New 52: Week 2

Another week, another 13 titles. My Marvels are getting sorely neglected.

Green Lantern #1: The creative team hasn't changed on this title so I wasn't expecting a huge change. And I didn't get one. Sure, Sinestro is now Green Lantern but that was teased in the last issue. And there's enough catch-up and Hal Jordan page time to settle new readers. Those who were introduced to Green Lantern through the movie (and there are none) and want to see Hal in action might be disappointed but it's a shot in the arm for a title that's flatlined since Blackest Night.

Buy #2?: I've been reading this title every month for six years. I won't stop now.


Red Lanterns #1: The Red Lanterns were my favorite group to come out out of the Green Lantern relaunch. They were the beserkers of the galaxy; angry, righteous and murderous. I don't know how they can be sympathetic enough to sustain a monthly book but Peter Milligan is really putting in the effort. He works to soften Atrocitus just enough to make a compelling revenge story, rather than the maniac Geoff Johns showed in his book. I'm with it.

Buy #2?: Yes, for the first story arc at least.


Batman and Robin #1: Wow. I'm really loving this. Peter Tomasi and Pat Gleason had been doing a great job on Green Lantern Corps under the Geoff Johns shadow. Now they get a chance to shine on DC's most shadowy character. I hadn't noticed we've never seen Bruce Wayne with Damien, the new Robin. It really works. It's positive and fun while still being Batman. And not Batman: the Brave and the Bold. Real Batman.

Buy #2?: Yes. This might be my new favorite Batman book.


Death Stroke #1: The biggest badass of the DC Universe that's not Lobo gets another crack at a title 20 years after his last. This feels like the 80's throwback action movies we've seen lately.; The A Team, the Expendables. I hated all the supporting characters but by the end of the issue they were all dead. Gives the book a real sense of what this book is going to do.

Buy #2?: Liked it, but not enough to spend the $3 every month. Don't know why I don't get into the character as heavy as everyone else seems to.


Grifter #1: Jim Lee's most popular IMAGE creation comes to the DC Universe. And it's a lot cleaner than Stormwatch. Grifter in WILDCATS always just seemed like the Wolverine cypher. Here he's Sawyer on LOST with some Bourne Identity thrown in. I could have used more action and less intrigue but I am intrigued.

Buy #2?:Probably not but I really want to see the character show up in a Batman title.


Demon Knights: Not a Batman title. But it is a Demon title, one of my favorite Kirby characters that never really took off. Apparently there will be seven on the team but aside from the Demon I only recognized Vandal Savage and Shining Knight. And I always miss it when Etrigan doesn't rhyme.

Buy #2?: It's more of a fantasy title than a superhero title. It's still a hard sell.


Legion Lost #1: Every time DC does a reboot, Legion of Super Heroes gets screwed. Mostly because no one was reading it anyway. I never was into the book but I liked Mark Waid's take for the year or two it ran before it was erased. Fabian Ncieza accomplishes a whole new direction while failing to introduce the characters. A bunch of Legionairres are stranded in our time. They stand in bunches like 90's X-Men books looking ready for battle and being confused for 20 pages. One goes crazy and smashes up a town. Other than that I have no idea where this story is going. Despite some nice storytelling from Pete Woods, it's all premise and no plot.

Buy #2?: Not at all but I'd love to see Pete Woods on Spider-Man someday.


Batwoman#1: Five years ago, DC unveiled a new Batwoman. She had a cool costume and was a lesbian. DC loved her, no one else really cared. She had her own series which failed, then became a backup in Detective Comics. Now she's back. She's still a lesbian, she still has a giant tree in her apartment but now she hates the father who served as a mentor in the last series. The procedural works, but the character is still flat. And since this book is positioned to exist alone, the Batman cameo is a bit of a tease.

Buy #2?: Mildly interested but no more than the last few times the character was launched. And the last few times I didn't buy it.


Superboy #1: This is one of the few complete reboots. This is not Connor Kent who seemed a viable character last year. This take seems more based on the Young Justice animated series, where the Superman clone is more of a blank slate. It's deeply sci-fi and Scott Lobdell's writing has improved since his X-Men heyday (whicih I can't say about Fabian's Legion Lost). But it sets up the character without truly beginning the story.

Buy #2? I'm not lost, but I'm not moving forward.


Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. : Let's just linger on the title for a moment. "Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E." There's no way any story could live up to the awesomeness of that title. I'm digging the scratchiness of the artwork, which really suits the tone. But it's not just Frankenstein. Vampires, werewolves, the mummy are all here with guns and axes attacking things in a very Hellboy way.

Buy #2?: I like it but I'm already reading Hellboy.


Mister Terrific #1: Fans were saddened by the lack of a JSA title in the new 52 but the most popular member has gotten his own solo title. There's a Doctor Who shout-out right in the opening and the rest the comic works as an homage. It's science-y, quirky with a likeable lead character but with a dark procedural thrown in. It's working.

Buy #2?: I'll at least flip through it. If the story stays strong, I'll buy it.


Suicide Squad #1: Fans were more than saddened when Secret Six didn't make the reboot. They were pissed. This book takes its place, crushing the concept back down to the Ostrander model and ditching most of the characters that made that 80's run work. Deadshot is still here and Harley Quinn has been pulled over from the cancelled Gotham City Sirens. The whole thing plays out in an ugly, remorseless way that made Wanted a success and made me hate that book and movie.

Buy #2?: I never read Secret Six, and this makes me miss Secret Six.


Resurrection Man #1: According to the backup material in this book, Resurrection Man was created in the 90's. I worked in a comic store half of that decade and I don't remember him. From the first issue I gather the character is Magneto with the power in his tongue. Then he's Zan from the Wonder Twins. He's the Doctor Who regeneration of super powers. So there's even less to identify him. Great. Abnett and Lanning write a lot of mediocre books in the 90's and they're still writing them the same way.

Buy #2?: I almost quit this book six pages in. Why torture yourself?

Next week: another two days of DC launches.