Posted in Comics, DC Comics: The New 52
The New DC Universe Month 2
For the most part the second month didn’t bring too many surprises in the story category. A few books got better a few got worse. The big difference I noticed for month 2 was I felt the art got noticeably worse in the second month. Some books were really hard to look at. I think DC did a fairly good job of pulling in some interesting writers but I have not been happy with the art. Some of the art looks very rushed. Many of the books had multiple artists which I assume was an attempt to get the books out on time. This could be a real long term problem. Comics are a very visual platform. If they don’t get their act together on the art front they are going to see a pretty good drop in sales.
I also felt several books still suffered from teenage male fantasy syndrome. You are going to have to bring a whole lot more story to the table to keep me interested. Looking at fake beautiful women is not going to do it for me. I need story and I need strong characters. Anything else is just wasting my time. Catwoman is walking the line for me. Starfire is still a total wreck and I have no idea what to think about Voodoo at this point. I really hope DC gets this right. There are a lot of readers out there waiting to see if they do. Some of the books did have very strong female characters, so we know it is possible.
I still think the price for digital comics is way too high. I think they are losing out on growing their industry in the long run. I mean really, let’s examine the price. This last week I bought a very good fantasy book at Amazon for my Kindle (A Darkness Forged In Fire by Chris Evans). The book cost $3.99 and was over 400 pages of entertainment. For $2.99 I get 22 pages of comic. The entertainment value just is not there. Even if you go with the book I finished today (Feed by Mira Grant) and its $7.99 price tag the entertainment value isn’t there. Feed was 600 pages long and took me several days. I read a comic in less than a half an hour. The price point is wrong and in the end could be why I will pair down my purchasing to about ten titles.
Speaking of pairing down. It is time for my first round of cuts. Some books are about to get kicked off my DC island. I based this not only on my ratings but on if I thought the book might get better. The plan for now is to keep the books off until they switch creators. Then maybe I will give the title another chance. This will depend in a large part the character and the creator. Barely surviving the first cut was Birds of Prey, Voodoo, DC Comics Presents. They had better have a good third issue. Here is the first books to go.
1) Static Shock
2) Red Hood and the Outlaws
3) Hawk and Dove
4) Blackhawks
5) O.M.A.C
6) Mister Terrific
7) Batman and Robin
8 ) Legion Lost
9) Green Lantern: New Guardians
10) Justice League International
11) The Fury of Firestorm
12) Green Lantern Corps
