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One thing the New 52 did well, IMHO, was use some of the secondary characters well or, at least, interesting. I thought Frankstein was well done in the same way as your mention of Hex and Andrew Bennett, and Dial H. Even what they did with Nathanial Adams was, at least, interesting and a different take, for example.
It’s with the main people and JL/JLA team titles that I think they &^*+ the bed.
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Week 12/7/11 has been read!
No re-reads this week.
Love: Animal Man, Batwing, Red Lanterns, Swamp Thing.
Animal Man this week was fantastic. I am loving what is happening in this series. I love the backstory we finally got in Batwing. I didn’t expect to be a Red Lanterns fan but it is a great story so far. Swamp Thing is fantastic as well. My only complaint is that is doesn’t work with the panel by panel read through very well. But that’s more of a dcui complaint than a comic one. Because the art is gorgeous.
Liked: Action Comics, Detective Comics, Green Arrow, Hawk and Dove, JLI, Men of War, OMAC, Static, Stormwatch.
Action Comics was good, I do enjoy how quickly Metropolis switches from ‘We hate Superman’ to ‘Where is our hero, Superman?’ in a crisis. Also, 10/10 for Lex almost getting blown up.
Detective Comics had some good action sequences this week, though not much else. I always forget how witty Oliver Queen is. It made this issue pretty good. Hawk and Dove gets a like because Deadman showed up. I still don’t really know what is happening with the rest of the series but Deadman gets this issue a like.
This was actually a great issue of JLI. I’ve been iffy with the first 3 but this was good. They felt almost like a team. Plus, Guy doing his thing.
Men of War is a good series, I’m not totally sure what is happening. And I think that is because the backup story for the first 3 issues was so similar to the main story, that I just got confused. Now there is a different one and it adds some distance between them. Which is much better for me.
OMAC was fun this week. I’m starting to feel bad for Kevin. Static is always a fun read. This issue set up a bunch of fun stuff.
Stormwatch was good this week too. Jack is becoming a quick favorite of mine. And I like Midnighter and Apollo working together.
No unsures this week!
Thanks for reading!
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Red Lanterns has done a good job of making the villains of the Lantern world seems relatable and even sympathetic to a point. One of my favorite books in the New 52 so far.
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Dex-starr and Guy. What is not to love?
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I am woefully behind but looking to get caught up. Here’s what I have for what’s happened so far:
- Justice League #1-3
- Action Comics #1-4
- Animal Man #1-4
- Batgirl #1-3
- Batwing #1-4
- Detective Comics #1-4
- Green Arrow #1-4
- Hawk & Dove #1-4
- Justice League International #1-4
- Men of War #1-4
- OMAC #1-4
- Static Shock #1-4
- Stormwatch #1-4
- Swamp Thing #1-4
- Batman & Robin #1-3
- Batwoman #1-3
- Deathstroke #1-3
- Demon Knights #1-3
- Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E #1-3
- Green Lantern #1-3
- Grifter #1-3
- Legion Lost #1-3
- Mister Terrific #1-3
- Red Lanterns #1-4
- Resurrection Man #1-3
- Suicide Squad #1-3
- Superboy #1-3
- Batman #1-3
- Birds of Prey #1-3
- Blue Beetle #1-3
- Captain Atom #1-3
- Catwoman #1-3
- DC Universe Presents #1-3
- Green Lantern Corps #1-3
- Legion of Super-Heroes #1-3
- Nightwing #1-3
- Red Hood and the Outlaws #1-3
- Supergirl #1-3
- Wonder Woman #1-3
- All-Star Western #1-3
- Aquaman #1-3
- Batman: The Dark Knight #1-3
- Blackhawks #1-3
- The Flash #1-3
- Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #1-3
- Green Lantern: New Guardians #1-3
- I, Vampire #1-3
- Justice League Dark #1-3
- Savage Hawkman #1-3
- Superman #1-3
- Teen Titans #1-3
- Voodoo #1-3
Please let me know if I missed anything on that list. That should be accurate as of December 9th and I’m going to try and get caught up by the end of the year. Thanks to (finally) being caught up on Dark Crisis and my #DCemberToRemember I have plenty of time to read these books!
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I did read this week’s books. Still not a fan of Omac. The stories in Animal Man and Swamp Thing are ok, but I hate the art. Everything else is at least good.
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Catching up:
Justice League #1-4
It is very fun to see all of these characters meeting and discovering each other for the first time. This is why something like The New 52 is exciting - to see it all reborn in modern times. Loved the Easter Egg in issue #1 that Vic Stone’s high school team was called the Titans:
The interview between Amanda Waller and Steve Trevor at the end of issue #2 was great as was the excerpt from the book about Atlantis at the end of issue #3. Nice teasers of what’s to come.
The other storyline/book I got caught up on today was Action Comics. Again, seeing this version of Superman is very different than what I’m used to. He’s angry, he’s condescending, he’s brutal and he’s single-minded. I like it a lot and the emergence of Steel are fun to see. This version of Lex Luthor is more traditional as well - an arrogant genius with disdain for common people and an obsession with learning about, and defeating, Superman.
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This list looks right to me. We have so much reading left to do! But this has been a lot of fun so far.
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Oh man, just recently joined DCUI Ultra and have been reading DC from New Frontiers forward, but reading through this thread reminds me of how exciting the New 52 was. It started while I was still living in LA, and I remember going to Earth 2 Comics to pick up all the first issues as soon as they dropped. Then I moved abroad for the first time and started to lean heavily into digital comics for the first time as I couldn’t find stuff so easily anymore.
I followed the new 52 on and off through its run, never reading them all again after the first few months but never fully stopping. It was probably the most avid I’ve been as a collector since the 90s. Some great stuff and some terrible stuff but good memories throughout.
I’m not going to join the challenge now, but once I’m caught up with what I’m enjoying I think I’ll start going through the New 52 and let the memories flood back and discover a few lost gems I never read on the first go through.
Any which way, it’s been really fun reading through this thread and hearing y’all’s thoughts on it!
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Waitwaitwaitwait…WHAT!?! You shopped for comics at Earth-2 Comics? That’s the comic shop I go to! What a small world!
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Oh that’s awesome! Happy that it’s still around! Genuinely one of my favorite comic stores in the world. It and Dreamhaven in MPLS were my two favorites.
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Today I got caught up on Animal Man and Batgirl.
Animal Man is a trip. So creative, unique and creepy! This could make a great horror show or movie. It’s like a Stpehen King story but the connection to the red/Swamp Thing makes it feel like a part of the DC Universe we’ve just been missing this whole time.
The story by Jeff Lemire is one thing but the artwork by Travel Foreman is exceptional. Really brings that world to life and has such great little details and moments. Creepy but compelling at the same time.
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For Batgirl I love the self-doubt, the rust and the normalcy of her story. This is not seen much in comics - admission of fear, choking/freezing in a crucial moment and costing someone their life, letting the bad guy get away because you are just out of practice. That’s good stuff and makes Barbara Gordon feel more relatable than most superheroes.
I like that they’ve taken their time developing her story and gave Mirror a good run as villain. Enjoyable book so far.
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Caught up on Batwing and this is an enjoyable book. Judd Winick is doing a good job of making Batwing different from Batman but familiar as well. The back story was similar but unique as well and the villain, the scenery and the motivations are all compelling. Feels almost like a Batman/Watchmen book with Batman hunting someone that is killing former heroes. I’m interested to see how David/Batwing stops Massacre and what The Kingdom did to betray Africa and deserve death.
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Starting to get caught up on Detective Comics and I’ve read these before. This final page of issue #1 has to be one of my favorite images/panels/pages of all-time.
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It is one of my most hated panels. I just want to break his face so bad.
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Tonight I’m getting caught up on Green Arrow and Hawk & Dove.
Green Arrow is…not my favorite. Not even on the list of my favorites. It’s been rough so far and the writing is very…cheesy. The lines Oliver gives when fighting are like throwback lines to Golden Age comics and the villains are ones I’m not familiar with at all. They don’t seem all that threatening and the whole story seems rushed. The first storyline felt preachy to me and dated. I’m hoping this title gets better in time but am not optimistic at this point.
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From what I hear it gets worse.
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I’ve heard that as well. A friend told me this is the worst comic book run he’s ever read.
They can’t all be winners but I’m here for the entirety of The New 52 so on with the show!
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Now I think I need to check out this badness
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