I neglected to mention that in addition to that giant DC Universe Year by Year Encyclopedia I received as a gift I also was given 3 random DC issues. I read the Superman issue around the time I posted about the Encyclopedia. It was ok, nothing to rave about. It was some what entertaining but nothing I would bother to pay $4 for. The two Batman issues were boring as fuck I started but didn't even bother to finish reading either of em. And here's the punch line Batman Zero Year #24 was $6 and Batman Black & White was $5.
Ya know how it is when you're at a party full of strangers and you're having a hard time mingling with people right? And that might be cuz they're all talking about shit they have in common or because no one is talking about stuff you're interested in but it all sucks just the same having to be there. In general that's what reading these issues was like for me.
Hard case timing Dave, I'm actually trying to assemble all my Random thoughts on DC's current state into one post at the moment. I still don't have it 'sorted' yet but the end of the year had me looking at my former favourite and wondering why (to expand on your metaphor) the best part of the party I used to love is now complaining about the noise from the house next door.
ReplyDeleteanother apt analogy Dan, i hope this posting helps you sort out your own thoughts on DC these days but for me it's really straight forward. rather it's the Suicide Squad, Swamp Thing or any other DC title these days when i flip through the pages i feel like i'm in the company of strangers i have very little in common with. but back in the day these books usually made me feel like i was hanging out with my buddies. Young Justice gave me that same feeling along with being an awesome animated series but as you know that's over with too now.
DeleteI kinda feel that way about both companies, even though I still find a select few offerings I'll buy from both. But yeah, strangers at a party seems to be the best analogy, even of you're trying to get to know them but puting in the effort, but they don't care or can't be bothered to reciprocate bc their the cool kids in the room. Bastards;)
ReplyDeleteOr maybe a better analogy would be an ex you see who's with someone else and acting totally different than when they were with you?
Either way, they're not the old companies from our youth.
care to expand on that analogy with the ex? : )
DeleteNot me, just a generalized example. Nope, the new situation for me, is having to go to the only comic book store in town where your ex's boyfriend now works. Yeah, that one;(
ReplyDeleteI know I have a lot going on right now, but this post is what really explains the silence.
ReplyDeleteWe miss you Tiger. Hurry and get done with what you gotta do and come back to the light;)
ReplyDelete"The Light", just like on Young Justice : )
Deletesigh . . . i know how Tiger feels. in the absence of Young Justice, any good new comics and only some occasional new fan art turning up there's just not much to post about on our Suicide Squad related centric blogs.
HA HA, I'm on the way my friend just a little longer.
DeleteThanks Dave. I have to say I'm in the same boat as Tiger and everyone else. At the start of last year I had about 16 DC books in my pull list, these days I have 2 (not counting Vertigo).
ReplyDeleteLook forward to having you back OA.
While I was hesitant to do it, incase DC switched back, I have found great reads by stepping out of the big two that have me positive about comics again, just not from my favourite publisher. H.A.R.D. Corps at Valiant is a twist on Suicide Squad (the original team exploded on capture or death) so reading their adventures in Bloodshot could be worth a try. Random and I are fans of the characters so it can't be too bad :)
I'm a fan of Randoms (or am I just a fan of Random). She has a book out, I know we all have it.
DeleteAnd I didn't know H.A.R.D. Corps kind of mirrored Suicide Squad. Thanks for the heads up.
Dale that's where you start wishing the world was more like a Road Runner cartoon. I swear if people could drop anvils on other peoples head and know in a few minutes they'd be up and running again, stress and anxiety levels would drop, the anvil industry would create heaps of new jobs overnight and happiness would reign.
ReplyDeleteHard to believe I once counselled folks for a living huh?
i dunno about the rest of your but that anvil idea sounds like advice to me.
Deleteya know i'm sure there's some other good stuff out there as far as publishers other then DC or Marvel. but even during my more adventurous years as a collector i seldom strayed outside of the DC and Marvel sphere unless it was related to some movie franchise like Predator, Aliens or Terminator. if you break it down to percentiles at one point i'd say my collection was about 45% Marvel, 37% DC, 12% Dark Horse and 6% other publishers. and all that was when comics were much cheaper : )
Dropping the anvil sounds like sound advice to me. And I am ashamed that sadly 80% of my comic collection is DC and Marvel too man. It's so hard to stop drinking the Kool-aid.
Deletethat's fine as long as it's older shit and not the crap DC and marvel having been leaving all over the market like bird droppings. ain't nothing wrong with DC and Marvel from the 80s, 90s and basically up until a few years ago.
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