DC Relaunch: 52 Words on 52 Titles (Part 1)

Just about every website out there has featured one of these posts where they run down the list of the fifty-two new titles in the DC Comics's relaunch with a yea or nay on the offerings. Well, I thought I'd make mine really quick; in the first of a two-part series, here's no more than fifty-two words (sometimes less!) on DC's first twenty-six offerings -- tomorrow's second part will cover the second twenty-six.

What looks good to you?

1) Justice League by Geoff Johns & Jim Lee
One of the titles for which I’m most excited. Been waiting for the iconic Justice League to return since Barry’s resurrection and Blackest Night; plus, one imagines a Geoff Johns/Jim Lee title should be a Hush-level bestseller.

2) Wonder Woman by Brian Azzarello & Cliff Chiang
You all know I’m a fan of Greg Rucka’s Wonder Woman; the character faltered a bit after that, before Gail Simone started, and then again after she left. Hoping Azzarello’s run is a long-term take on Wonder Woman, and he won’t be gone after the first few issues like Allan Heinberg.

3) Aquaman by Geoff Johns & Ivan Reis
Aquaman deserves his due respect after a number of not quite on-the-nose attempts, and if anyone can give him that, it’s Geoff Johns. I wonder what Johns’s “in” will be for his brand of character-driven story using Aquaman.

4) The Flash by Francis Manapul & Brian Buccallato
In terms of the DC Relaunch overall, I am somewhat hesitant about the number of new artist-writers, simply in that they’re unknown quantities. I’m glad Manapul is still drawing Flash, but this is one that worries me. Also that Wally West might be the villain.

5) The Fury of Firestorm by Gail Simone, Ethan Van Sciver & Yildiray Cinar
Of all the DC characters, I haven’t previously been much of a Firestorm fan, mainly due to lack of access. I’ll sample this -- especially with Gail Simone writing, and I’m curious to see Ethan Van Sciver draw her words [edit: Van Sciver is co-writing Firestorm; art is by Yildiray Cinar, whose work I really liked on Teen Titans: Ravager. No, this edit doesn't count for the fifty-two words]. My hope is this still has a tie to Brightest Day.

6) Green Arrow by J.T. Krul & Dan Jurgens
This is a seemingly “dark” book, but with Dan Jurgens drawing; usually I don’t equate Jurgens with “dark.” J.T. Krul continues from the previous Green Arrow series, and this is one where it’ll just depend on the story for me. Also curious whether Black Canary relationship is still in continuity.

7) Justice League International by Dan Jurgens & Aaron Lopresti
One of my top picks for the DC Relaunch. I have a soft spot for Jurgens’s Justice League in the early 1990s that featured many of these characters, and I’m excited for Jurgens to use them again with a more serious take.

8) Mister Terrific by Eric Wallace & Robert Robinson
I liked Eric Wallace’s Final Crisis: Ink a whole lot, and then was nothing but disappointed with his Titans: Villains for Hire. This could go either way -- either Wallace writes the Mr. Terrific we know and love, or Titans’s blandness creeps in. Checking this out with fingers crossed.

9) Captain Atom by J.T. Krul & Freddie Williams III
I don’t mind a new spin on Captain Atom; he’s one of those characters that pretty desperately needed a definitive relaunch. Freddie Williams’s art doesn’t always appeal to me personally, and I’ll be curious whether J.T. Krul can make the series interesting to me irrespective.

10) DC Universe Presents by Paul Jenkins & Bernard Chang
Notably we don’t know much about this series, really, but solicitations promise to follow Deadman’s story from Brightest Day, so I’m in for the first collection, at least.

11) The Savage Hawkman by Tony Daniel & Philip Tan
Here’s another artist-writer I worry about; Tony Daniel did great work on Batman: Life After Death, but not so much on Battle for the Cowl, and I have not enjoyed Philip Tan’s art previously. I’ll try the first book in part to see how DC works out Carter Hall’s new origin.

12) Green Lantern by Geoff Johns & Doug Mahnke
Of course I’m in for this one. DC seems to be trying to suggest Hal Jordan might not be the Green Lantern of the book, but we all know better. Hope there’s minimal interruption between this and the previous series.

13) Green Lantern Corps by Peter Tomasi, Fernando Pasarin & Scott Hanna
Peter Tomasi has been knocking Green Lantern Corps out of the park, at times even better than Geoff Johns (see Emerald Eclipse). No question I’m in for this one, either.

14) Green Lantern: The New Guardians by Tony Bedard, Tyler Kirkham & Batt
In considering former DC editors-turned-writers, I have not been as high on Tony Bedard’s work as I have Peter Tomasi’s. There’s a right and wrong way to write Kyle Rayner -- one is strong and sensitive, and the other is just sensitive, to a whiny fault. Hopeful Bedard gets it right.

15) Red Lanterns by Peter Milligan, Ed Benes & Rob Hunter
I liked Peter Milligan’s work on Infinity Inc., I know his reputation as a Vertigo contributor, and I’m excited for his “Dark” books. Red Lanterns seems an unlikely series, but I’m curious what Milligan will do. Ed Benes art often garners criticism, but it doesn’t give me pause for trying this.

16) Batman by Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo
Overall I’m least excited for the Batman titles. Moving Scott Snyder from Detective to Batman doesn’t shout “new” to me, nor am I familiar enough with Snyder to appreciate his writing Batman #1 (as opposed to Grant Morrison or George Perez re-starting the Super titles). I’ll see how it goes.

17) Detective Comics by Tony Daniel
I feel the same here. Tony Daniel’s writing has been hit-or-miss for me, and I don’t feel he’s distinguished himself enough to be writing Detective Comics #1. Grant Morrison has made plain Batman-fighting-villains in Gotham stories seem too small for Bruce Wayne, and that’s what this seems like.

18) Batman & Robin by Peter Tomasi & Patrick Gleeson
This is the former Green Lantern Corps team, so I know they can produce eye-popping comics; according to solicitations, this book also reflects events of Batman Inc. I’m not excited about a book where Bruce Wayne is a dick to his son for twenty pages, but I’m more optimistic about this.

19) Batman: The Dark Knight by David Finch & Jay Fabok
A fourth Batman title, especially without the distinction of being the team-up book or such, seems wholly unnecessary to me, as does restarting David Finch’s title after only five issues. Just the fact that this, too, ties to Batman Inc. raises it above Batman and Detective in my opinion.

20) Batwoman by J.H. Williams III, Haden Blackman & Amy Reeder
I’m glad, as I’m sure many are, that this book finally sees the light of day. That the solicitations mention Kate Kane’s cousin Bette make me hopeful that, when collected, the first collection will also include Greg Rucka’s Bette Kane-centered three-part story “Cutter.” Of course I’m getting this one.

21) Batgirl by Gail Simone, Ardian Syaf & Vicente Cifuentes
I’m getting this one, too. I know the controversy and I’m sympathetic to all sides -- torn, really -- but it comes down to this: if there’s anyone out there who can make this work, it’s Gail Simone. I’ll pick this up at least in part to support Simone taking the risk.

22) Birds of Prey by Duane Swierczynski & Jesus Saiz
I like Jesus Saiz’s art, but writer Duane Swierczynski is an unknown quantity, and I don’t love the idea of a rebooted Black Canary with some unknown partner (it also looks like Poison Ivy and maybe new character Voodoo here). I’ll sample this, but I’m not sure I’ll keep up with it.

23) Catwoman by Judd Winick & Guillem March
Certainly I wish it were Ed Brubaker writing this, and Guillem March’s always-unzipped costumes seem the wrong direction to take this title. I like Judd Winick’s work, however, and that gives me some peace of mind here; I’m rooting for Winick to deliver something that respects the Catwoman character.

24) Nightwing by Kyle Higgins & Eddy Barrows
I don’t know Kyle Higgin’s writing; Eddy Barrows’s art has not been my favorite, though he did well recently on War of the Supermen. The red costume with blue highlights concerns me, too. Lots of eyes will be watching the Nightwing title when DC relaunches; here’s hoping for good things.

25) Red Hood and The Outlaws by Scott Lobdell & Kenneth Rocafort
This is such an outrageous concept that I’m very excited to see how it manifests itself. In interviews, Scott Lobdell seems solid in his description of this book as one about the redemption of Red Hood and the other characters, so I’ve heard nothing to cause concern so far.

26) Batwing by Judd Winick & Ben Oliver
Again, I like Judd Winick’s work. He handled international issues and locales well in Outsiders. And I’m not an advocate that writers must have personal experience to write convincingly. But Winick writing the adventures of the first black Batman, set in Africa? I’ll have to see how this turns out.

Tune in for part two, tomorrow!