Comics and Graphic Novels: The New 52 – DC Comic Relaunch Part 1

The New 52: Part 1

Superhero comics can often be unwelcoming to the newcomer. The stories are mired in continuity that can stretch back decades, and so it’s hard for a newbie to know where to jump on board.

The folks at DC Comics seem to realize this, because this month, they’re launching or relaunching fifty-two comics, all starting with issue #1. If you’ve been wanting to follow the adventures of Superman or Batman or, hell, even Swamp Thing or Animal Man, but you’ve been holding back because you feel like you’d have to wade through thousands of comics stories even to understand what’s happening … well, now’s a good time to start. Theoretically.

The stories are mired in continuity that can stretch back decades, and so it’s hard for a newbie to know where to jump on board.

Since this column has always been about easing comics virgins into the wonderful world of sequential art, we’re going to look at all fifty-two of DC’s “New 52” comics. We will ask: Are they comprehensible to an absolute beginner? Do they stand well on their own (or do you need to read Action Comics #1 in order to understand Detective Comics #1)? And are they any damn good?

We’ll start with the ones that have hit comics stores at this writing, taking them in alphabetical order.

Oh, one other thing: in each issue, a mysterious woman in a reddish or purple hooded cloak appears, usually tucked away in the background — yes, she even appears in Men of War. (That’s her pictured above, on the left behind the truck in a panel from Swamp Thing #1.) Who is she?

Action Comics #1

Fan-favorite writer Grant Morrison (whose recently published nonfiction book Supergods ruminates on the enduring appeal of costumed crimefighters) gives us a Superman in jeans and boots (as well as a blue t-shirt with the familiar “S” logo and a red cape). He’s first seen terrorizing a white-collar criminal. He’s not nearly as powerful as you’d expect; he manages to stop a subway train (“more powerful than a locomotive,” indeed), but only with a lot of effort, and he’s pretty bashed up afterwards. In short, this Superman is fairly close to what he started out as in 1939: he can be hurt and he has limitations, which automatically makes him a more interesting character than he’s been in, oh, the last 50 years.

Can A Newbie Read It? I don’t see why not. Morrison sets up the characters so unobtrusively that you get what you need to know even if you’ve never heard of Jimmy Olsen or Lex Luthor.

Does It Stand On Its Own? Yep. (From here on in, I’m only gonna mention this if an issue doesn’t stand on its own — if it somehow ties in with another comic you have to buy and read. This one doesn’t.)

Is It Any Damn Good? It’s paced like a speeding bullet and brings some awe and good old-fashioned muscle back into the adventures of Superman. Supes’ alter ego Clark Kent could be a little less like Peter Parker (aka Spider-Man), but that might change.

Animal Man #1

Ironically, the abovementioned Grant Morrison made his name at DC by reviving this obscure character (who’d been kicking around since 1965) in the late ’80s. Animal Man (aka Buddy Baker) can assume the abilities of various creatures. Under Morrison’s guidance, the comic became a sounding board for his concerns about animal rights and vegetarianism. After his comic was cancelled in 1995, Animal Man hasn’t been seen around much. Until now.

It sets him up as a movie actor and family man whose superhero days are more or less behind him…or so he thinks.

Can A Newbie Read It? Cleverly, issue #1 kicks off with a fake interview with the hipster mag The Believer, sketching in the basics of who Buddy is. It sets him up as a movie actor and family man whose superhero days are more or less behind him…or so he thinks.

Is It Any Damn Good? Pretty decent; art’s a bit eccentric at times, but the script introduces a potentially compelling conflict at home (what’s up with Daddy’s little girl?) and ends on a fairly fucked-up note. Also, between this and Action Comics #1, so far I’m digging the concept that superheroes can actually have fun fighting crime.

Batgirl #1

The red-headed niece of Commissioner Gordon returns to her non-paraplegic glory. Written by Wonder Woman scribe Gail Simone, who also wrote Batgirl (aka Barbara Gordon) during her wheelchair days in Birds of Prey.

Can A Newbie Read It? I guess, but it calls back to the original story in which Barbara was shot in the spine and paralyzed by the Joker — Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke — and then tells us she was back on her feet in three years, with little explanation other than that it was “a miracle.” Maybe Simone will go into more detail later. As it stands, though, the issue gives you what you need to know, particularly since Batgirl’s shooting-related PTSD makes her freeze up at a crucial moment.

Simone can write women, an ability always in short supply in mainstream comics.

Is It Any Damn Good? Simone can write women, an ability always in short supply in mainstream comics. The introduction of a mysterious villain may make readers come back for more. And yet again, other than when fear makes her choke up, Batgirl seems to have fun swinging around in her costume.

Batwing #1

This one’s a relatively new character, created by Grant Morrison (him again!) a few months back. David Zavimbe is an African police officer who also covertly fights crime as Batwing, Africa’s version of Batman. Batman himself lends Batwing some much-needed tech and is seen in the first issue as a sort of consultant.

Can A Newbie Read It? Yeah, you’re pretty much getting in on the ground floor here.

It’s awfully gory at times…

Is It Any Damn Good? The script by Judd Winick establishes Batwing as a noble do-gooder in a sea of corruption. The milieu is different enough from most superhero comics (aside from Marvel’s Black Panther) to set it apart. It’s awfully gory at times, though, which came as a surprise to me since I’d assumed all of these “New 52” comics would be all-ages fare. And Batwing doesn’t have much fun.

Detective Comics #1

Speaking of Batman, here he is in a good ol’ Batman-vs.-Joker yarn.

Can A Newbie Read It? Unless you’re one of the three people who missed the Dark Knight movie, you know the players: Batman (aka Bruce Wayne), the Joker, Commissioner Gordon, Alfred.

It’s Batman beating the shit out of the Joker.

Is It Any Damn Good? It’s Batman beating the shit out of the Joker. Do you need more? Okay, so you need more. It’s pretty much like every other Batman-beats-the-shit-out-of-the-Joker story of the past 75 years, but the art (by Tony Salvador Daniel, who also penned the script) is reminiscent in a nice way of Frank Miller’s work on 1986’s seminal The Dark Knight Returns. That last page redefines “gross,” though. I guess we can forget about most of the Bat-comics being for all ages.

Green Arrow #1

Rich guy Oliver Queen fights crime with an assortment of trick arrows and a couple of techie assistants.

Can A Newbie Read It? Yeah, though it’s hard to see why a newbie would want to (see below).

Years from now, it’s gonna make these comics look very 2011…

Is It Any Damn Good? It’s been a while since I’ve read any Green Arrow, but I remember him being a wise-ass liberal avenger, not the beardless wonder he is here. The art by old-schoolers Dan Jurgens and George Perez is clunky, the story (Green Arrow vs. three super-villains) snoringly banal. Also, given the emphasis on Green Arrow’s fancy tech and his status as a business hotshot, I don’t remember him being as baldly an Iron Man clone as he is here. And see those gauntlet things he’s wearing on his forearms? Every second hero in the New 52 seems to have ‘em too. I dunno. Years from now, it’s gonna make these comics look very 2011, the way superhero suits from a quarter-century ago scream “I love the ’80s.”

Hawk & Dove #1

The much-ridiculed, foot-phobic Rob Liefeld (seriously, the man used to bend over backwards not to draw feet) does the art honors on this revival of DC’s pugilist/pacifist team. This time, Dove (the “Avatar of Peace”) is a chick! Right away I can tell you this’d be more interesting if Hawk (the “Avatar of War”) were a woman and Dove were a guy.

Having zombies in your story is still lame even if you lampshade how lame zombies are.

Can A Newbie Read It? I can see a newbie wondering who the hell Deadman is and why Dove calls him Boston. (I knew who Deadman is, but had no idea what his deal was with Dove. Apparently they hooked up during the recent Brightest Day series, which I hadn’t read, and probably neither have you if you’re reading this.) Otherwise there’s endless dull exposition about Hawk and the previous Dove (they were brothers).

Is It Any Damn Good? Oh man, this is crap. Having zombies in your story is still lame even if you lampshade how lame zombies are. Also, Rob Liefeld still shits into the eye sockets of good comics art.

Justice League #1

Batman and Green Lantern meet Superman (though not until the end of the issue).

Can A Newbie Read It? I guess this takes place sometime after the events in Action Comics #1, though you don’t need to read that to understand this. Batman is smart and surly, Green Lantern can do anything with his ring, and that’s all you need to know.

It’s pretty funny at times, what with the time-honored antipathy between Batman and Green Lantern.

Is It Any Damn Good? It’s pretty funny at times, what with the time-honored antipathy between Batman and Green Lantern. Artist Jim Lee breaks out his slick epic blockbuster moves a few times. I want to see what happens next. This was the issue that DC led with on August 31, and it was probably wise to do so, although some have said Action Comics might’ve been a better choice.

Justice League International #1

A team of superheroes from different countries is assembled under United Nations jurisdiction, headed by goofball hero and media whore Booster Gold (pictured above, deflecting the advances of oversexed Brit hero Godiva).

Can A Newbie Read It? Nothing to confuse n00bs here, but nothing to reel them in, either. I recognize a couple of the second-tier heroes, like the Russian Rocket Red, who mangles English as stereotypically as ever.

There’s a good deal of supposedly witty bickering…

Is It Any Damn Good? It’s no Justice League. The female team members are ill-defined; writer Dan Jurgens is no Gail Simone. There’s a good deal of supposedly witty bickering, which was the stock in trade of Justice League titles under the auspices of J.M. DeMatteis and Keith Giffen back in the ’80s, except it was funny then.

Men Of War #1

Sgt. Rock’s grandson Joe Rock goes on secret missions. Or something. There’s “a man flyin’ like a hypersonic missile” in the first issue. Superman? I don’t even know. (It’s not the Mystery Woman, who shows up in a crowd scene as usual.)

Can A Newbie Read It? This seems to be another ground-floor title.

Is It Any Damn Good? I have to admit I kind of skimmed it. There are a lot of flames. Long conversation at the beginning between three guys in a room where you can tell the artist is doing somersaults trying to make it look interesting; he’s defeated by the drab gray coloring. There’s a back-up feature, “Navy SEALs,” that’s also pretty dullsville.

Omac #1

Jack Kirby-flavored cosmic adventures featuring a microbial scientist who turns into a blue mohawked behemoth.

Can A Newbie Read It? As long as the newbie doesn’t expect it to make much sense, in and of itself. I mean, I’m not sure that understanding it rests on prior knowledge of any comics; I think understanding it rests on smoking a big fuckin’ bowl.

This is incomprehensible as hell but somehow still amusing…

Is It Any Damn Good? This is incomprehensible as hell but somehow still amusing — much like Jack Kirby’s DC comics of the ’70s, which were all about massive shit bashing into other massive shit while occasionally gesturing in the general direction of a story. Keith Giffen has fun trying to reproduce the oddball thrill of those old comics.

Static Shock #1

An electromagnetic teen hero, perhaps best known for the Kids WB cartoon about ten years back. As just plain Static, he was one of the heroes created by the late Dwayne McDuffie for DC’s Milestone imprint, which sought to make comics a little less lily-white.

This character’s new to me, and I didn’t have any trouble navigating the book.

Can A Newbie Read It? This character’s new to me, and I didn’t have any trouble navigating the book.

Is It Any Damn Good? As with Batwing and Batgirl, it’s nice to see DC acknowledging that non-white-males can be heroes too. Static Shock as written is kind of Spider-Man-ish, which means he’s quick with the quips while busting heads. Overall, not bad.

Stormwatch #1

The Martian Manhunter and various heroes familiar to fans of Warren Ellis’ The Authority are putting together an elite team to defend Earth against extraterrestrial threats.

Can A Newbie Read It? Sure, although Authority veterans will get more of a kick out of seeing Apollo meeting the Midnighter at the end of this issue. (In The Authority, they were boyfriends and ultimately married. If Stormwatch goes with this, and if Batwoman doesn’t mysteriously go straight, we can add “openly gay” to the New 52’s list of inclusive heroism.)

In The Authority, they were boyfriends and ultimately married.

Does It Stand On Its Own? There’s a call-out to events in Superman #1 (which drops September 28).

Is It Any Damn Good? It’s not bad, but honestly, three superteam books in one week are probably two too many; they start to blur together.

Swamp Thing #1

The plant elemental has split off from his human counterpart, Alec Holland, thus presenting a threat to, well, every human on Earth. (Briefly, scientist Holland died in a lab explosion, whereupon his corpse moldering in the swamp turned into Swamp Thing — a walking plant with Holland’s consciousness. There’s more to it, but that’s the gist.) Superman, Batman, and Aquaman put in appearances.

Can A Newbie Read It? The series picks up where the recent Brightest Day: The Search for Swamp Thing miniseries left off, but as Swamp Thing fan Mike Sterling pointed out, they might as well not have bothered with the series, as it didn’t really establish anything other than what I told you in one sentence: Alec Holland and Swamp Thing are now separate entities.

I’ve been in the tank for Swamp Thing through thick and thin…

Is It Any Damn Good? I’ve been in the tank for Swamp Thing through thick and thin, good issues and bad, and one good fun movie and one terrible movie, for decades. So I’ll keep reading this, but I’m not expecting it to be much more memorable than any of the post-Alan Moore stories.

Next time:

We look at Batwoman, Green Lantern, Frankenstein: Agent of Shade, and ten more.