By now, many of you will have had a chance to read Justice League #1, the book that ushers in the New 52 and a whole new era for DC Comics – You could probably tell that by the shiny gold version of the DC logo and that “The New 52!” banner on the top right of the cover (And, as an aside, but that is one badly designed cover – The art is nice, the logo is nice, but the type placement and treatment otherwise? Way too crowded, and not at all pleasing to the eye. Is it just me?). And, if you have, you might have realized, like me, that the book is missing something potentially very important. Spoilers: It’s got nothing to do with the story itself.
Where was the introduction to DC Comics? You know what I mean: A text piece for new readers who’ve been swayed by the hype into picking up their first DC comic in quite some time, the kind of thing that Marvel has become very good at including in the first issue of their event books. Considering the positioning of JL #1 as the flagship book of the relaunch, I’m surprised that there was no real attempt to say “Hello, new readers! This is why the Justice League is important, here are where you can find out more about each member, and here are some other books you might want to check out,” instead of the final DC Nation’s “Well, it’s the end of an era” editorial – Shouldn’t that have run in last week’s books? – or the two page ad showcasing all the covers of the new 52 books without any explanation of which one is which, or why “the new 52″ is important to brand new readers.
It’s nowhere near the end of the world, because that kind of thing really is secondary to the story itself and the story was pretty damn good, I thought (I loved 5-years-ago arrogant ass Hal Jordan, and it was a very, very smart move to base the story around the two characters who audiences are most familiar with these days, thanks to their movies), but… it’s a missed opportunity, and I can’t help but think that having some kind of editorial voice in there actually trying to say hello and welcome newcomers would’ve been something that would have made them more likely to come back for the second issue.
August 31st, 2011 at 11:24 am
Good idea! I’ve always wished that DC would include an intro page in their comics like Marvel does. For all the complicated plot threads of modern superhero comics, it’s nice to have that recap after a month. Plus, with those recaps, I am slightly more likely to pick up a Marvel book I haven’t been reading and give it a try on a light week.
August 31st, 2011 at 11:26 am
It would have meant we get one fewer page of turnarounds/sketches which we’ve already seen ad nauseum.
August 31st, 2011 at 11:39 am
I always find it funny that people seem to think the best way to bring in new readers is to treat them as if they’re stupid. How many of us discovered comics through a “jumping on point” issue? I would think probably a minority. The complexity of that world is what’s appealing about it. I would hate to have everything laid out for me in a text piece before I even read the first page of story.
Besides, there’s nothing in that book that is confusing. Sure, new readers wouldn’t know what a parademon is, but neither to Hal and Bruce, so explaining it in a text piece would ruin the story.
Beyond that, what else would be confusing?
August 31st, 2011 at 1:12 pm
“the story was pretty damn good”
Meh. It read like Lee’s Heroes Reborn work, which is to say, better than Liefeld, but utterly unremarkable otherwise.
August 31st, 2011 at 5:25 pm
You hit the nail on the head Kyle. I agree 100%
August 31st, 2011 at 8:56 pm
@Kyle- I think in this instance Graeme is thinking of the intro piece as a more general intro to the new DC publishing line as a whole and not background on the characters- like your parademon example. And actually that would have been a great idea to include in ALL the books this month. I’m usually not one to agree with Graeme- this might be the first time- but the DC Nation editorial does seem out of place in the book and should have been in last week’s books. And the two page spread of cover images just is a lousy way of trying to sell the revamp to potential readers.
September 4th, 2011 at 6:02 am
I found that what was needed was some better writing, I found the dialoge bland and the interactions forced. Not John best work by a long way.
But maybe thats because I found myself compareing it to Morrisons JLA #1, which is an almost perfect first issue
September 5th, 2011 at 9:12 am
@K-Box: Shouldn’t you be commissioning nude pics of Aunt May? (someone had to say it)
September 5th, 2011 at 9:14 am
@K-Box: Lee is also not writing this comic so 0/500 and big time FAIL from a turd like you.
Also: I hope Bervoot/Wacker find those commission pics you did, it would give them good ammo.
September 6th, 2011 at 4:14 am
@Xombi maybe spell better before the insults. your sentences need work too.
September 6th, 2011 at 6:28 am
Anyone wanna explain to me how Hal claims he was alerted to an ET presence and that the ring acts like an ET GPS…but wonders and questions whether or not Superman is an alien?
May 1st, 2012 at 1:44 am
Where was the introduction to DC Comics? You know what I mean: A text piece for new readers who’ve been swayed by the hype into picking up their first DC comic in quite some time