The Unholy Dragon
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Posts posted by The Unholy Dragon
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Given it's both the anniversary issue and the movie prequel, it does seem to be a team thing...but given that tweet is super new and this stuff has probably been ready since before that, I'd say it's likely they just finished it before the split.
Which one gets to keep the cosmic house?
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In theory. They've since stated that they're mostly just targeting young males. And frankly, their manner shows a pretty obvious disregard for people who don't like what they're doing/boycott them on principle. And that the number of new readers still outweighs the value of the older readers, which I could believe on the core books at least...their top 10 has stayed stronger than it was pre-52 from what I've seen. Stunts and crossovers and whatever sure, but that's always been the game. And again...the vocal internet audience is either really small or doesn't contribute dollars, as evidenced by every internet darling title that sells like absolute shit.
I'm not saying every DC fan should buy ALL THE NEW 52 TITLES FOREVAH. There's a lot of garbage I've skimmed/passed on. Or even read, way back when I was a retailer and could do that. But to pass on legitimately terrific titles because of a general boycott is baby-with-the-bathwater stuff. End of the day, it means you're treating Snyder's Batman on par with Lobdell's Superman. Which means DC has no way to tell which direction is a better one to follow business-wise.If EVERYTHING they're publishing were terrible, it'd be a very different story. But there's a lot of great stuff in there, so it's not.
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See, the problem with a general boycott is that they're still publishing some REALLY good books...and those tend to be the ones most tonally different from the KEWL 90S style of the New 52. Snyder's Batman is absolutely amazing and Superman Unchained has been really strong too. Simone's Batgirl is mostly strong and Batwoman under Andreyko sounds fantastic too (I tradewait most stuff, so I haven't checked it yet). There's some really strong lower end stuff like The Movement too and there WAS Demon Knights until there wasn't. And hell, the new Harley series has been a LOT of fun so far.
I dunno. Boycotting everything just tells DC you're not part of their market anymore. It's a vote of no-confidence, sure. But it doesn't say anything to them about what they SHOULD be doing and ultimately they're just going to shrug and focus on the people who ARE reading their stuff. And maybe it's just me (and given that I've kind of outgrown caring about which fictional timeline is the REAL fictional timeline, that's possible) but I care way more about quality of books than anything else. My problem with the New 52 isn't that a bunch of stuff 'didn't happen'. I can still read that stuff. Just like I could have with Pre-Crisis stuff. Whatever. The problem is that a lot of the books were empty or vapid or samey or just plain sucked. And that an overwhelming lack of diversity sprung up around the line (though credit for the first lineup having a good range of titles).
So I buy the books that have a Vertigo flair. I buy the stuff that gets a lot of creator freedom and gives them a long run. I buy the stuff that I want DC to make in the hopes that it tells them to make more of it. And I get rewarded by reading some legitimately great books...win-win.
All boycotting does is tell DC you're not part of their fanbase and take money away from creators you like doing books you might enjoy. Voting with your dollars is the best way to tell any company what works.And if you're just pirating the books you WOULD have bought to avoid giving DC a dollar, I hope you get scurvy.
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Great episode, but man, they made Abed look like a real piece of shit.
In fairness, Abed is usually the character that gets the kindest treatment. Most of the times where he really looks awful it's sort of handwaved for one reason or another. Which...I think it's been fairly well established by this point that you have to be kind of awful to be part of the study group.
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Which...I actually feel like the advantage will go to Snyder's deal, honestly. Downey seems done with solo Iron Man movies and Man of Steel outdid basically every non-Iron Man, non-Avengers Marvel flick in theatrical gross (both domestic and worldwide). Throw in the Batman appeal and unless Marvel slots a surprise ace in there, I doubt they take that battle, regardless of quality.
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Well, ratings for the premier were down slightly from the previous year's, but ratings are down across the board and it was up against Big Bang Theory (which...the ratings a show that bad gets actually make me angry) and it seems to still be hitting a solid demo. Word of mouth is strong though and it feels like NBC is partially keeping it going as a sort of feather in it's lineup...something to claim critical acclaim with.
Really, it's tough to say. I don't think six seasons and a movie is impossible at this point though.EDIT:
NBC’s policy is to “let him do his show, as long as it’s coming in on budget and on time, and celebrate that,” said Vernon Sanders, a network entertainment executive who oversees “Community.”The series, despite low ratings, is shown in repeats on Comedy Central, broadcast in more than a dozen foreign territories and sought by advertisers who want to reach younger viewers. “It’s a show that we make money on,” Mr. Sanders said. But more important, it is a show that cultivates an enthusiastic audience, a feat that he said NBC did not take for granted.
“When a show is really well done, that’s not a guarantee,” Mr. Sanders said.
Read more: http://www.uproxx.com/tv/2014/01/ratings-community-way-way-math/#ixzz2qiPJNSCj
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Most of DC's big franchise characters don't wear masks. His Batman looks janky too.
The one that always kills me is his Green Goblin. -
That has more to do with a lack of depth in GA's rogues gallery.
Seriously, name five villains you would consider GA-centric. Even Deathstroke really only counts for the last year or so of Winnick's first series. And the list gets shorter when you take away superpowers. -
I'm starting to feel like Multiversity is never going to happen, much like All Star Boy Wonder or Batman: Europa.
And Morrison's really just taking a break from superheroes. Palette cleanser. Doesn't mean it won't turn out to be an ending, but given how entranced he's become with the mythological aspects, I'd be surprised if he stays away too long.
In other news, interviews seem to be hinting that Wally is now the son of...The New 52 Reverse Flash, Daniel West.
There's also kinda hints that he may be grim n' grittied up. -
So, 9 episodes into Arrow (BINGE WATCHING FTW) and it's a lot better than I expected, even though it really feels like they kinda really wanted to be making a Batman show.
It's less that they wanted to make a Batman story and more than they wanted it to feel like "Christopher Nolan's Green Arrow" and tried REALLY hard to be taken REALLY seriously despite the show being at its best when it's got a sort of goofy fun about it. As time goes on, they start embracing the crazier elements and things improve significantly. Season 2 especially.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRrUPF1uGvM
Very possibly the greatest women's wrestler in North American history. RIP.
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Well, Smallville basically just took his background and made him Batman x Iron Man with a bow. He's only really recognizable as Ollie in the most superficial sense.
Arrow on the flip side actually adds a lot. The island gets far more backstory and Ollie is way more of a badass than he was originally. He also has a family, which is uh...new.
The thing about Ollie in the comics is that he's REALLY SIMPLE. Rich guy washes up on island, becomes amazing with a bow to survive, becomes urban Robin Hood/bleeding heart Liberal. As long as you keep that intact, the rest is pretty malleable which is why such distinct TV adaptations are possible. -
I can't remember which one, but I just saw a DVD of a fairly recent movie at Wal-Mart that had a "Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes" sticker slapped on it.
First flick I saw that on was Looper. Makes a lot of sense for movies that people are more likely to buy when looking for something quality.
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I'll put this in for Best Promo of the Year.
Ok, after seeing that promo AND the Doctor Who Christmas episode, I want, no, DEMAND that Regal lose an epic war of a match, regenerate into a young, lethal English shooter and destroy his opponent. Legit, he just did in two minutes what some guys never EVER learn to do in months of angles and skits, make me give a shit.
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I liked Meltzer's JLA run a lot (just reread it two weeks ago, actually). I'd say it's anything but "actively terrible". But, yeah, his GA story was great. I think I would have liked both Smith's and Meltzer's run with a different artist. Hester's stuff doesn't do much for me.
Smith's hit and miss with me, more miss, GA was ok. I fairly liked Daredevil.
The first volume leads with them doing a draft. Then there's the big moment where Roy gets the call instead of Ollie and it's a great passing of the torch moment. Then you realize these things aren't connected because the big three haven't made a decision and Ollie's friends basically just snubbed him out of going to look for Red Tornado. Then a whole bunch of stupid shit happens and the League ends up being a slapdash team of everyone involved in the case, thus making absolutely everything they built up off the jump completely irrelevant.
Then the Lightning Saga happens and takes SIX ISSUES to do approximately fucking nothing before bringing back Wally.
Issues 11 and 12 are pretty solid standalones, but holy god his run is offensively terrible. It takes the problem Identity Crisis had (Great sentimental and/or pop moments, solid concept with no cohesion to link them) and makes it worse by having that lack of cohesion more or less ruin the great moments through context.
Fuck his run.
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Dean's bit of snapping at his secretary was pretty great.
And did Duncan and Britta sleep together last time he was on the show or something?
It was established back in S1 that Duncan just really wants to bang her.
It's why he voted for her to stay at the school and manipulated things so she'd have to take regular therapy with him.
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At least Kevin's Clerks comics were decent (and I like his GA a fair amount, although Meltzer* surpassed him by a lot. I don't.... hate his DD.)
*Speaking of the topic at hand....
Meltzer's GA is the best thing he's ever written and the only one that didn't make me want to punch him in the face at least once.
Identity Crisis has great moments but as a whole it's problematic at best, and pretty bad at worst.
His Justice League run is actively terrible.
In any case, Winick's run smoked both of theirs. Before going batshit fucking crazy at the end.
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Yeah. Being a world where death counts, legacy heroes mean something, and there's a solid race/gender balance...it's basically a dream cape universe. Just needs the momentum back.
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Actually, the newest relaunch line sounds really freaking awesome to me.
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http://comicsalliance.com/image-expo-2014-roundup-brubaker-morrison-deconnick-snyder-kirkman/
So Image just announced the things a fuckload of my money will be going toward in 2014.
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Saved! is genuinely one of my favourite movies and one that I can never really get sick of. So good.
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Your spoilered bit is absolutely right. My audience actively cheered and we were talking about that on the way out.
One thing this one REALLY brings to light is that...They need to get some protagonists who can survive this shit and fight back. They're building this big apocalyptic deal and it's all coming down to dickheads with cameras. But with this one, we're starting to see there *are* people who have some knowledge of what's what as well as the vulnerabilities of the bad guys (Noting that nearly-full-possessed still got dropped with a baseball bat, the demons seem to maintain human vulnerabilities, their speed/strength also seems to be limited in terms of how much/long they can tap into it.
But yeah, we need some wins at this stage. I was hoping this one might end up that way, being the spinoff, even though I'm plenty satisfied with how it turned out.
I'd like to see some full out war later on though. Something closer to [REC2], or even just go to 3 and ditch the gimmick at some point.But yeah, breathed a lot of new life into things.
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The Scrubs joke was done well because it's not distracting if you don't know the behind the scenes stuff. I mean, it may not be FUNNY but it won't make you feel dumb for not knowing the deal.
Repilot was amazing just for how closely it followed the structure of the Pilot.http://imgur.com/gallery/6Sa6L
There's other stuff too, but yeah...blocked out EXACTLY like the pilot. Really well done.
NuPierce is already better than Pierce.
DC Comics omnibus thread
in READING & WRITING
Posted
I tried...but the H'EL thing just didn't work for me. And in general the take is a prime example of just...not really doing Superman as Superman. In fairness, a lot of that comes from DC's direction. There's a reason most of their best output is coming from the more or less 'bulletproof' creators.