Bullet Points: Earth-2 #2

Two issues in and DC’s brand new look at the Justice Society is proving itself an interesting little book. Maybe it’s because there’s less pressure with this particular property than something like the Justice League, or maybe it’s because DC finally seems happy to try something a little different here. There’s the feeling that they’re delivering and we’re getting something new.

In a world in which Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are dead, a new generation of heroes are emerging. A re-imagined Justice Society is returning to the DCU, under the stewardship of long-time JSA writer James Robinson. This is a writer who has proven that he understands these characters and he knows what makes them tick. Who better to come up with an all new ‘Ultimate JSA’? Yes, to some extent we’re seeing what we’ve had before, but it’s so far sidestepped the problem that is hamstringing the Justice League title and much of the rest of the New 52.

In issue 2, a young Jay Garrick gains his powers from a dying God and the man who would become this world’s Green Lantern makes a fateful journey. While Jay’s origin is a great read and crackles along, most of the attention that this issue has got in the media is around the reintroduced Alan Scott being gay.  In real terms this makes no difference to the character, and it’s really just blending elements of the old Alan with his openly gay son, Obsidian. What’s a real joy is that the relationship that we see is handled nicely and it’s not just an awkward teenage romance: this is adults who are totally comfortable with themselves and are doing pretty well in life. Of course given the tragedy of Alan’s origin and exactly where this issue ends, it’s clear that his partner is not going to be with us long, but it bodes well for how Alan is going to be used in this series.

It’s success for me is partly down to the sense that anything can happen in this world, but it’s also the fact that I really want to see what a re-imagined JSA is going to look like, particularly when James Robinson has promised even more diversity in the JSA line-up. Two issues in but his book has quickly become an essential title!

4/5

It’s not me, it’s you.

7 months into our new relationship and the initial excitement had already faded into desperate play-acting, weary resignation and bitterness. Sure the seduction had been fun, and new is always good, but when it came down to the reality of life together, what I’d fallen in love with wasn’t there any more.

I am of course talking about the New 52. The fresh accessible start that DC promised really hasn’t materialised and it’s not hard to see why. Let’s review!

#1 DC never wanted a fresh start. Just fresh sales.

The first major point is that DC obviously never wanted to make it fresh and accessible. That’s why there were two timelines in place in Superman/Action Comics and Justice League. How did things get like that? Guess we should keep reading, eh? It relied on the mystery to seduce (dare I say “sucker?”) us into getting the new books and to keep reading. 7 months on and the reveal of Earth-2 is making it clearer that DC are still banking on mystery to sell the books.

#2 DC is still relying on older readers and what we used to know.

A reboot shouldn’t rely on what we’ve seen before or what we know already but time and again these aren’t treated like characters that we’ve never seen before. They’re NEW VERSIONS but instead of getting to the core of why the character is great and giving us an ultimate version free from whatever has supposedly held the character back in the past, in the majority of cases it’s all about comparing the new version to the one from the old DCU. The introduction of Earth-2 makes that point even more obvious: Alan Scott, Jay Garrick and the others aren’t the elder statesmen we knew and the drama apparently comes from finding out why they’re different. It’s all about the past. How does muddying the water even further make things easier for new readers? Which brings me on to point 3.

#3 Where are the jumping on points for new readers?

The simple answer is there aren’t any. A 6 issue arc is not a jumping on point. Let’s be honest here; the dual reboot / relaunch approach DC used did not work as promised.

If they wanted a clean launch, why not use the Zero Hour approach? Yes, I’m actually bringing up the much-maligned Zero Hour of the ’90s. Ignoring the continuity issues, it did a damn fine job of setting out exactly what the state of play was with the DCU. What did we get with that? A #0 for every series that clearly set out exactly what a character was all about in one issue. Not only that, but DC even provided a simple timeline that set out exactly when the major story beats happened with the core characters and what they were. Of course that didn’t claim to be a reboot but it was a great way to tidy things up and provide CLARITY for new readers or for anyone who just wanted to give a different character a shot.

That’s exactly what’s missing in the New 52. Mystery is all well and good, but sooner or later you’ve got to lay your cards on the table. The New 52 is the DCU or it isn’t. It has to stand alone on it’s own merits and it can’t continue to say we’ll get what’s missing down the line. Show us in every single issue why ‘restarting’ the DCU was the right decision. Show us why the current version of the character we’re reading about is the best god-damn version there has ever been. Start proving that here and now.

So what do you think, dear readers? Is old age blurring my memory of Zero Hour? Am I missing something in the New 52? Is it really the best that DC has ever been, or has Flashpoint and the New 52 just been one big sales trick? As always, drop that comment.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the comic shop…

On the back of the recent news that Rob Liefeld’s divisive Hawk and Dove was cancelled, DC were quick to reassurance fans of the bonkers ’90s pocket fetishist that he would still be working with DC on three, yes three, titles.

April will see Leifeld taking over plotting duties on Savage Hawkman, Grifter, and Deathstroke. Fans of Slade Wilson, small feet and distended spines, can sleep easy knowing that he’ll also be working on the pencils.

It’s a slightly baffling move by DC that suggests there may be more of a contractual element to it. I can understand them removing under-performing titles, but moving a writer from a title that isn’t cutting it and letting him take over three books seems like masochism.

What does Liefeld have in store for the books?

Hawkman will be moving into the intergalactic gladiator arena. Deathstroke will be going up against Lobo. And Grifter will be introducing another Wildstorm character (Deathblow) into the New 52 universe. DC’s official blog, The Source, has longer descriptions but it’s all very ’90s and we’ve seen it all before.

Savage Hawkman has been on this fans pull list since the relaunch, but come April it’s unlikely to stay there.

(Original story from The Source).

New 52: 6 titles cancelled, but replacements are on the way…

DC have confirmed that six of the New 52 titles are cancelled as of their 8th issues in April. The casualties are: BLACKHAWKS, HAWK AND DOVE, MEN OF WAR, MISTER TERRIFIC, O.M.A.C. and STATIC SHOCK.

None of them were cutting it in terms of sales, so it’s no great surprise. Perhaps worst of all, some of the books were plain awful. Hawk and Dove was a train wreck, and Mr Terrific was a dreadful misuse of someone who was once a solid character. They won’t be missed here.

So what’s coming up next? In what DC are calling the Second Wave, 6 new titles will take their place. The following info is taken right from The Source:

• BATMAN INCORPORATED – Writer: Grant Morrison. Artist: Chris Burnham. The acclaimed ongoing writer of ACTION COMICS, Grant Morrison, presents a fresh take on BATMAN INCORPORATED, in which the Batman brand is franchised globally in preparation for a major international threat.
• EARTH 2 – Writer: James Robinson. Artist: Nicola Scott. The greatest heroes on a parallel Earth, the Justice Society combats threats that will set them on a collision course with other worlds.
• WORLDS’ FINEST – Writer: Paul Levitz. Artists: George Perez and Kevin Maguire. Stranded on our world from a parallel reality, Huntress and Power Girl struggle to find their way back to Earth 2. Perez and Maguire will be the artists on alternating story arcs.
• DIAL H – Writer: China Miéville. Artist: Mateus Santoluoco. The first ongoing series from acclaimed novelist China Miéville, this is a bold new take on a cult classic concept about the psychological effects on an everyman who accidentally gains powers to become a hero.
• G.I. COMBAT – Writer: J.T. Krul. Artist: Ariel Olivetti. Featuring the return of a classic DC Comics series, THE WAR THAT TIME FORGOT, along with rotating back-up stories and creative teams – including THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER, with writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti and artist Dan Panosian; and THE HAUNTED TANK, with writer John Arcudi and artist Scott Kolins.
• THE RAVAGERS – Writer: Howard Mackie. Artist: Ian Churchill. Spinning off from TEEN TITANS and SUPERBOY, this series finds four superpowered teens on the run and fighting against the organization that wants to turn them into supervillains.

I’m not wild about yet another Batman book on the shelves, two if we count the Huntress in Worlds Finest, but there are some interesting titles in there. This will be our first look at the JSA in the New 52 and there are a lot of questions that need answered. For me, that’s going to be the book to watch.

I do have to commend DC for having the courage to get rid of books that aren’t working and try something new. The question is, who is next to go? And can DC stay the course and keep diversity in the line despite low sales (Resurrection Man, I’m looking at you), or will they give in to the almighty dollar and pump out even more Batman books?

It’s going to be an interesting year!

Bullet Points: Aquaman #1, Mr Terrific #1

So many books and so little time. I’ve been lucky enough to read most of the new 52 so far, but there’s only so much time I can get to tell you good folks about them. I think I’ll go with a wrap-up post with the exciting highlights (and lowlights) so far, BUT FIRST, let’s look at two books that may have surprised a lot of comic fans….

Aquaman #1

This is one I’d been eager to check out and happily Johns did not disappoint. Over many years, writers have tried everything to try to make this character work and arguably failed every time. In one issue, Johns gets it right. There’s nothing drastically different about this version of Arthur and it’s very much a clean cut classic view of the King of Atlantis. No Conan overtones, no harpoon, and no attitude. There is, I’ll concede, a sense of everyone giving it their all, but I think that can be forgiven in a first issue about a character that historically no-one’s really that excited about.

So what happens? Aquaman arrives on land, gets a few show-stopping moments demonstrating his powers and even has a cute little scene in a diner where a merciless “aquafan” quizzes him on exactly what his powers are and how he feels about being the guy that no-one takes seriously. It was a clever move to get that dealt with in the first issue and we can get on with things now. The one thing I’m not too clear on is the status of the new Aqualad DC debuted in Brightest day. Is he another casuality of Flashpoint? There’s certainly no mention of him in this issue, and I suppose we’ll have to wait and see on that. Johns has made Aquaman a character I want to read about, and one of the very best of DC’s new books. Let’s hope he can keep it up. 5/5

Mr Terrific #1

And now for the bad news. Michael Holt was always a great character. I loved him in JSA. He’s one of the smartest men in the world, openly an atheist, and can hold his own in a room full of superheroes by virtue of his intellect alone. He was a serious character, who could be taken seriously.

Oh DC, what have you done? In giving him his own book, it’s to be expected that there would be new background characters to give the writers a bit more to work with. What took me by surprise reading it, was with that a reliance on cheap racial tension and stereotyping that really does not sit well with the character. Now Terrific is obviously African American but there is so much about him that makes him an interesting superhero that wheeling in generic soap opera nonsense about someone being jealous of him hanging around with a pretty white woman is tremendously patronising. And that was not the only example of a sense of DC over-representing what has always been a routine detail. It’s the worst kind of cookie-cutter diversity. Michael Holt deserves much better than this and it absolutely got in the way of what could have been an interesting book. If they get it under control, they might be able to salvage things before it gets cancelled, but this was a massively disappointing first issue. 2/5

Next: A ‘New 52’ wrap-up of the first 2 issues of as many books as possible, and let’s take a look at that schism they’re having over there in the X-Men books.

Bullet Points special: Flashpoint #5, Justice League #1

Flashpoint #5

And so ends the DC Universe as we knew it. Not with an epic battle that shows the worlds greatest heroes at their best, but, sadly more like an overextended death-rattle. Flashpoint‘s been a tough read and this final issue unfortunately does not deliver, either as a satisfying conclusion to the Flashpoint story or as a goodbye to the way things were. As this final issue opens, the war between Atlantis and the Amazons is in full swing in the ruins of Britain and there’s a messy showdown involving all the altered DC characters and a few new faces. The most memorable part is that the Enchantress is squashed like a cockroach by Superman. Urgh. The Reverse Flash reveals that he actually isn’t behind the new timeline, and it was all down to a change made in the past by, gasp, Barry Allen. Then, in a confusing sequence, Barry travels back in time to stop himself interfering in the first place, and is drawn back into the timestream again by an unknown woman who forces him to join together three different timelines (which look like Vertigo, Wildstorm and the traditional DCU) and create a unified timeline; the new 52. Let’s look at what she says…

“Because the history of heroes was shattered into three long ago. Splintered to weaken your world for their impending arrival. You must all stand together. The timelines must become one again. You can help me fix that, Barry Allen, but at a cost.”

And that’s what’s behind the new 52. An unseen threat that comes out of nowhere and last minute meddling from a Harbringer style character we know nothing about. It’s incredibly weak. And from the last few pages of the book, it’s unclear if any characters even remember what happened. Flashpoint, for all that it changed, ironically does not appear to have had any consequences.

I can’t help but think there must have been a better way to  get to this point. Was there any need at all for the world of Flashpoint? Was there much gained from five issues and multiple tie-ins? What’s most disappointing  is that the traditional DCU really did deserve better than that. The characters we’ve known for decades, after everything they’ve faced and everything they’ve been through, were quietly done away with off-panel. Why not allow them to go out in style? Instead Flashpoint as a whole was a bloody, violent, and mostly forgettable mess. Almost twenty years ago, Zero Hour did things much better.

2/5

Justice League #1

Maybe it was all a conspiracy? Maybe Flashpoint was deliberately bad to make extra sure that Justice League felt great in comparison. It doesn’t matter in the end, as happily this rebooted and reimagined Justice League is a great read. Five years ago in the new timeline, the world didn’t know what to make of super-heroes. An outlaw Batman is investigating an alien threat in Gotham, when Green Lantern pops up to help. They decide that the creature may have something to do with Metropolis’s very own alien, and travel to the city to question him. It’s there that we get our very first look at the all new Man of Steel…

Most of the issue is extended banter between Batman and a very cocky Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), and it works well, clearly defining who they are and the different approaches they have to crime-fighting. Writer, Geoff Johns, has had fun in the past with the rivalry between the two characters and it’s nice to see that continued, albeit in a milder form. Jim Lee on pencils does a reasonable job. It looks good, without being too showy and Green Lantern’s constructs have a nice otherworldly look to them. While in some ways an extended origin story for DC’s premier superteam is disappointingly routine, and obviously written for the trade, there’s a clear sense that DC is really making the effort with this book. There’s an undeniable feeling of quality from every page.  Superman’s last minute appearance is an intriguing preview of his own reboot in Action Comics, and with only a couple of lines of dialogue, we’re left in no doubt that this is the edgier and arguably more interesting Superman we were promised. At the end of the day, this was a fun book that more than lived up to the hype.

Definitely a good start then for the new 52. Lets hope this is the shape of things to come.

4/5

Next Time: A change of scene with Clive Barker’s Hellraiser…

The new 52: wrap up!

It’s been a lot of fun working through all 52 new titles, and now it’s time to review that pull list. From the brand new 52, I’ll personally be picking up:

Action Comics, Animal Man, Aquaman, Batwoman, Blue Beetle, Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE, Fury of Firestorm, Green Lantern / Green Lantern Corps, Grifter, Justice League, Legion Lost, Men of War, Mister Terrific, Resurrection Man, Stormwatch, and The Savage Hawkman.

16 out of 52 may not break any records, but it’s fair to say that had it not been for the change, my regular pull list would have had far fewer DC titles in there; maybe only the two Green Lantern books. There’s your sales boost right there! I can imagine that’s the case for a lot of comic fans and it’ll be interesting to see if the relaunch brings in the new fans that DC are aiming for.

But it’s obvious that this is only really a temporary measure.

Unless they keep the momentum going, sales are going to drop again. By that I don’t mean greedy crossovers every summer that force you to buy more and more tie-ins. I mean straight out good stories contained within the book. I mean every issue of a title being worthwhile on it’s own merits. I mean saying goodbye to decompressed storytelling and writing for the trade (unless, hey, it’s actually a graphic novel). Fundamental problems with modern comics that DC’s creative window dressing doesn’t fix. If DC keep telling the stories in the same way, in a year or so’s time they’ll be right back where they started. And where do they go from there?

 

Next time: Justice League and the return of Bullet Points!

The new 52: Teen Titans to Legion of Super-Heroes.

We’re on the final stretch of the new 52 books and it’s time to look at titles coming under the “Young Justice” banner. I’m glad to see that even in the compacted timeframe of the new DCU that there’s still a place for teenage heroes. But are they still the guys we’re familiar with or have they suffered the same fate as Superman? Onward!

Teen Titans
On the surface, the flagship title of the Young Justice line seems to follow a similar template to it’s earlier incarnation: there’s a Robin. Wonder-girl, Superboy and Kid-Flash. But on a closer look, Wonder Girl is essentially a brand new character; this time a nasty tempered thief. Superboy is also the more alien clone from the rebooted Superman titles. Even Tim Drake isn’t quite the character we remember, and as Red Robin he now flies alongside those with super-powers with a much more bird-like cape. Essentially these are brand new characters and I suppose it’s fitting that they’re joined by a few mysterious new characters, including a creepy looking insectoid girl called Bugg. Despite the hokey sounding  “tortured teen heroes” angle DC are pitching with this reimagined book, when it’s on its game Teen Titans has been one of DC’s best books. I don’t doubt they can do the same again, but it’s fair to say I’ll miss the kids I used to know.

Static Shock
I’m not that familiar with this character but I’ve always had some respect for the fact that he seemed to get along just fine without me. What I would like to see is him leaving behind his cartoon origins and there being more of an attempt to fit him in alongside the rest of the DCU. Moving him from Dakota to New York City is certainly a good start, but in the artwork I’ve seen it’s still the same cartoony style that puts me right off as a reader. If they can take more chances and make more of an effort at integration, this guy will hold more appeal. I’ll wait and see.

Hawk and Dove
It’s always been hard to see these characters as anything more than DC’s own version of Cloak and Dagger: a good natured young girl partnered with a dark, violent guy. Can it be anything more than that? Well, Brightest Day didn’t really do much to convince us otherwise and I suppose it’s a case of whether you want to give them another chance as they try to stop a new civil war in the US . Personally it’s not grabbing me and Rob Liefeld on the art chores is the decider.

Blue Beetle
Blue Beetle is a great little character, but even though I like the guy I never once picked up his solo book and I wonder how many more comic fans did the same. As best as I can tell, Jaime is pretty much unchanged in the new 52, so this is another chance to see how a teenage boy fares bonded to powerful alien armour created for destruction. Can he turn a deadly weapon into force for good? I’m glad to see such a positive and likeable character making it through the reboot and I think I owe him a chance this time. I’ll be picking this one up.

Legion Lost
This was a terrific mini-series a decade or so ago, trapping a core team of Legion characters in an entirely new universe. Free from the sometimes overwhelming Legion of Super-heroes continuity, they were finally accessible and we got to know some great characters and what really made them who they are. This new series seems to take what made that work and this time traps a new team on modern day Earth, trying to prevent a devastating terrorist attack. What makes it sound interesting is that Fabian Nicieza recognises that these guys are teenagers, and they’ll be written as teenagers. They mean well, but they get things wrong and sometimes they plain don’t know what they’re doing. Of the two new Legion titles, this one sounds like the one to pick up.

Legion of Super-Heroes
Countless reboots and and a huge amount of back-history have always made trying to get into the Legion quite a difficult task. An entire army of teenagers in the far future inspired by Superman’s exploits to fight for justice is a decent concept and there have been some great stories, particularly in the last ten years or so, but it’s hard to know where to start with them. This new book in some ways is intended as (another) fresh start for new readers, but how many has that been now and how long before DC reboots them yet again? It’s going to take a lot of convincing to shift the feeling that we shouldn’t get attached to them. With the other Legion title having a clearer connection to the DCU and a more accessible concept, this main book can’t help but feel less than essential.
And with that last book, that’s it for the new 52! What will you be picking up?

The new 52: Voodoo to Men of War.

Here we reach the titles that come under the banner of “The Edge”. I’m not altogether sure what DC mean by that. Edgier books? Perhaps. While a lot of them take risks, I’ve got to be honest and say not many of them appeal. I think this particular corner of the DCU is going to see the most casualties of all the new titles.

Voodoo
One of the new residents of the DCU is Voodoo, fresh from the Wildstorm Universe.  It’s hard to tell from the description of the book how much she’s going to be modified to fit into the new DCU, but essentially she’s a half human half alien hybrid with the power of telepathy, shapeshifting and a few others. I’ve got a feeling that this will tie in quite significantly to another new book, Grifter, but DC aren’t really spilling too much about what ground the series is going to cover. That said, she’s certainly a fresh face, if a bit ’90s, and it will be nice to get an outsiders perspective to the new DCU, but is there really enough here to support a book on her own? I’m hopeful but not convinced so far.

Grifter
Way back when, there was a title in Jim Shooter’s now defunct Defiant line called Dark Dominion. It was a solid little book about a man who could look into another dimension overlapping our own and see the demons and monsters possessing us. He was on his own against them. Grifter seems to be quite a similar, if a lot bloodier, take on this idea,  but instead of monsters, it’s aliens and he’s branded a serial killer when he starts to take them out. Of all the books in this particular corner of the DC universe, this mixture of Dark Dominion and John Carpenter’s They Live holds the most appeal for me. I want to see this character on the same page as Batman or Green Lantern and try to justify what’s going on. This is one of the new faces I’ll be checking out.

Suicide Squad
We’re back into familiar DC territory with a revamped Suicide Squad book. On the surface, it’s the same as it’s always been: death row b-list villains recruited by the US Government to take on dangerous missions and earn a pardon. But the sexier, more dangerous looking new design for Harley Quinn is turning a few heads. It’s hard to imagine this murderous looking creature as the daffy cartoonesque Quinn of old, and I wonder how indicative of the new book this redesign is going to be. I’m not really the target market for a trampier version of Harley, so the appeal’s somewhat lost on me. What’s more important is that I don’t see much that’s going to be particularly new about this book. I think ultimately I’d prefer to have Secret Six back than this.

Deathstroke
An ongoing book about Slade Wilson, assassin and one the deadliest men in the DCU, doesn’t immediately grab me.  The “mayhem and gore” DC are promising can only go so far. He had a terrific role in Identity Crisis when he single-handedly took out the JLA but that highlights the fact that he’s a character who probably works best when we don’t see him all the time. For me, an ongoing is just overkill and ultimately limits what you can do with him.

All-Star Western
Gotham City’s earliest days are explored in this rather off-beat choice for a new title. Jonah Hex brings his own brand of justice to a fledgling Gotham and that’s pretty much all we know at this point aside from some teases of Amadeus Arkham (a pioneer in Criminal Psychology!) and the Religion of Crime, the cult who will eventually cause so many problems for Batwoman. This is probably the best way of packaging Jonah Hex and I certainly don’t doubt the talent involved, but I don’t think this book is going to have the mainstream appeal that will give it staying power.

O.M.A.C.
The Brother Eye satellite has became Batman’s version of Hank Pym’s Ultron robot and since Infinite Crisis, he and his army of cybernetic OMAC cyborgs are a menace that just won’t go away. But once upon a time, the OMAC was a single individual and in this new book, DC have dusted off the old One Man Army Corps concept and attached it to the Brother Eye mythology. He’s now a weapon created by Brother Eye in it’s war against the Checkmate organisation. Now that’s a relatively solid concept, but the major problem for me is that the re-design of the character is incredibly ugly; like a kids version of the Hulk with mohawk that looks even dafter than the original version, and I find it very hard to get past that. Brother Eye was, for me, the least interesting part of Infinite Crisis too, so while I know a few will disagree with me, this isn’t a book that holds any appeal for me.

Blackhawks
The first of the two new military themed books is sadly the least interesting of the two. The old Blackhawk Squadron is revived and reimagined in the new DCU as an elite force of military specialists who use high tech equipment to “kill the bad guys before they kill us”. If that sounds terribly generic, it’s because it is and it’s hard to get excited about it all. I don’t think anyone would be missing much by skipping this book.

Men of War
The grandson of WW2 veteran Sergeant Rock takes command of Easy Company, ex-military men now mercenaries pitted against DC’s super villains. This is the more grounded of the two new military books and my feeling is that it’s better for it. A hard-core military title with super villains could be pretty interesting and the more I look at it, the more I want to see how this book develops and how it’s going to integrate with the rest of the DCU. I want to take a chance with this one.

Next time: Our final preview post checks out the new 52’s Young Justice titles!

The new 52: Justice League Dark to Stormwatch.

Coming under the brand of “the dark”, these books are essentially the horror titles of the new DC universe. And they’re rather mixed. Despite some returning faces and fan favourite characters it’s hard to see how many of them will last.

Justice League Dark
Shadowpact was a nice little book of a few years ago, and this is a bit of a rejuggling of a similar idea. The magical JLA with an interesting roster which brings a few Vertigo mainstays back into the DC Universe proper: Shade the Changing Man, and John Constantine. Whether this works is going to be very much dependant on tone. I don’t think a comedic book, like Shadowpact, will work with these characters. A darker book with mature spooky stories could be worthwhile. But there are several factors in the way of that. The first is that yet again the Enchantress is being wheeled out as a villain and her screwball Elvira-esque personality is just too wacky to be taken seriously. The second is John Constantine. Don’t get me wrong; John’s a fantastic character in his own book. The lighter Constantine that was in The Search for Swamp Thing was almost unreadable, sounding more like Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins. Every time he opened his mouth, I was having to translate what he was saying and it ripped me right out of the book. So it’s not looking good for this title. I’ll wait and see, but it’s not going on the pull list at this point.

Swamp Thing
Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing is one of my favourite comic runs of all times. Unfortunately ever since then, there’s really been nowhere to go with the character and few writers have even tried. He was a character with his best days long behind him. Now that he’s made the jump from Vertigo to the DCU, the powers that be are giving him a new shot at his own book. If you remember Alan Moore’s run, it established that Swamp Thing wasn’t really Dr Alec Holland. In fact, Holland was killed in the chemical explosion that created Swamp Thing, and his mind (and the emotional trauma of his death) had imprinted itself on mutating plant life, creating a whole new consciousness. Later on it revealed he was an elemental too, but the main point is that Swamp Thing was a separate being from Alec Holland. During Brightest Day, Holland and Swamp Thing returned and they were combined into a single entity again. While in some sense it’s a step backwards, to DC’s credit, it is at least something new. It’s just a Swamp Thing that isn’t nearly as interesting to me. I think it’s going to take a while for this to establish itself, and that’s time the book may not have.

Animal Man
An Animal Man that finally drops the self awareness is an Animal Man I can get behind. Like a lot of people, I enjoyed Grant Morrison’s run but the meta elements to Animal Man weren’t what really interested me in the character and ultimately Morrison’s hubris really just got in the way of things. This back-to-basics darker take on Buddy Baker holds a lot of promise. It’s a must-read for me.

Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE
After having one of the  better miniseries’ in the Seven Soldiers event of a few years ago, Frankenstein’s new ongoing seems to cast him in a similar kind of role as Hellboy; the straight man in a team of misfits who fight supernatural evil. That’s no bad thing. I don’t think it will be in any way essential, but I think it’ll be accessible and a lot of fun. I hope this one will stick around.

I, Vampire
This is a reboot of a book from the early 80’s, which again sees a vampire attempt to make up for his past mistakes. In this case he turned his lover into a vampire, but, sigh, she went off the deep end and formed a cult bent on destroying the world. Seem familiar? Well yeah. In the time since his series ended and the present, we’ve heard the vampire seeking redemption story many many times. Now there’s probably a market for this book, but unless DC has the guts to wheel out Dracula himself and bring it into Tomb of Dracula territory, the faint whiff of Twilight/Angel /The Vampire Diaries will be keeping me well away.

Resurrection Man
I’d heard of this character but I have to admit I didn’t read his book back in the 90s so I’m not at all sure how his power can really work in an ongoing title. If you haven’t heard of him either, every time Mitch Shelly dies, he comes back with a different ‘gift’ which is influenced by the manner in which he died.  He could really have any superpower the story requires, which ironically makes him less interesting to me, and how can him constantly dying not wind up as a joke? I might have to pick up the first issue just to see how they can possibly explain all this and make the character accessible.

Demon Knights
Oh boy. A title set in the dark ages of the DCU could be great and the faint hope that the excellent Shining Knight from Seven Soldiers could turn up is promising, but, and it’s a massive but, there’s Etrigan the demon to contend with. He’s one of the most annoying characters in DC’s long history and that’s purely down to his dialogue and the necessity to have everything he says rhyme. I find it completely maddening as a reader. This book seems to have a solid concept but unless I hear that Cornell won’t be using the traditional Etrigan, that characters presence means I won’t be checking it out.

Stormwatch
It’s a very interesting decision to bring what’s basically The Authority into the main DC Universe, and another interesting decision to make the Martian Manhunter one of them. Particularly since he immediately seems like a good fit. What’s the biggest draw for me is that the new characters have the potential to really shake up the status quo in the DCU and prevent DC wheeling out the same old stories. With a first arc centring on trying to recruit Midnighter and Apollo (!!) everything about this book screams that I have to pick it up.

Next time, the new 52’s The Edge (anti-hero?) titles….