Note: I wrote this about a month ago and because of scheduling problems (read: laziness) I never posted it. Issue 13 didn’t really change much about my feelings. They still treat Steve Trevor like crap, all of the characters are written strangely, if not poorly, and despite a fairly entertaining story, I find myself not caring at all about DC’s flagship title.

After a year’s worth of books, (the zero issue doesn’t really count because its about Captain Marvel/Shazam) I have a few of problems with this new version of the Justice League that Lee, Didio, Harras, and Johns have given us. The book is still fairly young, nearly in it’s adolescence in terms of comic bookery, I suppose, but when it’s their most popular book, the most important to the new 52, and they still manage to burn a few panels an issue making a dumb joke or referencing a Martian Manhunter fight that seemed painfully irrelevant and a wasted use of character, I feel that I have a foothold to complain. Don’t get me wrong, its been an entertaining book. Lee draws some damn pretty comic books, the first six issues were pretty damn solid as far as a team introduction, and the narrative hasn’t been lacking for action or effort, but there are still quite a few problems.

They’re still not a team:

I thought the entire idea behind starting Justice League 5 years in the past was to establish how they all met and became the League, but we find out that they still are immature and don’t really realize what their doing. Aquaman even says in issue 12 “It’s time to be the team they thought we were instead of the team we’ve been these last five years.” What was the point of introducing Darkseid if not to make them a team? What was the point in referencing Manhunter “testing” them if not to make them a team? You could have done this conflict in issue 6 and saved everyone a lot of forced drama. Apparently, at some point the league decided that Batman was in charge, cool, that’s fine, he’s the smartest one there so he should act as the general. However, how they’ve decided to portray everyone is completely contrary to this. The characters that are written in this book would not have voted for Batman to lead them now, let alone 5 years ago when they had just formed.

Wonder Woman + Superman:

I don’t know. It doesn’t really affect the story at all. It just was a very forced romance, and a very forced move. Like much of the “big events” in the new DCU, they’re trying to create sensation without building up a story at all.

The relationship between Batman/Superman and the world has always been one of good cop/bad cop and in this new universe it has become aloof cop/detached cop, completely negating the friendship and relationship that they had.

Superman works best as a character when he is that boy scout, when he is entirely alien and uncomfortably powerful but his soul and everything that drives him is more human than any other hero or character in the universe. He needs to have that attachment and desire to help his fellow man, because Superman was never the man, Superman was the mask that Clark Kent, the human, used to be a hero. Its something that has been explored in every great Superman story, its currently being explored alongside Justice League in Action Comics and even in the Superman main title, but that whole plot idea is ignored in this book.

Conversely, Batman has been written best when he is detached, driven, and possessed by his crusade. He is, at his core, oriented to the pursuit of justice to the point of self-destruction. He operates in shadows and removes himself from the world, wearing the mask of Bruce Wayne because he no longer identifies himself as properly human. Even the “family” that he surrounds himself with is kept at a great distance because affection is so unnatural to him. His desires and his purposes are higher, and it is an effort for him to put on a show of normal. Again, in counterpoint to Clark, Bruce is the mask that Batman uses to be “human”.

Superman and Batman’s friendship was compelling because Superman was the boy scout who knew without a doubt that Batman, a man who fought using fear as a weapon could be trusted implicitly. Batman, on the other hand, knew that while Superman was an alien and powerful enough to destroy the world and everyone in it, he was the one person who would never do that because his entire being was so grounded in compassion and honesty. They both distrusted the rest of the league for various reasons, but they never truly doubted each others resolve to be good.

In this new version of the league, there is a shadow of that relationship. The DC powers-that-be have decided to maintain Batman and Superman’s friendship, but alter the individuals to the point where it doesn’t work anymore. Yes, we are missing 5 years of history that this new DC timeline has hopscotched for the sake of storytelling, but the league is very different. Superman isn’t the moral compass of the League, he examines everyone else, afraid to let them know him (except for Batman). Instead, Batman has become that morality, the humanity of the team. Their roles have been reversed, or at the very least both steadily pulled into the intervening gray area between their once polar characteristics in a massive divergence of each character’s core conception.

The rest of the league is largely there as space filler:

In a complete relaunch, there could have been a massive move made to restructure the social power of each of the characters, but they have all nearly become the least compelling and least effective versions that they could be. (These are not my opinion of a perfect character, but just ideas that might have at least given some variance to the old model).

Cyborg:

Cyborg was great when he was a member of Teen Titans, but he’s never been a particularly compelling character on his own. I’m still not sure why they chose him to be in the league or what role he’s intended to play but I haven’t seen really anything of significance from him yet. There are plenty of roles that he could have played within the league: he could have been the voice of youth, acting as a conduit for introduction and explanation, or he could have been the moral compass when the others are jaded and overconfident. Instead he receives a watered down version of Superman’s regular story where he is struggling with his humanity. They could have even taken his machine nature a bit further, trying some legitimately interesting scientific concepts (that Marvel is doing quite well all of the time these days) making his consciousness digitally transferable, commenting on his nearly infinite processing ability which would make him think and analyze battle faster than the Flash, or giving him the ability to create, interface directly, and/or control any number of machines with his incredible knowledge. That would have been at least interesting, but he just coldly makes remarks about being relatively omnipotent and proceeds to be surprised/defeated by a sadness monster.

I really don’t understand why they expect anybody to care about Cyborg or his subplot when he is the only League member who doesn’t have his own book and therefore doesn’t have any of the back story necessary for any emotional connection.

Green Lantern:

Johns’ Green Lantern has been growing steadily more disappointing over the past few years. He took the spirit of Hal Jordan, the one that made a regular man worthy of the power of the ring and at every opportunity made him seem like a (for lack of a more accurate term) assbag. Hal was never encumbered by an overwhelming desire for planning, which was his greatest flaw, and he would rush into a situation without heed of why or what he was going to do, but he did so because the idea of sitting back and not taking action against an enemy was offensive to him. To Jordan, inaction was the greatest sin.

However, Johns has transformed that impetuousness and misdirected chivalry into a rampant egotism and suppressed self-loathing that makes Hal oppressively dislikable. They tried to redeem him in issue 12 and they might have succeeded if it wasn’t such a late effort. Hal takes on the “hero we deserve, not the one we need” mantle from The Dark Knight and takes the blame for the league in-fighting, but he does an insubstantial reason, with no allowance of discussion, and which makes no mention of the 4 other Earth-based Green Lanterns that already protect Earth and the sector.

Flash:

Flash, for the most part, has remained solid. I’m not a fan of them writing out Wally West, even though I see the logic behind the move on a creative level, but Barry Allen as an individual has remained very strong and has even improved through the reboot. The Barry/Iris relationship is gone and replaced tenuously by a Barry/Patty Spivot relationship which I guess makes just as much sense and affects the character on the same emotional level without having to bring in Wally, and he still cracks the same jokes and brings a good amount of sanity to the team. The character, though, is much more focused on the forensic analyst and detective this time around, which seems redundant for the league that has Batman, Cyborg as a techno-forensic-analyst, Superman as an investigative journalist, and Green Lantern who is also a galactic police officer (with whom he is friends for vague, unsubstantial reasons).

All of this is irrelevant, however, as for most of his page appearances he is relegated to the fast, funny guy for the team with the on-page depth of a potato, albeit a very quick potato.

Wonder Woman:

Possibly the most disappointing secondary member of the league, mostly because her appearances and role in the book have been used as a development tool for Steve Trevor. In the first few books, every character has their bad-ass first appearance moments, but then were all put backstage while Batman and Superman did all the hard thinking and had all of the interesting conversations. For a character that was raised on a magic island with an army of warrior women and who has fought with and against gods and other supernatural weirdos on the regular, you would think that her opinion would be more important. What happened to the Trinity?

It is fairly wonderful when the most powerful and significant female presence in the entire DC universe, possibly the most prominent female superhero in existence, and possibly the only prominent one that has been (at times) portrayed as a sexually ambivalent entity is, in the flagship book, completely viewed in relation to a man/men. And even when she leaves that man in issue 12 for almost entirely selfish reasons, she immediately moves on to Superman with whom there was extremely sparse relational history for no reason other than super-powered loneliness. She clearly has already experienced the events from her main title, because she knows that Zeus is her father, but she has also clearly forgotten everything that makes her character strong in that book. Johns doesn’t seem to know what to do with her, remembering her strength only when she needs to punch something and completely abandoning the character’s willingness to stand up to her entire nation, including a number of gods, for the sake of justice.

Steve Trevor:

Steve does only slightly better than Wonder Woman, having been given some fairly good character moments in his own right and already displaying more moral fortitude and strength than anyone in the actual league during the issues where he was captured/tortured. I actually care about this Steve Trevor who was nearly non-existent in the pre-reboot DCU. Fair play to Johns & Co. for writing him well, but they quickly rectified that good move by moving him to another book.

Aquaman:

DC almost fooled me. They almost made me believe that Aquaman was going to matter in the new DCU. Sure, in his individual book he is pretty awesome. He gets stuff done while bearing the weight of the entire world while everyone (including his former aqua-squad teammates) seems to dislike him. However, in this issue 12, which was widely advertised as “Aquaman steps up and takes charge” he gets berated and insulted by pretty much every single league member in the immediate area. Aquaman taking charge amounted to him putting his name in the hat for being the leader and being immediately and very patronizingly denied that opportunity. He seem to have been doing the superhero gig longer than anyone else in the league. He even has a dark past where he beat up ocean-themed enemies with a team of artifact-laden super pals. Cool. At every turn, Johns has consistently shown us that public opinion and even the opinion that the rest of the league has of him is still that of a joke while simultaneously Johns is trying to convince us that he is everything but. His joke-superhero reputation doesn’t seem to be based on anything but non-comic book preconceptions by the general public and the writers are doing nothing to try to change this by making jabs about talking to fish.

Aquaman has been seen as useless in past years because he has been written that way, he was never given the positive modern reworking that Batman, The Flash, or Wonder Woman was given (or attempted). Very few arcs in his nearly 72 year career have garnered significant acclaim and even great writers like Kurt Busiek and Peter David were only able to have minor revivals before experiencing sharp declines in quality. Instead of a proper story trying to re-imagine the character (its worked for Namor, it can work for Arthur Curry) he was given silly themed pets, a hook hand, and a beard. He doesn’t have that anymore. He’s interesting. He’s useful. They need to stop writing him as a burden and using him well.

Actually, my biggest problem in about Aquaman is that one man can create two very different versions of the same character, in the same universe, at the same time, and not seem to realize he’s doing it. New DCU Arthur Curry feels far too much like old DCU Hal Jordan. Maybe Johns is only good with one character model.

I get it. Batman and Superman are the most popular characters and are, in turn, going to get the best character moments and do the coolest things, but after 12 issues of the league standing around and talking about how awesome they all are, the most significant things anyone else has done is to watch admiringly at Bats & Supes, saying “Look how good he thinks!” or “Look how hard he can punch!” while fighting secondary baddies.

Have I mentioned that I hate that Superman doesn’t walk anymore?

The future of the series:

The hints at the end of issue 12 don’t leave me much hope for the book to improve.

• Amanda Waller might be my least favorite character in all of DC Comics. She is an entirely unlikable version of Nick Fury who operates under the sole assumption that the best backup plan is to find a way to kill everyone that can actually help. Her appearance gives me only apprehension.
• Apparently Gary Frank is taking over drawing duties until David Finch steps in, or at least that’s what it looks like. I should really read the news more.
• Wonder Woman and the rest of the league, if not written poorly, should never have a problem subduing someone like Cheetah.
• Aquaman is going to decide to try to save the world on his own with the Atlanteans, or he’s just going to attack the world Namor-style because nobody will take him seriously.
• I’m slightly interested to see the proper introduction of Captain Marvel …Shazam into the universe but I haven’t liked how much of a little jerk that they’ve been writing Billy as.
• A dangerous JLA? I’m glad that Manhunter is being brought into the fold, And Hawkman and Green Arrow are always good parts of the team. I love Stargirl being in there, but I wonder at her role because she was drawn sans-cosmic staff. I can even understand putting Steve Trevor and the new Green Lantern Baz in there, but you don’t need Catwoman on this team, you don’t need Katana on this team and you certainly don’t need Goggles McCrouchstare (Vibe) over in the corner…wasn’t he dead a couple times.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————–

By the way, I call the Martian Manhunter fight irrelevant for a few reasons.

1. The flashback fight carries no importance, because we know that they beat him (kinda…at least they survive).
2. It would have been much better served as each of them meeting him separately, being beaten by him and them all having to fight him together later to realize that they need to work together. They could have actually used Manhunter as a Justice League proving ground.
3. The fight has no importance, because we know he’s not actually a bad guy (see: Stormwatch).
4. If it was a test by the Manhunter of the league’s preparedness to be the league, why would he only test them once?
5. Manhunter was always misused on the league because he was essentially a green Superman who could shapeshift. His main difference being one of the very few telepaths in the DCU. Instead of making him a villain, they could easily have changed up his power set and made him the watcher in the tower who coordinates their attacks. I don’t like an agressive, hostile J’onn J’onzz

All images were pulled through Google. None are my own scans of the comic.

The day of the reboot has come. It was largely a disappointment, but I don’t really know anyone who was expecting it to be anything other than complete garbage.

I suppose I’ll start with the end, rather than the beginning.

Flashpoint #5
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art by ANDY KUBERT, SANDRA HOPE, and JESSE DELPERDANG

In a word…or three: I hate it.

This was a mess. Let me just start out by saying SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS because if you don’t know the story and conclusion of Flashpoint, you’re going to in a second. Secondly, TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE because it was everything I really wished it wasn’t.

The buildup that started way back when with Flash #1 in June 2010 was actually very good and pretty interesting. Barry Allen of the future kills the Mirror Master because he was going to kill Iris or some such. It was actually the Top whose motivations are to stop his ancestor’s criminal record from getting him barred from becoming a time cop (which he already was) and some such that I don’t really remember but it was an interesting little mystery story. The end of that 6 issue arc referenced some changes to the timestream and some things going on that made it that led directly in to Flashpoint. Now, problem the first, the changes to the timestream seemed to be limited to Wonder Woman having a different costume, Darkseid sending Bruce back in time with the Omega effect, Lex Luthor meeting Death, Deadman with the White Lantern Ring, and what looked like the Dread Pirate Roberts fighting another pirate…not a lot that spells out “TIME DISASTER!” to me. Even if you take into account the mess that was Time Masters: Vanishing Point to try to explain everything, you only get the idea that Darkseid messed something up. None of the other items belong on that board really. Does a costume change really mean a glitch in the timesteam?

Now, I suppose we’re supposed to believe that there are two, distinct timelines being viewed here, or at least 2 of the 3 mentioned in Flashpoint #5. This, however, is unclear, because in a splashpage in #5, we see what looks to be the rebooted timeline (#1), the pre-reboot timeline (#2), and the Wildstorm timeline (which is not, in fact, a timeline but is apparently another universe of some sort) (#3). I must note that nowhere in this mix is the actual timeline created during Flashpoint (#4). So that leaves us with at least 5 “timelines” (including the broken one from Flash #6 from whence Hot Pursuit came) . This is either a gross oversight by the artist, poor planning, or evidence that they don’t know what the frak they’re doing.

To quell some argument: Yes, I’m being this picky. No, this isn’t being overly analytic of the comic because Flashpoint, JLA, The Flash, and Brightest Day are all written by the same man who has a responsibility to keep his damn story straight or let somebody else take the reigns.

TL;DR: It doesn’t make a lot of sense.

Now, the book itself. The issue is mostly a huge argument between Flash and Reverse Flash about how the Flash ruined everything by trying to change time. The entire reason for Flashpoint’s existence is explained pretty swiftly over two panels. Barry Allen was sad because he learned that Rev. Flash killed his mother in the past. In a flashback that we never actually saw in comic books and is referenced for the first time on page three here, we see The Flash go back in time to stop The Reverse Flash. Apparently, Allen did some hooba jooba with the Speed Force and caused a massive timesplosion that created the Flashpoint universe.

Now, to the weakest part of the story, the part where Eobard Thawne reveals that he’s an absolute dick. He wanted Barry to remember, he could do it at any time and make him suffer in the knowledge that he caused all this. He could have done that before Barry had the help of Batman and could have done it without anyone’s knowledge and thus made the entirety of Flashpoint obsolete (because, honestly, the end of the issue does that anyways).

Rev. Flash also pointedly states that he is now immune to time…apparently. Because of the fact that he was traveling through time when Barry changed it, the rules of time no longer apply to him. To make a point, THAT’S NOT HOW TIME TRAVEL WORKS! I get it, comic books have free reign over the laws of physics and the rules of the universe. The second you travel through time, you become immune to time travel. You create infinite alternate universes every instance that you step out of the normal stream of time.By the simple act of going back in time to kill someone, you would create a universe in which you kill them, while leaving the original completely untouched.

Thawne uses this new knowledge to beat the Flash to a bloody pulp (because The Flash, trained fighter with the Justice League, suddenly cannot fight worth a damn). He claims that he now has eternal double jeopardy for Barry Allen and there will never ever be any repercussions for killing him. However, Batman, once again proving to be the only effective hero in the DCU, Bat-impales him on his Bat-sword.

Some other stuff that doesn’t really matter happens. Superman/boy shows up and punches people, Flash runs really fast to stop himself from running really fast, and a creepy phantom lady head tells the Flash that he done messed up. Time hits the restart button, Barry wakes up and makes Bruce Wayne cry with a Bat-letter from his future/not-future daddy.

Rating: 5/10 (If only because Reverse Flash gets Bat-sword-ed)

FIN.

Justice League #1
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art by JIM LEE

Similarly messy to Flashpoint #5, was its progeny, Justice League #1.

Now, this story takes place 5 years prior to any of the events of the rest of the reboot. This doesn’t immediately condemn the story to being awful because you can do a few “how they met” episodes and I’ll be just fine. It didn’t bother me in Lost and it don’t bother me now if they want to show me how they first met. DC wants new fans and I won’t begrudge them the effort, but as a long-time fan, don’t expect me to fawn over another gorram origin story.

An origin story that feels terrifyingly similar to All-Star Batman & Robin. However, this is a story without the goddamn Batman and lemonade, this story has a dickish (but still kinda awesome) Batman and a jerkass Hal Jordan. It also reveals pre-Cyborg Vic Stone for 4 pages of awkward father issues, and a Superman that might need a high-five for hurtin’ the face of Johns’ baby GL. Still no sign of Wonder Woman or Aquaman, though I really quite liked the rejected sketch in the back of the issue with Aquaman’s crustacean armor.

In relation to the rest of the reboot, this book doesn’t tell us much. The world seems to be a bit more hostile to superheroes in general, which I’m ok about, I guess it explains why there are so many “covert-ops” teams in the 52. Hal seems to have a much better grasp on being a Green Lantern, which might make some interesting reading for the main GL series. Bruce is a bit of an ass (Jordan DID deserve it) but at the end of Flashpoint he seemed like an alright dude when talking to Barry. Does he soften up a bit in the 5 years between Justice League #1 and now? Does Damien warm his heart to the cold, cruel world? Do rhetorical questions ever solve anything? The answer to all is a big ol’ MAYBE.

Final Thoughts:
1) GCPD has some damn nice equipment. Gatling guns, at least three helicopters, state-of-the-art body armor and uniform decals, irrational prejudice, Stormtrooper-like aim, real karate chop action, etc.
2) WHY IS BATMAN PUNCHING THE BUILDING WITH HIS CAPE!?!?INTERROBANG?!?!
3) Alien’s fire-breath-thingy also seems to be fire-butt-thingy.
4) By removing Hal’s ring, did Batman realize that the fires all over Gotham aren’t being put out anymore.
5) Bonus: Hal Jordan’s ring constructs show a bit of imagination.
6) I get the feeling that the little boxy thingy that they pulled out of the wall is going to be a portal for Darkseid/Reverse Flash/anyone they want because its a plot loophole/Nekron to return and for Hal Jordan to get heroically whisked away into not-being-around-land.
7) I’m going to stencil “Hustle, Hit, Never Quit” on my wall.
8) Superman’s punch is strange to me. Its blue and red, so it must mean that he flew into Jordan. However, he is seen walking out of the building a second later, so it seems that he is being intentionally deceptive about his speed to hide how fast he is.
9) In the confrontation with Supes, Bruce is clearly in the middle of an open area, but in the last panels, behind him is seen building, and he’s looking at Superman who is framed by building. This new DC universe has Chia-like buildings “Just add superheroes, and watch them grow!”
10) Every individual character sketch but Superman’s has a better costume/look than the final that they went with.

Rating: 6/10 (There is potential here. Somewhere beneath the madness, there is potential)

Tomorrow, hopefully, I’ll post another bit about the books this week that I liked. Warning: there will be fawning over the ground that Warren Ellis treads.

The final 18, probably containing the best and the worst of the lot.

Looking back, I really should have chosen books that I was going to buy a bit more sparingly. Ending up with 19 out of 52 seems like far too much. Most of my friends are keeping it under 10 books. I like to pretend that I’m Mr. Moneybags (read: outdated reference to a rich guy) but I work a part-time job and have bills and really probably can’t afford all of these books. That is the sacrifice I make for you, faithful reader. I do this all for you…and me. Well, mostly for me. Well…yeah, all me.

35. Grifter #1
Written by NATHAN EDMONDSON
Art by CAFU

I really liked Who is Jake Ellis? when I could get a hold of it, but its the only exposure that I’ve had to Edmondson. Cafu, I’ve had even less exposure to, only remembering him from his cover work on Superman and Action comics, which, admittedly, I liked quite a lot, but I’ve not seen his interior work outside of what a quick google search shows me. I’m a bit hesitant about picking up a series with such big unknowns.

That being said, I’m a bit of a sucker for Grifter. When I was about 10 or so, I inherited some of my brother’s collection of comics. It wasn’t the largest collection on Earth and it was a bit piecemeal due to rare visits to the comic book store with our uncle, but I loved WildC.A.T.S. with a foolish passion. My comic book knowledge at that point was sparse enough that I didn’t see where the team was pulling from existing comic ideas, I just thought that they were cool dudes and looked awesome. Its the same childish passion that made me tolerate and even enjoy the Green Lantern movie on at first that makes me want to read this book so very much. Grifter was particularly interesting because he didn’t really have powers, his costume was fairly simple, and he was a loner. I quite liked pretending to be him in my younger years. I will pick up this book because it has a hell of a lot of potential, an almost guarantee of being an enjoyable read, and not a lot of risk of being bad.

Verdict: DOOM!

36. Legion of Superheroes #1
Written by PAUL LEVITZ
Art by FRANCIS PORTELA

Paul Levitz is a name that’s nearly synonymous with the Legion of Superheroes with about 100 under his belt. He has written consistently solid comic books in a company that often goes awry. Portela has worked with Levitz before on Legion, so I think we have a good team here, but I’m not really a fan of Portela’s art, which doesn’t win this title any points.

To me, Legion has always been a book that’s easy to drop. Its always fun and it is always written pretty well, but its just not a story that I could ever get invested in. Even less so now with the reboot making everybody’s back-story so unclear and having so little confirmation that this will be the team that is familiar or a splinter group as it seems it will be. Covert-Ops is obviously a theme in this reboot. There are at least 7 comics out of the 52 that are advertised as such, or some other vague sort of secret agent team doing a job that nobody else can do. Lots of secret, very specific villainy going on post-Flashpoint. I might pick this up if it gets good enough reviews, or I get one of my vehement friends telling me how good it is.

Verdict: POSSIBLE DOOM!

37. O.M.A.C. #1
Written by DAN DIDIO and KEITH GIFFEN
Art by KEITH GIFFEN and SCOTT KOBLISH

The only thing at this point can make me read a book that DiDio wrote would be morbid curiosity. He hasn’t really done something that would draw me to a title he’s writing and his recent actions and words have confirmed that he’s the craziest person at DC. I do immensely regret that a writer and artist of Keith Giffen’s quality is attached to this book too. Koblish isn’t overly impressive, in my estimation, but even if he was amazing, I doubt I’d pick this book up.

O.M.A.C. hasn’t been something that I’ve enjoyed reading in comics. I don’t know how or why the heads at DC decided that this book deserved to be done rather than continuing/rebooting Red Robin, or Power Girl, or Superman/Batman, or Adventure Comics, or even Tiny Titans, or maybe even BRING BACK STEPHANIE BROWN YOU ASSHATS!.

Verdict: NO DOOM FOR YOU!

38. Batman: The Dark Knight #1
Written by DAVID FINCH
Art by DAVID FINCH and RICHARD FRIEND

I feel like I’ve talked about this before. Maybe that its the same situation as any Tony Daniel book that dips in quality of both art and story because the one man is working both jobs, but Finch is also notoriously late. I still haven’t seen any of the last few issues of The Dark Knight that he promised that he was going to finish before the reboot, and after having read his other The Dark Knight #1 not too long ago, I’m not looking forward to the story.

This is a Bat book that doesn’t need to be made. There’s better ideas that could have been put into action and better teams that could be doing it. Finch is a great artist, and a good writer, but not a great writer/artist.

Verdict: NO DOOM FOR YOU!

39. All-Star Western #1
Written by JUSTIN GRAY and JIMMY PALMIOTTI
Art by MORITAT

Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti knoww how to write period work, they wrote the hell out of Jonah Hex and they did a pretty good job on the Freedom Fighters.Moritat has done a damn good job pulling art duties on Elephantmen and the less known Outlaw Territory. This book has a good team on it, and I can find nothing that says it won’t be a top quality book.

I do, however, have little interest in reading a Western comic book. I’ve never been too much of a fan of Western’s in general (I know how un-American it is to not like Cowboys) but they’re just not my game. I’m a sci-fi kid, and I just don’t know if I care enough to read this. This might end up being a book that I try out from a friend. I want to read it, its just probably going to end up being a casualty of budget.

Verdict: POSSIBLE DOOM!

40. Justice League Dark #1
Written by PETER MILLIGAN
Art by MIKEL JANIN

Peter Milligan, yes. Mikel Janin, I don’t know. I really have no idea what he’s done before. His raw pencils and cover work is great stuff, but I haven’t seen any of his interiors. I hope the quality carries over. I do see Heavy Metal on his credits which is either a good thing or a very bad thing. I’ll have to wait and see.

I would pick this book up based on Milligan writing Constantine, but the fact that the book also has Shade and Zatanna put it immediately on my pull list. It seems like a great idea for a comic, and it also seems like a comic that won’t get the attention it deserves and will likely be a book that dies a quick death. I want to read it as long as I can.

Verdict: DOOM!

41. Demon Knights #1
Written by PAUL CORNELL
Art by DIOGENES NEVES and OCLAIR ALBERT

Cornell is a damn fine writer. I’ll give everything he writes the benefit of the doubt until it proves itself to be less than good. The team of artists were a close second on having the best names of the reboot, but are also artists that I haven’t seen a lot of. Albert did a lot of cover work on Green Lantern that I’ve seen, and Neves I just can’t bring to mind anything of his I’ve seen. Google tells me he does solid work, so I’ll believe that.

The idea for the book had me worried at first, mostly because I heard rumors that it wasn’t, in fact, Etragian on the cover but some other demon. It didn’t make sense. It also taught me that I should pay less attention to rumors. I am glad to see Etragian in a more regular station in the DCU. This also seems like a book that they might be able to pull together with Justice League Dark very easily as they’re both on “The Edge” and that might be the idea that saves one or both of them if it comes to cancellations. This is another book that I want to read for as long as I can, until DC management realizes that they have a good thing going and decides to get rid of it.

Verdict: DOOM!

42. Frankenstein: Agent Of SHADE #1
Written by JEFF LEMIRE
Art by ALBERTO PONTICELLI

I’ve already spoken of Jeff Lemire, so I won’t do it again here. Ponticelli, I know from Unknown Soldier and therefore will trust him unreservedly…but there is those Heavy Metal credits again.

This is one of the few Flashpoint books that I picked up (the others being the main series and Batman). Mostly because I was a fan of Lemire, but it also seemed like it was a bit more interesting than the other ones. After finishing the 3 parter, I’m not so sure that I want to read this. It didn’t sell me. The team that it developed was lost, and Frankenstein wasn’t treated as a main character or even a character with a distinct personality. I’m hesitant about this one.

Verdict: POSSIBLE DOOM!

43. Resurrection Man #1
Written by DAN ABNETT and ANDY LANNING
Art by FERNANDO DAGNINO

If one thing can guarantee I’ll look at a book, its seeing DnA on the cover. Their Marvel cosmic work, for a while, was the best thing that I was reading. Annihilation is still one of my favorite arcs and I was absolutely frustrated with Marvel and the comic-buying public in general when the cosmic line was cancelled and these two are machines, boasting credits longer than most writers can dream of, so there’s no worries about scheduling. Dagnino did a great job on Generation Lost and I think that this will be a great title with him on it.

I don’t know a lot about Resurrection Man. I know that he is an older property and what I’ve read about him seems like it can make for some damn good comics. This was one of the few comics that really killed me, because the more I read about it, the more I really want to get it, which is really putting a strain on my budget. I suffer so much for you, so that you can know comics vicariously through me.

Verdict: DOOM!

44. I, Vampire #1
Written by JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV
Art by ANDREA SORRENTINO

No clue what to say about this team. I’ve heard a lot of people excited about Fialkov but I haven’t really seen why. Sorrentino gets a lot of acclaim too but all that’s credited is Gears of War…so there’s that. I just don’t know

The story doesn’t seem very compelling to me either. Vampires are starting to frustrate me. Guillermo Del Toro made me love them again with The Strain, but forcing them into the main DCU, like Marvel did with X-Men, just doesn’t feel lovely enough for me to pick this one up.

Verdict: NO DOOM FOR YOU!

45. Voodoo #1
Written by RON MARZ
Art by SAMI BASRI

Ron Marz will always have a little bit of my heart, a little bit that will always try to convince the rest of me that he can do no wrong.That piece is not always correct, but it is very insistent and I usually don’t have the energy to beat it in an argument. He has this bit of my heart because he created Kyle Rayner, and because he performed an ancient ritual to steal that bit of my heart and put it in a jar that he keeps in his bottom drawer. Basri, I like because of Power Girl, but I really dislike Witchblade for some reason, and both he and Marz have done a lot of work on that.

A concept that I can’t understand about Voodoo and Grifter is that Grifter never had that extrasensory perception of beings, that was more of Voodoo’s gag. She could detect the Daemonites. Grifter could use his senses a lot better. Even wikipedia knows that much. It makes me wonder why they’ve given him that power. I’m interested to see why she’s on the run though.The promos imply that she’s probably doing her Daemonite thing and the people she kills are really just them in disguise, but I’ll pick it up to find out.

Verdict: DOOM!

46. Static Shock #1
Written by SCOTT McDANIEL and JOHN ROZUM
Art by SCOTT McDANIEL and JONATHAN GLAPION

As I said to my good buddy ol’ pal Colin, Scott McDaniel hasn’t done a lot of stuff that I’ve been interested in. His writing credits are sparse to say the least, and while I’ve liked a bit of the Nightwing and Batman work he’s done, his art isn’t enough to make me trust him as a writer. Rozum, on the other hand, wrote Zombi, which I liked very much and wish was still around. Frazier Irving is also a talent that I’m sad is missing from DC’s roster. I very much hope that Rozum gets the lions share of the writing duties. And while Galpion has done mostly inking work,and very good ink work at that, I wonder why they need two men for this team when Rozum could probable handle the writing on his own with McDaniel doing the art. Its a funny kind of system DC is working with.

As for Static, I really want to read this book. To be more accurate, I really want to want to read this book. There is little interest for me here though. They haven’t shown me anything that would be different from how they treated him in the special earlier this year or any of the last few times they’ve tried to bring him into the DCU and not known how to handle him as a character. It really makes me miss Dwayne McDuffie.

Verdict: NO DOOM FOR YOU!

47. Hawk And Dove #1
Written by STERLING GATES
Art and Cover by ROB LIEFELD

I’ve been reading Flashpoint: Kid Flash Lost via a friend and haven’t really been impressed. How much of that can be contributed to Johns’ creative insight forcing him to push the character(s) in certain directions is unknown, but it just hasn’t been very great. Rob Liefeld…is a walking joke. Sadly, he is a walking joke that consistently sells comic books. Much like I loved WildC.A.T.S. when I was younger, I loved Youngblood and Youngblood still has those characters that I’ll love. It does not, however, have art that I love. All I see are footless angry people with lots of detail lines for no good reason (read:because detail lines = awesome).

Hawk and Dove, similarly, fill me with little confidence. If DC wasn’t putting out O.M.A.C., I would call this the worst book out of the 52. At least this book has the potential to sell some copies. To be fair, I think its a good idea to give Hawk and Dove a fresh start as superheroes, because I’ve read back, way back into the DC catalog and I still don’t know exactly why Hawk and Dove have always been treated as these absolutely pivotal characters during big events and then disappear for a good 8 years before they’re needed again. I’m going to be avoiding this one like the plague that it is.

Verdict: NO DOOM FOR YOU!

48. Sgt. Rock And The Men Of War #1
Written by IVAN BRANDON
Art by TOM DERENICK

I’m not sure if the title is going to be just Men of War or Sgt. Rock and the Men of War, but I like the latter. It at least pays homage to the book and it might bring in some nostalgia business. Men of War just sounds too generic and, honestly, not very comic book. I’ve never read Viking or Doc Savage, so I’m going off of Brandon’s Streets of Gotham books which were, actually, pretty good. I know Derenick did JLA with Bob Harras back in the late 90’s which were some fun comics and I know he did work on Countdown and Trinity, but I can’t quite pick him out of the swath of writers on both of those.

This Sgt. Rock is not the WWII Frank Rock. This is his grandson Joe, in modern day, fighting in the “battle-scarred landscape carved by the DCU’s Super-Villains”. I think its a great concept, just like Gotham Central or Damage Control for Marvel, where the average people deal with superhuman problems. I’m not as much of a fan of them being “contractors” instead of soldiers, but I suppose they do need a certain amount of freedom of action that military life wouldn’t offer. I can imagine some great stories coming out of a military unit trying to contain a minor villain or a secondary villain while a superhero takes on a major threat. This book will likely be a casualty of budget, though.

Verdict: POSSIBLE DOOM!

49. Stormwatch #1
Written by PAUL CORNELL
Art by MIGUEL SEPULVEDA

I want this book to be so much better than I think it’s actually going to be. Cornell, I’ve already shown my love for on Demon Knight, but it might not be enough to bring me to this title. I absolutely adore Warren Ellis’ run on Stormwatch back on Wildstorm as well as The Authority and Planetary, but again, it might not have a place in DC as it stands. Miguel Sepulveda has drawn some of the best splash pages I’ve seen in recent years during The Thanos Imperative and he’s definitely an artist on the scale that Stormwatch needs.

However. HOWEVER, this book doesn’t really need to exist. This is, again, and excuse for Jim Lee to keep his properties alive and shoehorn big heroes like Apollo, Midnighter, Jack Hawksmoor and Adam One into the main DCU. It all feels unnecessary and I think that every book in the 52 is going to suffer because they’re trying so very hard to be unified. I like Martian Manhunter, but if you have these other universe characters and they never deal with the same problems that the other big heroes deal with, then its still just Wildstorm and DC doing their own, isolated thing. The only thing that will keep me from getting this is how very unsure I am about the story. Maybe on issue 2 or 3 I’ll pick it up, but not now.

Verdict: POSSIBLE DOOM!

50. Deathstroke #1
Written by KYLE HIGGINS
Art by JOE BENNETT and ART THIBERT

This is probably the book that I want to read most right now. Wonder Woman might have given me the least worry, but this book has a lot of awesome potential; that is to say, potential to be awesome. Higgins hasn’t done a lot, but I’ve liked everything of his that I’ve read. Gates of Gotham is pretty amazing right now, Supreme Power is great, his Batman annuals were damn fine comics and even his issue of Captain America was pretty great. I have nothing but confidence that he’ll bring The Terminator back into the spotlight.

I’ve always liked Slade. His portrayals have been less than consistent in the cool factor, but I like the mercenary. I think he might have been a great guest star on Secret Six or something similar. I’m just really excited to see him get his own running series because this can and will probably be the funnest thing DC puts out next month.

Verdict: DOOM!

51. Suicide Squad #1
Written by ADAM GLASS
Art by MARCO RUDY

Don’t know much about Adam Glass, but Deadpool: Suicide Kings was fun at least, so he has the right sadistic sense of humor for this kind of book (though he’s no Gail Simone). Rudy goes good work in everything I’ve seen of his so I don’t have a lot of worry about the creative team. There are other issues with the book though.

So…Harley’s new costume, eh? Its very much…not Harley. Neither is Deadshot really. He looks more like a nameless goon in some cyberpunk anime and until I read it, I wasn’t sure if that was King Shark or not. He’s not supposed to be a hammerhead, right? That being said, I like the idea of Sucide Squad, not as much as Secret Six, but its still fun to see villains doing their thing.

Verdict: POSSIBLE DOOM!

52. Blackhawks #1
Written by MIKE COSTA
Art by KEN LASHLEY

Costa has written a lot of Transformers, which is sure to make Sharp-O giddy with anticipation, but its always been kind of drag-out writing for me that takes way too long for something to happen. I have nothing bad to say about Ken Lashley, though, but that’s kind of the general tone for the reboot. A lot of artists that are good, but they don’t stand out as amazing or even unique.

I don’t know what to think about the Blackhawks team. I can’t get a lot from the promos other than the “Real American Heroes with a Vengeance” vibe, and I’ve heard some rumors about it being a super-science police. Like DC’s reverse version of Marvel’s A.I.M. but I don’t know. Its another legacy reboot from WWII days and it seems like it might be fun, it just won’t be for me.

Verdict: NO DOOM FOR YOU!

TOTALS FOR BOOKS:

DOOM! – 19
POSSIBLE DOOM! – 17
NO DOOM FOR YOU! – 16

THE BOOKS I’M PICKING UP:

JLA #1
Action Comics #1
Batman #1
Batwoman #1
Nightwing #1
DC Universe Presents #1
Green Lantern: New Guardians #1
Swamp Thing #1
Blue Beetle #1
Wonder Woman #1
The Fury of Firestorm #1
Aquaman #1
The Flash #1
Grifter #1
Justice League Dark #1
Demon Knights #1
Resurrection Man #1
Voodoo #1
Deathstroke #1

Next week I take on JLA #1 and will start on my weekly reviews. Or maybe I won’t and instead write a 5,000 word diatribe on why Hal Jordan sucks and Kyle Rayner is awesome…you never know.

Sorry I’m late everyone!

Most of these reviews have been me expressing my grave hopes that the writers/artists don’t screw it up. I want these books to succeed. I want them to be good, and I want these characters to thrive, but I absolutely have no idea about how they’re going to be. I say “I don’t know” a lot because there’s no way that I can know if Jim Lee will put out more than 4 books a year because he’s busy playing WOW, or whether Scott Lobdell is going to give us another Onslaught or (hopefully) another Generation X. All I can do is sit back and try not to cry as I wait for DC to implode or shine.

18. Red Lanterns #1
Written by PETER MILLIGAN
Art and Cover by ED BENES and ROB HUNTER

Peter Milligan has done a lot of books that I’ve really liked. Hellblazer, Shade, and Human Target were all great books under him and I’m excited as all get out for Justice League Dark. However, my excitement does not carry on to Red Lanterns. He’s a more-than-capable writer and I’m sure that he can put out a great story with this book, but I’m just not interested in the the book to begin with. A polished turd is still a turd, as the saying goes. Ed Benes doesn’t do much to help my spirits about Red Lanterns, either. There aren’t nearly enough scantily clad women for him to be entirely happy drawing it, so I imagine that Bleez is going to get a lot of page-time, and she’s a poor character to begin with.

The idea is flawed from the start because The Red Lanterns simply aren’t interesting enough to carry their own series. People will pick this up to see Dex-Starr (Sharp-O, I’m looking at you) but Atrocitus & Co. are going to be superheroes that straight up murder people? Don’t advertise the book as a “hero” book if they’re not heroes.

Verdict: NO DOOM FOR YOU!

19. Animal Man #1
Written by JEFF LEMIRE
Art by TRAVEL FOREMAN and DAN GREEN

Essex County, The Nobody, and Sweet Tooth are all books that I’ve read and loved. I’m enjoying Superboy at the moment for what it is, but I think that Jeff Lemire has a while to go before he knows exactly how to handle a superhero book. Superboy is written well because its small-town rural and that’s what Lemire does best. Animal Man, at least the re-imagining that Morrison masterminded a while back, was small-family ideals but he dealt with some off-the-wall kind of madness as a superhero.

Animal Man became an examination of comic book writing under Morrison. Something that Milligan tried to distance himself from slightly, while still maintaining that this book was more about the nature of being a superhero than it was about actually being a superhero. With this in mind, I think Lemire can do some great things with this book. I can see great stories coming from Buddy dealing with his daughter having superpowers, and trying to be a father, something that wasn’t really addressed in Morrison’s issues (he dealt with the husband aspect more). I probably won’t pick this book up for purely budgetary reasons. I just can’t justify it enough to read it without knowing anything about it.

Verdict: POSSIBLE DOOM!

20. Swamp Thing #1
Written by SCOTT SNYDER
Art and Cover by YANICK PAQUETTE

Not much in comics can compete with Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing. Not much in anything can really compete with that run. Snyder has proven himself to be a damn good writer. I already sang his praises in the last book so I shall avoid being repetitive so I shall avoid being repetitive (*snicker*). The first exposure that I had to Yanick Paquette was in Batman Inc. and I wasn’t really a fan of his chin work but other than that it was some damn fine comics.

I like the direction that DC is taking by bringing Holland back to life, because why not? No death is sacred, even if it is fairly key to the character’s origin. I can promise you that it is the only reason Uncle Ben hasn’t come back to life. I’ll pick this book up just to see where Snyder takes it, but probably not for long.

Verdict: DOOM!

21. Legion Lost #1
Written by FABIAN NICIEZA
Art and Cover by PETE WOODS

Nicieza gained a fan in me during Red Robin. Pete Woods gained a fan in me during Deadpool and more recently Action Comics. His art was by far the best thing about the New Krypton arcs in Superman. I have no worries for either of them. The story is what bothers me.

Legion Lost is about a team of randoms from the future who come back to be a secret superteam of randoms from the future. The team consists of Wildfire, Dawnstar, Tellus, Timber Wolf, Tyroc, Chameleon Girl and Gates. I am not a Legion academic, so I have very little (read: none whatsoever) idea who these characters are. Doesn’t matter really, it actually makes me want to read the book more because its something absolutely new to me, much like T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents (by the way, where the hell is Nick Spencer in this whole mess?). I’ll probably mooch a copy of a friend who I know loves the legion and stay up to date that way, at least until I know if its good or bad.

Verdict: POSSIBLE DOOM!

22. Birds Of Prey #1
Written by DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI
Art and Cover by JESUS SAIZ

Duane Swiercskfealknskalkndkszyki has done mostly Marvel work, so this is going to be his first shot at a DC property, but aside from O.M.A.C. this might be the weakest title that DC is offering in the reboot. His comics are generally solid, but there haven’t been many long arcs in his history. His novels (which I haven’t read) seem to get some good reviews for having strong female characters…so there’s that. Jesus Saiz doesn’t stand out in my mind. I know I’ve read his work before, but it wasn’t anything that made me remember his name. I’m guessing that says enough but maybe it says that I need to do more research before I give unqualified opinions on art that I couldn’t possibly do myself…maybe…(I like ellipses).

The team is sans Oracle and sans Huntress, but it has Katana and what looks like Poison Ivy but who I’ve heard is not actually Poison Ivy, or at least the Ivy that we know. I hear lots of things. I have many hands in many rumor-filled soups. This book will probably be bad. I can’t see how it won’t be.

Verdict: NO DOOM FOR YOU!

23. Teen Titans #1
Written by SCOTT LOBDELL
Art and Cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND

Oh, the cover. So much has been said about the cover of this issue. From the terrifyingly bad Tim Drake wing-costume, to Kid Flash’s lightning aura, to Superboy’s unexplainable tattoo and “kick-me” sign on the back of his cut-off muscle shirt, its just a whole lotta bad. The preview revealed more to be scared about as Wonder Girl is now a “powerhouse thief” and the team is now characterized as “tortured teen heroes”. Scott Lobdell is starting out at the bottom of a well of awful ideas and I don’t think he has it in him to climb out of it.

With just the cover alone, Brett Booth has me on the defensive. He, as a Wildstorm artist, comes from the Liefeld school of “angry faces and lots of detail lines = AWESOME” which I’m okay with sometimes, really. I’ve read some of his work and quite enjoyed it. If Anita Blake was written better, I might have considered reading it regularly. I just don’t know how I feel about this book. Half of me screams in terror to run as fast as I can away from it. The other half desperately wants to continue reading a book with Tim Drake in it. I wish they had continued Red Robin instead of Superboy, because honestly, it was the best book DC was putting out over the past 3 years.

Verdict: POSSIBLE DOOM!

24. The Savage Hawkman #1
Written by TONY S. DANIEL
Art and Cover by PHILIP TAN

Tony Daniel, no thank you. Philip Tan, on the other hand, I really like. I wish he was paired up with a more compelling writer on a better book.

Hawkman is one of those DC Wesley characters. They’ve tried to reboot him so many times and met with failure every time that there has to be some sort of conspiracy. He hasn’t been interesting since the Rann/Thanagar books a few years ago and even then, he took a backseat to pretty much everyone else. It looks as though this is a complete reboot of the character, so no Shi’ara and no conflict with Hawk-gods that took up so much space in Brightest Day. They realized how much of a dead end that storyline was, why is he even still around.

Verdict: NO DOOM FOR YOU!

25. Blue Beetle #1
Written by TONY BEDARD
Art by IG GUARA and RUY JOSE

On one hand, Bedard wrote R.E.B.E.L.S. which I really enjoyed (and hate typing out), on the other hand, he wrote a run on Green Lantern Corps that (along with Geoff Johns’ insistence on Hal Jordan) made me give up on the Lantern books altogether. I think he will do great things with Jamie Reyes if he has the freedom to do it. Guara has done a lot of work on Hulk and Pet Avengers which will lend well to the more comedic and less polished character that is Blue Beetle. A surprisingly solid choice for this reboot.

I’m absolutely thrilled that Reyes is getting his own book again. John Rogers and Cully Hamner, and Keith Giffen put together an interesting character that should, in all honesty, be a part of the Teen Titans. I think him and Kid Flash would play off each other in the same way that Booster Gold and the old Blue Beetle would. DC seems to hate him though, might be DiDio and his unabashed evilness pulling against minority characters or it might be a grand statement about the prejudiced subconscious mind of the average American and their disinclination towards any change, even positive…but probably more the DiDio thing.

Verdict: DOOM!

26. Supergirl #1
Written by MICHAEL GREEN and MIKE JOHNSON
Art and Cover by MAHMUD ASRAR

Michael Green and Mike Johnson haven’t done anything to win me over, but I like them anyway for being named so very well. Asrar isn’t named as well as us…them, but he has drawn Dynamo 5 which makes him a winner in my book.

I really want to read this book, but again, this might be a casualty of my lack of unlimited funds. I don’t really mind the costume change, as odd as it is. The way the promo reads, it looks like she’s going to have quite an antagonistic relationship with Earth, which makes me wonder why she’s around in the first place. If she dislikes the people of Earth, and she’s already a moody teenager, then why give her a book. Develop her in someone else’s book as a background character, then give her something of her own.

Verdict: POSSIBLE DOOM!

27. Wonder Woman #1
Written by BRIAN AZZARELLO
Art and Cover by CLIFF CHIANG

Yes. Absolutely yes. This was one of the few books (the others being Stormwatch, Demon Knights, Voodoo, and Nightwing) that I absolutely knew that I was going to pick up from the get go. Azzarello has had some bumpy experience with superhero books (Superman) but he also wrote the hell out of Batman in Black & White and Joker, and 100 Bullets is enough to make me trust everything he puts out. Cliff Chiang, well I don’t know what to say other than I will read anything that he’s drawn. He’s amazing.

So, yes, despite not caring much about Wonder Woman and not having read very many good stories about her, I think that I am going to love this book. Cheers to DC for this, honestly. They finally got their heads out of their ass and decided to give Wonder Woman the attention she deserves.

Verdict: DOOM!

28. Fury Of Firestorm #1
Written by ETHAN VAN SCIVER and GAIL SIMONE
Art by YILDIRAY CINAR

I love Gail Simone. I’ve said this. I stand by this. Yildiray Cinar has done some great work on Noble Causes, which I read because of a vehement friend. I have a few of those. Van Sciver, I’m less familiar with. I read his Flash: Rebirth books, but that’s all of his that I know.

Firestorm himself has long been one of my favorites. Ronnie was one of my favorite characters during my long trek through back issues to catch up on DC history. Jason brought a new dimension to the character that I liked. Very different relationship and I’m glad that both of them are still around. I’m gonna miss the doc, but both of them together, figuring everything out sounds like a good match. I’m also pretty OK with the age change on both of them. It makes a bit more sense than Ronnie being mid-twenties and Jason being a teenager.

Verdict: DOOM!

29. Aquaman #1
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and Cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO

Johns has steadily become crazier over the past few years. Not just crazier, but more insistent that whoever he likes, everybody should like and that I cannot abide with a happy heart. However, I am a glutton for punishment and I will continue to read his books until they become unreadable. Reis, is wonderful and lovely and squishy and I’m a fan. I would read something he drew just for the splash pages.

I’ve wanted Aquaman to have a book where he isn’t a chump for a while. I don’t know what version of him they’re going to use for this, some amalgamation of Flashpoint Aquaman and regular old Arthur Curry, but I’m glad he seems to be on the right track to be a leading, dynamic character.

Verdict: DOOM!

30. Mr. Terrific #1
Written by ERIC WALLACE
Art by ROGER ROBINSON

No interest in this book. Whatsoever. Wallace hasn’t written anything that I cared about. Robinson did a lot of good work in the late 90’s & early 00’s, and The Web was a fun read, but its not enough to bring me to read it.

The cover is pretty, and Mr. Terrific is a great addition to any team. But when does the third smartest man in the world need his own comic book. Marvel is already doing the science superhero and I gotta say, I don’t think that this is going to be any better than the Fantastic Four has been, or even Amadeus Cho, or even Hank Pym in the Mighty Avengers. DC is trying to do that, but I just don’t know how well this was thought out. This seems like more of an effort to fill their deeply dry coffer of minority characters. Some work, this doesn’t.

Verdict: NO DOOM FOR YOU!

31. The Flash #1
Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO
Art and Cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL

When I heard that Manapul was going to be back on The Flash, I was excited. When I heard that it wasn’t going to be Geoff Johns writing it, I was even more excited. But I’m on a cosmic treadmill of excitement at the moment, speeding forward to nowhere, waiting and hoping that this book is not going to be more of the same Barry Allen worship and frustrating bull-puckey that led into Flashpoint. I loved, absolutely loved the first 6 or 7 issues of the Johns/Manapul Flash, but that quickly turned into more vagaries and references to how important Barry Allen is and how much you should forget Wally West (Wally who?). I’ll drop this book quicker than a Robert Kirkman plot twist if they go back to that. By the way, Manapul, not a tested writer, Buccellato, also not a tested writer. I don’t know where DC is going with this, but I hope that it works out, because they’re putting a hell of a lot of faith in these artists to carry DC out of the red.

In regards to the story, I still don’t care very much about Barry Allen. I miss Wally West with a passion because he was MY FLASH; just like David Tennant is MY DOCTOR and no other Doctor Who will probably be the same, because he was the one who I experienced as I formulated my idea of who The Flash should be. Wally West was fun, and exciting, and entertaining and Barry is just dour and methodical and a boyscout. I don’t want to read about a boyscout. I WAS a boyscout. I don’t need to live through that again. I will, however, read this book for an issue or two if only because I hope to see more scenes of The Flash running across some helicopter blades to catch a baddie.

Verdict: DOOM!

32. Green Arrow #1
Written by J.T. KRUL
Art by DAN JURGENS and NORM RAPMUND

J.T. Krul. What can I say that hasn’t been said better by other people? Like here, and here. I’m sure that he’s done some good comics work at some point, I just haven’t read it. I stopped reading Titans when he was on it. I stopped reading Green Arrow when he was on it. Its not some causal link other than I just plain dislike how he writes. Its heavy-handed and so very on the nose sometimes. I so very much want him to surprise me with something, and not something like The Rise of Arsenal. A good surprise. A “extra slice of bacon between my pancakes at Denny’s” surprise. Jurgens is a solid artist and I trust his penciling much more than his writing most of the time.

As a character, Green Arrow never really interested me. My childhood summation of him was “Batman, with a bow and arrows, and he’s a jerk.” Maybe simplistic, but my opinion of him hasn’t really changed in that I like the idea of him much more than I actually like him. He does well in books like Identity Crisis where he shares the spotlight, or in Justice League books, but not so much in his own series. The only arc of his that I can remember enjoying is Kevin Smith’s and that’s mostly because its the only arc that I’ve actually finished. If someone can recommend a series of his that would make me a fan, please do, because I’m at a loss on Mr. Queen.

Verdict: NO DOOM FOR YOU!

33. Justice League International #1
Written by DAN JURGENS
Art by AARON LOPRESTI and MATT RYAN

Dan Jurgens has done quite a lot of writing that, despite flaws, I’ve enjoyed. I certainly liked the original Justice League International stories, so while this is a fresh sort of look, I like that he has quite a bit of experience with the attitude that it should have. His Booster Gold run was fun throughout, his short arc of Metamorpho was pretty fantastic, his work on 52 was great, and I even enjoyed his little Time Masters thing last year because it actually explained some things…but then of course you have The Death and Return of Superman, Superman Red/Blue and Zero Hour which were all fairly messy to say the least. I just hope that he can put out some quality while being artist on another book because that’s certainly something I’ve never seen done. As for Lopresti, I usually like his work a lot more pre-ink, but that’s not really his fault, and Matt Ryan is an unknown factor for me (but the quick Google search yielded some pretty nice results).

Okay, so DC is obviously treating this team as though Justice League International has never happened before. This is the first time that the Justice League has been petitioned by the UN to form a standing team in Europe, and Maxwell Lord seems to be nowhere at the moment to give them sponsorship so they probably won’t be strapped for cash. The team seems to be a bit slapdash, however, made up of the “original” International team plus whoever hasn’t already been scavenged from Checkmate. They’re obviously trying to fill their quota with the International superheroes, which I suppose is the right direction for this team: Tormented-and-bemetalled Chinese August General, stereotypical Brazilian model Fire, generalized Norse-woman Ice, slightly-less-generalized African Vixen, painfully-Russian Rocket Red, Batman, Guy Gardner, and Booster Gold. There might be some great stories to be told with this team, but I’m not sure if I want to put out the $2.99 for it.

Verdict: POSSIBLE DOOM!

34. Captain Atom #1
Written by J.T. KRUL
Art by FREDDIE WILLIAMS II

J.T. Krul…no. Freddie Williams, If you’re reading this, and I know you are, I’m sorry. You’re a great artist and I love your style, but I’m just not going to pick up a book with a writer who is so clearly off his rocker, I tried that with Alan Moore and Neonomicon.

I’ve always been kind of intrigued by Captain Atom. Mostly because for the longest time I had no idea who he was. The 90’s incarnation of him, when I started reading comics as a young’n, was a bit…Silver Surfer meets Booster Gold. He seemed mostly useless in any fight, but in dire moments was seemingly all-powerful. I just never really cared to find out who he was. After a bit of research in my earlier comic book days, I was very right to not care. The talk about this book leads me to the same jokes that everyone has been making, but all the same, I can’t help but imagine this Dr. Manhattan-analogue swinging throught-manifested cat-nunchaku around on the surface of Mars. That is not a pleasant thing to be floating around in ones head when one is in a staff meeting trying my, I mean one’s, hardest to be a good employee and not be distracted by shiny things on the wall. Not one bit. If you’re at all wondering, I won’t be picking this book up. J.T. Krul has done me wrong in the past, hell, he’s done comic books in general wrong in the past. I’m going to have to hear some major praise by quite a few of the right people to give this a second look; unlikely, as no reader that I’ve talked to has suggested even a passing interest in paying for this book.

Verdict: NO DOOM FOR YOU!

TOTAL FOR BOOKS:

DOOM! – 13
POSSIBLE DOOM! – 11
NO DOOM FOR YOU! – 10

Nothing new from this second batch. Just more team books, and more books that are a bit premature.

Join me next week as I tackle the final 18 books and give my review of JLA #1.

Yes, I’m going to comment on it too. It seemed a fitting thing to talk about in my return to the columning business. But I’m gonna talk a little controversy and say that this might be just what DC needs.

DC comics has had a less than stellar record over the past few years. Of their major heroes (Green Lantern, Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, The Flash, Teen Titans, Red Robin, etc.) there are only a few that have consistently good books.

THE BUILDUP:

Superman and Wonder Woman went to hell with J. Michael Straczynski skipping his way down paycheck lane. The guy has written some damn good stories in the past, but John Cassaday has also drawn some damn good comics in the past and that hasn’t happened in a while.

Green Lantern & Green Lantern Corps. lost my interest after Blackest Night when Johns pulled the “Wait, there’s another prophecy that I didn’t tell you about!” card. It will usually work in a book, but after a major event that was supposed to affect the entire DCU (which it didn’t) and more than 50 issuThes of hinting up to the Blackest Night events, I felt a bit annoyed that it was all nothing more than a stepping stone for Johns to tell the story he really wanted to tell in Brightest Day (which is one of the most disappointing things I’ve ever paid for) and Flashpoint (which I can’t bring myself to give a damn about).

The Flash, if you’ll remember, was one of my favorite books of last year. Johns and Manapul had created a beautiful little arc about Barry Allen figuring out where he stood in the world after the events of Final Crisis/Rebirth/Blackest Night and realigning himself with the life that he had before the Crisis on Infinite Earths. I’ve quite liked it up until The Reverse Flash appeared. For some reason or another, I’ve always disliked the character. Maybe its due to the fact that he hates Barry Allen even though he should hate Wally West. Maybe its because his origin story plays like a poorly written Dr. Who storyline (wibbledy-wobbledy timey-wimey). Or maybe its because his name is Professor Zoom. I don’t know, he’s just never worked for me. Also, they keep giving him new powers to make him interesting, which is just lazy writing.

Batman has gone through some pretty intense changes over these past few years and if anything about this whole reboot has me miffed, its that DC has decided that it doesn’t dislike all of the changes that have happened recently, just some of them. Its absolutely ok for Damian Wayne to be Robin, and for Jason Todd to be The Red Hood, but Barbara Gordon is back on her feet, Dick Grayson is Nightwing again, Tim Drake has goddamn wings, and Batman, Inc.? I have no idea if that is going to exist or be brushed under the table.

DC created a continuity that was suffering under the weight of its own complexities. After Final Crisis and Blackest Night, no one really knew exactly what was going on outside of each comics’ isolated world. How was the Batman affected by Brightest Day? Does Superman care about Batman, Inc.? Does Green Lantern have a say in Superman giving up his citizenship? Why doesn’t anyone help Green Lantern with his defense of the entire universe? I understand the need for a dramatic realignment of the DCU, and I understand that they are trying very hard to keep to their “No More Crisis Books” promise, but Flahpoint shouldn’t be treated as anything other than what it is…an excuse to etch-a-sketch the DCU without calling it a crisis.

THE BOOKS:

Its a task, but I’ve split the DCU relaunch into 3 parts. I’ll be going over each title, the creative team and the story if I can. I’ll give a rating of whether I’m going to buy it (DOOM!) pass for a later date (POSSIBLE DOOM!) or pass completely (NO DOOM FOR YOU!).

1. JLA #1
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and Cover by JIM LEE and SCOTT WILLIAMS

I quite like some of the stuff Geoff Johns has done. I enjoyed the hell out of Green Lantern before Blackest Night happened. I even enjoyed The Flash with Francis Manapul and tolerated Brightest Day and so far Flashpoint has been ok. It has interesting ideas and, though its a bit messy, I like where its going. I have faith that with a bit of direction, this could be a great book. That being said, Jim Lee has been rather disappointing as of late. He hasn’t done any solid comic work for about a decade, his most recent work has been either covers (Invincible et. al), a few select pages (Image United, JLA, etc.), and the regrettable All-Star Batman & Robin. His art is still some pretty stuff to look at, but its well known that the man cannot keep to a schedule. I don’t see this book, with this team, reaching 10 issues.

In regards to the new costume designs and team, I’m mostly ok with it. Aquaman hasn’t looked better in years, The Flash, GL, and Wonder Woman costume updates are ok, Cyborg is still pretty much Cyborg, Superman is a bit young for my liking, but that might mean they’re moving him to less of a leadership role in the league and more towards an uncertain hero, which might mean great things or contrived things. Batman is still Batman, and I am eternally thankful for that. I don’t quite know if there are going to be any major character changes, but everything looks fairly solid and I’m looking forward to reading it despite any reservations I have.

Verdict: DOOM!

2. Action Comics #1
Written by GRANT MORRISON
Art by RAGS MORALES and RICK BRYANT

I’ve had my issues in the past with Grant Morrison. He writes stories that are beautifully weaved through with mystery and subtle references that aren’t revealed until the final pages, he also writes stories that I (among others) find to be tedious and ostentatious. He can write brilliant stuff like Batman & Robin, or something that I just struggle through, like Final Crisis. Animal Man was brilliant (while riding that line of excessive preachiness that he straddles so much) but I still haven’t finished The Invisibles because of its overtones of Grant Morrison being better than you. I think Morrison will do a great job with this flagship title though. He’ll bring some creative writing that Superman has been missing for quite some time and he’s the perfect man to keep DC’s first comic going at the moment. Rags, I haven’t seen too much of, but that’s mostly because he hasn’t done much. I liked Infinite Crisis, I liked Identity Crisis, and his recent work on First Wave has been pretty damn good. I have no worries about the artist here.

I have no clue about what the story is going to be, the cover looks like an older Superman. The jeans are…eh, but I don’t worry too much about it, at least not as much as the picture from Zac Snyder’s Superman worried me.

Verdict: DOOM!

3. Superman #1
Written by GEORGE PEREZ
Art by JESUS MERINO

DC is showing a love for the artist-as-writer idea. I’m not sure how I feel about this. It might be Jim Lee’s influence as a top man at DC, more of DiDio’s madness as a top man at DC, or just general madness from everyone at DC, but its a strange choice to be sure. Perez is really an unknown as a writer. He draws a hell of a splash page and has drawn Superman at some of his finest moments, but I really don’t know how I feel about this one. Jesus Merino is a capable artist and while his exact style isn’t my favorite, I think he’ll draw the shit out of this if the book is going to be as visually oriented as I imagine.

The story hints at classic Superman stories far removed from the political madness we’ve seen recently and more of what should be in a Superman story: Superman beating up things that only he can beat up and being an all-around good guy.

Verdict: POSSIBLE DOOM!

4. Superboy #1
Written by SCOTT LOBDELL
Art by RB SILVA and ROB LEAN

Scott Lobdell isn’t a name you see much. Its not for any particular reason, he just hasn’t done much mainstream stuff as of late. His work is solid and sometimes pretty damn good and sometimes absolutely terrible. He’s an odd choice because he’s an unknown to a lot of the younger crowd of casual comic readers and I don’t like that he’s been given three books to write. If DC was going for new talent and an open call for writers and artists, you’d think they’d spread it around a bit more, but they’ve gone with some markedly odd choices for 60% of their books. I think he can do a good job on Superboy if he doesn’t get lost in Teen Titans and Red Hood & The Outlaws. RB Silva, though, is a pretty damn amazing artist and I’ve loved everything that I’ve seen of his.

The story: I don’t know. Its the same Superboy story that I’ve read 6 times already. Johns and Manapul did a fine job of covering this in 4 issues in Adventure Comics a year or so ago. I don’t know why we always need to see him struggling over his origin. Its great, but damn is it getting old. I’ve also heard rumors that this is one of two different Superboys that will be in the DCU, how that works, I don’t know, but it sounds awful.

Verdict: POSSIBLE DOOM!

5. Batman #1
Written by SCOTT SNYDER
Art by GREG CAPULLO and JONATHAN GLAPION

I’m a huge Scott Snyder fan. I would pick this up based solely on his work on American Vampire, but his recent run on Detective Comics with Jock has been stellar and Gates of Gotham has been great. Capullo, I’m not overly excited about because I’m just not a big fan of Spawn. I prefer him to MacFarlane, but its always been very over-the-top and I haven’t seen much of him drawing a more subdued, understated character like I think Snyder will write.

I have no idea about the story, but this is one of the few that I think will essentially continue straight out of the previous DC continuity. They have done too much with Batman over the past two years that’s been good to want to just abandon it like they’re probably doing with Superman.

Verdict: DOOM!

6. Detective Comics #1
Written by TONY S. DANIEL
Art by TONY S. DANIEL and RYAN WINN

No. Just no. Tony Daniel writes boring stories. That’s just it. I haven’t really liked a thing that I’ve read of his and my reluctance towards this title is only compounded by the fact that he is writing and drawing it. I know that writer/artist is possible, but not at high quality and not on schedule. The same goes for David Finch. Daniel can draw a fair comic, and he’s done a good job of moving away from the Liefeld school of “Screw it, we’ll just add lines everywhere,” but its not at the point where he can do all the work on his own, stick to a schedule and make something that I want to read.

The story, hopefully, will continue where Snyder has left off and not go off on another Black Mask run that ends pretty much nowhere. The promo for the book uses the words “Ripper” and “game of cat and mouse”. I just am not excited about this.

Verdict: NO DOOM FOR YOU!

7. Batgirl #1
Written by GAIL SIMONE
Art by ARDIAN SYAF and VICENTE CIFUENTES

I love Gail Simone. Seriously. I might kidnap and marry her against her will. Secret Six has been a consistently amazing book, Birds of Prey has been great and her Wonder Woman was actually readable (which is a Herculean task). In regards to art, this book has the best named team I’ve seen in a long forever. Ardian Syaf and Vicente Cifuentes have both done some good work, I’m not entirely familiar with either, but what I’ve seen I liked (apart from a few odd proportion issues in some of Syaf’s work). I think this might go very well with these talented people working on the comic.

The story, however, I’m not very fond of. I don’t mind that Barbara Gordon is back on her feet, but I don’t like that DC won’t take a stand on The Killing Joke not being canon anymore. They’re using Flashpoint as saying that the world is coming back as Barry Allen mis-remembered it, and trying to have their Batgirl-cake, and eat it too. Another dislike is the dismissal of Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain, two great characters that have recently been shining in their comic appearances (Brown having only recently been revived) and are now being 86’ed by DC executives. I really want to like this one, but I think I’ll wait until someone else lets me know that it’s worth my money.

Verdict: POSSIBLE DOOM!

8. Batwoman #1
Written by J.H. WILLIAMS III and W. HADEN BLACKMAN
Art and Cover by J.H. WILLIAMS III

Damn J.H. Williams for being so talented. It would make it much easier for me to dismiss this book for the same reasons as Detective Comics and Batman: The Dark Knight if he was any less talented. I don’t have any idea how he will write this book, but at least he has the help of Blackman, who I know well from his Star Wars work. I think the team is solid enough to get it done, I just hope it doesn’t fall behind on schedule.

Again, I am unsure as to how the reboot will affect the story of the character. This book has been pushed back over a year, cancelled, uncancelled and then pushed back again so I have no idea where they’re going to start. There was a #0 issue released a while back but anything pre-reboot is not set in stone.I’ve waited long enough for this book, there’s no reason for me not to try it out after this much investment of hope.

Verdict: DOOM!

9. Catwoman #1
Written by JUDD WINICK
Art and Cover by GUILLEM MARCH

Oh, Judd, I wish you wrote a more consistent book. I was one of the few people who seemed to like your runs on Batman and I quite like your work on Power Girl and Green Arrow. I don’t know how you’re gonna handle Catwoman, but I assume that I’ll hear about it later and pick it up around issue 3. Guillem, I like your stuff, you draw pretty things and ladies that look soft. Keep it up.

I really have no idea what to think about this. I like the direction DC has been going with her recently, devoted to Batman, but still independent and absolutely willing to steal whatever she wants. Don’t know if that will stay, but I might check it out later rather than sooner.

Verdict: POSSIBLE DOOM!

10. Red Hood And The Outlaws #1
Written by SCOTT LOBDELL
Art and Cover by KENNETH ROCAFORT

Same reservations that I had for Superboy. Scott Lobdell is going to be overworked. Another downside to this book is that there is almost zero motivation for me to read it based on the idea. Rocafort, I’m unfamiliar with. From what I see that he’s done, it looks like a lot of cover work and a lot of drawings of intense-looking ladies.

I’m so very unaffected by this comic because I dislike the return of Jason Todd in the first place. He was Batman’s failure. He was the one that he couldn’t save. He hung over Bruce’s head and made him question himself in a way that nothing else really did. He reminded you that Joker was not a lovable prankster-villain, and if people don’t remember, he was killed off because the fans just. Did.Not. Like. Jason Todd. He was whiny and disrespectful and exactly the opposite of the kind of person that Dick Grayson was, just he had less of a reason to be unhappy than Dick. I never liked Jason as a character and I like The Red Hood even less. This book seems absolutely pointless to me other than for DC to have their magic number of comic books.

Verdict: NO DOOM FOR YOU!

11. Batwing #1
Written by JUDD WINICK
Art and Cover by BEN OLIVER

I’m not going to comment on Judd Winick again, I have the same complaints. Ben Oliver, I’m unfamiliar with, but he looks like he can draw a pretty good comic.

Batwing, is a bad idea. If you created a new hero to be DC’s watchman over Africa, great. However, by making him a Bat-hero, you’re reducing both him and the entire idea behind your Batman reboot. Batman Incorporate started because Bruce wanted Batman to be an idea, not just a single hero. That’s why he left Dick as Batman in Gotham while he went around the world doing crazy World-Batman things.Why not have a comic that follows all of these Batmen if you’re going to keep the idea of Batman Inc. alive? Why just focus on this one? Why not give a comic to El Gaucho or keep Knight and Squire in a book somewhere? This just seems like a forced idea and one that won’t last longer than a few trade paperbacks worth.

Verdict: NO DOOM FOR YOU!

12. Nightwing #1
Written by KYLE HIGGINS
Art and Cover by EDDY BARROWS and JP MAYER

I like me some Dick Grayson. I also like me some Dick Grayson as Nightwing. I also like me Kyle Higgins because the very few comics that he’s done have been funderful (yes, I said it, now back off!). Eddy Barrows, I also like. He’s done some great stuff in the past few years.

I hate to be repetitive, but I have no idea what they’re keeping of Dick and what they’re abandoning. Was he ever Batman? Are his parents still dead? Why is he wearing red as Nightwing? How is it that comic writers still believe that there are so many traveling circuses? I know that I want to find these things out. In summation, I really want to read this book, if just to see Dick as Nightwing again.

Verdict: DOOM!

13. Batman And Robin #1
Written by PETER J. TOMASI
Art and Cover by PATRICK GLEASON and MICK GRAY

Tomasi…not so much. I liked Green Lantern Corps, but not much else and it eventually became boring. Gleason, he’s worked with before but I’m not a huge fan of his style.

This is a very wait and see kind of book. I don’t know what to expect from it and I don’t really know if I want to be a part of it. I hope its good. I really do.

Verdict: POSSIBLE DOOM!

14. DC Universe Presents #1
Written by PAUL JENKINS
Art by BERNARD CHANG

I didn’t think I would be, but I’m really excited for this book. I’m a big fan of the idea of no star in the book, just a bunch of stories about heroes that might be forgotten. I can see this leading to some amazing one-shot stories and guest writers/artists. This book will probably be a great launching point for new artists/writers as well who DC doesn’t quite want to give their own book yet. If they use this right, this could be the best thing DC pulls out of the relaunch.

Jenkins has done great work on Hellblazer and great work on The Hulk, however, he also created The Sentry, which nearly absolves him of all his acclaim. Chang has done some good work but I don’t know enough about his bibliography to say if he’ll make or break the series.

Verdict: DOOM!

15. Green Lantern #1
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art by DOUG MAHNKE and CHRISTIAN ALAMY

Johns, despite my repeated requests, just will not leave Green Lantern alone. He keeps introducing new mythos that has barely been hinted at and has to be shoehorned into the story while pushing the idea that Hal Jordan is “teh rawkzors” [SARCASM] and everyone else obviously sucks except for Barry Allen, who is so much cooler than Wally West [/SARCASM]. I really am tired of the Book of Oa/Guardian/Rainbow Lantern shitake mushrooms. Sadly, the Green Lantern madness over the past few years, much like Batman, has had too much effort to be abandoned and will probably remain mostly unchanged.

I will say that Mahnke has consistently put out a good book, no matter what it is, he draws an amazing splash page with incredible amounts of detail and consideration of story. I just wish the writer could put out a story that wasn’t so unpleasant to read. If I hear that its better than the past year of issues has been, I might pick it up.

Verdict: POSSIBLE DOOM!

16. Green Lantern Corps #1
Written by PETER J. TOMASI
Art by FERNANDO PASARIN and SCOTT HANNA

Again with the Tomasi…

This book will probably be better than the main GL series, just because Hal Jordan annoys me so damn much. However, that’s not saying much because I’m not really a fan of Guy Gardner or John Stewart either. Its very easy to write both characters wrong and I haven’t read anything of Tomasi’s recently that convinces me that I should care.

Verdict: NO DOOM FOR YOU!

17. Green Lanterns: New Guardians #1
Written by TONY BEDARD
Art and Cover by TYLER KIRKHAM and BATT

The collective world of Kyle Rayner fans and I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that Kyle was not only not being ignored by the restructure of DC, but he was being given his own book. I’m not a huge fan of the Rainbow Lantern idea. Yellow was fun, Red was interesting at first, Star Sapphires are…sexy?, and Larfleeze is perfection, but I can pretty much live a happy life without ever again seeing Saint Walker or Indigo 007 hanging around and being mysterious and/or frustrating.

I can ignore all of the faults because Kyle Rayner has his own book though. I’m good. Have Rob Liefeld draw it and Jeph Loeb write it and I’d probably still read a book that was based around Kyle Rayner being awesome.

Bedard has done some great stuff and Kirkham has done some good stuff. I’m looking forward to it.

Verdict: DOOM!

TOTAL FOR BOOKS:

DOOM! – 7
POSSIBLE DOOM! – 6
NO DOOM FOR YOU! – 4

So, what I’ve learned from this first batch is that DC is definitely going for a certain look with their comics at the moment. There’s no unique ideas so far in the artist choices. Playing it safe? Maybe.

DC is also trying their hardest to appeal to a crowd that they don’t currently appeal to. Books like Red Hood and the Outlaws are directed towards people who have no attachment to characters and are looking for books based on title and visuals alone.

Join me next week as I tackle the next 17 books. On the 24th, I’ll be talking about the final 18 books and giving my review of JLA #1.