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DC Comics omnibus thread


odessasteps

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Hey, remember when we all used to like reading DC comics?

 

Such a distant time. i want to reiterate that I went from reading 95% of the line two years ago to not reading a single comic now. Not  one. Not even for free. That's wildly impressive.

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I've pretty much given up except for reprints of older material like the Aparo Batman hardcovers and Showcase collections of old war comic (though that first Sgt. Rock volume is out of print and insanely expensive). DC has become Marvel in the 90s, a sick bloated beast with everything dictated by 3 key people and Bob Harras. You've just replaced Defalco, Gruenwald and Potts with Didio, Johns and Lee. I preferred the former over the latter. Can DC's own brand crippling of Marvelution be far behind?

 

James

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Reading the Gerry Conway run on Firestorm and it is one of the best DC books of the 80's. Even now the concept is original and it is a shame DC never seemed to know how to use Firestorm after that. I love that it inverted so many tropes. The idea of making the teen hero a mediocre but bright jock is something they still will not do now. Martin Stein seems like a villain in the first half of a Ditko Spider-Man, but he is a good guy. There was even a nerd bully. A lot of it sounds simple, but time and again they always return to the bullied nerd outcast. Beyond that, there is a good rogues gallery and the series is very self contained. Occasionally playing in the larger DC Universe. It also has a really good supporting cast and the book never drags. 

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Trinity War just started.

 

Based on the first issue, Bad Johns has shown up again, at least imo.

 

Um...  I still hate the very idea of the New 52.  I still want to know #WhereIsWallyWest. Man, DC just breaks my heart.

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Trinity War just started.

 

Based on the first issue, Bad Johns has shown up again, at least imo.

 

Um...  I still hate the very idea of the New 52.  I still want to know #WhereIsWallyWest. Man, DC just breaks my heart.

 

But would you really be content, if they brought him back? It wouldn't even be the real Wally West, it would be just some guy named Wally West.

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It depends.  I want Wally back, but I want Wally back.  With Linda.  And twins.  And all that. 

 

Actually, the truth is, I just still want the post-Zero Hour DCU back, and probably always will.

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My general feeling on, let's say Steph Brown, right now is that I do not want her back, because if she was back, she'd have a weird wildstorm-esque 90s costume and would probably be a go-go dancer in her secret identity or something.

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I enjoying DC a good deal though I suppose it helps that I only starte dreading a year befor ethe New 52.

 

Finished reading the Janus Directive last night. It was a crossover event involving the 80's DC intelligence teams. It was a part of my ongoing reading of Ostrander's Suicide Squad run. I really dug the story. I dug little civil war in general between all the groups. I dug the why of the war. And I loved seeing just how far and how many lines Waller crossed to get the job done. It really leaves you realizing just how cold a bitch she can be if necessary. The best part about it though is that you still can't completely disagree with her actions as the world would have been completely fucked if she didn't play things out the way she did. Its also interesting to see her once again trying to save her people's asses behind the scenes only to get shot down by the powers that be. Her character's journey in Suicide Squad has been a treat to follow with the massive gray area she is forced to live in. Anyways the overall story is done fairly well with most of the story flowing well though it wasn't w/o its minor rough patches. Its still a bit dated considering when it was original written, but it was still a story worth checking out. Its again though makes me long for a proper intelligence/black ops series in the New 52.

 

Read Batman: The Wrath. It collects the Wrath's original appearance and a more recent story from Batman Confidential. The original story by Barr was decent enough and presented some nice ideas, but it didn't feel like the full potential was realized. The follow up over 20 years later by Tony Bedard was pretty damn good though. I liked how so much of the story came from the point of view of the new Wrath. I dug the idea of Wrath taking his Batman obsession copying further as well by trying to create his own Robin. Whats more I thought the story did well on adding a bit to the original Wrath's story and character while managing to created a fairly interesting character within the new Wrath. The ending team up with Bruce and Dick to take him down was quite awesome, especially with the realizations forced upon him when Dick confronted him with the truth about his past and the original's. Pretty good story overall. I'm honestly surprised the Wrath hasn't become a bigger name villain. He works well as perfect opposite/counterpoint to Bruce and his mission on crime. Hopefully Layman's current introduction of the character in the New 52 leads to bigger things for him.

 

Now I have read Suicide Squad up to #49. Loved stuff with the Dutchess/Lashina finally paying off with a trip to Apokolips by the Squad. There is just something so damn awesome about seeing Waller take on Granny Goodness among all the other cool match ups like Vertigo vs. Kanto. I also liked how hard the team was hit with several deaths and this being the straw that broke the camel's back for how much leeway Steel and company were willing to give Waller. The take down of Waller was hard with the various fiascoes, breaking poor Bronze Tiger's mental state, and the whole Loa deal. I was actually surprised to see Waller imprisoned. Loved seeing how Waller handled getting out, but what I really liked are the reasons she gave later for staying. Everyone was so befuddled as to why someone with the info Waller had would stay in prison. I like that she actually she chose to punish herself and was perfectly wiling to face the time for her crimes. She knew it was stuff that needed to be done, but she wasn't bsing herself about the legality or the moral right of it. Even with everything she did and the punishments she faced she would still have done it all again given the same situations. Its pretty damn hard not to love Waller. Its really been great reading this series just for the journey and exploration of Waller's character. Anyways I really dug the new directions things take when Waller's released. Making the Squad a mercenary group was quite inspired. Its interesting reading now as you can weight clearly lifted off of Waller's shoulders. She seems to be less about pushing the team to kill and seems to have an easier time dealing with the criminals she employs even though she still pushes her tough as nails attitude. Last story I finished up saw the return of Dr. La Grieve and Oracle. Dug Waller and la Grieve hashing it out, and it was good seeing Ostrander write Barbara dealing with the mental stress she faced so soon after the Joker crippled her. Good reads all around.

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Um...  I still hate the very idea of the New 52.  I still want to know #WhereIsWallyWest. Man, DC just breaks my heart.

 

Five years from now, DC will have yet another Crisis.  The big bads will be a group led by Superboy-Prime, Wally West, Donna Troy, Cass Cain, and Stephanie Brown.

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