DC's New 52- the first 6 months

[MrShears]

Six months into the reboot, DC can boast some very impressive sales, great reviews and a swankily-redesigned website. On the other hand, a half dozen titles have already crashed and burned, the backlash from fans and critics alike has been ferocious, and frankly the new website is bloody awful (as is that f**king new logo).

Lots of rough and smooth then, and as a hardcore DC loyalist who was enraged/ deeply betrayed by the reboot (see my original thread/ blog post), but impressed enough with some of the new output to remain a regular customer, here are my thoughts on the books I've been following. Titles I don't mention I haven't read and so cannot comment upon.

Batman titles (I get them all except Catwoman, Birds of Prey (assuming this still counts as a Bat book) and The Dark Knight, which I can't be arsed with):
Consistently among DC's most successful titles, and given the overall cultural currency of Batman, the Bat books have suffered the least meddling from up above, and The Bat family and their history (albeit compressed into a hardly plausible 5-year period) have carried on pretty much as before.
The overall quality has remained high, with Batwoman and Batwing particularly standing out with bold and striking stories and art. My main criticisms so far would be the Court of Owls plot currently underway in Batman- seems a bit too close, thematically to the still relatively recent Black Glove storyline. Also, both Batgirl and Nightwing seem to be meandering a tad, which is symptomatic of the major flaw with the reboot concept: all well and good having big-name creative teams and flashy New Looks, but what's needed is a clear vision of what each title is meant to be, what kind of readers it's aimed at, the stories it means to present. Some titles have this, many do not.
Barbara Gordon's return to action is grist to the mill, but what we've seen of it so far seems a bit lacking in depth, possibly because no one seems to quite know how much DC history has been retained (publishers blatantly hedging their bets IMO).

Superman titles:
It amuses me how many of the DC faithful have taken exception to Grant Morrison's 'revisionist' take on Superman. Admittedly, seeing the Last Son of Krypton as a kind of flying, bulletproof Bruce Springsteen takes some getting used to, but it's actually quite bracing to be reminded of the character's roots, as a fairly rough around the edges brawler, the true champion of the oppressed... Not, as everyone since Frank Miller got his hands on the character thinks, a one-dimensional, flag-waving boy scout, slavishly following the orders of anyone in uniform or public office. The tweaks to the most famous of origin stories are as deft as I've come to expect from Morrison, but I still find them irksome, if only because Geoff Johns' Secret Origins is still fresh in the memory and that, for my money, was flawless. By the same token, Supergirl, an enjoyable enough read, feels both redundant and depressingly retrograde, given that Kara's reintroduction to the DCU was done very successfully not that long ago. I was invested enough in the character to find this new version hard to warm to (and for the record, I loathe her costume so much it actually makes me pine for the godawful roller-disco version so beloved of Alex Ross) and invested enough in Conner Kent to give the new Superboy a miss altogether.
Action Comics qualifies as a must-read, but I can't say the same of Superman. It's another water-treader, and relegating Lois to the Perry White role is just madness.

Justice League: Two things I disliked instantly: first, replacing Martian Manhunter, one of my all-time favourite characters, with Cyborg. Now I don’t dislike Cyborg exactly, but I cannot fathom why he’s suddenly receiving so much exposure. Seeing him in the group shots alongside the six heavy-hitters infuriates me and just looks wrong. If this was the pre-Flashpoint League, a loose association of 10-15 heroes, I’d have no problem with his being there. But he’s not more powerful and certainly not more compelling than J’onn, backbone and heart of the League since the very beginning (more on this later). My other issue was how awkwardly structured the book was, lurching from one set piece to the next, characters speaking in one-liners, like the comic adaptation of a movie or videogame. I was mulling over whether to stick with it when I read the latest installment, with its Shazam back-up story. That nailed the coffin shut. I normally like Johns and trust him with the older heroes, but Christ almighty, he got everything so horribly wrong. Rejigging Billy Batson as a two-faced brat with a podcast(!) feels about as appropriate as showing Winnie the Pooh drinking Red Bull.
What I have enjoyed is Justice League International. Booster, Guy and the others feel like that characters I’m familiar with, no grotesque revisionism here. I’m also very pleased to see August General in Iron in the lineup, as I was a fan of the Great Ten from the beginning.

Green Lantern: As with the Batman titles, they haven’t tried fixing what isn’t broken, so I have no reservations about recommending this one. Yes, Sinestro is basically the star now, but I was never one of these Hal Jordan fanatics, and Sinestro’s such a likeable bastard anyway, so I’m cool with it. I know some people detest Red Lanterns for whatever reason, but I’ve found it a fun, gratuitous read. It could go way overboard- if a Garth Ennis or Mark Millar were writing, it’d be unreadable- but it walks the line pretty well.

Wonder Woman: Who knew Azzarello could write Wonder Woman! To have lost so much heritage, up to and including the tweaked origin, is cause to weep, but I respect the clarity on show here. Azzarello approached the project knowing exactly what he set out achieve, and how to make Diana strong and credible, a task which has defeated the best of writers before. My only real complaint is that there are so many gods and godlike figures being introduced, Diana herself sometimes comes across as a supporting character in her own series, but I’m sure that’ll change.

Flash: A perfectly good, pleasant read that’s so far failed to deliver anything above average. It’s a lack of ambition I think, as if having Barry back and free of Crisis angst is enough of a selling point in itself. Must try harder.

Aquaman: The only significant criticism I’ve heard is that not a lot has actually happened in Aquaman so far. As one commentator put it ‘Dude fought some sea creatures and Mera bought dog food’, but I like that. Johns’ obviously loves Aquaman and knows full well that plunging headfirst into some huge Atlantean epic would be madness and a sure route to another humiliating cancellation for this most derided of heroes. Instead he’s kept things small, slow-burning and entirely character-focussed. As a result, I’ve become a regular Aquaman reader for the first time ever, and so have lots of other people. Plus of course it looks fantastic. It's one of the titles I really look forward to.

Others:
Animal Man: One of the biggest surprises to come out of the New 52, an honest to goodness horror comic with head-f**kg weirdness aplenty. It’s a shame we don’t see Buddy in his proper costume or actually doing anything especially superheroic, but it’s strong, tight comic storytelling with a real sense of jeopardy.

Mister Terrific: I had high hopes for this one as I’ve always been fond of the character, and it seemed to represent the last vestige of the JSA. What a shame it’s a load of rubbish: the plot is dull, the artwork unappealing, the new origin story (predictably eliminating the Spectre in favour of something more prosaic) groan worthy, and the new costume is just hideous. Having Karen Starr onboard isn’t much compensation, it’s just a reminder of how much I miss the Power Girl comic. I gave up after 3 issues.

DC Universe Presents: I’ve no interest in the new Challengers of the Unknown, but I followed the Deadman arc. It was pretty good, but felt like the set up for an ongoing series rather than a standalone, and as a result seemed to just fizzle out.

Stormwatch: As you might have gathered, I picked this up for one reason only: Martian Manhunter is in it. I’ve never cared much about Wildstorm and I’m still convinced that integrating the characters so prominently into the new DC universe is as much about stroking Jim Lee’s ego as exploiting a new property. Promo artwork for the new Stormwatch misleadingly suggested J’onn would be one of a central trio, alongside tedious Superman/ Batman analogues Apollo and Midnighter. I could have lived with that, just. Marginalizing J’onn as if he were some Silver Age embarrassment is one of the major changes to the DCU I find completely unforgivable, but some Martian Manhunter was better than none, I thought. A crying shame then that he’s just one more player doing nothing very interesting in an overcrowded team book, written by Paul Cornell according to the Farscape principal of throwing every mad idea he can think of at the wall and not giving a stuff about coherent plotting or internal logic. I made it through 5 installments, during which time the venerable Manhunter’s only other appearance in a DC book was a deus ex machina cameo in an issue of Legion Lost. He was referred to as a member of the Justice League in Stormwatch #1, but has since clarified that actually no, he wasn’t at all, never had been, never would be. One less thing for the other DC writers to worry about then.

[MrShears]

continued...

One-issue wonders:
Teen Titans: Looks like an Elseworlds book, reads like an Elseworlds book. So much rich history jettisoned, so little left that interested me.

Justice League Dark: Neat concept, a League made up of the darker heroes of the DC (bit like the Outsiders, only with A-list characters), but having all the magically-powered antihero types team up isn't all that thrilling. As with Stormwatch, my main interest was seeing how they handled a favourite of mine, Zatanna. Well, there's certainly a woman in JLD with that name, and some magic powers, but the similarity starts and bloody ends there. Big disappointment.

Green Lantern: New Guardians: Wholly pointless retread of Kyle's origins. Not exciting enough for me to add to my pull list.

Red Hood and the Outlaws: Yes, I read it. I then buried it in quicklime, and actually felt almost moved to write to these beloved characters- one in particular- and apologise for how they'd been sullied. Unpleasant echoes of All-Star Batman and Robin. Never again.

[Happy-Hangman]

Thus far the Bat-books have proven the most successful of the new batch. Snyder is, on Batman, continuing his good work from the B-52 Detective Comics (threads from which have been picked up in Simone's Batgirl) and Gates of Gotham (which appear to be a major influence on the quite superb All-Star Western). Tony Daniel's 'Detective Comics' has been okay, nothing great but still passably entertaining, but is more than made up for by the delightful Batwoman (which, with J.H. Williams behind the brush is certainly the prettiest of the Bat-titles) and Batwing. Nightwing is fairly sound, if a little saggy in the middle, but recent revelations concerning the developing Owls of Gotham crossover storyline explain why this tale has been so protracted. The really weak links in the mix are Birds of Prey and Red Hood and The Outlaws, which deviated too far from original characterisations, and The Dark Knight - but it was overblown twaddle even before the New 52 kicked off. Otherwise, i seems to be business as usual in Gotham City.

Justice League is okay, but the artwork is more interesting than the ideas it illustrates. They've returned to the 'Magnificent Seven' idea favoured by Waid and Morrison during their runs. Time will tell how Cyborg fits into the mix. His presence sparks a little of tokenism, at present, and this will be the first major incarnation of the League without the Martian Manhunter. That said, the tale is all in the telling. Recent attempts to revitalise MM have been...well...less than stellar. He may find a better home in Stormwatch, though I fear I won't be sticking with that title for too much longer, as it lacks the edgy inventiveness of it's original run (Apollo and Midnighter, particularly, lack any real chemistry). Demon Knights started off as fun, but doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Same with I, Vampire, which seems to be propping itself up (as all floundering DC titles do) with Batman cameos.

Aquaman has been, surprisingly, quite excellent, and Voodoo, too, is turning into a good read - a more substantial amalgam of DC and Wildstorm mythologies than any of the other titles available. Johns' other regular character-title, Green Lantern, has been more fun since he shifted focus to Sinestro than it had been for the crossover-blighted previous two years. It still rankles with me that despite arguing that these creative/continuity changes were necessary to revitalize DC for a new readership, Johns has done so little to un-muddle the convoluted mythologies of the title he's been associated with the longest.

I had hopes for Resurrection Man, but it has already started meandering, so I don't think we'll see Mitch's tale finished...again. the same attempts to mix action-adventure and philosophising which jiggered the book the first time around are being repeated, but downplaying the role of the Body Doubles, this time around, means that it's not as much fun.

Justice League Dark, Swamp Thing and Animal Man are fun - re-integrating Vertigo regulars into the new continuity. The key being not to undermine the characterisations they've long enjoyed within the semi-shared universe - most being scripted by Vertigo regulars. Superman and Action Comics have been interesting but unremarkable: of all the DC titles these seem to be the most eager to revamp specific areas of mythology in a hurry. The complimentary story-arcs have worked well enough, but it does seem a little forced at times. Same goes, to a lesser extent, with Wonder Woman, though the biggest fault with this title lies in the simple fact that Azzarello is crap at traditional episodic comic-writing: his stuff works well as a block, or in collection, but really drags issue-by-issue. Supergirl is okay, but is just taking too long to get...well, I'm not sure where, and I don't think the writers are, either.

The Flash rarely ventures above mediocrity, surprisingly - given that his is the character and mythology which sparked off the new continuity. References to him causing 'changes' every time he accesses the Speed Force (completely ignored in his recent cameo in The Dark Knight) have been extremely heavy handed, and I think this will provide DC an escape-hatch to jettison their more unpopular changes to the likes of The Savage Hawkman, Green Arrow, Hawk and Dove, Teen Titans, Red Hood and the Outlaws and pretty much anything Dan Didio has personally pissed upon.

Generally speaking, I'm happy with the New 52. Some of the changes have worked well, but those seem to be on titles where comparatively little has happened to alter the defining characters. Where the changes have been more extreme, the titles have almost without exception, floundered. I've been a lifelong Green Arrow fan, but find his new incarnation unreadable, and I don't know what the crap has happened to Hawkman.

I started off with 30 of the new continuing series, almost immediately jettisoned Green Arrow and Savage Hawkman, quickly followed by Birds of Prey and Ressurection Man. I, Vampire will be off as soon as the JLD crossover concludes. DC Universe Presents is likely to be an occasional purchase, depending on the writer and character presented (Didio's take on the Challengers of the Unknown is just painful), and unless it improves radically over the next couple of issues The Flash will be dissapearing from my regular order...which would be a shame, as I was a huge Flash fan as a kid (a recent act of vandalism robbing me of every issue from 1967-1983), and that character lured me back into cape-'n'-cowl comics as an adult. A few of these titles have been shunted to make room for titles from the 'Next Wave' of the New 52.

The world didn't end, as some comic-buffs feared, and in many respects the changes were less radical than those prompted by Crisis on Infinite Earths, or even some of the lesser Crises which followed.

[Mark Peyton]

As a counterpoint then the books I started with and what I still buy.

Batman - Snyder delivers the best bat book on the market. He's built up the Owls in a really interesting way and I've even gotten past my issues with Capallo. Still on the list.

Batwoman - The team have been doing far more interesting things with the character and setup than Dave gives them credit for. It's interesting to see reprecussions and this keeps piling them on Kate and her supporting cast. Still on the list.

Demon Knights - I've enjoyed the book, but I am looking forward to moving past this battle and starting to see more of the world and how the characters will interact with it. Still on the list.

All Star Western - great book that much like Batman continues to play with its surroundings. Still on the list.

Wonder Woman - thoroughly enjoying this run. First time I've bought WW rather than my brother and really continuing to look forward to each issue. Still on the list.

Action Comics - I've read up to issue 3 and if it was cheaper I might still get it, but I do buy it if I find it in the bargain bins. Dropped.

Batwing - I enjoyed the first issues, but with Ben Oliver gone now it's not something I feel the need to keep getting. Dropped.

Resurrection Man - As a reader of the old series I found it very offputting to have the origins and setup retconned. Then adding in a crossover to a book I don't read meant I dropped the book.

JLI - it had potential, but I felt it never lived up to Generation Lost and dropped it last month because of the forthcoming crossover. Having looked through this issue and the deaths I am more than happy to have done so.

Nightwing - kept buying for a few issues, but it never really kept grabbing me. Dropped.

Stormwatch - When Cornell left so did I. The setup had potential and that last issue I would have definitely had stayed on if Paul had, but if I hear good things about Pete Milligan's run then I'll buy the trade - Dropped.

Shade - by far and away my favourite title from DC. Robinson shows how good he is at world building and it's one of the two reasons I'll get Earth 2 - Nicola on art being the other one. Wish it could stay on the list forever.

Legion Secret Origin- I've enjoyed the issues I've read, but not enough. Dropped.

Legion Lost - could not make it past issue 2. Hugely disappointing for me as I love both Fabian and Pete Woods when they are on form.

Superboy - enjoyed it to start with, but there was other stuff I wanted to buy more. Dropped.

Definitely getting Earth 2. Might get Worlds' Finest.

I don't agree that the changes were less radical than Crisis because it still seems that DC has little idea what's actually gone on. I'd feel happier if I trusted they actually knew what was in or out of continuity. Crisis did. True it had issues, but it was clear on what was or was not there. Here they seem to have thrown out stuff without thinking what it would mean.

[hammard]

I tend to be very contrary in my views to the critical mainstream so here goes. My opinions on those I've read (coordinated by what I'm sticking with):

Good:

Action Comics: Properly physical superman by Grant Morrison. I would love it no matter what the plot.

Birds of Prey: My biggest surprise in liking this. But it actually tries to do a proper slow burn plot line, whilst continually linking with the events around it. At the same time is never boring or over-egged on the action.

Bat Girl: Interesting exploring of the character psychologically, though I usually love Gial Simone.

Green Arrow: I'm a long-time olly fan. This hasn't been the best but is entertaining enough.

Aquaman: Like Justice League (see below) a bit action heavy but he makes the character kick-ass. Geoff
Johns deserves some kind of award for that

Batwoman: Strange and dreamlike (even if I don't know where the plot is going.

Mediocre:

Justice League: I didn't like the first 6 stories that much (though still read them), a bit heavy on action over plot. I like the look of the new direction. Particularly excited with the introudction of Shazam and Green Arrow to the mix.

Swamp Thing: Don't have any problems with exactly but didn't find it really gripping in the way of Alan Moore's run. Stopped after issue 4.

Flash: Read the first couple, couldn't see the point in continuing.

Animal Man: Read the first few issues. It seemed to be putting gore and shock over substance, even though it was well made. Stopped after issue 3

Superboy: The characters are uninteresting but the mystery is intriguing. May stick with if I can find the issues cheap.

Demon Knights: Well written but fairly slow. I'm gonna see if it picks up.

I Vampire: The Dark Knight in I am Legend. It's probably good for some other people but not for me. Stopped after Issue 5.

OMAC: Only read a couple of issues. Not terrible but not great.

Bad:

Stormwatch: Read for Paul Cornell, not even sure what was really happening. Stopped after issue 3.

All Star Western: Don't really care for westerns or Gotham's history. Stopped after issue 1.

Resurrection Man: Felt more like I was reading some bad highlander novel... Stopped after issue 1.

Legion of Super Heroes: Just didn't click with me. Stopped after issue 1.

Batman\Detective Comics\Dark Knight\ Batman and Robin\Nightwing: I've never liked batman and robin. An army of owls living in a sewer was not going to change my mind

Green Lantern\Green Lantern Guardians: Okay, again never liked the lanterns. But these issues were remarkably dull. Think I gave up after issue 3 of the former and 1 of the latter.

Wonder Woman: I find the artwork annoying and each issue seems to be some new god like deity turning up who WW negotiates with. Fairly dull and stopped after issue 4.

I am curious to try out Justice League Dark and Supergirl if I can find them cheap. And perhaps the infamous set (Red Hood, Catwoman, and Suicide Squad) just to see what they are like. I also have a couple of copies of frankenstein yet to read.

[Mark Peyton]

An army of owls living in a sewer was not going to change my mind

Except that's not what's going on, but hey...

[hammard]

Originally Posted by Mark Peyton

Except that's not what's going on, but hey...

I was being slightly fatuous, never take what I write 100% seriously. I was just referencing that they called themselves the Court of Owls and Bruce spends issues 4-7 underground, starting and ending with the sewers. I know there is more to it than that.

[hammard]

As a result of this I got interested in how sales have changed over the first six issues to see what people were buying and (since I have too much time on my hands).

NB: Issue 6 only has 1 month's worth of data available, whilst Issue 1 data is for all of 2011. Sales will increase as time continues.


Est. Sales figures change

Series Name Change in Sales, Issues 1-6
Detective Comics -39%
Batman The Dark Knight -40%
Batman -41%
Aquaman -41%
Justice League -41%
Teen Titans -42%
Swamp Thing -44%
Wonder Woman -45%
Batwoman -45%
Green Lantern -45%
Batman and Robin -46%
Animal Man -47%
Nightwing -47%
Green Lantern New Guardians -48%
Green Lantern Corps -50%
Red Hood and The Outlaws -50%
Catwoman -52%
Superman -52%
Action Comics -53%
Supergirl -53%
Flash -54%
Suicide Squad -55%
Superboy -55%
Stormwatch -55%
Red Lanterns -55%
All Star Western -56%
Justice League Dark -56%
Batgirl -56%
Birds of Prey -57%
Justice League International -57%
Demon Knights -59%
Legion of Super Heroes -62%
Green Arrow -62%
Batwing -63%
Frankenstein Agent of Shade -63%
I Vampire -63%
DC Universe Presents -64%
Resurrection Man -65%
Deathstroke -65%
Legion Lost -66%
Voodoo -66%
Grifter -67%
Savage Hawkman -67%
Hawk and Dove -68%
Blue Beetle -68%
Omac -69%
Fury of Firestorm The Nuclear Men -69%
Captain Atom -71%
Static Shock -71%
Men of War -72%
Blackhawks -73%
Mister Terrific -74%

Total: -47%

New 52 rank

Series Name Change in Rank (#1-#6)
Swamp Thing +5 (23-18)
Demon Knights +5 (37-32)
Animal Man +4 (27-23)
All Star Western +4 (35-31)
I Vampire +4 (46-42)
Teen Titans +3 (15-12)
Batwoman +3 (17-14)
Red Hood and The Outlaws +3 (24-21)
Frankenstein Agent of Shade +3 (40-37)
Voodoo +3 (48-45)
Omac +3 (51-48)
Batman The Dark Knight +2 (8-6)
Aquaman +2 (11-9)
Suicide Squad +2 (29-27)
Batwing +2 (36-34)
Resurrection Man +2 (43-41)
Wonder Woman +1 (12-11)
Catwoman +1 (21-20)
Stormwatch +1 (31-30)
Legion of Super Heroes +1 (34-33)
DC Universe Presents +1 (39-38)
Men of War +1 (52-51)
Detective Comics +1 (5-4)
Justice League 0 (1-1)
Batman 0 (2-2)
Action Comics 0 (3-3)
Superman 0 (7-7)
Green Lantern New Guardians 0 (13-13)
Nightwing 0 (16-16)
Supergirl 0 (22-22)
Superboy 0 (26-26)
Birds of Prey 0 (28-28)
Static Shock 0 (49-49)
Green Lantern -1 (4-5)
Batman and Robin -1 (9-10)
Red Lanterns -1 (18-19)
Legion Lost -1 (38-39)
Hawk and Dove -1 (45-46)
Flash -2 (6-8)
Grifter -2 (41-43)
Blue Beetle -2 (42-44)
Blackhawks -2 (50-52)
Green Lantern Corps -3 (14-17)
Deathstroke -3 (33-36)
Captain Atom -3 (44-47)
Mister Terrific -3 (47-50)
Justice League Dark -4 (20-24)
Green Arrow -4 (25-29)
Batgirl -5 (10-15)
Justice League International -6 (19-25)
Savage Hawkman -5 (30-35)
Fury of Firestorm The Nuclear Men -8 (32-40)


Other strong performing titles

Outside of the New-52 DC relaunched a number of other titles, several of which are now outperforming the lower end of the 52, these are:

Huntress: Est rank #31.5
Batman Odyssey: Est rank #36.5
Penguin Pain and Prejudice: Est rank #38.5
Shade: Est rank #42.5
Legion Secret Origin: Est rank #44.5

Source

[MrShears]

The Penguin miniseries was superb. I enjoyed the Huntress story too, although it got a lot of flack. What irks me is DC using it as a jumping-off point for their new version of Earth 2, which feels like revisionism to me, something tacked onto the end of plot written pre-reboot.
The character in Levitz's story is clearly Helena Bertinella, not Helena Wayne, not a former Robin.

[MrShears]

Didio states the New 52 universe is here to stay, and now apparently an animated movie based on Flashpoint is in the works- pressumably setting up all future DC animated features to be set in the New 52. Also just learned that Justice League International is to be cancelled.

Not a happy fanboy right now.