Wednesday Comments – The New DCU – Week Two: This Time It’s Personal

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So now we’re two weeks into the DCnU and things are starting to take shape. I’ve got books that I love and books that I won’t be returning back to. I’ve got books that I want to champion and books that are precariously close to getting dropped.

Once again I’ve picked up every new DCU #1 this week. Let me share my thoughts on what I read in the second week of the DC Comics Relaunch.

(Again, this is in order of what I loved to what I didn’t really care for.)

Batwoman – I loved everything about this book. As a guy who grew up in the Southwest, I’m very familiar with La Llorona so seeing that story on these pages was awesome. I loved how Williams switched up the art style for flashbacks and actions scenes and different characters.

Also, I loved seeing Director Bones and Cameron Chase again. That was such a treat. Plus we get to see Kate train Bette. This book is everything I want from a comic.

Batman & Robin – I’m so glad to have Tomasi and Gleason back together again. More than that, I’m glad to have them back in Gotham. Seeing Bruce trying to change the direction of his mission/life was very powerful. And Damian was entertaing once again.

I also liked the Batman Inc subplot. Honestly, if it weren’t for the awesomeness of Batwoman, this book could have been the best of the week.

Demon Knights – I’m not a fan of Etrigan or medieval settings, yet I loved this book. I liked the motley crew of Jason Blood, Xanadu, Ystin, Vandal Savage and someone I assume is an Amazon. And seeing Mordru is always fun.

I dug the love triangle between Jason, Etrigan and Xanadu. Oh and the art and story were great too. This book was the surprise of the week as I didn’t have any expectations and it totally knocked it out of the park.

Green Lantern – What can I say; I love Green Lantern. Seeing everyone react to Sinestro’s new role was entertaining as was Hal adjusting to life without the ring. I could have done without the faux proposal.

It was great seeing Mahnke and Alamy on art again. The hiatus really affected me more than I thought it would. It had a decent cliffhanger. I’m liking the new status quo, despite knowing that it won’t last.

Resurrection Man – Oh, how I’ve missed Mitch Shelley. I truly loved how DnA explained his resurrection process. The steps were a great touch. I could have done without the supernatural bent of the story.

I also enjoyed Dagnino’s art. But I’ve got to admit that I got such a joy from seeing the Body Doubles again. I was almost giddy to see them again. Also, this book featured my favorite “lead fighting antagonist in a plane” scene this week.

Superboy – I wasn’t expecting much from this book. I’m not really a fan of Superboy. But R. B. Silva’s art was thoroughly enjoyable. I liked his Jimmy Olsen co-feature, so I’m glad he’s gotten a gig in the DC Comics Relaunch was a plus.

I also enjoyed Lobdell’s story. I like a morally murky Superboy. Actually I’m quite enamored with the idea of a morally murky Superboy. And seeing a Rose Wilson is always a plus.

Red Lanterns – As a fan of Green Lanterns, I’m cool with Red Lanterns. But this book felt sort of off to me. I found Atrocitus’ eloquence to be sort of weird and the fact that he was trained to be a psychologist to be just nutty.

But I’m interested in seeing where this book goes and how the stuff on Earth ties into the Red Lantern stuff.

Grifter – This book featured my second favorite “lead fighting antagonist on a plane” scene of the week. I’ve been a fan of Cafu’s art for couple of years now, so it’s a big reason for my enjoying this book so much.

But I’m also intrigued by the story that’s building. I like that he’s an actual grifter and about his missing time. I want to know how he’s connected to the aliens and if maybe we can get some HALO in the DCU.

Suicide Squad – I didn’t hate this book. I thought that they handled the dual art teams pretty well, but I preferred Dallocchio’s work. I even liked the mix of characters and didn’t mind the variations, other than Deadshot’s worst uniform.

I will say that I saw the reveal coming on page two so I wasn’t surprised by anything other than skinny Amanda Waller and the next mission. Still, it was an enjoyable read. But I must add my voice to the choir of people calling for the return of the full figured Amanda Waller. Get it together DC!

Mister Terrific – Another week, another book with a Black lead that’s disappointing. I wanted this book to be so much better than it was. I didn’t really care for the art or the story. It felt like Wallace was just trying too hard to make this book sci-fi.

I did like how Mister Terrific used his T-spheres. I also liked that he’s still an atheist. And I liked how race was touched upon. But that’s the extent of what I enjoyed about this title. If it wasn’t for me wanting to support a book with a Black lead, this book would be dropped.

Legion Lost – I’m so tired of being disappointed by Legion titles. This book tosses us into the middle of the action, but it’s so disorienting that the book never recovers. What’s worse is that I don’t even really care why they’re in the past nor do I really care about the characters.

It makes me sad, because I’m a pretty big Legion fan, but I honestly don’t know if I’m coming back for a second issue.

Deathstroke – This book was so cliché. The twist was so far from shocking that it wasn’t even funny. Also, this book featured my least favorite “lead fighting antagonist on a place” scene of the week. I did actually enjoy Slade teaming with the kids, for as long as it lasted.

Ok, I also liked Joe Bennett and Art Thibert’s work on art. But the story was really less than impressive.

Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. – Yeah, I didn’t like this book. It did nothing for me. I’m a fan of Alberto Ponticelli’s art, mostly because of his work on Unknown Soldier, but it seemed to me that he stuck too tight to Lemire’s thumbnails for this story.

As happy as I am to see Ray Palmer back with a steady gig, I’ve got no idea what would drag me back to this book for a second issue.

Yeah, that’s about it for the second week. I feel like I loved more books this week than I did last week, but I’m pretty sure that I’m dropping the same amount (two) as last week.

I’m really enjoying getting these different glimpses of different books by different teams. It’s actually quite thrilling. I’ll be back next week with my take on all of this week’s releases.