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Episode 1561 Talkback - DC's Convergence Event, Part 1

PantsPants Posts: 567
edited June 2015 in CGS Episodes & Spin-Offs
So you say you're curious about DC's recent two-month alternate reality showdown extravaganza, Convergence, but you just couldn't spare the time and money to buy and read 40 (count 'em, 40) two-issue para-continuity miniseries? Well, friend, today's your lucky day, because the CGS Geeks have already taken the Convergence plunge, and in this episode they break down and rate the first issues of the first twenty Convergence minis (with more to follow), to help you decide which ones are worthy of your attention! Act now, and you'll also receive bonus coverage of Convergence #0! (2:26:40)

Listen here.
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Comments

  • David_DDavid_D Posts: 3,881
    "Para-Continuity" is the name of my new coffee shop in Brooklyn.
  • TheOriginalGManTheOriginalGMan Posts: 1,763
    I'm with Professor Eberle. He summed up my feelings about Convergence vs Secret Wars to a "T"
  • jaydee74jaydee74 Posts: 1,526
    Sounds like a very interesting listen. Looking forward to it.
  • abuddahabuddah Posts: 133

    I don't think it is fair to keep saying that this event was thrown together in 5 minutes. The Worlds End weekly book, Earth 2 book and the Superman Doomsday event were leading to Convergence for probably close to a year. If you haven't read DC comics especially Earth 2 I can see how this event may not be your cup of tea since the main books were largely centered around the Earth 2 characters but I think the same can be said of Secret Wars if you haven't been reading Avengers or New Avengers and picked up Secret Wars I think that would be as confusing as Hell the same way Convergence was to people who have not been reading DC. I don't think Convergence was the best event ever but I enjoyed it and got my moneys worth out of the books I bought.

    If real time and effort were put into convergence, they should be even more ashamed of themselves

    Also I think everyone in the comics buying community agrees that comics are too expensive I don't know why every week there has to be a 10 minute speech about how ridiculous the price of comics have gotten. DCBS offers 40% off books and even more off of bundles and if you subscribe for your Marvel comics thru Marvel their subscriptions are 45% off plus you don't pay any shipping so they are even cheaper than DCBS. Comics can easily be found at affordable prices.

    Remember how Chris prefaced it? Retailer perspective
  • Evening639Evening639 Posts: 368
    edited June 2015

    I don't think it is fair to keep saying that this event was thrown together in 5 minutes. The Worlds End weekly book, Earth 2 book and the Superman Doomsday event were leading to Convergence for probably close to a year. If you haven't read DC comics especially Earth 2 I can see how this event may not be your cup of tea since the main books were largely centered around the Earth 2 characters but I think the same can be said of Secret Wars if you haven't been reading Avengers or New Avengers and picked up Secret Wars I think that would be as confusing as Hell the same way Convergence was to people who have not been reading DC. I don't think Convergence was the best event ever but I enjoyed it and got my moneys worth out of the books I bought.

    These are valid points. I have to agree that while Convergence's execution may not have been the strongest, clearly the seeds for this event had been planted some time ago. Those seeds have grown into an intricate system of roots that deserve more than a careless dismissal as a Secret Wars rip-off.

  • Mr_CosmicMr_Cosmic Posts: 3,200
    I agree with @DarthDelRio that we probably would be getting a lot more out of Convergence if we were reading the DC titles leading into the event. However, it's pretty well documented that Convergence happened so that the DC offices could move from coast to coast. The time frame of "we need a story" to printed book was much shorter than Hickman's long build up to Secret Wars..and it shows.
  • hauberkhauberk Posts: 1,511

    I don't think it is fair to keep saying that this event was thrown together in 5 minutes. The Worlds End weekly book, Earth 2 book and the Superman Doomsday event were leading to Convergence for probably close to a year. If you haven't read DC comics especially Earth 2 I can see how this event may not be your cup of tea since the main books were largely centered around the Earth 2 characters but I think the same can be said of Secret Wars if you haven't been reading Avengers or New Avengers and picked up Secret Wars I think that would be as confusing as Hell the same way Convergence was to people who have not been reading DC. I don't think Convergence was the best event ever but I enjoyed it and got my moneys worth out of the books I bought.

    Also I think everyone in the comics buying community agrees that comics are too expensive I don't know why every week there has to be a 10 minute speech about how ridiculous the price of comics have gotten. DCBS offers 40% off books and even more off of bundles and if you subscribe for your Marvel comics thru Marvel their subscriptions are 45% off plus you don't pay any shipping so they are even cheaper than DCBS. Comics can easily be found at affordable prices.

    I've got to agree. As important, this appears to be an effort to set the ship right. It was too long, maybe by as much as half, but I think that's true of almost anything that is being done today - writing for the trade has resulted in significant decompression IMO. It was also pricey, but the end result - what they did to their multiverse - was, for me, worth the price of admission.

    Flipping it, I used to be a devout Marvel reader, but it's been a number of years. I picked up Secret Wars 0 and 1 and found it to be nigh-incomprehensible. It was pretty to look at, but, as far as I was concerned, it was pretty much false advertising - Doctor Zero and Saint George show up on the cover of the book, they should be somewhere in the book. I'm guessing that it's going to be a really entertaining book for people that have put in the time on the books leading up to it - much like Convergence was for the people putting time in for it.

    Ultimately, the regular DC screed is getting old.
  • hauberkhauberk Posts: 1,511
    Mr_Cosmic said:

    I agree with @DarthDelRio that we probably would be getting a lot more out of Convergence if we were reading the DC titles leading into the event. However, it's pretty well documented that Convergence happened so that the DC offices could move from coast to coast. The time frame of "we need a story" to printed book was much shorter than Hickman's long build up to Secret Wars..and it shows.

    Convergence, as a story was definitely being used to fill that gap - it was specifically structured to be done in the two month transitional period - it's not clear exactly how long that was in the works. Earth 2 World's End was a 6 month build-up to it (which allowed time for the series to be done and ready to go while the move was happening) Given the way that it flowed pretty seamlessly out of World's End, it seems like the entire thing was pretty well coordinated getting to that point. It also was effectively building on only a few current DC titles while Secret Wars appears to have a plot that is so convoluted and continuity heavy as to be virtually impenetrable without dropping a ton of cash on back issues or trades.
  • Mr_CosmicMr_Cosmic Posts: 3,200
    On a side note I just realized the last three episodes total almost seven and a half hours. I'm in the boat that loves the longer episodes and I really appreciate the time the guys put in.
  • ShaneKellyShaneKelly Posts: 155
    edited June 2015
    Now I read all the way through Earth 2 and Earth 2 World's End to get to Convergence. It helped in that I could follow some characters who were not part of the main Earth 2 title. However, this only applied to the main Convergence mini series. All the 2 part minis ( of which I have read all the number ones and two or three of the second issues ) Really did not rely on any build up at all. Even the issues I did not like I still liked seeing these characters again. I still think Convergence as an event felt rushed, not as well planned or told as I was hoping.

    I said it in the show and I will state it here. For me, this was one last time visiting all the DC characters I grew up reading in new stories. Now was I hoping for something to come out of this which would feature some of the characters from days gone by. I sure was. Since that isn't happening the direction these characters are going in doesn't interest me. I am looking forward to tackling some titles I have never taken the time to read. Like All-Star Squadron, Infinity Inc, Five Years later Legion, even Batman and the Outsiders. If you like what is happening in DC and Marvel then more power to you and I will be happy when someone says to me, "hey, check out Batman or Superman now. Check how awesome Marvel is again. Remember how excited we were for DC stuff in the 80's or Marvel's Avengers when Busiek and Perez took over in the late 90's."

    Comics are still great. I will still be getting some but story and price have a great impact on how I purchase my books.

    Now there are some saying how much we, I more than most lately, discuss the cost of the comics. Cost of an average comic bugs me. It is my opinion nothing more. Here are some quick calculations if my math is right from nine years ago (when I started ordering via Mail Order) until now...

    2006: The average cost of a book is $2.50, example JSA #83.
    2015: The average cost of a book is $3.99, example Justice League #40.

    This is a 59% increase on 9 years. Now I know there are some I get which are $2.99 and some which are $4.99. I went with the bulk of what I see just off the top of my head.

    Now, I do order most stuff via DCBS. Their discounts are great and the bundles are spectacular. This is not a commercial, just expressing fact. I can buy more from ordering via mail. The point is made above that you can still get affordable comics. This is true to to a certain extent. I would never have been able to get as much and read as much as I have had it not been for mail order.

    However, another quick calculation on the discount prices...

    2006: $1.79
    2015: $2.39

    This is 33% increase. Still great and still less of an increase than the actual cover price.

    Here is where the cranky old man in me comes out. The get off my lawn you crazy kids guy. At $2.39 I am almost to the $2.50 price point which started me looking at ordering comics via mail order in the first place.

    This is the nature of business. To make money. Prices go up year after year on everything, not just comics. We all know this. It just bothers me, my opinion, that I am close to the threshold of $2.50 which prompted me to seek a cheaper way to buy comics in the first place.
  • Mr_CosmicMr_Cosmic Posts: 3,200

    Now I read all the way through Earth 2 and Earth 2 World's End to get to Convergence. It helped in that I could follow some characters who were not part of the main Earth 2 title. However, this only applied to the main Convergence mini series. All the 2 part minis ( of which I have read all the number ones and two or three of the second issues ) Really did not rely on any build up at all. Even the issues I did not like I still liked seeing these characters again. I still think Convergence as an event felt rushed, not as well planned or told as I was hoping.

    I said it in the show and I will state it here. For me, this was one last time visiting all the DC characters I grew up reading in new stories. Now was I hoping for something to come out of this which would feature some of the characters from days gone by. I sure was. Since that isn't happening the direction these characters are going in doesn't interest me. I am looking forward to tackling some titles I have never taken the time to read. Like All-Star Squadron, Infinity Inc, Five Years later Legion, even Batman and the Outsiders. If you like what is happening in DC and Marvel then more power to you and I will be happy when someone says to me, "hey, check out Batman or Superman now. Check how awesome Marvel is again. Remember how excited we were for DC stuff in the 80's or Marvel's Avengers when Busiek and Perez took over in the late 90's."

    Comics are still great. I will still be getting some but story and price have a great impact on how I purchase my books.

    Now there are some saying how much we, I more than most lately, discuss the cost of the comics. Cost of an average comic bugs me. It is my opinion nothing more. Here are some quick calculations if my math is right from nine years ago (when I started ordering via Mail Order) until now...

    2006: The average cost of a book is $2.50, example JSA #83.
    2015: The average cost of a book is $3.99, example Justice League #40.

    This is a 59% increase on 9 years. Now I know there are some I get which are $2.99 and some which are $4.99. I went with the bulk of what I see just off the top of my head.

    Now, I do order most stuff via DCBS. Their discounts are great and the bundles are spectacular. This is not a commercial, just expressing fact. I can buy more from ordering via mail. The point is made above that you can still get affordable comics. This is true to to a certain extent. I would never have been able to get as much and read as much as I have had it not been for mail order.

    However, another quick calculation on the discount prices...

    2006: $1.79
    2015: $2.39

    This is 33% increase. Still great and still less of an increase than the actual cover price.

    Here is where the cranky old man in me comes out. The get off my lawn you crazy kids guy. At $2.39 I am almost to the $2.50 price point which started me looking at ordering comics via mail order in the first place.

    This is the nature of business. To make money. Prices go up year after year on everything, not just comics. We all know this. It just bothers me, my opinion, that I am close to the threshold of $2.50 which prompted me to seek a cheaper way to buy comics in the first place.


    I agree 100%. I bet very few people buying comics have had their wages increase 33-59% in the last 9 years to compensate for the increase in price. That means most people end up either buying less comics or spending more to keep buying the same level of books. Not only does this hurt the consumer but it hurts the comics business. The industry needs us buying more comics. They also need new people buying comics. Neither will happen as prices continue to climb.
  • Chuck_MelvilleChuck_Melville Posts: 3,003
    Mr_Cosmic said:

    I bet very few people buying comics have had their wages increase 33-59% in the last 9 years to compensate for the increase in price. That means most people end up either buying less comics or spending more to keep buying the same level of books. Not only does this hurt the consumer but it hurts the comics business. The industry needs us buying more comics. They also need new people buying comics. Neither will happen as prices continue to climb.

    Or as wages fail to climb.
  • TheNovemberManTheNovemberMan Posts: 4
    edited June 2015
    I hate to be a wet blanket, but that "chewing" noise is back. It literally sounds like somebody is biting into carrots directly into the microphone. Is nobody else hearing this or bothered by this? Not sure why I have such an adverse reaction to this sound (it has a finger nails on chalkboard effect on me), but I had to turn the episode off 40 minutes in. Very unfortunate, as I had been looking forward to hearing the guys talking "Convergence." :(

    For anyone who thinks I'm crazy, listen from 34:20 to 34:33. It clearly isn't Murd, as he is the one talking. It is somebody in studio.
  • nweathingtonnweathington Posts: 6,736

    I hate to be a wet blanket, but that "chewing" noise is back. It literally sounds like somebody is biting into carrots directly into the microphone. Is nobody else hearing this or bothered by this? Not sure why I have such an adverse reaction to this sound (it has a finger nails on chalkboard effect on me), but I had to turn the episode off 40 minutes in. Very unfortunate, as I had been looking forward to hearing the guys talking "Convergence." :(

    For anyone who thinks I'm crazy, listen from 34:20 to 34:33. It clearly isn't Murd, as he is the one talking. It is somebody in studio.

    It's not a person making the noise. When I first heard it months ago, that was my first thought as well, but as it has recurred, it's clearly something in the equipment set-up making the sound. Could be something as simple as a fan vibration being picked up.

    As someone who worked in A/V production for several years, yeah, it bugs me. But I've been able to tune it out for the most part once I know it's coming.
  • Mr_CosmicMr_Cosmic Posts: 3,200

    I hate to be a wet blanket, but that "chewing" noise is back. It literally sounds like somebody is biting into carrots directly into the microphone. Is nobody else hearing this or bothered by this? Not sure why I have such an adverse reaction to this sound (it has a finger nails on chalkboard effect on me), but I had to turn the episode off 40 minutes in. Very unfortunate, as I had been looking forward to hearing the guys talking "Convergence." :(

    For anyone who thinks I'm crazy, listen from 34:20 to 34:33. It clearly isn't Murd, as he is the one talking. It is somebody in studio.

    I just went and listened to that segment you pointed out and hear nothing but what seems to be rustling noise - as if someone is shifting around. You'd think I'd be able to pick up something that annoying but I can't...which is fine with me.
  • Weird. That isn't the most distinct instance of it (it just happened to be the last one before I turned the episode off), but there are several other instances that sound—to my ear, anyway—exactly like somebody biting a piece of something crisp and then chewing. Not sure why the noise bothers me so much... I guess maybe I'm a weirdo or something. I hear other ambient noises (soda/water bottle twist caps being opened, etc...) and none of that bothers/distracts me.

    Listening to Episode 1560 (Spotlight on Daredevil) right now. 22 minutes in and I haven't heard the noise once.
  • First, I'd like to thank the CGS guys for proverbially reading the books so we don't have to (at least in the case of many of the books discussed here). I always value their opinions and analysis. I haven't read any of the event but will probably check out some of the ones that received "buys" either in dollar bins or through a comixology sale.

    Just to follow up on another point raised above, I believe that it is often the case that reading material that leads up to an event can enhance the reading experience but events like these also should be able to stand on their own. To give an analogy, though admitteed not a perfect one because it was not an "event" in the sense of its current usage, I read the Dark Phoenix saga when it came out starting around UXM 129 long before reading the issues that came before and set up lots of the dynamics that we see play out in that story, and yet I loved the story. In fact, as I think Peter has said, I think the feeling of jumping into a fictional narrative in media res was one of the things that drew me into the world and made me want to learn more about it. However, this only works with good storytelling.

    Lastly, I think the discussion of price is a worthy one, particularly when the objective is to advise someone on whether to buy a comic, and I never grow tired of Chris talking about anything because he speaks with such passion and knowledge.
  • bralinatorbralinator Posts: 5,967

    As someone who worked in A/V production for several years, yeah, it bugs me. But I've been able to tune it out for the most part once I know it's coming.

    It's quite an easy feat, that.
  • mphilmphil Posts: 448
    I liked Convergence (the mini and the event) quite a bit and am hearing great things about DC You (the new titles being released this month). I think the "DC one voice" thing has been slowly fading over the past year or so anyways, but now it's totally gone and creators are being allowed more freedom. I think it's absolutely the right direction.

    To that point, Justice League #41 is the best single issue Geoff Johns has produced in many years and as good as any comic book being produced today. I challenge Mr Eberle (who I respect dearly) or anyone else to read this issue and remain as skeptical about DC as some have been lately.
  • jaydee74jaydee74 Posts: 1,526
    I've checked out Convergence finally and some of the tie-ins. I will say the tie-ins felt very much like going back to a familiar place after not being there for so long and it was very nice. The story itself was okay. I didn't love it but it wasn't horrible and I thought it had some decent parts to it. As far as the pricing of the books go, people are buying them so obviously we are telling the comic book companies that we don't mind the price. Even when you buy online at a place like DCBS where you get a decent discount, you're still buying a book with a $3.99-$4.99 cover price and it sends a message that people will buy that $3.99-$4.99 book. I had to stop buying comics because of the constant increase of the pricing. I just couldn't do it anymore but I've heard Bendis talk about comic book pricing all the time on Word Balloon about how the readers are sending the message that they are willing to buy these books for these prices. I had to eventually vote with my wallet and stop buying. I know I'm in the minority when it comes to that but for me, these books in the long run aren't worth the money.
  • ShaneKellyShaneKelly Posts: 155
    Which really is the best way to do it, speak with your wallet. I will admit I finally did that with my order shipping in June. I went from 30 to 40 titles down to 12 to 15.
  • mphil said:

    I liked Convergence (the mini and the event) quite a bit and am hearing great things about DC You (the new titles being released this month). I think the "DC one voice" thing has been slowly fading over the past year or so anyways, but now it's totally gone and creators are being allowed more freedom. I think it's absolutely the right direction.

    To that point, Justice League #41 is the best single issue Geoff Johns has produced in many years and as good as any comic book being produced today. I challenge Mr Eberle (who I respect dearly) or anyone else to read this issue and remain as skeptical about DC as some have been lately.

    I agree 100% about Justice League I think it has been great since issue #1 and I think Jason Fabok is producing the best looking book put out by the big 2. DC has a lot of good books that don't seem to get any credit.
  • popestupopestu Posts: 782
    Mr_Cosmic said:

    I hate to be a wet blanket, but that "chewing" noise is back. It literally sounds like somebody is biting into carrots directly into the microphone. Is nobody else hearing this or bothered by this? Not sure why I have such an adverse reaction to this sound (it has a finger nails on chalkboard effect on me), but I had to turn the episode off 40 minutes in. Very unfortunate, as I had been looking forward to hearing the guys talking "Convergence." :(

    For anyone who thinks I'm crazy, listen from 34:20 to 34:33. It clearly isn't Murd, as he is the one talking. It is somebody in studio.

    I just went and listened to that segment you pointed out and hear nothing but what seems to be rustling noise - as if someone is shifting around. You'd think I'd be able to pick up something that annoying but I can't...which is fine with me.
    At one point, I thought it was someone lighting up a cigarette (or something else...maybe a cigar). As an ex-smoker, I would imagine the enjoyment of a smoke while discussing comics. Once someone mentioned it sounded like biting and chewing, I no hear that.
  • LibraryBoyLibraryBoy Posts: 1,803
    If nothing else, we got Convergence: Shazam out of this event, which is probably the best Marvel Family anything DC has ever produced and my favorite series of the entire year thus far. That kind of justifies the whole thing in my eyes.
  • popestupopestu Posts: 782
    By the end of the episode, I felt bad for The Geeks. They had to review some rough issues. As usual, they preserve.
  • TheOriginalGManTheOriginalGMan Posts: 1,763
    As primarily a Marvel guy with a few DC books on my reading list (Justice League, Grayson, Injustice, to name a few), I decided to dive into Convergence in order to understand whatever new universe was going to emerge on the other side when all was said and done. Ugh. What a mistake. The primary series was "meh" and the majority of 2 issue mini-series were terrible.

    I do agree with @LibraryBoy though on Shazam. That was an excellent read. Really captured the Fawcett feel of things.
  • mphilmphil Posts: 448
    edited June 2015
    In a lot of ways Convergence was not intended to be a mega-event and that it became that was a big mistake. This was really just a way to get through the move. I think if Multiversity hadn't been such a big event they would have done something different for the move (like that villains month from a couple of years ago) and it wouldn't have been a big deal.

    The fact that they overhyped it and disappointed a lot of people (more in the main title than in the minis) did them a disservice. Because the DC You stuff they have started has been amazing across the board. Almost every series, save for a couple of stinkers, have been getting rave reviews and they've completely broken out of that "grim and gritty" mandate they previously had and you can tell that the creators are free to write the stories the way they want without having to think a lot about tie-ins.

    But because Convergence disappointed so many people I think a lot of those people that have been down on DC since the New 52 will see Convergence as confirmation that they are still right and not give DC You a chance. And that's a bummer.
  • mphil said:

    In a lot of ways Convergence was not intended to be a mega-event and that it became that was a big mistake. This was really just a way to get through the move. I think if Multiversity hadn't been such a big event they would have done something different for the move (like that villains month from a couple of years ago) and it wouldn't have been a big deal.

    The fact that they overhyped it and disappointed a lot of people (more in the main title than in the minis) did them a disservice. Because the DC You stuff they have started has been amazing across the board. Almost every series, save for a couple of stinkers, have been getting rave reviews and they've completely broken out of that "grim and gritty" mandate they previously had and you can tell that the creators are free to write the stories the way they want without having to think a lot about tie-ins.

    But because Convergence disappointed so many people I think a lot of those people that have been down on DC since the New 52 will see Convergence as confirmation that they are still right and not give DC You a chance. And that's a bummer.

    I think the DC You stuff has been great especially the Superman stuff. When I first saw him in the previews in that t-shirt and on the bike I thought wow this is going to be one terrible gimmick but after reading the books I thought it was amazing they are really doing a great job. If you look at the other comic websites most of the DC You books are getting really great reviews.
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