The New DC 52 - Week 4

FINALLY DONE!!! This has turned out to be much more work than I realized, so hopefully somebody out there enjoys these.

All-Star Western #1

Creative team: Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Grey (co-writers) and Moritat (pencils)

Story so far: My only complaint about this book is that it is called All-Star Western and it takes place in Gotham City, which is supposed to be on the East Coast. That being said, I love it when these two write together, and never more than on Jonah Hex. This story spins out of Scott Snyder’s Gates of Gotham mini-series from pre-reboot continuity seamlessly. Jonah teams with Doctor Amadeus Arkham to solve a series of murders in Gotham City in a unique Holmes/Watson take on the characters. I imagine after the first story arc we’ll see Jonah back west in a more traditional series, but this setting works oddly well for the character. Grade: A+

Art: Moritat’s art is a perfect complement to the story here. There is a dark and gritty aspect to the title, much in line with the previous Hex solo series. The only complaint here is that the colors are fairly monotone, but it was clearly an attempt to convey an old-time feel, and I can respect that even if it doesn’t hit me in the sweet spot. Grade: A-.

Overall Grade: A. This book will probably be a hard sell for many fans of more conventional comic books, but it is worth a gamble. It will be very interesting to see if this only focuses on Jonah Hex or features solo stories from other western style DC characters in the future.

Aquaman #1

Creative team: Geoff Johns (story) and Ivan Reis (pencils)

Story so far: Aquaman has long been the joke of the Justice League. This may finally be the book that changes all that. There are several scenes in this book that are so well put together I wanted to “slap my momma” as my wife’s Pawpaw says. The first sequence with the King of the Seas shows him busting up a robbery in pure superhero fashion. Here the reader is shown a wide range of abilities from the Big Tuna, including super strength, the ability to leap tall buildings and near bullet-proofing. These are often downplayed aspects of Aquaman’s abilities, but make complete sense if you think about it. If he can withstand the pressures of swimming at the ocean floor, shouldn’t all of this be a no-brainer? After an all-business Arthur Curry saves the day, though, the real fun begins. The cops lament at being upstaged by Aquaman. AC goes to a seafood restaurant he used to go to with his father and endures all the awkwardness of the questions about talking to fish (which is explained in a scene that is sure to have you giggling to yourself). Finally, an uppity blogger (I hate those guys… all full of their self-important opinions!) conducts an interview with our intrepid hero, concluding with the questions “How’s it feel to be a punchline? How’s it feel to be a laughing stock? How’s it feel to be nobody’s favorite super-hero?” There is a lot more to the story in this issue, but you’re going to have to go read it for yourself. There is something about some new threat to the surface world in here, but the real story is Aquaman himself. And it’s a story worth reading. Grade: A+.

Art: With Ivan Reis doing the pencils, we have a legitimate superstar paring on this book, as unlikely as it would seem. Reis is at his finest, so that should speak for itself. If you aren’t familiar with Reis’s work, I feel sorry for you. Check it out. One specific note; Aurthur’s trident (pen-dent?) looks freaking cool. Grade: A+

Overall Grade: A+. Scoff if you will, but this is one of the best books of the bunch. I doubt many people, if any, will not agree.

Batman: The Dark Knight #1

Creative team: David Finch and Paul Jenkins (co-writers) and David Finch (pencils)

Story so far: One-Face? The big reveal at the end of this issue is a hulked out Two-Face proclaiming himself One-Face? Sorry for the “spoiler” here, but I’m doing this for your own good. I love Batman. He’s one of my favorite DC characters. I do not need to read four books featuring Bruce Wayne as Batman, and this is most certainly the loser of the bunch. Add in the fact that Finch is writing as well as drawing, and the added risk that because of this it will have a hard time coming out on schedule, and there is nothing appealing to me about this title. Grade: F.

Art: If you like Finch’s art, be aware that this is far from his best work. If you don’t like his art (and I’m not a big fan) this could be a very painful read for you. Again, because he is pulling double duty, the quality of both aspects seems to have suffered quite a bit. Grade: D-.

Overall Grade: F. I’ll have to go back and check all my other reviews, but this is currently my front runner for least favorite book of the reboot, and that includes a title drawn by Rob Liefeld. This was a huge disappointment, and I recommend just letting it sit on the shelf.

Blackhawks #1

Creative team: Mike Costa (story) and Graham Nolan (pencils)

Story so far: This book was going to be a hard sell from the start, and fails in execution writing-wise on many levels. First off, there are too many new characters for this ensemble cast, with little to no exposition as to who they are and why I should care. They are all members of yet another U.N. team known as the Blackhawks. The Blackhawks mission is… wait. They never said. I don’t know what the point of this book is, which is a fatal flaw when trying to draw readers in without a marquee character. The storytelling feels formulaic of a Hollywood action movie. You know the kind; where there are lots of explosions, some sexy chemistry and no plot. In an effort to explain the group and introduce the characters, there is some suit representing funding for the program being given a tour of the mountain headquarters. Oddly, he doesn’t seem to know anything about the team he is fronting money for. This was sloppy storytelling at its absolute worst. Grade: F.

Art: The art here was mostly not terrible, but very inconsistent. I take serious issue with a covert operation that puts its logo on its helicopter, but not nearly as much issue as the unrealistic zoom function on the smart phone that snatched a photo of it. Sometimes artists just don’t seem to think things through (see Cafu on Grifter) and that makes the story suffer because of it, which this story could not afford. Grade: C-.

Overall Grade: D-. Not the worst book I’ve read from the batch (or even from this week) but definitely close to the bottom. I’ll ride out the first arc, but I can’t see them doing anything amazing that would get me to stick with this book.

The Flash #1

Creative team: Francis Manapul (co-writer and art) and Brian Buccellato (co-writer and colors)

Story so far: There are some major changes in Barry Allen’s life here in the first issue. First off, he is dating Patty Spivot, a character introduced in the most recent Flash series (pre-reboot) and expanded on during Flashpoint’s Kid Flash Lost mini-series. This means Barry is not married to Iris West, which throws the entire Flash family into question. Does Wally West exist? Is he Kid Flash, rather than Bart Allen, Barry and Iris’ grandson from the future? Where does Jay Garrick, the Golden Age Flash fit into the picture? The actual character traits of Barry have carried over, but into a whole new version of his life. The flashback scenes with Barry’s childhood friend have an almost moralistic feel to them, and will clearly be a driving point in the storytelling here. This was a fun read, and is one of the only books I’ve re-read several times, not because I forgot what happened, but because I just can’t wait for #2! Grade: A+.

Art: Manapul is one of a handful of writer/artists DC is using right now (also Tony Daniel and David Finch). He is unique in that he is the only one that doesn’t let one aspect suffer for the other. The art, and particularly the layouts in this book are nothing short of wonderful. The scene depicting Flash falling from the top of the building, using a cyclone blast to throw the bad guy through the window to break his fall, and then vibrating through the street was a marvel in time lapse art, only rivaled by the page where Barry is at home and working on all aspects of his case in the blink of an eye. The only complaint here is that the colors seem very muted, which is clearly a conscious effort that isn’t working for me. It almost has a water color look to it, like everything is washed out. I may get used to it, or if they hear enough about it, maybe the colorist will just adjust mid-title. Either way, this is certainly not even close to a fatal flaw. Grade: A-.

Overall Grade: A. Maybe it’s just me, but DC certainly seems to have some favorite heroes with this reboot, and Flash is among them, based on the teams they put together for some of the re-launch titles. This book was fantastic, and along with Aquaman and Batman, a must read for comic fans.

The Fury of Firestorm #1

Creative team: Ethan Van Sciver and Gail Simone (co-writers) and Yildiray Cinar (pencils)

Story so far: Forget everything you know about Firestorm from the pre-reboot continuity. This is an entirely new story, and only the names have been kept to endanger the innocents. I have very mixed feelings on this book. This is a sort of origin story, but one that clearly has large amounts of backstory to it already. Professor Stein is already dead and Ronnie and Jason (both Firestorms in the pre-reboot books, and eventually Firestorm together) have just met. Ronnie appears to already have knowledge of Firestorm, which is a little confusing. Also, there appears to be several other Firestorms out there that perhaps combine to create this villain known as Fury? Whoever these bad guys are trying to get their hands on the Firestorm matrix seem over-the-top Bond villain-esque and the interactions between Ronnie and Jason seem destined for a CW television series. I’m not sure yet how this will play out, but I’m along for the ride… for now. Grade: C.

Art: The art is pretty solid, but a huge letdown after I realized Van Sciver was writing, not drawing. I’m trying really hard not to hold this against Cinar, because his work is pretty good, just not Van Sciver great, which would have gone a long way towards helping this book have a better feel to it. Grade: B.

Overall Grade: B-. I’m giving this book the benefit of the doubt for now because of my respect for Van Sciver and Simone, but something tells me eventually I’ll find myself demanding EVS return to art duties and Simone return to writing female characters.

Green Lantern: New Guardians #1

Creative team: Tony Bedard (story) and Tyler Kirkham (pencils)

Story so far: Kyle is the last of the four Earth Green Lanterns (or three now, while Hal is still out of the Corps) to make an appearance in the New 52. This felt like the most new-reader-friendly of the GL books, but as with the other three titles, it picks up directly after the events of the Green Lantern War. The reader is treated to brief origin story for Mr. Rayner here. Sadly, the writers and editors forgot to put a caption marking these as past events, which was very confusing at first. The driving force behind this plot is that rings from all the other colored Corps have abandoned their owners and fled for Earth to Kyle for an as yet unknown reason. The story is interesting so far, and I’m looking forward to some of the lesser exposed corps getting some face time with the readers. Grade: B.

Art: The art here was pretty good, with the exception of Kyle’s hair. It kept changing from panel to panel, and nobody outside manga has hair like that. It just looked out of place. The pinup of Fatality was very well drawn, but the Red Lantern who lost his ring looked terrible. Other than a few inconsistencies, however, the general style definitely appealed to me. Grade: B.

Overall Grade: B. This was an above average book all around, but certainly not a home run like some of the other titles this month. I’m a big GL fan, so I’ll of course be sticking with it, but if you aren’t a GL fan, this is probably the title to pass on, for now at least.

I, Vampire #1

Creative team: Joshua Hale Fialkov (story) and Andrea Sorrentino (pencils)

Story so far: Since this series has no precedent sent, I’m turning towards my beautiful wife for an expert opinion on trashy vampire lore to help guide me through this review. “I don’t understand what the fuck is happening. Is that good enough? I don’t care about the characters, and I don’t know what’s happening.” She goes on to say that the shape-shifting concept is cool and probably easier to do in comics than in text or movies, but because it isn’t a normal vampire ability, it should have been explained better. Grade: F.

Art: She seems to have liked the art better than I did, although I didn’t have much of a problem with it; it just didn’t strike as a home run. She compared it with Sandman art, which upon further reflection is a very fitting comparison. Grade: A.

Overall Grade: C-. “I would be willing to read two more until the story started to make sense to me, just like I would watch another American Horror Story.” So feel free to give it a chance, folks, but beware that this will not be a universally accepted book and may require a bit of patience.

Justice League Dark #1

Creative team: Peter Milligan (writing) and Mikel Janin (pencils)

Story so far: While this book had a much more distinct Milligan feel to the writing than Red Lanterns did, it officially marks the second time this month his story actually made sense to me, which brings him to a total of two sense making books in my lifetime! The introductions to the characters could have perhaps been handled better for the new readers’ sake, but I have a feeling that will come with time. So far we have Shade, the Changing Man (a Milligan staple), Madame Xanadu, Zatanna, Deadman, June Moone and the Enchantress in this book. Most of these are not characters most readers have really been exposed to and will require some backstory (even I’m not clear on June Moone’s story), but the overall idea of situations that the Justice League isn’t prepared to deal with is intriguing. We get cameos by Superman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg and Batman here; helping to draw a distinct link to the League and why a team needs to be assembled as Superman gets his butt kicked my magical teeth courtesy of the Enchantress. There are a lot of stories that can be told regarding this ragtag group of characters, and I look forward to reading more of this. Grade: A.

Art: There is no way to say this and have it not sound strange: the art on this book is clean and beautiful, and that is probably its biggest flaw. I can’t really bring myself to complain about a dark, Vertigo-esque book with good art, but something about it just doesn’t quite feel right. I do have a distinct feeling that as I read more of this series, my eyes will adjust and it will work out just fine in the end. Grade: B.

Overall Grade: A-. Despite the art not seeming to fit the writing, the book was very enjoyable, and long-time Vertigo fans can rejoice in this title. This book could be a bit esoteric for the average fan, so buyer beware, but maybe consider giving it a shot. You may discover a whole new world of comics to read!

The Savage Hawkman #1

Creative team: Tony Daniel (story) and Philip Tan (pencils)

Story so far: This story starts with Carter Hall, the Hawkman, attempting to turn his back on super-heroics by burning his Nth metal wings (which should have been explained better) and instead catching fire himself and later waking up in his apartment, miraculously alive. Part of the appeal of this character has always been his attitude, which appears to be stripped of the character in this incarnation, at least for now. The aspect of Hall as an archeologist seems to be more important here than in recent years, which I think is a turn for the better for the character in general, but there feels like something is lacking so far. I have a gut feeling that all of this story is just a step on the road to recovery for our favored Justice League rabble-rouser, however, so I’m willing to show some patience here. Having the wings and armor be imbedded in his body for mental recall is an interest gimmick. Grade: B+.

Art: I was a little let down by Tan’s art. I seem to remember loving his work on Uncanny X-Men several years ago, but this had a strangely vague and muddy look to it. The two-page title spread with fire engulfing Hall was really pretty, but the rest of the art felt lacking to me. Grade: C.

Overall Grade: B-. Patience is going to be a must for this book, so if you are lacking in that department, I don’t think it will be the book for you. This really felt more like a preview of the series than a first issue. That isn’t to say it won’t be a good series when it arrives, but it’s running a little slow right now.

Superman #1

Creative team: George Perez (story and cover) and Jesus Merino (pencils)

Story so far: I’ll say right up front that I am not comfortable with the new treatment of Superman yet. I am even less comfortable with his supporting cast. I have great respect for Perez and will certainly stick this out for a bit and see if it grows on me, but so far this is one reboot that isn’t working for me. I got the same uncomfortable feeling seeing Lois opening a door while her boyfriend (not Clark) appears half-naked behind her that one gets when they see an ex with somebody else, and in that regard I suppose mission accomplished with the writing. However, I don’t come to Superman books to be made uncomfortable. I feel like reading Superman titles should be an uplifting experience full of hope and awe. All I saw here was a clumsy and overconfident “hero” screwing up a lot of things in a short amount of time. Clark using an exclusive Superman interview to get on the front page of the Planet also felt… wrong. The only way I can think to sum up this whole book was that it just felt wrong. But maybe that’s ok. It’s a new day for DC, and clearly a new day for Superman. Grade: C-.

Art: The art here was actually pretty good, but not good enough to make me stop wondering how much better it would have been if Perez had done the art instead of the story. Merino is clearly influenced by Perez’s work, and was likely handpicked because of that. Unfortunately, no amount of good art is going to overcome the pitfalls of this weak story. Grade: B-

Overall Grade: C+. For a re-launch of a flagship title like Superman, I expected more from DC. I imagine that Perez was given a title to write because he asked, but Dan DiDio didn’t execute very good judgment by saying yes. As much as I like Perez and all the wonderful contributions he has made to the DC universe over the years, this was a failure despite being an okay book. This book needed to be great.

Teen Titans #1

Creative team: Scott Lobdell (story) and Brett Booth (pencils)

Story so far: This isn’t the first time I’ve had this complaint, but this is the most grievous. Don’t put a character on the cover if you aren’t going to put them in the book! This book featured Wonder Girl (but don’t call her that!), Red Robin (Tim Drake) and Kid Flash. The cover also had Superboy, Ravager (Grant Wilson), a dark, cloud-like character that might be Raven and a spider-looking character who were not featured except on monitors Tim was looking at and the final splash page (for Superboy). Clearly this first arc will be how the team comes together, which appears to be prompted by an organization hunting down young people with powers and abilities, which I think takes away from the original concept of sidekicks banding together. Also, this book appears to be tying in directly to the solo Superboy book, which is also written by Lobdell. The writing was good, but it just left me with too many questions for a first issue. I like most of these characters, though, so I want more, which is a good sign. And Lobdell is almost always a pleasure to read. Grade: B-.

Art: Brett Booth delivers some of his best art to date on this book, which is gorgeous from start to finish. The visuals on the final page for Superboy are amazing, and I really like Wonder Girl’s Donna Troy-like costume. Grade: A+.

Overall Grade: A-. This might be a little high, but what can I say? I really like this creative team together, even if they didn’t give me quite enough story here. This might be a book that doesn’t come together until after the first story arc, but I don’t mind the wait all that much as long as it looks like this.

Voodoo #1

Creative team: Ron Marz (story) and Sami Basri (pencils)

Story so far: This is another instance of Wildstorm characters being introduced to the DCU with no actual references to the rest of the DCU (as was the case with Grifter). Here we see Voodoo as the top stripper in a club being stalked by two “agents” (organization unknown so far) who are aware of her being an alien, although not much else. There are some oddly put together sequences where one of the agents hires her for a private dance and begins calling her out rather bluntly, then flat out says if she doesn’t cooperate she’ll end up being dissected. Suffice it to say this doesn’t go well for him. The plot here is fairly thin and predictable, and certainly gives no concrete sense of where this story is headed, with no main story revealed other than Voodoo is an alien spy. There is a distinct mid-90s feel here, where sex appeal outweighs and sort of story content. Grade: D+.

Art: One thing this book certainly has going for it is the art, perhaps to a fault. When Voodoo is shown in her true form (I assume), the art looks a little forced, but otherwise I had no complaints here. Grade: A.

Overall Grade: C. In my opinion, there is nothing more disappointing than a beautifully drawn book with shoddy story-telling. Perhaps as the story develops this book will turn into something great, but right now it’s a Megan Fox: pretty, but ultimately empty.