High Rez Reviews 2 | Justice League #1

Today, Caine returns with another High Rez Review - this one of the new Justice League!

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LAST ISSUE.....
It all started on May 31st...
"On Wednesday, August 31st, DC Comics will launch a historic renumbering of the entire DC Universe line of comic books with 52 first issues, including the release of JUSTICE LEAGUE by NEW YORK TIMES bestselling writer and DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns and bestselling artist and DC Comics Co-Publisher Jim Lee. The publication of JUSTICE LEAGUE issue 1 will launch day-and-date digital publishing for all these ongoing titles, making DC Comics the first of the two major American publishers to release all of its superhero comic book titles digitally the same day as in print."

HIGH RES APP PREVIEW...
Today I'll be reviewing a comic purchased on my iPad from the DC Comics digital comic store: The Justice League.  As a rule these High Res Reviews will be spoiler free unless we give you lots of warning of the contrary.

 DC's Digital Comic store is laid out similarly over the web as well as on the iPad (so if you don't have an iPad the app portion of the review should still apply to web users/ readers).  At 2:00 p.m. eastern time I was able to launch the app and see the comics available on August 31st.  Before then there was a general weekly preview digital comic that was offered for free.  DC's Comixology powered app works just fine.  The comic was selected, paid for and downloaded very quickly over wifi with no glitches or crashes.

There is a problem, in this blogger's opinion, with DC's standard website however.  Simply put there is no link to download the comic from their browse comic page.  Now, you can access all of DC Comic's digital comics through read.dccomics.com but what happens if you don't know it or can't remember it?  If there was a link on the page below it wouldn't matter...

HIGH RES COMIC REVIEW...
The JUSTICE LEAGUE has always been DC Comic's greatest heroes come together to take on those threats too large for any of them to handle on their own.  The new JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 is no different, accept it that it is.  Confused?  Don't be.  You see Super Heroes are brand new to the DCU now.  They've only been around for about a year and all of them (by them I mean the JLU) seem to have sprung up nearly all at once around the U.S.  None of them really know each other and nearly all of them feel that the others may not even be real.

The book opens on the Gotham City roof tops with this "Batman" character being chased by the GCPD in riot gear, swat attack helicopters, and sniper rifles.  They don't seem to be assisting him, nor do they care that he's trying to save the city.  As the chase continues we are introduced to Batman for the first time only to have him literally bump right into the Green Lantern who's come to assist this mythical man who seems to dress up like a bat.

 We are introduced to the very arrogant Green Lantern (and I happen to think his updated personality is an improvement) for the first time and once they escape the police and continue chasing the threat to the city there is conversation of an alien who's rumored to exist over in Metropolis.  Where, as it would happen, is the very place they need to go.

You see?  It's all new, not only to us the fans/readers but to the characters inside the DCnU as well. 

The art by Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair and the rest of the team possess a particular "gritty-tech" feel to it.  If you liked the way HUSH looked visually then you are all set.  Like all comics the art (and the writing) won't be liked by all fans but DC has their "Brightest" on this book so I'm betting they think this is the preferred look of the DCnU.

The art did not get in the way of the story, which flowed nicely and built to a climax at the end of the first issue as we were successfully re-introduced to three of the future members of the JLU,  teased by the namedrop of a major villain in the DCnU, and given a good dose of the way this new reality feels.  There were pleasant surprises, fun moments, and happy reunions that any major DC fan isn't going to want to miss. 

PAPER COMIC DEATHWATCH NOTE...
I went ahead and got my hands on the printed paper copy of the same comic and look what they are placing inside?  QR Codes.  :)

Well that about does it for this round of HIGH RES REVIEWS.  What do you think?  Are you a tablet owner?  Are you reading comics on it?  If so are you buying comics on it?  Thoughts on the 3.99 price point?  We'd love to hear from you about this review, and about digital comics in general.  Feel free to leave any comments you may have.

~Caine

DC: A Company on Two Coasts?

Last Friday was a tough one if you worked at DC. With rumors that anywhere from 20 - 30% of the workforce might be laid off, many DC employees were given the option to relocate to Burbank, California or face being laid off. Having gone through my share of Move or Get Out layoffs in the past, I can sympathize with the DC staffers. Having to decide between your job and your current home is not an easy decision, especially in one of the worst economies in American History.


I wonder how many of the DC staffers this is blindsiding? Sometimes the writing is on the wall. In this situation, I think people knew a reduction in force was in the wings, as many outgoing positions were being filled with contractors (always a bad sign.) Also, Time Warner has been cutting staff all across all division of the company.

From 2007 to present, Time Warner has laid off a virtual army of employees from Time Inc., Cosmopolitan and Entertainment Weekly. I've often wondered how DC was able to avoid the layoffs. What I suspect is that the *streamlining* that may now be occuring was always in the cards, but there were timing issues that needed to be dealt with. Obviously, getting Diane Nelson installed at DC was step one.

That move always felt to me like Time Warner not really grokking someone like Paul Levitz (or viewing him as a little too old school to really understand how run a modern business. And to be honest - based on some of his statements about Digital Comics, Time Warner may have been right.

My question is: Who's going out to Burbank and why? Of the big names mentioned, Nelson, Geoff Johns and Jim Lee, only Nelson really makes sense to me. Isn't Johns the driving force behind the publishing side now? (His comics are definitely the ones bringing in the most cash.) And why is it necessary for Jim Lee to move the digital side to Burbank? (The digital side in New York is apparently being relocated but without any of the original staff.)

DC Digital is being moved to Burbank, working under Jim Lee, creating new exclusive digital comic books. While the offer to move coasts for the New York digital staff has been offered, most are unlikely to take it, and both New York-based Marvel and Comixology have made approaches already. ~BleedingCool

So what's going to be left in New York exactly? And how much power and autonomy will it have? It sort of feels to me like the publishing side is set to become even MORE of a Time Warner afterthought than it ever was before. Outside of Dan Didio, who else is going to be manning the ship in New York? And how stable is it going to be? The ship may not be sinking just yet, but it sure feels like Nelson, Johns and Lee are deserting!

In my experience, splitting companies into different divisions can be a good thing as separate divisions can sometimes act more nimbly. My concern here is in this case, one division is argurably tied to a dying industry and had its connections to revenue streams with greater potential distanced (if not altogether removed.)

My prediction - I suspect will see larger than normal number of DC titles cancelled over the course of 2011 as budgets get realigned in a way that the publishing side has never had to deal with before.

Anyway - while the future of DC Publishing may be murky, let's reflect on a time with the future was filled with fin shaped star ships and bowl shaped helmets with today's two free comics. Two issues of Charlton's Space Adventures


[ Space Adventures 2 ]


[ Space Adventures 3 ]

- Enjoy!

My DC Rant

So back in September, I mentioned how the first initial digital initiative by the new DC Entertainment was to send me some spam for ringtones or some such crap.

Well, I'm glad to announce that after two months, DC has now succeeded in moving forward with another foray into the digital frontier. With more spam. And this time they are pimping Batman Hoodies and Superman Watches.

Man, Time Warner, way to pull the effing trigger and unleash a damn tsunami of digital goodness on the masses!

Now, I guess it take a bit of time to make changes in a organization as old as DC Publishing, but after two months, the best they can do is send me spam for the WB Shop? Wasn't Dianne Nelson brought on to specificially find a way to better utilize the DC properties. In two months they still haven't been able to whip up cool ipod comics or something?

Meanwhile at Marvel...

And what really makes this seem even more rediculous is that in case you missed it, last week Marvel announced it is now distributing comics through not one, but THREE different iPod Comic vendors!

At ComiXology you can now buy...

Ditko's Spider-Man (1-6)
Civil War
Age of Apocalypse #1–6
Astonishing X-Men #1–24 (Full Whedon Cassaday run)
Captain America #1–30 (Brubaker, Epting)
Marvel Zombies #1–5
X-23 #1–6



At iVerse

Age of Apocalypse #1–6
Amazing Spider-Man #519–524
Astonishing X-Men #1–12
Captain America #1–6 (Brubaker, Epting)
Invincible Iron Man #1–6
X-23 #1–6



And Panelfly...

Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #1-25 (Lee, Ditko)
Amazing Spider-Man #519-524
Astonishing X-Men #1-24
Invincible Iron Man #1-16
X-23 #1-6
Age Of Apocalypse #1-6



Also Marvel has had a genuine hit on their hands with the Spider-Woman Motion Comic. I'm not really a fan of the format, [ Den of Geek covers most of my sentiments ] but kudos to Marvel for their success here.



But is it just in the digital arena that DC is lagging?

No. DC is also baffling me with their backwards thinking in publishing lately. For instance, without a doubt, they have a runaway hit with Blackest Night. And to capitalize on the momentum, they have several satellite books (Blackest Night Batman, Blackest Night Teen Titans, etc...)

At the same time, they are puting James Robinson on Justice League of America. James Robinson is an insanely talented writer whose Starman is one of the all time great runs of comics history.

So let me ask you - if you were running a comic book company, what would you do at this point?

1) Publish Blackest Night Justice League
2) Renumber Justice League with Robinson's first issue
3) Announce Robinson's first issue in big letters on the cover

OR

4) NONE of the above

If you answered 4, then you are apparently ready to work for DC.

Seriously, check out this lame cover for Robinson's first issue on Justice League (a meandering issue that attempts to wrap up plot threads that no one really gives a damn about btw...)

Could the Logo be any freaking smaller? I guess they didn't want anything to outshine the brilliant and innovative cover blurb - Out of the Ashes.

Remember when Grant Morrison took over the title and just how huge the logo was back then? It really made you feel like it was going to be new chapter in comics history (and it sort of was wasn't it?)

On the flipside, this cover, with its tiny JLA logo, looks more like a pisspoor Elseworlds knockoff.

Oh well, at least Robinson is wowing them on the awesome Cry for Justice mini-series. And by them, I mean fans of JLA Elite and Extreme Justice.

What about DC's trades and graphic novels?

To be honest, outside of the newly collected High Moon Vol 1, I haven't been impressed with a lot of DC's newly announced trade collections.

(BTW - congrats to David and Steve the High Moon creative team on their awesome Box 13, the first comic designed for the iPod! )

Here is what I don't understand about DC's collected editions - why are they so much more expensive than Marvels?

Check this out:

Here is DC Classic Library collections of Justice League by George Perez
Price: $37 for 176 pages. On what feels like crappy newsprint. :P



Here the Marvel Masterworks Deathlok
Price: $45 for 352 Pages. On high grade paper stock.



So for about $7 more, Marvel gives me almost 200 more pages on a better stock of paper! Now the DC Archives were on good paper stock, but they seem to be phasing those out in favor of these new (more expensive?) DC Classics Library editions. Why? What is Marvel doing differently that they can continue high quality collected editions and DC can't?

While I'm questioning DC's business wisdom, please tell me - is this REALLY going to be the cover for the new Steve Ditko Creeper collection?



That's got to just be some really slack assed artwork pulled together for Amazon, right? Still, I'm a little curious why DC Publishing Entertainment weren't able to make something better than that...

Here's what I did in 5 minutes in Photoshop...



Seriously - 5 minutes. Which looks like the better image to sell with?

I don't know. Maybe 2010 is going to be when Dianne Nelson really kicks it in high gear and we see some amazing things from DC, you know? Or maybe we will just get more stuff like this...



Thus endeth the rant. ;)

Before I go - hat's off to Dr. K for his amazing write up of the recent JMS Brave and the Bold featuring the Flash and Blackhawk! Great stuff Dr. K!

Also, thanks to Reno for encouraging me to rant this week! :)

Have a great weekend!

- Jim

Are Current Comics Bland?

This week, over at Comic Book Resources, Steven Grant summed up the comics year 2008 with this one sentence:

2008 was one dreary year for comics.

from the article...

...Homogenized is the other word of the year: "mainstream" comics – superhero comics – are at their blandest and most unadventurous since 1977, insular worms eating their own universal tails. (I won't bother explaining the fatal problem of that cherished insularity, since Abhay Khosla already does a good job of it here.) ...

By and large I agree with him on the current state of comics from the big two. However, What I think Grant is mainly talking about what he perceives as a slump in creativity and innovation among the Big two. This makes me wonder: Has this persumed dreariness affected sales?

Was Secret Invasion that much more interesting than Planet Hulk? Hard to say.

Let's see how it compares saleswise:

Going by October 2008 sales

Secret Invasion 7 sold 154,656 copies.

World War Hulk 5 sold 145,769 copies.

Not bad, looks like Secret Invasion is doing pretty well comparatively all things considered. Still, you would think that a mini-series featuring the ENTIRE Marvel universe, that was promoted for over a year and has one of Marvels top writers on it would be doing a little better than 10k copies over one that sort of sprung out of nowhere written by Greg Pak. (Nothing against Pak, he's just not as well known as Bendis.)

Is Trinity more interesting than 52? Hard to tell. It doesn't seem to be generating the same fire on the message boards. How do the sales compare?

Again, using October 2008 sales we see this...

Title	issue #	Sold
Trinity	18	49,168
Trinity	19	48,545
Trinity	20	47,921
Trinity	21	47,246

Here's how 52 was doing around the same time 2 years ago:

Title	issue #	Sold
52	22	108,600
52	23	107,900
52	24	107,400
52	25	106,300

Two things to note here: 52 only cost $2.50 a copy versus Trinity that costs $2.99 a copy. A 20% increase (which sort of begs the question, have production costs gone up 20%?)

The second thing to take not of is that by and large, 52 followed the adventures of a bunch of B and C list comic characters (The Question, Elongated Man, Black Adam, etc...) Trinity features Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. Given that these are A list characters, Trinity should be doing better, shouldn't it?

Let's move on to Final Crisis.

The Big Question? How will it end? Will it really shake up DC's status quo?

The Big Answer: Who Cares?

Final Crisis 4 sold 115,651 copies

Infinite Crisis 4 sold 182,600 copies

That's a pretty big difference considering that DC has been promoting Final Crisis for about 2 years now. Shouldn't a huge event comic written by THE GRANT MORRISON! be doing better than one written by Geoff Johns? Was it the art by George Perez that increased sales? His name sure didn't help Waid's Brave and the Bold get huge sales.

So outside of surprise hits like Rage of the Red Lanterns (which seems to have made good use of the buzz from the Sinestro Wars), it looks like the creative ennui IS starting to impact event comic sales.

What do you think?

Are you bored with the current comics from DC and Marvel?

What's Scanned and Unscanned in the DC Universe

I was asked via email about exactly how many comics have been scanned thus far (which is really such a hard question to answer because people scan the NEDOR comics for gosh sakes, so when you ask that question, I'm at a lost for a frame of reference...)

Anyway, I'm going to attempt to answer at least *part* of the question by posting the latest version of What's Scanned and Unscanned in the DC Universe - consider this a partial answer...feel free to examine the linked file and come back here for discussion...you can navigate the page by clicking along the tabs at the bottom.

http://www.flashbackuniverse.com/LeftToScanInDC-DEC012007.htm

NOTE: I did not create this list. It is maintained by someone called the Phantom Stranger who does a remarkable job keeping up with all the new scans!

One of the first things you'll notice is that there are apparently only 3002 DC comics left to scan, and then ALL of DC publish content will have been scanned! Pretty amazing when you consider how long DC has been around.

I believe that the scanners are doing a good thing btw, as I doubt DC will ever get around to reprinting Binky, Bob Hope, ect...I'm glad someone is preserving those comics in some fashion.

A lot of the Unscanned stuff are Romance comics - not surprising as there lot a lot of sentimental attachment to those titles for the majority of the scanners.

If you click on the Scanned tab, be prepared to wait as that page loads - its a 15 meg html document... :P