July 2012
June 2012
Thanks!
lot’s of good questions and comments tonight.
I think the bottom line for me on the “Before Watchmen” issue is, “are they good comics?” I’m going to try a few, and the quality of the work will hold the final say. I’ll also buy any new works Alan Moore makes, because I like his work, and I hope it’s OK with him if I do both.
Thanks again for your input. I’m going to answer some of your questions and comments privately later, but for now, I’ve got a pile of new comics to get to!
have a great night, and buy comics!
I'm an animator and I kind of have to say Art on this one. Commerce sometimes (like with any member of the Justice League and their universes of comics) but with something like Watchmen is different. There was no reason for a prequel; everything that needed to be said was done by the people who created it. Alan Moore wasn't into this project.
I’m going to disagree with part of this.
I think that if Alan Moore had been the one to put out either a sequel or prequel, we would all be having a very different conversation about this. I don’t think a lot of people would be saying that “everything that needs to be said” was said by the original.
Respecting Alan Moore and his creators rights, or not supporting DC in a cash grab are one thing, but suggesting that the rich and fertile world of the Watchmen that Moore and Gibbons created holds no more worthy story ideas doesn’t fly for me. There’s plenty more that can be said with those characters in that world.
The argument to be made, the argument that interests me, is **who** is best suited to tell those stories.
I think that the stories are definitely there to be told.
Alan Moore on Before Watchmen: "I don't want money. What I want is for this not to happen." End of story for me.
Another legitimate response.
Respect the work, respect the man. Moore has made no secret of not wanting these prequels to happen, and I think if you agree with him, that’s fair.
Are you reading the doctor who start trek cross over series??????
Not yet. any good?
you didn't mention the Lemire, does any of the new stuff measure up to Sweet Tooth?
Animal Man is pretty good. Lemire is on Justice League Dark now, and I just picked up the latest issue, so we’ll see what he does with that.
well, i wasn't reading DC, now I'm reading a bunch. it was sooo hard to jump into before
In that regard, you could call it a success. If it brings in new readers, I’m all for it. The tough thing is, that eventually you will get a whole new backlog of continuity and dense stories that will ward off wary newcomers.
Oh god, I can't ever think of a reason to read before Watchmen. It's just so... money grabby.
I think that’s a legitimate response.
The whole project is definitely driven by the desire to cash in on a very popular and highly regarded work. That aside, I want to see what they make of it. It doesn’t **have** to be bad just because it’s profit driven.
Art VS Commerce…What’s your opinion?
I was just curious about your opinion of the New 52 overall. I've heard a lot of mixed reviews. Mostly negative. I've read the All-Star Western 1-6 and thought they were really well done.
I can’t say a lot of the New52 has grabbed me yet.
All Star Western and Demon Knights have been really good, but I liked those characters before the reboot. Aquaman was a surprise. Scott Snyder on Batman and Grant Morrison on Action Comics have been interesting. Batgirl and Batwoman are solid.
I **hate** what they’ve done to Amanda Waller and Starfire. I don’t know what’s going on with Superman. Justice League needs to pick it up a bit.
Some good, some bad. I’m still waiting for that breakout must-read. Worlds’ Finest and Earth Two might change my mind.
Watchmen may be wordy, but they have nothing on some of the old X-Men and Uncanny X-Men books penned by Chris Claremont. You wanna talk about drowning in word balloons... :P
Totally. If Claremont wasn’t getting paid by the word, he was missing a bet.
The last Wednesday of the month has officially become Superman Family Adventures Day!
That’s the followup to Tiny Titans, right?
Tiny Titans was a lot of fun, no matter what your age. I’ll have to check out the new series.
I highly recommend Before Watchmen, but I think the original series is overrated (wordy & moves way too slow.. a 6-8 issue series at best).
As to pacing…
I remember reading the monthly issues of Watchmen as they came out. The way that story was told, the serialized monthly pace was just about perfect. It’s still my preferred way of reading that story. That, and the text pieces that accompanied each monthly issue, made it a really satisfying experience each month. I think that it does lose something when you sit down and try to read it in a chunk.
And wordiness? It’s Alan Moore. I think he’s allowed to use as many words as he needs.
Great selection! Me and my friend have really been enjoying New 52's Batgirl! It has a fantastic storyline, worth reading if you enjoyed 'The Killing Joke'.
Gail Simone is one of my favourite writers working today. I think Secret Six is one of the best series of the last 10 years, and I’m hoping that Batgirl becomes the same kind of “must-read” experience.
I picked up silk spectre, it's ok, I like the artwork but the story is a bit tried and tested formula, and not exactly pushing the boundaries.i just want more scarlet spider...
Amanda Conner does some really good work there. Her work on Power Girl was just beautiful, and I think she’s gotten even better with Silk Spectre.
Today's big haul from a Quarter Bin was "Atari Force" Ash-Can #1 (the one that came packaged with an Atari 2600 back in '82)... does that count?
Sure does…I actually have a complete run of the Atari Force series from the 80’s. Good comics!
I picked up Amazing Spider-Man and Before Watchmen: Nite Owl. I definitely recommend AMS, it's looking to be the start of a great arc. I'm really, really enjoying Before Watchmen so far. Every issue has been an excellent, intimate look at the characters we already knew so well, with new revelatory characterization every issue. Can't wait for the next issues.
I didn’t pick up the new issue, but Dan Slott did a fantastic job with the last arc, “Ends Of The Earth”.
Requests
Still working on a backlog of requests, so if you have not seen yours yet, it will be along eventually!
