Seeker

http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/book....ap/index.html

I am, and I've been enjoying it a lot, as a reader of DC comics for over 40 years.

If I had one criticism - they keep talking about "sophisticated alarm systems with all sorts of alient technologies", but they can't install a few fricken' video cameras in the houses?

Rogue588

As I posted in the monthly thread, I geeked out on issue number 4 [all of them, actually]. I wish this wasn't monthly though.

Perhaps the Thanagarians, Martians, Apokoliptians and Kryptonians don't possess video technology?

Superboy

I picked up the first issue and dropped it, sold it back to my store for cover/credit. If i'm at all curious in the end, i'll pick up the trade. But it's seriously a mediocre comic book.

-It's not really a mystery, because we haven't been given enough clues so that we could solve it ourselves. We'll only know the answer when they decide to tell us. I don't find that particularly exciting.

-Brad Meltzer is a poor comic writer. His script and dialogue is great, but he can't direct the action in a comic book. Too many panels are too vague to understand what's going on. And the fight with Deathstroke, while exciting in concept, didn't flow very well.

Son-volt

I've really, really liked it. It's very rare to pick up a comic and have no idea where it is heading (in a good way). While it's no Supreme Power (lb for lb the best comic written in 10 years, inmho) it is still the first book in the stack I've read for 4 issues running. So far for me it's been the complete opposite of Bendis' turgid Avengers Disassembled.

I do agree the Deathstroke fight had problems though. It was brilliant and annoying at the same time, especially the white-ninja-vs-twenty-black-ninjas way the JLA stood around waiting their respective turns to hit Slade.

kevin75

i have been kinda keeping up with it but i will probably stop now as i am waiting for the trade so i don't want to know how it ends.

C-Mart

I have been reading it and really enjoy it. I just got into comics so I don't know a lot of the characters, and I especially don't know any of the authors/artists, so those kind of expectations don't really mean anything to me.

So far the story has kept me really involved, and I really liked the Deathstroke fight.

The Valeyard

I'm enjoying this mini-series a lot. I hope the ending doesn't fall apart like HUSH did.

I know, I know. Different writer and all but I was seriously into HUSH during it's run and was ready to chuck my entire Batman collection out the window when I got to the last issue.

High hopes for Identity Crisis tho!

Andrew

Hokeyboy

I'm loving it. Metlzer is doing great work here.

And Supreme Power is hideously overrated. It's a decent book, but hardly great and nowhere near a classic. Plus it sufferes from your typical NuMarvel pacing in which 4 issues of storytelling are padded out to 6 or 7. I love JMS's work elsewhere but here it seems a tad bit... glacial and self-indulgent. All IMHO, of course.

Son-volt

Well, I think Supreme Power is the one and only book where NuMarvel pacing actually works. It's actually being used for detailed character development, and I'm pretty smitten. I can understand how one can dislike the pacing as Bendis has basically ruined both Avengers and Daredevil for me. However, I feel that on Supreme Power JMS has made it work amazingly well. But hey, different strokes for different folks. I seem to be one of the only folks on the planet who hates where Bendis has taken Daredevil, so to each his own.

Hokeyboy

Now there I stand with you. I LOATHE his Daredevil. Blecch.

Graftenberg

I have only read the first two issues of IC and am not a big dc fan but I think it is pretty damn good.

Matt & Son: what don't you like about Daredevil? I have never been a big fan of the book but do pick it up from time to time. I do think that Bendis has spread himself too thin. Ultimate Spider-Man doesn't really do it for me anymore and the killing of Gwen was just pointless. That's one death that I wouldn't mind them reversing.

Giantrobo

I picked up 1-4 today so I'll start reading it soon.

edited to add:

I read all 4 and I'm liking this so far.

mraor

I think that this is one of the best titles out there, period. With all of the hype, I was extremely skeptical, but I find his writing to be sharp and continuity-based. Yet, at the same time, he's not afraid to break through boundries.

I have gasped at some of the unfolding events. I've been reading for 27 years and Identity Crisis is resonating strongly with me.

Son-volt

I thought the new DD run started off great. Sure, Smith's arc was hardly groundbreaking, but it was fast paced and interesting. Same with the couple of following arcs, including Bendis' first. DD is a complicated, dynamic character with an amazingly rich history with which to work. And Bendis, at least in my mind, and pissed all over that from the moment he took over as the sole writer. He treated the Kingpin like a chump, bringing him back just to slap him around again. He's filled the story with characters I don't care about, and he tells one issue of story in six issues of comic. Why write DD if you aren't going to use all the great stuff that has came before. And not only has he been in my mind disrespectul to all the work everyone else has done, he hasn't done a good job with where he's taken it. Frank Miller took a generic superhero who fought Stilt-Man and turned him into a great character. Bendis to that great character and dropped him into a talking head story filled with boring non-costumed people who all look and talk alike. Nothing has happened in the book since Bendis took over as sole writer. Sure, DD got rid of Kingpin, took over the Kitchen, got married, and had a breakdown. And it all happened off panel more or less. Literally, he could have told his entire run the last couple of years in like four issues. Looking back over my memory I remember the Bob Gale run (which I also thought was weak and somewhat slow), and then it feels like there have been about half a dozen issues from Bendis since then instead of the almost 30 it's been.

Jackskeleton

and who suggested you do that? Yes. I!!!


Anyhow. Issue five is out today.. oh my god, how the fuck can it get any better than this issue?

Though I picked as one of those who will feel the cold hand of death out of all this.

sucks.. sucks a lot considering

Giantrobo

Thanks for the suggestion Jack. I owe you a handjob....

Seeker

AgtFox

I'm not liking Identity Crisis one bit. I dare say its been spinning the wheels for about 1 3/4 issues now. The last 1/4 of this book started things in motion again.

What I am most pissed about is:



Basically I think Metzler started off well. He wanted to make something akin to Crisis on Infinite Earths, but somewhere in issue #3 things went very wrong. I think Metzler is trying to handle too many hero and villain stories while also trying to make Ollie (Green Arrow) the central narrator of the story. I like the latter part.

Things better turn on this title. Next month:

Jackskeleton

Ralph was in Issue 4 as part of who benefits out of this.

You should pick up the issue of firestorm, it was a pretty good

on that note, Metzler doesn't know how to write for Kyle. Throwing a god damn punch at Deathstroke.. wtf, seriously man.. wtf indeed, and then now he has a police shield?

If anyone can figure it out, it's batman! Just has to pick up the clues. The typical Loeb cop out, which new characters were added.

Rogue588

I thought the same thing as Seeker did. I was also in a "Lost" frame of mind by thinking his chances were better if they didn't remove the boomerang..

Oh, and about Firestorm/Ronnie


By the way...what ever happened to the professor?

Patman

Well, issue 6 came out today, and it's a doozy as well, but I hope Meltzer has a few more tricks up his sleeve given how he ended the issue with the perp pointed in one solid direction.

MovieExchange

I checked out issue 6. If the bad guy is really who they're hinting at, this is one of the biggest let-downs in comic ever.

The whole concept was really interesting at first, made great sense as to why some of these bad guys were such screw-ups. But the revelation of who else they messed with in the latest issue left a bad taste in my mouth.

Seeker

Jackskeleton

I think Dr. Light is behind it all. perhaps mental control? body switching?




From his monolog in the previous issues. there was no hint it was ray. I still don't believe it is him and Jean has no reason to want to kill of Boomerang or jack drake. Sending the hit on Jack Drake had motivation behind it to hit batman where it hurts. no other reason but that. So they know the secret identity and went after the throat. Jean has no reason to go after any of the rest of the JLA. .

Son-volt

I just love the fact that I have no idea where the next issue is heading. Now, compare that with Disassembled, where about midway through the second book it was pretty obvious who the "surprise" bad guy was going to be. It's just been night and day for me with these two big event comics. Though he's not been perfect (the previously mentioned Kyle problems, pacing a bit slow, etc) it's still been a very impressive read. Meltzer seems to have a clever, novel story with an ending that isn't being telegraphed, and he's told it in a way that is very respectful to all involved, even the characters he's killed off. Compared to Bendis' Disassembled, where there seems to have been about four seconds devoted to plot, little or research into history, and a general *****-you attitude towards characters he kills just for the sake of killing.