So now that we're halfway through the DCnU's first month I've been reading some new reader reactions to the titles. It's certainly been a mixed bag and interesting to see them. One common thread I noticed was that almost all of the new readers wanted to get an Origin issue for the #1. As a longtime reader that's the total opposite of what I wanted. In fact, had that been the case I'd have likely dropped the books or at the very least hated every moment of reading the new stories. I do agree that going with a "soft reboot" was a terrible idea, but all things considered DC's really in a tough place. I mean, is there any way to truly satisfy loyal, longtime readers while being totally accessible and appealing to new buyers?

I still feel it would've been better to have the younger heroes beginning to take the place of the current ones, as opposed to just de-aging the current ones *grumble grumble*

Ranting aside, I'm also glad not every #1 is an origin story. I guess all the furor is about people not being sure about what's canon and what isn't, and a well-written origin story would solve that, to some extent anyway. I say that people should stop dicking around with what's canon for a while and just enjoy the stories for what they are. But perhaps I'm biased. I'm only following stuff like Demon Knights and Resurrection Man, whose characters got little/no attention pre-Flashpoint to begin with.

@Adnan said:

I still feel it would've been better to have the younger heroes beginning to take the place of the current ones, as opposed to just de-aging the current ones *grumble grumble*

Ranting aside, I'm also glad not every #1 is an origin story. I guess all the furor is about people not being sure about what's canon and what isn't, and a well-written origin story would solve that, to some extent anyway. I say that people should stop dicking around with what's canon for a while and just enjoy the stories for what they are. But perhaps I'm biased. I'm only following stuff like Demon Knights and Resurrection Man, whose characters got little/no attention pre-Flashpoint to begin with.

Totally dig what you're saying. I'm less concerned with cannon and want to take these stories as they are right now. I can appreciate nods to pre Flashpoint continuity, but it won't make or break a story for me. As a vet, I'm glad that most of the books I read have opted to just tell stories and not bore me with an origin.

No complaints from me, a majority of the titles I've read have been great.

@The_Tree:

I've enjoyed most of the books I've read, but still feel that a good bit of issues felt rushed and less polished. But all the stuff I've read has done what it needed to do to hook me for at least an arc.

@JonesDeini: What books are you most unsure that you'll stay on?

I'm pretty wary on Men of War, Deathstroke, Suicide Squad, and Superboy.

I'm going to wait and see if Suicide Squad keeps Captain Boomerang as a main character, if not, I'll probably leave the title.

@Adnan: I still feel it would've been better to have the younger heroes beginning to take the place of the current ones, as opposed to just de-aging the current ones *grumble grumble*

THIS... RIGHT HERE....

Let the characters age... Let them go through normal life spans and life changes... LET new characters come along....

Instead of de-aging them constantly, while at the same time bringing new characters into the comic book universe... What happens ten or twenty years from now when they de-age Batman yet again, and Robin has grown children who will then be super heroes? Super-Man's children or clones or other discovered relatives will be there. How many Flash's will we have then??? Perhaps by then there will be ONLY super heroes and super villains...

To read comic books one has to suspend belief to a certain point. You cannot enjoy fiction if you don't. But there should be SOME limit to how much belief in reality one must have... If you have NO limits, then the story really has no meaning... For example, comic book super heroes never REALLY die... Sure they die 'temporarily' but they don't STAY dead... So, when they die, it's really not that big of a loss because we know they're coming back eventually... I did a forum on this and made of list of characters that died and came back compared to characters that have died and stayed dead... MOST (not all) but MOST come back... So, since comic book super heroes always come back from death, the impact that the death of a character is supposed to have, is lessened....

But it's not just in the area of death that the super heroes have no real limit... They also are basically young forever...

- Magneto was held as prisoner by the Nazis during the Holocaust... He was a teenager... Here it is, roughly 70 years later and he has the body of a man in his mid 30s... The same is true for Professor X... Super Man... Batman... Captain America..... So, time itself becomes less precious in the comic book world... These characters aren't worried about their biological clocks... The young ones are in no hurry to finish college, they basically have forever... There's no concern about having children while they're still young for super heroes, because they will always be young...

There's less concern for Super Heroes regarding getting hurt. They all seem to completely heal from anything. I'm not referring to Wolverine and all those who have his healing factor. Consider the damage suffered by Batman alone. He's supposedly human with no super powers and yet... Does he even have a scar anywhere on his body? How about Night Wing? How about Hawkeye? Not even death can leave a scar on their bodies? REALLY? Barbara Gordon is walking again! But she's not the first to pull that feat off. How many times has Charles Xavier been in a wheelchair? Some of us felt a real sense of loss when Babs was shot and ended up in that wheelchair. And we felt a sense of triumph when she continued the fight against evil IN SPITE of being confined to a wheelchair... Now, that's been taken from us...

So... Super heroes will come back to life if they die... They will, eventually, heal from any wound they suffer... They will never feel pressured by a lack of time to complete the big things in life that most of us struggle with...

And let's be honest and realistic about these reboots... At the heart of the reboot, is simply the writers need to de-age the characters and undo damage to them....

@The_Tree:

JLD Dark can be either a total triumph or an utter failure. With those characters not being "team" characters seeing him make them work as a team should really be interesting. I don't "need" another Batman book with Snyder doing the main book. So if I'm not wowed by the end of this Batman and Robin arc I'll likely drop it. Demon Knights didn't wow me like it did most others, but I very much enjoyed it. It needs to meet it's (huge built in) potential to keep me on board. Stormwatch felt a bit rushed, but has a great hook that very much appeals to me. It has an interesting cast/concept that if executed properly can keep me reading for years. Hopefully Cornell/Sepulveda will rise to the occasion and create at the level I know they can.

@Timandm:

DC moving away from their legacy characters really is a foolish move. It's the one core pillar they have that, more than any other, separates them from Marvel. Post 2,000 DC's been responsible for some of the worst retrogressive storytelling I've been unfortunate enough to have read.

so far...so good...except for Mr. Terrific...he was...not terrific at all

@The Stegman:

LMAO I've been actively avoiding certain titles...that is mosdef one of them.

@JonesDeini: I'm feeling the same on JLD and Stormwatch. I sort of agree on Batman & Robin, but I won't be so quick to leave, because I really loved the Dark Knight, White Knight arc.

@The_Tree:

Oh I loved Tomasi's arc too, but I don't necessarily need another Bat book. I'm already now reading Batwoman which I hadn't planned on, so there goes Nightwing's spot, folk.

I think some characters are great and others are meh. As far as quality, I think it's about the same place DC was at before, just things are shifted around a bit. But it still seems like it was a good idea because the revamp—stunt or not—is giving a good return and invigorating comics as a medium. Every little bit helps and I think this initiative is helping the industry.

@JonesDeini:I'm a little unsure as to if I'll stick with Batwoman. I'm not too huge on the writing, but the art is amazing. I'm just unsure on if I want to stick with a book solely for its art.

@fodigg:

Yeah, pretty fair assessment, folk. I'm reading roughly the same amount of books as I was before if not less. But this reboot's given me Snyder on Batman, Constantine being written by his current writer in the DCU, The return of Shade the Changing Man, Swamp Thing back in excellent hands, Animal Man being written excellently, A beautiful Batwoman monthly, left field fun like Frankenstein/Demon Knights, books with loads of potential like Stormwatch, and I can look forward to minis like Robinson's upcoming Shade! So Yeah, while not an ideal situation, I must say I'm satisfied with how it's turning out as of now.

@The_Tree said:

No complaints from me, a majority of the titles I've read have been great.

Cosigned.

@JonesDeini said:

@fodigg:

Yeah, pretty fair assessment, folk. I'm reading roughly the same amount of books as I was before if not less. But this reboot's given me Snyder on Batman, Constantine being written by his current writer in the DCU, The return of Shade the Changing Man, Swamp Thing back in excellent hands, Animal Man being written excellently, A beautiful Batwoman monthly, left field fun like Frankenstein/Demon Knights, books with loads of potential like Stormwatch, and I can look forward to minis like Robinson's upcoming Shade! So Yeah, while not an ideal situation, I must say I'm satisfied with how it's turning out as of now.

Good list.

Demon Knights is my new Secret Six I think.

I really liked

Detective Comics, Batman and Robin, Suicide Squad, JLA, JLI, Men of War, Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Stormwatch, and Superboy.

I didn't like/hated

Demon Knights, Red Lanterns, OMAC, Static Shock, and Green Arrow (the worst of the lot so far)

The rest were ok. I still haven't read Deathstroke though >:(

@The_Tree:

The writing was solid, and the plot has me hooked, but only time will tell. I do feel like not having Rucka writing will be a big loss for the book.

@fodigg:

Yeah, I definitely see that kind of potential in the series.

@The Stegman:

I'm definitely interested in seeing where Azzarello takes Diana. Hope she finally get's the title she deserves. I'm very tempted to try Wonder Woman #1 since I have less Marvel/Image/Vertigo books than usual this week.

I didn't like Action, don't know why, it just didn't work for me...

I enjoyed Detective and ABSOLUTELY adored Batgirl. Deathstroke and Grifter were just OK.

Batwoman and Batman and Robin were sold out, so I'll have second prints Wednesday.

Also picking up Wonder Woman, Captain Atom, Supergirl, Batman, Nightwing, Catwoman and Red Hood.

@JonesDeini:

So far I've bought:

1. Detective Comics
2. Batwing
3. Green Arrow
4. Batgirl
5. JLA
6. JLI
7. Red Lanterns
8. Static Shock
9. Batman and Robin
10. Grifter
11. Superboy
12. Action Comics
13. Green Lantern
14. Mr. Terrific
15. Suicide Squad
16. Resurrection Man (haven't read it yet)

The two that I didn't really like were JLA #1 and JLI. Aside from that, I either really liked or didn't hate the rest of them.

Here are the ones that I plan on getting:

1. Supergirl
2. Justice League: Dark
3. Batman #1
4. Batman: The Dark Knight
5. Nightwing
6. Birds of Prey
7. Red Hood and the Outlaws
8. Green Lantern Corps
9. Green Lantern: New Guardians
10. Catwoman
11. Teen Titans
12. Voodoo
13. Captain Atom
14. DC Universe Presents #1
15. The Flash
16. The Fury of Firestorm

@jrock85:

Man, oh, man...no way I could even consider buying that many with my present pull list.

@Adnan said:

I still feel it would've been better to have the younger heroes beginning to take the place of the current ones, as opposed to just de-aging the current ones *grumble grumble*

i agree with this. I like the showing of time moving on and evolution rather than just starting again from an earlier point

@The Stegman said:

so far...so good...except for Mr. Terrific...he was.. Puts on sunglasses ...not terrific at all..... YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

Fixed.

I don't find origin, or overdoing the introduction to the character issues necessary as a long time fan in the case the character is well enough known by the public
at large. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and The Flash immediately spring to mind as they are characters the public at large knows well, and in some sense
they've become legends to the point that the details of their origins do not matter as much as just who the characters themselves are. In the case of new introductions, especially in anything meshed with a prior alternate universe, I can see where it was needed to an extent, but in writing the origin could be opened up later (I wish superhero films followed this progression more actually, I think it would lend to cleaner storytelling). Batgirl #1 was a good example of a comic that while it touched on the past, jumped right into the present at the starting gun, and I thought it worked well, one of my favorite New 52's so far actually.

I think newer readers could've gotten the origins they wanted without writers turning whole issues into origin issues. A few books pulled that off, recapping how the character got started without focusing the whole issue on it. Some didn't give readers anything and are probably going to be worse off for it. Static Shock is pretty screwed right now, all things considered. 
 
The relaunch has been okay for me so far. A few pretty good books have come out of it. Only a few have really pissed me off. 

@Blurred View:

If I was reading all these books I'd be a lot less optimistic about this :P

@Blurred View said:

@JonesDeini: Oh yes. You probably would be. I can't believe we're only halfway through this. I've already read and reviewed more books than I normally would in two months. I can't wait to cull my reading list in October. Man, I'm tired.

I can imagine, folk. I have a huge playlist as is. reviewing all 52 would kill me. That'd be a full time job.

After reading Wonder Woman #1 I've gotta say I just love how DC's letting these artists create and go for broke. These books will truly show what a writer and artists have deep inside.