DC Comics Reboot

[JeyNyce]

Just something to read about the New 52

http://www.newsarama.com/22305-dc-s-top-10-new-52-continuity-switcheroos.html

[Glitch Girl]

[reads article]

[brain asplodes]

Okay, on a more serious note: this is the big problem I have with the nu52: the whole haphazardness of the rebooted continuity. 

If you're going to throw out decades of continuity and squash what's left into a 5 year period, shouldn't you at least have a good idea what happened in that 5 year period?  I mean, it's only 5 YEARS.  Instead, you have books contradicting each other from the get-go.  It's been 3 years, and they're STILL hashing it out.

I keep coming back to the spaghetti casserole analogy*: DC's entire continuity is like a spaghetti casserole, and the nu52 is like a scoop out of it.  It contains a lot of good stuff, but it's also got lots of dangling noodlely bits of disconnected continuity hanging off, it's less than the whole, and since it's once scoop, it's missing things like meatballs and Wally West.

* - I didn't say it was a GOOD analogy.

[Talavar]

[reads article]

[brain asplodes]

Okay, on a more serious note: this is the big problem I have with the nu52: the whole haphazardness of the rebooted continuity. 

If you're going to throw out decades of continuity and squash what's left into a 5 year period, shouldn't you at least have a good idea what happened in that 5 year period?  I mean, it's only 5 YEARS.  Instead, you have books contradicting each other from the get-go.  It's been 3 years, and they're STILL hashing it out.

I keep coming back to the spaghetti casserole analogy*: DC's entire continuity is like a spaghetti casserole, and the nu52 is like a scoop out of it.  It contains a lot of good stuff, but it's also got lots of dangling noodlely bits of disconnected continuity hanging off, it's less than the whole, and since it's once scoop, it's missing things like meatballs and Wally West.

* - I didn't say it was a GOOD analogy.

That's actually a pretty great analogy for how I feel about the nu52.  Nicely done.

[BentonGrey]

Yep, as I've said many times, this whole thing just kills me because of its wasted potential.

[daglob]

No Benton, you're wrong; it's new, exciting, it's very cool and "with it", and it is a big improvement over all the previous versions of the characters, both art-wise and story wise.

And if you believe that, I've got some swampland you will be interested in...

[JeyNyce]

I'm just upset because DC owns the Milestone characters (Static, ICON & Rocket) and they don't use them.  It was great to see them in Young Justice TV show, but I think they are being wasted not showing up in the comics

[Glitch Girl]

Not exactly nu52 (okay, not at ALL nu 52), but...

Following on the heels of  Batman 66, it's Wonder Woman '77
http://comicsalliance.com/now-the-world-is-ready-for-you-dc-digital-announces-wonder-woman-77/

[BentonGrey]

I approve of these out of continuity books.  If they'd put out a Bronze Age JLA book, I'd buy that sucker twice over.

[SickAlice]

My only big issue with the reboot was I felt the change over itself was wasted. If your going to end your entire universe do it with a bang and do everything you couldn't previously, like Top Cow did or how Heroes Reborn concluded. With DC it was more like " Your regularly scheduled program > Alternate universe break > Back to GO. " That was a huge opportunity wasted on their part IMO.

[BentonGrey]

Ha, my issues with the reboot are too numerous to mention, but one that's been occurring to me lately is that I just about can't think of a single character that was substantively changed by the process who was actually improved.  I'm willing to say Ocean Master might be an exception, but every other character in the books I read that was substantially altered from their previous form is worse for it. 

Gorilla Grodd?  Gone from delightfully absurd, yet totally excellent urbane and brilliant villain to boring, one-note evil monkey.  I LOVE Grodd as a character, but it was his story arc in the new Flash book that finally led me to drop it.

Vulko?  Gone  from loyal, wise adviser and generally charming Aquaman supporting character to genocidal wack-job who they'll never be able to redeem, despite their continuing efforts.  Johns poisoned that well too well (ah!). 

The list goes on, and it makes me sad.  Like I said, I see nothing but wasted potential when I look at the New 52.  Bring back a good, Marvel Adventures-esq all-ages title with the iconic versions of the characters and I'll be back on board.  'Till then, it looks like it's the DCUG and Bronze Age comics for me.

[cmdrkoenig67]

IMHO, the continuity just before the new 52 reboot was perfectly fine.  I can't understand this company and their constant re-tooling.  In the end, it will probably get them very few new readers and many of the old readers will leave them behind.

Dana

[SickAlice]

Finally got around to reading some of the comics from last weeks pile. Dug out JLD#35. I'm pretty sweet on this book and like to what's up with Nightmare Nurse. I open to the first page and am pretty confused about what's going on. Did I zone out part of last issue? Nuh, there's an asterisk. Let's see:

" * see Justice League Dark Annual #2, on sale next week,  for all the details. "

Razzum frazzum! 

[Glitch Girl]

Here we go again?

DC Comics Announces Its 2015 Event, 'Convergence'

Next April, DC launches Convergence, a nine-part event series that brings the publisher's regular publishing schedule to a halt while bringing characters, places and concepts from DC's past into its current universe. It's also the culmination of the weekly series The New 52: Futures End and Earth 2: World's End, both of which wrap up just before Convergence launches.

[bat1987]

They are moving their offices so they aren't able to work like they normally do. So they had to come up with filler event before they get back to business as usual. Otherwise we'd be left without any comics for 2 months. This might be a good opportunity for them to iron out some of the hiccups with new 52.

[John Jr.]

More details about "Convergence":

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/11/12/how-convergence-is-a-love-letter-from-dc-comics-to-its-fans-with-gail-simones-nightwingoracle-and-more/

I believe this will be a great goodbye party for all the Pre N52 characters. DC will give a last hurrah for the older versions and give the older fans some "gifts" (Donna Troy, Wally West as The Flash, married (with children) Superman and Lois and so on).
I don't think the New 52 will going anywhere (the new line is the love child of DC big guys like Didio and Jim Lee, so they won't let any one touch their children). We'll see the old versions fight one last time before they "disappear" or return to a "reality beyond reality" or something like this.
I just hope they won't gave us another "Infinite Crisis"- "Hey let's get back some older characters just to show them as villains and kill them?". I don't think they'll do this, but DC is always surprising me in very bad way...

[SickAlice]

I'm having a hard time feeling in any way about the announce. For me (this applies to Marvel as well) it's boiled down to that I could care less for what theme or change is blowing in the wind, or gimmick if you please, rather just solid stories that invoke something-anything in me when I read them. I want an experience, everything else is just additive. That said I hope it's a good story. As I've said a few times here I'm pretty taken by Future's End and even Batman Eternal for that matter despite not biting on the pitch and premise of those series simply because the stories and character defining moments are substantial. I guess we'll see then.

[AfghanAnt]

Anyone else pick up Multiversity: Pax Americana?

I really wish some of these were monthlies. I'm really surprised I've been such a huge fan of each and every issue.

[bearded]

More details about "Convergence":

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/11/12/how-convergence-is-a-love-letter-from-dc-comics-to-its-fans-with-gail-simones-nightwingoracle-and-more/

I believe this will be a great goodbye party for all the Pre N52 characters. DC will give a last hurrah for the older versions and give the older fans some "gifts" (Donna Troy, Wally West as The Flash, married (with children) Superman and Lois and so on).
I don't think the New 52 will going anywhere (the new line is the love child of DC big guys like Didio and Jim Lee, so they won't let any one touch their children). We'll see the old versions fight one last time before they "disappear" or return to a "reality beyond reality" or something like this.
I just hope they won't gave us another "Infinite Crisis"- "Hey let's get back some older characters just to show them as villains and kill them?". I don't think they'll do this, but DC is always surprising me in very bad way...

DC did this with all star squadron in '81,sort of.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-Star_Squadron
It is interesting and a good read. It lasted for years. I hope enough people buy this Pre N52 that it lasts a long time.

[SickAlice]

One out of left field and I'm not sure how many people read the series but I'm impressed by the tonal and status quo shift in Catwoman feeling the series is better for it and and Selina as well.

[JeyNyce]

DC cover variants are a little out of hand, but so far this is the best:

http://www.newsarama.com/22980-all-of-dc-s-march-2014-movie-poster-variants.html

You guys would like these

[JeyNyce]

More books are coming to an end next year.  Hopefully, some of them will be rebooted

https://games.yahoo.com/news/sixteen-dc-comics-titles-ending-224700788.html

[Cyber Burn]

Ok, I know I'm a little late to the party, especially since I don't remember when the last time was that I actually picked up a new Comic Book, but I just got the "Forever Evil" Hardcover, and I was really excited because I love the CSA.

And then I started to read it, and in the process, I started to feel a bit lost. Was there something I should have read prior to reading this? I just felt like I missed something important to the story, and I have no clue where to look.

[SickAlice]

Depends which part you feel you missed. This was one of those line wide events so it continued off from everything. So the whole New 52 basically and depending on which character. Pandora's bit, the Pandora's box and such has been ongoing since the start of the New 52. Pandora's own series preludes much of what happens in F.E. Suicide Squad's F.E. bits and Amanda Waller come right off that series as well as one of the Superman books (I was only reading Superboy and Supergirl before F.E. so I wouldn't know where), the Flash and Gotham bit's from their books of course, Constantine, Phantom Stranger from theirs and Justice League Dark (Zee from JLD and another JL book). I don't remember much being directly foreshadowed about the CSA though unless it was in a series I wasn't reading. I think they presumed readers new these peeps and got to their new backstories throughout F.E.

I don't know what the HC includes. Trinity War was directly before F.E. and sets up everything. If that wasn't included (it has it's own HC so I assume no) then you'd be sort of amiss. You'd def want to read that at least.

[Cyber Burn]

Trinity War was directly before F.E. and sets up everything. If that wasn't included (it has it's own HC so I assume no) then you'd be sort of amiss. You'd def want to read that at least.

Maybe I'll try to check that one out. When I picked up the "Forever Evil" HC, I was hoping for a pretty self-contained storyline, I guess I should have known better. 

[SickAlice]

That was it then? Yeah that would make sense then. Trinity War is pretty much Chapter 1 of Forever Evil. DC really should have made that into a combined HC then.

[Podmark]

Yeah Trinity War is definitely chapter 1 of Forever Evil. Without it you'll feel like you missed something.

[bdrake]

I'm 44 yrs old and have been reading comics  36 of those and the dc reboot is a slap across the face to me. My allowence helped dc get where it is now( ok maybe a tiny bit at least) but to discard  years upon years of character development and plot? I'd have rather they taken a from day 1 stance. introduce the entire dc universe  from the ground up.  yes it may have taken a year or two to  firmly put it together but with the present, they may exist , they may have been a team before, absent characters  etc . i've lost my interest in most of it. on a sidenote ,earth 2? really im shocked theres a plant left to defend since every issue  has 1000's of people dying or countries being destroyed

[John Jr.]

A collateral effect of DC changes, in comics and real life:

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2015/01/02/and-finally-the-history-of-the-dc-universe-as-was/

This part made me sad:
"It's gone now, replace by a New 52 panel instead, which will be making the move to Burbank. "

But it was a great to see works of artists like Jack Kirby, Curt Swan, Joe Kubert, Gil Kane, Mart Nodell and others in the original piece.

[SickAlice]

Speaking of a lot of things to make skins for just read The Multiversity Guidebook. I think between DC and Marvel upcoming events we may want to consider wrangling in modders from other game series lest we become overwhelmed. 

[JeyNyce]

Has anybody read Batman #38?  If not, go read it.