DC Comics enters its third week of brand new issue #1s as part of its universe relaunch The New 52! New entries this week include some heavy hitters, like: Batman, Catwoman, Red Hood and the Outlaws, Supergirl and Wonder Woman and a few smaller titles that are worth picking up if you can spare a few extra dollars.
The early weeks of DC Comics's relaunch have been met with a lot of tepid response from fans, but this week's crop of books has a few solid hits and a few books that show a lot of promise.
Check
out our thoughts on the new September 21 issues and head out to your local
comic book store and we'll see you back here next week for more on DC Comics's
The New 52!
Buy this week:
Batman: A+
Incredible tone and enough
twists, turns and character appearances to keep us hooked. We won't spoil a bit
of this. Go out and buy it now and bring on issue #2 already.
Catwoman: A
Selina Kyle is looking good in
this Judd Winick penned tale of a Catwoman on the run. She's forced out of her
digs unceremoniously and finds herself taking an odd job to pay the bills. One
thing DC isn't shy about in The New 52 is sex. Look for an end of the book
cameo romp to pique interest in characters and their relationships in this new
universe.
Red Hood and the Outlaws: A-
Absolutely fantastic artwork by
Kenneth Rocafort and a tightly paced action and intrigue story from Scott
Lobdell kick this book off right. There's quite a bit of T&A, but what else
can you expect from a trio that includes a sexed-up Tamaran? As far as an intro
book goes, Red Hood and the Outlaws sets things up quickly and gets things
moving. Lobdell has us hooked.
Supergirl: B+
A breezy tale of Supergirl coming
to Earth and deciding that she's not dreaming; it is light on words, but heavy
on brutal action. It's most certainly the start of a fish out of water tale, which
is par for the course with aliens coming to Earth, but there's enough going on
here to keep our attention. There's even
a nice touch as Supergirl hears characters uttering lines from other books this
week. It wasn't until I read Birds of
Prey that I noticed the connection, but it was a cool to see the timeline
at work and the connectedness between The New 52.
Wonder Woman: B
We're not sure we understand what
the heck happened in Wonder Woman #1, but the book had a style that was
enthralling. There's a few layers of storytelling going on and while we're not
sure where this will go, we're willing to give it a few more months. Pick this
book up alone for its nasty fight scene.
Check out if you have
a few extra bucks:
Birds of Prey: B-
I've always had a soft spot for Black Canary and girl
superhero teams. Writer Duane Swierczynski and artist Jesus Saiz give us a tale
of a team hunted...by a news reporter, and transparent ninjas. The team overcomes
the deadly combination through force, wit and brains - the perfect weapon. It
might not be everyone's bag, but Birds of
Prey did it for me. I enjoyed the action, the dialogue and the walking
Barbara Gordon appearance. The last panel of the book is pretty striking and
has me looking forward to issue two.
Green Lantern Corps:
B-
Guy Gardner and John Stewart's turn as Green Lanterns starts
with their disenfranchisement on Earth; since revealing their identities as
Green Lanterns, Guy Gardner can't get a job and John Stewart realizes he can't
beat the forces of municipal corruption. Riveting stuff, but it's what happens
off planet with a mysterious killer that's hacking up Lanterns and devastating
planets that has us intrigued about future issues. It might not have been the best
start for a book, but it's good enough to check out if you find yourself with
an extra $2.99 this week.
Nightwing: C+
This book was pure character set up for Dick Grayson. If you
know anything about Dick Grayson, you'll want to skip until issue two; you
learn about his parents' deaths, that his mentor was Bruce Wayne and that he's
a hell of an acrobat. What you don't know and what might be enough to get you
to pick this up, is that he's being hunted by a superthug. Only when the masked
Nightwing steps in to protect the poor and helpless Dick Grayson does the issue
pick up. There's some solid back and forth action between Nightwing and the
anonymous thug, but it doesn't outweigh the lower-beat character exposition.
This Dick Grayson guy is looking a lot
like Nightwing.
DC Universe Presents:
Dead Man: C
Boston Brand continues our theme of trapeze artists haunted
by the dead. Brand, the titular Deadman does his Quantum Leap thing, bouncing
from person to person as he communicates with the living and attempts to
rehabilitate through good deeds. The
book's last frame shows we're going into some seriously dark territory with
future issues and that alone is enough to put this on people's watch lists.
Deadman might be a character that's never interested you, but he's worth a new
look as part of The New 52.
