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

i enjoyed Long Halloween and Hush and the first volume of Superman/Batman, but he kinda had a steep drop-off after that

I don't know, Long Halloween or whatever seemed like a really basic intro to all the villain characters with a thin plot. The animated series had deeper plots!

in some cases yes, but they were really fun reads to me at the time, even if neither story holds up to any level of examination. like a trashy, geeky tv show that keeps you glued in week to week with a convoluted backstory with endless cliffhangers, but is ultimately disposable. also, both those books for me brought me back to reading Batman after many years away from comics, because of their accessibility and familiarity (Year One in the case of the Long Halloween, Jim Lee's art in the case of Hush). I guess no matter how bad his stuff is now, i'm really glad he made those two books.

the problem with Loeb's later stuff is that basically went too far IMO, and by the time he was writing Ultimates I stopped reading... though the little i read of Red Hulk went so far in the crazy/stupid direction, it almost redeemed itself

Ultimates -> Ultimatum are pretty much the worst comics ever

To be fair, Red Hulk has been perfectly readable since Jeff Parker took over. The only reason to read the issues by Loeb are for the Ed McGuinness art.

The first arc of BATMAN/SUPERMAN was big goofball fun, but I suspect much of that is sheer novelty, as it was pretty unlike most anything DC was putting out at the time. HUSH was a muddled mess, even discounting the editorial interference that rewrote the ending (think it was actually supposed to be Jason Todd underneath it all but that got scotched.) But everyone loved it because it was parade of Bat-rogues as drawn by Jim Lee.

ULTIMATES has been utterly dire, from what I've seen of it.

Loeb Ultimates is dreadful, Millar Ultimates is BigScreen Fun, which would be a shame if this was all the comics that there ever were, but it isn't.

first Millar Ultimates was big screen fun, second one was dire

Remember reading HUSH a couple of years after it first came out, due to all the hype, didn't like it--especially lolworthy was the way that a new mysterious villain is introduced who KNOWS SECRETS ABOUT BATMAN, and at the same time we are suddenly given another brand new character who was Bruce Wayne's best childhood friend, and somehoe it is supposed to be a surprise that the two are really the same guy (gasp!)

Yeah, I know quite a few lapsed comics readers who got back into reading them via Long Halloween and Hush. I think they're pretty great entry-level books. I'm a sucker for those sprawling crime-saga-y Batman stories, where he's almost a secondary character.

Dark Victory is absolute shite, though.

yeah, i don't really know what he was doing with that

one of the most disappointing changes in the new 52 was rectified this week in Secret Six when we were shown the secret origin of Deadshot's mustache.

It's Mr Mind balancing on his upper lip?

Superboy punched him in the mouth?

Latest ACTION was pretty okay, but then I remind myself that I'm paying three bucks for that much comics and then it feels thin.

At least this was the first issue in the run that actually had the page count of (Morrison) comics that DC promise at that price.

"one of the most disappointing changes in the new 52 was rectified this week in Secret Six when we were shown the secret origin of Deadshot's mustache."

I've been avoiding those as I am such a Deadshot fan and really thought he (and really the current Secret Six) were the kind of things that DC needed to showcase instead of trying to change up. Those characters are great. I think Floyd is about my favorite 'non major' super hero/bad guy character. I loved the old 80s Suicide Squad and Simone Secret Six.

I mean that for real, Floyd is one of my very favorites too and when he appeared clean-shaven in Suicide Squad (not secret six, oops) I was totally mad. But that one is actually a pretty fun title, not quite as good as Ostrander and Simone but it can sit right next to them.

Writer: Grant Morrison
Artists: Rags Morales, Rick Bryant, Brent Anderson, Gene Ha, Andy Kubert and Jesse Delperdang

Obviously Kubert isn’t so excited about drawing those two last-minute story-derailing issues that he can do them by himself. This shows amazing confidence that Morales will have his shit together enough to draw #7 and #8 though!

― ٩(̾●̮̮̃̾•̃̾)۶ (sic), Friday, 11 November 2011 07:58 (5 months ago)

So after two months off and substitute artists drawing half of each of the three issues before that, Rags Morales DID manage to draw 70% of #7! The remaining 8 pages being one of those unwanted, redundant, insulting back-up stories by Sholly Fisch that DC insist count towards the $3.99 = 28ish pp price tag.

In an amazing advance, #8 is the first issue to actually provide A FULL 30 PAGES OF MORRISON SUPERMAN for the $3.99 cover price. However, despite two months off to catch up and never turning in one single full issue to date (and only one, ever, without partial fill-ins to even make it to the should-be-$2.99 page count), Morales needs two CREDITED partial fill-in artists, and what looks like two more uncredited assistants or ghosts to my eye, to get this issue done.

The worst part is that to my eye, Rags Morales just isn't that good an artist. Competent, yes. But nothing to get excited over.

Barely this side of competent tbh (I've never read anything else by him)

Perhaps Morrison simply isn't writing to Morales' strengths (extremely sad rubber men)

DEVIL'S ADVOCATE:

He was very good on Peyer's Hourman. Mind you that was over a decade ago...

And now he's crap.

I've never read those HOURMANS. Actually, missed them altogether as I was mostly out of comics then. Should I seek 'em out?

And I'll admit that IDENTITY CRISIS probably ruined me on Rags Morales' art for all eternity.

Seemed to have a better inker for IC, maybe?

The new costume is still godawful. Like worse than electric mullet Superman.

Why was Superman's costume completely different for two panels in the middle of Action 8? Made no sense. And Batwoman 8 not much chop either. I think I'm off the new 52 now.

Superman's costume actually changed several times during that issue, as far as I could tell one time was for a story reason, the others might have been because of all the different artists or might have been for a story reason, who on earth can be expected to know

has replacement artist been announced for Batwoman yet? I can't imagine it won't be a shambles on the short notice

I just assumed it was the mescaline kicking in for me, but yeah, there were costume changes that I suppose might be explained by something else. Maybe.

When he gets knocked against Kandor it changes into a Jim-Lee-ised Silver Age Jor-El style

later on his normal Jim Lee style changes pattern and gets red piping on the collar and whatnot

but why?

i'm no longer reading any of the new 52. i keep thinking about picking up issues of superman and animal man, but...

I... am still getting Grifter, Voodoo, JLDark and JL

I like the Batman thing with the owls

I am about to restart on this btw - probably the weekend when things will start going up.

is there any noise about scrapping this abomination yet? is it still actually selling?

what would they publish if they scrap what is, now that Batman: Odyssey is done, 100% of their core line?

(The tops are still selling a little higher than the reboot, the bottoms are selling as low as before)

"What do we do if this goes tits-up?" is a key question that, by all rights, should have been bandied about in the halls of DC editorial before they undertook this gargantuan overhaul, but something tells me that they don't and never did have an exit strategy.

plan b is was and always has been CALL JOHN BYRNE

"Still here guys!"
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/John_Byrne.JPG/230px-John_Byrne.JPG

Nooooo

so mad I can't find a photo of the special elevated chair Byrne uses at signings to place him higher than other artists, right now

I thought he didn't go to shows anymore.

That pic did give me cause to bust out laughing for a moment, though. The other one, even moreso.

used, then, your strange North American world is basically permanently '80s to me

Surely we are discussing Plan C, where Plan B is All Liefeld All The Time?

He's the ginger Kevin Smith!

If it was permanently 80s, then Spacemen 3 might still be together, which would be weird.

Though I did see JB once at a show in 1988 or 1989. I've told the story here before, about the moment that I lost all respect for him. Will tell it again if needed.

go for it

reprint stamp?

NOT A DREAM SEQUENCE
NOT A HOAX

Not the reprint stamp.

JB would hold court at his table (with a normal-size chair), draw a sketch and hold it up for the clutch of fanboys hovering around. Then he would hold an auction right then and there amongst the gathered fans.

That same show, a friend got a fully inked sketch of the Joker by Bill Sienkiewicz for like ten bucks.

I still enjoy JB's FANTASTIC FOUR run and his UNCANNY, but lost a whole ton of respect for him at that moment.

Ha, that IS dickish!