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[Punchy]

Thoughts For This Week In Punchy: This was OK, a nice fast-paced read with strong art by Jim Lee and all of Johns’ strengths with few of his weaknesses (it’s hard to have continuity porn if this is the first issue of the continuity!). I particularly liked how dumb Hal Jordan is, has Johns finally got that the character is useless? More likely he thinks he was making Hal cool, rather than the idiot he is. The ending was good and I’m interested to see what the ‘new’ Superman is like, but this was pretty standard superhero stuff, there’s nothing groundbreaking here and nothing worth pissing your pants in anger at. In fact, I don’t get any of the anger at this issue, all the complaints about how it has the heroes being hated and feared? This story is set 5 years ago and explicitly mentions how it is before the JLA became respected, this is not indicative of all the other titles, stop moaning. You can’t use Justice League #1 as a barometer for the quality of the new DC anymore than you could Justice League Of America #54 for the old one a few months ago. Take each book as it comes and calm down. I’m intrigued enough by this one to get #2, but we’ll need to see a few more JLAers next month for it to really pick up.

[Sromkie]

That doesn't necessarily make him a household name the way a Joker or Lex Luthor does.

I agree. Aside from a few I read as a kid, I have only been reading comics for the past four or five years. Speaking for myself, I can say that prior to a few years ago, I had never heard of Darkseid. I could easily see that many "new to comics" readers would be able to say this as well. Joker or Lex... those are much more recognizable. I wouldn't be surprised if many new readers don't even know for sure that Darkseid is a character—it could be an organization/faith/or whatever else. I think it's pretty easy for those of us immersed in comics to take for granted what is common knowledge.

Yeah I saw that. So much for all new stories that aren't bogged down with what happened before, only took them 0 days to break that promise

I don't think they are breaking that promise by including these cameos. They basically promised that readers won't need to know anything about past events to understand what is happening moving forward. Anything they need to know, the writers are supposed to recap. This "hooded figure" is not prominent. Most readers won't even notice her. She's not central to the stories being told right now, and if she does become important, it's a pretty safe bet that the writers will provide us with what we need to know about her.

I believe DC did a good job wirtting a solid introduction in the DC universe. Batman, Green Lantern, Superman, their most popular heroes currently all appear. Green Lantern plays 'fish out of water' to allow for Batman's explination of events. DC dosn't drop the whole universe on new readers. You don't even get the heroes real names yet.

^This. DC is trying to gain new readers. This book was written/presented in a way that supports that goal. It might be a little bland for some of the established readers, but we all knew this would be about the formation of the Justice League—it's bound to have to provide some information that many of us know.

I really liked how this book has introduced the characters so far. Letting the heroes trickle in allows new readers to be introduced to not only the characters, but also how the characters interact, without being overwhelmed with too much "new" at once.

[Jubilee]

Great post Sromkie.

[eltopo]

Thoughts For This Week In Punchy: This was OK, a nice fast-paced read with strong art by Jim Lee and all of Johns’ strengths with few of his weaknesses (it’s hard to have continuity porn if this is the first issue of the continuity!). I particularly liked how dumb Hal Jordan is, has Johns finally got that the character is useless? More likely he thinks he was making Hal cool, rather than the idiot he is. The ending was good and I’m interested to see what the ‘new’ Superman is like, but this was pretty standard superhero stuff, there’s nothing groundbreaking here and nothing worth pissing your pants in anger at. In fact, I don’t get any of the anger at this issue, all the complaints about how it has the heroes being hated and feared? This story is set 5 years ago and explicitly mentions how it is before the JLA became respected, this is not indicative of all the other titles, stop moaning. You can’t use Justice League #1 as a barometer for the quality of the new DC anymore than you could Justice League Of America #54 for the old one a few months ago. Take each book as it comes and calm down. I’m intrigued enough by this one to get #2, but we’ll need to see a few more JLAers next month for it to really pick up.

is it ok to pee your pants for any other reason?

[Punchy]

is it ok to pee your pants for any other reason?

Only when Black Bolt speaks.

[chap22]

as to Darkseid...honestly, who cares if "new readers" are familiar with him or not? i'm pretty damn sure NOBODY was familiar with the Hyperclan when Morrison's JLA #1 came out, and nobody complained much about that story.

granted, Morrison was smart enough to actually include the entire JLA in that issue and show them doing cool stuff, but hey...apparently that's not necessary in modern comic storytelling anymore.

[eltopo]

For what it's worth, my wife, who hates superhero comics, enjoyed this. She was eager to read the next issue.

then DC won

[BAMJoe]

as to Darkseid...honestly, who cares if "new readers" are familiar with him or not? i'm pretty damn sure NOBODY was familiar with the Hyperclan when Morrison's JLA #1 came out, and nobody complained much about that story.

granted, Morrison was smart enough to actually include the entire JLA in that issue and show them doing cool stuff, but hey...apparently that's not necessary in modern comic storytelling anymore.

This is a different scenario though. They are restarting the universe and making a large focus to draw in people new to comics. Slowing introducing the characters is not a bad thing.
Mr. Black's comment can be seen as at least some proof that this is true.

[alaska1125]

Basically, if you don't care, I don't care that you don't care. Differences between digital and print versions are going to be watched closely, with good reason. I don't think morbusiff would mind me posting the link to his twitter feed, he's done the most thorough job noting the various differences, and there are several:

http://twitter.com/#!/morbusiff

I'm not understanding why you seem so touchy (and a bit obsessed) about this.

[Jubilee]

I think one of the biggest problems in modern comics is the format. 23 issues isn't enough to present a good enough story, as modern readers demand a lot more than years ago.

[m0d0k]

I think one of the biggest problems in modern comics is the format. 23 issues isn't enough to present a good enough story, as modern readers demand a lot more than years ago.

Combined with that painfull $3.99 price tag...

[xaraan]

That doesn't necessarily make him a household name the way a Joker or Lex Luthor does.

I think you would be hard pressed to find a JLA centric villain that was as popular as a couple of bad guys used in several major motion pictures, tv shows not to mention all the cartoons like the others.

Other than that I think Darkseid fits the bill pretty well. 'Household Name'? Maybe not to literally every household, but to those that might be interested and pick up a comic book, I'd say yea. Those would be people that got into it b/c of all the cartoons and what not. Everything my kids know about Justice League, X-men or whatever else is from all the cartoons they've put out over the years.

[Jubilee]

Combined with that painfull $3.99 price tag...

It honestly is shameful. How can that attract new readers.

The biggest problem comics are facing are the rising costs and the time frame it takes to make them. Making Superman punch someone or erasing Wally isn't a "seismic shift" it's about time DC and Marvel looked at how comics are made.

23 pages is nothing. Not monthly anyway. 52 was an averagely written book which went over very well because it was new, exciting and the concept allowed for lots of turns surprises remaining fresh in people's minds.

I read most comics and I genuinely forget what happened by the time the next issue comes out often 5 or 6 weeks later. Something needs to change. I'd like to see more of the JMS Supreman books. They're something intersting.

[BAMJoe]

It honestly is shameful. How can that attract new readers.

The biggest problem comics are facing are the rising costs and the time frame it takes to make them. Making Superman punch someone or erasing Wally isn't a "seismic shift" it's about time DC and Marvel looked at how comics are made.

23 pages is nothing. Not monthly anyway. 52 was an averagely written book which went over very well because it was new, exciting and the concept allowed for lots of turns surprises remaining fresh in people's minds.

I read most comics and I genuinely forget what happened by the time the next issue comes out often 5 or 6 weeks later. Something needs to change. I'd like to see more of the JMS Supreman books. They're something intersting.

Only 3 or 4 of the 52 #1 have a $3.99 price tag and they have a higher number of pages. I don't have this issue yet, so I can't comment on the # of pages.

[Jubilee]

Only 3 or 4 of the 52 #1 have a $3.99 price tag and they have a higher number of pages. I don't have this issue yet, so I can't comment on the # of pages.

$3,00 is a lot as well though. Can any other entertainment form offer so little entertainment for money spent? I complain about going to the cinema for 6.00 for an hour and a half, but it's fucking great value compared to comics.

I honestly think a DC anthology would go over great. Next month release a comic with JLA, Green Lantern and Superman #1. Or something like that. It'd be perfect.