The Trouble with Launching New Titles and Geoff Johns’ Justice League

Justice League #9

Like just about everyone else alive, I (for no discernible reason) am absolutely convinced that I know better than the myriad writers and editors at DC Comics, that my take on the New 52 would have been flawlessly executed, that all the mistakes they made – and I don’t think it’s any great revelation that massive, avoidable mistakes were made in the course of this enormous, ambitious project – could have been turned around if only they would have trusted me.

Which is stupid, of course.  The comic marketplace is a vastly different place than it was even ten years ago, and outside of seriously stepping out of comic shops and back into supermarkets (with the resulting drop in price and increase in age-restricted content that implies) they were never going to get their comics into many new hands… and I’m pretty sure that isn’t a feasible goal anyway.  No, they did a lot right, including the very necessary move to increase digital publication.

But one possible mistake they made that I think would be very fixable is in how they handled some of the relaunches.  Angry fans can and will claim that DC never gave their favorite canceled title a shot – though the relative dearth of this sort of outcry thus far suggests that DC picked the right titles to cancel quickly, and I’d bet the next cancellations will be met with similar silence – but, realistically, they were treated exactly the same as the rest of the New 52, given promotion, in-house ads, equal shelf space, etc….  DC treated Men of War and Batman roughly the same – and that, in my opinion, is the problem.

Review: Justice League #3

Justice League #3, cover by Lee, Williams & Sinclair

In a complete reversal of what normally happens to me when a Geoff Johns comic comes out, I’ve actually taken flak from some readers for not bashing on Justice League enough.  In fact, I’ve been fairly supportive of what he’s been trying to do, even if I see what he’s trying to do with the comic as being fairly flawed.  Despite that, I still maintain that the first two issues of Justice League are solid, enjoyable reads, confidently introducing us to the world and to the characters while setting up a threat big enough to unite them all.  Justice League #3 brings that threat very firmly to Earth, but loses the sense of characterization that drove the first two issues.

Review: Aquaman #2

Aquaman #2, cover by Reis, Reis and Prado

Geoff Johns has really impressed me with this relaunch.  I know I’m in the minority, but I found Blackest Night and Flashpoint to be borderline incomprehensible messes, poorly paced and largely lacking in fun.  I was beginning to worry that the guy who did such a fantastic job reinventing Wally West and his Rogues would never again produce something that I’d enjoy.  But Justice League #1,  Green Lantern #1, and Aquaman #1 were all enjoyable books, free from many of the problems that have turned me off his work lately.  Though I decided against following Green Lantern (which seemed destined to continue to get involved in endless crossovers), I stuck by Aquaman and Justice League.  Earlier this month, I called Justice League #2 an improvement over the opener, and while Aquaman is still enjoyable, it doesn’t improve over Johns relatively solid introduction in the same way.

Review: Justice League #2

Justice League #2, cover by Lee, Williams & Sinclair

When Justice League #1 was released (over six weeks ago), it was met by many comics fans with a resounding ‘meh’.  Awkwardly paced and somewhat lacking in any sort of ‘league’, some particularly pessimistic fans were predicting failure for the relaunch based on its opening issue.  And then the issue sold an insane number of copies, and the story became “this is a wildly successful start to the relaunch, sales-wise” rather than “this was a mildly successful start to the relaunch, creatively-speaking.”  But still, Geoff Johns and Jim Lee has perhaps the biggest soap box in comicdom right now to prove that superheroes are viable in the mainstream, so how does their sophomore issue fare?

Review: Green Lantern #2

For me, Johns’ Green Lantern went off the rails some time after the Sinestro Corps War wrapped up.  Since then, Johns has devoted the book almost entirely to fleshing out the various corps he created.  Unfortunately, the concept didn’t hold up to scrutiny.  The more Johns elaborated, the less sense the various corps made.

A new number one issue brought with it a new focus.  And the book is far better for it.

Review: Aquaman #1

There’s a lot to like in Aquaman #1.  I think the book delivers a lot of what Aquaman fans want from a first issue.  Geoff Johns and company go to great pains to make Aquaman cool.  And they largely succeed.  Unfortunately, Geoff Johns does this will all the subtly of a sledgehammer to the skull.

Retrospective: Teen Titans vol 3 (part 7)

Looking into issue 50-54.  Issue 50 is a collaboration between McKeever, Johns, Wolfman, and Dezago.  This is also Johns’ last work on Teen Titans and after this issue, McKeever takes over by himself for a while.

Retrospective: Teen Titans vol 3 (part 6)

I’ll be looking at the One Year Later stuff now with issues 34-49.  And I’m going to say now that some of these issues have to be Johns’ worst in this series.

Retrospective: Teen Titans vol 3 (part 4)

Continuing on with another Retrospective with issues 20-26, and while last retrospective contained some of my favorite story arcs, this one has one of my favorite moments.  Part of this ties in with Identity Crisis.

Retrospective: Teen Titans vol 3 (part 3)

I’m continuing my Retrospective for the Teen Titans with the Teens Titans/Legion of Superheroes crossover and issues 16-19 (collected in trade as The Future is Now).  Handling a lot with these issues, so I’ll try to keep it from being too long.  I do want to state though that these issues are some of my favorites of this Teen Titans group and Johns is joined by writer Mark Waid for the Legion cross over.

Review: Green Lantern #1

In Green Lantern #1, we get our first look at the post-Flashpoint world of Green Lantern.  And unlike the majority of the DC Universe, Green Lantern’s world hasn’t changed at all.

Retrospective: Teen Titans vol 3 (part 1)

I’m a fan of the Teen Titans, especially the latest incarnation that went from 2003-2011 and as this relaunch makes it seem their entire history may be erased, I wanted to give them a farewell starting with issues 1-7 (also collected in trade form as “A Kid’s Game” or the soon to be released Teen Titans Omnibus 1).  Like usual, beware of spoilers.

Character Study: Justice League #1 – Part 2

In Character Study, I’m taking a look at how the key characters in Justice League #1 are portrayed and see what it all might mean for the brave new world that is DCnU. 

In Part 1, I looked at Batman and Vic Stone.  In Part 2, I turn the spotlight on Green Lantern and Superman.

Character Study: Justice League #1 – Part 1

By now, the internet has been flooded with reviews for the book that launches a whole new status quo for the DC Universe. And, as many reviewers have commented, this is not your dad’s DCU and you’ve never seen this Justice League before.

So what could I possibly add to the digital cacophony, especially since I had to wait a few extra days for my comics to travel halfway around the world to Australia?

Instead of offering yet another review of Justice League #1, I have decided to focus on what is, for me, the most important part of any story – the characters.

NewU Reviews: Flashpoint #5 and Justice League #1

So, it’s finally over – Flashpoint ends today, and with it, the DC Universe as we know it.  But every ending is just the beginning of something new, so I’m going to briefly discuss – since lebeau has already handled both books already – the beginning of the DCnU as well, including how DC’s same day digital release process treated me.  As always, spoilers ahead…

Review: Justice League #1

Spoiler Warning!

Review: Flashpoint #4

What can I say about Flashpoint that hasn’t already been said before?  It’s a lost series, a book that doesn’t know what it wants to be.  It certainly isn’t an adventure story – every time a team is formed to deal with a problem, they collapse or fail immediately.   Every attempt to become epic quickly backfires, every attempt to become post-apocalyptic is thwarted by the mundane.  In service of a more fully realized story, this dedication to defying expectation might be noble; in Flashpoint, it just feels like padding to keep a simple story running for the proper number of trade-worthy issues.

Review: Flashpoint #3

After Flashpoint #2, I was legitimately concerned for the series.  The last issue was scattered and uneven, trying to do a bunch of different things and failing at just about every single one of them.  The book was torn between being a big action book and a big ideas book, and it was failing at both.  Flashpoint #3, however, brings us right back on track, telling a clear, focused adventure story.  Spoilers below…

The new Justice League line-up confirmed

The new JLA line-up was confirmed in a Jim Lee-drawn piece of promo art.  The new line-up includes the big guns from the announcement (plus Cyborg) and the newly revealed members Deadman, Mera, Green Arrow, Hawkman, Atom and Firestorm.  Plus 2 mystery women who may or may not be existing characters.

read/RANT!

DC Relaunch: Green Lantern #1