As I'm sure you are all NO DOUBT AWARE, DC Universe is launching a whole new shebang. They're starting fresh, from the top. The same old Justice League, but from the beginning. Superman is Superman, Batman is Batman, but they don't even know about each other yet. And all the women are sexed right the hell up.
I've got mixed feelings about this. My general dislike of change and my dear memories of the comics I've loved for so long tell me no, but my desire for creativity and interesting stories say yay! The issues that concern me function on two levels. One, the way the comics themselves are presented. Two, what the comics are saying about the new audience they're supposedly trying to appeal to.
To start on a positive note, gaining new readers is a wonderful endeavour, and comics are obviously re-asserting themselves as a form of entertainment, even if it's in the form of movies. So a new audience is a great idea. And as we all NO DOUBT KNOW, there is a lot of history in the DCU. These dudes have been around for 75 years, and have been having any number of strange adventures. They've been through no less than 3 multiverse shattering crises, not to mention the vast personal misfortunes that have befallen them. For a new reader, it can be daunting. I know, because that's exactly what happened to me when I was a new reader.
Do away with the crises, rebuild the relationships from the ground up, and any casual comic reader should be able to pick up what's being put down. This is a definite advantage. Also, some of comicdom's greatest creators are behind the new titles, and I'm sure they'll do the characters and their environments justice. I'm resistant to change, but I've been known to come around, after a while.
Also, Swamp Thing, John Constantine, Resurrection Man, and Shade the Changing Man are all kicking around in the new DC. I like these guys, so I'll probably like their comics. Their reappearance tells me that the people who were reading comics 20 or even 30 years ago are now writing them, taking the characters they've loved and throwing them back into the mix. And an informed writer is an entertaining writer.
Certain facts have been reset, certain changes have been made. Dick Grayson returns to his Nightwing days. Bruce Wayne is Batman. Tim Drake keeps on being Red Robin, although he has a big pair of goofy bird wings. Not sure how I feel about that one. And Damien Wayne, Bruce's murderous son, keeps being Robin. Batman and Robin are now a literal father-and-son team. I suppose it's about time for that. Some of these things, I can consider positive.
And now, my friends, the negatives.
Scantily clad superheroines have gotten scantily cladder. Starfire's boobs are definitely on display, and they weren't exactly hidden the first time around. Supergirl is looking pretty leggy, and Harley Quinn is a huge juggalo tramp. TRAMP! I saw a picture online, and it's what prompted this whole issue of Square Root. She doesn't look like a jester, just a whore. And this saddens me. I liked the old jester look.
A few other changes seem to have taken place. One of the covers for Detective Comics shows Batman tossing around some villains. And the Riddler has. A. QUESTION. MARK. MOHAWK. Sunuvabitch. He's the only one I objected to, but boy, did I object. Also, Superman. The photos I saw had him in a Superman T-shirt, with jeans and rugged-looking workboots. Eh? Wha? I don't follow. Is there no respect for tradition? No love for icons? Has everyone gone MAD?!
Sorry. That was an unacceptable reaction.
In conclusion, this is a bold and unprecedented move on DC's part, and I'm sure it'll keep them around for much much longer. The downside to this is that they changed my DC. I already liked it. Put it back. WHAT ABOUT MEEEE?
