BATMAN & ROBIN
Gerald Williams of Hemstead, NY
Interesting book. Batman is a very imposing figure. He has always used fear to intimidate his adversaries and allies. He is a control freak as evidenced in Grant Morrison’s run on JLA and how he deals with his Bat family, so it is very strange to see him give Damian so many passes as Robin in what he says and how he acts. If Dick, Jason, or Tim had acted the way Damian acts in this book, he’d never have a cape on his back again. It’s as a friend said to me, in the past all of Batman’s allies and protégés had to gain his respect. In this book it is Batman who has to gain Damian’s respect.
CBC's Hector Ramirez of Philadelphia, PA
Good action. Decent story but I cannot stand Damien Wayne and for that reason alone, I probably will not read Batman and Robin past this issue.
CBC's Frankie Rodriguez of Vineland, NJ
This was a great new beginning. It established a lot in those few pages. Batman Inc is very much alive and well and someone . . . well NOBODY likes it. We get to see Bruce go through a major character change as he has decided to let the past go and celebrate the lives of his parents instead of his death. God, I hope they use the letter from Flashpoint #5. Anyway, Tomasi did an excellent job showing that this Batman & Robin will be very different from any other considering that this time . . . it is full fledge father and son. And Damian wants to play by his own rules but he and Bruce will have to learn to get along. Gleason & Gray give us some great art to look at. truly a feast for the eyes.
BATWOMAN
Eric McLeod of FL
Batwoman was easily my most anticipated title of the relaunch because the book had been delayed countless times before the relaunch. This book is a great continuation of her run in Detective Comics and does a great job of setting up a story and character relationships. The introduction of Bette Kane (Flamebird) as Batwoman's sidekick seems like a natural progression and the dialogue between the two is great. My only problem with the book is that to get the full enjoyment out of it, you need to be already invested in Kate's character. The book does a good job of establishing who she is and some of the things she's been through, but they do leave some details of her past vague enough that only people familiar with her character would get. I think some people can get into this book without doing some prior reading, but I do recommend you pick up the Batwoman: Elegy tradeback if you really want to know more about Batwoman.Dante Franklin of Baltimore, MD
Coupled with Wonder Woman, Batwoman had to be one of my more anticipated books. I was a big fan of Greg Rucka's great work with the character in Detective. And his collaborator there, J.H. Williams, continues what was started with a pretty good debut issue. We see Kate with her father as well as the relationship with her cousin, Bette, the former Teen Titan known as Flamebird. Plus, Batwoman continues encountering some of the more creepy and supernatural aspects of Gotham City
DC has finally released this book. This was the story that I’ve been expecting since Batwoman’s run in Detective Comics and it picks up where that left off. JH Williams does a great job of picking up where Greg Rucka left off, the only issue is not how Batwoman fits in the new 52 but how her cousin Bette Kane (Flamebird) does. Interesting is how Batwoman treats Bette the way Batman treats his protégés/sidekicks.
DEATHSTROKE
Louis Laughton of Chicago, IL
Okay. Slade Wilson is awesome. Most readers who know the character know that. For new readers, they would have to learn that. But do you have to remind us of that every 5 minutes Kyle Higgins. SERIOUSLY. Every 5 minutes or less, we are getting told how awesome Deathstroke is in caption boxes or other people say it. You know, action speak louder than works at times but you know . . . there were some awesome moments in it. It was just kinda of . . . annoying to get constantly bombarded with the fact that we are being TOLD that Slade Wilson is bad***. If he really is, then show us. Yesh.
DEMON KNIGHTS
Eric McLeod of FL
CBC's Hector Ramirez of Philadelphia, PA
Another story that started at the core beginning and it spins an interesting tale. It’s refreshing to see Etrigan with a crew but one thing that got me was Etrigan wasn’t speaking in rhyme. Still not sure if it’s a good thing or bad thing.
Derrick Jones of Brooklyn, NY
Let me start off with I am a huge fan of Dungeons and Dragons, Middle Earth type
genre. All that sword and sorcery jazz really speaks to me, so I was very excited
when I heard that part of the NU52 was going to include Demon Knights, The first
issue did not disappoint.
I am not familiar with Paul Cornell’s previous work but I will be looking for
his name from now on. He has a very good grasp on the lore of that time period
and he manages to introduce the characters of the book quite well. It takes a lot
to write Jason Blood/Etrigan as a combo and make both characters likeable, or
most importantly not make Etrigan a standard demon who is only let out to fight.
If I have one complaint, and it is a small one, it is that this version of the demon
Etrigan does not rhyme, which is as much a staple of the character as Zatanna
speaking backwards.
Diogenes Neves provides pencils for our first issue, someone else I am not
immediately familiar with but he seems quite talented and the rest of the art team
very much compliments his work. He is not a lazy artist, his attention to detail is
quite good and I for one like that he did not take the easy way out and make all the
women waif model types wearing next to nothing.
All in all I found that the introductory issue more than serves its purpose (unlike
some other NU52 #1’s) you get some nice character intro and the pacing is good
so that when the end of the book comes it is not jarring. I will definitely be coming
back next month for more.
FRANKENSTEIN, AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E.
This series interested me because of the Flashpoint miniseries & the recent appearance of the Creature Commandos in JL: Generation Lost. It felt like a great new beginning for Frankenstein as he meets his new team, becomes a leader and we see the base for SHADE all in one foul swoop. Jeff Lemire is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers and this book is just adding to the awesome that he writes. The cast were distinct, the art was kind of gloomy at first glance but grows on you and find it sets the tone of the book perfectly. The characters were all fun to watch . . . including a certain person who has the ability to shrink and is a scientist. Between this and Animal Man, I am now with Lemire for the long haul.
GREEN LANTERN
Gerald Williams of Hemstead, NY
As expected, not a reboot and all I can say is well done. Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke have remained the creative team, picking up from the Aftermath of the War of the Green Lanterns. This book continues the upheaval that the Green Lantern Corps has been experiencing since the Sinestro Corps War and based on what I read in issue #1, there is more on the way.CBC's Hector Ramirez of Philadelphia, PA
Well seeing as I didn't read Flashpoint (or War of the Green Lanterns) there were some things that I didn’t understand and there was very little action. But the cliffhanger ending guaranteed my purchase of at least issue 2.
Derrick Jones of Brooklyn, NY
I have to admit I was not overly excited about this one. Don’t get me wrong, I have been
enjoying the Lantern saga pretty much since Hal came back to life. And I knew that the Lantern end of the universe was going to pretty much remained untouched after all the work done to it over the last three years with the “Wars of light”. So I figured I would keep right on reading but the coming of the NU52 would bring nothing new. Sometimes I love to be proven wrong!
Geoff Johns brings it in the first issue and does it with very little action. Yes the story of Sinestro is interesting and I think it is supposed to be the main focus of the story but for me this book is all about Hal (and trust me as my least favorite of the Earth bound lanterns I never thought I would say that). What does a man do when he can no longer do what he is clearly born to do?
That is what this story is for me. Let’s face it Hal Jordan
Doug Mahnke brings his usual movie like panels and if you have read any of my other reviews you know I am a stickler for backgrounds. Well there are backgrounds without intricate backgrounds but it is not noticed because you’re either on a close up of a character or you’re in space and space should be the background. I will be back if for no other reason than to see if how low Hal will fall before he gets desperate. This one is going on the pull list.
GRIFTERCBC's Frankie Rodriguez of Vineland, NJ
Now this book was interestingly good. It wasn't great but it was good. It gave us our man character who more than lived up to his name. It gave us an interesting premise . . .being able to see Aliens that no one else can see. And it gave us a realistic reaction . . . going commando cause you see aliens and then being labeled a terrorist/ serial killer by the media. Edmonson & CAFU set up the story well enough to be interesting but not OMG .. . this is great. Not yet anyway. The potential is there and I am looking forward to more as another Wildstorm Alumni, Max Cash (aka Condition Red) has been sent after his brother. This is gonna be good.
LEGION LOST
CBC's Frankie Rodriguez of Vineland, NJ
I love Fabian Nicieza. I like the LSH. So I grabbed this book and it was good. It was nearly great. My problem . . . I felt like I stepped in about halfway through the story when it first started. The story got wheels quickly and great characterization. The stakes were high. The cast was good. Just felt lost. Like these Legionnaries. I guess that is what Nicieza is going for but not sure. We'll have to see. I did enjoy the book.
MISTER TERRIFIC
Gerald Williams of Hemstead, NYIn this one issue, DC has given Mister Terrific a better developed history of how he became a hero than his entire time in the JSA. I hope that the writing in this series stays at the level that of the first issue so that it can be around for a while.
CBC's Frankie Rodriguez of Vineland, NJ
I loved this issue. This was definitely one of the best first issues, not only of the new 52, but that I have read in a long time. It gave us a small but solid history/origin of the character, introduced us to Michael Holt in the present with all of his intelligence and charm, intro us to his supporting cast, show us where one other JSA member ended up at and dealt with status, race and politics added with a mystery that was easy and fun to read. Kudos to the entire creative team. This is a book I will be following for a while to come.
RED LANTERNSGerald Williams of Hemstead, NY
Ed Benes is one of my favorite artists ever since his days on Birds of Prey so I would have pick this book up just for him. Peter Milligan is telling a good story but I’m not sure that there characters can support a book. Miniseries, yes but not an ongoing title.
RESURRECTION MANLouis Laughton of Chicago, IL
You know, this was actually pretty good. Mitch Shelly seemed very interesting as a character . . . not only for dying a lot but coming back with new powers to learn each time and a slight variation of the character. This kept the book interesting and the art made the book very wonderful to look at . DnA, as the writers are known at times as, have a solid new beginning for the character they created back in the 1990s. Mitch Shelly is back and it seems to be pretty good.
SUICIDE SQUADGerald Williams of Hemstead, NY
Same concept as the last run of Suicide Squad, just different characters. The only thing that has changed is how they are selected.
Louis Laughton of Chicago, IL
I want to say good stuff about it but . . . it's torture porn. Seriously . . .it's TORTURE PORN. Sure, Deadshot, El Diablo & Harley got great amount of character development and the ending was kinda cool and horrifying at the same time. This just makes me miss Secret Six even more which made you care about the characters but over all . . . it's Torture Porn . . . and it's not bad. It's gonna have to do something a bit better to impress me. And did Amanda Waller go on Weight Watchers?!
CBC's Hector Ramirez of Philadelphia, PA
They show Conner from his very roots which I loved but it played out a lot like the Dr. Manhattan sequences from Watchmen still it’s safe to say I’ll be following this series.
CBC's Frankie Rodriguez of Vineland, NJ
Superboy ended up being very intriguing, very well written and wonderfully drawn. The team of Lobdell and Silva give us a new Superboy who is just learning to deal with his powers and finding out who and/or what he is. There is a solid cast with some twisted motives and development here. It also ties in directly into Lobdell's Teen Titans, which comes out in 2 weeks. Definitely a lot going for it. A great job and I definitely want more.
And those are the opinions for this week. Seems like fans really love Demon Knights and Batwoman. Hmm . . . wonder what will next week will bring. Well, till then, this is CBC. Keep Clashing.
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