Is DCnU a Real Reboot?

Today we discuss the "n" of DCnU fame.

I've read a month worth of the DC"n"U comics. Not all of them, but enough. I probably hovered around half. <UPDATE: I counted, it is precisely 26> Some of the comics seem like reboots (Action Comics, Frankenstein), a lot seem like relaunches (Swamp Thing, Animal Man), and the rest just seem like new arcs for existing stories (Green Lantern, Batman).

So where does that leave us with this reboot? It's bullshit, but a brand of bullshit that makes a lot of sense.

Batman #1 provided my tipping point last week:

Can a ginge get some diversity?

Really? Thanks for the labels to indicate which Robin is which, but how the hell am I supposed to know what these characters mean? Wouldn't a reboot mean I'd meet each Robin in turn? This single panel hints at quite a lot of back story. Certainly more than five years, the time period DC claims this new U has existed.

I know a little bit about these Robins, but this panel screams bloated canon, the very thing I thought this reboot was supposed to deliver me from.

So while I do think that DC has in some sense lied or BSed us about where these new 52 books fall as reboots, maybe I'm not really angry about it.

As I read through these books, I did become frustrated at times when they presented characters with  backgrounds obviously not rebooted. After all, I started reading comics this month because I thought I could get into these stories with the slight-more-than-cursory knowledge I possessed. This was to be a starting point for me.

Green Lantern and Legion Lost are great examples of characters that seem to have just had a #1 slapped on their new adventure. These stories mean nothing on their own without each story's continuity.

Green Lantern succeeds as an introduction because it provides enough reference to fill in back story for a new reader. I don't know a lot about Green Lantern, but I know the basics. This story is a new arc, not a reboot, but it was written as a point of introduction.

Legion Lost, however, fails at introducing me to the Legion Lost's universe. Admittedly, I bring zero knowledge of these characters to my first read, so perhaps the book isn't as opaque as it seems to me, but the book also doesn't even try to help me catch up with the world. From Legion Lost #1:

Red Robot Guy: Tyroc, I told you the longer we waited following Alastor's wake, the harder it would be to pierce the Flashpoint Breakwall!

Dude with Goggles and White Vest, probably Tyroc: People needed our help in the 31st Century First, Wildfire. We came after him as soon as we could.

That is some excellent exposition. Just exquisite. I appreciate it trying but Legion Lost fails as a new arc / relaunch because without prerequisite knowledge this makes no goddamn sense at all.

The conclusion that I have come to about all of this DC reboot hand-waving, is that it is not so much a relaunch as a collective effort to make the continuities across the board more accessible.There are quibbles about what is still continuity, and what isn't. There are people that just want DC to lay out what has happened in the universe and what hasn't, what they are keeping as canon.

But, this is the wrong approach. DCnU is DC's attempt to let people in. We aren't starting each character over from scratch, but asking us as readers to let them recreate canon.

So, the reason DC can't give a straight answer about what has happened and what hasn't happened in this new DCU is that they plainly don't know. Canon is gone. Some characters are in similar places as they were before, some characters are now different, and there are some new additions to the DCU, but what has happened before the #1s is something that DC will create. Canon will be what the writers of the new 52 comics and the other comics to follow construct. And ultimately, what the eventual audience of this DCnU decide is canon.

Asking DC what is canon is like asking DC from 10 years ago what canon would be now. DC may have some preliminary plans and courses for this new launch, but from their comments online, their plans seem more than a little bit hazy. Whether DC has everything planned out already, or whether they have no idea, as an audience, I'm curious why some believe DC owes us an explanation of this nU's canon at all. How I see it now, DC's story and characters haven't been rebooted per say, rather the history of these characters.

Batman does have a bajillion different Robins still, just like he had before the reboot, but now maybe he has them for different reasons. Their back stories might be similar, but we can't necessarily assume that. They all might be his clones for all we know. God sakes, they look the same after all.

After a month I now think that the DCU isn't new, it just having it's history reworked. This reworking might be for narrative reasons, but more likely, is is a way to expand DC's readership. DC may seem to be running around like a crazed chicken, but maybe that's because they are trying to figure this thing out just like everyone else.

As a creative process, I respect that DC might not have a master plan, that they are trying to refocus the collaborative Universe of stories and character to make their product more accessible. As a purely financial decision, I respect that decision. At the present moment it might seem like DC has taken a step out onto the tightrope without ever thinking about training, but I am willing to let them try and figure it out. That's storytelling.

If they actually do fall and go splats, I stand to save a nice wad of money on comics every month. Win, win.

Catwoman #1: A Defense, a Klusterfluffle

Catwoman and Red Hood caused a good deal of hullabaloo the previous week. We've seen many readers and critics react very strongly against these two comics. The fuss lead to discussions about how women are represented not just in comics but in all media. Men and women alike are disappointed that we are still in a culture that objectifies women as a matter of course.

These conversations are great. I'm thrilled that we are reconsidering what we will accept as the representation of women in comics and further that we have expectations at all for this reboot to change things. Our expectation that comics will consciously consider how they depict women, and that this new DCnU is an effort to make changes for the better should push publishers to meet those expectations.

Really though, I'm really surprised that the disappointment and outrage happened this week in particular, and that everyone is so pissed off at Catwoman.

I'll start off by saying that I haven't read Red Hood, but I have seen the pictures of Starfire in a bikini. These pictures alone seems like the fucking definition of damning evidence. I haven't read the book myself, but from what I've heard it really isn't worth my time. I may still pick it up though, just to see the context of what appears to be a pretty disgusting case of objectification.

What I want to do in this post is discuss Catwoman and why people are upset about it, but then explain why this comic, while complicated in terms of its representation of a woman, is still a strong comic with a strong female character.

What to Buy, What to Buy (DCnU Launch Week 4)

No wires here at all. Nope.

I've been a little quiet this week. I've been busy, but I've also been preparing a post about Catwoman. I'm still trying to let some of the dust to settle in my head and I want to make sure I get this post right as I'm throwing some shit at a fan.

But, since tomorrow is Wednesday, I want to list what comics I plan to pick up tomorrow.

• All Star Western - Yes. (I didn't see Jonah Hex the movie so I'm relatively unscarred by this book. I'm a sucker for westerns)
• Aquaman - Yes (I hate Aquaman as a character. A dude from the ocean? What use is he to the rest of the super hero community? Good on beach day? But there's a lot of good buzz, and I would have picked this up anyways. Gotta see how someone would try to make this dude interesting)
• Batman: The Dark Knight - Maybe (How much Batman can one person take?)
• Blackhawks - No (I'm burned out on teams, thanks.)
• The Flash - Yes (I had a friend that was into him. Told me he could run through things and then have them blow up. Better than a water guy.)
• The Fury of Firestorm - Yes (Co-written by Gail Simone. I have to support female comic writers. Batgirl was also enjoyable.)
• Green Lantern: New Guardians - Most likely not (Ragtag team? Lanterns? Does not seem like the best choice I could make.) 
• I, Vampire - No (Unlike westerns, I have no enthusiasm for vampires.)
• Justice League Dark - Yes (Only because of John Constantine.)
• Savage Hawkman - No (Hahahahahahahaha)
• Superman - No (I've already got one Superman thanks)
• Teen Titans - No (Superboy is going to kill these guys so what's the point?)
• Voodoo - No (Who do the voodoo?)

We are getting closer to next month. I'm pretty excited about some #2s.

Justice League International #1

I'm really curious about the brown guy with the glowing fork.

Yesterday I posted my thoughts on Stormwatch #1. I concluded that while some of the characters were interesting, the writing was a little unsophisticated and a little confusing.

JLI #1, is also unsophisticated, confusing, but none of the characters are interesting. I don't mean to be overly negative, but this book is a failure.

I picked up this series because I'm a fan of Booster Gold. Booster is a dude from the future that uses future technology and knowledge to be a superhero. What makes him engaging is that he isn't a hero at all. He craves stardom, and makes bad decisions as a result. This is often comical, but it also creates the potential for character development. That is something you don't get as much with a Batman or Wonderwoman.

Skeets! Billy West ta boot in JLU.

I'm also a sucker for obscure heroes. I love seeing a crew of people that aren't normally in the limelight, showing off the powers that explain why they aren't normally in the limelight. Writing stories for these kinds of heroes requires a little more creativity because you can't just have a big monster come out of the ground and have them go to town on it. This is what makes their stories so fun to read however. They solve a different sort of problems from the A team, and in different ways.

And JLI has a bunch of heroes that I don't know, which is great, but we don't spend any time getting to know them before the main chunk of the story starts. Each are name dropped, displayed in a panel, and we are told where they are from. Then, the whole thing rushes towards the first story without giving the team much time to interact.

And that sums up the two major problems with this book, it relies too much on previous knowledge of these characters and the DC world, and it moves at a pace the story doesn't warrant.

Some very minor spoilers to follow.

I'm really fine with not knowing who people are, or what they can do, as long as you give them an opportunity to show that off at some point, both powers and character. There is a lot to be said for the slow divulge. But that is something that doesn't necessarily fit a mainstream JL type title. If the story is going to be superhero pulp, don't go for the long character reveal. Just doesn't fit.

In the final chunk of the book, the JLI races off to investigate something and they suddenly become involved in a large physical conflict. You know, super hero action stuff, with punching and power-using. But the action is depicted in big scenes rather than in smaller individual panels.

By quickly focusing on each character and how they handle the threat we could have been given a nice glimpse/introduction to the personality and powers of each JLI member. Instead, there are these large ensemble action tableaus where everyone is doing some generic something. Powers are used, but in the busy glut action, I can only garner a small amount of information about how the various members are doing. Apparently this one can glow, this one can jetpack, and this guy just seems to stand heroically. Batman also thinks this lady isn't pulling her wait. She think Batman is a prick.

I just wished there was some time to get to know these characters before the story plunged ahead. Really, a pair of conflicts occur before and at the same time as the main conflict that are just as engaging, if not more so. I'd rather see an opening issue that deals with group dynamics, and the socio-political implication of a UN mandated JL. Then again, maybe I'm a dullard.

More specific spoilers to follow.

One of the conflicts that I am talking about above is the protests about how the UN took over the Hall of Justice so that the JLI could use it as a home base. I do like the idea that the UN is trying to form a team, and that they do it in a politically unpopular way. That's a good idea, that the public doesn't want this international Justice League. But I don't really understand why the public is so mad about the Hall of Justice though.

Which, I had to look up. The Hall of Justice is like a national museum of superheroes, and obviously, the public finds it offensive that a team, created by the UN and supposedly representing international interests, would set up shop in an American monument.

Maybe I'm thick, but maybe I shouldn't have to look this stuff up to even partially understand why these people are willing to blow a building up over. Remember, this is a DC universe reboot...

So it seems like the arc of this first run is already apparent. The JLI will prove their worthiness to the American people, Green Lantern will join the team, and Booster Gold will prove himself a hero. I'll pass.

Unless things drastically change, I do not feel the need to pick this one up next month. Sorry Booster. Maybe we can hook up at some other time. Like on Batman Brave and the Bold.

Quick Thoughts on Stormwatch #1

Who the fuck are these people?

Seriously.

Does it seem to anyone else besides that the members of Stormwatch have powers that are rather oblique? For instance, one woman seems to be able to access and influence the media. Certainly this is a power that could have great implications, narratively, ideologically, and satirically, but in this issue she uses it to check Facebook.

Hell, my iPod can do that.

Wait! Do you think that I might be a superhero?

Couldn't be.

Anyways, there is this other guy and he can "talk with cities." Again, this seems like an interesting power, but he mostly just uses it to mess with people and to make a chair. While making a chair from things around you would be handy in our normal people lives, this hardly makes for thrilling super stories.

I wonder if his origin story is watching Dark City too many times?

Maybe I am a superhero?

I did find it nice to see Martian Manhunter though--too bad he looks like a toad man. Worse, he has this lame line about how when he's with the Justice League, he is a hero, but when he's with Stormwatch, he's a warrior. This makes my warm feelings for the guy run a little stinky.

Conclusion: I find Stormwatch confusing and underwhelming. Some of these people have interesting powers, but the writing seems to lack sophistication. It's also kind of ugly. I hate to bash on a book for not being pretty (as that's rather subjective) but it just doesn't look as nice as some of the other comics I read this week.

I will try a few more issues. The team seems to have an interesting mix of characters and maybe they'll ditch the whole cock-out-to-rock-out aesthetic and give quirky characters a quirky comic. Remember Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol? Yeah, be more weird.

I probably wouldn't want to be a hero with Stormwatch. Sorry, warrior. But, they all get their asses kicked. In some cases, BY THE MOON!

So, Superman y'all.

I've never really been a big fan. Not of the comics, cartoons, movies, or video games. In terms of superheroes, he is next to Aquaman as the hero I am the least interested in. Supes can be okay, in certain instances, but that context usually involves him being slightly outside of his own mythology.

My favourite was when he hung out with Seinfeld.

To be fair though, I have the least amount of knowledge about Superman in comic form. So maybe Superman has been awesome on paper and I've just been a dismissing ass for the last how many years.

But I guess this New U thing is supposed to change those sorts of opinions right? Get in on the ground floor and understand why people were first engaged by these characters and all.

With Grant Morrison's Superman Action Comics, I kind of get all that. He is sort of likable, instead of just being a strong patriotic Jesus with a cape and red underoos.

The rest of the review, with some minor spoilers after the jump.

Shopping Lists and Dissapointment

I decided a while ago that when September rolled around and the whole DCnU thing launched officially I was going to start buying comics. While, I've never bought comics on a week-by-week basis, I'm no stranger to comics either. I've studied them in university and I have purchased/read many assorted collections or graphic novels. I have a healthy respect for the medium.

And I know enough about superheroes to get by in a crowded comic-con line too. I actually like superheroes and superhero narratives. I've seen the movies, watched the cartoons, read the wiki articles. But that is where it stops, because, seriously, that back log of overly complex and conflicting canon really makes me avoid superhero comics as a whole.

That's why I thought this reboot for DCnU was a fantastic idea. I gotta be smack dab near the middle of DC's target demographic. If I don't want to read about BATMAN every month, something is wrong.

Last Wednesday, I tried to get to the comic shop to pick up the new Justice League #1. Because of work and life I never managed to get there during open hours. And, honestly, Justice League doesn't really spark much or an interest so I wasn't too inclined to try too hard to get myself a copy.

But this Wednesday, September 7th, was a day I was excited for. First off, we had Jeff Lemire's Animal Man. I've been a fan of Lemire's since he was still publishing the Essex County stuff and I just recently started reading Sweet Tooth. I also love Grant Morrison's work with Animal Man too. So the combo of Lemire and Animal Man really held my interest in the DCnU itself.

I also wanted to get my hands on the new Batgirl. Aside from already selling out it's first two prints, I wanted to try reading a comic by a team a women. The medium has its issues with women and feminism so I wanted to see what the relaunch would do to try to solve that.

What I hoped to pick up today at the comic shop:

Animal Man  
Batgirl 
Swamp Thing (supposedly one of DC's darker and more horror oriented new books) 
Stormwatch (I'm interested in the idea of merging canons and worlds)
and then maybe Superman and Batman titles if they looked okay in a flip through.

I had to stay late at work today though so I didn't get to the comic store very early and I could tell by the selection. Both Animal Man and Batgirl were already sold out. In the end, I picked up:

Swamp Thing
Superman Action Comics
Justice League International (BOOSTER GOLD!!!)
Stormwatch

I've already read two of them and I feel pretty positive about the experience so far. I'm looking forward to my potential new life as a month-by-month comic reader.

Discussion on each book to come in the next week.

Now, to find those two books.