Continuing my capsule reviews of each week's DCnU books, now in their third month:
Batman #3: Thankfully the inappropriately graphic cover does not reflect the contents of the story inside, which continues to be quite good in both art and story. The only Batman comic you need right now. Rating: 3.5 (of 5).
Birds of Prey #3: A lot of pointless action going seemingly nowhere. Swierczynski shows how to write all of the interest out of a book. Rating: 2 (of 5).
Blue Beetle #3: Not really sure how they can call this the 'conclusion,' as the story doesn't end at all. Is that a mechanical gorilla with a big gun on the last page? If so, that's pretty awesome. Rating: 3 (of 5).
Captain Atom #3: So no one in the DCnU has heard of Capt. Atom before? Some pretty art applied to a pointless story. Rating: 2 (of 5).
Catwoman #3: Keeps making a bad comic worse. Ranks down there with the worst of the DCnU, which is annoying because in the case of these creators they are capable of much better. Rating: 1.5 (of 5).
DC Universe Presents #3: Midway through the Deadman story; the plot doesn't grab me much, but I'm enjoying the focus on the metaphysical situation and angst of Boston Brand. Rating: 3 (of 5).
Green Lantern Corps #3: Thankfully lacking in the graphic violence of the first two issues, but on the other hand the big battle between the GLs and the Ring Slayers isn't doing much for me. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).
Justice League #3: Lee's art seems weaker than usual in many places, possibly the result of the looser rush job? I enjoyed the look at the early days of the DCnU Wonder Woman, and I just noticed that Cyborg's origin is now tied-in to longtime JL foes T.O. Morrow and Prof. Ivo. Rating: 3 (of 5).
Legion of Super-Heroes #3: Portela's art is pleasant to look at, even if he occasionally fails in basic storytelling (e.g. the last page, which I had to read three times before I figured out what was going on). And I still don't care if new readers will be lost, since I'm not one of those. Rating: 3 (of 5).
Nightwing #3: An improvement again. I'm actually engaged with the story now. It would be interesting to see Nightwing stick around in Chicago for a while. Rating: 3 (of 5).
Red Hood and the Outlaws #3: Some innovative layouts from Rocafort are mostly wasted with the story, though the last three pages were actually interesting. Rating: 2 (of 5).
Supergirl #3: Continues to improve as a comic, as Supergirl gets what could be her own Lex Luthor-type enemy. (Is that 'Miss Thorn' as in 'Rose &' ?) Rating: 3 (of 5).
Wonder Woman #3: The big revelation is handled quite well, I think, and makes sense within the story of this version of Wonder Woman. In lesser hands this could have been a train wreck, but Azzarello & Chiang are top-notch. Rating: 3.5 (of 5).
Ratings compared to the second issues: 3 improved; 9 stayed the same; 1 was worse.
2 comments:
I don't get your grading a book you call top notch, only gets a 3.5 and the absolute worst is a 1.5, that seems like a very shallow range.
And what is the appeal of Batman? The only book I really like of the batmans is Batman & Robin.
But I also agree with a lot of your opinions. Birds of Prey is weak. Catwoman is awful shock porn and Wonder Woman is surprisingly good.
My rating system is explained over in the sidebar. A three is good. I grade on a curve, so most comics will be rated in the 2.5 - 3.5 range.
Actually, I called the creators of Wonder Woman top notch.
Last week I rated Batwoman #3 a 4.5; it was better than any of the other DCnU books I've read so far, and is likely to be of interest beyond the super-hero genre. I reserve high marks for those comics which are exemplars of the form. If you rate good things too high, then it is harder when you come across something truly great.
The appeal of Batman is interesting art (the best of Capullo's career) and an engaging story..
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