Batman#1 - Scott Snyder/Greg Capullo
Scott Snyder absolutely enthralled me with his run on Detective Comics in the past year. But this is a different book. That title starred Dick Grayson as Batman, had dark artwork, and was kind of able to go off and tell its own twisted little story. This, on the other hand, is a flagship book of the relaunch, with star artist Greg Capullo returning to a high profile book, and, most importantly, Bruce Wayne starring as Batman. Snyder constructs a wide plot hero, introducing us to this Bruce, the world he operates in, both as a businessman and a
vigilante, a couple of cases for him to take on, and a wallop of a cliffhanger. As a debut issue with that scope, this worked marvelously. We basically get a look at Bruce's relationship with all major players - Dick, Tim, Damian, Alfred, Vicki Vale, and, in the strongest scenes, Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock. There's a fun feint pulled here, as Batman fights alongside 'the Joker' in Arkham against a bevy of his foes. Bruce's gadgets are put to good use, as he deciphers a phone conversation Gordon is having from across the room and uses a facial recognition tool to navigate a society event. There's a fun cliffhanger set up at the end, following a great scene of Batman and Bullock investigating a gruesome crime scene. Capullo's larger than life art is a treat throughout, with an exaggerated version of Batman's foes, a wonderful spread of Bruce sitting quietly in the Batcave, and unique, expressive characters. On a technical level, this was basically a perfect comic. But, given that, it was almost a little too polished. Snyder's Detective had an edge and a rough, throw-every-gritty-idea-Wonder Woman#1 - Brian Azzarello/Cliff Chiang
I was in as soon as I saw the creative team assigned to this. I think I would have bought any DC book with their names on it. I have never been a Wonder Woman fan. I took Greg Rucka's run on the character out of the library, and found it to be a pretty thoughtful book, but that's where my association with her ends. This first issue doesn't really put a stamp on the WW character, but it doesn't have to.
Azzarello has confusingly described this as a horror book. Reading it, it all came together. This is a brutal, uncompromising comic, with harsh imagery and violence depicted by Chiang's soft, expressive visuals. Azzarello creates a frightening picture of gods operating in the normal world, with strength and violent resolve that leaves the human female at the centre of the story in complete shock. We are thrown into this adventure as abruptly as she is and it is a wild, unsettling ride. Azzarello doesn't make Wonder Woman the focal point of the issue; she is initially a bit unfriendly towards the troubled woman. There is still a lot of room for the creative team to present their version of the character. In the meantime, this was a frantic chase and fight issue. I loved how Azzarello portrayed the godly characters. They aren't inhuman, but felt subtly different than the human characters in their tone and interaction with the humans. This is a fairly tense, taut issue, with the wider plot hinted at and broadly sketched out. The creative team is more interested in arresting our attention with the action here, and it worked for me. I was captivated from start to end and can't wait for more.Blue Beetle#1 - Tony Bedard/Ig Guara
I tried this out because I've never read a comic written by Tony Bedard, and, from what I knew of him, I thought he'd be well-suited to a teenage superhero book. There's nothing here to indicate he isn't, but I wasn't particularly taken with this debut issue. In its favour, it does have a likeable lead in Jaime Reyes, who's concerned about being popular in school and has a fairly realistic teenage voice. All of the
circumstances Bedard puts him in, be it at home or school, were enjoyable scenes and I like that his ethnic background is woven into the book pretty naturally. I was a bit less enamoured with the superhero elements, which form the bulk of the issue. There are scenes in space of a beetle scarab finding its way to Earth (passing a Green Lantern on its way). This is an enjoyable opening, hinting at the bigger tapestry that this title operates in. Back on Earth, there is a lengthy fight between a variety of creatures over the scarab. I was just not drawn in by this. I didn't know, or really care, who any of these people were. This setup wouldn't be so disappointing if the story really went anywhere in this first issue. Jaime, the lead character, makes contact with the scarab by stumbling on this fight, and the issue ends. I feel like I need to give the second issue a chance because I don't actually know what Bedard intends to do with this book as a superhero title. Some of these "New 52" titles have been soft reboots, and some, like this, have started completely from scratch. That works against Bedard, actually, as I didn't feel like anything happened here. The issue feels slight, as the setup itself is barely introduced before it ends. The art didn't really draw me in either. It was vibrant and lively, but more what I associate with the typical DC 'house style' of the past decade. I'm struggling with whether I will give the second issue a chance to show me what this book will actually be about. At this point, all that's drawing me back is an enjoyable lead teenage character, and I have my old issues of Untold Tales of Spider-Man to satisfy that.DC Universe Presents#1 - Paul Jenkins/Bernard Chang
I picked this up due to a strong advanced review, and because a couple other books I considered getting were sold out. It's the first issue of a five-part story starring Deadman, and this title will showcase different lead characters, so it seemed safe to test the waters. I'm happy I did, because this was an intriguing and well-structured debut. I don't know anything about Deadman, but this story is basically starting from
zero. In the midst of a lot of exposition and dialogue from Jenkins, what I found was a fairly soft and thoughtful book. After his own death, Boston Brand becomes Deadman, and is tasked by a mysterious woman with taking up/inhabiting the lives of those who are in difficult spots in life. This issue finds him struggling with how to help his latest host, a mentally and physically-damaged war veteran. This isn't a superhero story, but the story of one man trying to find meaning in his own actions, as he tries to lead troubled individuals down a better path. Brand is haunted by the weight of the people he has helped in the past and this leads to some powerful scenes, which Jenkins tends to underplay and explore, rather than overplay. The story is wrenched in some interesting directions, as Brand tries to communicate with a friend with psychic powers and finally threatens the woman behind his predicament at the end. I was pretty impressed by the entire thing. It was a great introduction to the character (even though some details about exactly how his powers work were omitted), whose voice and situation resonated on a real level. Jenkins paces the more comic book-y twists well, leading to some interesting developments and a great cliffhanger. Chang is an artist I only know from his assorted fill-ins on X-books over the years. I love his blocky style; although it is on display here, it is overwhelmed by a strong colour pallet, which is too overbearing for the subject matter. It's perfectly good stuff, but sometimes less is more. Still, the story drew me in, and I'll be back for more.
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