Editor's Note: Back on my personal Twitter account, when I was bored on Friday's I would send out a random opinion of mine on something geeky and wait for the comments to come flooding back. So, I thought instead of my originally announced post, I would bring the Friday Flame War to GGOrlando.
Why I'm Done With the New 52
As an MBA student, when DC announced that they were launching the New 52 - the reboot of their universe and continuity - I saw it for what it was... A publicity stunt! However, sometimes these things work out in the comics-verse. The new run of Ultimate Spider-Man, with the introduction of Miles Morales, is being raved by fans and critics alike. So I was excited to give DC a chance. As a kid who grew up mainly on Spider-Man and other Marvel comics, I am not fluent in DC lore (well, not really that familiar with Marvel either, but more than DC). So I was excited to be reintroduced to characters I didn't know as well as hopefully some changes to make the characters I do remember... well... Less lame.
But what I, and other fans are getting, are getting is... Um, not what I expected. After reading the first two issues of many books - both ones I had been reading in the old continuity as well as a couple new ones - I'm throwing-in the towel. Here's some quick reasons why...
Reboot vs. Relaunch vs. Ah, Just $#%* It!
The first, and most confusing aspect that I have found thus far, is what exactly DC has done with their continuity. When I think of a relaunch - something similar to what Marvel is doing with characters like Daredevil, Punisher, and Moon Knight - you have existing characters with known backstories who are kicking off a new storyline that's meant to separate it from previous stories. To me, a reboot means everything is completely different. In a rebooted DCnU, the possibilities are endless. You can make Batman an underprivileged woman whose parents are alive & kicking - heck you don't even need a Batman. You can do something completely different. So what's the point of doing a reboot where, practically, everything is the same.
Then there's just the "F-it! Factor". I mentioned Batman a moment ago. Batman was one of DC's best-selling titles and was reluctant to change it. The Green Lantern books have been completely unaffected by both Flashpoint and the New 52. If you've read the last major event in the GL books - War of the Green Lanterns - you're up to date. What's the f'in point?!
Where am I? What day is this?
One major problem is that they're trying to blend Batman and Green Lantern, characters who've only had little to no changes, into this new continuity. Considering that Green Lantern's continuity hasn't changed at all, we're having Hal Jordan fighting crime in JLA during the time period that would have presumably been during the Sinestro Corp. War years. Just speculating.
But the worst is what they've done to Batman. Having to cram him into so many books definitely hurts the character when it comes to continuity. We're supposedly dealing with a Batman who is new to crime-fighting, but has also spawned several Robins including Nightwing, Batwing, Batgirl, and Batwoman. Not to mention fathering a son with his former arch-nemesis. At what point in the day does he have time to patrol?
Feminism in the DCnU
Apparently, the DCnU wants to inject modern topics and sensibilities into characters that have been developed over 50 years ago. One thing they want to do is create "empowered" female characters. Apparently, to the writers, an empowered female character means they like to crush a lot. Pretty much, they're rewriting characters like Catwoman and Starfire as if they're from the Zenescope Universe - where women are merely eye candy they can throw on the covers (BTW, who buys Zenescope stuff?!). And this is supposed to be our first introduction to these characters, and they're busy banging everyone! Pass...
WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?!?!
So, one thing I was looking forward to was the re-introduction of some new characters. After reading some of the comics featuring the new characters, I have to ask "Who are you and why do I care?" If this is a reboot, you would think the comics would provide an introduction to the characters. Instead, each book seems to start in the middle of a storyline. Which would be OK if this was a relaunch and we are already familiar with these characters. But no, I don't know who OMAC is (or what), nor do I care. There are some books which I just didn't read because, after flipping through them at the comic shop, I knew from that either I would have had to already knew who these characters were or would be introduced to them several issues in - meaning it'd require an investment. Not really compelling to new readers.
HEY AQUAMAN, YOU'RE LAME!
I mentioned at the beginning how my main introduction to the world of comics was reading Marvel books. However, I'm not completely unaware of the DC roster of heroes and villains - mostly due to one of my favorite cartoons of my childhood Super Friends. And, of course, Super Friends was the impetus of the endless streams of Aquaman jokes. One of the great things about the new Aquaman run that the fans are loving is how writer Geoff Johns is addressing those types of jokes throughout. But again, this is a reboot... So not only would a reader already have to be aware of Aquaman's comic book history, because like the other books it's starting in the middle of an event with a character the rest of the world already knows, you also have to know the 30 years of comic book geekdom's mocking of the character! If you were a new reader, you would be thinking to yourself "Who is this guy and why is everyone making fun of him?"
So yea, reading the first few issues just left me frustrated and ambivalent. While some of the books are interesting, nothing really has gripped me. I say I'm done with the New 52, but I may stick with a couple. Like I said, not much has changed in the Green Lantern universe, and I have been liking their stories. And even though my girl Zatanna has been relegated to a bit player on a team, I'll probably continue on with Justice League Dark. But after following all of the Batman books before the reboot, I'm just really not into them in the new generation. And the other books... Maybe I'll get when the trades come out... At the library or something.
Don't know what reaction DC's getting on this. The #1s all sold well, but that generally happens with #1s (Side note - In this day-and-age, why are people still collecting #1s as an investment? Really?!)... I want to know how the #3s, which started going on sale this week, are doing. But, for now, I'm done. Thanks for the ride, DC.
