Hawkman.
Well, that's ONE way to solve your costume storage problems. Team up with Blue Beetle, any one?
Carter as a linguist/cryptologist.
Flash
- Barry's nerdgasms.
- Of course Barry has a lab in his apartment.
- See?! I'm not the only person who doesn't like Iris.
- Pushy, impatient Iris versus slow, methodical Barry.
- Nice visual effects! SPLASH!
- Strong neo-urbanism and urban renewal vibe! This seems to be a theme all across the DCU. It's appeared in Superman, in Batman, and now in Flash. I approve wholeheartedly.
Aquaman
- Aquaman leaps onto tall buildings with a single bound (or two).
- Oh, and he tosses buses around, which is the modern equivalent of punching through submarines.
- "Screw Atlantis and all the jerks who live there; better yet, forget Atlantis, let's screw each other while making a life on land." Boom; Aquaman is back on track.
- "Responsibility". You can complain all you want about Geoff Johns' putative bloodlust. Nobody can reinvent a character's backstory/motivation in two or three panels like he does. He is by far the most efficient re-inventor in all of comics.
- "I don't talk to fish; fish can't talk; I control their tiny brains with my aquatelepathy." Again, boom.
- Jeez, bloggers are all insensitive assholes, aren't they?
- Aquaman hair is perfect. All the time. And it gets noticed.
Superman
- Daily Planet 2.0. This whole approach is brilliant and the script does a great job of showing journalistic synergy across media.
- Morgan Edge as NOT a total bastard.
- Lois as the kind of person who leapt at the chance to get on camera and who is more about the flashy exclusive.
- Perry as a silver fox (woof!).
- Clark as the in-depth interview reporter, more 'old-fashioned' rather than 'mild-mannered'. Who, unfortunately, writes florid, drippy, non-reportery prose (because, well... comic book writers are not reporters).
All-Star Western
- One's a hideously scarred morally ambiguous bounty hunter; one's an effete Oedipally fixated physician and budding psychopath; together they fight crime!
- Polyglot psychokillers who leave clues in Latin.
- Mayor Cobblepot. I don't think anyone made me smile as much as that one. It's something I've been waiting for for years in the mainstream DCU, yet it came as a complete surprise, and bodes well for the use of the Penguin in the New DCU.
Justice League Dark
- Speaking of Latin... people dying from a sudden hailstorm of books written in dead language. Yay, that's the weird side of DC that I've been waiting to see again!
- Having supersenses isn't always a benefit, is it, Clark?
- Superman versus a blizzard of old teeth.
- Starting with the recurring threat of crazy Junie Moone is just the right way to start for this title!
- Shade. When I heard the line up for this team, I thought "ugh, not Shade the Changing Man, why don't they let that rest?" Now that I've read it, he's the member who interests me the most.
A linguist superhero? Truly, Hawkman is now my favorite combination of free morphemes!
ReplyDeleteI picked up Hawkman on a whim, and was pleasantly surprised. Aquaman was fun AND gorgeous. The Flash was also beautifully drawn, and fun as well.
ReplyDeleteSkipped Superman, I was so in love with Action Comics that I decided not to sully that experience. But Justice League Dark was also surprisingly good. And pretty as well.
All of this is a mixed blessing. The positive reports on so many of these books really makes me want to read them. But my current budget won't let me pick up the entire new 52 roster of titles, dammit!
ReplyDeleteI agree wholeheartedly with everything you said about Hawkman, Flash, & Aquaman!!
ReplyDeleteI am loving the new 52! You are SOOOO correct about "cranky" bloggers!
Your blog is great, and so are U!!
@Ruel
ReplyDeleteSame here. Money's the only reason I'm not getting most of these. That said, I'm sad I didn't pick up Flash. It was either that or food! :D
I haven't read All-Star Western yet (shipment was delayed) but I think Mayor Cobblepot first appeared in the Gates of Gotham mini-series that ran just before the New 52 debuted.
ReplyDeleteWhat about the mysterious hooded woman in these books? Good idea? Bad idea?
ReplyDeleteAquaman was the strongest showing of the week for me, and one of hte strongest from all the New 52. And Superman was very good as well; it appeared the creators had given a lot of thought to crafting the millieu for the new version of Kal-El.
ReplyDeleteHawkman, though. . .he's one of my top DC heroes, and this version was not an improvement on what has gone before. The costume thing made me think of Witchblade more than Blue Beetle. And although Carter Hall's vocation as a cryptologist and linguist is interesting, he's still portrayed as a semi-seedy character. MY Carter Halls, whether they came from ancient Egypt or Thanagar, always had class!
What about the mysterious hooded woman in these books? Good idea? Bad idea?
ReplyDeleteBad idea. Another trite meta-figure, like Harbinger or Kismet or Take Yer Pick. I was particularly annoyed to find her in Gotham of the 1880s.
I was pleasantly surprised by Aquaman, since Geoff Johns' name on a book has just about become enough reason for me to completely avoid it. I liked the fact that Aquaman is finally getting his due as a superhero (yes, he HAS to be extremely strong and tough to survive going back and forth to the bottom of the ocean). One minor quibble: Unless he also weighs about 20 tons, that stunt with the armored car would have knocked him into the next zip code. In addition to not knowing anything about how actual reporters write, comic book writers have a very limited grasp of physics.
ReplyDeleteAll-Star Western was an actual READ. Stuff HAPPENED. Lots of stuff. That's what I want from a comic. Contrast this to Justice League, which I read (literally) at a few stoplights on my way back from the comic shop. I know which one I'll be buying next month. And which one I won't.
I dislike Barry, but I found Flash acceptable. I'll keep with it for a bit.
Superman didn't impress me as much as Action. I think the two separate takes on the character are a mistake. I'll be back for Action, but not Superman.
JL Dark I liked. I'll be back for more. Wish it was Shadowpact (a much better name), but I understand why it's not. But I wish they'd work Detective Chimp in there. Just sayin'.
The Aquaman flashbacks were my favorite part of the comic.
ReplyDeleteAll right, DC, you win: I think you made the right call by just dropping us into a new continuity. Granted, you made some missteps -- if Teen Titans isn't about sidekicks and legacies then it misses the point -- but fortunately, mysterious cloak woman will probably fix whatever got flung at the wall and didn't stick.
If Johns is the most efficient re-inventor in comics, might I nominate Tony Bedard as the least?
ReplyDeleteScip, now I've got a craving for a trite meta-figure called Take Your Pick. Maybe not so trite!
Loved All-Star Western! They gave us a full serving of story. If only Justice League were this peppy. If ASW was done at the same pace as JL, Hex would still be fighting the local Gotham goons.
ReplyDeleteIs Take Your Pick Girl some kind of back door so DC could undo the nu 52 if it went over badly? Or just a hook for the next Crisis?
I have to say I don't like the nu Perry. It's a sad day when there are no more ugly, cranky people in the DCU. After all who is their fan base? (OK, I am that fan base..but still)
If they let David "Xombi" Kim join Justice League Dark, I will be a happy, happy serpent.
ReplyDelete