Two Years (ish) of DC Comics’ New 52

Someone asked me on Twitter if I was still reading comics (they pointed out I hadn’t posted many reviews of them lately). I have been, but because I’ve been reading them in big chunks, interspersed with work reading, as well as both fiction and (future-work-related) non-fiction books, I’ve been letting the comics reviews slide a fair bit. There is another reason, of course: not all of the comics have been single storylines, or complete storylines, which makes reviewing them really tricky. Once you get to around issue #10, anything you write about the story is likely to throw out spoilers. This, I think, is maybe a weakness of reading and reviewing comics on a weekly basis – and is really why I stopped doing that almost a year ago (that and financial considerations). Regardless, my insatiable need to read All The Things With Words means I have been reading a good number of comics via ComiXology’s app on my iPad. With the exception of the frankly phenomenal Hawkeye, I do not buy any issues full-price. I just can’t afford to. So, as and when things go on sale or are discounted (either one or two months after release), I’ve been collecting issues to read in bursts.

That being said, the number of series I’ve been reading has also been steadily culled. I usually give each series a single “volume” – that is, what would appear in a collected, printed trade hardcover or paperback. It’s been a useful way of separating storylines, as well as providing a “book’s worth” to review. (Ahem, if I bothered to review them, that is…)

So which of DC’s New 52 have I kept reading? Which ones will stay? And which will have to go, and why? Below is a brief run-down (by no means exhaustive) of the titles I’ve been reading, collected by theme/larger series…

[I may add to this, over time, as I remember other titles I’ve tried, or just think of something else I’d like to add.]

“Blackest Night” (DC)

Writer: Geoff Johns | Artist: Ivan Reis | Inks: Oclair Albert, with Rob Hunter (Prologue), Julio Ferreira (#2) & Joe Prado (#3-8) | Colors: Alex Sinclair

Throughout the decades, death has plagued the DC Universe and taken the lives of heroes and villains alike. But to what end? As the War between the different colored Lantern Corps rages on, the prophecy of the Blackest Night descends and it’s up to Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps to lead DC’s greatest champions in a battle to save the Universe from an army of undead Black Lanterns made up of fallen Green Lanterns and DC’s deceased heroes and villains.

Collects: Blackest Night #0-8

This book is, in a word, epic. The story, the action, the consequences are incredible. Unfortunately, that also makes it a little tricky to review. This is set shortly before the New 52 re-launch, and taps into (as far as I can tell) every DC Comics title. The story is very fast-paced, and I couldn’t put it down. It is also, however, a tricky review: given how quickly things start to spiral and take on a life of their own, I have decided to keep story-elements to a minimum.

Justice League, Vol.2 – “The Villain’s Journey” (DC)

Writer: Geoff Johns | Artist: Jim Lee, Carlos D’Anda, Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Scott Williams, Gene Ha

The Justice League is the greatest force for good the world has ever seen. But not everyone sees them that way.

Their never-ending battle against evil results in casualties beyond its super-powered, costumed combatants. The League’s attempts to safeguard innocent lives cannot save everybody. Unbeknownst to Earth’s greatest champions, their greatest triumph may contain the seeds of their greatest defeat.

For heroes are not the only people who face tragedy and are reborn as something greater than they were before. Villains can take this journey, too.

And once they start out on this dark path, the road could lead straight to the destruction of the Justice League…

Collects: Justice League #7-12

I read Justice League #1-9 as single issues, so I read this collection mainly so I could catch up. It’s a solid series and, while I sometimes wonder at the overall structure and direction of the series (there are altogether too many ‘hints’ for the future), one that is very enjoyable to read.

DC Comics New 52 #0s…

There’s been much discussion in the comics community about the New 52 “#0” issues, and so I decided I’d try to get a few of them read and reviewed for the website. I thought of them as another chance to get started with a new series and also some extra information and back-story for series I’ve already read a good deal of and enjoyed. I wasn’t able to get as many as I was interested in, but I’ll keep trying to find more (I just don’t have as much time as I used to, when the New 52 were first launched). I’ll certainly attempt to get the #0 issues for some of the series I never tried, but always wanted to (the Green Lantern series, for example, of which I’ve tried none; and also Flash; and a selection of others).

What I would say, though, is that these issues don’t all appear to work as proper introductions – a few of them lay out future storylines, or make allusion to events that have already happened in the main series chronology. In addition, there are some more revelations about how the New 52 is meant to be interpreted – especially on the Batman side of things, which appears to have been rather messed up by these zero issues… (which Newsarama has compiled in a handy post).

Reviewed: Action Comics, Batgirl, Batman, Batman & Robin, Batwoman, Catwoman, Detective Comics, Green Arrow, Justice League, Nightwing, Phantom Stranger, Superboy, Supergirl, Wonder Woman

Comics Round-Up (May 23)

Another busy week – with some new series and also the end to one of my favourites. There were also some surprisingly good issues, too – not because I was expecting bad issues necessarily, but they just exceeded my expectations.

Reviewed: Catwoman #9, Cobra #13, Grimm Fairy Tales #72 & #73, Guild Fawkes (One-Shot), Irredeemable #37, Justice League #9, Magic: The Gathering #4, Mind MGMT #1, Neverland: Hook #5, Nightwing #9, Resident Alien #1, Smoke & Mirrors #3, Star Wars: Darth Vader & the Ghost Prison #1, Wolverine & the X-Men #9

Comics Round-Up (Apr.25)

This turned out to be a longer post than anticipated, just because I was so slow about reviewing things on time – for a pleasant change, other commitments got in the way of my comics-reading this week. Better late than never, though, so read on for a bumper comics round-up! There were some great issues this week, too.

Reviewed: Alice #5, All-Star Western #8, AvX: VS #1, Catwoman #8, I Vampire #8, Grimm Fairy Tales: Myths & Legends #15, Justice League #8, Justice League Dark #8, New Deadwardians #2, The Portent #4, Road Rage #3, Snake Eyes #12, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi #3

Comics Round-Up (Mar.21) the Second

This is a very good week for comics – not only did I really like a couple of the new IDW issues (particularly Smoke & Mirrors), but the crop of DC titles is stellar, as were the others I picked up. Two debut issues, five seventh innings, two second outings, and a final chapter.

There’s one other comic that I picked up this week, but have not included here, and that’s Freedom #1 – it’s a bumper issue (more a graphic-novelette, really) and so I’m going to give it a separate, more in-depth review of its own.

In the meantime, here are mini-reviews of ten pretty great comics.

Reviewed: Avengers X-Sanction #4, Batman #7, Catwoman #7, Dominique Laveau: Voodoo Child #1, Justice League #7, Nightwing #7, No Place Like Home #2, Red Hood & the Outlaws #7, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi #2, Super Crooks #1

DC New 52 Catch-Up: Action Comics, Superman & Justice League

Here’s the first of four bumper New 52 Catch-Up posts. In this one, I focus on three Superman-related titles: Action Comics (#5-6), Superman (#4-6) and Justice League (#4-6). I had considered continuing with Aquaman as well, but decided that I would wait for the first collected edition (the same can be said for The Flash – which I’ve been told is excellent). I must say that I’ve been unimpressed by Action Comics overall, despite some moments of genius; I remain quite fond of the new Superman series; and very happy with Justice League.