The New DC 52 - Week 3

Almost done reviewing all 52 new DC titles!! Week 4 will be up in a few minutes. Just waiting for an expert opinion on I, Vampire! Within the next few days, I'll put up a post grading the whole thing, with some easy to view breakdowns of the best and worst of the batch. Enjoy!

Batman #1

Creative team: Scott Snyder (story) and Greg Capullo (pencils); alternate cover by Ethan Van Scriver

Story so far: Amazing. I’m tempted to just to end this review here and let the work speak for itself, but if you’re still reading, I’ll go ahead and expand. Fucking amazing. This is the Batman book that we all deserved. Bruce uses contact lenses linked to the Bat-computer to help identify the players in this series within the context of the story. There are equal parts Batman/Bruce components to the story while integrating the majority of the major players in the Bat-universe, helping to establish context for nearly everybody in the new status quo. The reader gets treated to a murder/mystery in the main storyline that will clearly need the World’s Greatest Detective to be solved, something that seems to have been inconsistently used in Batman books of recent years. I don’t have a single thing to complain about here. Grade: A+.

Art: No, I’m not done gushing about this book yet. Greg Capullo was born to draw Batman. From the two-page Rogues Gallery spread in Arkham to the two-page Batcave spread, Capullo gives the reader every establishing shot of the Bat-universe they could want. Later in the book, Batman is on his way to the crime scene while swinging over the city, giving the reader one of the most iconic shots of Batman since Jim Lee’s Hush storyline. Grade: A+.

Overall Grade: A+. If you haven’t picked up on it now, I am in love with this book. Not only is it an amazing Batman comic, but it is an amazing comic book. If there is any one title out of the new 52 that everybody should be reading, it is this one. Compelling storytelling and gorgeous art combine to form a book that any fan of comics can appreciate.

Birds of Prey #1

Creative team: Duane Swierczynski (story) and Jesus Saiz (pencils)

Story so far: This is a drastically different take on Birds of Prey. This team is being put together by Dinah Lance, the Black Canary and according to the cover will feature Katana, Poison Ivy and a new character named Starling (what are her powers or skills? Where is she from? Give us SOMETHING!). Unfortunately, Katana is only referenced during the cameo by Barbara Gordon (looking more and more like she was never Oracle) and Poison Ivy is completely absent. The writing is bad here, but nothing jumped out and caught my eye. There is a distinct lack of setup here, by not establishing why the team exists, who all the members are, or why Dinah is apparently on the lam for being wanted for murder. There’s some potential here, but it needs some more polishing. Grade: B-.

Art: The Birds, at least the two we know so far, are seen fighting guys in some kind of stealth suits. Can anybody explain to me why the bad guys have full body invisibility suits but have completely visible weapons? Why go invisible if I can clearly see where you are by the knife floating in the air? A lot of the art in this book has that same, poorly-thought-out feel. It isn’t bad, per se, just nothing to get excited about. Grade: C+.

Overall Grade: C+. This book is just okay so far. I’m interested enough to at least read through the first arc, but there are a lot of questions that need to be answered for this book to come together.

Blue Beetle #1

Creative team: Tony Bedard (story) and Ig Guara (pencils)

Story so far: Jaime Reyes is the newest incarnation of the Blue Beetle. In the New 52, we have no idea so far if Dan Garrett and Ted Kord were still Blue Beetles, but we can be sure that this is the Jaime show. Bedard does an excellent job fixing the minor problems this book had in its previous incarnation with this first issue. The relationship between the scarab and the alien race known as the Reach is clearly defined in the open sequence, followed by a clear explanation of the Green Lantern Corps stance on scarabs, two things the old series took quite a while getting around to. Beyond this, not much has really changed. This is one of the few instances of a true origin story in the New 52, and while it could be interesting to see Jaime integrated into the rest of the DCU again, I have a feeling that for the most part, this story will just be retread of the old story. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, especially for new readers. I thoroughly enjoyed the old series, and it looks like this one will live up to my expectations. Grade: B.

Art: The art here is good and also keeps with the status quo of the previous series. There is a cartoon-ready feel to this book that makes me wonder if Guara has a background in animation (add looking that up to my ever-growing “list-of-things-to-do”). Definitely check out the last two pages for some very well drawn origin sequences, giving this scarab a sense of doom the previous one didn’t seem to have. Grade: B+.

Overall Grade: B. As I said, I liked the old Beetle series, and this book is just more of the same. I probably wouldn’t recommend this to established comic readers looking for a new book, but would definitely recommend it to new comic readers, as it was one of the more complete #1s, establishing the characters, the story, the time and the overall place in the DCU very clearly.

Captain Atom #1

Creative team: J.T. Krul (story) and Freddie Williams II (art)

Story so far: Oh yeah. That’s what was missing. A story. Krul has been quite the disappointment in the New 52 so far, especially as much as I enjoyed some of his pre-reboot work (especially his old Green Arrow series). I assume that Captain Atom is still Captain Nathaniel Adam, but I don’t know. In my opinion, that is a SERIOUS fault in the writing. Who is Captain Atom and why do I care that he’s losing control of his powers? This isn’t a Batman or Superman situation, where the character’s status in popular culture renders the need for backstory obsolete. Captain Atom is known to comic fans, but not many outsiders have much of a frame of reference here, and this issue doesn’t cater to them. Also, there appears to be two “stories” going on here, one of which involves a hobo and a mutant rat. I’ll stick this out for the rest of the first story, so keep your eyes peeled for an update six months to a year down the line, but so far, this is just plain no good. Grade: D-.

Art: I usually like Williams’ art style, but he appears to have abandoned the conventional pencils and inks and has gone completely digital for this issue. I think it generally works fine for Cap himself, but doesn’t work for the backgrounds and other characters, which doesn’t work in a book that isn’t just a series of Captain Atom pinups. The regular people fade into the backgrounds without any defining outlines. Trying to figure out what is happening in this art is like trying to see a pattern in a mud puddle. Grade: F

Overall Grade: D-. Well, the story wasn’t very good, but at least the art stunk. The only interesting thing about this book is this loss of control Atom is experiencing, but without knowing what his personality is really like in the new universe, I’m not sure I care. Go fly into the sun, and take this first issue with you.

Catwoman #1

Creative team: Judd Winick (story) and Guillem March (pencils)

Story so far: Brutal, ruthless and sexy, this new take on Selina Kyle is everything I had hoped for it to be. We get to see Catwoman back to her roots after several years of pseudo-do-gooding in Gotham City Sirens, only rather than just stealing property, it appears this Catwoman is also looking to steal some information. I like that Selina’s luck is just as bad as always here, as her apartment is firebombed by some gang (for the second time, apparently!). Oh yeah, and her relationship with Batman has… changed. In an interesting twist, we’re back to her not knowing Batman is Bruce (although he probably has her identity figured out, since he’s the freaking Batman). When Batman confronts her on a rooftop, the two have sex with their costumes mostly on, and it is implied that this is a semi-regular occurrence. Where this is going is still up in the air, but I have a gut feeling we’ll see Selina pregnant again before too long. Grade: A-.

Art: Clearly March was brought in for his skills at drawing ultra-sexy pinups. Mission accomplished here. I was surprised at how well done the violence was in accompaniment to the sex. I doubt there are many books out there I will like March’s style for, but this is definitely a match made in heaven on this title. Grade: A.

Overall Grade: A. A very strong book. I have to admit I’m a little shocked that Winick didn’t make Selina a lesbian, based on how well he writes gay characters, but I’m certainly not upset. Keep this title away from the kiddies, but feel free to jump on this train early, as I’m sure we’re in for a bumpy and enjoyable ride.

DC Universe Presents #1

Creative team: Paul Jenkins (story) and Bernard Chang (pencils)

Story so far: The first character focused on in this anthology series is Deadman, hot off the heels of his resurgence during the Brightest Day storyline last year. In this first issue, the reader is treated to a brief retelling of his origin story, followed by a clear re-establishment of the character, his motivations and his place in the DCU. Some cosmic entity known as Rama explains how his powers work to him for the first time, giving the reader a clear description of how this character operates, and then he goes on to make several connections with minor characters, apparently in an effort to help them overcome various fears and feelings of inadequacy. His final character is a wheelchair-bound soldier who apparently knew Deadman would come if he threatened suicide. To be continued… A very strong start to a book that really could have gone either way. My only complaint was that there was only a main story and no back-up story, which I have come to expect from an anthology series, but this is a minor complain at best. Grade: B+.

Art: Bernard Chang’s pencils are sharp, clean and beautiful. The backgrounds are ultra-detailed except in places where they are completely blank for effect. Everything about this book worked for me. Grade: A

Overall Grade: A. One of the most pleasant surprises of the week, without a doubt. Keep in mind that because this book doesn’t have a dedicated character, it could fall off a cliff at any change in the creative team, but I can’t help but feel it will draw in some top talent and continue to be strong. Also, with only 52 regular titles, this will be an important book for establishing characters not considered strong enough for their own titles, which opens the door for some great takes on classic and reimagined characters.

Green Lantern Corps #1

Creative team: Peter J. Tomasi (story) and Fernando Pasarin (pencils)

Story so far: As was the case with Green Lantern #1, this book utterly failed as a new series but was very solid as a continuation of the old series. Spinning directly out of the events of War of the Green Lanterns, this appears to be John Stewart and Guy Gardner’s Lantern book (with New Guardians focusing on Kyle and Green Lantern for Hal and Sinestro, in case you’ve gotten lost along the way). I’m not exactly sure what the purpose behind having Guy and John try and find civilian jobs and fail was supposed to do for the story, other than show the perils of being a superhero sans mask, but they were entertaining little interludes. This story involves the rest of the Corps as there is an unknown entity killing Lanterns. Naturally, Guy and John form a squad to investigate. Overall, nothing out of the ordinary for this book. Grade: B+.

Art: There’s nothing inherently wrong with the art in this book, but it didn’t really pop for me. I’m not squeamish when it comes to my comic books, but the opening sequence seemed gratuitously violent and a bit over the top. The visuals of John using his ring for architectural designs seem like they could have been much cooler than they were. I did really like the splash page of Oa, which has much more of a feel of being a part of the planet as opposed to a giant megapolis. Grade: B.

Overall Grade: B. If you liked the series before the reboot, rest assured that you will probably still like it. If you have never read an issue of GLC, however, this book is probably not for you, as very little about who/what/when/where and why are explained.

Legion of Super-Heroes #1

Creative team: Paul Levitz (story) and Francis Portela (pencils)

Story so far: This is yet another title that seems to have picked right up where the old series left off. While in some books this caused (or could cause if you were unfamiliar) a fair amount of confusion, this never seems to be the case with Legion books. I’ve never been an avid Legion reader, but have almost always felt I could pick up any issue of any Legion title and follow along. With a veteran Legion writer (and editor) like Levitz at the helm, this is especially the case. As with most Legion books, the first appearance of each character is accompanied by a box giving their name, home world and powers, so characters are very easy to keep track of. There are some fun references to other DC projects despite this book being the only one set in the distant future, especially how it ties directly to Legion Lost, with another reference to the problems with time travel due to the “Flashpoint Effect” as well as the effect of having lost those members and the need for a recruitment drive, giving the creative team plenty of opportunity to bring in obscure past Legionaries as well as create new ones. The general story is fun but of little to no real consequence. This will clearly be a character driven book rather than story driven, at least for the time being. Grade: B.

Art: I loved the art in this book. Anybody tackling a Legion book is taking on a huge responsibility because of the enormous ensemble cast, but Portela does an amazing job of making the characters distinct and detailed while not allowing the backgrounds to suffer for it. The two-page spread showing various squads of Legionaries is particularly well done, especially for showing the various moods of the characters while talking about the effects of the lost members. Grade: A+.

Overall Grade: A-. It’s hard not to like the Legion in any incarnation, and this is no exception. I would like to see some major story thread emerge from the chaos, but other than that, a very solid start to the book.

Nightwing #1

Creative team: Kyle Higgins (story) and Eddy Barrows (pencils)

Story so far: Batman no more! Dick Grayson, the original Robin, has returned the cape and cowl to its rightful owner and returned to his adult persona of Nightwing. Don’t get me wrong: I liked Dick’s take on Batman, but it was long overdue for him to step out of the shadows and back into the light. There was a great recap sequence where Dick basically expresses this same sentiment. As for the rest of the story, the circus is in town and a new acrobatic villain is on the scene to give Grayson some problems. Nothing terribly inventive here, but the writing style is solid even if the plot isn’t. Grade: B-.

Art: This book is just too damned dark, visually. I’m not sure if that is the artist’s style or a result of Dick’s time as Batman taking a toll on his perspective a bit, but I don’t care much for the new black and red costume or the general over-inked feeling here. Also, this is one of the few times I can honestly say I enjoy looking at Barrows’ backgrounds more than his people. This might not be the best fit for the book, but it certainly isn’t the worst, either. Grade: B-.

Overall Grade: B-. Of all the ancillary Batman characters to have their own book, this is the weakest so far, but when compared to books like Batgirl and Batwoman, that isn’t saying it’s a bad book by any means. I never really felt like Nightwing could support a very strong solo book while based in Gotham, and I still have my reservations, but this is still better than some of the Batman core titles so far.

Red Hood and the Outlaws #1

Creative team: Scott Lobdell (story) and Kenneth Rocafort (pencils)

Story so far: There has been a lot of uproar from parents on this book. The core team as introduced so far is Jason Todd (former Robin and current Red Hood) Roy Harper (former Speedy and current Red Arrow) and Starfire, formerly of the Teen Titans (both in old and apparently current continuity). The uproar has been over Starfire and Red Arrow having casual sex. To this, I ask if any of these parents are familiar with the character outside of the Teen Titans cartoon? This has been a long-standing aspect of the character, so get over it. Should the book have a Teen-Plus rating instead of Teen? Maybe. All that being put behind us, I thought this was an excellent introduction to the characters and how they ended up together. We meet a threat called the Untitled and a mysterious organization that Jason appears to have ties to called the All Caste. I have no idea what any of that means, but I’ll be damned if I can’t wait to find out. No mention yet of Roy’s former drug problems, and he appears to have both limbs again. Grade: B+.

Art: This art was not to my liking at first glance, but as I got further into the story, the whole package clicked for me. The art feels a little too busy, blocky and unrefined, but for whatever reason, it just works for this book. I suppose it has something to do with the dirty and unrefined feeling of the story. Grade: B+.

Overall Grade: B+. This is a very solid first issue, clearly establishing the characters, their place and connections to the rest of the DCU, a new overarching story with what appears to be some very interesting characterization on the horizon. This is a definitely better-than-average book that could be a fantastic read going forward.

Supergirl #1

Creative team: Michael Green and Mike Johnson (co-writers) and Mahmud Asrar (pencils)

Story so far: Like Superboy, this is a complete character reboot, showing Kara as having just landed on Earth. This means no relationships with Dick Grayson or Lana Lang, no time being trained by Wonder Woman, no Darkseid influence, no time with the JLA or the Teen Titans, nothing. In fact, at this point, she doesn’t even seem to know that Krypton has been destroyed, which raises questions about the New Krypton stories as well. Not to mention the question of whether Power Girl exists in the new DCU. In the long term, this will probably end up being a good thing for the character, but for now, I just have a hard time getting excited for this book. Grade: C.

Art: I was mostly unimpressed by the art. It has a bit of manga style to it, similar to the work of Amanda Conner, but not nearly as well done as Conner’s work. Most of the backgrounds are filled with snow, leaving many of the panels feeling incomplete. Grade: C-.

Overall Grade: C. I sincerely hope they don’t spend the next six months giving us a long, drawn out origin story, when eight pages (max) would probably have sufficed. Not a terrible book, but nothing really happened here and I never found myself wanting more. I had to re-read the issue to write this review because I couldn’t remember anything that happened, which is probably a really bad sign.

Wonder Woman #1

Creative team: Brian Azzarello (story) and Cliff Chiang (pencils)

Story so far: I have yet to be let down with an Azzarello story, and this is no exception. In my opinion, this is the first good Wonder Woman story since Greg Rucka was on the book five or so years ago. What these books have in common is the renewed connection to Diana and the Greek gods. There is certainly a lot of mystery here, with a strange sense of the suspense a horror movie creates. Az is the perfect writer to reinvigorate this staple character. My only complaint is a lack of back story, but for better or worse, news sources have it that this will be addressed in the next few issues. Grade: A-.

Art: If I can’t have Edward Risso doing art on an Azzarello book, Chiang is a close second option. I especially loved the way Chiang draws Diana larger than other the other woman in the book, harkening back to a more traditional sense of the Amazons. Hermes looked a little odd to me, but I loved the classic take on his feet. Grade: A.

Overall Grade: A. This book is brought to you by the creative team that made Traci 13 incredibly interesting, so it is no surprise that this is one of my favorite issues of the entire re-launch. That being said, I recognize this isn’t a book for everybody, so even though I loved it, some folks may want to wait and let the story develop a bit before diving right in.