DC New 52, Week 4

This wraps up the first month of the DC Relaunch, with my lightest week yet. There was less in this final week I was interested in, and even these two titles were purchased more out of curiousity than because they initially caught my eye as must-buy books. I'm happy I did get them though, because they were both quite good.

The Flash#1 - Francis Manapul, Brian Buccellato/Francis Manapul

I really liked this. REALLY liked it. I've never been a Flash fan. I couldn't care less if this Flash is Barry Allen, Wally West, Jay Garrick, or Bart Allen. I don't care if he's married or single, de-aged or an experienced hero. I came into this hoping for an energetic story with great art, and I got exactly that. This book is written by the artist and colourist, so I had no clue what to expect from the story, but it really delivered. Manapul and Buccellato nail the pacing, with a number of important events happening at a brisk pace as we are introduced to Barry Allen, the two women competing for his affections, his job and co-workers, his general approach to being a superhero, and the city around him. At the same time, a villainous plot is brewing that wisely ties itself into Barry as a character, giving us even more insight into him and his past. And none of this feels slow or bogged down in details at any point. I also really liked the character of Barry here, especially his scientific curiousity. The interaction between he and his co-workers, along with the two women, Patty and Iris, interested in him, was fun throughout. The art was a marvel. On a number of pages, Manapul fuses his artistic storytelling and page layouts with the story progression itself. It's tough to describe, but a wonder to see on paper. At the same time, it's not overdone or overtaking the book. On the more traditional pages, the figures are clear and expressive and the action is vibrant. Buccellato's colour palet is very muted and sketchy in spots here, and it initially put me off, but I appreciate how it accents the art. A full-on, day-glo colour job would make this bright book overwhelming. Buccellato's colour choices not only let the art speak for itself, but lend Centre City a seedier look and bring out the less-polished aspects of Manapul's wonderful style. This book is right up there with Batwoman in terms of visuals, but the story was surprisingly deep and refreshing as well. So happy I picked this up.


Justice League Dark#1 - Peter Milligan/Mikel Janin

I was originally not going to get this, but then I realized I wasn't kidding anyone: Peter Milligan writing a bevy of characters I love (chief among them Shade the Changing Man and John Constantine)? Why was I not going to at least try this? Of course, this isn't a Vertigo book, the imprint where those two characters earned my love, but Animal Man and Swamp Thing took typical Vertigo characters out of that line with great success. And I had fun with this. It's a very measured book in terms of its pacing, coming from a relaunch that has either jumped in headfirst or slowly walked through character origins. Milligan takes the time to set up a devastating mystery straight out of an old issue of his run on Shade The Changing Man, with a group of identical women being killed on a freeway. From there, each character who will presumably make up this group is drawn into the intrigue, some in connection to the others and some independent of them. At the same time, the mystery bubbles in the background and the JLA are defeated by the villain of the piece. So much of this reminded me of a great old Vertigo title like Shade or Swamp Thing, with an unusual, unsettling mysery centered around a seemingly normal person. I also felt Milligan gave just enough room for the characters to shine. Shade and Kathy discuss how he has ruined her life, John stumbles into the problem unwittingly, and, in a great twist, Batman tries to dissuade Zatanna from helping out, deeming her unstable. To my knowledge, she is seemingly normal, so I love this take on her as unstable and operating outside of the 'good' heroes wishes. The intrusion of Batman and the JLA works; Milligan dispatches of them quickly as ill-equipped to deal with problems of this nature, giving this book a stronger identity. There is a lot going on here, but Milligan is able to weave it into a fairly strong tapestry and a good starting point for a series. Janin ably illustrates it all, especially the fight scenes with the Enchantress, but I thought some of his figures were a bit too polished. Regardless, it was an enjoyable debut. I don't know where it's going to go from here, but I quite liked it.