The Comic Book Thread

[HeartlessNinny]

I've never been a fan of WW either, but mostly because there are very few interpretations of the character that haven't failed me. When I see her on the JLU cartoon or in any of the current DCU animated stuff, I always think 'Why can't she be that cool in the comics?'

I always feel sorry for her in the comics.

Just like I feel Sub-Mariner is Marvel's most criminally wasted character, given his history and importance in that universe (Lee, Thomas and Byrne are the only writers that ever really knew what to do with him, IMO), WW is DC's most tragically mishandled character.

And it's not about the swords and the amazon warrior stuff. It's not about being a badass or being one of a few people that can hit Superman hard enough that he'd feel it. Capturing the essence of Wonder Woman, what makes the character endure and be one of DC's iconic three characters (yes, I think she rates higher than GL or Flash when you look at the entire DCU mythology,) has been tricky for a lot of creators over the years. And I'm not really sure why. Seems like the template is there-the portrayal of the character in her animated special, or in the Batman/Superman animated movie where hey take on Darkseid (forget the name) are spot on.



It wouldn't be that hard, honestly. Just trace a bunch of Frank Miller and Katsuhiro Otomo art and draw people without ankles and shriveled, pruny faces. And give the women hourglass bodies and giant breasts so that you can distract readers from noticing how bad you are.



I don't think so. Just find a better artist to inspire you

You're spot on with this post. WW is indeed an iconic character that's deserved much, much better. I hear the Rucka run from a few years ago was good, but I never read it... Otherwise she's been in bad shape lately, even with people like Simone and Heinberg at the helm.

And as for Rob Liefeld... Look, I'm not telling anyone not to like him, but he really is a terrible artist. And he'd be the first to admit it.

If it makes you feel any better, Trey, I hate Bendis nowadays too. I used to like him a lot, but he wore out his welcome long ago.

Can anyone recommend a good online comic shop other than My Comic Shop and Mile High? Im looking for Scott Snyders Detective Comics run and not having much luck.

Yeah man, I'd go with STK on this one. It's already been collected, may as well go with that.

I can tell you those were great issues, by the way. Top notch all 'round.

 

[Hot Chocolate]

If it makes you feel any better, Trey, I hate Bendis nowadays too. I used to like him a lot, but he wore out his welcome long ago.

I finally got around to reading more of his stuff as I just got into Ms. Marvel through her canned solo series through his New Avengers, wow! I see now why a lot of people don't like him any more

I can tell you those were great issues, by the way. Top notch all 'round.

STK and HLN are not lying, his run was like orgasmic cranked up to 11


Also anyone pick up Blue Beetle? I got it just haven't read it yet along with GLC, WW and some other books I'm forgetting at the moment

 

[HeartlessNinny]

I finally got around to reading more of his stuff as I just got into Ms. Marvel through her canned solo series through his New Avengers, wow! I see now why a lot of people don't like him any more

Yeah. When I think back to stuff like Alias, his run on Daredevil, the early Ultimate Spider-Man stuff -- heck, even a couple of those early New Avengers issues -- I think of a writer I really liked, but that guy has gone nowhere for a really long time. A big problem is he just isn't very good at big event books (not that anyone is I guess, but Bendis is particularly horrible at it) and he's not good at team books. It's annoying, since these days he seems to insist on doing a ton of Avengers. But I guess it's not just that. The short lived Spiderwoman book was pretty meh, and I haven't been getting his other indie thing with Maleev, but it looks pretty awful. And Moon Knight... Fuck, I don't even wanna touch it.

I'll appreciate what he did for the industry, because he really did change the tone (and I'm glad he's around if for no other reason than he brought Luke Cage back out of obscurity), but these days, his work sucks. And it's more expensive than other stuff, so fuck it.

Also anyone pick up Blue Beetle? I got it just haven't read it yet along with GLC, WW and some other books I'm forgetting at the moment

I passed. I'm a Ted Kord fan, and I don't like the new direction they went with the character. Still, I hope it does well. Comics could use a few more characters who aren't the same ol' white boys.

 

[HeartlessNinny]

Oh shit, I missed this post in here. Let's reply to it now:

Wasn't much of a moment when Roy is just asking her questions and she just brushes him off and asks if they're going to fuck or not. There's probably a million ways that Lobdell could have been handled that better then making it look like a skinemax scene

Again, I disagree. She has a high sex drive, no sense of history/memory, and she's a bit of hedonist... What's wrong with that?

True, by his second appearance in Batman & Robin his schtick was old( amongst other things about that story ) and I'm all for him moving on which was one of the draws this book had for me when it was announced. Instead it's another example of DC not committing to this relaunch/reboot by having their cake and eating it too

I have to admit I'm kind of with you in a sense -- the Red Hood part of Batman and Robin was probably the weakest of the Morrison run. It was still pretty brilliant though. Anyways, I think it's a good thing DC is trying to have their cake and eat it too. I mean, why not keep some of the good stuff, like a lot of recent stories, and jettison the baggage?

If nothing else, you can't say they're not committed to the relaunch. They scrapped the entire line and relaunched at number ones! Fuck, even stuff like Action, which is over 900 issues deep now, went back to a #1. That's a commitment, man.

Nope was just expecting him to do what he does best and I got mediocre stuff, I had high expectations for Synder's Batman and those were met, same with Nightwing and that was the book I was worried about the most

Well, I guess I was being a bit unfair. But if you don't like Johns, you're not gonna like Aquaman, I can tell you that right now. The guy has a fairly specific style, and I don't expect it to change now. I'm not sure what it is exactly you don't like about it, but I'm sure that'll be in there.

That's exactly how I feel about Johns, I get why people don't like Bendis, Liefeld and especially Loeb, But with Johns I don't see what's to like as I've seen him do more harm then good

Speaking of Geoff, what is it about his stuff you don't like? I'm curious. Not everything he's done has been great, but who else could have done something like take the ridiculously nonsensical origin of Hawkman and turn it into a story that made sense? The dude put Hal Jordan back on the map after a long hiatus, and really did a lot to make Green Lantern cool again (his run on that one is one of my all time favourite runs on anything, bar none, ever -- it's great!). I could go on.

Again, I'm not insisting you change your mind or anything, I'm just a bit curious about it.

 

[Andy Is A Bastard]

Also anyone pick up Blue Beetle? I got it just haven't read it yet along with GLC, WW and some other books I'm forgetting at the moment

I picked up Blue Beetle. It feels a lot like the last volume, so if you enjoyed that I think we're in for more of the same (which is great in my book). Kind of weird to be back to square one with the characters, but not bad. I'm also looking forward to the reappearance of The Reach (which, I'm told, means we might get Vril Dox and some of the REBELS cast in tow).

 

[HeartlessNinny]

P.S. Okay, one more thing. Geoff Johns took the Top, maybe one of the lamest villains ever, and made him into a really cool, interesting and downright unsettling bad guy in The Flash. Come on, you gotta respect that. He did the same for Captain Cold and a lot of the other Rogues too. Those guys were a pretty big joke before, but now they're awesome. That's laudable if you ask me.

 

[SouthtownKid]

The Rogues being a bit goofy was a big part of what was cool about them. Don't get me wrong; I love what Johns did with the Rogues during his run, all the way through the Rogues War and even later with the Final Crisis tie-in Rogues mini. But don't dismiss the pre-Johns Rogues. They were always interesting and very human. Moreso than most other villain sets.

 

[HeartlessNinny]

The Rogues being a bit goofy was a big part of what was cool about them. Don't get me wrong; I love what Johns did with the Rogues during his run, all the way through the Rogues War and even later with the Final Crisis tie-in Rogues mini. But don't dismiss the pre-Johns Rogues. They were always interesting and very human. Moreso than most other villain sets.

Well, okay... I admit I'm not a huge fan of old-school Flash, but I see your point.

Still, I don't think Johns ditched the goofiness, at least not entirely. He just carved out a really cool niche for the Rogues, restoring them to their proper place. Besides making them a more legitimate threat for the Flash (who is insanely powerful, when you think about it), he set them up as a group of guys who had a real sense of purpose and community. He also made them human.

If nothing else, I stand by what I said about the Top. That guy was really, really lame, and Johns made him awesome. What more do you need?

 

[SouthtownKid]

he set them up as a group of guys who had a real sense of purpose and community.

Not to disagree with anything you said or the quality of Johns' contribution, but the Rogues always had a sense of community. Always. It's what set them apart from everyone else. Johns didn't create that; he just brought it back after it hadn't been explored for a while.

Also, the cover in the previous post wasn't old-school. That's Wally as flash from the same post-Crisis series that Johns' run comes from.

 

[HeartlessNinny]

Not to disagree with anything you said or the quality of Johns' contribution, but the Rogues always had a sense of community. Always. It's what set them apart from everyone else. Johns didn't create that; he just brought it back after it hadn't been explored for a while.

Also, the cover in the previous post wasn't old-school. That's Wally as flash from the same post-Crisis series that Johns' run comes from.

Ah, uh, okay. My bad. Like I said, I'm not really a Flash expert -- as if that's not obvious by now.

But the Top! The Top was good........ blarg.

 

[Hot Chocolate]

Well, I guess I was being a bit unfair. But if you don't like Johns, you're not gonna like Aquaman, I can tell you that right now. The guy has a fairly specific style, and I don't expect it to change now. I'm not sure what it is exactly you don't like about it, but I'm sure that'll be in there.

And that what sucks for me as I like Aquaman's supporting characters( more then Aquaman himself ) and this is pretty much the only place to see them even though so far Mera is a lock and possibly Aqualad( Kaldur'ahm from the Young Justice show ) but not sure if they'll keep Aquagirl( Lorena )

Speaking of Geoff, what is it about his stuff you don't like? I'm curious. Not everything he's done has been great, but who else could have done something like take the ridiculously nonsensical origin of Hawkman and turn it into a story that made sense? The dude put Hal Jordan back on the map after a long hiatus, and really did a lot to make Green Lantern cool again (his run on that one is one of my all time favourite runs on anything, bar none, ever -- it's great!). I could go on.

Again, I'm not insisting you change your mind or anything, I'm just a bit curious about it.

I don't like his his fav characters at the expense of others. For example his Wally Flash run can be considered to actually be The Rouges featuring "The Flash", even had Cold mention how much Wally didn't matter as Barry was the Flash to be scared of and this became in more evident with Flash: Rebirth. Wally under Johns since Barry has been brought back has either been used to either tell Barry he can do it or catch a beating for Barry, in hopes to make Barry not so boring he had to retcon in Barry's mom getting killed and his dad taking the fall for it. At that point as a Wally fan I said you know let me put that aside and give Barry a chance which was a huge mistake on my part as his Flash/Barry run was horrible and worse then what his Green Lantern run became and still is.

Green Lantern: Rebirth was basically Johns love letter to Hal by making every character that shows up in it say how much they love Hal except for Batman who gets a sucker punch for not hopping onto the Hal bandwagon, Kyle who's brought back the Corps, Guardians and generally kept the book going barely shows up other then to be the guy who wonders if Hal's worth it then jobs to Sinestro then does nothing until the end except say "you're great Hal!". I know people like to give him credit for the Sinestro Corps War but people forget Gibbions was a cowriter on that and his GLC book was better then what Johns was doing, in Johns half we had Kyle basically doing a repeat of Emerald Dawn II in Hal's place while over with Gibbions there was a actual war going on, won't even get into how under him Stewart has turned into a angry black man or any progression Gardner made since Warrior has vanished

I will give him props for writing a good Sinestro( until GL #1 ) but that seems to be his strongest point in writing better villains then heroes, skipped Brightest Day and after seeing how it "ended" I'm glad I did, War Of The Green Lanterns was just bad all around

 

[SouthtownKid]

Ah, uh, okay. My bad. Like I said, I'm not really a Flash expert -- as if that's not obvious by now.

But the Top! The Top was good........ blarg.

You should read the Wally series from the beginning. Just the Mike Baron run and the William Messner-Loebs runs that began the series. Especially the first 50 issues and first 3 annuals. If you like Johns' run, I really think you'd like it.

 

[HeartlessNinny]

I don't like his his fav characters at the expense of others. For example his Wally Flash run can be considered to actually be The Rouges featuring "The Flash", even had Cold mention how much Wally didn't matter as Barry was the Flash to be scared of and this became in more evident with Flash: Rebirth. Wally under Johns since Barry has been brought back has either been used to either tell Barry he can do it or catch a beating for Barry, in hopes to make Barry not so boring he had to retcon in Barry's mom getting killed and his dad taking the fall for it. At that point as a Wally fan I said you know let me put that aside and give Barry a chance which was a huge mistake on my part as his Flash/Barry run was horrible and worse then what his Green Lantern run became and still is.

Green Lantern: Rebirth was basically Johns love letter to Hal by making every character that shows up in it say how much they love Hal except for Batman who gets a sucker punch for not hopping onto the Hal bandwagon, Kyle who's brought back the Corps, Guardians and generally kept the book going barely shows up other then to be the guy who wonders if Hal's worth it then jobs to Sinestro then does nothing until the end except say "you're great Hal!". I know people like to give him credit for the Sinestro Corps War but people forget Gibbions was a cowriter on that and his GLC book was better then what Johns was doing, in Johns half we had Kyle basically doing a repeat of Emerald Dawn II in Hal's place while over with Gibbions there was a actual war going on, won't even get into how under him Stewart has turned into a angry black man or any progression Gardner made since Warrior has vanished

I will give him props for writing a good Sinestro( until GL #1 ) but that seems to be his strongest point in writing better villains then heroes, skipped Brightest Day and after seeing how it "ended" I'm glad I did, War Of The Green Lanterns was just bad all around

I gotta be honest with you, this all sounds kind of kooky to me. Some of the stuff you cite are reasons I like the guy so much (like the focus on developing the villains).

Some of the stuff you say is outright false if you ask me. Johns turned Jon Stewart into an angry black man!? Dude. That's not on Geoff Johns. If anything, he gave the character a more reasonable voice, not less. Check out some earlier 'jive-talkin' Jon Stewart if you don't believe me. I admit I wish he'd have done more with Jon and Guy, but there's only so much room in a book, and Hal was gone for a long time. I don't begrudge him the limelight.

Saying Dave Gibbons co-wrote the Sinestro Corps war is really, really generous. I love Dave quite a bit, but Geoff Johns plotted the whole thing. That was his baby from start to finish. Dave wrote the GLC issues, but that was it. The story/plot was all Geoff Johns. And it was friggin awesome.

War of the Green Lanterns was bad all around? What else do you hate? Oxygen? Orgasms? Those were awesome comics. The only thing I didn't like was the death of Mogo, but not everything is perfect. At least they had a good reason to kill him off -- he wouldn't have let the ring go to Sinestro.

Speaking of which, GL#1 is the cutoff? Why was Sinestro good until then? His characterization has been really consistent ever since GL: Rebirth #1. I find it very strange that you'd hate on him all of a sudden.

But hey, I asked and you told me. I find your reasons incredibly perplexing, but what are you gonna do.

 

[HeartlessNinny]

You should read the Wally series from the beginning. Just the Mike Baron run and the William Messner-Loebs runs that began the series. Especially the first 50 issues and first 3 annuals. If you like Johns' run, I really think you'd like it.

Yeah. I only really got into the Flash with Waid, so I'm a bit out of date. I bet I would like those -- if nothing else, I'm a fairly big Wally fan, and I kind of miss him (already).

 

[Taiso]

I thought Catwoman pandered to the 'popular' version of the character, the sex pot cat burglar that we're likely to see in the upcoming Arkham City.

I still really enjoyed it. The comic was pretty damn risque for a major supporting character from Batman's family of characters in a mass market reboot, but I still liked it on the intended level. I didn't think anything was 'bad' about it, if that makes any sense.

 

[HeartlessNinny]

I thought Catwoman pandered to the 'popular' version of the character, the sex pot cat burglar that we're likely to see in the upcoming Arkham City.

I still really enjoyed it. The comic was pretty damn risque for a major supporting character from Batman's family of characters in a mass market reboot, but I still liked it on the intended level. I didn't think anything was 'bad' about it, if that makes any sense.

Yep, I tend to agree. I wasn't the Brubaker Catwoman, or even the Pfiefer stuff, but it's still decent enough. I just didn't want it to suck, so I'm happy.

 

[Hikaru Ichijyo]

Not really digging the relaunch/reboot/rebirth/rewhatever so far.

 

[Hot Chocolate]

I gotta be honest with you, this all sounds kind of kooky to me. Some of the stuff you cite are reasons I like the guy so much (like the focus on developing the villains).

IT's one thing to have good villains to go up against good heroes, Johns for me has forgotten that last part

Some of the stuff you say is outright false if you ask me. Johns turned Jon Stewart into an angry black man!? Dude. That's not on Geoff Johns. If anything, he gave the character a more reasonable voice, not less. Check out some earlier 'jive-talkin' Jon Stewart if you don't believe me. I admit I wish he'd have done more with Jon and Guy, but there's only so much room in a book, and Hal was gone for a long time. I don't begrudge him the limelight.

Stewart under Johns has basically become the Sam Jackson that yells all the time, I know Stewart has a military background but that shouldn't be his lone attribute

Saying Dave Gibbons co-wrote the Sinestro Corps war is really, really generous. I love Dave quite a bit, but Geoff Johns plotted the whole thing. That was his baby from start to finish. Dave wrote the GLC issues, but that was it. The story/plot was all Geoff Johns. And it was friggin awesome.

He made his half more readable then Johns half, my hats off to Dave for taking his plot and making it work better then the guy who came up with it

War of the Green Lanterns was bad all around? What else do you hate? Oxygen? Orgasms? Those were awesome comics. The only thing I didn't like was the death of Mogo, but not everything is perfect. At least they had a good reason to kill him off -- he wouldn't have let the ring go to Sinestro.

Nothing happened for most of WOTGL, now it could have been that this could have been longer except the reboot/relaunch or that is how it was suppose to happened and things had to get rushed which is exactly how the end of it felt

Speaking of which, GL#1 is the cutoff? Why was Sinestro good until then? His characterization has been really consistent ever since GL: Rebirth #1. I find it very strange that you'd hate on him all of a sudden.

His characterization has it's just everyone around him that's changed, what could have been a interesting set up fizzled out the gate( also could have done without seeing Hal paying bills )

But hey, I asked and you told me. I find your reasons incredibly perplexing, but what are you gonna do.

Well we could hunt down Alan Moore and talk him into no longer holding grudges with comic publishers

 

[Hot Chocolate]

Finished Green Lantern Corps & Blue Beetle and they were mehs for me. I get why they showed the reasons for why Jon and Guy would willingly leave earth but Guy's been off planet for a long time( even reopened Warriors on OA ) and same with Jon, just thought that space could have been used to show some of the other mainstays to this title like Soranik, Kilowog, Isamot and Vath Sam who were m.i.a.

Blue Beetle felt like there was something missing but I'm willing to see how issue #2's will be



Also anyone here picking up Gladstone's School For World Conquerors besides me? Really a fun read about a school that teaches children of super villains the art of super villainy

 

[HeartlessNinny]

IT's one thing to have good villains to go up against good heroes, Johns for me has forgotten that last part



Stewart under Johns has basically become the Sam Jackson that yells all the time, I know Stewart has a military background but that shouldn't be his lone attribute



He made his half more readable then Johns half, my hats off to Dave for taking his plot and making it work better then the guy who came up with it



Nothing happened for most of WOTGL, now it could have been that this could have been longer except the reboot/relaunch or that is how it was suppose to happened and things had to get rushed which is exactly how the end of it felt



His characterization has it's just everyone around him that's changed, what could have been a interesting set up fizzled out the gate( also could have done without seeing Hal paying bills )



Well we could hunt down Alan Moore and talk him into no longer holding grudges with comic publishers

Guess we'll have to agree to disagree. To each their own, right?

 

[Late]

I just read local artist Matti Hagelberg's Silvia Regina, a rather snide social commentary on the state of the nation.

I really dig his style:

Also, the Gaiman/Amano Sandman was excellent.

What's going on in supderduper hero land, how's the latest Wankman vs. Dr.Evil "arc"?
*ninja edit*

Oh, I forgot this one, Perkele - myytillisiä tarinoita, it's about witchcraft in 17th century Finland, a real gem:

 

[Taiso]

I don't like his his fav characters at the expense of others. For example his Wally Flash run can be considered to actually be The Rouges featuring "The Flash", even had Cold mention how much Wally didn't matter as Barry was the Flash to be scared of and this became in more evident with Flash: Rebirth. Wally under Johns since Barry has been brought back has either been used to either tell Barry he can do it or catch a beating for Barry, in hopes to make Barry not so boring he had to retcon in Barry's mom getting killed and his dad taking the fall for it. At that point as a Wally fan I said you know let me put that aside and give Barry a chance which was a huge mistake on my part as his Flash/Barry run was horrible and worse then what his Green Lantern run became and still is.

Green Lantern: Rebirth was basically Johns love letter to Hal by making every character that shows up in it say how much they love Hal except for Batman who gets a sucker punch for not hopping onto the Hal bandwagon, Kyle who's brought back the Corps, Guardians and generally kept the book going barely shows up other then to be the guy who wonders if Hal's worth it then jobs to Sinestro then does nothing until the end except say "you're great Hal!". I know people like to give him credit for the Sinestro Corps War but people forget Gibbions was a cowriter on that and his GLC book was better then what Johns was doing, in Johns half we had Kyle basically doing a repeat of Emerald Dawn II in Hal's place while over with Gibbions there was a actual war going on, won't even get into how under him Stewart has turned into a angry black man or any progression Gardner made since Warrior has vanished.

+1

That is Johns' biggest weakness as a writer in my opinion, too. He doesn't know how to write the other characters and supporting characters of a single character's title.

I absolutely despised the desconstruction of the 'One punch!' mythology from the old JL comic book. Not that I'm a huge fan of Batman or anything (I like him and he's my favorite DC hero, but not my favorite superhero by a longshot) but it felt to me like Johns had been carrying a torch for that scene for years and years and finally got his opportunity to 'even the score.' It was unnecessary to do that, to even portray Batman in this light, in order to tell a good Hal Jordan story. Green Lantern: Rebirth was very indicative of of every problem Johns has as a writer.

The man is a decent enough scribe. I'd take him back on Avengers over Bendis any day. But his tendency to write the main characters of the arc to the detriment of everyone around him is a massive, massive weakness IMO.

And I don't want to hear 'well, Hal/Barry/whoever is the hero, you know.' Fuck that. A good writer can make the main protagonist shine without devaluing the other characters to do it. We see it in comics all the time, and Johns should know better.

I'll also agree that Johns has sort of fumbled the ball with John Stewart. He is 'angry black man green lantern' now. I hate that. He was a great character for a long time. But I don't like the current version very much.

Oh, and I will +1 the Mark Waid Wally West Flash run. As far as I'm concerned, that is the best version of the Flash I've every read. I am a big traditionalist when it comes to comic book heroes, but I liked how DC used to be the company that occasionally replaced their iconic characters with new people. I'm glad Barry and Hal are back and all that, but I really, really liked Wally as the Flash.

 

[Hot Chocolate]

Guess we'll have to agree to disagree. To each their own, right?

Indeed, fist bump

 

[HeartlessNinny]

+1

That is Johns' biggest weakness as a writer in my opinion, too. He doesn't know how to write the other characters and supporting characters of a single character's title.

I absolutely despised the desconstruction of the 'One punch!' mythology from the old JL comic book. Not that I'm a huge fan of Batman or anything (I like him and he's my favorite DC hero, but not my favorite superhero by a longshot) but it felt to me like Johns had been carrying a torch for that scene for years and years and finally got his opportunity to 'even the score.' It was unnecessary to do that, to even portray Batman in this light, in order to tell a good Hal Jordan story. Green Lantern: Rebirth was very indicative of of every problem Johns has as a writer.

The man is a decent enough scribe. I'd take him back on Avengers over Bendis any day. But his tendency to write the main characters of the arc to the detriment of everyone around him is a massive, massive weakness IMO.

And I don't want to hear 'well, Hal/Barry/whoever is the hero, you know.' Fuck that. A good writer can make the main protagonist shine without devaluing the other characters to do it. We see it in comics all the time, and Johns should know better.

I'll also agree that Johns has sort of fumbled the ball with John Stewart. He is 'angry black man green lantern' now. I hate that. He was a great character for a long time. But I don't like the current version very much.

Oh, and I will +1 the Mark Waid Wally West Flash run. As far as I'm concerned, that is the best version of the Flash I've every read. I am a big traditionalist when it comes to comic book heroes, but I liked how DC used to be the company that occasionally replaced their iconic characters with new people. I'm glad Barry and Hal are back and all that, but I really, really liked Wally as the Flash.

To bad Waid's return to the title was pretty... meh. Flash kind of fell apart for a while there.

Anyway. I don't have a problem with Hal cold-cocking Batman at all. Their very personas are antithetical. And it was pretty cathartic as a Hal fan, because he'd been a joke character for so long. I love Batman, but there's nothing wrong with putting him in his place once in a while.

I also think it's a bit unfair to say Johns can't do group casts -- he did help create literally dozens of coloured Lanterns, and as I already said, his ensemble work on The Flash was great (and that didn't come at the expense of Wally at all I thought).

It's also unfair to imply John Stewart was always a great character. That guy has been criminally mishandled so many times I've lost count. He's had some good moments for sure, and I won't try to deny that, but like I said, portraying him as an 'angry black guy' isn't Geoff Johns' fault.

Indeed, fist bump

Totally.

 

[Taiso]

To bad Waid's return to the title was pretty... meh. Flash kind of fell apart for a while there.

Yeah. It doesn't tarnish his original, magnificent run, but it sucks that he couldn't recapture it.

Anyway. I don't have a problem with Hal cold-cocking Batman at all. Their very personas are antithetical. And it was pretty cathartic as a Hal fan, because he'd been a joke character for so long. I love Batman, but there's nothing wrong with putting him in his place once in a while.

There are more thought provoking and better ways to 'put him in his place.' And anyway, there is no fucking way Hal Jordan just straight up lands a punch on Bats. Not even a Bats that was acting all maniacal and out of character but was still Bats. It's a shitty scene and has no business being written by a supposedly great writer.

And anyway, there was enough carthasis in there for Hal fans in seeing him redeem himself after the shitty Parralax storyline F'ed every Jordan fan in the A. Done and done.

I also think it's a bit unfair to say Johns can't do group casts -- he did help create literally dozens of coloured Lanterns, and as I already said, his ensemble work on The Flash was great (and that didn't come at the expense of Wally at all I thought).

His tendency to shit on other characters to make someone look good has to go. Other than that, he's fine on team books.

It's also unfair to imply John Stewart was always a great character. That guy has been criminally mishandled so many times I've lost count. He's had some good moments for sure, and I won't try to deny that, but like I said, portraying him as an 'angry black guy' isn't Geoff Johns' fault.

Acknowledging that there are better versions of the character pretty much validates the point that he can be used more effectively. It's important to be consistent with the character across all books, as that's something Marvel is TERRIBLE at. So if Stewart is 'angry black green lantern man' in one book, he should be that in all books. That is continuity.

But Johns is the guiding hand of all things GL. He fixed Gardner. He could fix Stewart, too. Easily.

Johns doesn't get a pass from me at all. He's always been hit or miss with me.