The New 52 general discussion

My thoughts on all 13 issues from the second week.

My ratings so far:

5/5 - Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Batwoman
4/5 - Action Comics, Men of War, Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E., Green Lantern, Resurrection Man
3/5 - Batwing, Justice League, Stormwatch, Batman and Robin, Demon Knights, Superboy
2/5 - Batgirl, Justice League International, O.M.A.C, Static Shock, Deathstroke, Grifter, Red Lanterns, Suicide Squad
1/5 - Detective Comics, Green Arrow, Hawk and Dove, Legion Lost, Mister Terrific

Next week: Batman, Birds of Prey, Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, Catwoman, DC Universe Presents, Green Lantern Corps, Legion of Super-Heroes, Nightwing, Red Hood and the Outlaws, Supergirl and Wonder Woman. What are you looking forward to?
 
james kennedy said:
-demon knights (2.0/5.0)…very difficult to follow, very little to feel interested or enthusiastic about (i was looking forward to this one), i hope it improves with the following issues, at some point i felt i was reading "dungeons and dragons" or something along those lines (not there´s anything wrong with "d & d" haha)
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fail!
 
ProjectX2 said:
My thoughts on all 13 issues from the second week.

My ratings so far:

5/5 - Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Batwoman
4/5 - Action Comics, Men of War, Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E., Green Lantern, Resurrection Man
3/5 - Batwing, Justice League, Stormwatch, Batman and Robin, Demon Knights, Superboy
2/5 - Batgirl, Justice League International, O.M.A.C, Static Shock, Deathstroke, Grifter, Red Lanterns, Suicide Squad
1/5 - Detective Comics, Green Arrow, Hawk and Dove, Legion Lost, Mister Terrific

Next week: Batman, Birds of Prey, Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, Catwoman, DC Universe Presents, Green Lantern Corps, Legion of Super-Heroes, Nightwing, Red Hood and the Outlaws, Supergirl and Wonder Woman. What are you looking forward to?
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I am really looking forward to Batman, Legion of Superheroes, Captsin Atom and Birds of Prey, how about you?
 
I'm getting back into comics because this seemed as good a jumping on point as any and the digital comics are too tempting to resist. Seeing as the digital prices are ridiculous (they should really be about $1 to $1.50 each like iTunes) I'm limiting myself to three to four DC titles a week and I'm just going to continue trade waiting others that interest me along with the Marvel and miscellaneous titles I already follow.

I decided to do an in-depth review of each book I got and I'm also going to go through the ones I didn't and why.

Justice League- Geoff Johns, Jim Lee

First Thoughts: Note that this will probably be a bit biased because I'm a huge fan of the "magnificent seven" incarnation of the League and seeing them written properly in continuity once again makes me giddy. The first comic my dad ever bought me was JLA #14 where all of the new recruits like Plastic Man, Huntress and Steel join the League so restarting my comics relationship with the League seems fitting.

Plot: Starting off I have to say that Jim Lee was a perfect choice to do this series because he's a superb artist. I think the majority of his redesigns are atrocious and reiterate that Alex Ross should have handled that but that's for a different post. The first action sequence with Batman chasing the Parademon while also being chased by the GCPD is beautifully drawn and the constructs that Green Lantern uses are really well thought out. This has always been one of my favorite aspects of Geoff John's writing in that he really puts thought into GL's use of the ring.

While I love John's concepts I have to admit his dialog in this is pretty pour which is a shame because it's usually a strong point. Batman and GL's conversation while fighting the Parademon seems completely out of place and it would have been much better if GL just went on and on with Batman saying nothing. My problem is that so much of this is just explanation but that's a given with the new readers mantra DC is pushing.

I thought the Cyborg set up was pretty good and I have to admit his presence in the League is growing on me. It's a great idea to have a point-of-view character for the readers (which I think is why Firestorm was so successful early on) and Vic has always been one of my favorite Titans. Johns has always been able to write him brilliantly so Cyborg is probably the aspect of the new series I'm most excited about. But once again I'm going to dog Johns' dialog when the high schoolers see GL and Batman flying over and say "Seems like there's a new sighting every day". Don't know why but it irked me (probably because no teen talks like a fifties beat reporter).

I only noticed this the second time but when Batman and GL arrive at Metropolis Superman is having a fight at Lexcorp giving me hope Luthor plays a big part in the series (I've always thought Johns has handled him well). And of course it ends with Superman ripping through a wall and sucker punching GL before getting ready for a showdown with Batman. I don't think this ending is as controversial as everyone's making out to be because clearly the Superman of this universe is much more of a brawler than the old one.

Pros: The art was really what sold this for me and in an issue this important the art had to be outstanding. I love how Lee can choreograph fights and all of his Batman sequences were great as usual. I also think he's found the perfect outlet to draw Batman as Hush and ASBARTBW were too dark of stories given his style. As usual with Johns the characterization was spot on and GL's constructs were great.

Cons: While I was glad to get back to reading a proper Justice League I don't think this succeeded in starting the universe off. I may be weird but I think if you put a character on the cover of a comic book they should actually appear in that comic (I'm looking at you Wolverine). I love decompression and setup of stories but I also think Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Flash should have been shown in some capacity; a panel for each would have even been nice. Beside that I wasn't a fan of a lot of the dialog.

Final Thought: A well done (if slow moving) introduction to the young members of the Justice League that succeeded in making me want to see what's next. That being said it wasn't impeccable when it should have been given the event surrounding it.

3.5/5

*Also looking at the original redesigns I'm really disappointed Lee didn't go with the first Superman cape he had going on.

Animal Man- Jeff Lemire, Travel Foreman

First Thoughts: Well, everyone was hyping this up as the best of the new books and I was excited to get into it. Animal Man has always bee one of those quirky characters with a cool power that I've been a fan of. I still need to read Morrison's Animal Man run but it's hard to find the trades so I'll have to wait on those.

Plot: I like the little interview at the beginning of the story. It's quick and sums up Buddy's entire outlook on life so anyone confused about him is going to get caught up fast (a problem Justice League had). I like the family interactions with his wife and kids and I'm glad the focus is on Buddy's family-life just as much as his superhero life. I'm sure this is how the Morrison run went so it's clearly Buddy's main strength as a character.

While I had problems with the dialog in Justice League being out of place it's pretty good in this and I think Buddy's inner monologue is where it's strongest. I'm glad they're going into the Red with a bit of mystery. It's never been fully explained what it was and I think they're going to play up all of the different incarnations they've had of it so far. This really has a horror vibe to it which is good and the dream sequence and final page are actually terrifying. Overall I think its setting up for a nice series.

Pros: The characters and dialog are great in this but the best part by far is Lemire's atmosphere. Foreman gives it a really creepy look that's setting this up as a good psychological superhero book. It's also a very quick read which is nice.

Cons: I think Foreman was the right choice for this but his humans have very odd elongated necks. It was…disturbing.

Final Thought: An excellent addition to the Animal Man mythos that sets it up clearly for new readers while starting off what looks to be a great storyline involving Animal Girl.

4.5/5

Action Comics- Grant Morrison, Rags Morales

First Thoughts: It's Grant Morrison writing Superman again…c'mon.

Plot: So this has a lot going on in it. Like most Morrison plots there's at least a dozen things going on at once and we'll probably not even realize ten of them until the end of the run. Going through I counted Superman exposing white collar criminals hurting the poor, the police trying to stop Superman, a younger, inexperienced and most importantly weaker Man of Steel, Luthor working for the government, Clark working opposite the Daily Planet, Clark's relationship with Jimmy, Clark's relationship with his hippy landlord Ms. Nyxly (who is almost certainly going to be Mxyzptlk), something coming from outer space near Neptune (Brainiac I'm betting), and finally the main story involving Superman being captured by the government.

The plot in this is great and Morrison's at his best weaving and interconnecting everything like he did in JLA, Batman and All Star Superman. I have to say he writes super geniuses better than almost everyone save Alan Moore and Luthor's plan to shoot Superman with a bullet train is ingenious. That's probably my favorite aspect of this story in that we get a Superman who's physically weaker than usual and can bleed, sweat and get bruised as he goes on. I also think Rags Morales was a good choice for this because he's got that classic style that fits Superman oh so well.

Pros: Practically everything especially Luthor's plot and Superman's interactions with the other characters. I can't wait to re-read it after all is said and done to see how everything fits together.

Cons: The costume. Seriously the Kryptonian armor is bad but Superman looks kind of stupid when you think about it.

Final Thought: Another Morrison soon-to-be classic that sets up the new Superman's world and will probably give us Morrison's previous pitch of Superman from early 2000.

5/5

Demon Knights- Paul Cornell, Diogenes Neves

First Thoughts: Well everyone had been raving about Paul Cornell since his MI13 days and I've never had the chance to read his work. This getting such good reviews and Cornell's influence really sold me on buying a concept I otherwise wouldn't get into.

Plot: So the prologue is nice in that it sets up the Jason Blood/Etrigan dynamic and also introduces us to Madame Xanadu (though it's still not explained why she's immortal, I'm not familiar at all with the character). There's the fall of Camelot, losing of Excalibur, et. I loved Neves' art on this because it reminds me a bit of Mark Brooks whose one of my favorites.

Then of course we jump forward 400 years to the Dark Ages where we're bombarded by characters familiar and unfamiliar. I'm excited to read some Vandal Savage, Sir Ystin and Mordru again as they're all characters I really like and these two other "Knights" Al Jabar and Exoristos seem interesting. I really like the concept that Cornell may be turning this into a Justice League of the Dark Ages which is all kinds of awesome. My one problem with it is that all of the characters seem to meet all too coincidentally but I'm sure their appearances will be explained.

Pros: Cornell's writing is as good if not better than all the ravings I've heard about it (now I have to get MI13 and his other stuff in trade). I love that he's turned Etrigan from this total bastard into a lovable rogue because the grim and brooding Jason Blood and murderer sadist Etrigan were getting old. I'm hoping this turns into a solid fantasy Justice League type book in the vein of Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones; also: Dragons!

Cons: The main characters all meeting too easily always grates me (I'm looking at you Star Trek) but I'm sure it will be explained soon.

Final Thoughts: It's Etrigan leading a Fellowship/League hybrid with Vandal Savage and the Shining Knight. 'Tis going to be awesome.

5/5

*Also I know Etrigan rhyming is a Kirby staple and this version is getting some flak for it but I always find authors spend too much time making the rhymes instead of making good dialog.

Justice League International- Dan Jurgens, Aaron Lopresti

First Thoughts: So I wanted to get all of the Justice League books so I could have a stable corner of the universe to follow. I've read some Jurgens before and nothing he's written has really stood out but JLI is such an easy concept to get around that I figured he could do fine. I thought the lineup was interesting so I went ahead with it.

Plot: I have to start off by saying that the "international" voices in this are awful, especially Rocket Red. I know a bit of Russian and I know that when actual Russians speak in English they do not replace the easy words like yes with da. Other than that I thought the central characters' personalities were done well with Booster, Guy and Batman all reading well. I also see this is a kinder Batman compared to the old universe's which is a good change.

The roster choices in this are kind of baffling to me on this though. Booster I get because he's a staple of the JLI and he deserves a starring role in a book but him as leader doesn't make a bit of sense. I mean you've got August General in Iron (who is an actual general keep in mind) and he's taking orders from a Calvin Klein model. I hope this is brought up that the general should be in charge. Otherwise I would have picked a different member of the Great Ten but I guess the General is the most popular.

Rocket Red, Vixen, Fire and Ice all work because their staples of the League and actually international but Godiva just really doesn't interest me. I know they needed a British superhero but couldn't they have had Paul Cornell whip up some cool obscure one for the team? Also Batman being in this irks me. It's not that I don't think Batman would go out and force him self into being the liaison between Leagues but I think they missed an opportunity to get one of the actual international League members like Diana or Orin on the team. Personally I would have loved to have Wonder Woman end up being leader because it makes so much sense.

The plot's not really a plot yet so I don't know what to say about the story. I do like that they have an excuse for another Justice League to exist so there's that.

Pros: Not many. I liked Booster and Guy but this is going to need to step it up. The art was passable.

Cons: Rocket. Red. And pretty much everything else about it.

Final Thoughts: This needs to pick it up if the DC Universe is serious about the Justice League being a tent pole of the new 52.

2/5 (Not quite a 1 because it wasn't terrible but barely so)

*I also laughed at the DCAU nod "Is that Green Lantern?"

Stormwatch- Paul Cornell, Miguel Sepulveda

First Thoughts: I liked the Warren Ellis run on Authority so I was willing to give Cornell's run a go. I figured Cornell would give it some more of that Brit punk rock vibe the first had.

Plot: Well this is a lot going on. I'm being introduced to a lot of characters I'm not sure about like these Projectionist and Swordsman characters. I find the introduction of Apollo is interesting in that he's absolutely everything Superman is not and I'm sure they'll fight pretty soon. With all this going on though I couldn't quite make sense of it all and I'll need to re-read it for sure.

Pros: I like Martian Manhunter being a part of this group and his new look is actually one of the few redesigns I really like. I also like that Cornell is connecting this back to Demon Knights so it'll be interesting to read them and get a sense of the whole universe he's building.

Cons: The art is pretty meh to me but I guess it works with the tone being set up (I was spoiled by Bryan Hitch on the Ellis run). Overall I think there's a little too much going on and unlike Action Comics this doesn't balance them quite well. Still I have faith Cornell will make this a good iteration of the characters.

Final Thought: A good introduction of the Wildstorm characters into the DC proper. This needs to get going and establish the characters soon though; not nearly on the level of Cornell's Demon Knights.

3/5

Swamp Thing- Scott Snyder, Yanick Paquette

First Thoughts: So like the Animal Man run by Morrison I've never had the chance to read Alan Moore's Swamp Thing. It's never been a character I've particularly gotten into but the reviews for this were quite good and I wanted to give it a shot.

Plot: This is a pretty good setup to Alec Holland's life and how he is (or isn't) Swamp Thing. I liked the medical and biological explanations as these things sometimes come off as the writer proving how smart he is but they were natural here. I also liked the interaction with Superman and that we now know he died in this universe.

Really what stood out to me was the art on this. I thought Paquette was great on Ultimate X-Men and I'm glad that he's keeping the quality up with Swamp Thing. I think the connections this book has to Animal Man are obvious and I hope they crossover to connect the Red and the Green. Overall I thought it was a good start to what will ostensibly be a horror book and I'm hooked enough to stay on.

Pros: Pretty much all of it though Paquette's art sticks out the most.

Cons: I didn't really have any.

5/5

Books I Didn't Buy:
Batgirl- I know Gail Simone is the authority on Barbara but the character just doesn't interest me when she's not Oracle.
Batman and Robin- It's not Morrison writing it so I'm not that interested.
Batwing- It's a good concept but Winnick writing it makes me wary.
Batwoman- I want to get caught up on the Greg Rucka series so I can get a good feel of the character.
Deathstroke- I don't know how much Slade can carry his own book for awhile.
Detective Comics- Tony Daniels writing inspires absolutely zero hope in me and from reviews I've read I'm right.
Frankenstein Agent of SHADE- I need to hear some more good things about this before jumping head first into it.
Green Arrow- I just don't care about Smallville Green Arrow and I hear JT Crul is awful.
Green Lantern- This series is on trade wait for me.
Grafter- Never could get into the character.
Hawk and Dove- Come on Liefeld really?
Legion Lost- Not a big fan of the Legion unless they're in someone else's book.
Men of War- It just didn't hook me in.
Mister Terrific- I like the character but I'm not sold on him as a solo character.
OMAC- I don't feel like I need to read an extended Jack Kirby reference.
Red Lanterns- It seems like filler to me.
Resurrection Man- This one seemed intriguing but I picked the others over it.
Static Shock- I liked the TV show and that's enough Static for me.
Suicide Squad- I really need to read Ostrander's run.
Superboy- I heard it was good so I may end up picking this one up.
 
I picked up Frankenstein and Demon Knights yesterday.

Frankenstein is pretty much BPRD/Hellboy light. The appearance of Ray Palmer was pretty surprising though. This one is on the fence for me. It was fun, but there's so many books demanding space on my pull list I'd be surprised if this made the final cut.

Demon Knights - Etrigan, Vandal Savage AND Mordru? I'm ****ing there. Plus it was pretty fun. I'm a bit curious if this is a new Shining Knight, the Golden Age Knight, or Grant Morrison's Knight. I'd be learning towards Morrisons since it looks to be a Justine.
 
It's Grant Morrison's Shining Knight.
 
Friday said:
Frankenstein is pretty much BPRD/Hellboy light.
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Interesting. I can't disagree with that.

And I didn't know that about Demon Knight - that just shot up to the top of my "to read" list. Shining Knight and Frankenstein were the 2 best 7 Soldiers books.
 
bluebeast said:
*Also I know Etrigan rhyming is a Kirby staple and this version is getting some flak for it but I always find authors spend too much time making the rhymes instead of making good dialog.
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Didn't Etrigan not rhyme in his first few apperances? I remember Moore's Swamp Thing specifically pointing out that he had been promoted to a Rhyming Demon from his previous rank. That'd make a non-rhyming Etrigan the correct choice continuity wise.

And I'm all for that. Most of the time his Rhymes are pretty awkward. The only times I really remember them being GOOD were Moore and Kevin Smith.

So really looking forward to... Well this isn't the best week of the Relaunch. I mean I get Legion but its probably going to be the most unchanged book next to Green Lantern. I'm hoping Blue Beetle is good, but I'm hoestly not expecting it to be.

As I said in the Weekly pull thread, I'd but Captain Atom if JT Krul wasn't writing it. I'm not willing to try his stuff.
 
Friday said:
Didn't Etrigan not rhyme in his first few apperances? I remember Moore's Swamp Thing specifically pointing out that he had been promoted to a Rhyming Demon from his previous rank. That'd make a non-rhyming Etrigan the correct choice continuity wise.

And I'm all for that. Most of the time his Rhymes are pretty awkward. The only times I really remember them being GOOD were Moore and Kevin Smith.

So really looking forward to... Well this isn't the best week of the Relaunch. I mean I get Legion but its probably going to be the most unchanged book next to Green Lantern. I'm hoping Blue Beetle is good, but I'm hoestly not expecting it to be.

As I said in the Weekly pull thread, I'd but Captain Atom if JT Krul wasn't writing it. I'm not willing to try his stuff.
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Yeah you're right Kirby never had him rhyming.
 
I checked out a couple of these. Batwoman was good, but there was something that didn't really click with me, not sure what. I'll stick with it, though. Same for Action Comics, Superboy, Demon Knights and Frankenstein. Unsure about OMAC and Resurrection Man.

Why yes, I did just buy only the ones recommended by friends or review sites. What can I say, I have a shallow mind.
 
I've read around 15 of these new 52 or so, and only one was good; ANIMAL MAN. The others were mediocre at best, although I personally found BATWING somewhat intriguing, it was not well done. It's all unremarkable. :?
 
The first issue of Wonder Woman pleased me.

In fact, it may be the best book of the relaunch.
 
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Saw something in DSF's comment that makes me laugh about geeks (and at times, myself included). We will be annoyed by the stupidest things. Really? Skinny Waller is was made Suicide Squad terrible? It wasn't the terrible art, or the crappy writing. Plus, we're so finicky about the dumbest ****. People wail about making Amanda Waller more like Angela Bassett, yet the Sam Jackson Nick Fury is cool. Just an observation.


Zombipanda said:
The first issue of Wonder Woman pleased me.

In fact, it may be the best book of the relaunch.
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I think Wonder Woman was better than most, but in my personal opinion, Batwoman, Animal Man, and Demon Knights are the "best" so far.
 
My ratings so far

Action Comics 5/5
Demon Knight 5/5
Swamp Thing 5/5
Batman 5/5
Animal Man 4.5/5
Wonder Woman 4/5
Justice League 3.5/5
Stormwatch 3/5
Legion of Superheroes 3/5
Justice League International 2/5

I'll definetly be getting Aquaman, Flash and Justice League Dark next week and may add the Green Lantern books. We'll see.
 
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So I read them this week and the only ones that stood out for me was Wonder Woman and Nightwing for some reason. None of the others I remember anything about.
 
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