DC to "Rebirth" in June - Part 2

[flash13]

Let's see if I understand the story of Doomsday Clock so far.

Rorschach is dead following the events of Watchmen so his successor, albeit unintentionally, took up his mantle following his time in a sanitarium. He, along with Oz, want to find Dr. Manhattan (I'm not clear on why that is). They travel in Nightowl's vessel to Gotham via...a portal, was it (?)...where they go on about doing their own investigative work.

While that's happening, two pseudo-Comedian-inspired mimes are killing people and they also end up in Gotham because they're looking for the Joker, if only to see what he's like because they think he's awesome.

Rorscach ends up in the Batcave, Bruce has him committed to Arkham while posing a shrink to learn more about...I think it's the original Rorschach's journal. Meanwhile, people are rioting in the street because they're sick of Batman.

And now, we have an old man running around looking for a Green Lantern lantern, because...

Spoiler

he used to be a GL?

The old man is Johnny Thunder. They started his storyline in the Rebirth one-shot back in 2016.

 

[Mani-Man]

The old man is Johnny Thunder. They started his storyline in the Rebirth one-shot back in 2016.

Wait What? How the hell did i miss that.
I had the theory it could be Alan Scott...when was the last time Alan Scott appeared?

 

[Babillygunn]

Yeah. That’s news to me. Now i Wikipedia Johnny Thunder and go looking for the one shot you mentioned

 

[nite-owl]

DC Relaunching Vertigo Comic Book Imprint with 7 Titles

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/vertigo-comics-dc-relaunching-imprint-7-titles-1117894

 

[Sithborg]

I have to give them props for those creators. DC at this point is just taunting the alt right at this point.

 

[Babillygunn]

Nightwing vs Hush was anticlimactic. And I must say that I feel bad for Dick. Bruce basically agreed that he is picking Clark to be best man because Clark is in the JL and is cooler.

 

[Mani-Man]

I have to give them props for those creators. DC at this point is just taunting the alt right at this point.

Seems that way. t:
But some of those sound quite interesting in general.

Nightwing vs Hush was anticlimactic. And I must say that I feel bad for Dick. Bruce basically agreed that he is picking Clark to be best man because Clark is in the JL and is cooler.

Ah so everybody who writes in close proximity around Kings "batman" continues to treat every other character outside of Selina bad...nothing new there then.
Thank god there are only two issues or what left before this awful arc is over.

 

[The Shape]

Ah so King continues to treat every other character outside of Selina bad...nothing new there then.
Thank god there are only two issues or what left before this awful arc is over.

King didn't write that issue...

 

[Mani-Man]

Noticed it afterwards, fixed it.

Does anybody read harley quinn? Has it become better? Heard nothing too good about it last i checked a few m onths ago.
Im thinking about giving it finally a try but im not sure.

 

[Gee]

Tom King's Sanctuary project is here with art by Clay Mann:
http://ew.com/books/2018/06/13/batman-tom-king-heroes-in-crisis-sanctuary/

 

[WolfCypher]

Tom King's infection has spread to the rest of the DC host's body...

 

[flickchick85]

So I don't really keep up with the buzz, but do people generally not like Tom King? The only things I've read from him are Mister Miracle and The Omega Men, and I've loved 'em both.

 

[WolfCypher]

A lot of people looooove Tom King.
And a lot of people haaaate Tom King.


On Batman, I mean.


Hugely divisive run. I'm not even interested in issue 50 anymore. I may have to drop Batman for the first time ever in my 20+ years of Batman reading.

 

[flickchick85]

Ah, I see. Good thing I'm not a Batfan, I guess. I don't think I've read that title since early in Snyder's New 52 run.

 

[Gee]

Mister Miracle has been fantastic.

 

[flickchick85]

Mister Miracle has been fantastic.

It's certainly made me a fan of the character (and Big Barda), that's for sure.

 

[WolfCypher]

My DC pull list is ever shrinking. I feel if I actually drop Batman, and Bendis' Superman books don't cut it, I'll only have Justice League, Deathstroke, and Red Hood to read.

 

[Sithborg]

I've been reading King's Batman trades when they go on sale. He is pretty good, and if Heroes in Crisis is the realization of his Sanctuary idea, I am quite interested.

I don't quite understand the hatred there is for his Batman, but different opinions and all that.

 

[WolfCypher]

I've been reading King's Batman trades when they go on sale. He is pretty good, and if Heroes in Crisis is the realization of his Sanctuary idea, I am quite interested.

I don't quite understand the hatred there is for his Batman, but different opinions and all that.

Well, for starters, I really hate how he writes dialogue. He usually writes Batman like this.

"Hunh." Hergh". "Hmph".

That is, when he isn't making all characters repeat the same lines of dialogue over and over and over again.

I posted this a while ago, and I still feel the same now, especially after reading that joke (no pun intended) of the Joker issue we just got.

http://forums.superherohype.com/showpost.php?p=35664763&postcount=896


And that Booster Gold 3-parter was ass...its equally as bad as Jokes & Riddles.

 

[Gee]

My DC pull list is ever shrinking. I feel if I actually drop Batman, and Bendis' Superman books don't cut it, I'll only have Justice League, Deathstroke, and Red Hood to read.

My pull list is pretty much shrinking all around. Venom #1 was my first Marvel issue in the last two(?) years and I mostly got it because my LCS guy highly suggested it. I dropped Paper Girls after the second arc has ended a few months ago and that was the only Image series on my pull.

I think I'll go back to trade waiting. Looking forward to those DC Ink/Zoom books, though.

 

[Mani-Man]

So I don't really keep up with the buzz, but do people generally not like Tom King? The only things I've read from him are Mister Miracle and The Omega Men, and I've loved 'em both.

King is good...but for some reason he completely sucks at batman and butchers the whole batman universe in the process.
Dont know how a good writer can suddenly come off as so incredible amateurish, but he does.

 

[Sawyer]

Tom King's infection has spread to the rest of the DC host's body...

 

[flickchick85]

King is good...but for some reason he completely sucks at batman and butchers the whole batman universe in the process.
Dont know how a good writer can suddenly come off as so incredible amateurish, but he does.

Hmmm, interesting. Y'all are honestly making me curious enough to read it now, lol.

 

[Mani-Man]

Hmmm, interesting. Y'all are honestly making me curious enough to read it now, lol.

Hey, why not...there is this thing called trash watching or trash playing where people watch movies or play games that are bad for some reason...why not doing that with comics too.t:

Maybe you enjoy Kings style, cant say i do...i rather take accept Frank Millers Batman as canon before i do that with whoever king is writing under the name batman...but to each their own.
Thats why we have such a large Fandom to begin with, different people like different things.

 

[CrimsonMist]

Tom King's infection has spread to the rest of the DC host's body...

You could very well say the same thing about Scott Snyder. Overblown hyperbole.

So I don't really keep up with the buzz, but do people generally not like Tom King? The only things I've read from him are Mister Miracle and The Omega Men, and I've loved 'em both.

As a big fan of Tom King, I can say that some of the criticisms lobbed at him aren't without warrant. But like my comment above, much of it is overblown hyperbole.

In re-reading the "I Am..." trilogy without the interruptions, it's a much more rewarding read, and "The War of Jokes & Riddles" is pretty solid, too.

"Rooftops" is one of my favorite short arcs, as is "The Brave & The Mold". I think King writes a rock solid Swamp Thing. Anything directly involving the engagement/wedding of Batman and Catwoman has been solid as well. The Elmer Fudd/Batman crossover book had no right to be as great as it was. The "Superfriends" arc was solid on the Superman half. The Wonder Woman half was decent (but the criticism was again overblown).

The only arc of King's that I genuinely did not like was the Booster Gold arc that just finished up. And even then, it's not because of King's treatment of Booster Gold (which didn't make much sense regardless), but the story lacks context for all of the action therein. We don't know why Booster did what he did, we don't know why Booster was acting the way he did. We don't get any info. You can certainly extrapolate, but if it's not in the story, it doesn't count. Honestly, it felt like a filler story just to nudge the book closer to issue 50 for the wedding.

His Batman run is uneven. The first half of his run is interspersed with editorially mandated crossovers and what I can only assume are fill-in stories to accommodate time needed for his main artists. The second half is just interspersed with one-shot stories that don't really tie into the larger narrative, but again, I think this is to provide extra time to his main artists.

If you've read his other work, then you're familiar with his writing style. He has a rhythmic staccato style of writing that is very distinct. Granted, this style isn't for everyone. But it works for me and I understand the desired effect. The closest I can compare it to is early-Bendis (see: Daredevil), and with that, he's writing Batman. He's not a character who should be monologuing our ears off, which is why I couldn't stand Scott Snyder's run at all. King's Batman run is also very intimate. His stories aren't about Batman planting explosives on the moon to prevent alien invasions. King's stories are about the fallout, the personal consequences.

Again, not everyone likes it. That's to be expected. But the vitriol(often spewed by people who seem to only buy the book just to hate it, which makes no sense to me) is overblown in my opinion. It's worth checking out and forming your own opinion.