Episode I: A middle-age book report on launch month of DC’s New 52
There are really four phases of books that I encountered this month, so I’ll present them to you on the level that I engaged with them. First, the books that I already subscribed to before the relaunch (or news of the relaunch). Second, books that I picked up because I lost two titles to the relaunch. Third, books that I picked up at the store because of recommendations or impulse buys. Fourth, books that that skimmed through off the rack, but opted not to purchase.
Before the relaunch, I subscribed to BATMAN, DETECTIVE, BATMAN & ROBIN, BATMAN INC., RED ROBIN, GREEN LANTERN and THE DARK KNIGHT. Despite my initial hesitation, and conflicting information from DC subscription service, I kept my subscriptions to most of these titles. I loved what Scott Snyder did with Dick Grayson in Detective over the last year, so I was excited to see what he would do with Bruce Wayne in the core Batman book.
Batman was exceptional. I cannot say enough positive things about Snyder’s work. And in the interest of full disclosure, Snyder’s promotion to BATMAN is the sole reason I kept my DC subscriptions. Batman & Robin was fun, but lacked the ingenuity and verve of Morrison’s run. Also, poor Damian can’t catch a break. It feels like we are reliving the initial arc of B&R where Damian must earn trust and goodwill once more. It has the benefit of being familiar, yet different. A necessary growing pain in the new father & son dynamic.
GREEN LANTERN. I’m of mixed feeling on this book. I have not read War of the Green Lanterns yet; I missed one of the early GLC tie-ins and I hate missing an issue before reading a story for the first time. So until I get off my duff and buy that backissue, I’m a little out of touch about exactly why Hal has no ring and why Sinestro has Hal’s ring.
DETECTIVE COMICS. Again, I do not wish to get into spoilers, but the shock ending of this book ruined it for me. It’s not a story-telling concern. I’m patient enough to see where a story goes before passing judgment on it. The visual itself was a downer. And, as the father of a 13 year old budding comic book fan, it was a deal-breaker. That book is not new reader friendly for young readers. I’ll likely drop this book for something better (which I’ll get to in a minute) if Tony Daniel cannot lock it down.
I dropped Finch’s DARK KNIGHT. For a couple reasons. One, I’m of the opinion that we fans should not enable late issues, especially on “monthly” titles. Two, it feels like it’s right out of the Loeb playbook. I thought I was rereading HUSH on accident at first. I do, finally, have all five issues of this volume, but I dropped the title for the relaunch and I’ll most likely HFB (Half Price Book) it. Three, I just didn’t like it. I’m not here to convince you not to like it. Just not my tea cup.
BATMAN INC. and RED ROBIN are no more. So I swapped three subscriptions (counting the exile of DARK KNIGH) and added: NIGHTWING (I’m a Dick Grayson fan for the first time thanks largely to Morrison and Snyder’s work with him. I also picked up TEEN TITANS, as I am a huge Tim Drake fan (I made my own Robin costume for Halloween a few years back using Tim’s red One Year Later costume) and with the loss the of the excellent RED ROBIN, TEEN TITANS is my only Tim Drake recourse. I also picked up RED HOOD & THE OUTSIDERS. I have loved what Judd Winick has down with Jason Todd since Under the Hood and Red Hood: Lost Days and even though my favorite former REAL WORLD cast member is not writing Red Hood & Co., I felt I owe Jason some support.
Both Red Hood and Teen Titans are written by Lobdell and both have the distinction of being the first two new 52 books that I drop. How in the world DC can produce books that portray women in such a strong, non-objectified manner (Wonder Woman, Batwoman, Batgirl) alongside the treatment of Catwoman (sorry Judd, but no) and Starfire in Red Hood is beyond me.
Speaking of Batwoman, this was one of my impulse buys. Well, not really impulse. G4’s Blair Butler (@BlairButler – follow her!) gave JH Williams book high marks. Williams penciled Greg Rucka’s run on Batwoman when she headlined Detective for nine issues. Batwoman is visually outstanding (it might take a few re-glances to follow the panel flow) because the art is so gorgeous. It almost looks like a mosaic.
Other impulse buys: Action Comics (which is fantastic and the last Superman book that I enjoyed was Red Son). Superman is fun and flippant and fights the man with a smile and a wink. You need know nothing at all about Superman to get into this book, and if you are a long time fan, there are plenty of Easter Eggs to keep you smiling. Wonder Woman (touted as a horror story related to mythology and delivering on the touting). It’s moody and bloody and not the most kid-friendly introduction to Wonder Woman. I’m a fan of Harley Quin (from B:TAS and the Arkham Asylum video game) so I had to check her out in SUICIDE SQUAD. I am not overly familiar with the rest of the cast, so I did not have much expectation other than to want to read the next issue. I do not. There’s no since in grading this comic because not wanting to read another issue of it is a greater indictment against it than any subjective rating I can give.
I did buy Batgirl, mostly out of curiosity about whether KILLING JOKE, never intended for main continuity to begin with, was still around. And it is. I must give credit to Gail Simone: I’ve never liked what has been done with Barbara Gordon since Killing Joke. I didn’t like that DC maintained her crippling. That being said, Simone clearly is setting up some great character growth with Barbara’s post traumatic stress disorder. As we have a whole generation of brave young men and women at risk of PTSD for their service in Iraq and Afghanistan, I hope Simone uses this as a teachable moment about PTSD in the way Aaron Sorkin chose to give President Bartlett MS in WEST WING. We CAN have great drama and learn something at the same time. I will likely not continue buying BATGIRL, but not because of quality. I just cannot make room for it in my budget. Just as with Simone’s SECRET SIX, I’ll have to HPB or eBay it. But Batgirl looks to be the best book I am not getting.
Books I passed on, for various reasons. Grifter was the only IMAGE comic character that I really enjoyed (KINDRED crossover was pretty cool). I was tempted to buy Grifter’s book and skimmed it at the LCS. But I passed. It was not just appealing to me.
I was tempted to buy FLASH, having enjoyed Geoff Johns REBIRTH treatment last year, but I did not read FLASHPOINT.
Now, if you are any good at maths, you’ll notice that the paltry sum of books discussed here are < 52. I never promised you that I’d review all 52 books. Or a rose garden (google it!) I think that I have read enough “cornerstone” books to get a sense on whether the DC relaunch is successful, for me, as a collector and father of a new collector. It’s too early to be sure, of course, but so far, so good. Action Comics, Batman, Batwoman, Batman & Robin, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and Batgirl are all worth the price of admission. It is a shame that Detective Comics is so unfriendly to children, as one would think Action and Detective ought to be flagship all-age titles. For my money, Batwoman is the best of the crop. I even went out and bought her backissues by Rucka and Williams (and you should, too).
There is an honorable mention this month, but it’s not a DC book. The best relaunch of the month is Marvel’s Ultimate Spider-Man 1 & 2.
Follow me on the Twitter device: @TheWinterCraig. Feel free to post (friendly and/or constructive) all-age friendly commentary in the comment section. What did I get wrong? What did I inspire in you? What do you think about this new DC?
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