WEEKS 1-2
(Previously posted on Facebook)
Rebirth has me 0/5 so far. Not looking good DC. I'm going to give the #1's of the actual series a shot still partially because I miss these characters, but mostly because absolutely nothing happens in any of these one-shots.
The Rebirth special was emotionally manipulative with Wally West's return and only was there purely to set up a status quo. Ultimately it was incredibly forgettable and introduces a lot of eyerolling status quos such as there being three Jokers, the New 52 being the new life that Dr. Manhattan went off to create during Watchmen (it's actually seen in Before Watchmen), and black Wally West being the original Wally West's cousin named after the same ancestor. Lastly, it sets up Dr. Manhattan as the big bad guy to come. It's dumb, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious where this goes. The art was awesome.
Green Arrow fans would probably like the massive Liberal pandering (stop calling yourself a social justice warrior Oliver, that's not something you want to wear as a badge of pride and it's embarrassing to actually be reading in a comic) and re-connection of Black Canary and Green Arrow. I've never been a Green Arrow fan, but I think that fans of classic Green Arrow will love this because that is what it certainly felt like. The art was gorgeous.
The Batman one was entirely pointless and only served to make Calendar Man age and shed his skin as the seasons pass. I could maybe see this going somewhere, but it's an incredibly dumb retcon that only is there to make Calendar Man supernatural and creepy. What was wrong The Long Halloween's Hannibal Lecter approach? That worked, was spooky, and was a viable and realistic information source for Batman to use. The rest of the issue had nothing happening, but typical Wayne Enterprises business. I'm confused why this issue exists. The art was great.
Green Lantern was incredibly bland. It focused on the Arab and the lady, it's a telling sign that I can't even remember their names, and Hal Jordan being stupid. Basically Lady and the Arab don't work together so Hal fuses their lanterns together and tells them they need to work together or else the incoming Red Lanterns will wreck them. With Sam Humphries writing this series my expectations are incredibly low. The art was passable.
Lastly there was Superman which focused on the death and return of New 52 Superman. Pre-Flashpoint Superman recounts the tale of him dying to Doomsday's hand and, while I appreciated seeing the red trunks again, am tired of DC acting like that is the definitive Superman story when it's the most un-Superman story ever told. What's more is classic Supes discovers that New 52 Supes doesn't have a regeneration matrix and immediately just gives up. Throw in a part where it shows that the writer did absolutely no research and it's a pretty disappointing issue. What's worse is I thought this was the best one by far, Not a good sign, The art borderlines on bad, but never fell into that territory.
Overall the biggest problem these issues have is that they are purely here to set up a status quo that existed before Flashpoint and do nothing more. Yes, DC has realized they screwed up hard and are fixing it. Yes, they have a long road ahead of them in bringing back reader. And yes, this is a better direction, but everything in these issues could have been done in two to five pages in the normal books. These are quick hype cash ins and nothing more. Do what I wish I did and save your money for the trades or actual number ones. I'm still optimistic because this is headed in the right direction.
WEEK 3
Detective Comics: This was great. It was great to see the Batfamily back together, it was great to have a very humanized and sympathetic Clayface, the art was great, seeing Steph and Cass again was great, and this has a great premise. For the first time in years I'm actually excited about Batman.
Aquaman: Man, this is the definition of a forgettable comic. So much so that I had to look through my stack just to check that I didn't forget reading anything and imagine my surprise to find this in there. Even now I'm trying to remember the plot while flipping through the pages. I think the biggest problem is, much like the first issue of The New 52 Aquaman, I am not the audience for this issue. This issue s for people who know absolutely nothing about Aquaman. Don't know his supporting cast? Here they are. Don't know Mera? Here she is. Don't know what Aquaman does? He does this. Don't know who he fights? Here's Black Manta. It suffers from the status quo setting the other Rebirth #1's did, only even more of nothing happens here. It's not bad, but also not very compelling to read. The art was forgettable as well. As I said last week, I'm going to give all the number ones a try as well, but I'm not necessarily dreading it.
The Flash: Where do I even begin? This was absolutely phenomenal. The issues starts off with Barry seeing visions and a lecture from dad. After that is Wally adjusting, and schooling, Barry. It's emotional, it's touching, the art is great, the writing is even better, and even the Watchmen tie-in at the end has me pumped. Batman and The Flash trying to solve the Comedian's murder? I am so in it's not even funny.
Action Comics: Can't say I was a fan. Superman was brutish and battle hungry, punch first and ask questions later. I thought that was the reason they killed the New 52 one off, but I guess I was mistaken. I don't care that it's Lex Luthor wearing the "S", it's established even in the issue itself that New 52 Luthor is clean and has been a hero for quite some time, even Lois tells Clark he's being unreasonable. Having Luthor then warn him not to touch the suit, having the auto-defenses activate audibly, and STILL have Superman fight him was incredibly out of character and dumb. To add to it last issue established that New 52 Clark was dead so to have him show up out of the blue is a cheap reveal that is dragged out far too long. Top the issue off with the promise of the worst Superman villain of all time on the final page and any hype I had for this title is just gone. Doomsday is not a good character. He's not an interesting bad guy, he's not compelling, and he existed for an editorial purpose and nothing more. They need to stop using him. The art was atrocious as well. I'm going to continue until the end of the arc purely because I trust Jurgens enough on Superman, it is Lex Luthor, and because outside of Clark being stupid the interactions with Lois and their son is enough for me to continue. I really want this to be good, but it's just not there.
Wonder Woman: I've never really read Wonder Woman comics, she was my least favorite character in the cartoons (which were also a horrendous depiction of her to begin with), the DCEU Wonder Woman is awful all around, and, while I know and appreciate her supporting characters, Diana herself has never really interested me all that much. This issue alone has me convinced that I should, no, need to go read Greg Rucka's run. So many retellings of Wonder Woman's origin has left Diana at a crossroads. She has no idea who she is, she has been lied to about who she is, and she is quite pissed off about that. There's a great moment that calls back to when Superboy Prime punched reality so hard it shattered and in pieces are multiple Wonder Woman Elseworlds that greatly help fit the theme of identity. Who is Wonder Woman and is she worthy of that title? I cannot wait to find out. The art was gorgeous.
Overall it was a great week for Rebirth, much better than the last, and it's really starting to seem like DC is trying to fix the mistakes of the past. Whether or not they'll fall into Marvel's gimmick and event sales boosting remains to be seen, but with almost everything getting massive reorders I hope that won't be the case. Next week has Green Arrow #1 (which will make or break the series for me,) Green Lanterns #1 (which I will probably end up regretting), Superman #1 (yay, more Jon and Lois! Please don't suck!), Titans Rebirth #1 (which not really excited about this creative team), and Batman #1 (which I'm very much looking forward to, with Scott Snyder finally gone Batman finally has a chance to be good again and Tom King is just the man to do it). Also out is Paul Dini's Vertigo graphic novel Dark Knight: A True Batman Story which I might pick up.
