Just finished Black Lightning: Year One. I haven't seen the TV show but I'm thinking of picking it up on DVD so I thought I'd read BL:YO as a primer. The story's okay, nothing special - although I wasn't expecting it to switch from urban, deprived neighbourhood, crime drama, to full-on supernatural, magic-monster fantasy! I really, really don't like Cully Hamner's artwork; in fact it nearly put me off buying the thing altogether, but as I said hadn't read any BL and wanted to familiarise myself before jumping into the show. Not sure it's one I'll ever reread but it can sit on the shelf with the other Year One books for now.
Finished reading The Longbow Hunters about a week ago. Truly a mixed bag and not sure what I think of it.
The good: I really love the characterization of Oliver here. Love him as a hero with a huge heart. Love him saving an old woman then having a dance with her in the street. I do like him written a bit more arrogant as well, but here his heart overshadows the arrogance. Also I love the story. It is very cinematic. I could totally see this on a movie screen. The climactic scene on Mount Ranier is especially made for film, as is Shado, who as a character is also one of the shining bright lights of the story. The story and characters are very strong here.
The bad: first, the art is very dated. I also don’t like the lack of backgrounds. In all no one is drawn very well. Also while the story is great, the writing tends to try too hard to take a Frank Miller dreariness tone. This was published one year after TDKR and the influence shows. I’m personally not a TDKR fan and definitely don’t like that kind of setting applied to Green Arrow. Also I didn’t love Oliver and Dinah’s relationship. Typically that is one of the strongest parts of their characterizations, but here Dinah comes across weak and even a bit incompetent, when she should be one of the baddest characters in DC, male or female. Finally the story doesn’t delve into Oliver’s politics enough. For me his leftist motivations has always been the defining aspect of his character and what sets him apart.
In all I’d say it’s great when it is great, but misses in a few areas. Overall worth the read though.
Also while the story is great, the writing tends to try too hard to take a Frank Miller dreariness tone. This was published one year after TDKR and the influence shows. I’m personally not a TDKR fan and definitely don’t like that kind of setting applied to Green Arrow.
Just finished DC's Convergence. I'd never read this before. I'm usually a trade-waiter, but by the the time the trade of the core series came out I'd heard such bad things about it I didn't bother getting it. However, I found a copy a few weeks ago at a knock-down price so decided to give it a go...
Wow, what a mess. On paper it's such a cool idea, multiple versions of heroes and villains from DC's various universes/timelines/continuities (pre-Crisis, Zero Hour, Flashpoint, Kingdom Come, Red Son, to name a few), interacting, teaming up, and - of course - fighting, but man was it handled poorly. I get that Convergence was primarily filler to cover DC's move across country and that a lot of their talent wasn't available, but this story deserved better. In the right hands it could have been epic; as it was, Jeff King (admittedly writing his first comic) wasn't up to it. The dialogue is really clunky at times (which surprised me given that King is a TV writer), events are confusing without the tie-ins (versions of characters just appear suddenly with no explanation of when/how they arrived), and...
the changes of heart of two of the three main villains, going from 'big bad' to 'okay guy' and 'slightly less okay guy' is unbelievably convenient.
Some of the artwork (and editing, I guess) isn't fantastic either; during one scene Batman's chest emblem changes from 'yellow oval' to 'no oval' - and then back again! And yes, it's definitely the same Batman. He's actually talking to another Batman at the time, but the costume change had me wondering if there were actually three Batman's in the scene (there weren't!).
Convergence wasn't intended as a game-changer or a reboot for the DCU, in fact Didio hawked it as basically 'just a fun story'. However, there was one potentially significant change to come out of Convergence...
the complete undoing of Crisis on Infinite Earths. Some heroes are sent back to Crisis to ensure it never happens and that the multiverse never collapses into a universe (something they seem to achieve very easily - and quickly - this time around; I'm guessing one of the tie-ins has some more details on that). But if the Crisis was averted and the multiverse never became a universe, then no CoIE must surely mean no Infinite Crisis, which must in turn mean no 52, which makes me wonder just what the status quo was leading into Flashpoint
I hear some of the tie-ins are actually very good and I'd be interested to read them, but as it stands the core series just reads like a massively wasted opportunity.
Finished reading The Longbow Hunters about a week ago. Truly a mixed bag and not sure what I think of it.
The good: I really love the characterization of Oliver here. Love him as a hero with a huge heart. Love him saving an old woman then having a dance with her in the street. I do like him written a bit more arrogant as well, but here his heart overshadows the arrogance. Also I love the story. It is very cinematic. I could totally see this on a movie screen. The climactic scene on Mount Ranier is especially made for film, as is Shado, who as a character is also one of the shining bright lights of the story. The story and characters are very strong here.
The bad: first, the art is very dated. I also don’t like the lack of backgrounds. In all no one is drawn very well. Also while the story is great, the writing tends to try too hard to take a Frank Miller dreariness tone. This was published one year after TDKR and the influence shows. I’m personally not a TDKR fan and definitely don’t like that kind of setting applied to Green Arrow. Also I didn’t love Oliver and Dinah’s relationship. Typically that is one of the strongest parts of their characterizations, but here Dinah comes across weak and even a bit incompetent, when she should be one of the baddest characters in DC, male or female. Finally the story doesn’t delve into Oliver’s politics enough. For me his leftist motivations has always been the defining aspect of his character and what sets him apart.
In all I’d say it’s great when it is great, but misses in a few areas. Overall worth the read though.
It's been quite a while since I've read this story but I honestly had a bit of a struggle getting through it. A lot of people put this one really high up when it comes to GA but I honestly am enjoying the ongoing series that followed this a lot more. Granted, I've only read the first volume yet (I have 3 more waiting), but I'm really liking it.
Just finished DC's Convergence. I'd never read this before. I'm usually a trade-waiter, but by the the time the trade of the core series came out I'd heard such bad things about it I didn't bother getting it. However, I found a copy a few weeks ago at a knock-down price so decided to give it a go...
Wow, what a mess. On paper it's such a cool idea, multiple versions of heroes and villains from DC's various universes/timelines/continuities (pre-Crisis, Zero Hour, Flashpoint, Kingdom Come, Red Son, to name a few), interacting, teaming up, and - of course - fighting, but man was it handled poorly. I get that Convergence was primarily filler to cover DC's move across country and that a lot of their talent wasn't available, but this story deserved better. In the right hands it could have been epic; as it was, Jeff King (admittedly writing his first comic) wasn't up to it. The dialogue is really clunky at times (which surprised me given that King is a TV writer), events are confusing without the tie-ins (versions of characters just appear suddenly with no explanation of when/how they arrived), and...
the changes of heart of two of the three main villains, going from 'big bad' to 'okay guy' and 'slightly less okay guy' is unbelievably convenient.
Some of the artwork (and editing, I guess) isn't fantastic either; during one scene Batman's chest emblem changes from 'yellow oval' to 'no oval' - and then back again! And yes, it's definitely the same Batman. He's actually talking to another Batman at the time, but the costume change had me wondering if there were actually three Batman's in the scene (there weren't!).
Convergence wasn't intended as a game-changer or a reboot for the DCU, in fact Didio hawked it as basically 'just a fun story'. However, there was one potentially significant change to come out of Convergence...
the complete undoing of Crisis on Infinite Earths. Some heroes are sent back to Crisis to ensure it never happens and that the multiverse never collapses into a universe (something they seem to achieve very easily - and quickly - this time around; I'm guessing one of the tie-ins has some more details on that). But if the Crisis was averted and the multiverse never became a universe, then no CoIE must surely mean no Infinite Crisis, which must in turn mean no 52, which makes me wonder just what the status quo was leading into Flashpoint
I hear some of the tie-ins are actually very good and I'd be interested to read them, but as it stands the core series just reads like a massively wasted opportunity.
I got this on sale a while back and it took me probably months to finish the whole thing. I should say that I didn't read anything that was leading up this event prior to it. Nor did I read any of the tie-ins (I think there were like 40 or 50 tie-in issues?), but this was hot garbage.
I agree with you that it sounds like a cool idea but the execution was far from good. I honestly regret even spending time (and money) on this.
How was that title by the way (Earth-2)? I remember looking it up on wiki a bit and thought it seemed pretty cool but I never actually went as far to pick up a book and read it myself.
How was that title by the way (Earth-2)? I remember looking it up on wiki a bit and thought it seemed pretty cool but I never actually went as far to pick up a book and read it myself.
I haven't read it all but from what I have read it seems pretty good. It's interesting seeing a Thomas Wayne Batman that isn't from Flashpoint and Dick Grayson being a journalist is fun. I don't know if it's been collected but if it has I'll probably pick it up.
I haven't read it all but from what I have read it seems pretty good. It's interesting seeing a Thomas Wayne Batman that isn't from Flashpoint and Dick Grayson being a journalist is fun. I don't know if it's been collected but if it has I'll probably pick it up.
Just finished Injustice: Gods Among Us -- Year 5 vol 1. The writing definitely took a drop when Tom Taylor left halfway through Year 3 and Buccellato took over but it's still a great read and one of the best things to come out of DC in recent years.
You really like Injustice? I admit there are aspects of the story I felt interesting but seeing the characters take the turns they do was really irritating. Flash was impotent, Supes was sociopathic, and Hal was just...I don’t know what the heck he was.
You really like Injustice? I admit there are aspects of the story I felt interesting but seeing the characters take the turns they do was really irritating. Flash was impotent, Supes was sociopathic, and Hal was just...I don’t know what the heck he was.
I do. I mean don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want it to replace the main continuity But I find it interesting to see these characters playing against type and I'm keen to see where/how it ends (I don't play the game, btw). Although I understand there's a second series waiting once I've finished this one, Injustice 2!
Anyone reading Venditti's Hawkman? I think it's one of the DC's best ongoing titles. Love the pacing of the story and the rich multi-layered context the writer is providing for the character.
Just finished Convergence: Zero Hour Book 2, (tie-ins to the Convergence main event).
It comes to something when in a book containing Batman, Azrael, Aquaman, Steel, Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner), and Parallax, the most interesting story is 'Matrix Supergirl vs Lady Quark'. Some really bland storytelling and inconsistent artwork. Pretty poor all round, sadly.
Reading Justice League vs. Suicide Squad just now, having made my way through Suicide Squad up until this point. I liked the Killer Croc/June Moone dynamic more than the June/Flagg from the movie, though that was early on in the book and so far hasn't been a thing since.
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But I find it interesting to see these characters playing against type and I'm keen to see where/how it ends (I don't play the game, btw). Although I understand there's a second series waiting once I've finished this one, Injustice 2!
