DC Comics New 52 - Week Three

I don’t know if I’m getting tired of all the new books, or if the quality isn’t quite as good, but it took me a little while to finish this weeks selections. There were some big titles like Batman and Wonder Woman, which I was picking up before the reboot along with other books that I was looking forward to, like DC Presents Deadman and Birds of Prey.

Batman #1 - Written by Scott Snyder with art by Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion. I like Snyder’s work. The books in the Batman family are strange. They haven’t been rebooted from a fresh start. Instead, they build upon Grant Morrison’s stories. In this book, it starts with Batman in Arkham Asylum beating up his usual villains. He’s there to try and locate a weak point in the asylum’s security. But after the battle, we are reintroduced to the Bat Cave and all the different versions of Robin: Dick Grayson, Tim Drake and Damian Wayne. Snyder does a clever way of introducing all the main characters for the new readers, and yet keeps it interesting for long time fans. He has Bruce Wayne use facial recognition software and we read what he sees. So when Vicky Vale appears, we see that she is a reporter.

I liked the art in this book. It isn’t a clean style, but effective. The inking Glapion uses consists of fine lines, but still manages to show a level of disorder to the scenes. For the fight sequence at the beginning of the book, Capullo shows a level of energy that is just right. I liked this book more than Detective Comics. I’ll continue getting this one a little longer.

Birds of Prey #1 - When Gail Simone was writing the previous iteration of this book, I liked it. Not so much this time. Written by Duane Swierczynski, we are reintroduced to Black Canary and some girl with a arm sleeve tattoo and corset named Ev Crawford. After unsuccessfully trying to recruit Barbara Gordon, who was the brains of the group back when she was Oracle, we meet only two members of the group in this book.

The art by Jesus Saiz is good. The characters faces are done well with a wide range of expressions. But his figures are kind of generic. And even though the book could lend itself to being a pinup page special, he doesn’t go there and keeps it pretty straight. But it is unfortunate that there really wasn’t enough to keep me interested in continuing this book.

Blue Beetle #1 - With this book we meet the new Blue Beetle, who has been around for a couple years. A normal Latino teenager named Jaime Reyes who stumbles upon an alien blue scarab which then joins with him creating a super exoskeleton. Written by Tony Bedard, I thought this was one of the better reboots. The story is a true origin tale. Jaime doesn’t get his powers until the end of the book and we are told how dangerous and valuable the scarab is to some bad people. I thought the pacing and amount of information given in the book was excellent.

The art by Ig Guara and Ruy Jose is good too. There isn’t anything that is too radically different or unique about the pictures. The characters are well done and the story flows along with the images. The book was technically well done, but with 51 other books contending for my money, I think this one is on the bubble for continuing.

Captain Atom #1 - Written by J.T. Krul and art by Freddie Williams II. This book isn’t on the bubble for me. I won’t ask for the second issue from my comic shop. This book starts out with Captain Atom beating up a guy in a big robot suit. And he starts to manipulate the atomic structure of the metal (isn’t that Firestorms gig?). One the battle is over, he heads back to some research facility to meet up with some Stephen Hawking like character named Dr. Megala. But unlike Hawking, Megala isn’t charming and doesn’t have a sense of humor. But by the end of this book, Captain Atom needs to stop both a nuclear meltdown and volcano eruption in New York. Sounds like a SyFi movie plot. The art by Williams was good. I get a Dr. Manhattan vibe from Watchmen when I look at Captain Atom. But like most of the other books in this reboot, there isn’t anything too special about it.

Catwoman #1 - I’ve seen the name Judd Winick as writer on many books I’ve bought. So I know he has chops to write something good. And I’ll admit that I liked Catwoman. We meet Selina Kyle first fighting off intruders in her home. After escaping, her apartment is blown up. From there we meet her friend and fence where she gets a tip about some Russian mob connection. And at the end of the book, a seemingly non-Morrison Batman show up and the two of them get it on.

Like Batwoman, the artwork in this book is unique and well done. Guillem March has a fluid style that’s pretty sexy too. Perhaps there might be too much cheesecake for some readers, but Catwoman is like a superego of the Batman books. She is a creature of wants and passions. And when we see her jumping around or getting nuzzled by Batman, we sense her feelings from the art. I think I’ll continue getting this book. At least until there is a new artist assigned to it.

DC Comics Presents Deadman #1 - I wanted to like this one. Really. I think Deadman is one of the cooler characters in the DC Universe. But with this version by Paul Jenkins and Bernard Chang, I don't get the same vibe as the Deadman from the past. In this book, we are told Deadman's origin as Boston Brand, aerialist, who is assassinated while in the middle of his act. Then we go into the metaphysical where he meets Rama Kushna who puts Boston in a position where he can posess people. And in doing so he is to perform good deeds to build up karma so he can die peacefully and whole.

I liked this book a little. But as I said, I was expecting something more. I can't define what that is and it isn't really fair of me to disregard this book on expectations not met, but there are too many other books to consider before I put out to continue this one.

Green Lantern Corps #1 - Written by Peter J. Tomasi with art by Fernando Pasarin and Scott Hanna relates the story of the other Green Lanterns who’s patrol area consists of Earth. We meet again Guy Gardner (who is in Justice League International) and John Stewart. We find that they are separately trying to maintain a normal civilian life while still being Green Lanterns with unfortunately results for them. The two end up going to OA together commiserating with each other when they are sent on a mission with some other Green Lanterns. I like the direction Tomasi is taking. Guy Gardner isn’t a huge dick like he was before the reboot. And John Stewart isn’t the same as in the Justice League cartoons where I was introduced to him.

The artwork is good. The panoramas of OA are highly detailed while the underwater planets look really cool. And the characters expressions (even the alien ones) are interesting. I like that Pasarin has done with the book. But this book isn’t one that I’ll continue. Again, with the glut of new titles, this one unfortunately didn't make the cut.

Legion of Super-Heroes #1 - I never understood the Legion of Super-Heroes. I know they are from the future and that there are scores of members with really silly names. But other than that, I’m not exactly sure what they are supposed to be doing. And this first issue by Paul Levitz and Francis Portela didn’t really help me understand. The book drops us in on a Legion mission where a couple of veterans , Chameleon Boy and Phantom Girl, are out with some rookies, Chemical Kid and Dragonwing. They are trying to break into some place to find something. Meanwhile there is contention back in the base between Brainiac 5 and Mon-El. Got it? Because I don’t.

The art is good and shiny. Like anime characters, they all have different hair styles and costumes so you can keep track of who’s who. But needless to say, this is a book I won’t be continuing.

Nightwing #1 - This is one of the post-Morrison Batman books. Written by Kyle Higgins, we meet Dick Grayson taking off the Batman costume and returning to his new Nightwing garb. In this story, we are told of his background in flashbacks as the circus he used to perform with his family as a child is in Gotham. He visits them the performers and is attacked as he is leaving as Dick Grayson, not Nightwing.

This is a good book and there is a tie in to the end of the Batman book. So if I get Batman, I should also pick up this one. The art is good but as I recollect not too remarkable.

Red Hood and the Outlaws #1 - By Scott Lobdell and Kenneth Rocafort, Red Hood and the Outlaws is one of the more unique books this week. Notice I didn’t say good. Red Hood is a former Robin, Jason Todd, who was killed by the Joker in the infamous “Death in the Family” storyline. He got better and lost his moral direction while keeping all his bat training. This book starts with him breaking out of a middle eastern prison Roy Harper, who was Green Arrows former sidekick who went through tough times also (but at least wasn’t killed). Together with Starfire from Teen Titans fame, the three of them are a group of amoral good guys, if there is such a thing. Unlike the Starfire from before the reboot who was always had an innocent eye when it comes to humans, this new Starfire treats humans more like inferior beings.

The art by Rocafort is interesting in a Michael Turner mixed with Jim Lee kind of way. There is a page where Starfire is frolicking in her bikini and it looks like it from a Aspen book. Not that its a bad thing, but I don’t know if its something that brought more narrative.

Supergirl #1 - This book has two writers, Michael Green and Mike Johnson along with artists Mahmud Asrar and Dan Green, where we first meet Kara. She lands on Earth, but instead of landing in Kansas, she goes through the planet ending up in Siberia where a bunch of government mechas try and subdue her. And that is pretty much all for the plot of this issue. She doesn’t understand what’s happening and robots are trying to subdue her. It’s pretty sweet action with kinetic artwork to show the fights. I’d talk more about this book, but there unfortunately isn’t anything else to tell. However, I won’t continue reading this one.

Wonder Woman #1 - Along with Batman, this is another one of the flagship titles this week. Writer Brian Azzarello is always interesting and with Cliff Chiang, we meet Wonder Woman again in a new story. It’s not an origin story like Blue Beetle, this is more like the Batman story where we Wonder Woman is established and part of the world. In this story, Diana is dragged into the plot instead of actively seeking it. We first meet her in a bed where a woman gets teleported into her room needing help. And tying Greek mythology into the mix, we are now on an epic journey that hopefully will be satisfying.

I liked the art too. Chiang does have a unique style, Not as visually interesting as Guillem March or J. H. Williams III, but still eye catching and appropriate for the story. The mythical beasts look menacing, and the characters (with out without long pants) fit in the narrative. I’ll continue getting this one for the first story arc and see where it ends up.