DC can use that as a pull-quote for the trade for "Death of New Gods" --
"Almost Peed My Pants Reading This"
--Occasional Superheroine
Ah. Well.
Follow this link for the spoilers, last page, and then come back here.
The "honey, I'm home...and you're dead" trope is getting rawther tired, isn't it? Didn't I read this book three years ago?
Anyways, cue the "Fridge Squad" blogger protest in five...four...three...two...
(though to be fair, the title is "Death of New Gods," right?)
No, not terribly surprising, what the storyline's name and all, but still sad. I always liked the Scott/Barda relationship.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read the issue, but I can't imagine her going out was anywhere near as bad as the time John Byrne turned her and Superman into mind-controlled porn stars. But then, little I can imagine would be as bad as that.
The groceries they are ruined, oh the humanity…
ReplyDeleteWhat a terrible way to kill off a great character.
ReplyDeleteOn a related note, someone brought this up elsewhere - how many happy marriages are left in DC?
Well, Lois and Clark and Wally and Linda are still happily married. And Ralph and Sue, if you ignore the fact they're both dead.
ReplyDeleteI didn't have a problem with this really. Sure it's an excuse to inject drama into Mr. Miracle, but it's not just that -- it's part of a larger storyline, and, yeah, the same thing has happened to a bunch of other characters too, including Lightray and Knockout. I found Lightray's death more offensive because of how odd and unceremonious the whole thing was.
By the way, Knockout's death was more shocking, I mean, who didn't see this happening after the extended lovey-dovey, married couple fighting crime everything. After that you pretty well knew one of them was a goner.
I don't think this is going to stick either. There's no way DC would kill off the New God characters for good, and since it's the first issue there's probably more deaths to come.
Have a good day.
Disappointing. I was hoping they'd at least leave Barda alive for most of the series, rather than giving her the Sue Dibny treatment.
ReplyDeleteDC has not been good enough at creating new characters that catch on to justify killing so many of its existing ones.
i don't like this.
ReplyDeletebut the arc kicks off with darkseid resurrecting old enemies (via mysterious offpanel means).
because the story demands the presence of virmin vundabar? seems likelier the panel's there primarily to plant the resurrection card on the big table.
these deaths may wind up being as devalued by the arc's uberplot in the long term as they're devalued by their presentation in the short term.
Jim Starlin will always be one of the most influential artists on my very life, but pretty much since he wrapped on Dreadstar I just plain don't enjoy his writing very much. There have been exceptions certainly, but I think something broke, or more likely was repaired, around the time of the infinite Infinity books that left his work cold. He's hit and miss as an artist now, as well. This book seems like top to bottom shit, from concept to execution (no pun intended.)
ReplyDeleteBig Barda was Jack Kirby's idealized heroine, with the Barda/Miracle marriage basically mirroring his own (though we all know Scott himself was based on Jim Steranko.) So Starlin isn't just shitting on Jack's creations as a whole, but to a degree his very essence here. Someone needs to molest Adam Warlock some more and remind Jim how that feels...
"A disturbance in the Source"? Oh, that's rich, that is. Has anybody else writing the New Gods in the last 30 years tried to get away with that pun? (Hmm. Is pun the right word?)
ReplyDeleteIs it unusual that my first reaction was, "Huh - isn't it weird that she apparently got groceries in uniform?"
ReplyDelete-M
Whatever happens will unhappen in one way or another.
ReplyDeleteI'm not bothering to watch the slaughter, but I might check out the reboot, depending on the talent involved.
argggggggggggghhhhhhhhh b*stards.
ReplyDeleteI love Barda she's awesome,and speaking as someone who's only recently got into reading the awesome women in comics things I'm now going to go and have a massive strop.
*throws toys out of pram*
If you liked Barda's death in "Death of the New Gods", you'll love the spoilage thereof in this week's "Countdown".
ReplyDeleteCouldn't we have re-imagined the new gods without an eight issue murder fest. Just let Mr. Miracle be Scott Free!
ReplyDeleteI would have at least kept Barda and Orion alive, since they seem to have the most connection to the DC universe.
Sigh. I've been a big DC fan since Justice League Unlimited which showed how cool all of the DCU characters can be, but really now I'm slowly but steadily losing interest. I might have to start reading some Marvel besides Iron Fist...
Don't worry, my friends! In a couple of years, Orion will come back from the dead and rebuild New Genesis in the middle of Oklahoma! So it is written!
ReplyDeleteDeath in the DC Universe??? The Hell you say! It must be the coming of the apocalypse, because another sign came true today: the sky is still blue!
ReplyDeleteJim Starlin isn't responsible for this - he mentioned in more than one interview that he was hired to join the editorial dots of a storyline he was handed by others.
ReplyDeleteI'd be quite interested in knowing how many DC staffers are failed writers who only write comics because they came in through the editorial side-door, but Jim Starlin's paid his dues and can be forgiven for a couple of minor sins - like wanting to work and eat.
Maybe it's just catsup (or ketchup). There is a bottle next to her on the floor.
ReplyDeleteI wish people would wait until all 8 issues are out before lamenting the deaths in this (and many other) stories.
ReplyDeleteI think Barda's death is a shame but if this turns out to be a good story, then I will happily accept it. Same goes for Selina and her kid, Ollie and Connor/Roy. Sadly this interweb age has seemingly made fanboys and fangirls condemn stories they dont like, without seeing them through to the end. If at the end it still annoys you, then go ahead and complain, you have my full backing.
Okay, I am totally keeping my fingers crossed, because I'm a New Gods dude, through to the quick. So we'll see what comes out of it, especially given Metron's dream (Apokalips + New Genesis in a merge? Huh?). Other than the groceries (groceries?!) around Barda, I think it is a bit false to call it WiR, since we've got plenty of death going 'round. New Gods was always about sons killing their dads, & the Darkseid-Orion-Miracle tripod is impossible to ignore if you want to stay true to the source material. Though man, I sure hope Barda comes back. Oh Barda! Even though no one has drawn her properly in FOREVER. SHE IS A BROAD, SQUARE LADY, folks!
ReplyDeleteThe harrowing of the JLI continues apace. Only G'nort can save us.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I will wait for the end of the series to get overly worked up about this... but Barda is one of my favortites... and she was SO well written in Birds of Prey that I should have started to get worried.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't the first time Barda has "died". She had been dead before and Scott saved her. Maybe the same will happen again.
My gut feeling is that each charater of the New Gods that is killed may not so much be dead in the sense we are thinking of. The scene with Auron and Orion shows that something is happening that cannot be easiley explained.
Don't worry, my friends! In a couple of years, Orion will come back from the dead and rebuild New Genesis in the middle of Oklahoma! So it is written!
ReplyDeletethat made me laugh out loud.
Hey say what you will about DC, but nothing is worse than them trying to get rid of Spiderman's marriage, fuck Joe Quesada.