tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post7774038309095401551..comments2024-03-15T07:12:40.918-05:00Comments on Collected Editions: Review: Outsiders: Road to Hell trade paperback (DC Comics)collectededitionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14698269790653953645noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-56295863575016680522011-02-23T22:42:44.246-06:002011-02-23T22:42:44.246-06:00I take everything back-the only thing that'll ...I take everything back-the only thing that'll keep me reading this one is the direction.Aalok Madhusudan Joshihttp://aalokmjoshi.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-18536660603902974812011-01-28T15:28:52.214-06:002011-01-28T15:28:52.214-06:00Can't see a purpose to Elseworlds? You're...Can't see a purpose to Elseworlds? You're going to looove Flashpoint.<br /><br />Just kidding ... indeed I've always maintained that every book is someone's favorite, and I'm often eager to know what people like about a book I don't like, help me gain a new perspective on it.collectededitionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14698269790653953645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-7172132815498098002011-01-24T12:25:04.211-06:002011-01-24T12:25:04.211-06:00IMHO the 'purpose' of a comic book is to e...IMHO the 'purpose' of a comic book is to entertain, the contents therein can be anything from crass humour to nail biting action....no book is without it's supporters or detractors. The clumsiest of books have their fan bases...though I admit I've not yet read Outsiders Didio run....<br /><br />For me, as long as the book is entertaining, and I like it I'll continue to read it. For that matter I can't really see the purpose for ANY ELSEWORLDS book, though considering that there are only a few still in print (SUPERMAN: RED SON, JLA: THE NAIL/ANOTHER NAIL, BATMAN VAMPIRE & KINGDOM COME)Aalok Madhusudan Joshihttp://aalokmjoshi.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-71341847689513533172011-01-23T10:28:32.026-06:002011-01-23T10:28:32.026-06:00Speaking of Azrael, it seems the third TPB, which ...Speaking of Azrael, it seems the third TPB, which was supposed to collect Nicieza's last 3 issues and Hine's first arc, got cancelled:<br /><br />http://www.amazon.com/Azrael-The-Killer-of-Saints/dp/1401229867/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1295798045&sr=8-7<br /><br />I actually liked this book. While I wouldn't say DC really needed a new Azrael, it was a well-written series, which is more than I can say about DiDio's Outsiders and Eric Wallace's Titans, which are vying for the title of most offensively bad ongoing series DC is publishing right now.shagamuhttp://mbbforum.com/mbbnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-21588163145176462852011-01-22T10:45:25.423-06:002011-01-22T10:45:25.423-06:00Regarding my criticism of the new Azrael series, d...Regarding my criticism of the new Azrael series, dl is absolutely right; that a book might be out of the mainstream is indeed not a reason for publishers nor readers not to take a chance on it. My admission that I was criticizing the book without having read it was in part a nod toward dl's very point, and my understanding that the sentiment I was expressing was controversial.<br /><br />In regards to Azrael specifically, I think my sense of the book was that it took a minor character from Batman RIP and built a series around him using a familiar name, but was otherwise unrelated to Knightfall or the Dennis O'Neil series -- that it was profiteering on a name and a crossover without the actual content to back it up, much in the way this volume of Outsiders does with New Krypton and the Eradicator. <br /><br />I don't feel the same way about Doom Patrol, for instance. I don't get the sense that's burning the bestseller lists either, but I sooner believe that Keith Giffen has a deep abiding love for the Doom Patrol than I do that Fabian Nicieza and David Hine always wanted to write Azrael -- rather I believe DC wanted to take a flier on a Batman RIP tie-in book and got these two writers to do it.<br /><br />None of that speaks to the actual content of Azrael, which again I haven't read, and I fully appreciate anyone who might tell me to go take a hike in my criticism of Azrael since indeed I'm speaking from partial information (see my <a href="http://collectededitions.blogspot.com/2008/06/my-unsolicited-take-on-chuck-dixondc.html" rel="nofollow">unsolicited take on the Chuck Dixon/DC Comics split</a> -- I try not to talk out of my rear, and when I do, I try to admit that I'm doing so ahead of time). Nicieza and Hine might be writing a great book, but the <i>idea</i> of it, in my opinion, stems from profiteering -- I've heard <i>Countdown Presents: Lord Havok</i> was good, too, but again, can we really posit that as anything more than a tie-in for a tie-in's sake on DC's part?<br /><br />So that's where I was going with that. And to recognize that I've bought some of these books, so I'm part of the problem even as I also bring it up for discussion.<br /><br />Thanks to dl and to Zach for chiming in on this; good points all. Other thoughts?collectededitionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14698269790653953645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-25717745152216371322011-01-22T10:06:21.270-06:002011-01-22T10:06:21.270-06:00I concur with CEB about this profiteering issue, b...I concur with CEB about this profiteering issue, but I can't believe that Outsiders pulls in that much business; my LCS doesn't even stock it, because there's a sense that the Outsiders are just that - outside (that, and I haven't read great things about Didio's skill as a writer). I too have yet to see the "purpose" of the title.<br /><br />As for Azrael, I've heard good things, but much of what I've heard has had nothing to do with the character being named Azrael. This doesn't seem to be a legacy character issue (like with the new Blue Beetle, who I fear is not long for this world), but rather a case of slapping on a familiar name to sell new books. From what I have read of the new Azrael, there seems to be marginal tie to the original character, such that we could easily have been given a whole new character (which might have helped sales, since some people still have a bad taste in their mouths from Jean-Paul Valley).Zach Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17905320964723323391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-70672870182895646412011-01-20T11:34:58.168-06:002011-01-20T11:34:58.168-06:00"I never read it, I admit, but I'm hard-p..."I never read it, I admit, but I'm hard-pressed to believe we ever needed another Azrael series, nor did I think it would succeed"<br /><br />I can't say I agree with this sentiment. How many books do we really "need"? And if the possibility of success meant everything, why take a chance ever? I admit I've been highly skeptical of Azrael, but I can't say I like such casual damnation of ever taking a chance on such books. We probably didn't need a new Blue Beetle or Blue Beetle series, but look how that turned out.dl316bhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14779958088602323101noreply@blogger.com