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After six months I think it's time to give a quick evaluation of DC's "New 52" event. I am reading a number of the titles (about half), and I think it's fair to say that they cover the spectrum of quality. Those of lower quality are already being cancelled it seems. I read Hawk and Dove and Mister Terrific, and I was telling folks that as of the third issue I would be surprised if the titles survived. Near the top of the quality mark in what I read there is Green Lantern, and Aquaman. Please don't think that those are at the top just because Geoff Johns is writing them. Justice League started strong, but finished fairly weak. For me, the quality has to be within the title. Hopefully a title has a blend and balance of both writing and art, but at least strong writing. I have found that I can push through most artists I dislike if the writing is strong enough.
After reading various comments from other readers over the months it is obvious that others gauge what quality is through a variety of methods. For some, a crossover in the first few months of a title indicate that it is already in trouble. I'd say there was a time when that was fair, but with the current planning of stories I just don't know if that's the case. Two examples I could use are actually from Marvel. Venom and Daredevil have both had crossovers in their first year and another near the end of their first year. The connection between the current incarnation of Venom and the "Spider-Island" storyline made sense. I won't fault the creative team for that, but the crossover with Daredevil and Spider-Man definitely seemed out of place, and Daredevil has been a pretty good read that didn't need any crossover in my mind (I've dropped Venom).
There have already been a number of crossover elements in the "New 52". We've had the Flash spending some time in the pages of Captain Atom (another title I believe will be dying once its purpose is served), Batman in Hawk and Dove (a throw-away story), and Martian Manhunter appearing in Justice League International (to establish understandings of relationships in the new DCU) and Legion Lost (to help reveal more unknown factors of the new DCU). I think the fact that the woman who has been revealed to be "Pandora" showed up in all the different titles wasn't just put there to remind everything of the change, but to show a certain level of connection. I think she was there to show that there is now a thread running through all of new regular DC titles (for better or worse). Crossovers will always happen. The question becomes will they propel a title forward, or will they create an obvious break in the flow of what is happening. If there is a break in the flow, I think a crossover shouldn't happen.
Another method people seem to be using in judging the quality of the titles is how familiar the characters are. I'd say it's fair to do that, but only to a degree. These characters are not exactly the same as they were before the relaunch. Some characters seem to be largely the same. The various Earth-based Green Lanterns seem to be the same for the most part, and so do the Flash and Batman (from what I've been told). Are some of the elements of their lives different? Sure. Some have more obvious differences than others. Barry Allen's life as the Flash has the most obvious changes of the characters I've mentioned. Still, there are characters with more obvious changes such as Superman, or especially the Martian Manhunter. Superman is the one people are obviously caught up in. This incarnation of Superman is much rougher around the edges. He is not the "boy scout" many of us grew up with, but he is similar to the Superman those before my generation grew up with. He's a Superman that doesn't just help those in need, he's also a Superman that gets in the face (sometimes literally) of those who keep others down or would hurt them. This Superman is not as passive in the affairs of "mortal men" as the previous incarnation. At least he wasn't as passive when he was younger. It seems there has been some change as he has gotten older.
Then of course we have those that are judging the quality of the titles of something as trivial as DC having a new logo. Well, I can simply say that people who are caught up in that sincerely need to get a life. Some are asking (or demanding) that DC go back to their "old logo". Which would that be? Some are referring to the logo we've had for the past few years, but that's not DC's "old logo". They have older ones. For me, this is just a focus factor for people scared of change and wish for everything to be how it was. Maybe someday down the road all will be as it was before. But, if you look at DC's history (or Marvel's) you'll see that this kind of change happens. Sometimes it's subtle, but in this case the "New 52" was obvious. So, for better or worse it gets more attention and focus.
When it comes to the overall impact of the "New 52" I don't love it or hate it. There are some obvious factors I do like though. There is now a Superman I relate to (I never cared about him before), and I'm learning about Sinestro as a Green Lantern. We were always told Sinestro was great, and now we're learning why (and getting some history of the Guardians and Corps at the same time). There is a Justice League that has gone back to being a team for protecting Earth, and not just "America". Considering they're made up of an alien, an Amazon, an Atlantean, a human interstellar cop, a human American vigilante, a human American cop and a cyborg American (I don't know what his "strongest" identity element is) I'd say it's fair to drop the "America" factor. If Martian Manhunter was still on the team instead of Cyborg they'd be even LESS "American" (people don't seem to be realizing this). Your base of operations does not define you or your team. A Justice League operating globally under no one nation's authority is fine with me. When it comes to saving the planet, I don't want there to be red tape.
When it comes to my enjoyment of the "New 52", I'm in the middle trying to figure out what's going on and where DC is going, and that's exactly where I want to be. There is a lot on the horizon. We have a battle coming up between the Green and the Red versus the Rot. That's exciting to me as it includes two titles I read and I am wondering how/if it will impact the new Earth. Speaking of new Earths, we will soon see the official return of the DC Multiverse. For me, it makes sense that it comes back due to current scientific theory. It doesn't faze me in the least. As time goes on we will probably understand more of who Pandora is and what her ultimate goal is. Hopefully we will also understand how she was able to use/help the Flash recreate the DCU.
Even with all of that, I have to say that right now there are two things I especially want to know more about in the new DCU. The first is the "Flashpoint barrier". Something about the Flashpoint event created an observable (from the future) impact and I really want to know more about it. The other thing I want to know about is "the 20 year question" (as I've come to call it). Through articles (and soon comics) we know that some things in the new DCU are happening 20 years earlier than they should (at least formation of the Teen Titans), but as someone who reads Captain Atom (yes, I'm still pushing forward) I now know that the Earth will apparently be destroyed in 20 years. So, the Titans have come together 20 years early, but in 20 years there will be no Earth for them to come together on. How can both be true? They can't, so something is going on.
Overall I'm doing well with the "New 52". After six months I can say it's not perfect, but it's not horrible. I'm sure I'll be dropping more titles as time goes on (and picking up a couple more), but as it stands now I will continue to read more DC than Marvel. Actually, pretty soon I'll be reading more IDW and Image than Marvel at this pace. But, I guess that's how it goes some times. I was Marvel when I was younger and I'm a DC reader now. That's the nice thing about there being more than two players now. If you don't like what you're reading, there is more out there to look at.
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