DC Rebirth - A change will do you good

Greetings to the Geekdom,

Hoping this post finds all of the geek royalty well and good health.

About a year ago, DC Comics did a mild reset to their line of comics. Each member of the Justice League was sporting a new costume and were taken in very different creative directions. DC also launched a bunch of new series and mini-series, experimenting with characters and creative teams and story tones.

And I walked away from reading comics.

I wasn't angry or upset or anything like that. While I have been very vocal of my dislike on Robert Venditti's control of The Flash and Green Lantern books, I was not upset with DC. I just needed a break. It was the final year of college for me and I was not wanting to spend so much money on comics. I figured the DC You, as that relaunch was dubbed, was a good place to take a break. I had read every New 52 book (with the exception of finishing Klarion because that book just took too much effort to read). I have been a DC fan all my life with a mild love of Marvel's X-Men, Spider-man, and Deadpool. I have been a fervent comic buyer since spring of 2006.

When DC Universe Rebirth was announced, I responded like most of the fandom: "Really? Another reboot? Another Crisis? Another relaunch?" DC had just done this a year before, so it seemed a bit desperate. It was no surprise that sales numbers were dwindling, so any such move is smart, even if it smacks of the corporate control that DC is under.

So, I began to read some of the DC You titles I would normally have read every month to catch up and see where the "rebirth" was needed. I read all Flash and Green Lantern books, which weren't as terrible as I had expected. Then I read Justice League, which I loved, especially for Jason Fabok's art. I read Constantine: The Hellblazer and Midnighter, which were books I bought every month, but didn't read. I had to support LBGT lead books. I wish I had been reading them while they were coming out, I am so in love with those series. Then I read Batman and Grayson, and I caught up on most of the Superman books. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed reading those books in large chunks. Which re-affirmed that I need to be reading trades and not monthly issues.

Which leads us to DC Universe Rebirth by Geoff Johns and friends. And in true Geoff Johns fashion, the story was beautiful and moving and exciting. There were heartbreaking moments and jaw-dropping reveals. I think it is hard to be a true fan of DC Comics and not love this issue. It let readers know that things were changing even if the timeline was mostly staying the same. The classic things we loved were returning and probably staying for the foreseeable future.

Now, I haven't picked up a lot of the titles, as I am trying to make my way through more of the DC You issues to catch up on where things were before things were "rebirthed". I will say that I have read all of the Green Lantern titles and have been very satisfied with the stories so far. I have trouble with the writers still. Venditti does not work as a writer for Hal or the Green Lantern Corps, he seems to miss the point and threw out all the things that made the GL books so unique and fun in the first place. Humphries tells a fun story but his character's dialogue and narration are jarring. Baz and Jess tend to be written in uneven extremes from text box to text box. The art has been good, even great at moments. The fill-in artists are sufficient. Overall, I have liked the first issues.

I am looking forward to reading Wonder Woman with the return of Greg Rucka writing for Diana. I started The Flash and was intrigued with the direction of the book. As much as I enjoyed Grayson, I am glad Dick is back as Nightwing. I am sad at the loss of the New 52 Superman and am perplexed at the move to bring back the Post-Crisis/Pre-Flashpoint Superman. Although, if you didn't read the Lois and Clark series, go pick that up, it was amazing. If the book continues like that, I will probably love the Superman books. I am especially happy with the Chinese Superman and his Justice League coming up, as well as Steve Orlando writing Supergirl. My baby sister and I will have to read that together.

As it stands, I am happy with DC Universe Rebirth and have hope that the DCU will have a strong future. As I finish the DC You and catch up on Rebirth, I'll probably write more about what I think. I am sure there will be a lot of positive feedback coming.

Remember:
All will be well
and
May the Force be with you.

King Buck

DC You vs New 52 - Did anything really change?

If you are a fan of DC Comics, you probably have an opinion on the New 52. I know a lot of long time fans met the New 52 with skepticism and even disappointment and anger. I know several fans didn't make the change to the New 52, or quit reading after a few issues. But I know that the New 52 brought in a lot of new fans, the numbers support that in dollars and social media buzz. I know the New 52 had some issues, but I am not going into that today. Comics are not perfect. I would say a lot of good things came out of the New 52. The introduction of Simon Baz and Starling, and Barbara Gordon returning to the cowl being a few of those. We did get some really fun story lines, Trinity War and Forever Evil or Death of the Family and End Game, or the finale of Geoff John's run on Green Lantern being among them. Many series were comic masterpieces, like Batman and Robin, Animal Man, Batwoman, and Swamp Thing.

I know many people were celebrating what they thought was the death of the New 52, believing that Convergence was the death rattle of the revamped universe. Yet the triumphant arrival of the DC You was not the death of the New 52. It was just a name change, or the removal of "The New 52" from the cover of all the books. Things haven't really changed. The continuity of the comics of the New 52 carried over into DC You. Yes, there is a new Batman and a new suit, and Supes is running around in jeans and a T-shirt, Wonder Woman is wearing more clothes, and Hal really needs a haircut (seriously), but the continuity hasn't changed. The DC You is more about revitalization than rebooting the universe. Convergence was a place holder to mark time while the staff of DC made the move from NYC to Burbank. (More on Convergence at a later date.)

I applaud DC for using the opportunity that Convergence gave them to bring new life to stagnant titles. I applaud them for taking more risks on new titles and mini-series, even if some of them are questionable. I am looking forward to where these books are going, especially Justice League. I love that there is less emphasis on the books being on the same timeline. Justice League and Justice League of America clearly aren't happening concurrently, and neither is Green Lantern keeping time with JL. I love that the books look like they will have more autonomy to tell their own stories without worrying too much about what is happening in the other books. Sometimes continuity gets in the way of a good story. Clearly they are not throwing all continuity out the window, they are just less worried about when a story happens. This relaxed stance is very refreshing.

Let us know your thoughts about the DC You. We are on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and soon to be on tumblr. email us at royaltyofgeekdom@yahoo.com

All will be well

and

May the Force be with you.

King Buck

DC Released New Images Last Week of the Justice League's New Costumes

DC Comics will be getting a bit of a really soft reboot in June. After the events of Convergence, the DC books will no longer have the NEW 52 banner going forward, nor will there be 52 monthly books. Not only will the new books get a new look, but so will several of the Justice League's major players.

First up we have the new costume of Green Arrow. It's not my favorite. I mostly feel indifferent towards it, and it's something I should comment on. I did like the new cover for issue #41, the suit will look better if they use that color pallet instead of the brighter one. I really enjoyed the Jeff Lemire run, but haven't gone much further than that. I should catch up.

And then there's the new darker version of The Flash's costume. I can't say that I enjoy Brett Booth. The only thing I like of his is the Larfleeze Christmas Special, and that is just ok. I kind of hate the current team on The Flash to be honest, I feel like they don't truly grasp who Barry Allen is. Brett Booth is admittedly a Wally West fan over a Barry Allen fan, so that may be a huge reason why I don't like the book. I also don't think Venditti gets Barry's voice either. I would be curious to see what the book would be like if Van Jensen wrote the book on his own.

The next one is a little more bizarre to me. I am really curious what the narrative explanation for it will be. It has been alluded to over the past year or so. I don't know how I feel about the Frank the Bunny ears. I also think the color is wrong for the character in the suit. If Batman is in a suit, it should be have darker colors.

Then we have one that will make cosplayers on a budget really happy. I would love this look on Connor, don't how I feel about Kal wearing it. I don't think Kal needs a new costume, yet again. And if Kal is fighting in Earth material, he's gonna be fighting naked most of the time, so I could come to enjoy it quite a bit.

I think the most controversial one so far has been new look for everyone's favorite princess. I like it. I am not blown away by it, but I am grateful that Diana is more covered than she has been traditionally.  I love Diana and my favorite costume for her was the Odyssey costume designed by Jim Lee. Most fanboys seemed to hate that one, but I loved it. 

The final one isn't a full view of the costume, but it gives us an idea of what he will be wearing. I am surprised that I like this one considering that I have been rather unsatisfied with the run over the last two years. Seriously, I think GL needs a new direction, but I also think it needs a new creative team. I really hope this new direction is good, or I will give up the book entirely. Vote with your money, right?

What do you guys think? Do you like them? Hate them?  Let us know in the comments or email us at royaltyofgeekdom@yahoo.com or look us up on twitter @GeekdomRoyalty and instagram @RoyaltyofGeekdom