bob posted on Jan. 12, 2015 at 2:10 PM
I feel that the opinion of the JLI is sort of like the opinion many people have of Booster that haven't read his books. The perception that the JLI is a joke is the opinion that others have of it in the DC Universe. Sure there were some goofy things that they did, but they also still protected the earth from serious threats. This whole the JLI was a joke though now has them as an underdog whenever they get together, it was really what made JL Generation Lost work, because it was so easy for everyone else to think of them as losers and useless, even if they were the only ones that could save everyone from another potential catastrophe.

Tinuvial posted on Jan. 12, 2015 at 2:52 PM
Agreed. From the beginning the JLI wasn't about the 'best' and the 'brightest' of the heroes saving the day. It was about the second stringers either bringing down the bad guys or holding the line until the big guns showed up.

Even in the rather ill fated Manhunter crossover event (and yes, the majority of the 'main' series was dead boring and left me wonder why I should care), the JLI was on the front lines AND they were one of the few heroes/hero groups to handle 'their' Manhunter pretty much all by themselves.

And from what I know, some of the stuff that had its start in the JLI is still around, like Martian Manhunter loving oreos...er chocos and, of course, the now legendary friendship of Booster and Beetle.

MetalWoman posted on May. 7, 2014 at 8:59 AM
I do not get the whole "its too dark/gory" criticism of Futures End. The whole point of stories like this is to show that the future is dark so there is a motivation to change it. It is like complaining that the future in "Days of Future Past" is too dark and fatalistic.

On a related note, no need for Booster fans to pick up issue #1.

 Boosterrific [Official Comment] posted on May. 7, 2014 at 1:55 PM
FUTURES END is as dark as it needs to be. The overall tone of the New 52 hasn't left much room for "darkening" the DCnU, so of course heroes have to become mindless murder machines.

However, I think it is a fair criticism to say that the book is unnecesarily graphic/gory for a book rated TEEN. Thirty years ago, CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS -- the book that FUTURES END wants to be (Batman is Pariah) -- was exeptionally dark, killing off an entire multiverse without showing on-panel decapitations and dismemberments. (I found the FUTURES END scene between Superman and Green Lantern to be the most chilling in the book, and it is mostly close-ups!) At the least, it should have been rated MATURE, but I personally think that DC could have used some restraint and reined in some of that graphic violence.

Thanks for that confimation on issue #1. Please let me know if/when he does show up.

Jesster posted on May. 7, 2014 at 5:13 PM
Why do comics need to be so dark in the first place? I enjoyed comics in the late 70's and 80's but never once did anyone alive get decapitated or mutilated. They wrote good stories that didn't need that kind of fluff to make them "interesting". There are good writers in comics but they need to write and not rely on cheap stunts like this.

Boostergoldrules! posted on May. 8, 2014 at 8:10 PM
I think Chris Sims should probably look at Marvel and their constant barrage of time story/character annihilation and restarting comics at #1 every six months or so (Look at Hulk, Punisher, X-men, Captain America, Avengers and their entire Ultimate line each have continuity errors and multiple number one issues in the past 10 years). At Least DC Comics is better at continuity and plausible (as plausible as they can be with characters in tights hitting each other) story lines with arcs ending without a gimmicky story to support their new movie. DC rebooted their entire for better or worse and remained consistent far better than their publishing rival. If Bendis and Hickman left Marvel it could be to their detriment considering you are forking out over $3.99 for sometimes 18 pages of a story. Also to detractors saying its too violent--have you turned on\read the news? Have you watched any movie that has come out in the past 50 years (Hitchcock's Psycho through the present). I wholeheartedly agree with Boosterrific's post that its as dark as it needs to be. Most religions/myths and literature from ancient times through the present have horrible graphic violence to make a point, the same thing occurs in all present mediums. Thank you for exercising your freedom of speech, but the comic companies have the same freedom of expression in the bill of rights (freedom of press as well) if you don't like the violence I suggest putting it down and getting a children's comic such as OWLY (a great read by the way) and read that. Its violence free and you're not constricted to having to worry about the possibility of bad words, because it typically does not have any words at all.