Thursday, March 22, 2012
DFC Progress
For awhile now I have been having this weird bug that would not let me progress to the next step, making a program that lets my two other guys do database work like making items/lands/monsters. I only attempted to fix it every now and then because magestorm had me enthralled but tonight I finally got it all working. There were two things going on, something in Visual Studio didn't like the connector instal I did and bugged out every time I tried to enter a server address. The other involved some port issues that I had fixed at one point but in the process of fixing the first bug, it had been reset. Regardless, it is all fixed now. Visual Studio connects just fine to the database. ONWARD WITH DFC!
Monday, March 12, 2012
DC The New 52 - Review
Seeing as how as of this week DC's New 52 reboot has reached 6 months old, or rather 6 issues a piece, I thought it would be a good time to write up a review of all of the ones that I have been keeping up with. Fortunately for me, I've got access to every single one of them which means I'm reading about 13 comics a week plus a couple mini-series that are testing the waters for viability. Going in I was looking forward to a lot of the series, wary about others and had no idea where some would even go. Looking back, of course, there were some that were disappointing, some that grabbed my attention and some that didn't really do it for me or seemed out of place. I also think that it is rather fitting that this post is my 52nd post. Without further ado, my review:
All-Star Western
Animal Man
Aquaman
Batman titles:
Batgirl
Batman
Batman and Robin
Batwing
Batwoman
Birds of Prey
Catwoman
Detective Comics
Nightwing
Red Hood and the Outlaws
The Dark Knight
Black Hawks
Blue Beetle
Captain Atom
DC Universe Presents (Currently Deadman stories)
Deathstroke
Demon Knights
The Flash
Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E.
Green Arrow
Green Lantern titles:
Green Lantern
Green Lantern Corps
Green Lantern: New Guardians
Red Lanterns
Grifter
Hawk and Dove
I, Vampire
Justice League titles:
Justice League of America
Justice League Dark
Justice League International
Legion of Super Heroes titles:
Legion Lost
Legion of Super Heroes
Men of War
Mister Terrific
O.M.A.C.
Resurrection Man
The Savage Hawkman
Static Shock
Stormwatch
Suicide Squad
Superman titles:
Action Comics
Superboy
Supergirl
Superman
Swamp Thing
Teen Titans
The Fury of Firestorm
Voodoo
Wonder Woman
Miniseries:
Huntress
The Ray
For a brief intro I will provide you with a bit of my comic background. I grew up in a mild comic book nerd environment. I never did a lot of reading of comics themselves until much later, around 23 or so, but I was always a sucker for super heroes. I had a few action figures from both Marvel and DC, I watched both X-men series (Animated Series and Evolution), I watched the live action Flash TV show with my Dad, I watched all the Batman movies as they were released, I listened to stories from my Dad and his childhood where he and his twin brother would travel to the nearby town to get the latest comic, in fact he still has a very large collection that he preserved decently and I would follow my Dad's own comics he had written and drawn with his brother when they were younger as well as the ones he drew in his spare time. Later on, as Super Hero movies became more prevalent, I branched out and stumbled upon a torrent that had every single Green Lantern comic ever printed from Alan Scott all the way to 2003. Realizing the size of it, I skipped reading the Alan Scott era comics and moved right into the Hal Jordan reboot that started in 1960. I kept reading these off and on for a few years, I think it took me about 3years to finally catch up to the current releases and along the way I sought out various miniseries that took place in the DC Universe begining around the mid-1980's. I also tracked back to the Teen Titans reboot of 1980. By the time I had finished all this, "Blackest Night" was coming to an end and DC was preparing to launch "The New 52." I seem to have a knack for timing things like that. Anyway, considering DC's goal was to let new readers jump in to old character, I took on the task of reading every single series, and here I am.
Ranking System:
5 - Must Read
4 - Good Read
3 - Didn't Lose My Time
2 - Don't Go Out of Your Way
1 - Meh
All-Star Western
I have never been a fan of the Western genre and frankly, I am amazed there is enough demand out there to support a regular comic for it but, apparently, there is, so I held my nose and dove in. The series, at least so far, has consisted of a main storyline involving Jonah Hex and Dr. Amadeus Arkham, who would later found Arkham Asylum, as they investigated occurrences in 1880's Gotham City and smaller duration stories involving lesser known names. The shorter stories have been okay. One involved zombies and a man who gained powers from a curse placed on him by an Indian that he could only access while unconscious, please ignore the absurdity and lack of cultural knowledge involved in this, and another story involving a Chinese woman seeking revenge against another Chinese mafia-esque who had wronged her and her family. Both were mildly entertaining but not terribly memorable and I can't really see either having their own stories. However, the primary storyline with Jonah Hex and Dr. Arkham was absolutely fantastic. DC has used the 1880s setting to provide backstory to the entire DC Universe, primarily Batman, and you can see many setups for references in other comics, mostly Batman related, as well as references to ancestors of common names in modern Batman lore, like the Cobblepots. For a Batman fan, I would rate this a Must Read.
Animal Man
I knew very little about Animal Man going into this series and had to actually look up a bit about his powers to help work myself into it. I had no expectations going in and a slight hesitation from not particularly being interested in him based on his power-set and what the character was in the past. This was not a straight reboot but more of a short introduction to the character without really needing any of his history other than details about his origin. Instead, it was more of an expansion on the character that, as you read other titles, is obviously going to be interweaving with the other titles, primarily Swamp Thing. The art for it is rather unique and takes a bit of getting used to, but the cover picture for the first issue really makes you want to read it and it doesn't disappoint. Instead of being strictly about Animal Man, it gets much darker and actually switches the focus from him onto his daughter of roughly age 5 or 6 who has developed the rather morbid ability to basically animate dead animals and treat them like her pets. From there the story develops into the primary conflict of future issues and the larger tie-in with other series as Animal Man struggles to protect her from "The Rot." It is hands down one of the most terrifying things I have read and I cannot put it down. I would rate this a Must Read.
Aquaman
I've always felt bad for poor Aquaman. For a 1960's character, he wasn't terribly bad and did serve a pretty good purpose but as power creep gradually took its toll, he just became more and more silly and rather useless out of water. I did like his reboot where he was more gruff and had a freaking hook for a hand as well as the Blackest Night style telepathy only working with dead sea animals, but the reboot hasn't really gone in that direction. Instead, Aquaman has moved straight into stories assuming everyone reading basically knows who he is, which is probably true for 99.9% of the readers, though the most recent issue has hinted at delving into more of the rebooted back-story. I am very encouraged by the writer connected to the project, as the first few issues were chocked full of jokes and references to Aquaman's prior "uselessness" in the form of the public's general lack of information on anything about him. My favorite line probably being a few officers realizing that they were "never going to heard the end of it" when the other officers at their station heard they were saved by Aquaman. For the "new beginning" of this pseudo/semi-reboot the reader finds Aquaman and his wife, Mera, retreating to the shore in an attempt to live in peace, away from Atlantis, only to have the area attacked by humanoid piranha-like creatures starving for food and abducting animals and humans alike. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Batgirl
Batgirl as a character has seen a lot of really weird stuff happen to her. At one point there were two Barbara Gordon's, one as Batgirl and one paralyzed as Oracle, I never followed it much at all except that I knew what Oracle was and in the crossovers and miniseries I read with Oracle references, I thought she was a pretty good character that only suffered from a bit of computerish-terms-can-solve-everything syndrome. This time around, the second Barbara Gordon, a Batgirl from a parallel Earth, had never appeared and Batgirl had received a miraculous spinal surgery that allowed her to walk again. The first arc focuses on a rash of killings of people who, in the killer's opinion, were supposed to have died in an explosion, including Barbara Gordon. Matters are made worse by the fact that Batgirl is nowhere close to fighting fit despite making her rounds of Gotham. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Batman
Batman is one of three strictly Batman related titles, the others being "Detective Comics" and "The Dark Knight." This title has definitely lived up to the post-1980's Batman style with it's dark atmosphere and has less focus on fighting itself with more attention paid to solving the current problems presented directly to Batman. There is a good connection between many things that happen in the first story arc with things that are revealed in "All-Star Western," so reading both is definitely beneficial. The story revolves around a secret society that has existed in Gotham City since it's founding and is intertwined with the fate of the Wayne family but without the knowledge of Bruce Wayne himself. I would rate this a Must Read.
Batman & Robin
Though many aspects of the DC Universe are being rebooted, the characters that have been Robin over time have stayed the same. At this point in the DC Universe Dick Grayson has returned to being Nightwing after his stint as Batman, Jason Todd remains as Red Hood, Tim Drake has continued his career as Red Robin and Damian Wayne takes his place at Batman's side. Batman & Robin follows the rocky relationship between the father and son as Batman attempts to counteract Damian's upbringing in the Assassin's Guild. Using this as a guide the characters as well as their relationships are developed significantly while simultaneously boosting background elements of Bruce Wayne's History. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Batwing
In recent Batman history, Bruce Wayne has branched out with Batman, Inc. in order to take the fight against crime to the rest of the world in a very public manner. I was never a very big fan of this as it seemed counter to the way Batman typically operated. The spinoff Batwing follows one of these operatives in Africa as he fights corruption in his home country. Aside from the appearances of Batman himself and the equipment/costume given to Batwing, very little about the Batwing Universe is known prior to reading and is nearly all new material. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Batwoman
I was very unfamiliar with Batwoman going into this comic. As it is, I have never been a hardcore Batman fan, so I had to do some research into who exactly Kate Kane (Batwoman) is. The title Batwoman does seem to be attempting to push against some social norms in that Kate Kane as well as a few other characters who make appearances are openly gay. The opening story arc deals with her being hunted by a government agency, discord with her psuedo-side kick and at this juncture doesn't seem to have finished it's initial story so it is much harder to rate. Some of the story points I did find fascinating but at other times the story was hard to follow. Hopefully it will pick up soon. I would rate this a Meh.
Birds of Prey
I am vaguely familiar with the Birds of Prey team from earlier years, though not terribly versed in them. The series features a powerhouse lineup of female characters that currently include Batgirl, Black Canary, Katana, Poison Ivy and Starling. Even if you are not familiar with some of the heroes or not particularly interested in some of the bigger names, this would still make for an interesting experience. The team design definitely boosts the appeal of all the characters, particularly Starling and Katana. During the first arc the team is investigating a group that is turning people into human bombs that use the carrier as the explosive and is triggered by rhymes. The mystery is intriguing and there is good action. I would rate this a Good Read.
Catwoman
DC has taken on an interesting approach with this title as Catwoman is most definitely a villain. The opening comic does feature a very graphic sex scene between her and Batman, capitalizing on their history but this seems more used as a teaser to the overall series instead of the first arc specifically. Thus far the comic has given the reader insight into Catwoman's past, her fiery relationship with Batman and the consequences of her life as a thief. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Detective Comics
Detective Comics, along with Superman's "Action Comics" is one of the longest running titles in history. Thus far the series has taken on a larger focus on current happenings int he DC universe and took the initiave to introduce, in my opinion, one of the best Batman villains yet, "The Dollmaker," while simultaneously creating layers of intrigue behind the villain and things yet unrevealed happening behind the scenes. I would rate this a Good Read.
Nightwing
In this title, Nightwing (Dick Grayson, the first Robin) has returned to the circus he grew up in to reunite with old friends, meanwhile being targeted as a killer by a masked vigilante in his private identity of Dick Grayson. The story follows Nightwing as he unravels a deep mystery surrounding the circus and its relationship to the vigilante. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Red Hood and the Outlaws
The first issue of this title created a big stir on the internet with its most recent portrayal of Starfire, a former member of the Teen Titans and long time love interest of Dick Grayson. Starfire has always been depicted with a much more "free" sense of physical intimacy but was always monogamous and showed a deep intellect that belied her ditzy appearance. With this reboot, as with the other updated versions of Starfire over time, her costume is skimpier than the previous costume but changes were made to her on an intellectual level as well. The story follows Arsenal (Red Arrow, former Green Arrow sidekick, Roy Harper) following the death of his daughter and his substance abuse relapse as he wanders without direction. He is joined by Red Hood (Jason Todd, the second Robin) who has been recently working recently with Starfire in their own attempts at fighting crime and under typical American social norms, the two would appear to be dating. The controversy arose with a particular scene in which Starfire reveals that sexual encounters with multiple partners are commonplace to her people and that there is no actual "love" involved in "making love." Additionally she seems to have difficulty even remembering the names of her partners. There are other issues involved, but none as prominent as that one. However, as I read on through other issues, either because of the stir created, or originally designed that way, Starfire as a character improves greatly and seems to do away with the idea that she was simply objectified for male readers, for the most part.Onto the actual story itself, Red Hood and the Outlaws, under the leadership of Red Hood, embark on a somewhat mystical journey that delves deep into Jason Todd's past and is remarkably interesting while also going far back into Earth's history as well. I would rate this a Must Read.
The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight is the final of the 3 primary Batman titles. The primary arc does seem to be wrapping up and I find it difficult to give a summary without spoiling an entertaining story. I am not sure what about it makes it different from the Detective Comics present-day stories theme as they are both equally Batman-ish in style, but nevertheless, it is mildly entertaining so far. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Blackhawks
Prior the the reboot I was unfamiliar with the Blackhawks team. They are a secret military organization funded by the United Nations, the primary focus of which is to intervene in situations of high risk. The members are all non-metahumans (no powers) and are quirkily nicknamed with the names of various countries but with a twist, the names do not coincide with their country of origin. Due to their lack of powers they are often placed in situations over their head but through their own excellence and training, come out on top. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Blue Beetle
The Blue Beetle has been rebooted in the truest sense of the word. While Jaime Reyes has played the part before in a very similar series of events, DC has made the decision to start over. Seeing as how The Blue Beetle is a mildly underplayed teen hero, this is probably a good decision and lets teens pick up the story much easier than they otherwise would. I, myself, never read any of the Jaime Reyes issues but he did do a brief stint as a pseudo-member of The Teen Titans a few years back and was done decently there. The introductory story arc features the origin of The Scarab, how it gets attached to Jaime and the fallout of him having his life suddenly thrown into chaos by the Scarab and those that want it and it's power. For those unaware, the scarab attaches to a host and operates as a retractable exosuite with various forms of weaponry and defensive options. I would rate this a Good Read.
Captain Atom
This is another complete reboot that shares many similarities to the previous version, though like Blue Beetle, I am only casually aware of Captain Atom's background. For those unaware, the character "Doctor Manhattan" from "The Watchman" (The Blue Penis Guy) is based heavily on Captain Atom from each of their abilities and with some similarities in their creation. The first story arc follows Captain Atom as he learns to deal with the transformation that has befallen him by removing inoperable cancer cells from a person but also unintentionally hurting others while the military, upset with his decision to not be their personal one man army, targets him for destruction. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
DC Universe Presents
I have never read prior to the reboot and obviously the name is quite ambiguous. There is no single hero or storyline the series follows though many will reoccur throughout the series. The title appears to operate as both a mechanism for introducing new characters as well as advancing the stories of existing characters that are seldom used or typically appear in a crossover. For the first arc the reader follows Boston Brand as he is granted his powers as Deadman and is forced to wander the globe, possessing others in order to improve their life, a-la Quantum Leap, though Deadman was created much earlier. The first Deadman story arc finished up in the 5th issue and the 6th issue has begun a story with a new set of characters and locations that overlap slightly with those presented in the first arc, minus Deadman himself. This is a very difficult title to rate due to its revolving hero nature. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Deathstroke
Deathstroke, depending on the series he is in can be seen either as a villain or an anti-hero. He is most famous for his involvement in the 1980s reboot of the "Teen Titans" as well as the primary villain "Slade" in the "Teen Titans" animated series. Slade Wilson, or Deathstroke The Terminator (predates the creation of the Terminator movies and has no connection) is a former soldier that was given super human enhancements and though advancing in age is still much more agile and stronger than many other heroes. His abilities are centered heavily around his increased ability to utilize normally unused brain power as well as reflexes making him a worthy adversary for characters with seemingly much more devastating powers. Going into the story I was hesitant as to if he deserved his own title and if it could be pulled off and I have come out of the story not overly impressed. I would rate this a Meh.
Demon Knights
The Demon Knights series takes place in medieval times and consists of a group of ragtag humans who in someway are different than normal powerless humans. In some cases immortality or super human strength and others with a more magical base. Some of the characters are more familiar faces than the others such as Jason Blood and the Demon Etrigan, Madam Xanadu and Vandal Savage. The new faces, a new Shining Knight, the Horsewoman, Al Jabr an inventor whos inventions are perceived as magic and Exoristos, an amazonian. The first issue wastes no time throwing the reader into the story, slightly at the expense of the reader's ability to know what is happening but once the reader is more familiar with the characters, it boils down to the "Heroes" defending a defenseless village against a woman posessing great magical ability and a horde of beasts and soldiers for her army. As the reader goes on though, interest does pick up. I would rate this a Don't Go Out of Your Way.
The Flash
For the reboot, DC has decided to bring back the original Flash, Barry Allen. This is a risky in my opinion as Barry Allen was one of the plain boring characters from the 1960s who failed to evolve to keep up with the sophistication of the stories and was later replaced with, in my opinion, a much better character in that of Wally West, the nephew of Barry Allen. While Barry Allen does keep all of his origin story as well as his job with the police, all of the character development that has taken place over the last 50 years has been erased. While his wife Iris West has appeared in the series, she is not serving as the love interest, or at least has yet to take on that role. The first story arc involves The Flash confronting a friend from his past both as himself and as The Flash, though the secret is not known by the friend, as the friend is being hunted by an unknown group. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E.
This is another title that I was not familiar with prior to the reboot and was definitely skeptical going in. Having read the first 6 issues I have come to realize that it is actually quite interesting. Frankenstein, the others on his team and with S.H.A.D.E. are seemingly very close to the characters in Hellboy. Frankenstein is roughly the same as his namesake except that he has decent intelligence. His team, a werewolf, vampire, a mummy healer and this weird aquatic woman, all travel around the world investigating more paranormal like situations and in one instance crossed over into the O.M.A.C. comic. I would rate this a Good Read.
Green Arrow
This time around DC is playing very heavily into Oliver Queen's "Q-core" as a DC Universe equivalent of the real world Apple Computers. Oliver Queen plays the pretty boy in charge who doesn't appear to care about the company while in reality he is using the companies innovations in his weapons fighting crime. I would rate this a Good Read.
Green Lantern
Of all the titles in "The New 52," I think the Green Lantern series, currently centered on Hal Jordan, has probably seen the least change, if any at all. Nearly all of the events of "The Blackest Night" and related incidents seem to be the same, in fact it picks up following the final issue before the reboot. For those unfamiliar, Sinestro, having helped thwart Krona's plans, was chosen by the sector ring while Hal Jordan was stripped of his responbilities and returned to Earth, powerless. Hal begins to rediscover his life without the ring. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Green Lantern Corps
This Green Lantern title typically follows the actions of teams of lanterns on specific assignments and with the reboot has been redisgned to fit Guy Gardner and John Stewart. While investigating a rather extraordinary disaster the Lanterns stumble upon "soldiers" wielding the same green energy as they are and are also resistant to the corps members constructs. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Green Lantern: New Guardians
This Green Lantern title was newly created and is specifically set to follow Kyle Rayner, my personal favorite of all the Earth Geen Lanterns. The initial story arc begins with Kyle having had a ring from each of the other corps (Yellow, Blue, Indigo, Orange, Red, Violet) appear before him having selected him as their new owner. Shortly thereafter a member from each corp shows up ready to attack Kyle for stealing the rings. I would rate this a Must Read.
Red Lanterns
The Red Lantern comic is a curious addition to the DC Universe as the Red Lanterns are vengeful more than they are heroic. Thus far the series has taken on a more intellectual tone as Atrocitus, the leader and only sentient Red Lantern, contemplates the future of his corp now that he has possession of Krona's body. As the series progresses it delves deeper into the past of the various Red Lantern members, their creation and their rise in intelligence. I would rate this a Must Read.
Grifter
I first discovered Grifter in the Flashpoint miniseries, whether or not he existed prior to that, I am unaware. At the time he just seemed like some background character from some series I'd never read but the reboot has definitely put an interesting spin on things. An ex-special forces soldier turned con artist suddenly begins hearing voices in his head, he is abducted by aliens, escapes and now they are after him. This is a very important series for what appears to be an upcoming DC event as the aliens who abducted him are appearing in small places in some other series and in larger ways in a few others. The story follows Cole Cash as he is on the run from the government who believes he has killed at least two people and has threatened to blow up a plane all while also being hunted by the aliens he has escaped from. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Hawk and Dove
Hawk and Dove were originally a pair of brothers that were part of the Teen Titans. One brother was an avatar of peace, the other an avatar of war. Their abilities and personalities complimented each other to the point that when Dove died, Hawk went crazy and tried to destroy the universe. Later on DC revived Hawk and Dove in the form of two sisters. Various events transpired to all four characters and the end result was the female Dove and male Hawk were the only ones left alive and began to team up. That is where this series picks up. The opening arc begins to delve much deeper into the realm of the avatars of various alignments with the sudden appearance of another avatar, something that has not been seen before. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
I, Vampire
I, Vampire is a very a-typical series for DC. It follows a vampire with a conscience who feels guilty for having turned a woman many years before who, unlike himself, cannot resist the urges and has thus declared war on humans. For most of the issues so far there have hardly been any references to meta-humans and only one appearance by another DC character, Batman. I would rate this a Don't Go Out Of Your Way.
Justice League of America
This is almost a complete reboot of the JLA series and takes place 5 years prior to the "current" year in DC comics. None of the heroes know each other, some aren't sure if others even exist or are just rumor. The lineup this time is a lot of the old mainstays, Superman, Batman, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Wonder Woman, Aquaman and a new addition, Cyborg. When I saw this line up I thought, "This is going to be a fantastic reboot" and it pretty much has been so far. The opening comic starts out with Batman being hunted down by the government and running into Green Lantern. Some of the best comic dialogue that I have ever read occurs between Batman and GL and if they keep the relationship between the two in that form it is going to make for some great comics. On top of all that, they really go all out for the graphical presentation of the comic. I've never seen such great detail on GL's constructs. I would rate this a Must Read.
Justice League: Dark
This is a new approach to Justice League titles and at the moment is only marginally related to the Justice League itself. The series follows around a group of magic-oriented heroes who have gathered together because of a future that has been foreseen by Madame Xanadu. The team consists of herself, John Constantine, Shade the Changing Man, Zatanna, Mindwarp, Deadman and Enchantress. This group is designed to take on what the Justice League can't handle in terms of magic. There are also some interesting metaphysical issues raised involving Shade, Deadman and Enchantress that do give it a nice philosophical touch. I would rate this a Don't Go Out Of Your Way.
Justice League: International
This is not a new title, but due to the reboot the team is a first of its kind, commissioned by the United Nations it has representatives from all over the world, some oldies and some new ones that are quite interesting. I was a little bewildered at the choice of leader, Booster Gold, as the character has always been fairly shallow and in the game for the wrong reasons, or at least it seems that way to everyone else in the DC Universe, but it kind of works because of his lack of confidence in dealing with the responsibility that has been thrust upon him by Batman who weirdly enough has the utmost confidence in Booster Gold. The rest of the team consists of: Batman, Green Lantern (Guy Gardner), Rocket Red (Russian), Fire (Brazil), Ice (Norway), Vixen (Unnamed African Country), August General in Iron (China) and Godiva (Britain). The team is hastily formed to investigate a disappearance and stumbles upon a plot to destroy the planet. The team has to deal with lack of unit cohesion and team work as well as conflicting personalities. There are definitely nationalistic conflicts between various members and a the spotlight on some of the lesser known heroes has worked very well. I have a particular fondness for August General in Iron as his powerset is rather unique and the dynamics between him and others is intriguing. I would rate this a Good Read.
Legion of Super Heroes
Neither this series or it's spinoff series "Legion Lost" presented readers with a problem if they weren't familiar with it prior to the reboot as there wasn't really a reboot at all. In fact LoSH doesn't seem to have an opening and just dives right into a story arc without much introduction at all. Yes, it is nice that in every issue the hero is identified with a brief description of their powers, but that doesn't stop the feeling of a starting to read something in the middle of the story. That part aside, the stories aren't terrible, but it isn't the best for new readers. LoSH takes place in the 30th and 31st century where the universe is much more integrated and Earth is completely aware of the universe at large. I would rate this a Don't Go Out Of Your Way.
Legion Lost
Legion Lost is much better for new readers than The Legion of Super Heroes as the onslaught of characters is smaller, though it does still suffer slightly from not really having a reboot. The story begins with a small group of the Legionnaires, noticibly absent in LoSH, being stranded in the present day after giving chase to a criminal who seeks revenge by exposing humans to the DNA of various alien species and attempting to mutate them in order to alter the future. I would rate this a Don't Go Out Of Your Way.
Men of War
I'm not totally sure how to take in Men of War. It is a series of short stories, sometimes connected, sometimes not, that follow soldiers through battlefield situations. Some of the stories have meta-human references or characters, others don't. All in all, most of the stories have been rather boring and if I had to drop a title, this would be the first. Perhaps there is some audience out there it rings true for, but I can't imagine it is terribly inundated with Comic Book Nerds. I would rate this a Meh.
Mister Terrific
I wasn't a huge Mister Terrific fan prior to the reboot but having read the first 6 issues he is definitely climbing my list of Super Heroes. Mister Terrific or Michael Holt is the worlds 3rd smartest man, an arbitrary title/nickname given to him by some unknown person or group and often recited sort of as a joke. Similar to Green Arrow (Oliver Queen), he is the CEO of his own company but is clearly more interested and capable of running it while at the same time is moderately aloof about such responsibility. Mister Terrific is known for using his "T-Spheres," as part of his hero tech, which can do a multitude of things including but not limited to supporting him for flight, laser grids, Holographic projectors and portable computers. Most importantly, to me, is that he is very openly and adamantly an atheist and often cites it without shame. He does acknowledge a lot of the supernatural aspects of the DC Universe but maintains there is still a rational explanation for them. As for the reboot, Mister Terrific himself doesn't have a terrifically large reboot, he is still very much the same guy after as he was before, minus the non-existence of the Justice Society of America which has not yet been remade, though it is in the works. I would rate this a Good Read.
O.M.A.C.
OMAC was a tool of the primary antagonist from the Infinite Crisis miniseries of 2005-2006 known as "Brother Eye." Brother Eye was an artificial intelligence located on a satellite in orbit around earth and was used by Maxwell Lord (Head of Checkmate) in an attempt to rid the planet of all meta-humans by using sleeper agents known as "OMACs." OMACs were humans who had been secretly given nanites that would transform them into the OMACs which had a very robotic style and would then attack meta-humans as Brother Eye directed. Along the way Brother Eye rebelled despite Maxwell Lord's attempts to thwart it though in the end, of course, the heroes saved the day and Brother Eye was defeated. With the advent of the "New 52," Brother Eye makes his return by in a sense, escaping and infesting a single person with the OMAC nanites. The series follows this person, Kevin Kho, as he is hunted by the government as part of Brother Eye while Brother Eye extorts Kho to be a tool to help Brother Eye expand. I would rate this a Don't Go Out Of Your Way.
Resurrection Man
The basics of Resurrection Man are pretty simple and straightforward. Every time he dies, he returns to life but with a different meta-human ability. He cannot remember who he is and, of course, people are chasing him trying to capture him. This summary does make it sound a-typical and unoriginal but that really isn't the case. The nature of Resurrection Man's powers makes for a very unique experience and the story is pretty well written if not slightly high on the fan service in a few issues. Two bounty hunter women called up for a job and of course they're just laying around in lingerie looking sexy. That aside, I would rate this a Good Read.
Savage Hawkman
Hawkman has been notoriously unpopular in the modern age of comics mostly due to the perception that his power is to simply "fly" in the same way that aquaman's power is to "swim." I never read earlier editions but for this series, as the title suggests, Hawkman is very savage and a rather scrappy brawler. Instead of having the various Nth Metal Weapons and gear, the Nth metal has merged with Hawkman's body, against his will, after he had attempted to get rid of it. For those unfamiliar with it, Nth Metal is an extremely rare metal with great properties. Basically, Hawkman hits a bajillion times harder with an Nth Metal Mace instead of a regular steel mace. Thrown together with some interesting new villains, this reboot of Hawkman will hopefully fare better than the earlier ones. I would rate this a Good Read.
Static Shock
Many people will remember Static (Virgil Hawkins) from the Static Shock animated series many years ago. If you don't then here is some info. In a fictional midwest city there was basically a big sciency accident, things went boom, a large group of teenagers were exposed to sciency stuff and began developing powers. In Static's case, he gained control over electromagnetism and can use it to control objects an roughly simulate flying amongst other cool uses of his powers. In this reboot, Virgil and his family have moved to New York City under the guise of expanding his education as he is of extremely high intellect as well as an internship at STAR labs. In reality he is fighting crime alongside the hero Hardware. For the most part the reader is fine coming into the series, though there are a few things that are clearly hold overs from past issues, namely the fact that his sister has a duplicate and neither can tell which is the real one. I would rate this a Good Read.
Stormwatch
Stormwatch looks to be a very integral part of the at large DC Universe in the future as it is a very old secret organization that essentially protects the planet. By this point the organization has a space station in orbit that is somehow cloaked from view. Most importantly, this is the new home of The Martian Manhunter who is noticibly absent in all other comics minus an appearance or two where after finishing, he erases his existence from the observers' minds. The other heroes are Jack Hawksmore, a man who quite possibly has the most unique power I have ever seen. He is unable to live outside of a city in that he gets sick in doing so but at the same time he can converse with the city which takes on a humanoid form only he can communicate with. Apollo, a solar energy based hero who can fly and shoot blasts from his hands. There are other characters too, but each are relatively unknowns, particularly compared to the Martian Manhunter. It is clear through the first few issues that Stormwatch is going to play an integral roll in whatever upcoming miniseries DC has planned. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Suicide Squad
This is a re-imagining of an old great title. Suicide Squad has been around for awhile and I suspect will stay around just as long. The premise of the series is that the government uses criminals they have in custody to perform covert missions that can be written off as having no connection to the government. The prisoners are fitted with explosives in their bodies set on a timer. If the timer ends, kaboom, end of mission, end of villain. In exchange, the prisoners involved get time taken off of their sentence or released. The actions of the team are frequently questionable and sometimes directed by the government in the performance of morally questionable or outright evil acts. The team members are frequently changing, either by death or by skillset needed for the mission. Many times the villains are also new or seldom used background characters. In the outset of this version of Suicide Squad the more notable names are Deadshot, a master marksman and the closest thing to a main character the series has ever had, and Harley Quinn, the Joker's sidekick. There are a few others who are interesting characters, but nonetheless, are small fries. I must give a big round of applause to the writer as well for the dialogue given to Harley Quinn, fantastic. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Action Comics
Action Comics is to Superman what Detective Comics is to Batman. With this reboot, DC uses Action Comics as a method of retelling the emergence of Superman in metropolis as he feels out his powers and they begin to mature into what everyone is familiar with. It also gives a good look to the rewriting of Clark Kent's history as a reporter. As of the 6th issue, all of the happenings take place prior to the current time in the DC Universe. I like the new approach for Clark Kent but some of the stories haven't been as good as others. I would rate this a Don't Go Out Of Your Way.
Superboy
The modern era Superboy was a piece of the miniseries where Superman died and was subsequently replaced by 4 others claiming to be Superman. Cyborg Superman, a version of Superman with similar powers but light sensitivity, Steel, a man in a suit of armor akin to Marvel's Iron Man and a clone who would later become Superboy. This creation story has been retained, for the most part, but altered in the sense of the organization who "made" him and for what reason. He still possesses the original Superboy's "Tactile Telekinesis" as well as the understanding that he is a clone. The story arcs thus far have focused on experiencing the world outside of the facility he was grown in, learning how to use his powers and developing a moral compass. I would rate this a Don't Go Out Of Your Way.
Supergirl
Supergirl has had many incarnations over the years, to the extent that there were two at once (Power Girl). In this reboot, she is shown to having had a similar origin as that of her cousin Superman except that she was a teenager at the time. When she arrives on earth Superman is already a grown man while she has not aged at all. Supergirl possesses no knowledge of where she is, why she is there, what happened to her planet and is beginning to notice she has the powers we all have come to be familiar with that of a Kryptonian on Earth. Her story begins when she is discovered having crash landed in Siberia and the conflict involved in people trying to "recover" her. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Superman
This Superman title is used to tell stories happening in the current portion of the DC Universe timeline. The first issue does much to rewrite the world of Clark Kent for a more modern era. The Daily Planet is merging with a TV network as print media begins to die out. Clark Kent is still a beat reporter for the little guy and Lois Lane has moved on to producing at the TV network. As of yet there is no relationship between the two and it doesn't look to be a high story point priority. I would rate this a Don't Go Out Of Your Way.
Swamp Thing
The Swamp Thing title has been around for decade though I have never been terribly interested in it myself. The reboot is styled so that if you had never read anything involving Swamp Thing, then you would be fine, but at the same time does not remove any of the prior events that have happened in Swamp Thing history. The direction DC is taking the series is pretty clear and heavily tied into that of the "Animal Man" series. Whereas Animal Man is connected to the animal kingdom, similarly, Swamp Thing is connected to the plant kingdom. The two end up sharing a similar enemy, The Rot. While it is interesting and a bonus for those who enjoy Animal Man, it isn't quite as good in my book. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Teen Titans
As previously mentioned, I have read all the Teen Titans comics begining in its 1980 reboot. It has always been very enjoyable, even the more recent attempts to reform it with new heroes that didn't go quite as well. This team features many of the heroes from Young Justice, although some with different twists. The leader, Red Robin or Tim Drake, the 3rd Robin, is searching the country for meta-human teens he believes are being hunted by a mysterious organization known as "N.O.W.H.E.R.E." In his travels he begins picking up other teens to work with him. His first encounter is with a girl that has the same name as the previous Wonder Girl but is blonde and is only being called Wonder Girl by the media. She is not really a hero as her powers come from artifacts she has stolen but reluctantly accepts help from Red Robin. There is also a Kid Flash present, however, it is not Wally West, the original Kid Flash and curiously enough, Wally has yet to make an appearance at all. Instead the role of Kid Flash is played by Bart Allen, the person who took over the role once Wally West had moved on to become The Flash. The rest of the team is made up of a young girl who forms into a cocoon like state each time she falls asleep and comes out an insect-like creature with, at best, instinctual intelligence, Bunker, a boy with the ability to form objects with his mind and use them to fight and a girl that has aspects of her powers taken from a former Titans heroine with the same name, Solstice. DC has also taken a bold step and designed Bunker as an openly gay teen and done it in a way that is clear it is a normal aspect of every day life, without waving it around to shove it in the readers face and making it a sort of token gay character. I also have to point out how much I enjoy Tim Drake as Red Robin. The costume and tools are amazing and really showcase his abilities when he takes on people with actual powers. I would rate this a Must Read.
The Fury of Firestorm
Firestorm was created a few decades back, known as the nuclear man, he had the ability to rearrange molecules to change certain substances into others. The interesting twist was that he was not one person but two, a student with sub-par molecular knowledge controlling the body and a Chemistry professor who became a part of Firestorm's mind. With the professor helping the student Firestorm became a force to be reckoned with. The reboot, however, has taken a twist on the character. This time around Firestorm refers to two students at a local high school. A black boy with great intelligence and the original student, a white quarterback of the football team with sub-par grades. The other twist is that the two become Firestorm seperately, each with the same powerset, but also that the two Firestorms can combine to become a much more powerful entity that they do not have control over and would presumably be "The Fury of Firestorm." The conflict in the series comes from rogue groups around the world who want to get their hands on the Firestorm protocol, the tool needed to turn someone into a Firestorm. As it turns out, there are many Firestorms, and not all of them with a working moral compass. I would rate this as Good Read.
Voodoo
I was not sure how to take approach this series as the title and cover reveal very little about who Voodoo is or what she has to do with the DC Universe. As it turns out the role she and her story play in the DC Universe is very similar to that of the series "Grifter." Without going into too much detail that would ruin the story, Voodoo is an alien and the government is after her in the same manner they are after Grifter. Voodoo, herself, has shapeshifting abilities as well as limited mind reading. Of all of the new "unknown" titles, this one is easily my favorite. I would rate this a Must Read.
Wonder Woman
I was never really a Wonder Woman comic fan. The heroine was entertaining in Justice League, but as a solo character, I could never really get into her due to the Greek God centered stories. There are many good changes to Diana's background that I think work very well but I am reluctant to reveal and some interesting twists with the Gods themselves, not to mention some really fantastic dialogue. I would rate this a Good Read.
Miniseries:
Huntress
Huntress is one of those odd holdovers from DC attempting to merge universes and has been used by many different women, though often in some way connected to Batman. In one instance she was the daughter of Earth-2's Bruce Wayne and Selena Kyle. The miniseries follows her as she is singlehandedly hunting down and tearing apart a human trafficking operation. She has no super human abilities and often uses a hand crossbow and other gadgets to complete her mission. I would not be opposed to reading the series if it became a full-fledged monthly comic. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
The Ray
This miniseries is still very much in the works but it does look very promising. The Ray has been reimagined a few times over the years but never to huge success. His powers are based on light absorption and manipulation. He can travel at the speed of light hence the name, "The Ray." The miniseries includes his origin story as well as him coping with the change to his life. I would rate this a Must Read.
Breakdown
I hope this has been some help to people who read it and are interested in checking out new DC titles. Finally, a tally of how many titles received each rank to illustrate the overall effectiveness of the reboot.
Must Reads (10):
All-Star Western
Animal Man
Batman
Red Hood and the Outlaws
Green Lantern: New Guardians
Red Lanterns
Justice League of America
Teen Titans
Voodoo
The Ray
Good Reads (12):
Birds of Prey
Detective Comics
Blue Beetle
Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E.
Green Arrow
Justice League International
Mister Terrific
Resurrection Man
Savage Hawkman
Static Shock
The Fury of Firestorm
Wonder Woman
Didn't Lose My Time (20):
Aquaman
Batgirl
Batman and Robin
Batwing
Catwoman
Nightwing
Batwing
Black Hawks
Captain Atom
DC Universe Presents (Currently Deadman stories)
The Flash
Green Lantern
Green Lantern Corps
Grifter
Hawk and Dove
Suicide Squad
Stormwatch
Supergirl
Swamp Thing
Huntress
Don't Go Out Of Your Way (9):
Demon Knights
I, Vampire
Justice League Dark
Legion of Super Heroes
Legion Lost
O.M.A.C.
Action Comics
Superboy
Superman
Meh (3):
Batwoman
Deathstroke
Men Of War
All-Star Western
Animal Man
Aquaman
Batman titles:
Batgirl
Batman
Batman and Robin
Batwing
Batwoman
Birds of Prey
Catwoman
Detective Comics
Nightwing
Red Hood and the Outlaws
The Dark Knight
Black Hawks
Blue Beetle
Captain Atom
DC Universe Presents (Currently Deadman stories)
Deathstroke
Demon Knights
The Flash
Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E.
Green Arrow
Green Lantern titles:
Green Lantern
Green Lantern Corps
Green Lantern: New Guardians
Red Lanterns
Grifter
Hawk and Dove
I, Vampire
Justice League titles:
Justice League of America
Justice League Dark
Justice League International
Legion of Super Heroes titles:
Legion Lost
Legion of Super Heroes
Men of War
Mister Terrific
O.M.A.C.
Resurrection Man
The Savage Hawkman
Static Shock
Stormwatch
Suicide Squad
Superman titles:
Action Comics
Superboy
Supergirl
Superman
Swamp Thing
Teen Titans
The Fury of Firestorm
Voodoo
Wonder Woman
Miniseries:
Huntress
The Ray
For a brief intro I will provide you with a bit of my comic background. I grew up in a mild comic book nerd environment. I never did a lot of reading of comics themselves until much later, around 23 or so, but I was always a sucker for super heroes. I had a few action figures from both Marvel and DC, I watched both X-men series (Animated Series and Evolution), I watched the live action Flash TV show with my Dad, I watched all the Batman movies as they were released, I listened to stories from my Dad and his childhood where he and his twin brother would travel to the nearby town to get the latest comic, in fact he still has a very large collection that he preserved decently and I would follow my Dad's own comics he had written and drawn with his brother when they were younger as well as the ones he drew in his spare time. Later on, as Super Hero movies became more prevalent, I branched out and stumbled upon a torrent that had every single Green Lantern comic ever printed from Alan Scott all the way to 2003. Realizing the size of it, I skipped reading the Alan Scott era comics and moved right into the Hal Jordan reboot that started in 1960. I kept reading these off and on for a few years, I think it took me about 3years to finally catch up to the current releases and along the way I sought out various miniseries that took place in the DC Universe begining around the mid-1980's. I also tracked back to the Teen Titans reboot of 1980. By the time I had finished all this, "Blackest Night" was coming to an end and DC was preparing to launch "The New 52." I seem to have a knack for timing things like that. Anyway, considering DC's goal was to let new readers jump in to old character, I took on the task of reading every single series, and here I am.
Ranking System:
5 - Must Read
4 - Good Read
3 - Didn't Lose My Time
2 - Don't Go Out of Your Way
1 - Meh
All-Star Western
I have never been a fan of the Western genre and frankly, I am amazed there is enough demand out there to support a regular comic for it but, apparently, there is, so I held my nose and dove in. The series, at least so far, has consisted of a main storyline involving Jonah Hex and Dr. Amadeus Arkham, who would later found Arkham Asylum, as they investigated occurrences in 1880's Gotham City and smaller duration stories involving lesser known names. The shorter stories have been okay. One involved zombies and a man who gained powers from a curse placed on him by an Indian that he could only access while unconscious, please ignore the absurdity and lack of cultural knowledge involved in this, and another story involving a Chinese woman seeking revenge against another Chinese mafia-esque who had wronged her and her family. Both were mildly entertaining but not terribly memorable and I can't really see either having their own stories. However, the primary storyline with Jonah Hex and Dr. Arkham was absolutely fantastic. DC has used the 1880s setting to provide backstory to the entire DC Universe, primarily Batman, and you can see many setups for references in other comics, mostly Batman related, as well as references to ancestors of common names in modern Batman lore, like the Cobblepots. For a Batman fan, I would rate this a Must Read.
Animal Man
I knew very little about Animal Man going into this series and had to actually look up a bit about his powers to help work myself into it. I had no expectations going in and a slight hesitation from not particularly being interested in him based on his power-set and what the character was in the past. This was not a straight reboot but more of a short introduction to the character without really needing any of his history other than details about his origin. Instead, it was more of an expansion on the character that, as you read other titles, is obviously going to be interweaving with the other titles, primarily Swamp Thing. The art for it is rather unique and takes a bit of getting used to, but the cover picture for the first issue really makes you want to read it and it doesn't disappoint. Instead of being strictly about Animal Man, it gets much darker and actually switches the focus from him onto his daughter of roughly age 5 or 6 who has developed the rather morbid ability to basically animate dead animals and treat them like her pets. From there the story develops into the primary conflict of future issues and the larger tie-in with other series as Animal Man struggles to protect her from "The Rot." It is hands down one of the most terrifying things I have read and I cannot put it down. I would rate this a Must Read.
Aquaman
I've always felt bad for poor Aquaman. For a 1960's character, he wasn't terribly bad and did serve a pretty good purpose but as power creep gradually took its toll, he just became more and more silly and rather useless out of water. I did like his reboot where he was more gruff and had a freaking hook for a hand as well as the Blackest Night style telepathy only working with dead sea animals, but the reboot hasn't really gone in that direction. Instead, Aquaman has moved straight into stories assuming everyone reading basically knows who he is, which is probably true for 99.9% of the readers, though the most recent issue has hinted at delving into more of the rebooted back-story. I am very encouraged by the writer connected to the project, as the first few issues were chocked full of jokes and references to Aquaman's prior "uselessness" in the form of the public's general lack of information on anything about him. My favorite line probably being a few officers realizing that they were "never going to heard the end of it" when the other officers at their station heard they were saved by Aquaman. For the "new beginning" of this pseudo/semi-reboot the reader finds Aquaman and his wife, Mera, retreating to the shore in an attempt to live in peace, away from Atlantis, only to have the area attacked by humanoid piranha-like creatures starving for food and abducting animals and humans alike. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Batgirl
Batgirl as a character has seen a lot of really weird stuff happen to her. At one point there were two Barbara Gordon's, one as Batgirl and one paralyzed as Oracle, I never followed it much at all except that I knew what Oracle was and in the crossovers and miniseries I read with Oracle references, I thought she was a pretty good character that only suffered from a bit of computerish-terms-can-solve-everything syndrome. This time around, the second Barbara Gordon, a Batgirl from a parallel Earth, had never appeared and Batgirl had received a miraculous spinal surgery that allowed her to walk again. The first arc focuses on a rash of killings of people who, in the killer's opinion, were supposed to have died in an explosion, including Barbara Gordon. Matters are made worse by the fact that Batgirl is nowhere close to fighting fit despite making her rounds of Gotham. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Batman
Batman is one of three strictly Batman related titles, the others being "Detective Comics" and "The Dark Knight." This title has definitely lived up to the post-1980's Batman style with it's dark atmosphere and has less focus on fighting itself with more attention paid to solving the current problems presented directly to Batman. There is a good connection between many things that happen in the first story arc with things that are revealed in "All-Star Western," so reading both is definitely beneficial. The story revolves around a secret society that has existed in Gotham City since it's founding and is intertwined with the fate of the Wayne family but without the knowledge of Bruce Wayne himself. I would rate this a Must Read.
Batman & Robin
Though many aspects of the DC Universe are being rebooted, the characters that have been Robin over time have stayed the same. At this point in the DC Universe Dick Grayson has returned to being Nightwing after his stint as Batman, Jason Todd remains as Red Hood, Tim Drake has continued his career as Red Robin and Damian Wayne takes his place at Batman's side. Batman & Robin follows the rocky relationship between the father and son as Batman attempts to counteract Damian's upbringing in the Assassin's Guild. Using this as a guide the characters as well as their relationships are developed significantly while simultaneously boosting background elements of Bruce Wayne's History. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Batwing
In recent Batman history, Bruce Wayne has branched out with Batman, Inc. in order to take the fight against crime to the rest of the world in a very public manner. I was never a very big fan of this as it seemed counter to the way Batman typically operated. The spinoff Batwing follows one of these operatives in Africa as he fights corruption in his home country. Aside from the appearances of Batman himself and the equipment/costume given to Batwing, very little about the Batwing Universe is known prior to reading and is nearly all new material. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Batwoman
I was very unfamiliar with Batwoman going into this comic. As it is, I have never been a hardcore Batman fan, so I had to do some research into who exactly Kate Kane (Batwoman) is. The title Batwoman does seem to be attempting to push against some social norms in that Kate Kane as well as a few other characters who make appearances are openly gay. The opening story arc deals with her being hunted by a government agency, discord with her psuedo-side kick and at this juncture doesn't seem to have finished it's initial story so it is much harder to rate. Some of the story points I did find fascinating but at other times the story was hard to follow. Hopefully it will pick up soon. I would rate this a Meh.
Birds of Prey
I am vaguely familiar with the Birds of Prey team from earlier years, though not terribly versed in them. The series features a powerhouse lineup of female characters that currently include Batgirl, Black Canary, Katana, Poison Ivy and Starling. Even if you are not familiar with some of the heroes or not particularly interested in some of the bigger names, this would still make for an interesting experience. The team design definitely boosts the appeal of all the characters, particularly Starling and Katana. During the first arc the team is investigating a group that is turning people into human bombs that use the carrier as the explosive and is triggered by rhymes. The mystery is intriguing and there is good action. I would rate this a Good Read.
Catwoman
DC has taken on an interesting approach with this title as Catwoman is most definitely a villain. The opening comic does feature a very graphic sex scene between her and Batman, capitalizing on their history but this seems more used as a teaser to the overall series instead of the first arc specifically. Thus far the comic has given the reader insight into Catwoman's past, her fiery relationship with Batman and the consequences of her life as a thief. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Detective Comics
Detective Comics, along with Superman's "Action Comics" is one of the longest running titles in history. Thus far the series has taken on a larger focus on current happenings int he DC universe and took the initiave to introduce, in my opinion, one of the best Batman villains yet, "The Dollmaker," while simultaneously creating layers of intrigue behind the villain and things yet unrevealed happening behind the scenes. I would rate this a Good Read.
Nightwing
In this title, Nightwing (Dick Grayson, the first Robin) has returned to the circus he grew up in to reunite with old friends, meanwhile being targeted as a killer by a masked vigilante in his private identity of Dick Grayson. The story follows Nightwing as he unravels a deep mystery surrounding the circus and its relationship to the vigilante. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Red Hood and the Outlaws
The first issue of this title created a big stir on the internet with its most recent portrayal of Starfire, a former member of the Teen Titans and long time love interest of Dick Grayson. Starfire has always been depicted with a much more "free" sense of physical intimacy but was always monogamous and showed a deep intellect that belied her ditzy appearance. With this reboot, as with the other updated versions of Starfire over time, her costume is skimpier than the previous costume but changes were made to her on an intellectual level as well. The story follows Arsenal (Red Arrow, former Green Arrow sidekick, Roy Harper) following the death of his daughter and his substance abuse relapse as he wanders without direction. He is joined by Red Hood (Jason Todd, the second Robin) who has been recently working recently with Starfire in their own attempts at fighting crime and under typical American social norms, the two would appear to be dating. The controversy arose with a particular scene in which Starfire reveals that sexual encounters with multiple partners are commonplace to her people and that there is no actual "love" involved in "making love." Additionally she seems to have difficulty even remembering the names of her partners. There are other issues involved, but none as prominent as that one. However, as I read on through other issues, either because of the stir created, or originally designed that way, Starfire as a character improves greatly and seems to do away with the idea that she was simply objectified for male readers, for the most part.Onto the actual story itself, Red Hood and the Outlaws, under the leadership of Red Hood, embark on a somewhat mystical journey that delves deep into Jason Todd's past and is remarkably interesting while also going far back into Earth's history as well. I would rate this a Must Read.
The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight is the final of the 3 primary Batman titles. The primary arc does seem to be wrapping up and I find it difficult to give a summary without spoiling an entertaining story. I am not sure what about it makes it different from the Detective Comics present-day stories theme as they are both equally Batman-ish in style, but nevertheless, it is mildly entertaining so far. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Blackhawks
Prior the the reboot I was unfamiliar with the Blackhawks team. They are a secret military organization funded by the United Nations, the primary focus of which is to intervene in situations of high risk. The members are all non-metahumans (no powers) and are quirkily nicknamed with the names of various countries but with a twist, the names do not coincide with their country of origin. Due to their lack of powers they are often placed in situations over their head but through their own excellence and training, come out on top. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Blue Beetle
The Blue Beetle has been rebooted in the truest sense of the word. While Jaime Reyes has played the part before in a very similar series of events, DC has made the decision to start over. Seeing as how The Blue Beetle is a mildly underplayed teen hero, this is probably a good decision and lets teens pick up the story much easier than they otherwise would. I, myself, never read any of the Jaime Reyes issues but he did do a brief stint as a pseudo-member of The Teen Titans a few years back and was done decently there. The introductory story arc features the origin of The Scarab, how it gets attached to Jaime and the fallout of him having his life suddenly thrown into chaos by the Scarab and those that want it and it's power. For those unaware, the scarab attaches to a host and operates as a retractable exosuite with various forms of weaponry and defensive options. I would rate this a Good Read.
Captain Atom
This is another complete reboot that shares many similarities to the previous version, though like Blue Beetle, I am only casually aware of Captain Atom's background. For those unaware, the character "Doctor Manhattan" from "The Watchman" (The Blue Penis Guy) is based heavily on Captain Atom from each of their abilities and with some similarities in their creation. The first story arc follows Captain Atom as he learns to deal with the transformation that has befallen him by removing inoperable cancer cells from a person but also unintentionally hurting others while the military, upset with his decision to not be their personal one man army, targets him for destruction. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
DC Universe Presents
I have never read prior to the reboot and obviously the name is quite ambiguous. There is no single hero or storyline the series follows though many will reoccur throughout the series. The title appears to operate as both a mechanism for introducing new characters as well as advancing the stories of existing characters that are seldom used or typically appear in a crossover. For the first arc the reader follows Boston Brand as he is granted his powers as Deadman and is forced to wander the globe, possessing others in order to improve their life, a-la Quantum Leap, though Deadman was created much earlier. The first Deadman story arc finished up in the 5th issue and the 6th issue has begun a story with a new set of characters and locations that overlap slightly with those presented in the first arc, minus Deadman himself. This is a very difficult title to rate due to its revolving hero nature. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Deathstroke
Deathstroke, depending on the series he is in can be seen either as a villain or an anti-hero. He is most famous for his involvement in the 1980s reboot of the "Teen Titans" as well as the primary villain "Slade" in the "Teen Titans" animated series. Slade Wilson, or Deathstroke The Terminator (predates the creation of the Terminator movies and has no connection) is a former soldier that was given super human enhancements and though advancing in age is still much more agile and stronger than many other heroes. His abilities are centered heavily around his increased ability to utilize normally unused brain power as well as reflexes making him a worthy adversary for characters with seemingly much more devastating powers. Going into the story I was hesitant as to if he deserved his own title and if it could be pulled off and I have come out of the story not overly impressed. I would rate this a Meh.
Demon Knights
The Demon Knights series takes place in medieval times and consists of a group of ragtag humans who in someway are different than normal powerless humans. In some cases immortality or super human strength and others with a more magical base. Some of the characters are more familiar faces than the others such as Jason Blood and the Demon Etrigan, Madam Xanadu and Vandal Savage. The new faces, a new Shining Knight, the Horsewoman, Al Jabr an inventor whos inventions are perceived as magic and Exoristos, an amazonian. The first issue wastes no time throwing the reader into the story, slightly at the expense of the reader's ability to know what is happening but once the reader is more familiar with the characters, it boils down to the "Heroes" defending a defenseless village against a woman posessing great magical ability and a horde of beasts and soldiers for her army. As the reader goes on though, interest does pick up. I would rate this a Don't Go Out of Your Way.
The Flash
For the reboot, DC has decided to bring back the original Flash, Barry Allen. This is a risky in my opinion as Barry Allen was one of the plain boring characters from the 1960s who failed to evolve to keep up with the sophistication of the stories and was later replaced with, in my opinion, a much better character in that of Wally West, the nephew of Barry Allen. While Barry Allen does keep all of his origin story as well as his job with the police, all of the character development that has taken place over the last 50 years has been erased. While his wife Iris West has appeared in the series, she is not serving as the love interest, or at least has yet to take on that role. The first story arc involves The Flash confronting a friend from his past both as himself and as The Flash, though the secret is not known by the friend, as the friend is being hunted by an unknown group. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E.
This is another title that I was not familiar with prior to the reboot and was definitely skeptical going in. Having read the first 6 issues I have come to realize that it is actually quite interesting. Frankenstein, the others on his team and with S.H.A.D.E. are seemingly very close to the characters in Hellboy. Frankenstein is roughly the same as his namesake except that he has decent intelligence. His team, a werewolf, vampire, a mummy healer and this weird aquatic woman, all travel around the world investigating more paranormal like situations and in one instance crossed over into the O.M.A.C. comic. I would rate this a Good Read.
Green Arrow
This time around DC is playing very heavily into Oliver Queen's "Q-core" as a DC Universe equivalent of the real world Apple Computers. Oliver Queen plays the pretty boy in charge who doesn't appear to care about the company while in reality he is using the companies innovations in his weapons fighting crime. I would rate this a Good Read.
Green Lantern
Of all the titles in "The New 52," I think the Green Lantern series, currently centered on Hal Jordan, has probably seen the least change, if any at all. Nearly all of the events of "The Blackest Night" and related incidents seem to be the same, in fact it picks up following the final issue before the reboot. For those unfamiliar, Sinestro, having helped thwart Krona's plans, was chosen by the sector ring while Hal Jordan was stripped of his responbilities and returned to Earth, powerless. Hal begins to rediscover his life without the ring. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Green Lantern Corps
This Green Lantern title typically follows the actions of teams of lanterns on specific assignments and with the reboot has been redisgned to fit Guy Gardner and John Stewart. While investigating a rather extraordinary disaster the Lanterns stumble upon "soldiers" wielding the same green energy as they are and are also resistant to the corps members constructs. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Green Lantern: New Guardians
This Green Lantern title was newly created and is specifically set to follow Kyle Rayner, my personal favorite of all the Earth Geen Lanterns. The initial story arc begins with Kyle having had a ring from each of the other corps (Yellow, Blue, Indigo, Orange, Red, Violet) appear before him having selected him as their new owner. Shortly thereafter a member from each corp shows up ready to attack Kyle for stealing the rings. I would rate this a Must Read.
Red Lanterns
The Red Lantern comic is a curious addition to the DC Universe as the Red Lanterns are vengeful more than they are heroic. Thus far the series has taken on a more intellectual tone as Atrocitus, the leader and only sentient Red Lantern, contemplates the future of his corp now that he has possession of Krona's body. As the series progresses it delves deeper into the past of the various Red Lantern members, their creation and their rise in intelligence. I would rate this a Must Read.
Grifter
I first discovered Grifter in the Flashpoint miniseries, whether or not he existed prior to that, I am unaware. At the time he just seemed like some background character from some series I'd never read but the reboot has definitely put an interesting spin on things. An ex-special forces soldier turned con artist suddenly begins hearing voices in his head, he is abducted by aliens, escapes and now they are after him. This is a very important series for what appears to be an upcoming DC event as the aliens who abducted him are appearing in small places in some other series and in larger ways in a few others. The story follows Cole Cash as he is on the run from the government who believes he has killed at least two people and has threatened to blow up a plane all while also being hunted by the aliens he has escaped from. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Hawk and Dove
Hawk and Dove were originally a pair of brothers that were part of the Teen Titans. One brother was an avatar of peace, the other an avatar of war. Their abilities and personalities complimented each other to the point that when Dove died, Hawk went crazy and tried to destroy the universe. Later on DC revived Hawk and Dove in the form of two sisters. Various events transpired to all four characters and the end result was the female Dove and male Hawk were the only ones left alive and began to team up. That is where this series picks up. The opening arc begins to delve much deeper into the realm of the avatars of various alignments with the sudden appearance of another avatar, something that has not been seen before. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
I, Vampire
I, Vampire is a very a-typical series for DC. It follows a vampire with a conscience who feels guilty for having turned a woman many years before who, unlike himself, cannot resist the urges and has thus declared war on humans. For most of the issues so far there have hardly been any references to meta-humans and only one appearance by another DC character, Batman. I would rate this a Don't Go Out Of Your Way.
Justice League of America
This is almost a complete reboot of the JLA series and takes place 5 years prior to the "current" year in DC comics. None of the heroes know each other, some aren't sure if others even exist or are just rumor. The lineup this time is a lot of the old mainstays, Superman, Batman, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Wonder Woman, Aquaman and a new addition, Cyborg. When I saw this line up I thought, "This is going to be a fantastic reboot" and it pretty much has been so far. The opening comic starts out with Batman being hunted down by the government and running into Green Lantern. Some of the best comic dialogue that I have ever read occurs between Batman and GL and if they keep the relationship between the two in that form it is going to make for some great comics. On top of all that, they really go all out for the graphical presentation of the comic. I've never seen such great detail on GL's constructs. I would rate this a Must Read.
Justice League: Dark
This is a new approach to Justice League titles and at the moment is only marginally related to the Justice League itself. The series follows around a group of magic-oriented heroes who have gathered together because of a future that has been foreseen by Madame Xanadu. The team consists of herself, John Constantine, Shade the Changing Man, Zatanna, Mindwarp, Deadman and Enchantress. This group is designed to take on what the Justice League can't handle in terms of magic. There are also some interesting metaphysical issues raised involving Shade, Deadman and Enchantress that do give it a nice philosophical touch. I would rate this a Don't Go Out Of Your Way.
Justice League: International
This is not a new title, but due to the reboot the team is a first of its kind, commissioned by the United Nations it has representatives from all over the world, some oldies and some new ones that are quite interesting. I was a little bewildered at the choice of leader, Booster Gold, as the character has always been fairly shallow and in the game for the wrong reasons, or at least it seems that way to everyone else in the DC Universe, but it kind of works because of his lack of confidence in dealing with the responsibility that has been thrust upon him by Batman who weirdly enough has the utmost confidence in Booster Gold. The rest of the team consists of: Batman, Green Lantern (Guy Gardner), Rocket Red (Russian), Fire (Brazil), Ice (Norway), Vixen (Unnamed African Country), August General in Iron (China) and Godiva (Britain). The team is hastily formed to investigate a disappearance and stumbles upon a plot to destroy the planet. The team has to deal with lack of unit cohesion and team work as well as conflicting personalities. There are definitely nationalistic conflicts between various members and a the spotlight on some of the lesser known heroes has worked very well. I have a particular fondness for August General in Iron as his powerset is rather unique and the dynamics between him and others is intriguing. I would rate this a Good Read.
Legion of Super Heroes
Neither this series or it's spinoff series "Legion Lost" presented readers with a problem if they weren't familiar with it prior to the reboot as there wasn't really a reboot at all. In fact LoSH doesn't seem to have an opening and just dives right into a story arc without much introduction at all. Yes, it is nice that in every issue the hero is identified with a brief description of their powers, but that doesn't stop the feeling of a starting to read something in the middle of the story. That part aside, the stories aren't terrible, but it isn't the best for new readers. LoSH takes place in the 30th and 31st century where the universe is much more integrated and Earth is completely aware of the universe at large. I would rate this a Don't Go Out Of Your Way.
Legion Lost
Legion Lost is much better for new readers than The Legion of Super Heroes as the onslaught of characters is smaller, though it does still suffer slightly from not really having a reboot. The story begins with a small group of the Legionnaires, noticibly absent in LoSH, being stranded in the present day after giving chase to a criminal who seeks revenge by exposing humans to the DNA of various alien species and attempting to mutate them in order to alter the future. I would rate this a Don't Go Out Of Your Way.
Men of War
I'm not totally sure how to take in Men of War. It is a series of short stories, sometimes connected, sometimes not, that follow soldiers through battlefield situations. Some of the stories have meta-human references or characters, others don't. All in all, most of the stories have been rather boring and if I had to drop a title, this would be the first. Perhaps there is some audience out there it rings true for, but I can't imagine it is terribly inundated with Comic Book Nerds. I would rate this a Meh.
Mister Terrific
I wasn't a huge Mister Terrific fan prior to the reboot but having read the first 6 issues he is definitely climbing my list of Super Heroes. Mister Terrific or Michael Holt is the worlds 3rd smartest man, an arbitrary title/nickname given to him by some unknown person or group and often recited sort of as a joke. Similar to Green Arrow (Oliver Queen), he is the CEO of his own company but is clearly more interested and capable of running it while at the same time is moderately aloof about such responsibility. Mister Terrific is known for using his "T-Spheres," as part of his hero tech, which can do a multitude of things including but not limited to supporting him for flight, laser grids, Holographic projectors and portable computers. Most importantly, to me, is that he is very openly and adamantly an atheist and often cites it without shame. He does acknowledge a lot of the supernatural aspects of the DC Universe but maintains there is still a rational explanation for them. As for the reboot, Mister Terrific himself doesn't have a terrifically large reboot, he is still very much the same guy after as he was before, minus the non-existence of the Justice Society of America which has not yet been remade, though it is in the works. I would rate this a Good Read.
O.M.A.C.
OMAC was a tool of the primary antagonist from the Infinite Crisis miniseries of 2005-2006 known as "Brother Eye." Brother Eye was an artificial intelligence located on a satellite in orbit around earth and was used by Maxwell Lord (Head of Checkmate) in an attempt to rid the planet of all meta-humans by using sleeper agents known as "OMACs." OMACs were humans who had been secretly given nanites that would transform them into the OMACs which had a very robotic style and would then attack meta-humans as Brother Eye directed. Along the way Brother Eye rebelled despite Maxwell Lord's attempts to thwart it though in the end, of course, the heroes saved the day and Brother Eye was defeated. With the advent of the "New 52," Brother Eye makes his return by in a sense, escaping and infesting a single person with the OMAC nanites. The series follows this person, Kevin Kho, as he is hunted by the government as part of Brother Eye while Brother Eye extorts Kho to be a tool to help Brother Eye expand. I would rate this a Don't Go Out Of Your Way.
Resurrection Man
The basics of Resurrection Man are pretty simple and straightforward. Every time he dies, he returns to life but with a different meta-human ability. He cannot remember who he is and, of course, people are chasing him trying to capture him. This summary does make it sound a-typical and unoriginal but that really isn't the case. The nature of Resurrection Man's powers makes for a very unique experience and the story is pretty well written if not slightly high on the fan service in a few issues. Two bounty hunter women called up for a job and of course they're just laying around in lingerie looking sexy. That aside, I would rate this a Good Read.
Savage Hawkman
Hawkman has been notoriously unpopular in the modern age of comics mostly due to the perception that his power is to simply "fly" in the same way that aquaman's power is to "swim." I never read earlier editions but for this series, as the title suggests, Hawkman is very savage and a rather scrappy brawler. Instead of having the various Nth Metal Weapons and gear, the Nth metal has merged with Hawkman's body, against his will, after he had attempted to get rid of it. For those unfamiliar with it, Nth Metal is an extremely rare metal with great properties. Basically, Hawkman hits a bajillion times harder with an Nth Metal Mace instead of a regular steel mace. Thrown together with some interesting new villains, this reboot of Hawkman will hopefully fare better than the earlier ones. I would rate this a Good Read.
Static Shock
Many people will remember Static (Virgil Hawkins) from the Static Shock animated series many years ago. If you don't then here is some info. In a fictional midwest city there was basically a big sciency accident, things went boom, a large group of teenagers were exposed to sciency stuff and began developing powers. In Static's case, he gained control over electromagnetism and can use it to control objects an roughly simulate flying amongst other cool uses of his powers. In this reboot, Virgil and his family have moved to New York City under the guise of expanding his education as he is of extremely high intellect as well as an internship at STAR labs. In reality he is fighting crime alongside the hero Hardware. For the most part the reader is fine coming into the series, though there are a few things that are clearly hold overs from past issues, namely the fact that his sister has a duplicate and neither can tell which is the real one. I would rate this a Good Read.
Stormwatch
Stormwatch looks to be a very integral part of the at large DC Universe in the future as it is a very old secret organization that essentially protects the planet. By this point the organization has a space station in orbit that is somehow cloaked from view. Most importantly, this is the new home of The Martian Manhunter who is noticibly absent in all other comics minus an appearance or two where after finishing, he erases his existence from the observers' minds. The other heroes are Jack Hawksmore, a man who quite possibly has the most unique power I have ever seen. He is unable to live outside of a city in that he gets sick in doing so but at the same time he can converse with the city which takes on a humanoid form only he can communicate with. Apollo, a solar energy based hero who can fly and shoot blasts from his hands. There are other characters too, but each are relatively unknowns, particularly compared to the Martian Manhunter. It is clear through the first few issues that Stormwatch is going to play an integral roll in whatever upcoming miniseries DC has planned. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Suicide Squad
This is a re-imagining of an old great title. Suicide Squad has been around for awhile and I suspect will stay around just as long. The premise of the series is that the government uses criminals they have in custody to perform covert missions that can be written off as having no connection to the government. The prisoners are fitted with explosives in their bodies set on a timer. If the timer ends, kaboom, end of mission, end of villain. In exchange, the prisoners involved get time taken off of their sentence or released. The actions of the team are frequently questionable and sometimes directed by the government in the performance of morally questionable or outright evil acts. The team members are frequently changing, either by death or by skillset needed for the mission. Many times the villains are also new or seldom used background characters. In the outset of this version of Suicide Squad the more notable names are Deadshot, a master marksman and the closest thing to a main character the series has ever had, and Harley Quinn, the Joker's sidekick. There are a few others who are interesting characters, but nonetheless, are small fries. I must give a big round of applause to the writer as well for the dialogue given to Harley Quinn, fantastic. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Action Comics
Action Comics is to Superman what Detective Comics is to Batman. With this reboot, DC uses Action Comics as a method of retelling the emergence of Superman in metropolis as he feels out his powers and they begin to mature into what everyone is familiar with. It also gives a good look to the rewriting of Clark Kent's history as a reporter. As of the 6th issue, all of the happenings take place prior to the current time in the DC Universe. I like the new approach for Clark Kent but some of the stories haven't been as good as others. I would rate this a Don't Go Out Of Your Way.
Superboy
The modern era Superboy was a piece of the miniseries where Superman died and was subsequently replaced by 4 others claiming to be Superman. Cyborg Superman, a version of Superman with similar powers but light sensitivity, Steel, a man in a suit of armor akin to Marvel's Iron Man and a clone who would later become Superboy. This creation story has been retained, for the most part, but altered in the sense of the organization who "made" him and for what reason. He still possesses the original Superboy's "Tactile Telekinesis" as well as the understanding that he is a clone. The story arcs thus far have focused on experiencing the world outside of the facility he was grown in, learning how to use his powers and developing a moral compass. I would rate this a Don't Go Out Of Your Way.
Supergirl
Supergirl has had many incarnations over the years, to the extent that there were two at once (Power Girl). In this reboot, she is shown to having had a similar origin as that of her cousin Superman except that she was a teenager at the time. When she arrives on earth Superman is already a grown man while she has not aged at all. Supergirl possesses no knowledge of where she is, why she is there, what happened to her planet and is beginning to notice she has the powers we all have come to be familiar with that of a Kryptonian on Earth. Her story begins when she is discovered having crash landed in Siberia and the conflict involved in people trying to "recover" her. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Superman
This Superman title is used to tell stories happening in the current portion of the DC Universe timeline. The first issue does much to rewrite the world of Clark Kent for a more modern era. The Daily Planet is merging with a TV network as print media begins to die out. Clark Kent is still a beat reporter for the little guy and Lois Lane has moved on to producing at the TV network. As of yet there is no relationship between the two and it doesn't look to be a high story point priority. I would rate this a Don't Go Out Of Your Way.
Swamp Thing
The Swamp Thing title has been around for decade though I have never been terribly interested in it myself. The reboot is styled so that if you had never read anything involving Swamp Thing, then you would be fine, but at the same time does not remove any of the prior events that have happened in Swamp Thing history. The direction DC is taking the series is pretty clear and heavily tied into that of the "Animal Man" series. Whereas Animal Man is connected to the animal kingdom, similarly, Swamp Thing is connected to the plant kingdom. The two end up sharing a similar enemy, The Rot. While it is interesting and a bonus for those who enjoy Animal Man, it isn't quite as good in my book. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
Teen Titans
As previously mentioned, I have read all the Teen Titans comics begining in its 1980 reboot. It has always been very enjoyable, even the more recent attempts to reform it with new heroes that didn't go quite as well. This team features many of the heroes from Young Justice, although some with different twists. The leader, Red Robin or Tim Drake, the 3rd Robin, is searching the country for meta-human teens he believes are being hunted by a mysterious organization known as "N.O.W.H.E.R.E." In his travels he begins picking up other teens to work with him. His first encounter is with a girl that has the same name as the previous Wonder Girl but is blonde and is only being called Wonder Girl by the media. She is not really a hero as her powers come from artifacts she has stolen but reluctantly accepts help from Red Robin. There is also a Kid Flash present, however, it is not Wally West, the original Kid Flash and curiously enough, Wally has yet to make an appearance at all. Instead the role of Kid Flash is played by Bart Allen, the person who took over the role once Wally West had moved on to become The Flash. The rest of the team is made up of a young girl who forms into a cocoon like state each time she falls asleep and comes out an insect-like creature with, at best, instinctual intelligence, Bunker, a boy with the ability to form objects with his mind and use them to fight and a girl that has aspects of her powers taken from a former Titans heroine with the same name, Solstice. DC has also taken a bold step and designed Bunker as an openly gay teen and done it in a way that is clear it is a normal aspect of every day life, without waving it around to shove it in the readers face and making it a sort of token gay character. I also have to point out how much I enjoy Tim Drake as Red Robin. The costume and tools are amazing and really showcase his abilities when he takes on people with actual powers. I would rate this a Must Read.
The Fury of Firestorm
Firestorm was created a few decades back, known as the nuclear man, he had the ability to rearrange molecules to change certain substances into others. The interesting twist was that he was not one person but two, a student with sub-par molecular knowledge controlling the body and a Chemistry professor who became a part of Firestorm's mind. With the professor helping the student Firestorm became a force to be reckoned with. The reboot, however, has taken a twist on the character. This time around Firestorm refers to two students at a local high school. A black boy with great intelligence and the original student, a white quarterback of the football team with sub-par grades. The other twist is that the two become Firestorm seperately, each with the same powerset, but also that the two Firestorms can combine to become a much more powerful entity that they do not have control over and would presumably be "The Fury of Firestorm." The conflict in the series comes from rogue groups around the world who want to get their hands on the Firestorm protocol, the tool needed to turn someone into a Firestorm. As it turns out, there are many Firestorms, and not all of them with a working moral compass. I would rate this as Good Read.
Voodoo
I was not sure how to take approach this series as the title and cover reveal very little about who Voodoo is or what she has to do with the DC Universe. As it turns out the role she and her story play in the DC Universe is very similar to that of the series "Grifter." Without going into too much detail that would ruin the story, Voodoo is an alien and the government is after her in the same manner they are after Grifter. Voodoo, herself, has shapeshifting abilities as well as limited mind reading. Of all of the new "unknown" titles, this one is easily my favorite. I would rate this a Must Read.
Wonder Woman
I was never really a Wonder Woman comic fan. The heroine was entertaining in Justice League, but as a solo character, I could never really get into her due to the Greek God centered stories. There are many good changes to Diana's background that I think work very well but I am reluctant to reveal and some interesting twists with the Gods themselves, not to mention some really fantastic dialogue. I would rate this a Good Read.
Miniseries:
Huntress
Huntress is one of those odd holdovers from DC attempting to merge universes and has been used by many different women, though often in some way connected to Batman. In one instance she was the daughter of Earth-2's Bruce Wayne and Selena Kyle. The miniseries follows her as she is singlehandedly hunting down and tearing apart a human trafficking operation. She has no super human abilities and often uses a hand crossbow and other gadgets to complete her mission. I would not be opposed to reading the series if it became a full-fledged monthly comic. I would rate this a Didn't Lose My Time.
The Ray
This miniseries is still very much in the works but it does look very promising. The Ray has been reimagined a few times over the years but never to huge success. His powers are based on light absorption and manipulation. He can travel at the speed of light hence the name, "The Ray." The miniseries includes his origin story as well as him coping with the change to his life. I would rate this a Must Read.
Breakdown
I hope this has been some help to people who read it and are interested in checking out new DC titles. Finally, a tally of how many titles received each rank to illustrate the overall effectiveness of the reboot.
Must Reads (10):
All-Star Western
Animal Man
Batman
Red Hood and the Outlaws
Green Lantern: New Guardians
Red Lanterns
Justice League of America
Teen Titans
Voodoo
The Ray
Good Reads (12):
Birds of Prey
Detective Comics
Blue Beetle
Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E.
Green Arrow
Justice League International
Mister Terrific
Resurrection Man
Savage Hawkman
Static Shock
The Fury of Firestorm
Wonder Woman
Didn't Lose My Time (20):
Aquaman
Batgirl
Batman and Robin
Batwing
Catwoman
Nightwing
Batwing
Black Hawks
Captain Atom
DC Universe Presents (Currently Deadman stories)
The Flash
Green Lantern
Green Lantern Corps
Grifter
Hawk and Dove
Suicide Squad
Stormwatch
Supergirl
Swamp Thing
Huntress
Don't Go Out Of Your Way (9):
Demon Knights
I, Vampire
Justice League Dark
Legion of Super Heroes
Legion Lost
O.M.A.C.
Action Comics
Superboy
Superman
Meh (3):
Batwoman
Deathstroke
Men Of War
Magestorm and Leaderboards and Magestorm
I've been playing a lot of Magestorm recently, its addictive and has slowed down my progress on DFC. One of the main reasons is that my Magician had worked his way to #2 on the leaderboards, behind a person who had 5 people playing his account. I was really into getting that first slot and then the dev came in chat yesterday and took all the wind out of my sails. He's going to reset all the level 30s experience to its base and redo the leaderboards based on other metrics. That means all the hardwork and time I put into working that character up there is out the window. There is one good thing that has come out of this though, I've been working on my other lower characters. As of tonight I have 2 30s, a 17, 16, 14, 7, 6, 6, and 5.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
2 Straight Years of Job Growth
Yesterday marked the release of this months job figures as well as the revised figures for both January and December and they were nothing but good news. Not only did we add 240,000 jobs during February, but the estimates for both January and December were low by significant margins. Interestingly enough the unemployment rate actually stayed the same, but this is not a bad thing, it was actually due to more people re-entering the workforce. When jobs are being created and that number goes up, that is a good thing. This means confidence in the economy is building, people are seeing opportunity again and that means spending will increase to meet the oversupply we currently have and the economy will get right on chugging again.
I did get a bit of a laugh when Republicans released a statement saying it was bad news. They're so silly.
I did get a bit of a laugh when Republicans released a statement saying it was bad news. They're so silly.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Complications and DFC and Complications
I've hit some weird roadblock in the DFC creation that really doesn't have anything to do with the programming itself. Between that and my love for magestorm, I've hardly gotten any work done in the last 3 weeks. I have the database all setup, all the tables and all the fields are in place. The first night I tried to connect the database to Microsoft Visual Studio, it worked fine. Since it was getting late, I went to bed. I go to work on it the next day and it can't connect with the database even though I checked and rechecked the info a dozen times. I tried reinstalling the connector, that managed to discover the database but other connection issues were cropping up. So, I went looking for similar situations on the web, found one that was pretty similar, did it, and now for some reason when I open up the options for connecting to the database a single keystroke closes the window, even if it is a paste. There is nothing I can do to stop it and since there are more than one dialog box that needs information, I'm essentially screwed. Anyway, next step in the process is to uninstall Visual Studio and reinstall it. It would be really freaking stupid if something like that ruined my project instead of something substantial like a programming problem or lack of time.
Addendum: Much of the reason for lack of updates recently has come from working on a review post for DC's "New 52" reboot. Considering there are 52 titles plus 2 miniseries, thats a lot of work.
Addendum: Much of the reason for lack of updates recently has come from working on a review post for DC's "New 52" reboot. Considering there are 52 titles plus 2 miniseries, thats a lot of work.
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