Since I have done so much writing the last few months about DC Relaunch, I decided to go a quick first impressions column summing up my feelings about Flashpoint #5 and Justice League #1. These aren’t full reviews, grey already did terrific reviews for both of these books, which match up quite a bit with what I felt about these books.
Check them out: Flashpoint #5 and Justice League #1
Flashpoint #5 (CONTAINS SPOILERS)
– I am usually not a big fan of events. But DC has been doing a real good job with them lately. Blackest Night was a solid read from beginning to end. And for Flashpoint, I anxiously downloaded every issue from Comixology, and with a handful of exceptions (Secret Seven 1 comes to mind, though I did like the second issue much more), I really enjoyed them all. It was especially fun to see takes on unexpected characters like the Warlord.
– I loved seeing the three timelines (DC, Wildstorm, and Vertigo) come together. It definitely explains a lot of the cool character combinations in Relaunch. No clue who that giant red lady is, but I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of her. I just hope we get no events for a while.
– I don’t care what anyone says, Batman taking out Reverse Flash with a sword through the chest was awesome. I also loved the scene in the end where Bruce gets the letter from his father. I know a lot of people found it to be ridiculous that Bruce cried, but those people are emotionally stunted.
– I also loved Reverse Flash’s gloating. It was such a typical comic villain moment that I couldn’t help but enjoy it.
– Did anyone else think that Barry talking to his mom was Geoff Johns’ attempt to talk jaded comic fans into giving DC Relaunch a try? The theme of “Things change, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing” fit Flashpoint really well, but I also saw it as a message to the readers.
– The twist with Barry being the one to cause Flashpoint was pretty clever. I am really curious what this means to the Speed Force in Relaunch. Only other speedster we’ve seen so far is Kid Flash. No word on Wally or Jay. Yet.
– I thought it was real smart to give most of the focus of this issue to Reverse Flash fighting Barry. Yes, the war was important to the inhabitants of the Flashpoint reality, but not so much to the reader. It was carried out very well in the background. Granted, it does make many of the mini-series feel unnecessary, but they were still really good reads and built a terrific world. I definitely would like to see more stories set in the Flashpoint reality. I actually have said to Grey a few times that I would have liked to see Relaunch take place in the Flashpoint reality. That would have been a hell of a change.
– One major complaint: DC could have done a much better job with the digital distribution of Flashpoint. Every comic came out digitally four weeks and two days after it was on the shelves. This means I still have not read the last issue of any of the tie-in miniseries. And last week, for some reason, they did not post the second issues of Project Superman or Lois Lane and the Resistance. They also never released Booster Gold issues 45-47. Kind of a bumpy start to the digital revolution…
Justice League #1 (CONTAINS SPOILERS)
– My initial feelings on this book were very conflicted. I thought the writing was great, especially the dialogue (which is something I have had issues with Johns in the past). The art was top notch, definitely Jim Lee at his best. So much energy and action really made this comic come to life. But at the same time, I would have liked to see more characters, and it was a little light on story.
– Focusing on Green Lantern and Batman was a smart choice: Green Lantern just had a movie and everyone knows Batman. They are also the characters who seemed to have been least changed by Relaunch. This should really help new readers and old readers get a good foothold on the new DC Universe. And they were able to set a strong character dynamic right off the bat. Batman stealing Green Lantern’s ring, and Green Lantern trying to show off to a less than impressed Batman worked perfectly.
BUT, at the same time, they really didn’t help show what’s new about this universe. I guess there is plenty of time for that later, but I would have definitely liked to see some glimpses of Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, etc. I did like what they did with Cyborg, and would have wanted much more of that kind of thing. It sort of felt too “safe” in a lot of ways.
– I loved how they portrayed Superman. He just screamed “PRESENCE” when he appeared. New costume in action appealed to me immediately, and I loved the intense look in his eye when he asked Hal and Bruce, “What can you do?” Jim Lee does amazing “pin-up” quality work, and it really came across so perfectly in this last panel.
– As I said earlier, I did think this issue was a little light in story. It really was all just one extended scene with Green Lantern and Batman. There were a lot of great touches like showing how the world feels about superheroes and some solid characterization, but I can’t help but compare it to Morrison’s first issue of JLA. All the characters were set up there, the story was well on its way, and we already had a strong sense of where things were going. I can’t say the same for Justice League #1.
Like too many comics in recent years, this had a “designed for trade” feel to it. Granted, Lee’s art works real well for this style, and hurrying the story would have meant losing all those big, detailed shots Lee got to drew. But for 30 pages, this comic took just about no time to read. I am not going quibble about whether or not it was worth 4 dollars. I enjoyed it, and while it might seem expensive for a comic, it’s still only 4 bucks. That’s like half a lunch here in Newark.
– Don’t take my gripes all that seriously though. I still enjoyed this book a lot and felt it was a great way to kick off Relaunch. Yeah, there are some things I might have liked to have seen done a little differently, but it was still a very solid comic. I definitely agree with Grey’s rating of 8.5/10.
– To get some perspective, I asked my wife, who hasn’t really read a superhero comic in five years, to read Justice League #1. She’s a huge Batman fan and never really liked Hal. She enjoyed this issue almost as much as I did. Her only complaint was Hal talking in third-person…which I didn’t notice in my first read-through, but she’s right; he definitely does. That was kind of weird and annoying…
One last thing
So because of Relaunch, I’ll be back on the regular reviewing rotation. For this month, I’m reviewing:
– Animal Man
– Green Arrow
– Men of War
– Demon Knights
– Legion Lost
– Mister Terrific
– Catwoman
– DC Comics Presents
– Legion of Super-Heroes
– Blackhawks
– Superman
– Teen Titans
So you will definitely get to hear a lot more from me about the New 52 in the coming weeks. I’m definitely looking forward to it, and can’t wait to hear what the readers think.
