So here we all are. DC is about to complete it's initiative to release 52 of their comics with new number ones this week. Now before you read this, know it is by no means an analysis of the entire 52 comics. I've picked a pull list of 20 books to follow for now(yup, thats $60 bucks on DC comics alone),and so far have only got 11 of those books. From what I have read, I can say that overall I like what DC is doing here. I was able to get Justice League then missed a pretty big chunk of the 1st 2 weeks, then was able to get up to my comic shop this weekend and get some of the new books. Here is what I have so far and my thougths on those books.
Justice League: This book was pretty awesome. While we only got to see 4 characters, each seemed to be handled really well. It was fun to see the somewhat naive and brash Green Lantern teaming up with a somewhat experienced grizzled badass Batman. Cyborg will definitely be a case of more than meets the eye since right now he's a high school football star with daddy issues, and Superman showed up right at the end in badass fashion. It also helps that this comic takes place five years before the rest of the new 52(for the time being) because it will help explain why some things are the way they are in this new Universe, and what things have been retconned and what from the old DCU will stay(remember this relauch is only rebooting the DCU). Geoff Johns did a pretty good job of making us believe that the Justice League has not yet been formed and seemed to have a strong grasp on the characters. Jim Lee's art is what is always has been, amazing, crisp, and breathtaking. This was defintitley a great primer for what is to come in not only in this book, but the rest of the new 52.
Green Arrow: I enjoyed this book too. I have always liked Oliver Queen because he represents a different take on the billionaire playboy superhero. Queen is for the most part a liberal bleeding heart, who cares deeply about people and their rights, and has always been very vocal about his feelings. That much is still true of the character in this new first issue, only we are seeing him as a much younger man. He mentions somewhere in the book that he does waht he does because a while back when he chose not to act, bad things went down, so it sets Green Arrow up as a hero who cares alot about being responsibele. J.T. Krul does a good writing the charactrs and Dan Jurgens and George Perez do a pretty good job delivering standard superhero art. I lik that the costume is somewhat Smallvillie inspired, but all around the art is standard and nothing to write home about. And while Krul does a good job writing the comic, it's a bit hard to get excited about what he is doing since he will be leaving the series soon. Overall though, it was a fun read and my love of the character is what will keep me reading the series.
Green Lantern: My exposure to Green Lantern so far has been very brief. I came into Geoff Johns' run pretty late and with the bulk of what I pick up, I only managed to pick it up on and off. But I did like what I read so I decided to keep going and get number one. There was definitely some good characterization in this issue. I loved seeing Hal being so disconnected from everything on Earth from being a Green Lantern for so long that his life is now falling apart. Seeing him struggle to pay his rent, then try to break up what he thinks is a domestic violence dispute, but is really a scene being filmed for a movie, then make an ass out himself when he asks Carol Ferris to help him a new car while they are out to dinner was entertaining. The whole series of unfortunate events felt like a classic Stan Lee type of story. But what really has me excited here is seeing Sinestro back in the corps, and seemingly the Green Lantern that this book will be focusing on. Sinestro has always been a brutal badass who believes his methods are right even if otheres don't see things his way. If the book chooses to focus on him as the main Lantern of the title for a while it will be an awesome decision. Once again, Geoff Johns proves he knows how to handle all of the characters in this book very well, and Doug Mahnke' art is awesome as ever. If you have been reading Green Lantern all along this book will be very easy to pick up. But for those who have not read the book before, well this a great place to start.
Swamp Thing: I'm gonna be totally honest. Not a lot happens in this book. We see a weird epidemic causing birds to fly out of the sky, and fish dying in the ocean. Then we see Alec Holland, working in construcion, just trying to find his way in life, and Superman flys in to check on him. Alec says he does not care to found at this point and then we see Swamp thing show up at the end. Scott Snyder though did do a good job on this book, and I think he will able to breathe some life into Swamp Thing as the character only recently resurfaced in Brightest Day. Yanick Paquette's art was good too. I think I'll be able to get on board for this book.
Batman and Robin: This comic was good. It was not my favorite of what I have read thus far, but I still liked it enough to keep reading it. It was interesting to see Bruce Wayne working with Damion Wayne. Although, Damion is really the worst part of this book. The character is a brat. Selfish, spoiled, arrogant through and through. What's worse is that is exactly how he was was when Grant Moorison introduced him back on his initial Batman run. This means that Damion has yet to evolve as a character. Peter J. Tomasi did a servicable enough job here to keep me interested and Patrick Gleason did a nice job drawing things. Over all, it's kind of take it or leave it book, but it's focus on Batman and Robin working together makes it worth picking up and helps to differentiate itself from the other Batman books.
Batman: Scott Snyder is also handling Batman these days too. This makes me very happy, because while I only picked up some of his run on Detective Comics, I did like what I read a lot, and I heard a lot good things about his run in general. As with his work on that book, Snyder does a pretty good job here of making Gotham City into a character itself. He also gives us a nice murder mystery to sink our teeth into and he incorporates Dick Grayson into the story in a surprising way that will be very fun to exlpore. Greg Capullo's art was pretty awesome on this book too. My only complaint was the colors. Whoever he was using on Spawn is who he should be using here. Other than that, I like his drawing. His linework and sketchy quality reminded me a bit of Frank Miller. And that's never a bad thing. You should not miss this book.
Wonder Woman: I don't even know what to say. The book was just weird and confusing, with some intriuge here and there. I like Azzerello as a writer and Cliff Chiang is a cool artist, and a horror mystery vibe tied to Dianna'a Themyscarian roots sounds cool. But right now I don't know what to make of it, and I may drop it if things don't get a bit more clear with coming issues.
DC Universe Presents: As i began to read this comic, I was not sure how much I'd like it. But I gave it a shot and it seems intriuging enough to keep reading for a bit. After seeing Deadman in Brightest Day, I'm glad to see more of him in the DC Universe even if it's just for this intial story arc. Plus I like Paul Jenkins. My grandfather is actually golfing buddies with him and upon learning I was a comics fan, Paul gave him a huge box of free comics to give to me. that was pretty awesome. So basically, what happens here is we see a brief recap of how Boston Brand becomes Deadman. We then see him living through other people to help them out and atone for his selfish life. I enjoyed it more than I thought it would because it almost seemed like a slice of life book. Bernard Chang's art was good too.
Suicide Squad: I really liked this book despite the fact that the story seemed super cliched. It opens up with the Suicide Squad being held in captavity and being interrogated about who they work for. None of the squad actually gives up the info, save for one guy who is subsequently disposed of. It is then revealed that the interrogation was a test set up by Amanda Waller, and the team is sent on it's next mission. The only charcters I'm interested in here are Deadshot, Harley Quinn, and Black Spider. I could care less about King Shark, El Diablo, or Savant(good thing he got killed). Adam Glass does an ok job with this 1st issue, but it's really tough to get a sense of his capabilities as a writer after only 1 issue. Federico Dallocchio, Ransom Getty, and Scott Hanna's art is ok and gritty, but nothing to write home about. For now I'll read this book, but I'm kind of questioning why since any characters can croak at any time. Seriously, if Deadshot or Harley Quinn dies, then I may have to consider dropping the book.
And now for my favorite 2 so far.
Red Hood and the Outlaws: This was just a damn fun book. It had some awesome action, good characters, and sex appeal. Ever since Judd Winick ressurected Jason Todd as the new Red Hood, I have not been able to get enough of the character. The character is just so badass, and set in his ways in his vision of justice. Arsenal is someone who I've always found interesting too, but I never found time to pick up The Outsiders, and learn more about him. Same with Starfire. Visually, I always would look athe character, and say hmm, she's hot, but alas knew nothing else about her, and Teen Titans was never really my kind of book. So here I see a new chance to finally learn about these characters. Arsenal came off as very "dude bro" like(come to think of it, so did Red Hood in certain parts), and Starfire came off as being someone who is much less emotional than how she was in the old DCU, and much more casual about her sex life. None of this upsetted me though. It just makes her more of interesting character. Maybe she will develop stronger emotions for Arsenal or Red Hood or both. I was initially dissapointed to not see Judd Winick as the writer here, since he was the one who made Jason Todd the Red Hood in the 1st place and has always handled Jason Well. Plus, he wrote The Outsiders for a while. He seemed like the ideal choice. Yet, Scott Lobdell did a pretty a good job and Kenneth Rocafort's art was nice to look at. I'll be sticking around to see where this one goes.
Catwoman: I've loved this character for years. I started reading her when Ed Brubaker was writing the book and it was at it's best. Then he left to go write for Marvel, and a slew of fill in writers were assigned to the book. Now the title is being relaunched with Judd Winick writing the book. And I think he did a nice job with Selina. There was some good and sometimes brutal action and violence here, and his take on Selina Kyle was someone who is very smart and knows how to work situations to her advantage. I also liked how everything she does is due to an addictive personality. Hell, she even lists Batman as one her addictions. This is where the book has caught a lot of flack. You see the book has a somewhat steamy scence that ends with Batman and Catwoman having sex. I say who the hell cares. They are human beings afterall, and human beings have needs, some of those needs being sexual. Guillem March's art is also amazing and Catwoman looks very sexy throughout the book. The only thing that bothered me about this book is one thing that it decided to retconn, and that is the relationship of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. A few years back in the Batman run known as Hush, Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee decided to have Batman reveal his secret identidy to Selina Kyle, and the 2 have had an on and off relationship. Here Selina mentions that she does not know or care who Batman is. That was my only gripe. Catwoman has always gotten my attention before and this creative team seems perfect for her, so I'll be sticking around.
So there you go. My take on 11 of DC's new 52. Next week is the final week, and I'll be back with my thoughts on those books, and hopefully, I'll be able to pick up books that I missed from the 1st 2 weeks. Sound off below.