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Saturday, December 09, 2006

Disjointed Opinions Regarding 52

I've been thinking about 52. I like 52, really. I think it's a pretty interesting comic and I like seeing the missing year as it unfolds. I particularly like the main characters involved...

But I'm finding myself less enthused about each issue as it comes out, lately. I still read them and enjoy them (or I wouldn't bother spending money on them) but I'm not waiting for the next one with breathless excitement anymore.

Anymore...heh, I am such a geek. :-)

I think the style, while an interesting gambit, might be what's turning me off now. There are so many threads to be woven in that, honestly, I feel like a lot of them are being left to flounder. I can't bring myself to care about a lot of them anymore.

Initially the stories I was most interested in were Ralph Dibny's, Renee and the Question's, and the Adam Strange-Starfire-Animal Man story. I'm still enjoying the Question's story, but I'm finding the other two, honestly, quite boring.

I think it's the timing for one. There are huge gaps in both stories, two or three issues sometimes between story segments, and that really messes with the momentum for me. Also, it seems to me like those two stories are the least connected with everything else going on in the DCU, at least right now. (It probably says something that the last time I was interested in Ralph's story was during the resurrection cult stuff).

The two stories I'm most interested in now are the two that initially bored me to tears. I'm really fascinated by Black Adam's transformation (even though I don't think it'd last if Isis were out of the picture) and I think Isis and Osiris are just too cute. And Steel's story is front and center. There's nothing like Lex Luthor creating his own superhero teams to really make the DCU superheroes all jump up and react.

Though I still want to slap Natasha. Twit.

I don't know, I guess I just hoped I'd feel more involved in the story by issue 30. I mean, take Batwoman for example. There was so much buzz when she came out, but now what? She showed in the Bat-centered comic, but I was honestly hard pressed to care. And I really liked her when she first appeared. I truly believe that with more panel time she'd be one of my favorite characters, but so far, she's a practical non-entity!

I'm only moderately curious about Supernova either. It might just be me, but I don't think he's been given a strong enough foundation to really uphold this "Who is Supernova??" mystery. He hasn't really done anything memorable since Booster Gold's death. Now, if he turns out to be a cool character behind the mask, that might be neat...but honestly, I can't see how whichever character he turns out to be wouldn't be infinitely more interesting without the Supernova disguise.

Unless it's Snapper Carr. Because that would be strangely entertaining.

I don't know. These are just reactions right now, I wouldn't be terribly surprised if around week 45 my opinions are all completely different. :-) I'll have to wait and see.

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6 Comments:

  • At December 09, 2006 8:28 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Though I still want to slap Natasha. Twit.

    Slap? Just slap?! Maybe it's because I've well documented my hatred for her, but I feel a slap won't suffice.

    Natasha is, I find, the most repugnant character in 52. She's intensely stupid, willfully ignorant, and smug about being so. But the latest issues have teased us with the possibilities that she'll either die horribly on the battlefield (which would be too noble) or get eaten by her crazy shape-shifting teammate.

    So long as Natasha's in the grave before Isis (because I have a gut feeling she won't live out all of the next 20 weeks), I will be happy with 52 overall.

    Oh, and agreed about finding the space-faring story boring. So far, I find it the weakest part, even if the doomed planet was pretty interesting. In every other story, they're trying to make you emotionally care about the characters, but out of the space-bound group, only Buddy has had that opportunity, and it hasn't been very well done.

     
  • At December 09, 2006 8:59 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Yeah, even I have to admit that I'm not waiting with every breath for the next issue to come out. Like you, I'm enjoying it, but, for some reason, the pacing seems a little weird as of late.

    I think part of it is because it seemed to be so centralized around Question/Renee/Black Adam/Isis with bits and pieces here and there. And, those were ultimately my favorite storylines. Although, I'm grooving on the Infinity, Inc. thing (although, I agree about slapping Natasha...what is her problem?)

    I LOVE Ralph, but they've been taking him down a path that I'm frankly not understanding. I like Ralph...I like Dr. Fate. But, I don't like the idea of them together -- not that I think it's going to last because of the whole Helmet of Dr. Fate mini-series coming out. But, honestly, I want Ralph to be Ralph. I miss his happy-go-luckiness. I mean, I know they want characters to stay dead, but, honestly, BRING BACK SUE! Keep everybody else dead, but BRING BACK SUE!

     
  • At December 09, 2006 11:23 AM, Blogger Zaratustra said…

    Also, they raised too many mysteries at the start and are not developing them at all.

    Except Supernova, which we all know is Dial H for HERO.

     
  • At December 09, 2006 11:01 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Dial H, isn't that just a device? We still need to figure out the man holding the device.

     
  • At December 09, 2006 11:30 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Robby Reed.

     
  • At December 11, 2006 10:40 AM, Blogger SallyP said…

    I like 52. Some weeks are of course better than others, but I've said it before, and I'll say it again...it is there every week, and the covers are great. But boy are they putting poor Ralph through the ringer! And I really really want Buddy to make it back to his family. I'm SUCH a sucker for a happy ending.

     

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