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So far my report card is not good. Very average, little interest...not worth the change.

Justice League #1. Great art. Love the new costumes. Besides the reveal of the villain...was not interested. This is the kick off to the new 52?!?! A Batman/GL teamup story? I needed more members.

JLI#1 Ugh. do not like these new costumes. I like the idea...but these characters just don't work without their history. Very average.

Batgirl#1. Eh.

Detective Comics #1 Also very average but the last two pages made it interesting.

Action Comics #1. Eh. I hate scenes with the bad guys talking alot. Luthor and the general. The rest was ok. Didn't love it...but it was ok.

Stormwatch#1 has me the most interested.

Overall, I am really let down by DC. I preferred they keep the latest incarnation of their universe.

Okay...I caved and picked up four titles today.

Action Comics - The art is great, and the story is strong. A great throwback to the Golden Age.

Swamp Thing - Again, great artwork and a strong story that throws out everything you really need to know.

Animal Man - My favorite of the bunch. Art is different for various parts of the story and it's all good. Gives you everything you need to know to understand Animal man in one book.

OMAC - Giffen! and the story ain't too bad either. A good fun read. Interesting enough story to bring me back next month.

I pre-ordered 5 of the DCnU #1s for this week, and after looking at the others in the store, I didn't pick up any more.

Action Comics was my Number One favorite. Despite being no great fan of Superman, I liked just about everything about this book, and should it stay at this level, I expect to keep reading it for a while.

Batwing was favorite Number Two. The art and the colors are the first thing I'd praise; they're perfect for this book. We get a solid and compelling introduction to Batwing's formidable character and power, and we meet a frightening terrorist opponent. (I must be a Judd Winick fan; I may have more of his Exiles in my collection than any series group other than Legion.) I'm surprised that some images at the end of the book didn't earn this issue a more mature rating.

Swamp Thing is my Number Three. As with Lash, this is my first Swamp Thing book. I don't know squat about this character, but I've always heard interesting things. The art was kind of hit or miss, I thought, but the concept and the story is all good enough that I foresee hanging with it for a while.

Stormwatch is my Number Four. I was disappointed in this one. I didn't measure up in story or art to my memories of these characters in Authority. I do like Martian Manhunter with this group, giving him the opportunity to be a warrior rather than a "hero."

Justice League International was my least favorite of the five. I never read JLI before, so I don't know how it compares to its predecessor. I'm not a Booster Gold fan nor a Guy Gardner fan (although Guy seems the most "real" character here). Batman seems out of place. I tend to like diverse teams like this one, but there's too much caricature and stereotyping for my taste. And the whole premise about how this team is formed, and why, is unappealing.

I've pre-ordered only two DCnU for next week. Come on, Legion Lost!

So I hit up my CBS today and broke down and bought most of the first 2 weeks worth of DC titles. With all the reviews I'm just too curious! Will be reading and reviewing shortly!

I also liked Action #1 a lot. One thing I don't get is <span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text">how did Superman know that there would be a problem with the train? I get how Glenmorgan must have told him about the shoddy construction, but that doesn't mean an immediate danger. And it seemed like Superman wasn't going to stop the train until he found out that Lois & Jimmy were on it.

But despite this, I liked the story. I liked him saving the people in the condemned building. I liked Luthor and his reasoning. </span></span>

I also liked Batgirl. A great new villain for her to fight too.

Justice League International was good. I will definitely continue with that title.

Rounding out what I got are Animal Man, Hawk & Dove, and Static Shock. All good stories. I may pick up the next issue of Animal Man and maybe Hawk & Dove.

So for time of story: it seems like Action is 5 years in the past because in Justice League, Superman was dressed like he is now and we know he later gets the armor costume. With Batgirl, I wasn't able to pinpoint wether it was present day or that 5 years in the past. With Justice League International, it seems like they are contemporary. Within the story we have an established Justice League and heroes that are known. Animal Man also looks contemporary because of the established heroes aspect of the story.

Upon completion of reading Men of War #1, my initial thought was “I can’t believe I almost didn’t try this incredible comic book!” What a damn good war comic!

In DC’s initial interviews and solicitations they made it seem like Men of War was going to be more along the lines of a group of mercenaries involved in the superhero politics of the DCU; this did not appeal to me. What I really like are true-grit war comics that are actually about war and soldiers. It was a very positive review at Bleeding Cool followed by another at CBR, and then lastly an excellent review by Lash where he says it was a great story, but in all honesty, just not his cup of tea, that pushed me to buy this issue. I’m glad I did because this is a ‘true grit war comic’.

Writer Ivan Brandon and artist Tom Derenick do an excellent job introducing Corporal Rock—the grandson of the legendary Sgt. Rock of WWII—to readers, as well as giving us insight as to what this series will be. It is a tightly written, action-packed and intelligently presented story. Rock and some of the other major characters are introduced; more importantly, Brandon gets across his point that the DCU with superheroes is a very scary and overwhelming place for the common man. A quick cameo of Superman subtly underlines this point well. And that overwhelming feeling begins to shed some light on the premise of this title.

There is a lot of military jargon and themes being tossed around and if you like that sort of thing, you’ll really enjoy this. They must have made a point to do this, since I know it was so heavily done in the 1950’s and that was a selling point for readers then. I hope it works. (To be honest, I don’t mind them but don’t really need them). But what I like is that they help further refine the distinct personality this comic already has.

It also walks the line nicely of not being overly jingoistic but also not being preachy and anti-military. It should be interesting to watch them walk this line.

All I can say is this is probably the best written new DC comic I’ve read besides Action Comics #1 so far; if you like war comics you’ll love this! If not, I still recommend you give it a try. Its firmly placed in the DCU so there is sure to be some crossover at some point.

Meanwhile, there is a Navy Seals back-up story by Jonathan Vankin and Phil Winslade that is a true war story; there are no superhero cameos here. For people not into war comics, this will be harder to get into. What I really like is two things: (A) Phil Winslade lends his gritty style that he did so well on Jonah Hex here and it really works for a war story; and (B) this is probably the best modern era war story I’ve seen so far dealing with soldiers in the Middle East. For some reason most war stories either fail to capture the Middle East theater of war or can’t resist the temptation to add in superhero or horror elements. Vankin introduces two soldiers more thoroughly than the rest, Ice & Tracker, and with the confines of 8 pages gives us enough about them to differentiate them from just “American Soldier X”.

I really love strong back-ups stories and I’m glad Men of War will have them. This is a big bonus for me as a reader.

Cobie Comparison: Did I enjoy it more than Justice League #1? Big time! Of the five titles I’ve read so far, this is the second best, and its head and shoulders above everything except Action Comics so far. I’m not only getting #2, I’m immediately adding it to my pull list hereafter.

Son of a...great. Another one to try.

Lash’s positive review of Static Shock, compiled with multiple similar reviews online, convinced me to pick this one up as well. I’ve been a huge Scott McDaniel fan since his first run on Nightwing (he’s also one of the best Batman artists in the last 20 years), and so having him at the helm as co-writer and penciler is a big positive. Add in inker Jonathan Glapion, who I feel is one of the superstar inkers in comics, and it had all the right ingredients.

The story starts off a bit run of the mill with Static chasing a ‘problem’ in NY, and I suddenly felt a little put-off. Yet after a few pages, I found myself more and more drawn in to the story. By mid-issue, I was really enjoying it and then I quickly found myself rushing to turn the pages! What I was feeling was pure ENERGY, as the pacing, plot and artwork just propelled me through the issue. I no longer was a reader, I was just being taken along for the ride! I really liked that feeling, and think the creative team really nailed it in terms of giving the series its kinetic pace. That was well done.

I’m a casual fan of Static but this issue gave me some insight in why people find him so likable. The setting in NYC is fantastic (a very under-utilized city in DC unlike Marvel), and McDaniel really does a great job hitting the various backgrounds of the city. His rendition of the loft where Static’s family live is spot-on in terms of how cramped it would be. I also really like the usage of Static’s family being against type and rather traditional and supportive; that being said, I hope there is some cool subplot with his sisters which was hinted at.

The addition of Hardware as a long-distance partner is a welcome one as that was always one of my favorite of the Milestone characters. It also sets up the status quo for Dakota as a city even though Static doesn’t live there.

The ending of the issue was in my mind equally as surprising as the ending to Detective Comics. It was as if the comic picked up speed throughout and then suddenly hit a brick wall in a “OH SHIT!” moment and I really thought it was effective.

Cobie Comparison: Did I enjoy it more than Justice League #1? While not the best title I read so far, it was ahead of Justice League certainly. I definitely will give the second issue a try.

I'm very glad you enjoyed Men of War, Cobes! While war comics aren't for me, I *knew* fans of the genre would probably be really into it!

I'm in total shock over how much I enjoyed Men Of War #1.

DCnU WEEK ONE IN REVIEW

MOST BLOWN AWAY BY

ANIMAL MAN and SWAMP THING, two titles I have never read before and am now looking very much forward to issue 2!

BIG SURPRISE

How much I enjoyed both DETECTIVE COMICS (which I am continuing) and MEN OF WAR (which I am not continuing).

Me being into STORMWATCH at all!

LEAST SURPRISED BY

HAWK & DOVE... it was pretty much exactly what I figured it was going to be.

BIGGEST HOPES FOR

JL INTERNATIONAL... the potential is there for a great book!

OMAC... I am getting nothing but good vibes from this!

GOOD STUFF

There's not much to complain about when it comes to STATIC SHOCK and ACTION COMICS.

DIDN'T GET YET

BATWING... my CBS was shorted on this and I will get it next week.

NO STRONG OPINION

GREEN ARROW... I will just have to wait and see how I feel when # 2 is released... I have no great urge to either continue OR drop it.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

How thin the story in JUSTICE LEAGUE was.

How irritated the last page of BATGIRL made me.


Overall, a VERY interesting week of DCnU... FULL of surprises!!

I was actually surprised that Swamp Thing didn't have it's own thread here on LW! So I gladly will review it here though I'm confident it will spin into it's own thread subsequently. Getting right to the point: I enjoyed this opening issue immensely!

I've really only ever read Moore's run on Swamp Thing and them bits and pieces of others. Here, I feel like the creators do a great job tuning into the spirit of Swamp Thing, the series while at the same time not dwelling on nostalgia so they can tell their own stories. It's going to be complex and it's going to be weird--as it should be. And damn if it doesn't look like it's going to be fascinating.

I know Yanick Paquette from Batman recently and here I'm once again blown away by his artwork. This was one of the best drawn comics of the week! At times beautiful, at times scary and often a combination of them both. He's a great fit for Swamp Thing.

Writer Scott Snyder is one of my favorite writers in comics these days with his phenomenal American Vampire and fantastic run on Detectice Comics (which continues now with Batman). That high level of quality I've come to expect from him is evident throughout the issue. With the addition of this title and his new series Severed, which he co-writes, he's a busy guy these days! And each one IMO is high quality!

The issue set up some suspense over who or what is the Alec Holland we're seeing and I'm curious to how it plays out. Like many DC comics of the relaunch, the first issue felt like a genuine full issue worth of story which I liked.

So, did I enjoy it more than Justice League #1? Big time!

...and done.

I keep feeling that I starting too many threads...oh well. Lots of good stuff out there by a slew of companies.

These reviews are making me want to read Animal Man and Swamp Thing, both of which I was putting off and was possibly going to skip! Shall rectify this tonight.

Even though I still have 2 comics to go in my review (and maybe also Batgirl if I feel like trying to find it) I have to say that I'm clearly impressed by DC so far. I had pretty low expectations and so I've been thoroughly surprised by the quality of the week 1 round of new comics.

Granted, it's way to early to tell if the Didio / John's habits of crossovers, sales gimmicks with no heart & soul, continuity porn, gruesome murder and rape will become paramount once again after the 'newness' wears off. Hopefully the simplified M.O. of just telling good stories continues.

But so far, from a quality standpoint it's been largely successful. Should be interesting to see if weeks 2-4 match up (now we'll compare weeks against each other! Just can't help myself! )

Hey, nothin' wrong with some continuity porn, durnit!

Truly, week one has been a massive, pleasant surprise!

After the weak sauce that was JUSTICE LEAGUE # 1, I was totally prepared for week 1 to be equally as full of 2-page splashes, two-page spreads with 3 panels on them and watered-down simplified storytelling. And, OH!! Was I ever prepared to rip these books a new one?!!?

Instead, I found myself STRUGGLING to find things to bitch about!

Well played, DC... well played indeed...

I fully expect fans and critics to not even bother trying to give Hawk and Dove a chance, despite the series already being one of the first to sell out. Rob Liefield is (unfairly) an easy target, after all. But the truth is, Sterling Gates is a fantastic writer who did the best Supergirl stories since probably Jim Mooney’s days, and Liefield apparently is making a true effort to shed his ridiculed reputation and produce as many truly great, fun comic books as he can (Rob is apparently working on #5 of H&D, and #6 of Infinite—two series at the same time!).

My impression of Hawk & Dove is that it’s actually exactly what it sets out to be: a pedal to the metal action-adventure series with two fully defined lead characters. Much like Jim Lee’s JL, the art is loud, colorful and dynamic, albeit completely in Liefield’s over the top style. In #1 you get zombies on a plane, the Washington Monument in peril, problems between the partners, secrets and mysteries hinted at and the introduction of two new enemies, one with brains (and money) and the other with brawn. While the issue sometimes felt thin on dialogue, it certainly wasn’t thin on plot.

If you hate Liefield already, it’ll be impossible to sell you on it. I’m not his biggest fan but I don’t hate his artwork. In his other series, the Infinite with Robert Kirkman, I’m actively trying to soak it in and enjoy it as I sit back and enjoy Kirkman’s script. Here I’ve tried the same and sometimes I can. I don’t mind his composition at all. The biggest pet peeve I have is the lack of details in the backgrounds, which is my own personal most annoying thing that artists do. In that regard, Liefield falls short of his Image founder brethren, Jim Lee. Beyond that, the two are pretty similar in their uses of splash pages, or 3-4 panel pages, and overly large figures in the panels.

The writing from Gates is looser than his previous work but he’s clearly trying to appeal to action fans, and I suspect, a younger teen audience (the kind that once caused X-Force #1 to be the second highest selling comic in the history of comic books). I do like his inclusion of Deadman and the hinted connection between Dove and the Don Hall, the original Dove.

Cobie Comparison: Did I enjoy it as much as Justice League #1? In all honesty, it was about the same for me. Perhaps its because I had high expectations for JL #1 and low ones for H&D #1, which is unfair (but hey, like I said, who cares what fair when you’re paying for it?). I certainly can’t guaranty I’ll be collecting this title regularly, but I will say I’m at least buying #2.

I know, right?!

I have a feeling titles that I expect should be awesome, like Superman, Flash and Hawkman will dissapoint, but I'm willing to keep an open mind on everything at this point.

But if DC's intention was for Week 1 to be chock full of high quality titles, then well played indeed!

Week Two is far weaker than Week One based on what I've read:

Awful: Suicide Squad

Disappointing: Legion Lost

Underwhelming: Frankenstein, Batman and Robin

Promising, but not quite there: Red Lanterns

Enjoyable: Demon Knights.

I suspected it would be. Still, I'll give them all a chance.

I did something today that I haven't done in a long time: I picked up the new comics on the day they came out! DC did something right during Week One by getting me *that* excited for comic books that I actually went and got them on a Wednesday.

Marvel smartly played it this week too: 3 of their 4 Ultimate relaunch titles debuted this week and all three were almos entirely sold out. I ended up grabbing all three of them as my DC excitement carried over.

I saw lots of series depleted at the CBS already, including Image and other titles. It looks like ultimately this has been good for all publishers so far.

Spoiler for Demon Knights (actually this might already be common knowledge, but it was news to me, so...)

<span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text">One of the "Big Bads" is going to be <span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text">Mordru!</span></span>
</span></span>

Just breezed through this and Legion Lost quickly... I'll post more detailed reviews later. Apart from the 2 Legion titles I decided I was going to give Demon Knights and JLA Dark a try, and - even at first glance - I think DK is going to hook me for a while.

I was prepared for Week 2 to be a lot slower than Week 1 for me, but I actually enjoyed quite a few titles! I don't think anything blew me completely away, but there was still a lot of great promise. Throwing out some stuff here that I don't believe has existing threads:

FRANKENSTEIN, AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E. was a new read for me. The Creature Commandos and the whole set-up in general reminded me a bit too much of Hellboy. Still, it was a fun enough cast and concept. I like Ray's role here and like that even once this mission is over there's enough crazy rumblings and tension back at base to keep things interesting. Not a favorite new title, but I want to check back in to learn more!

GRIFTER was very much something that could have worked in other mediums, like a TV show. There's far more of the "con life" here than "shoot 'em up" which is what I got used to about Grifter in my limited exposure. As someone who's familiar enough with the WildC.A.T.S., I'm well aware of who the Daemonites are and their capabilities. I'm not sure how a new reader would read into them here as things are more shown than spelled out. As an overall story and introduction, there's some suspense and multiple hunts on now. Another book that didn't blow me away (after reading Resurrection Man the plane bits had a feeling of deja vu), but I did like it and I'm going to stick around for a bit. I can see this book having the potential to be a bit too slow to get to the point, if that makes sense, but I'm sure the pace will pick up once the pieces are in place.

RESURRECTION MAN. First encounter with this character as well, but if the title of the book doesn't give it away the first few pages spell out exactly what you need to know about the character's ability. Pretty neat. Usually a lot of supernatural stuff goes over my head, but the different forces after Resurrection Man seem interesting in their own ways. Can't put my finger on it, but I really liked this book. When I put it down I felt like I had a good read and enough story to safely say "episode one" was done - which is a rare feeling anymore in condensed comic book land.

DEMON KNIGHTS is tricky for me. It's a beautiful book art-wise with a lot going for it. A lot of players get introduced and everything is fairly clear to follow. I like the new Shining Knight and am curious about him/her/what. Much like MEN of WAR though for me, the genre isn't one of my affinities and I'm unsure if that'll ultimately make me lose interest in the title faster. Sticking through to number two to see what's up with Mordru and everyone. Hopefully the next issue will really pull me in. Can't place what my disconnect was besides the setting.

DEATHSTROKE. ...your costume is ridiculous. Still, though, it was a good issue. Again, it's rare to have a book do a done-in-one anymore but Deathstroke hits that pace just right while still leaving some interest to carry over into the next issue. The coloring on this book is fantastic. It's morbid of me, but I'm relieved that <span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text">Slade's new and hip support team ends up being a one-off killed by Slade's own hand. They weren't completely annoying (well, somewhat) but they just felt soooo out of place working alongside Slade. I was horrified they'd saddle him with a generic genius team of youngsters like Green Arrow has.</span></span> Conflict averted! I think that ending, much like Detective Comics', made my opinion of the issue higher than I actually regarded it though.

SUICIDE SQUAD was better than I expected, but I smartly went in with low expectations. I also don't have the Secret Six bias going (not because it wasn't good, but because I haven't allowed myself to really dive into that series yet). It was a good introduction to the main characters and the "V for Vendetta" twist about who is interrogating the team didn't feel completely cliched given the type of criminals they're working with and need to check on. While I'm not sold on Harley's involvement here, there was something devilishly fun about how she was written. Even her Joker obsession was given a slight, unhealthy twist to it that makes her presence here more understandable. I'm curious to hear what fans of Secret Six have to say about this issue and the characterizations, as I'm no expert. Their next mission, while interesting, definitely seems a bit crazy. I'll need an explanation for this one. Also, Jenny Craig works? <span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text">Amanda Waller looks all young and slimmed down now. She's suspiciously cute, which is great and all, but I miss the old Waller visual and diversity. </span></span>

Batwoman #1 - Relaunch? What relaunch? This story seamlessly flowed from Batwoman's 2009/2010 series in Detective. That's fine by me. The art is still haunting, stylized, and beautiful. Kate's still moody and kick ass tough. The story kind of creeps along while giving a feeling that there is something more bubbling under the surface. This series has a solid place on pull list, and I never doubted that it would.

I echo Jerry. Batwoman, while devoid of any signs of a DCNu, was a welcome addition. I missed this title. What's more is, unlike Batman and Green Lantern titles so far, when Batwoman mentioned past characters or events it actually gave you beautiful visuals to go with them. The backstory of Alice flows around Kate as she rants about it and even Renee Montoya and her old relationship with Kate is summed up well by the use of a single picture and good visual storytelling.

I should correct myself and say it was a good introduction to HALF the characters. We get some backstory/rationale for the presence of only Deadshot, Harley, and El Diablo.