Linkara finds some truly dreadful material this time, but the full list he reviews is Green Lantern Corps. #1, Captain Atom #1, Legion of Super-Heroes #1, Supergirl #1, Catwoman #1, Darkwing Duck #16, Blue Beetle #1, DC Universe Presents: Deadman #1, Birds of Prey #1, Batman #1, Nightwing #1, Wonder Woman #1, and Red Hood and the Outlaws #1.
The Supergirl costume is rather impressive. I like it a lot. You got any particular opinions on these costumes? Or are you more in the "I don't care" camp?
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't understand how one can call their work "Edgy". It's like the Wing Commander movie box stating it's an Action Packed Thrill Ride! Honestly, I'm writing a story myself and I feel dirty just jokingly tweeting you with a joke that it's edgy.
What I don't understand is how they couldn't pull a Green Lantern with Blue Beetle as well. That would have been far better, honestly. With a recent character like that, it's perfectly acceptable to pull a Green Lantern. And honestly, a lot more likely than GL's years upon years upon years of events pressed in to five years.
Personally I would have put Gail Simone in charge of WW's first issue. Seeing the DC animated Original movie, I can safely say that I'm in love with Simone's WW story.
I think they only saw Under the Red Hood for Jason Todd. Where he is played by Jensen Ackles. So I think they kinda crossed Jason Todd with Dean Winchester.
Lolroyharperfail
In the end they should have just pulled an 11th doctor with all of their characters instead of a reboot. Still the same universe, but more meant as a coming in point for new viewers/readers.
Green Lantern Corps #1: I agree completely. Just okay.
ReplyDeleteAs an aside, I have never really been a Green Lantern fan. However, on a whim I picked up Green Lantern #1 the other day. I don't know why, but I loved it. I have basic knowledge of the characters, but for some reason it worked for me. It's not impossible for new readers to pick up, it certainly is in the middle of things though. If anyone was wary of giving it a shot for the first time. Just do it, it worked for me.
Captain Atom #1: Didn't get this one, a quick read up on the character, didn't interest me. I might pick this up, but I doubt it.
Legion Of Super-Heroes #1: Never heard of it until the relaunch. So I didn't bother.
Supergirl #1: I picked this one up and it definitely had more origin then others. I am not sure if I am going to keep this one up, it didn't wow me, and I agree nothing really happened. I am hoping for something good in the future.
Catwoman #1: Didn't pick this one up. Probably won't be anytime soon.
Darkwing Duck #16: Didn't even know this existed. I love the show (own 2 DVD sets :p) and may give it a chance.
Blue Beetle #1: I thought about picking this up, but the description didn't do it for me. Maybe I'll give it a shot, but I doubt it.
DCU Presents #1: Didn't bother. Maybe when other characters come up I will.
Birds Of Prey #1: Just another one that didn't interest me.
Batman #1: I really liked this. The twist was great, I agree. The facial recognition was a great touch, to introduce the characters to new readers. I knew all of their names and basic stories, but to have the name show up and attach directly to a drawing, really helped.
Nightwing #1: I don't have much knowledge of experience with Nightwing. I think that coloured my experience. The book was alright, didn't wow me, but it is certainly worth another issue or two before I decide.
Wonder Woman #1: I didn't really like this. I can't explain why, but it just didn't work for me.
Red Hood And The Outlaws #1: I didn't like the looks of this. Had zero interest in this from the beginning. Certainly won't be picking it up
I agree with you completely about the secret organizations. The concept is fine, but when you have so many it just becomes a boring cliche.
As a new reader of some comics, and long lapsed of others, I have noticed a few things. From every interview I have seen (in the books and the few I've seen online) the writers tend to say things like "we're hitting the ground running." Seeing that and reading a number of the books, it makes me think that they planned to just put the #1s in the middle of something happening and then go from there. It seems like they are trying to get new readers by just having lots of action from the first page (Action Comics #1 is the best example I can think of). These aren't necessarily bad ideas, but origins should be a part of this.
Long time readers, may not enjoy this, but if you are REBOOTING you should actually do that. Do everything from the beginning, but that's just my view on it.
Starfire is not blind, she "doesn't see humans as much more than sights and smells", meaning that, as a different species, she doesn't consider humans worth of her attention. That does raise some other questions though, like why does she have sex with humans, if they are so alien to her.
ReplyDelete"Starfire is not blind, she "doesn't see humans as much more than sights and smells", meaning that, as a different species, she doesn't consider humans worth of her attention. That does raise some other questions though, like why does she have sex with humans, if they are so alien to her."
ReplyDeleteAnd that is moronic, since they clearly establish that she HAS a history in the DCU, including with the Titans and had a relationship with Dick Grayson, as in pretty much saying that all the stuff that happened in New Teen Titans HAPPENED. This person, whoever the hell she is, is NOT Starfire. She is incapable of forming emotional relationships with others and exists solely to be fap material. She has truly become the adolescent male fantasy - a beautiful woman with improbable proportions who will have sex with you without any strings attached and even be the one to suggest it.
It's disgusting and disrespectful to her character.
My understanding for DC Universe Presents is that they're going one, perhaps two, story per character the less known DC heros. How one story translates to number of issues though I can't say.
ReplyDeleteI had no intent to pick up Redhood, and you've given me less reason to do so.
Legion of Super-Heros, which, as I've said in other comments on here, I wanted to get into, is still off the table for me for now.
I haven't read the books I bought this week, so I may swing around here again later to comment on them.
Batman #1 was all I was waiting for as I like Scott Snyder.
ReplyDeleteI've been failing to see the point of this "reboot" as everytime I speak to my friend who hasn't been following comics for years keeps asking me "what's the deal with Batman? Why does he have a son?" and "Um...Why is Sinestro a Green Lantern again?".
So they are missing the mark with the new readers but to be honest I don't think that was the plan. The plan was, in my opinion, to out do Marvel in the comics world as they can't out do them on the big screen. The funny thing is, when I hear/read reviews people either honestly say it hasn't been that great for new and old readers or they kiss DC's butt and give them perfect scores.
DC may be on every comics site at the moment but they need fun comics like the Spider-Island arc which has been fun so far. Like comics are supposed to be.
I thought Wonder Woman worked fine as a first issue, I've never been huge on the character in comics, but I liked the fact that the Greek Gods were a bit closer to their mythological doucheyness.
ReplyDeleteI think what is most interesting about the relaunch and where it might have been a success is the fact that not only are people talking about comics, people are talking about books that would have been ignored otherwise, Demon Knights being a prime example. I also find it interesting that across the net there is practically no consensus on these titles. It seems that the book that one person hates is the favorite of another. It appears that the breadth of titles seems to be working in that regard.
Red Hood: Ah, yes. My comic shop guy has posited that the only way to salvage the Starfire thing is if, down the line, it turns out she was playing them. I'm not even sure if THAT could help.
ReplyDeleteWonder Woman: I believe that was Apollo, not Ares. Wasn't he? I really liked the issue. Of course, with all those Greek pantheon appearances, I was putty in their hands.
Blue Beetle: Was kind of disappointed. Oddly, because some character development seems to be RETAINED. Brenda's with her aunt, but we haven't seen her yet. Paco's with the gang, which we haven't met yet. Maybe it would work if I DIDN'T read his origin the first time around. And I didn't like the color palette, it clashed too much most of the time.
Supergirl: I like her character so far, and I'm in love with the art. Have you spotted where those quotes her super hearing picked up are coming from? :D
Batman: Batman! (They put Damian in sneakers to make me like him more. Didn't they. Crafty.)
There was a new Darkwing Duck this week?! Will have to rectify this...
My compatriot and I have been having the 'self contained first issue' discussion also. He's for, I'm actually against. I want story arcs right away. These cliff hangers have kept me honestly excited for more so far. But that's what's working for me, and not necessarily someone else.
Here's to next week, sir!
-Oracle
I've been comparing the relaunch to what I've read of other DC relaunches, and so far the NuDC just isn't doing it for me. The Batman and Nightwing issues were quite strong, but the Justice League issue is blown out of the water by Morrison's JLA.
ReplyDeleteTo more relevant topics: the Blue Beetle issue was fairly decent, but the stuff about his supporting cast not knowing? UGH! I hope that's just a fake-out. That out of the way: I am not at all pleased about the Jaime-Brenda-Paco love triangle they are hinting at, but the notion that La Dama is a known crime lord is interesting. That whole plotline fell by the wayside in the original series, so I am very interested in seeing what will happen with it here.
The Wonder Woman issue was strong, but you make a number of good points about it. Still, I have to admit that it pales in comparison to Perez's Post-Crisis #1, which told Diana's origin and the origin of the Amazons, and is filled with gorgeous Perez artwork.
I liked the GL issue, and I share your opinion of the Outlaws book. I just have one nitpick with your comments: Roy is not a villain. He was in that prison because he went to Qurac to help the people overthrow their dictator, but his successors were no better. They had Roy thrown in jail to be executed on trumped up charges.
I'm not as hard on Jason as you are, because I think that he can work as a character if they go with the anti-hero angle and ditch the murderous psycho characterization they too often saddled on him. Starfire, on the other hand... yeah, NO. I've read Barbara/Dick stories written by hardcore shippers that were far kinder to Kory than Lobdell was here. It completely ruined the book for me, and I won't be picking up the next issue.
I really like these "That all i'm saying" video! As a swed who is trying to follow the monthlies for the first time, it is a great help!
ReplyDeleteI have read a lot of comics but mostly indie titles, and the few mainstream titles i read is in trades (beause that is the only alternative here in Sweden) so this "first day digital" thing is great!
I think you have to broaden your view a little! You say that many characters is "Out of character", but isn't that one of the points with the relaunch? So instead of condemning the characters that feel odd, try to look at them at a new perspective!
Sometimes, like when you say that Starfires race doesn't work that way or that Wonder Woman should be kinder, it feels like you dont really understand that is supposed to be a relaunch! (Maybe wishful thinking ;) )
With that said, i understand that you have a much longer relationship with all the character then i do, and the relaunch is harder to grasp then me. But if you opened you mind a bit i think that you would appreciate the new 52 more!
I only read four books this week so I'll keep this short and focus on an alternate theory I have for Red Hood and the Outlaws and the version of Starfire we got in that book.
ReplyDeleteBirds of Prey was okay. I really got the impression that there was no prior incarnation of the team and that Dinah was trying to start it from scratch.
Nightwing. I really liked what Higgins is going to do with this book. He's made it clear that Dick is actually going to be traveling on with Haley's Circus when it leaves the city. This probably has a lot to do with the 'twist' ending that played into both this book and Batman. I do think the two are connected.
Snyder and Higgins co-wrote the 'Gates of Gotham' series together recently it was very good and both writers have really good handles on the Bat-family dynamic. It doesn't surprise me that they are working in close sync this time around.
It also helps that DC intends to make the week that each book comes out static. The books that came out the first week of the month will continue to be the first week, the last week of books will be the last week of the month ect...
Since Batman and Nightwing are out the same week it gives them some opportunity to crossover and do so well.
This brings me to Batman. This is my favorite book of the relaunch so far. I love that it introduced everyone for those who might not know, that it had some amazing new Bat tech for Bruce and the boys to play with and that Bruce is actually optimistic about Gotham and its future.
The art in this book at the top of what I've seen so far and the twist was nicely set up. There was a page that showed Bruce, Dick, Tim, and Damian and it really showed how the characters seemed to have deaged a bit. Higgins confirmed that Dick's setting at 21 again and that panel showed their age range nicely to me.
Snyder's run on Batman is going to top my comic list for a while.
This brings me to Red Hood and the Outlaws and the theory I mentioned above.
I think Scott Lobdell really wanted to take a different direction with Kori. I read some early interviews with him and he hinted in them that she was new to earth and had kinda settled with Roy and Jason as... I'm not sure exactly... her examples of human kind.
The whole point was that Kori was supposed to be new to earth and since in the new 52 aliens are frowned upon and she was having a hard time with things and being accepted.
This would have been great! If this had been the direction the book had taken her it would have made a lot more sense. She is new to the planet and hasn't interacted with many humans yet so they WOULD be forgettable to her.
The thing that probably happened though was that SOOOOOO many people got freaking pissed at the idea of Starfire never having been a part of the Titans before that Lobdell was forced to shoe-horn in her past involvement with the team at the last minute.
The art was probably already done at this junction so rather than send the whole book back and risk it not coming out on time they fit together a few lame passages of dialogue that explained away her attitude.
I am sticking with the book for that reason. I think it was really editorial saying 'we can't piss off all these people change it.' I really want to see it get better!
Someone has already beaten me to the interpretation of "sight" in Red Hood. And yeah, that interpretation is absolutely moronic.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Roy is a villain here. That wasn't my interpretation. He went to Iraq (we all know it really is) to help people overthrow an abusive regime only to be thrown in jail by the people he tried to help. That doesn't say villain to me.
Everything else was stupid.
I have not suffered as much rage as others with the Reboot, I both see a point to it... DC had to do something, and this was pretty much the only shot they had left. Unlike most event reboots, the "DCNu" is in theory about building up a body of titles and creating a universe, rather than raising the stakes and killing a whole bunch of people in story.
For the most part this means that I'm not assuming anything is in or out until it's confirmed in title. I have no opinion on Oracle because so far the books have neither confirmed that it happened or didn't. Enjoying the stories hasn't hinged on that fact. I'll form an opinion once I have that confirmation, or get annoyed with the story if I have to know but they haven't confirmed. Such as with Green Lantern.
The one exception has been Starfire. Interpretation as the old character... or treated as a new character she is dull, exploitative and offensive. I can not let go of the fact that this is a destruction of her legacy.
Red Hood is the first title I've read so far that will not make it to issue 2 unless some reviews really indicate that the first issue was a large mis-step that they correct with the best comic writing ever.
"Sometimes, like when you say that Starfires race doesn't work that way or that Wonder Woman should be kinder, it feels like you dont really understand that is supposed to be a relaunch! (Maybe wishful thinking ;) )
ReplyDeleteWith that said, i understand that you have a much longer relationship with all the character then i do, and the relaunch is harder to grasp then me. But if you opened you mind a bit i think that you would appreciate the new 52 more!"
I understand the position, but I disagree vehemently with it, especially in this regard. There's a difference between relaunching a character with a new attitude and backstory like Marvel does with the Ultimate universe, and just making a bad character out of a good one.
Wonder Woman and Starfire didn't NEED to be changed. There was nothing WRONG with who they were. With Wondy, I think it's still a bit too early to tell in terms of her characterization, especially since we only saw so much of her in the single book. With Starfire... no, it really doesn't work.
They have turned a character who was ENTIRELY about her emotions, her feelings and her relationships with others into someone who lacks emotional connections, feels no love nor true intimacy with others. It's a complete character 180 in the WRONG direction. Think of it this way - suppose they decided to relaunch Superman, but they had decided that Superman should not have any superpowers, but utilize Kryptonian gadgets, had no love for humanity whatsoever, gritted his teeth all the time, and even loved to use guns to murder violent criminals. That's not a different take on the character, that's an entirely different character altogether.
However, the REAL problem with this is that they're NOT treating her like a new character. Her dialogue with Roy indicates that she was indeed with the Titans and that the events of New Teen Titans seemed to happen, so unless she was like this throughout the entirety of that time with them (something I sincerely doubt, so there's no way a person like that could function with them AND have what seemed to be a serious relationship with Dick Grayson as they indicated), it's not so much that she's been revamped, but rather her character is entirely WRONG.
Not to mention even if this WAS relaunch, I'm not interested in this new character, then. She's not the person I enjoyed reading about, and even if she had been a completely original one, I'd still say she was a horrible character for being nothing more than fapping material for adolescents who don't know there's free porn on the internet.
Still, glad you're enjoying the series! ^_^ Even if we disagree, it's good to see you're getting into comics!
Oh Linkara, after watching this I'm not looking forward to this week's batch of comics. Erasing character development has to be the worst part of a reboot. And I'm not all against what's been happening. I've enjoyed all of the New 52 titles I've read so far, but changing Starfire's character and the relationships in Blue Beetle (I've never even read Blue Beetle and I hate this)
ReplyDeleteStarfire was attractive because of her personality. This new version seems to have been created by people who don't understand that. I'd by lying if I said the art didn't make her LOOK attractive, but she's hardly a character anymore.
Normally I read all the comics I've picked up before watching these (or at least all the ones you talk about) but this time since it'll be a while before I get them (long story) I decided to watch this anyway. And I'm kinda glad I did, I was gonna pick up Red Hood and Catwoman (though I was on the fence about Catwoman) but decided not to after watching this. Also, I think the main reason why I was going with Red Hood was because I like Starfire. Well so much for that then.
ReplyDeleteAlways good to see we have completely different reactions to almost everything Lewis.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, upset with Wonder Woman? And how did you miss the clue in that the dude is Apollo, "I'm one of Zeus' Suns.", disappearing as the sunsets, the radiant glow.
Also Jason Todd's character is interesting in concept, I wish you won't go whiny as hell about people who are anti heroes and could understand that perhaps some people don't have the exact same tastes as you.
"Comic Readers love the Lavishly Ludicrous."
ReplyDelete"Fucking secret Organizations DC, how does this make any sense."
Never change Lewis.
I totally agree with your views on these comics. The only one I really enjoyed was Batman. the Outlaws issue made me so angry that I just raged on both facebook and twitter about since I've been a fan of starfire ever since reading The Technis imperative and what Nobdell, whoops sorry, Lobdell does with is an absolute crime. The only thing about this Stripfire, she is not worthy of starfire in my eyes, is the whole "sight" thing, my theory is to make this work is that Tamaraneans can only see in Infra-Red but even that annoys the hell out of me. Plus somehow they made stripfire's costume skimpier, I didn't even think that was possible.
ReplyDelete"Seriously, upset with Wonder Woman? And how did you miss the clue in that the dude is Apollo, "I'm one of Zeus' Suns.", disappearing as the sunsets, the radiant glow."
ReplyDeleteHonestly? I'm not that big on Greek mythology. I know SOME basics, I know some names, but beyond that I'm not that well-knowledgable. Most of my knowledge comes from Wonder Woman, and considering it's a relaunch, Ares is a bigger Wondy villain than Apollo, who I can't even recall any specific instance where they fought.
Hey there, nice werap up of this weeks releases.
ReplyDeleteBLUE BEETLE i picked up after taking an interest in the character from the pages of Teen Titans and your video. Sucks that his identity's not going to be known by his friends and fmily, but seriously, how long can that last. Thought it was a good read, but yeh, not enough hero-time :P
The DC univerce presents deadman story is apparantly a 5 parter (which i don't really understnad concidering that this feels more like a 2 parter) but i found it to be a nice read.
When it comes to Legion, i have to admit I'm a BIG fan of them (there the series that got me into DC, strange as it sounds) So I'm happy, along with a bunch of other legion fans, that they didn't decide to go down the "reboot" road for them........ for the 4th time. I liked the issue, but maby thats becasue i was readingt their previos runs. I guess the reason why they didn't make this one "new" freindsly is because they have a "Legion of super-heroes secret origins" 6 part mini series coing out in october. but never the less, i get your point with the whole "new reader" thing. but i liked it :P
Nightwing my thoughts are pretty much the same.
Red Hood and the outlaws, i agree with you when it coems to starfire being out of character, concidering that her history is still canon (i even asked Lobdell if her REBELS history was canon in a Q&A in comicvine. he said "sort of"). Other people were complaning about how she was "to violent" or "to fan servicy", and i can argue thoes statements by bringing up her "warriro nature, and that she has killed before, and that her original costume was racy for the time when she first turned up. But i think the bigest and main problem with her is her "lack of emotion". I mean she has has sex with other characters before without having an emotional attachement to them, but has explained that she had already felt love and cant replace it (poor, poor captain comet). The lack of emotion is the problem with her. Other than that i did enjoy the "buddy cop"style banter between jason and roy at the beginning, and it did have a sort of 80's action movie feel to it at the beginning, so i will continue with this series (plus i dont really mind jason), oh bu you've gotta love that ending "To be explained" :P
Supergirl, im sure is annoying to other supergirl fans who've gone through*counts fingers* this many origen re-tellings, so its annoying to them. Luckelly for me, im not one of them, so i liked this. :)
Oh, i also picked up Demon Knights from your recomendation. Kicks some medevil ass:) looking forward to next weeks stuff from you man :)
The first thing I thought after reading Red Hood and the Outlaws was "God, Linkara's gonna hate this". Also, am I the only one who thinks DC is trying to turn Jason Todd into Deadpool? If so, they're doing a piss poor job at it:
ReplyDeleteRoy: TANKS!
Jason: You're welcome.
Try harder, DC! XD
Let's see if I'm following this correctly. Catwoman is a sex crazed nymphoid. Starfire is aloof when it comes to humans. As is Supergirl apparently. (Her costume is kind of cool, though. Which is more than I can say for Starfire's costume. or lack thereof.) and Wonder Woman is a bit colder than normal. Am I missing something or is DC writing the women of their universe as something a bit extreme?
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong. I'm all for strong female superheroes. One of my favorites is Invisible Woman. But, there's a difference. Strong women do NOT say "So umm...want to have sex?"
If a female hero says that. It doesn't make her strong. It just makes her horny. Or at best "trying to feel something". What that is, I...won't get into.
My jaw dropped when I saw that last panel in Catwoman. The Catwoman I know from the DC animated universe was sexy, sure. BUT! She was smart, cunning and a bit ruthless. She wasn't some sex crazed kitten.
When it comes to those titles, DC isn't really impressing me. I like strong female characters. Just not when they're written like they have been this week. Correct me if I'm wrong here, Linkara.
My thoughts on the four I picked up this week:
ReplyDeleteBatman and Nightwing: I think the vid said everything I could here. I do like where this seems headed and will likely at least stick out the first arc of both.
DC Universe Presents: This is the best presentation I've seen of Deadman and I like the introspection about his role in the universe. I'll be sticking with Presents overall, as I like the idea of a venue for showing off some of the lesser DC Heros, but I'm not likely to buy every issue because not all of the stories are likely to hold my interest.
Wonder Woman has me intrigued story wise, but the art and action fell flat for me. I'm on the fence about picking it up again next month, but I suspect that the story will be overall important to the DCU in the long run, if only because Zeus seems intent on bringing in some new gods....
After Redhood and the Outlaws dicking up a very interesting character I'm on the fence about my intent to buy Teen Titans next week, seeing as I haven't read the series since the Wolfman era, which I personally particularly loved.
""Comic Readers love the Lavishly Ludicrous."
ReplyDelete"Fucking secret Organizations DC, how does this make any sense."
Never change Lewis."
Ludicrous would be robot apes on jetpacks attacking a city with laser guns.
Secret organizations are not lavishly ludicrous, they're a boring staple of science fiction that tries to pretend it's cool when really it makes no sense and having seven of them all running around with their own separate agendas and yet all apparently well-funded and operated just makes me scratch my head and it takes away from good storytelling and intrigue.
Hey, I feel your pain when it comes to Starfire. I will let you know how this story turns out because I plan on reviewing the first six issues. I'm going to make my videos, and I tweet them to you. And yes, I'm ripping this first issue to shreds because of Starfire's characterization. Lobdell wanted her taken out of the book and I wish they had, would have saved us all from facepalming.
ReplyDeleteI like Jason's character because I like damaged, messed up characters. It's pretty sad when he's the only relatively likable person, WHO ACTUALLY DOES SOMETHING in the comic. Roy and Kori are there to just look stupid an have sex. Jason was the only one who actually got character development.
Mr Lovhaug, you asked why would starfire have eyes if her species primaraly used other senses as their method of viewing the world.
ReplyDeleteTo this I ask the question, have you ever seen a dog in your entire life?
Just because her planet is as you say brightly lif and lucious does not mean that her species eyesight is all that great. Many creatures use sound and smell as their primary forms of detection and nearly all of them have eyes.
I want to make 2 points:
ReplyDelete1) The first issue of Wonder Woman reads like the first 15 minutes of an Arnold Schwarzenegger film but with Greek Gods.
2) I think Red Hood is one of those titles that can go either way, turn out very good or so bad lets read it for laughs and then pretend it never existed.
If we start out with a team that is inherently self-centred, self-serving, shallow and only using one another (like the causal sex illustrates) as they find it hard to connect properly with others due to being damaged in their past but then learn to connect, start respecting each other and can learn to build proper relationships with people, then it would make an interesting concept with a lot of potential for good character growth. If not it will be the comic equivalent or worse of a trashy teen soap (from a UK perspective).
I don't really know much about the characters but I think Starfire does seem like awkward fanservice only, in this issue, also I could tell there was going to be fan rage over Starfire. While considering older readers thoughts on the matter I think the main problem is have they used the right characters for the story? Maybe it would be better to have used a similar new character (why can't the relaunch introduce new heroes aside from the Teen Titans?) to Starfire so there's no baggage or history.
Last note: If Lian never existed, at least it means she can maybe re-exist again one day without the questionable death?
If Superman and Supergirl are supposed to be virtually indestructable because of Earth's sun... why do their costumes look like body armor?
ReplyDeleteWhen you brought up Starfire I literally had to yell"WHAT!?" Grant it I originally didn't know much of her character until at random points I would go on Wikipedia to research a character's history and my only knowledge of her is from the Teen Titans Cartoon...or Anime(with its style of design it looks like an anime at times)
ReplyDeleteEven if all I knew of Starfire's History was only from the show Teen Titans I have to agree with Linkara here...thats just wrong
Plus this entire Relaunch has me confused as hell..Its like they Rebooted everything...YET they kept all the histories of the characters intact but in a five year span and Static in no exemption from this too,the new Static series feels like nothing ever happened and continued before the relaunch(this is my first Static Comic and the same thing with Starfire applies to Static as well..odd how that works)but atleast the one thing they kept true to Static's character is him enjoying being a super hero and his character in general hasn't changed.
One thing that they did do to Bruce's character "In Batman and Robin #1" has me concerned...HE IS NO LONGER CELEBRATING THE ANNIVERSARY OF HIS PARENTS DEATHS..that has always been Bruces character even in the cartoon Universe hell Bruce from time to time if he is Batman at the time still places roses at their death site..but now he is only going to celebrate the time they got married or something...I hope DC know's what their doing but I'm all ready mad at what Square Enix is doing with Final Fantasy 13-2 and this didn't help..
Though on a side note I wonder if that new female character that only Jason can see is the same character we see in a single panel that only the reader can see in various of the new 52 #1's
So, in general, stay away from DC Comics and buy Darkwing Duck.
ReplyDeleteI gave up on comic books two years ago and I have yet to regret doing so. The money I save is great.
Good Video, but i have one major disagreement with you.
ReplyDeleteJason Todd
Jason Todd is possibly one of my favorite characters in the DC Universe (Apart from the Occult Heroes like Etrigan, Deadman, Phantom Stranger, John Constantine) i like him because he has such a Dark History, even after he died as Robin, and he seems the most three dimensional character, where we see points where we hate him, but points where we either feel sorry for him, or see good in him. Unfortunatly it seems the only damn Writer that gets Jason Todd right is Judd Winick, everyone else has completely screwed up Jason as a character, ranging on getting it wrong (Geoff Johns for one Example) or completely ButtF@#king the character altogether (Grant Morrison with the Awful Red Hood run on Batman and Robin) I was hoping this book would get it right, but it seems it's got it wrong once again, well i'll be looking forward to your next video.
Oh BTW, Jason vote was actually rigged by a guy who rigged his computer to call the number 900 times, basically causing the vote to go the Death, i'm just pointing this out
I'm surprised you hated Red Hood and the Outlaws for those reasons, all of which people are praising the book for.
ReplyDeleteI'd hate to see your reaction to Dark Wolverine/Daken if you hate villains as the protagonists, I think you would have a heart attack.
U mad? Couldn't resist, sorry.
ReplyDeleteI only got Supergirl, cause I was getting several other books, and liked it. I know, decompressed as hell, but I think the book did good in terms of getting into the character's head. There's nothing wrong with a book wanting to take it slow, but I perfectly understand people not liking it.
(And again, recommending Avengers Academy. Yes, I'm going to post this in everyone of your "That's All I'm Saying" comments!)
I think the god in Wonder Woman was Apollo for a couple of reasons- oracles are usually associated with Apollo, at least the main one at Delphi, and the fact that he got brighter in the sun.
ReplyDeleteVisually, I would never have guessed Apollo, but until it's spelled out, that's my guess based on the prior clues.
Right from from the start I knew Snyder's Batman was the book I would be most into. That and Cornell's Demon Knights. Snyder and Cornell were pretty much the best DC writers before the relaunch, and I hope they continue their form.
ReplyDelete"I'm surprised you hated Red Hood and the Outlaws for those reasons, all of which people are praising the book for.
ReplyDeleteI'd hate to see your reaction to Dark Wolverine/Daken if you hate villains as the protagonists, I think you would have a heart attack."
Who the hell is praising Red Hood and the Outlaws for completely revamping Starfire? O.o
As a general rule, I'm not fond of books with villains as the protagonists... HOWEVER! There have been plenty of books where it can be made to work. I have always lavished immense praise on Secret Six. Despite the fact that they do horrible things, their characterization and VERY strong writing keeps it as being one of the best comics ever made. I just wish it hadn't been canceled in favor of subpar material.
*Sigh* Have I mentioned you are the guy who got me into comics? I followed along with major events on the internet, but AtFW made me want to become a real fan. However, now you're depressing me. Everyone is going to listen to you (cuz you're awesome) and not pick up my favorite books, leading them to be axed. Bleh.
ReplyDeleteRed Hood-This is actually my favorite of all the DCnU so far. I like Jason, I like Roy, I like Starfire, it just comes off great to me. A big complaint from other critics seems to be about how shallow Starfire is, but she seems intresting to me. And by intresting, I mean totally hot. Thing is, I can't bring myself to care. The most I know about Star comes from the Teen Titans animated series, and as much as I loved the charecter there, I already knew she was nothing like the comic charecter, so I have no attatchment to this Starfire. Maybe I'm just a prick. Starfire being fanservice doesn't bother me. And I feel bad about that. Well, I don't, but I feel bad about not feeling bad. Also, the back and fourth between Roy and Jason is pretty funny. Oh, and you said Roy was a bad guy again? I didn't really get that. He was in prison for helping some people overthrow a dictator, but then they screwed him over or something. Is that why you are upset Star killed those guys? They were bad guys, and they were shooting at her and her boyfriend. Good enough reason for me. I've always been a pro-killing fan with comics, because it just seems normal to me after so many video games, though I never liked The Authority and other comics that made the claim they were better then other comics because of the killing. I understand why Batman doesn't kill, to avoid going over the edge entirly, but going out of his way to save murderous monsters is dumb. Its nice to see heroes who are like video game charecters: Evil people in the way of objective-end them. But unlike The Authority or Ultimates, they aren't total assholes. So yaaay. Anyway, yeah. What I said about my favorite titles being cancled because of you big mean critics rings especialy true here. The thing is, I'm sure more people would like it, but its getting so trashed no one will check it out, just like Team Titans, another book that I like cancled after a few issues.
Legion-I'm a fan of this one too. Yup. I'm screwed. That said though, I didn't quite like this issue in particular. The only part I really liked was Chemical Kid, a guy who's dad gave him powers based off of the Chemical King, a previous member who died preventing WWIV. I like Chemical Kid...buuut Chemical Kid was introduced in an earlier, recent, and obscure book about the Legion cadets, which I never heard of Because they didn't explain who Chemical Kid was, I thought he was the Chemical King, reintroduced by Flashpoint like Tyroc. So I can't even defend this one like I did Legion Lost! Even uber LoSH fans like myself don't understand! *Sigh*
Catwoman-Pretty good issue, but I'm so tired of Selina getting pissed on. Its like the DCU hates her. Every thing she stars in seems devoted to breaking her will. Also, the sex thing was gross. As babelicious(Gee, the DCnU is pretty heavy on that word) as Selina is, Bruce Wayne really isn't. I mean, I'm sure some people find him attractive, but to me its like those "ugly guy, hot wife" things, only here you actually see them fuck. Ugh. Its like watching a painting being smashed at with a hammer. (The hammer is the Batman's penis)
"*Sigh* Have I mentioned you are the guy who got me into comics? I followed along with major events on the internet, but AtFW made me want to become a real fan. However, now you're depressing me. Everyone is going to listen to you (cuz you're awesome) and not pick up my favorite books, leading them to be axed. Bleh."
ReplyDeleteHey, don't worry - chances are we'll be in misery together. XD There are plenty of books that I like that I think are probably going to get axed.
I think you are completely off-base on Catwoman. I was rather bored until the ending, mostly due to Winnick's attempt, and subsequent failure, to replicate the Timm/Dini Catwoman dialog throughout. Furthermore, how is it rapey? It's Catwoman. If Bruce actually didn't want to he could have stopped her at any time. It's more of a "we really shouldn't" situation. It felt to me like Bruce giving in to his human side, letting down his defenses and constant vigilance as a crime-fighter to enjoy something he wanted.
ReplyDelete"Red Hood and the Outlaws" was truly dire, and is probably my least favorite title of the relaunch so far. But I didn't get the impression that Arsenal was a villain here: he's described as having worked to overthrow a dictatorial regime only to be double-crossed by the new order. Mercenary, perhaps, maybe even an anti-hero, but not a villain. And, as other have said, I don't think the point was that Starfire was blind, merely that she doesn't see humans as beings on the same level as her. There may be some potential in that idea, but it's really difficult to reconcile with the idea that she was previously a member of the Teen Titans. Plus, why even use Starfire if you're going to change her character so drastically?
ReplyDeleteI do take issue with the idea that you need to tell an origin story just because it's a first issue. I thought that Wonder Woman was actually an excellent jumping on point because it got straight to the story and established what we basically need to know about the character and her basis in Greek mythology. We don't need to know the details, and I'd actually argue that origin stories are usually bad starting points because they're so different in style and tone from a "normal" story for the character. That was my problem with both the Blue Beetle and Supergirl issues this week: I'm interested in the characters, but I'm seriously considering dropping them both until the second arc. Not only am I already familiar with these origins (which may not be true of new readers, admittedly), but they feel like the writers are unnecessarily biding their time.
You do need to introduce the concepts (something that books like the Green Lantern and Legion of Super-Heroes titles don't bother to do), but I think the idea that the only way to do that is to tell an origin story is wrong. The famous examples are Batman, who didn't have an origin story for quite a while after his introduction in the late 1930s, and Superman, who had only the most cursory introduction in his first issue. The details weren't ironed out for years.
I'm giving Lobdell a chance. I loved his X-Men work, so I think he gets teen characters. The Kori stuff I'll give you Linkara, but this is a relaunch/reboot, so I think a lot of the stuff Jason did as the Redhood before the relaunch has been thrown out.
ReplyDeleteI think DC wants to give him his own title because he's become so popular because of Under the Red Hood, the comic and the movie. I think it could work, he did used to be a hero and if they're retconning it so that after his resurection he became a bat-themed punisher instead of a straight up villain, he could become a sypmathetic character. And Im pretty sure all the bat-logo stuff in the book was editorial, not scott.
As to Roy, everyone's already said what I was going to say. Only, I've looked at the solicits for the next few months, and I think the team is supposed to come into contact with Chesire at some point, which means he could be building up to Roy becoming a dad? Too soon to say, but I'm trying to be optimistic.
The Kori stuff was dumb though, but like other people keep saying, I think Scott was forced to change his story at the last minute (he is working for his old boss, a guy who used to throw stuff at him at the last second). Plus, I'm a fan of Rocafort (although he does tend to do a little too much cheesecake when it comes to girls), so I'll at least give the first arc of this book a chance.
Roentgen over on the PPMB, generally speaking of another topic all together said this:
ReplyDeleteAccording to Christopher Bird (who was writing about the first issues of comic series), the introductory anything - whether it be the first comic in a series or a pilot TV show or whatever - must fulfill certain tasks.
Premise: It establishes what the comic/cartoon/TV show/fanfic serial is about and why it exists.
Pieces: It identifies all (or at least most) of the major story elements of the comic/cartoon/TV show/fanfic serial.
Plot: It gives you a reason to want to buy the next issue/see the next episode/follow the thread.
That got me thinking about the relaunch as a whole... do the relaunch titles for the DCU generally fulfill these criteria for their target demographics? I'm still debating this for myself, but thought I'd toss it out where others could comment. Mr. Lovhaug's thoughts in particular on this interest me, as someone who's read all 52 of them, though really any of that may be best reserved for next week once the final week of the relaunch has been released and the total sum of it can be taken in.
I think the only way to justify all of these secret organizations running around would be to have them as splinters of an even bigger, more secret organization controlled by Vandal Savage or Lex Luthor or that mysterious pink woman.
ReplyDeleteIn the name of feminine costume practicality, I hate Supergirl's new look. Why would anyone wear thigh-high boots with the knees cut out?! What purpose does that serve? Oh well, at least she doesn't take fashion advice from Power Girl. :P
ReplyDeleteNice Plinkett reference at the end.
ReplyDelete"Oh well, at least she doesn't take fashion advice from Power Girl."
ReplyDeleteImplying Power Girl's fashion sense isn't AWESOME.
Red Hood and The Outlaws was awesome, i hope to see the movie next summer.
ReplyDeleteIt's the only book so far i feel likable. For the first time in your reviews i respectfully disagree with you.
I have to call into question the "rape-y" remark. While I'm generally the first guy to rail against the whole "Rape is Funny/OK when it's Female on Male" thing in popular culture, I don't think that was at all the issue at hand here. They've obviously been at it for a while, and Bruce obviously cares for her (how many other members of his rogues gallery do you think he comes to check on when they get in over their head, and he was pretty tender with the asking too).
ReplyDeleteSeems less about non-consensual sex here, and more about "I'm on the job and shouldn't be doing this right now."
I actually liked that moment (and I'd heard about it in advance second hand and was expecting to hate it intensely), and this issue as a whole. It's great characterization for Selina and, while I DO hate that her not knowing who Bruce is means "Heart of Hush" has been retconned (either entirely or just enough to the point where that moment where he revealed himself to her), a step in the right direction in this new continuity for one of the very VERY few fictional romantic relationships I actually care about.
@Lewis
ReplyDelete"Who the hell is praising Red Hood and the Outlaws for completely revamping Starfire? O.o"
A lot of sites have been giving Red Hood and The Outlaws very high scores.
"As a general rule, I'm not fond of books with villains as the protagonists... HOWEVER! There have been plenty of books where it can be made to work. I have always lavished immense praise on Secret Six."
Well, the thing is, I believe you like characters that have something you can relate to, no matter how minor. I think you're just not too fond of villains that are simply ruthless and well...plain evil. That's fine, you don't have to like them for those reasons, but I think saying they're badly characterized because they're unrelatable is a different manner.
Does that justify said characters getting their own ongoing? I don't know, that's debatable. I enjoyed RH&tO, but only because I saw them as newly designed characters.
(Hope I didn't miss it in the comments before)
ReplyDeleteThe whole bit about secret organisations feels a bit as if people are trying to hard to have a (cheap) explanation for questions like
'how does s/he do this' 'where did s/he get those' 'where does s/he keep her/his gadgets' etc.
It is much 'easier' to just say 'secret organisation' than to actually spent additional thought into details like hideouts/living areas, money...well, life outside being a superhero/being a superhero when there's no crime around in total.
Your scathing review on the new Red Hood book reminds me of something.....oh yeah! Opinions on Secret Invasion, the death of the Wasp, Hank Pym's utter psychoctic stupidity in the aftermath (taking up his dead wife's mantle only to lip-lock with Ultron disguised as Jan) and the fact that no one at Marvel wants to fix this.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of which, maybe you should try reviewing more Marvel comics in this show Linkara. I know you're the DC fan and all but ever since the relaunch and this New 52 stuff, it seems like DC's just shooting themselves in the foot one week after another and it sounds like you need a break from it. (So far the only three titles DC's launched that have my interest are Blue Beetle, Static Shock and Demon Knights)
I'd recommend trying Avenger's Academy, the recent Spider Island stuff going w/ Spider-Man and Venom, (well I like it at least) and maybe Young Avenger's Children's Crusade since they're trying to fix what Bendis did to Scarlet Witch and the whole M-Day bullcrap.
"I'd recommend trying Avenger's Academy, the recent Spider Island stuff going w/ Spider-Man and Venom, (well I like it at least) and maybe Young Avenger's Children's Crusade since they're trying to fix what Bendis did to Scarlet Witch and the whole M-Day bullcrap."
ReplyDeleteIf Spider-Island is that fun, that's great to hear, but I'm still maintaining my boycott of Spidey-books after, well, you know. XD
I know, I know, it's petty after a few years, but damn it, I must maintain my principles...!
I'm actually very curious to see where Red Hood goes. To be honest i was looking forward to this episode because i knew it would have a big rant about starfire. that being said, i felt you didn't really give this book a fair chance. I know that aside from secret six you aren't a fan of villian books but are you really saying that Jason shouldn't move on as a charator. look i don't think he should have been brought back from the grave but that doesn't change the fact that he is back. Let DC try to do something different with him. Because keeping him in books with batman isn't working out.
ReplyDeleteSo Captain Atom is drawn By Freddie Williams II? Yeah, he did JSA All STars before this, and I wasn't too thrilled with his artwork there.
ReplyDeleteI have the same fears about Darkwing that you have about Demon Knights. Oh, I've loved it too, but I think the only people who would enjoy it are people like us who watched the original show. The first issues especially were heavy on Continuity Porn that would confuse people that haven't watched the show - the fact that Disney hasn't aired it in years doesn't help. So I feel it had the same problem you bring up with many of these DC relaunches. I enjoyed the book and all the references, but it wouldn't be easy for people to be introduced to the character with.
Speaking of Spider-Island, what do you think of the rumors about Ben Reilly possibly coming back in this story? I know you've reviewed a couple Clone Saga arcs (and didn't you say you were going to do more? Can't remember...), and you said you were going to collect the entire saga, I think this could be the best reason for you to jump back on the book. Plus, Dan Slott is just plain awesome.
ReplyDeleteRed Hood and the Outlaws had been the only book I wanted to buy from the DCnU. I cannot tell you how disappointed and angry I was when the news of its less-than-stellar contents broke. (Tumblr exploded with rage. It wasn't pretty.)
ReplyDeleteKory's always been very sex-positive and not at all averse to displaying her body... but all that came with a generally positive and upbeat, passionate personality, a zest for life and fun and enjoyment. (Like you mentioned she'd been getting a little more emo in recent years but I think the core of her affectionate nature remained intact.)
This is not Kory. They've taken her and made her bored and apathetic and uncaring and that has never been Starfire's character. (If anything, her flaws before had been that she cared TOO MUCH about everything.) And this bizarre alien goldfish memory thing just opens up WAY too many plotholes.
Presumably a lot of Titans continuity happened right? How on earth did Dick and Kory's relationship work this way? If Roy was presumably on the Titans, how come he apparently never noticed this aspect of Starfire and had to have Jason explain it to him? Why didn't he know before? Hell, how did JASON know?
I'm most upset about Kory apparently not even remembering the Titans, again, presumably her closest friends for years before this comic's events. No. Just no. Screw you forever DC, for taking another dump on the characters and continuity of my favorite team.
Will definitely be watching ATFW when you take apart this garbage.
@ Matt: The Ben Reilly stuff is still pretty up in the air. I know Slott is a fan of the charator but at the moment all he have been getting are "wait and see" whenever he gets asked about Ben making a return.
ReplyDeleteAlso Linkara, do you get any marvel books aside from Deadpool? I'm just curious. And the Darkwing/ducktales crossover starts in Ducktales and ends in Darknwing so you may be a little lost on the story next month.
Maybe someone at DC made a read a note wrong "Damn it! I meant that you should include a lot of secret ORIGINS, not ORGANISATIONS!"
ReplyDelete"If Spider-Island is that fun, that's great to hear, but I'm still maintaining my boycott of Spidey-books after, well, you know. XD"
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid to read Spider-Island,from time to time when I read Spider-Man Comics(If its just reading them in the store or actually buy them) I've noticed a bad trend after..You know what.
Theirs been really weird trends were they introduce a cool story a weird story and a What The Fuck History repeats itself story,one thing that keeps happening is the Writers like to mess with Peter's life. The Daily Bugle has gotten destroyed,J Jonah is now the friggin Mayor and he even ruined Peter's life when Peter tried to save his Political career(though a redeeming quality is JJ didn't want to use dirty tricks to get out of a Political Jam so points to him their) but one thing before I get to one side comic I hate in Spiderman is the writers like to change the art for Spiderman comics...I MEAN ALOT! It goes from really really good too god awful even in sidecomics that don't involve Spidey or show him briefly.
One latest side or well event comic is called Osborn and boooooooy does it get stupid after issue 2(or the last page of issue 1) It stars Norman Osborn in Prison after I think he destroyed Asgard I'm not one hundred percent sure,I don't keep up with Marvel Comics that much(odd seeing how I like both DC and Marvel)
Norman has gotten transvered to a secret underwater prison in Manhatten(I think) where alot of creatures are kept one I believe is an Alien(I only read three issues my memory is vague of this comic) but one thing I remember that pisses me off is their is this secret religious apocalypse cult that worships The Green Goblin and they know Norman is Gobby...yeah see what I'm saying as a history repeats itself comic?
Osborn reminds me of that one Spiderman story where you referenced on Atop the Fourth Wall about their being Spidermen..after the whole religious cult worshiping Gobby part I couldn't stand reading Osborn anymore, but I will praise the lines they have Norman say and alot of the characters..and I will say if you do review this on Atop The fourth Wall their is some shocking kills Norman does in it that's unexpected but even though a little graphic I will admit Norman was a freaking bad ass in his own event or side comic...but again that cult plot I just couldn't read it no more.
Unlike many other fans, I actually do not have an issue with Jason Todd. I don't particularly like him, but I don't despise him either. But I think that could be because I liked him as an enemy and outsider (not THOSE Outsiders) to Batman...which is why giving him his own comic separate from Batman FAILS, but not NEARLY as much as what's happened with the rest of the cast in it.
ReplyDelete...As someone who loved the Teen Titans cartoon show, where Starfire was adorably cute and bubbly in every scene (though I admittedly like Raven a bit more), I am DEEPLY disgusted by what they've done with her! It's not even that they have a character acting in this manner, but STARFIRE?! WHY?!?!
And yeah, to quote SF Debris, they musta gotten a Ph.D in 'Missing The Point' with Arsenal. Again, I wouldn't even mind it so much that he was a bad guy except that the reason he became one in the first place has been wiped away.
And I would just like to note that they have now they have actually done one worse than kill Lian off like they did: They have erased her. My one comfort in that is that now the memory of her character can't be bludgeoned any worse.
So yeah, I am making it a personal request right now that Red Hood and the Outlaws for an episode of AT4W. I don't care if it's a year or a decade from now, but I wanna see it someday.
When i read redhood i knew dead on this was gonna be your reaction ^^
ReplyDeletepersonally i liked it
but i want to say 3 things about that
first you are being extremely unfair with Jason Todd.
I can understand that you dont like him but a lot of ppl do, and even though ppl voted to ax him a lot of ppl voted for him to stay alive, i know i dont have to tell you that the difference between votes was of a couple of hundreds when it came to kill him
the movie was Awesome and his portrayal here is not bad at all
yes, he is an asshole but that is part of his charm, and yeah he have had a couple of bad uses in the past, like in nightwing and countdown but also some good ones, it is not that surprising that he got an ongoing
then Roy, he is mostly neutral for me
on one side, anything that retcons RoA is an automatic win, but we also lost the caring single father Roy, it is not bad nor good in my book
and Star, whatever you want to admit it or not, since she was created, she has have a really strong focus of fanservice
it is not unusual to have a her on a book and then dont have her having sex or being nude
its literally constructed in the dna of the character, the problem is not that she is now having sex and not caring, she kinda did the same in R.E.B.E.L.S. with Capt Comet and that book presented a really good portrayal of her
the problem is that now she has absolutely no personality whatsoever
she is a blank Starfire
on one side it is good that she will stop whining about not being with Grayson, but now she is less of a character and more like a thing
but that is not absolutely bad
it means that maybe Lobdell can improve her personality as the series move on, or maybe it could all be a ruse, her amnesia could be provoked by something plot related, remember there was this black guy at the end who was looking for her
my point is, this is only a tip of what could be
and is not permanent, it can be fixed
and the Catwoman comic
the comic want half bad, the ending was surprising but i honestly dont see anything bad with it
is just sex
"I have the same fears about Darkwing that you have about Demon Knights. Oh, I've loved it too, but I think the only people who would enjoy it are people like us who watched the original show. The first issues especially were heavy on Continuity Porn that would confuse people that haven't watched the show - the fact that Disney hasn't aired it in years doesn't help. So I feel it had the same problem you bring up with many of these DC relaunches. I enjoyed the book and all the references, but it wouldn't be easy for people to be introduced to the character with."
ReplyDeleteWell, it might help to say that I hadn't watched the show in YEARS since I started reading, so for me they still referenced stuff that I don't remember, so it might still work for people. ^^
'Also Linkara, do you get any marvel books aside from Deadpool? I'm just curious."
ReplyDeleteNot really. XD I read a bunch of Marvel in trade, buuut not anything regularly aside from Deadpool. Nothing clicked for me, unfortunately.
('cause poor literacy is KEWL!)
ReplyDeleteDuuude! You're quite simply AMAZING!
Dunno if it's sad to admit or not but your video's are the highlight of my week. I've watched every AT4W and HOPR at least twice and though I don't agree with everything you say, I still love every second of it.
I’m both jealous and amazed at your skills for analyzing, reviewing and writing. I wish I was that good at storytelling (having hopes and dreams of becoming an author one day). And then after all that you still find the time to appear in cameos all across TGWTG? Dang, I’m impressed. And to top it all of you can even sing?!
“I’M A MAN” but you’re THE MAN!
By the way, I never noticed to room/rum-thing before you mentioned it. It doesn’t bother me the slightest and neither does any other mispronunciations you have. I still understand everything you’re saying – and English is my second language (I’m from the far away country of Europe ;D).
Darkwing Duck FTW!
GLC: Skipped over this one, because, while I like John Stewart fine, I REALLY don't care for Guy Gardner.
ReplyDeleteCaptain Atom: Don't really know much about him outside of JL: Generation Lost. Although I will say Linkara, I know you put Maxwell Lord in your Top 10 Heroes Becoming Villains vid, you got to admit he was compelling in Generation Lost.
Catwoman: Meeeh.
Blue Beetle: I actually enjoyed it. While a bit slow, it was an okay introduction to those that haven't read Jaime's original series (something I intend to rectify).
Batman & Nightwing: While I enjoyed both of them and the story they're setting up (especially since I liked Snyder/Higgin's series Gates of Gotham, best of last summer. You read?), I do have to address what you said in how the plot point regarding Dick at the end of Batman as obvious. While I agree, I do have to remind you: "Cassandra Cain". 1% chance is larger than 0%. Hehe.
Red Hood and the Out of Character People: Someone on CBR made a thread on Starfire. It was enough to tell me I was gonna despise this book...and the sadistic part of me was waiting for your reaction. I agree with you in all aspects of your "review". Then, a very unsettling notion crawled up my spine:
This is the same writer that's going do Teen Titans. My favorite character (Tim Drake) is going to be written by this guy. Oh boy, Sept 28th is going to be fun.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteActually the pun for hinting it was Apollo was supposed to be "You could say I'm the sun of a king" because its meant to look like a typo until the end is revealed.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I loved Wonder Woman as much Action Comics and Animal Man but have to agree with you. Azzarello thinks Wonder Woman origin is as much common knowledge as Batman's or Superman's and it simply isn't. This is going to be a little harder for the average new reader.
I loved how they rebooted the Greek Gods though, in making them more like their mythological counterparts rather then their statues. Who knows we might get Hades calling himself Pluton and actually being the nicest of the gods and have Ares be a cowardly joke of a villain like he was in mythology.
I can't wait until you fully review Redhood and the Outlaws.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j3XYIHtTCI --> very disappointed with the reason of removing Lian.
Arnoldoaad said...
ReplyDelete"and Star, whatever you want to admit it or not, since she was created, she has have a really strong focus of fanservice"
There's a difference between having a "focus of fanservice" and being NOTHING but fanservice.
The former allows that there might be some good characterization. The latter pretty much precludes any characterization that is not rather ugly and generally spotlights some terrible gender politics.
For example, the original, Golden Age Catwoman! She was originally created as a seductive femme fatale antagonist for Batman.
However . . . she was ALSO a very competent thief and master of disguise, so much so that she wasn't even KNOWN as a woman until she went against Batman . . . and, iirc had never been witnessed until that introductory story, either. She was so good, she even managed to get away at the end, although whether Batman LET her or not is still an open question. In other words, there were other character hooks beyond "seductive femme fatale."
This new Starfire . . . doesn't have those additional character hooks. She's essentially a realdoll. A living, breathing, FLYING realdoll who can blast tanks, but a realdoll nonetheless. She could have been replaced with any number of generic females and nothing would have been changed.
In Wonder Woman I don't think the big bad is Ares as the god mentions Hera isn't his mum. Ares, Hebe, Eris/Discord, and Eileithyia (and sometimes Enyo) are the bio kids of Zeus and Hera (Hepheastus is also a son of Hera but er he has no father. *lol*)
ReplyDeleteAnd WTF was with Hermes' feet?? Eagle feet?? WTF?
Hmm, I can't shake the feeling that you're going into this reboot the wrong way. You almost seem to want to go into these issues all grumpy because you dislike the concept of the reboot itself and it taints the whole thing from the start. And the funny thing, when you get to the individual titles you actually have a lot of positive things to say about them, a lot more than negative things in fact.
ReplyDeleteBut it can be easy to overlook because it starts off on the wrong foot.
I just hope that the casual/non-comic readers among your fans won't loose their enthusiasm about the New 52 before they give it a try :(
Personally, as someone who isn't exactly new to comics but hasn't followed any DC heroes save Gail Simone's Wondy and the Secret Six (thanks btw ;) with any regularity for a looooong time, and certainly not trough single issues, my experience so far has been fantastic. Yes there's some crap (like Red Hood. No argument on bashing that one, good lord that was awful) and I haven't read everything, but stuff like Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Batman, Batwoman, Action Comics, Animal Man, Demon Knights, Green Lantern or Justice League International has been absolutely brilliant IMHO.
In fact I can't even remember a time when I've last been this exited about American comics.
I will say this about Spider-Island. MJ and JJJ with Spider-Powers.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm throwing my hat in with the Avengers Academy crowd. There's a damn good reason why people are saying it's the best Avengers title out right now. There's one next week (Though it's the 2nd to last issue of an arc so it may be in the middle of madness) so you could try it then or wait til Issue 21 when the new status quo is set.
You're missing moments like:
http://www.comicvine.com/mettle/29-69913/all-images/108-356384/meme/105-1630401/
and amazing covers like
http://www.comicvine.com/mettle/29-69913/all-images/108-356384/avnaca013_cov_02/105-1671694/
Just saying, out of all the Marvel stuff right now, this book is may appeal to you.
I was just wondering. You might want to check out Captain America & Bucky. Brubaker has been doing some amazing stuff on that book since the title change. Also if you plan on review Captain America #1 during secret origins it well give you all the information you need toknow about the changes made to origin (mostly with Bucky, whos has become one of my favorite heroes since his return).
ReplyDeleteWow, I was expecting to hate Jason Todd and the Outlaws, and your quick run down pretty much confirms every single fear I had about it.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm certain there are many, MANY fans who agree with you.
Before it's release, the COVER alone really irked me. Why would Dick's allies EVER team up with Jason Todd? Why?
And then when I heard that Arsenal and Starfire would both have their pasts wiped clean in order for this team up to make any kind of sense, I knew it wouldn't go over well with anyone.
But how the hell do you establish a character's history in your relaunch, but at the same time give the character amnesia as an excuse to make them a vapid porn star? Seriously?
Damn, I was expecting it to be bad, but not nearly this bad.
Here's hoping to see the AT4W episode if you actually do it.
The only two issues this week I read was Blue Beetle #1 and Birds of Prey #1.
ReplyDeleteBlue Beetle #1: The only exposure I have to character beforehand has been what my sister told me from her reading of pass books. That being said I actually really enjoyed this issue. I felt as a new reader it was a quite effective introduction to the characters.
Birds of Prey #1: One word: Meh. Again another title I never read before but according to my sister who was introduced to comics by being given a copy of one of the Birds of Prey books written by Gail Simone, it should have left you thinking "I may not know what is going on, but I want more!" This was... just meh. None of the characters really interested me, the plot didn't interest me. The one thing that kind of peaked my interest is apparently the woman driving what looks kind of like a 37' Pontiac, Starling, that was her first appearance. If you are introducing an all new character, introduce her. All I know about her is she has issues with trashing churches and is going for some sort of diesel punk look I think.
Overall, liked Blue Beetle, was really disappointed with Birds of Prey.
Also is it just me or is "Waldo" losing her red color? I wonder if that means something or just lazy coloring in the two issues I read.
left some comments about wondy and Red Hood, on your BLip page then found that it had all been covered on this page, ah well.
ReplyDeleteWith Starfire its worth repeating though that a character who cannot see humans as more than sensual diversions cannot have any human empathy, by definition she has to be a sociopath.
Wasn't to impressed with Supergirl, ( And I'm a massive Kara fan). Honestly it felt like an inferior version of the Loeb version to me.In Particular her apparent amnesia and obvious devotion to her Father.
I hated the new costume, which seems more stripperific from the waist down that the Churchill mini ever was, ( note how the red crotchplate, tastefully leaves her uncovered from waist to her knee high boots). The other thing I disliked was how Earthgirlish her inner monologue was, I got no sense she was from another planet at all.
I agreed with you on just about everything, except for Captain Atom. I was bored with the whole thing, and so far it's the only book I don't intend to follow.
ReplyDeleteI know you probably get tons of comic reccomendations, especially from Marvel fans trying to get you to read something, but I have to reccomend the new Daredevil series. It's by Mark Waid, and it's honestly a lot of fun. I also enjoy their portrayal of the character outside of his costume. Issue #4 came out this week, and it starts a new story arc if you're at all interested.
Devil's advocate argument:
ReplyDeleteWhat if they reveal further down the road that this "Starfire" is actually
Blackfire? would that improve things at all?
IMO probably not because its still a lousy story with unnecessary T&A to hook the readers but it could give some hope for the future.
Lewis, we're definitely of one mind on Red Hood and the Outlaws: I thought the key premise was great (because I was expecting a cheery, happy Starfire who would deflate some of the pompousness of Jason Todd) so I was expecting a good series. I had been warned, so I was expecting a bad series. What I wasn't prepared for was a series with decent art, and some good interaction between Jason and Arsenal, and then some of the most mind-blowingly sexist, misogynist, and basically terrible depictions of a female character I'd ever seen. Christ, I thought Lobdell had been writing comics for a while, what made him think this was in any way okay?
ReplyDeleteLewis Lovhaug said...
ReplyDelete"Honestly? I'm not that big on Greek mythology. I know SOME basics, I know some names, but beyond that I'm not that well-knowledgable."
That's a shame. We get our word "epic" from the Greek, and with good reason.
Em I the only one who thinks that Jason Todd deserves to live?
ReplyDeleteI seriously hate hoe people are treating him.
Anyway, definitely enjoyed Wonder Woman the most out of this DC bunch
Azarello knows how to tell a story
After watching that vid, i feel a lot more comfortable about the Lian thing, because his logic is he's a lot younger because of the reboot. With Roy this young, he doesn't want him to have a kid right now. It makes sense. It doesn't mean he won't bring Lian back down the road... WHEN HE'S OLDER.
ReplyDeleteAnd the Kori thing could work down the road if he uses this as an opportunity to build her from the ground up, give new readers the chance to see her evolve into the classic Kori. Just blame her current personality on the amnesia. Everything wrong with her personality? Side-effect of the amnesia. And as she gets her memory back, I think we'll start seeing the Kori we love. Scott is actually pretty good with developing characters over time, it was what he did best back with X-Men. I find it hard to believe the guy who did such a great job bringing Generation X to life could make such an unemotional, vapid, out-of-character Kori unless it was intentional for story purposes.
On a side note, HOLY CRAP does Lobdell have a lot of videos on Mahalo! 6 monthes ago, the guy had disappeared off the face of the Earth since his last work on the X-Men back in 2001, and now he's got a ton of vids. You should check em out Linkara. Even if it doesn't change your opinion on his writing, it could be good research for a RHatO #1 review
ReplyDeleteI have read the new Legion of Superheroes and will post a review to my own blog but agree with you
ReplyDeleteThis guy has a winey little schoolboy voice and cries a lot about how bad comics are. If you dislike them so much, stop buying and reading them DUMBASS! Take your own advice, never mind how many secret organizations there are and STOP WINiIN' YOU FRUITCAKE!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou voice makes me want to punch you in the face!
nice job as always. I agree with you on the Legion of the Superheroes. and the other comics as well. This week for DC was a let down
ReplyDeleteWell done, Linkara! I continue to appreciate you buying and reviewing all of the new 52 so that folks like me can save our cash for the better books.
ReplyDeleteI, too, lament the loss of the well-written done-in-one issue. DC really should've treated this the same way as the Free Comic Book Day books, where the story has to be self-contained. I thought that DCU Presents would have to be by virtue of the fact that it's an anthology book, but somehow they seem to have found a way around that. Heck, even two- or three-issue arcs would seem exciting compared to the glacial pace of most of these books.
As for secret organizations, is anyone keeping a scoreboard of all of them and where they get their funds/who they report to? I kind of hope that the first crossover is just a huge war between all of the secret organizations to see who gets next year's funding.
While I share your overall opinion of Wonder Woman #1, I don't think a book's first issue needs to set up a character's origin. As long as the reader understands who the hero is, what s/he stands for, and what makes him/her super, that's plenty for an introduction. Better to spend the first issue demonstrating the character's personality and behavior than bogging it down with explanations of where his/her powers came from. At most, all Wonder Woman needed was a one-sentence caption box along the lines of "Sculpted from clay and given life by the Greek gods, Princess Diana of Themyscira fights to protect the innocent as WONDER WOMAN!" After all, most of the in-story world has no idea how the members of the Justice League got their powers. They only know that they are awesome, because the heroes are out there proving themselves every day.
Why did they make Jason's hair dark again. It was red in Batman and Robin, he said he just stopped dyeing it. Did they just not want three redheads on the same team.
ReplyDeleteI only know Starfire from the Titans cartoon. I tried to imagine the cartoon character in place of this Starfire and nearly made myself sick.
Looking forward to the Red Hood and the Outlaws review, Lewis. Will you be covering Marvel anytime soon on "That's all I'm saying"?
ReplyDeleteI had NO idea that pulled that crap with Starfire 'til today.
ReplyDeleteBut yes, I'll cut Jason more slack, but c'mon, what the hell were they thinking? That having a compassionate foil would be less interesting than a sex robot? Sheesh. But I digress, hope things get better on your end sir!
You know, I love how...
ReplyDeleteA) Scott Lobdell apparently decided that, because editorial forced him to use Starfire (which he didn't want to do), he would get revenge by completely and utterly destroying her character, and...
B) When I went on a very angry rant about how Starfire was what got me INTO comics in the first place, and how they'd completely and utterly ruined her over on scans_daily, since, by the time I was done typing it, people had moved from screaming in anger to trying to claim that the "can't remember humans and can hardly tell them apart" thing is actually a hook for an ongoing story and that the sluttiness was actually a depiction of a "sex-positive woman who retains her own sexual agency," I ended up getting yelled at and officially warned by the mods over it.
Yeah, I'm *really* pissed off over this, although it's not the burning "push someone in front of a bus" rage I felt when I first saw it last night...
While I can't say I approve of the change in Starfire, I can at least say she doesn't have amnesia. They noted she has a short attention span when it comes to humans, so after a while, she just forgets about them, because it wasn't important to her.
ReplyDeleteI should note, I hate this, it's idiotic, and it not only ruins Starfire, it also messes up Nightwing. Honestly, do you really think he would have had the relationship he had with her, if she was like that around him? (mind you Todd is another thing. I could see him trying to sleep with her, just to get under Dick's skin)
Hey Lewis did you get New Teen Titans Games? if so what did you think of it?
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any of these issues, but there's an interesting article here that agrees with your thoughts on Starfire and Catwoman:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/09/22/starfire-catwoman-sex-superheroine/
Hi Lewis,
ReplyDeleteAs a big reader of the Teen Titans back in the 80's, this new SINO (Starfire in name only) really pissed me off . . . then it confused me. If she has a "short attention span" that wouldn't just apply to Earth would it? Than means she shouldn't be able to remember being a slave, and wouldn't be "not a big fan of soldiers," etc. =D
I thought Batman #1 was really fun, although my daughter looked over my shoulder and commented that Batman was collecting a bunch of ever-younger clones. They all do kinda look alike, don't they?
Birds of Prey, like the Justice League, has a full group shot (presumably), but only has two of them in the book. Very weird.
Blue Beetle felt like it went too far backward. This is the one that should have just continued on IMHO. I agree that the interview comment about him NOT telling his friends/family is just wrong. I also felt that him sneaking out to the party didn't seem in character...buuut I guess this is a slightly new character (different writers, different actions and all that).
I loved Captain Atom back in the 80's - early 90's (yeah, I'm a lapsed geek, I started buying comics again after watching your show). So I did like this one, but I had a couple of questions. Is the timer a measure of how long he's been empowered? And is he the same character? They don't mention his name at all (except Captain Atom).
I did like Deadman, I agree he's usually a secondary character, but for a brief 2-3 issue run I think it will be good. Bernard Chang was at my comic book store yesterday as I was buying my stack of DCnU and he's a pretty cool guy.
Nightwing's eyes are red when he turns on his IR (maybe nightvision) through his mask (like he does in the first fight). I don't know why he'd turn that on leaping down at that awkward angle on the cover though. I really liked the scene in his loft though, emphasizing the differences between him and Bruce - like the "costume display" as he's picking up his costume off the floor.
I'm a total geek for Greek mythology, so I really liked Wonder Woman (except shouldn't Diana have had her bracelets on already? I didn't think the Amazons could remove them.)
Supergirl was really decompressed. There was good initial character development, and this does show us that Superman will improve (he's almost like his real self here). =D I also loved how they placed this at the same time as Bird of Prey and Nightwing.
I've been a fan of the Legion since junior high school (missed the reboot and the threeboot though). So I was looking forward to the Legion and Legion Lost. But you're right, this felt like we've come into the middle of an arc here.
I started reading Green Lantern with the Blackest Night Event trades. This one was pretty good (gore factor aside - is all that ick really necessary to the story?) They nailed Guy's personality perfectly. And I loved the reaction of the other GL's to him.
Just wanted to share my thoughts. I'm really getting nervous about what DC is going to do to the Titans now.
When you announced you saved the worst comic for last, I had to groan because "Red Hood" was pretty much one of the two comics I was looking forward to. The other being "Teen Titans." Gotta follow the Robins (Yes I bought B&R & I'll buy Nightwing).
ReplyDeleteI know you'll completely disagree with this but I was disappointed that Starfire was even IN this comic because I have NEVER liked her character. I found her annoying in the cartoon and to be honest, her outfit in the comic bothers me. I don't have an emotional attachment to her because I followed the current Teen Titans team, not the old team so I never really cared.
As a Robin fan though, I'm disgusted that she's now slept with two. She had better stay away from Tim!
I have been sharing my feelings as well with my friends (via e-mail and chat) and, except for Red hood, we have different views on the books. I like that. Now I can share with my friends my ideas and yours.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, there is only one thing I can say about Red Hood that you did not. ANTI-LIFE JUSTIFYS MY HATE!
It's rather annoying to see "secret organizations" used like this. One of the reasons I liked the plot of Deus Ex was how it had multiple organizations that made sense to exist in the same world. Some are characterized as opposing off-shoots of one another (MJ12 off the Illuminati), created to counter existing ones (Silhouette, X-51) and as sub-divisions of existing groups (Men in Black to MJ12). None of the groups are all powerful and do suffer set-backs.
ReplyDeleteHey Lewis, you do know that Darkwing Duck is canceled, right? Ends with issue 18.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear the Entity didn't steal your keys!
At this point, I hope its revealed that Starfire's current personality is due to a botched brainwashing attempt by Todd. And who knows Linkara, since Todd is dumb enough to run around with a batman suit on, maybe Nightwing's story line will cross over, with the brainwashed Grayson slaying Todd while under the influence. All it takes is for someone to put the mask on Todd, as we know from comic history, brainwashed characters don't have the best perception. Mistakes tend to happen.
ReplyDeleteContrary to Jason's portrayal in every flashback, call-out, fake resurrection, zombie appearance and his final resurrection, he was a decent character. When he was Robin.
ReplyDeleteDon't let the propaganda and the hideous post-ressurection writing and retcons lead you down the primrose path in that regard, Linkara; he was going to die one way or another because the writing team wanted him dead (before ADitF, it was even floated that they might give him AIDS. I kid you not.) and that's even without taking the won't-be-confirmed spamming of the death call-in into account.
I admit I expected a little less buying into the "always was a bad seed" hype about Jason from you. The character's a bad mess now, but the snark that he always was and "there's a reason that he was voted to die" is a low shot and inaccurate to boot. Just because the new boot is an abomination is no need to toss the original baby out with the bathwater.
Starfire...what have they done to you?! Granted, I'm sure we can all agree that Starfire is a very sexualized character BUT there's sexualized and then theres downright slutty. Starfire may have been sexualized BUT SHE WAS NEVER SLUTTY!
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you how disappointed I am in Blue beetle. I loved the previous series for a lot of the same reasons you did and even with the same characters the writing just doesn't have any of the charm that made the last book so fun to read. Honestly judging from he first issue I suspect the new Ultimate Spider-Man is going to feel a lot closer to what I wanted out of Blue Beetle.
ReplyDeleteOn Wonder Woman, I was pretty interested in the story set up but it worries me that it isn't really about Wonder Woman. She is really just a plot device in Zola's story. When I first heard Azzarello was going to write Wonder Woman I did a double take. I really wanted to see how he was going to handle her. I'm afraid the answer might be that he just isn't. I'll keep reading since I think it will be a good story I just hope it turns into a Wonder Woman story at some point.
Completely agree on Red Hood. Apparently someone decided that one book in the relaunch needed to be tailor made to piss of everyone who liked Arsenal and Starfire even remotely.
ReplyDeleteJust wondering, have you tried Mark Waid's Daredevil? It's definitely one of Marvel's better current titles.
It's hard being a comic book fan & a prude at the same time. But oh double standards; a fictional woman raping a fictional man is unintentionally funny.
ReplyDeleteDarkwing Duck FTW.
I like Jason Todd, as a villain.
Don't like the changes to Firefox or Barbara Gordon.
Anyone else notice that the guy coming after nightwing is wolverine?
ReplyDeleteFor people saying it's Apollo who's supposed to replace Zeus: I understand the rationale behind it, but don't like the hint as it stands, because it fuels one of the misconceptions of the Greek gods that bugs me.
ReplyDeleteApollo is not the god of the sun. He is the god of light (among other things--the Swiss Army Knife of the gods) who would sometimes drive the chariot of the sun. However, Helios is the god of the sun. The reason why he doesn't show up much in the stories is because he's preoccupied being the sun and can't do aything else.
Also, I would think a logical successor to Ares would be someone more associated with him. Enyo is the goddess of war and Eris is the goddess of discord, and both could occupy the position--if it were not for the fact that the writers want this to be the god of war. Phobos and Deimos (fear and terror, repectively), Ares's sons, could work, sort of. But he and Enyo had a son named Enyalius who would be perfect, as he's the spawn of two war deities and would therefore be a great candidate for the position of god of war.
And I'm sad to hear Lobdell wrote such a bad book, because he was great on Generation X.
Wow this week's comics sound like real downers!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that Darkwing Duck had a modern comic-book!? I loved that cartoon growing up I need to find that TPB of it!
I haven't read any of these comcis you mentioned but from what little I read of the pannels you shown in the Red Hood book from what I understood(I do think there was a typo there) that Starfire isn't actually blind but she's metaphorically blind to anything that isn't native to her planet as in she's basically racist or speciest or a xenophobe. Like an American that is "blind" to other cultures! That acts like it's wierd how the Japanese act int heir own country and basically says they all look alike... that could exsplain why she can't tell humans apart! Now, I'm saying this as this is wha tI could pull out my ass from reading those 4-5 pannels you scanned for us! I ain't read the comic and might not as what you said!
I'm still curious of how somethings are the same and everything else has changed in the relaunch like the Green Lanterns and Jason Todd!?
What's up man sounds like you had a hell of a day there!?
I was curious of the Wonder Woman comic, but I'll take you at your word it ain't as great as it should've been!
PS: I find the idea of Catwoman raping Batman halarious as HELL!!! It ain't edgie but funny to me at least!
Also, when was this posted? I been checking on this site every couple hours I'm online and suddenly I'm on here there's a new video and over 60+ comments!
ReplyDelete"Also, am I the only one who thinks DC is trying to turn Jason Todd into Deadpool? If so, they're doing a piss poor job at it:
ReplyDeleteRoy: TANKS!
Jason: You're welcome.
Try harder, DC! XD"
I forgave the tanks pun because of the "If anything were to happen to you, I'd become the worst former sidekick in the world" line. But overall I thought the banter between Roy and Jason was excellent. And since I could honestly care less about Starfire's changes, seeing as I know nothing about her history, I thought it was a terrific book. Will definitely get issue 2.
Ok after reading threw other comments I've recalled some stuff I forgot to mention in my othe rpost!
ReplyDeleteI'm afriad to bring it up but the redesign for Nightwing's costume is based on the Batman & Robin 90s movie with the red version of the "Robin" logo on his chest and sholders! It looks creepily simular! And that might be because when they design that costume for that "movie" on the Nightwing costume from the comics at the time.
Someone mentioned Apollo(the god) as the villain in Wonder Woman which because I know more on the real mythology not the comic book version make since because Apollo was origionally played off in myth as a good guy, but looked at today by modern standards he'd be more of a villain because he was, like most gods, a known rapist and murderer. Actually by todays standards he's like the rich pampered hansome governor's son that can do no wrong to the point of covering up misdeeds!
On the subjest of multiple secret organizations I still think this can be fixed or repaired. As I'm sure that a new big event is coming up and a universe wide threat or something has to be done for this and I'm thinking it can be done latter on by showing alot of these "secret organizations" are all the same organization like the League of Shadows or something. I know a big event crossover is coming from all these new series because of the cloaked woman in each comic. A subject you've not talked upon yet, Mr. Lovhaug. She connects everything and that has to lead somewhere down the line. I'm sure it's going to be something like the Amalgam universe with them hunting for her in hopes of X! X=whatever they choise to do after they use this year as a testing grounds for this new series. wheither that be add the old canon back in or contenue as is but dropping off the dead wieght which will likely be all that you've mentioned here as plain bad or just not worth going on with!
Ok, hopefully all that I've said is makes since and is not a bunch of gibberish! I'm writing this in a hurry hoping I make a decent point or arguement.
I'm beginning to lose interest in pick up a lot of the traditional super hero comics now. I'm pretty much trade waiting on Captain America stuff as well as Deadpool. The only book I'm actively going out to buy is Uncanny X-Force.
ReplyDeleteOther than that I find myself picking up "Non-super hero" comics, like Men at War because I'm cool with that and I've also been trying to find issues of Godzilla and I'm interested in gathering up the Ninja Turtles series that's being released now.
Everything else I'm blah on, maybe it's the DC reboot making me feel like I wasted my time trying to keep up with everything. Maybe it's the fact some of the books aren't as good. I still enjoy a good comic when it comes out, but I can't bring myself to fall in line for a lot of these stories.
I'm highly scpetical of the new Teen Titans, it all seems so 90's dark age. Everyone's wearing black and red and that one new character looks like something early Image would've created.
I'd tell ya not to dispair, but I'm not so sure I care as much as I did anymore. There's nothing I can do about it, I'm accepting the New 52, but like you I just can't like it. I can only like a few individual books and it's sad because I don't want to hate them. I want to like them. But they're making it so hard!
Anyway, I know there are still some good comics coming out. I'm just not as into supers as much now, not cause I no longer like them, it's because theres just nothing good coming out involving them.
I think so far some of the best comics I've read this year were not superhero comics. IDWs Infestation was an amazing Crossover of epic proportions! By the way Lewis have you read it? The first volume is in trade now.
Anyway I'm just gonna try and weather all thios. Maybe things will look up soon. By the by Lewis, did you happen to run into a comic called "The Big Lie" last week when you were picking up your comics? I'm not sure it would be a good idea for a At4W review, mostly because of all the shit from truthers you'd no doubt get, but I do kinda wanna know if you at least spotted it.
"This guy has a winey little schoolboy voice and cries a lot about how bad comics are. If you dislike them so much, stop buying and reading them DUMBASS! Take your own advice, never mind how many secret organizations there are and STOP WINiIN' YOU FRUITCAKE!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou voice makes me want to punch you in the face!"
U mad, bro?
"This guy has a winey little schoolboy voice and cries a lot about how bad comics are. If you dislike them so much, stop buying and reading them DUMBASS! Take your own advice, never mind how many secret organizations there are and STOP WINiIN' YOU FRUITCAKE!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou voice makes me want to punch you in the face!"
Don't mind him Lewis. He's just upset that he is a troll...and YOU ARE A MAN!
In all seriousness Daredevil is fucking amazing right now Lewis if you ever want to get back into Marvel comics.
ReplyDeleteI got back into comics thanks to this relaunch but I still don't get how this is a reboot. Everything but a few titles seems nothing like fresh starts and reference alot of past story-lines like Batgirl and Batwoman.
Also I must be the hundredth person who asked you this but have you checked out Tiger & Bunny on Hulu? Its great and really seems like your type of show.
I'm not much of a comic reader (most of what I know of the Marvel and DC universes is through the TV series and reading issues packaged with action figures.) but as a fan of the Ninja Turtles I have been reading the new IDW series, which is on it's second issue. Why do I mention that here? Because, like you said about Supergirl #1, TMNT is definitely written for the trade. Maybe it's because the last series I regularly read was several years ago, (that and I've begun to track down Marvel's What If's, because they're fun "one and done" comics) but the issues seem to just get good by the time they are finished. I know the last 2 months with Turtles I've been wanting more. Granted IDW released an ashcan with about 1/2 of issue one in it at Comic Con, and they showed a preview of issue 2 online days before it hit the stands, but 20 pages just seems to tell less and less story these days. Am I wrong?
ReplyDeleteConcerning Starfire and Catwoman, here are my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteIf I was a writer, and partnered with an artist, I'd want to try my hardest to keep the readers attention. I want them to pay attention to my writing, and the artists entire art, not just a part of it. I wouldn't want them to stare at an ass or cleavage and barely remember what the comic was about.
Though it's obvious why we still see obvious ass and cleavage shots. Companies obviously want to attract as many people as they can, so why not slip in a little panty shot here and there? Why not go further and have a huge cleavage staring at you? Surely it'll bring in a larger audience. If I was a respectable writer/artist, I would NOT want those people as my audience.
This isn't to say these shots should never be disallowed. If I was an artist, I'd probably use said shots to imply the sexual nature of a character if they were like Starfire was portrayed. But I'd use it as maybe an introduction, or at least do it more subtly. And when important things are going on, I wouldn't want those shots, because they shouldn't be the focus, the story and art should be.
Women like Starfire and Catwoman do exist, but to take that tiny part of their character and spread it all over the book without a thought is wrong, and it makes them look like sex-crazed bimbo's.
I bought Catwoman #1 today, got to the ending, and in tradition of Linkara, burned it (though I went for a more 90's extreme route to burning it). I've been a Marvel Zombie for 12 years, and while Marvel certainly isn't free from these acts either, this was DC's big chance to show they grew up, and a chance for me to get back into them. I'm sad to say that they're making it very tough.
So that's what they've done to Starfire?
ReplyDeleteI had trouble evoking enough profanities for my reaction to that, so I started thinking up new ones. It's now become a fun game, and probably a better use of time than reading most of these books.
Teen Titans is the first comic I remember being 'in to', so I can only hope Donna Troy is one of the characters who got abandoned..
The funnist thing to me about this whole Starfire thing is I've seen and read "adult" comics based on the comicbook version of her not the TV show version that did her character more "justice" than this comic mentioned here.
ReplyDeleteNow, that I think about it I've seen better "adult" Fanfics of Batman and Catwoman hooking up! And I don't mean this is just a series of "adult" artwork I mean these were well written "doushinji" of mainstream comicbook characters.
Is that sad or funny that a person doing a comic completely for free, and for "wanking" matterial for *beeps* online, does a better job than the guys being paid to actually write the character!? Becaus eI don't know!
Playing the devil's advocate here, perhaps Starfire is going through a character arch, namely part of a process of character development. If not then it signals a change to a female more fully in charge of her sexuality - she did make the first move.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I do not think Catwoman raped Batman - she is a capable fighter, but not enough to overpower Batman.
I also enjoyed Jason Todd when he first reappeared and served a foil for Batman, not his later pitiful stalker story. Surly, violent character types can have their appeal, i.e. Wolverine. Should the Todd of the Outlaws series follow the earlier model, rather than the later model, I will be following it.
Whoa, I didn't pick up Catwoman or The Outlaws, glad I passed (I needed money to buy the second issue of the IDW/Nickelodeon TMNT relaunch.) Catwoman in particular is shocking as the Batman in all the other Bat books is being written as the disciplined professional he's always been. Sex in the bat suit? After the way Damian was conceived?
ReplyDeleteSelina is a pretty good match for him since she can take care of herself, but you'd think they'd hook up as civilians. Bruce does NOT make Bat Booty calls (dynamic Neal Adams drawing of Bats kissing Silver Saint Cloud not withstanding.) What did he tell Damian? "You can't go out on patrol with me tonight. Daddy is trying to score." Bruce never wanted kids to orphan, but now that he's aware of Damian he's trying to be a good dad. Using the suit to score is not setting a good example. (Quick thought on the DCnU thus far: most books are either boring, incomprehensible or just plain bad. The good is REALLY good but a small minority overall.)
Sorry to hear you were disappointed by Blue Beetle. It might just be the fact that my experience with his character is in Batman: Brave and the Bold, but I liked it and I will definetly be getting this, Batman, Demon Knights and DC Presents.(I dunno about Marvel, X-Men got to confusing and my sentiments with Spiderman are shared with you).
ReplyDeleteBUT THANKS FOR PLUGGING Darkwing Duck, I've been reading that since I heard they were making new Disney books
Sorry Linkara, but now I just have the urge to slap you repeatedly until your face bleeds
ReplyDeleteI expected you'd be smarter than to beleave the bullshit people said about Jason over the years
His death was done purely for the publicity, and the voting was quite likely rigged
Just a little reminder of what Jason Todd was REALLY like
http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/11757.html?thread=203501
I always assumed that Jason's current persona was due to his use of the Lazarus pit, rather than a representation of his original personality
Kicking you in the crotch and gauging your eyes out
good night
Man I was reading Moby Dick the other day and that hack Melville didn't introduce the main characters entire life story in the first chapter or hell the first few pages. What a terrible way to start a long running thing for new people.
ReplyDeleteThis is what your take on Wonder Woman sounds like.
"Man I was reading Moby Dick the other day and that hack Melville didn't introduce the main characters entire life story in the first chapter or hell the first few pages. What a terrible way to start a long running thing for new people.
ReplyDeleteThis is what your take on Wonder Woman sounds like."
Moby Dick is a self-contained novel of several hundred pages, but the ENTIRETY of the story is contained within it and you can get it for, oh, I don't know, 8 bucks or so, maybe more depending on the edition. The entire thing is there and yours as soon as you purchase it, requiring nothing more than just the one book.
Wonder Woman #1 was a 24-page comic book in a serial format that wants you to keep picking up the next issue on a monthly basis. It cost $3 and each subsequent issue is going to cost another $3 in order to get the next part of the story. While this issue did a better job of being a self-contained single issue than others, it was still the first part of an ongoing storyline that will continue for the next several months.
Wonder Woman, both the concept and the character, is not 160 years old and has not had numerous adaptations, literary allusions made in other popular works of fiction, and the general story itself ingrained in people's minds to the point where pretty much anyone can mention a single character or line and know where it came from. Moby Dick is also not the first issue of a company-wide continuity relaunch that is meant to gain new readers to its entire stable of books as well as reinvigorate a franchise.
If that's not clear enough, allow me to explain: different medium, different story, bad analogy.
If you disagree with me on how a comic should be presented, that's fine. Several people have already posted that they don't mind the lack of an origin story or the like and you should notice I didn't care to respond to any of them because it's a simple disagreement.
You'll also note that in the video that I did not say the comic was bad, simply that I don't think they did what I felt they SHOULD have done, both as a first issue as well as for gaining new readers.
Good day to you.
Thinking of you when I saw this.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.fempop.com/2011/09/22/inside-scott-lobdells-revolutionary-attack-on-comic-book-sexism/
I want to see the 90's Kid reviewing Red Hood and The Outlaws instead of Linkara, only the awesomeness teenage minds of the end of the 20th Century can understand and fully appreciate the genius behind this comic. You are awesome but your voice reviews are becaming too edgy.
ReplyDeleteI still, STILL, cannot take her seriously because of her dumb costume.... I cannot take anyone serious who wears panties. The story was great and the art was awesome, but I couldn't finish it because frankly Diana looked ridiculous. So, this is a definite pass for me, and no, still not interested in reading about Wonder Woman. Change her awful costume and then maybe I can take Wonder Woman seriously....
ReplyDeleteConcerning Catwoman and how some people don't find her attractive: I might find her physically attractive, but the problem is that she's a criminal. a VILLAINS! And they pair her with Batman, the guy who takes down villains. WTF?
ReplyDeleteAnd yet she gets her own comic. Double WTF?
RocMegamanX said...
ReplyDeleteConcerning Catwoman and how some people don't find her attractive: I might find her physically attractive, but the problem is that she's a criminal. a VILLAINS! And they pair her with Batman, the guy who takes down villains. WTF?
And yet she gets her own comic. Double WTF?
Well as far as her relationship with Batman, I think they had a sexual relationship ever since the "Hush" storyline. Imho though I prefer Bruce hook up with Wonder Woman, one because I enjoyed the writers of the Justice League series teasing such a relationship. Two, and Linkara might not like for this, a particular scene during the Blackest Night event.And take this in consideration of this scene, Aphrodite herself brought up this particular fantasy in Diana's head to cure of being a black lantern, into a temporary member of the Star Sapphire core.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NGbtReZsY6Q/S0UQAc83u6I/AAAAAAAAASQ/mHoNPpNXLPM/s1600/Blackest%2BNight%2B-%2BWonder%2BWoman%2B%232%2B020.jpg
If Starfire sees humans as "little more than sights and smells", wouldn't that make her deaf?
ReplyDeleteYou know what, screw it. Nothing in that book is worth thinking about twice.
Unless you're completely ignorant about Greek mythology (which you apparently are) I can't see what's not to love about Wonder Woman. Wondie's been broken for years. She never sold the way a character with her name recognition should, she never got to hold onto her continuity, and she kept being saddled with the worst parts of her early comics, stuff we giggle about with Batman and Superman now.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the character will actually be in a terrific comic that will sell instead of some invisible jet whiny fanboy fantasy.
"'Starfire is not blind, she 'doesn't see humans as much more than sights and smells', meaning that, as a different species, she doesn't consider humans worth of her attention. That does raise some other questions though, like why does she have sex with humans, if they are so alien to her.'
ReplyDeleteAnd that is moronic, since they clearly establish that she HAS a history in the DCU, including with the Titans and had a relationship with Dick Grayson, as in pretty much saying that all the stuff that happened in New Teen Titans HAPPENED. This person, whoever the hell she is, is NOT Starfire. She is incapable of forming emotional relationships with others and exists solely to be fap material. She has truly become the adolescent male fantasy - a beautiful woman with improbable proportions who will have sex with you without any strings attached and even be the one to suggest it.
It's disgusting and disrespectful to her character."
Right, but you seem to be saying in the show, Linkara, that she is physically blind. You spend a good minute or two criticizing the comic for how it handles that. I'm not sure how you would even arrive at that conclusion. It really makes me question your capacity as a reviewer if you start pointing out inconsistencies that don't exist. The comic is sexist, yeah, but it doesn't have any plot holes about blindness.
Agreed with your review of Red Hood and the Outlaws #1, Lewis, and it's definitely deserving a future ATFW episode all it's own.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly enough, there’s a Bleeding Cool article in which an anonymous DC staffer explained what was going on behind the scenes the day before release:
“There were a handful of staff, mostly other women, who believed the writer was trying to equate being a strong woman with being, frankly, a slut. No one said that the writer was misogynistic, just that perhaps he was writing from a male perspective. It was firmly suggested to him that he could accentuate the character’s past as a sex slave. And that this might be an explanation for her sexuality, that she was acting out in her new life.”
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/09/22/behind-the-scenes-on-starfire-and-red-hood-and-the-outlaws-1/
Also on the Bleeding Cool forums about this article, a commentator claims that this was an actual Twitter exchange between Scott Lobdell and Gail Simone:
Scott Lobdell: Why didn’t you WARN me?
Gail Simone: I DID warn you, I said your Kory sucked!
Scott Lobdell: Well, that’s certainly an opinion!
Blue beetle is the first book in the DCnU that I [i]REALLY[/i] wish was just a continuation on the original. They just seem to be doing a re-tred of the last book, only blander. A lot of the apsects that were great the original look like they're going out the window. His openess about the powers, relationship with the old beetles (who most likely have been erased from history), and his thing with Traci 13, peacemaker, and the reach. Despite that I still will read it because I do want it to do good, and am interested in his dealing with the Lanterns and Brotherhood. And I'm probably jumping the gun a bit. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed and really, I'm going to look for stuff by the writer of the first book now.
ReplyDeleteSo, Keep on doing your thing Lewis! I can safely say that my life has taken a new direction since I started watching your show (Jan 09 I was incredibly insecure with my interest in comics and nerd-dom, and getting into comics seemed like a daunting task anyway. And I'm now going to school in hopes of being a comic artist one day.) and 'that's all I'm saying' is a great new show!
As a Jason Todd fan, I am SO going to enjoy ripping into Red Hood and thee Outlaws in my own review, mostly because Starfire and Roy are idiots.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was okay when I read it the first time though, I realized just how horrible 2/3 of the comic is and how it gets the award for Worst Characterization for Two Established characters EVER!"
It's so easy to make fun of this comic. No doubt Lewis will pick up anything I miss in my video review, not that I could miss very much, it IS a terrible issue if you love Roy and Kori. Jason's the only saving grace of the entire thing.
Going to have to disagree with your comments on Red Hood and Catwoman.
ReplyDeleteFor Red Hood as someone not overly familiar with DC canon at all I liked it. While Starfire felt wrong to me the rest of the story did catch my interest. The characters came across as intriguing at the very least, and I do want to read more about them and see where things go. Was it the best comic ever? No, but my interest was caught.
In regards to the Catwoman, 'rape' scene as you put it that wasn't rape at all. Batman at any point could've used any one of a few zillion techniques to get away from her. He didn't. She seduced him yes, but that wasn't rape. Was it a strange and not so welcome addition to the story? Yes, I would've much rather it wasn't so in our faces by the art or was just referred to with captions but overall that didn't break my interest in the comics.
What is consistently pissing me off in this DC relaunch is the over the top liberal message. EVERY businessman is a villain, every woman is an activist, every African-American is a genius...Yawn. It's fine when this is balanced or not so in our face, but come on I'm expected to believe this is reality? Superman is the great socialist leader? Boring. Make it at least even, or better yet show both sides of politics have their good and evil sides but what we've gotten in this relaunch is just ick.
The only two books I've really really enjoyed have been Batgirl and Animal Man thus far, and that's kind of disappointing for me. The Batman books have all been pretty OK but I'm not going to give DC money for them. And I didn't at all like the two new introduced heroes, though you did so meh.
"
ReplyDeleteRight, but you seem to be saying in the show, Linkara, that she is physically blind. You spend a good minute or two criticizing the comic for how it handles that. I'm not sure how you would even arrive at that conclusion. It really makes me question your capacity as a reviewer if you start pointing out inconsistencies that don't exist. The comic is sexist, yeah, but it doesn't have any plot holes about blindness."
Which was a mistake I had upon reading the book. I had misread it as saying she only had "smells and sounds," when in reality it said sights. When I saw it said sights, I included the visuals asking then why she had difficulty telling two humans apart if she could see just fine. If she had trouble differentiating the sights, that'd be something, but they don't say how it works other than the vague statement of "sights and smells," which could mean anything.
"Interestingly enough, there’s a Bleeding Cool article in which an anonymous DC staffer explained what was going on behind the scenes the day before release:"
ReplyDeleteIf it's true, which I'm inclined to believe it is, I'll give Lobdell credit that he didn't want to portray her as a victim and having her want to be promiscuous because of her time in slavery would be HORRENDOUS and even worse than what we got.
However, what we got was still dreadful and it should have been stopped a lot sooner. And I've seen Gail confirm the conversation between her and Lobdell. This is why it's important to listen to a voice of reason in times like these. XD
"However, what we got was still dreadful and it should have been stopped a lot sooner".
ReplyDeleteWhat was dreadful on what we saw so far in this story concerning Starfire ? What did you saw that a guy like me didn't ?
For me looks like you are ranting for the sake of ranting and why like when you rant with at least a few reasonable explanations, you left the rant for the end but i guess there are worst books to standing ranting against and burn.
By the way, did you buy it and read it all those books, you just zap through pages on your local comic book store or do you guys have libraries available for free reading just like we have in Brazil specific for comics ?
"This is the same writer that's going do Teen Titans. My favorite character (Tim Drake) is going to be written by this guy. Oh boy, Sept 28th is going to be fun."
ReplyDeleteOh, Lobdell gets to take the massive character-destroying cake all around. After reading Superboy, and being thoroughly spoiled for Outlaws (mine is in the mail, I don't know if I'll be able to bring myself to read it), I am very, very afraid for Tim. If this man can turn Starfire into an emotionless sex toy, and somehow decide that "human physiology + kryptonian physiology = EVERY CELL HAS ITS OWN INDIVIDUAL MIND!!", there's no way he's getting Tim right.
Which is sad, because in my mind Tim Drake is a character that has needed careful handling ever since he began to crack after Identity Crisis. Done well, he's a sympathetic, good character. Handled wrong, though, and suddenly he'll be in a book rivaling Rise of Arsenal for it's sheer "edgy" stupidity. I don't have a lot of hope for Lobdell comprehending that. Or anything.
I fear for any character we see in these three books. Lobdell has horrified me on pretty much every page.
"What was dreadful on what we saw so far in this story concerning Starfire ? What did you saw that a guy like me didn't ?
ReplyDeleteFor me looks like you are ranting for the sake of ranting and why like when you rant with at least a few reasonable explanations, you left the rant for the end but i guess there are worst books to standing ranting against and burn."
They turned a character who had a rich personality and love of life and those around her, someone bristling with emotion and compassion for all those she knew and cared about into a person who lacks emotional depth, engages in heavy amounts of sex for no other reason than to titillate male readers, cannot form emotional connections with people, the memory of the proverbial goldish, and lacks love and compassion.
"By the way, did you buy it and read it all those books, you just zap through pages on your local comic book store or do you guys have libraries available for free reading just like we have in Brazil specific for comics ?"
I bought and read all the books.
"I bought and read all the books".
ReplyDeleteThat's insanely expensive even for North American standards i guess, i hope the Justice Society of TGWTG keep giving you a big pay check, for me is impossible trying to do half of this acquisition, thanks god for Ahmed, Boris, Hu Tsei and the Kazakstany free servers, keep the uploads going on camarades.
Meanwhile about Starfire i still believe you are overreacting, let's see the next 12 issues and see if we can get some character development on her, after all she is finally being portraited as the alien she was always have meant to be.
P.S.: 76 comic book read per month ??? Good Lord you should be on the Guinness Book, the powers that be must have being either very merciful with you or really cruel with IronLiz when they weld your paths together. It's not a surprise why guys like you and Spoony take so many pills and medication. No offense young brown ranger (you are always wearing brown clothes), just pointing the facts.
@Damien
ReplyDeleteMy other problem with Catwoman is that I can't think of any GOOD thing that she had done, other than killing Black Mask(from what I read on Wikipedia, which I mainly skimmed on, so if need be, I'll read it more carefully), so how can I sympathize with the character?
"Meanwhile about Starfire i still believe you are overreacting, let's see the next 12 issues and see if we can get some character development on her, after all she is finally being portraited as the alien she was always have meant to be."
ReplyDeleteErm, no, if you look at interviews and analyses and read the original stories she appeared in, she was never meant to be anything like she is in this book. XD
"P.S.: 76 comic book read per month ??? Good Lord you should be on the Guinness Book, the powers that be must have being either very merciful with you or really cruel with IronLiz when they weld your paths together. It's not a surprise why guys like you and Spoony take so many pills and medication. No offense young brown ranger (you are always wearing brown clothes), just pointing the facts."
Well, don't worry about it - as I said in the first TAIS, I can deal with the big expense of the 52 for the month, but I'm not going to buy EVERY ONE of them regularly. I'm just getting the first issues of them all to give people advice on purchases.
"she was never meant to be anything like she is in this book"
ReplyDeleteThanks the powers that probably should be but between you and me you know they really don't for that, at least now she is a hot alien with multi-tasking curves instead of some pedophilia dream for weirdos, she was too human and her civilization really cheesy, she still looks cheesy now but in a better proved sense i hope.
"I'm not going to buy EVERY ONE of them regularly. I'm just getting the first issues of them all to give people advice on purchases"
That's shenanigans !!! How can i trust your advice despite the fact i may disagree with you if you don't actually read it the whole series before cancellation ? If you don't buy it at least read it, there is no shame in downloading and deleted after reading, Red Hood and The Outlaws don't deserve to be burn if you don't read beyond the first issue. You get yourself in labor Mister and now you must go all the way through until the end and never forget IronLiz, she can always teach you how to push this book out of your system before it start to get into your guts. Hope you don't mind a C-section if you need it, no painkillers in the world will be able to help you if the Outlaws really deserves to be burn.
"Purchase???" HAHAHAHAHA...native north american nerds are funny, now i know why the soft side of the thunder likes you, you tickles like pepsi.
RocMegamanX said...
ReplyDelete@Damien
My other problem with Catwoman is that I can't think of any GOOD thing that she had done, other than killing Black Mask(from what I read on Wikipedia, which I mainly skimmed on, so if need be, I'll read it more carefully), so how can I sympathize with the character?
Honestly, I don't know. Like I said, I don't agree to the pairing, my opinion on her get her own series again is of course, the horny teenage male demographic, as time will tell if DC can maintain a good story with the series.
As much as I like the Wonder Woman character normally, Lewis, I'm gonna have to disagree on the redesign thing. It makes sense that she'd be re-done: She's one of DC's bigger properties, but her books always sell poorly. It's a problem that DC seems incapable of fixing, really.
ReplyDeleteAt this point I'm stunned that they haven't just lost her solo books altogether and just made her a team character. That's a bad idea, but I have to admire DC's dogged determination to MAKE her popular, even if they suck at it.
On another note, you and I both know Lian's never coming back. They're shutting the door on that so hard it's gonna tear some fingers off when they're done.
Oh yeah! BTW, I have even money that half these secret organizations are all gonna turn out to be ONE organization, all run by Luthor or someone like that.
I should totally start a betting pool.
Linkara, I'm sorry, but do you realise how much slut-shaming you do in your discussion of the current comics? All I heard was 'blah blah blah, oh my god, Catwoman/Starfire are deciding when and with who they want sex'. And Catwoman and Batman have always had a push-pull relationship. Both Starfire and Catwoman you attack for having control of their sexuality. For deciding when, where, and how much sex they desire. Please, you are supposedly a feminist. Leave your Victorian norms somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Diana did not win a fight to become Wonder Woman by kissing babies and hugging children. She is, and always should be, a warrior first. I'm not even a Wonder Woman fan and I know that. You want someone who's good at kissing babies you get Superman. In the DC triad, Batman has always been the brains, Superman the heart and Diana the strong right arm. I fully expect when she's written well, that she kicks butt first, and then if ever, gets around to reassurances.
I find it interesting they went with Babs as Batgirl because she was the most recognizable incarnation of the character. I think in Starfire's case, the most recognizable form is in the Teen Titans cartoon. Where she was an actual character. Not, as one article aptly put it, "a brain dead goldfish with a rack."
ReplyDeleteThat's all she was. Hack Lobdell's defenders say he was writing a liberated woman but that would imply she had standards. She was already a nudist, poly-amorous and bisexual. But it was with people she cared about. I guess that wasn't enough for Lobdell. Now she's just a fuck puppet, ready to sleep with anyone she sees. An orange porn star, if you will. And thanks to spray tanning you can see plenty of those elsewhere.
Catwoman's final scene was dumb. An exact rip-off of the Black Cat/Spidey relationship, which is actually in-character and written well. Batman has no excuse...I doubt he carries a Bat-condom. And given that they're back to not knowing their identities it's even worse (not that I believe for a second Bruce couldn't figure out who she is in 5 years.) I'm not saying he wouldn't touch her, just that'd he'd pursue her as Bruce Wayne. The most he'd do as Bats would be to give her an epic kiss.
About the Catwoman comic, it seemed to me that it wasn't so much a hook-up but two people who live difficult lives trying to comfort each other. They could have worded it a little better, but I don't think there was anything rapey about it.
ReplyDeleteI'm really looking forward to the rest of the Wonder Woman arc. Even without an origin story it looks pretty cool.
Red Hood and the outlaws... my god. I almost bought that comic. That could have been me! O_O
A couple things I picked up on...
ReplyDeleteThe reason Black Canary is thought to be a criminal actually ties into pre-flashpoint continuity during Gail Simone's last run on the Birds you may remember a crminal was killed using a super-duper-secret Martial Arts punch that only a few people know... including Black Canary.
So while I'm with you on confusion if there was a Birds team under Oracle or not... I think that part of the continuity has been maintained.
I agree with other posters who say the god is Apollo... I don't think he's ever been an enemy for Wonder Woman before like you're saying but hey trying something new is fun.
As another poster said, Apollo isn't actually the sun god but he is conected with Oracles and he turned the three women into Oracles... plus he looks like the statue of Apollo at the Athens museum (You can see it on Apollo's wikipedia page).
I did rather like the fact that Wonder Woman's origin wasn't recounted. After JMS' Odyssey and the Flashpoint tie-in "Wonder Woman and the Amazons" I think another origin story would just be tiring, plus all the revisitation it got during Gail Simones's run.
People know Greek Mythology, Lasoo of Truth, and Amazon and that's enough to get you going on the plot... the origin can be filled in more later.
And as someone who never read the original Blue Beetle run, and only knew about the character from his apperances in other comics and the Brave and the Bold I really enjoyed the Blue Beetle origin. Shame he's not going to be "out" though.
I think though combinging the prologue about the reach and seeing that the Scarabs are evil really builds up suspense when the bonded Jaime yells Kahji-Da at the end and emerges as a Scarab warrior... cause if you're a new reader you're not going to be sure if he'll be controlled by the Scarab or not.
I don't know how you got your review up so fast, I've done my own I wasn't finished editing it till Friday morning and it's just finishing uploading now.
I didn't want to watch your vid till I finished making mine, it's interesting to see where we're the same and where we're different.
"Oh yeah! BTW, I have even money that half these secret organizations are all gonna turn out to be ONE organization, all run by Luthor or someone like that."
ReplyDeleteIf that turned out to be the twist, I'd shut my gob immediately, because that would be a good story.
"Linkara, I'm sorry, but do you realise how much slut-shaming you do in your discussion of the current comics? All I heard was 'blah blah blah, oh my god, Catwoman/Starfire are deciding when and with who they want sex'. And Catwoman and Batman have always had a push-pull relationship. Both Starfire and Catwoman you attack for having control of their sexuality. For deciding when, where, and how much sex they desire. Please, you are supposedly a feminist. Leave your Victorian norms somewhere else."
ReplyDeleteIf you notice my twitter from yesterday, I posted how irritated I was that people were throwing around words like "slut" and "whore" around here. And you'll also notice that my disapproval had nothing to do with promiscuity on the part of Starfire, but in how her character's attitude is towards it and how completely mind-boggling it is in sharp contrast to how she used to be. It's especially telling just how dreadful it is when the artist continually tried to shove in pointless fanservice into as many shots as they could, made no better that this is the IMPROVED version. The original artwork has leaked, and her original outfit was semi-transparent.
As for Catwoman, I never was critical because she was having sex, I was critical because it's a sex scene that comes straight out of nowhere especially given the rest of the book. However, I give more points to Catwoman than I do to Starfire - she at least HAS a history with and REMEMEBRS her history with Batman and she possesses a personality that I could see be sexual and flirtatious with him to the point where she would have sex with him. It's just written very poorly here.
Despite the fact that they ACKNOWLEDGE that Starfire has a history with the Titans and with Dick Grayson, she no longer remembers it because apparently Tamaraneans now have the memory of the proverbial goldfish. We barely get anything from her perspective and it only comes down to how she can't tell people apart and lacks emotional resonance. In Red Hood and the Outlaws, she's nothing more than a sex toy for other characters and a bad attempt at titillation for the male heterosexual audience.
Or, if that was too much, I shall say it once again: the problem is not that they're having sex, the problem is how they're written.
Oh to all of you arguing against Linkara's rape comment... because this isn't the first time they've had sex or whatever...
ReplyDeleteThat doesn't matter... he said he didn't want to do and she kept right on going at him until he gave in. That might not be out and out rape, but it's very close.
It's possible for a husband to rape a wife or vice versa... if that person doesn't want sex it's rape no matter what kind of previous relationship you have.
I even pointed this out in my own video review...
Plus I find the whole fact that Selina doesn't want to know who Batman is kinda creppy...
I prefer it when she knew.
Oh speaking of Catwoman... Linkara? Are you planning on reveiwing Batman/Catwoman The Trail of the Gun for your PSA Hell segment?
It's an anti-gun PSA where Catwoman steals a gun with heat seeking bullets and Batman hounds her with stastics about gun deaths to guilt her.
There's a genuinly good story underneath all the rhetoric about Catwoman trying to prove she's the best thief who ever lived and ending up being wanted for murder...
But the over the top moments... especially some of the Bruce-o-Vision moments are just gah!
I have the 100 page spectacular version (I didn't know... I didn't know...)
And I'd be happy to donate it.
"One thing that they did do to Bruce's character "In Batman and Robin #1" has me concerned...HE IS NO LONGER CELEBRATING THE ANNIVERSARY OF HIS PARENTS DEATHS..that has always been Bruces character even in the cartoon Universe hell Bruce from time to time if he is Batman at the time still places roses at their death site..but now he is only going to celebrate the time they got married or something.."
Seriously? I loved that part, it's about time Bruce started foccusing on life... it's a positive change for the character and lets them frame his character in another way it also ties into Batman #1 where he talks about revitalizing Gotham... Crime Alley will be no more!
"Oh speaking of Catwoman... Linkara? Are you planning on reveiwing Batman/Catwoman The Trail of the Gun for your PSA Hell segment?
ReplyDeleteIt's an anti-gun PSA where Catwoman steals a gun with heat seeking bullets and Batman hounds her with stastics about gun deaths to guilt her.
There's a genuinly good story underneath all the rhetoric about Catwoman trying to prove she's the best thief who ever lived and ending up being wanted for murder...
But the over the top moments... especially some of the Bruce-o-Vision moments are just gah!
I have the 100 page spectacular version (I didn't know... I didn't know...)"
I am very much intrigued! =D Send me an e-mail and I'll give you the PO Box address.
Reading Blue Beetle #1.... Plasmus crashes into the hood of Paco's car... shouldn't that dissolve the car?
ReplyDeleteI thought Plasmus was essentially a walking jello mold made of very strong acid, thus anything he touched dissolved...
Just to clarify things a bit, Gail Simone hasn't even read 'Red Hood', she says as much in her Twitter (current as of 11 hours ago, in responsed to a fan asking her if she thinks it's close to Secret Six in tone): "I have not read Red Hood yet, but I doubt it's an homage to Secret Six, I don't think Scott has ever mentioned reading that book."
ReplyDeletehttp://twitter.com/#!/gailsimone
The quote that's been mentioned on posts here has been pulled out of context, which is Gail and Scott having a running joke of Gail reflexive throwing out jokey negative comments about everything he writes.
http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/web/thread.jspa?threadID=2000261205&tstart=0
"Reading Blue Beetle #1.... Plasmus crashes into the hood of Paco's car... shouldn't that dissolve the car?
ReplyDeleteI thought Plasmus was essentially a walking jello mold made of very strong acid, thus anything he touched dissolved..."
I think he has some degree of control over it, otherwise he'd dissolve the ground beneath him as he walked.
"I want to see the 90's Kid reviewing Red Hood and The Outlaws instead of Linkara, only the awesomeness teenage minds of the end of the 20th Century can understand and fully appreciate the genius behind this comic."
ReplyDeleteA- freaking -men to that, brother!
20th century exploitation is a dying art due to liberal pricks infesting the media
Your comment about Supergirl #1 "written for the trades" just reminded me of something that I might have asked out loud before: How much money do the comic companies make on trades vs. individual issues?
ReplyDeleteIt seems like they'd make more off the single issues because of pricing, but I'm sure the readership can't be as high as with trades, so maybe it evens out?
If it's trades, then wouldn't that mean essentially that individual issues are just kept around for lip-service to old-school fans or "traditional" comic readers?
If one is more predominant than the others, then it says much to the writing. It's like with having a lives system in video games; it was an essential part of the coin-op scene yet utterly pointless on home consoles, yet the design element lingered.
Wait... Starfire has no memory of her times with the Titans, she has a different personality, she's hanging out with villains and anti-heroes...
ReplyDeleteOMG THIS ISN'T STARFIRE THIS IS SOME EVIL CLONE OF HER MAYBE BLACKFIRE IN DISGUISE, AND A DEFECT DURING THE CLONING PROCEDURE EXPLAINS THE BLINDNESS!
But seriously, I was actually looking forward to this book. I'm sad to here it wasn't up to par.
"A- freaking -men to that, brother!
ReplyDelete20th century exploitation is a dying art due to liberal pricks infesting the media."
I would like to know what Lewis think about that and concerning the way you reviewed Red Hood and The Outlaws and concerning only your opinion on that i will call you Louis because :
A- you can review better than that;
B- the review was inconsistent with the brain below the hat;
and C- when you do reviews you are usually good but when you review pissed off you are better;
In my opinion you was not fair with Starfire the same way you was with Action Comics' Superman on the issue of character development, maybe Grant's Superman became his personal response to Miller's Hobo Steve but i really doubt Scott Lobdell degenerate Starfire into some kind of Debby Does DC&U.
So here is the challenge Louis, i see you on Red Hood & The Outlaws #02.
As for Red Hood, yeah "there was a reason people voted to kill him off" in 1988, but back then, he was more just a smart alec, and I think a lot of people--given that DC has this unwarranted image as being afraid of change or something--wanted to see if they'd actually do it.
ReplyDeleteBack then, Jason was just a bratty snot-nose, but he wasn't a murderous loose canon like he is now. There was ONE story in which he implicitly killed a drug dealer--one written in such a way that you almost WANT him to be killed--and the next issue deals with his thugs who think he did kill him and are out for revenge, if memory serves. And we see Jason learned the error of his ways.
Besides, since this is (supposedly) a reboot, they could have made Jason a more redeemable character, but I haven't read the book, so I'll take your word for it that they didn't.
""Oh yeah! BTW, I have even money that half these secret organizations are all gonna turn out to be ONE organization, all run by Luthor or someone like that."
ReplyDeleteIf that turned out to be the twist, I'd shut my gob immediately, because that would be a good story."
I think this too but I was leaning more to the League of Shadows!
Also, the red cloaked woman might be involved as well!
Regarding the trades vs. single issues bit that was brought up, I see it this way: envision comics as TV shows. Single episodes (issues) are a way to sell advertising and provide serial stories that would encourage people to talk about it and be more ready to buy the collected edition, also serving as a gauge to the company as to whether they should continue the run, change the creative team or cancel it entirely. Meanwhile, DVD collections (trades) are ways to get more (or any, in the case of TV shows) money directly from the customer, who buys them based primarily on the strength of the individually released product. Granted, the analogy is hardly perfect, but I thought it could be apt.
ReplyDeleteThis interpretation of Starfire does worry me. Changing a degree of empathy in a character can radically change the character. People point to her always having been fanservicey and sexually liberated, but that doesn't mean this is the same character. Think of the Green Lanterns--specifically Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner. They both have the same power and therefore some broad overall characteristics: strong willpower, rigid moral code, etc. But, their difference is in how they interact emotionally with others. Hal is very respectful and mindful of how his actions affect others and tries while Guy is brash and cocky, often speaking his mind even when it will grate on others. I see that as the level of difference between pre and post-Flashpoint Starfires: they are just two different characters.
Honestly, I didn't think the red hood comic was all that bad, and I went into it after watching this. Roy wasn't that unlikeable, and the the banter he had with Jason when they were escaping, even the line shown here didn't make him sound like a jerk, it just seemed like banter two guys would have in that context. The only real bad part was Starfire, which was definately upsetting since I like the character, but I don't think it's enough to write off the comic. Maybe her character will improve down the road if they take away that, "no one is important" to her attitude away. But that might just be me thinking it wasn't really that bad, I disliked superboy more than I disliked this.
ReplyDeleteAlso I don't think starfire is blind, I think they were just saying that human aren't distinct beings to her, they're just one mess of sights and sounds from her perspective, which is why she said she couldn't tell jason and roy apart. I honestly feel something happened to her to make her this way, one because based on Roy's reaction to her he remembers her in a completely different way, and also, there really isn't a way that I can think of that Jason could make the accusations able Tamaranians that he did. So far as we know, the only Tamaranian that he's ever met is Starfire, and if she's the one that told him the inforation about them, I wouldn't really trust it cause there's clearly something wrong with her (and her spine). But hey, that's just one comic book fan's opinion, there's likely to be many different ones, but I feel better know that I shared my side
Decided to read red hood just because I often subject myself to things other people hate and well just wow.
ReplyDeleteI think you might have been a bit soft on them.
The only thing I can think of that would save this series is to maybe have arsenal and star-fire become the characters we used to know and love through a series of events that evoke said change through deep introspection and a general explanation for why they would be the crimson of what they once where. Or who knows maybe WB just needs to let DC be purchased by say marvel so some one competent can pull the strings.
I expected that a lot of bad DC stories (Amazons Attack, DC Countdown, Cry for Justice, and Rise of Arsenal) would be retconned out of continuity.
ReplyDeleteStill, hearing about your take on Red Hood and the Outlaws, I wonder if this is going to turn out well. I mean, granted this is issue 1, but this Starfire is not the Starfire I actually read in the comics. It's like someone found a blonde bimbo and paid her to dress up as Starfire.
I expect Lian will be re-introduced into DC canon (assuming the writers decide to get to that), but given Starfire's portrayal in Red Hood and the Outlaws, I'm actually worried about how they'll change her. For all we know, she will be re-introduced as Cheshire's apprentice, an assassin-in-training who starts out as an enemy.
On a more positive note, I've actually enjoyed the Darkwing Duck comics. Sadly, this run (along with the Boom Studios/Disney Comics era) will end after the crossover with Ducktales. Fortunately Marvel has been reprinting Boom Studios' Pixar and Muppets comics (still waiting for the last Muppets and Incredibles stories), I'm hoping that we will see Darkwing Duck and other Disney comics reprinted by Marvel and Disney . . . and maybe some new Disney comics.
"On a more positive note, I've actually enjoyed the Darkwing Duck comics. Sadly, this run (along with the Boom Studios/Disney Comics era) will end after the crossover with Ducktales. Fortunately Marvel has been reprinting Boom Studios' Pixar and Muppets comics (still waiting for the last Muppets and Incredibles stories), I'm hoping that we will see Darkwing Duck and other Disney comics reprinted by Marvel and Disney . . . and maybe some new Disney comics."
ReplyDeleteSee, I've heard that, but I haven't seen any news article that actually verifies it's being cancelled.
One of the Academy fans again. I know, we're getting annoying, but check this site to give you an idea of what people are excited about.
ReplyDeletehttp://fuckyeahavengersacademy.tumblr.com/
We really want you to try it out!
"Or who knows maybe WB just needs to let DC be purchased by say marvel so some one competent can pull the strings."
ReplyDeleteThat would effectively kill the American comic industry
Marvel did not release a single good comic for almost a decade by now, DC is what keeps the industry at float
Gosh that Red Hood and the Outlaws comic sure was Re-Todded ha ha ha ha
ReplyDeleteSorry just re-watched your Countdown videos and couldn't help myself.
"Marvel did not release a single good comic for almost a decade by now"
ReplyDeleteAvengers The Initiative
The New Daredevil
Thunderbolts
Runaways
Avengers Academy
X-Force
Journey Into Mystery
Jeff Parker's Hulk
Marvel does have good stuff. You're just distracted by Bendis, Fraction, and all the "top" writers when you should try the stuff that doesn't have a character that's been plastered all over a movie. There are more characters than just the A-Listers.
Seriously, don't play that game!
"See, I've heard that, but I haven't seen any news article that actually verifies it's being cancelled."
ReplyDeleteIt's in the official solicitations for Boom!'s October books:
http://blog.newsarama.com/2011/08/05/booms-disney-era-officially-ends-in-october/
Despite my obnoxious rants i still hope you keep reading The Outlaws and The Red Lanterns, i can see potential there for either a great series as well a few combustive materials.
ReplyDeleteKeep the Hat on Louis, there is still hope for me to be wrong except of course you admit you was prematurely wrong first.
You are not Berserk material yet but thanks the Norse gods for keep that Mixed Amazonian-Valkyrie Statuesque Warrior Sword Master closer to you, maybe she can do wonders with a Welchy guy like you and if you disagree on the Welch part check Monty Python sometimes you look like a temporal dislocated comedian from the 60's U.K.
Actually, Marvel was the top publisher by a wide margin a couple years ago. I think over 1/3 of the comics sold were Marvel, with DC coming in a far second, actually coming close to the tier of Image and Dark Horse. That, to me, means Marvel is the one keeping the industry afloat.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I don't know what their status has been since the Disney deal.
Not usually a comment-poster, but your rant at the end has me writing anyway.
ReplyDeleteI've delved back into the world of DC comics just this month-- and bizarrely enough, that's because of Jason Todd.
I discovered a long time ago, when I started at the first issue of Spiderman (in those cheaply-bound, cheap-paper "Essentials" volumes-- also responsible for making me love the X-Men), that getting into current DC/ Marvel comics was as infuriating and exasperating as it was difficult. I honestly thought everything was going to be as good as The Dark Phoenix Saga.
…...It wasn’t.
So I stuck to Hellboy and Sandman.
Eventually, when I wanted to dig into Batman-- having come to love the character through certain movies and animated series that don't need to be named-- I went to the internet's many "top 25" styled lists and picked the most consistently named titles. Some disappointed, some inspired. And, surprisingly, I went from pooh-poohing the presence of Robin (Burton’s Batman was my first taste, after all) to really appreciating the character’s role. He was the dash of color in the darkness-- and Bruce’s failures as a father-figure were an enticing contrast to his intimidating, ever-competent presence as Batman. I plunged into Robin-history and academic essays in the hopes of again finding some "best-of Robin" reading that would spare me the crappy stuff.
I also watched Batman: Under the Red Hood-- the last fifteen minutes of which were some of the best superhero-movie content I've yet to see in any medium. Maybe it's just really the fate of Big-Name comics to only reach true adaption-distillation in animated form, under the demands of engaging a wider audience. Maybe it was the academic essays (one made the argument that the mishandling of Jason Todd was symptomatic of a kind of "classism" among DC writers, on par with the misogyny more obviously rampant; a wasted chance to contrast an uneducated and poverty-taught "problem kid" with the perpetually-likable and lovingly-raised Dick Grayson).
Maybe it's the fact that I'd read the best-of-Batman first, and never encountered Todd in anything but A Death in the Family. Whatever it was, I found myself excited by the potential for pathos that Under the Red Hood represented. In that sense? I understand the “crush”; at the least, the animated film deserves its popularity. And... I probably added a lot more complexity to the character's motivations as I wondered "huh... what might the comic stories branching out from this do? what direction might they take?"
Inevitably, I read some of the actual comics.
…..
I found The Killing Joke to be disappointing. I won't try to express what Battle for the Cowl made me feel.
But I can't let go of the "-- but the things I imagined for this story!" feeling. Maybe that's just what it is to be a fan, but DC comics seems to deliver a disappointment more bitter than I’m used to. How do you ...keep reading these titles? I guess, speaking as a reader who knows Mike Mignola will ALWAYS write Hellboy, and ALWAYS do it fantastically-- it kind of perplexes me. Do you ever take refuge in the creative power of fandom?-- maybe you've talked about that before, but I missed it if you did.
I love your reviews, and I love your enthusiasm and the grounded sense of human dignity you expect from representations of realities like death or sexuality (esp women; you aren’t appreciated by female viewers because you’re a feminist cheerleader, it’s because you’re thoughtful). I understand the passion for the medium itself, I do. But how do you get through the worst of this stuff? Are the good moments really that redeeming? Am I missing a ton of profound and satisfying stories that would salve the righteous indignation? Because when you say “Jason Todd could never...” all I can think is “...but if a good writer could....”
At this rate, I'll stick with writing my own damn endings.
You know, based purely on the cover of Red Hood and the Outlaws alone, I wrote a quick story where the entire plot of the book was that Jason Todd, Roy Harper and Starfire went on a crazy adventure to find Roy's original hat.
ReplyDeleteDead God I wish that was the real plot
@Anonymous: It could be a crossover with ATFW! Didn't Linkara have to go on a quest in one episode to find his original hat to return it to his future self?
ReplyDeleteI think we're on to a winner here. Red Hood and the Outlaws: Hatquest 2011 would beat the actual first issue hands down.
"The Supergirl costume is rather impressive. I like it a lot. You got any particular opinions on these costumes? Or are you more in the "I don't care" camp?"
ReplyDeleteCome on, Jail-bait Babe a.k.a. Supergirl is more scantly clad than ever. Don't deluded yourself, from the right angle now her ass is completely exposed and her costume below the waist line looks like a patch, it's another action flick but the costume is hideous, they should bring the original Jailbait suit back. Lewis was too soft on that issue.
I don't know if anyone's mentioned it so far, but maybe DC's setting up a crossover with all these secret organizations. Like maybe they plan on doing something low-key this time, with all these secret orgs fighting a secret war w/ eachother because their interests are starting to be at odds. It could work, I think, slowly set it up with skirmishes and mini-crossovers before doing an event mini with a couple of tie-ins with the important books. I know DC promised no new cross-overs for a while, but does anyone honestly believe them?
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I can understand your reasoning for not liking the new Starfire. I'm still nervous over what the new Raven will be like when she appears, but I also get part of the changes as well.
ReplyDeleteI think Starfire, personally, is hiding something. At the end of her run before the reboot, Tamaran had mysteriously returned into existence before she appeared in Red Hood, thus something have happened. Perhaps, in a move similar to Raven, Starfire is being forced to suppress her emotion other wise the traumatic events of what might have occurred between then and now will resurface in her head and she is using sex as a distraction to not think about it, needing to keep busy and not think about things.
On a less cheerful thought, maybe they decided to explore the 'barbarian/warrior race' aspect in a new light for her character and she's become a female Conan, wanting to kill her enemies and rape there men or something like that. I'm hoping its the first. XD
sigh I haven't been following dc for a very very long time.I just never had the chance to check out what they were putting out I followed marvel because it was what I knew. Then this awesome internet reviewer(you lewis) got me interested but to be honest I didn't have the cash to start picking up all the stuff I missed out on but I heard that dc was gonna relainch and figured it would be a perfect time for me to check out what DC can do...and wow did they drop the ball. after the whole one more day bit I decided to step away from marvel with the exception of deadpool and have been happy since. It breaks my heart to see that my medium may be dieing. yes I know that everyone always jumps on the comics are dieing bandwagon but I'm seriously starting to feel that way. As an adult male I do enjoy pornography as much as the next guy but when I crack a comic I expect to find characters that interest me. If I wanted porn I know where to find it. I don't need folks like DC trying to throw it in there books and tell me it's fresh and new.lewis I agree with you completly on DC screwing up some amazing characters and hope with all my heart that they will fix these massive mistakes but until then it seems I'll be sticking with web comics and the few things you reccomend. Lewis as always thank you soo much for all the hard work you put into these videos. I enjoy nearly everything you do from HOPR(which I am waiting very patiently for) to my favorites which are your silent hill reviews. Please keep up the good work and I look forward to your next video.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of her run before the reboot, Tamaran had mysteriously returned into existence before she appeared in Red Hood, thus something have happened.
ReplyDeleteNo, if you read REBELS, what happened was that Rann was somehow (and don't ask me how you do this across THIRTY FREAKING LIGHT YEARS) teleported into Tamaran's old orbit, with the Tamaraneans having moved onto the planet's uninhabited southern continent. So it ain't that...
at ave and etc...
ReplyDeleteapollo is not just the god of light but also the sun and postry and music and etc...all the way back to Hellenic age
hera is also the goddess of birth with three other goddess.
just how it goes.
Linkara, do you think that Marvel should do a continuity reboot? That way, we can pretend that One More Day never happened (you already do that, but still...).
ReplyDeleteone thing have to say after listening to all of your comments. and i understand that you didn't like that reboot you seems to want to have your cake and eat it too. wanting good introductions to new readers but not wanting them to be different or new.
ReplyDeletereally you attack supergirl for not being what action comics was and acted it for not being old superman.
i am wondering how entertaining they are and less on how offensive they are to your feels and understanding of old continuity.
that said all the review where good listens but i might ask to here some other points of view.
thank you
The colour palette of the new DC was dreary, you say?
ReplyDeleteBut, Linkara, when was the last time you read a comic from DC or Marvel where the colour palette wasn't dreary?
There've been a couple of -rare- exceptions, but dreary (and orange) palette have been, for me, one of the hallmarks of naughties comics.
Well New Teen titans games came out so at least there is one book with Starfire done right. :)
ReplyDelete"Thanks the powers that probably should be but between you and me you know they really don't for that, at least now she is a hot alien with multi-tasking curves instead of some pedophilia dream for weirdos, she was too human and her civilization really cheesy, she still looks cheesy now but in a better proved sense i hope."
ReplyDeleteIn all respects, man, I have no idea what you're talking about and have had no idea for the entire line of conversation… but when you say "too human" I'm not sure whether you mean her species or her characterisation. In the case of the latter, what you're saying is awful.
And when you say "hot alien with multi-tasking curves instead of some paedophilia dream for weirdos", it tells me your priorities for a female character - that her attractiveness is more important than writing quality. In this day and age, you should be absolutely ashamed of yourself.
On the Marvel front for colour: Nextwave. Bright, cheery, celebratory colour. Otherwise, I'd say the most colour that comes out of DC currently is from Vertigo (and I'm guessing with this whole relaunch, the national campaign is still obssessing about superheroes, even though a DC campaign focused on Vertigo would be the best shot to *gasp* GROW THE INDUSTRY.)
ReplyDeleteBeen a long time since I've commented on your videos, but I'm still watching and enjoying your reviews! :)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I just wanted to offer you a different perspective on the Darkwing Duck comic book series. You see, some Darkwing Duck fans (yep, I keep in contact with other Darkwing fans because I am such a nerd) aren't very happy with what Ian Brill has been doing with the Darkwing Duck comics.
I mean, the series started out great. The first arc was really cool, and that's a point pretty much all the fans can agree on. But as the comics went on, things started going downhill.
*SPOILERS START HERE*
It kind of started around the ending to the second arc. In which Negaduck is pretty much blown into tiny particle oblivion. This upset some fans, especially since it seemed like he was pushed to the side so easily (that arc was kind of rushed). However, it didn't upset too many because if Negaduck can come back from oblivion once, he can come back from it again.
It was the annual that probably split the fanbase the most because of what it did to Quackerjack's character. Nobody had a problem with the section that Tad Stones did with Chronoduck, but the section that was written by Ian Brill? Yeeeeeeeeah... Not very many took it too well.
Quackerjack is supposed to be a more happy-go-lucky character. Yeah, he is a villain, so he does do rotten things... and he does often throw temper tantrums and the like... but it really isn't like him to be a depressed character. And the fact that he metaphorically committed suicide by turning himself into a toy really got to some people.
And then, in the FOWL arc, he poofed Morgana (by the way, what was up with the unexplained eyebeams defeat Duckthuhulu thing? That wasn't pulled off very well)... Oh... and Darkwing's character was kinda off in that arc, too. Darkwing's ego DOES blind him a lot of times, but he's a character that treats everyone with a lot of suspicion and he doesn't trust easily. So... the fact that he only ever questioned Steelbeak's motives once really caused him to look like an idiot.
I stopped reading the comic series after the FOWL arc. I'm really hoping that after the Darkwing comics are cancelled, they'll be picked up again (possibly by Marvel or maybe even Dark Horse) and be treated better than they were by Ian Brill.
Anyway, so yeah... There you have it. A different perspective. Still, though, it's very interesting to learn that you're a Darkwing Duck fan! Maybe you could stop by the Old Haunt sometime ( http://www.negaverse.net/oldhaunt/index.php ) and discuss Darkwing with other fans! Maybe. If you're not too busy... :D
wow some those look vary interesting not sure witch ones to read as im new to comics but love your show any tips what one i should get also do u know of any good black panther comics i can read i like that super hero and i also wanted to ask u what your thought of wolverine being the professor of the new school for mutants that they plan to do later this year
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say I love these series, keep up the good work.
ReplyDeletewith Love from Iceland ^^
Red Hood and the Outlaws is fine, i saw DC Comics do it a lot worst in the past few years. For a great nation you guys have serious issues to deal with concerning sex. She is a alien, Jason Todd is a skunk (for lack of better words)and Roy Harper is less obnoxious than previous incarnations and thanks for lack of protection he has a sunburn??? on his chest that probably says : "OWNED BY STARFIRE!!!" or "STARFIRE'S TROPHY BOY!!!" THEY ARE NOT HAVING SEX WITH HER, SHE IS FUCKING WITH THEM !!! AND THEY ARE PROBABLY NAILED AFTER THAT!!!
ReplyDeleteThink again Sherlocks ? Which is the easiest way to conquer most of alien civilizations or at least just human civilization ? SEDUCTION OF THE NOT SO INNOCENTS !!! Female seduce the males, males seduce the females and in the blink of an eye the planet is doomed, if not by slavery probably by sterilization or either by ethnic cleansing sexual diseases, probably is not the case but you never think she could be faking her promiscuous behavior, can't she do things and act like this just because she is using them rather than be used by them ? Obvious you people have issues about this matters and are in a rush to judge and condemn right after the first issue but i will give Scott the benefit of the doubt before say "THIS COMICS SUCK!!!" without further evidences.
DC Comics is probably digging it's own grave with most of the New 52's line but i must say i like it Red Hood and The Outlaws together with another two or three issues if i did a little bit of a stretch, at least they did one comic book right while doing everything else wrong.
DC COMICS SUCKS !!!
Avengers Academy was good this week. Just in case you want to try it out, *nudge nudge*.
ReplyDelete(I REALLY think you'll like this book!)
Volvagia -
ReplyDeleteIs Nextwave still going?
I might check it out.
(Yes, it's got to the stage for me that I'll pick up an entire series just for a break from dreary colouring. See under the last 'Superboy' series.)
It's like they went on Oprah and everyone got their own brand new villainous secret organization.
ReplyDelete"And they [Tamaraneans] have a terribly short attention span about all things Earth."
Wow....Just...Wow. That is not how you justify character personality assassination. Starfire is not indifferent to others. I don't even like her much and I'm pissed off for her sake.
Thanks DC, for making "relaunch" a synonymous with "franchise-suicide."
"FarFarAwayFrom90s said...
ReplyDeleteRed Hood and the Outlaws is fine, i saw DC Comics do it a lot worst in the past few years. For a great nation you guys have serious issues to deal with concerning sex"
You seem to mostly have issues with reading comprehension, actually.
It's not about her having sex. There are several comic book characters that do, and they are fine. It's the way she's written to do so.
As a female fan, this was the last straw, DC won't see my money anymore. I'll instead go buy a japanese manga. In which characters have sex, too. They're just not written this horribly sexist.
Twenty years ago, friggin Sailor Moon handled sex better than DC comics does.