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Post by D. Golightly on Oct 22, 2018 15:08:34 GMT -5
dc2k.weebly.com/new-releases.htmlFeaturing: Impulse #14 Justice League Dark #2 Justice League #0 Teen Titans #7 Truth of Dare #6 And make sure to come back at the end of the month for our Halloween special!
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Post by fairchild on Oct 23, 2018 20:26:45 GMT -5
JL Dark review:
I started here first so hopefully I will get to the others today.
I liked the issue. It has some small things I wanted to share though.
I had to reread issue one because issue two opened with me feeling like I forgot something or missed something. I was so focused on Black Orchid and Blue Devil from issue one that the switch to Jason, Mister E and June just threw me off temporarily. It was fine once I figured it out, especially since this team isn't a one for all, all for one type team.
In my opinion, Blue Devil went from main character to no-name Joe rather fast. That in itself threw me off the most. Where Blue is just getting into his powers, the fight scene flipped to Fate. Now it appears that Orchid has the two new guys on the team which might be an interesting dynamic with Orchid's temper and the two learning to use power.
I really like your writing of Jason Blood. You expressed his knowledge in-character really well and not just the host of Etrigan. It came off like Jason from JLA: Obsidian Age, which I quite liked as a storyline.
Zatanna and Constantine relationship can be rather complicated to follow in DC, so you established a true emotion with Constantine being brought up. I want to follow Zatanna more due to that she was the one that freed Constantine from Belle Rev in Outsiders. I know Constantine wont be making an appearance here, and I don't know if Hellblazer series is somewhat connected with private messages between you and the writer, but its just a dangler I picked up. Guess I have to read both series to find out what happened.
Mister E is a complete douche and I love it so far.
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Post by Gavin McMahon on Oct 24, 2018 2:26:18 GMT -5
JL Dark review: I started here first so hopefully I will get to the others today. I liked the issue. It has some small things I wanted to share though. I had to reread issue one because issue two opened with me feeling like I forgot something or missed something. I was so focused on Black Orchid and Blue Devil from issue one that the switch to Jason, Mister E and June just threw me off temporarily. It was fine once I figured it out, especially since this team isn't a one for all, all for one type team. In my opinion, Blue Devil went from main character to no-name Joe rather fast. That in itself threw me off the most. Where Blue is just getting into his powers, the fight scene flipped to Fate. Now it appears that Orchid has the two new guys on the team which might be an interesting dynamic with Orchid's temper and the two learning to use power. I really like your writing of Jason Blood. You expressed his knowledge in-character really well and not just the host of Etrigan. It came off like Jason from JLA: Obsidian Age, which I quite liked as a storyline. Zatanna and Constantine relationship can be rather complicated to follow in DC, so you established a true emotion with Constantine being brought up. I want to follow Zatanna more due to that she was the one that freed Constantine from Belle Rev in Outsiders. I know Constantine wont be making an appearance here, and I don't know if Hellblazer series is somewhat connected with private messages between you and the writer, but its just a dangler I picked up. Guess I have to read both series to find out what happened. Mister E is a complete douche and I love it so far. The confusion is completely my fault, so I apologise for that. Blue Devil was very much our introduction character, bringing us into this fully formed world. As I was writing issue two, when issue one had already been released, I made some changes to the outline. The mystic researchers were to take a bigger role and I needed to develop Doctor Fate. So, since he'd had a bit of page-time in issue one, Blue Devil was the casualty of that. However, he is still very integral in subsequent issues so fans of him needn't worry. Big things are coming now that I've established the team and found a tone that works for me. Everyone definitely has their own role and, in most cases, their own agenda. I think that'll become clearer as this arc wraps up in the next few issues. No one is their because they're a hero. ARGUS either has something on them or something they want/need. That's one thing I wanted to mark. That's why Jason and June have their own headshots separate from Etrigan and Enchantress. In a way, I treat them like four characters so whichever headshot appears in the roster list is the character that issue is spotlighting (handy pointer!) However, the storylines of Jason/Etrigan and June/Enchantress differ vastly so we'll see how it pans out. Zatanna is a godsend. I love Zatanna and she's been allowed to recur in the title (which makes me happy since she was on the original pitch lineup), so you'll see more of her. As far as I'm concerned, Zatanna and Constantine will be referred to rather than directly appearing against one another. However, when she appears in other titles when she's not appearing in this, I'll reference her adventures. I read everything eventually so it shouldn't be too hard to keep track and I'm very excited for Hellblazer! Hahahah. You have no idea just how much of a douche Mister E is just yet, but he's playing a long game. Thanks for the review!
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Post by fairchild on Oct 27, 2018 19:55:01 GMT -5
Justice League 0:
This actually has to be more of a conversation than a review because I have to ask a serious question
Your use of wording to format the picture was quite good. I had to fight through some small punctuation stuff but I tend to fight through that on issues. When I first read the issue I thought it was the Injustice Society. Who they really were was an interesting pick and was not something I would have thought to do. I thought your transition from the JLA Trinity to Faraday with Dodds' prophecy was a good moment in the issue. It established the big reason for the coming team. With your use of Faraday and mentioning the Supreme Court and Checkmate, this appears to be a UN or government sanctioned team from the start. I have to ask, what happened that made Wonder Woman state - 'until things are fixed, there is no us."
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Post by johncheese on Oct 28, 2018 1:43:28 GMT -5
Jeez the words 'serious question' gave me a wee panic attack when I saw them and just them, but thanks for the review.
Firstly thanks for the review and apologies for the punctuation problems.
Yes this team was created with Checkmate oversight in mind, at least in the beginning...
As for the reason for a Schism, well it's in Leigon of Doom Issues 7-9.
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Post by fairchild on Oct 28, 2018 2:05:32 GMT -5
Jeez the words 'serious question' gave me a wee panic attack when I saw them and just them, but thanks for the review. Firstly thanks for the review and apologies for the punctuation problems. Yes this team was created with Checkmate oversight in mind, at least in the beginning... As for the reason for a Schism, well it's in Leigon of Doom Issues 7-9. it makes sense now. I didn't read 8 or 9 until now cuz of real life blitz and forgot to read them.
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Post by Tobias Christopher on Oct 28, 2018 9:31:45 GMT -5
I have a lot of catching up to do, unfortunately the weather's been messing with my sinuses this week, but soon I'll get to everything:
Justice League #0 - And the fallout from Legion of Doom continues. Nice start to the new JL series, and it looks like the Trinity has been officially broken for now. Looking forward to seeing where the new series takes things from here.
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Post by Gavin McMahon on Oct 29, 2018 15:58:56 GMT -5
Beware these are reviews so obviously there are SPOILERS. Once again, any negatives are just my opinion and are intended to be taken as constructive criticism.
I think these reviews may come across as a little harsher than I intended, I’ve reworded them a few times, but I’d like to preface by saying that the concepts presented in these issues did have me intrigued and any of the criticisms is just what I felt took away from the execution of these wonderful ideas. I’ve tried to weigh positives with the negatives, some just had a little more weight in the latter unfortunately.
Impulse #14 – “Rush”, Part 4: This is the first issue of this series that I’ve read so I expected to have some hiccups with understanding it. From what I did gather about Risk and Wyatt, the resolution was a little quick and saccharine for my taste. I found a lot of it to be quite saccharine, if I’m honest. I understand there’s a closeness between these characters, a sense of family, but there were times when it all seemed a bit too much and over the top. I have seven brothers and a sister. I love them all and I can ensure you, in twenty-seven years I’ve never bounded around jumping on them and telling them how important they are to me. Those things are implied, not said. It also seemed like a series of vignettes rather than a complete issue (primarily because it’s very short on prose). However, there are interesting seeds planted (such as Wyatt’s mother’s eventual usage of Risk and Mindwarp) so I’m interested to see what comes next.
Justice League #0 – “Sunset”: I love new series because there’s no better jumping on point. It seems only fitting than any Justice League series, particularly one that isn’t going to involve the big three, at least starts with them. Even an alternative perspective of them. I liked the reveals of Atomic Skull, the Duke of Deception, and Clayface – particularly since it made keeping track of the characters easier. I think that it was a good start and it made sense to me that it was a point zero issue rather than a number one, it was largely about establishing the threat of VORTEX and putting all the chess pieces into place. I liked what I read, and I’ll definitely come back for more in the future.
Teen Titans #7 – “Shadows of the Wasp,” Part 1: This is a flashback issue throwing back to before the first issue, so it seems like a good jumping on point. Beast Boy, Cyborg, Red Robin, Ravager, Raven and Wonder Girl is a very classic line-up for the Teen Titans so it’s a strong foundation to begin with. One thing that stands out to me about this issue, and something that made me have to read lines more than once, was the grammar. It could really have done with a once over to double check it made sense. The opening lines say pretty much the same thing twice in different ways, and then Raven’s first line stands out too. “The others and I” is how that should have been phrased. The prose also tells us more than it shows us and there are missed opportunities for character growth: Red Robin is concerned but Raven, his friend, doesn’t ask if he’s okay, she just stalks off? Tense is a bit all over the place (ie, “pointed” and “is” are different tenses. It should be points/is or pointed/was). I think the ideas within this issue were good, I liked the story points and the Wasp Queen is an interesting concept, I’d just have liked to see them pushed a bit further. More prose and tighter dialogue would help the character’s voices be better established.
Truth or Dare #6: This is a series I’ve been meaning to read for two reasons. 1) I like John’s series normally and 2) I love series that bring such minor characters, like Double Dare, to the fore. One thing I noticed is that it could have used an edit to get rid of placeholders (a character is literally called (Name) because their name was never put in the text whilst Katherine has the surnames Dawson and Rhiodan at different times). I like Aliki and I believe in her motivation and desire to save Margot (who seems to have been captured for the majority of this series run hahah). The writing is good, description draws you into Aliki’s world and also lets you jump into the issue without needing to go back and read it if you don’t have the time. I’ll be reading to see just how Margot’s plight turns out, and if Aliki can save her sister.
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Post by Tobias Christopher on Oct 29, 2018 16:52:32 GMT -5
Beware these are reviews so obviously there are SPOILERS. Once again, any negatives are just my opinion and are intended to be taken as constructive criticism.
I think these reviews may come across as a little harsher than I intended, I’ve reworded them a few times, but I’d like to preface by saying that the concepts presented in these issues did have me intrigued and any of the criticisms is just what I felt took away from the execution of these wonderful ideas. I’ve tried to weigh positives with the negatives, some just had a little more weight in the latter unfortunately.
Impulse #14 – “Rush”, Part 4: This is the first issue of this series that I’ve read so I expected to have some hiccups with understanding it. From what I did gather about Risk and Wyatt, the resolution was a little quick and saccharine for my taste. I found a lot of it to be quite saccharine, if I’m honest. I understand there’s a closeness between these characters, a sense of family, but there were times when it all seemed a bit too much and over the top. I have seven brothers and a sister. I love them all and I can ensure you, in twenty-seven years I’ve never bounded around jumping on them and telling them how important they are to me. Those things are implied, not said. It also seemed like a series of vignettes rather than a complete issue (primarily because it’s very short on prose). However, there are interesting seeds planted (such as Wyatt’s mother’s eventual usage of Risk and Mindwarp) so I’m interested to see what comes next.
Admittedly, I pulled my punches with this issue because it was originally a bit (well, a LOT darker) in terms of backstory for Risk and Mindwarp. I may still go back delve back into what I was going to do here as soon as I figure out how to word their partnership. That's one of my bigger problems when writing in that I'm never sure just far into the darkness I'm willing to go in terms of story.
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Post by claypot on Oct 29, 2018 17:30:12 GMT -5
Gavin, I'm sorry about the grammer. And thanks for liking my idea for the Wasp Queen, and you'll be seeing more of her in the coming issues.
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Post by johncheese on Oct 30, 2018 12:31:57 GMT -5
Beware these are reviews so obviously there are SPOILERS. Once again, any negatives are just my opinion and are intended to be taken as constructive criticism.
I think these reviews may come across as a little harsher than I intended, I’ve reworded them a few times, but I’d like to preface by saying that the concepts presented in these issues did have me intrigued and any of the criticisms is just what I felt took away from the execution of these wonderful ideas. I’ve tried to weigh positives with the negatives, some just had a little more weight in the latter unfortunately.
Justice League #0 – “Sunset”: I love new series because there’s no better jumping on point. It seems only fitting than any Justice League series, particularly one that isn’t going to involve the big three, at least starts with them. Even an alternative perspective of them. I liked the reveals of Atomic Skull, the Duke of Deception, and Clayface – particularly since it made keeping track of the characters easier. I think that it was a good start and it made sense to me that it was a point zero issue rather than a number one, it was largely about establishing the threat of VORTEX and putting all the chess pieces into place. I liked what I read, and I’ll definitely come back for more in the future.
Truth or Dare #6: This is a series I’ve been meaning to read for two reasons. 1) I like John’s series normally and 2) I love series that bring such minor characters, like Double Dare, to the fore. One thing I noticed is that it could have used an edit to get rid of placeholders (a character is literally called (Name) because their name was never put in the text whilst Katherine has the surnames Dawson and Rhiodan at different times). I like Aliki and I believe in her motivation and desire to save Margot (who seems to have been captured for the majority of this series run hahah). The writing is good, description draws you into Aliki’s world and also lets you jump into the issue without needing to go back and read it if you don’t have the time. I’ll be reading to see just how Margot’s plight turns out, and if Aliki can save her sister.
Firstly thanks for the review(s), they are most appreciated. Regarding Truth or Dare, I'd like to apologise for the slopiness, I usually review after a days work (plus travel) often just before the deadline, thus mistakes get missed, especially since all my titles are written on a phone first. Margot is going to be important to Aliki’s further development and her fate will be expanded on very shortly. As for Justice League #0, I'm glad people are enjoying it so far. While the Trinity aren't staring expect some cameos and interactions later down the line. Also expect the lineup on the gateway to be forming soon not to mention more on Ze...I mean Vortex soon. And always more information on the Titan's wicked and warped war on the Justice League.
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Post by johncheese on Oct 31, 2018 17:01:19 GMT -5
So as we get ready to leave October, we have one last review, this time for the last few DC2000 titles. Will these tales break free or entombed in October forever. Let's find out...
Impulse #14 - The latest issue of Tobias Christopher's Impulse feels more like a serial at the moment, with a lot of story lines emerging and diverging at this point. Case in point the influx of villains entering Impulse's sphere of infulence in the near future. Only time will tell what's about to happen in this tale.
Rating - 9/10 (Flying Free)
Justice League #3 - Gavin McMahon's tale of magic continues. One of the most interesting aspects is how Gavin handles the dicotamy of characters such as June Moon and Jason Blood as well as their magical counterparts. As the title continues and more uncontrollable elements such as Silver Banshee are added it can't be long before the team implodes. Hopefully we'll see soon.
Rating - 9/10 (Free Flying)
Teen Titans #7 - Patrick Moore gives us a wee look at the Titans history back before the slaying of Beast Boy. He also gives us a look at the new OC villain Wasp Queen. It seems as if Hive is getting a new commander very soon and who knows what that'll effect. Let's hope we won't have to wait to long.
Rating - 8/10 (Free Flying)
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Post by Gavin McMahon on Oct 31, 2018 20:47:04 GMT -5
Justice League Dark #2 - Gavin McMahon's tale of magic continues. One of the most interesting aspects is how Gavin handles the dicotamy of characters such as June Moon and Jason Blood as well as their magical counterparts. As the title continues and more uncontrollable elements such as Silver Banshee are added it can't be long before the team implodes. Hopefully we'll see soon. Rating - 9/10 (Free Flying) Thanks for the review, John!
I love writing June/Enchantress and Jason/Etrigan, which is why I took this opportunity to really explore their human aspects in this issue since we got to see their mystical aspects in the first. I'm currently writing Justice League Dark #3 and I consider it to be a big issue for June/Enchantress, so I hope you enjoy what's coming! Silver Banshee will have her own arc to truly explore her, she was a unique choice if I do say so myself because she's normally presented as a villain, so we now know she's after a grimoire and that's keeping her in check . . . for now. There are plenty of fireworks in the future, can't avoid them when there's so much animosity on the team (and Black Orchid is hardly a nuanced leader). I hope you enjoy whats to come: Enchantress! Plenty more Pentacle exploration (from their perspective)!
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Post by strawhatjugh24 on Nov 11, 2018 22:15:18 GMT -5
I have to say, I am really digging JL Dark, Mister E in particular has been a character I am gravitating too, and I love when I am introduced to new characters through the work being put in here. I really did love the interaction between Mister E and the rest of the team, particularly June and Jason as well. Gavin is doing some deep cuts character work here and the effort is shining forth
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