Ask Me About DC Comics

Jaffe (or anyone else)

Which version of the Animated Series should I watch? I have read some things about people preferring the old DVDs to the new HD release.

And if so does the newer DVD release look like the old one, or just the SD version of the remaster?

I think the new ones look beautiful, but I get that it doesn’t necessarily look like people’s memories of the original. I think you’re good either way.

A friend of mine will be teaching a course on creating comics, and they’ll start with 1 page comics and increase in scope over the length of the class. My friend is more of a creator, than a consumer of comics, so my question is:

What are some interesting short form comics, 1 pagers 5 pagers etc, in comic history?

I have limited knowledge, but an example I thought of was something like the page in issue 1 of All Star Superman where Clark is being sent away from dying Krypton, and then it cuts to him Flying as supes

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I think Action Comics #1 might actually have the best examples. That Superman feature is several short vignettes which strongly established the character from the get go.

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I have barely read any comics in my life but I liked that Batman Arkham Asylum one. Are there any more weird and experimental comics like that in the DC catalogue?

Oh, tons. Frank’s recommendation of Shade the Changing Man in the latest bonus episode might apply to you here. Anything Doom Patrol would be up your alley. You can also try some of the “Young Animal” imprint comics, like Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye.

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W/ Absolute Martian Manhunter announced recently, what are some recommended mainline J’onn J’onnz arcs?

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Hey Alex! I started reading DC right here:

And kept with it through around Batman: KnightsEnd, jumping back in from time to time.

What was the function of the little numbered triangle on the cover of the Superman books? I never quite picked up on what that was when I was a reader. When did it start? How long did it last? I thought it indicated some sort of read order, but the individual books seemed to have self-contained storylines unless a crossover was in play.

also:

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The 1998 Martian Manhunter series by John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake is one of my all time favorite superhero comics.

This was the “Triangle Era!” At this time in Superman publishing, Superman comics ambitiously featured a weekly continuous story by creative teams in Superman, Action Comics, Superman: The Man of Steel, Adventures of Superman, and on weeks with fifth Wednesdays, Superman: Man of Tomorrow. The triangle numbers allowed readers to keep track of storylines week to week across titles without missing anything. It began in 1991, and continued through Superman titles until 2002.

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Wow, I just found out about DC Compact Comics, and it seems like a real “where have you been all my life?!” type of situation. Are these smaller, more manga-like volumes the dream come true that I think they are? How’s the printing quality? Form factor?

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Has a character’s inability to drive a car ever been an important plot point?

Oh, the Compact Comics rule. Beautiful print quality and extremely readable.

Batman Returns

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Huh. I gotta watch that again.

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Thank you!

What are the not-obvious picks from the Compact line that you’d recommend? I’m asking my friend in Canada to pick a bunch up for me, and so far I just know I want Hush, Court of Owls, All-Star Superman, and the NK Jemisin Green Lantern.

I’d highly recommend Trail of the Catwoman.

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Heck yeah. That’s a great pick. I read that series as it was being published back in the early 2000s, buying floppies. Darwyn Cooke rules, and Brubaker was doing great Gotham stuff back then.

Here’s hoping there will be a Gotham Central Compact sometime soon. @jaffe Please pull some strings and see if you can make that happen.

Gonna disagree with Jaffe here. The layouts don’t really work at this print size. If you’ve ever seen a scaled-down Tintin you might know what I mean.

I think this line is amazing but it’s really meant to create new comic readers and allow young people to afford them. That’s good, but it’s really not the way these titles are best enjoyed.

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Having just revisited Watchmen in the compact edition, I have no complaints.

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Thank you for this perspective! Honestly, I was concerned about layout sizes (specifically, font sizes) as well. But I’m primarily a manga reader, and I really love the smaller size of manga volumes. Going back to DC and Marvel-sized trades feels uncomfortably large and cumbersome to me. Plus I don’t have any shelves tall enough to house the typical trades.

I’m willing to roll the dice on these smaller volumes, just to get some Supes and Bats and Friends back into my life. Will report back… in a few months or whenever these volumes actually make their way to me.