1. Gore! Gore! Gore!: Over the past couple of years’ worth of DC and Marvel comics, we’ve been treated to delightful scenes like Red Lanterns puking up gallons of blood; Ultimate Blob chowing down on Ultimate Wasp’s Ultimate entrails; a squad of rookie Green Lanterns being showered with hundreds of their dead family members’ detached eyeballs; Black Adam ripping Terra Man apart at the waist; Red Tornado’s arm ripped off by Solomon Grundy; and Wendy and Marvin of the Wonder Twins getting eaten by Wonder Dog, all in varying degrees of graphic detail. And that’s not counting all the limbs that have been ripped off in Geoff Johns comics. I have no problems reading stuff like that in The Boys or the Punisher’s Max series, because those are books and others like them are marketed to adult audiences. But titles like Green Lantern Corps and Teen Titans are ostensibly meant to appeal to readers of all ages. Are these the sort of scenes that should be featured those books? That’s certainly a debatable point, and I’m sure there are numbers of you that would have no problem with that sort of scene. But when I buy a copy of Amazing Spider-Man, I don’t want to get surprised by a panel wherein Venom eats Aunt May’s face; I’d much rather know that I’m laying down $3 for ten minutes worth of fun escapism. Here’s hoping Marvel and DC scale back the violence a little bit in aught-nine.
2. Steve Rogers returning as Captain America: I’ve been a fan of Captain America ever since the early days of Mark Gruenwald’s highly underrated run, and I’ve followed the Sentinel of Liberty’s various volumes ever since. So it’s safe to say that Steve Rogers is one of my all-time favorite comic book characters. I’ve got to be honest with you though, I’m digging the work Ed Brubaker has done with Bucky as Captain America so much that I hope Steve Rogers stays dead and buried for good. Bucky simply makes for a more interesting Captain America than Steve Rogers did. Rogers was the paragon of virtue in the Marvel Universe, and the one hero that everyone else aspired to be. He was a great character, and I’m not trying to imply that he wasn’t an interesting character. But between his conflicting past as the Winter Soldier and his attempts to reconcile it with his role as Captain America; his doubts about his ability to live up to Rogers’s legacy; and his need to integrate himself into the Avengers and the rest of the Marvel U, there’s a wealth of unexplored stories to be told that obviously can’t be told with rogers wearing the stars and stripes. It’s inevitable that Steve Rogers will be brought back to life eventually, since even Bucky couldn’t stay dead forever. I just hope Marvel holds off on his return for a while so the new Captain America can have his time in the spotlight. (I still think the new costume is ugly as sin, though.)
3. Barry Allen replacing Wally West as the primary Flash: I want to make this clear right out of the gate: I have absolutely nothing against Barry Allen. I haven’t read nearly enough stories starring the character to have an informed opinion about him. However, I have read plenty of stories featuring Wally West, and I think he’s a great Flash. Since he’s taken over the mantle of the Flash after Allen’s death in Crisis on Infinite Earths, he’s taken the Flash legacy to greater heights than his predecessor did. He’s built upon the legacy by mentoring Impulse, Jesse Quick, and his own children, and he’s made the Flash one of the most powerful speedsters around by tapping into the Speed Force. If DC is dead set on bringing Allen back, why not create a new role for him in the ranks of DC’s pantheon, so that he can create a new legacy and leave the Flash to Wally West, who has more than earned it? Besides, between West and Jay Garrick, how many more Flashes doing running around DC?
4. $4 monthly comics: Has anyone from Marvel or DC come out and publicly addressed this issue yet? I’d be curious to find out what the official reasoning behind the $1 price increase, especially Joe Quesada, since it seems as if Marvel is going to pull the trigger first. There are a handful of titles I’d be willing to pay $4 a month to read, like Captain America, Incredible Hercules, and All-Star Batman and Robin. (Yes, I love ASB&R. So what?) But those are books that I know will be worth the money. Forget about selling me on new titles, though. In the current economic landscape, I simply can’t afford to throw away $4 trying out a new book I’m not sure I would even like. (Topic of discussion: Would lowering the production values of monthly comics be enough to keep cover prices down? Would you still buy floppies if the publishers went back to using cheaper paper?)
5. A squidless Watchmen: Come on Zach Snyder, put the giant squid back in Watchmen. It’s a comic book movie; I think audiences will be more than willing to suspend their disbelief enough to buy into a giant squid devastating Times Square.
December 31st, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Did Good Ol’ J.R. write the first few words of the entry?
December 31st, 2008 at 10:33 pm
Totally agree with your # 1, 4 and 5… I’m on the fence when it comes to Bucky vs Steve as Cap, though. I think either can work in the capable hands of Ed Brubaker, and I think the character (whoever’s inside the red, white and blue) will suck in comparison when Ed leaves the title (as must eventually happen).
As for Barry vs Wally… I’ve read a ton of Wally West stories as the Flash (and quite a few of Wally as Kid Flash, too) and I just don’t find him any more appealing than Barry. They both have had their share of snoozers, but Barry at least represented nobility and selflessness whereas Wally’s more often used for comedy (see his animated appearances, for example, as indications of how he’s perceived in the mainstream). I’m happiest if they’re both around, and I’d even throw in Jay as well, since I think having the legacy of speedsters still operating, all at the same time, is a pretty cool concept.
December 31st, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Howard: I was hoping someone would pick up on that.
Kimota94: good points regarding the differences betwen Waly and Barry.
December 31st, 2008 at 11:11 pm
I think the 4 bucks a book is a means to drive up trade paperback sales. When monthly sales and subs drop off by July ’09, Marvel’s gonna announce a new TPB program: original, long-format books every few months instead of individual issues, similar to manga. To me, it seems like Marvel and DC are simply collecting every six-issue storyline a month after it ends, so why not drop the pretense of floppies altogether.
Although, if lower prices on monthlies meant lower production values, I would continue to buy. It’s the story that keeps me coming back, not the shiny paper and card stock cover. At 3.99 a book, I’ll be hard pressed to find titles worth keeping up with; Daredevil, New Avengers, and Astonishing would probably be the only ones. If prices dropped to, say, 1.99 or 2.25 (both reasonable prices to me), I would add more titles and be willing to try new ones.
January 1st, 2009 at 12:09 am
#3 – I can’t understand the legacy thing. People made those up–writers, editors, artists–not the character. I mean, unless you want to go with Grant Morrison creating a living continuity creature (which he apparently isn’t going to be allowed to do).
#5 – is a squidless Watchmen worse than a Watchmen with Rorschach’s narration having a lot of emphasis?
January 1st, 2009 at 12:25 am
J.R.? I thought Paul Heyman said those now classic words.
I agree with all of the above:
1. There is way too much violence spread over the reg DCU books. Video games have E, T, an M ratings system, why can’t DC do something like that.. maybe not, it would be like Sarah Palin promoting library books.
2. Rogers back as Cap can wait. Interesting times at Marvel…
3. It’s a shame it give up on Wally like this. He was the most prefect example of the “legacy hero”, plus Uncle Barry’s death was one of the most meaningful ever in comics… but that happened during the first Crisis, something DC seems to be undoing.
4. I started buying funnybooks when they were $1.25/$1.50 (weren’t the ‘Baxter’ titles $1.75/1.95?). Boy have things changed… I know I will be buying less tiles from now on, but I feel this is DC/Marvel’s loss, a loss of a reader, than my own.
5. I have to see the finished film first. After that, there will be hell upon thee!
January 1st, 2009 at 1:35 am
You’ve got a problem with Red Tornado getting taken apart? That’s his *job*…
January 1st, 2009 at 2:39 am
I still buy monthlies if they were on a lower quality paper. Hell, if lower quality paper means lower cover prices, I (and others) might be persuaded to pick up a few more titles.
January 1st, 2009 at 2:46 am
Preach it, buddy.
I’m with you on all these points.
January 1st, 2009 at 5:23 am
JQ has talked about $4 comics on his My Cup O Joe weekly blog on Myspace. He said for now the comics that are getting the increase are the minis and the ongoings that are most definitely going to sell like New Avengers, Hulk, and the like so smaller titles like Iron Fist and Captain Britain will have a chance to be more competitive with a smaller price than the bigger titles.
Who knows how long that will last though right?
January 1st, 2009 at 7:58 am
Diamondrock: Corey’s referring specifically to the moment where Red Tornado, temporarily turned human, had his very flesh-blood-and-bone arm ripped off and consumed by Grundy. By the end of the arc, he was back in his robot body (which is of course destroyed and reassembled like a kid’s Lego tower).
January 1st, 2009 at 11:54 am
1. Exploitive gore is one of the main reasons I’ve dropped back from mainstream comics. Sex and violence is easy. High concept imagination is hard.
2. Yeah, if Bucky’s going to stay Cap that costume needs some fixin’.
3. Sorry, Barry Allen is the Flash. If you’re the character that kicked off the superhero continuity that has been ongoing and evolving for over 50 years now you should at least get to hold onto your mantle. Maybe Wally can be the one to get a new identity like Kyle did when Hal came back.
4. The other main reason I’ve mostly dropped out of superhero comics. Comics should be cheap. Bring on the age of digital downloading!
5. If the movie doesn’t suck I think I could easily overlook a missing giant squid.
January 1st, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Make Mine Comics…Until Steve Rogers Gets A Black Lantern Ring And Puts Lois Lane In A Fridge When Barry Fails To Stop Him In A Special Blackest Death Crossover Issue….
Seriously Troy I with you on most of these….and to the multitude of fans who are gonna get mad at the above paragraph..lighten up..lol
Now I going back to cut down on my 4 dollar books…
January 1st, 2009 at 12:36 pm
I’m with you on the Bucky-as-Captain-America issue. Wilde said that “everyman kills the thing he loves,” and we all loved Steve Rogers, and Steve being dead is the absolute only way we can keep him and preserve him as that paragon of virtue. Some things, when you stretch ‘em out any longer than necessary, lose their luster.
Killing Steve — pulling him from the core MU because we’ll always have a Marvel Adventures Steve Rogers or whatever — that makes what he stood for even greater than the man himself: We didn’t know what we had until he was gone, and neither did Tony Stark or Peter Parker or the everyday citizens of the Marvel Universe. It’s gotten a lot darker since ol’ Cap went away.
(Pun intended…?)
January 1st, 2009 at 2:50 pm
It’s kinda funny, but I feel the opposite about your Cap/Flash choices for the same reasons. I read all the “How can I live up to this legacy” stuff in Flash. I don’t want to see a self-doubting Captain America. I trust Geoff Johns enough to make me want to read about Barry Allen. However, Brubaker’s Cap has been really boring to me. I just can’t make myself be interested in his series. I’ve tried for three years, bouncing on and off the book, but when I read it, the stories just don’t ‘click’ with me.
Plus, I’m not sure if I’m willing to pay $4 for any book.
January 1st, 2009 at 3:49 pm
The people who want Barry back as the Flash remind me of the (few) people who want Dick Grayson to go back to being Robin. It’s a move back that will undo a lot of really good stories and hurt the character of Wally West.
DC has tons of alternate universes, why can’t they go back to telling Earth-Barry/Earth-Wally stories if they want to have multiple versions of a character?
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:46 am
2. Damn you and your good “reasons”. I want Steve back
What about him returning, but Bucky remaining Cap?
January 2nd, 2009 at 11:58 am
Wow Corey, you’ve tapped my brain for this post. I couldn’t agree with you more. Bucky being the new Cap is the shot in the arm that character has needed for years. Being a big cap fan I was saddened by all the failed reboots in the last decade.
I really don’t see why Barry Allen has to come back. He had the perfect “heroes death” in Crisis on Infinite Earth’s. Bringing him back now doesn’t sit well with me. Wally has been a great Flash for 20 years, notwithstanding, the post OYL problems in his title.
January 2nd, 2009 at 1:28 pm
I’m with you on the gore…DC, especially, has gotten more gory over the past few years and it really turns me off…the Wonder Dog panels you reference were way over the top. I’m not asking for G-rated, squeeky-clean books…but toning down on the gore would be nice.
I was not in favor of bringing back Barry Allen…but since they are, I’m interested to see where they go with it. But I do hate what it does to Wally, who is my favorite of the Flashes (followed by Jay).
January 3rd, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Re: Barry & Wally …
I trust Johns to write a good story, but it’ll be tough, since Barry, like Hal Jordan, is BORING. And Wally has long been the true Flash. He’s been the Flash for more years and more issues than Barry (not even counting all his years in Titans and the fact that he was in many of Barry’s stories.) I dare you to read both Barry’s entire series and Wally’s, and see which one comes off better. A lot of great ideas were invented for Barry, but the Silver Age looks absurd when you look back at it and don’t have your rose-colored glasses on. Those ideas have been improved upon in the modern age. And barring the animated series, Wally hasn’t been used for “comic relief” since the late ’80s and JLI. If some of his recent stories have not been up to par, blame poor writing, not a poor character. With Barry’s return, following on Supergirl, Jason Todd, Bucky, Hal Jordan, Oliver Queen, and more, there will officially be NO death in comic books. Bringing him back cheapens his character and his life story.