Buttons

May 24th, 2017 by Proprietor

Stepping out of my normal Brady Bunch posting, that will return Sunday with a new Kid Spider Adventure comic, to post something about comic books. I have been a nearly life long fan of comic books. I have read good stories, bad stories, and all kinds of stories in between. Some have been insightful while others have been down right painful.

Currently DC, is going through a bit of a crisis. DC had gone through all kinds of crises, but the current rebirth of their comic line was intended to take all the previous continuity and graft it back into place after DC decided to go with a continuity light New 52. For decades DC has had problems with characters having been around for seven to eight decades, and various writers tinkering with the history of the characters, then there were all the alternate earths and futures and dimensions and what have you. Many writers felt constrained. My opinion is if they were really good writers they would figure things out.

When DC decided to go with the New 52, strip out the whole past history, and condense some of the history of characters to make those characters more accessible, and user friendly, something was lost. A good Batman story is a good Batman story. Just the basics of the character lead to good story telling, regardless of the previous histories or cannons.

After nearly four years of New 52, DC announced another relaunch, keep in mind, it was not build as a relaunch or reboot or retcon, but Rebirth was exactly what it was not billed as, a reboot. With complex histories, and lost possibilities due to stripping down characters, DC decided to bring back the lost, but in a way that would tie it to the current version of the DC universe.

Lets face it, current models for selling comics are wring as much money out of people as we can get, though that seems to happen all the time. I did not read the previous story lines and Rebirth specials. From what I gather, DC is now trying to bring in and tie the Watchmen Universe to the DC Universe. Dr. Manhattan has something to do with the current situation.

Recently DC put out a four part crossover between Batman and Flash titled “The Button”. It revolves around a smiley face button that was worn by the Comedian in Watchmen, and has sort of become a de facto symbol for the Watchmen. The Button showed up in the Batcave after Wally West returned or something to the effect. With Flash being able to travel through time and alternate dimensions, Flash will always be a key to the DC universe.

Before the New 52, there was a story line “Flashpoint” in which Flash travels back in time to save his mother’s life, and in doing so created alternate realities and the New 52. Not having read the extensive storyline, but due to “The Button” story line I am tempted to pick up the trade paperbacks, it seems that Flash caused some event that allowed Dr. Manhattan to perceive the multiverse, and now create a form of time collapse that would graft everything onto the DC universe.

“The Button” was a decent story, but it could have been done in two parts or even one comic, but as stated, the current practice in comics is to wring money out of people. That is write an extended story that can later be repackaged into trade format.

Overall “The Button” is a prelude to a larger fall event coming to DC in November “Doomsday Clock”, written by Geoff Johns. All the earmarks point to the Watchmen having a big part within the story, and throughout “The Button” story was hints that the Legion of Superheroes will be returning. The Legion has extensive time travel experience, and due to the constant rebooting and retconning DC has done over the years, the Legion’s future and history has been mushed up. Several years ago, Johns wrote one of the best Legion stories I have read. Johns has an affinity for revamping characters that are thematically dead or unwieldy. Look at what he did for Aquaman.

I will more than likely pick up “Doomsday Clock” when it comes out. Though I will have to see how DC handles the marketing and tie ins. If it becomes a you can buy the main mini series, but in order to get the full scope of things, you have to by all the tie ins, then I am out.

Thanks for stopping by.