Saying "only guys who operate by stealth" gives off that impression though.andersonh1 wrote:I don't think any of us have said every superhero must be in bright colors.
Comics are Awesome III
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Sparky Prime
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Re: Comics are Awesome III
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andersonh1
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Re: Comics are Awesome III
I wouldn't have thought so, but that's the internet for you. Things don't always read as they were meant, and not all thoughts are sufficiently elaborated on.Sparky Prime wrote:Saying "only guys who operate by stealth" gives off that impression though.andersonh1 wrote:I don't think any of us have said every superhero must be in bright colors.
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andersonh1
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Re: Comics are Awesome III
The second and final month of Convergence begins, and all the first week series wrap up. Did April really go by that quickly? I'm going to be sorry to see this event end, which is not something I can normally say!
Convegence Superman #2
This issue picks up with Superman struggling with Flashpoint Captain Thunder, Cyborg and Abin Sur while Batman/Thomas Wayne watches from the Batcave, wondering if Superman comes from the same Earth that Barry Allen did. He expected his reality to disappear so that Bruce would be alive, so he's wondering if he did the right thing by helping Barry Allen alter the timeline. It becomes apparent that trying to reason won't work, so Superman takes the Flashpoint characters out of the fight quickly, particularly when Lois calls for help. Flashpoint Kal-El, has taken her to the Batcave. Superman tracks her down thanks to Lois leaving her headset active (the same one she was using to talk to Superman out in the field last issue), and some direction from Abin Sur, who finally decides that Superman is not his enemy and fills him in on Flashpoint history.
Superman arrives at the Batcave, easily takes out his counterpart, and then ends up delivering the baby when Thomas Wayne refuses to do it, though Wayne offers the facilities of the Batcave. Superman and Lois have a son (with a full head of hair!) and they decide to name him Jonathan Kent. Wayne tells them to do whatever they have to do to protect the boy, because life is precious. I can easily see this as a satisfying happy ending for the post-Crisis Superman and Lois, though I suspect they'll turn up in the main series before it's done. And "Superman as a father" is a storyline that seriously needs to be explored down the line.
The only disappointment with this issue is that Dan Jurgens provides the art rather than Lee Weeks, who did such an awesome job last month. Not that I don't like Jurgens' art, and it's always good to see him drawing Superman again, but last month's art was really strong and it feels like a step down this month. The variety of motivations among the Flashpoint characters was a welcome change from out and out villains, and the story wraps up on a genuinely happy note. We'll see how the main Convergence series treats the characters for the next few weeks.
Convergence Speed Force #2
Just as Superman did, Wally attempts to reason with his opponent, in this case Flashpoint Wonder Woman, but it's pretty much useless. Fastback takes the kids back to Gotham at Wally's request while he takes on Diana. It's a pretty one-sided fight for a long time since Diana has come prepared with various weapons, and of course, her lasso, and is genuinely trying to kill Wally. Wally tries to dodge and talk sense into her, and just about gets himself killed, but in the end she threatens his children and of course he's not going to stand for that. He knocks her out, ties her up, rescues Fastback from the Amazons, and manages to stave off defeat and survive as Diana orders her troops to fall back while they reconsider the situation. Wally promises Iris and Jai that while Gotham needs them at the moment, they're not going to give up trying to reunite with their mom.
This issue has more fighting and less plot than Superman #2, but it still ends up being a solid issue with a good story. Wally lives through it, his kids are safe, and the relationship of a father with his children is a major theme of the story. The question is, does Linda Park even exist any more? There's no indication that she was in one of the bottle cities, and if she's gone, that's a major blow to Wally, Iris and Jai. Whether we'll see the characters again so we can find out remains to be seen. I expect the whole situation with the bottle cities to be resolved in the main Convergence series.
Convergence Justice League #2
The all-girl Justice League are in the ocean, fighting to get to Mera and rescue her from Flashpoint Aquaman. They all get a moment to shine as they fight both the sea life and Ocean Master while Vixen sneaks into Atlantis to free Mera. She's caught by Aquaman and initially does well, though she ends up wounded pretty badly. Everyone is captured except for Supergirl, who slams Aquaman around pretty well until he weakens her with kryptonite. It's ultimately Mera who stabs him in the gut with his own trident and leaves him to slowly bleed to death.
Okay, good team, but not always good characterization. I would expect Mera not to be nearly as passive as she's shown to be, and a few of Aquaman's ploys (being in disguise at one point, having kryptonite to deal with Kara) seem to come out of nowhere. This is a classic case of good concept, poor characterization. I still enjoyed it, but it should have been better. And for all DC's claims to want diversity and more female characters, the fact that half of these characters no longer exist in current continuity really does put the lie to that assertion.
Convegence Superman #2
This issue picks up with Superman struggling with Flashpoint Captain Thunder, Cyborg and Abin Sur while Batman/Thomas Wayne watches from the Batcave, wondering if Superman comes from the same Earth that Barry Allen did. He expected his reality to disappear so that Bruce would be alive, so he's wondering if he did the right thing by helping Barry Allen alter the timeline. It becomes apparent that trying to reason won't work, so Superman takes the Flashpoint characters out of the fight quickly, particularly when Lois calls for help. Flashpoint Kal-El, has taken her to the Batcave. Superman tracks her down thanks to Lois leaving her headset active (the same one she was using to talk to Superman out in the field last issue), and some direction from Abin Sur, who finally decides that Superman is not his enemy and fills him in on Flashpoint history.
Superman arrives at the Batcave, easily takes out his counterpart, and then ends up delivering the baby when Thomas Wayne refuses to do it, though Wayne offers the facilities of the Batcave. Superman and Lois have a son (with a full head of hair!) and they decide to name him Jonathan Kent. Wayne tells them to do whatever they have to do to protect the boy, because life is precious. I can easily see this as a satisfying happy ending for the post-Crisis Superman and Lois, though I suspect they'll turn up in the main series before it's done. And "Superman as a father" is a storyline that seriously needs to be explored down the line.
The only disappointment with this issue is that Dan Jurgens provides the art rather than Lee Weeks, who did such an awesome job last month. Not that I don't like Jurgens' art, and it's always good to see him drawing Superman again, but last month's art was really strong and it feels like a step down this month. The variety of motivations among the Flashpoint characters was a welcome change from out and out villains, and the story wraps up on a genuinely happy note. We'll see how the main Convergence series treats the characters for the next few weeks.
Convergence Speed Force #2
Just as Superman did, Wally attempts to reason with his opponent, in this case Flashpoint Wonder Woman, but it's pretty much useless. Fastback takes the kids back to Gotham at Wally's request while he takes on Diana. It's a pretty one-sided fight for a long time since Diana has come prepared with various weapons, and of course, her lasso, and is genuinely trying to kill Wally. Wally tries to dodge and talk sense into her, and just about gets himself killed, but in the end she threatens his children and of course he's not going to stand for that. He knocks her out, ties her up, rescues Fastback from the Amazons, and manages to stave off defeat and survive as Diana orders her troops to fall back while they reconsider the situation. Wally promises Iris and Jai that while Gotham needs them at the moment, they're not going to give up trying to reunite with their mom.
This issue has more fighting and less plot than Superman #2, but it still ends up being a solid issue with a good story. Wally lives through it, his kids are safe, and the relationship of a father with his children is a major theme of the story. The question is, does Linda Park even exist any more? There's no indication that she was in one of the bottle cities, and if she's gone, that's a major blow to Wally, Iris and Jai. Whether we'll see the characters again so we can find out remains to be seen. I expect the whole situation with the bottle cities to be resolved in the main Convergence series.
Convergence Justice League #2
The all-girl Justice League are in the ocean, fighting to get to Mera and rescue her from Flashpoint Aquaman. They all get a moment to shine as they fight both the sea life and Ocean Master while Vixen sneaks into Atlantis to free Mera. She's caught by Aquaman and initially does well, though she ends up wounded pretty badly. Everyone is captured except for Supergirl, who slams Aquaman around pretty well until he weakens her with kryptonite. It's ultimately Mera who stabs him in the gut with his own trident and leaves him to slowly bleed to death.
Okay, good team, but not always good characterization. I would expect Mera not to be nearly as passive as she's shown to be, and a few of Aquaman's ploys (being in disguise at one point, having kryptonite to deal with Kara) seem to come out of nowhere. This is a classic case of good concept, poor characterization. I still enjoyed it, but it should have been better. And for all DC's claims to want diversity and more female characters, the fact that half of these characters no longer exist in current continuity really does put the lie to that assertion.
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andersonh1
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Re: Comics are Awesome III
Convergence Nightwing/Oracle #2
Some of the other 2-part Convergence series break with the format (part 1 = setup, part 2 = fight with chosen opponent), but this book sticks with it pretty closely. What it also does is to use Oracle very effectively. Nightwing goes out and takes on both Flashpoint Hawkman and Hawkwoman while Oracle uses their tech against them, as well as enlisting Black Canary's help, so we get a mini Birds of Prey reunion. As these things go, it's an interesting fight with Nightwing showing just how good he is, and Barbara Gordon doing much the same thing, even though she's confined to a wheelchair.
The two of them get married in the end, with Barbara accepting the proposal that she turned down last issue. That alone tells you this is not part of main DC continuity where DC always seem very reluctant to pair off characters on any permanent basis. I've always thought the original Robin and Batgirl made sense as a couple, so it's good to get an issue where they end up together. Of course both Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon still exist in New 52 continuity, but the characters have been taken in very different directions there.
Convergence The Atom #2
Part two carries on with the same oddball tone that characterized part one. Ray Palmer had lost his powers under the dome, except that he could still make one hand grow very large. And he ran around talking to the voice in his head. The whole thing was clearly meant to be somewhat comedic. The voice in Ray's head turns out to be Ryan Choi, the second Atom, who was killed by Deathstroke but who had sort of survived thanks to the mechanics of being able to change size. And he grows a new body from Ray Palmer's severed hand, which Ray lost in the fight with Barracuda. And then when Deathstroke comes to kill Ray, Ryan Choi uses his mass control belt to take mass from Deathstroke's hands to grow Ray a new one. The plot is a series of bizarre incidents that made me laugh at the zaniness of the whole thing.
The fight with Barracuda, which the story has to include since that ties the issues to the plot of Convergence, is actually a pretty minor part of the overall plot. The majority of the story has to do with Ray Palmer hunting down Deathstroke for killing Ryan Choi. Like many of the other books set in the pre-Flashpoint time period, the writer has taken the opportunity afforded by Convergence to tie up loose plot threads and to repair some damage done to a character. This hasn't been my favorite tie-in issue, but it certainly wasn't what I expected and I liked it more because of that.
Free Comic book day - Divergence
Samples of DC's big three. Batman is James Gordon in a mech suit, while Superman has been largely depowered and is living in hiding because Lois Lane figured out his identity and published it. Um... no, not for me. I can't say I'm interested in either story direction. Haven't read Wonder Woman yet, but I"d be surprised if it was any better. DC simply does not know how to treat its top characters. It's one upheaval after another for the characters and their status quo. It's exhausting, not compelling.
Some of the other 2-part Convergence series break with the format (part 1 = setup, part 2 = fight with chosen opponent), but this book sticks with it pretty closely. What it also does is to use Oracle very effectively. Nightwing goes out and takes on both Flashpoint Hawkman and Hawkwoman while Oracle uses their tech against them, as well as enlisting Black Canary's help, so we get a mini Birds of Prey reunion. As these things go, it's an interesting fight with Nightwing showing just how good he is, and Barbara Gordon doing much the same thing, even though she's confined to a wheelchair.
The two of them get married in the end, with Barbara accepting the proposal that she turned down last issue. That alone tells you this is not part of main DC continuity where DC always seem very reluctant to pair off characters on any permanent basis. I've always thought the original Robin and Batgirl made sense as a couple, so it's good to get an issue where they end up together. Of course both Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon still exist in New 52 continuity, but the characters have been taken in very different directions there.
Convergence The Atom #2
Part two carries on with the same oddball tone that characterized part one. Ray Palmer had lost his powers under the dome, except that he could still make one hand grow very large. And he ran around talking to the voice in his head. The whole thing was clearly meant to be somewhat comedic. The voice in Ray's head turns out to be Ryan Choi, the second Atom, who was killed by Deathstroke but who had sort of survived thanks to the mechanics of being able to change size. And he grows a new body from Ray Palmer's severed hand, which Ray lost in the fight with Barracuda. And then when Deathstroke comes to kill Ray, Ryan Choi uses his mass control belt to take mass from Deathstroke's hands to grow Ray a new one. The plot is a series of bizarre incidents that made me laugh at the zaniness of the whole thing.
The fight with Barracuda, which the story has to include since that ties the issues to the plot of Convergence, is actually a pretty minor part of the overall plot. The majority of the story has to do with Ray Palmer hunting down Deathstroke for killing Ryan Choi. Like many of the other books set in the pre-Flashpoint time period, the writer has taken the opportunity afforded by Convergence to tie up loose plot threads and to repair some damage done to a character. This hasn't been my favorite tie-in issue, but it certainly wasn't what I expected and I liked it more because of that.
Free Comic book day - Divergence
Samples of DC's big three. Batman is James Gordon in a mech suit, while Superman has been largely depowered and is living in hiding because Lois Lane figured out his identity and published it. Um... no, not for me. I can't say I'm interested in either story direction. Haven't read Wonder Woman yet, but I"d be surprised if it was any better. DC simply does not know how to treat its top characters. It's one upheaval after another for the characters and their status quo. It's exhausting, not compelling.
Re: Comics are Awesome III
My comic haul for the week consists of.....a map of Battleworld.
Joking aside, I did not want to take money out of the bank, and I am still behind on comics that I have brought home (never mind other reading), so I left "Secret Wars" in my pull-file (along with some other stuff from previous weeks). It looks promising based on the initial flip through. While "Avengers" had a thematic ending (the heroes fight amongst themselves as reality dies) and "New Avengers" wrapped up plot elements (Doom's plans), this looks to be the EVENT itself, ending with the clearest depiction of the last incursion yet.
Joking aside, I did not want to take money out of the bank, and I am still behind on comics that I have brought home (never mind other reading), so I left "Secret Wars" in my pull-file (along with some other stuff from previous weeks). It looks promising based on the initial flip through. While "Avengers" had a thematic ending (the heroes fight amongst themselves as reality dies) and "New Avengers" wrapped up plot elements (Doom's plans), this looks to be the EVENT itself, ending with the clearest depiction of the last incursion yet.
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Sparky Prime
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Re: Comics are Awesome III
So DC has released several "previews" of their June titles, both in the Convergence #2 titles as well as online. To my understanding, these pages are all original, and won't actually be in the June titles.
Seeing the Omega Man preview, I get the impression they don't actually kill Kyle Rayner and just want to make it look that way for some reason.
Hal... Looks odd with long hair. And he kinda looks like Spectre with the coat. Apparently he's become a bounty hunter, and got a ship from somewhere.
I'm sort of getting an Azrael vibe from the new Batman. Maybe it's because of the mech-suit thing. I know it's supposed to be Jim Gordon, but the artwork makes it look like a younger military guy...
Seeing the Omega Man preview, I get the impression they don't actually kill Kyle Rayner and just want to make it look that way for some reason.
Hal... Looks odd with long hair. And he kinda looks like Spectre with the coat. Apparently he's become a bounty hunter, and got a ship from somewhere.
I'm sort of getting an Azrael vibe from the new Batman. Maybe it's because of the mech-suit thing. I know it's supposed to be Jim Gordon, but the artwork makes it look like a younger military guy...
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JediTricks
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Re: Comics are Awesome III
Picked up some books at the shop that had been sitting in pull, haven't cracked any non-TF books yet. But they had a table out, this was the new owners' first FCBD in my store and they were selling the leftovers for 50 cents a piece, and a buck for Convergence FCBD titles. They let me take each of the 50 cent ones for free though, which was cool, but made me wonder if DC actually asked for more money for all those Convergence titles, which is really f'ed up if so. It's not like the store had a few, they had piles of most titles, so I don't think it was them taking advantage of demand.
The cool thing is that the store, The Comic Bug, held a free mini-comic-con at the City's teen center next door for their FCBD and the turnout was huge for something so small, 3,000 people, so much so that Stan Lee's Comikaze which was 20 times the turnout asked The Comic Bug to help them drum up interest.
The cool thing is that the store, The Comic Bug, held a free mini-comic-con at the City's teen center next door for their FCBD and the turnout was huge for something so small, 3,000 people, so much so that Stan Lee's Comikaze which was 20 times the turnout asked The Comic Bug to help them drum up interest.
See, that one's a camcorder, that one's a camera, that one's a phone, and they're doing "Speak no evil, See no evil, Hear no evil", get it?
Re: Comics are Awesome III
Are you talking about "Divergence"? It turns out that is unique/new content for the upcoming "Batman", "Superman" and "Justice League" series. If people want to get everything (without waiting for a compilation), they need the FCBD issue. But, many people did not know that the FCBD book had new content until FCBD. Some readers may not have gotten the book on freebie day.
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JediTricks
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Re: Comics are Awesome III
No, Divergence was on the 50 cent table, I have it in my bag along with the other FCBDs. Maybe they weren't FCBD titles, they were on an identical table next to them but with that different price, but for a buck for like Convergence Crime Syndicate (a book that's not supposed to be on shelves for 3 more weeks) and Wonder Woman and 6 others I can't remember right now, including variant covers, I don't know what they were - maybe they were preview items? Fuck if I know.Dominic wrote:Are you talking about "Divergence"? It turns out that is unique/new content for the upcoming "Batman", "Superman" and "Justice League" series. If people want to get everything (without waiting for a compilation), they need the FCBD issue. But, many people did not know that the FCBD book had new content until FCBD. Some readers may not have gotten the book on freebie day.
See, that one's a camcorder, that one's a camera, that one's a phone, and they're doing "Speak no evil, See no evil, Hear no evil", get it?
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andersonh1
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Re: Comics are Awesome III
Do your comic shops charge you for leftover FCBD books? Mine has them all on a shelf and gives them away whether you make it on Saturday (I didn't this year) or come in during the week. To top that off, they always have one every year with a 25% off coupon on the cover.