The DC-You

Well, it looks like the New52 is finally gone.  And with good reason.  I mean, even up to issue #40 of many DC Comics titles, the covers still said, "The New 52" on them.  The New 52 started over three years ago.  That's hardly new anymore.

But I digress.

I think DC has finally started listening to a large chunk of their audience - and if you get a chance, check out Batgirl Of Burnside in TPB to see where I think it all started.  Batgirl is hip and chic, and stylistically, it's perfect for today's comic buying crowd.  Couple that with the mega-popular Harley Quinn, and DC has a new target audience.  Oh, and Commissioner Gordon as Batman?  How can that not be interesting?

DC's typical summertime event, Convergence, did away with the idea of one universe and brought back the Multiverse, which means that just about anything is possible again.  And that's great for us as fans, because we don't always necessarily need stories to fit into a specific continuity.  That was such a 90s thing.

In the wake of Convergence we're left with some truly entertaining comic books.

You should really check out the new Bizarro mini-series.  Do you remember when comics had a sense of humor to them?  Maybe not, but I do.  This new Bizarro comic sees Bizzaro and Jimmy Olsen on a road trip together.  Now that's a premise I couldn't pass up.

Need a few more laughs?  DC is also giving us a Bat-Mite mini-series and a Harley Quinn and Power Girl team up book.  Both are pretty funny.  I've gone on plenty of praise filled rants of the Harley Quinn series, so I'm happy to see that Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti are still writing this one too.

Speaking of Conner/Palmiotti, I also bought the new Starfire #1 by them and Section 8 All Star. I don't think I've been so randomly interested in new comics in a while.  And it's not like it was with The New 52, where we wanted to see what changes they'd be making to Superman and Wonder Woman and our other favorite heroes.  These are just good characters with interesting premises that aren't taking themselves overly seriously.

They're calling this new wave the DCYou, because there's something here for everyone, or so they say.  And yet, my only real gripes with all of this have to do with my two favorite characters.

Superman and Supergirl.

For starters, Supergirl is nowhere to be seen in the DCYou, and I'd wager dollars to donuts that's because of the new Supergirl TV show coming out this fall.  We'll see a Supergirl comic later to be sure.  And I hope it's as good as the show looks, because the initial twenty issues or so of the New 52's Girl of Steel was quite good.

And then there's Superman.  DC Comics just hasn't been able to get the feel of Superman right for a long time.  Sure, there are hints of brilliance here and there, but on the whole DC just tries to be too serious and real-world with Superman.  Personally, I want a Superman who occasionally breaks the fourth wall and winks at us.  I want a Lois Lane who may be the smartest reporter on the face of Planet Earth but can't seem to see past a pair of glasses (because deep down she really does know that Clark is Superman and won't admit it to herself because she loves the adventure that goes along with it).  I want to see Superman stop meteors made of Kryptonite, save Metropolis from Luthor's death ray, and still find time to get a cat out of the tree.  A few years ago there was a Shazam series called, "Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam" which would be a great style to see Superman in.  He's Superman, he should really be for kids. 

I do think that DC Comics is taking a step in the right direction here.  It's nice to see so much attention on characters that aren't the big three.  I know I'll be watching where they go with it.

- ryan

Justice League: Throne of Atlantis

Aquasideburns

Wow, someone finally managed to make Aquaman kinda cool.

In the newest direct-to-Blu-ray DC Comics feature, Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, the Super Friends have to do battle with a bunch of mer-people while making friends with the king of the seas.  A dude who can talk to fish.  And actually has killer sideburns.

Normally I try and grab these DC Animated movies on release day, but I just didn't have that desire for Throne of Atlantis.  And not just because it's Aquaman and, according to Raj on Big Bang Theory, "Aquaman sucks."  I wasn't too thrilled with Justice League: WAR, and I'm still kinda hung up on the Justice League Unlimited series ending all those years ago.  Otherwise, most of the DC Animated features have been very enjoyable, with 2009's Wonder Woman still topping my list.

So I was out shopping last night for baby stuff, and saw both Throne of Atlantis and a Blu-Ray of E.T. The Extra Terrestrial and said, fuck it I'll buy them both.

Throne of Atlantis was pretty good, with the spotlight definitely being on Aquaman.  I was hoping for more of a presence from Superman since he's my all-time favorite but that wasn't really there.  I did quite enjoy his little date with Wonder Woman though, but this definitely wasn't a movie about Kal-El.  To be honest, we've got enough of those as it is.  As you may remember from my JLA Crisis In Time review, I actually quite like seeing the secondary DC characters shine.

The animation in Throne was the usual quality from Warner Bros, and the voice acting was also what you'd expect.  I was really excited to see that an old Filmation Aquaman episode was included as one of the bonus features.  That really made my morning.  There were a couple bonus Aqua-themed episodes from Brave & The Bold too, which is awesome to have, even if I already have them on other DVD sets.

Shazaman, Green Lanternman, Wonder Womanman, Aquaman, Superguy, Batsuitman, Flashman, Not-Martian Manhunter

What fell short for me was the actual Throne story.  You get that typical super-hero fare where someone finds out they have a destiny to live up to, and by the end of the 74 minutes they're really to go do battle with every baddie they can imagine.  At no point was there really any examining what Aquaman felt when he learned that he was going to rule Atlantis.  Just all of a sudden he's like, allright...I'm king now... of a place I've never been before... shit yeah.

But, I guess we're all okay with suspending disbelief for people who can fly and become half robotic or breathe under water in the first place.

Check this little movie out, the action in it is pretty rad.  Oh, and Aquaman's sideburns really are pretty rad.

- ryan of the ryan fan club

Harley Quinn - The Best Thing in Comics Right Now?

Everyone loves Harley Quinn.  Even people who don't really love comics all that much.

We all know the basic story - Harley Quinn showed up on Batman: The Animated Series as the Joker's girlfriend/sidekick and she became so popular that she eventually wound up in the regular DC Comics Batman books, and then had her own title too.  It was eventually cancelled, and when the New 52 started Harley found herself in the Suicide Squad.  And then, almost out of nowhere last fall were ads for a new Harley series.  You could quickly tell from the ads that this new monthly comic was going to be something different.  And something special.

...oh, and something successful too.  Since the first issue (#0) launched last November, Harley Quinn has consistently been a Top 20 selling comic book.  It also regularly sells more copies than Superman.  Holy Puddin' Pops Batman!

So, why is Harley so great?  Or, more importantly, why is she so popular right now?  Harley has always appealed to young men.  Is it because we see her as Mr. J's babe?  The kind of girl that can get bossed around and keep coming back for more loving?  Wow, do we actually like her for that reason?  Or are we compelled to watch her story unfold, hoping that she'll finally be able to have happiness without the Clown Prince of Crime?  The Joker hasn't even shown up in the pages of Harley's newest series yet.  We all know it's coming.  It has to happen at some point, right?  And we're all waiting with anticipation for it, just to see what happens.  I mean, ANYTHING can happen in this new Harley series.

Girls love Miss Quinn too.  If you need proof of that, there's a new line of Harley Quinn inspired clothing coming out this fall.  Yep, that's right.  Harley Quinn has gone from Saturday morning cartoon sidekick to full-fledged pop culture icon.  Have you been to a convention lately?  There are Harleys everywhere.  A girl can certainly get a boy's attention by dressing up like Harley Quinn, but there has to be more to it than that?  Quinn represents rebellion, anarchy, chaos, and insanity - but can snap her fingers and be the girl next door too.  Does that sound like today's modern woman to you?

Harley Quinn might very well be our favorite new york doll, but is it too much too soon?
(...anybody pick up on the Dolls reference there?  C'mon, I'm really proud of it...)

Harley Quinn #0 was a gamble, allowing the creators to think outside the box and write outside of the four walls.  It paid off big time, setting the stage for the new series to be as crazy as it wanted to be.  In the last month or so, Harley has been featured in Secret Origins #4 (gaining a cover spot ahead of Robin and Green Arrow), had a Special Edition Director's Cut of issue #0 that let us read the enjoyable ramblings of writers Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, and starred in a One-Shot book about her roaming around the San Diego Comic-Con.  All of this on top of her team-up with Poison Ivy in her own book.  DC has also been reprinting some classic Harley stories in collected editions to capitalize on her insane popularity.

So the question has to come up, is DC going to over-saturate their market with Harley Quinn and ultimately ruin her popularity?  Or is DC getting the most out of Harley's popularity before it slows down again?

What I do like about her extra-curricular activities is how they are all written by Conner/Palmiotti.  This keeps the narrative flowing well, even when the artwork doesn't match up from story to story.  If we're going to get a dozen Harley stories all at once, at least they're coming from the same place.  So we know they're quality and we're getting our money's worth.

I truly believe Harley Quinn is the most enjoyable comic on the market right now. If you aren't reading it, you should add it to your pull list right away.

- ryan
 

DC Villains Month... Did It Work?

... depending on who you ask, you'll get a different answer about DC Comics' "The New 52."

Superman's Bad!  I'll say he was!

Some would say, "if it wasn't broke, why fix it?" while others like the fresh approach.  Many fanboys found the New 52 confusing - some of those classic stories we grew up with happened, but not really.  Or something like that.

Personally, I think it's time to drop the "New 52" moniker.  It's been two years now.  The new design of Superman is showing up on kid's clothing.  So it's clear that it's here to stay.  And it's not new anymore.

You might remember I did a blog about three months into the New 52 praising their fresh take on Superman.  That lasted about eight or nine more months, and then I got bored of the stories.  Honestly, the only New 52 book I'm still really enjoying is Supergirl.

So DC decided to have another Villains Month... I remember "New Year's Evil" from the late 90s when we were treated to one-shots of Mr. Mxyzptlk... and this time they'd re-introduce the core villains of the DCU.  Or is it DCNew?  DC52?  Fuck it, it doesn't matter.

Of course this was a marketing ploy.  But did it work?

DC Comics offered special editions of each comic.  These came with 3D motion covers.

Meh.

puddin'

All this really did was cement all of the New 52 naysayers who claim that DC is trying to return to the 1990s era of comics.

gross...but very intriguing.

Sure, some people were grabbing those special editions because of a low print run, so they're expected to be collectible, or some bullshit like that.  I buy comics to read them.  And the best ones (Tiny Titans, Superman Family Adventures, Bone) are the titles I can read with my little girl.

So, if you go visit Adam (the dude who owns my local comic shop and kinda looks like a more awesome Jesus) and ask to see what comics I buy, you'd see:
Supergirl, Smallville, He-Man & The Masters of the Universe, and occasionally the Marvel Wizard of Oz series.

So what villains comics did I pick up this month from DC?
Cyborg Superman, Joker, Doomsday, Harley Quinn, Zod, and Joker's Daughter.

All of this was based on characters I liked (except for Joker's Daughter; the title alone intrigued me) and wanted to read a single story of.  So this month I bought six extra comics.

I'd say their marketing plan worked.  Good for them.