Well I'm not exactly a "regular" so I was aiming a shot in the dark. I tried a few probing questions while we were talking comics by the counter. Wasn't that shy so it wasn't too hard to figure it out. Asked her what she was doing this weekend, walked out with comics and a number with plans. Couldn't have gone better. Not normally my type, but she's definitely cute.
From what I understand, it draws in alot of female clients with cosplay contests and alot of manga. *shrug*
2) As a slightly pudgy, average looking comic book nerd who can't even talk to girls romantically, I hate you with every fiber of my soul. Nothing personal.
So far...been a big ol'..."Meh." As always, I read a lot of comics each week, and the DC reboot hasnt been much of anything spectacular. Not great, not terrible, just a...meh.
damn it, damn it, damn it. I promised myself i wouldnt end up getting any of the new 52 for at least a good few issues.
aand i caved in, and got action comics, static shock and stormwatch. I'm weak
I still don't really know how they're going to tie in stormwatch into the DCU as a whole. I mean, 'we're not superheros, we're *professionals*' works, but not so much when the "amateurs" are the goddamn JUSTICE LEAGUE.
Action comics... its grant morrison doing golden-age style superman. I couldn't really stop myself buying it. >.> Its definitely a little jarring seeing a more... proactive superman, much less one who isn't on the silly-end of the superpowers scale just yet. interesting start though, and i'll probably keep reading it. and the "we used to have laws in this city. like gravity' line made me smile.
static shock was more of an impulse buy. it was fun, but i dunno if i'll keep reading it regularly.
the only other book i'll probably end up getting is blue beetle, because the last run was awesome.
Got around to reading Animal Man last night before going to sleep. Damn creepy comic, especially the second half. It's interesting how Lemuire is taking some of Morrison's ideas (Grant Morrison had an amazing run on Animal Man) but bringing a lot of his own onto the table. I'm really curious about the idea of The Red (the apparent villains), who seem something akin to Swamp Thing's The Green. Plus, this is probably one of the only surviving, intact families left in comics. I'm sure Dildio will hear wind of that and ruin them soon enough.
At first, I wasn't crazy about the art, but the more I think about it, the more I realize it's suiting. It's a little twisted, but it's fitting....especially once the gore and weirdness starts. The page with the introduction of The Red is just gorgeous.
Didn't care for Action, not my thing. I'll probably enjoy Superman more. Batgirl wasn't bad, and I enjoyed Justice League from last week. I'm looking forward to Detective, and will probably check out JLI and Swamp Thing (this week). I enjoy Kirby's creations and if it wasn't Didio I'd probably read it. As is I'm still pissed at him for single handedly ruining the Outsiders. Twice. In the same Volume.
Would it entice you to read OMAC if it was CO-written by Giffen? The more I think about the issue, the more I realize I think Giffen has more of a hand in the book than Dildio.
Totally agreed on Animal Man feeling like a Vertigo title. I kinda like it like that, actually. Seems DC has a sub-section for some of their books. There's a teen section, a heroes section (JLA, etc), and in this case, a dark section. That'll include Animal Man, JL Dark, Swamp Thing, and I think The Demon.
Somehow, this reboot managed to kill my desire to read Big Two comics at all. I'm just sick to death of them writing comics by random editorial fiat, and it sounds like they're already getting started on that for the reboot.
The only two titles I'm interested in are Stormwatch and Grifter, and only enough to wonder if they're good, not enough to buy.
Read Men of War, and was pleasantly surprised. Decided to pick up Animal Man thanks to people's recommendation. Swamp Thing was already sold out, I flipped through someone elses copy and decided I could pass. These books are selling fast at my LCS, it's really crazy.
Got my books! Read them, all nice and fast. Thoughts:
Hawk & Dove - Pretty good story does, in fact, do a decent job of making up for Rob Liefeld. Also strikes me as a great issue one for newbies. Overall, good enough to make me want issue two.
Justice League International - Not bad. Booster Gold seems to retain his time traveler status. Lots of interaction between team members, unfortunately very little of it seems very unique. Fine start, anxious to see where it goes. Great line-up though.
Static Shock - Felt a little like I was missing something, like how we got here. Still, pretty good. The villains are ridiculously colorful. Hardware is a supporting character, Dakota is still intact...I will stick with it.
Stormwatch - Huh. Possibly the book I was most looking forward to. Suffers from the same problem as Justice League and Justice League International (which is worrying for the rest of the team books coming down the pike) in that it is a start but not a big grabber. Projectionist seems like a cool new character though, and I want to see how Apollo and Midnighter develop.
Green Arrow - Wow. Biggest surprise of the month so far. J.T. Krul writes a pretty damn good story. Not being the Green Arrow expert in the family, I can't say as it's a terrific GA story, but dang. I was expecting lukewarm, got something hot.
Batgirl - Gail Simone is a Comics Goddess. Favorite book so far. 'Nuff said.
The rest of my month (for the morbidly curious):
9/14
BATMAN AND ROBIN #1
FRANKENSTEIN AGENT OF SHADE #1
GREEN LANTERN #1
GRIFTER #1
LEGION LOST #1
MISTER TERRIFIC #1
RESURRECTION MAN #1
SUICIDE SQUAD #1
SUPERBOY #1
9/21
BIRDS OF PREY #1
BLUE BEETLE #1
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #1
LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #1
NIGHTWING #1
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #1
9/28
AQUAMAN #1
BLACKHAWKS #1
THE FLASH #1
THE FURY OF FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MEN #1
GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS #1
TEEN TITANS #1
Yeah. I'm buying just over half of the New 52. In addition to my Marvel books (a list I am actively shrinking to make room for more DC books). If the level of quality continues at current levels, it will probably be Christmas before I'm comfortable pruning the list.
Same except it was a Justice League instead of Batgirl. I went in to check out Batwing and Green Arrow--nothing left.
DC seems to be accomplishing their goal in the short term. We'll see if they can avoid the mistakes that led them to a bad place now that they have this chance. Somehow I doubt it.
Huh. This version of GA seems to have a lot less of a social conscience than the old DCU version, but is focused on using his vast resources to basically be a bounty hunter of low level metacriminals (he spends most of this issue going after some metahuman punks who live like minor celebrities).
I will say, on a different note, Justice League International has a really blatant and out of place take that to fans who are complaining about the reboot. Of protestors outside the Hall of Justice, the UN Liaison for the team says "Ignore them. They're nothing but a bunch of basement dwellers who spend all day whining on the 'net. Not an open minded one in the bunch." Admittedly, the very next panel has the hero he was speaking to reply with "Ignore them? Never! It's our job to prove 'em wrong!", but that next panel is on the next page of story which you have to turn the page passed an ad to get to. So it kind of cockslaps you in the face before giving the more optimistic take (which applies to the people actually reading the comic).
I reread all of the comics I have so far. Liked them all a little more on the second go through, with the initial expectations now in the rearview.
So Saturday night's date went pretty damn well. Met up at one of my favorite little dive bars here in town. I was absolutely blown away by how good she "cleaned up". Not that she didn't look cute before in her comic T and jeans but seeing her in strap buckle dress boots, long trench dress and her hair down was a very nice surprise. We were there no more than about an hour or so when she asked me if I wanted to watch a movie. Since there really wasn't anything at the theatre and I had already made a few small moves on her, I told her I wouldn't mind rewatching something at her place.... We got about a quarter through *REC2 (which she hadn't seen yet that I got her to download/watch) before we weren't watching the screen anymore. Woke up on Sunday, went out for breakfast, talked a little more then I headed home.
It was a fun little night, talked a bit about mostly misc nonsense (no real comic/geek talk) but so far it seems like we're going to end up as FwB. I mean I didn't really feel anything for her romantically, but we have alot in common (She plays MtG and I'm an old vet at it. She's an old vet at comics and I'm barely getting back into it) so I can definitely see a fun relationship coming from this. Not to mention she's fantastic under the sheets. The only negative that really hit me through the night was her mentioning her bi-sexuality. I mean, I have nothing against people like that, it's just that most of the time it comes off as half-assed when it comes to same-sex play. More like it's a hobby for them more than a lifestyle, she however, proved that I had nothing to worry about there.
Already in talk (texts) about our next outing. She's definitely someone I could finally attend a "comic/game con" with, so that's another big plus.
So Saturday night's date went pretty damn well. Met up at one of my favorite little dive bars here in town. I was absolutely blown away by how good she "cleaned up". Not that she didn't look cute before in her comic T and jeans but seeing her in strap buckle dress boots, long trench dress and her hair down was a very nice surprise. We were there no more than about an hour or so when she asked me if I wanted to watch a movie. Since there really wasn't anything at the theatre and I had already made a few small moves on her, I told her I wouldn't mind rewatching something at her place.... We got about a quarter through *REC2 (which she hadn't seen yet that I got her to download/watch) before we weren't watching the screen anymore. Woke up on Sunday, went out for breakfast, talked a little more then I headed home.
It was a fun little night, talked a bit about mostly misc nonsense (no real comic/geek talk) but so far it seems like we're going to end up as FwB. I mean I didn't really feel anything for her romantically, but we have alot in common (She plays MtG and I'm an old vet at it. She's an old vet at comics and I'm barely getting back into it) so I can definitely see a fun relationship coming from this. Not to mention she's fantastic under the sheets. The only negative that really hit me through the night was her mentioning her bi-sexuality. I mean, I have nothing against people like that, it's just that most of the time it comes off as half-assed when it comes to same-sex play. More like it's a hobby for them more than a lifestyle, she however, proved that I had nothing to worry about there.
Already in talk (texts) about our next outing. She's definitely someone I could finally attend a "comic/game con" with, so that's another big plus.
Detective Comics - Not bad, unsure where it takes place in the new timeline. I liked that they de-aged Gordon (or it's an early story where he's not yet Comissioner). Batman & Robin - Loved it. Tomasi continues to be my favorite current Bat-writer. I just love stories where Batman & Robin work and fight together. My favorite so far. Justice League International - meh. It seems to be at an odd spot right now since Justice League is an origin story right now (which hasn't even gotten started yet really). Maybe if it came out 4 months down the line it would be better. Mister Terrific - Surprised me. It wasn't perfect, had one scene in particular that was just extremely odd and out of place. Also, Power Girl? Demon Knights - Didn't expect one of the characters to be there. Overall not much happened. I do like the Demon so I'll keep reading, art was nice. Legion Lost - I was only slightly less confused than when I read the first issue of the last Legion Lost (must read if you're a Legionnaire fan). Superboy - Decent. Liked the art, story wasn't bad. Need Young JusticeTeen Titans to come out now. Animal Man - It was good. Art was ok, up until Buddy's dream. I'll be getting this monthly.
So All of these were decent, but there was one Marvel title that came out this week that put every other book to shame. If you are not reading Daredevil you are seriously missing out.
Me too. been meaning to write about this for a few days. I'd say the art in Animal Man was better than okay, most especially once the horrific stuff in the last couple of pages started appearing. It's twisted and slightly off, which works for the book's twisted setting,.
Mr. Terrific - It's some fun, solid superhero stuff with some really neat ideas (like his secret lair). It's got some potential and it's enough for me to at least check out the next issue.
Demon Knights - I wasn't crazy about this at first. Like Covar, I agree that not a lot happened. But then I realized that it's a Seven Samurai style story, but in a fantasy setting. So it's all set up for the moment. Plus...DRAGONS! How awesome.
Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. - I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I did, but it's still a lot of fun. The art's hit and miss, but mostly hit. Basically, this is like DC's version of Mike Mignola's BPRD and it works. Definitely one I'll keep picking up for now.
Resurrection Man - It's Abnett & Lanning, who have done some amazing work like the above mentioned original Legion Lost, along with pretty much all of Marvel's cosmic stuff from Annhilation and on. This is up there with Animal Man, in my opinion. Can't wait for more.
Oh, and although it's not DC...
Ultimate Spider-Man #1 - The debut of our new Ultimate Spider-Man, Miles Morales. And I have to admit, he's a likeable character. He's different in a lot of ways from Peter Parker and it looks like his powers won't be exactly the same. But I like that about the book. As always, Bendis brings some great character moments.
Suicide Squad - Liked it, but it was no Secret Six. King Shark didn't brag about being a "fucking SHARK!" once. Still, good. Liked the Black Canary cameo.
Grifter - Interesting start. Interesting premise. I really believe that part of the reason for this relaunch is streamline their marketable properties with an eye towards other media, and I can soooo see Grifter as TV show or movie based on this issue alone.
Mister Terrific - More solid than I had expected. Dug it. Keep him in his own corner of the DCU and I think it will work very nicely. Did anyone else connect the Doctor Who reference on the third page with the concept of his secret lair existing outside normal space-time? or am I just seeing things that aren't there? And GOD I hope Karen Starr is still Power Girl and they aren't just fucking with us.
Green Lantern - It's Green Lantern. Seriously. Could have been issue #68. Which is just fine, but still. Not really feeling relaunched here.
Batman & Robin - Wow, I actually really enjoyed the Bruce/Damian dynamic. I was really "meh" about Tomasi's run with Dick/Damian, but this issue really hooked me. Plus, being as this is the only Batman book I read, glad to see a definite Batman, Inc. presence in the DCU.
Superboy - I was really not sure about picking this one up, only did because it ties directly into Teen Titans (which I am looking forward to). Went in with few expectations, got something very much worth reading. Still not sure I like completely rebooting the relationships of the current crop of Titans, but we shall see.
Resurrection Man - DnA are great. While mostly a slow intro, it really did move (packed a lot of stuff in for something that ultimately felt slow) when it wanted to. Another one I can see as a TV series.
Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE - Loved it! From SHADE's HQ, to the slightly different (from their Flashpoint counterparts) Creature Commandos, to Father Time's new body, good weird science/magic fun.
Batman - Read it. Scott Synder is an excellent and welcome addition to the Bat Family. Nightwing - If you like Dick (Grayson that is) you'll probably already be reading this. It was pretty good. Supergirl - I wish DC would remember that they have fonts for Kryptonian and Interlac alphabets. This book was like Justice League, really needs issue 2. Blue Beetle - I need to brush up on my Spanish. I like Tony Bedard, didn't give Jamie a chance with his last book, but liked him in Teen Titans and especially in Batman: Brave and the Bold. first issue was just that, same as Supergirl.
That's all I've read so far from this week. I still have Legion of Super-Heroes, Wonder Woman, Birds of Prey, DC Comics Presents (Deadman's book so far), and Green Lantern Corp waiting on my stack.
Didn't pick up anything this week. Can't say I was interested in anything, honestly. I might still pick up Wonder Woman but I haven't decided.
So, now that DC's first month of their new universe is nearly done, what's going on your pull list? My picks are ones that I feel (optimistically, that is) won't have much crossover interference in them:
-Animal Man
-OMAC
-Demon Knights
-Frankenstein
-Resurrection Man
-Mr. Terrific (at least trying #2)
-Action Comics (I think; I'm still trying to get #1 from my local comic store)