DC's New 52 Six Month's Later

It has been over six months since DC Comics released their reboot line called The New 52.  52 brand new number 1 titles covering DC's flagship heroes (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and The Flash) and their not so publicized heroes (Red Hood, Firestorm, and All Star Western).  Either way the news was big, this wasn't just another reboot, this was a total recall on how we take comics and it got me back into the comic scene.  So now that we are 6 issues in, with issue 7 coming out this month, some series are good, while others fall short, and this is my own personal critique on how DC is doing.

Lets start with the good.  The series I mostly buy are the Superman/Batman titles yet I have read other titles as well.  One hero actually has gotten me really happy to read and that hero is Aquaman.  Yes, I said Aquaman, the one guy who talks to fish and was lame back in the 60's (don't believe me?  Watch a episode of "Super Friends" and you will understand) yet turned kinda awesome in the late 90's early 2000's when Justice League was turned into a DC animated series.

OK, they ALL look kinda lame in this photo.

  Problem was Aquaman hardly showed up in the series and wasn't a "official" member of the league.  Even in the first issue of the New 52 Aquaman they poke fun at him, hell they even make him go to a seafood joint!  Long story short DC turned a superhero who was constantly labeled "worthless" and turned him awesome.  I  mean just look at that cover for #1.

A series I also wasn't expecting to be good was Red Hood and the Outlaws, which chronicles the tale of Jason Todd, a former Robin who was killed by the Joker and brought back to life.  It's beautifully written and has quite a few jokes in it too, but the main story on how Jason is trying to make sense of his second life is just awesome.

One of the main things that the new 52 started some hell raising was the events of past books.  If they were to be totally forgotten or twisted, obviously neither.  Take Batgirl for example.  In the famous graphic novel, "The Killing Joke", Barbara Gordon was shot and paralyzed by the Joker, and hung up the Batgirl mantel and became Oracle.  In the New 52, she recovered and roams Gotham once again.  Same thing with Red Hood, he was killed in "Batman: Death in the Family" and they still refer to that incident.  Also some origin stories have been changed.  Wonder Woman is prime example number one, pre-New 52, Diana was formed from clay and given life by one of the Olympian Gods.  Now, she grew up believing that story and it turns out she is one of the many ill-legitimate of Zeus and Hera wants revenge.

Now for the not so good.  My biggest problem is that some of the artwork in the books doesn't look good to me.  The 2 big ones are Action and Detective Comics featuring Superman and Batman.  I can let Batman slide but I much prefer the artwork in the plain old "Batman" line, yet Action just doesn't look good to me.  The story line is great for it deals with Superman's first time in Metropolis.  Not only that but some books have actually gotten cancelled for their drop in sales and bad reviews.  However, in keeping with the number 52, a new wave of comics will come out in May dubbed Second Wave.  Some titles include Batman Incorporated, Earth 2, World's Finest, and Dial H to name a few.

  So, with that being said, how is the new 52 reboot?  I say it was a smart move.  A new start can be a good thing and a bad thing, but a lot of these heroes have had long histories and issues spanning over 700 and spin off series.  Now I can walk into a comic shop and not be confused on what happened in past issues.  Also I can finally say I own the first issue 50 years from now when those number ones are worth a huge sum of cash.  I love these new books, even though I don't read all of them, DC did good, and the Second Wave is something I look forward too.

City Divided: USC vs. UCLA

The city of Los Angeles is home to some of the greatest and storied sports teams in the country, yet we don't have a professional football team.  So we Angelenos have to settle with college football, and every year one game can't divide a city more than the USC- UCLA football game.

This Rivalry has been going on since I can remember, and to be totally honest, my side is USC.  I've been a Trojan fan for years, and I LOVE to trash talk.  Especially since my best friend is a die hard UCLA fan, oh trust me we go at it in December when the game comes around.  If me and her ever get married, I can guarantee you that this flag is going to be hanging outside our house.

Actually it's already in my house.

I admit I can get a little overboard with the trash talking but the game last night was a joke.  A 50-0 blowout with USC just straight up owning the Bruins.  People (UCLA fans) have been saying that there was a USC football monopoly but as much as I hate to remind them, they had controlled the 90's.  USC didn't get a win until  1999 for crying out loud!  You guys had your turn in the spotlight, now its ours!  Due to the NCAA probation on USC (LAAAAAAAAAAME!) we can't go to the Pac-12 Playoffs and UCLA is going instead.  As much as I hate this, I don't want UCLA to screw up and redeem themselves for getting served by USC.

Why Must Vampires Freaking Sparkle!?

OK, I am going to confess something I thought I would never have to confess before.  Over the weekend a movie came out that I thought I would never see, but yet I did.  I went and saw the Twilight Saga's Breaking Dawn.  Before you go crazy let me lay down the law.  I don't like Twilight at all.  I went cause I was hanging with my friends and I didn't buy my ticket at all, also I went in knowing it was going to suck and I was going to make fun of it.  Now here is what I think of the vampires in Twilight, but I think Snape has said it best.

Couldn't have said it better myself Snape.  Anyways if you don't know the basic story here it is.  A girl meets a vampire, girl falls for vampire, vampire falls for girl, werewolf also likes girl, love triangle insues, violence occurs, girl and vampire get married, they have evil demon spawn baby, werewolf falls in love with baby (no I am NOT joking) they all live happily ever after, the end.  Now that was the super short version of the Twilight Saga.  At it's very core I can see why this can be a really good story.  Think about it, forbidden love, two rival houses, this could have been a great re-imagining of Romeo and Juliet but with vampires and werewolves.  This could have made everyone happy with violence, love, and some horror elements.  Hell, at one point even I was going to read the books to see if they were any good, but then I read the first few pages of Eclipse and I felt like this was happening.

Yeah, lets just say that Bella has the personality of a black hole.  Once I heard about sparkling vampires thats where I thought to myself, "WHAT THE EFF IS THIS SHIZZNIT!?!?!  Vampires don't sparkle in the sunlight!  THEY EFFING DIE!"  Now I haven't seen the last three movies, but when I saw this one, I honestly thought it was okish.  Now before you gather in front of my house ready to burn me at the steak I can explain.  Its bearable if you go in knowing its going to suck and you want to make fun of it.  There where some funny parts such as Bella's dad saying that he knows that Edward is going to be a good husband cause he can use a gun.  Other than that it was kinda boring.  The romance scene was eh, and the rest of the movie was the gang trying to get the evil baby out of Bella before her own child kills her.  Oh and did I mention that Jacob (who lost his shirt in the first 30 seconds of the damn movie!) instantly falls in love with the kid right before he goes to kill her!?  Can you say pedo?

Besides the movie having the "I totally saw that one coming" ending, it was eh.  I don't regret going but I didn't really like the movie either.  Of course there are some people out there who think that Twilight is the best thing in the world and its better than Harry Potter (those who do think it's better than Harry Potter, just wait until Voldemort gets you, he killed him once, he can do it again).  I still think the movie would have been much better if this guy came in and ended the series.

This is how a REAL daywalker does it B!#$%