DCnU Mini-reviews Week of October 5th, 2011

Action Comics #2 – So far, so good. Grant Morrison's revamp of Superman and his early days in Metropolis might be one of the most interesting things done with the character since Mark Millar's Red Son. Superman acting like a brash young man with an activist leaning might not be what we are used to, but it is a take that makes him a much more dynamic character. It also stays true to the earliest Superman stories. There's something else to this re-imagination—Action Comics is set early in Superman's career. I am sure that stories set later will attempt to make Superman a more rounded character than he was in the Old DCU, but the impulsive, some-what angry Superman of Action Comics is part of a story-arc. He will grow as the story goes on. The biggest problem with the series remains the art. Rags Morales and Brent Anderson just are not giving the book a good look. Morales can be solid when given time, but it is obvious that the month-to-month grind is too much for him. Bottomline is that the art detracts from a story that has been solid so far.

Animal Man #2 – Jeff Lemire knows what he is doing. After finishing issue 1 with a creepy reveal, issue 2 continues to mix family drama with horrifying superheroics. Buddy Baker, one of the little known guys of the DCU, is confronted with events that hold frightening implications. Suddenly manifesting a series of abilities that outstrip her father's, Maxine Baker leads the Buddy on a classic hero's journey. The Hunters Three are creepy, the family drama seems real, and the plot is fascinating. Travel Foreman's art is great—sharp lines, expressive faces, and scary monsters.

StormWatch #2 – I am still not sure about this book, but I know that I enjoyed issue #2 more than the first issue. It is still kind of frantically paced. There are tons of characters being introduced and I am not sure just how well that process is going. While most of the characters are interesting, drawing a bead on where the new characters stand is kind of difficult. That might be on purpose, but it seems a bit ambiguous. Sepulveda's art seems a bit more confident in this issue than it did in the first. Even having read StormWatch 1 and 2 and Superman 1 I am not entirely sure how the three books are connected. If I can't figure it out, I doubt new readers can.

Swamp Thing #2 – For the second month in a row, Snyder tricked me. Like issue 1, issue 2 begins with a ton of exposition and dialogue that is not terribly compelling, but then hits the ground running in the second half. The creepy stuff from last month's issue returns with a vengeance and turns the scary up to 11. The relationship between Swamp Thing and Alec Holland is still somewhat in question. Apparently, there have been other Swamp Thing entities in the past? My knowledge of Swampy continuity is pretty limited. Yanick Paquette continues to draw one of the best looking books of the New 52. The attack of the creepiness, expansion of the Green and Red lore, and a cool reveal at the end of the issue make this book at least as good as the stellar first issue.