Wednesday Comics- DC's next weekly series

[Tron Bonne]

Here's my response:

Only the first issue has been released and it was pretty good. It's kind of hard to see where it's all going, and the price is a little heavy too, but I enjoyed it enough that I plan to follow it

I would recommend at least picking up the first issue to see what you think. It's kind of hard, at this point, to say if it's worth it though. The stories have been barely developed, though the art is great in all of them, in my opinion anyway.

 

[Evil Twin]

Yeah, the format is going to limit what you can do with the writing. But, as a piece of pop art, it's really something. If you like seeing big art by great artists, I think it's certainly worth it from that perspective.

 

[Cain]

Picked up the first one and nah I think I'll pass. I'm not sure if these would last long without getting yellowish anyway when I board them up. Not worth the $4 though it's a cool concept. If it was half that price I'd go ahead but not when I buy like 27 other books published by DC a month including a few that have been bumped up to $4 themselves as it is. They get enough of my money.

 

[Motown Marvel]

this is the second week in a row where my store was sold out before i got there. its fate. i wont be picking up the series. and at 4 bucks an issue, im not too worried about it.

 

[Temple Fugate]

so the second installment of superman is on the site (for those of us who dont buy comics)


and USA TODAY FAILED SO HARD

underneath their introduction in the paper it says, and I quote,

"When last we saw the Man of Steel, he was about to rid Metropolis of aliens when he came face-to-face with a Kryptonian."

OH **** SUPERMAN FOUND A KYRPTONIAN!!!!! correct me if im wrong, but the giant three eyed monster thing isnt a kryptonian. I was under the impression that the monster was simply referring to Superman as a kyrptonian.....

 

[Evil Twin]

That second installment of Superman is a big failure on John Arcudi's part. Superman spends a whole weekly installment talking about his feelings to Batman, of all people. Talking heads in what's supposed to be an art showcase format.

At least Hawkman is going to toss some terrorists out of a plane while Superman is busy talking about his feelings.

 

[GoblinWhirlwind]

Who cares. It's only part 2 of 12.

Superman can talk about whatever he wants as long as Bermejo draws it.

 

[Evil Twin]

Who cares. It's only part 2 of 12.

Superman can talk about whatever he wants as long as Bermejo draws it.

When those other 10 pages come out, I'll judge them too. I only have 2 pages to judge and I think John Arcudi made poor use of 1 of them. Talking heads, emo Superman, and Batman being a dick for no good reason. Yes, it's drawn well, but every other strip is moving forward faster.

It's still better than Teen Titans, though. This week is an improvement, but the script is pretty minor, Sean Galloway's storytelling is pretty weak, and the colors certainly don't pop off the page.

I'm amused that Wonder Woman is turning into a Little Nemo riff, but panel to panel flow is awkward at best, the colors are muddy, and lots of little panels doesn't quite work. It's ambitious, but not pulling it off.

OTOH, I think in the second week most features did well to establish their own identities. I've little problem with Metal Men, Supergirl (Amanda Connor does cute well and there's been a punch line at the end of each installment), Sgt. Rock (although Joe deserves the benefit of the doubt, I do wish he'd be more experimental with the page), The Demon & Catwoman, Deadman, and Green Lantern (Quatermass Xperiment nod?).

Hawkman moves right along. Kyle Baker wins double entendre of the week for the title of his next chapter.

Batman takes a solid step forward immersing us in a solid mystery.

The split Flash Comics is a lot of fun. Barry Allen vs. The Flash.

Gaiman and Allred have fun introducing us to a lost world through use of the big page. Plus the Metamorpho fan club bit at the bottom was a hoot. "There's a reason that Metamorpho is the most popular comic book in America!"

Kamandi is as lushly illustrated as last week. Moving right along too. The Hal Foster homage is working great for this feature.

And, I love what Paul Pope is doing with Strange Adventures. It feels both retro and modern at the same time. Alex Raymond, Heavy Metal, E. R. Burroughs, all filtered through Paul Pope. The use of circles to lead the reader down the page is interesting as well.

 

[The Eagle Host]

Superman has, by far, the most beautiful art in the strip, but that story took a terrible turn for the worst. "Super-prozac?" Pathetic.

 

[Evil Twin]

Thoughts on Week 3


Batman
I appreciate it's a solid mystery with appropriate noirish art. We certainly have a couple of suspects with Batman lurking in the background. I'm liking this very much.

Kamandi
Escape via airship. Dr. Canus makes an appearance. This one is in full gear. The art and Prince Valiant style narration are still working for me like gangbusters.

Superman
You know all those complaints about Superman Returns? They're all valid here. Nothing really obnoxious about this installment, unlike last week, but this really doesn't seem like the proper format for this type of story. Now that Clark has run home to Ma and Pa, hopefully he'll get his head on straight and the pace will pick up.

Deadman
Dave Bullock is consistently doing interesting things with page design and this installment is no exception. This page really recalls the psychedelia of some of Neal Adams work on the character. The art is way ahead of the story here, but I can roll with that.

Green Lantern
O.k. we seem to have the plot threads merging. There's a certain resemblance to the Quatermass Xperiment in the astronaut story. The art is very nice too. We'll see how this goes, but next week the plot should be in high gear.

Metamorpho
Like last week, Neil Gaiman and Mike Allred go for one big image while Metamorpho, Java, and Stagg explore the ruins and we get some hints on the survivor of the previous expedition. Paul Levitz writes in to Metamorpho Fans of America and they tease us of the Metamorpho tv series. I still find this a hoot.

Teen Titans
Looks like they brightened up the color pallette a bit and some story is emerging. Still not a fan, but it's edging towards readable.

Strange Adventures
Paul Pope is unique. And talented. I love this feature.

Supergirl
Slight, but cute and amusing. Who can be mad at a dog that cute? Basically the humor strip of the bunch.

Metal Men
Well drawn. Story is o.k., but that man in shadows needs to emerge.

Wonder Woman
Looks like Ben Caldwell is trying to channel Miyazaki to an extent. It's an interesting take on Wonder Woman. And Little Nemo. It still doesn't quite come together for me.

Sgt. Rock
Still hammering away at Rock. But, Easy is getting involved in the plot as they emerge from the mines. Love Joe's art. The story should pick up soon as we get in the rescue operation.

Flash
Love it. Flash and Barry team up this issue. And head to the future. The top tier for me now includes Kamandi, Strange Adventures, Flash, Hawkman, and Metamorpho.

The Demon and Catwoman
Moving forward as the villain of the piece is introduced. And certainly is ungrateful to Selina. Good art as always, although it really hasn't brought the leads together yet.

Hawkman
This story is in high gear as we have alien invaders in disguise. A mace is still a good solution though. Lots of action. Lots of fun.

 

[trustyside-kick]

So, I'm really only looking at picking up this mini for the Hawkman story. Has his tale been good so far? What about GL's?

 

[TheComicbookKid]

Those two have been getting rave reviews. Hawkman's especially.

 

[Evil Twin]

Hawkman has been the more successful of the two for me. The story has been action packed and full of memorable moments.

Green Lantern has very good art and has it's moments, but two of the first three installments have taken place in a watering hole during Happy Hour while Busiek sets up the main conflicts. I expect that it will pick up now that the setup is out of the way, but it's dragged a little.

I think even if you decide that Wednesday Comics isn't your thing, it's worth trying as a piece of pop art and as something different.

 

[Evil Twin]

Thoughts on Week 4

Best of the bunch: Kamandi, Strange Adventures
Both features are making great use of the page. They look gorgeous and they're giving us enough story, with exciting twists and turns, every week.

Superior features: Batman, Metamorpho, Flash, Hawkman
Batman is in the middle of a solid mystery. Metamorpho is a hoot and I love that an evil element men have crazy eyes. We have 3 Flashs running around this weeks installment due to time travel along with a solid twist. And Hawkman continues to kick ass.

Good features: Deadman, Green Lantern, Supergirl, Metal Men, The Demon and Catwoman, Sgt. Rock
Basically, all of the above have good art, but are a bit thin in story. Deadman continues to have impressive page layouts and Dave Bullock has managed to put Boston Brand in danger, but he needs someone to interact with. Kurt Busiek obviously has something planned, but he's been busy putting building blocks in place and they haven't been that gripping. Supergirl hasn't aimed any higher than light, cute, and amusing, although it's hitting its target. We're a third over and the Metal Men have spent it in one room. The Demon and Catwoman has stuff going on, but the two protagonists haven't really met. Sgt. Rock also has been doing a lot of setup, so hopefully there's some payoff soon.

Subpar: Teen Titans
At least stuff is happening. However, I don't care at all about Trident. Or much of anything. Bolder coloring probably would help with the art as well.

Boring: Superman
Wake me when something interesting happens. Good art though.

Muddled: Wonder Woman
Again, I appreciate the ambitions. Again, I just don't think it works.

 

[TheComicbookKid]

So I finally got my hands on an ish(week 3) and jumped to WW to see if it was as bad as described. At first glance, the lettering was fine. Figured you guys complaining were a bunch of old geezers then I actually sat down and read it. I was confused about where the heck I was supposed to be going. Word balloons were drawing my eye to the wrong panels. Total fail.

Everything else was fine, except TT.

 

[Evil Twin]

With Ben Caldwell adopting a vertical storytelling method and cutting down the number of panels to around 40, I find that I'm not struggling with the storytelling anymore and can enjoy the ambitious story Ben Caldwell has crafted. Don't know if this is still the best format for the story, but I can appreciate the strip for much more than its ambitions now.

Except for Teen Titans, I'm pretty pleased with every strip now. Yeah, some could still be better, but even the worst of the rest has appealing art. Superman is even moving.

I was very pleased with Paul Pope's take on Dr. Fate. Fate originally was heavily influenced by H.P. Lovecraft and sticking Fate into a dream quest scenario is a loving nod to those roots.

 

[CConn]

It surprised me how bad TT ended up being. It's almost pointless to read every week.

Wonder Woman's merely extremely hard to read.