I am mostly distracted by how amateurish the art for Swamp Thing #1 looks! How did that shot of Superman make it into a debut?

Anyways, I think the lack of cohesion is nice. That way, I feel like I'm getting the full story without having to read someone else's book. That said, I haven't had the money to read New 52 anyways, so my vote doesn't count for much, huh?

Cohesion between titles isn't exactly necessary but it is nice when characters recognize other ones, even if it is just via conversations or other ways. I don't mind meetings or "crossovers", but a little goes a long way in that regard.

Having said that, though, just an observation which may be a bit of a complaint as well. DC has had a long history of utilizing multiple characters but over time, so many stories and plots and alternate universes have made it a bit overwhelming for newer fans to get into the DCU. I hope the new "52" will try and get it all on track.

I don't want the Justice League to come in and wrap up every mess a different hero gets into cos that would be boring, but I would like some more cohesion. Just a shot of Batman watching over Tim in Teen Titans for example would be nice, or in the end of the first arc the Justice League could show up to establish them. There's no way a bunch of teen heroes could run around without their adult analogues getting curious as to what's happening. Also some more communication would be nice, to ensure no characters are out of character. I think the writer of the biggest book should get a say on how the character is written (for example Azzarello should be consulted about how to write Wonder Woman in Batman: The Dark Knight)

@Sammo21 said:

I am more concerned with DCs strikingly apparent screwing up over the timeline in the new 52. All the things that are supposed to have happened in such a short amount of time is kind of alarming to me and something I don't think they fully thought through.

It wasn't, I maintain that they should've done a full on reboot. Either you nut up or shut up. If they had just gone from ground zero we could dead all the longtime reader concerns about who is/isn't around, what did/didn't happen. As far as this issue goes. I understand how a character having a different personality can be jarring. However I honestly think that's a simple fix. I follow a creative team, not a character. That being the case I don't read every Batman appearance so things like this honestly are a non-factor for me and others like me. Now I do read Batman/woman/JLD. Did I notice the differences in the Batmen? Sure but it wasn't anything so distracting that it took me out of the world. Okay, maybe that TERRIBLE dialogue for Bruce threw me off in Batwoman. Overall though when I notice a mischaracterization in a book that's not the main title I just shrug it off.

To add another angle to this topic. I think we longtime readers have a problem with objectivity. We often forget that many readers are not as dedicated or invested as we are. The minute details we go berserk over wouldn't even enter the minds of most others. A lot of the backstory, who's doing what when stuff that we blog, rant, and obsess about don't matter to these new readers. They're just reading stories on their own merrit. As a fan of Wolverine when I began reading monthlies again I used to burn brain cells trying to create a logical timeline for all the things he was doing at any given moment. Then I just did a Kanye shrug and said to myself "You know what Fu*k it...it really doesn't matter" Logan only existed in the book I'm reading. Likewise Batman exists in his title, and only exists in my other books when he pops up. This reboot has taught me to be a little less of an obsessive fanboy and just enjoy good stories.

@The Stegman:

I think that's always has been/will be a problem though. Anytime you have multiple writers handling a character you will always get wildly disparate portrayals despite editorials best efforts. The less cooks in the kitchen the better the meal.

DC is about two things right now drawing the line at 2.99 and makeing you feel that you don't have buy every title to get the story you want to follow, what it appears they are trying to do is figure out what the majority of the buyers of certain titles like it's logical for space/alien charcters to interact but I for one don't want to pick up 20 titles to get every story of the coming Daemonite War. The more books they try to make you to buy the less interested I am in picking up a monthly title I rather just wait for the trade or buy it digitally once they come out with a tablet with a screen as large as a open comicbook for an affordable price. Monthly paper comics will soon be rarity. I will relunctly buy the Helspont and Superman become roomates issue but I swear if this becomes a regular thing the only books I will buy will be Valiant Comics.

Okay that was a lot to read- but I think that about summed up everything for me with my thoughts about what was going in the DC universe. Okay so I have read the books that I have gotten and have been disappointed by some and happy with others. But overall- I jumped on the DCnU to restart my desire for reading decent comics again. For the last two years I have been exclusively reading Marvel Comics- and have been very pissed at the overall crap that was produced. Even the pride and joy of my comic collection (Thunderbolts) wen't down hill. It has been a best seller and the critics all agree that it has been a fantastic title since Heroes Reborn. But honestly the book as been crap since Dark Reign. It doesn't have the feel that it had when Busick started the title back in 1997- nor when Nicizia rebooted it with New Thunderbolts- at least those two titles felt like they were related, now not so much.

As for my comics for DC. When this started I was reading Teen Titans and Superboy. They were connected- however Superboy sucks, he's nothing like Connor was before hand and yes he is different in the two seemingly related titles. But more to the point, Superboy in his own title feels like he's trying to understand who and what he is, but then out of the blue he picks up the idea that he can be a jerk (My guess that must be the Lex Luthor dna within him- this of course has not been confirmed- for pete's sake, he's Superboy). But then when he shows up in Teen Titans he does feel like he's sort of the omnipitant pissant who will jump for joy because he is doing the deeds his masters have set him out to do. So all in all I dropped Superboy and have continued with Teen Titans. But I dropped the title not because of the difference in characters, but because it was a waste of my time to get all sorts of pissed about the difference in character development.

As for Red Robin, I prefer his character within Teen Titans- he's somewhat grown up, but still a teenager. In the Batman title I had read a few issues of, it seemed more like he was twelve. This same issue showed a seven year old Damian Wayne and a fifteen year old looking Dick Grayson. I'll pass.

I read Justice League- it takes places 5 years before current time. So a difference in character is allowed. Batman's still the shadowy figure we all love. Green Lantern is the Space Jockey. Aquaman is the ticked off oceanic prince. Wonder Woman is trying to figure out the world. Flash is still trying find time with being a hero and being Flash. Superman is pissed. And Cyborg well, he's pretty damn cool and hasn't appeared outside of Justice League.

The third title I read is Aquaman- his character is wildly different from what is portrayed in Justice League. But discovered that the character has grown, he shruggs off the cheap fish comments and is pretty bad ass. Time has helped his character grow. Superman on the other hand in his own title sucks, he's back to being the character that I first saw when I saw Superman the movie the first time. At least that was the feeling I got about Clark Kent. Superman on the other hand is depressed and I have no real idea why. Dropped the book, because I frankly just don't care. I'd rather read about the pissed off Superman who coldcocked Batman, just because he assumed something that was false, at least that Superman has a bit of edge to him and well probably isn't quite the big blue boy scout yet.

I read Flash's first four issues and I liked the story, but again I have seen him in 3 different books. In Justice League and Flash it's Barry Allen and he is relatively the same persona. But Seeing him appear in Batman: The Dark Knight- it felt like it was Wally and not Barry. Batman said he was late and Flash had to give the man an excuse. Why should Flash have to apologize for being late to a rescue? Now I didn't read issue two of this series, so I could be missing something. As for Wonder Woman's appearance. I don't read her regular title, but she seemed to be similar to the Diana I have grown to love watching the Justice League cartoon. But in the few panels I saw her in, made it seem that she was more mature and knew what was going on- but her appearance and the fire in the background made me wonder what was going on behind the scenes. Was she dealing with something in her own title, or some other thing.

I loved this article, because this has bothered me for quite sometime. I have so much trouble keeping up with these titles and all the different versions of one single character. I personally would like there to be maybe just 1 title per hero. or maybe 3 or so that have the authors collaborating with one another so that their universes don't collide.

I think there shouldn't be any crossovers for awhile. Big crossovers at least. I know that some of the characters have already appeared in other titles, and that is fine I think. It shows at least some of what we were used to before in terms of the heroes interacting.

Am I the only one who read Swamp Thing #1 and felt like Superman's appearance was originally written with the pre-DCnU Superman in mind? Sure, it had the new Superman's garb, but the dialogue sounded more like pre-DCnU Superman...

I have to wonder if that's been part of the problem with the continuity and tone of various characters in some of these first story arcs. The characters were written AS THEY WERE pre-DCnU, but the dialogue remained mostly untouched, and they were drawn in their DCnU costumes and put in the story anyway, even though some of the things they said didn't make much sense.

I've enjoyed cameos like Superman in Swampthing 1, but I'm not looking foward to something the scale of Blackest Night forming around the lady in pink(already forgot her name).

I think after some time goes by we will see interation with other titles but first the Dc reboot still needs time to settle in.

@SniffumsActual: agreed...im totally fine with whats going on in the dc world right now. I like reading batman or flash and just haveing batman or flash in the comic. I mean there is some characters showing up in other titles, but to be honest, to much of that i dont like because that means im going to have to maybe buy some titles that i dont necessarily like. And that really is a comic book pet peeve!

its time for a big DC event. this should be easy to do at the beginning of all titles!

@LordRequiem said:

Crisis on 52 earths next?!

sounds great to me. Why do so much people hate crises

I'm fine with the way things are now. Too much specific continuity can end up putting too much baggage on a stutter and get in the way of telling a good story.

If there is going to be a company-wide crossover, make it mean something, unlike all the Marvel "Status-quo-changers" that end up being erased by the next one anyway.

If there is going to be a company-wide crossover, make it mean something, unlike all the Marvel "Status-quo-changers" that end up being erased by the next one anyway.

No. Keep them the fuck away from each other. The constant crossovers are exactly what has kept new readers at bay for the past twenty-five years. Think critically about your own favorite medium.

I prefer there to be less crossovers.

BUT to have the comics feel realistic whatsoever, there has to be.

When every human on Earth knows about superman, yet he's never mentioned or seen helping people out of their league or something. It simply doesn't make sense.

@TadThuggish said:

No. Keep them the fuck away from each other. The constant crossovers are exactly what has kept new readers at bay for the past twenty-five years. Think critically about your own favorite medium.

This.

eh just different stories happening at different times. some 6 issue arcs take place only over a few days or weeks. whos to stay other stories cant happen within that "six month" period?

No. Superhero crossovers are generally really dumb. If someone dies, I don't need every book to be about "how THIS character deals with the death of Aquaman..." Yeah... great...

I don't want this New 52 building to a major, line-wide crossover. But if basic characters like Batman seem out of character from book to book - that's not a good sign.

YES! DARN IT, YES! I want to see Tim, Jason, and Dick all coming together for some sort of big investigation. I want Cassandra Cain back!

And Alex and friends from I, Vampire are traveling to Gotham, but will we really see any interaction between them and any of the capes there?

I totally agree that the last thing DC needs is to start the crossovers. Marvel should take a lesson.

No thanks. I get enough crossovers from Marvel. A breath of fresh air from DC is much appreciated.

I totally agree!

YES!...SORT OF...I just want to know who knows who and what has and hasn't happened with this "continuity." Since none of the Crisis's never happened how is Jason Todd here (originally it was Superboy Prime that brought him back) and did he even die? What about Hal Jordan did he become Parallax and/or Specter? What about Doomsday vs. Superman has Superman died? Is there a pissed of Superboy Prime somewhere? In Teen Titans #4 the Teen Titans are first named but in an earlier issue Tim (I think) mentioned other iterations of the team (this might have been said in another book but it was said) how is that possible? Also in Red Hood and the Outlaws Starfire doesn't remember Roy or her ex Dick Grayson, Garth, Lilith or Vic but in #4 after she awakens after her beat down she begins to say Richard. There's a bunch of questions I would like answered but with this new continuity who knows what will be addressed or if they will they even address any of these issues.

Hopefully they won't do a big crossover anytime soon, but the smaller stuff like the Batman crossover or the Swamp Thing and Animal Man one isn't that bad. It's actually kind of cool. I like that DC is trying to add cohesion in the stories, but just throwing in a character like Superman just to say "yeah we're still here" doesn't make it better. It needs to make sense and probably stay small scale for now.

I'ma firm believer that there should be lest connectivity between books. I mean isnt that what books like JLA were created for, to facilitate that kind of cohesion? I think continuity should go around the back of the shed and die quietly. It would make it infinitely easier for a new reader coming in, especially younger kids that can get lost in the morass. I mean the industry as a whole needs a younger generation getting involved to renew their consumer base. They cant do that if they keep hitting a brick wall of nigh-impenetrable continuity and crossovers. That a Diamond needs to implode on its self. But thats another rant.

And as to the point of differeing characterizations fo the same character, you can chalk that up to slipshod writing.

I like the idea of one writer being over a specific group of books. Snyder doesn't need to write every Bat-book [although I'd pick up every one of them he did!] but if you want Batman to sound and act like Batman in every appearance certain things should be run by an overseer. I hate that editors don't actually edit the books and just come up with the direction the titles will go. Directors for both writing and art should be brought in to make sure the characters look and sound the same throughout the universe. This would only need to happen for the larger "brands" within DC that have characters appearing across the board, like Batman, GL, and Young Justice. Since Superman only has two titles there's not much reason for him to have a director. The others could be directed by Snyder, Johns, and probably Lobdell respectively since he has multiple titles...

~KL~

The problem with this article's argument is it assumes cohesion was ever a large part of the DC universe. Even before the new 52 we had characters jumping the shark left and right, acting one way in their comic much different in another, different writers, artists, and story-lines made for a mix mash of motivations, inner voices, and morals.

This isn't a problem with DC comics, its a problem that plague ALL comic book universes large enough to have multiple people writing on the same character simultaneously. This isn't new; or did anyone else think Battle for the Cowl felt sounded, and looked NOTHING like Batman R.I.P even though it was the next chronological event. Flash's history and motivations were in constant flux, and the Darkest Night event (while still one of my favorites) changed many characters motivating factors and inner voices. (Though I might argue it changed many for the better)

Comic books exist in constant flux, they are pieces of over-arching stories, told and retold through the minds of literally hundreds of individuals and as such will never be 100% cohesive.

All that being said, are we not done with the annual events yet? Can we not finally settle down and have some adventures focused on the characters I actually picked the book up to read? Do I really want Superman popping up and ruining all of the weaker heroes stories with his immense collection of superpowers?

The new 52 has given me 52 separate stories that in many places interlock or reference other comics, but remain on the whole their own enjoyable story line(s) honestly, this is what I've been waiting for, a chance to settle down and let each comic book character stand on their own and voices their own strengths, rather than wait to see them all fight head to head to head to head against ANOTHER galaxy-threatening crisis.

Not every comic book needs to be an epic Lord Of The Rings saga; I want personable stories of good vs evil, (Batman or batman and Robin, Cpatian Atom) magical tales of far flung worlds or powerful organizations (Green Lantern, Stormwatch) horrific tales of things that go bump in the night, (Swamp Thing, Animal Man, I vampire) fun team books, with superhero crews doing their thang (Justice league International, Teen Titans) stories of strong, and yes, sexy women. (Wonder Woman, Voodoo, Batwoman)

While I am it, I want to thrill at seeing old characters in a new light (Aquaman, Batgirl, Grifter Catwoman,) cheer for heroic underdogs I never read before (Resurrection man, Red Hood and the Outlaws) and maybe curl up with a mini-crisis featuring some of my favorite heroes. (Justice League)

Getting the picture? The new 52 has done something a solid cohesive world could never do, give me stories of humor, heroism, horror, and honor through many different spectrum, moods, and voices. Do I want every comic to look and feel like Swamp thing and animal man? absolutely not, but at the point where i'm just reading 52 superman stories with different names is the point I stop reading.

Cohesion comes in many forms, it is the variety that makes comic books so constantly fresh and readable, let's not try to pen them to one event, style, or tone, let's experience them all at once!

No crossovers yet. We're only 5 months in.

NO.

A trillion times: NO.

We don't want DC becoming post-2004 Marvel where every issue is a part of an event or a continuing crossover. We want individual and self-contained story arcs with occasional crossovers done well - quality over quantity.

The new 52 is still new, and most of the series I read aren't even finished with their first arc yet! I say no crossovers into at least 3 arcs are over with to give them time to develop the characters.

I'm not a writer, nor am I in the writing buisness, but couldn't the discrepency between the way the characters behave be mitigated by having the writers of the characters communicate with each other, and have the editors oversee the process? I doesn't seem that hard.

Well marvel deals with super-powered characters and how they fit in the wider scope of a relatable earth, DC deals with larger than life characters and their legacies and distinct mythos so its not uncommon for their characters to feel isolated in their corner of crime fighting or w/e.

We need some more Superman/Batman crossover appearances. They have the best relationship.

@Bobzenub: <3

The characters should be better regulated, yes, but that's it. Anything more than that and it'll just be another big intimidating mess again.

@Bobzenub said:

NO.

A trillion times: NO.

We don't want DC becoming post-2004 Marvel where every issue is a part of an event or a continuing crossover. We want individual and self-contained story arcs with occasional crossovers done well - quality over quantity.

^This!

NUFF SAID!

Again, many are missing the point. No one is calling for crossovers. But when we have four Batman titles and they all feel like they have a different Batman in it, it's a problem. Tim Drake in Teen Titans is different that the one in Batman #1. There needs to be more consistency when the characters appear in other books.

Crossovers arent totally bad. I mean just look at Blackest Night. That was the perfect comic book event that involved crossovers. For starters each comic book that the event crossover into had key elements in the story. Say like if you read just Blackest Night but didnt ready the GL side of it. You would have missed the battle between the Black Lantern Spectre and Hal Jordan yet again possessed by Parrallax. On the other hand there were some stupid elements to Blackest Night like the Justice Society which I didnt even bother with. The Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman titles for Blackest Night were 3 issues long and had amusing key elements to the story. This proves that Crossovers can be done tastefully. But on the other side Marvel and their Fear Itself event was just ridiculous. I mean how many titles actually were carrying Fear Itself on it. WAY TO MANY!!!!! So I think DC does a pretty decent job of maintaining a balance and they do their best not to let the story get lost in translation.

There should be more cohesion between the Action Comics and LoSH. I mean how did they turn up in the past when time travel is impossible at this point? and whit different costumes to the ones in LoSH, how does that work?

man wow! it is crazy about that pink lady i cant wait to see more about her!

Crossovers are not the answer but the blame is on editors. It is their job to make sure characters, stories, etc don't seem out of place from book to book. I don't know how the books editors are divided but I know in Marvel they tend to have someone per say Spider-Man or X-Men for all those books.

Nail on the head! There should at least be footnotes explaining when events in one book happen compared to another, which i have noticed in a few issues. I make alot of assumptions,like i assumed in batman #4 when nightwing said he has a plane to catch he was referencing the plane he took in nightwimg #2, and i assume batman #1 takes place sometime in 2012 since in #1 tim drake is recognized as a titan member while in teen titans #4 theyre just now forming on new years eve. But i could be making an arse of myself...

I think it's just a symptom of making a new universe, the last one had a good 20 years to put it all together, this one has been around for just a few months.

i would like to see the justice league teamup with stormwatch

Personally no. I deeply hate damian wayne, I just want him to die..gosh, anyway I wouldn't want damian in any crossovers between comics, aside from that I enjoy the titles alone, they're not bad, a crossover would be nice but maybe later when we understand the comic more.