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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

The New 52 Double Splash!

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Well there you go! Its Christmas in August for Aqua-fans as DC Comics concludes the first year of its New 52 books with the simultaneous release of Aquaman #12 and Justice League #12 today! Were they late or was this synchronicity planned? Look at those covers and you tell us...

It was this week last year that Flashpoint #5 and Justice League #1 were released and we don't think its an exaggeration to say that nobody had a clue just how much of an impact the New 52 would have upon the comic book industry back then.

Needless to say, in terms of both unit sales and increasing the public's awareness of DC's iconic properties, the New 52 has been a resounding success and while some still argue that DC sold out its grand 70+ year legacy for a gimmick -- one thing appears clear from the publisher: There's no going back now.

So with that said, we're going to take a "deeper" look at the past twelve months for the King of the Seven Seas when we recap these issues on Saturday and we'll be asking for your thoughts on Aquaman's first year then...but for now please feel free to leave us your comments about the New 52 in general--What was gained? What was lost? And what does it mean to you as a fan today?

12 comments:

Rock Roche said...

Everything was gained, nothing lost.

I know some people who just started getting into the character with Brightest Day and wanted to see Jackson Hyde - Aqualad. But, I feel his inclusion should be saved for later. Building up Arthur's history and relationship with Mera is perfect.

Looking forward to the Mystery of Atlantis arc and Ocean Master. The art has been beautiful and it's going to be sad to see Reis leave, if the rumors are true, but I'll be continuing this series forever.

Been an Aquaman fan since Infinite Crisis #3. Started reading his series with One Year Later, which made me go back to hunt his old comics and now I'm a huge fan. Been supporting him while he had no book and the New 52 has been everything I wanted in a Aquaman ongoing.

Ryan said...

Ive seen in phrased in a few different places:

"With so much lost to the New 52, was it really worth it just to get a good Aquaman book?"

For me, the answer is wholeheartedly YES.

Designer Daddy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Designer Daddy said...

I agree with Ryan! Not that it was the entire reason for The New 52, but Aquaman (and his fans) are known for being long-suffering, so we deserve some limelight! :)

And in general, I don't mind TN52. I've got all my old comics and memories for when I get nostalgic. Besides, I always enjoy a good shake-up/reboot/remix of things.

I do hope they bring back an Aqualad (or two) real soon. Both characters were strong and interesting. Aquaman's got a great group of sidekicks on the Young Justice animated show, so I don't see why he can't have 2 or 3 or 4 in the comics world.

Earth 2 Chris said...

In my opinion, what has been successful with the new 52 could have been done without throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Aquaman's series could have spun straight from Brightest Day, and the revised origin could just be chalked up to selective reimagining...happens all the time.

It's a mismanaged mess with a few bright spots...but I'm an old curmudgeon now, so what do I know?

Chris

collectededitions said...

A lot gained. A more modern, diverse Justice League, and a stronger foundation to tell DC Comics stories going forward. That DC should be beholden to continuity and storytelling tropes established in the 1940s doesn't make a lot of sense nor was it a good bedrock to attract the next generation of comics fans.

We have lost some fan-favorite characters, including Wally West, Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown, and various incarnations of the Teen Titans. At the same time, writers had been struggling to find good stories for all of those characters for a while, Brown excluded, so to some extent this all seemed a necessary bit of mercy.

There has been some new series clunkers, but also plenty of good ones -- Animal Man, Frankenstein, Batwing, Batgirl, just to name a new. And I like the overall modern espionage tone of the DC Universe, with the various government agencies trying to outflank one another. Overall, I think we've gained more than we've lost.

Anonymous said...

Hard to say. Both Batman & Aquaman books have been excellent but the majority of the New 52 have felt uninspired at best. Superman, Flash, & GL have been boring as hell, WW looks like its a Vertigo book now and titles which should have been awesome (Green Arrow, Blue Beetle, Firestorm, Mister Terrific, Hawkman etc.) are terrible and looming near or are already cancelled. And don't get me started on what a HUGE disappointment DC's team books are. I dont care how much theyre selling.

Shellhead said...

Lost: Teen Titans and Secret Six. I really liked the latter, and I have the classic Perez run from the 80's on up from the former.

Gained: Class AQUAMAN and Batgirl. These are two HUGE wins for me. I never liked Oracle and we're all aware of the trails and tribulations of the Sea King for the past 30 years.

So I'm in favor of the revamp, but parts of it sting.

Randy Meyer said...

The only thing I miss in the New 52 is the loss of legacy. While I understand the thinking behind making Superman the first hero again, I still miss the All-Star Squadron, the JSA and all the other Golden Age characters. The whole reason why comic book superheroes were created for has been completely abandoned!!

Again, I understand the thought process. I'm 42 years old and have been reading comics for 2/3 of my life. I still miss it. Good thing I still have my back issues.

That being said, the fact that Aquaman is back on the A-list of superheroes definitely makes up for that to me!! LOL

Anthony said...

Not a fan of the "New 52", sorry. It feels like every negative trend I dislike about recent DC books (shock-value violence, humorless heroes, etc.) combined with some weird 90s renaissance (the ugly costumes) and bad fan fiction ideas (pretty much everything done to Wonder Woman). As for Aquaman, I'm glad he's doing well, but... don't like his New 52 version. I liked him as-is before... please don't banish me. :-)

About the only nice things I can think of about it is A) an attempt at more diversity (even if they axed Mr. Terrific, etc.), and B) going same-day digital (even if it's DRMed comics). Otherwise, I'll stick with reprints/the DC kids' line for my fill of DC in the future...

Russell said...

I gotta agree that I miss the "legacy" of the universe. I understand that 70 years of history is maybe too much, but...zero? Really? Specifically, I miss the Justice Society and the Teen Titans, two of my old favorites. I miss the JLA being THE super-group, and not just A super-group (who couldn't get along even after 5 years). Aquaman is fine, but I'm afraid of all this "i'm not the man you think I am" stuff. I'll keep reading his book, obviously, but I'm already tired of everything else.

But I'm not the targeted audience.

Michael Holloway said...

I LOVE Aquaman in the New 52 series and I can't wait for more. I really like the searching for the lost relics of Atlantis storyline.