Venganza Media Gazette

A Marvel Guy Tries The New DC Universe

Everything old is new again in the New 52. Which sounds like a slogan for Weird Al's TV station in UHF.

Have you heard about the DC Comics unvierse reboot?

Of course you have.  Even if you don’t go to your comic book store every Wednesday, this story has reached beyond the geek level with coverage on CNN, MSNBC, and Entertainment Weekly.  Despite The Dark Knight being one of the top grossing films of all time, and despite all the hype around this summer’s Green Lantern, comic book sales are still flagging month over month.  In response DC has taken the boldest step yet to try to draw new audiences to these heroes’ original medium.  By doing a “soft reboot” of the entire comic book universe, DC hopes readers will no longer be daunted by the complex histories and continuities for heroes such as Batman and Superman, and instead impulsively pick up a comic book.

And for this comic reader, it certainly worked.

While I grew up with the DC comic characters, my exposure to them was always in their mass media formats.  To me, Superman was Christopher Reeve or George Reeves, Batman was a cartoon Bozo introduced in the mornings or, on a special Saturday, Adam West in an old rerun.  Through the Super Friends cartoon I was introduced to B-list characters like Green Lantern and The Flash.  But I never understood that the DC and Marvel universes were separate, a distinction muddled by my Mego toys including both The Incredible Hulk and Batman in the same toy line, and other than an impulse buy of Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen purchased in the early 80’s I never read any comic books.

When I got into comics in my teenage years though, it was Marvel that caught my eye, and I became an avid collector of Marvel comics.  My one attempt at entering the DC universe was in 1992 when Batman Returns had me hyped, and I went out and bought several issues of the Robin mini-series, as well as some Batman and Superman comics.  But while I did enjoy the Robin series greatly, the rest of the comics never really grabbed me, and my lack of familiarity with many of the characters and situations (Lex Luthor had cancer?) was much of the reason for that.

Later that same year, the much ballyhooed Death of Superman comic event also grabbed my attention, and I read the issue in which Superman was killed by Doomsday, and I was again left unimpressed as the death seemed unearned, the fight did not seem to me any worse than what Kal-El suffered at the hands of Zod on screen in Superman II, or by Nuclear Man in Superman IV.

And in the almost 20 years in between, despite reading thousands of comics from Marvel, as well as some issues from other publishers like Dark Horse, Image, and several other independents, I’ve not read a single other DC Comic.  Until now.  Once again, the media blitz DC has created around their reboot drew me to my local comic store Wednesday night where, despite having never had interest in a single Justice League comic in my life, I purchased a copy of Justice League of America #1.  And I went home with an enthusiasm I’ve not had for a comic in many years, and immediate read the entire issue.

I never thought superheroes would have to "meet cute", but I guess when one was played by Ryan Reynolds I should expect no less.

And my impressions as a Marvel comics guy who’s only familiarity with DC is through it’s movies and television shows?  I will get into that, and spoilers follow below.

I don’t envy writer Geoff Johns this week, having the entire burden of introducing this new universe to fans old and new, but he handles it very

well.  Despite the plethora of heroes on the cover, the image that has been the trademark of DC’s New 52 since it was announced, the issue focuses specifically on two heroes meeting for the first time–Batman and Green Lantern.   The comic is set “5 years ago” at a time where super-powered beings were still new to society, and super-powered beings, both good and evil, are hunted by authorities.  Even non-powered costumed vigilantes like Batman are not safe from pursuit.

Despite DC telling long time readers that this reset of continuity was not a hard reboot, seeing that we are being introduced to all these heroes shortly after they were revealed to society at large it seems much, if not all, of the past histories are now washed away.  It truly is a great entry point, as clear a beginning for these heroes as we need without going back and retelling each character’s origin story.  I was reminded of Marvel Comics’ Ultimate Universe, where just over a decade ago they pulled the exact same stunt, and as a reader I was drawn in wanting to see how DC’s handling of superhumans among regular society differed from Marvel’s Ultimate take.

Rather than focus on introducing the universe, Johns focuses on telling a story of an intergalactic threat large enough to make several heroes come together.  In the first issue we focus entirely on Batman and Green Lantern, though we get a few pages of a pre-heroic Vic Stone (soon to become Cyborg).  Unfortunately, this story seems marred with the cliched story steps whenever heroes get together for the first time.  We get Batman and Green Lantern posturing to see who is the toughest hero in Gotham, and when the story ends we see Superman handily take out Green Lantern before turning to fight Batman, sure to follow in Issue 2.

And that is another disappointing aspect to this comic.  Despite all the hype being around Issue #1, and despite DC delivering day-and-date digital copies of these comics, the modern comic structure of telling stories in 5-issue or 6-issue arcs, easily collected in trade paperbacks to be sold at Barnes & Noble, persists.  And thus this first comic gives us everything and nothing, we see the universe but such a small portion of it that we don’t really know what to make of it.

Is it me, or does the new Superman look a lot like Tom Welling from Smallville?

Given that we only have 23 pages of comic, it’s a good thing that we aren’t spending five or ten pages being introduced to all seven characters on the cover, but yet I can’t help but feel cheated that in the issue there is no sign of Aquaman, Wonder Woman, or Flash, and Superman just gets the final page in the issue. In the end, this comic is just too short to be fulfilling.

I really feel that for such an auspicious launch, DC should have expanded this issue.  While profit margins on comic books are tight, with as much curiosity as surrounds this first new comic for their universe, DC should have offered offering readers 46 pages for the same $3.99 cover price, giving us more of the characters and a greater feel for the new universe.  As printed, it feels like comicus interruptus.

The art in the comic is tremendous, though.  Jim Lee really has some gorgeous splash pages as we see our three costumed heroes for the first time.  While I actively dislike some of the art I’ve seen from the upcoming books (looking at you Wonder Woman), the art in Justice League is bright, detailed, and in some cases stunning.

But while the art may make great posters and iPhone cases, at the end of the issue I was left unfulfilled.  Despite this being the “New 52”, there was nothing new here, just the tired story of superheroes meeting and in-fighting before, I presume, they will be forced to put aside their differences to fight an even greater threat.  And for such a risky move as flushing 70 years of history, this seems like a story very much playing it safe.

And so I will not be picking up Justice League of America #2.  The publicists at DC did their job, I bought the first one, but the writers did not live up to the hype–though I don’t see how anyone could.  But after all the hype dies down, depending on internet buzz, I may someday check out the trade paperback collection while sipping a mocha at Barnes & Noble.

September 1, 2011 Posted by Arnie C | Comic Books, Reviews | Batman, DC, Flash, Green Lantern, Justice League of America, Marvel, Superman | 1 Comment