Rainshadow777

The Flash - Lightning Strikes Twice was really good. The plot was great and Barry was well portrayed.

I'm not usually a huge fan of the 'everyone's a speedster' idea as it tends to devalue the currency of speed if a lot of people have it, but it's worked really well here by Williamson. The concept that there is more to a hero than speed is a good one.

I also really enjoyed the supporting characters and found them compelling. It was all good stuff.

Has anyone else noticed all the loose pieces of paper fluttering around in every panel of The Flash? I get that it helps to show movement and gives an electric atmosphere to the environment, but geez, Central City is awash with litter.

Justice League - Extinction Machines was pretty good although very confusing. It's hard trying to create storylines that allow all the players a role, and I think generally Hitch made it work, despite the nonsense.

I guess I'm a little tired of the 'end of the world' type plots - it's like DC have painted themselves into a corner with the scale of each arc, seemingly getting bigger and bigger. When there are so many constant threats to existence it starts to become a little less exciting and mundane. Wow, it's another big monster from a different dimension that I don't know anything about.

It's almost impossible to imagine a mature character driven story for the Justice League, like we see with Superman for instance. It's always an alien trying to devour the planet in one way or another. I'd really love something a bit more artistic and thoughtful.

Still, I'm generally enjoying it, and it's good to see the gang in action.

@reignmaker: I'm waiting for it to come out as a trade paperback. I can't wait.

The Flash is awesome too by the way.

I got the DC Comics Year by Year for Christmas. It's a great overview of the history of DC.

https://www.dk.com/uk/9780241181287-dc-comics-year-by-year-a-visual-chronicle/

I'll keep my eyes as open as my mind.

This is the most complicated thread I think I've ever read.

It's all very impressive, but how do you people know with such ease which Earth various events play out on? It's not like each comic begins with, "It's a sunny day on Earth-4 when suddenly...". You guys are machine gunning all sorts of impressive, nerdy, facts.

I need to do more reading, but as of this stage I'm going with Superman too. It's just great.

Really? Because I thought she was 10/10.

Amarite?

The idea of Aquaman being tried out in a different setting is ok in theory, but personally I read certain comics for certain contexts, and I have certain expectations. I read Green Lantern books because I love the intergalactic space travel and adventures, I (sometimes) read Batman for the gothicism of Gotham City, and I read Aquaman for sea and mythological based stories. It doesn't have to be that exclusively, but that's generally what I sign up for with my $.

I'm happy for things to meander off the course from time to time, and I don't enjoy overly formulaic writing (despite what I've just said). But I just draw the line at the early Aquaman stories by Dan Abnett where, realistically, you could interchange Arthur Curry for any number of political leaders and have close to the same story. It just didn't feel like Aquaman, with none of his powers used at all and none of the potentially amazing scenes and scenery of Atlantis/the ocean being used.

I'm going with it though and I'm going to keep buying the trades because I love the character so much. I also re-read 'The Drowning' and I did enjoy it a lot more than my initial experience.

As for the idea of NEMO being a flimsy villain gang concept due to their lack of presence in any other time and context, I actually don't mind that so much and I'm happy to go with it. I actually think it is more plausible that NEMO has existed since the mid 19th century in a nautical sense than, say, the Court of Owls existing under the noses of Gotham's crime fighters including Batman from the New 52. I thought that was a bridge too far. I'm happy to see where NEMO goes. Kind of unfortunate that you can't have anything sea-based without it being bloody called Nemo though. I'm surprised Abnett doesn't have a character called Dory.

@knightsofdarkness2:

This gives me a lot of hope! The start of Aquaman was appalling but it seems to be getting a lot better.

Superman stands out to me at the moment as close to comic book perfection.

I'm waiting for the rest of the trades to reach me and I'll get back to you.

@asgaard:

Geoff Johns' involvement is no guarantee, but it's definitely a good sign. He knows the characters; what's important in comic stories; how to craft great dialogue; and has great ideas for plot.

Much bettter than simply leaving it to Hollywood execs who have no idea.