Discussion: What’s Wrong with the New 52?

We decided to discuss what we felt was wrong about DC Comics’ New 52 and compare it to Marvel NOW! We talk about costumes, Jack Kirby, Superman, Spider-Man, Hulk, Daredevil and a lot more.

Jason: There’s nothing interesting happening in the New DCU. It’s all just repetition of old comics and stories we’ve already seen.

Superman looks like he’s wearing a big blue diaper now

Johnnie: Yeah, that was my impression as well. I mean, ideally the New 52 was designed to bring in new readers. But what they’re doing with it is so uninteresting to me, I just didn’t bother with 99% of the revamp. The only one I’ve gotten into is Batman. And even then I was already interested in reading Batman. Plus those costumes. My God.

Jason: We could write an entire book about why every costume in the New 52 is absolutely horrible. Superman has so many lines going all over his body that it’s hard to know what to look at. It’s like they tried so hard to make the costumes look ‘real’ that they look so unbelievably overdrawn and unrealistic.

Johnnie: Yeah, I think Superman is probably the worst offender I’ve seen. But it goes beyond just those totally unnecessary, goofy lines. His suit is also not like, cloth. It’s this weird alien technology. Like, I don’t even know how to describe it. What is it exactly?

Jason: It’s some kind of technology that materializes when he wants it to. No more itchy costume under his business attire. He can just rip off his shirt and mentally command his suit to materialize! It’s so necessary!

Review: Deadpool #1 [Marvel NOW!]

5 out of 5 stars
Marvel Comics
Story – Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan
Art – Tony Moore

Thank God for Deadpool. I love Deadpool. I know he’s contentious. Our very own Jason Cohen has a longstanding hatred for the character, and he has his reasons. Deadpool just isn’t for everyone. But he’s definitely for me. And this premiere issue of the Marvel NOW! Deadpool just encouraged and validated everything I felt about Deadpool in previous stories. Let me start this review by saying that if this comic is as consistently high quality as the first issue, Deadpool will likely become my favorite comic book currently in print. With my normal favorite Amazing Spider-Man being such a revolting piece of shit right now, that might not sound like a lot, but it is, given my recent foray into Batman.

The story here is that a politically-minded magician/necromancer guy casts a spell that summons the spirits of dead American presidents, in the hopes that they will take control of the country and “fix it,” whatever that means to you. Initially, Captain America arrives on the scene, and appears in the paper the next day decapitating Harry Truman. S.H.I.E.L.D. feels that this is terrible PR and they need to find someone else to sweep the problem under the rug quickly and quietly.