The third week of the New 52 – the second full schedule – continues the prior pattern of some good, some bad. The overall quality is quite high and even the stuff I don’t like is well produced and professionally done. It’s increasingly clear that the Batman franchise has been almost untouched by the reboot. Batwoman in particular spends it entire first issue catching-up with itself.
Batman and Robin (vol. 2) #1 — The last series was Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne, now its Bruce Wayne and Daiman – father and son. Damian is the same little snot as ever and Bruce is the same hardass, despite allowing himself a smile when going into action with Damian for the first time. However, the situation rapidly falls apart for them. Tomasi is a great writer and he instantly captures the best parts of each character. Gleason’s art is strong and has a Doug Manhke quality that suits this title. — ★★★½.
Batwoman #1 — This one has been a long time in the making, but it is without its original writer. You can tell that Rucka isn’t here, but Williams and Blackman nevertheless do a damn good job. The number of plot points that are touched upon reminds you that this is one of those books that has retained its continuity and just how strong that history has become in only a few years. Great first issue, but the pressure is really on to maintain the quality of the writing without Rucka. The return of Agent Chase gives it that extra .5 score — ★★★★½
Deathstroke (vol. 2) #1 — Slade Wilson is back. Like many books this is a refresh rather than a reboot, but the set-up is quite clever. Deathstroke’s reputation is shot so he’s got to establish himself – major excuse for badass displays. That said, the first issue didn’t quite live up to the hype. It has made us a promise that it will be interesting to see if future issues can deliver. Unfortunately that sword makes him look like something out of a Japanese RPG. — ★★½..
Demon Knights #1 — Shares a certain high concept zing with Frankenstein, but is rather more controlled. Equal parts old and new make for an interesting roster and Neves’s art illustrates them beautifully. I’m a sucker for Arthuriania so I was always going to like this book. I especially like the bit where Xanadu dives off of Arthur’s funeral barge rather than spend the rest of eternity hanging around Avalon. Nice to see the characterization carried over from her Vertigo series. — ★★★★.
Frankenstein Agent of Shade #1 — It’s Frankenstein’s monster, his wife, the Creature Commandos, Ray Palmer is the science advisor, their headquarters is larger on the inside, and their boss has been reincarnated in the body of a small Japanese schoolgirl. The title lies somewhere between Morrison and Abnett/Lanning in terms of ideas. Its brilliant and more than a little bonkers. — ★★★½.
Grifter #1 — I was only previously aware of Wildstorm’s Grifter as a gun toting wise-ass in various inter-company crossovers so this book was quite new for me. The set up of a lone gunman/conman who is the only person to see the aliens could be a strong TV series and the entire thing seems like a setup for a essentialist 1970s/80s TV show. A very solid entertaining story which could go either way as it develops. — ★★★½.
Green Lantern #1 (vol. 5) — Same artist, same writer, and same continuity, but different Lantern. Sinestro is now GL and Hal is out of a job. Nothing was broken with this title so, almost uniquely in this line up, they haven’t tried to fix it. I would liked to have concentrated just on Sinestro, but there is time for that in upcoming issues. — ★★★½.
Legion Lost (vol. 2) #1 — A time lost Legion of Superheroes splinter group has been tried before, but the idea nearly always requires you knowing who the Legion are. That’s true here, but Nicieza works hard to establish the characters and almost gets away with it. Personally I’d like so have seen something a little more fun and less bloody. — ★★★..
Mister Terrific #1 — This has bee completely divorced from the Justice Society and thus is missing the weigh and pathos that made the original Michael Holt an interesting character. He is meant to be the worlds (Third) Smartest Man, but he just sprouts an insane amount of technobabble. This Mister T could be the new DCU’s Doc Savage, but they need to pull back from the dodgy technobabble and ground the main character a little bit more. Oh, and bring back his jacket. — ★★½..
Red Lanterns #1 — Turning this crew into an ongoing book requires writer Peter Milligan to do some deft work repositioning the red as more rage than hate. The result is to turn Atrocities into somebody with a Spectre like agenda. It could work, but this issue spends so long explaining how-it-all works that the reader is still unsure at the end if it actually does. — ★★★..
Resurrection Man (vol. 2) #1 — This is a strange one. Unlike, say Grifter, this is a continuation of the old character rather than a do over. Thus Mitch Shelley is in full possession of his powers and rather than having to explore them. It may make for a steeper learning curve for the new reader, but it allows for a great start and a new take on the forces who don’t like a man who won’t stay dead. Classic Resurrection Man — ★★★½.
Suicide Squad (vol. 3) #1 — DC has done some really good villain books in its time, but this isn’t one of them. I know a book called Suicide isn’t going to be light and fluffy, but this is just shallow and nasty. — ★★...
Superboy (vol. 5) #1 — Superboy’s secret origin was recently revisited in the Young Justice cartoon so the template of this story is still fresh in people’s minds. Where Lobdell departs from the original is to have the Superboy reach full term before awakening. He isn’t rescued and is willingly working for his shady creators. It’s a fresh twist that is able assisted by Silva’s clean and expressive artwork. I wasn’t sure if I’d like the new Teen Titans franchise, bit this is a good start. — ★★★½.
I’ve thought the dividing line of 3 and 3.5 was probably where I’d draw the line on by final pull list, but its hard to tell just from these single issues. Red Lanterns, Legion Lost, and Grifter could all have been above or below that divide.
