1st issue Challenge

[BobBretall]

The top six books were 5/5 for me and the bottom 4 were 3/5.

I am still working on the exercise of trimming my monthly intake of comics so I can read them all. Marvel has taken the biggest hit and I am approaching 20 titles from that company which used to be above 60.

That's a difference, then. I'm dropping the DC books that are 3/5. And a 3/5 book doesn't get a green from me. At best it gets a orange.

That's the only way I'm going to get my monthly list down to a manageable number.

But, that said, I had a couple of 2/5s in there too.

[jonah]

Okay, I've ordered all the DC #1 books. Only got the first weeks worth so far (monthly DCBS customer) + Batman & Robin via subscription, so others don't get a look for a while. I read each of the books twice. The first time through was a little quick and was tainted with what I wanted/expected. Went back the second time in an attempt to look at each in an unbiased way. Some got better, some got worse the second time around. Major gripe with the overall launch so far has been most of the stories felt it necessary to reference previous history that's still relevant to the character(s). I'm trying to read each of these as fresh starts and only a couple succeeded in feeling like legitimate Number 1's. Each of these first issues is an audition for me. If I like them, then I'll be buying the trade when it comes out as I'm done with weeklies (except LSH) going forward. To the results.

Justice League of America #1 - meh. I had higher hopes for this. Best plus was it was a high action comic. On the downside was the story. Johns seemed to just miss on the dialogue and story pacing. Also, having Vic Stone have a Daddy issue was like a toothache. Very tired of all heroes, particularly John's, having Daddy or Mommy issues. Please find a new motivation. Lee's artwork didn't sell me either. It was everything to be expected but the tech boots on everybody just rubs me wrong. Also, Jim's expressions are good on the grim & gritty but the attempts at humor would have sold better with expressions more akin to what Kevin Mcguire does. Not thrilled to see Darkseid as Villain one for the new JLA. Seems to far, too fast. At least if this is the same Darkseid of DCU 1.0. Already have a subscription for the first 12 issues so they have time to change my mind on this one. Will probably Collect the Trade(s). Habit.

Action Comics #1 - Yes. Always a sucker for origin/beginnings storylines so it's an easy sale. Enjoyed both the story and art. Nice intro to Lex Luthor and what why he's anti Superman/alien. Rags Artwork is always easy on the eyes and helps tell the story.

Swamp Thing #1 - Perhaps. I really wanted to like this book. I missed the whole swamp thing run back in the 80's/90's and thought this would be the opportunity. Didn't happen. There was too much history being referenced with the interchange between Holland and Superman that left me feeling like an outsider looking in. The story itself was fine as was the art work though I wish the inking was a bit tighter. I may pick this up when it comes out in trade but only if the my monthly order is a little light that month and the word of mouth makes a good case for it. (Late Note: Got a cheap subscription to this book so it has 12 more chances)

Green Arrow #1 - Yes. First read through I considered this the best book of the lot. Character and supporting cast were introduced. Single panel giving his motivation. Nothing that relied on the reader (me) knowing anything about the characters history. Came across as a much nicer Tony Stark. Story was fairly straight forward and wasn't thrilled by the villains, but it was one of the few number 1's that didn't feel tainted by history.

Batwing #1 - Yes. A decent start. Good introduction to the character and his supporting cast. Solid art. Story was a good beginning though could have been a bit more complete as an issue. Does set up lots of stories going forward. Even though Batman only appeared in a few panels, I could have done without visuals on him. Downside ? Really hate the Batwing name. Almost sounds like a parody. If the title is still being printed when they solicit the Trade, I'll pick up a copy.

Batgirl #1 - Oh course. Too easy. Been a Barbara Gordon fan for a long time and Gail Simone writing her feels perfectly comfortable. Nice not going into any details, yet, about how she recovered her legs. I assume the 'miracle' will eventually be explained. As with a lot of the costume redesigns, not crazy about some of the changes. In this case, the gloves aren't working. As with costumes throughout time, I'm sure things will be added and taken away. Very Good start to this book. Put me down for the TPB.

Detective #1 - I'm generally a hard sell for Batman but this was a good start to the story. Gave a few references to the time frame, apparently Bat's has been around about six years. Like the artwork. Made Batman's footware seem alot more functional than what JL was doing in Justice League. Batman will never be an automatic for me but this story will have me buying the first TPB at least.

Animal Man #1 - No. No. No. Lemire is a good story teller but this story isn't one I want to read. And 'the red?' Is this something like 'the Green' in Swamp Thing ? And the real killer was the art. May or may not be appropriate to the tone of the story but it's so far outside my comfort zone for what works in the DC universe.

Hawk & Dove #1 - Oh my. That was bad. Never had an opinion about Liefeld's art but this gave me one. I enjoyed Sterling Gates writing on Supergirl so I was really surprised how 'stiff' this story felt. I will give him credit for setting up the timeline, the relation, and the origin but he gave me no reason to care about Hank or Dawn. In fact, Hank was a huge story turn off. I know they are suppose to be polar opposites but portrayed as too over the top. And Liefeld's art. Facials, bodies, ... pretty much everything ... just not working. Why does everyone have a squinty face ?

JLI #1 - Maybe. I've liked Dan Jurgens writing in the past and he seems to be staying true to form here mixing in the comedy with the action. A lot of characters introduced in this book and not much chance to develop any. Can see where the exchanges between August General in Iron and Red Rocket could be fun. Another costume change, Boosters, that I don't care for. Jurgens introduces a lot of elements in this first issue. I hope he'll flesh at least one out in the first story arc.

Men of War #1 - No. The lead story did not make me want to read the next chapter. I'm not looking for a war book with capes in it. Would have preferred the last story be played out completely. This isn't even dollar bin material for me.

O.M.A.C. #1 - Yes. The story/dialog could be better. Really hoping Giffen puts more of his writing polish over Didio's. Really enjoy GIffen riffing on Kirby. So TPB will be a go. Unless the series is cancelled by the time they solicit the trade.

Static Shock #1 - No. This got close but the story didn't draw me in and the art seemed to me to have a 'cartoony' aspect to it. Never saw the Cartoon so maybe the artist was trying to catch that look. Don't know. I do see the potential in this character as the home life / family felt right and if the science / genius side of the character is tapped. Will keep an ear out to see if the buzz picks up on the title.

Stormwatch #1 - No. The art was nice. The story okay. The execution didn't work for me. Didn't care for the characters using dialog to explain their various powers. Martian Manhunter seemed way out of place. If the next couple of issues find their way into a dollar bin I might purchase to see if the story can draw me in.

Batman & Robin #1 - Yes. I was reading this prior to the relaunch and this has the same tone. See no reason to stop.

[J. Farrell]

Batwoman: I have read "Elegy", J.H. Williams III's previous work with this character and liked it. Williams is one of the very few artists who can get me to buy a book based on his artwork alone, but at heart I'm a story guy, and I won't stick around if the writing is poor. I heard mixed things going into this but I felt it was more than adequate. I love mythology and folklore, and so the mystery of "La Llorona" is intriguing. And, oh my God, that art.

Wonder Woman: Not as enamored of this one as Batwoman above but it did enough things right and pushed enough of my buttons to get a green rating from me. The ideas in the writing were great; the dialogue was lacking and inappropriate in places. I loved Diana's characterization, the use of mythological figures and dash of intrigue, and most of the art (WW looked very broad and masculine to me, but as my girlfriend pointed out, she IS an amazon.)

Batman: This is a 3/5 book for me so far. I've not been a follower of Capullo's artwork and I found it a very mixed bag. His backgrounds (especially the tenements), use of shadow, and storytelling were very strong. I'm not a fan of his figurework and faces, though. This wasn't Snyder at his best, either, but it was still solid, and I trust him. I'll be back, but I would like to see the improvement that would knock this into solid green territory.

[spid]

Grifter 1 The book is not what I was expecting, but the concept they went with is not a bad one. Is this book a "Grifter" book, not really, but I thought we would get more reinventions like this with the 52 relaunch. I thought the art was fine.

[BadDeacon]

I’m a little late to the show because of DCBS shipping options. I’ve committed to the first three months of all 52 titles, so I’m continuing with all these for at least two more issues regardless of my thoughts below, but here we go, week 1:

Justice League – If this were just the first half of the book, and the second half was in this same book, I might have liked this more. They are taking "decompression" to the point of vacuum. I feel this way about most of the books. Otherwise, this was cool enough.

Action Comics – Oh heck yes. This was awesome, and at/near the top of this week's books.

Animal Man – This was also great. It was interesting, creepy, good hook, I want to read more.

Batgirl – I liked this. I would read more. I thought it was a nice, fun book.

Batwing – I thought the storytelling was a bit choppy, and didn’t really make me care one way or another about the characters, or this book, even if there was decapitations. I would read it if someone gave it to me, just to see how they flesh out this character and setting.

Detective Comics – Eh, it was alright, and the big "cliff hanger" at the end didn’t get me as excited as it seemed to get some people.

Green Arrow – Move along, nothing to see here.

Hawk and Dove – I have nothing against Liefield’s art. For all the hate, he has drawn some very exciting comics over the years. I didn’t like this because the story was just not that engaging for me.

Justice League International – This just didn't do anything for me.

Men Of War – The first story was cool, the second not as much.

O.M.A.C. – This became a "yes" for me when they released the Gobblers on O.M.A.C. This book reminded me of a lot of the things I liked about Dan Slott's She Hulk run. This was maybe the most fun book to read from this week.

Static Shock – I may have liked this when I was 12 years old, but probably not even then.

Stormwatch – I liked Stormwatch, I liked Ellis's Authority, and this seemed to fit well with those runs. I liked that this book was about the "professionals", not the amateurs in their costumes and capes. I liked this one, and really look forward to see where they go with this.

Swamp Thing – This is a yes for me, but it is another one that felt reaaally short. I felt like I had read half to two-thirds of a comic by the time I got to the last page. That said, what I did read, I liked quite a bit.

[whiteknife]

These were my top ones from those what have come out so far:
JLA, Animal Man, Ressurection Man, Deathstroke, Green Lantern, Mt. Terrific, Red Lanterns, and Superboy

These were my mid-tier "read more and see" ones:
Action Comics, Batgirl, Batwing, JLA International, Swamp Thing, Suicide Squad, Batman and Robin, Grifter, and Legion Lost

These are the ones I don't want to keep reading:
Detective, Frankenstein, Green Arrow, Hawk&Dove, Men of War, OMAC, Static Shock, Stormwatch, Demon Knights, and Batwoman

My favorites were Superboy (good narration, interesting concept) and Green Lantern (glad to see they're more or less continuing the previous excellent green lantern story arcs).

Worst were probably Men of War and OMAC (ugh was that terrible. I couldn't even finish it).

Biggest jerk award goes to Robin from Batman and Robin for basically mocking Batman about feeling sad about his dead parents for the entire issue.

[HassanT]

I finished reading the 3rd week of the new DC 52.

My favorite two books of the week have to be Batman and Wonder Woman. They were both great first issues for different reasons. The Batman book by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo should be the template that all number one issues should follow. Wonder Woman was also very good because it treated the Greek Mythology more like Horror and Magic versus Science and Magic. It actually reminded me of the Percy Jackson movie (the only reason I saw it was because of my kids ).

The biggest surprise of the week was Birds of Prey. Duane Swiercsynski is a great crime writer, but his comic book work has been so-so to me. The biggest problem for most novelists turned comic book writers is the pacing of the story. However, this book was well executed and interesting with great art. In fact, this is one great crime comic book, but with super-heroes instead.

Supergirl, Nightwing, and Green Lantern Corps, were solid comic books, with GLC continuing to be as good as the previous series. Red Hood and the Outlaws, was a lot of fun, despite the treatment of certain characters. The biggest draw of this book was the art and I am going to stick with it for the time being.

]Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, DC Universe Presents, and Catwoman were ok books, but they didn't really grab me. Catwoman, without going into spoilers, had a weird ending from a storytelling perspective. That said, I am a fan of Judd Winick and therefore I will keep on with Catwoman at least for a couple of more issues. The other three, I will read for at least a couple of more issues. I gave Blue Beetle to my daughters to read. If they like it, then I will keep it for sure (I also gave them Supergirl to read).

The worst book of the week was Legion of Super-Heroes. I had read both the previous series and Adventure Comics, and I had a hard time understanding what was going on. This was really disappointing. In fact, I would say that unless something really bad comes out during the fourth week, the Legion books are my biggest disappointment of the new 52. And this is coming for a huge Legion fan.

[BadDeacon]

Finished reading the last of my week 2 books this morning, just in time for my shipment of week 3 books arriving today.

Batman and Robin - This was tolerable, but not too amazing to me. I can hardly remember what the story was about, so it wasn't all too memorable.

Batwoman - Of goodness gracious, JH Williams III's art was amazing, as usual. I would buy this for the art alone. Turns out the story was kinda decent too.

Deathstroke - This was better than I expected. I wish they had revealed what was in the suitcase, because I am curious, but not really curious enough. I was actually looking forward to the "Deathstroke teams up with quirky group of young kids" book, but seems we just got "Deathstroke kills folks". Still, it was better than what I expected.

Demon Knights - A STRONG maybe. This would have been a strong YES if there was more story. As it was, it seems like the story consisted of "man gets turned into a Demon, then some folks go to a tavern". It seems like it will be cool, but there just isn't enough here to tell.

Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE - This book was cool. I liked everything about it.

Green Lantern - Oh, how the great have fallen. Doug Mahnke's art seemed a lot worse than I have seen in the past, and the story wasn't very compelling. It seems like this book is going for a reaction of "Whoa! A Hal Jordan Sinestro team-up!" than "Whoa! What a good story!"

Grifter - Surprisingly good. I liked the character, and an interesting story was set up. Not quiet a GO for me, but really close. The next couple issues could put it up to full YES.

Legion Lost - I got a bit of a headache reading this. Resounding NO.

Mister Terrific - Thank you, Black Superhero, for saving me three dollars for being in a terrible book! I can only think that the title of this book is meant to be ironic.

Red Lanterns - This seemed decent enough, but the "hero driven by rage" thing just doesn't do it for me, even if that one red lantern with the wings on her head is super hot.

Resurrection Man - The only reason this didn't get a GO from me is that I didn't feel like the story was set up well enough. I have no idea what to expect, or what the conflict of the story is. The characters seem pretty interesting though. A strong MAYBE.

Suicide Squad - Similar to Resurrection Man above, this was better than I expected. I liked the characters and their interaction, I just don't know how much I care about the story, even if it seemed decent and entertaining enough.

Superboy - I'm really not too sure about this one. I thought this book had the best storytelling of all of this week's issues, but I'm just not too much of a Superboy fan. That said, this comic made me enjoy a Superboy story much more than I ever have in the past, so I'm really on the fence about this one. It could easily get upgraded to a full YES, and could fall down to a NO pretty quick.

[BobBretall]

The worst book of the week was Legion of Super-Heroes. I had read both the previous series and Adventure Comics, and I had a hard time understanding what was going on. This was really disappointing. In fact, I would say that unless something really bad comes out during the fourth week, the Legion books are my biggest disappointment of the new 52. And this is coming for a huge Legion fan.

Interesting. I liked Legion just fine. I thought it was something that would be kind of impenetrable to a new reader, but given I've read Legion before it flowed just fine for me. It's on my pull list.

[BobBretall]

A lot of books that I liked in Week 3, the best week so far in % of books that made it onto my pull list:

Batman #1 - the single best Batman comic I've read in 5 years. And almost all the others made it on my pull list, pretty much doubling it: Birds of Prey, Catwoman, DC Universe Presents, Green Lantern Corps, Legion of Super-Heroes, Nightwing, Red Hood & the Outlaws, Supergirl, Wonder Woman. On Supergirl, I HATE the "open knees" on the costume, really goofy looking, but loved the book otherwise. Catwoman & Red Hood, I really think the comics news sites are blowing the whole "over-sexed" thing out of proportion. It's as if these people have never watched prime-time TV in the past 5 years.

Blue Beetle - I need to give this one a couple more issue & see if it grows on me.

Captain Atom - Wow! I really disliked this. You called it on this one, Hassan.

[HassanT]

The worst book of the week was Legion of Super-Heroes. I had read both the previous series and Adventure Comics, and I had a hard time understanding what was going on. This was really disappointing. In fact, I would say that unless something really bad comes out during the fourth week, the Legion books are my biggest disappointment of the new 52. And this is coming for a huge Legion fan.

Interesting. I liked Legion just fine. I thought it was something that would be kind of impenetrable to a new reader, but given I've read Legion before it flowed just fine for me. It's on my pull list.

I am going to stick with it as well. This is where my bias towards being both a Legion and Levitz fan shows. I am willing to give the book a couple more issues.

[HassanT]

A lot of books that I liked in Week 3, the best week so far in % of books that made it onto my pull list:

Batman #1 - the single best Batman comic I've read in 5 years.

Captain Atom - Wow! I really disliked this. You called it on this one, Hassan.

I also said you will like Batman and Wonder Woman. I let you know what my "Bob's Like/ Dislike" picks for week 4 will be this weekend

[Danscomics]

Captain Atom - Wow! I really disliked this. You called it on this one, Hassan.

I thought you said you were giving a reason over here (from your over-full comics thread). I'm on the fence about this one, I actually thought the art was really pretty, but the story wasn't my favorite.

[IanG]

Animal Man - Out of the 13 books, this had the worst art. The art killed it for me, made the book really hard to enjoy. I thought Lemire's writing was good but damn, I couldn't get past the art.

I really enjoyed Animal Man for everything but the coloring. I didn't like the flat pastel color palettte they choose and I don't see how it fits the horror story. But I plan to stay with this series for at least the first story arc. I'd give it a 4 out of 5 on the "Bob and John scale."

[IanG]

Red Lanterns

I felt like I was dropped off in the middle of a long running story. There wasn't enough character back ground or story development to keep my interests. Most of this issue was Atrocitus moaning about pain and suffering which dragged on and on taking up valuable story telling pages. Also, this book had the weakest cliff hanger last page.

I couldn't agree more with your review of Red Lanterns That ending was not fitting with who you think Atrocitus would be. Although I enjoyed the art a lot but not enough to continue with this one. Red Lanterns gets the red text treatment and I won't be continuing with it. 3 out of 5. (2 for story, 4 for art)