Topic: Watchmen (Read 41350 times)

Royal☭ · « **Reply #460 on:** June 10, 2012, 08:25:17 PM »

I'm sure it was assembled with very nice quality staples.

Brentai · « **Reply #461 on:** June 10, 2012, 10:46:47 PM »

Or AT a very nice Staples.

Zaratustra · « **Reply #462 on:** June 14, 2012, 04:37:29 AM »

Silk Spectre #1 demonstrates two things:

1) Amanda Conner should have money piled up in front of her daily;
2) It's really weird to have Watchmen 3x3 comic panels interrupted by the occasional doodle-like representation of Laurie's thoughts.

Which leads to one point I hadn't considered: Now each of these writer/artist pairs is being directly compared to Moore and Gibbons. Conner is the only one so far who can say she does something better than the original (as usual, she's a master of body language)

Mongrel · « **Reply #463 on:** June 14, 2012, 08:19:46 AM »

Quote from: Zaratustra on June 14, 2012, 04:37:29 AM

1) Amanda Conner should have money piled up in front of her daily;

Zero disagreement here.

Ted Belmont · « **Reply #464 on:** June 14, 2012, 10:33:27 AM »

Yeah, and that's one of the worst things about this: with a few notable exceptions, these are very solid creative teams, but rather than have them create something new and potentially enduring, DC is using them for one of the most cynical, creatively bankrupt cash-grabs in recent memory. An effort that will, at best, result in a small sales boost and maybe a follow-up in a year or two.

Büge · « **Reply #465 on:** June 14, 2012, 12:36:17 PM »

Not to mention leaving a grimy imprint on what is arguably mainstream comics' most enduring work.

Thad · « **Reply #466 on:** June 14, 2012, 12:54:34 PM »

Nah. Two years from now it'll be a footnote, just like the New 52.

Brentai · « **Reply #467 on:** June 14, 2012, 12:56:57 PM »

I honestly have no idea what that is.

Thad · « **Reply #468 on:** June 14, 2012, 01:12:48 PM »

DC relaunched its entire line last August with new #1's, bad 1990's throwback costumes, and total uncertainty as to which things that have happened in the past 75 years count as canon and which don't. It was supposed to be this big ambitious thing that brought in a bunch of new readers, which it succeeded in doing for maybe 6 months and then sales went pretty much back to where they were in the first damn place, largely because you can't attract new readers by doing the same shit you've been doing for the past 25 years.

There are 52 comics because DC is married to the number 52 for some damn reason. There was a pretty-good comic called 52 some years back; its premise was, essentially, 24. As the name implies, it was a weekly comic where each issue took up one week's worth of time in-story, and ran for a year.

The current "52" branding in the DC Universe has absolutely fucking nothing to do with any of that except that someone somewhere decided he really, really liked the number 52.

Brentai · « **Reply #469 on:** June 14, 2012, 01:32:41 PM »

I was really only mentioning that I don't know what that is to put some layman's perspective on the thing, but it's cool to know what (stupid) things are happening anyway. I was going to ask if Mallrat Wonder Woman was part of that mess but I guess the timeline doesn't quite fit there.

Thad · « **Reply #470 on:** June 14, 2012, 01:47:17 PM »

I've said before that I don't actually think trying to make books more accessible to a broader audience is a bad idea at all, just that "Put a new #1 on everything and have Jim Lee redesign all the costumes" has already proven itself to be an unsustainable way of implementing that strategy.

Some good books came out of it. I really like Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE (it's sorta like Hellboy with the Universal Monsters), Demon Knights (medieval superhero team where everybody is constantly on the verge of stabbing each other in the back), and Animal Man (straight-up creepy horror comic with a superhero in it). Some books have good ideas even if their execution is lacking (like Action Comics). And some, like Green Lantern and Batman Incorporated, are pretty much completely unchanged and basicall ignored the universe being rebooted around them.

But yeah, basically just more of the same with a 1980's continuity reboot and 1990's costume designs, and ultimately just a hiccup in readership. (As I mentioned the other day, there is a fucking problem when there are 5 monthly Batman books and NOT ONE OF THEM is suitable for children.)

And that's all Before Watchmen is going to be, ultimately. It's a creatively bankrupt idea that might turn out a few good books and cause a spike in sales, but it won't bring in new long-term fans and it'll just be a blip on the radar that nobody even talks about in a couple of years.

Büge · « **Reply #471 on:** June 14, 2012, 02:35:05 PM »

Quote from: Thad on June 14, 2012, 01:47:17 PM

Demon Knights (medieval superhero team where everybody is constantly on the verge of stabbing each other in the back)

You've... never actually played D&D, have you, Thad?

Romosome · « **Reply #472 on:** June 14, 2012, 03:09:57 PM »

That's actually why the recent Dungeons & Dragons comic based on 4e was so good. Instead of trying to be "the adventures of my totally favorite elaborate backstoried mary sues", it's a lighthearted action romp focused on a handful of adventurers who are essentially total snarky dicks to each other at every single opportunity. It reads EXACTLY like a Dungeons and Dragons game in progress, a good one, and it's hilarious for it.

One of those "This can't be this good, it's LICENSED" moments.

Thad · « **Reply #473 on:** June 14, 2012, 04:33:24 PM »

Speaking of, I've never gotten into The Guild but man their FCBD issue was great.

Beat Bandit · « **Reply #474 on:** June 14, 2012, 04:59:26 PM »

The Guild as a series can be summed up best as a very long sigh, interspersed with hard laughter.

Thad · « **Reply #475 on:** August 13, 2012, 10:46:14 AM »

So hey, is there anybody left who didn't think Before Watchmen was utterly crass and disgusting?

Quote from: http://www.comicsbeat.com/2012/08/13/industry-outrage-over-promotion-of-before-watchmen-in-dcs-statement-on-the-death-of-joe-kubert/

“We are saddened to learn of the death of our colleague and friend Joe Kubert. An absolute legend in the industry, his legacy will not only live on with his sons, but with the many artists who have passed through the storied halls of his celebrated school. His latest work on BEFORE WATCHMEN: NITE OWL was among his best, and we are so honored to have worked side-by-side with such an unforgettable force in both comics and in life.” – DC Entertainment Executive Team

It's since been corrected and memory holed, but...just wow, you know?

Zaratustra · « **Reply #476 on:** August 13, 2012, 12:52:49 PM »

I agree, representing Nite Owl as best -anything- is incredibly crass.

Zaratustra · « **Reply #477 on:** August 20, 2012, 05:49:56 PM »

Quote from: Zaratustra on February 01, 2012, 07:38:51 PM

Alright, I'm placing my bets.
let's say... two of the series will be pretty good (I'm betting on Comedian and the pirate one)
Four will be solid but mostly pedestrian empty plots like most of the New 52 books
and two will be a hideous mess that will posit all sorts of fan-enraging points (probably Rorshach and Ozymandias)

Yeah, I got it mostly wrong. Silk Spectre is pretty good, Minutemen and Ozymandias are decent but hollow, Comedian is just hollow, Rorshach is shit enough to raise ire but not horrible shit (mostly because it's so decompressed), and Nite Owl is complete shit. Black Freighter is completely impossible to follow, shredded in two-page issues as is, and the gripping Manhattan tale of buttfuckery is not yet out.

Büge · « **Reply #478 on:** August 20, 2012, 06:21:11 PM »

Adam Hughes is probably still drawing it.

Büge · « **Reply #479 on:** August 25, 2012, 10:26:30 AM »

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/jms-talks-moloch-before-watchment.html

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Author Topic: Watchmen (Read 41350 times)