Batman #3 – Scott Snyder's
Batman
is a book without obvious flaws. Within the pages of the first three
issues, he has presented the reader with a Batman story that is
inlaid with his continued expansion of Gotham city's history. Greg
Capullo's art is a fine, stylized companion. Yet, since issue one,
the series has yet to really wow me. Issues two and three were
perfectly solid issues that were well executed, but there is
something about the evolving story that seems to be missing. Perhaps
I am hindered by the fact that I have yet to read Snyder and Kyle
Higgin's
The Gates of Gotham mini-series,
and am, therefore, left out in the cold story wise. While that
might be the case, I tend to doubt it. Rarely has my enjoyment of a
comic been hindered by missing knowledge of continuity. Having read
Snyder's
Detective Comics
run starring Dick Grayson as Batman, I am sure I will be shown the
error of my ways and regret ever considering that
Batman is lacking.
For now, I am left with the feeling that there is a hole in Snyder's
Batman but I cannot
seem to put my finger on it.
Birds of Prey #3 – I would argue that
BoP is one of the surprises of the New 52. It is no where
near the level of
Wonder Woman,
Animal Man or
Swamp
Thing nor is it even as solid as
Batman and Robin, but
Duane Swierczynski and Jesus Saiz' book so far has been the
kind of well-written, sharply-drawn B-level book that is necessary
for survival of the DCnU. In fact, with the announcement that
Batgirl will be joining the ranks of the Birds of Prey, I am forced
to concede that it is tempting to drop the somewhat underwhelming
Batgirl and just get my fill of Babs Gordon in
BoP. I
would be lying if I said that Saiz' art was not a huge influence on
my opinion of the book's overall quality. I am a big fan of his
clean lines and expressive character faces.
Birds of Prey's story
is nothing spectacular—just solid superheroics. Side-note: I
actually really like Poison Ivy as a good guy so far. She was
underutilized as a Bat-villian anyways. Plus, I bet she will return
to that role so fast we'll all forget her heroic turn before you can
say Batmite.
DCU Presents #3 – If I was trying to
explain the Deadman storyline currently being featured in
DCU Presents to
a non-comic reader, I am sure that the word boring would feature prominently. It
is hard to believe that a story about a ghostly acrobat that can
inhabit other people's bodies could possible be boring. Yet, here
we are. So far,
DCU Presents has been overwritten and uninteresting.
There is supposed to be some sort of mystery going on with Boston
Brand's godly benefactor, but three issues in I am hardly compelled
to turn the next page, much less buy the next issue. It is not as if
there is a lack of interesting ideas, in issue two Deadman breaks
into
Wolfram and Hart...I mean, uhm...some sort of magical nightclub.
In issue three he threatens an old lady with angel wings and meets
Lucifer's younger brother, and it takes 20 or so pages to get there.
At least the cover is pretty.
Green Lantern Corp #3 – After two
solid opening issues,
Green Lantern Corp takes a turn of the worse.
Confronted with a seemingly endless enemy that is somehow immune to
their power rings, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, and their cohorts seem
done for. Except that Peter Tomasi introduces a brand new, never
before seen Green Lantern with the convenient power of teleportation.
With the somewhat on-the-nose name Porter, (What, were the names
PlotDevice and Plothole already taken?) the cavalry is able to save most of
their comrades. Anyways, to add insult to injury, Porter somehow
overextends his power's reach on the return trip and dies tragically
in Gardner's arms.
Green Lantern Corp number three was a
disappointingly, bland mess of nothingness that asked the reader to
have an emotional reaction to its own tepid attempt to write itself
out of a corner.
Justice League #3 – Despite the
increasing number of characters and slightly more intricate plot
pieces,
Justice League continues to feel, at best, like a free comic
that came with a Happy Meal or box of cereal. I realize that this is
a carefully planned move on DC's part, but it is still hard to shake
feelings of disappointment. Geoff Johns has, by no means, been a
perfect comic writer, but the lens with which he sees the DC
characters tends to clarify and strengthen their core attributes.
That is why his work on Justice League was so highly anticipated.
Over the last few years, the League had languished in a quagmire of
uninteresting characters and substandard quality. The promise of a
Johns
Justice League was one of revitalization. Instead, after three
issues, Justice League feels like the Mirror-Mirror version of the
potential of the New 52. Instead of interesting new takes on the
core characters of the League, we are treated to an achingly simple
story filled with transparent characters. Like I said, I realize
this is a carefully cultivated experiment on DC's part. Yet, since
the New 52 endeavor is so keenly tied to retaining old readers and
gaining new readers, it is unfortunate that the flagship book so
utterly fails at the first objective.
My Greatest Adventure #2 – I'm still
not even sure why I picked up issue 2 of this mess. I said on the
podcast a while back that the only reason I bought the first issue
was historical nostalgia for the original
My Greatest Adventure—in
which Doom Patrol first appeared—and
My Greenest Adventure—the
fictional book that Grant Morrison's Wally Sage dreamed up Flex
Mentallo. This mini-series features a trio of baffling stories that
seem both out of place and time. None of them are completely
horrible, rather their mere existence is confusing. With the New 52
initiative attempting to present a new-reader-friendly-universe, why
is DC muddying the waters with characters like Robotman, Garbage Man,
and Tanga? To the average non-comic reader, Garbage Man might as
well be Swamp Thing. Meanwhile, to the long time comic reader, a
re-imagined Doom Patrol-less Robotman is just unfortunate. The thing
My Greatest Adventure does have going for it is its art.
Scott Kolins and Kevin Macquire are two of my favorites, and Aaron
Lopresti is turning in some of his most polished work. But the
caliber of artists on this book just leads to more questions. While
I am not sure if Macguire would be willing to have drawn one of the
DCnU, I am positive Kolins and Lopresti could be better utilized on
one of the 52 ongoing books being published by DC. In the end, I am
not sure pretty pages of panels are not enough for me to stick around
for issue three.
Wonder Woman #3 – There is no doubt
in my mind that, three issues in,
Wonder Woman is one of the
best books to come out of the New 52. This is neither unwelcome, nor
is it a surprise.
Wonder Woman, more than any other book,
exemplifies the goals of the DCnU Initiative. The creative team is
entirely A-list and the character was ripe for a certain measure of
re-examination. In issue three, this comes to a head as Brian
Azzarello and Cliff Chiang challenge long-held understandings of
Diana Prince while still honoring the stories and mythos that came
before. For years now, Wonder Woman's origins have revolved around
her creation—a mother who longed for a child, made one out of clay.
Issue three reveals that this story is just as fictional for Diana
as it is for the readers. She has lived a lie, and is now faced with
an entirely new reality. It is a change that may leave some
long-time readers unhappy, but I am of the opinion that Wonder Woman
is the most ripe of the Big Seven for change. Anything that
clarifies or builds Diana up to a stronger hero and character is
absolutely fine in my opinion. Perhaps one of the most appealing
changes aspects of Wonder Woman is the way that the mythical gods
behave. I love how the goddess Strife remains present on Themyscira
as if she is savoring the unrest and unhappiness her presence has
caused. After three months,
Wonder Woman falls easily amongst
projects like
Swamp Thing,
Animal Man, and
Batwoman
as one of my most recommended books of the New 52.
Batman #1 – Easily one of the best
issues of the DCnU so far. Snyder has a knack for writing Batman and
created the absolutely most elegant method for introducing the
Bat-family possible. Capullo's art is perfect for Batman—except that
character's faces are a bit cartoony and Dick Grayson seems a bit
young to have passed as the Dark Knight over the last year.
Simultaneously gives new readers a starting point and sets up a
mystery that will intrigue established readers.
Birds of Prey #1 – A bit of a mess,
but saved by Jesus Saiz' art. Like Justice League, this is a team
book that features only two members of the final roster. There's a
couple of things going on that feel like they should be connected but
never really add up. Black Canary is wanted for murder, and the new
Birds of Prey are a covert ops-style superhero squad. Yet, those
seem to mutually exclusive. They keep getting tossed around by
characters, but no one ever really connects the two threads. They
are not covert because Dinah needs to hide underground, but rather
because that is what the Birds of Prey team are apparently supposed
to be. Regardless, a fun first issue—Canary kicking ninja butt,
Starling being a fictional-hottie, and Saiz's cleanly drawn lines
really helped.
DCU Presents #1 – An anthology
series, this time starring DC's favorite ghost—Deadman. A little
wordy, but a pretty interesting issue. Takes time to establish
Boston Brand's origin story and set up a greater mystery. I'm kind
of on the fence about this one. I like Deadman as a character and
the art is fine, but the issue was kind of uninteresting. Also, I'm not
saying superheroes cannot change their moods, but I prefer the joking,
gruff Brand to the kind of mopey version of DCU Presents #1.
Green Lantern Corp #1 – A solid
first issue that establishes John Stewart and Guy Gardener for new
readers while setting the stage for a confrontation with an
interesting mystery villain. I get the feeling that since John is
one of the DCU's most high profile African-American heroes, the
company feels that he needs to be at the forefront of the book.
That's fine with me. Honestly, when I read John Stewart I hear the
great Phil Lamarr's version of the character in my head. One of the
things I loved about the pre-relaunch Green Lantern Corp series was
that it was filled with awesome extraterrestrial Corpsmen.
Thankfully, it looks like while Guy and John will carry the book,
there will be appearances made by fan-favorites like Kilowog and
Isamot. I miss Gleason's art on the series, but Fernando Pasarin does a
solid job and fluctuates from solid to awesome.
Supergirl #1 – This was perhaps the
biggest surprise of all the books I have read. There are plenty of
books that are better, but I expected them to be good. I had low
expectations for Supergirl and I was completely surprised. It was a
fun issue with good art and a character reboot that distinguishes her
from the rest of the Super Family. It unfolds that the story a bit
slowly, but its obvious that Green and Johnson had a specific place
they wanted to end the first issue. Supergirl #1 is just a solid
superhero-centric book.