DC Comics is relaunching every comic book in its main universe, fifty-two total, and numbering them all starting with #1 this month. Last week they released the first issue in the new universe, Justice League, and today they released 13 number one issues, including Action Comics #1 and Detective Comics #1 (the flagship Superman and Batman titles, respectively). What does everyone think? Post your reviews and responses here!
Here’s my response to what I’ve seen.
DC cleverly timed this to happen just a couple of months after I decided to get back into comics, so I’ve been way more excited about this that any adult my age has a right to be! It’s even converted me to buying monthly issues, at least for now, something I’d never done. I bought seven of the 13 titles this week (eight if you count Justice League. That’s way more than I’d planned, and I certainly can’t buy that many every week on an ongoing basis, but I really wanted to check out a lot of these. I read Batgirl and Batwing on my lunchbreak, and I read Justice League when it came out last week.
I’d gone back and forth on buying Batgirl, since it’s not a character I know or care about, but I’d heard a lot of good things about the writer and the artist and the comic itself has had a lot of buzz around it on-line, so I gave it a try. I was disappointed. I’ve read “The Killing Joke” (which I hated, BTW), but I had no connection with Barbara coming back as Batgirl. Frankly, they should have started her off in the wheelchair and shown her recovery in real time, rather then putting it in the past and attributing it to a mysterious miracle, which they don’t say anything else about. For new readers, there’s just nothing there to make us care about any of this.
Plus, there were a couple of really lame bits, IMO. A few panels after she tells us that she had to take the house she’s living in because it was all she could afford, she’s getting on to her amazing Batcycle with custom bat-wing tread tires. It’s standard for comic book heros to complain about money issues while enjoying high-tech gadgetry, but this really called attention to it without acknowledging the incongruity in any way. Then she rides her Batcycle into a hospital where she apologizes for knocking people out of the way as she rides through the door, then waits with it at an elevator, which she then gets on with the Batcycle! They don’t really play it for laughs, either. They wink at the reader, but they don’t make it a gag or acknowledge how ridiculous it all is, even as they draw attention to just how ridiculous it all is!
It wasn’t terrible overall, but there just wasn’t anything to make me as a new reader want to pay for next month’s issue.
Batwing, OTOH was awesome. I’ll post my review of it later.
This is the first issue of Batgirl - Batgirl needs to make at least an appearance.
This is the first issue of a new book, made to draw in new readers. They need to get an indication that something’s going to happen in the book.
This is the first issue of a new status quo for Barbara Gordon, a character with a lot of fans. We need an indication that Barbara’s still the character we’ve loved for gods know how long.
Dwelling on Barbara in the chair for the first arc would not serve any of these needs.* That’s a detail that should be revealed in passing, or, if too involved for that, acknowledged but saved until the book has established itself. Or, what I suspect Gail is planning to do - revealed in bits and pieces through flashback as the story progresses.
Also, if you think that playing silly stuff straight is a bug, not a feature, then Gail Simone is not for you. She does ridiculous stuff absolutely straight faced all the damn time, because the funny stuff is funnier that way, and, frankly, that silly stuff can be done without having to make it a joke is one of the joys of superhero comics for a lot of people, Gail being our queen. (And Grant Morrison our king, although he does less of the ‘it makes it funnier’ style, more the ‘gleeful exploitation of the standards of the genre’.)
- Keeping Babs in the chair could co-exist with the last, though neither could be given a proper handling, and you’d still be writing a book where the title character didn’t actually appear for the first several issues.
Thanks, Tengu. I have a feeling Gail Simone is not for me. I picked up an old issue of Birds of Prey from the dollar stack last week, and I couldn’t even get through it. That should have been enough to tell me not plunk down my money on Batgirl, but I’d heard such good things, I wanted to give it a try.
BTW, I absolutely love Grant Morrison, and him doing Superman in Action Comics is one of the things that got me really excited about this whole thing. I haven’t looked at that one yet because I’m waiting for a time when I can really savor it (i.e., not at work). The preview I saw blew me away, though!!
This sort of thing is what has kept me out of comic books all these years. Too many series, too many reboots, too many crossovers, and so on. So I hope it works for DC and those who are interested, but I’m not likely to start buying these new series.
This isn’t a full reboot, and in fact, it’s designed to address just those issues, asterion. They’re not wiping out all the backstory (Babs was still in a wheelchair, for example) but they are basically saying that everything is being written for new readers starting now. For some characters like Babs, that means giving the backstory in flashbacks and expositions. For others, like Superman, they’re pretty much starting over from scratch. They’ve coordinated everything so that whatever backstories are still being used won’t conflict and all fit together in a slightly pared down framework.
They’re also promising (though I’m skeptical) that they won’t be doing any more big, universe-spanning crossover events, and that every series will stand on its own. We’ll see.
As far as reboots go, the problem is that when you have the same series running with the same characters for decades, you either ignore continuity, resulting in simplistic sitcom-like plots where every story ends with the status quo ante, or you have incredibly complex backstories that only the most dedicated fan can keep up with, or you start over periodically. What everyone wants is complex stories that have consequences for the characters and refer back to previous plots and ideas starting when I picked up my first issue.
Before DVDs, most tv shows, even sophisticated dramas, had fairly simple plots that resolved neatly at the end of an hour. Nowadays, it’s hard to find a series that doesn’t at least have season-long arcs, but networks count on the fact that fans can catch up with DVDs and Hulu. Nowadays, those hour-long stories that could be seen in any order just don’t seem interesting since we’ve gotten used to series that tell longer narratives. And one-and-done comics stories that never refer to the past and never have lasting consequences are the same.
I think what they’re doing with this is about as good a compromise as they could do.
They’re releasing a hardcover for Christmas. I was thinking of getting it for my son for Hanukkah. He’s in first grade and loves superhero stuff - right now he’s in a Justice League shirt - and I like that the family geekery continues. But…I’m afraid they’ll be too mature for him. He’s 7 in December and a beginning reader.
to add: I’d be reading these with him. Alan, anyone? Thoughts?
I could sign that. And I’d add, losing track that it’s supposed to be interesting to both adults and kids. I’m as interested in splashing mud on the heroes of my youth as I am in Tintin getting sodomized by Captain Haddock.
Typical Didio/DC behaviour, it’s a reboot but it’s not a reboot. Grow a pair DC, you cant stand in the middle of the stream for the rest of your short lifespan (you’ll still live as a franchise reservoir, if that’s any comfort).
Christ, and now they’re dedicating a whole series to Batman’s plane.
For a kid, I’d try Flash before Justice League. But it’s been a while since I read either (I just checked on the plots and the artists).
I have only ever read two DC comics: a single Batman comic I got in a showbag, and Villains United/Secret Six.
Guess what got cancelled?
Capitaine Zombie:
He likes Justice League because the cartoons/movies, of course. I just thought with the huge hardcover he could read some with me now and then have at the rest later if he wanted. He REALLY got into the Batman cartoons - the Animated stuff I saw as a kid and Batman Beyond. (I’m not the type to scoff at cartoons or stuff that isn’t ‘canon’.)
It’s $90, but I’m not above the purchase…perhaps I should just get a few issues. Again, I’m not sure how ‘adult’ the content will be with these. Some comics can get dark and twisty.
The toddler variety of DC (and Marvel) comics is something he’s growing out of. There are book versions for kids his age, but they aren’t ‘comics’ (as in, no thought/speech bubbles and illustrations in boxes). Right now he’s been bringing home graphic novels from the library at school and pouring through them but the language is too hard, so I have to read them. Bone is one but it’s not my kind of story.
He has a language rich vocabulary (at the moment, he’s listening to Tom Sawyer -unabridged- on Audible), but his reading hasn’t caught up.
I really wish Amazon had a ‘search inside’ option.
another thought: I read part of a ‘chapter book’ every night - are there young to middle school aged books for these characters? I can’t stomach Teen Titans.
Too bad, I think Bone is one awesome comic book for a kid (I really wish it had existed when I was one). The feeling I got from Justice League (the comic book) is that they’re still aiming for a young adult audience (something Justice League, the cartoon has not done, as it is written in a way which makes it watchable by both adults and kids). Flash on the other hand, while not being a SH for babies, always had a lighter touch, and it seems that they’re keeping that as well (it’s not a total reboot, as been said).
I stopped by my Friendly Neighborhood Comic Shop to pick up Marvel Masterworks I’d been wanting and read a few of the DCnU (with their ok). Quick thoughts:
Action-I’m very torn. Morrison is pulling off a brash, non-boy scout Superman (the Morales art is helping-he looks like he’s 19 or so) but it’s not Superman (yes, yes, I’ve read the early Action stories by Seigel and Shuster…it’s still not “Superman” to me). It’s interesting and when Morrision is on his game, he’s wonderful…but I worry that he’s going to turn Superman into Green Arrow. I don’t read comics to get lectures from Superman on “Guns and big business are bad”. Morrison is walking a very careful tightrope…but I can see some inferior writer coming along and making Superman a walking mouthpiece for whatever the liberal cause-du-jour is. (Superman should be apolitical like Captain America). Again, Morrison is NOT causing that problem, but he’s opening a door that I’m concerned about.
Animal Man–Hated the newish black costume a lot. Liked the characterization of the family and kids. The last panel MADE the book great.
Batgirl–I liked Gordon being youthened (The “Gordon is a doddering old man, as frail as Aunt May, on the verge of a heart attack” thing they’ve been doing since…geez…1980 or so was never something I liked.) I hate the roommate. The story itself? Good but not stunning. Simone can do better.
Stormwatch–interesting, but too much of a “set-up” issue. Not enough happened. And I don’t like the idea that Apollo is tougher than Superman–we get this with every reboot of DC.
I read a few more, but dinner calls. 3 more review later. So far, while I admire what they’re trying, they still haven’t convinced me to start buying comics again.
Maybe I’m not giving Bone enough of a chance, but admittedly my willingness to pour through Batman, Superman, whatever is because it’s attached to a bit of nostalgia from childhood. I grew up with brothers.
I do, however, love a good story and I appreciate the inner struggles that superheros go through. Batman is my favorite because he’s not a mutant and refuses to kill (on principle…ish), but Judah thinks he’s kind of ‘a jerk’. He wants to be Robin (again) this year for Halloween. I see a pattern here…
I’ve been really enjoying experiencing things with him like Batman, Planet/Apes, X-Men, and whatever else reminds me of my childhood. When I was a kid, all I did was draw and read (regular books) and play outside. But I cartooned and drew and painted daily and my bother (six years my senior) would let me borrow his comics if I was nice enough. I don’t think I’m of the proper generation to really appreciate comics for what they were intended to be. I mean, I did watch the WB when I got home from school.
We’re slated to read some Bone tonight. I have only read one full graphic novel in adulthood - Epileptic. (I’m sure you can agree the French title was much catchier.)
Ok, Batwing. Awesome.
It’s another book I wasn’t sure about at first. The concept, an African Batman, was intriguing, but it seemed like something that would either be brilliant or be embarrassingly bad, and I thought the latter seemed more likely. But the preview art looked good, and I decided to give it a chance.
First of all, I’m a sucker for painted art in comic books. I love Alex Ross, but some people criticize him for painting statues–heroes in static poses staring off into the middle distance. No one could say that about the painting in this book! It’s exciting and full of action, with some brutal violence captured beautifully. It also has great faces that make each character seem real. The only flaw with the art is the backgrounds, which are sadly sparse, but the story doesn’t suffer for it, and in some ways it works–you’re focused on the characters and the action. It would be easy to let the African setting overwhelm the story, but here Africa is in the characters, not the scenery.
The story is very good. Frightening villains, lots of action (good use of page layout to make things dynamic–did I mention how great the artwork is?;)), some mystery, a likely romantic interest, and a real cliffhanger for an ending.
I’m scared I might be overselling it–nothing sucks the pleasure out of something for me more than being let down because it was too hyped. It’s won’t change your life or raise the dead or bring meaning into an otherwise cold and heartless universe, but as superhero comics go, it’s pretty fucking good.
I’ve also read Stormwatch. They’re really pushing this as a cornerstone book in their lineup. I bought it for two reasons: the writer penned a couple of the best episodes of Doctor Who, and my only exposure to the Wildstorm universe (where this used to be) was reading Planetary a few weeks ago. I loved Planetary, and I knew this was a continuation of Warren Ellis’s other work in the same setting.
The debt to Warren Ellis is pretty clear, but it doesn’t quite live up to its ambitions, IMO. The artwork reminded me strongly of “Planetary,” but it all looks strangely static to me, even when there’s a lot of action. The characters never seem quite right. I suspect its the result of the artist aping someone better. The writing is similar–it has lots going on and characters who should be interesting, but doesn’t quite add up to anything interesting. It’s one of those works that’s just less than the sum of its parts.
It has potential, but I think I’ll wait a few issues and see what people are saying. My hunch is it won’t take long for them to either find their feet or else drive people away and sink to the bottom of the stack.
CitizenPained:
Since your kid will turn 7 and he loves the Batman cartoons, I’d recommend the all-ages books like Batman: Brave and the Bold, Justice League Unlimited and Tiny Titans. The first two are based on their TV shows and the third is just a kiddiefied version of the Titans. Personally, I find Tiny Titans book hilarious.
And yes, I highly recommend Bone.
CitizenPained, I agree with DataZak. You should buy that hardcover for someone who’ll really appreciate it more than your son will at his age. PM me for my mailing address. 
Ok, the big two, Action Comics and Detective Comics. That leaves Animal Man and Swamp Thing for tomorrow. Unless, you know, I can’t sleep.
I liked just about everything in this Action Comics. Call me a heretic, but I really like the jeans-and-work-boots look. (I’m slowly warming up to the Jim Lee no-red-underpants costume.) I recently read the first three volumes of Siegle and Schuster’s Superman reprinted in this series and I really, really enjoyed them, so it’s wonderful for me seeing that Superman brought up to date. The art is a bit looser than in the rest of these books, but it works for the story and these characters. I like the geeky- (but not dorky-) looking Jimmy Olsen, and this version of Lois. I also like this version of Metropolis with slums next to the pressurized-tube bullet train. I really like the landlady for some reason.
Some of the dialog was clunky, especially towards the beginning. They should have started on page two or three like the preview I saw did. Those pages, BTW, with Superman holding a corrupt businessman off a balcony, dropping him and catching him at the last minute (just like in the Golden Age!) were the best part of the story. Second to that was the scene where the crowd who Superman just saved from a wrecking ball sides with Superman against the cops. That captured the spirit of Superman perfectly and showed what this Superman is all about. I agree that Superman shouldn’t be politically liberal (or conservative), but I have no problem at all with one who is unabashedly populist.
My hope is that the Superman title will show us a slightly less radical, more optimistic Superman like we’ve come to expect, and this title will show us how he got that way. I like Superman as a Boy Scout, but I especially like stories that uphold that while (without being moody or emo) showing that it doesn’t always come easy or naturally for him.
I was going to skip Detective Comics because while I like Batman, I don’t find him interesting enough to follow on a monthly or weekly basis. I bought it anyway because I heard there was a shocking final page that people would be talking about, and I figured, how many Detective Comics #1s will I get a chance to read on the day they come out?
It was a pretty good Batman story, with nice art (except for one panel where an error in perspective makes Batman’s hands look like they are bigger than his head!) Batman’s getting less of a reboot than the other superheroes, so there’s not much to really get into from that angle. I like this depiction of the Joker a lot, though I’m not sure what you can really say with the Joker that hasn’t been said already. Then again, that last panel . . . maybe not exactly shocking, at least to me, but . . . memorable.
And it’s one image that will not read better in the trade. Definitely worth getting now if you’re interested.
That said, I do want to see what happens next, but I’m buying a lot of comics this month, and I’ll have to do a lot of culling in the coming weeks. Will Detective Comics make the cut? I haven’t decided yet.
(Reposted from ComicBookResources.com)
MEN OF WAR had a lot going for it–I even liked the back-up a lot–but it violated kind of a cardinal rule of comics: Genre titles are there for the reader who doesn’t want superheroes. There might be a title out there that combines superhero thrills with gritty war stories, but I don’t think this should be it. Keep your chocolate out of my peanut butter. Of course, this is from the company that plans to put Jonah Hex in Gotham…
BATGIRL is all I’d hoped it would be. My only concern is that the roommate will have to be portrayed as progressively denser not to realize that Babs is Batgirl, and that’s not the kind of character Gail writes.
JLI is tied with JUSTICE LEAGUE as the most charmless title out of the gate. It’s like they took all the things that didn’t work with the book’s previous incarnation and got rid of the things that did.
Yeah, that’s a bit of an odd decision from a marketing perspective. But then again, how do you keep it in the same universe and ignore superheroes? I expected them to get a small mention but be kept out of the actual storyline. On the other hand, the fact that they actually explore the incongruity is what had me thinking about buying this. On the gripping hand, I still didn’t buy it.
Yeah that’s . . . interesting. By which I mean totally lame. At least they didn’t have him transported to the distant future. Again.
(Not that it makes any difference to me.)
Justice League was a totally middle-of-the-road comic for me. I had no complaints about the lack of most of the League, or about anything else for that matter. It had no real flaws in my mind. It also had no particular virtues. I’ll keep reading to see the League’s backstory. I might drop it once it gets to the present day.