I'm not sure if you stuck it out or not, but Forever Evil finally limped to a close last week. Seems like it took 3 years. As usual for Johns, started off really cool and then totally lost its way and spread out into like 13 titles and became a big old mess. I was totally ready to just get the final issue, the follow-up JL issue and then take a break from Johns for a good long while. But then he did what he always does. He throws in a last page that makes me excited about where he's going again. Its quite aggravating. Did you stick with it the whole way through? What did you think?
I also have no idea what's going on at Marvel now. The two best books that they have, hawkeye and superior foes of spider-man, haven't moved the storyline along in a year and six months respectively. Its to the point where I forget the even exist anymore. At least DC actually keeps people reasonably on schedule (except Sandman, but what can you do about that?)
Yeah, I stuck it out with Forever Evil, and it was pretty satisfying. I'm pretty intrigued with where they're going with Lex Luthor, but this whole Future's End nonsense is doing nothing for me. Justice League #30 was really fun, though.
I also have no clue what's going on with Hawkeye. The title has been spinning its wheels for months now and Hawkeye himself seems to have been transplanted into the Hawkeye-wannabe series Secret Avengers. Black Widow seems to be replacing that vibe a bit, too. It's really frustrating because they were supposed to be alternating Aja's Barton issues with the Kate Bishop ones to keep the trains running on time, and it seems like they're both late. Marvel at least has a lot of good stuff that goes on time to fill the void for me.
As for Superior Foes, I'm pretty sure it's been canned. Either that or they're relaunching it as something else, but Team-Up is definitely done. I feel like they should thin the X-Men herd a LOT before the Spider books, but apparently it's drastically important to have all those different teams starring Wolverine in play. I used to love All New X-Men and it's just going totally off the rails lately with the whole confusing "people switching teams" mess and multiple future versions of the X-Men running around and stuff.
I just want New 52 gone, pronto. Superior Foes is probably gone as Peter is Spidey again.
ReplyDeleteThey pretty much killed off any Spidey title that wasn't Amazing. I liked Scarlett Spider as a stand-alone series. I've felt that the last few months of Superior Foes was an after thought as they were gearing up to bring Peter back.
ReplyDeleteIt's been three years. Why would you think they would just revert? And what are your issues with new 52?
ReplyDeleteSuperior Foes 12 is coming out next week and I believe it has been solicited up to 15.
So, with the end of Forever Evil, they are definitely going all in on some sort of Crisis for the 30th anniversary of COIE - although we'll see if they call it a Crisis. That's what Future's End and whatever weekly they're doing with Earth 2 is supposed to be leading to in April 2015.
ReplyDeleteAnyone reading Superman: Doomed? The first few chapters have been surprisingly enjoyable. Although I'm sure none of it will make a lick of difference once Geoff Johns takes over the main book in two months...
I'm not caught up with Forever Evil yet (partly because the delays threw things off).
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the previous version of the Crime Syndicate, with the favors system, and the innate good/evil "winning" in that universe.
This version is solid at the moment. Ultraman being a badass is always fun, while Owlman being super clever is nice. Superwoman pulling some strings this time is a welcome change. I am surprised they are killing off the Syndicate so quickly (Power Ring, Johnny Quick, Atomica), and I would have loved to see Sea King. But I assume they'll just revive them when needed or retcon it.
Just out of curiosity, did you read the JL:Dark Forever Evil crossover, Blight? They used Sea King's body a little bit more there. The story wasn't bad, although it dragged on a bit (I think the whole story was 18 issues of 4 different comics - still got done well before the final issue of Forever Evil did, though).
ReplyDeleteI just started reading it. It was surprisingly good.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read Doomed (the "Superdoom" solicit turned me off) but I am, in general, just not a fan of Greg Pak's Action Comics, no matter the critical acclaim. I grew up with the Byrne/Jurgens/Stern/Simonson Superman, so that colors my perspective. I really like Superman Unchained, but Pak's Action has just fell flat for me. The villains in the first few issues were uninteresting, and I haven't yet bought the revamp of Lana.
ReplyDeleteI'll give Doomed a look in trade. I really like Soule's writing. His Red Lanterns is a treat.
I subscribed to Marvel Unlimited recently, it's fantastic. Going through all these older series is great. Right now I'm going through Deadpool and Cable.
ReplyDeleteIs that when Deadman accidentally possessed Sea King's body, and the JLD were freaking out trying to kill/stop "Sea King"? That was really funny. I don't recall reading the next issue of that, but just the single issue was really entertaining.
ReplyDeleteThe August solicits have Superior Spider-Man coming back, picking right back up at #22.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea how they're going to explain that one, but color me intrigued.
The definitely found a new dynamic between Superman and Doomsday to explore with this story, which is a breath of fresh air after countless "Doomsday can't be stopped! OH! Superman found a way!"
ReplyDeleteI'm more intrigued by some of the allusions the story makes, most notably that Superman already died at Doomsday's hands. Maybe the new Secret Origins comic can do something on how that played out in the New 52.
Yeah, they dragged that bit out for a few chapters, actually.
ReplyDeleteDC is a trainwreck. Marvel has at least a few good books at the moment--Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, Hawkeye, Doop, etc.
ReplyDeleteI'm also beyond fatigued with event comics, a sentiment that started years ago. I thought Marvel had event overkill with Avengers vs. X-Men coming out months after Age of Ultron ended, but here comes DC to kick off Future's End while Forever Evil was STILL GOING!
ReplyDeleteI think Image is putting out the best and most innovative comics right now.
ReplyDeleteI will miss Doc Ock Spider-man.
ReplyDeleteMarvel just ended that HUGE event with Thanos and boom...straight into Original Sin.
ReplyDeleteEvent comics and ending a series just so you can start a new one at #1 are my biggest pet peeves in comics.
See, I prefer Doomsday as that physical force of nature that Superman has to overcome. Granted, there have been zero good Doomsday stories since the mid-'90s, but I think writers overthink the character.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't forget AXIS already being solicited.
ReplyDeleteI vehemently disagree with this. I'm loving Forever Evil, Justice League, Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, Red Lanterns, Green Arrow, All-Star Western, Batman, Aquaman and Superman Unchained.
ReplyDeleteFrom Marvel, I'm loving Hawkeye and Thor: God of Thunder. Looking forward to checking out Ms. Marvel soon.
The only comics I'm reading right now are Batman, Daredevil, and Thor. I stay away from the events.
ReplyDeleteThe overthinking came from wanting to do more with Doomsday than what was actually possible, given the character as debuted. I can't imagine the Superman team at the time meant for him to be more than a one-shot villain (in fact, Roger Stern told me that they originally meant for him to never be seen again after the death, but that got changed pretty quick).
ReplyDeleteWhat they did with him for Doomed was pretty clever, actually. It's definitely worth checking out.
The two-month or so delay for the final issue just blasted Forever Evil's momentum and messed a whole bunch of schedules up. It would have been much better if the last issue was released when it was supposed to.
ReplyDeleteThe New 52 Batman is just one big event comic after another. Especially this year, with the 75th anniversary.
ReplyDeleteI gave up on DC Comics, honestly. I was reading Swamp Thing and Animal Man up until the end of Rotworld and was reading Batwoman until the debacle that forced JH Williams out.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, Forever Evil is just another thing that I hate about mainstream superhero comics: a giant, interconnecting event that requires you to read multiple books just to follow what's going on. Just like Blackest Night, I doubt it'll be collected together in trade form in any way that'll make sense on its own.
Saga, Chew, Elephantmen, Sex Criminals, Walking Dead, Invincible, Fatale, Lazarus, Velvet, and several others I'm probably forgetting?
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, you're definitely right there.
It's part of the big Spider-Man event, Spider-Verse, that's apparently going include a massive crossover of all Spider-Man across time and space.
ReplyDeleteWade Barrett has some bad news about All Star Western...
ReplyDeleteYeah, same here. I want a DC Universe filled with likeable characters again.
ReplyDeleteJesus, I hadn't heard of that yet. Just looked it up and shook my head in disgust.
ReplyDeleteI miss fat Amanda Waller.
ReplyDeleteTGGI
ReplyDeleteThe new suit alone was better than anything In awhile.
It was just so fresh and new...it kind of reminded me of how fun Batman was with Dick Grayson wearing the cowl a few years back. And after 50 years of Peter Parker whining about his life, it was cool to see a cocky Spider-Man talking down to people and asserting himself.
ReplyDeleteI've just read the Snyder Batman itself and avoided all the crossovers. It's how I stay sane.
ReplyDeleteYep, but the last issue is being drawn by Darwyn Cooke, so I'm good.
ReplyDeleteOl' Hex will get another series at some point. Just glad Palmiotti and Gray got as long as they did on a book that didn't sell at all.
Can't forget East of West. I plan on picking up the Black Science trade tomorrow too. Image is easily my favorite comic book publisher right now.
ReplyDeleteI've been reading very little DC over the past few years but decided to give Forever Evil a try and it was decent. I liked Luthor as a reluctant hero but the reveal on the last page did nothing for me and the event didn't convince me to hop on Justice League or Futures End.
ReplyDeleteI've always been more of a Marvel reader anyways, but I feel like they've really been doing some great stuff lately. Ms Marvel, Moon Knight, Silver Surfer, Superior/Amazing Spidey, Daredevil and Ultimate Spidey are all books I look forward to every month.
That said, Image puts out the best books hands down and they're not bogged down by events or renumbering bullshit like the big two.
You know, I've heard of East of West, heard lots of great things about it, but don't know what it's about, aside from being a western setting?
ReplyDeleteYou see this shit with TI and mayweather? I don't care how many bouncers and bodyguards were there man, Floyd should have beaten his face in and given him the old prison shower rape treatment to finsish it off. How are you gonna be the GUY when it comes to punching someone and let some rapper punk you out...smh
ReplyDeleteI gave up on reading the books pretty quickly into the New 52 stuff, but the combination of Man of Steel being a piece of crap & the shitshow that's been David Goyer and She-Hulkgate has finally convinced me to stop giving them my money for any form of media.
ReplyDeleteSame as everyone else...darker, everyone looks like Image characters now, etc. etc.
ReplyDeleteBasically it's a futuristic scifi western setting where three of the four horsemen of the apocalypse are trying to set the apocalypse in motion. There's a secret society made up of world leaders who are trying to facilitate the apocalypse and others who are trying to stop it. There's more to it, but that's the gist and I promise you it's great.
ReplyDeleteDo you read Elephantmen? I've always seen it on the rack but have no idea what it's about. Is it any good?
It's two issues starring Doc Ock as Spidey spinning out of the few minutes he was "missing" from our timestream during the Spider-Man 2099 arc. In the time he was gone from now he apparently sent into the future for a bit. And like Nick said, it's a lead in to Spider-Verse.
ReplyDelete