Aldo reads DC's New 52 (So you don't have to)

Resurrection Man #1 W: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning Art: Fernando Dagnino

OK, there's obscure and there's Resurrection Man. Around for two years in the late 90s and that's pretty much it, the creators of the character have been given a second chance with him; which is kind of fitting as his powers are that he dies and comes back to life with a new power (that he doesn't know what it is).

This ends up working maybe the best of any of the 52 books then just because of this, primarily because it hasn't got any huge amount of history it has to cram in or ignore and nothing to be inconsistent with. And although I enjoyed it I wasn't engaged at any point, plus the whole "fixed events and you can't prevent them because you cause them" part of the plot reminded me of everything I hate about modern Doctor Who.

The art is the thing though. It reminds me of the last attempt to bring back Marvel's New Universe, or lower tier Marvel supernatural books of the 80s/90s like Druid. And it features the worst piece of art this week, coupled with one of the weirdest bits of dialogue:

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6066/6159052817_c3220c0ddd_z.jpg

"A GaGa kind of way". Plus the hands. Ignoring his giant hand at the front of the panel, we have this behind:

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6179/6159591778_d71e02f638.jpg

Uh. It's her hand that's behind that doesn't work, as that inexplicable bit of width makes it look like it's her thumb and not his. Still, a decent first issue and I'm sticking with it.

Kind of looks like she has a case of toethumb

That scene hopefully takes place in the waiting room of Resurrection Man's dentist's office, which just happens to have an interesting painting of Resurrection Man scowling out a window. Does "a gaga kind of way" mean like Lady Gaga (who belongs in Red Lantern or Demon Knights) or as in Freudian/Oedipal hoochie-wawa?
"I need Red Lanterns in my shorts"

I think the former. I'd prefer the latter. (Actually, yr whole post has put "Metal Fingers In My Body" on my IJ which is no bad thing and somewhat appropriate for the first half of this book.)

I know I have two books left btw, they'll turn up tomorrow. One of them was my favourite thing this week. OOH THE TENSION.

the current Mr. Terrific as works better as a DC Reed Richards type IMO

re: JLI image, vaguely resembles:
http://images.wikia.com/marvel_dc/images/9/99/Brave_and_the_Bold_28.jpg
Is Jurgens doing layouts on JLI? Because that splash was very deliberately composed to evoke classic iconography of team books. I've always liked Jurgens as a penciller (though not really as a stylist, if that makes sense), got no opinion of him as a writer, have no idea what his comics values are. He seems to turn out consistently MOR work. His art never gets in the way of the story, but it doesn't really enhance it either.

That's a really good effort but not what I was thinking of. It'll come to me, I'm sure.

I just read OMAC. And while its heart was in the right place, I guess, I had to wonder why this book even got made. Doing a Kirby thing (and OMAC is incredibly Kirby, perhaps the Kirbyest, or within spitting distance of it) without the King just doesn't make any sense. In the meantime, I'll just pull the old HC off the shelf and flip through it again, since it will be everything that this series is shooting for, and more.

prob DiDio got excited about the good reviews for Paul Pope’s cover version of Omac #1 in Solo and went “gissa job, I can do that”

and the boss said “alright then”

the boss: http://americanthings.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/looney-tunes-by-zewebanimdotcom.jpg

http://www.flashbackuniverse.com/blogImages/random/DanDidio.jpg

YOUR SOUL. GIVE IT TO ME.

Suicide Squad #1 W: Adam Glass Art: Federico Dallocchio/Ransom Getty/Scott Hanna

Different Universe, same Suicide Squad. Supervillains get let out of jail in return for pulling off covert missions as part of Task Force X, the catch being that it's unlikely they'll all make it. This can be kind of predictable, as it's usually the small-time villains you've never heard of that buy the farm, but whatevs.

This is an establishing book, with a bit of history on Task Force X and a bit of history of the current members, but this is a blast from start to finish. Members in #1 are Deadshot, Harley Quinn, King Shark, Black Spider, el Diablo, Voltaic and Savant and guess what? Not all of them get to the end of the issue, where we get a brief Amanda Waller cameo (boy, has she been working out in the Johns Universe...) and the next mission, which looks like a doozy.

But putting all that aside, FUN FUN FUN

King Shark is the best thing about this issue by a country mile.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6158/6162473170_590fb3342e_z.jpg

And I defy anyone not to love the contrast between him and everybody else here.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6204/6161938199_ddd39b065a_z.jpg

Welcome back. I've missed you not being about.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6173/6162473518_7d0d024c0c_z.jpg

Aldo's winner of the week. Guaranteed to contain no Sadface.

Is this Deadshot supposed to be someone else than Floyd Lawton? If not, what happened to his cool mask and moustache? Why mess with a great character design?

Superboy #1 W: Scott Lobdell P: RB Silva I: Rob Lean

And after that, a let-down. For starters, this is not Superboy as in Young Clark Kent. It's kind of Superboy as in Kon-El. But the fact I've mis-typed Superboy as Superbot several times is a bit of a giveaway - this is Superboy as in Astro Boy:

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6159/6161977871_66dd60c600_z.jpg

There's an awful lot of setup in this, and I'm not sure I followed it fully to be honest. I mean, what's this even about?

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6176/6162513812_6853c555a0_z.jpg

And there are words. Lots of words. Lots and lots of words. Neal Adams Batman levels of words. LOOK AT THEM!

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6077/6162513732_489a5b6ec2_z.jpg

But then it all happens in the last page. Is this a hint towards Universe Punching? If so I'm up for it, if not I'm out.

Yes, Deadshot is Floyd Lawton. His mask is broken here, he has the full thing elsewhere in the book. He doesn't have a moustache because he isn't in his 60, Scandanavian or living in the 1970s.

In a stunning twist of fate, I have managed to last longer on the books than one of the creative teams - John Rozum has announced he's left Static Shock.

hah!

I think the obsolete moustache was a great part of his character... Even if he was occasionally portrayed sympathetically, you knew he was never gonna make a full turn into being a good guy, because he had such an obvious old-school Evil Moustache. So I would assume the lack of moustache means he's now gonna become a Usually Moral Anti-Hero instead of a Usually Amoral one.

(xx-post)

Also, in Secret Six Gail Simone made it clear that his fashion sense in general is a relic of the 1970s.

In a stunning twist of fate, I have managed to last longer on the books than one of the creative teams

Haven't several of them lost their artists before or during the first issues already? And Action #2 and #3 have both been solicited with fill-in artists doing substantial chunks of the pages.

you knew he was never gonna make a full turn into being a good guy, because he had such an obvious old-school Evil Moustache. So I would assume the lack of moustache means he's now gonna become a Usually Moral Anti-Hero instead of a Usually Amoral one.

^booming post

One of the funniest moments in Invincible (SPOILERS if you haven't read it) was related to that... The main bad guys in the series are this race of Evil Fascist Aliens who have conquered half the galaxy, and all of the men of that race sport a 70s style Evil Moustache. Now, the main opponent of Evil Empire is an interplanetary alliance lead by an old dude with a Gandalf beard. In a SHOCKING TWIST the old dude reveals to the good guys that he is actually a reformed member of the Evil Alien Race. How does he do that? By pulling of his fake beard, revealing that the only real facial hair he has is a 70s moustache.

i don't know why the world needs another punisher, but i guess the world didn't need lobo either and now here we are

http://images.wikia.com/marvel_dc/images/9/98/Lobo_Paramilitary_Christmas_Special_1.jpg

oops i meanhttp://images.wikia.com/marvel_dc/images/9/98/Lobo_Paramilitary_Christmas_Special_1.jpg

Are you talking about Deadshot? He's not like The Punisher at all.

u know, i was actually thinking of deathstroke whose new incarnation is kinda punisher-esque. i haven't read the new Suicide Squad yet

Deadshot is older than the Punisher AFAIK, Deathstroke was always 'inspired' by him AAFAIK

Only one mustache allowed in this brave new universe.

is it wrong that I'm still giggling that someone thought Batwing was a good title for a comic book

It just means you go outside to do things other than go to a comic store, imo.

What is this outside you speak of?

I think it has something to do with where Superman flies, or jumps, or whatever it is he does now.

at first I thought you were talking about batwing, not outside

And now JT Krul is off Green Arrow and Keith Giffen is in. How is that supposed to help me shed titles after #3?

Action #4 has also been solicited with a fill-in artist, AND a back-up story by another writer and artist "spinning off from the events of #2!"

http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/mazing12.jpg

So after a month where it looked like the ACTUALLY MIGHT HAVE PULLED THIS OFF, DC seem determined to fuck it all up. Where does the fault lie. DiDio?

If by "pulling this off" you mean "making the rebooted titles accessible to new readers", I don't think they ever pulled it off. Out of the titles I've read so far, only OMAC and possibly Action Comics haven't required the reader to know previous continuity in order to fully understand the plot.

Take Swamp Thing, for example: I mentioned above that I thought Alec Holland being alive again was some kind of a mystery that would be explained in later issues, but it turns out this was something that actually happened in Blackest Night, which I haven't read. So even you if are aware of Moore's classic Swamp Thing (like I was) in order to get the stuff that Holland is talking about troughout the issue, you still have to read a big superhero crossover to understand what happened to Holland and the previous Swamp Thing. Why can't superhero comics have those little "see Blackest Night #8 for more details - your helpful editor" boxes anymore?

No, by "pulling it off" I meant actually making money from publishing funnybooks which afaik they hadn't been for some time. And tbh only a small handful of the books have required you to know previous continuity - Batwing and Batman & Robin being the most obvious examples - and even then I suspect all it does is produces a different reading. I've shown them to someone who doesn't do the whole continuity thing and we've pretty much liked the same books (though sometimes for different reasons).

Suicide Squad has one of those little boxes, as does at least one other of this week's books (memory says it's Superman related?).

I get what you say about Alec Holland, but does it actually matter to a new reader? If you don't have the level of continuity that you already have in your brain, would you care what the answer is?

Well, let's assume I would be a totally new reader who's never read any Swamp Thing related comics. If I was, for me the plot of SW #1 would be something like this:

* There's a botanist named Alec Holland. He developed some super-growth plant serum, then died in an accident. While he was dead something unexplained happened, which is why he has some memories that don't belong to him. Then he was resurrected for unexplained reasons. He monnologues about weird things that are not explained, like "Swamp Thing" and "the Green".

* He meets Superman (presumably even this new reader knows who Superman is), who tells him that various forms of fauna are inexplicably dying in masses. Then they have an oblique discussion about some unexplained things that happened in the recent past.

* Creepy stuff happens in the desert. This is actually pretty cool!

* Holland has further monologues about unexplained things, and he keeps repeating he's not this "Swamp Thing".

* The issue ends with him meeting a monster made of plants. Maybe this is the "Swamp Thing"?

I'd say that the basic requirement for a successful issue #1 would be to establish the protagonist(s): who is he, what does he do, what drives him to do what do what he does? Unless you know the previous continuity, Swamp Thing #1 has none of that. More than half of the issue is about some mysterious guy mulling over past events that are not really explained at all.

Or, you know, you could explain that as a slow build.

Trying deconstructing OMAC in the same way, and see what that looks like.

Well yeah, I guess if all these mysterious past events are explained in later issues, then the title might get accessible to new readers. But since all these events have already happened in previous comics, I'm not sure if they ever bother to do that.

Trying deconstructing OMAC in the same way, and see what that looks like.

This is actually interesting, because I've never read any OMAC related comics before, so I was actually the "new reader" here, as I knew nothing about the characters involved. So, what I got out of it:

* There's a secret high-tech lab underneath a regular lab, and the secret lab is involved in some shady business.

* A superpowered creature named OMAC is sent to infiltrate it by his boss.

* The secret lab is ran by some villainous non-human character who sends his minions to fight OMAC.

* We find out that OMAC's boss wants to merge with a supersecret computer network inside the secret lab, and that he once inhabited this network. So presumably he's some kind of an AI who wants to get some data out of the network.

* OMAC beats the minions and manages to connect to the network, thus giving his boss access to it.

* OMAC exits the lab, and it turns out he's one of the workers of the regular lab, who's been changed without his knowledge into this creature by the AI.

* The AI is shown to be occupying a satellite in the sky, and he has some further plans.

So yeah, there still are some unexplained questions left (what exactly did the AI want from the network? what are its further plans for OMAC?), but there's definitely much more for the new reader to grasp than in ST #1.

don't think these mythical 'new readers' exist any more, or exist in this state of divine ignorance, or ever set foot in a comic bk store, or buy comics without first reading their relevant wiki entry or the comic book news sites, tbh

or ever set foot in a comic bk store,

hence day-and-date,in theory

but none of them are going to pay $3.99 for 24 .jpgs

Back when I was (much) younger, being (initially) confused was actually quite appealing for me as a first-time reader on a given title.