Has anyone else noticed how potentially villainous the current group of west coast X-Men appear? Let's take a look at a few of the prominent members in their roster:
Magneto - Former villain, mutant terrorist, and threat to humanity. Purported to be returning to his old ways soon. (Upcoming comic in November.)
Cyclops - While Scott is good-intentioned, many seem to feel that his methods are becoming too hard-line, and wonder if he is on the road to becoming a villain himself.
Emma Frost - Former White Queen of the Hellfire club, she was a long time enemy of the X-Men.
Colossus - Not villainous, but to the public he may now appear to be, given that he now has the powers and some of the appearance (with helmet on) of the former Juggernaut.
Namor - He started out a villain and has often has been at odds with humanity.
Now I'm not saying that they are in fact evil villains, but their new team sounds like a real P.R. nightmare, given the image this will present the population of humanity on their doorstep. It certainly won't help the X-Men under Cyclops' leadership, and the fact that half their team up and left, is something that won't be lost on the public either. Remember that issue of Uncanny X-Men where they were trying to smooth things over with their neighbors, regarding the presence of Magneto on the team? Yes, these people have been with them a while now, but with the removal of so many other characters, their presence seems like it would be more glaring to the public. Their P.R. team has their work cut out for them.
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I keep trying, but the New 52 feels... Fake. Like the stories they're telling lack the substance the old ones did. Maybe it's because I can't be certain they'll continue long enough for my investment of time to make it worthwhile? Possibly, it's that they lack a certain historic weight, something the older stories had. I don't even know much about what's retconned, and what isn't. While I understand the benefits of cleaning house from time to time, it seems so stupid to throw away the certainty of the past. It's like a foundation is missing, a grounding that made me know where I was.
That, and the New 52 is going even further with two trends I hate in today's society...
Making everyone younger to appeal to an increasingly age intolerant culture.
Over-sexualizing characters, especially women, to pull in more sales. (Beyond what was commonly done before.) The performances of Starfire and Catwoman did not impress me.
For the books I've read, the artwork is generally fabulous, the writing acceptable, but what I mention in the first paragraph keeps ruining it all for me. So far, the only book that's managed to remain partially immune has been Nightwing. (Even if I far prefer his black and blue suit to the new red/black model.) I spent so much time and and money just getting into the DC universe, and they pulled it out from under me. Perhaps it's not all retconned, but I don't know what isn't yet, and that has made for a very unsatisfying experience...
I'm 90% certain that I'll be cancelling all my "New 52" subscriptions, with the exception of Nightwing. In time, their universe may stabilize, and I can take another look then via Trade Paperbacks. Then again, I might just delve into issues from before the "revamp" and stay there until I run out of content. I wanted to give them more time (5 or so issues), but it's becoming unbearable.
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Last night I walked into the computer room downstairs and saw my landlord's son reading a Red Lantern .CBR rip. I browsed his shared folder on our network and noticed that he had all of DCs "New 52" releases. Checking a certain Piratey site, I see that they're quite easy to come by. Disheartening, given that the New 52 is partly driven by low sales in comics to begin with. :(
Well for my part, I'm still purchasing the series that I'm interested in. Forget him and his torrents. People on social assistance pay for more movies and games than he does, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
The revamp of the various DC series' will be bringing about some drastic changes for my pull list. Currently, the only DC issues (excluding Vertigo) that I'm getting are Power Girl and Birds of Prey. The new BoP doesn't interesting me, but I'll keep my eyes on it just in case. Power Girl sounds like it's getting canned. How dreadfully unfortunate. :-(
While this makes it sound as though I'm ending my DC subscriptions altogether, the new changes have caused me to ponder the inclusion of some other titles. In September, I will likely be adding the new "Batman", "Nightwing", "Batgirl", and possibly "Green Lantern" and/or "Justice League". The Green Lantern entry will depend on whether I like this new character that they say they are introducing. Otherwise, I'll consider the "Green Lantern: New Guardians" series.
Initially, I was dead set against this revamp, but I'm slowly warming to the idea. I'm annoyed over the disappearance of Power Girl's series, and concerned regarding how they handle Barbara Gordon and the whole walking thing, but I'm willing to give it a chance.
Something frightening happened to me today, as I was out and about looking for work. It was quite sunny, and shadows were everywhere. I looked ahead on the concrete, of which the sidewalk was composed, and glimpsed a horrific sight... Mickey Mouse's head on a pike!!! I'll never look at dual-head parking meters the same way again.... -_-
Oh, and I picked up Wolverine & Jubilee #3 & Power Girl #21 & #22.
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