f13.net forums - OYL (One Year Later)

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October 31, 2024, 05:10:34 PM

we're back, baby

There are still 2 more issues of Infinite Crisis coming, but that hasn't stopped DC from starting up their OYL stories. It's not that any major plot points are being given away by these books, but it strikes me as odd for DC to start up OYL before IC ends. Of the two OYL books I've read thus far (JSA and Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis) it seems that some comics are pretty much the same as they were pre-IC, while some are drastically different.

JSA for instance might as well be set a week after the last issue. Jade's death and the new Spectre are mentioned but we've still got the same basic team functioning as usual. I miss having Geoff Johns on the title though as JSA is the one book he's really got down perfectly.

Aquaman on the other hand is setting up something really different. Not much I can say yet about this book as there's a lot of mystery about what's actually going on (Busiek has given us some big hints in this issue though). I see a lot of potential in this book though, as it mixes in a lot of Conan and Arthurian elements together with Aquaman. The only drawback to the book so far, is that as an Aquaman book, there's obviously and over-abundance of blue in the artwork. To be expected but the sometimes murky artwork does get old at times.

So far, I've only read the Detective Comics OYL book. It was good, but it does feel as if its attempting to return to, if not the status quo, at least something quite like it. Only with the villains more powerful or something. Gordon is back as Commish, Harvey Dent is probably going to return to Two-Face (I'm guessing he was cured sometime in the past?).

I do find it strange that the OYL's are out before IC is even finished.

Just read the Aquaman. It's well-written, but I'm having trouble seeing a smooth place in the larger DCU for this book. There's obviously some hocus-pocus with time or something going on. I suppose next issue we'll see if the old Aquaman is still around. It definitely felt like a Conan book.

Quote from: HaemishM on March 06, 2006, 02:35:57 PM

I got the feeling that the old Aquaman is actually the squid-headed guy, the Dweller in the Deep.

Probably just problems with timing and shipping. I remember the "Ages of Apocalypse" that marvel did shipped totally out-of-order thanks to delays and such and the whole thing was a royal mess.

Trying to avoid most of the OYL stuff for now until Infinite Crisis is over. I'm tempted to read the new Blue Beetle but for now I'll wait.

Quote from: Velorath on March 26, 2006, 12:19:48 AM

Trying to avoid most of the OYL stuff for now until Infinite Crisis is over. I'm tempted to read the new Blue Beetle but for now I'll wait.

From what I've read, there's little reason to. About the only "bombshell" dropped was the one in Superman, and it didn't tell you what happened at all. The Outsiders had a similar "WHA WHA WHAAATTT?" moment, but again, nothing that tells what happened in IC.

I figured they wouldn't be putting anything out that would spoil too much of IC. It just feels like reading a story out of order. That seems like it's kinda the point with 52, but not so much here.

Ok, having read up to the current issues of the Superman, Batman, Shadowpact, Secret Six and Blue Beetle stuff:

Batman: Face the Face has been a pretty hit or miss storyline. They just start making Harvey Dent an interesting character again, and then they turn him right back into Two-Face. And of course it's indirectly Batman's fault because he didn't trust Havery enough. Didn't we just go through all this with Batman though, regarding his lack of trust in his friends and allies? I understand that there's obviously plent of reason not to trust Harvey (although Batman did trust him enough to put Gotham city in Harvey's care for the past year). Still, this feels like retreaded ground in a lot of respects and padding it out to 8 issues isn't doing it any favors.

Superman: On the other hand I almost wish to see the current Superman story last much longer than 8 issues. I'm sad to see Superman already getting his powers back, as the focus on Clark Kent and how being powerless affects his marriage and his job was one of the only times I was ever interested in a Superman story. I would have loved to see a Clark Kent as a Green Lantern for an issue though. Man that was a fucking tease. Good stuff though, and will be worth picking up in TPB for casual Superman fans here.

Blue Beetle: This really reads like an old-school superhero book. Teenage finds magical artifact, gains superpowers, and tries to learn how to use them and how to still live a somewhat normal life. Not easy when you've vanished for a year and your family thought you were dead. It's nothing terribly original, but books like this are pretty scarce these days. The pace is a little slow for my taste though. 3 issues in and we're getting a ton of questions, but pretty don't seem to be getting any closer to getting even one answer.

Shadowpact: Basic premise is interesting. The Shadowpact investigate a city trapped under a big red magical dome (made out of an enlarged drop of blood apparently. The citizens inside are being by some group of supernateral beings who plan on sacrificing a number of them for some sort of ritual. The Shadowpact make their way inside the dome with some help from the Phantom Stranger, and one year later they still haven't come back out. The dialogue in this book is pretty bad though, especially when it comes to Superman's guest appearance.

Secret Six: No question about it, Villains United was the best of the IC minis. Not suprising of course as Gail Simone is one of the best writers working in comics today. Catman, Deadshot, and Ragdoll are worth the price of admission alone, although there's also some good scenes with Scandal and Knockout. Surprising to me as Scandal was the one character that I found pretty dull in Villains United. There's a pretty odd choice for a new member at the end of this issue, and it looks like Cheshire will show up in the next. Certainly one of the best books to come out of IC, though this one is only a 6 issue mini.