DCnU Reviews, Week 1: Batgirl, Batwing, Detective Comics

(Back in June when the new DCU titles were announced, I ranked all 52 titles on my likelihood of buying them. Only fair then to look back and see if my initial assessments hold up. My plan is to review each of the new titles as they come out.)

Batgirl #1
by Gail Simone, Adrian Syaf & Vincente Cifuentes

Original Rank/Assessment: 7 (Yes, with Reservations) - Yes, I wish she were still Oracle as much as the rest of you. But I will read a Gail Simone Batgirl comic staring Barbara Gordon.

Of all of the New 52 comics, this is the one that has received the most pre-publication scrutiny, with disfavor coming from fans of both the former Batgirl Stephanie Brown (or even Cassandra Cain) and of Barbara Gordon's previous incarnation as Oracle. I doubt that either of those contingents will be mollified here, as both the previous Batgirls and Gordon's Oracle career appear to have been erased in the reboot timeline squeeze. What we are left with is a comic that tries to accomplish a lot: setting of Barbara's new status quo, explaining her back story & her miraculous healing, setting up a new threat in the villain Mirror, and including plenty of action. It makes for a very cramped twenty pages, with density often appearing where clarity instead is called for. But we'll see where it goes from here.

Rating: 3 (of 5).

Batwing #1
by Judd Winick & Ben Oliver

Original Rank/Assessment: 25 (Maybe/Provisional) - 'The Batman of Africa' could be a good concept, but I'm not sure that Winick is the best choice for it.

Though previously introduced a few months ago in Batman Inc.,  Batwing is essentially a brand new character, one of the few headlining a title in the New 52. As such, Winick doesn't need to worry about cuing us in on what is and isn't continuity and can get right into introducing Batwing and his world. And it's a dangerous one, in which insurgents and revolutionaries and military dictatorships battle with little regard to the civilians caught in the crossfire. It could make for some interesting stories. But I'm unhappy with the level of graphic violence displayed in the ending, which smacks of the worst excesses of the recent DCU (i.e. beheadings and swords through the chest, with plenty of blood on display). Oliver's art is a pseudo photo-realistic style that is in vogue with many, but sacrifices storytelling clarity. I want this book to be better.

Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Detective Comics #1
by Tony S. Daniel & Ryan Winn

Original Rank/Assessment: 34 (Maybe/Provisional) - I've been floating along with Daniel's work on Batman, but this may be a good place to drop off.

I suppose that the DCnU could have gone in a different direction with The Joker; there have been so many different interpretations over the years and this would have been the perfect excuse to try something different and unexpected. Instead, this is the same old Joker as maniacal serial killer that has been on display for the past couple of decades. A shame really, because it is getting quite old. Artwise, Daniel seems to kick it up a notch: his action scenes are mostly followable and he mixes up large and small panels to effectively control the pacing. It's better than I thought it would be, and I'll admit that the shocking ending, while unnecessarily gory, has me curious as to what will happen next. So mission accomplished, but this title is on very thin ice with me.

Rating: 3 (of 5).

My Invention!

My belief with this webcomic blog is to be true to myself. Unfortunately for you, I am inconsistent and sometimes all over the place as a comics creator. It's hard for me to make a strip if I don't believe in it (even if it is just a poop joke). I know I keep my readers waiting and I'm sorry for that. I'd rather put out a strip that's really nice looking instead of just rapidly cobbling them together.

Here's the poll outcome from last time:

What is the magical essence the crystal ball speaks of?

Poo voodoo (48%)

moisturizing lotion (11%)

babe power (18%)

a secret potion (11%)

DCnU Reviews, Week 1: Animal Man; Swamp Thing

(Back in June when the new DCU titles were announced, I ranked all 52 titles on my likelihood of buying them. Only fair then to look back and see if my initial assessments hold up. My plan is to review each of the new titles as they come out.)

Animal Man #1
by Jeff Lemire, Travel Foreman & Dan Green

Original Rank/Assessment: 8 (Yes, with Reservations) - Every Animal Man take since Morrison's has disappointed, but I have hopes for Jeff Lemire giving it a shot.

See, now this is how you re-establish a long-running character in a new issue. Lemire doesn't completely ignore all the past iterations of Animal Man, but efficiently cues us in on what parts of Buddy Baker's past he deems important, while getting us comfortable with the character's current status quo and setting up the future conflicts. Fans of the previous Vertigo-esque versions of Animal Man will be fine, even though the spandex is back; while his recent outer space adventures are mentioned in passing but can likely be safely ignored. Some may not find Foreman & Green's art to their liking, but I find the loose and thin-lined art to be fitting. Also, note how Foreman uses negative space and the lack thereof to reflecy the different facets of Buddy's life: his scenes at home are open, while as a super-hero the panels are more crowded, and the bits in the dreamscape are mushed together and off-kilter. Then there is Lovern Kindzierski's colors, with a subtle blue & yellow palate that echo Animal Man's traditional costume colors. This is an Animal Man comic I want to read.

Rating: 3.5 (of 5).

Swamp Thing #1
by Scott Snyder & Yanick Paquette

Original Rank/Assessment:  18 (Yes, with Reservations) - Not completely sold on the reboot premise, but I like the creative team.

Just in case you missed it at the end of Brightest Day or in the 3-issue BD Aftermath, Swamp Thing and Alec Holland are now separated, and this is bad for the green. Snyder & Paquette spend most of this first issue setting this all up once again, though thankfully they are more efficient at it than the dragged-out Aftermath. This will have to be considered a work-in-progress until we see what they do with Swamp Thing now that the preliminaries are out of the way. I'm still optimistic, though still cautiously as well.

Rating: 3 (of 5).

DCnU Reviews, Week 1: Hawk & Dove; Static Shock

(Back in June when the new DCU titles were announced, I ranked all 52 titles on my likelihood of buying them. Only fair then to look back and see if my initial assessments hold up. My plan is to review each of the new titles as they come out.)

Hawk & Dove #1
by Sterling Gates & Rob Liefeld

Original Rank/Assessment: 20 (Maybe/Provisional) - It'll be a race to see whether this or Batman: The Dark Knight is the first DCnU title to fall behind.

Of all the the DCnU titles, this one perhaps raised the most eyebrows when first announced. Writer Sterling Gates (of Morning Glories Supergirl fame) teaming up with critical punching bag Rob Liefeld, on Liefeld's return to the characters that marked his entry into comics way back in 1988. And it is pretty much what one would expect. All of Liefeld's artistic sensibilities are on display, from posing action shots to interesting anatomical choices. You know by now if you like it or not (and there is a non-trivial segment of the comics buying population that likes it quite a lot). Gates's story does the job, opening with an action set piece, then moving into exposition and adding in a couple of mysteries. Basically, this is exactly the comic it set out to be, and that you were probably expecting.

Rating: 2.5 (of 5)

Static Shock #1
by John Rozum, Scott McDaniel, Jonathan Glapion & Le Beau Underwood

Original Rank/Assessment: 9 (Yes, with Reservations) - One of my favorite Milestone characters. I wish Rozum were still doing Xombi, but hey, I'll take what I can get.

Along with Xombi & Icon, Static was one of my favorite of the old Milestone line. Now he is lightly integrated into the new DCU; so lightly in fact that this could easily follow right on the old Static series with no trouble at all. Virgil "Static" Hawkins has relocated to NYC with his family, and with funding/support from Hardware is continuing his super-hero ways. I'm not a fan of Static's new costume, but other than that the art is vibrant and alive in the way that you want for a comic about an electricity-based super. Let's just hope that the last-page 'shocker' is simply a ruse, because otherwise that's one aspect of the old DCU sensibility-of-late that I don't want to see in the new DC, especially Static.

Rating: 3 (of 5).

DCnU Reviews, Week 1: Men of War; O.M.A.C.; Stormwatch

(Back in June when the new DCU titles were announced, I ranked all 52 titles on my likelihood of buying them. Only fair then to look back and see if my initial assessments hold up. My plan is to review each of the new titles as they come out.)

Men of War #1
by Ivan Brandon & Tom Derenick; Jonathan Vankin & Phil Winslade

Original Rank/Assessment:  39 (Probably Not) - I think I'd rather see this as a straight war comic without the super-hero-y stuff.

I'm not much of a fan of war comics; if it's not written by Garth Ennis or drawn by Joe Kubert (or features a Haunted Tank or a G.I. Robot) it doesn't hold much appeal to me. And true to form this didn't hold much appeal to me. The grandson of the classic WWII character Sgt. Rock argues with superiors and leads an ill-fated combat mission against an unknown meta-human. The story in the back-up, featuring Navy Seals, is even less inspired, though I really like the style of art that Winslade is using. It's all competently done, and I'm glad that a comic like this has a place in the New 52, but it's really just not for me.

Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

O.M.A.C. #1
by Dan Didio, Keith Giffen & Scott Koblish

Original Rank/Assessment:  27 (Maybe/Provisional) - Giffen co-writing and drawing bumps a concept I normally wouldn't care about up into the provisional category.

This was a nice surprise. A comic like this rises and falls on the execution, and Didio & Giffen pull it off nicely. On paper I shouldn't like this much; it's just a big rampage by a mostly-mindless hulk-like O.M.A.C., but Didio & Giffen effectively use the action to introduce us to all of the central concepts in the series. Giffen adds just enough Kirbyness to his art to give it an extra dose of vitality, and the colors by Hi-Fi really pop. It remains to be seen how the concept will work as an ongoing series, but for a first issue it sets the tables nicely and has me wanting more.

Rating: 3.5 (of 5).

Stormwatch #1
by Paul Cornell & Miguel Spulveda

Original Rank/Assessment:  21 (Maybe/Provisional) - Cornell has yet to let me down, but I really don't see this Wildstorm concept fitting in to the DCnU, and Martian Manhunter seems like a really odd fit.

I really need to have more faith in Cornell; I didn't think the concept would work, but he pulls it off. We learn that Stormwatch is a secret society, protecting Earth from all sorts of unseen enemies over the centuries. And in this setting,  the Martian Manhunter fits in perfectly. We only get to briefly know each of the characters, but it works as an introductory issue. It also looks like the menaces they face will be sufficiently big and out-there to warrant the group's existence. I'm in.

Rating: 3.5 (of 5).

DCnU Reviews, Week 1: Green Arrow; Justice League International

(Back in June when the new DCU titles were announced, I ranked all 52 titles on my likelihood of buying them. Only fair then to look back and see if my initial assessments hold up. My plan is to review each of the new titles as they come out.)

Green Arrow #1
by J.T. Krul, Dan Jurgens & George Pérez

Original Rank/Assessment: 51 (Definitely No) - One of my least favorite writers on a character I could care less about.

I'm not much of a Green Arrow fan. I'll read the comic if there's a creator working on it that I like, but that's as far as my affection for the character goes. I've also never cared much for J.T. Krul's writing, and this comic didn't do anything to change my mind. Our DCnU Green Arrow Oliver Queen is still in his early wealthy stage, in charge of Queen Industries though having to answer to a hostile board. He's moonlighting as a super-hero with a bow. He fights a group of one-dimensional villains for some reason. A different group of interchangeable bad guys shows up at the end. It's all very rote and by-the-numbers. On the plus side, the art by Jurgens & Pérez is highly competent and nice to look at; it carries the story well, what little there is of it. But nice art isn't enough to save this from being dull.

Rating: 2 (of 5).

Justice League International #1
by Dan Jurgens, Aaron Lopresti & Matt Ryan

Original Rank/Assessment: 6 (Definitely Yes) - A return to my second-favorite JL era, with Aaron Lopresti on art, makes for a winning combination.


This one was a relative disappointment, but mainly because I had had what in hindsight appear to have been unreasonably high hopes. Jurgens handles the story competently, introducing us to the various characters, though frustratingly leaving much of their new backstory vague. This is a team thrown together by politics, so we get a bit of workplace friction and can likely expect more. (I like how Batman just joins the team on his own, without being asked.) I'd like to see a bit more humor from a comic with this book's pedigree though. Lopresti's art and storytelling are in fine form, and the coloring is appropriately bright. I'd like to see a bit more humor from a comic with this book's pedigree though. In all, this is a solid super-hero team book; it just needs an extra something to make it stand out from the pack.


Rating: 3 (of 5).

DCnU Reviews, Week 1: Action Comics

(Back in June when the new DCU titles were announced, I ranked all 52 titles on my likelihood of buying them. Only fair then to look back and see if my initial assessments hold up. My plan is to review each of the new titles as they come out.)

Action Comics #1
by Grant Morrison, Rags Morales & Rick Bryant

Original Rank/Assessment: 1 (Definitely Yes) - They had me at Grant Morrison + Superman.

Of all of the New 52 relaunch titles, this is the one which had me the most excited. Grant Morrison's All-Star Superman (with Frank Quitely) is in my opinion the best super-hero comic of the past twenty years. So Morrison's new take on Superman has a lot to live up to. Thankfully, it mostly does.

It is tempting to compare Action to All-Star; where the later presented a Superman at the end of his career, Action starts the story in Superman's early days. All-Star was an ode to the silver-age Superman, while Action draws upon Superman's earliest golden-age adventures for inspiration. But I think that such comparisons at this point are a bit premature; All-Star is a completed work, while Action is just the first issue in what is meant to be the foundation of a new mythology for the Man of Steel.

True to its name, Action Comics has plenty of action. A young Clark Kent is new to Metropolis, and is committed to fighting injustice, both as a would-be hero-of-the-people and as a crusading reporter for the Daily Star. We get introduced to Kent, as well as his best friend Jimmy Olsen and Olsen's boss Lois Lane, both of whom work at the rival Daily Planet. We also get a glimpse of Lex Luthor, who is working with a homeland security-type organization to try to bring the brash young hero down.

What we don't get is an origin story. In All-Star, Morrison covered the well-known origin of Superman in just one page. In Action, he dispenses with it entirely. This is good. If any super-hero's origin is well-known, it is Superman's. Instead we are thrown right into the action, drawn with dynamism by Morales, in an escapade that could have come right out of one of Superman's earliest stories by Siegel and Shuster in the original Action Comics.

In fact, keep your copy of the first volume of The Superman Chronicles handy, as there are and I presume will continue to be many allusions and call-backs to those formative stories of the late 1930s. Those were the days when this country was straining to climb out of the great depression, and there was still great mistrust in politicians, corporations, bankers, etc. Not a completely analogous situation to today's America, but not far off either. And thus we get a Superman for our times, a crusader who stands for truth and justice. Every generation gets the Superman it needs; and Morrison is giving us ours.

Rating: 4 (of 5).