5 Big Surprises of 2011
Batman and Robin
Yes, Tomasi and Gleason's
Batman and Robin was one of my "
15 Books to Watch" pre-DC Relaunch, but I never could have guessed just how good it would be. In fact, my exact words were: "Don't get me wrong, I have no doubt it will be solid.
Spectacular? ...eh, maybe." Yet,
Batman and Robin has been stellar in its pitch perfect portrayal of Bruce Wayne, Damien Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth. Add to that amazing art from Gleason and you have a book that is actually a bit better than Scott Snyder's flagship book
Batman.
Birds of Prey
I did not plan on buying
Birds of Prey. Even though she did not create the Birds, the series always seemed like it was Gail Simone's property to me. With a new writer in Duane Swierczynski, I was prepared to stay clear of the DCnU's iteration of the female superteam. But, standing in front of the racks at my local comic shop, I was enticed by Jesus Saiz' crisp art. It has been a good purchase. I wont say that
BoP is stellar or even in the top five of the DCnU, rather that it is just shockingly solid.
Birds of Prey is the kind of book DC needs more of if the New 52 is to be successful--strong, middle of the road books to form the foundation of the new universe on.
Wolverine and the X-men
Look, hardcore X-men and Jason Aaron fans may have had
Wolverine and the X-men's release date circled on their calendar, but I certainly did not. Despite being bought on a whim, it turned out to be one of my favorite new series to debut in the second half of 2011. Different in tone from other relaunches,
W&X-men walks the fine line between being saddled with the weight of continuity and striking a fresh tone. Plus, it is fun (which is a tone that more comic books should adopt, in my opinion.)
Batgirl
Way back in August, I was certain that
Batgirl would be one of the big books of the New 52. I was not exactly wrong--it certainly garnered a good bit of press (not all of it good). Plauged by inconsitency over it's first four issues, the series was never able to overcome the controversy that it spawned. Things are still early and the series could level out, but, so far, Gail Simone's run has been surprisingly unsatisfying. I'm still holding out hope!
Stormwatch
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the DCnU has been the disappointment of Paul
Cornell and Miguel Sepulveda's Stormwatch. I was
certain that it would
be one of the best of the New 52, but things have not panned out.
After a frantic (and, frankly, confusing) first couple of
issues, the series never seemed to settle down. Sepulveda's art looks
muddled and Cornell's character work does not seem to be taking hold.
On top of that, it has already been announced that Paul Jenkins
will be taking over the writing duties with issue seven. An
inauspicious start for a series that I had high hopes for in
September.
Things to Watch For in 2012
Wonder Woman: Litmus test for DC's New 52
Let's be honest. The DC Relaunch has only been a partial success from an artistic standpoint. Sure, the increased sales and market-share are nice, but two of the promises of the New 52 were higher profile creative teams and a willingness to reexamine characters that needed a face-lift. So far, these are covenants only slightly fulfilled. Books like
Justice League have been underwhelming despite their A-list talent, while
Animal Man and
Swamp Thing have been stellar but based mostly in pre-New 52 continuity. The only series to take complete advantage of the 52, so far, is
Wonder Woman. The groundwork put in place by Azzarello and Chaing has been mighty good. (
I even named the series my second favorite new series of 2011.) Sadly, there is no telling how long the team will stick around, positioning
Wonder Woman as the book that will let us know just how committed DC is to the new and their promises of A-list talent. When Azzarello and Chaing leave the book, will DC replace them with old or unknown creators? Or will they bring in the biggest available names? Now is not the time to bring George Perez back, DC!
The Defenders
Thanks to
Casanova, we know that Matt Fraction is willing to push the limits of comic book sanity and with
The Defenders' he has the perfect team to challenge the unknown of the MARVEL Universe. Issue one was a traditional team building issue, but issue two opened the floodgates of crazy concepts and intelligent ideas. There is no doubt that
The Defenders will be one of the most mind-bending books of 2012, and it certainly seems like it will be one of the best.
Saga
After nearly a decade as one of the biggest names in comic books, Brian K. Vaughn, writer of Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina and Pride of Baghdad, all but disappeared from the industry. This March he returns with an ongoing scifi epic titled
Saga. Published by Image Comics, Vaughn has stated that the series will combine
"elements of science fictionand fantasy" but "will also appeal to people whoaren't necessarily fans of those genres." Sounds good to me!
Batman: Earth One
After the commercial success of J. Michael Straczynski and Shane Davis'
Superman: Earth One original graphic novel, it is hard to believe that Geoff Johns and Gary Frank's
Batman: Earth One has been so long delayed. Yet, just days ago
DC's Source Blog announced that the
Superman: Earth One sequel and
Batman: Earth One will finally be released in 2012. I could care less about JMS' Superman, but Johns and Frank on Batman? Sign me up!
"Night of the Owls"
Speaking of recent announcements, on January 9th, DC's Source Blog
detailed the first significant crossover of the New 52, "The Night of the Owls." Reader's introduction to the upcoming conflict will unite Scott Snyder with with his
American Vampire collaborator, Raphael Albuquerque in the form of a series of backup stories in
Batman. Spanning across the Batbooks this is easily going to be the biggest event so far in the DCnU.
What are the "Next 52"?
Next month's number 6 issues mark the midway point of the New 52. From the beginning the powers-that-be-at-DC have promised that each of the relaunch comics will be allowed to run a full 12 issues. Even if this proves to be the case, I am certain we will see cancellations next September. What will replace the canceled books? Will we be treated to a second wave of titles? Will there still be ambitious series like
Animal Man,
Wonder Woman, and
Action Comics? Or, will DC execs attempt to play it safe? What characters will be spotlighted? How many more Bat-related books can we handle? (That last one was a joke...kind of.)
Marvel: Season One
Last summer, MARVEL announced its own series of original graphic novels under the umbrella of "Season One." Created to detail canonical early adventures of their most iconic characters while appealing to the bookstore crowd, Marvel: Season One books will begin appearing on book shelves in February with the release of Fantastic Four: Season One. Along with digital distribution, original graphic novels like this are the brightest potential future I foresee for comic books. Season One and DC's Earth One books will be an important experiment.
