|
|
Post by ryokowerx on Dec 22, 2011 16:51:14 GMT -5
Please let us know what you think and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
|
|
|
|
Post by lissilambe on Dec 22, 2011 23:39:42 GMT -5
Yay! I get to be first to respond, which is good, because that's just about how much I love Christmas, the whole season. Every aspect about it, and that includes anthologies of superhero holiday stories. I've bought all the ones Marvel and DC released over the years (don't ask me about how many Christmas specials I've got in my DVD collection LOL) and enjoyed them all. A chance to contribute to such a project thrills me.
And this year's collection is just as good as any other we've released over the years. Each was wonderful, and nailed the "holiday special" feel in their own ways, and that's so cool.
We have bookending pieces from David and Charlie, delving into the history of Earth-One, and some wonderful characters that are my favorites: JSAers, and the modern Starman cast. There was wonderful wistfulness, optimism, hope, worry, all wrapped up nicely over two wonderfully, subtly connected stories. Well done, gentlemen, big bows from each of you.
Samantha takes us to Gemworld! Amethyst is another of those fond favorites that I'm glad is getting some use again by DC, but none of them know how to handle her. Sam does a great job, with a trapped Amy remembering her princess life, and how she brings Christmas to the world. I'm fortunate in knowing where the inspiration came from for this tale, and she does a good job of echoing that short piece from a great Christmas show (which one? that's her secret to reveal if she desires heh heh). Suffice to say, each of the people on Gemworld has their own voice, sharply and quickly defined enough to help carry us on a wonderful exploration and world-building of a fantasy realm. And the final scene is a classic touch of the holiday show archetype.
Earth-Five's World's Finest take a step closer and give us a little action, a lot of heat, and plenty of warmth as well. Supergirl and Nightwing are adorable, and while the Christmas theme was lighter here, the way it is used is wonderful.
The WWII characters celebrating Christmas! I love the Weird War II characters from DC's archives, and our newest writer does a spectacular job of introducing his own distinct style along with capturing the feel of being at war in a bitter, hard front, while being a freak in a field that has no place for freaks, and making the Christmas element bubble up and make it all work out for them...at least for that moment. Well done, sir. Just one minor critique I have to add, for you Innsmouth's Shadow and your editor James: the phrase is "for all intents and purposes", not "intensive purposes". I already put the correction into the post, but wanted to point it out. I've been seeing this one crop up a LOT in many places. But it didn't spoil a great segment. Well done, and I look forward to more work from you, Mr. Shadow, sir.
Mark Bowers brings the humor, and I love the Inferior Five, and their Christmas caper is great. The fun and whacky Christmas adventure, which is good as the other usual offering never made it (I tried and tried to get a Mightiest Mortals entry, but just never could settle down and work one out). This is a lot of fun, fast-paced, and still with a strong heart in the tale. Wonderful!
A great collection, and thank you each and every one of you for stepping up, joining in and making my Christmas reading all the more delightful! And a great cover from Matt, with great personality, and a very very attractive Mrs. Claus I'd be thrilled to try and take a lap-sit as well. Thanks for getting in such a great piece.
Merry Christmas to all,
Don
|
|
|
|
Post by HoM on Dec 23, 2011 8:22:53 GMT -5
I've been feeling the Starman itch for some time now. Probably since I joined the site. I wanted to finally write my Starman story and I had a half-hearted idea for the Christmas Special that I went to David with, and he pointed me in the direction of Susan's own David/Jack Knight piece for times past... and it was amazing. Inspiring. So I want to thank Susan for inspiring me to write this story. I borrowed some narrative techniques from her work and from there the story grew and grew... and David and I got more and more excited. 2011 and 1951. Good times and with more to come. I hope you enjoy reading it!
I love the Birds of Prey. It's distinctly a DC2 title, unapologetic for it, and the cast just sings in ways you wouldn't expect them to. You've got characters from across the board, from across titles and continuities, and I just love it. I mean, come on, where else could you have Hawkgirl, Jonni Thunder and Zenobia? This title couldn't be done anywhere else, and I love it for it. Christmases with Don and Sam have become a staple of the DC2, and I look forward to their Christmas Trails yearly. I loved the framing sequence Don, it conveyed so much character (Jonni and Zenobia off at the side, but still polite; Halo hugging Tom, insisting on meeting everyone new, so simple, so subtle, so sublime) and what can I say about the Gemworld adventure?
Amethyst is fascinating in the DC2. You don't know if she's actually the princess of Gemworld yet, I don't think. That "Ultimate Thor" approach is great, especially when we, on the outside, know that there is such a thing as Gemworld, but do we know if the DC2 Gemworld is the disturbed ramblings of a superpowered teen or the actual thing? Brilliant. The "winged horses" line was both wonderful and quite sad at the same time. I don't know what's going on with Amy but her little road trip with all her friends across "Gemworld" was cute which counts for so much. I think we've all began to acknowledge that these Christmas specials don't have to be stand alone tales, they can lead events and impact other titles, so it was great to see some progression of a Gemworld arc here. Really pleased.
Kendra taking the lead in the next story started in a way that made me smile to no end. Her comment about the Seven Soldiers, eight... nine... was something we've all been thinking, Don! I love the DC2 Soldiers, so again, it was great to see a mention of them. The Birds of Prey versus a gremlin. A gremlin. A GREMLIN. Okay, so you've combined two things I love. Christmas (Gremlins is completely Christmas, we both know this!!) and supernatural threats. Yay! Jonni and Kendra coming together to fly the plane (and needing somewhere to land it!) was great, tense and very much in the vein of the disaster films they show around Christmas. Everything came coming together, Don! Loved it!
The Kings segment was another highlight-- the entire book is just one big highlight, so I want to take a moment to thank everyone who submitted-- and the "rehabilitation" of King Tut was wonderful, his mad ranting but good heart making the three stories... hell, I'm running out of adjectives (it's early!) to describe how stupendous this three parter was. I loved the way you did it, I loved the way everything paid off, and I loved King Chimera making an appearance. Has he been in the DC2 before? And don't get me started on King Faraday, one of the earliest characters to make an appearance on the site, I have no idea where he is now, but I know he's in good hands when it comes to Don's use of him. And then we get a very special appearance in the final paragraph... and I wonder... what's coming next?
Great work, Don and Sam!
I'm not familiar with DC3's Supergirl, but I loved the chemistry between Nightwing and Supergirl, but not only that, I loved the mechanics of being invulnerable, of one's clothes not being impervious to harm. It was such a minor thing (that lead to some nice moments moving forward) but it made such perfect sense. I always appreciate those kind of moments. The relationship between Dick and Kara was just... lovely. The moments were just lovely between them, and the inner monologue from Kara was great, her excitement, her lust for Dick... brilliant. I loved it. Thanks, James!
Creature Commandos, eh? Short and sweet. The sentiment was clear and the good will to all men (and monsters!) them was clear. I think it might have been too short but I enjoyed it none the less. Good work, sir! Looking forward to more of your work in the future (more as in more and more as in longer!).
Omigod the Inferior Five punched Rudolph in the nose? Way to subvert expectation! "Save the deer leader! Save the world!" I love it when I get to read something of Mark's, the sense of humour just gets me every time, and the stories always read like a joy. I'm not that familiar with the Inferior Five or their rivals the Superior Five (though I loved them all, especially the costumed names of the latter, whoever chose them were geniuses). Rudolph and Santa kicking arse and taking names was brilliant, I thoroughly enjoyed them being more effective than the Inferior Five (go figure), and the climax was great. I remember your Mad Mod issue of Teen Titans from way back when and the continuity between this and that and the stories inbetween was great. This was a gem.
What can I say about David's JSA tale? I loved it. I loved talking to him about it, I loved threatening to write it with him, and I loved what happened. I'm really pleased I got this opportunity to collaborate with someone on the DC2 again (one of the main reasons I came back) and I'm looking forward to working with David... and Don... and James... and Sam... in the next few months. We've got great plans, and 2012 is going to rock.
Matt, your cover was great, I loved the concept behind it and the colouring combines with great line work to top off the final product. Good work!
I think this Christmas Special is a resounding signal that the DC2 is stronger than ever, and I have no fear that we're not going to continue bringing some great stories to the fore.
MERRY CHRISTMAS, DC2!
|
|
|
|
Post by mockingbird on Dec 24, 2011 12:10:08 GMT -5
Great job, everyone! There was a lot of excellent stuff this year, a lot of sweet, a lot of bittersweet and a lot of goofy fun. I really did love the bookends with Starman/men and Shade. And I'm glad that Gemworld went over so well - i was very nervous about introducing a whole new cast so quickly, and such an obscure one that nobody was going to know who they were already. Happy holidays everyone.
|
|
