i didnt mean that sex and violence equals mature, I just like the way they seem to be taking the characters (for the most part) more seriously. One of the things that drives me nuts as a reader is when things are written overly tongue in cheek, or the characters are made jokes of. This is my personal view, as I know a lot of people like the bwha ha, or the older bronze age style of storytelling. I totally get that poeple don't like when things get shaken up, but for me personally, DC has been knocking it out of the park with the type of stories and art that appeals to me.
The flip side to that, though, is taking the book and characters so seriously that they begin to sink under the weight of their own pretentiousness, and lack all humor entirely. And some, consequently, become jokes as a result of that. I look at Firestorm as an example; I gave up on it after the first few issues, so my observations may be a bit dated by this point, but they took the original concept of two individuals merging to comprise a new individual with nuclear powers -- a rather unique concept -- to where several individuals have the same powers, and there are two Firestorms who combine to make a larger and stupider version of themselves. That was just funny, in a bad way, and not, I am sure, what was intended.
My problem is not that things are shakened up. Shaking things up is good. It's when they throw the baby out with the bathwater and give us bad stories that I object. Going back to Firestorm again: the best period of the series (in my opinion) was during the post-Crisis era (late 80's) when writer John Ostrander shook up the series so severely that the character went from a fission-based hero to a fire elemental. It was a major shakeup. But Ostrander delivered it with great stories, great characterizations, and superb storytelling. DC has since gone and done away with everything done during that period, but those stories still stand out as an example of how to rattle things without resorting to cliches, overly graphic violence, or losing the quality of the characters.
A lot of stories at DC right now remind me of a story about the famous movie director, Cecil B DeMille, who tried once to film a comedy after viewing a number of silent movie classics. When studio heads viewed the final result, they were baffled by it's lack of humor. "Cecil," they said to him, "the movie isn't funny! Are you sure this is a comedy? All that's happening is that a lot of people are running around!"
"I watched all those old comedies," he replied, "and that's exactly the same thing that was going on there: a lot of people running around!"
Right now, in my opinion, a lot of DC books just have a lot of people running around. That's what's getting passed off for stories.
By and large, DC isn't for me. It used to be, but with Bob Harris bringing back the 90's, I can't even say I am reading a DC universe proper comic in a timely manner any more. The art is usually pinuptastic and story deficient, the stories reek of ham fisted editorial interference and I don't need to see people having their faces ripped off, heads punched off, eviscerated and so on.
If people like it, good, I'm glad they have something they enjoy. I have books like Daredevil, Hawkguy, The Massive, whatever and whenever Seth puts something out, Wood's Star Wars and the like.
It's weird. I used to LOVE DC. I thought their universe was a wonderful place to set stories and I felt it was special...and Busiek did an excellent job of showing WHY it was special in Avengers/JLA. Now, I don't care. I have walked away and don't miss it because what I loved about it was thrown away. The history, the legacies, the heroics have all been replaced by all of the crap that made me drop Marvel in 1994.
Their books just aren't for me. AND THAT'S FINE. We don't have to be friends any more.
Mostly how I feel too although Im less indifferent about it and pretty saddened personally... plus confussed and frustrated.
I'm enjoying a bunch of the DC books, but of course they could always be better. I try not to pick books apart and just enjoy them if I can. Overall I feel the DC books lack heart. Batgirl is (IMHO) kind of a rough book in terms of violence, particularly given the wide age interest in the character, but Simone manages to generate some human interest. But with a lot of these books the writers and editorial don't seem to understand what makes any superhero comic awesome: fundamentally sound human interest stories that make you care about the characters and their relationships. Period. Every classic run is all about that. The fact that the stories revolve around superheroes is incidental by comparison. If you maintain that, then it's not about having to do crossovers or come up with better and better villains or ratcheting up the violence and sex.
I'm enjoying a bunch of the DC books, but of course they could always be better. I try not to pick books apart and just enjoy them if I can. Overall I feel the DC books lack heart. Batgirl is (IMHO) kind of a rough book in terms of violence, particularly given the wide age interest in the character, but Simone manages to generate some human interest. But with a lot of these books the writers and editorial don't seem to understand what makes any superhero comic awesome: fundamentally sound human interest stories that make you care about the characters and their relationships. Period. Every classic run is all about that. The fact that the stories revolve around superheroes is incidental by comparison. If you maintain that, then it's not about having to do crossovers or come up with better and better villains or ratcheting up the violence and sex.
I've been re-reading a lot of comics from the early to mid '80s lately. I admit I'm biased, since that's when I was first hooked on comics, so I'll always have fond memories of that era, but the consistent quality I notice about this era is that each issue takes the time to show the characters outside of being superheroes, and to slowly develop plots that simmer in the background while the issue is ostensibly about whatever villain they happen to be fighting.
What's interesting is that even though I read these things 30 years ago, I find that I've completely forgotten the villains and big plots, but all the soap opera and human interest stuff comes right back to me. That's what stuck with me. I had no memory of Alpha Flight fighting some creature called Tundra in their first issue, but I did recall all the conflicts and connections among the characters that surrounded that.
That's pretty much what kept me with the Titans for so long. Sure, they were 40-year old teens, but they were 40-year old teens you cared about. Even Wally, that whining little loser. Hard to believe THAT guy became a beloved incarnation of the Flash.
Kinda like when they changed Amanda Waller from "The Wall" to Halle Berry. Amanda had an amazing backstory that explained her character and why she was a "not-so-nice" person that even kept Batman on his toes. She was a compelling character you were almost rooting for in spite of yourself. Now? Not so much. She's one of the major "casualties" of the reboot, IMHO.
That's pretty much what kept me with the Titans for so long. Sure, they were 40-year old teens, but they were 40-year old teens you cared about. Even Wally, that whining little loser. Hard to believe THAT guy became a beloved incarnation of the Flash.
I couldn't even believe he was Kid Flash. I always thought Wolfman's handling of him was out-of-character. Prior to New Teen Titans, Wally had always been written as a responsible and highly intelligent teen, who was just a little bit looser around his peers. But in NTT he became such a whining loser that it was embarrassing to be holding the same book he was in. It just wasn't the same character anymore, and he wasn't all that memorable, except in a bad way.
That's pretty much what kept me with the Titans for so long. Sure, they were 40-year old teens, but they were 40-year old teens you cared about. Even Wally, that whining little loser. Hard to believe THAT guy became a beloved incarnation of the Flash.
I couldn't even believe he was Kid Flash. I always thought Wolfman's handling of him was out-of-character. Prior to New Teen Titans, Wally had always been written as a responsible and highly intelligent teen, who was just a little bit looser around his peers. But in NTT he became such a whining loser that it was embarrassing to be holding the same book he was in. It just wasn't the same character anymore, and he wasn't all that memorable, except in a bad way.
I guess I need to re-read my New Teen Titans from the early 80's. I do not recall Wally being "that whining little loser". I remember him mooning over Raven and playing his role in the Titians but "whining little loser", I guess I'd have to see examples. The Titans of that era are as close to perfect comics we had gotten to that point; consistent, well crafted, exciting, relevant and ground breaking. Wally played a part on the that and I find it funny in a topic that is essentially lamenting the state of the current version of DC, Wally gets poked. I'd take that whining little loser over most of what passes for a DC hero today. I get that the above post probably agrees with that, I was just surprised to see that shot and had to stand up for that version of Wally.
I don't like how the new 52 doesn't seem to have a unified universe. It just seems like before the books were more "intertwined". They put Pandora in all the number one issues, though they didn't go anywhere with it which is disappointing. Dropped most of my DC except for Batman and Batman Inc. though I recently hopped on WW for the New Gods. I know I shouldn't judge a book by the solicitation, but nothing is pulling me in at all to try new titles and creative teams, though Green Arrow by Lemire does sound appealing if I had a bit more budget to work with. I feel like my money is worth more material at Marvel, despite them having the 3.99 price tag the books don't read as fast as the DC comics and have more substance in them. And please halt the crossovers! The batbooks have seemed to be in constant crossover mode since the relaunch and it just seems uncessary for a book to labeled as part of the crossover only dealing with the plot for one page only. Looking forward to the Man of Steel book by Snyder and Lee though, Snyder is one of my favorite authors, but as of now, I don't foresee myself hopping on any of the other titles currently being produced.
I don't like how the new 52 doesn't seem to have a unified universe. It just seems like before the books were more "intertwined". They put Pandora in all the number one issues, though they didn't go anywhere with it which is disappointing.
Are you kidding!? The New52 universe is far more unified and intertwined than the old one ever was. Too much so, in my opinion. You can't open a book without a reference or connection to other series or historical DC reference. Eclipso is currently popping up in two different timeframes, confronting Jonah Hex (in All-Star Western) and Team 7, as well as a recent emergence in Batman & Robin, as a prelude to an upcoming storyline. Superman has had some story connections to Stormwatch, Grifter and Voodoo. The Court Of Owls spilled out of the Bat-books into Jonah Hex... and these are just a very few of the overall connections. There are a lot more.
They haven't forgotten Pandora -- she just made an appearance in Phantom Stranger, and they're laying down threads there and in at least two of the Justice League books for an upcoming storyline.
That is one thing that can get annoying for me. It seems nearly every month I'm having to pick up extra books to get the whole of a story line. Which isn't always a bad thing, except for my wallet!
I'd really like to see more (or even a whole series of) one shot stories. DC Presents had seemed to move that way a bit, but now it's axed. And National Comics (which I really enjoyed) has died a death too.
I think the universe doesn't feel unified either. Reading the characters in different books sometimes makes it seem like they are totally different people from book to book. Or that the world they inhabit isn't the same.
I agree there are way too many crossovers. I was hoping this stupid H'el on Earth thing in Superman would be over soon but I've seen the ads for Superman, Supergirl and Superbou for a couple more months. Good lord is it awful. I want Superman to explore his world. I feel like Clark is a total mystery. There just doesn't feel like there's been enough world building. It's all just next villain next crossover, go go go go go.
And btw. What are the standards for content in comics? In my most recent Batman, one horse is burned alive and another has its brains beat in. But the word "ass" is bleeped out? You can say "ass" in PG rated movies. What kind of standards are these?
That is one thing that can get annoying for me. It seems nearly every month I'm having to pick up extra books to get the whole of a story line. Which isn't always a bad thing, except for my wallet!
I'd really like to see more (or even a whole series of) one shot stories. DC Presents had seemed to move that way a bit, but now it's axed. And National Comics (which I really enjoyed) has died a death too.
I don't think National Comics was axed so much as it ran it's course. It was simply a 'mini-series' of one-shots, and didn't appear to be planned to go beyond the few they put out.
I didn't mind that DC Universe Presents was shifting to 'done-in-one' issues, but they appeared to be slanting towards doing Teen Titan one-shots which I had absolutely no interest in. I thought the recent Kid Flash issue was terrible and I have no desire to see the rest. I dropped the series, but will pick up the final issue.
I think the universe doesn't feel unified either. Reading the characters in different books sometimes makes it seem like they are totally different people from book to book. Or that the world they inhabit isn't the same.
I agree there are way too many crossovers. I was hoping this stupid H'el on Earth thing in Superman would be over soon but I've seen the ads for Superman, Supergirl and Superbou for a couple more months. Good lord is it awful. I want Superman to explore his world. I feel like Clark is a total mystery. There just doesn't feel like there's been enough world building. It's all just next villain next crossover, go go go go go.
And btw. What are the standards for content in comics? In my most recent Batman, one horse is burned alive and another has its brains beat in. But the word "ass" is bleeped out? You can say "ass" in PG rated movies. What kind of standards are these?
That's pretty much what kept me with the Titans for so long. Sure, they were 40-year old teens, but they were 40-year old teens you cared about. Even Wally, that whining little loser. Hard to believe THAT guy became a beloved incarnation of the Flash.
I couldn't even believe he was Kid Flash. I always thought Wolfman's handling of him was out-of-character. Prior to New Teen Titans, Wally had always been written as a responsible and highly intelligent teen, who was just a little bit looser around his peers. But in NTT he became such a whining loser that it was embarrassing to be holding the same book he was in. It just wasn't the same character anymore, and he wasn't all that memorable, except in a bad way.
I guess I need to re-read my New Teen Titans from the early 80's. I do not recall Wally being "that whining little loser". I remember him mooning over Raven and playing his role in the Titians but "whining little loser", I guess I'd have to see examples. The Titans of that era are as close to perfect comics we had gotten to that point; consistent, well crafted, exciting, relevant and ground breaking. Wally played a part on the that and I find it funny in a topic that is essentially lamenting the state of the current version of DC, Wally gets poked. I'd take that whining little loser over most of what passes for a DC hero today. I get that the above post probably agrees with that, I was just surprised to see that shot and had to stand up for that version of Wally.
Somewhere in the many many interviews I've read with Marv Wolfman on the New Teen Titans, he has claimed (paraphrasing here) that writing for Wally wasn't his favorite but he understood the need of having him from the get go as one of the "trinity" to build the rest of the team on. Of all the NTT, it's interesting to note that not many multi-issue stories revolved around Wally, certainly not in the way stories would center around say Starfire with Omega Men and Blackfire, Raven with Trigon, Wonder Girl with the Titans of Myth, Cyborg, etc. Wally's main contribution to New Teen Titans lore was Frances Kane and being a love interest for Raven.
I don't think he was a loser either, but he was certainly the emotional hot head of the bunch. Which I don't think is too far removed for a speedster to be - and considering he was in college at the time and struggling to keep everything juggling around his life - I can see a personality shift happening. Especially when he finds out Raven manipulated him to being on the team.
See that? Mention Titans enough times and I'm like Beetlejuice. :P
I agree that there is a lot of appearances of characters between books, however I don't really feel that the characters in those appearances are "unified". It just seems like they are dropping in characters into a situation, just to have them in each book and the characters don't seem to have any cohesion. Even in the Justice League book, it just seems like forced interaction between the characters.
Historically (i.e., when I was a kid), most kids started reading DC and then they "graduated" to Marvel. Hence, don't fret; you're just following tradition!
I've been reading Batman and Detective Comics for over 25 years. I consider myself a fan of them, and have only considered dropping the titles once in that time.
Kelley Jones's art was terrible... I don't care how long he was on the titles... I don't care that he drew the "Breaking of the Bat,"... I found the art obnoxious and distracting. That was the first time.
Now, I simply am not enjoying them as much as I should be. I am collecting the books out of loyalty....and if I do stop, I know that I will eventually buy them in the dollar bins.
The violence has always been there...and always will be. For God's sake, the character was born of violence, so why wouldn't it be continued as such? However, getting one's face ripped off...and then clipped back on with a belt and Scotch Tape seems a bit much, no?
I used to read all DC, and ignore Marvel. Now, it seems that I more interested in Marvel's universe, rather than DC's.
I really hope that DC cleans itself up a bit. There's shock value, then there's beating it over our heads.
Historically (i.e., when I was a kid), most kids started reading DC and then they "graduated" to Marvel. Hence, don't fret; you're just following tradition!
Really? I was a reader in the 70's, and Marvel was the "cool" company that kids were in to and DC was the Uncool company. Did that switch after the 70's? I can see where that could be the case in the 80's, but Marvel was aimed at 12 year olds under Shooter, so I can't see that happening. Once the 90's happened, Image was the entry comics line...and those readers just left comics in 1994 - 1996.
Kelley Jones's art was terrible... I don't care how long he was on the titles... I don't care that he drew the "Breaking of the Bat,"... I found the art obnoxious and distracting.
I never found Jones' art to be any of those things. He was quite, quite good. The only complaint I ever had was that he seldom seemed to bother with model sheets, so everything looked off-model; his Alfred particularly bothered me in that regard. Distinctive and moody, but off-model.
Historically (i.e., when I was a kid), most kids started reading DC and then they "graduated" to Marvel. Hence, don't fret; you're just following tradition!
Really? I was a reader in the 70's, and Marvel was the "cool" company that kids were in to and DC was the Uncool company. Did that switch after the 70's? I can see where that could be the case in the 80's, but Marvel was aimed at 12 year olds under Shooter, so I can't see that happening. Once the 90's happened, Image was the entry comics line...and those readers just left comics in 1994 - 1996.
I never followed, nor understood that mentality. I was never a 'DC guy', an 'Image fanatic' or a 'Marvel zombie'.
By and large, DC isn't for me. It used to be, but with Bob Harris bringing back the 90's, I can't even say I am reading a DC universe proper comic in a timely manner any more. The art is usually pinuptastic and story deficient, the stories reek of ham fisted editorial interference and I don't need to see people having their faces ripped off, heads punched off, eviscerated and so on.
If people like it, good, I'm glad they have something they enjoy. I have books like Daredevil, Hawkguy, The Massive, whatever and whenever Seth puts something out, Wood's Star Wars and the like.
It's weird. I used to LOVE DC. I thought their universe was a wonderful place to set stories and I felt it was special...and Busiek did an excellent job of showing WHY it was special in Avengers/JLA. Now, I don't care. I have walked away and don't miss it because what I loved about it was thrown away. The history, the legacies, the heroics have all been replaced by all of the crap that made me drop Marvel in 1994.
Their books just aren't for me. AND THAT'S FINE. We don't have to be friends any more.
I think this is where I'm at, too, Cory. The new DC (mostly) isn't for me, so I'm reading the stuff I do enjoy and letting the people who like what's going on there now have it, and that's that. I'm glad they have comics they can enjoy, and there's plenty of older DC material out there that I do like - and FAR MORE stuff that I haven't read that I suspect I might like - to keep me busy for a good long time. I hate what they're doing with Captain Marvel right now, sure, but there's plenty of older Captain Marvel for me to read out there, and when DC puts out projects involving that version of the character, I'll support that in the hopes that they'll think to put out more.
Kelley Jones's art was terrible... I don't care how long he was on the titles... I don't care that he drew the "Breaking of the Bat,"... I found the art obnoxious and distracting.
Art is subjective, of course, but I felt Kelley Jones was great on Batman—a nice bridge between Sprang and Wrightson (though leaning more towards Wrightson).
I agree that there is a lot of appearances of characters between books, however I don't really feel that the characters in those appearances are "unified". It just seems like they are dropping in characters into a situation, just to have them in each book and the characters don't seem to have any cohesion. Even in the Justice League book, it just seems like forced interaction between the characters.
I don't think that's it's just the appearances in other books -- though I do know and agree with you there -- but there's also a kind of predetermined understructure beneath all of the books, to the point that it becomes clear that the editors are determined (for good or ill) to put a definitive structure to the entire DCU. A deliberate structure, rather than the haphazard and organic process that went on before. I see definite strengths to this, but it also bears a kind of artificiality as well, and I wonder if it leaves creators enough room to stretch and breathe.
Historically (i.e., when I was a kid), most kids started reading DC and then they "graduated" to Marvel. Hence, don't fret; you're just following tradition!
Really? I was a reader in the 70's, and Marvel was the "cool" company that kids were in to and DC was the Uncool company. Did that switch after the 70's? I can see where that could be the case in the 80's, but Marvel was aimed at 12 year olds under Shooter, so I can't see that happening. Once the 90's happened, Image was the entry comics line...and those readers just left comics in 1994 - 1996.
I never followed, nor understood that mentality. I was never a 'DC guy', an 'Image fanatic' or a 'Marvel zombie'.
I just read comics.
I don't think we are conscious of those habits until we are looking at our behavior over the hindsight of years. In the 70's I was definitely a Marvel zombie and I transformed to a DC guy in the early 80's. A transformation I was not aware of until it happened. I never would have labeled myself those names but there were accurate never the less.
Historically (i.e., when I was a kid), most kids started reading DC and then they "graduated" to Marvel. Hence, don't fret; you're just following tradition!
Really? I was a reader in the 70's, and Marvel was the "cool" company that kids were in to and DC was the Uncool company. Did that switch after the 70's? I can see where that could be the case in the 80's, but Marvel was aimed at 12 year olds under Shooter, so I can't see that happening. Once the 90's happened, Image was the entry comics line...and those readers just left comics in 1994 - 1996.
I never followed, nor understood that mentality. I was never a 'DC guy', an 'Image fanatic' or a 'Marvel zombie'.
I just read comics.
I don't think we are conscious of those habits until we are looking at our behavior over the hindsight of years. In the 70's I was definitely a Marvel zombie and I transformed to a DC guy in the early 80's. A transformation I was not aware of until it happened. I never would have labeled myself those names but there were accurate never the less.
I knew friends who were very consciously into reading specific companies like Marvel or DC and would get very competitive about it. I just like comics, period, and had collections that spanned all of the genres, even those that my friends wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole... like Casper and Richie Rich. I was as fond of Sad Sack, Atomic Mouse and Space Adventures as I was of Justice League Of America, Tales To Astonish and Judge Colt. It's the medium that I love.
I'm sure as a 12 year old I would have read any comic but as a 12 year old in 1980 I was exposed to a few spinner racks so I stuck with what I knew. I don't recall ever seeing DC at the stationary store I bought most of my late 70's books from. And DC did not have much in the way of Origins or the Pocketbook collections I had. I was a Marvel zombie not by choice but by nature of my exposure not out of any bias against other publishers.
My reason for falling away from current DC comics almost ENTIRELY.
The fun books are out there. Unfortunately nobody's reading them or talking about them.
Wonder Woman #16 - I laughed - quite literally stopped for a moment and laughed - at a humorous sequence that happened in the book. It was funny, the art and words played together perfectly, and it reminded me that no matter how anal or argumentative we get about our chosen hobby/pastime - it's all about a comic being good enough to make you smile/laugh/cry, etc.
Demon Knights - Made Vandal Savage and Etrigan interesting again (at least to me). Continued The Shining Knight's tale from Morrison's excellent Seven Soldiers miniseries, gave us some compelling new characters like Horsewoman, Exoristos, and Al Jabr. It's a great blend of fantasy (which I love), action (non-stop at times) and humor...yes, humor...amid all the horror.
All-Star Western - I have never been a fan of Western comics, until now.
I'll be reading these books right up to their eventual cancellation due to low sales (or in Wondy's case, a complete overhaul of the creative team who'll impart a bold new vision of the Amazon that'll negate all that came before it (snarky enough? :) ))
Comments
My problem is not that things are shakened up. Shaking things up is good. It's when they throw the baby out with the bathwater and give us bad stories that I object. Going back to Firestorm again: the best period of the series (in my opinion) was during the post-Crisis era (late 80's) when writer John Ostrander shook up the series so severely that the character went from a fission-based hero to a fire elemental. It was a major shakeup. But Ostrander delivered it with great stories, great characterizations, and superb storytelling. DC has since gone and done away with everything done during that period, but those stories still stand out as an example of how to rattle things without resorting to cliches, overly graphic violence, or losing the quality of the characters.
A lot of stories at DC right now remind me of a story about the famous movie director, Cecil B DeMille, who tried once to film a comedy after viewing a number of silent movie classics. When studio heads viewed the final result, they were baffled by it's lack of humor. "Cecil," they said to him, "the movie isn't funny! Are you sure this is a comedy? All that's happening is that a lot of people are running around!"
"I watched all those old comedies," he replied, "and that's exactly the same thing that was going on there: a lot of people running around!"
Right now, in my opinion, a lot of DC books just have a lot of people running around. That's what's getting passed off for stories.
What's interesting is that even though I read these things 30 years ago, I find that I've completely forgotten the villains and big plots, but all the soap opera and human interest stuff comes right back to me. That's what stuck with me. I had no memory of Alpha Flight fighting some creature called Tundra in their first issue, but I did recall all the conflicts and connections among the characters that surrounded that.
Kinda like when they changed Amanda Waller from "The Wall" to Halle Berry. Amanda had an amazing backstory that explained her character and why she was a "not-so-nice" person that even kept Batman on his toes. She was a compelling character you were almost rooting for in spite of yourself. Now? Not so much. She's one of the major "casualties" of the reboot, IMHO.
Bring back that loving feeling, now it's gone, gone, gone
And I can't go on, no oh oh
They haven't forgotten Pandora -- she just made an appearance in Phantom Stranger, and they're laying down threads there and in at least two of the Justice League books for an upcoming storyline.
I'd really like to see more (or even a whole series of) one shot stories. DC Presents had seemed to move that way a bit, but now it's axed. And National Comics (which I really enjoyed) has died a death too.
I agree there are way too many crossovers. I was hoping this stupid H'el on Earth thing in Superman would be over soon but I've seen the ads for Superman, Supergirl and Superbou for a couple more months. Good lord is it awful. I want Superman to explore his world. I feel like Clark is a total mystery. There just doesn't feel like there's been enough world building. It's all just next villain next crossover, go go go go go.
And btw. What are the standards for content in comics? In my most recent Batman, one horse is burned alive and another has its brains beat in. But the word "ass" is bleeped out? You can say "ass" in PG rated movies. What kind of standards are these?
I didn't mind that DC Universe Presents was shifting to 'done-in-one' issues, but they appeared to be slanting towards doing Teen Titan one-shots which I had absolutely no interest in. I thought the recent Kid Flash issue was terrible and I have no desire to see the rest. I dropped the series, but will pick up the final issue.
I don't think he was a loser either, but he was certainly the emotional hot head of the bunch. Which I don't think is too far removed for a speedster to be - and considering he was in college at the time and struggling to keep everything juggling around his life - I can see a personality shift happening. Especially when he finds out Raven manipulated him to being on the team.
See that? Mention Titans enough times and I'm like Beetlejuice. :P
Kelley Jones's art was terrible... I don't care how long he was on the titles... I don't care that he drew the "Breaking of the Bat,"... I found the art obnoxious and distracting. That was the first time.
Now, I simply am not enjoying them as much as I should be. I am collecting the books out of loyalty....and if I do stop, I know that I will eventually buy them in the dollar bins.
The violence has always been there...and always will be. For God's sake, the character was born of violence, so why wouldn't it be continued as such? However, getting one's face ripped off...and then clipped back on with a belt and Scotch Tape seems a bit much, no?
I used to read all DC, and ignore Marvel. Now, it seems that I more interested in Marvel's universe, rather than DC's.
I really hope that DC cleans itself up a bit. There's shock value, then there's beating it over our heads.
I just read comics.
Wonder Woman #16 - I laughed - quite literally stopped for a moment and laughed - at a humorous sequence that happened in the book. It was funny, the art and words played together perfectly, and it reminded me that no matter how anal or argumentative we get about our chosen hobby/pastime - it's all about a comic being good enough to make you smile/laugh/cry, etc.
Demon Knights - Made Vandal Savage and Etrigan interesting again (at least to me). Continued The Shining Knight's tale from Morrison's excellent Seven Soldiers miniseries, gave us some compelling new characters like Horsewoman, Exoristos, and Al Jabr. It's a great blend of fantasy (which I love), action (non-stop at times) and humor...yes, humor...amid all the horror.
All-Star Western - I have never been a fan of Western comics, until now.
I'll be reading these books right up to their eventual cancellation due to low sales (or in Wondy's case, a complete overhaul of the creative team who'll impart a bold new vision of the Amazon that'll negate all that came before it (snarky enough? :) ))