And he's turned storytelling back to then as well, not just with the Big 90's style art, but with editorial dictating stories, rewriting them after the creators have finished their work and gimmick after gimmick.
I was listening to Fat Man on Batman with Loeb (which is a great show for those not listening. It's not like Smodcast/TESD) a few weeks ago. Loeb said things were so bad at the X-Men Office under Harras when he got the Cable job (1994), Marvel's 1st question was "have you heard anything about the X-Office?"
Has anyone read the Movement or Green Team? They sounded somewhat interesting.
The Movement was alright, I guess, but in a very 90s "we're a DCU team with funny names that's taking back the streets!" kind of way. In my brain it occupies a weird mid-point between, like, Sovereign Seven, Chain Gang War, Primal Force, and Psyba-Rats, or maybe one of the later Milestone books like Shadow Cabinet or Heroes.
The Green Team hasn't come out yet. I think that one ships next week.
Are there ANY books left from the 3rd and 4th wave of the New52?
And I don't know what's been cancelled and I think that is all of wave 3&4
JLA - 4 Vibe - 4 Katana - 4 Talon - 3 Threshold - 4 Team 7 -3 The Phantom Stranger - 3 HeckBlazer - 4 Amythest Princess of Gem World - 3
JLA -- lagging behind schedule. Phantom Stranger, Vibe and Katana -- skirting the edge of cancellation. Threshold, Team 7, Sword Of Sorcery -- cancelled. Talon and Constantine both appear to be okay at the moment.
Has anyone read the Movement or Green Team? They sounded somewhat interesting.
I've only seen The Movement thus far, and it was okay. The first issue is only a story opening without too much detail on players yet, so it's still kind of a wait-and-see... but it looks promising.
I have to agree with what someone said about Dial H - It started strong, and has faded fast. I'll stick with it to the end, but I can't say I'll really miss it.
I didn't pick up Threshold until a couple of days ago... and I only went on eBay and picked up the first five issues for the Larfleeze back-up story, in preparation for his upcoming solo book.
I think I'm down to four DC titles now, and that is counting Larfleeze and Astro City, two titles that haven't even come out yet. (The other two title - Animal Man & Wonder Woman.)
Batman - dropped after Court of Owls only came back for Death of the Family Aquaman - dropped during The Others Wonder Woman - digital, few months behind Supergirl - digital, several months behind Justice League - dropped after issue 13 Red Lanterns - digital, dropped after three issues Red Hood and the Outlaws - Started in print, went to digital, several months behind Demon Knights - digital, several months behind Batwoman - digital, several months behind Grifter - dropped after issue 2 Voodoo - monthly, stayed till the end
As the new titles came out:
Earth 2 - monthly Worlds' Finest - monthly Ravagers - first issue only
In print all I am getting is Earth 2 and Worlds' Finest. With Batman I am picking and chosing based on how the story arcs are sounding to me. I am trying to keep up on Wonder Woman digitally and hoping to catch up on the other titles that I'm behind on, but I'm holding off till June when I get an ipad. I was planning on adding Birds of Prey when it looked like Jim Zub would be writing, when that fell through I chose not to.
The only other book I get from DC is Masters of the Universe which is not a New 52 title.
Really sad to see Demon Knights cancelled. Such a good book. I dropped Dial H months ago. Didn't read the other two.
DC is in such a poor state right now. It's sad. My pull list is veering towards more indie books and trades. But there are still some quality books out there from DC. Animal Man, Swamp Thing and Earth 2 are still great. And I don't know about everyone else but I'm loving Vibe. Along with Animal Man it shows a more down to earth side of the DCU, that needs to sell more or it'll be cancelled soon too.
I'll also be on the three Justice League books for Trinity Wars and I'm giving Batman/Superman a go. Pak and Jae Lee was just too tempting.
I have to agree with Chuck and Stewart on JR Jr., though I consider him more than a journeyman. I’ve stated why in other threads on this board, and you can search them out if you so desire. Suffice it to say that John knows where his strengths lie (storytelling), and that is where he concentrates his efforts. There’s a saying among comic book artists: “Give me a month to draw an issue, and it will take me a month to draw it. Give me six months to draw an issue, and it will take me six months to draw it.” A lot of artists treat their work a little too preciously and struggle with knowing when to let go. John doesn’t have that problem. When he was younger, he asked, if memory serves, his editor Ralph Macchio for advice on how to get faster. Ralph said, “Buy a car. Nothing will make you faster than having a large debt.”
To bring this back on topic, DC would be well served to have an artist with John’s storytelling ability who could actually put out a monthly book on schedule. At least they’d have one book that didn’t need a fill-in artist every six months. A little more stability in their creative line-ups certainly wouldn't hurt.
I have to agree with Chuck and Stewart on JR Jr., though I consider him more than a journeyman. I’ve stated why in other threads on this board, and you can search them out if you so desire. Suffice it to say that John knows where his strengths lie (storytelling), and that is where he concentrates his efforts. There’s a saying among comic book artists: “Give me a month to draw an issue, and it will take me a month to draw it. Give me six months to draw an issue, and it will take me six months to draw it.” A lot of artists treat their work a little too preciously and struggle with knowing when to let go. John doesn’t have that problem. When he was younger, he asked, if memory serves, his editor Ralph Macchio for advice on how to get faster. Ralph said, “Buy a car. Nothing will make you faster than having a large debt.”
To bring this back on topic, DC would be well served to have an artist with John’s storytelling ability who could actually put out a monthly book on schedule. At least they’d have one book that didn’t need a fill-in artist every six months. A little more stability in their creative line-ups certainly wouldn't hurt.
Thank you. You articulated that better than I did. I shouldn't call JRJR a journeyman artist, but I was at a loss as how to differentiate him from someone of Kirby's level.
I've only seen The Movement thus far, and it was okay. The first issue is only a story opening without too much detail on players yet, so it's still kind of a wait-and-see... but it looks promising.
Is BloodWynd a member? I really didn't have high expectations for the Movement. It sounded a little boring and I'm not a "fan of superheroes for the 99%". The Green Team however seemed far more interesting. Since they are connected I feel if you read one you should probably read the other.
I have to agree with Chuck and Stewart on JR Jr., though I consider him more than a journeyman. I’ve stated why in other threads on this board, and you can search them out if you so desire. Suffice it to say that John knows where his strengths lie (storytelling), and that is where he concentrates his efforts. There’s a saying among comic book artists: “Give me a month to draw an issue, and it will take me a month to draw it. Give me six months to draw an issue, and it will take me six months to draw it.” A lot of artists treat their work a little too preciously and struggle with knowing when to let go. John doesn’t have that problem. When he was younger, he asked, if memory serves, his editor Ralph Macchio for advice on how to get faster. Ralph said, “Buy a car. Nothing will make you faster than having a large debt.”
To bring this back on topic, DC would be well served to have an artist with John’s storytelling ability who could actually put out a monthly book on schedule. At least they’d have one book that didn’t need a fill-in artist every six months. A little more stability in their creative line-ups certainly wouldn't hurt.
Thank you. You articulated that better than I did. I shouldn't call JRJR a journeyman artist, but I was at a loss as how to differentiate him from someone of Kirby's level.
From a classical training standpoint, Journeyman is absolutely the right terminology, unless you honestly think that he's deserving of the title Master (which would, of course necessitate having produced a Masterpiece - it's possible, I suppose. Again, if it were me, he would have never made it past apprentice.
At the end of the day, I probably ought to thank him. He's done a wonderful job of keeping me from buying a double shipping $3.99 book.
Back on topic, I've pretty much convinced that I will be following my previous thought and will be dropping another DC book for each of my preferred titles that they cancel or use editorial fiat to diminish. This will help to offset the upcoming Lazarus and the soon to debut Eternal Warrior, if nothing else.
From a classical training standpoint, Journeyman is absolutely the right terminology, unless you honestly think that he's deserving of the title Master (which would, of course necessitate having produced a Masterpiece - it's possible, I suppose. Again, if it were me, he would have never made it past apprentice.
From a comic book standpoint though, journeyman refers to someone who does a couple of issues here, a couple of issues there, with no long runs or title they can be easily identified with. In that sense, John is certainly no journeyman, having had multiple long runs on Spider-Man, as well as long runs on Iron Man, Daredevil, and X-Men. And as far as the classical sense is concerned, since I included him in the Modern Masters series, it’s pretty obvious where I stand. Do I think he’s a great illustrator? No—serviceable, but not great. But from my viewpoint he absolutely is one of the best comic book storytellers to ever wield a pencil. For his masterpiece, I would point you to the Daredevil: Man Without Fear mini-series, and I think his first issue of Black Panther (2005 series) is absolutely perfect.
I think at the peak of my DC buying in the ’90s I was reading 16 or 17 titles—not counting mini-series and one-shots—and even during down years I read at least six or seven DC titles every month. Not anymore. Once Grant Morrison’s run on Batman Inc. ends, I'll be down to only two-and-a-half New 52 titles (one I only pick up depending on the art team). I was kind of looking forward to The Movement and The Green Team, but what I’ve heard about The Movement so far doesn’t give me much hope.
From a classical training standpoint, Journeyman is absolutely the right terminology, unless you honestly think that he's deserving of the title Master (which would, of course necessitate having produced a Masterpiece - it's possible, I suppose. Again, if it were me, he would have never made it past apprentice.
From a comic book standpoint though, journeyman refers to someone who does a couple of issues here, a couple of issues there, with no long runs or title they can be easily identified with. In that sense, John is certainly no journeyman, having had multiple long runs on Spider-Man, as well as long runs on Iron Man, Daredevil, and X-Men. And as far as the classical sense is concerned, since I included him in the Modern Masters series, it’s pretty obvious where I stand. Do I think he’s a great illustrator? No—serviceable, but not great. But from my viewpoint he absolutely is one of the best comic book storytellers to ever wield a pencil. For his masterpiece, I would point you to the Daredevil: Man Without Fear mini-series, and I think his first issue of Black Panther (2005 series) is absolutely perfect
This makes a great deal of sense to me looking at it from the truly classical sense of a journeyman moving from place to place and project to project continuing to develop his craft. Based on that, I suppose that I can concede that journeyman isn't necessarily the right term.
I'll also concur on him not being a great illustrator. That will lead to a dissent on whether or not he qualifies as serviceable - for me, he's not. I can't speak for his storytelling ability. As I said, it was, at best a chore to get through his issues of Daredevil and Iron Man and I dropped Uncanny within just a couple of issues of his getting assigned to the book. Didn't read the Black Panther book, but I did buy, and try to read Man Without Fear for the Frank Miller story. I couldn't make it through specifically because of the JRJR art, which from my perspective detracts from the storytelling.
To be honest, I'd like to see DC just come right out and say they're out of the numbers game and just give us a bunch of mini-series (for the lower-tier characters). Instead of promising some ongoing series for a character like, say, Amethyst, why not simply say "We're doing an eight-issue story. It's gonna be great. If you like it, buy it, and when we trade it we'll throw some extras in so you won't feel gypped for double-dipping. And, if you buy enough of it, we'll do ANOTHER eight-issue story about her!"
This. I want this. The Hellboy formula, as I call it, has worked out really well for Mike Mignola and Dark Horse. The audience gets the characters & stories they want and they can jump off (or on) at any time, stories (mostly) aren't forced in the name of putting stuff out there (i.e., you only put out a series when there's actually a story to tell), the company gets product that's easily collectible in hardcover and/or tpb... everyone wins.
Is BloodWynd a member? I really didn't have high expectations for the Movement. It sounded a little boring and I'm not a "fan of superheroes for the 99%". The Green Team however seemed far more interesting. Since they are connected I feel if you read one you should probably read the other.
I'm giving them both a day in court. Partly because I like the creative teams on them. Partly because ANY time DC is willing to try something that doesn't involve the words "Super" or "Bat" I want to check it out and let them know THAT'S what I want to see more of. And finally...because of the Green Team page in Ambush Bug #3... *sigh*
And finally...because of the Green Team page in Ambush Bug #3... *sigh*
As one of the five people who bought the original Green Team 1st Issue Special issue off the rack, I pretty much plotzed when I saw this.
But DC's not selling me any new periodicals at this point.
I'll stick with Wonder Woman, Flash, All-Star Western, Earth-2 and World's (Worlds'?) Finest until they cancel or ruin them, but they have squandered my good will when it comes to "new" series.
Also: not mentioned is the apparent cancellation of Batman Beyond Unlimited -- or, at least, I never saw any notice of it -- in order to make way for the new Batman Beyond Universe -- which, so far as I can tell, is the exact same book with a new title and numbering. WTF!?
Marvel does this all the time. In fact much of Marvel Now's marketing is built on this practice
Also: not mentioned is the apparent cancellation of Batman Beyond Unlimited -- or, at least, I never saw any notice of it -- in order to make way for the new Batman Beyond Universe -- which, so far as I can tell, is the exact same book with a new title and numbering. WTF!?
Marvel does this all the time. In fact much of Marvel Now's marketing is built on this practice
It's pretty much a first for DC, though. With the exception of the New52 reboot, DC either cancels a book outright because of poor sales or to clear the way for a different title altogether. Nightwing, for instance, was cancelled in the wake of Batman: RIP to make way for Batman & Robin (pre-new52). Or a book might be retitled and continue on with the numbering. The Fury Of Firestorm gets simplified to just Firestorm. This one's just weird: cancel a book and then put it back on the schedule with a new name and new numbering, without apparent explanation, purpose, or marketing theme. I don't even remember hearing about Batman Beyond Unlimited being cancelled in the first place.
Also: not mentioned is the apparent cancellation of Batman Beyond Unlimited -- or, at least, I never saw any notice of it -- in order to make way for the new Batman Beyond Universe -- which, so far as I can tell, is the exact same book with a new title and numbering. WTF!?
Marvel does this all the time. In fact much of Marvel Now's marketing is built on this practice
It's pretty much a first for DC, though. With the exception of the New52 reboot, DC either cancels a book outright because of poor sales or to clear the way for a different title altogether. Nightwing, for instance, was cancelled in the wake of Batman: RIP to make way for Batman & Robin (pre-new52). Or a book might be retitled and continue on with the numbering. The Fury Of Firestorm gets simplified to just Firestorm. This one's just weird: cancel a book and then put it back on the schedule with a new name and new numbering, without apparent explanation, purpose, or marketing theme. I don't even remember hearing about Batman Beyond Unlimited being cancelled in the first place.
I don't read Batman Beyond, so maybe they were already doing this, but it sounds like a way to make the title more of a Batman Beyond-era Justice League book. Do the JL members appear regularly, or at all, in the book?
Also: not mentioned is the apparent cancellation of Batman Beyond Unlimited -- or, at least, I never saw any notice of it -- in order to make way for the new Batman Beyond Universe -- which, so far as I can tell, is the exact same book with a new title and numbering. WTF!?
Marvel does this all the time. In fact much of Marvel Now's marketing is built on this practice
It's pretty much a first for DC, though. With the exception of the New52 reboot, DC either cancels a book outright because of poor sales or to clear the way for a different title altogether. Nightwing, for instance, was cancelled in the wake of Batman: RIP to make way for Batman & Robin (pre-new52). Or a book might be retitled and continue on with the numbering. The Fury Of Firestorm gets simplified to just Firestorm. This one's just weird: cancel a book and then put it back on the schedule with a new name and new numbering, without apparent explanation, purpose, or marketing theme. I don't even remember hearing about Batman Beyond Unlimited being cancelled in the first place.
I don't read Batman Beyond, so maybe they were already doing this, but it sounds like a way to make the title more of a Batman Beyond-era Justice League book. Do the JL members appear regularly, or at all, in the book?
Yeah, the title has three different series running: Batman Beyond, Superman Beyond, and JLU Beyond. All of these are digital-first series. Apparently the new title will continue to feature these without change.
As @WetRats and others have said, a lot of the good will is gone for me--
There was a time in the New 52 that I would try at least the first issue of each new title, but no longer.
I did order the first issues of Green Team and The Movement, but those are the first #1s I've tried in a few waves now. And I didn't pre-order the #2 issues, as I am expecting to not like these enough to stay on.
I am still reading Batman Inc., and (thanks to those heavily discounted Tanga subscriptions) Batman, Action, and Wonder Woman. And I jumped on Green Arrow when Lemire and Sorrentino started, but I may be dropping that again soon. And when the Action subscription ends that will be it for that.
After the New 52 I went from trying everything, to reading maybe 8 or 10 titles, to now just these 4. Once Morrison finishes Batman Inc., that will be 3.
Still, though, that is more DC than I was reading before the relaunch. But the excitement and expectations for the new is pretty well gone.
Imagine if all the creator and editorial talent that was put on those 40 or so Before Watchmen issues was instead aimed on some New 52 ongoing titles?
As far as corporate comics go, Marvel is where it's at for me these days.
Imagine if all the creator and editorial talent that was put on those 40 or so Before Watchmen issues was instead aimed on some New 52 ongoing titles?
Before Watchmen was the biggest waste of money I have ever made on comics. I bought/per ordered most of the issues before I ever read any of them. Then when I finally sat down to read them....sigh :-(
Imagine if all the creator and editorial talent that was put on those 40 or so Before Watchmen issues was instead aimed on some New 52 ongoing titles?
Good point. What a waste of talent that was.
I agree. I know that much was said about whether or not DC should do more with The Watchmen characters, but I was a bit indifferent about the idea. I thought it might be interesting, but I didn't give it much thought.
However, seeing the list of creators on the books had me instantly excited because I wanted to see their work regardless of the characters involved. I hope that DC will place those creators on regular monthly books now. It could be a huge boost for them.
I believe the current DC Universe is going to be around for a while. I still think restarting DC was a great idea. We get upset with the status quo, and this was as big of a change as they could make. DC needed to do something like the New52. It wasn't without glaring mistakes though.
DC should have wiped both Green Lantern and Batman clean. They never should have given us a timeline for the NEW 52; saying heroes just started publicly 5 years ago or whatever was stupid. The biggest one in my opinion was Bob Harris. I'll give credit where credit is due, S. Rose spent many a word talking about what a debacle this hire would be. I just thought it was ridiculous the every 3rd creator for the New52 worked on the X-Men in 1990.
I think DC should have gone a step farther and take things back to an early point in the DCU. You wouldn't have to start with origins if you didn't want to do that, but you could go to a point where the characters are still relatively new to the general public, and even to themselves. Forget this starting the first story 5 years in the past and then jump to the present, forget trying to figure out how Blackest Night still happened, and how do you fit in all of these Robins, they should have gone to a point before all of it and started building again from the beginning.
I know that it would still upset some people if that means Damian, or Stephanie Brown, or others wouldn't exist in this world, but if DC was going to commit to this reboot, I think they should have really gone for it and take things back to the beginning where they really could start fresh.
Imagine if all the creator and editorial talent that was put on those 40 or so Before Watchmen issues was instead aimed on some New 52 ongoing titles?
Good point. What a waste of talent that was.
I agree. I know that much was said about whether or not DC should do more with The Watchmen characters, but I was a bit indifferent about the idea. I thought it might be interesting, but I didn't give it much thought.
However, seeing the list of creators on the books had me instantly excited because I wanted to see their work regardless of the characters involved. I hope that DC will place those creators on regular monthly books now. It could be a huge boost for them.
Well, Darwyn Cooke doesn’t want to do a monthly series for DC, Amanda Connor is currently working on an upcoming creator-owned project, Adam Hughes is too slow to draw a monthly (unless he were to give up his cover work and his commissions, which he probably makes more money from than he would make drawing a monthly anyway), Andy Kubert is too busy these days with the Kubert School and other things to draw a monthly for more than a handful of issues, Steve Rude is too slow to draw a monthly, Jae Lee is too slow to draw a monthly (which is why he is primarily a cover artist), Lee Bermejo must be too slow or too busy to draw a monthly because he only does covers and special projects. That leaves J.G. Jones, who was drawing Action Comics before the Watchmen job, and Eduardo Risso, who is currently drawing the 100 Bullets spin-off mini-series for Vertigo.
In other words, the only way DC was able to get a group of artists like this together to do interior work was to give them highly visible (and likely financially rewarding) projects and enough lead time to get the work done on time.
Imagine if all the creator and editorial talent that was put on those 40 or so Before Watchmen issues was instead aimed on some New 52 ongoing titles?
Good point. What a waste of talent that was.
I agree. I know that much was said about whether or not DC should do more with The Watchmen characters, but I was a bit indifferent about the idea. I thought it might be interesting, but I didn't give it much thought.
However, seeing the list of creators on the books had me instantly excited because I wanted to see their work regardless of the characters involved. I hope that DC will place those creators on regular monthly books now. It could be a huge boost for them.
Well, Darwyn Cooke doesn’t want to do a monthly series for DC, Amanda Connor is currently working on an upcoming creator-owned project, Adam Hughes is too slow to draw a monthly (unless he were to give up his cover work and his commissions, which he probably makes more money from than he would make drawing a monthly anyway), Andy Kubert is too busy these days with the Kubert School and other things to draw a monthly for more than a handful of issues, Steve Rude is too slow to draw a monthly, Jae Lee is too slow to draw a monthly (which is why he is primarily a cover artist), Lee Bermejo must be too slow or too busy to draw a monthly because he only does covers and special projects. That leaves J.G. Jones, who was drawing Action Comics before the Watchmen job, and Eduardo Risso, who is currently drawing the 100 Bullets spin-off mini-series for Vertigo.
In other words, the only way DC was able to get a group of artists like this together to do interior work was to give them highly visible (and likely financially rewarding) projects and enough lead time to get the work done on time.
I know all of that. But for the time that DC was able to have them, it might have been more beneficial to have them work on regular titles rather than mini-series. It might have helped to hook people in to continue with the series even after other creators took over. And I would be fine with trying to work out a schedule of rotating creators to try to get them to do more work for DC.
Imagine if all the creator and editorial talent that was put on those 40 or so Before Watchmen issues was instead aimed on some New 52 ongoing titles?
Good point. What a waste of talent that was.
I agree. I know that much was said about whether or not DC should do more with The Watchmen characters, but I was a bit indifferent about the idea. I thought it might be interesting, but I didn't give it much thought.
However, seeing the list of creators on the books had me instantly excited because I wanted to see their work regardless of the characters involved. I hope that DC will place those creators on regular monthly books now. It could be a huge boost for them.
Well, Darwyn Cooke doesn’t want to do a monthly series for DC, Amanda Connor is currently working on an upcoming creator-owned project, Adam Hughes is too slow to draw a monthly (unless he were to give up his cover work and his commissions, which he probably makes more money from than he would make drawing a monthly anyway), Andy Kubert is too busy these days with the Kubert School and other things to draw a monthly for more than a handful of issues, Steve Rude is too slow to draw a monthly, Jae Lee is too slow to draw a monthly (which is why he is primarily a cover artist), Lee Bermejo must be too slow or too busy to draw a monthly because he only does covers and special projects. That leaves J.G. Jones, who was drawing Action Comics before the Watchmen job, and Eduardo Risso, who is currently drawing the 100 Bullets spin-off mini-series for Vertigo.
In other words, the only way DC was able to get a group of artists like this together to do interior work was to give them highly visible (and likely financially rewarding) projects and enough lead time to get the work done on time.
I know all of that. But for the time that DC was able to have them, it might have been more beneficial to have them work on regular titles rather than mini-series. It might have helped to hook people in to continue with the series even after other creators took over. And I would be fine with trying to work out a schedule of rotating creators to try to get them to do more work for DC.
Given the regular online exodus statement that comes when a creator leaves a book, I'm not sure that that's a viable option. I'm also not sure that there is anything about the comic boom industry and fandom in particular that doesn't leave me feeling frustrated in some capacity.
I'm thoroughly displeased with editorial edicts.
I'm beyond frustrated with $3.99.
I completely reject double-shipping.
I'm sick of the whining that goes along with creators leaving corporate owned book. With very few exceptions, they're ALL replacement creators. I may find a creator that I'm interested in following elsewhere when they leave a title but, in general, I found that creator because of the title and am generally wiling to see what the next team can bring to the title.
Comments
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L nny
JLA - 4
Vibe - 4
Katana - 4
Talon - 3
Threshold - 4
Team 7 -3
The Phantom Stranger - 3
HeckBlazer - 4
Amythest Princess of Gem World - 3
Has anyone read the Movement or Green Team? They sounded somewhat interesting.
The Green Team hasn't come out yet. I think that one ships next week.
Phantom Stranger, Vibe and Katana -- skirting the edge of cancellation.
Threshold, Team 7, Sword Of Sorcery -- cancelled.
Talon and Constantine both appear to be okay at the moment. I've only seen The Movement thus far, and it was okay. The first issue is only a story opening without too much detail on players yet, so it's still kind of a wait-and-see... but it looks promising.
I didn't pick up Threshold until a couple of days ago... and I only went on eBay and picked up the first five issues for the Larfleeze back-up story, in preparation for his upcoming solo book.
I think I'm down to four DC titles now, and that is counting Larfleeze and Astro City, two titles that haven't even come out yet. (The other two title - Animal Man & Wonder Woman.)
Batman - dropped after Court of Owls only came back for Death of the Family
Aquaman - dropped during The Others
Wonder Woman - digital, few months behind
Supergirl - digital, several months behind
Justice League - dropped after issue 13
Red Lanterns - digital, dropped after three issues
Red Hood and the Outlaws - Started in print, went to digital, several months behind
Demon Knights - digital, several months behind
Batwoman - digital, several months behind
Grifter - dropped after issue 2
Voodoo - monthly, stayed till the end
As the new titles came out:
Earth 2 - monthly
Worlds' Finest - monthly
Ravagers - first issue only
In print all I am getting is Earth 2 and Worlds' Finest. With Batman I am picking and chosing based on how the story arcs are sounding to me. I am trying to keep up on Wonder Woman digitally and hoping to catch up on the other titles that I'm behind on, but I'm holding off till June when I get an ipad. I was planning on adding Birds of Prey when it looked like Jim Zub would be writing, when that fell through I chose not to.
The only other book I get from DC is Masters of the Universe which is not a New 52 title.
DC is in such a poor state right now. It's sad. My pull list is veering towards more indie books and trades. But there are still some quality books out there from DC. Animal Man, Swamp Thing and Earth 2 are still great. And I don't know about everyone else but I'm loving Vibe. Along with Animal Man it shows a more down to earth side of the DCU, that needs to sell more or it'll be cancelled soon too.
I'll also be on the three Justice League books for Trinity Wars and I'm giving Batman/Superman a go. Pak and Jae Lee was just too tempting.
To bring this back on topic, DC would be well served to have an artist with John’s storytelling ability who could actually put out a monthly book on schedule. At least they’d have one book that didn’t need a fill-in artist every six months. A little more stability in their creative line-ups certainly wouldn't hurt.
At the end of the day, I probably ought to thank him. He's done a wonderful job of keeping me from buying a double shipping $3.99 book.
Back on topic, I've pretty much convinced that I will be following my previous thought and will be dropping another DC book for each of my preferred titles that they cancel or use editorial fiat to diminish. This will help to offset the upcoming Lazarus and the soon to debut Eternal Warrior, if nothing else.
I think at the peak of my DC buying in the ’90s I was reading 16 or 17 titles—not counting mini-series and one-shots—and even during down years I read at least six or seven DC titles every month. Not anymore. Once Grant Morrison’s run on Batman Inc. ends, I'll be down to only two-and-a-half New 52 titles (one I only pick up depending on the art team). I was kind of looking forward to The Movement and The Green Team, but what I’ve heard about The Movement so far doesn’t give me much hope.
I'll also concur on him not being a great illustrator. That will lead to a dissent on whether or not he qualifies as serviceable - for me, he's not. I can't speak for his storytelling ability. As I said, it was, at best a chore to get through his issues of Daredevil and Iron Man and I dropped Uncanny within just a couple of issues of his getting assigned to the book. Didn't read the Black Panther book, but I did buy, and try to read Man Without Fear for the Frank Miller story. I couldn't make it through specifically because of the JRJR art, which from my perspective detracts from the storytelling.
But DC's not selling me any new periodicals at this point.
I'll stick with Wonder Woman, Flash, All-Star Western, Earth-2 and World's (Worlds'?) Finest until they cancel or ruin them, but they have squandered my good will when it comes to "new" series.
There was a time in the New 52 that I would try at least the first issue of each new title, but no longer.
I did order the first issues of Green Team and The Movement, but those are the first #1s I've tried in a few waves now. And I didn't pre-order the #2 issues, as I am expecting to not like these enough to stay on.
I am still reading Batman Inc., and (thanks to those heavily discounted Tanga subscriptions) Batman, Action, and Wonder Woman. And I jumped on Green Arrow when Lemire and Sorrentino started, but I may be dropping that again soon. And when the Action subscription ends that will be it for that.
After the New 52 I went from trying everything, to reading maybe 8 or 10 titles, to now just these 4. Once Morrison finishes Batman Inc., that will be 3.
Still, though, that is more DC than I was reading before the relaunch. But the excitement and expectations for the new is pretty well gone.
Imagine if all the creator and editorial talent that was put on those 40 or so Before Watchmen issues was instead aimed on some New 52 ongoing titles?
As far as corporate comics go, Marvel is where it's at for me these days.
However, seeing the list of creators on the books had me instantly excited because I wanted to see their work regardless of the characters involved. I hope that DC will place those creators on regular monthly books now. It could be a huge boost for them.
I know that it would still upset some people if that means Damian, or Stephanie Brown, or others wouldn't exist in this world, but if DC was going to commit to this reboot, I think they should have really gone for it and take things back to the beginning where they really could start fresh.
In other words, the only way DC was able to get a group of artists like this together to do interior work was to give them highly visible (and likely financially rewarding) projects and enough lead time to get the work done on time.
I'm thoroughly displeased with editorial edicts.
I'm beyond frustrated with $3.99.
I completely reject double-shipping.
I'm sick of the whining that goes along with creators leaving corporate owned book. With very few exceptions, they're ALL replacement creators. I may find a creator that I'm interested in following elsewhere when they leave a title but, in general, I found that creator because of the title and am generally wiling to see what the next team can bring to the title.