The Outhouse - The Greatest Comic Book Forum

[doombug]

No, I would dig that. Actually, the newsprint on the DC Kids books would work, it doesn't even have to be the fancy stuff.

I liked the colors on the Supergirl book, the heavy handed modern coloring techniques worked for me in that setting.

First Wave would have benefited greatly by someone like Lee Loughridge who is good with a dark/noir style color palette.

It definitely needed a different colorist. Whose the guy they have on criminal? That could work here too.

[Starlord]

And it shows that I can look at any book subjectively. For a first issue it suffered a bit. But over all it was a strong read with a lot of promise.

And that's exactly how I did it with X-Men Forever. I rated the book on what I actually liked and disliked more than my personal disdain for the writer.

(Though I was catty enough to throw at least one dig in even with a high mark). I'm gay/bitchy that way.

[Amoebas]

My only real problems are with the coloring which I didn't think was needed via those previews we've all seen. And when your book feels like it's set in the 30's...why the hell do you have cell phones? It doesn't exactly work out.

I think it's set in our current day myself and like you said it only "feels like" it's set older (or newer as the case may be). Personally I think that's the charm of this world.

Between First Wave #1 and Bat/Savage oneshot we have...

1900's: Rima
1920's: Wonder Wheel, Airships
1930's: Doc Savage (Batman, Avenger, Wildcat & Canary eventually)
1940's: Spirit, Blackhawks, Rafi's Finest
1950's: police cars, jet cargo planes, flash cameras, Ed Norton,
1960's: hair curlers, fro combs
1970's: football jersey's & helmets, glass framed high rise apartments
1980's: small cassette voice recorders, hazmat suits
1990's: cordless phones, televison graphics, police tape
2000's: purple mohawk haired kids, newspapers that cost 75 cents

It's a world where all this stuff exists without them being dated. I like it myself.

[Kerny]

First Wave # 1

Man this just wasn't my bag. Doc Savage doesn't seem that cool, The Spirit is only ok and no Batman, unless I missed, which is very possible, cuz I thought this was one of the most boring things ever.

Rags art was very good however. Don't really like the straight to coloring without inks look though.

Story 3
Art 8
Overall 5.5

[Punchy]

It definitely needed a different colorist. Whose the guy they have on criminal? That could work here too.

Val Staples.

[Punchy]

Can't wait to review Daytripper, I reckon we're going to get all philosophical about it.

[Old Man]

First Wave. 8.1929

That's a very odd score, innit?

Before I get to the review, the high point of this issue is the ad that is in the centerfold of the book. It is pages 2 and 3 of a 3-page ad. It's a tip of the hat to DC's 75th anniversary, and it shows Superman and Lois kissing in a scene from All-Star Superman, one of the best comics of the decade.

As I try to avoid possible spoilers, I also avoid reading just about anything that is posted about the comics I read before I read the comic. Thus, I have no idea if the First Wave name has been explained. My opinion is that it is a nod to the fact that comics grew out of the pulp publications sold early in the 20th century. The pulps were the first wave.

This is a well told story with 4 or 5 separate story lines that will connect at some point. The art is above solid. The coloring is the weak part of the comic. I realize that with a darker, pulp-type story that the colors won't be as vibrant as any superhero comic, but in a continuing problem with comic book coloring these days, this is entirely too dark.

So how did I end up with that grade? It's a perfectly fine comic book. The good points outweigh the bad points. It's worth continuing to read, but just below the point where I would push it on my friends. That gets it an 8. And the specific gravity of gold is 19.29, so 8.1929.

MINOR SPOILER IN THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH.

As usual, I found something about the story that really stuck out as being depicted incorrectly. On the page where Doc Savage is holding the sandbag, he tosses it to one of his companions. Savage doesn't notice that it is very heavy. It is then discovered to be gold, not sand. Doc Savage would have noticed this immediately. The specific gravity of gold is 12 times that of sand. Look at how Savage is holding the sandbag. I held my hand the same way and measured the distance from inside my thumb to inside my little finger. 6 inches (12.5 cm). That much sand in a sandbag of that size would be 6.54 pounds (just under 3 kg). That much gold would be 78.75 pounds (about 35.7 kg). That many bags of gold (I counted over 20) would make the coffin so heavy that big equipment would have to be used to move it. 20 bags of gold would be 1575 pounds (714 kg). Add in the weight of the coffin, and it nearly approaches a ton (tonne). Not something that six guys would be trying to move on their own. Doc should have noticed.

Note: the specific gravity of water is 1.0. The specific gravity of the human body is close to that of water. The specific gravity of dry sand is 1.6. The specific gravity of gold is 19.29.

[Old Man]

I believe that a comic book is best enjoyed as it was published, and that it is best enjoyed without knowing what is going to happen beforehand. (In most cases; I found 100 Bullets to be very difficult to read as single issues; I recommend reading the entire story at once over several days or 2 or 3 weeks,)

I generally read my newly purchased comics over several days, usually reading 2 or 3 a day until the stack is finished. This sometimes makes it a challenge to stay spoiler free.

There was no surprise for me as to how Cry For Justice was going to end, because I picked up 2 or 3 clues while reading totally unconnected threads. Shame on those who discuss newer stories in thread drift.

In some cases, shame on me.

RECENT BLACKEST NIGHT PLOT POINT MENTIONED NEXT. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

There was no surprise for me as to who was going to wear the white ring, as I accidentally clicked on the wrong comments link on another site. Much to my horror when I started reading it. The comic had only been in my hands for 3 days.

END SPOILER

I see 3 solutions. One involves everybody on the internet being more careful when and where they spoil stories. That ain't gonna happen. Another is that I will have to read all my new comics the day I get them. I don't like that idea. The last is that I will have to stay away from comic book sites until I finish all those new comics. I don't like that idea, either.

As Bender would say, I'm boned.

And while I'm whining/bitching...all you guys who don't buy comics, but read the recaps found online, and then think you can honestly comment about them? You can all just kiss my ass. You can't honestly comment on them unless you have read them for yourself. The Cliff's Notes shortcuts may work for you in college, but in real life, it's a dishonest shortcut that will hurt you in the long run, especially if you try that crap at work more than once or twice.

[Victorian Squid]

Has anyone who's ever said "you can kiss my ass!" ever actually gotten their ass kissed as a result?



I dunno about the rant really, but your observation regarding the gold is clever, unless there is a reason for the discrepancy.

[Victorian Squid]

DC Comics First Wave #1

I've got a lot going on at the moment and I doubt anyone really reads my reviews anyway, so I'm just gonna throw a few thoughts about the book out there and give it a score.

I liked it--but I don't think it's very accessible to the average superhero comics reader who isn't familiar with the characters here. If you aren't, it would have helped to have read the earlier one shot, especially the back-matter.

I'm sure Doc Savage will be less sidelined in his upcoming title than he has been so far in the first 2 FW issues, I can't help but think maybe launching his series first would have been smart to give new readers an idea of who he is but ultimately probably makes no difference.

This issue gives the clearest picture of The Spirit but he's the character many comics fans would be more familiar with anyway. I was jazzed to see John Sunlight in one of the story fragments that will surely make more sense as they come together later. But if I were reading this out of the blue, I think it would be rather confusing or possibly fall flat entirely. Can this new pulp amalgam-world sell comics? We'll see--I hope so, but I'm not willing to bet on it. I will continue to follow these books for now, because I see switching to trades as the demise of series like this.

The art was top-notch, but oh Rags why did you show us your B&W inks? They were obscured in the service of a lamentably heavy-handed colorist.

The elseworlds Batman may be the key to selling this to young readers or those who may not have had the pleasure of reading the adventures of The Blackhawks or Doc Savage before. (Of course he isn't shown here.)

Several interesting sub-plots don't completely negate a slight flatness here--can't wait to see how the next issue hopefully opens things up.

7.5

[doombug]

DC Comics First Wave #1

I've got a lot going on at the moment and I doubt anyone really reads my reviews anyway, so I'm just gonna throw a few thoughts about the book out there and give it a score.

I liked it--but I don't think it's very accessible to the average superhero comics reader who isn't familiar with the characters here. If you aren't, it would have helped to have read the earlier one shot, especially the back-matter.

I'm sure Doc Savage will be less sidelined in his upcoming title than he has been so far in the first 2 FW issues, I can't help but think maybe launching his series first would have been smart to give new readers an idea of who he is but ultimately probably makes no difference.

This issue gives the clearest picture of The Spirit but he's the character many comics fans would be more familiar with anyway. I was jazzed to see John Sunlight in one of the story fragments that will surely make more sense as they come together later. But if I were reading this out of the blue, I think it would be rather confusing or possibly fall flat entirely. Can this new pulp amalgam-world sell comics? We'll see--I hope so, but I'm not willing to bet on it. I will continue to follow these books for now, because I see switching to trades as the demise of series like this.

The art was top-notch, but oh Rags why did you show us your B&W inks? They were obscured in the service of a lamentably heavy-handed colorist.

The elseworlds Batman may be the key to selling this to young readers or those who may not have had the pleasure of reading the adventures of The Blackhawks or Doc Savage before. (Of course he isn't shown here.)

Several interesting sub-plots don't completely negate a slight flatness here--can't wait to see how the next issue hopefully opens things up.

7.5

Since when do we give things the same score?

[Victorian Squid]

Since when do we give things the same score?

I dunno, I'm busy fine-tuning my Giant-Sized Post-Review Rant.

[48THRiLLS]

I doubt anyone really reads my reviews anyway,

I read your reviews

[Victorian Squid]

I read your reviews

Then I promise to put more effort into it next time!

I read everyone's reviews 'cause it's all a distraction from the never-ending mountain of books to be sorted and priced, listed, or incinerated.

I have a dream of building my hermit house out of blocks of crap books bound together and encased in flame-retardant plaster like the straw bale houses of the west and southwest.

[Starlord]

Has anyone who's ever said "you can kiss my ass!" ever actually gotten their ass kissed as a result?

Yes, but you have to say it as more of a begging question and only during the throws of passion.