Episode 1270 Talkback: Comic Talk

Pants

First up is some TV talk on the season premiere of Dr. Who and the pilot for SHIELD and then comic talk. We discuss Justice League 12, Batman Incorporated 3, Green Lantern Annual 1 and more. (1:10:35)

Listen here.

fredzilla

Was going to begin listening to this tonight as I finish writing a paper and then you guys began to talk Dr. Who spoiler. Durn you kids! We're going to watch it Monday night as a family. My 7-year-old is so excited, he began watching some older Who episodes this afternoon in preparation.

Binker

Umm, no. No. No, you would Not Like that Wonder Woman pilot. It was really bad.

VKMarion

Good episode, but I couldn't disagree with you more about Justice League. This continues to be my fav comic being published, and the first to be read off my pile every month!

JamieD

VKMarion said:

Good episode, but I couldn't disagree with you more about Justice League. This continues to be my fav comic being published, and the first to be read off my pile every month!

Please tell me why, that grabs you about this title, what am I missing, I want to so like it but it just goes nowhere slowly

VKMarion

JamieD said:

VKMarion said:

Good episode, but I couldn't disagree with you more about Justice League. This continues to be my fav comic being published, and the first to be read off my pile every month!

Please tell me why, that grabs you about this title, what am I missing, I want to so like it but it just goes nowhere slowly


First off, love the Jim Lee art, He is my favorite artist working in comics. He also has a kick ass team of inkers and a great colorist, so the book, in my humble opinion, is one of the best looking books on the shelf. For me, it also doesn't hurt that all the characters in Justice League are my favorite comic book characters, so its awesome to see Jim Lee draw Superman, Flash GL, WW, all of them, on an (almost) monthly basis. From what I hear you say on the show, it is for me what a new Monthly Avengers drawn by John Byrne would be for you. I also really like the modernization of the characters. I like that Johns has streamlined a lot of it, and made their dialogue and conversations, feel very real world and natural. I also like the introduction to the new villain, and the slow build to making a more expansive Justice League. It just hits the sweet spot for me.

VKMarion

whoops, sorry I messed up the quote box

elkinscs

I'm behind @VKMarion on this one to a certain extend. The first arc was all-around amazing, the second has been slower and the villain a bit superfluous, but the way Johns writes character interactions is brilliant and it is exactly what makes a team book like this exciting to read. It's not the best book being published (for my money, Batman, Earth 2 and Animal Man are all better), but it is really good. I am excited for a new arc with a stronger story, but for me it's the relationships between the characters that is the strength here. It creates themes that serves as a sort of umbrella for the DCU, making it feel stronger and more interconnected.

MikeGallagher

Jim Lee is still on JL? X_X ;)

Chuck_Melville

The villain is superfluous!? The word means 'unnecessary', 'obsolete' or 'exceeding what is necessary'. How is the villain any of these things? It strikes me that he is entirely necessary to the story (else there would be no story) and that he is hardly either obsolete or excessive.

I could understand if you said you didn't like the villain... but superfluous?

luckymustard

I still watch The Simpsons. And there must be some people, otherwise they'd cancel it due to low ratings.

random73

JamieD said:

VKMarion said:

Good episode, but I couldn't disagree with you more about Justice League. This continues to be my fav comic being published, and the first to be read off my pile every month!

Please tell me why, that grabs you about this title, what am I missing, I want to so like it but it just goes nowhere slowly



@JamieD I'm 100% with you on this, going nowhere slowly, is right. The only reason I'm still picking up this book is the Shazam back up and i was sorely dissappointed not to have it in this issue. generally i like Geoff John's writing but this feels really hollow to me. i don't feell like i'm getting any characterization out of this title at all. sorry @elkinscs i'm just not feeling it.

dubbat138

luckymustard said:

I still watch The Simpsons. And there must be some people, otherwise they'd cancel it due to low ratings.

I know lots of people that still watch Simpsons. Most of them cause it is habit to watch it every Sunday. I stopped watching it back in 2003ish.

Chuck_Melville

random73 said:

JamieD said:

VKMarion said:

Good episode, but I couldn't disagree with you more about Justice League. This continues to be my fav comic being published, and the first to be read off my pile every month!

Please tell me why, that grabs you about this title, what am I missing, I want to so like it but it just goes nowhere slowly

@JamieD I'm 100% with you on this, going nowhere slowly, is right. The only reason I'm still picking up this book is the Shazam back up and i was sorely dissappointed not to have it in this issue. generally i like Geoff John's writing but this feels really hollow to me. i don't feell like i'm getting any characterization out of this title at all. sorry @elkinscs i'm just not feeling it.

I'm somewhere between you guys. I'm not really enthralled with the book either, and I'm not really a Jim Lee fan so the art isn't exciting me all that much (though I did feel that he did a better-than-usual job on the first arc). I don't think it's all that terrible either -- but the pace could be picked up. Justice League Dark moves faster than this series, and is more interesting at this point. This, being the flagship JL book, should be leading the pack.

dubbat138 said:

luckymustard said:

I still watch The Simpsons. And there must be some people, otherwise they'd cancel it due to low ratings.

I know lots of people that still watch Simpsons. Most of them cause it is habit to watch it every Sunday. I stopped watching it back in 2003ish.

I'm still watching. I find it as funny as when it started.

Well... maybe not quite as funny since the network's been more strict about what the show can get away with... but I think it's still as entertaining as it ever was.

dubbat138

Chuck_Melville said:

random73 said:

JamieD said:

VKMarion said:

Good episode, but I couldn't disagree with you more about Justice League. This continues to be my fav comic being published, and the first to be read off my pile every month!

Please tell me why, that grabs you about this title, what am I missing, I want to so like it but it just goes nowhere slowly

@JamieD I'm 100% with you on this, going nowhere slowly, is right. The only reason I'm still picking up this book is the Shazam back up and i was sorely dissappointed not to have it in this issue. generally i like Geoff John's writing but this feels really hollow to me. i don't feell like i'm getting any characterization out of this title at all. sorry @elkinscs i'm just not feeling it.

I'm somewhere between you guys. I'm not really enthralled with the book either, and I'm not really a Jim Lee fan so the art isn't exciting me all that much (though I did feel that he did a better-than-usual job on the first arc). I don't think it's all that terrible either -- but the pace could be picked up. Justice League Dark moves faster than this series, and is more interesting at this point. This, being the flagship JL book, should be leading the pack.

dubbat138 said:

luckymustard said:

I still watch The Simpsons. And there must be some people, otherwise they'd cancel it due to low ratings.

I know lots of people that still watch Simpsons. Most of them cause it is habit to watch it every Sunday. I stopped watching it back in 2003ish.

I'm still watching. I find it as funny as when it started.

Well... maybe not quite as funny since the network's been more strict about what the show can get away with... but I think it's still as entertaining as it ever was.


I thought that after Futurama started the writing on the Simpsons took a down turn. But I always found King of the Hill to be funnier than the Simpsons. Part of that might be I have lived most of my life in the deep south. And my Dad and his friends were like Hank,Dale,Bill and Boomhauer.

[Deleted User]

I sort of like the colorful Daleks... however, their origin may lie in something familiar to us all... toys. In the UK, Doctor Who is very much a kid's show, even with what may seem to us as dark, scary storylines.

The toys sell VERY well, especially in the UK... action figures, LEGO-ish kits, etc. Just one style of Dalek probably just wasn't cutting it.

LibraryBoy

Series 6 of Doctor Who left kind of a bad taste in my mouth, so I was pretty happy to see that Asylum of the Daleks was so good. And I don't mind the Skittles Daleks (EXTER-MIN-ATE the RAINBOOOOOOW!!!) either... it's cool that color denotes function, though truthfully, I thought those were all we'd have now, so I was surprised to see so many of the gold ones still kicking around.

And I've got your back on Downton Abbey, Pants. Free Mr. Bates!

Pants

LibraryBoy said:

And I've got your back on Downton Abbey, Pants. Free Mr. Bates!

I can't take credit for the "Free Bates!" line. I got it from this picture of Hugh Bonneville:

Mr_Cosmic

I like JL but the part that bugs me the most is GL. I realize the first arc was in the past but even in this latest story he doesn't seem to be the same guy in his own book. It's like Johns is writing two different Hal Jordans.

random73

Mr_Cosmic said:

I like JL but the part that bugs me the most is GL. I realize the first arc was in the past but even in this latest story he doesn't seem to be the same guy in his own book. It's like Johns is writing two different Hal Jordans.

YES! AGREE!

elkinscs

@Chuck_Mellville, I really meant that I felt the villain was unnecessary to this story. I don't think he really accomplished anything. For me, he was kind of like the problem they're having over in Superman where it's just a string of inconsequential villains that nobody cares about, except in one long arc. I was reading the book to see the relationships between the characters. GL zinging bats, Batman and Superman hinting at working together outside of the group. I love that stuff. Something is necessary as a plot device to move a story along, but this villain was basically filler to construct great dialogue around. Having said that, while JL hasn't lived up to the first arc, it's still really good and I look forward to it every month. Not to mention, the only real fallout from this arc is the supes/WW relationship and the change in public perception around the group, which could be easily accomplished without this villain.

SigurdJarlson

I really enjoy Justice League now, the first arc was pretty bland but it really picked up since then. The Shazam backup I do find more entertaining than the main story. I might be a bit biased though because this is the first real JL I've read, I started reading comics around the time of Blackest Night. Still don't know why *spoliers* batman takes off his cape in issue 6 I think. Might have been the most pointless thing that's happened since sentry the fallen son.

SigurdJarlson

I still watch the Simpsons and it's one of my favorite shows, though the past few seasons have tapered off a bit.

Daredevil, in my opinion started out great with amazing artists, but slowly began to go down from issue 7. Too much time was spent on that one storyline with the omega drive. Also, I'm a Samnee fan, but compared to Rivera and Martin, there's no comparison on who's a better artist on the book. Alread did pretty good though on the last issue and it looked great. I just wish Rivera and Martin could have stayed on the book till the end, it could have gone down as one of the defining Daredevil runs.

Matt

Am I the only 1 thinking DC (and Marvel while we're at it) should start realizing less CAN be more? How about rather than have 3 Justice League books, 5 Batman books (12 Avengers books) they put out fewer titles that are superior & worth the cost?

M

Bibliomike

fredzilla said:

We're going to watch it Monday night as a family. My 7-year-old is so excited, he began watching some older Who episodes this afternoon in preparation.

How did he like it? My son, who just turned 11, is Mr. Sensitive sometimes; he really wanted to watch it with us while it was being broadcast, but found it too creepy (about the time the threat of Amy turning into a Dalek was introduced) and felt he had to go upstairs! We've had some success with other episodes, but every time he's tried to watch it with us but without us having previewed them, he's gotten too scared ("Impossible Astronaut" - the Silence; "The Doctor's Wife" - House). Oh, well!

Bibliomike

LibraryBoy said:

Series 6 of Doctor Who left kind of a bad taste in my mouth, so I was pretty happy to see that Asylum of the Daleks was so good. And I don't mind the Skittles Daleks (EXTER-MIN-ATE the RAINBOOOOOOW!!!) either... it's cool that color denotes function, though truthfully, I thought those were all we'd have now, so I was surprised to see so many of the gold ones still kicking around.

Agreed, on all counts. I didn't dislike all of series 6 (I especially enjoyed "The Girl Who Waited" and "The God Complex"), but I was very displeased with how the promises made (or so it seemed) in "The Impossible Astronaut" were not kept. But if series 7 continues to be as strong as "Asylum of the Daleks" was, all will be forgiven!

I love your "Exterminate the Rainbow" line, btw!

Incidentally, guys: there is lots of ambiguity as to whether the Doctor really and properly is married to River now. He was, after all, "a Doctor in a Doctor's suit"; and he didn't tell her his name (not in episode 6.13, anyway), which seems to be what would really "seal the deal." And I think the episode was very deliberately named "The Wedding of River Song," which leaves open whether it was really the Doctor's wedding or not. I do think there is a reference to marriage from River in the series 7 trailer, though, so apparently they will still be dealing with that arc.

John_Steed

Matt said:

Am I the only 1 thinking DC (and Marvel while we're at it) should start realizing less CAN be more? How about rather than have 3 Justice League books, 5 Batman books (12 Avengers books) they put out fewer titles that are superior & worth the cost?

M

agreed

DennisCuzinski

My review of Justice League #12:

http://www.rpsteeves.com/2012/09/wrapped-up-like-comic-review-justice.html

MikeGallagher

Bibliomike said:

LibraryBoy said:

Series 6 of Doctor Who left kind of a bad taste in my mouth, so I was pretty happy to see that Asylum of the Daleks was so good. And I don't mind the Skittles Daleks (EXTER-MIN-ATE the RAINBOOOOOOW!!!) either... it's cool that color denotes function, though truthfully, I thought those were all we'd have now, so I was surprised to see so many of the gold ones still kicking around.

Agreed, on all counts. I didn't dislike all of series 6 (I especially enjoyed "The Girl Who Waited" and "The God Complex"), but I was very displeased with how the promises made (or so it seemed) in "The Impossible Astronaut" were not kept. But if series 7 continues to be as strong as "Asylum of the Daleks" was, all will be forgiven!

I love your "Exterminate the Rainbow" line, btw!

Incidentally, guys: there is lots of ambiguity as to whether the Doctor really and properly is married to River now. He was, after all, "a Doctor in a Doctor's suit"; and he didn't tell her his name (not in episode 6.13, anyway), which seems to be what would really "seal the deal." And I think the episode was very deliberately named "The Wedding of River Song," which leaves open whether it was really the Doctor's wedding or not. I do think there is a reference to marriage from River in the series 7 trailer, though, so apparently they will still be dealing with that arc.

Good point on the marriage.
It still irks me too when they start the "does the doctor have kids or not" game.

elkinscs

Matt said:

Am I the only 1 thinking DC (and Marvel while we're at it) should start realizing less CAN be more? How about rather than have 3 Justice League books, 5 Batman books (12 Avengers books) they put out fewer titles that are superior & worth the cost?

M

Absolutely. It's way worse with Marvel. I simply won't touch anything X or Avengers because it's just too overwhelming. The 5 batman books are a little much but I can't really call it out since I'm buying 4 of them. At least the are all pretty much independent from one another.

Chuck_Melville

elkinscs said:

Matt said:

Am I the only 1 thinking DC (and Marvel while we're at it) should start realizing less CAN be more? How about rather than have 3 Justice League books, 5 Batman books (12 Avengers books) they put out fewer titles that are superior & worth the cost?

M

Absolutely. It's way worse with Marvel. I simply won't touch anything X or Avengers because it's just too overwhelming. The 5 batman books are a little much but I can't really call it out since I'm buying 4 of them. At least the are all pretty much independent from one another.

A little too independent from one another, in my opinion. It's as though they take place on different worlds; I wouldn't have minded if they inserted just enough continuity to clue the reader in as to which story took place when and in what order. As it is, they just kinda go on, oblivious to one another. The only exception to that was during the Court Of Owls storyline. That lack of interconnectivity was one of the reasons (though not the only one)that I dropped most of the bat-books.