No Choice...

[bewareofgeek]

I wanted to give the DC relaunch a chance.  I really did.  But between the silly costumes, the gratuitous violence, the demeaning character portrayals, and (in my opinion) some pretty mediocre storytelling choices, I think I have to give it a pass.

(Marvel isn't much better, but that's a rant for another day).

I'm not giving up on comics, however.  There are three titles out there that I follow religiously:

The first is GOLD DIGGER.  One man writing and drawing the book, without any fill-ins for 20 years.  And while it may look like a cheesecake book at first glance, consider that the three major protagonists are all female, and have been since the beginning.

The second?  ATOMIC ROBO.  Because they get it.  Comics are supposed to be fun.  And Robo is fun, without being childish or "wacky".

And the last is a book I discovered only recently, and have posted about before:

WITCH DOCTOR.  And, amusingly enough, these two panels from the  latest issue pretty much sum up my feelings about "mainstream" comics.

Comments

[hyperactivator]

I love Witchdoctor. I can't wait for the trade.

[silverzeo]

Whatever floats your boat.

[bluestar86]

http://www.atomic-robo.com/2008/02/09/some-simple-rules/

Yes, Atomic Robo gets it. I highly recommend Tiny Titans as well.

[bewareofgeek]

Yes, I thought about posting a link to that page, but I decided to let the comic speak for itself.

[shatners_bassoon]

I honestly think that a bunch of the new 52 stuff are the most interesting comics DC have done in years - but on the flip side of that they've made a number of sizable faux-pas, and if that's preventing you from possibly enjoying the good stuff then that's their problem to fix.

And I don't know the other 2 so well, but Atomic Robo's great stuff.

[lonewolf23k]

Gold Digger is simply the greatest comic book to have ever existed. Period.

[thatnickguy]

I was in the same boat for quite a few years. Hell, I'm sure a number of people on here wanted me to shut up about how there were far too many other great books outside of DC and Marvel. And stuff like Atomic Robo, Chew, Unwritten, Elephantmen, Criminal, Kabki, etc, are still the utmost topnotch stuff.

That said, I've had a chance to check out some of the new DC stuff. Mostly the non-big names that will hopefully continue without too much editorial interference. Stuff like OMAC, Frankenstein, Animal Man, Resurrection Man and Demon Knights are all quite promising.

But yeah, I don't blame ya. Stick to the independent or creator-owned stuff. There's much less of a chance of getting screwed.

[q99]

-
The first is GOLD DIGGER. One man writing and drawing the book, without any fill-ins for 25 years. And while it may look like a cheesecake book at first glance, consider that the three major protagonists are all female, and have been since the beginning.-

I think 'just' 20 (the company's been around 25).

Still, yea!

[bewareofgeek]

My mistake. I'll correct the original post.

Of course, at this range, what's a year or two difference? ;)

[q99]

Yea, seriously :) It's the still-running creator owned comic with the most issues, even beating out Usagi Yojimbo (which has more years, less issues).

[aeka]

Can't say I blame ya, though I'd give DC another ten years before they start coming out with good material again. Then again I'm also bring ridiculously optimistic since I like their characters too much to willingly give them up easily.

At best there will probably be at least one or two books in this relaunch I'll genuinely like for the time being. I may pick up more further down the road *once* they come out with stories that are worth reading, but that may be wishful thinking on my part.

[drmcninja]

Dc won't survive another ten years without good comics. unless they can actually get some films off the ground, they are going to be hit crazy hard by this.

[aeka]

You do bring up a good point there. I guess DC will find that out soon enough.

Wow!

[capt_satellite]

Just checked out the covers on the Witch Doctor page. Nice stuff! I will need to catch up on this one.

[lultam]

The new 52 DC has been a lot more enjoyable for me than pre new 52 IMO. Animal Man, Snyder's Batman, Action Comics, Swamp Thing, Demon Knights and Aquaman were all great #1s and there's been a few more pretty decent ones.

[biod]

What really bugs me is that practically every single new series I long to pick up coud have easily been set in (I suppose I should call it) the (Old!)DCU. No confusing reboots or frustrating character rewrites necessary!

[lultam]

I can see how it would be frustrating for long term fans (god knows I'm going to miss Secret Six) but it made sense for DC as a company and the end product has been a lot better than I'd expected.

[meowshi]

But then they wouldn't have gotten the sales numbers.

This reboot has strengthened the horror/fantasy/magic aspect of DC Comics, which was always something I wanted to get into.

[meowshi]

Too bad.

I've really enjoyed this reboot.

[mrstatham]

I think that the politics and business behind the reboot is full of shit, personally - the DCU is pretty much Geoff Johns personal playground now, he's revamped it that many times, but I do think, a few poor books aside, that DC have helped themselves in money terms and perhaps strengthened their focus creatively.

I think all the major properties have, by and large, stronger creative teams than before, but at the same time, there's a renewed focus on stuff like slightly alternative genres and heroes that got zero respect before. So whilst they have made a number of flubs getting to this point, I think they're stronger than before.

The unorthodox choices seem to be working too - I never collected single issues or cared a whole lot about Wonder Woman before DCnU, but I'm hooked, and the consensus seems to be in agreement with me.

[tacitoz]

Witch Doctor is definitely awesome :D (so glad they can make more after their miniseries)
I need to check out Atomic Robo one of these days...

[glimmung]

I have to say a lot of DC's comics look pretty darn interesting. Sturgeons law is in full affect though.

[beoweasel]

Argh, I haven't read GD in like, 3 years now. It doesn't help that my LCS stopped carrying them.

I demand posts! I miss Gina. :(

[drmcninja]

I think DC lost the gamble with this reboot. Sure, they have some good titles, but any new readers they were getting are scared off by all of the controversy, plus older readers are leaving and dropping books by the truckload. I hate to say it, but I don't think DC will recover. They permanently crippled themselves.

[arbre_rieur]

Sales figures don't bear that out. Of course, it's still early days. No doubt the numbers will drop after the hype wears down, but as Kurt Busiek mentions, 'there’s a big, big territory between “this level of sales” and “back to what they were before.”'

[autohobbs]

Glad someone brought that up. I was skeptical when I first heard about this, and down right against it even. I'm still against some of the major changes to prominent DC heroes. However, I can admit I ended up liking it more then I thought I would. There were some really good series released. Also, for the first time in years there was a line at my comic book store on Wednesdays. Hell, I was in line for an hour. Comics were selling out in the first two hours of the day! I don't think we can say DC lost the gamble just yet, when Issues 2-3 come out, we'll know for sure.

[rainspirit]

I need a lot more Witch Doctor in my life. So glad it's gotten love on this comm. :D

[blackruzsa]

Witchdoctor is full of win, it seems, from the few scans I've seen of it.