Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Rebirth

Rebirth

re·birth
rēˈbərTH/
noun
noun: rebirth; noun: re-birth
1.    the process of being reincarnated or born again.
"the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth"
o    the action of reappearing or starting to flourish or increase after a decline; revival.
plural noun: rebirths; plural noun: re-births
"the rebirth of a defeated nation"
synonyms:
revival, renaissance, resurrection, reawakening, renewal, regeneration

DC Comics has had many “universe” shattering events in its time.  Some large (Crisis on Infinite Earths, Infinite Crisis, Final Crisis, Flashpoint) and some small (Armageddon 2001, Millennium).  If you see the word “Crisis” floating around, chances are high you are going to alienate somebody.

The next big event for DC, kicking off in May, is the highly anticipated “Another #$%^@ Crisis”.  It will highlight how our heroes handle their world’s lack of editorial foresight. 

But I kid.  Rebirth hits in May with an 80-page special written by Geoff Johns, and features an insanely talented group of artists in Ivan Reis, Phil Jimenez, Ethan Van Sciver, and Gary Frank.  With talent like that, they could price this at 20 bucks and I am in.

"Clark, what's with Eisenberg?"
The intent here is to incorporate elements of both the pre and post-Flashpoint universes.  I am excited to see this, because after pushing close to 20K (18K sounds like I am not committed) comics, the New 52 stalled me out.  My pull file at Mayhem comics?  Done.  Buying comics monthly?  Done.  Is Bruce Wayne still alive, dead, alive again, re-dead?  No idea.  Ok, I lied, I have been keeping up, but only thanks to various internet outlets.

In my post about Tim Drake (scroll down), I was starting to lose my taste for the New 52. It looks like DC is trying to change course, and I'm excited for the results.  Why?

Geoff Johns.  That's why.  If you liked Flash: Rebirth and Green Lantern: Rebirth, then my money is on his ability to respect the material while updating it.  The New 52 screwed up a lot.  Since cloning Johns is apparently not an option (yet, I have plans, kids), DC needs to be able to get back to the basics here.

3 Tips for DC from a 46 year old nerd:

1.) Good, character-driven (not action-driven) stories.  Don't leave out the action, of course, but we need to care about these characters.

2.) STOP fundamentally changing characters in crazy ways.  Alan Scott, for example.  I sincerely enjoy a diverse character set, but have it make sense.  I'd have rather seen Alan Scott come out of the closet than just being handed an all-of-a-sudden gay Alan Scott who was (pre-New 52) straight, married, and a father.  Or, and here's a crazy idea, create diverse characters?  I'm still waiting for the announcement of...

Superman is now an Indonesian Transsexual!

Seriously, knock it off.

3.) Before you create the next event/crisis, and completely alter the fictional universe, have you tried a focus group to gauge customer reaction?  If you have, shame on the last focus group.

Lastly, diversify your talent.  I'm not talking men/women, etc.  Diversity includes people and mindsets that represent all walks of life.  One name rings a bell: Chuck Dixon.  It is great to see some of the talent coming on board for Rebirth, but one horrible thing that comics (and other artistic mediums) falls victim to is allowing egos to rule over business decisions.

Take measured risks.  I am eager to say "Welcome back, DC."
 

Monday, March 28, 2016

Mailbag!

Since I am back to this blog consistently, let's dive into the mail and answer the questions from all of the readers!
 
Letter #1:
 
Letter #2:
 
All right! Thanks for all of your great questions!

Sunday, March 27, 2016

Dear Critics

Finally!  I have been freed from an Albanian terrorist organization and am free to blog!  This translates into being lazy. Sorry, Albania!
 
In the last installment, we talked about Ben Affleck and his turn as Batman. There was a lot of speculation and hate. Rest assured, he was the best Caped Crusader.  Sorry, Clooney.

We have finally seen a DC Comics movie that lives up to DC Comics.  The critics are destroying this movie like it starred Ryan Reynolds in a green suit.  One of the biggest complaints?  It's joyless and too dark.  Excuse me?  In Man of Steel, my biggest beef was the insane amount of property damage.  This had to be dark.  The source material led us to this.  Critics, you are stupid.  Sorry, critics!

Finally, this is a good time to resurrect this blog, as there are so many projects out and coming up.  DC Comics "Rebirth" project is right around the corner, and I am excited to see what is up.  So to the 2 people that read this, sorry two people!

Plug time: Field of Geeks!  It's a podcast.  Download the app Podbean (for free) and search for Field of Geeks.  It's worth it, great guys on there talking about all the fun stuff.  Even I am a guest on there, occasionally.  Sorry, world!

Bats vs Supes: 5 out of 5 baths with Amy Adams.