Doomsday Clock: What is your verdict by half-time?

[Raijin]

It sounds like a lot of people on here just want generic stories where the hero punches the villain and calls it a day. No one has an appreciation for slow burn stories in their superhero comics. Doomsday Clock is one of his best written stories in a while. It just makes me feel like I'm a part of this world that Geoff is setting up and that's not something that I can usually say about a comic book. I feel like some people are just so anti-event or wasn't invested in the first place. The books needs a thread where people who are actually intothe story can discuss. Too many cynics here.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

It sounds like a lot of people on here just want generic stories where the hero punches the villain and calls it a day. No one has an appreciation for slow burn stories in their superhero comics. Doomsday Clock is one of his best written stories in a while. It just makes me feel like I'm a part of this world that Geoff is setting up and that's not something that I can usually say about a comic book. I feel like some people are just so anti-event or wasn't invested in the first place. The books needs a thread where people who are actually intothe story can discuss. Too many cynics here.

Here you go:

http://community.comicbookresources....Doomsday+Clock

I can't guarantee that everyone is completely on board with the story, but at least (almost) everyone discussing the comics have actually read the issues and are interested in discussing it as a story, rather than an event that's moving pieces of continuity around.

[failo.legendkiller]

Until now it's one of the fews books worthy of note published by DC in the last years.
Unfortunately, this is not at all what it was advertised for.

I hoped that Johns would fix the chaos created by the N52 in order, which brought back positiveness and legacy into the DC world.
None of this, this is a sequel to Watchmen and their introduction into the DC universe, for now, very well done. Art is gorgeous, scrpt too.
Anyway it's always the first book I read when it comes out.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Anyway it's always the first book I read when it comes out.

On that, we are in complete agreement. Whatever its faults, it is absolutely the first book I will read whenever a new issue is released. Given the truly great lineup that DC has these days, that says a lot.

[Hawkman]

I just finished reading #6, and while it's very good, it's just such a slow burn. To be fair, I figured it would be, being 12 issues, but I can't believe we're at the midpoint and yet I still don't have a clue as to what the endgame is. I think that's what's bothering more than anything.

But I do like it overall and plan to stick with it to the end. And I'm sure once that "ah-ha" moment hits, too, it will get that much better. It just hasn't gotten there yet, though, which is my biggest complaint.

Art is amazing, by the way. I give a lot of credit to Johns for doing such a good impersonation of Moore, but the art is the real highlight for me, I think.

[astro@work]

It sounds like a lot of people on here just want generic stories where the hero punches the villain and calls it a day. No one has an appreciation for slow burn stories in their superhero comics. Doomsday Clock is one of his best written stories in a while. It just makes me feel like I'm a part of this world that Geoff is setting up and that's not something that I can usually say about a comic book. I feel like some people are just so anti-event or wasn't invested in the first place. The books needs a thread where people who are actually intothe story can discuss. Too many cynics here.

I really don't have a problem with the story at all. It's much more cerebral than a "punch 'em and call it a day", which is a nice change of pace.
The real problem is that a slow burn story like this needs to come out more frequently, for the simple reason of remembering all the plot elements and details.
There is a lot of subtlety built into the storyline, which I can't keep track of with 2 month breaks in-between. That's my only real complaint.

All the stuff with Nathaniel Dusk, small comments made that become important later...that's where it starts to lose momentum. But I will go back and re-read the whole thing once it's finally completed next year and probably find a whole new appreciation for the work as a whole.

[mr_crisp]

I feel like it's building up to something that we won't find out until the end. The pacing is just killing me.

[hawkeyefan]

Like a lot of folks, I have some mixed feelings about this book. I enjoy some parts quite a bit, and others not so much. It’s the parts I like and don’t like that seem to differ from most other folks.

I like the pacing a lot. I don’t mind the bi-monthly schedule. I don’t mind that Superman’s played a very small part so far despite the story being aupposedly about him. I’m willing to wait and see what makes this such a Superman-centric story.

I think Mime ans Marionette are inspired creations. Very smart move on Johns’s part to introduce some new characters from the Watchmen world, and to do it in a way that fits the concepts of the original book. We need some characters whose fate is uncertain to help keep us guessing because we all know that all the DCU characters will survive unscathed. Watchmen was a story with stakes for the characters, so I feel that’s necessary for Doomsday Clock, too.

The mood and the commentary with the current political climate are mostly well done, and fitting. I like the Nathaniel Dusk story within a story, and I’m interesred in seeing how that fits into things. I also like the meta commentary about comjcs, and about the DCU in particular. The fact that they story behins on the Watchmen Earth on the date of the release of the Death of Superman comic in the real world is brilliant. My favorite part of this series is the idea of examining the impact that Watchmen has had on superhero comics, and using the Death of Superman as a prime example is very fitting.

It also works to have the characters make observations about the characters from the opposing world. This has mostly been done with Batman and Ozymandias, although Rorshach and Luthor have also gotten in on it. My only complaint in this regard is I’d like to see more of that. To me, that’s the point of the series.

What I don’t like, and what I wasn’t aware would be happening in this series, is all the possible “continuity cleaning” that people are citing. I feel like this is the kind of series that would be best served standing on its own. I read the Rebirth special, and to me that’s all the intro this story should have needed. I know there was some buildup in some books for this, but I didn’t read any of that, and I don’t think it’s really carried over all that strongly. Hard to say because I haven’t read it.

The JSA and LoSH presence is a bit of a surprise for me, and I’m a bit nervous about them, to be honest. I’m really not all that aware of the current state of official continuity for the DCU, and as much as I like both the JSA and the Legion, the two are potential continuity nightmares. I don’t feel like this is the series to properly restore those characters. Maybe Johns will be able to do it...I mean, if he can somehow use those concepts to comment about the past and the future in some meaningful way, then okay great. But my fear is that they’ve just been added in to a series with many plot threads already.

I also don’t really care how this series impacts the rest of the DCU. I think we’ve been conditioned as comic fans to only worry about how a story will “change everything” afterward rather than judging a story on its own. Watchmen changed everything in much more meaningful ways than most continuity altering crises. I think this story would be better if it’s more self contained rather than simply being the starting point for the new status quo of the DCU.

I’m certainly enjoying it enough to stick with it, and I’ve found it a pleasant surprise as far as handling the Watchmen characters, after having skipped the whole Before Watchmen nonsense. Hopefully, Johns can bring all these threads together in a coherent and meaningful way.

[Korath]

I'll be provocative : I'm still waiting for the story to start.

Because so far, it reads more like an incredibly well crafted style exercise, or a ballon of hot air. And I know that it may sounds hypocritical, because I really loved Metal, which has been said to be all vain and empty. But I find that Doomsday Clock has far less meat on its bones than Metal ; it doesn't expand anything, it has so far consistently failed to explain why it was needed to have the Watchmen characters in the DCU proper, and, worst of all, it is lacking a clear lifeline.

Watchmen's red flag was the death of the comedian, and almost all the story revolved around trying to find his killer. Even when it moved somewhat in other directions (the chapter with Kovacs in prison, that kind of things), it was always brought back, and more and more it became clear that something darker and larger was afoot in this hopeless and corrupt world. Here, all we have is, "we must find Manhattan", but it's not detective works, it's basically the characters moving aimlessly until half-point with almost no hint in the story that Doc M is here.

So far, D.C. has failed to explain why the DCU has become so hopeless that masses of gothamites are willing to tear Batman apart. What event allowed the Supermen Theory to prosper ? Why are the villains gathering felt so pitiful and pathetic in this issue ? We got some big names here, Joker, the Riddler, Giganta, yet it could have just as well been good old gangster gathering.

To sum u my point of view : while Metal could only happen in the DCU, Doomsday Clock could have happened almost the same in the Watchmen universe.

[Arsenal]

It's well written, got lots of pretty pictures and in the last 6 issue it manages to simultaneously feel like a lot yet nothing has actually happened.

The books have more pages and panels than the average book does, yet I feel like most books do a better job at moving the story along.

[theonetruebatman]

I honestly don't quite understand if John's understands what he wants this to be. Or if he understand what it should be, I mean, we are coming off of stories like Rebirth, and The Button, and Flash War and The Oz Effect and these are such huge cosmic stories that have hugely devastating consequences and ramifications for the universe as a whole and so far the tone of the story seems so low key. I get that this is supposed to be in the vein of what Watchmen was but it doesn't quite seem to me like that's necessarily what this should be so staunchly. Now, I am not advocating for a knock'em down drag out fight between Superman and Dr. Manhattan. However, I kind of expected there to be more Flash involvement and more Superman involvement than we have had so far.

One of the things I said about it on another website is that, and I was being quite cynical after reading this issue given the big set up from the last few issue and being let down that there is seemingly no concrete direction to this story at all. Everything is one accident after another. What this really looks like is someone like Geoff Johns being given a mandate or an idea to include Watchmen and it was originally just a goof and then from that people were like, nah man, we dare you to do this. And now the rest is the bluff being called. It took 5 issues for Batman to actually get some action in and then 6 issues for the Joker to have actual movement yet still NOTHING on the 3 Jokers story due to even that apparently being it's own book yet we have ran into the Joker in Metal, in Justice League, and even Batman with the wedding as well as now here and not even one word as even alluded to that plot point which is stupid and lazy and undermines the importance that it earned in Darkseid War and Rebirth. There is no amount of apologizing or excusing you can do for Johns or DC Editorial in order to make it even SEEM right. Not to mention all of the Superman and Flash stuff that has been happening and there has been NOTHING following it up within these 6 issues.

And that's even with the concession that the story hasn't been BAD overall. However, it hasn't been good no has it justified it's price. People keep saying that Geoff Johns is trying to tell a story and is about the bigger picture. So far there is no evidence that supports that argument. These next 6 issues had better be amazing or at the very least it better lead us into something greater or else like some of us even are now I am afraid it will lead to everyone asking just what all this was for? This book kind of reminds me of Morrison's Batman run after Final Crisis and us waiting for Bruce Wayne to get back from the past and having all the other Batman books have Dick Grayson or Batwoman running around. It all just seemed like background noise or static to the real issue at hand in that being Doctor Hurt and the Hyperadapter. And then it was made worse by the delays on the last issue and what not and it really kind of made the story suffer in the long run.

It's like I know this story is going to have all the devastating consequences that are being promised and I know it will most likely be worth it. But to watch as METAL has gone by and the ramifications from it with the Source Wall being broken and the Over-Monitor reconstituting himself and now the No Justice arc and Heroes In Crisis obviously being huge things in regards to that of the multiverse as a hole, because of the pace of this book even with it being set a year in the future, all of those stories feel so much less important because of how this story has been built up. And that unfortunately is the fault of the everyone involved from the writer, to editorial, to marketing, etc etc etc. and thats because when you bring it back to what I said about the Joker and the other things that were promised by this book it's just hard to understand the overall plan here. It's especially hard to understand how they are going to fix the DCU, bring back the Justice Society, have everyone merge with their forgotten essences, and everything else without all of those things being grossly underrepresented within the next 6 issues. I mean, it was a smart move to have The Button be it's own thing and it's especially smart to have the 3 Jokers be it's own series. So it makes me wonder if that's what this is for. Is this story to build up to other series that will finally explain everything? If so I mean, I guess I am going to have to be okay with it. But at the same time it seems kind of gimmicky and like we were lead on a wild goose chase and this is just DC milking money out of their mistakes....

[theonetruebatman]

I'll be provocative : I'm still waiting for the story to start.

I am glad I am not the only one dude. I was really hoping since the Comedian has been saved and brought to the DCU tehat perhaps Kovacs was saved as well and Manhattan made him The Question as he is a red headed dude who is cursed to not know who he is etc etc. It would be a cool little nod to the character's origins and it could fit this story great with the whole Trinity of Sin angle and how the New 52 started. Anyway. I dug your response. Hope we can continue the dialogue.

[Ascended]

Doomsday Clock is supposed to be leading to something(possibly a new Crisis?)but it just feels like filler(despite interesting stuff happening).I honestly feel that everything that happens here is leading to something that will not be worth all of the build up.

When this book was first announced, I thought we were getting the showdown between Manhattan and the DCU (with Clark as it's champion). Or Manhattan and the DC heroes against whatever the real threat is (I'm not convinced yet that Manhattan has some malicious intent, I think he might be working against a bigger threat and it just looks cruel from our perspective but the real threat is far worse).

But I realized after issue 2 or 3 that this isn't the case. This is just a Watchmen sequel that will set up the next Crisis, where the DCU will fight for its optimism and history against Manhattan or whatever. And once I came to that conclusion, all expectations I had for this story to actually resolve anything went out the window. This is just the prequel.

I'm honestly fine with that. This is a book that probably should stay a little closer to the ground and work at being a good Watchmen sequel, instead of a DC Crisis that doesn't even focus on DC characters.

I'm also very relieved that Superman has been a non-entity here. I loathe the way Johns writes Superman, so if this story continues to leave Superman out of it, that's just a bullet dodged in my opinion. I'm enjoying the book (when I remember it exists) and I'm sure I'll enjoy it more, the less Johns involves Clark.

As a story itself, I'm enjoying it but the pacing is killing me. I dont even mean the shipping schedule, I mean the story itself. I haven't gotten to the LCS for issue 6 yet, but we're halfway through and the only headway anyone has made on the "find Manhattan" plot is that Ozymandias went to earth prime. And that was back in what, issue 1 or 2?

I'm still definitely on board with this, but Johns is really gonna have to stick the landing over the next six issues. Otherwise it'll just be a good looking, well written story with a high-end pedigree that couldn't quite decide what it wanted to be, and actually accomplished nothing for its characters.

[BohemiaDrinker]

No one has an appreciation for slow burn stories in their superhero comics.

It could go as slow as it wanted if it focused on the bits that interest me. The missing heroes, Doc Manhattan, Super theory, etc. It focuses on Mime and Marionette and NuRorschach. The latter is only okay, the former are boring clichés.

The last issue, for instance: what Johns did here, he did better in his Rogues origins one shots back in the days of his good Flash run.

If these new characters of his were meant to give as a street level POV of the cosmic stuff, then ok. I could dig that. But they're street level characters giving us their POV of the street. I live on a street, I don't need two circus themed loonies to tell me how it looks.

IT's not only that s slow. It ceased being interesting. A while ago.

[stillanerd]

Here's the thing. I've been giving very favorable reviews to Doomsday Clock thus far. In the first couple of issues, I felt that Geoff Johns and Gary Frank really did a great job capturing the look and feel of Watchmen, and we're doing a bang-up job integrating those characters into the DCU proper. But then with issue #6? Well...that's where it looks like the wheels are starting to wiggle off.

Stillanerd Reviews: Doomsday Clock #6 review