Deathstroke 9 Preview & Discussion (Spoilers): The Liefeld Cometh

[squashmaster]

I read the issue.

It'd bad. Sure, it's not Avengers #25 bad, but it's bad. In art and writing.

But I'll be damned if I ain't buying more. This fight is gonna be epic.

[Rakzo]

I'm surprised to say that I did'nt completely hated this issue, there was some genuinely interesting moments and this kind of gore book is perfect for Liefeld.

I'm not sure I will continue buying it but I did'nt think it was terrible either.

[ArnoldoAAD]

Ok I just read

first things first
The art is atrocious
I really disliked the art on Hawk and Dove but this is worse
is lazy as hell, the backgrounds are none existent for the most part
every single character has Young Blood's disease
and the women
dear god, the women
I honestly didnt knew that women had breast coming out of their shoulders
the facial expressions

The story
is crap

the plot is that some random secret organization wants to kill Deathstroke,
they attack him, Deathstroke owns them and then they stop and some guy named Maxim(what kind of name is that) says that this was just a test and he wants his help to catch Lobo
so pretty much this team, as far as we know, has no connection with the random secret organization that wants to kill Deathstroke

now Deathstroke kind of badassly agrees to help Maxim, he is taken to the secret Heaquarters where we are introduced to the DCnU version of Zealot
Now, i never read Wildcats but she actually seems ok, she had 2 lines and is the head of security of Maxim

then Maxim gives an exposition on Lobo
first dissapointment on LOBO, he doesnt have the red ring
you know, the red lantern ring he got in Green Lantern to later use on R.E.B.E.L.S. but never got time cause it was cancel cause the world isnt fair
I miss R.E.B.E.L.S. =(

WELL Lobo crashed on Earth several years ago on his ship, the ship in question we are told was an slave ship and Lobo somehow got unconscious on the crash
they manage to restrain him but then one day suddenly his restrain cut loose, no idea how, and then Lobo kills a bunch of people and escapes
the end

*channeling Linkara's voice*
THIS COMIC SUCKS!

The art is just too much, is just awful, and is a HUGE problem cause the plot is actually relying too on action sequences

the plot is actually not all bad
the second half is much better than the first but im still not sold on it
the dialog is as 90s as you can get when it doesnt rely on exposition
and the characterization of Slade definitely took a dive after the last issue
I dont think Higgins run was all that good but he had some very good moments with Deathstroke and develop him really well and Liefeld is just ignoring all that development, at least not intentionally
I thought he actually planned something like that with the scene on the graveyard but it just never made a connection

I guess that if the art wasnt as bad it might work but not for me

[DarkKnghtJared]

...Well, the pacing was decent, it gave a solid amount of story in 20 pages, I'll give him that. The art is about Liefeld's normal level of bad--his Zealot in particular was awful to behold since she literally just stood around looking like a blank-faced blow-up doll the entire time. The story didn't grab me at all.

[El Sombrero]

I read this out of my perverse interest in Liefeld art.

I thought it was his usual standard of art, "fascinatingly terrible." The writing was pretty bad but no worse than you would expect. I have to agree with the poster who said if they have to keep Liefeld around, this is a good project for him. And I also agree with the person who said that you got a fairly decent amount of story here.

Probably my biggest complaint would be that Lobo seems to have no sense of humor, which kind of defeats the purpose of the character, but it is ironically appropriate that Liefeld would not see the humor in a parody of his own work.

[beetle_booster]

I dont think Higgins run was all that good but he had some very good moments with Deathstroke and develop him really well and Liefeld is just ignoring all that development, at least not intentionally

It's one issue. Succeeding issues could or could not touch upon those elements introduced in Higgins' run. You talk like you KNOW they won't be referenced in this run.

There's really not much character development in Higgins' run.

-All we knew is that Slade's doing what he's doing because he craves the respect and fear that people have for him.
-He had a terrible childhood and he wants to prove he's better than his dad the same way Grant wants to prove Grant's better than him.

We only saw Slade's wife in a few flashback panels but we never knew what really happened to her. In issue #9, we learn that Slade's wife has died and that her death is part of his motivation for being the way he is. We get more information about Slade's power set in this issue than the previous 8 issues. His powers are exactly the same as that of Midnighter. Which is great. Makes sense since the two had a history with each other. A crossover with Midnighter would be awesome.

The Joe Bennett's art in the previous run is definitely better than Liefeld's art is. But the art here is not that bad at all. Could be better of course. But it's nothing that would make me rip it to shreds.

[paulski]

I read the issue.

It'd bad. Sure, it's not Avengers #25 bad, but it's bad. In art and writing.

Just purely out of curiosity, sm (because I'm not reading it at the moment) - what was it you didn't like about Avengers #25?

If I had to hazard a guess, was it the artwork? I know that it certainly raised my eyebrows to see an oldschool artist like Walt Simonson (who IMO, sorry, is past his best work) put on one of Marvel's biggest titles for 6 months.

[DtheT]

Hey everyone,

This isn't really about the new series, but it's Deathstroke related so figured I'd ask in here. I was a huge Deathstroke fan as a kid, and decided tonight that next time I'm home to bust out my collection (think I had about half the issues) and also start to finish it through ebay. I also came across the comicvine site to see what else he's been in. My question for now is, for all the issues listed as him being in them, if he's not on the cover, does that mean he's not in the issue for any substantial amount of time? Is that correlated at all? I don't want to buy a ton of comics if he's in them for like 1 page, you know? Any help would be awesome, thanks!

[IpponDropkick]

I absolutely loved the first 8 issues of this, as I'm a newish fan and didn't know much about Deathstroke.

It feels like everything got worse. ESPECIALLY the art. His suit looked so cool before! Lots of little gadgets and practical touches. Very armor-y.

What happened?

[Desaad]

How strange the way he repurposes the Omega Men (Tigorr, Primus, Kalista).

Pretty shitty.

[beetle_booster]

How strange the way he repurposes the Omega Men (Tigorr, Primus, Kalista).

Pretty shitty.

I have a feeling some the Omega Men will be used as cannon fodder to show how big of a threat Lobo is. I hope Tigorr survives.

[Robotman4]

Ok, I actually really liked this issue. Wasn't expecting Morrison level stuff, just a fun comic about the world's greatest killing machine. Not a huge fan of Liefeld's art but I dont adsolutely hate it like most people. I wasn't a fan of what Higgens was doing on his Deathstroke run (and from looking at the sales figures I wasn't the only one). Kinda pissed the Perez like costume didn't stick around for long. Has Jim Lee demanded that shoulders pad must be added to as many characters as possible?!? I just dont see a stealthy assassin lumbering around like a football player.

I seriously hope Lobo raids a biker bar ala Terminator 2 and gets some new clothes! That white boots and leatard combo is terrible!

[CBikle]

the 3rd panel upper right, why is Deathstroke holding a portrait?

Well, the nature of his job doesn't usually provide him an office, so he always carries framed pictures of his of wives and children to personalize "wherever" his office might be at the moment, whether it's a cubicle in LexCorp or a foxhole in Bialya.

or look at the headstones in the background of the first panel and also 3rd panel of page 2
their position is just off, too close to each other, almost one on top of the other one

Budget cuts.

[Flash Gordon]

Actually the coloring in this looks much better than Liefeld's usual coloring. This artwork looks much better than that of Hawk and Dove, but that doesnt make the writing any better,

Saying this artwork looks better than that of Hawk and Dove is like saying sawdust tastes better than literal crap.

[Cap10kirk]

The dialogue in this book... wow. I will continue with this book, however. Curious on how this story with lobo will play out.