Check this out
Not only is Jason Aaron bringing the X-Men back to what they should be, but he calls out Alan Moor for being an overrated asshole, something I've been saying for years. This guy just became my favorite writer in current comics.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
My New 52 Opinion
Yeah I know there's probably a million people who've already blogged about this, but I'd be one hell of a bad DC fan if I didn't at least tell what I think of this. I don't need to talk about the comic shop point of view, DC's point of view, new reader's point of view, etc. This is how I feel. As someone who was only getting two DC titles before the relaunch, I think it was a great move.
I felt like the vast bulk of the past five years worth of DC's material wasn't worth my time or money. I couldn't get into the Green Lantern mythos outside of Sinestro Corp War cross-over. Sorry, I'm a Kyle Rayner fan. Boo all you want, I think he's a much more interesting character, both visually and personality wise. Justice League stopped being good after McDuffie left (RIP, dude.) The only Flashes I've cared about got shoved to the side for the return of Barry Allen, someone I don't think anyone was asking to be resurrected.
Meanwhile Ted Kord was allowed to remain dead, and even though Generation Lost was good, I still feel disappointed that Max Lord was left a villain at the end instead of getting redemption. I know the Blue Beetle is still Jaime Reyes, but if Infinite Crisis didn't happen, then that means Countdown to Infinite Crisis didn't happen. I may still get my two most beloved JLI characters back.
Plus, there's a lot of characters I love that I felt like were too overwhelming to start picking up. Superman and Batman didn't have clear jumping on points for a guy like me. I'm not a moron, I don't need a number 1 to know it's the beginning of a story, but guys like Morrison and Johns have been building these grand interconnected arcs for a while now and it felt like I'd be spending an hour or more on Wikipedia just to try and get into them. I don't mind doing a little research, but for the quality of the stories being put out, it didn't seem worth it.
Right now I'm picking up maybe twice as many DC titles as I am Marvel, something that hasn't happened ever since I started keeping a pull list. I'm getting Superboy, Teen Titans, Redhood and the Outlaws (yeah, I'm a Scott Lobdell fan, and I'm proud of it!), Justice League, JLI, Batman, New Guardians, Captain Atom, Nightwing, Supergirl, and Action Comics. Plus I'm getting Green Arrow, Superman, Deathstroke, Stormwatch, Aquaman, Detective Comics, and Hawk and Dove on a trial basis. BTW, I actually like Rob Liefeld. There I said it, I was going to have to say it eventually so it's probably better I got it out of the way now.
Back on track... I like what I've seen so far. All the titles I've read have been worth my money. I haven't seen any of the #2s yet, but so far I have the best kind of problem you can have as a comic fan - too many good titles to choose from. DC's put some great talent on their books. Guys like Tony Daniel, Greg Capullo, Aaron Lopresti, Rags Morales, Kenneth Rocafort, Brett Booth, RB Silva, Dan Jurgens, Ivan Reis - these are all guys I've loved for a while now. Plus, I was introduced to awesome new guys like Jesus Merino, Eddie Barrows, Freddie Williams II, etc. And the writing side of things is just as good - Morrison is doing Superman, Snyder is doing Batman, Lobdell is doing teen hero books. Just like the artists, I'm also getting introduced to new writers I like, guys like Kyle Higgins and Sterling Gates. Characters I love from creators I love. What's not to like?
Well, apparently there are some problems, one of which isn't a problem I have but new fans in general. "This doesn't feel like a first issue, it feels like I missed something." I know I said the old titles didn't feet accessible, like I had to do too much research? That's the key thing - too much. These issues didn't feel at all like I needed to do research. That's because I know the core of the characters as an established fan. How hard is it to read the blurb at the top of a character's Wiki page?
Seriously, people need to stop complaining, it's as easy as that, read the blurb you lazy assholes. After you read that, look up what a reboot is. Core concepts are kept but everything else when it comes to continuity is wiped clean. So any allusions the writer may be making to stuff you think you missed out on - guess what? THAT'S CALLED FUCKING FORESHADOWING FOR FUTURE STORIES, MORONS! I don't get why all the newbie fans on CBR are complaining. Have you seen seen any of these crybabies? Just check out the latest of the "litmus test" series. Seriously, you should go back and read the others. These people are morons. We don't need them as fans. "I feel like I missed something!" You didn't, those things you feel like you should know or the writer should have filled you in on? Yeah, it's an old comic writing technique where hints for future subplots are dropped. This is so you can have ongoing subplots. Why? Because of a little thing called "character development."
the other problem is Starfire, but there's not much to say other than that I don't agree with the change in personality, the whole "sex toy" thing is bullshit (men are just as stereotyped in comics when it comes to skimpy outfits and exaggerated physiques), and that I don't think her character will remain this way. I'm pretty sure Scott did this on purpose to show her growing into a likable character.
I felt like the vast bulk of the past five years worth of DC's material wasn't worth my time or money. I couldn't get into the Green Lantern mythos outside of Sinestro Corp War cross-over. Sorry, I'm a Kyle Rayner fan. Boo all you want, I think he's a much more interesting character, both visually and personality wise. Justice League stopped being good after McDuffie left (RIP, dude.) The only Flashes I've cared about got shoved to the side for the return of Barry Allen, someone I don't think anyone was asking to be resurrected.
Meanwhile Ted Kord was allowed to remain dead, and even though Generation Lost was good, I still feel disappointed that Max Lord was left a villain at the end instead of getting redemption. I know the Blue Beetle is still Jaime Reyes, but if Infinite Crisis didn't happen, then that means Countdown to Infinite Crisis didn't happen. I may still get my two most beloved JLI characters back.
Plus, there's a lot of characters I love that I felt like were too overwhelming to start picking up. Superman and Batman didn't have clear jumping on points for a guy like me. I'm not a moron, I don't need a number 1 to know it's the beginning of a story, but guys like Morrison and Johns have been building these grand interconnected arcs for a while now and it felt like I'd be spending an hour or more on Wikipedia just to try and get into them. I don't mind doing a little research, but for the quality of the stories being put out, it didn't seem worth it.
Right now I'm picking up maybe twice as many DC titles as I am Marvel, something that hasn't happened ever since I started keeping a pull list. I'm getting Superboy, Teen Titans, Redhood and the Outlaws (yeah, I'm a Scott Lobdell fan, and I'm proud of it!), Justice League, JLI, Batman, New Guardians, Captain Atom, Nightwing, Supergirl, and Action Comics. Plus I'm getting Green Arrow, Superman, Deathstroke, Stormwatch, Aquaman, Detective Comics, and Hawk and Dove on a trial basis. BTW, I actually like Rob Liefeld. There I said it, I was going to have to say it eventually so it's probably better I got it out of the way now.
Back on track... I like what I've seen so far. All the titles I've read have been worth my money. I haven't seen any of the #2s yet, but so far I have the best kind of problem you can have as a comic fan - too many good titles to choose from. DC's put some great talent on their books. Guys like Tony Daniel, Greg Capullo, Aaron Lopresti, Rags Morales, Kenneth Rocafort, Brett Booth, RB Silva, Dan Jurgens, Ivan Reis - these are all guys I've loved for a while now. Plus, I was introduced to awesome new guys like Jesus Merino, Eddie Barrows, Freddie Williams II, etc. And the writing side of things is just as good - Morrison is doing Superman, Snyder is doing Batman, Lobdell is doing teen hero books. Just like the artists, I'm also getting introduced to new writers I like, guys like Kyle Higgins and Sterling Gates. Characters I love from creators I love. What's not to like?
Well, apparently there are some problems, one of which isn't a problem I have but new fans in general. "This doesn't feel like a first issue, it feels like I missed something." I know I said the old titles didn't feet accessible, like I had to do too much research? That's the key thing - too much. These issues didn't feel at all like I needed to do research. That's because I know the core of the characters as an established fan. How hard is it to read the blurb at the top of a character's Wiki page?
Seriously, people need to stop complaining, it's as easy as that, read the blurb you lazy assholes. After you read that, look up what a reboot is. Core concepts are kept but everything else when it comes to continuity is wiped clean. So any allusions the writer may be making to stuff you think you missed out on - guess what? THAT'S CALLED FUCKING FORESHADOWING FOR FUTURE STORIES, MORONS! I don't get why all the newbie fans on CBR are complaining. Have you seen seen any of these crybabies? Just check out the latest of the "litmus test" series. Seriously, you should go back and read the others. These people are morons. We don't need them as fans. "I feel like I missed something!" You didn't, those things you feel like you should know or the writer should have filled you in on? Yeah, it's an old comic writing technique where hints for future subplots are dropped. This is so you can have ongoing subplots. Why? Because of a little thing called "character development."
the other problem is Starfire, but there's not much to say other than that I don't agree with the change in personality, the whole "sex toy" thing is bullshit (men are just as stereotyped in comics when it comes to skimpy outfits and exaggerated physiques), and that I don't think her character will remain this way. I'm pretty sure Scott did this on purpose to show her growing into a likable character.
Sup...
I was going to title this "Greetings, True Believers!" but I thought it was too cute. Plus, it doesn't really fit with the pic does it? Famous Marvel writer quote and a DC cover - just seems like one of those bad contradiction Starburst commercials. One had to go, and it wasn't going to be the cover of my favorite first issue ever. Get it? It's my first blog post... not funny if I have to explain it, right? Still, you have to love those Kevin Maguire "funny faces."
Okay, now lets see how many blog cliches I can work into one post, shall we? So in case you can't tell from the title of this page, I'm a college student. And I like comics. And I like to rant. It's as simple as that. I was thinking instead of using the word rant, I could class it up a bit with something like "essays," "musings" or some other BS we make up to make ourselves feel superior. But lets be honest - comic fans rant. We do. We get way too involved with our hobby. I personally think it's part of the charm of the medium. I mean, you have to have some pretty spectacular stuff going on to get people that excited about 22 pages of drawings of people in tights beating the tar out of each other. Or maybe it's just a medium that attracts a lot of weirdos, no one can really say for sure.
Now on to the specifics of the page - I plan on just talking about whatever pops into my head when it comes to comics. It may be what's currently going in the monthly books, older stuff or anything in between. It may be about stuff I happen to love, something I think is under appreciated, overrated, my feelings on trends, etc. So long as it ties to comics. I may sometimes go off on a tangent, but then again it's my blog so... suck it.
Finally, a little bit about myself. As I said, I'm in college right now, majoring in professional writing and it's my goal to someday work for one of the major publishing companies as a writer. I've loved super heroes and animation since I was a kid back in the early 90s watching a little show called Batman the Animated Series. Perhaps you've heard of it? I hear it has a modest following these days, I could be wrong though. After that I moved into anime for a while. Near the end of middle school, I graduated from Shonen Jump trades to Uncanny X-Men Essentials and JLA back-issues. I've never looked back (okay, that's bullshit, I still love anime!)
My dream gig actually is to write either an X-Men book or Justice League. I'll probably end up getting stuck with Moon Knight or DC Comics Presents though (not that there's anything wrong with them!) I also sort of count anime/manga as a part of my comic hobby, but I don't plan on doing much with them on this page. Not that I won't ever talk about them, it's just that those articles will be few and far between.
So, now that we've gotten introductions out of the way, we can move on to the actual content. I'll put up my first real post tomorrow, where I'll talk about my feelings on the current trend in comic art. Don't worry, I'm not going to just post a three page thesis on how much I loath Greg Land. No, I'm also going to take pot shots at inkers and colorists too! Why? 'Cause it's a blog, it's my job to indiscriminately spray hate in the general direction of the creators I don't like, sort of like that "cover fire" scene from Predator. In that case, I'm totally Jesse Ventura.
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