Yes, I said “the ‘real’ Superman”…deal with it.
So we’re three issues deep on the New 52 DC titles (and onto the fourth issue for the first-weekers), and we’ve now seen how sales are shaking out for the various series. Justice League, Action Comics, Batman and Detective seem to be the big winners, at least at our shop. Animal Man and Swamp Thing were the surprise hits…and not just at our shop, so you can’t blame the Sterling Factor for the Swampy sales. (“Hey, did you get the new Swamp Thing?” “Nah, wasn’t interested.” “You should really buy it.” “I said I wasn’t….” “I’m putting it in your bag…you’re BUYING IT.”)
But now that we’re a little over three months in…how are you, as readers, liking the titles? Did some start strong for you, then sort of peter out? Or did some grab you right away and then just sort of meander their way out of your hearts and pull lists? Or did some just plain hit the spot right out of the gate, and continue to satisfy month in and month out?
In my case, I thought Justice League started weakly, but improved a bit with subsequent installments. Granted, I don’t know that we needed a “watch the team slowly assemble over several months” storyline, but it’s been enjoyable, and Wonder Woman’s introduction in #3 was a hoot.
Fury of Firestorm didn’t do anything for me at first, which may have more to do with my reaction as a longtime fan to the drastic rearranging of the character’s premise than any particular “flaw” in the book. As more issues have come out, I’m come to appreciate and enjoy the series, though my fanboy jury is still out in regards to the All-New, All-Different Cliff Carmichael.
The other book I didn’t much care for at first is Superman, which, as I noted at the time, was more exposition-dump than story, and more interesting than, you know, entertaining. And that interest stemmed from curiosity about how the New 52-version of Superman differed from the Supes we knew before…I mean, aside from the terrible costume. Again, as more issues have come out, things have improved slightly and the direction of the story is a little more clear. However, I still can’t shake the feeling that we’re not reading stories about the real Superman, but rather some Elseworlds/parallel universe version, which, I suppose, we are, in a way. (And perhaps it seems even more removed to those folks who think the mid-’80s reboot Superman is an imposter.)
Swamp Thing I am still enjoying, naturally, though I do wish a bit that they’d swamp or get off the pot already and get Alec Holland back into Swamp Thing-form. Yes, I know, they’re leading up to it…I’m just being impatient.
That was probably the worst thing I had to say about the New 52 books I’m following…the ones I didn’t care for I dropped right away (Mister Terrific – just didn’t like the writing or art; Justice League International – nothing about it really grabbed me). So, overall, aside from those two, the New 52 titles I started with in September I’ve either continued to enjoy or have moved from “eh” to “okay, I’m enjoying it now” – in the latter case either the books actually have improved or my taste is declining, and there are solid arguments for both possibilities.
Just for the record, here are the New 52 titles I’m reading: Action, Animal Man, Aquaman, Batgirl, Batwoman, DC Universe Presents, Demon Knights, Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E., Fury of Firestorm, Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, Green Lantern: New Guardians, Justice League, Justice League Dark, O.M.A.C., Red Lanterns, Superman, and Swamp Thing. …Gee, looks like a lot when I write ’em out like that. Also, for someone who sure complains about multiple titles for the same franchise, I sure do read a lot of Green Lantern series.
Anyway, please let me know in the comments…how are you feeling about the new DC books you’re reading thus far? Have they improved? Have you dropped any? Have any surprised you? Isn’t O.M.A.C. the greatest? GIVE ME INPUT.
Capullo’s Batman is surprisingly good. I’m enjoying it and I did not think I would, not this much.
It’s no Morrison, I could compare it with a good 90s run by Moench or Dixon or Grant. But it’s a good read.
Birds of Prey I’m intrigued with. I like the art and the concept. Hope the story doesn’t disappoint me in the end.
Batwoman is great. What else can you say? -__^
JLA is still too much like a videogame or something to me. I read it for Lee’s art, forget what the story was about and move on.
All Star Western was the surprise standout for me. Never read Jonah Hex before but the story and art are pretty awesome.
Action Comics started out strong in the first two issues but these last two have been, I don’t know, sloppy? And the ‘Continued in issue 7!’ blurb? Seriously considering stopping this one.
Picked up 40 of the 52 initial issues and I’m down to four monthlies:
Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Jonah Hex, and Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E
I will buy hardcovers/trades of:
Aquaman, most Green Lantern titles, Batwoman, Batman (Scott Snyder is amazing), Action, and Birds of Prey as well as the above-mentioned four.
I wasn’t reading many DC books prior to the New 52 but the initial offerings intrigued me. I get the sense though, that within the next four months, I’ll be back to pre-launch levels. I guess the older I get, the more I steer toward independent and crime comics. Now, let me get back to Clowes’ Death Ray and my Parker Martini edition. Anyone have an olive I can borrow?
I read three DC titles, two of which are among the stupidly so-called new 52: Swamp Thing and Justice League Dark. (The other is Hellblazer.) I’m not enjoying any of these titles right now, unfortunately.
Swamp Thing’s story just isn’t pulling me in, since I hate seeing 40 years of storyline discarded. Abby’s pre-teen half-brother doesn’t interest me in the slightest, nor does the concept of the Rot. And I feel that they get pretty much everything wrong with regard to Alec and the Parliament. Plus, this Abby is NOT the Abby of the previous three runs–she’s nothing like her, and I’m not buying it. I’m really trying to like it. The art is brilliant, and Snyder can write well. But the characterizations and storyline, in my opinion, make this the worst run that Swamp Thing has ever had.
Hellblazer, meanwhile, has seriously degenerated under Milligan’s run, from a once-brilliant series to one in which Constantine’s freakin’ trenchcoat is the villain. Milligan has used time travel, but gotten John’s history wrong. He’s brought in Shade the Changing Man, who just wasn’t an interesting addition. He’s introduced several new characters that are entirely one-dimensional. And he’s made John seem so unlike John that he might as well be played by Keanu Reeves.
Justice League Dark just sucks. I don’t have much else to say about it. It’s awful.
In short, I may end up sticking with BOOM!’s Planet of the Apes titles and IDW’s Star Trek run, and ditch DC completely, because they’re batting zero with me.
I’m still reading seven or eight of the books, which is more than I was before the relaunch, so I have to call it a success on that score at least.
What kind of surprises me is that the ones I’m sticking with are mostly the big names – Action, Batman, Justice League, etc. The kind of niche stuff that I was most looking forward to and thought I’d enjoy most (Demon Knights, Frankenstein, Animal Man) — that’s where my interest just fizzled out after the #3’s.
I get 24 series at the moment, I dropped Firestorm after issue 1, most likely I will drop JLI after issue 4. This count includes The Shade, not really a “New 52” book.
My favorite books right now are the GL books, I wanted to examine Red Lanterns and New Guardians in order to decide if I should drop them. I liked RL enough and NG finally gave me some Glomulus action and Agent Orange, yay. Gl is very good and GL Corps is the best of the bunch so far.
I also read Batman, but I’m not really into it.
Suicide Squad has finally and fortunately become a book to look forward to, which I would not have anticipated after the disappointing issue 1 (“SASQUATCH!”).
I liked the 3 issue of Blackhawks a lot, intriguing villains, cities of the mind and talking dogs. Like a Warren Ellis comic with less grittiness and hyperbole.
Animal Man and Swamp Thing are doing great at a “modern” (post-Vertigo) horror approach.
I have shirked my duty to read Jonah Hex for the whole run of the series, now I’m getting and enjoying All-Star Western.
Once issue 6 of Vengeance is out, I won’t be getting anything Marvel except all the Handbook-type of books.
I hate to sound like The Angry Old Man but none of the new 52 made me want to keep following them. I liked Animal Man and Batman, but they didn’t strike me as “must reads.” This is the first time in 25 years I haven’t been buying a DC book of any kind.
I’m glad the new books have an audience, but it’s not me.
Oddly, the book I found myself most surprised by was Superboy. I hadn’t thought I would enjoy it even a little, but Lobdell actually grabbed hold of my imagination with this one and won’t let go.
I’m a little miffed that the new Swamp Thing series doesn’t actually seem as if it will ever be about the “real” Swamp Thing – you know, the character we read about for the previous 40 years, who is apparently just dead and gone forever. Alec Holland is a cipher who appeared in only a handful of comics ever, and we’re supposed to care that he’s back?
Also, I’m surprised to see the complaints about the current Hellblazer run. It’s the first time it’s felt like the “real” John to me in quite some time, at least a decade.
I started out with three of the new 52, Stormwatch, Justice League, and Resurrection Man. I’ve dropped all three. JL I was ready to drop about halfway through the first issue. Stormwatch and Resurrection Man were okay, but I’ve decided to drop my monthly physical books altogether (there weren’t many anyway), and switch to digital after buying an iPad2 a month or so ago. DC basically gave me a great jumping-off point here. Granted, I was only reading Birds of Prey and Secret Six monthly, but I also bought/read TPBs here and there. Now I’m not interested in anything they’re putting out. I may go back and pick up some series digitally, but for now, I’m done with DC’s books.
It’s too bad, really. I was excited about the relaunch when it was first announced. I thought it was a bold step and something that DC really needed. At least what was described initially (accessible, every issue can stand on its own, etc.). After the creative teams were announced, I was less enthused. After actually reading the books, I kinda felt like I’d been duped. They said it wasn’t a reboot. The books I read were absolutely a reboot, and they just didn’t have what I wanted. Honestly, I should’ve been going ape-shit over a Geoff Johns/Jim Lee JL book, but I didn’t. It was a huge disappointment.
Of the ones I’ve started with (about half of them) I’ve dropped Men of War, Blackhawks, Teen Titans, and JLI.
So far I think I’ve been enjoying Animal Man, Batwoman, and Stormwatch the most, but I don’t know how I’ll feel about Stormwatch after Cornell leaves. That’s the one I wasn’t expecting to like, but I’ve really enjoyed it.
As for the best of the rest, I like Batman, Action, Demon Knights, GL and GLC, but GL and GLC still feel like their old titles, they don’t feel like part of the new 52.
I don’t love Superman, but it’s actually a dense read (both because it is wordy and has more complex art than some fo the other titles). I find reading an issue of Superman takes two or three times the time it takes to read any of the other titles, so I really feel like I’m getting my money’s worth with it.
I also really like The Shade, but that’s not really part of the new 52 either (and whether it is or not, I’m pretending it takes place in the old continuity).
Superboy has probably been the one that has disappointed me the most. Superboy was my favorite character, and this new character, while interesting, is definitely not the pre-52 Superboy. It’s a brand new character that happens to be a clone named Superboy.
I was super-excited for both Action and Batwoman, but I think in the next couple of months I won’t be buying either of them.
I like the story in Action, but the price to story-page ratio is way off. I haven’t bought the book since #2 because of how blatantly they’re padding the issues with filler material. Also, Rags Morales is obviously having a difficult time hitting his deadlines, and I’m not interested in another Grant Morrison book drawn by a cast of thousands.
Batwoman has been consistently beautiful, but I miss Rucka. The story seems a little scattered — not bad, just not as tightly integrated as it could be, I guess. In any case, I’ll give it to the end of the first arc and see how the non-JHW3 artist strikes my fancy before deciding if I want to keep or drop it.
Frankly, the only series I’m still super-excited about that came out around the same time is Daredevil. But you didn’t ask about that, so I’ll shut up now.
I’m getting half-a-dozen DC titles, which is 50% more than before the relaunch, although Demon Knights it tottering on the edge of being dropped. Other than that it’s Action, Batgirl, Frankenstein, Swamp Thing, and Wonder Woman.
Wonder Woman is the biggest surprise–I picked up the first issue on the whim, having never followed the character before, and have really been enjoying it.
Suicide Squad and JLA Dark were the biggest negative surprises–I had high hopes for them but dropped them both in a hurry.
Books I wanted to like and do: Frankenstein (unapologetically nutty), Wonder Woman, Animal Man, Batwoman, All-Star Western, and Action. These are the ones I really look forward to.
Caught me by surprise: Demon Knights, Birds of Prey and Justice League International. Straight comic book action with just the right amount of soap-opera. Fun without trying too hard to be “important.”
Need to get going if I’m going to keep reading them: Justice League, Aquaman. Two of my favorite properties otherwise but they might be suffering from Geoff Johns being too far out in front. “Hey it’s Geoff Johns’ Aquaman!” This is likely my prejudice, but I want to see his books stand on their merits and not his name.
“One and done”: Batgirl, Detective, Stormwatch, JL Dark. Awful stuff. If that’s the best they can put forward on an introductory issue, then I have no hope for the rest of the series and no reason to stick around.
And I haven’t read the rest.
All Star Western. Im surprised you aren’t reading this. Its great.
Dear Rich…I respect your opinion as a fellow long-time fan immensely.However,having read the entire run of Swampy when I heard he was coming back,I can safely say that the current run is nowhere near the worst.I’m putting my faith in Scott Snyder.He seems to be a good writer who is just trying to make the character his own.Sure,it’s different,but at the same time I’m happy just to see the Parliament and Abby included.It gives me hope for Anton’s baby and Tefe showing up too.I agree the pacing is slow but blame that on stretching the storyline to fit a TPB.And what comic doesn’t suffer from that,nowadays.Personally,I’m genuinely excited to see where Snyder takes Swampy.I would have been content with the usual twenty issue run but with Snyder and Paquette at the helm,better make it a hundred.
P.S. Rich,please drop the Hawkman bombshell! The anticipation is killing me!
Also,Mike didn’t mention it but Swampy finally got a mention in Animal Man #4 so it’s time to start picking up that series too.
What am I reading? Don’t you pay attention to my pull list, Mike?
Anyways, here you go:
Action – like it
All-Star Western – love it
Swamp Thing – love it
Animal Man – love it
Frankenstein – love it
Men of War – better pick it up soon or I’m dropping it
In the non-relaunch category:
Shade – love it
The New 52 didn’t interest me much, but I thought I’d try a few series that looked interesting. Here’s what happened:
– Justice League: Well written but moving slowly. Hate Superman’s new costume. Still buying.
– Batgirl: Excellent art. Love Barbara Gordon as Batgirl, but she works so much better as Oracle, not sure why DC doesn’t care about that. I gave up after three issues; the book was not well written and I hate how Gail Simone (along with every other DC writer) shoehorns her political beliefs onto her characters. Gone.
– Batman: Great read. Good match of artist and writer. Still buying.
– Green Lantern: I liked it before the reboot, I like it now. This was just an excuse for a new #1. Still buying.
– Green Lantern Corps: See Green Lantern. Still buying.
– I, Vampire: Was really looking forward to this, but it’s just eh. Gone.
– Aquaman: Fresh new direction, firing on all cylinders. Excellent book. Still buying.
– Wonder Woman: The most pleasant surprise of the New 52. Mystery, action, a real story and that wonderful Cliff Chaing art. I haven’t bought/enjoyed this book in years, but I do now. Still buying.
– The Shade: Robinson broke my heart by being so indescribably bad upon his return to comics. His awful work has put a shadow over everything he ever did. It was a tough decision because I loved Starman and Shade, but I did not buy.
All Star Western is some serious fun, and I love both Detective Comics and Batman. I’m also enjoying Action Comics and Grifter.
I’m currently thinking of dropping Static (nostalgia buy for me, and I want to like it but meh), Superboy (story is interesting, but the art rubs me the wrong way), Swamp Thing (I hope it starts moving faster), JLA (w/o Wonder Woman last issue I would have already dropped it).
I can’t believe no one’s mentioned The Flash! He’s performed some Herculean feat with his powers in every issue, and the two creators are really pushing the medium. It’s the one New 52 I’m following month after month.
I sampled Blackhawks, but I didn’t find it to be worth the $3. After reading their first issues, I think Wonder Woman, Batman, Animal Man and Swamp Thing are onto some good stories, but I’d rather wait for them to drop price on comiXology before following them.
I picked up eight of the New52 and my feelings are mixed.
I like Action Comics and Batman but think they could be doing more. I want great not good and I know these writers can do it. I’ve never like Rags Morales art so I’m happy when there are fill-ins. I haven’t looked Capullo’s art since X-Force and it’s fine but he has a tendency to use perspective angles that don’t add anything to the story.
I picked up Nightwing and Superman because I thought they had promise. But I’ve dropped them. Superman is too wordy and I don’t think it’s getting better; the last issue spent the first three pages unnecessarily recapping the first two issues. I can tell that both of these books are building to something but I’m not interested in slogging through to the end.
I was excited about a new Static book but this one is making it too hard. I can’t tell what’s backstory I should know or a mystery that should intrigue me. This is such a simple premise that isn’t being executed as it should be.
I’m reading Batman & Robin for Patrick Gleason’s art and trying to ignore Peter Tomasi’s words. I’ll buy whatever Gleason draws; I just wish he was on someone else’s words. Though I’m really happy he’s on a Batman title. He does moody and creepy really well.
Batwoman is as good as I was expecting and I’m glad we’re finally getting to read it. For the first time in my life I’m reading Wonder Woman and really enjoying it.
Swamp Thing is dangerously on the bubble. The new solicits say the title character won’t actually appear until issue 7. I’m not a big Swamp Thing fan, I’m ashamed to say here but I’ve read the Alan Moore and a few other scattered issues and this is not what I want from Swamp Thing. The problem isn’t just the decompression it’s the repetitiveness. Each issue is built around the same conversation:
-You should become Swamp Thing.
Alec: I don’t really want to.
-You’ll be the best Swamp Thing ever.
Alec: I have the last Swamp Thing’s memories! No.
-You’ll be the SWAMP THING WARRIOR KING!
Alec: Nah.
-You’ll need to fight the Rot/the creepy boy/Abbey (with an example of the threat).
Alec: This is all too much for me, I don’t know what to do!
…Come back next month for this same conversation!
I don’t think so.
I think I might be more forgiving than many of you. Or maybe just stupid with my money, depending on your point of view. ;)
I tried about 30 of the new 52 titles; I was probably getting about 25 DC books a month before the relaunch.
I think it is a little too early to glean the direction of some of these books, and I’m willing to give some leeway for a few more months.
At any rate, these are my ratings for the ones I have picked up so far:
Love it: Animal Man, Action, Batwoman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Frankenstein, OMAC
Like It As Expected: Legion of Super-Heroes, Swamp Thing, Flash, Stormwatch, Demon Knights, Green Lantern, Bats: Dark Knight
Like It As an Unexpected Surprise: Birds of Prey, Nightwing, Grifter, Superboy, Teen Titans, Red Hood & Outlaws (no one could be more surprised than me at these last two… the yield of low expectations, I guess)
OK: Justice League, JL International, JL Dark, Green Lantern: New Guardians, Legion Lost, Resurrection Man, Detective, Batman & Robin, Batgirl (rough start, but getting better), Firestorm
Dropped it already: Red Lanterns, Savage Hawkman, Superman
It’s weird looking at how the new 52 has gone for me, in that only two elements have been what i’d call predictable. Those two being Supergirl and Batwoman being amazing, both foregone conclusions with the artists involved.
Anyway, I have since dropped these:
Animal Man – Dropped after issue 1. Great, but something had to give
Hawk & Dove – Dropped after issue 2. Believe it or not, it was the writing that pushed me away. Liefeld’s art was still a hoot when I gave up.
Men of War – Dropped after issue 2. One of the best titles, but big disconnects between issues (peeked at issue 3 to notice that), and it’ll save me so much money to buy it in trade. like… SO MUCH MONEY
Static Shock – Dropped after issue 2. Wasn’t feeling the magic, and it’ll be nicer to own in trade.
Huntress – kinda a new 52, right? Anyway, dropped after issue 1, BECAUSE I COULDN’T FIND ISSUE TWO. Gutted.
And that leaves my set of 9 series:
OMAC – Good old high-octane action. More comics need to be this
Batwoman – previously mentioned given. so good
Demon Knights – Amazing team book that through a combo of clever writing and Dio’s art can be proper gruesome without being… gruesome.
Frankenstein – Wasn’t keen on the first coupla issues, but somewhere in issue 3 I realised this is utter genius. True love.
Supergirl – Mahmud Asrar is an artistic God
Wonder Woman – Y’all know about why this is good i’m sure
Teen Titans – Sh-shut up! I like it!
The Shade – Excellent maxi-series that I think is made for people who read Starman. I’m not one of those people (I think the only thing I’ve read shade in is that recent eclipso JLA arc), but damn it’s cool.
And the ultimate surprise that is
I, Vampire – a perfect example of how art and story can be melded together seamlessly, and how taking two issues to establish what lazier comics would do in 5 pages is actually a great idea. There’s nothing better than this from the big two at the moment, and you should really all be reading it.
I’ve bought a whopping three titles of the new 52.
Static I wanted to like. I’m a big fan of the character, but this book wasn’t what I was looking for.
Action I was sure I’d love, but it’s just been boring for me. Guess I don’t care about another Superman Year One, even if Morrison is writing it. Or maybe I’m just cross about Krypto being gone, but either way I’m done with it.
OMAC, though…I’m convinced that stands for “Oh, Man, Awesome Comics!” Every issue’s been a lot of fun, and if they keep it up, I’ll keep buying it.
I dropped almost everything except Jonah Hex, Secret Six and Batman Inc. when Flashpoint started. By that time I was tired of the spectrum of coloured rings and Brightest Day had turned out to be a disappointment and earlier on James Robinson run on Superman killed that for me. I also used to read JSA at one time, but after the long slog of Magog and that giant Gog thing which took over a year to go nowhere I gave up on them too.
Now I read 3 DC books which I really look forward too each month Snyder’s Batman, Batwoman and All-Star Western. I’m interested in where Action Comics might be going as well as Animal man and mayb Swamp thing but overall I’m not feeling that I’m being drawn back into the DC Universe.
Dropped DC Comics altogether after the reboot. I know it’s stupid and irrational, but trying to read their “New 52” left me too sad. These aren’t the characters I grew up with, who I’ve known my entire life. Keith Giffen would say you shouldn’t get emotionally attached to fictional characters whose past adventures are still right there on your shelf and can be re-read at any time…but I don’t care.
I miss my friends.
I bought more than half of the New 52 #1’s, but I’ve only kept buying 13 of them ongoing. I dropped everything I didn’t want to follow after the first issue for budgetary reasons. There were several titles I wished I could keep buying, but I just had to make some tough decisions.
Of the ones I’m buying monthly, here are my favorites:
Animal Man & Swamp Thing, because they’re just so twisted and scary.
Batman, I love Scott Snyder’s storytelling.
Action, I’m a Morrison follower.
Wonder Woman, Reads fast so I always feel a bit overcharged, but a great revamp of the character.
Batman & Robin, I love Damian and he’s really the focus of the relaunched title.
Red Hood & Outlaws, Great art from Rocafort. Issue 3 went way over the top into early 70’s acid trip / Eastern mysticism mode.
The only title I bought #2 of that I’ve now dropped is Detective. The story seemed redundant and I just don’t need another Bat title “just like” the other ones I’m reading, but not as good.
The other DC books I’m still reading are: All-Star Western, Batwoman, Catwoman, Flash, Justice League, Superman.
At the launch, I picked up online the first issues of a cluster of the best-regarded comics: Action, Animal Man, Detective (okay, that’s an outlier), Frankenstein, and OMAC. Only Detective was crap-tacular, and the rest were pretty good, but here’s the thing…
I haven’t bothered to get the #2s of anything. Worse, it didn’t even occur to me to pick them up until a while later, and even with the dollar price reduction for online issues more than a month old, I still haven’t continued any of them. Just not feelin’ it.
I’m all old and codgery and feeling like even two bucks for individual issues of these things is just not worthwhile. Now please excuse me whilst I shake my fist at the gol-durn kids and their eye-phones and hippety-hoppety music and whatall.
Swamp Thing- love it!..but yes, there needs to be some swampy green soon.
Animal Man- love it!
Batwoman- yes
OMAC- so fun!
I would like to try some All-Star Western & Wonder Woman soon.
Im only up to the 3’s, but so far for me:
Aquaman, OMAC, and Demon Knights are aces.
Action, Frankenstein, and Sinestro are good.
The Shade can go either way, but there is hope.
Superman is on the bubble, and loosing ground fast.
Justice League is embarrassing.
If I had more $$$ i’d probably read Supergirl and Superboy.
*losing, even
I’m sure I’d read more of them if they fell in my lap, but I was getting Static, OMAC, and Demon Knights. Static isn’t quite as strong as the Milestone issues, Demon Knights is pretty good, but OMAC is surprisingly entertaining. It does need to move the plot a bit more, but still.
I bought Grifter, Suicide Squad, and Resurrection Man to start. I’m dropping the first two after issue 4. I like the concept before Grifter, but I haven’t found a character I actually care about yet. Suicide Squad just feels wrong. All the graphic violence and the Harley/Deadshot sex scene feel like unnecessary attempts to be edgy.
I am really enjoying Resurrection Man, though. I’m going to try the Batman Beyond/Justice League Beyond book, because Norm Breyfogle’s drawing the Batman parts, and I’ll try Green Arrow when Nocenti takes over as writer.
The thing is, none of those books needed a relaunch, in a strict sense, anyway. There was a Green Arrow book before the relaunch they could have put Nocenti on. They could have replaced Ryan Benjamin with Breyfogle on Batman Beyond (which I was buying). They could have started a new Resurrection Man series. I would have bought it, at least. And then I’d still have the Bryan Q. Miller Batgirl series, which was my favorite title before the relaunch.
lessee, I pick up Action, Batman, Batwoman, Batman & Robin, All-Star Western, Wonder Woman, JLDark, Swamp Thing and Animal Man. I’m happy with them all so far except…effin’ Action Comics. It’s one that I was looking forward to the most but the wheels have really come off, Rags’ art is getting really rough and there’s too much filler in order to make it 3.99. It has one more issue then we’ll see but it’s not looking good for it. My favorite far and away is Batman & Robin which is probably the exact same book it would have been if there was no relaunch.
“The thing is, none of those books needed a relaunch, in a strict sense, anyway.”
No, but the changes you’re talking about wouldn’t have made a difference sales-wise, either. By relaunching the whole line, they did something “radical” (or desperate, depending on your viewpoint). It was clearly a shot in the arm the line needed. Regardless of whether you buy into all of the hype that the “sold out” announcements had, they clearly upped the stakes and took back market share with this move. No way would a relaunch of Resurrection Man have the same impact as it did with the line-wide relaunch.
Also, anyone who believes that Rood and his crew aren’t thrilled at beating Marvel is an idiot. Rood can continue to say “We don’t really follow those charts”, but no one is going to believe it. I’ll be curious to see how this all falls in a few months, but there had to be bubbly being popped in the DC offices as soon as they saw those Diamond numbers.
Although I consider myself a DC girl, my love for DC titles has been at a low ebb for a long time now. There haven’t been a lot of titles that have excited me lately. So my expectations were low going into the reboot, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the results. I usually give a title three issues before I decide if I’m going to stay with it, and I’m behind on my reading (as usual), so I haven’t determined which ones are keepers yet. But there’s a lot that I’m liking so far. Tops so far: Swamp Thing, Demon Knights, Batwoman and Aquaman. Also really liking The Flash, which surprises me. There’s a few more on my “wait and see” list. Guilty pleasure: Justice League International makes me chuckle.
In September my local shop had a weekly drawing, the winner getting that week’s new DC titles. I won the week 3, getting BATMAN, BIRDS OF PREY, BLUE BETTLE, CAPTAIN ATOM, CATWOMAN, DEADMAN, GREEN LANTERN CORPS, LEGION, NIGHTWING, RED HOOD, and SUPERGIRL in addition to BATWOMAN, FRANKENSTEIN, OMAC, SWAMP THING, and WONDER WOMAN, titles I was buying any way. Currently, I get BATWOMAN, DEMON KNIGHTS, SUPERGIRL, SWAMP THING, and WONDER WOMAN regularly, OMAC and BATMAN sporadically.
RED HOOD, CATWOMAN, GLC and LEGION (which I didn’t even bother finishing) all went into the trash after reading. BATGIRL I picked off the shelf only to put it right back when seeing it was all about THE KILLING JOKE, maybe my least-favorite DC comic. I wish I had put FRANKENSTEIN back, too. The most disappointing, but I find comics that are a relentless string of high-concepts as tiresome as grim-n-gritty spandex comics and sad white people indie books. In a world with Venture Bros, Awesome Hospital, Xombi, and Empowered, FRANK’s expendable.
BIRDS, BEETLE, ATOM, and NIGHTWING are fine, but didn’t compel me to get issue 2 (someday Jesus Saiz will be on a monthly I enjoy). DEADMAN’s good, but I don’t buy Bernard Chang. I liked BATMAN and ACTION (an October purchase), but these issues will be around forever in some form. I don’t need to buy them right away. OMAC’s an enjoyable Kirby pastiche, but that’s all it is. My dilemma is “Do I want to buy this or save the money for Jack Kirby omnibuses” and, well, hail to the King. FLASH, WESTERN, and STATIC SHOCK I mean to check out someday. I’d probably like ANIMAL MAN, but it’s yet another I don’t need right away.
I’m really enjoying WONDER WOMAN, SWAMP THING, and SUPERGIRL, especially the art in each, although I get a nagging sense they need to “swamp or get off the pot” reading them. DEMON KNIGHTS became a favorite after I picked up the first two issues in October. Trashy and over-the-top, but it makes me laugh and I like seeing Madame Xanadu, the Wagner/Hadley version of which I love, continue. It’s the Amanda Conner’s POWER GIRL of the new DC. BATWOMAN, beautiful as always, is my other favorite. That said, if Mephisto offered a comics market in which DC still made SOLO, Morrison’s SEVEN SOLDIERS, Kyle Baker’s PLASTIC MAN, Conner’s POWER GIRL, SUPERGIRL in the 8th GRADE, GOTHAM CENTRAL, XOMBI, and/or monthlies of the WEDNESDAY COMICS Wonder Woman, Flash, Metamorpho, Deadman, and Strange Adventures in exchange for the new DC, I’d probably make that deal.
Flash and OMAC. Like Kevin Tam, I’m also surprised there isn’t more love for Flash. It deserves more attention and I think it ties (and in some ways even surpasses) Batwoman as the best-drawn of the New 52. Manapul has terrific storytelling skills.
I am only reading Batwoman. I keep saying Batgirl, but I mean Batwoman.
i don’t know how you can read emerald knights; i’ve been loving everything GL-related for the past 5 years but that creative team is truly atrocious.
^ sorry, i meant ‘new guardians’. emerald knights was the bomb yo! thank god tomasi is back on GLC.
I’m only regularly buying JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL, and it primarily because it is the only title featuring Booster Gold. Of the few New 52 I’ve actually sampled with an open mind — I’m horrified by “New Look” Superman and can’t take anything with him in it seriously — I only enjoyed STORMWATCH. I’m waiting to read BATWOMAN when it is collected in paperback, but I do look forward to that day eventually arriving.
So you aren’t digging “Birds of Prey,” despite the fact that in issue #3 one of the official Pals was initiated into the DCU, albeit posthumously?
4 for me:
Action Comics: boring. Was exepcting something in the vein of All Star Superman, not a retro/alternate/whatever version running around in Doc Marten boots, sticking up for the “little guy”.
DC Universe Presents: the Deadman story is okay, but it’ll depend on who gets featured in future arcs that will determine if I stay or not.
JL Dark: bleh. No reason for these non-team players to team up. If this were done back in the Vertigo glory days, maybe it would have worked better.
Frankenstein: the one book I am sticking with for sure. Great fun and although the art is ugly, its a perfect fit.
I wasnt reading any DC books before the relaunch and when this all shakes out, I’ll probably end up getting 1 a month, so I guess they could call it a success.
Reading a bunch, and dropped a few:
Still reading:
Batman – Hold over from the old DC. Stories have been good, so I imagine I will stick with it.
Detective Comics – Ditto. Didn’t mind the blood and guts early on.
Batman and Robin – another solid continuation.
Aquaman – Surprised at how much I am enjoying this one. Was never really a fan before, but I picked it up at the recommendation of my comic shop owner.
Superman – On the bubble. I like the character, but this one is not grabbing me. I had dropped it from the old DC toward the end. This one might be going that way, too.
Green Lantern – Holdover. I love GL. I don’t get why the GL stories continue from the old DC while others are reboots, but whatever.
Red Lanterns – So far so good.
Green Lantern New Guardians – Not the strongest title, but I do like all the other Ring Corps so I reckon I’ll keep getting it.
Green Lantern Corps – Continues to be good from the old DC.
Frankenstein – Love it. Loved the Flashpoint mini, and this continues to be good.
OMAC – One of my favorite reads each month. Great art, kooky stories – it’s like the King is back in a little way.
Demon Knights – Loving it so far.
Justice League International – Another on the bubble. I love Booster Gold, but this one is not doing much to keep me on.
Legion of Super-Heroes – Big LSH fan so I will probably continue to get this no matter what. I’ve liked it so far.
Legion Lost – Ditto.
Flash – Continues to be good from the old DC.
Dropped:
Acton Comics – Was just meh. Ironic since I really liked Action in the old DC and didn’t care for Superman. Roles have changed now.
Suicide Squad – Another meh. Didn’t grab me. I really, really liked Secret Six and I was hoping for a continuation, but no dice.
It’s been a mixes bag. I still by about the same number of DC books as I did before. There are a couple I get that may not last much longer, but I am enjoying most of what I am buying. As I mentioned, I don’t get the timeline of the new 52 – some are reboots and some are continuations – but I guess it’s refreshing to see that DC’s “concern” over continuity hasn’t really changed. It’s still going to be a hot mess.
Monetarily the whole 52 has been pretty much a wash for me. For monthly titles, I’m picking up Batman, Wonder Woman, Swamp Thing, Aquaman, Justice League and Action. I’m pretty sure that is the same number of books as before.
I suppose the big difference for me is that I’m enjoying these titles but not loving any of them. Which could be a problem for DC in the future. I had been buying Batman out of habit but the shakeup means I could walk away without unnerving the collector in me. And none of these are a Secret Six book, a book I knew from the first issue I was going to follow. So it wouldn’t take much – a creator change, a re-evaluation of my monthly comic budget – to drop any one of these books.
I have only read a few of the 52. Overall I enjoyed the whole “Where’s Waldo” effect of the first issues. Animal Man, Aquaman, and good ol Swampy have been my consistent favorites. Batman i feel has a business as usual feel to it. Action comics was good start but i find issues 2 and 3 hard to hold my interests.
My pull list has reduced, but for what’s left:
Superboy: Loving this, and I’ve never been interested in Connor Kent before. Best sci-fi comic in a long time.
Batman: Digging the mystery of an old Gotham
Animal Man: Dang. They got me with a horror comic. I hate horror comics. Yet I love this book and re-read it.
Action Comics: I cannot love this book more. Golden Age social justice Superman lives!
Wonder Woman: Anyone else digging this as having the Hercules vibe we’ve loved for the last few years?
JLA: Not hating it.
I’m also going to add: If it wasn’t for same day digital, I wouldn’t be buying any of these at all.
I’m reading comics day of release and not waiting for the trade for the first time in three years.
“Hey, future self! Three issues into the DC reboot, the book you’ll most look forward to reading is Wonder Woman! Meanwhile, Grant Morrison’s socialist t-shirt Superman and hipster Pitchfork Animal Man will be exposed as better in concept than execution; Geoff Johns’s ‘HEY EVERYBODY LOOKIT WHAT AWESOME TOYS I HAD WHEN I WAS A KID AS DRAWN BY JIM LEE BAM POW!’ will be a stupid and unnecessary bore; Rob Liefeld will… be; and a bunch of other stuff will just kind of happen, without any compelling reason or justification.
Okay, fine, OMAC and Flash are awesome, but shouldn’t they be, always, by nature?
I tried them all for bloggery purposes, and here’s where I put them 3-4 months in…
-Action Comics: I’m reading it. I’m fairly liking it. But I do think it’s a bit overrated.
-All-Star Western: Really loving it, though the back-up feature hasn’t yet worked for me.
-Animal Man: Though it sometimes feels like a retread of the Delano issues, it does it all better. Love the crazy art and Lemire is great at the little family things. A favorite.
-Aquaman: Like it, but like Justice League, it’s a bit slow going. Still, looks great and still one of the better Aquaman books to come out since I started reading superhero comics in the early 80s.
-Batgirl: I wanted to like this and tried to put my problems with it out of mind (the loss of Steph and Oracle), but it’s really not firing on all pistons. Disappointing, even objectively. I’ve yet to drop it though.
-Batman: I don’t think the art is well-purposed to Snyder’s story, but the Snyder Batman is a Batman I like reading.
-Batman and Robin: The new Bruce-Damian dynamic is far below the Dick-Damian relationship, but the books has been steadily getting better.
-Batman: The Dark Knight: No spike in quality. This is still a terrible book.
-Batwing: Dropped it despite wanting to support it in concept.
-Batwoman: Gorgeous stuff, and the best book in the Bat-family.
-Birds of Prey: Dropped it for being too slow.
-Blackhawks: Had potential, but probably won’t be getting much more than another issue.
-Blue Beetle: About to drop it. I’ll just go back and read the original series.
-Captain Atom: A big surprise! Ok, it’s really a Doc Manhattan book but it’s very intriguing and I really like the art.
-Catwoman: That awful exploitative first issue was my last.
-DCU Presents: Might depend on the star, but it’s a good Deadman tale right now.
-Deathstroke: No interest.
-Detective Comics: Dropped it. Story’s just not stronge enough.
-Demon Knights: I love the look at DC history and the characters are fun. I hope this doesn’t go the way of Marvel’s Captain Britain and MI-13.
-Flash: Like Batwoman, the art is the star, but there’s enough story and inovation there to make this a regular read.
-Frankenstein: A must-read for me. I basically love all the Vertigo-minus books NuDC has put out.
-Fury of Firestorm: I’m intrigued because they really did change the story so much, but I’m not in love with it or anything.
-Green Arrow: I would have liked to enjoy it, but it’s another plain, ordinary book like JLI. Will try again when Nocenti takes over though.
-Green Lantern: I’m reading it just like I was before.
-Green Lantern Corps: I have serious problems with it, but still holding on… for now.
-Green Lantern: New Guardians: Not sure why I’m holding on. It’s not doing anything for me.
-Grifter: There’s something there, so I’m buying to the end of this first arc… maybe. It’s on the edge of being dropped.
-Hawk and Dove: I can’t get beyond the atrocious art, sorry.
-I,Vampire: Love the art and like the story. This is a book I thought I’d have NO interest in, but it’s a favorite on any week it comes out.
-Justice League: I’d like to get to the post-origin stories before making a decision, but I feel foolish. I’m really disappointed with this book.
-Justice League Dark: One I like more in concept than execution, but I’m in for the long haul.
-Justice League International: Like you, it’s boring me and it really shouldn’t be. I’ll certainly give it a couple more issues.
-Legion Lost: Only my loyalty to the Legion brand is keeping this on my pull list, but that might not last.
-Legion of Super-Heroes: The last issue was better, but I’ve been mostly disappointed with it.
-Men of War: Dropped it after a single issue. Failed to knock it out of the park.
-Mister Terrific: Still giving it a change. The Doctor Who vibe, probably.
-Nightwing: One of my favorite Bat-books. I’m as surprised as you are.
-OMAC: DiDio’s presence in the credits filled me with fear, but it’s actually one of the most fun books in the lot.
-Red Hood and the Outlaws: Somehow, I’m liking it, or most of it. A guilty pleasure? I have no excuse.
-Red Lanterns: A complete turn-off from issue 1. The Benes art is my main problem, but I found nothing of interest in the story either. Looks like I’m in the minority though.
-Resurrection Man: I know it’s in trouble already, but I’ve always liked this book, now as then.
-Savage Hawkman: Dropped it after a couple issues.
-Static Shock: Dropped it. I wanted to like it more, I really did.
-Stormwatch: Never too sure who these people are or what’s happening, but my loyalty to Cornell is keeping me around. Once he leaves, it’s probably the end for me.
-Suicide Squad: One of the worst new books and a heavy disappointment for this fan of the franchise. Terrible torture porn.
-Superboy: Dropped it after 3 issues.
-Supergirl: About to drop it. Only my Reign of the Supermen interest kept me buying after the nothing-happens first issue.
-Superman: Perez is giving us a dense book full of characters, and I’m really liking that.
-Swamp Thing: Really liking it. Good art and story, though you’re right, like most NuDC books, it could move a little faster.
-Teen Titans: I hate it with a passion and didn’t go beyond the first issue. Lobdell treats superhumans as mutants, and the art is really not to my taste.
-Voodoo: You couldn’t pay me enough to read this.
-Wonder Woman: I’m enjoying this reinvention of the character, and the Chiang art is a bonus incentive.
So while I’m still buying a number of books that are still “on probation”, I’m really only excited by around 15 out of 52.
I have to comment, if only to be the 52nd comment on the new 52!
I focused my early support mainly on the smaller books that had characters that I always liked or wanted to support (as I usually do). Thus, my pull list at my local shop consisted of Mr. Terrific, Blackhawks, Men of War, Legion of Superheroes, Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Resurrection Man, All Star Western, Omac and Frankenstein. I also added Wonder Woman completely on the names of the creators.
I also order from an online vendor (I’ve had too many local shops go under to completely trust my pull-list to one shop), where I order I, Vampire, Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Blue Beetle and Aquaman.
I am still buying all of them, and have found myself also buying Legion Lost and Demon Knights regularly off the shelf at the local store. I should have gone with Demon Knights from the beginning as a long-time fan of the Demon and Paul Cornell.
I was able to buy the first issue of Batwing, but never saw the other issues – i was intrigued enough to possibly buy the TPB of the first story arc.
As you can probably tell from what else I’ve bought, Justice League Dark intrigued me, but i HATED the name, and having read Infinity, Inc., I’m not sure that I trust Peter Milligan with superheroes anymore. The reviews have been mixed as far as I can tell, so I’m still not sure if I’ll even sample that one as a TPB.
my biggest gripe with the New 52 is the abandonment of the pre-52 series. At least finish up the TPB collections of series like Doom Patrol and REBELS – if you’re going to solicit, publish. You had to know what the sales were on previous collections – if they were low, then don’t even solicit the last collections.
my journey with the New 52:
Week 1. Bought five books: Action, Swamp Thing, Animal Man, Catwoman, Authority.
Week 2. Bought three books: Demon Knights, Frankenstein, Blue Beetle.
Week 3: Bought one book: Supergirl.
Month 2: Bought one book: Animal Man.
Month 3: Got interested in X-Men for the first time since Morrison left.
No one can say I didn’t give it a chance
KentL, you’re probably right. I should have specified I meant for myself as a reader. I would have tried a new Resurrection Man series by Abnett and Lanning whether they did it as part of a linewide relaunch or not. Ditto Nocenti on Green Arrow. But from DC’s perspective, yeah, that probably wouldn’t have worked as well.
Stated out trying a lot. Revolted by Catwoman and Suicide Squad, bored by Legion, and for most everything else looked at it and thought, “I have no emotional investment here and they’re not giving me reason to have any.” Cut my order way, way back– pretty much down to Batwoman and Justice League Dark, and even that is teetering. I’m still looking at Batgirl, Swamp Thing, and Demon Knights hoping to get excited, but it’s not happening.
So now I’m buying fewer DC comics than I’ve bought in… 20 years, at least. I’ve probably traditionally bought 5 DCU comics a week on average; now it’s 2/ month.
I’ll get to the new 52, but the best book I buy from DC these days is Batman: The Brave and the Bold, which is FAN-tastic. The new issue is terrific. Hell, they’ve all been terrific. I wish the mainline DC titles were this much fun.
As for the relaunch, this is what I’ve bought:
All-Star Western: Fun and brutal and full of character, though I wish it was set in, y’know, the West.
Batman: I dig Snyder’s story. Not so happy with the art, but I can tolerate it. I wish it was being drawn by Jock or Francavilla. Capullo is not to my tastes.
Batgirl: I was close to dropping this one prior to the fourth issue. I don’t know what’s wrong with Gail Simone in the relaunch, but she hasn’t seemed herself. Editorial interference, maybe? The new issue finally hits its stride after the first three were all over the map. I don’t think much of the art, though.
Batwoman: God, this is gorgeous. Williams is not Greg Rucka, though. I’m in no danger of dropping this, but I wish the writing was better.
Birds of Prey: A pleasant surprise. I hated the idea of BoP without Oracle, but Black Canary manages to hold her own as the team leader. I love Starling, the book’s new character. The art is fairly clean, too, without the tits and ass brokeback poses I was expecting (though the covers are another matter). Keeping this one.
Demon Knights: The first three issues were simply WAY too packed with stuff. It throws too many characters at the wall at once. The art’s cluttered, too. I was thinking of dropping this, though the new issue, which focuses on ONE character, has granted it a reprieve. I do like the goofiness of it, though.
The Fury of Firestorm: The conversation I had with my LCS owner after issue 2: Me: “Drop me from Firestorm.” LCS Owner: “Yeah? I thought you liked Gail Simone?” Me: “I love Gail, but this book blows.”
Stormwatch: Another one I dropped after two issues. I was completely lost at the end of the second issue. Too cluttered. I’m not attached to any of the characters, either. Meh.
Supergirl: This was sort of good. It was bright and cheery and fight-scene-y, but I don’t think it was advancing a story with any kind of economy. The first two issues could have been done in one, and an actual story could have commenced on top of it. I dropped it after two issues, though not with any kind of malice. This is a book that might read better in trades.
Swamp Thing: Oh, this is crack. It harkens back to the early Alan Moore issues when it seemed like every story arc advanced some dramatic revelation of the character. And awful, awful things happened. I love the re-imagining of Abigail Arcane, who, let’s face it, was someone who Moore and subsequent writers never did get right. I’m digging this.
Wonder Woman: I’m enjoying the hell out of this, though I wish things were happening faster. Easy on the eyes and full of interesting re-imaginings of the Greek gods.
Sampled but did not buy: Superman, Action, Catwoman (blech), Nightwing, Detective, Justice League Dark.
Not part of the new 52, but should have been:
Huntress: Super-clean art by Marcus To. A master class in how to stage superhero fight scenes. The story is pretty standard vigilante fare, but it goes down REAL smooth. I wish this was an ongoing.