New Comic Series: My Opinion... What's Yours?
By
Adept,
Posted on: 2005-06-14 15:28 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
I was hoping to find a way to voice my input, but not 16 pages into a post... I haven't read anything else so if I reiterate something that's already been said, I apologize.
To start, I've been reading and collecting comics for nearly 20 years. I have roughly 5,000 comics in my collection and am fairly familiar with a variety of artists and writers styles. I have pretty strong opinions about what makes a good comic.
The new series... well, it sucks. If I weren't getting it for free with my game subscription I sure as hell wouldn't purchase it at the store.
I thought the Blue King series wasn't all that great but it wasn't all that bad either. At least I wanted to read those when they came in the mail. The reader could really get into the situations the lead characters were facing. The reader could also connect with the characters (until the last few issues) because they wre fun and relatable. The Kheldian storyline was where it took a turn for the worse, for me anyway. Not all that engaging.
The new series only has the covers working for them. The artwork is not spectacular, there's not a lot of consistency . The layouts are weak, the level of detail is abismal, and the form of the characters has no solidity.
The writing could really be a lot better too. The tone and personality (dialog) of the characters lack inspiration. They are supposed to set the standard for the rest of the heroes in Paragon City, but when the chips have fallen they all fall apart. And an archer who had no powers is the ring leader when all the other heroes lose their own powers? TOO PREDICTABLE! Is Mark Waid writing this... ?
The storyline is completely lame. Statesman being Zues?!? What the hell? Issue 2 he's communing with.. his otherself? Or whatever Lord Recluse is supposed to be, that's pretty lame. There is nothing "heroic" about these guys. They're just a bunch of whiney and bitchy freaks in spandex, and finding out that Statesman is just a big jerk was VERY dissappointing.
Either have Top Cow put a new team on the series or give it back to Blue King, they were doing a MUCH better job.
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The new comic is night and day better over the previous version. The story actually interested me and the writing was very good. Congrats on the rebirth of the CoH comic.
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*shrug* I like it too.
It seems far more "professional" for lack of a better word.
I like the sense of humor contrasted with the darker bits.
I like the artwork as well.
I will say this second issue seemed really rushed and would have been better had it comprised two issues (one leading up to States' rescue and one for the Prometheus thing...I could have seen Issue 2 ending with States calling them idiots).
[url="http://tinyurl.com/4ylgy"]The Wanderers[/url] of Virtue
We farm fun!
The pacing was a little off, I'm glad Cryptic is going with rotating creative teams.
The creative team for the first series was just as good if not better.
Don't mess with Texas!
--moo
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Yes, Numina will appear in Issue #3.
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Awesome! I can't wait to see her in action.
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By the end of the second Image comic, I was horrified, Manticore's actions were bordering on Chaotic Evl - not heroic.
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I have to disagree. Manticore seems to very much be a "The Ends Justify the Means" kind of hero. Not only that, but he knows that Statesman would sacrifice himself in order for 'his people' to be able to stand for their own again. It might not be the best way of doing it, but Manticore is just helping along with this notion. He'll do whatever it takes to get the job done. Bad decision, good choice.
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While the current comic isn't quite what I hoped for, a comic that I would be very interested in would be a hefty graphic novel set around the time Statesman comes back to clean up town. Back when he wore the domino mask.
Following that the novel would chronicle parts of his life over the next few decades (and costume changes) using time slices of important but linked events to develop the character, the personality and the legend. Also showing when he first met his closest allies among other tidbits, all of which set the stage for current day Paragon and create the sense of epic iconic superheroism that comes with it. The tale could be told through the eyes of a third party observers.
In addition perhaps with some allusions to Lord Recluse and Arachnos forming in the background over time in subtle ways would be very nice too (setting the stage for the next issue). 
Basically, I am thinking something in the style of "Marvels" and "Kingdom Come" (these are two favorites if you couldn't tell). The writing could lend itself well if it were written by Kurt Busiek and Mark Waid, the folks that did the aforementioned novels in the first place. And it wouldn't be complete without Alex Ross's artwork.
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YES. YES. YES. Alex Ross's artwork is amazing. Get him on the phone right now to start negotiations!!!!!
I prefer the current CoH comic, it feels much more like a proper story, with proper characters. I like things a bit on the dark side.
The previous CoH series...was an embarrassment. Very cheesy, very camp. The trial storyline improved it a bit, but for the most part it felt like amateur hour.
Its nice to enjoy reading the comic now, rather than just skipping to the cartoon as I did before
Manticore seems to be very reactionary only truly considering the consequences later ala Jack Bauer of the TV series 24....loved it.
As far as creative teams I would like to see Mark Millar, Warren Ellis, or Mike Allred take a crack at the COH Universe.
Don't mess with Texas!
--moo
I could not read the old comics at all. I tried, but the Hostess Fruit Cake look and writing completly put me off. There a few short commings in the new comic, but to me that is my problem, as this comic is written for a younger crowd. (Sadly I' m 38 years old which means I have been collecting now for going on 30 years.)
But I can read this book, and would like to say keep up the good work guys. GiveS me something to do during the hammi raids...
Just Lucky that way...
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Terrible, and here's why:
It's City of Backstory (or is it Futurestory). It's not City of Heroes.
I want a comic that has the flavor of the game.
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I, for one, don't. If I want the flavor of the game, I'll log in and play some. I'd rather the comic was looking at stuff about the game world that the game itself could never really explore. Like, say, how well the Freedom Phalanx holds up without their powers and archvillains to keep them off each others' backs. I'm loving the new series. Blue King ... well, it was entertaining. I enjoyed reading it. But it was by no means good. The Top Cow run is good.
Jerk 4 Life
In brightest day, in blackest night/No evil shall escape my sight/Let those who worship evil's might/Beware my power ... Green Lantern's light!/(Meowth, that's right!)
My Arcs: #4827: Earth For Humans. #6391: Young Love.
I'd like to chime in and say that I'd be happier if I never saw Apex in a comic again. I really like the newer books, and would just as soon forget the older ones.
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My main concern is that my worst fear has been realized. Similar to DC and Marvel, and with no offense intended to anyone, Top Cow basically removed any black character. So with Horus gone, no story arc with the Brawler, CoH comic is now just like the mainstream comics, devoid of anyone of African descent. So while playing the game is great in that it allows for diversity, the same cannot be said of the comic.
While it is free, I'll just be using it for fireplace fodder unless I see some changes...
And for what its worth, I thought the first story arc in the initial comic book held truer to the game.
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What?
Similar to Marvel? Uh, Storm? Hello? Major character, anyone? Or Ultimate Nick Fury? Or Blade? I could go on, but do I have to?
Hell, if I was more familiar with the DC Universe I'm sure I could start listing them off there as well. But I can point one out off the top of my head- Cyborg.
Did we forget the definition of "minority"? Wouldn't really be a realistic portrayal if every single character out there was black and there were only a couple white heroes now would it? Maybe there aren't as many black heroes as white heroes because there aren't as many black people as white people (at least, in the USA- if we're talking internationally then I'd like to point out the Black Panther).
I know I'm late in this response but wow, I couldn't let that just sit out there.
The problem with it that I have is that they are telling a new hero story with heroes that are now old heroes. If this team had just now formed and they were learning about Statesman's origin and hidden powers, okay. But these guys have been together forever, have been in perilous situations again and again and Statesman never thought he should use his hidden, god-like powers?
All the 'gosh, this portal has always been here and we never knew or used it' type stuff just gets to me. I'm hoping it gets better but thusfar has just been one deus ex machina after another.
Scorus
Personally I don't really expect TOO much out of it, simply cuz it's a massproduced thing mailed to a large audience. They just can't do the evilly brilliant intros like Transmetropolitan and Preacher have. 
Top Cow'd have half the PTA's in the country out to kill em if they did.
"I'm flying free with my beautiful butterfly wings!" ~ Randy Marsh
I honestly never thought I'd find someone else who read Preacher. Good series.
I like the new CoH comic. A lot of the 'character flaws' are just heroes accustomed to having powers losing them, and thus they break down much easier.
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Did anyone else look at Prometheus and think, "Why does Prometheus need a starship?"
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I must have missed something. What's this about Torchy and starships?
FireWild - lv 50 Fire/Fire Blaster (Justice)
FyreWyld - lv 40 Energy/Energy Brute (Justice)
... and way too many others
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Did anyone else look at Prometheus and think, "Why does Prometheus need a starship?"
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I must have missed something. What's this about Torchy and starships?
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It's a line from Star Trek V; there's a wierd alien who pretends to be God and wants to use the Enterprise to escape the part of the universe he's imprisoned in. Kirk asks him, "What does God need with a Starship?"
I agree completely Mockingbird, I have been very disappointed in the portrayal of the heroes of Paragon city. These characters aren't heroic and do not have any concept of what it means to be part of a team.
By accepting what is and making the best use of every situation, life can be fulfilled without a constant demand for more.
--Wen Tzu