Sunday, November 13, 2011

DCnU Capsule Reviews, Week 10

Continuing my capsule reviews of each week's DCnU books, now in their third month:


Batgirl #3: I liked the interplay between Batgirl & Nightwing, though I'd like Babs to show a little more confidence, and Dick utters one of the worst lines of the week ("You're alone, Batgirl. You're all alone." Sheesh.) Rating: 3 (of 5).

Batman and Robin #3: Something about this issue finally clicked for me. Even though I have a hard time believe Batman could get hit by a car when crossing the street, the penultimate page immediately following was fantastic. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Batwoman #3: The opening sequence was fantastic, and the rest was pretty darn good too. The story is now reaching the same high standards as the art. This is the best single issue comic I've read this year. Rating: 4.5 (of 5).

Deathstroke #3: On the other hand, Deathstroke continues to be the nadir of the DCnU. The last two pages here are kind of interesting, but the rest is just dumb, hard-to-follow violence. Rating: 1.5 (of 5).

Demon Knights #3: I was kind of grooving on how Cornell gave us a calm-before-the-final-battle-storm here, until the last page beheading. Really DC? Again? It's not even shocking any more. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #3: Ponticelli continues to nail it when drawing the big monster brawls, and Lemire throws in just enough imagination to keep this from being a dumb shoot-'em-up. Rating: 3.5 (of 5).

Green Lantern #3: The flagship continues to be the best of the DCnU Green Lantern titles, even though that's not really saying much. We know Hal's not really dead at the end, but I am interested to see where the story goes next. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Grifter #3: Continues to show off Cafu's knack for drawing big explosive action scenes, but otherwise there's just not much to this. Rating: 2 (of 5).

Legion Lost #3: Except for Timber Wolf, everyone else seems to be just sitting around brooding. The plot could stand to be a bit more clear. Some nice art by Woods in places, but other times he seems lost with the script, trying to make things more dynamic than they are. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Mister Terrific #3: For the first time Gugliotta's art stabilizes and Wallace's story comes into focus. The sequence where Mr. T loses it on Brainstorm was quite visceral and affecting. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Resurrection Man #3: Not really feeling it with this one. It's not really bad, just not really grabbing me. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Suicide Squad #3: I have to admit that Mad Dog was one of the last characters I expected to see in the new DCU. Again an improvement over the previous issue; this finally felt like a Suicide Squad story. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Superboy #3: I'm generally liking the clean art by Silva, even if it is a bit too plastic some of the time. The story needs a bit more connective tissue between scene. And I burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of the last page, but not in a way that I think the creators intended. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).


Ratings compared to the second issues: 4 improved; 5 stayed the same; 4 were worse.

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