DC RELAUNCHING entire Universe in September

[IrishJedi]

Quick thoughts on yesterday's New 52 books that I picked up:

All Star Western: Still liking this one a lot. Hex & Arkham are on a new case together. It's not as action-packed as the previous one, but it's creepy... dealing with missing children. The new bonus story "The Barbary Ghost" is also better than the previous one.

Aquaman: The Trench storyline seemed to get wrapped up a bit too quickly here, imho. But it was still a good read. Also some great character moments. And the end seems to be setting up what promises to continue to be a solid title. Johns' best work in the New 52.

Batman: The Dark Knight: Still not sure how I feel about this title. It's obviously the weakest of the 4 Batman books. It's getting a lot of hate. But I'm still giving it a chance. It's a weird, quirky book for sure, but I kinda dig that. Bonus points this issue for featuring Alfred giving Batman a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone.

The Flash: I understood what they were going for this issue, and it's not poorly written... it's just not a fun read. Definitely would not attract any new readers with this issue.

I, Vampire: Very good read. My favorite issue yet.

Justice League Dark: Finally this one is starting to pick up some steam and live up to the promise of its premise. Lots of cool and surprising things happen this issue. Plus, John Constantine _____-slaps Madame Xanadu.

Superman: Unfortunately I'm here to report that this is more of the same. Too wordy and boring for a Superman book.

Voodoo: I still like this title a lot. Interestingly, they go to great measures to make her character less sympathetic and more like a villain in this issue. Interesting.

 

[Russell1982]

Quick thoughts on yesterday's New 52 books that I picked up:

All Star Western: Still liking this one a lot. Hex & Arkham are on a new case together. It's not as action-packed as the previous one, but it's creepy... dealing with missing children. The new bonus story "The Barbary Ghost" is also better than the previous one.

Aquaman: The Trench storyline seemed to get wrapped up a bit too quickly here, imho. But it was still a good read. Also some great character moments. And the end seems to be setting up what promises to continue to be a solid title. Johns' best work in the New 52.

Batman: The Dark Knight: Still not sure how I feel about this title. It's obviously the weakest of the 4 Batman books. It's getting a lot of hate. But I'm still giving it a chance. It's a weird, quirky book for sure, but I kinda dig that. Bonus points this issue for featuring Alfred giving Batman a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone.

The Flash: I understood what they were going for this issue, and it's not poorly written... it's just not a fun read. Definitely would not attract any new readers with this issue.

I, Vampire: Very good read. My favorite issue yet.

Justice League Dark: Finally this one is starting to pick up some steam and live up to the promise of its premise. Lots of cool and surprising things happen this issue. Plus, John Constantine _____-slaps Madame Xanadu.

Superman: Unfortunately I'm here to report that this is more of the same. Too wordy and boring for a Superman book.

Voodoo: I still like this title a lot. Interestingly, they go to great measures to make her character less sympathetic and more like a villain in this issue. Interesting.

A real shame about Superman. Lets hope the new creative team soon will change things. If not i'm outta here, dropping it. I still enjoy Action Comics though, although the last issue was a bit weak i felt.

Gald to hear All Start Western is still going strong though, im loving that title.

 

[The Mike]

My take:

All Star Western: This one is a sleeper hit, very different, almost like a palette cleanser from the superhero faire.

Aquaman: The storyline is probably the weakest part of this book, I just don't care about it BUT Johns has succeeded in making me a fan of Aquaman with his new characterization and that should be applauded, I'm definitely sticking with it.

Batman: The Dark Knight: I love Finch's art. I will admit this has less of a punch then the previous TDK book but it's been nice to see him trying to incorporate the entire Batfamily. We haven't seen all of them in one book together in any other title, the closest we've gotten is the three Robins with Bruce in the Batman title. It's a quirky book that I'll definitely keep with.

The Flash: This is slowly losing my interest. Love the character but it's getting stale.

Superman: Still waiting for this to take off. I'm a little disappointed considering the team involved.

Voodoo: Didn't care much for the character in WS but I'm liking her here. It mixes sex and storytelling in the way the Winnick wishes he could.

 

[IrishJedi]

Pretty much echoes thoughts entirely. I'm very glad you gave All Star Western & Voodoo a chance. Definitely two of the better books in the New 52, and unexpectedly so.

Animal Man & Swamp Thing next week! Plus, Penguin: Pain & Prejudice, which has been great. It's good enough that I'll buy it again when it's released in trade. Also, Action & Detective next week. I gotta say, DC has done a good job of spreading out the variety of titles throughout the month. So far, there has been at least one solid book or two each week.

 

[kobayashi93]

Just I, Vampire and All Star Western for me this week.

I really like Andrea Sorrentino's art in Vampire. Reminds me of some of Tim Bradstreet's work. I would like to see more of his(?) pencils. The story was good too. Constantine is to cool to waste time with vampires.

All Star Western was solid.

Bring on Animal Man and Swamp Thing.

 

[Agent23]

it's funny, I look forward to Animal Man and Swamp Thing more than any other title right now.

They are that good.

 

[IrishJedi]

it's funny, I look forward to Animal Man and Swamp Thing more than any other title right now.

They are that good.

Same here. Not really a surprise, though. Lemire & Snyder are probably the 2 best writers on DC's roster right now.

 

[Agent23]

Have you ever read the Swamp Thing books by Alan Moore, Carl?

I'm thinking of getting them...

 

[IrishJedi]

Have you ever read the Swamp Thing books by Alan Moore, Carl?

I'm thinking of getting them...

Oh, absolutely! Required reading. Part of why I like Snyder is because he reminds me of a young Moore.

I recommend getting the hardcover "Saga of the Swamp Thing" volumes (one at a time, of course, as they're $20+ each). There are 6 of them that make up the legendary Moore run.

 

[Agent23]

thanks for the heads up bud. What'd you think of Frank Miller's 'The Dark Knight Returns'?

I'm almost done with it.

 

[IrishJedi]

thanks for the heads up bud. What'd you think of Frank Miller's 'The Dark Knight Returns'?

I'm almost done with it.

The original? Amazing. One of the best comic works of all time. The sequel ("The Dark Knight Strikes Again"), though? Pretty much poop. Miller really didn't want to do it, and it shows.

Have you read "Kingdom Come"? If you're on a DC kick, I recommend picking that up next. Of course, I assume you've read "Watchmen".

 

[Agent23]

I read 'Kingdom Come' and really liked it, great story. Beautiful artwork.

Nope, never read 'Watchmen'

I couldn't stand the movie, honestly. Although, I should really read the book.

 

[IrishJedi]

Yeah, read the book and give it a chance. It's a much different experience. It's so richly layered that I've read it countless times over the years and I still manage to get something new from it each time.

 

[kobayashi93]

it's funny, I look forward to Animal Man and Swamp Thing more than any other title right now.

They are that good.

+1

I did some research on Snyder(in preparation for the New 52) by reading the first five issues of American Vampire. I highly recommend checking it out.

 

[DarthNeil]

I've added Batman to the new DC titles I'm collecting (picked up issues #1-3 and loved them). Still enjoying Justice League and Justice League International... but I'm starting to lose interest in The Flash (it was one of the DC ones I followed religiously in the late 70's and early 80's so I started it purely for nostalgic reasons).

 

[IrishJedi]

Bah. The Justice League titles all suck, so far... except for maybe Justice League Dark, which is actually picking up now. I agree that Flash has been disappointing. The first couple of issues were okay, but it's really beginning to stagnate now.

 

[DarthNeil]

Bah. The Justice League titles all suck, so far... except for maybe Justice League Dark, which is actually picking up now. I agree that Flash has been disappointing. The first couple of issues were okay, but it's really beginning to stagnate now.

I'm enjoying the Justice titles (to a point)-- I like seeing the rebooting genesis of these Alpha types working together (and not trusting one another). It's fun to see the early days. I haven't seen Justice League Dark (nor have I come across the Western title-- and I was a big Jonah Hex fan mid 80's... especially his post-apocalyptic run in Hex... own them all) but I'll keep my eyes open for that one.

Flash just isn't interesting me (and that's a shame). I think I'll have to dump that title from my CC account next month.

 

[IrishJedi]

Yeah, you should definitely check out All Star Western. You'll most likely love it. Issue 4 just came out this week.

 

[DarthNeil]

Yeah, you should definitely check out All Star Western. You'll most likely love it. Issue 4 just came out this week.

I'll be on the lookout for it. Unfortunately I live over an hour away from my "local" CC so I have an account and they (sometimes ) put my issues away until I can get in... Fortunately as we're in the stretch run (due date now Feb. 9th) we're headed into the city for doctors' appointments every week so I've been able to hit it regularly and update my account (adding some titles and chucking others as I look at the racks).

 

[tommyh84]

Decided to give up on Superman and The Flash, I've got issues 4 coming but unless something amazing happens in either then they're toast

Decided to start reading Nightwing today, only done issues 1 & 2 but so far so good, need to start on Catwoman to decide whether to bin that one as well