How Mark Millar would've done DC's New 52

This is what the acclaimed writer of such titles like Wanted, Ultimates, Kick Ass 1 and 2, and Superior has to say:

"Congrats to Johnny DC for getting good numbers and plenty of returns on their investment on the DC reboot. But how would yours have been different? I'm taking today off to arse around, but before I go I'm curious: Who would you have nabbed for the books?

I love playing this game. My friends and I were chatting about it just this morning. DC would need to pony up serious cash (as Marvel's biggest creators [are] generally paid WAY more), but imagine you've got access to the WB vault and you can literally buy anyone. Even Image guys who were making a million an issue in the 90s. You've got access to EVERYBODY. How would your DC 52 differ? Mine, for starters, would be about 25-30 books :)

But go for it. I'd love Leinil Yu on Batman, McNiven drawing Justice League, Kirschl drawing Teen Titans, Brendan McCarthy on The Flash. Kev O'Neill (does the best aliens) on Green Lantern (with Pat Mills on scripts) and Frank Miller doing anything he wants."

That's pretty insightful. Leinil Yu illustrating the goddamned Batman? Awesome.

How about Ed Brubaker and Steve McNiven's Batman? Damn, that would be uber-awesome. 

And nice to see somebody who still believes in Frank Miller. He is not the best artist, but he's an awesome writer/artist who can take an idea and turn it into something epic. 

But I wish Millar wasn't such an egotistical prick. Saying that Marvel pays way more than DC is uncalled for, even if it is true. 

[via ComicBookMovie]

DC New 52 Picks - Week Four Reviews

Alright, this is the final wave. I haven't read everything last week, but I'm going to review some of those that I picked up.

Superman #1 by George Perez and Jesus Merino - this is by far the most disappointing book that I read in the new 52. It wasn't that bad in every stretch of the imagination... it's just that I expected more from George Perez story and dialogue-wise. Having a young Superman / Clark Kent deal with the demolishing of the old Daily Planet and seeing the new office building and its new management is nice, but there was nothing new here. I mean, reporters, the Daily Planet, and Superman saving the day from a flaming alien is all the same to me - except that Supes here is a little brash and quips lines like Green Arrow.

The final pages showing Clark sucking it up and being a loser once again didn't help either, just like Perez' shallow storytelling that made me think that he was having a hard time finding the right words to describe all the action.

Merino's art wasn't that impressive but it was nice, with that old-school vibe to it as influenced by Perez' layouts, but I wish they could get somebody else better to draw Supes. 

Still, I'm going to read the 2nd issue just to see if they could bounce back. But right now, this is almost forgettable to me. Thank God we still have Action. 

Aquaman #1 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis - "How does it feel to be nobody's favorite superhero?" 

I mean let's face it - nobody likes Aquaman because he's a guy who only has powers when he is in the water and because we have this belief that HE FUCKING TALKS TO FISH. Who wants to have that kind of hero?

But damn, Geoff Johns' nails it by poking fun at Aquaman himself, using all the jokes that undermined the character all over the years. He gives Aquaman an almost Superman calm attitude with an almost cold demeanor, and this makes the character a sympathetic one at that. Right from the opening scene where Aquaman saves the day by taking down some robbers in a truck, we immediately see Aquaman making that i-dont-know-anything-about-that face when asked by the police if he needs water - which is illustrated right on the spot by Ivan Reis - sets up the whole tone of the story. 

Johns' continues his funny jokes even when Aquaman enters a seafood restaurant and gets backhanded compliments from people, and in the process, Aquaman becomes more of just a laughingstock - but a real superhero who knows exactly what people outside of his kingdom think of him and thinks that he deserves more than what people is crediting him for. 

Flashbacks showing a young Aquaman with his father sitting on a nearby shore together and introducing his beautiful wife Mera gives us the more sentimental and softer side of this hero, and the ending with those ugly looking water monsters gives me more reasons to read the next issue. 

Ivan Reis gives us his trademark detailed illustrations that trudges beautifully through all the action, horror, and the more serene moments. Very well done by my favorite Green Lantern artist.

To sum it up: Geoff Johns just made me a true believer . And that's that.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Batman: The Dark Knight #1 by Paul Jenkins and David Finch - Obviously trying to capitalize by using the same title of the blockbuster movie of 2008, this Batman comic is nothing of a blockbuster as it appears to be from the title and cover. Its complete garbage. 

We get Batman's internal monologue talking about fear this and fear like that which sounded too crappy for me, then we have that familiar Arkham Asylum breakout which happened twice in the other two Batman comics (Detective and Batman by Snyder), and finally a bunny as a villain and a shot of Harvey Two-Face in all of his roided glory. I mean, what's up with that? I have seen better with Batman: Arkham Asylum comic book series.

Clearly, this is a big Bat-FAIL from Jenkins, but David Finch saves the remains of this comic book with his nice looking 90's-esque art that for some reason reminded me of Jim Lee. Its  pretty looking art, especially with that full page of Batman on top of the police car, but nothing spectacular especially when it comes to facial expressions.

Utterly forgettable issue overall, and after seeing that bunny? Nah, you can throw getting issue #2 into the trash can. 

Rating: 2 out of 5

I, Vampire by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Andrea Sorrentino -  A story in the mold Bram Stoker's tales. 2 star crossed vampire lovers. The guy doesn't want to hurt people, but his girlfriend wants to embrace her inner evil and completely eradicate humankind with her horde of the undead. A clash of beliefs and nobody wants to compromise, and now guy vampire has no choice but to prevent her lover from executing her nefarious plans, even if it means killing her in the process.  Now if that doesn't sound compelling (and tragic) stuff to you, then maybe you should read more Bram Stoker.

Truth be told, this was not an easy read at all and is quite confusing for new readers because the monologue doesn't really match with the art that is being shown on many of the panels (maybe its some kind of a flashback technique?), but the idea behind the story is so good that it makes for a very interesting read. There's clearly a lot of back story that needs to be told in order to fully grasp the story, and I hope that will be addressed next. 

Andrea Sorrentino adds a lot of goth and horror with her dark, moody pencils that gives off that classic Stoker feel, and her use of thin lines, lighting and shadows works well for this book. She should let us see her characters faces next time though.

Good first issue and if both writer and artist elevates their work as this series goes on, we might be seeing another DC classic right before our eyes. 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

 

The Flash #1 by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato - Artist handles the writing duties as well in this issue as Francis Manapul takes center stage with help from Brian Buccellato, and frankly, this team makes a good introduction for the best Scarlet Speedster of all time - Barry Allen without any hint of him remembering what happened in the old DCU or even Flashpoint. 

And that's a good thing. Its new, refreshing and is unhampered by previous continuity. His relationship with Iris never happened but she makes an appearance here which is nice, and the decision of not using any of the Flash's familiar rogues gallery just made it even more new-reader friendly.

The main story involving Barry's old friend and mysterious clones that popped out of nowhere is quite confusing, but it leaves readers interested, mainly because of that impressive cliffhanger. 

Manapul's art is as energetic and creative as ever, and is very well on his way on being a definitive Flash artist. Flash is his favorite character, and his love for the Flash is evident with this patented whitewashed artwork that just keeps on getting better.

Want a book that you can give to a non-comics reader? Well, look no further. The Flash is the book for you.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Justice League Dark #1 by Peter Milligan and Mikel Janin - A team that deals with supernatural entities that even the most powerful superheroes can't? Madame Xanadu, Zatanna, Deadman and John Freaking Constantine as the main characters? That's awesome. Their debut issue? Not that awesome, but passable. 

This issue was supposed to introduce us to DCU's magic world, and yes we do get a taste of how formidable magical villains are as shown when Superman - the man of fricking steel - is getting torn into ribbons (as Wonder Woman's dialogue says) by a whirlwind of decayed witch's teeth together with his Justice League mates Diana and Cyborg. Wrap your head around that. You can't. That's why its awesome.

But at the same time, trying to fit in all of these characters into the story made it too convoluted and confusing, starting with Madame Xanadu's mindless bumbling, to the replicated June Moones, and John Constantine suddenly showing up out of nowhere together with all the explanation of the weird arcane. The idea is not bad, but the way the script was written wasn't that effective. It didn't achieve what it was trying to aim, and worse, made the whole book very hard to read.

I'm not yet digging Mikel Janin's art, but he has a solid start here and I'm looking forward for him to improve his facial anatomy and start illustrating these characters less square-jawed. Other than that, he's got nice pencils. That's all I can say for now. 

A little bit disappointed with JLD, but I'll come back for another round. Hopefully it rebounds by then. 

Rating: 3 out of 5

Voodoo #1 by Ron Marz and Sami Basri -  After the controversy caused by Red Hood and the Outlaws #1 and Catwoman #1 a couple of weeks ago, here is DC again with another sexy (literally) comic book title featuring a stripper who happens to be... okay I'll stop right there as to not to spoil anything for you.

I said this book is sexy. And it is. Ron Marz has this whole thing set up in a stripper bar and lets us get into the lives of the women who chose this as their way of earning money. And truth be told, Marz gives a clever dialog all through out the issue as to make this more of a "sexy comic book that actually packs a good story " instead of just pure "stripping, with lots of tits and ass shots". The pretty grotesque twist by end was nice and it tells the reader that the "hero" (if I could call her that) of this book is not somebody you want to fuck with.

Admittedly though, there are a lot of T&A scenes here right from the beginning. We see Priscilla Kitaen - the mysterious protagonist - stripping her way to please her customers up until the very end of the issue. Like I said, its very sexy, but I believe this is nothing compared to the scenes in Catwoman #1. Character-wise though, Priscilla is more of like dumb and I'm more curious to know more about the remaining female agent who looks more interesting than Voodoo, herself.

Sami Basri's art is.. well... what can I say? Its awesome. I really dig his art. Since this guy took on Power Girl last year, I was looking forward to seeing more of his art and thank goodness he got a monthly comic book project now with Voodoo. His trademark anime/manga-influenced art style that is defined by clean sophisticated lines has never skipped a beat, and he has done his homework when it comes to giving his characters the right facial expressions. His frequent colorist Jessica Kholinne also contributed to improve the art, and her colors just made everything more vibrant and energized. Glad to see them working together again.

In summary, Voodoo #1 wasn't that great, but because of Sami Basri's art and because Ron Marz is writing - and he never makes a crap story - I will stick to this title. There is a lot of potential behind his mystery-horror-erotic hoopla you know. 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

That's all for now. I know I missed a couple of books but don't worry, I will update this post as soon as I get to read them.

DC New 52 Picks - Week Three Reviews

I continue to review some of the new titles that I came across a week ago, and I have to say, this is a pretty successful relaunch so far, with the third with of publishing being the STRONGEST in my estimation.

Lots of good books, a few forgettable ones, and then some that caused some "controversy".

Ready? Let us begin. 

Batman #1 by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo - Ah... Mr. Snyder... again. And he hits his 3rd consecutive plus point in this whole reboot with his impressive Bat-writing which, my friends, will go down there together with Bob Kane, Jeph Loeb, Greg Rucka, and Grant Morrison to name a few. There I said it. Scott Snyder is one of the best Batman writers of all time. Period.

From the opening page of the book, we immediately see the dark and dangerous Gotham city and it gets even better with Snyder showing us all of the popular inmates of Arkham Asylym (and I mean everybody) going  toe to toe with the Batman. Then if that wasn't enough entertainment, Snyder throws in his ingenious plot twist, one that sees a familiar foe fight side by side with the Bat himself. And he does this marvelous opening sequence in just 7 freaking pages, which Capullo illustrates masterfully, unlike anybody I have ever seen draw a Batman action scene. 

And for those not keeping tabs at home, just a reminder: Bruce Wayne is back as Batman. So normally, former Batman Dick Grayson is back to being Nightwing, Bruce's son Damian Wayne is the current Robin, and finally, Tim Drake is Red Robin. The fun part is that Snyder uses a genius plot device that involves a newly developed face recognition gadget to introduce all of these four characters in one splash page. And speaking of gadgetry, we get to see Batman's good 'ol cave, complete with all his high tech toys... including the old school '89 Batmobile. All of this too looked great, because Capullo's great attention to detail.

The flawless execution of the story is what makes this all work, and Snyder does that by showing us both Bruce Wayne and Batman. He shows Bruce Wayne's plans for Gotham which immediately the notion that the man behind the mask is just as focused on saving the city he loves under just as he is hell bent on ridding Gotham City of evil when he wears the cowl at night. That's good stuff. Then he caps it off with some clever detective work with the GCPD, leading us to a cliffhanger that had me saying: 'the fuck!?'

When it comes to the art, I had nothing bad to say about Capullo here as you can see on the first two paragraphs. I just love how he draws Batman and his uncanny ability to illustrate exagerrated, but real facial expressions in his characters that brings a lot of emotion to each page. Case in point: Jim Gordon's splash page. 

All in all, this is the perfect Batman for the new generation. And with Snyder and Capullo teaming up for this, we can all say that the Bat-franchise is in good hands.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Wonder Woman #1 by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang - I was doubtful when I heard that crime-noir writer Brian Azzarello is gonna do Wonder Woman. You know why. But then I read this, wonderful book... and I just knew that we are going be in for a fun ride with Dian... and the crazy Greek gods.

Yes. The Gods are fucking crazy. Azzarello plants his seeds in this first issue by having Diana save a young lady named Zola from brute centaurs in bloody panels that I certainly liked. I mean, who doesn't like Wonder Woman acting like a warrior princess ala-Xena? Be it slashing and headbutting centaurs, I love this new version of Diana. Fierce, powerful, steady and... tall. And I mean, freaking tall. But at the same time, Azzarello shows us the soft side of this woman (with that scene where she checks on a bloodied Hermes), so its not like she's a blood-thirsty Red Lantern.

There's a lot of Greek mythology involved in here, and that's the stuff that I dig. Its interesting and it adds a whole new dimension to this Wonder Woman series.  I don't want to spoil anything here plot-wise, but I'm going to tell you that Zola is involved BIG time with one of these gods (if you're reading or have read Greek myth, then you'll know what I'm talking about).

I enjoyed Cliff Chiang's art, and its phenomenal in this issue. His effective paneling portrays the intense action perfectly, and his sometimes rough pencils is awesome.  He doesn't miss a beat until the end of the issue, and he does a great job making the sexy scenes work, meaning, he is able to make it look sexy without making it too gratuitous.

Great introduction for our new Wonder Woman. And seriously, I want more. And that's coming from somebody who hasn't read any Wonder Woman comic. 

Rating: 5 out of 5

Birds of Prey #1 by Duane Swierczynski and Jesus Saiz - This one is a shocker. Shocking because I didn't expect much from BoP, but damn, this is one of those books that mixes an ass-kicking caper story with sophisticated sexiness so well, turning this into a fun and entertaining read with female fatales in the lead.

Nothing so impressive with the writing, but Swierczynski (fuck, that name is hard to spell) manages to pull it off with some decent dialogue,  a possible darker past for Black Canary (murder references in her speech bubbles, anybody?), and a new character - the tattooed and feisty Starling - who right now is by far the winner for my "Best New Character" award in this DC reboot, even though I don't know where the hell she came from. Being mysterious works doesn't it? 

Now let's take about Jesus Saiz' art. Its no doubt, the best part of this book, hands down.  His rendition of the woman anatomy isn't perfect, but he  managed to draw it realistically. There are a couple of T&A shots here and there, but Saiz made sure that it isn't the only thing that you're going to notice, mixing it with fluid action sequences (e.g Black Canary's first kick). Balance my friends is the name of the game, and Saiz captured that perfectly.

And let us not forget: Saiz illustrates the best car crash scenes EVER. Its forceful, in-your-face, and his level of detail  when it comes to all these stuff and debris flying around is spectacular. That's probably my most favorite part in this book.

So with that said, BoP works, but I just wish that the next issue (see? I got tired writing his last name) will avoid that flashback-present-flashback formula because it gets too confusing and in my opinion, not the type of structure you would want your readers to encounter in a #1 issue. Otherwise, its a solid title, and its worth giving it a second shot.

Rating: 3.5/5

Click on the jump for more reviews...

Nightwing by Kyle Higgins and Eddy Barrows - Okay, here we go again. Back to being Nightwing. I love Dick Grayson as the Batman - seriously - and its I believe downgrading him to this doesn't make any sense. Hell, there's Batman Incorporated and all of these countries have their own version of the Caped Crusader. Why can't Dick stay as the 2nd Batman? 

Higgins tries his best here to come up with an interesting story for Dick, but his brooding and sad internal monologue just kills me. It was okay on the first few pages where he jumps off rooftops to kick some regular thug's ass - but then it continues on and on up until the end. It doesn't sound like the confident Dick that we have always known. as far as I'm concerned. 

Dick says in the beginning that being Batman honed his skills to perfection - which was a great tone to start off with - then Higgins downplays all of that when the masked villain shows up to kill Dick and then lets two cops get brutally killed just so he can change to his Nightwing costume. At first I didn't thought of it as a problem, but then thinking back now, yeah, its kind of contradicting.

If there's anything that saved this book from being below mediocre, that's Eddy Barrows' ability to illustrate Nightwing's acrobatic skills into absolute perfection. The athleticism and graceful movement that is Dick's bread and butter was masterfully done, and because of it, the book had great Dick Grayson moments, especially the heroic/dramatic ones. 

Don't get me wrong, Nightwing isn't a very bad book at all, but it could have been better by using a more lively tone for Dick's voice. We got Batman doing the brooding stuff already, and we don't need Dick to be like that.  So here's hoping that Higgins can turn this around because this is just the beginning and plus, there's plenty of time to work something out.  

Rating: 3 out of 5

Deadman #1 by Paul Jenkins and Bernard Chang  - This is actually titled as DC Universe Presents #1, more of an anthology book in the akin of Action Comics and Detective Comics. But that doesn't make any difference at all because Deadman is a great character that packs a lot of potential, whatever the title is. And in this book, Paul Jenkins made me care about getting a second issue by making Deadman do what he does best - and that is -  taking over people's bodies, and helping them resolve whatever problems/issues they have in their lives.

I seriously love the concept. I'm getting giddy every time I think about it. See, Deadman (before he was Deadman) was a guy named Boston Brand - a selfish, narcissistic trapeze artist who was shot to death by an unknown gunner. His soul was given a chance atone for his sins and redeem himself for his past misdeeds by the Hindu God Rama Kushna and is given a mission: help people fix their life problems. But the true beauty of his dilemma lies in the fact that he is confused/troubled as to where the hell he is really is gonna go after years of helping different kinds of people: whether its towards the good man he must become, or forever fall below into the dark abyss. Its interesting don't you think? A former prick-now-ghost trying to help living and breathing humans?

This my friends, is classic DC storytelling. And add to that the BEST cliffhanger in this whole reboot, lying in the last pages of this book. Its shocking, clever and utter genius of Paul Jenkins to come up with something like that. Totally out of the blue. 

Chang's art was good, but I prefer a more dark, gritty and realistic approach. This is a book who has a ghost as its main character, and we're seeing real people with real problems here, so in my opinion, that could have been a more better choice, rather than the conventional superheroe-y style that Chang brought to the table. 

(Ryan Sook's cover is BRILLIANT though. My best cover in that week. Could be the defining "Deadman image" for years to come.)

But other than that small complaint, I'm good on following Deadman where ever he hell he is going.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Green Lantern Corps #1 by Peter Tomasi and Fernando Pasarin and Scott Hanna - Mysterious intergalactic space murders. That's how this book starts and frankly, I liked it. Invisible Green Lantern killer/killers who brutally decapitates their victims? Now that's a GL villain that I dig. Time to give these powerful space cops something formidable to deal with.

Now that's not the only thing that Tomasi tackles here, and if you are a GL reader you know that GL is not about Oa, space and galaxies. We always go back to God's green Earth, where Tomasi shows two out of the three human GL's not-named-Hal Jordan (namely Guy Gardner and John Stewart) trying to keep in touch with their normal lives (and to some extent their humanity), but because of their designation as Green Lanterns (which Earthlings are aware of), it hinders them from achieving what they want. 

Its depressing and at the same time beautiful for these characters because it gives them that emotional stress/problem that they would have to deal with as part of becoming a Lantern.: its both a gift and a curse. Also, seeing these two guys together was good and its evident that they have the chemistry needed for this book.

Add to that the discovery of the mysterious killer, prompting Guy and John to investigate a certain planet thousands of light years away. There Tomasi drops the bomb, turning this into space-horror genre type of story.

Hanna and Pasarin did a great job of illustrating, utilizing beautiful coloring and the nice shading techniques to make the GL universe alive and capture that space-horror feel that I spoke about.

This GL book has a whole lot of potential, and I cannot wait what Tomasi has in store.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Red Hood and the Outlaws #1 by Scott Lobdell and Kenneth Rocafort - Here we go. This is one of those books that drew ire from feminists and plenty of comic book fans. Why? Because in it, Starfire - who is an alien by the way - is wearing sexy bikinis, showing off his incredible (and almost impossible to be true) body, and apparently is a free-willing, take-charge woman who knows what she wants, and is having a casual sex with two guys in the book - Red Hood (Jason Todd) and Arsenal - as implied by her dialogues.

Clearly, this is a book that doesn't take itself seriously. Its a buddy book that has 3 superheroes in it, doing their own thing and they answer to nobody but themselves. From the start, we see Red Hood save Arsenal from his abductors via a disguise that nobody saw coming: a pretty cool scene that like taken out from a not so serious Hollywood action movie, then Starfire comes in, shows off her destructive powers, and we got tanks getting blown to pieces.

From that point on, the book maintains its so-so but incredibly light and fun storytelling, all of it from  RH and Arsenal's funny dialogue about Starfire (that will piss feminists), the nice T&A scenes of the orange alien, the chiseled musculature of Jason and Arsenal while sipping some juice on the beach, to the gun fighting and explosions - illustrated nicely by Rocafort. But his style of putting too much lines on the face together with the sketchy pencils makes his art annoying sometimes. He does know how to make cheesecake though.

And did any of you notice that thunderclap thighs red hood had in the first splash page? Yeah that's ugly.

To sum this up, its not a really awesome book by any stretch: the writing is not that impressive, but I liked its "let's have some good time, shall we" approach, and the fact that the writer doesn't care about what the reaction to his story will be - as long as he gets to convey his ideas and make a couple of people enjoy their precious reading time. And that is something that I respect.

Am I going to get the second issue? Hell yes. Red Hood is a take-no-prisoners guy and looks like DC's version of Punisher, and the idea of an alien teaming up (and sleeping) with Jason and Arsenal in this round-the-world-trip thing is not a bad idea at all.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Catwoman #1 by Judd Winick and Guillem March - I'm not going to take the "controversy" behind this anymore - you can look at my article about that here.

Now what do I think of this book? I like it. Judd Winick has a good voice for Catwoman and Selina Kyle, and his idea of taking this to the extreme in terms of sexiness and brutality is a good move in my opinion. It brings out the distinct characteristics of Catwoman, and I believe his portrayal of a thief wearing a tight-fitting suit who will just do and use anything to her advantage in order to achieve her goals is spot on. Yes, everything - including her irresistible allure. For me, that's how you portray a femme fatale like Catwoman.

Winick isn't the best writer, but his story is good enough for me to follow it up until the end, and yes, admittedly, his sexual approach contributed to the books "pull" on me. There is nothing wrong with that. This is  Catwoman, and she is supposed to be sexy - but that's not the only side of her that's shown. Catwoman's fierceness, cunning and her lighter-side was also included in this book - making her a rounded character - and that is something that many critics fail to appreciate and notice.

Then there's Guillem March. I don't know anything about this guy and this was the first time I saw his art, and I have to say he is damn good! Not only because he draws nice tits and ass shots and uber-sexy scenes that will rival anything I have read similar before, but because of his drawing technique, detailed backdrops, his ability to convey the right emotion for a scene, combining sexiness with fluid action and scary agressiveness  (case in point: the part where Selina murders the Russian in the bathroom), and most especially - the way he draws... CATS.

You're damn right CATS. I'm going to go on a limb right here and say that Guillem March is one of the best artists to ever draw these animals only rivaled by Frank Quitely. When that full page of Catwoman holding her beloved cat-cage showed up, I immediately noticed these feline faces with different ranges of expressions and I can't help but smile and get cuddly because they're just too CUTE. And I can't even believe that I'm appreciating March's ability to illustrate cats. You know you're good if you can make something usually unnoticeable - noticeable 10x over.

Overall, Catwoman is a breezy fun book that could be too extreme for some people, and based on this, let it be known to you dear reader that this is a comic book NOT INTENDED FOR EVERYBODY. If you're conservative, then this might offend you a lot, but if you're somebody with an open mind - then I suggest you pick this up because its good entertainment.

And one more thing, just to help you enjoy this book more...

ALWAYS remember: CATWOMAN IS NOT A ROLE MODEL.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Supergirl #1 by Michael Green & Mike Johnson and Mahmud Asrar -
Welcome back, Kara Zor-El!

This book gets Supergirl. The writer clearly knows what they are doing here and knows how to introduce Supergirl to the new generation. Supergirl is always a hero that's overshadowed by her more popular Kryptonian cousin, but Green & Johnson proves with this book that Kara is a superhero that can stand on her own and deserves more credit than what she's getting from people.

The choice of Kara's crash site is interesting but it makes a whole lot of sense, and Kara's internal monologue is fantastic. It immediately tells the reader this is a Supergirl as we have never seen her before: she's completely confused and she isn't used to the Earth's harsh and hostile realities. Kara also explains the reason why and how he got her Kryptonian suit, which pretty much explains Superman's new costume as well. Her dialogue isn't boring and it felt organic and very natural. Great job by the writers here.

Then fter the good exposition, the book quickly turns into a fast-paced action movie mode with Supergirl beating the hell out of some Gundam-like robots.
 

Enter Mahmud Asrar. His talent is on full display here with his dynamic action sequences, his incredible splash page of Supergirl ripping off robot arms and all, his  rendition of Siberia and its cold world, and finally, his impeccable artistic storytelling. Just look at the scene where Kara first sees the Earth's sunrise and then just goes ballistic with fiery-eyes and tell me that's not one of the best comic panels you have seen in a while. Asrar - simply put - killed it.

Full of mystery and great art, Supergirl #1 is one of the best titles in this reboot and is the kind of book you want to give to anybody who wants to start reading comics. Superman's teenage cousin has never been this super.

Rating: 4 out of 5

That's it for week three. Stay tuned for my week four reviews - the final week for this DC New 52 reboot.

Next up: Tuna-man, vampires, Superman vs a kryptonian human torch, the weird world of Justice League Dark, and more!

Power Girl is still in the DC New 52 Reboot!!!

But not as the Earth-2 Kryptonian we have always known and loved.

This is her now:

Her civilian identity Karen Starr - CEO of Starrware Industries - appears in the debut issue of Mister Terrific, and is "friends" with Mr. Terrific himself. Well, putting it more explicitly: they are fuck buddies. 

Love that jersey color.

DC New 52 Picks - Week Two Reviews

After reviewing a lot of the first week titles from DC's New 52 initiative, I'm back with more titles from their 2nd week of publishing.

So let's get in the bizniz, shall we?

Batman and Robin #1 by Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason -  Frankly, I was excited to read a book that finally stars father-and-son Bruce and Damian Wayne. Excited to see how their relationship goes and how Batman will deal with a spoiled brat of a son that he has. And it worked pretty well in this comic. The back and forth dialogue between them is fun, but Robin becomes more annoying everytime with his disrespectful banter and  "my way or the highway" style of doing things. I hope they will tone it down a bit.

Also, it was nice to see Batman celebrate the time of his parent's wedding instead of their deaths, and that signifies something on the lighter side that I haven't seen in the character in years. He's still brooding yes, but at least he makes an effort to forget the bad stuff and celebrate the good ones.

Finally, the action is well executed and was beautifully illustrated, but I wish their first encounter was with somebody more powerful, rather than just some bunch of ordinary thieves. Good ending with the mysterious Bat-killer and the Batman of Russia (yes, Russia has one. Read Batman Inc folks) in a pool of vat though. Its something that I could look forward to.

Rating 3.5/5

Batwoman #1 by JH Williams III and Haden Blackman - Its been a long time since I read a Batwoman story and the last one was way back 2010, with the incredible Batwoman: Elegy. So normally, I would expect nothing less but absolute perfection with this book.

And as expected - JH Williams didn't disappoint. 

He killed the storytelling (with help from Haden Blackman of course), infusing detective work with the horror genre, and then giving us his patented 2-page spreads of remarkable art filled with dynamic and fluid action sequences and awesome paneling that only JH Williams can do. The only problem I have (if there is anything), is that Williams had Kate spill all of her emotions in a spread just to keep new readers up to speed with what happening, and how the hell did we end up here. Its a beautiful storytelling technique, but its too confusing and too much to absorb, especially if you just have to understand everything through images. 

Still, this is the BEST book from that week, and its one of those comic books that you have to have in your hands in order for you to appreciate its beauty. That's right: JH Williams tells us that you can't read his book with a damn iPad (or any type of device for that matter)!

Rating: 5/5

Demon Knights #1 by Paul Cornell and Diogenes Nieves - Are you a fan of magic, sorcery and dragons? Then this book is for you. Set in the Dark Ages of the DC Universe, Demon Knights introduces the other side of DC, with sorcerers, dragons, medieval knights, and exploding babies. Wait... come again? 

Yes exploding babies. If that doesn't sound mystical (and creepy) to you, then I don't know what it is.

The book doesn't explain much as who these characters are and how are they related to each other, like you're supposed to know them already. The truth is, I don't know Madame Xanadu, Etrigan, Merlin and the Shining Knight and this was my first time encountering them in a comic, but what the hell... the comic is so damn entertaining and wonderfully drawn that I couldn't help but keep on reading. Its like reading and playing a video game with the detailed medieval environment, the familiar formula of a bleak but interesting prologue + characters meet and greet in a pub, then capping it off with DINOSAURS crashing the party. Yeah, dinosaurs. They're back! 

Paul Cornell and Diogenes Nieves are fcuking awesome. Now, they have to introduce all (if not some) of these characters in the second issue one way or another while getting them to kill some giant reptiles.

Rating: 4/5

Continue after the jump for more reviews... 

 

Resurrection Man #1  by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning - Another title that had me going mainly because of the characters ability to resurrect every single time, and then coming up with a whole different ability/powers. I mean, that's sick. That's definitely something that I haven't seen in a superhero comic book.

Now the story of this book doesn't rely on too much exposition which is usually used to explain the protagonists' origins or how did he get his powers, and instead just explains RM's abilities through his dialogue and actions, conveyed masterfully by Lanning. On one moment he has the powers of magnetism, and then after dying again, he gets to take the shape and form of water. Clearly,  "staying the same" and "dying" isn't in this character's vocabulary. Not much to tell you about the story because Abnett didn't want to spill everything in the debut issue, apparently just giving us teenie-tiny bits of information, so little that had tons of questions by the end.

If you noticed too, I keep on saying "the character" or "the protagonist" through the course of this review. That's because of the interesting weirdness happening in the whole run of the comic: the hero's real name isn't mentioned... or maybe it did mention it one time then I just forgot.

Either way I will probably stick with this one just because I want to know more about this guy and what/who the hell is he dealing with, which I'm guessing has to do with demons, ghost and other apparitions.

Rating 3/5

Green Lantern #1 by Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke - Everything that Geoff Johns' write I dig. Especially when it deals with our Green Lanterns.

You know what's funny about this title? Its numbered as a "#1" when it is essentially the continuation of the War of the Green Lanterns Aftermath and Green Lantern #67. So with that, we can basically call this Green Lantern #68.

It immediately picks up where it left off, with Sinestro wearing the green ring again as the sole protector of Sector 2814 and interestingly, he is doing his job though he keeps on saying that he doesn't want to be a Lantern - brutally killing off a Yellow Lantern and destroying his power ring before it even found a replacement sentient. That's badass and refreshing at the same time.

And with the Korguarian taking care of the intergalatic police work, Hal Jordan is obviously powerless and is back to being an ordinary human - again. But I believe that won't last very long after that not-so-surprising-cliffhanger but still managed to keep excited for some reason. Anything that has to do with big favors in exchange of something really works.

Doug Mahnke continues his brilliant Lantern pencilling here and I hope he will stick with this title for as long as he can because he's the only one who can draw this book other than Ivan Reis (another favorite GL artist).

Solid issue, but I hope that Johns won't bring back Jordan to the Corps too soon. Its fun to see him deal with the problems of ordinary human beings. Time to ground him a bit and let Sinestro do his thing for the meantime. Veering away from the status quo sometimes doesn't hurt, does it? 

Rating: 4/5

Deathstroke #1 by Kyle Higgins and Joe Bennett - Nothing much to be said here asides from pure action, guys getting decapitated with a broadsword (the Jonah Jameson look alike getting beheaded was a priceless shot at Marvel), and a brutal twist that couldn't have been perfect for Deathstroke's nature.

Kyle Higgins knows that Slade Wilson is a do-it-first, ask questions later guy, so he doesn't waste time on long dialogues explaining who the hell Wilson is, and just like Resurrection Man, the art does the talking for him. 

Pretty nice art from Bennett, though I felt like we're back in the 90s here with all the belts and pouches on Deathstroke's costume, and that sword... does he really have to carry a big one? It looked kind of awkward to me. I always thought that regular longswords or even small katanas will work for a mercenary-for-hire, but again, who am I to dictate what he will wear or carry?

For now Higgins has me on board for this, but he has to make an interesting storyline already because too much killing without a good story won't cut in the long run. His shock factor is good though, and he can use more of that in future issues.

Rating: 3/5

Superboy #1  by Scott Lobdell and RB Silva  - Ever since I saw RB Silva's art on the Jimmy Olsen One-Shot,  I was pretty much looking for him every where and I'm glad that he got a work at DC... and not only that, he got to work on Lobdell's new Superboy - who is the same cloned guy made from the fusion of Kryptonian and human DNA (we all know who owns those DNAs sure, but we have to play innocent here and act like we know nothing for the meantime), but different - because this Superboy doesn't know where he came from, how he came to be, devoid of any morals, and apparently doesn't know how his powers work - he just knows they are there and he can use it.

Question is, is he going to use it for the good? or for the worst? That's what we are left with with this amazing issue. Lobdell perfectly plants the seeds for the coming issues by testing Superboy's morality and letting us know that though he is called Superboy, he is no Superman - at least not yet - and has a long road ahead of him before he even becomes the hero fans knew.


Plus, a certain lovely red-head is back (guess who this is anyone?) and acts as the young scientist in charge of the Superboy N.O.W.H.E.R.E. project, and Rose Wilson (who was previously known in the old DC Universe as Deathstroke's daughter) is here as well acting as a love-interest for Superboy in a nice fake reality test (damn, Lobdell got me on that one). 


And as I have said, RB Silva's clean art makes this even more admirable, as his pencils makes everything work together without making scenes too dark/grim.

With that, Superboy is clearly on my pull list. Probably one of the best books that week, next to Batwoman and Demon Knights.

Rating: 4/5 

Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E by Jeff Lemire and Alberto Poticelli - Hah. Frankie is back and he has newfound friends (which includes his trigger happy four-armed wife) and is looking to be the hottest new superhero group in town, And they're all MONSTERS. Couldn't it be any more fun?

Its a whole new series featuring monsters killing off monsters ala Hellboy. Ah, there you go. What a perfect way to describe things because quite frankly, I have a hard time thinking of ways to tell you what this issue is other than saying monsters. Its wacky, it totally out of the ordinary and it gets even weirder as you go on - which is how a comic book with Frankenstein in it should be. Lemire is the man.

Ponticelli has quite a knack for group shots too, and he loves to draw full spreads of absolute mayhem which he draws nicely.  I want more of that. 

One last thing before I wrap this up - I have always asked myself how Father Time looks like. You will get to see him/her in this issue. Finally. And Father Time isn't exactly what you thought he/she would be - another reason for you to get this.

Rating: 3.5/5

Grifter #1 by Nathan Edmonson and CAFU - I like Grifter from the old WildC.A.T.S days, and he is by far, my favorite character on that group. Maybe its because of the mask. So when I learned that he is going to get his own freaking series... I was just ecstatic.

But to my disappointment, his debut issue didn't hit me that hard. Its confusing dialogue and plot that involves paranormal villains/voices that talks to him inside his head and the reveal that his brother is a military guy assigned to hunt him down at all costs, this looks to me, the weakest of the books in that week. Nothing much is conveyed in this first issue, except for the fact that Cole Cash is introduced and is shown at what he does best - being a con artist... and running. Other than that, the villains motives are unknown, no gunfights, and Cash's background and other motives are unexplored.  Maybe that's for the next issue. He put his famous mask by the end anyway.

CAFU's art is good though and that's the only saving grace this book had, as far as I'm concerned.

Still, I'm going to give this one more try and see what Grifter is gonna do with all these unexplained things happening to him. I just wish we get gun fights already, just as what the cover of this issue seemingly conveyed.

Rating: 2/5.


That's it folks. Week Three coming right up soon.

What's next?:  Cheesecakes, in-your-face sex, girl power, and brutal killings that spans galaxies.

DC New 52 Picks - Week One Reviews

I know this is late, but I don't care. This article covers my review of some the titles from the first week of the game-changing DC Reboot.

I didn't read every DC book that went out, and basically just picked out the ones that interested me, so if you don't see any titles that you want to see I do apologize and cut me some slack. Thank you.

Let's get it on.

Justice League #1  by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee - two of the biggest superstar and writer tandems today team up to tell the story of how DC's flagship team came together, and their names alone makes for a great sales pitch. But the story itself  (though it focused more on Batman and Green Lantern bickering right from the start) and dialogue makes the book even more fun and sells the book even more. 

Set 5 years before the current continuity, JL is set at a time where costumed vigilantes are feared and hunted. The League isn't introduced fully here - no Aquaman or Wonder Woman which is a shame - but by the end of the issue, we see a certain stripe of red and blue knocking out big-mouthed Hal Jordan, and that's more than enough for me to get on board. There's also a lantern-ring theft moment featuring Batman (and his cold) grin at the middle part of the story, something that the comic book world will talk about for a long long time.

Its so good to see Jim Lee's art once more, and I feel that 90s vibe once again with his lines and exaggerated musculature, and his ability to tell a story hasn't diminished one bit.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Action Comics #1 by Grant Morrison and Rags Morales - I have only read a single Morrison book, and that's All-Star Superman which I really liked,  so I expected a lot of from this book that features a young Clark Kent (who works as a journalist for the Daily Star)  in his early days of vigilantism, way before he became Superman. 

And its safe to say that Morrison didn't disappoint. For one, he made this version of the hero more vulnerable and somebody who feels like a normal human being. Sure he takes on tank bullets and a high speed bullet train, but he gets wounded and weak in a degree, and is not the uber-powerful near-indestructible alien we used to know. That's refreshing. Also, I like the fact that this Superman defends the common man and deals with problems that human beings can relate to, such as scaring a corrupt official to spill out his beans. I can wrap my head around that. Its also a nice tribute to the early Siegel and Shuster stories of the 50s and 60s by the way, so a plus point.

In addition, introducted are the familiar Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen (who doesn't have any relationship with Clark at all asides from being a competitor working for the Daily Planet), and the ever bald Lex Luthor, who actually looks different here - and I meant that in a bad way. 

Morales' art isn't that impressive for me, but its passable, and he did a great job of keeping things going by having Superman running and leaping tall buildings in a single bound. I want more.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Batgirl by Gail Simone and Vicente Cifuentes - They said that if there's one writer who can write Batgirl, its Gail Simone. And yes, she made a suddenly-walking Barbara Gordon the one and only Batgirl that I have known since the classic Batgirl: Year One.

And take note, the events that happened in Alan Moore's The Killing Joke still happened (which we see via Barbara's dream) so the continuity fanboys have nothing to worry about, but still, I can't help but wonder as to how in the world Barbara healed. I don't know. Maybe it has to do with the bone section where she was hit before.

Anyway Simone captures the correct tone for the character, making her an optimistic person who is determined to bring the pieces of her life back. But at the same time, Simone includes all the guilt and trauma in the world for her to handle, all the while facing a creepy and mysterious villain that uses a damn mirror. I don't know who this new villain is, but he surely looks formidable for Babs, especially now that our heroine is a little bit disoriented with all the shebang in her present and past life. 

The art is nice and shows Babs new costume with all the seams, and the action working hand in hand with Batgirl's internal monologue is fantastic. Over all, it was great to see the original Batgirl on patrol again, and I'm looking forward to number 2. 

Rating: 3 out of 5

Click on the jump for more reviews...

Animal Man  by Jeff Lemire and Travis Foreman - Animal Man was a hero that I was looking to read on back then but for some reason I always thought that he wasn't that interesting. Boy I was wrong. With this awesome new 52 release, Buddy Baker is the titular hero who struggles to balance his life as a family man and a superhero saving people's lives at the same time, which sets up the entertaining superhero/horror read.

This book reminded me of Bravestar for some reason - maybe because of the scene where Animal Man tries to apprehend a hostage-taker using his ability to channel the powers/abilities of any animal. I was like a 12 year old kid when I read that awesome scene, and it hit me like a rhino. From that point, I know that I love this book. 

Towards the ending, the book goes into its horror aspect, and we see blood, more blood and then a beautifully executed disturbing cliffhanger that left me gasping. I loved it even more. Terrific storytelling by Lemire.

I can't really say if I liked Foreman's style of pencilling here, but he definitely knows what he is doing story-wise. I'm not a big fan of his kindergarten art-style, but then again, there's nothing I can do about it, and besides, it works for the book, so there.

Now I really have to read Grant Morrison's run on Animal Man (which according to many, is a classic), while I'm waiting.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Swamp Thing by Scott Snyder and Yanick Paquette - I'm gonna tell you right off the bat this is one of the most surprisingly good books from this New 52, together with Animal Man. The main character that is Swamp Thing is more on the horror aspect, and who is better to write this than the great Scott Snyder who currently, has a streak of award-winning works at his disposal. And he's just getting started.

Snyder goes directly to the point here and doesn't waste time on an origin story for Swamp Thing. He just explains how Alec Holland became the monster through a dream that just took 1 page, and that is something that other writers might like to emulate. Don't bore the reader, entertain them - and that's exactly what Snyder did through some excellent exposition in the beginning. 

Then he turns heads down the end, with that evil-mastodon-bone monster and a twisted group of flies (if you have already read this book, you see what I did there). Damn, that whole ending was one of the most disturbing, creepiest, and sort of disgusting things I have ever seen. It scared me more than Animal Man, and it isn't even close.

Another reason to love this book is Paquette's art that probably rivals some of JH Williams III's work. Believe me, this book as some exquisitely detailed art, from the city backdrops, to the fauna and flora all over Swamp Thing, up to the two-page spread of Superman, Batman, and Aquaman (yes, the make a cameo) talking to each other (with all the dead animals) - all of it, is nothing short of amazing.

Rating 4.5 out of 5

Batwing #1 by Judd Winick and Ben Oliver - All you need to know about Batwing is that he is the Batman of Africa, appointed by Bruce Wayne in Grant Morrison's Batman Inc. series. Now that we got that out of the way, let's go to the review.

Frankly, Batwing is one of those books that you will only pickup because of the art, and I have to give Oliver a round of applause here. He's got some mad skills when it comes to photorealism, and his work here is one of the most beautiful artworks I have seen. One glaring flaw in his art though is his inability to create good, detailed backdrops to go with his characters and his one-dimensional style that focuses on close-up shots.I hope he improves this as the series goes on - if it ever gets an extension.

On the other hand, Winick's story is doesn't really stand out, mainly because of his use of the reverse timeline technique. At first we have Batwing engaging in a bloody-all out war with a guy named Massacre (who is like Danny Trejo from Machete, but with a mask) and then suddenly, we shift to a flashback that sees the man behind Batwing - David Zambive - an honest and straight-up police officer in the city of Tinasha, in the Republic of Congo, who mainly joined the ranks in order to get information he needs for his Batwing operations.

From there, we are given an insight into the life of David during the day and how he utilizes his resources to rid his country of evil while adhering to his "no kill" mantra like Batman. Also, Winnick gives the impression that David is the real person and that Batwing is just the mask - an interesting take on the character.

Winnick isn't bad of a writer, but I just wish that he won't do that confusing reverse storytelling again because it removes the effectiveness of his supposed-to-be -surprising end.

I'm still on board for Batwing, mainly because I want to see more of Oliver's stunning artwork.

(Oh did I mention that Batwing has his own headquarters and his own version of Alfred?)

Rating: 3 out of 5

Detective Comics #1 by Tony Daniel (story and art) - I'm always impressed when a writer does the drawing as well. Its already hard to come up with a good story, then you got to worry about making a great story because well - its the goddamn Batman my friends - and finally you have to take care of the art department too in the best way possible so you won't piss everybody off. Well, Tony Daniel did just that.

He impressed me with his book and with a lot of reasons. First, he showcases Batman using his  over-all thought process in figuring out a certain clown, who Batman admits as to being "one without a true pattern" right from the opening sequence. This immediately sets up the word "detective" in reader's mind and thus staying true to the title of the comic.

Second, Daniel gives the idea that his story is setup from the early years of Batman, with the GCPD at odds with the Caped Crusader, Clearly, the police doesn't like him being around (except for one cop), and that gives another thing for Batman to worry about. Keep Batman busy and you do that by throwing a lot of stuff at him.

Third, the book is not without action and explosions. Joker and Batman coming face to face for the first time is a sight to behold, and their fight scenes are outstanding. Batman might be better in terms of physical strength and martial arts technique, but Joker has all the tricks up in his sleeve to surprise one of the greatest martial artists in the world.

And finally, a fantastic cliffhanger that caught me off-guard. That kind of unpredictability always works. Just when you totally figured it out, you get another thing coming right at you. Played perfectly by Daniel.

But that doesn't mean that the book is without flaws. The gripe I have is that dialogue where Batman is wondering as to what the Joker is doing without his clothes. Then there's the cheesy "I own the night". And also, hologram Alfred. I don't know where that came from.

Still, a solid work from Daniel and I look forward to more detective-style puzzles, more crime-solving, and impressive artwork featuring Batman running on top of buildings. And please, no more fucking holograms.

Rating 3.5/5


Whew. That's a lot! But there you go my friends. Let me know in the comments what you think of these titles. A healthy discussion is always welcome.

Tomorrow or maybe the next next day:  Week Two titles that includes dragons and sorcerers. Wait... what?