The DC Comics Reboot -- A COLOSSAL JOKE...

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Post by Ben » June 16th, 2011, 7:03 pm

Uh-oh, this really isn't sounding very good at all...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/ju ... NTCMP=SRCH

While it's an interesting notion that Miss Gordon will walk again, some of the other changes sound like change for change's sake.

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Re: The DC Comics Reboot -- A COLOSSAL JOKE...

Post by droosan » June 16th, 2011, 7:30 pm

What gets me is that they're rebooting Supergirl again -- just six years after they'd finally un-done the (stupid) decision to 'kill' her back in the 1980s. :|

GeorgeC

Re:

Post by GeorgeC » June 17th, 2011, 2:25 am

Ben wrote:Uh-oh, this really isn't sounding very good at all...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/ju ... NTCMP=SRCH

While it's an interesting notion that Miss Gordon will walk again, some of the other changes sound like change for change's sake.

I don't know about "change for change's sake."

They might be thinking more along the lines of what will be "easier to adapt to film."

Serious.

That seems to be more the mentality than what makes sense story-wise or respecting certain traditions.

I honestly don't expect the Reboot to take well at all... It's being managed overall by the same crowd of editors and hype artists who have led DC into deep depths of mediocrity and poor sales for over half a decade now.

(Note: These editors are the same guys who show up all the time online and at the major conventions in the US...)

To expect these guys to perform miracles and get great series after renumbering everything #1 --- I don't think it's going to happen. I'd say a quarter of those titles could be gone within a year, half by Year Two. It's not going to be pretty. Droo put it best -- "DC Implosion, Round II."

******************

There's also rumbling about Superman and the status of the legal copyright war and what 2013 could possibly mean about DC's rights to the character. The whole business of copyright is THE reason for why a Superman film is being made now. It has nothing to do with making up for Superman Returns (wishful, naive thinking) or really wanting to get a GOOD Superman film made in the first place. It's about keeping a copyright and satisfying a provision of the current legal squabble. No film = Warner Bros is welching on franchising rights granted to them by the Siegels and the Siegels (what's left of them) aren't seeing their fair share of coin.

The Superman mess is far bigger than the overall DC Reboot situation. It's THE BIG story hidden within the story we're all hearing now.

*****************

I don't disagree with all the character choices DC has made --- some are more iconic than others, certain faces/ID's SHOULD be behind the big masks and capes in the DCU --- but the fact is a lot of storylines have been interrupted and characters with fans are being shoved aside for the sake of "the whole."

And it's already apparent that this is another half-written reboot. Very little if anything is changing with Green Lantern and Batman (DC's two most popular characters now) but everybody else is seeing a temporary five-year drawback in the first storyarcs the first month of the Reboot. After Issue 4, 5, or 6 of the renumbered series, THEN the series will move back into the present.

Yeah.... That REALLY worked well for DC during their OYL (One Year Later) period! ( <= Yet another ill-advised, poorly executed revamp.)

It's not even altogether clear what's being done with DC's Golden Age characters, too, and there are a LOT of fans of the Justice Society and the original Green Lantern and Golden Age Flash, too. They're being put aside "until later."

"Later" very often means years...



P.S. -- I'm back if temporarily.

Was waiting to see if things would cool off a bit.

Thank goodness they did!

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Post by Randall » June 18th, 2011, 2:48 am

Nice to see ya again!

This reboot looks like a mess, continuity-wise, chiefly because it seems so uneven. As George noted, GL and Bats seem way less affected than everyone else. If starting fresh, why do we still see Red Hood, Damian Wayne, Red lnaterns, etc.? And yet, Supes' marriage looks to be getting dissolved, Supergirl and Superboy are reimagined, and the Teen Titans look totally different.

I saw DC big editor guy Eddie Berganza tonight at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo, and tomorrow I'll hear what he has to say at the DC Nation panel. He has a lot of convincing to do for me to be satisfied.

Having said that, there are a few books of interest... Morrison on Action certainly, a Deadman story, a Demon "team-up" book set in the Middle Ages, a Frankenstein comic... DC is capable of putting out good or at least intriguing stuff, but overall the company needs better leadership.

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Post by Randall » June 21st, 2011, 2:29 am

OK, so I went to the DC Nation panel in Calgary, and I spoke individually to Jeff Lemire and Gail Simone. I may not be sold on the whole relaunch, but Simone and Lemire sure convinced me to give their books a try. They have a passion for the material that suggests theirs will be successful (plus they are two of DC's strongest writers to start with). Just because the relaunch idea is suspect, doesn't mean that good books can't result. I think I'll be trying a few.

(Francis Manapul was not as convincing about his Flash book. Jimmy Palmiotti, meanwhile, will likely continue to do great on the slightly revamped Jonah Hex, but Westerns are not my cup of tea. Too bad his Freedom Fighters was cancelled. It was one of the few DC books I was enjoying, along with The Spirit and T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents.)

Incidentally... Also got a great Neal Adams Green Lantern sketch, and tons of cheap hardcover comics. Mike Mignola drew Hellboy in one of my books. His daughter also signed my Amazing Screw-On Head book, as she had written a story printed there. Stuart Immonen drew in my Nextwave books. Adrienne Barbeau signed a Catwoman (animated) 8x10--- nice addition to my Batman wall. Finally got a nice Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein poster. My wife enjoyed Tia Carrere's panel. Summer Glau is tiny. Elvira is unrecognzable out of makeup and not showing her cleavage. Tim Sale signed about 10 books for me, half of which I bought at the show when I saw them cheap. I also bought beautiful prints from Mignola, Adams, Sale, and Joe Jusko. Oh, and I splurged on a photo with William Shatner. Good weekend!

GeorgeC

Post by GeorgeC » June 21st, 2011, 4:21 am

The Shat was there....????

(Yes, we can get away with calling him that. He REFERS to himself as that, too! :lol: )

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Post by Ben » June 21st, 2011, 8:15 am

Why was Nichelle Nichols upset?

Because William Shatner.


;)





Seriously, you should see Rand's pic with the Shat. The excitement in his face looks like he's finding it very tough to stop himself from breaking into an insane "omigodimstandingnexttowilliamshatner" grin! :)

GeorgeC

Post by GeorgeC » June 21st, 2011, 6:07 pm

I wouldn't recommend geekgasms when meeting Shatner... I don't think he's terribly comfortable with that stuff.

I got a sense of that on the recent episode of American Pickers, a History Channel series, that he appeared on. For 40+ years of Trek, he was remarkably restrained when one of the series' leads almost did a full warp spasm on him.

(Really, really dumb move all considered when Shatner was pitching a nice bit of work their way... He contracted the guys to find some out-of-the-way items to help decorate the landscape of his Kentucky home as well as his wife's office.

(Note: Ben and Rand already know this stuff about American Pickers but I'm just retelling it for the benefit of people who didn't see that episode.

(PS -- The guys on American Picker recovered from the one lead's fan-gasm and impressed Shatner. His wife was certainly happy with how her office turned out!)

All kidding aside, I think he's no-nonsense and frankly has had his fill of Trek.

The guy likes to work but doesn't have to be reminded of Trek 24/7.

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Post by Ben » June 22nd, 2011, 4:21 pm

"Fan-gasm". I like that. I like that a lot! :)

GeorgeC

Post by GeorgeC » June 22nd, 2011, 6:42 pm

No... fan-gasm (I kind of like the term, too; I didn't coin it -- somebody else did years ago) is mild compared to what the TOS has experienced.

I've heard stalker stories from different books that would curl your ears. They range from fanatics who followed them con to con to those who showed up AT THEIR HOMES uninvited.

The worst thing that ever happened to one of the TOS members (publicly) was a pie thrown in Shatner's face. He was lucky that's all it was! He gets the full range from people who adore him like a god to those who can't stand the sight of him even though they don't know him personally.

I happen to think the Futurama episode, "Where No Fan Has Gone Before," was a surprise gift for the surviving TOS cast members. Yeah, they all got teased a bit (Shatner was... reticent about doing a guest role because of that) and were good sports about it but it also peeled back and showed a few layers of what these people have had to endure for over 40 years now!

GeorgeC

Post by GeorgeC » July 8th, 2011, 12:12 am

DC editors have a chance to meet with the fans at San Diego Comic-Con this month...

You can bet there will be a lot of questions about the upcoming reboot.
Whether much gets printed from those Q & A's that's actual news of what happened there... I would not bet on much positive news or any news about the people skeptical about these developments. It's just not in the nature of online journalists to print much that's negative about any comic company unless it's something that's overwhelmingly bad and can't be ignored (like recent Spider-Man storylines and the Superman lawsuits).

I'm frankly astounded by some of the pools I've seen on Newsarama and Comic Book Resources.

Some people need to get their heads examined... I think most of them are in their 20's or fanboys that just don't see the mess these reboots have been in the past. The polls I've seen are overwhelmingly positive towards this new reboot. (There's a lot on those comic websites that I don't care for. Newsarama, in particular, has gone downhill and has featured very banal articles since the website was sold to a bigger outfit. It just isn't the same... It might as well be an official DC/Marvel site with the stamp of approval on every comic that comes out!) Don't people remember anything from the past???? DC editorial just doesn't seem to be able to execute plans well and follow through with good strategies. They certainly don't listen to the older fans!

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Re: The DC Comics Reboot -- A COLOSSAL JOKE...

Post by Randall » July 8th, 2011, 12:51 am

Well, sites like CBR and Newsarama are there to promote the industry, so I understand their generally positive outlook. Given the truly dire state of sales (despite many quality books being published), I appreciate the enthusiasm. It will be very interesting to see the DC sales number in September, though, won’t it?

(Incidentally, I used to love Newsarama, but CBR has it beat by a mile these days. However, CBR's new site design is a mess. They should have worked more of the bugs out first.)

My initial response to the reboot (excuse me--- relaunch) was to roll my eyes and say, “Well, that’s it for me then.” I was almost done with DC already anyhow, and the few titles I was buying were getting cancelled. So, it seemed a good time to give up entirely.

However, I want to give this a chance. Hearing Jeff Lemire and Gail Simone in person in Calgary turned me around. Though I have little faith in DC editorial, the individual creators are another story. DC has some good writers who genuinely want to do great work. I’m giving some of those writers a chance. In fact, I’ve let my comic shop guy know that I intend to pick up about 10 of the new books for at least a few months, and I’ll sample a few other first issues too (Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, O.M.A.C.). I really want to love DC again, and I want to support creators that I admire. We’ll see how it works out in September.

For the record, aside from Simone and Lemire’s books (Batgirl, Firestorm, Frankenstein, Animal Man), I’m trying Stormwatch, the 2 Superman books, Justice League, DCU Presents (Deadman), and Mr. Terrific.

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