Good. Brought me into ongoing comics. Ive read one offs and graphic novels for a couple years. But My first trade from an actual ongoing was Batman Vol. 1: Court of Owls. Since then I've grown my pull list to about 15+ titles. The comics industry has made out and so have I.

So to give you the short answer, yes, it has done much good.

Good. It got me into DC comics. Now my entire pull (except for TMNT) is DC.

I've lost interest and dropped a lot of DC titles since new 52. It's got me into reading other publishers I probably wouldn't have had time for before.

what's a pull list

Equal.

Good for some characters (Aquaman) and bad for others (Wonder Woman).

I was mostly just a Marvel reader but gradually worked my way onto all of the "big" DC titles the old fashioned way: by either picking up random issues or waiting for new story arcs or jumping on points, around about the 52 weekly series (NOT the 52 relaunch). I was still relatively new to the DCU when they did the New52, 5 years after I'd started. I picked up and read even more titles upping my pul list to over half of their 52, but gradually dropped down to less than I was reading before the relaunch, thanks to boring "gritty" and altogether "same-y" stories, and I'll be honest downright terrible art and pointless creative team switches. Books like Action Comics and Swamp Thing felt like they ended when their original creative teams left and so on..

So I guess it was good for short term sales, and I'm really glad some books exist now that didn't before, but ultimately DC is getting less money from me than they once were.

@jacobsben: A pull list is an agreement between a comic shop and a customer in which the store purchases a copy of whatever books the buyer wants on a regular basis with the understanding that the buyer will purchase them in a reasonable amount of time. It's much like a subscription system, but more personal and timely. Or it can mean the comics that you collect or "pull" each month.

@dark_guyver: SO that's what it means

Another question I had was were do you stand on Dc's general direction

I picked equal. It's revitalized DC and brought in new readers, but at the cost of throwing out over 70 years of history.

@pokeysteve: Really? Every person I've heard has held WW as one of the top new 52 titles (with Aquaman). After catching up with it I'd have to agree.

But on topic: harm. Trying to cram origin-present in 5 years F'd things up severely. Especially with the age of Bruce's former son....did no one think of that??

I've been reading Wonder Woman for a long time and hate what they're doing with the character. Most of the hardcore WW fans agree. Azz's run seems to be better at attracting new readers.

Its not the first reboot they've done I don't know why people act like it is.

@lightsout: actually there is an answer to that

I'm collecting more DC titles (in collected trade form) now than I have in a long time, so I would say that it has been good. There are things that I don't like about it (no Stephanie Brown or Cassandra Cain and the 5 year timeline doesn't make a lot sense right now), but I'd say overall, it's good because a lot of good titles with really good writing and artwork have come out of this relaunch, and to me, that's the most important thing right there.

I was conflicted, but I voted equal.

There's no denying that the recent reboot is a big reason I read so many DC books. I'm terrified of trying to jump into a book with dozens or hundreds of issues behind it, and so the restart helped me. And I think it has drawn in a lot of new readers. But the more I learn about the characters who existed before, and how many great ones are either nonexistent or distorted beyond recognition, the more I question whether it was worth it. I get the sense that for each reader they brought in, they probably also pissed off a faithful one, and it's rare to see a book universally praised by old fans and new.

Although I was disappointed by the erasing of history, I think it was a good idea. Revitalized characters, brought in more readers and eliminated all that mumbo-jumbo of "secret-origins" like Marvel is doing with Iron Man.

Why does the number of issues scares you. As long as you do some kind of research you can easily find a good reading order and jump on points here the trades also helps a lot since you more or less gets a hole story with some exceptions. I really don't understand this.

@tupiaz: Exaggerating a bit. But I like to know everything, and I don't really have the time or money to devote to catching up on a lot of the longest-running books. The ability to read all of something is appealing to me, I guess. But honestly, I was exaggerating about being "scared." I just find starting something new, without all the homework, a lot more appealing. With DC, starting with post-Flashpoint, everything before just feels like extra credit.

Oh yea? I just read the "pre52 reboot" of WW (aka the pants), and am beginning some v2 stuff (and v3 after that). Not to get into huge details but what sort of major things were changed that you disagree with?

@jacobsben ..saying that without saying that answer is a bit useless (and I'm assuming you were referring to Damian's age. (Not that that is even the only issue with the arbitrary 5-year period)).

The two MAIN things that bother the eff out of me are her origin change. Gift from the gods to daughter of Zeus. She's female Hercules now. No originality. And then the demeanor of the other Amazons.

Those are the two biggest things and there are a bunch of little things. I'm excited for Azz to leave and DC to bring someone else in.

I gotta say this. I was about to go here, but this summarizes the huge rant I was going to put out here.

Some characters got to be put up in the well known ranks again, at least that's how I see it. Like Swamp Thing for example, New 52 surely helped him out.

However, other characters and their history totally got smacked down. It's honestly all in what characters your favor, and how New 52 treated them. I could be biased, and say New 52's Lobo, which appeared in the New 52 Deathstroke series was horrid [Gotta keep in mind Liefield was behind it, and that battle was horrendus]., and because of that I don't like New 52. However, I do enjoy Swamp Thing as well.

There's the big picture to look at as well. Overall, it ticked off some old readers, however it brought in a fair amount of new ones. So, business wise? I'd say it did alright.

I voted equal. Was it worth it to scrap the past of iconic characters for more sales and new readers, while losing older fans in the process? Some may say yes, some may say no.

Harm especially in terms of the long run.

The effects are equal.

Yes, it has brought more readers, but it has erased some stories from continuity.

Though I'm a self confessed proponent of the n52, you have to look at how it affects the comic community in its entirety and not just what I think.

I think its done more good. People forget this wasnt even the first reboot, it will just take time. Personally speaking it's made me more of a fan of the DC universe than Marvel.

Apparently, it got a lot of new readers, but I miss the history and legacy.

The new 52 has a problem, that comics has had for a long time: to many story lines. I collect old comics as a hobby, and I have noticed that many of the issues tells a story in itself, without a conclusion in the next issue. If people should have a chance to get in to comics, they should be able to pick up a comic they see that get there attention, buy it, and then get a story instead of the middle of a story, the end or part 7 out of 9.

it made dc crap. sure there are some good books out there, just good. but that's it. no history, no legacy, nothing. just a big sign at dc HQ saying: we will do anything for a buck. and that is why i hate new readers that complain that there's to much history or dont know where to start. these arent the 70s 80s. you want something flimsy read archie. you really want to read batman or supes or spidey do a little research. same with video games. i remember when video games were hard. now you have to pay extra to get the hard difficulty.

Harm.

I began reading comics a few months after the 52 run began. It makes me feel like I'm finally

on the same page as every one else so I can't really say I dislike it. Sure, certain things happen that make me question what in the world is going on or what does that

character mean? But, a little research here and there has filled in the gaps for me. Including this site. Call me the book rookie.

Pay extra? I don't know anything about that, but there's those pay to win kind of games, those Facebook socialite games. There's still a lot of hard games out there, I regularly play Contra 4 on my DS and it's hard as dolomite.

I really don't mind the New 52 I got into comics when it debuted, I'll probably more angrier if I jumped in during the middle of Post Crisis. It's good to me since it made it easier for me to jump in the thick of things. A relaunch would have been so much better, but it's the best I've got. Without the New 52 I'll probably still be cracking Aquaman jokes.

@lightsout: Damian wasn't born naturally he was grown in a tube it's quite likely that his genetics were modidified thtat he age rapidly past his development years to the point he was 10 evidence of this has been shown in batman inc

@akbogert said:

@pokeysteve: Ah. I would prefer the clay-origin too, but I wouldn't say the change has really affected the story much for me. (That is, while Diana may now have to "deal with that", it's only a small part of her personality). Oh, I guess I haven't read enough to get a handle on the "demeanor" of the Amazons (though they haven't been featured much in the new52).

Harm. Previously established continuity has basically been destroyed, most legacy heroes that people have grown to love are no more, tons of characters have been erased, and there's been a mass exodus of great creators due to incredibly poor management.

Good. It has gotten me interested in side characters I would have passed over before. It's a bummer for longtime Batman and Superman readers, but you get a guy like Scott Snyder to start off the series, it's hard to go wrong.

Harm. They screwed most of my favorites, the ongoings I gave a chance have been canceled, and the few good things that happened didn't need a reboot to be possible.

New 52. BAH.

I chose equal.

The clay origin was unique and set her apart. She had no classification. Now she's a demi-god. It was just an unnecessary change. I would have gone into more detail about the Amazons but I don't know how much new stuff you've read. Don't want to spoil anything for you.

@pokeysteve: Very considerate, thank you :)

@lightsout: I try. You're welcome and thank you.

This although they changed many of favorite stories and the timeline is a mess. I'd say roughly equal.

I voted for Equal.

Equal. Some of the things I find good are Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and Justice League of America. The things I find bad are the things DC did to Static and of course, the retarded decision to cram everything into a five year timeline.

@pokeysteve: Personally I've enjoyed the New 52 Wonder Woman.

Harm

it might have increased sales for a while but most of the content have been terrible, the treatment of the creators have been terrible and most of the reboots have been terrible or pointless.

Im not saying that there arent any good books, but the bad heavily overweights the good.

The fact that we expect and don't contest cyclic cancellation based on low sales is kind of disturbing for the industry

It's done so much good for the world like cure cancer and solve world hunger.

I said equal. It revitalized a lot of the characters, but hurt a lot of others. However, as of late, I've noticed DC doing a lot of course correcting: getting new writers on books that weren't working, bringing in new writers in general, etc.

If anything, I'd break it down this way.

Benefitted from the New 52:

• Wonder Woman
• Aquaman
• Flash
• Jason Todd
• Supergirl (she seems more mature to me now, while she seemed a bit teeny-bopperish before; plus, the past of the Supergirl(s) was so convoluted)
• New Gods (like the way they're handling them)
• Animal Man (D-lister who was in the spotlight for a while and whose book got a lot of attention and has continued to be of consistently good quality)
• Swamp Thing (same as Animal Man)
• John Constantine (he's sort of like the Batman of the magic users in the DCU now)
• Deadman (he's being utilized more now, which is something I appreciate since he was always a favorite of mine)

Suffered from the New 52:

• Catwoman
• Teen Titans
• Superman (Superman Unchained and Batman/Superman look promising, though)
• Justice League (like what they're doing now and I hated the run before the reboot, but miss the a lot of JLA canon)
• Barbara Gordon
• Static :(

Unclear:

• Batman (it appears that most of the continuity carried over, but compressed and altered to some extent)
• Green Lantern (same issue with Batman)
• Suicide Squad (really good now, but was a bit iffy in the first two years)
• Green Arrow (phenomenal now, but was bad in the first two years)