Before I read the selection, I liked my first impressions when I saw the movie:
It took me a while to figure out which Kirk this was. The credits only said Batman, so I resorted to Wikipedia.
I am looking forward to revisiting this.
Yeah that was pretty much my reaction as well.
I love it when club reading selections are of books that I have bought but haven’t read. I bought the hardcover for $3.99 from Ollie’s and tonight I had a reason to rip off that plastic that sealed the book.
My thoughts on this Superman, he sort of reminds me of Red Son Superman. He uses brutality to get what he wants but that is what he witnessed as a child growing up, especially in the farms with the toxins being dropped on him and his family. While he doesn’t show his “humanity” often, he clearly has a sensitive side. Especially, when it comes to his sister.
Wonder Woman was a cool take. I too enjoyed her background change-up. A New God makes so much sense that I am surprised it hasn’t been done before in an Elseworld. (If it has been, please point me in the right direction.) One thing I couldn’t help but wonder, is this Bruce Timm’s undoing of Mod Wonder Woman? Instead of having Bekka as a powerless mod, she was a powerful God and a hippie in a commune doing her best to blend in. This part interested me more than the drug stuff. While it did a decent job showing that aspect, it could have been more psychedelia induced, thinking along the lines of Jim Steranko Nick Fury art.
Kirk is an interesting choice for Batman. It makes sense and the way that he was dealing with Bruce Wayne Batman characters was interesting. This is probably the series that fell the most flat for me. Sure, I dug the horror aspect of it but it felt out of place. Unlike Superman, Batman kills people for other reasons but it doesn’t seem to flow. Especially that ending, it was just weird. I liked it but I didn’t like it.
I think the Wonder Woman books were the best out of the 3 minis giving background to each character.
I do apologize if I have read ahead but I also went and finished the Justice League: Gods & Monsters story. This was a fun read and I kind of wished this would have continued including other corners of the DC Universe. I bet John Constantine would have been amazing to see in the Gods & Monster world.
Anywho, I knew I was onto something when I enjoyed Wonder Woman the most as Doctor Psycho became the big bad guy for Justice League. Unlike the Batman miniseries, I liked Kirk as Batman in this story. His character seemed to make more sense. If I could have changed anything, I would have made The Forever People into an actual force and not just a weird background team that barely has names.
Thanks for selecting this series @JasonTodd428! I had a lot of fun reading it this evening.
More thoughts on Batman:
When I realized it was Kirk Langstrom, my first thought about these characters was how it was pitched: Superman, Batman & Wonder Woman who are good but sometimes kill. and then the Powers That Be decreed, “As long as it’s not Bruce, Clark & Diana, then have at it.”
I did not like the art, but it does lend itself to the horror aspects of the story. I like how he is struggling to find some sort of balance with what he has become. If he is going to kill a person, at least it should be someone that deserves it. Also, the hunger abated when he was interacting with humanity.
I liked how he made Joe Chill his enemy even though he was made and dispatched in the same issue.
I liked the ending in that he was still longing for connecting with humanity as well as working to control the hunger.
These were the planned Green Lantern (Awesome), Steel (I have no idea what to think), and Mary Marvel (lame). They would have been in the sequel if it got made.
I think the guy he killed in issue 1 is a parallel to Will Mangus. Potentially a once good man who turned evil and is still loved for that.
You are right, it was Will Magnus.
I got locked out of my account and was just able to get back in (second time this year, not sure how this keeps happening 
.) Can someone catch me up on what we are reading and discussing? Thank you so much!
The Gods and monsters comics.
Now for our final week here is the link to the prequel story.
What did you think of the overall story here? Was it a good lead up to the movie or was it a complete waste of time?
And that’s it folks. Hope to see you all back next month. Because June is Pride Month there will be a slight change of plans. Instead of covering the Freedom Fighters (who we will be covering in August instead) we will be taking a look at a fan favorite character who is undeniably someone that is as memorable as she is beautiful. I am of course talking about Princess Koriand’r of Tamaran better known at Starfire.
I will have to keep this in mind. Mostly because my first exposure was the movie.
First. a nitpick: there are 9 issues, not 7.
I was glad to revisit these books. I think I will have to rewatch the movie.
What did you think of the overall story here?
Overall, it was a good origin story of these heroes organizing into a team.
Was it a good lead up to the movie or was it a complete waste of time?
I don’t believe it was a complete waste of time. Because I saw the movie first, discovering these books made me wonder if I could learn more about these heroes.
Other thoughts:
I liked the attention to the general atmosphere of the world, specifically through Lois Lane’s narration.
The movie starts some time after the comic book, and also provides some background to the heroes that you do not get in either their solo stories or the Justice League story.
