The New 52! Red Hood and the Outlaws #1!

DC decided to reboot their comic book universe, so I decided to blog along with it!

Red Hood and the Outlaws #1

Written by: Scott Lobdell

Art and Cover by: Kenneth Rocafort

Interesting. Very interesting.

It starts off very good with Red Hood breaking Red Arrow out of prison. I like it, its a little out there, and then Starfire shows up. Then it turns sexy. Then it turns into mysticism. Three characters = three stories, right?

Seriously, this book just seemed divided. The first bit is devoted to Red Arrow and showing him off. Then we get a section of Starfire and showing pretty much everything of her's off, then we get the real mystery, where Red Hood seems to be into magic/mysticism. That's a significant departure from the science driven mind of the Bat.

Much is said about the characterization of Starfire in this issue, and I could give less than a tug about it. Really, there is no tugging material here, its the same amount of skin that was shown in most Marvel comics back in the 90's. I could care less. What gets me, and I really enjoy this, is that Starfire is shown to be a sexual creature who is an alien that feels humanity is beneath her. Which I like. Its the same attitude that the new Superman seems to have. But most people on the internet have seem to take this as degrading to her and females in general.

In short, it really isn't. In a truly equal society, women would have be shown same respect for their sexual promiscuity as any guy would. Starfire blatantly states that she is in control over who she sleeps with. So in my book, she is on equal grounds with the other two leads in this comic. But they all need in each other in some regard, which is why they work as a group.

I have some faith, but the rug could be pulled out from under me next issue. I can only wait and see.

The art overall is very poor. This looks like the cheesecake art of Aspen comics. Everyone is skinny, muscle bound, and women have double D's. Its hard to take it seriously, and I could use a different artist here. Literally, the art doesn't tell any story. It does a working job at first and at the end, but its true focus is in the middle. Starfire's story. Where she is pretty much naked.

Sigh. It's below OK, but I'm willing to give it more since its a Bat-book in some regards. But I may not be around for much longer.

Words: 6/10

Pictures: 3/10

Recommend: Eh. I'll let you borrow my copy, then you decide if you want to buy it.

Buy Next Issue: Hrmm. Yet another title that my 3 issue rule might burn me on. We shall see.

The New 52! Wonder Woman #1!

DC decided to reboot their comic book universe, so I decided to blog along with it!

Wonder Woman #1

Brian Azzarello: writer

Cliff Chiang: artist & cover

Now this...this is how you do a comic book. Tight script. Great art. Intriguing all around. This stuff is golden. This is a properly done reboot.

The best thing about this reboot is that they don't tell you anything. They assume you know who Wonder Woman is, and if you don't, you learn pretty quick not to mess with her. There is a modern setting for old gods, and it pays off in brutal, awesome retellings.

Seriously, I can't praise it enough. Azzarello has a way of telling a great story using few words. He lets the few words that are spoken have meaning and impact. He relies on a good artist to compliment those words, and with Chiang he has found a great artist. Chiang can get a little on the sketchy look, but when its his time to shine as an artist and make an impression, he does so. Where most artists are given a double page or single page to devote to showing off drawing the hero of the book, Chiang used one page to show the scariness of the villains in this story. And it rocked.

This does feel like a horror story, but I think that its a horror story that is devoted to showing how gods treat and feel about mortals. And I like it. And here is Wonder Woman called upon to protect the mere mortals. I think I'll stay on for the ride on this one.

And yes, this is my first time buying a Wonder Woman comic. I take pride in that fact.

Words: 10/10

Pictures: 10/10

Recommend: If I got a few more pages of this book, I would have gladly paid $3.99 for it.

Buy Next Issue: I'm there. Hook, line, and sinker.

The New 52! Green Lantern Corps #1!

DC decided to reboot their comic book universe, so I decided to blog along with it!

Green Lantern Corps #1

Peter J. Tomasi: Story and Words

Fernando Pasarin: Artist

Scott Hanna: Inker

And another Corps member bites the dust. In the opening pages. Sigh.

I'm really beginning to wonder, especially with how many members the GL Corps goes through, just how effective they are as a police force.

Anywho, we follow the adventures of Guy Gardner and John Stewart in this issue. It looks like they took the same approach in this comic that Johns did for Hal Jordan - put them back on Earth in civilian mode. What is different for Guy and Stewart is that they are known both as Green Lanterns, neither of them hides their civilian identities.

The book gets slightly political, and makes a few comments. But the overall message is clear - neither of the Green Lanterns like dealing with earthly matters - they have seen space and the tiny details that go on with this one blue planet are insignificant. So back to Oa they go!

There were a couple of things that caught my eye that sorta pulled me out of enjoying the story. The first was Guy mentioning that Hal Jordan would be able to cover his sector. If the idea is that what happened in Green Lantern previous to the reboot still happened, then why would Guy not remember the Guardians stripping Jordan of the ring when he was five feet away from it? The second was more dead lanterns at the end of the story. Seriously, how good is this police force?

The art was done well. There aren't many words balloons in this book that covered up the art. I liked the fact that you could see the different aliens in detail. They didn't seem like a weird blob that shifted their shape every other panel. For storytelling ability their isn't much going on, but I do like the pictures.

Words: 7/10

Pictures: 7/10

Recommend: Give it a try if you were into Green Lantern before. But for noobs, buy the trades first to see if you like the story, then worry about this issue.

Buy Next Issue: I'm not thrilled about it, but I will. This will probably be the first Green Lantern book that I drop.

The New 52! Nightwing#1

DC decided to reboot their comic book universe, so I decided to blog along with it!

Nightwing#1

Writer: Kyle Higgins

Penciller: Eddy Barrows

Inker: JP Mayer

Since it's been common for me to try and remember the last time I bought the title that I am currently buying, I haven't picked up Nightwing in any regular capacity in years. I think it might have been back when I was getting Batman comics in college. So about a decade.

Its kinda hard to take someone who has been Batman for the past year and then return him to what he was before Batman. Higgins pulls it off, but just slightly, by making Dick Grayson stay in Gotham and return to Hailey's Circus so catch up with people he hasn't seen in awhile. So its your basic introduction of the character by having him meet up with people he used to know routine.

That part aside, its a fairly decent comic overall.we get the hint of a new villain for Nightwing, Dick has some time to shine. Overall, it just feels like another title to add to the 52. There really could have been a Bat family book that followed the adventures of Dick and Tim around the world and that might be more interesting. I just don't see much of Dick Grayson here, I just see another Batman sidekick. Even Dick says in the comic that he's thankful he's on his own again, but all I see is dark colors. Dick Grayson is more positive than this. His book should be fun. Hell, the Red Hood comic is more brightly lit up than this book.

There are a few moments that were good. The clown complaining that he has to wear purple suit and a green wig while playing in Gotham was funny. The few moments that they tried to differentiate Bruce's methods from Dick's methods was nice, but needed more emphasis.

The art reminded me of Scott McDaniel in a way, which is a good thing. McDaniel was on Nightwing before when I first read the title. Like a McDaniel crossed with the guy who drew the Robin comic book years ago. I may have to try and find more of this Eddy Barrows work out there.

I'm undecided about the logo they have for the comic. It definitely conveys the fact that Nightwing is a part of the bat family. Maybe if they called the book "Reserve Batman" then it would make more sense. Maybe its a part of the reboot that he is now a Batguy and not on his own.

Words: 6/10 - even your twist ending was like the Batman twist ending, and that book was way more awesome than yours.

Pictures: 7/10

Recommend: Eh. Probably not. You can spend your money on another DC reboot book.

Buy Next Issue: I will to keep with the 3 Issue Rule. After that, I'm probably gone.

The New 52! Supergirl #1!

DC decided to reboot their comic book universe, so I decided to blog along with it!

Supergirl #1

Michael Green & Mike Johnson: writers

Mahmud Asrar: penciller

Dan Green with Asrar: inkers

First time I have ever, ever picked up a Supergirl book. And I liked it.

This may not be in my pull list next time, but it succeeds in setting a new status for Supergirl, a character who seems to be rebooted herself every 5 years. If this one sticks around, I will be surprised.

I gave this to a female to read since I was told that the writers made it specifically for a new female audience. Didn't hear a complaint, but didn't hear anything overly positive.

All in all - just ok.

This time around Supergirl is dropped from space and lands in Russian. Some Russian army guys in huge metal fight suits come out and try to get her to surrender, but Supergirl can only speak Kryptonian. It does have the drop an alien girl in the middle of nowhere feel to it.

I don't know. I'm just not overly impressed, but I'm not under impressed. Just OK.

This brings my total to 3 Superman related titles that I've bought this month. This reboot thing is making me try stuff I wouldn't normally get, and this is honestly the first title that I've read that hasn't brought a thrill to me in some fashion or another.

Words: 6/10

Pictures: 6/10

Recommend: Meh. Just meh. Maybe to have around if people need to be vaguely entertained.

Buy Next Issue: Just to see how this cliffhanger resolves, but that's about it.

The New 52! Week #2 Results!

Results of week #1 for the DC reboot!

Best Words: Peter Milligan with Red Lanterns #1

Best Pictures: Tie! J. H. Williams III with Batwoman #1 and Ed Benes with Red Lanterns #1

Best Giddy Fanboy Moment: Batman and Damian in anything they did in Batman and Robin. Also, catching the continuity error in Batwoman when the ladies changed in and out of costume was a cool moment.

Panel I Want to Frame: The final two page spread in Batwoman #1

Let Me Read This Book Again: Red Lanterns #1

Issues bought this week: 5

Titles Staying Around: 5

Titles Going Away: 0 - Keeping to my three issue rule.

Title to Recommend to a Noob: Red Lanterns

Title to Recommend to a Vet: Batwoman - you will so love this comic.

The New 52! Superboy #1!

DC decided to reboot their comic book universe, so I decided to blog along with it!

Superboy #1

Scott Lobdell: Writer

R. B. Silva: Penciller

Rob Lean: Inker

I've bought a Superboy comic, and it feels so, so good.

Seriously, the last time I bought this was a year or two into the first Superboy comics post the Death of Superman event. I wasn't going to be getting into this version when I first saw it. It made it seem like Superboy would be mostly a cyborg type of character. Thankfully, it is not.

What changed my mind was the preview pages I saw. I loved them. It intrigued me enough to want to buy the comic and give it a chance. So far, that has paid off.

We get a homegrown Superboy, the combination of human and kryptonian DNA into one being that's been grown in a vat. There isn't much personality to this Superboy, but we are learning how he sees the world just as we are learning his world.

The art is excellent. Its fairly basic art, tells a story, and let's the words convey the parts that it can't. This whole book is easy to get into. Maybe that's why I like it, I don't know. This book will have a direct connection to Teen Titans, and this is especially helpful that the same writer has both books.

This has a feel to it that I used to have for the Flash/Impulse books that came out a while back. They would compliment each other and allow the writer to flip the focus between the two characters but had them work together beautifully. I'm hoping that the same thing happens here. I am optimistic.

Words: 8/10

Pictures: 6/10

Recommend: Yes, but you have to be committed to Teen Titans as well.

Buy Next Issue: Its made my pull list along with another Superman book, which is weird. Let's hope the weirdness continues.

The New 52! Batwoman #1

DC decided to reboot their comic book universe, so I decided to blog along with it!

Batwoman #1

J. H. Williams III: co-writer and artist

W. Haden Blackman: co-writer

Beautiful, beautiful art. I want to kiss it, and I want something like this every month.

One of the big things I missed when I stopped collecting comics a few years ago was Rucka's and Williams' initial run on Detective that featured Batwoman. I was thankful to get it in bulk issues and catch up with it all at once. And it was great. Beautiful art. Excellent writing.

And then Rucka had to ruin it and quit DC. I get the reasons why he did it, and it was his own choice. The man can write, and he can write really strong female characters which is much appreciated.

This comic has been promoted for about a year now. Does it live up to the hype? Yes. Was it planned for someone new to comics? Sorta.

There are positives and negatives for this book. It is a well done book that anyone can get into if they have read a comic book before. Even master comic book readers like myself will have to follow the flow of the words and which word balloons to read first, but the art helps in guiding you where to go. It makes me feel like I'm reading a comic book for the first time again, and it makes me enjoy it.

This issue serves as a recap of the previous run of Batwoman comics, and plants seed for future stories. It is excellent. It almost feels like it has picked up exactly from the previous point it was at, which is very good considering the creative changes to the book. Considering that the Batcomics were saved from a lot of the reboot, this book is right on par with anything else that is comic from the Batdepartment.

Words: 8/10

Pictures: 10/10

Recommend: Oh hell yes. Please, rip this comic out of my hands so you can enjoy it.

Buy Next Issue: Based on this one issue, I will buy it until it gets cancelled.

The New 52! Batman and Robin #1!

DC decided to reboot their comic book universe, so I decided to blog along with it!

Batman and Robin #1

Peter J. Tomasi: Writer

Patrick Gleason: Penciller

Mick Gray: Inker

With all due respect to Detective comics and what Tony Daniel did, this really should have been the first Batman story in the new era. This comic feels like a new direction. We get up to speed on everything. The dynamic between Batman and Robin, the idea behind Batman Inc, and a new villain. All in all, a very good start.

Batman does a lot more in this comic than he has in any other DC Reboot title that is out there. He tells us that he is tired of honoring his parent's death, and says goodbye to them in his own way. He now wants to honor their wedding anniversary as a way to show progress. This is a really smart idea. It tells us that Batman understands the mission, but now knows that he can't let it bring him down.

Someone needs to let Robin know that. The son of Batman, Damian Wayne is an excellent counterpoint to the new Batman. Think of Damian as Jason Todd done right. Yes, this Robin has killed, but Batman has a more parental guardianship towards the newest Robin that will keep Damian around for awhile. And the kid is a total bratty smart ass. Its nice, and brings a good sense of balance to the dynamic duo.

The artwork is excellent. It reminds me of Scott McDaniel in a way. But this tells a story. Characters have faces, its a slightly cartoony style, and it just fits. I don't know if this art team will stay on board for a while, but they have my vote of confidence to keep going. And yes, this art does pass the test of telling the story by looking at the art alone.

Words: 9/10

Pictures: 9/10

Recommend: Hell yes, to readers both new and old.

Buy Next Issue: Got it on my pull list at the comic shop. Bring it on!

The New 52! Red Lanterns #1!

DC decided to reboot their comic book universe, so I decided to blog along with it!

Red Lanterns #1

Writer: Peter Milligan

Penciller: Ed Benes

Fucking Awesome. Seriously.

I think this may have been the first 52 comic to be promoted. This or Batwoman. Either way, both have rocked. You will get the Batwoman later, but for now you have Red Lanterns.

This comic reinvigorated the Red Lanterns for me. They could be a one note joke under Johns, but now they feel like characters. Seriously, we got some back story, we got some action, we have some premise for the series. I'm loving it.

Shall I say it? Yes. This is better than Green Lantern.

We get everything a fan wanted from the Red Lanterns: A Dex-star story, an origin story for Atrocious, and then a reason for the series. This book was packed with plot, balance for art, and everything just worked.

I'm sold. For the series. Seriously. Give me whatever you have and I am there.

Words: 10/10

Pictures: 10/10

Recommend: Yes.

Buy Next Issue: I. Am. There.

The New 52! Green Lantern #1

DC decided to reboot their comic book universe, so I decided to blog along with it!

Green Lantern #1

Writer: Geoff Johns

Pencils: Doug Mahnke

And here we are, where things are new, but it feels like nothing has changed.

Seriously, nothing has changed. And its a good thing. We have Johns moving the characters around, building a great story, and we have Mahnke making it all look easy.

Sinestro is a Green Lantern again, and with it comes a chance at redemption. Hal Jordan is human again, and can't make it in the world. All of this fantastic adventuring in space has brought him nothing on earth. No job, no apartment, no woman. Sinestro has built his own Corps, but doesn't want them to know that he is a Green Lantern again. We get a few details that I'm sure will be meant for something bigger later. Like the fact that Sinestro can destroy yellow rings, something that I don't think was around in the previous continuity.

And what's the twist at the end? Sinestro goes to Hal to offer him his rings back, but only if Hal does what Sinestro asks.

It's great, it's exciting, but it also feels very flat. Just the regular motions here, nothing big and grand and new with the Green Lantern myths. I think this is what turns me off on Johns' writing, but also makes me connect with it. On one end you get these great moments, but in monthly installments it just doesn't work. Read it all together in one sitting and it is just page turning goodness. But the monthly format breaks that pace.

I get what Johns is saying - that Hal Jordan belongs in the air, either as a lantern or as a pilot, because he can't stay grounded. And he will take that character trait of Hal's and Hal will gladly make a deal with Sinestro to get his ring back. Its expected, but I hope the details don't get boring and predictable. Johns can do better than that.

I can't say much on the artwork. Its there, it does good, it has details. It tells a story. But, just like the writing, we've come to expect this out of this artist, and I was just hoping for a little more. It will come one day, put we are working at the pace the industry demands.

Words: 8/10

Pictures: 8/10

Recommend: Yes, but new readers may be confused. Thankfully, DC can still attach the previous trades for Green Lantern and sell them to you to tell the story.

Buy Next Issue: I'll be here. Just keeping pace.

The New 52! Week #1 Results

Results of week #1 for the DC reboot!

Best Words: Gail Simone with Batgirl #1

Best Pictures: Rags Morales with Action Comics #1

Best Giddy Fanboy Moment: When I caught the Dark Knight Returns panel in Detective #1

Panel I Want to Frame: I'll give it to the last panel in Detective #1

Let Me Read This Book Again: Batwing. Nice, quick, surprising read. Like a double take.

Issues bought this week: 5 - including Justice League

Titles Staying Around: 5 - But maybe not for much longer

Titles Going Away: 0 - Keeping to my three issue rule.

Title to Recommend to a Noob: Batgirl #1

Title to Recommend to a Vet: Action Comics - only if you like Morrison.

The New 52! Batgirl #1

DC decided to reboot their comic book universe, so I decided to blog along with it!

Batgirl #1

Gail Simone - writer

Ardian Syaf - penciller

Vicente Cifuentes - inker

Wow. First Batgirl comic I ever bought brand new off the shelves that wasn't a part of some Bat-crossover. And its kinda ok.

The big news about this title is that they are healing Barbara Gordon from her spine crippling experience with the Joker. Personally, I don't care if they heal her or not, I just want to have a good story. If you want to have paralyzed superheroes in wheelchairs, go write your own comic with them in it. If it is written good, I will buy it. And I did buy comics with wheel bound characters in them. They were written well.

I've only ever known Barbara Gordon to be in a wheelchair, and I didn't see why they would want her back up and running when there has been some well received Batgirls in her departure from the helm. So...what is this one like? Is it worth it?

From a story standpoint, it kind of left me feeling like I need to see one more issue, but that may break my "give every comic three issues" try. I'm iffy. Just like the Batwing title, it just felt like there needed to be something more. Such a big hoo ha was given about this comic and it didn't quite live up to the hype for me. Maybe it shouldn't have been all hyped up. The story is OK, and you get to know the basics for where Batgirl is in her world and what could stop her cold. It seemed strange. The approach for how Batwing was written and the approach for this comic should have almost been switched. Less words for Batgirl, but tease the end of the comic with a bigger cliffhanger, and more words should have been put into Batwing to give some background on the characters.

The art team works well on this book. They have the feel of being given a chance. The art style seems young or it seems rushed, I can't tell which yet. It has the feel of "hey, we're only getting started here." There are lots of small slivers and frames, and only one one-page panel.

Funny, I guess in the sense that this is something getting started could match the approach to the story. Interesting.

Words: 8/10 Backstory matters. Give me a reason to want to know the characters.

Pictures: 7/10 - a good start, now get better.

Recommend: For newbies, yes. For veterans, yes - but make your judgement for next issue on your own.

Buy Next Issue: I will. But, like Batwing, this may just slip to a month by month basis after the first three issues.

The New 52! Batwing #1

DC decided to reboot their comic book universe, so I decided to blog along with it!

Batwing #1

Written by Judd Winick

Art by Ben Oliver

It's Batman. In Africa.

Really, that's about the basics of it. We get introduced to Batwing right from the start. And by introduced, I mean we are given his name and that's about it. What the book doesn't tell you is about Batman's network of Bat people throughout the world called Batman, Inc. That Batman is recruiting these heroes and giving them the Batsymbol to represent their various territories.

Now, you have been introduced to the story. Now, you can begin to read it.

And it reads pretty well. Seriously, Winick can be a really miss target, but I think it might be because he just doesn't get certain characters or his characters don't come off as believable. I once read a vampire story he did years back for Vertigo Comics that was called Blood and Water. It worked. It was serviceable. It told its story and it did it to entertain, and he did it again here.

Winick doesn't write much for dialogue, and I'm talking about characters not having more than a few words in a given panel. Which is fine, as long as the characters can still play some sort of characterization when they do it. Let's put it this way: I feel I am getting to know these characters, and, given enough time and issues, I will grow to like them. And hey, this Batman's name is David, so I will give it a little.

The art is gorgeous painted art. But it rarely has any backgrounds in it. Which is weird, because you can't really call this a floating heads comic - one where you see nothing but faces talking back and forth. It reads more like a floating bodies - you see lots of full figures, but they seem to be hanging in the air. Looks good, but that is about it. If the cover matched the interiors a little more, then it would be rock solid.

Words: 7/10 - which is about average for Winick for me.

Pictures: 6/10 - Not much in terms of a sense of storytelling, just looks nice.

Recommend: Not so much. Maybe for Batfans to give a try, but it can be skipped over.

Buy Next Issue: I will be. You may not be. I have a feeling this may be the first Bat-title that will be cut from the reboot, but it has potential to stay afloat.

The New 52! Detective Comics #1

DC decided to reboot their comic book universe, so I decided to blog along with it!

Detective Comics #1

Written and drawn by Tony Salvador Daniel

Sigh. I don't like Daniel's writing. It has been a pain in my butt to read a Batman comic with him on story duties. It is always just serviceable. I feel like I should spend my money elsewhere.

So with a reboot, let's see what we get.

This is a very action packed comic, which I find weird for a title such as Detective Comics. Batman is a great detective, but I see nothing in this reboot so far that shows that. Maybe I will be mistaken later, and hopefully I get a surprise soon.

The art is better than how Daniel usually is. He apes and makes homages to great Batman panels from stories like Year One and Dark Knight Returns, and that is the core of how I feel about this book: this has been done before. I seriously could have just finished the Batman book he was on before this and it would feel the same. Nothing feels new aside from some of the artwork. For the story we have your typical Batman and Joker story. Nothing new is added or different, except for a shock ending that I'm sure will be one of the first few things that get retconned in some fashion in this world.

This is probably one of the first books that I almost want my money back on for this comics. I should just sell it on E-bay, I hear that it is going for about $10 right now. But I'll keep it. I'm a Batfan until the bitter end, but this is just something I will slave through. Hey, its my money, I will waste it as I see fit.

Words: 6/10

Pictures: 7/10 - just because its an improvement for him.

Recommend: Not really. But if you liked Daniel before then you be impressed now.

Buy Next Issue: Yes, for curiosity's sake at the cliffhanger and because I would anyway.

The New 52! Action Comics #1

DC decided to reboot their comic book universe, so I decided to blog along with it!

Action Comics #1

Scale it back, bring him down to earth. This seems to be the idea behind Grant Morrison's take on Superman. Scale back the power levels, scale back the maturity, scale back everything. And it is OK, it makes Superman a character that could be flawed, but obviously this won't last long.

I enjoyed Grant's take on Superman in All Star Superman. It was like Superman: Year Omega. That Superman was much older, this one is much, much younger. He is flawed. He isn't the boy scout. But Lex is at the top of his game, and gets his moment in the end.

When it comes to how Morrison writes, you simply cannot be a new reader to his books unless you already have a good sense of character history coming to the table. He writes big ideas in a somewhat linear fashion that can lose you if you don't keep up. Think of it in this regard: when writing a story you want your characters to have that character moment. The one that you build to throughout the comic that takes a reader's breath away. There are little in between moments so you have that sense of build up. Grant takes those character moments and writes them as those in between moments. Instead of tin details building together there are these big moments pulling together. What most writer would do in ten pages Grant tries to condense into two and a half. So we get left out some if you don't take things slowly.

Rags Morales on art duties is excellent though. Each character has distinct facial features. That's not something that some artists do. The best part is you can actually just flip through the comic, stare at the art, and get a great sense of the story tat was told. This is something that a great storyteller does with pictures, and its nice to see it happen here.

So, we get introduced to Lois, Lex shows his brainy side, and Superman is put into a believable cliff hanger situation at the end. For new readers, you don't really get much. I think the story of Superman has just been told before, so there isn't really much anyone can do to put him in a dire situation for long. Overall, its ok. I'll give it the three issue try, but after that if it is still at this pace, I may just wait for the trade on it.

Words: 6/10

Pictures: 9/10

Recommend: Maybe for Superman fans, but not to new readers.

Buy Next Issue: I will, but this might not be habit forming.

The New 52! Justice League #1

DC decided to reboot their comic book universe, so I decided to blog along with it!

First up, Justice League #1 by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee.

Serviceable. This is a good start. Not a great start, but it has its high points. We get the first meeting of Green Lantern and Batman. We meet the human side of Cyborg. We get a few moments of a different Superman. We get hints of a major villain with Darkseid. It's Easter eggs and starting points. You don't get nothing fancy, but you don't get anything that seems new or groundbreaking.

Essentially what this reboot gets to do is to give creators the ability to make some major changes for DC properties that aren't doing well and get to keep some of the character beats that work well. With that, we see that the world fears superheroes. They are starting to pop up everywhere. Green Lantern has problems with Coast City. Batman is hunted down by the police. Not necessarily new territory with these two characters, but these two characters were doing pretty good before this reboot, so we don't need to change too many aspects of them.

We do get two different takes on the other two heroes in this issue. Cyborg is in human form and is an emo teenager. His daddy didn't come to his football game, and that makes him sad. Johns does good at writing emo teenagers, so having one on this team makes sense. With Superman we get the sense that this is Superman as an inexperienced kid, which is an interesting take on him. Not the well mannered kind (he knocks out Green Lantern with an eye beam shot when they first meet) and seems kind of cocky.

Despite having Wonder Woman on the cover of the comic, she doesn't make an appearance in this comic. In fact, the only female appearance that is clearly visible is a background character in a cheerleader outfit. Sigh. I'm not saying that we need to have a minimum number of female or minority characters in the book, but if this is the first issue that you are using to entice new readers to start reading DC comics in this New 52 world, it wouldn't hurt to represent a little.

I get the impression that this new world will be one that has Batman's take on how superheroes should be viewed in the world - hated and feared. In the old DC everyone had Superman's take on superheroes -they are loved and respected. Maybe this will change as this universe unfolds, but it is interesting how it all starts out.

Fun moments: When Batman pulled Green Lantern's ring off without him knowing it and Green Lantern's powers began to fade. Even in this DC, Batman is quick to find out your weakness and can beat you, even if he has no powers.

Words: 7/10

Pictures: 7/10

Recommend: Yes

Buy Next Issue: Yes, but this hasn't made my monthly pull list yet.