The New 52 - Week One
Sep. 7th, 2011 07:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sdelmonteYes, we had Justice League last week, but this week there are 13 new comics from DC on the stands, and I bought eight of them.
The long and the short of it? All of them look amazing. All but one are worth reading further, but only a couple stand out so far. And nothing is an instant Must Read.
OTOH, all of them are better than Justice League.
Now, in alphabetical order...
Action Comics - The adventures of Superman when he was a punk. Or rather, when he was young, cynical, brash, and less powerful. As advertised, he's an anti-establishment social crusader in both his identities, and he's naturally wanted by the cops and the army and a certain bald consultant brought in to capture him. I can honestly say I've never seen this take on Supes before, and Rags Morales's art helps make things flow. It's truly an action comic. But there are moments when Morrison overdoes the brashness, and the story is a little confused at points and doesn't really get moving till halfway through. There is a lot of potential here, though. This could be Morrison's next great comic. And DC should have launched the New 52 with this. B+
Animal Man - Meet Buddy Baker, stuntman, hero, animal rights activist, actor, family man. Things seem to be going well for him. So why are his eyes bleeding, and what is happening to his daughter? This one is very straightforward and probably the easiest for new readers to follow. And Travel Foreman's art is well suited to a horror comic merged with a hero comic. But there is some little spark missing from Jeff Lemire's script so far. I am not sure what, though. B+
Batgirl - Three years after being shot by the Joker, Barbara Gordon has use of her legs back and returns to crimefighting. It would seem, sadly, the Oracle era has been excised, and I should dock this book a few points for that alone. But Gail Simone really makes this revamped Babs work, and Adrian Syaf is the right artist for the book. There is an energy here that makes this a standout immediately, despite my reservations. A-
Batwing - First, a geography lesson. One that DC needs to learn as Africa is a very large place for just one Batman disciple. That said, Batwing is an interesting if still not-quite-formed character in an interesting but not-quite-formed African city, Ben Oliver's art is probably the best I've seen this week, and Judd Winick seems to be in his comfort zone. Too soon to say if there is really enough to the premise to make it work, though. B
Justice League International - The UN forms its own team, and brings heroes from around the world. So why is superhero pitchman Booster Gold the leader, and why does Batman trust him? Lightweight, entertaining traditional comic from Jurgens and Lopestri. Nothing amazing here, but worth a second look because the team is interesting and the art is good. B-
Static Shock - Virgil Hawkins is new to New York (which apparently has very few heroes), and already has enemies. Scott McDaniel's art carries the day even when John Rozum's script falters. Static Shock is a likeable hero, though, and the edgier Hardware is part of the cast, too. Much promise, if also room to become routine. B
Stormwatch - The one dud of the bunch. Good art again, by Miguel Sepulveda, but totally confused storytelling by Paul Cornell. I was lost. And I know who some of these characters are. A huge disappointment. C-
Swamp Thing - Weird things are happening. And the resurrected Alec Holland wants nothing to do with them. While this was not as awesome as I was hoping it would be, Scott Snyder does immediately find Alec's voice and leaves me wondering just what's going on. Yannick Paquette's art is right for this hero/horror hybrid. And we've seen that Snyder knows what he's doing from his Batman work. But there needs to be a higher level of energy. A-
The long and the short of it? All of them look amazing. All but one are worth reading further, but only a couple stand out so far. And nothing is an instant Must Read.
OTOH, all of them are better than Justice League.
Now, in alphabetical order...
Action Comics - The adventures of Superman when he was a punk. Or rather, when he was young, cynical, brash, and less powerful. As advertised, he's an anti-establishment social crusader in both his identities, and he's naturally wanted by the cops and the army and a certain bald consultant brought in to capture him. I can honestly say I've never seen this take on Supes before, and Rags Morales's art helps make things flow. It's truly an action comic. But there are moments when Morrison overdoes the brashness, and the story is a little confused at points and doesn't really get moving till halfway through. There is a lot of potential here, though. This could be Morrison's next great comic. And DC should have launched the New 52 with this. B+
Animal Man - Meet Buddy Baker, stuntman, hero, animal rights activist, actor, family man. Things seem to be going well for him. So why are his eyes bleeding, and what is happening to his daughter? This one is very straightforward and probably the easiest for new readers to follow. And Travel Foreman's art is well suited to a horror comic merged with a hero comic. But there is some little spark missing from Jeff Lemire's script so far. I am not sure what, though. B+
Batgirl - Three years after being shot by the Joker, Barbara Gordon has use of her legs back and returns to crimefighting. It would seem, sadly, the Oracle era has been excised, and I should dock this book a few points for that alone. But Gail Simone really makes this revamped Babs work, and Adrian Syaf is the right artist for the book. There is an energy here that makes this a standout immediately, despite my reservations. A-
Batwing - First, a geography lesson. One that DC needs to learn as Africa is a very large place for just one Batman disciple. That said, Batwing is an interesting if still not-quite-formed character in an interesting but not-quite-formed African city, Ben Oliver's art is probably the best I've seen this week, and Judd Winick seems to be in his comfort zone. Too soon to say if there is really enough to the premise to make it work, though. B
Justice League International - The UN forms its own team, and brings heroes from around the world. So why is superhero pitchman Booster Gold the leader, and why does Batman trust him? Lightweight, entertaining traditional comic from Jurgens and Lopestri. Nothing amazing here, but worth a second look because the team is interesting and the art is good. B-
Static Shock - Virgil Hawkins is new to New York (which apparently has very few heroes), and already has enemies. Scott McDaniel's art carries the day even when John Rozum's script falters. Static Shock is a likeable hero, though, and the edgier Hardware is part of the cast, too. Much promise, if also room to become routine. B
Stormwatch - The one dud of the bunch. Good art again, by Miguel Sepulveda, but totally confused storytelling by Paul Cornell. I was lost. And I know who some of these characters are. A huge disappointment. C-
Swamp Thing - Weird things are happening. And the resurrected Alec Holland wants nothing to do with them. While this was not as awesome as I was hoping it would be, Scott Snyder does immediately find Alec's voice and leaves me wondering just what's going on. Yannick Paquette's art is right for this hero/horror hybrid. And we've seen that Snyder knows what he's doing from his Batman work. But there needs to be a higher level of energy. A-
