This issue concludes a three-issue visit from The Flash and Swamp Thing to Justice League Dark, one of the more eerie and entertaining titles in the New 52. Doctor Destiny has hijacked the House of Mystery, and using the captured Swamp Thing has the whole place completely under his control! Can even the combined might of the Fastest Man Alive and Justice League Dark stop this menace?
SOME SPOILERS AHEAD!
Halfway through DC’s New 52 debut month, here’s what I think of the comics I’ve tried so far.
Looked at on its own, this wasn’t a Justice League story so much as it was a Batman/Green Lantern team-up. That’s OK for a team-up book, or the first chapter of a graphic novel, but not exactly ideal for a high-profile launch that’s billed as an introduction to the League (not to mention an introduction to the new setting for the DCU).
I’m going to call it now: just like Final Crisis, this first Justice League arc should have been presented from the beginning as a graphic novel, not as a serialized story. You only get one chance to make a first impression.
So, the DC reboot* is upon us, and it’s time to make some decisions:
I’ll tackle the second question later. For now, here are the books I was looking at when the New 52 was first announced, and what I’m looking at now.
As with Action, it was the creative team that got me excited about the fifth relaunch in as many years. (Seriously, DC, pick a direction and stick with it.) And as with Action, every interview, every announcement since then has chipped away a little more at my interest. But then Francis Manpul posts a new piece of artwork, and I feel like can’t possibly pass it up. TENTATIVE YES.
And yes, that’s a sad verdict for someone who’s spent the last 15 years running a Flash fan site, but it is what it is.
Love the concept, hate the title. I had high hopes for this when it was announced, but the execution of Flashpoint: Secret Seven, by the same writer and featuring many of the same characters, has me worried. TENTATIVE YES.
The complete opposite of Action Comics. When I first read about it, I thought, “Hmm, that sounds sort of interesting, but I just don’t know.” But everything I’ve heard about it makes me more interested. DEFINITE YES.
Regarding Demon Knights and Justice League Dark, it seems that the Matt Wagner/Amy Reeder Vertigo series has made me a fan of Madame Xanadu. Who would have expected that?
I really liked the Seven Soldiers version of the Frankenstein monster, and the idea of him as a sci-fi secret agent sounds like a lot of fun. Plus the Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown miniseries was enjoyable (despite a dip in the middle issue), so I’m on board for this one. DEFINITE YES.
I keep meaning to read the articles about this, but somehow keep forgetting to come back to them when I have time. So I still don’t know a whole lot about it, but the concept is interesting enough to make it a TENTATIVE YES.
Announced as part of the second wave of new titles, the 12-issue miniseries launches in October. I like the character, especially the modern interpretation, and I really enjoyed the 4-issue miniseries James Robinson did back in the 1990s, so I’m on board for this one as well. DEFINITE YES.
Grant Morrison brings Superman back to his roots. Sounded great at the time, but the more I’ve heard about the actual direction, the less interested I’ve gotten. PASS.
I’ve been burned too many times, and I think what I really liked about the series was the Wolfman/Perez dynamic, which I’ve come to realize is never going to exist again. I actually think it’s a good thing that they’re taking the book in a new direction, even though it’s clearly not for me. PASS.
As fond as my memories are of the series 20 years ago…I just can’t. PASS.
I liked his solo series back in the day, but between my changing taste and the emphasis on ultra-violence, I don’t have any interest in the new version. PASS.
(OK, except for the issue where he destroys the 405 freeway. I live in LA and commute on that damn thing. It’s a revenge fantasy.)
So that’s my DC Comics pull list for September. 5 comics out of 52 (plus The Shade) may not sound like much, but considering I was only reading one DC proper title before Flashpoint, it’s actually a pretty big increase.
Edited to add: For context, this brings the DC Universe back up to 50% of my active pull list. The rest is 1 Vertigo (The Unwritten), 3 BOOM! (Elric, Farscape & Darkwing Duck, at least until Farscape & Darkwing Duck end in a couple of months), 1 Dynamite (Wheel of Time) and 1 Aspen (Lady Mechanika). Mostly sci-fi/fantasy, with the closest to a traditional superhero being Darkwing Duck.
How about you? What are you planning to pick up?
*Of course it’s a reboot. They’re resetting the system, with some things altered and others preserved. They installed a service pack, and now they’re rebooting. People use the term reboot to mean starting over completely from the beginning, but if we’re going to use the computer metaphor properly, that would be a wipe-and-reinstall.
Continuing our series reacting to the news of DC’s September relaunch. Previously we’ve looked at the Justice League, and Green Lantern and Batman books. Now we look at DC’s attempt to reclaim its characters from Vertigo.
Justice League Dark · Demon Knights · Swamp Thing · Animal Man by Jeff Lemire · Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE · Voodoo · I, Vampire · Resurrection Man
DC is announcing the remaining Flashpoint creative teams today at The Source. They describe it as the eight remaining miniseries and four one-shots, so it sounds like they expanded the line from 15 to 16 miniseries, and the two new series announced last week don’t replace anything previously announced.
Just like last week, I’ll put the Flash-related titles at the top, and update this post throughout the day. Click on the covers to jump to the original posts at the Source.
Covers: Francis Manapul
Writer: Sterling Gates
Art: Oliver Nome
“Where is he? Or should we say when?”
Perfect: We’re finally getting a Kid Flash/Bart Allen story by Sterling Gates! I kind of hope the full title is just “Flashpoint: Kid Flash Lost,” though, because the “starring…” part gets kind of unwieldy. (Not that it comes close to “Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer: Yet Another Subtitle.”)
Cover: Francis Manapul
Writer: Sean Ryan
Art: Ig Guara
“Africa belongs to him!”
Cover: Ardian Syaf and Vicente Cifuentes
Writer: Scott Kolins
Art: Joel Gomez
“He’s more powerful than ever!”
Kolins really has cemented himself as the go-to guy for Flash villains, hasn’t he?