder one) online. I enjoyed it, did enough to explain Batman and Gotham to allow new readers to not be lost without explaining so such that it would annoy long time readers (it may still have done but I can't comment since I've always only ever been a occasional reader of Batman and comics in general). The ending was great and got me hyped for the next issue which I'll be buying that day it comes out.

Though I don't believe for a second that it was actully Dick who killed that guy. If I had to guess I'd say the Joker (or another villan maybe) was doing something similar to what Bats and Dick did earlier (i.e. Dick using the E.M.P mask to look like the Joker) but using Dick's DNA to try and frame him.

Will prop buy some of the other New 52 but would be happy for recommendations. Is the new Wonder Woman any good?

[Johnny Latino Heat]

Bought my first new comic in years today. Got the the new Batman #1 (The Scott Snyder one) online. I enjoyed it, did enough to explain Batman and Gotham to allow new readers to not be lost without explaining so such that it would annoy long time readers (it may still have done but I can't comment since I've always only ever been a occasional reader of Batman and comics in general). The ending was great and got me hyped for the next issue which I'll be buying that day it comes out.

Though I don't believe for a second that it was actully Dick who killed that guy. If I had to guess I'd say the Joker (or another villan maybe) was doing something similar to what Bats and Dick did earlier (i.e. Dick using the E.M.P mask to look like the Joker) but using Dick's DNA to try and frame him.

Will prop buy some of the other New 52 but would be happy for recommendations. Is the new Wonder Woman any good?

Wonder Woman is surprisingly good, but whatever you do, friendly piece of advice, do NOT waste your money on Red Hood & The Outlaws unless you're a fan of the train wreck effect.

[hugobomb]

I've heard that Red Hood is shockingly rubbish (Linkara is doing very quick reviews of all the new 52). Is Wonder Woman going to be good for a new fan? I've read that some of the new 52 aren't that good at doing the origin story in the first issue (i.e. some are 'writing for the trade' is a sentance I've seen thrown around a lot).

[Johnny Latino Heat]

Wonder Woman doesn't deal with her origin, she's just... Already Wonder Woman, I guess. It's kind of like in the Batman books, he's already Batman, in Superman, he's already Superman (not counting Action Comics), etc etc. She just shows up about mid-issue and the character that finds her knows she's Wonder Woman.

But the book is solid, really. Ends up in a good cliffhanger, has a good use of mythology... I've read a lot worse.

[hugobomb]

Wonder Woman doesn't deal with her origin, she's just... Already Wonder Woman, I guess. It's kind of like in the Batman books, he's already Batman, in Superman, he's already Superman (not counting Action Comics), etc etc. She just shows up about mid-issue and the character that finds her knows she's Wonder Woman.

But the book is solid, really. Ends up in a good cliffhanger, has a good use of mythology... I've read a lot worse.

Ended up getting Wonder Woman #1. Like you said, solid book, though I would have liked some origin story in it. Though to be fair with people like Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman there's more leeway on that since most people even vagely interested in comics will have a good idea about their origins.

I did like the ending and like Batman, I'll be getting the next one for sure.

Zola is bit eh, maybe she'll grow on me but she hasn't left much impression so far

[MalaCloudy Black]

WTF is this from?

This. WTF?

[Johnny Latino Heat]

WTF is this from?

This. WTF?

That's from Detective Comics. It's the cliffhanger.

Apparently someone called Dollmaker has made a deal with the Joker to remake him, whatever that means.

[GoGo Yubari]

I've started up on Daredevil. Some interesting changes to the status quo (Matt Murdock being unable to actually work as a lawyer because the prosecution will just harp on his identity as Daredevil and undermine the case) and I trust Mark Waid on this, though it feels like all the shit from Shadowland is a little inconsequential now? I have no clue what happened in the transition comics, but this feels like a total clean break and that's kind of unfortunate because I loved everything going on in Daredevil up to that point.

Right now my comics pull list is Avengers Academy, Daredevil, Thunderbolts, and Walking Dead. Is there anything else from Marvel or Not DC that doesn't cost more than $3 that I should take a look at?