On the eve of the DC Relaunch, my list of #1s I'm buying has now been beefed up to a scary 20. I don't expect to be buying all of these titles for the long haul, and some of them might not make it past #1, but here, in order of anticipation, is my top 20 New 52 comics:
1. BATMAN
My favorite hero, being written by one of my favorite current writers, being drawn by a great artist? SOLD! Snyder's Detective Comics was brilliant, and with the way he was really able to dig into the psyches of both Dick Grayson and Jim Gordon, I can't wait to see what he does with Bruce Wayne. I see the Bat-torch passing from Morrison to Snyder, and when you combine that with the Nolan movies and the Arkham video game series, I think this is going to be look back on as one of the all-time great periods of Batman's history.
2. ACTION COMICS
It was going to take something special to get over my anger at Action Comics being renumbered to #1 for the first time since its launch in 1938, but they did it. Grant Morrison, my writing hero, returning to the character after his legendary All Star Superman? Even Superman in jeans can't put me off that can't-miss prospect.
3. SWAMP THING
Scott Snyder again. Alan Moore's Swamp Thing is one of the all-time great runs in comics, and I don't think any other writer has quite been able to live up to those heady heights. But I have a feeling that if anyone might just be able to pull it off, it's Snyder. And Yanick Paquette's art seems to be evoking the visual innovation of Steve Bissette. Very excited about this one.
4. STORMWATCH
Confession: I've never read The Authority. But even so, with all that I've read and seen about this relaunch of Stormwatch, it seems like the perfect title for Paul Cornell, a writer who I'm a huge fan of. And Martian Manhunter's in it!
5. JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK
Yes, I think this team book could end up stealing the show from Justice League proper. Really intriguing lineup for the team, and the art I've seen so far has been jawdropping gorgeous.
6. DEMON KNIGHTS
Paul Cornell again, and this seems like the fantasy book to feed my revived love for the genre in the wake of Game of Thrones. With the oddball team dynamic populated with some outright villainous characters, I think this could become a spiritual successor of sorts to Secret Six.
7. WONDER WOMAN
I've never bought a Wonder Woman comic, and I don't even have the best working knowledge of the character's mythology. But the DC animated movie from a while back made me interested in the potential of the character with the right entry point. And I don't think there's going to be a better entry point than this.
8. JUSTICE LEAGUE
It's Geoff Johns and Jim Lee on Justice League. You don't get much bigger than that. After some years in the wilderness, it's about time that this title once again became the crown jewel centrepiece of the DCU. And I'm really willing for that to happen here.
9. BATWOMAN
The character of Batwoman has long sparked my interest, enough that I gave her stint on Detective Comics a try. And while I thought Greg Rucka's story was good, what really made the series stand out was the stunning artwork of J.H. Williams III. So much so that, even with Rucka out of the picture, this is a comic I still anticipate. You know it's going to be beautiful. But whether or not Williams can write anywhere as good as he can draw will be the test of if I come back for more.
10. ANIMAL MAN
I'm a big fan of Jeff Lemire, and loved Grant Morrison's run on Animal Man, so this series excited me from the moment it was announced. A couple of months back, I'd have ranked it top 5 easy. But the poorly-colored artwork from the recently-released preview dampened my excitement for the book quite a bit. Still looking forward to seeing how Lemire brings Buddy Baker and his family to life, though.
11. FRANKENSTEIN: AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E
This is almost the exact same scenario as the post above. My love of Lemire's work and Grant Morrison's earlier tenure with the character made this a must-buy prospect for me, but poorly-colored preview art dampened my excitement. A shame.
12. AQUAMAN
Now, I'm not a huge Aquaman fan. He's another guy who I don't really know that much about, as regards his comic history. I learned more from trustyside-kick's immersive RPG posts with the character than I ever did from reading any comics with him. But I'm really curious to see if the old Green Lantern dream team of Johns and Reis can propel Aquaman to the A-list much like they did for Green Lantern.
13. BATGIRL
Barbara Gordon is a character who I've liked when she's a supporting character in someone else's book, but haven't really seeked out when she's a main character in her own book, like Birds of Prey. But with Gail Simone back writing her here, along with the major intrigue about how she's managed to get out of the wheelchair, this one I'll be keen to check out, even if it's only for an issue to dip my toes in the water.
14. DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS
This is an unusual one, as it's only just slipped in at the absolute 11th hour. See, I've long liked the concept of the Deadman character, more from him popping up as a supporting character in other comics I've read rather than actually reading any Deadman comics. And I remember thinking, "If this was Deadman #1, I'd pick this up in a flash, but I'm not getting invested in this series if Deadman's only in it for an arc." But recently, I had an epiphany: why is that stopping me buying this first issue? If anything, it should encourage me, because now I know that no matter how good this story is, I can drop it and have one less item on my buy list after 5 issues.
15. GREEN LANTERN
At one point, Green Lantern was my most anticipated comic of each month. But recently, you could even say over the past year, it's become a comic where I'll read it, quite like it, then instantly forget about it until the next issue is out. I'm buying it more out of habit than genuine passion. I'm looking to this new #1 to reignite my passion for the franchise, and if it fails, I'll be saying goodbye to Green Lantern for now.
16. THE FLASH
Francis Manapul's art is amazing. I lost interest in the last volume of The Flash and stopped buying after the first arc. But Francis Manapul's art is amazing. And with Geoff Johns gone and Manapul taking over scripting duties, I fear the stories could have even less chance of grabbing me. But have I mentioned Francis Manapul's art is amazing? I'll give it a go for one issue, and see if the writing is competent enough to not hamper my enjoyment of that lush, gorgeous art.
17. I, VAMPIRE
Another late bloomer, this one. I wasn't interested in this one at all, but the preview art released a while back totally knocked my socks off. And I hear Josh Falkiov is actually a really great writer whose done some great horror work, so I'll use this as a chance to check him out.
18. CATWOMAN
We really haven't heard much about Catwoman since the early going, and amidst the recent blitz of publicity from the other titles I'd almost forgotten about this one. I'm mainly buying it because I like Catwoman, and I'm curious to see if I like her enough to buy a monthly solo title featuring her.
19. THE FURY OF FIRESTORMS: THE NUCLEAR MEN
I'll start by saying I have no interest at all in the Firestorm character or concept. None. Nada. I've went back and forth on whether or not to buy this at all. But the sheer irresistability of the creative team has lured me in. The always dependable Gail Simone is writing, co-plotting with great ideas man (and awesome cover artist) Ethan Van Sciver, and artist Yildiray Cidar (whose work I loved in Nothingface) is drawing. I'm giving them one issue to see if they can make me a Firestorm fan... but I doubt it.
20. RESURRECTION MAN
How lame is this? I'm getting this book for two reasons. First, I was feeling neurotic about having 19 titles on my buy list, and wanted to find something to round it up to a nice 20. Second, I felt bad about trying every other DCU Dark title and not this one, and thought it only fair to try this to. Again, a very late addition to my list, and will probably be one of the first to be dropped unless issue #1 wows me.
I thought it would be interesting to go back and look at this list I made, based on the New 52 titles I was most looking forward to, and see how it compares to my rankings of the comics now that I've read them. I ended up bumping my reading list from 20 to 24, so I'll now present my top 24:
24. RED LANTERNS
Of all the books I picked up, this one was the weakest. A neat intro with Dex-Starr, but nothing remotely memorable aside from that.
FULL REVIEW HERE
23. NIGHTWING
Decent writing and art, but a lot of this feels like a pale rehash of Snyder's
Detective Comics work with Dick Grayson. Not enough to bring me back for more.
FULL REVIEW HERE
22. CATWOMAN
A pretty good debut issue, with some stylish (if cheesecakey) art, marred by an already-notorious stinker of a closing scene.
FULL REVIEW HERE
21. THE FURY OF FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MEN
Even a great creative team can't make me care about Firestorm.
FULL REVIEW HERE
20. DETECTIVE COMICS
Was better than I was expecting, thanks largely to Tony Daniel's lavish artwork and a killer ending. But the story as a whole feels pretty pedestrian.
FULL REVIEW HERE
19. RESURRECTION MAN
A highly competent introductory issue, with solid writing and art, but amidst such hefty competition, I don't know if it has enough to draw me back for another issue.
FULL REVIEW HERE
18. DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS
I like Deadman, and this offers some nice insight into his character. But the plot is really going to need to kick in next issue to keep me interested.
FULL REVIEW HERE
17. JUSTICE LEAGUE
Doesn't quite live up to all the weight of expectation, and it suffers from decompression, but on its own merits this is a fun, good-looking comic.
FULL REVIEW HERE
16. STORMWATCH
Certainly not the worst New 52 comic, but based on its ranking VS how hyped I was for it, perhaps my biggest disappointment of the bunch. Some interesting concepts keep me interested for now, though.
FULL REVIEW HERE
15. ALL STAR WESTERN
The
Jonah Hex writing team reunite and maintain that consistently great quality, this time tackling a different kind of story. The most successful of the last-minute additions to my pull list.
FULL REVIEW HERE
14. THE FLASH
Francis Manapul's art is stunning, and the writing is fine so long as you accept it on its own merits as a blank slate and a fresh start.
FULL REVIEW HERE
13. BATWOMAN
Light on plot, but when a comic has this much gorgeous J.H. WIlliams III art in it, who needs plot?
FULL REVIEW HERE
12. WONDER WOMAN
I'm not quite sure I know what was going on for all of this issue, but whatever was happening, it seemed intrigiung.
FULL REVIEW HERE
11. GREEN LANTERN
Just when I thought I was out, Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke pull me back in. I said I'd be using this issue to judge whether or not I'd be dropping the title, but this relaunch won me back.
FULL REVIEW HERE
10. FRANKENSTEIN: AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E.
I still have issues with the art, but the dizzying level of nutty invention in Jeff Lemire's writing more than made up for it.
FULL REVIEW HERE
9. ACTION COMICS
Morrison didn't blow me away quite so much as he usually does, but this was still a whole lot of fun, and I'm keen to see where his altered take on Superman's early days takes us next.
FULL REVIEW HERE
8. BATGIRL
I was expecting to like
Batwoman more, but this ended up winning me over with a likeable portrayal of Barbara Gordon. I should have known that Gail Simone would deliver the goods.
FULL REVIEW HERE
7. JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK
This chapter was mostly set-up, but it's fascinating setup, with arguably the best ensemble cast of the New 52 being carefully brought together by Peter Milligan, while Mikel Janin provides atmospheric art.
FULL REVIEW HERE
6. I, VAMPIRE
Based on my original interest VS its final ranking, this surely stands as my biggest sleeper hit of the bunch. Joshua Hale Fialkov manages to tell a non-boring vampire story, while Andrea Sorrentino brings it to life with breathtaking visuals.
FULL REVIEW HERE
5. AQUAMAN
Another book that was much better than I was anticipating. The dream team of Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis delivered the goods once more, making Aquaman cool again.
FULL REVIEW HERE
4. BATMAN
This was my most anticipated book. In the end, it didn't quite reach the top of my list of best #1s after reading, but it was still a quality book, with Scott Snyder putting together the first chapter of what should be an engrossing mystery. And thanks to Greg Capullo it all looks slick as hell.
FULL REVIEW HERE
3. ANIMAL MAN
Animal Man better than
Batman!? Jeff Lemire is one of the big winners of the New 52 in my book, with both his titles ranking higher in this list than my original hype-list, much higher in the case of this comic. Along with some unusual but memorable art from Travel Foreman, this acts as a fitting re-introduction to Buddy Baker and his family, with plenty for fans of superheroes and horror alike.
FULL REVIEW HERE
2. DEMON KNIGHTS
Paul Cornell knocks this one out of the park, with a masterfully constructed debut issue that - thanks to the lush pencils of Diogenes Neves - looks amazing, too.
FULL REVIEW HERE
1. SWAMP THING
The best of a great bunch. Scott Snyder gives us a debut that doesn't falter under the mgihty shadow cast by Alan Moore, while Yanick Paquette kills it with some breathtaking artistic innovation. More than any other of the New 52, this is the one I can't wait to get issue #2 for.
FULL REVIEW HERE
So, some clear winners and losers out of that selection. But even with the ever-expanding list of titles I picked up, there were very few that I outright regretted buying.
