So, in these final months of 2012, DC Comics has decided another shake-up of the New 52 line-up is needed. In order to keep things nice and tidy, and limited at 52 titles, four more series have been axed: Captain Atom, Justice League International, Resurrection Man and Voodoo. They join Blackhawks, Hawk & Dove, Men Of War, Mister Terrific, O.M.A.C. and Static Shock in the New 52 dustbin…
I’ve decided to split the ‘Dark’ and ‘Edge’ review into two (otherwise, it would be a review of 21 comics, and that could end up being a bit unwieldy). These titles are, with the exception of Justice League Dark (a late addition to my pull-list), the ones that originally attracted my attention when I first started reading about the New 52. They promised more gothic, twisted and (excuse me) darker stories. I was not at all disappointed, and in fact these are some of my favourite comics full-stop, not just from the New 52.
Reviewed herein: Demon Knights #4-6, I Vampire #4-6, Justice League Dark #4-6, Resurrection Man #4-6
[While on the subject of The Dark, a reminder that I’ll be reviewing Swamp Thing #1-6 in an all-in-one, separate review.]
A simple artwork post, this, but many of the great covers for the eighth issues of DC’s New 52 titles were unveiled today on DC’s blog. There were two in particular that stood out for me (not just because they’re series I’ve been enjoying), so I thought I’d share them on here.
First up, Batwoman:
Cover: Amy Reeder | Writers: J.H. Williams III & W. Haden Blackman | Artist: Amy Reeder & Rob Hunter
Second, Resurrection Man:
Cover: Rafael Albuquerque | Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning | Artist: Fernando Dagnino
The latest DC New 52 & Marvel releases
This is a great week for the DC New 52 comics. Four of my favourite series enter their third issues: Demon Knights, Grifter, Resurrection Man and Suicide Squad. The latter, if you read my previous round-up of these series, was actually on probation after a bit of a weird second issue, while the other three were very eagerly awaited. Another series I decided to catch up on was Deathstroke, which I didn’t pick up last month because… well, I’m not entirely sure why, now.
(An aside: Considering how much I’ve been enjoying an ever-growing number of these titles, it’s becoming difficult to say which are actually my ‘favourites’, as often issues wax and wane depending on their overall story’s progression…).
Finally, as promised in last week’s round-up, I tracked down the two new X-Men titles: Uncanny X-Men and Wolverine & The X-Men, which each track a different half of the now-split X-Men team. I also got hold of the Regenesis one-shot, which is meant to fill in the gaps for newcomers to the series and events therein.
Strong second issues for four of DC’s rebooted titles
Taking a different approach to the previous DC New 52 reviews I’ve posted up here, I’ll now review them by week of release, I think. This will mean for less clutter on the website and hopefully more streamlined reviews. Also, assume that there are minor spoilers after the break – so if you don’t want anything spoiled, just pay attention to the pre-break stuff.
This week: Demon Knights, Grifter, Resurrection Man, and Suicide Squad – all four of which continue the stories started in their debut issues very well, and actually improve! Resurrection Man and Demon Knights are probably the strongest of the four, and only Suicide Squad has left me wondering about how long I’ll be sticking with it.
[I intend to stick with all the titles I’ve enjoyed until they lose my interest. It’ll be interesting – probably only for me – to see how far I get with some of them.]
When Heaven & Hell are after your Soul…
Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Artist: Fernando Dagnino
Long-time readers of this blog will know that I don’t have much of a history reading comic books save some X-Men when I was younger (as well as a recent attempt to get back into the medium). The main problem for me was always “Where do I start?” With the recent re-boot of 52 DC Comic titles, it seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up. So, I’ve picked up quite a few to try out (eleven, to be exact), and will post short reviews of them all over the next couple of weeks – the focus will be on story, art, and also how well they work as introductions.
