Hello all, Comic Kathy here. Well it is thursday and that means it is time once again to look at the DC relaunch. Now going into this week there were many books I was looking forward to. I had a bit of a let down on some of them. But enough about that, lets look at the books.
Batman: Out of the 3 Batman books so far (This one included) I have to say this is the best. The art style is very jagged, which works for Gotham. But it is not just the Gotham streets that have that dark feel. Even in the 'light' there is a bit of un-needed edge. The story goes by slowly but does pick up speed. It turns out this story is still following the basic characters that were set up in the other books. It is fine, but here it focuses on Bruce Wayne more then Batman. There is a fight at the begining of the book that just feels shoehorned in. I feel that fight was only there to say 'yeah, we got Batman in a Batman book. Go us!'
Overall: It is a good story, but might take a while to get going.
Birds of Prey: If you did not read Birds of Prey at all before the relaunch, you are a bit out of luck. Birds of Prey follows closely to the stories from before the relaunch with some minor changes. One is no more Oracle. As we know from 2 weeks ago, Barbara is Batgirl again. This is the first issue I have with the new Birds. The birds were made BY Barbara as a co-op super team to help those who never got help. The main cast of the Birds were Black Canary, Huntress, Oracle, and Lady Blackhawk. In this new book, only Black Canary is still around. Everyone else is gone. This is an issue for me because I am a long time fan of Birds of Prey. I got into it from the Gail Simone run and even when she left the book I was still picking it up. I even got the Brightest Day relaunch of the series and loved it. Now we have a new story that tries to make the Birds with only 1/4th of the members. It might work, but for me, not today. The art is fine, with big actions and fights going on for about half the book. Though I do have to say I don't like Black Canary's new costume. Again, as with Harley Quinn, what was wrong with the old one?
Overall: If done right it'll work, but it is too soon to tell. Pick up only if you know the lore.
Blue Beetle: Ok, I am happy with this book. Blue Beetle #3 (this is the third hero to carry the mantel of the beetle) is my favorite of the beetles. Jaime Reyes is a high schooler who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. That is how he got his powers in this version. The story is a set up story, but this time it is the smartest move they could have made. You see, Blue Beetle had a small run in print a few years back. I found the trade paperback books and read them, not knowing that the comic itself was cancelled. I read all the books and man were they a non stop fun filled ride. It turns out I was not the only one who read Blue Beetle this way. It was a case of too late to care. So when I heard that Blue Beetle was getting a new book in the relaunch, it was one of the few books I knew I was going to get after all was over. Mainly because of the art. When I saw the samples of art for the book and saw the SAME beetle from what I read, I was hyped up. When I read the book, I went into it knowing the other stories. It took me a while to notice this was a set up story, but when I did I was very happy. I know not many people read Blue Beetle at all and restarting the character with the same writing and art that made me love it will help make other love him as well.
Overall: Get it and read it. Each page is better then the last.
Captain Atom: Ok, Back story time. Back in college, one of my teachers was Patrick Broadrick. He was a guy who was in the comic world and a great artist at that. He also penciled the first sketches of who we know today as Captain Atom. I have no idea who the guy in this book is, but it is not Captain Atom. The comic is very wordy, sometimes with a whole brick of text. Most of the text comes from a DC version of Steven Hakings. Why do guys with no voice never shut up? But the text is only have the pain. The art is awful. Really awful. I suggest you go out, pick up a copy, and look at any page of the comic. You'll see what I mean.
Overall: Bad art and boring story. But look at it yourself to really see.
Catwoman: I love Catwoman. When done right, she is cool, sexy, in controll, and always 2 moves ahead. When done wrong, she is a slut who gets blood on her hands. Wild guess how this book turned out. The story started out fine, right up until a bar scene. Yes, Ms. Kyle posed as a hot bartender for a russian mob meeting. She then killed a guy in the bathroom. Very red and bloodly killing. After which, SHE HAD SEX WITH BATMAN. FUCK YOU COMIC! Oh wait, I guess you already did that yourself. Overlooking the fact that Catwoman was sex crazed, that was FUCKING BATMAN she had sex with. Batman would never have random sex with anyone. My word they seemed to screw up one of my favorite characters in one book. That has to be a record.
Overall: If you want to, only read up to the bar scene. Everything snowballs from there.
DC Universe Presents: The Deadman story. This was an ok book. It gave a short history of the character Deadman and started his story in this book. It is a bit confusing at times and this first issue feels slow. The art work is great though, really getting the feel of Deadmans "world". I can't really remember much that was talked about. I just remember it was a slow book and seemed to talk in circles.
Overall: Might be good, but only in if it comes out in trade paperbacks.
Green Lantern Corps: Last week followed Hal, this week we follow Guy Garder and John Stewart. This book was fine for all it was. It showed how hard normal life is for public superheroes, even more so for Green Lanterns. The art was what I liked to see and Guy Garder is always a treat when done right. The begining of the book sets up the storyline well while the rest was used to set up our Earth lanterns. Not much back story needs to be known, but it would not hurt to research these 2 lanterns if you want to get into this book.
Overall: A good book for fans of the Corp.
Legion of Superheroes: I never cared for the Legion, in case that was not clear last week. This book does not help. The story here is trying to be a set up and plot story both at once, and failing on each front. There are WAY too many characters trying to get time in this issue and that hurts the overall story, making it hard to really care about anyone right now. The art is fine, with it trying to show the reader what the 31rst centry is like. All in all, there is just way too much going on, yet nothing at all.
Overall: Legion fans rejoice. Everyone else, skip it.
Nightwing: Dick Grayson is back to being Nightwing. And he seems happy. And ya know what, so am I. I was a bit upset that we lost the Dick / Daiman combo, but Nightwing is off to a fine start. There are some nice jokes in the story, a strong villain from the get go, and some really deep moments that have to do with Dick's past. The art work is fine, though I wish the first few pages of panels were not slanter for effect. If I was a bigger nightwing fan, I would read more issues. But since I limit myself to 3 issues for my order per week, this one gets the number 4 slot.
Overall: It is a great book. Really think about picking it up.
Red Hood and the Outlaws: (grabs the red ring from last week) MY HATE BURNS BRIGHT ONCE MORE! Oh man this book was bad. The art was awful and the characters crap. There was Jason Todd, aka Robin 2, aka Red Hood. Quite seriously his character in this book is he has a penis and balls. Yeah, that's it. Like with th Deathstroke book last week, they (writers) want to make sure we (readers) understand this. Then there is Roy Harper, aka Speedy, aka Red Arrow. He is just about the only likeable character in this book and even then I don't care for him. Lastly there is Starfire. This book shows a 101 course on how to screw up Starfire. The sole reason why Starfire is with Jason Todd, who I remind you is a murder and psycho, is because Todd fucks her. Why is Starfire not with the titans or Animal man or even Dick Grayson? Because she forgot about them. 100% forgot about them and all their adventures. NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO! YOU DO NOT DO THAT! You do not take one of the biggest names in the Teen Titans and one of the more awesome characters ever who had a TON of kindess to other humans and years of interactions and stories and say 'yeah, she um forgot cause she never thought of them as equals, oh and Jason fucked her brains out so yeah, dur, she forgot everything but that.'
Overall: If you want to read a sluttly Starfire, then go ahead and pick this up.
Supergirl: This one was alright. It is another set up story, this time for Kara Zor-el. It seems that the old character Power girl is being merged with Supergirl to give us this new version. I guess that is fine, if not for the fact that Power girl was a great superhero in her own right. Honestly, I liked Power girl more then Supergirl. Power girl just had more character. The story is fine as is the art work. I do think this one is worth a look at your comic store if only to see if you like it.
Overall: Story and art work well together.
Wonder Woman: I never read much Wonder Woman, so I had no idea what in the world was going on in this issue. It seems that is this another comic where there is a good bit of back story and you need to know a bit of it to really have this make sense. The action is very good, but a bit bloodly at times. Unlike Catwoman however, it feels like it needed to be this bloody. I was not freaked out at the attacks or the gore here. Rather it just fit.
Overall: It is a good book but you'll need to like Wonder Woman a bit to really enjoy it.
Well that is all for this week. Come back next week for the last full week of relaunch titles.
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