THE NEW 52 & THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION

Hey there fine people...its been a little while hasn't it? what can I say, the summer just seems to fly by and with having to juggle fatherhood, writing reviews, watching movies, working now and then from home, camp counseling, battling hurricanes, inspiring the youth, playing horseshoes, creating nanobots, locating Frankensteins brain, visiting the Amish and general tomfoolery it's been hard to keep up with my writing here....But don't fret, I still love you all nonetheless...

So today is 8/31 (technically 9/1 by the time I post this) and for most it is a day that harshly reminds one that the joys of summer have come crashing to a halt and Fall will be soon upon us ....we all know what that means don't we? Sweater weather...kids back in school...the leaves changing to a glorious Autumn hue and my natural enemy, the soulless crossing guard, will once again be slithering from there dank caves to torture us all before we know it....ohhh how I despise those creatures of the day....................................

....................(okay I vented...I'm better now)..........

..........but for Comic fans, today was also a day of change in our world....Today saw DC comics release FLASHPOINT #5 & JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 ( I wont officially review these here....though I will say they are both very satisfying and should be picked up....especially JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 for old and new readers alike)......the only 2 new releases from the company today signified a major changing point in the DC comics universe, as years of storylines and history have been suddenly reset and all titles (52 over the next month) have been renumbered as #1's and are set to welcome a new generation of readers into the DC world.....

...Many people have written this "REBOOT" off as a marketing ploy and I cant blame them, as the comic book industry as a whole has often used gimmicks and shocking storylines to make headlines and sell some extra copies of a particular book. One Thing that is unique about this moment though, is that it is seemingly a company wide change. While a big gamble for DC comics, as they risk polarizing their core audience, they also are bravely attempting to broaden their status in popular culture.Currently DC comics takes 2nd place to Marvel comics in overall sales and name recognition (Not my personal opinion, just facts....personally I prefer DC's brand of storytelling much better) so a move like this makes sense as they want to claim the top spot in the comics world......

...Where this story gets really interesting is one of the ways that DC is attempting to "push" their comics to the top, which is day and date availability of their books digitally as well as in traditional comic shops. For some this looks like the nail in the coffin for the retail comic stores that are becoming very outdated with every new technological update. For others its a revolution that will forever better the industry as a whole. .............

.................My Opinion (and really that's what your here for)is that its a mixed bag of both but for the most part will be a positive move for DC and the Comic industry as a whole. The ability to be able to read your favorite stories the day they are released no matter where you are is an awesome advance in technology and can definitely help bring in revenue. It also becomes somewhat appealing to those people who may not be comfortable strolling into the troll dungeons that many local comic shops can often resemble but still would like to read some books (I say this out of love as I myself can be quite the comic book troll at times). It's just a fact, your average person either doesn't know where a local comic shop is (and their numbers get lower every day) or wouldn't be caught dead walking into one, for fear of not looking cool (something I gave up on quite some time ago).The main negative response I can see (and it mostly comes from comic book nerds, after they are done complaining about changes to Superman's costume......seriously guys, get over it) is something that isn't really a negative, and that is pushing the comics to go more mainstream is destroying part of the culture that we nerds so often lovingly (you could also probably use the words violently or creepily here as well) cling to with a passion. While I get your fears my fellow nerds, you have to learn to live with these changes......were a digital world and we've got to accept that world includes comics now (side note: there's a terrific App called COMIXOLOGY that you can get for your Apple or Android devices that pretty much works like the Itunes store but for comics, this is also where DC and Marvel both provide their comics digitally each week....though Marvel has not embraced day and date release....at least not yet..........you folks should check it out if interested....a great way to keep up with stories without having to go to the store to buy the books)............sure in the long run some old school comic book stores are going to disappear and it sucks but the comic book culture will thrive on.........comics have embedded their way into our culture and are responsible for some of the biggest entertainment franchises ever.... simply put...they're not going anywhere!

....all in all everyone needs to calm down....at the end of the day your favorite stories are still going to be there whether your crazy about the new ones or not.....I get how it sucks when your into something and then all of a sudden it gets popular and now everyone is seemingly an "expert" on it....these things are just going to happen and the only choice you really have to make is wheter you are going to embrace the change and enjoy the future of the comic industry or join the ranks of the miserable cynics who wouldn't be happy if the next issue they bought came with a million dollar check.....for me, I'm gonna embrace the change and keep enjoying what new stories I get each and every Wednesday, hopefully you will too........

.......If I have personally come away with anything from this whole experience it's that never have I wanted a digital tablet more in my life than I do now. So Kudos to you DC Comics, Geoff Johns, Jim Lee and all those involved as no matter what happens with the outcome of this venture you will be responsible for me owning a tablet of some sort in the near future (of course that will be after I'm done paying for my wedding because that is much more important.........Just in case the future Mrs. Rambler is reading this).

...Till next time...Ill see ya when I see ya folks