Stats Week: DC New 52 Sales

Last year I published a look at title longevity and sales of DC's New 52. So with another year under their belt, how do things look?

(Click on charts for larger versions.)

Number is the issue number published during that month (cover dates are given, not on-sale dates). They are grouped by 'wave.' Only regular, intended to be ongoing series are tracked (no mini-series, one-shots or annuals). November 2013, aka 'Villains Month,' is not on this chart since essentially every comic published that month was a one-shot special.

The main thing that becomes clear is that starting in the second half of 2013, DC pretty much gave up on trying to publish fifty-two regular series every month, despite keeping the New 52 moniker. Yes, there were mini-series and whatnot, especially Forever Evil and its tie-ins, but there were also mini-series back in the first year of the New 52 and those didn't count as part of the total 52.

While number of titles may be interesting, what you're really here for are sales:

Sales figures are rounded to the nearest thousand and include re-order activity and additional printings and are adjusted for returnability as per the calculations over at The Beat. (Except for Jan 2014, which are taken directly from ICv2.)

It is here that the real tragedy of the second year of The New 52 comes into focus. Outside of titles featuring Batman or Justice League (or to a lesser extent Superman, thought mostly credit Jim Lee for Superman Unchained…) DC just cannot get any traction on their titles, especially new titles. There are way too many titles in the 20-45K range. There just doesn't seem to be enough interest in non-marquee titles to justify publishing so many of them. DC seems poised to shake things up a bit with a couple of weekly series on the horizon (which is really going to muck up the simplicity of these charts…), but will that appeal to a customer base that already seems to be sated? Even if one of those is a Batman title, do readers feel that they already have enough Batman each month?

So the question remains, was the New 52 reboot worth it? Surely in the short run they got a big boost in sales; but now two years later I can't imagine that things are much better than they would have been. They have been unable to successfully launch any new concepts out of the reboot. Average sales for the DC Universe are about 1000 units higher than they were before the reboot, so it did buy the line a couple of years of respite from declines; but those days are over now.

Coming soon: a similar look at Marvel NOW...

Stats Week: DCnU Title Longevity

Here's a table/chart showing the longevity of each of the titles in DC's New 52 and how long they've lasted:

(Click on charts for larger versions.)

Number is the issue number published during that month (cover dates are given, not on-sale dates). They are grouped by 'wave.' You'll note in the totals that for most months they did indeed publish 52 comics as part of the DCnU, except for Sep 2012 when Batman Incorporated skipped a month due to thematic sensitivity due to the theater shootings; Nov 2012 during Zero Month when they published #0 issues for three cancelled series; and the upcoming Apr 2013, apparently because the new Constantine series won't be ready to launch in time.

Here's the same table/chart, but with Diamond North America sales figures (in thousands) in place of the issue numbers:

(Sales figures include re-order activity and additional printings and are adjusted for returnability as per the calculations over at The Beat.)

Stats Week: Grading the DCnU

As many of you know, I read and graded the first four issues of all of the DCnU titles. Here are the number grades in one handy chart:

Here's the grade distribution:

Not exactly a bell curve; definitely skewed towards the lower end of the grading scale.

Here are the titles sorted by median grade:

DCnU: New Series, Cancelled Series

USA Today reports that a new wave of DCnU titles will be debuting in May:

Batman Incorporated, continuing the pre-DCnU Batman story by Grant Morrison & Chris Burnham.

Dial H, once again updating the 60s classic, this time written by novelist China Miévelle

Earth 2, featuring the Justice Society set on a parallel Earth, by James Robinson & Nicola Scott.

World's Finest, featuring The Huntress & Power Girl from Earth 2 but stranded on Earth 1, written by Paul Levitz with alternating arc drawn by George Perez & Kevin Maguire.

G.I. Combat, a war book with two rotating features each issue. Some of the features include "The War That Time Forgot" by J.T. Krul & Ariel Olivetti; "The Unknown Soldier" by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti & Dan Panosian; and "The Haunted Tank" by John Arcudi & Scott Kolins.

Ravagers, a Teen Titans spin-off by Howard Mackie & Ian Churchill.

And because apparently the publishing slate of the DCnU is now a zero-sum game, six titles from the initial wave are being cancelled:

• Blackhawks
• Hawk & Dove
• Men of War
• Mister Terrific
• O.M.A.C.
• Static Shock

Sad to see O.M.A.C. cancelled, as that was a fun series. A shame to see the two comics starring African-American men cancelled. Also a shame to see only one female creator among the new wave of titles (though I haven't yet seen an announcement of who the artist on Dial H will be; Brian Bolland is touted as the cover artist, but I can't imagine he's doing interiors...)

Of the new titles, I'm enthusiastic about the first four, and will probably pick up G.I. Combat to see if the back-ups are good enough to make me overlook the J.T. Krul-written lead story. I have no interest in Ravagers.

DCnU Capsule Reviews, Week 16

This is it, my final set of capsule reviews for the DCnU titles!


All Star Western #4: Hex just can't seem to get out of Gotham; I hope he does soon and we can go back to the one-off westerns that used to be prevalent in his solo title. Moritat does some nice layouts in the underground sequences. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Aquaman #4: I would've hoped for something a bit more interesting for the final confrontation than Big Fight™. The Lovecraftian monster designs by Reis continue to be interesting. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Batman: The Dark Knight #4: This title is just moving along too slowly. And why exactly is Deathstroke here anyway? Rating: 2 (of 5).

Blackhawks #4: I have to admit I'm a bit interested to see where the plto goes next, but not so interested that I'll bother seeking it out. Rating: 2 (of 5).

The Flash #4: Second only to Batwoman in the interesting art area of the New 52. And I like how they kept the suspense of last issue's cliffhanger going well into the issue by focusing on the backstory of the villains. Rating: 3.5 (of 5).

The Fury of Firestorm, the Nuclear Men #4: Totally flailing to find a direction. This title needs to straighten up right quick. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Green Lantern: New Guardians #4: The big two-page cliffhanger is the most interesting thing to happen in this title so far. But it doesn't make up for the preceding seventy-eight pages. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

I, Vampire #4: Was this mostly a flashback? It's hard to tell. Despite that, the art by Sorrentino continues to be nice to look at, and Fialkov does a good job with guest star John Contantine. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Justice League Dark #4: Kind of a mess as it jumps around. And yeah, we could do without the beheading (this is a 'T' title?) Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Legion: Secret Origin #3: Still unnecessary, but a good read. And at least Levitz isn't completely just retreading old stories. Rating: 3 (of 5).

The Savage Hawkman #4: What the @#$%! is going on in this book. A complete failure. Of all of the DCnU titles so far, this may be the worst. Rating: 1 (of 5).

Superman #4: Wow, that new Superman outfit just does not work. Bring back the denim! Rating: 3 (of 5).

Teen Titans #4: Booth's art is very detailed, even if his figures are a bit funny and his angles are weird (and he can't seem to follow script directions... Actually it appears to be a sneaky cameo of one of my all-time favorite characters!) I like the repartee between Red Robin and Kid Flash. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Voodoo #4: Tries to explain a few things. But that scene with the computer jockey? Lazy and stupid. Rating: 2 (of 5).


Ratings compared to the third issues: 3 improved; 8 stayed the same; 3 were worse. 

And that's it! I'll have a New 52 wrap-up sometime in the next week or so.

DCnU Capsule Reviews, Week 15

This will be my final month reviewing all of the DCnU titles, and here are this week's books:


Batman #4: After the explosive opening there are a lot of talky info-dump bits, and Capullo makes all of it interesting to look at. Rating: 3.5 (of 5).

Birds of Prey #4: Fails on a basic story-telling level, impossible to follow what is going on. A big mess, below the level of competency that should be expected from a mainstream publisher. Rating: 1.5 (of 5).

Blue Beetle #4: A gun-toting robot gorillas on the cover can cover for a lot of sins, but these graphic shock last-page endings are getting really old and at this point are not as shocking as DC wants them to be. If fact, the only surprising thing is that they are still doing them. Still: robot gorilla. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Captain Atom #4: Doesn't fail on the level of Birds of Prey, but it's not very well told either. We're done here. Rating: 2 (of 5).

Catwoman #4: So far, every even issue has been somewhat palatable, while every odd issue has bordered on crap. So while this was okay, I won't bother sticking around for issue five. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

DC Universe Presents #4: Existentialism light for the super-hero set, but the amusement park setting livens up what could have been twenty pages of boring talky bits. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Green Lantern Corps #4: Really? Another character getting his head graphically blown up? Is there some kind of weekly quota for this crap in the DCnU? Rating: 2 (of 5).

Justice League #4: Plot moving slowly, while Jim Lee's art seems rushed. And really, I want better from my Justice League than to have them sniping at each other like teenagers with chips on their shoulders. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Legion of Super-Heroes #4: It looks like Levitz is finally settling into his a-b-c plot formula, which was so successful back in the 80s. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Nightwing #4: Okay, I know the book is called "Night"wing, but maybe someone could turn on a light every once in a while so that we can get scenes lit in colors other that dark blue and black? Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Red Hood and the Outlaws #4: Guess what? Someone gets shot in the head, which then explodes. Stop me if you've seen this before. Rating: 2 (of 5).

Supergirl #4: A little too dark for my tastes for a Supergirl comic. Let's lighten things up a bit, okay? (And I mean story as well as the art/coloring). Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Wonder Woman #4: I'd like for Wonder Woman to do a bit more wonderful stuff, and a bit less of the Gods moping around. Rating: 3 (of 5).


Ratings compared to the third issues: 1 improved; 5 stayed the same; 7 were worse.

DCnU Capsule Reviews, Week 14

This will be my final month reviewing all of the DCnU titles, and here are last week's books:


Batgirl #4: Batgirl faces off against Mirror at Christmas. I really don't see the necessity for all of the blood during the fight scenes. I like the relationship that is developing between Barbara and her new roommate (which means we probably shouldn't get too attached to her...) Rating: 3 (of 5).

Batman and Robin #4: Gleason continues to get more daring with his storytelling choices, which is helping to keep my interest in this title. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Batwoman #4: Continues to operate on a completely different level from the rest of the DCnU. To echo Mr. Bones in the last panel, there's no way I'm missing what comes next. (And bonus kudos for presenting the story uninterrupted by ads!) Rating: 4.5 (of 5).

Deathstroke #4: For as much as I've derided this book so far, I kind of wanted a longer scene of Slade in the prison. This wasn't quite the nadir of the past couple of issues, but I still won't miss it. Rating: 2 (of 5).

Demon Knights #4: I suppose I should be a bit miffed that they took time out of the already slow-moving opening tale to give us a story that is mostly Shining Knight backstory, but it was quite well done and a perfect example of how to make effective use out of the need for a fill-in artist. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #4: Pretty much more of the same good stuff that we've been getting thus far from Lemire and Ponticelli. Rating: 3.5 (of 5).

Green Lantern #4: Hal Jordan & Sinestro continue their bromance as prisoners on Korugar, as a thousand fan-fics are born. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Grifter #4: I can't believe I didn't make the Daemonites / Demon Knights connection until it was mentioned here. But I'm obtuse that way sometimes, just as the showdown between Cole & Green Lantern is here. Rating: 2 (of 5).

Legion Lost #4: The Story continues to be okay, and is wrapped around some pretty art from Pete Woods. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Mister Terrific #4: This is exactly the kind of crazy-ass sci-fi stuff I want from a Mister Terrific comic. After a slow start in the first couple of issues, this comic is finally finding its groove. Rating: 3 (of 5).

The Ray #1: I was really liking this, until the last page. Minus half a point for yet another person in a DC comic suffering from a graphic fatal head injury. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Resurrection Man #4: Issues with pacing plague this title, such as the seven-page firefight with the Body Doubles that opens this issue with nary a Resurrection Man in sight. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

The Shade #3: For everyone who was wondering when the James Robinson who wrote Starman would show up again, here you are. Plus another great showing from Cully Hamner. Rating: 3.5 (of 5).

Suicide Squad #4: Continues to improve slightly, but for me at this point it is too little too late. Someone let me know if it ever gets better. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Superboy #4: Another story set at Christmas. I didn't care much for the villains, but the art was nice to look at and had a certain amount of energy during the fight scenes even if at other times it was a bit stiff. I'm looking forward to the story progressing. Rating: 3 (of 5).


Ratings compared to the third issues: 2 improved; 12 stayed the same; none were worse; 1 was new.

DCnU Capsule Reviews, Week 13

This will be my final month reviewing all of the DCnU titles, so let's get cracking:

Action Comics #4: Things were going well until 'this fight continued in the back-up feature' (weird, but whatever), then 'this story continued in issue #7' (huh?!). That's some sloppy editorial management there. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Animal Man #4: The stuff with Buddy and Maxine in The Red is moving a bit too slowly, but there's a nice two-page center spread by Foreman, and Socks is awesome. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Batwing #4: The Guest art by ChrisCross makes for a clearer story experience; as for that matter does the flashback to Batwing's days as a child soldier. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Detective Comics #4: So is Bruce Wayne going to have a different girlfriend in every Batman comic? (I actually kind of like the idea...) Batman's confrontation with The Dollmaker isn't terribly special. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Green Arrow #4: Even with the change in writers, this continues to be quite generic. Rating: 2 (of 5).

Hawk & Dove #4: A five page story crammed into twenty pages. Rating: 2 (of 5).

Justice League International #4: The old-school super-hero team action continues. The color palate is a shade too dark for a Justice League comic, but not distractingly so. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Men of War #4: When your big last page reveal/cliffhanger leaves the reader going 'huh?', that's not a good sign. Rating: 1.5 (of 5).

O.M.A.C. #4: I continue to enjoy the heck out of this loud, kinda-dumb comic (which I think is a bit smarter than it appears). A continued shout-out to the colors from Hi-Fi, which help the art's Giffen/Kirby blend pop off the page. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Red Lanterns #4: The brief two-page origin flashback of Ratchet offers a frustrating glimpse at how this could be a good comic, if the rest of it wasn't full of dumb posturing and shouting and not much happening. Rating: 2 (of 5).

Static Shock #4: Every so often a glimpse of Rozum's writing style shows through, but mostly this is starting to test my affection for the character. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Stormwatch #4: A big, explosive Stormwatch-stye confrontation with the Creature from The Moon. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Swamp Thing #4: Fill-in artist Marco Rudy doesn't miss a beat, and turns in a few really stellar pages; particularly page sixteen, with Abby and Alec lying next to each other on the bisected page. Also, it's interesting that the views of The Rot offered here and in Animal Man don't exactly match-up, no doubt due to the different viewpoint of the messengers. Rating: 3.5 (of 5).

Ratings compared to the third issues: 3 improved; 9 stayed the same; 1 was worse.

DCnU Capsule Reviews, Week 12

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


All Star Western #3: Moritat's art continues to be quite suitable for this story; I especially liked the double-page splash at the end. Didn't care much for the back-up though. Rating: 3 (of 5)

Aquaman #3: I could have done without the graphic violence on the cover, but I guess that's how we're supposed to know that this is a 'serious' Aquaman. (I actually prefer the version from the Batman: The Brave and the Bold cartoon myself.) Still, the story continues to interest, even if it is moving a bit too slow. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Batman: The Dark Knight #3: The iaculis ex machina bit with The Flash is just sloppy writing, though he is written out with a bit of cleverness at the end. Rating: 2 (of 5).

Blackhawks #3: This is the first issue that felt like it might be something interesting (i.e. it had something resembling characters and a plot), but the first two issues already burned away any potential good will. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

The Flash #3: Another really good issue for 19 pages, but I'm knocking off half a point for the shot-in-the-head cliche that affects too many DC comics these days. Rating: 3 (of 5).

The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #3: Another comic that needs to get away from the long fight scenes and start moving the plot along faster. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Green Lantern: New Guardians #3: I barely remember anything that happened in this comic. Rating: 2 (of 5).

I, Vampire #3: The story begins to move forward; even as we get more backstory dumped, at least things are happening at the same time. I continue to appreciate Sorrentino's art. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Justice League Dark #3: The plot keeps getting sidetracked. I know that Milligan really likes Shade, but the character always confuses me. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Legion: Secret Origin #2: Continues to be somewhat interesting and nicely drawn, and really unnecessary as well. Still, I'll never complain too much about extra Legion. Rating: 3 (of 5).

The Savage Hawkman #3: The story continues to be muddled, and Tan's art does it no favors. Rating: 2 (of 5).

The Shade #2: Reading Robinson's latest chapter of his grand Opal City saga is like catching up with an old friend. Rating: 3.5 (of 5).

Superman #3: Always nice to see art from Nicola Scott, though I don't think she works as well with Pérez's layouts as she would on her own. Also, I someday really want to read the first encounter of this Superman with Titano. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Teen Titans #3: Continues to be not a annoying as I expect. Except for the dialog captions; those are annoying. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Voodoo #3: We get a bit of explanation, and a too-long battle with Green Lantern Kyle Raynor. But some props to Basri for some nice monster designs. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).


Ratings compared to the second issues: 3 improved; 5 stayed the same; 7 were worse. 

That wraps-up month three. I haven't yet decided yet if I will continue this in December... 

DCnU Capsule Reviews, Week 11

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.

DCnU: Making the Cut

Since my comic store (DCBS) has been offering a package deal on all of the DCnU New 52 titles (50% off if you pre-order them all), for the first four months I've gone ahead with the package. The benefit has been that I've been able to sample all of the titles and blog reviews about them. The downside is that many of the comics aren't terribly good.

So enough is enough. Even though DCBS is continuing to offer the package deal for the fifth month, I'm no longer taking it and just selecting the titles I want to continue reading.

The DCnU titles that I will continue to buy and read after issue #4 are:

• Action Comics
• All Star Western
• Animal Man
• Aquaman
• Batgirl
• Batman
• Batman and Robin
• Batwoman
• Blue Beetle
• DC Universe Presents
• Demon Knights
• Flash
• Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE
• Fury of Firestorm
• Green Lantern
• I, Vampire
• Justice League
• Justice League Dark
• Justice League International
• Legion Lost
• Legion of Super-Heroes
• Mister Terrific
• O.M.A.C.
• Static Shock
• Stormwatch
• Superboy
• Supergirl
• Superman
• Swamp Thing
• Teen Titans
• Wonder Woman

So that's 31 of the 52 books I'll continue for now. Though admittedly some of them are on thin ice, I figure I'll at least wait out the first story arc on them. And of course this isn't a final cut list; if I decide later I want to read something I haven't ordered, I can always pick it up as a digital comic or wait for the trade.

(Another bonus to culling the list is that this is the lowest pre-order total I've placed in nearly three years, and my second lowest since I started using DCBS seven years ago. So thanks DC for making enough mediocre and crappy new comics to save me some $$$ !)

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.

DCnU Capsule Reviews, Week 9

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


Action Comics #3: Clark's dream of Krypton, wonderfully drawn by Gene Ha, is different from other Krypton's we've seen before but still feels right. And we get a good feeling of how young reporter Clark Kent operated. I like everything about this book but the overpricing (which is knocking it down half a grade). Rating: 3.5 (of 5).

Animal Man #3: Nice creepy drawings by Foreman liven up a comic that needs to pick up the pace a bit. It's nice to see a character in a horror story, in this case Ellen Baker, act sensibly, even if it looks like her actions are going to backfire. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Batwing #3: This is totally not the story to tell for a new character's opening story arc. We need to focus on Batwing, not secret super-hero conspiracies of times past. And Oliver's art is too muddled. Rating: 1.5 (of 5).

Detective Comics #3: We all knew that last month's cliffhanger was a fake-out, so its reveal here is no big surprise. This comic feels like it is treading water and drawing things out. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Green Arrow #3: Continues to be completely uninspired; the imminent creative team changes can only help matters. Rating: 2 (of 5).

Hawk & Dove #3: Hawk & Dove (with help from Deadman) fight Condor & Swan. And fight. And fight. And fight. Yawn. Rating: 2 (of 5).

Justice League International #3: Jurgens continues to establish the cast and their personalities during the ongoing action , and I juts really like Lopresti's art. Solid super-hero team book. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Men of War #3: Who are these people? What are they doing? What is going on? Why should I care? This comic lacks in the basics of being a story. Only the back-up feature (nothing great, but drawn well and comprehensible) keeps this book from ratings purgatory. Rating: 1.5 (of 5).

O.M.A.C. #3: Kevin gets arrested as a terrorist and taken to a prison run by a big-brained inmate. It's big and bold and colorful, but doesn't ask you to turn your brain completely off. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Red Lanterns #3: My interest in this book, already weak, wanes even further. This book needs more Dex-Starr to save it. Rating: 1.5 (of 5).

Static Shock #3: I have a hard time placing my finger on exactly why this comic isn't quite hitting the mark for me. I suspect it is due to the lackluster villains, or perhaps that McDaniel's art seems crowded. But my affection for the character will keep me reading for the time being in the hopes that it sorts itself out. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Stormwatch #3: These are exactly the kinds of threats I expect a team called Stormwatch to be facing. Hopefully we will soon get a 'downtime' issue though so we can spend a little more time with the chracters. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Swamp Thing #3: Snyder's atmospheric script helps paper over any qualms about this re-retcon, but again I'd like to see the story move forward a bit faster. Ibáñez's art pages work seamlessly with Paquette's, so there's no art whiplash due to the partial fill-in (editos take note: this is how to deal with such situations!) Rating: 3 (of 5).


Ratings compared to the second issues: 0 improved; 8 stayed the same; 5 were worse.

DCnU Capsule Reviews, Week 8

After writing reviews for every single of DC's new #1 issues, I'm slowing down. But here are capsule reviews of last week's books:


All Star Western #2: Lead story drawn by Moritat, the back-up by Jordi Bernet—this is certainly one of the best-drawn books of the week. The Jonah Hex story is better for having fewer pages than in the lead-off issue. Rating: 3.5 (of 5).

Aquaman #2: Missing a lot of the sly humor of the first issue. I'd also like to see the story move quicker and not spend four opening pages on the sea creatures attacking civilians when one page would have done the job just fine. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Batman: The Dark Knight #2: Oh I see, all of Batman's villains are getting amped up, though the Joker sure is getting a lot of face time in the new 52. Better than the first issue. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Blackhawks #2: I'd rather have Zinda as Lady Blackhawk than this boring mess. Rating: 1.5 (of 5).

Flash #2: Barry starts to use his Speed Force power in a new way. The art continues to be fantastic, which is good because I'm not entirely sure what the plot actually is. Oh, and Barry should just forget about Iris; Patty Spivot is adorable. Rating: 3.5 (of 5).

The Fury of Firestorm #2: I really hope we get an explanation for how these Firestorms work fairly soon. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Green Lantern: New Guardians #2: Mildly better than the first issue, but still not terribly great. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

I, Vampire #2: The pacing on this comic is very odd, but I'm willing to put up with it as it adds a uniqueness to what could be a standard issue vampire story. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Justice League Dark #2: I wonder if the 'team' will ever actually get together? Janin's art is nice but sometimes is a bit too stiff. A couple of things confuse me: Can everyone now see Boston Brand in his ghost form? And whose side is Mme. Xanadu supposed to be on? Rating: 3 (of 5).

Legion: Secret Origin #1: Recent history suggests that The Legion has a tough time maintaining one title, let alone two, so I question the wisdom of adding in a third series. Plus do we really need yet another re-telling of the Legion's origin? But we do get to see some nice Chris Batista art. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

The Savage Hawkman #2: The story is confusing, and the art doesn't help, and the coloring is muddy. Rating: 2 (of 5).

Superman #2: Normal page-length this time, but still a lot of story packed into another done-in-one. So where exactly is Superman's secret hideout? Rating: 3.5 (of 5).

Teen Titans #2: Also a bit better than the first issue. This comic might eventually win me over; it would help if Booth would tone down the use of odd angles for no good reason. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Voodoo #2: I was actually trying to give this book a chance, but not if the characters are going to be this stupid (You know you're dealing with a shapeshifter so you give out a codeword, and then don't ask for it?!) Rating: 2 (of 5).


Ratings compared to the first issues: 3 improved; 6 stayed the same; 4 were worse; 1 was new.

DCnU Capsule Reviews, Week 7

After writing reviews for every single of DC's new #1 issues, I'm slowing down. But here are capsule reviews of last week's books:


Batman #2: Easily the best of the Batman solo titles out of the new 52. Also, it's nice to see some pages in a Batman comic bathed in sunlight, so Kudos to colorist Glapion for nicely rounding out the art team. Rating: 3.5 (of 5).

Birds of Prey #2: Not exactly sure why this title rubs me the wrong way; probably has something to do with characters whose names I recognize but aren't acting like the characters I'm used to. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Blue Beetle #2: The unnecessary retelling of the origin continues. It's still fine, but I want it to move on faster than it is going. Rating: 3 (of 5). 

Captain Atom #2: Young Justice #9 also featured Capt. Atom this week, and was a much better story than this. Some pretty art from Williams though. Rating: 2 (of 5).

Catwoman #2: So at the end they kill off the only interesting character in the book. This is worse than exploitative garbage. It is that, but it is also just bad. Rating: 1.5 (of 5).

DC Universe Presents #2: Part two of the Deadman story continues with the philosophical but isn't quite as dense as the first issue as it adds in some action as well. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Green Lantern Corps #2: This level of graphic violence and dismemberment is simply not appropriate for a Green Lantern comic. Rating: 2 (of 5).

Justice League #2: I like the repartee between Green Lantern and Flash. Plenty of action, though it is mostly heroes fighting each other; that chestnut gets old. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Legion of Super-Heroes #2: The story continues to barrel ahead at full steam. I'm sure that new readers are lost, but I'm not one so I don't care. Bring on the crazy large cast! Rating: 3 (of 5).

Nightwing #2: Dick's weakness for redheads gets him into trouble again. Better than the first issue, both art and story-wise. If only the villain were more interesting... Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Red Hood and the Outlaws #2: Mostly lacking the offensiveness of the first issue, but fails to make me care about the happenings at all. Rating: 2 (of 5).

Supergirl #2: A slightly longer read than the first issue, but still way too much fisticuffs. Good to see that Superman is asking the same questions about Kara's power levels as the rest of us. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Wonder Woman #2: Such a dark approach shouldn't work for Wonder Woman, but Azzarello and Chiang make it work, even with a dark and mysterious Paradise Island. Rating: 3.5 (of 5).


Ratings compared to the first issues: 3 improved; 8 stayed the same; 2 were worse.

DCnU Capsule Reviews, Week 6

After writing reviews for every single of DC's new #1 issues, I'm slowing down. But here are capsule reviews of last week's books:


Batgirl #2: There's a still a lot going on, but it feels less crowded that the first issue, with most of the heavy exposition out of the way. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Batwoman #2: Everything here was great, from the opening fight scene to the involvement of Chase, who is turning out to be an excellent antogonist/catalyst. At some point I'll probably run out of superlatives to describe this title, but not yet. Rating: 4 (of 5).

Batman and Robin #2: Who is that guy that Bruce confronts at the end? Are we supposed to know and/or care about him? I definitely sense some Tim Sale sneaking into Gleason's art in places (in a good way). Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Deathstroke #2: Normally I'd be a bit miffed if a comic only took three minutes to read; but in this case, it's brevity is pretty much the comic's only redeeming feature. Rating: 1.5 (of 5).

Demon Knights #2: The Kights fight an attack from the air. And robot dragons. And dinosaurs. What more do you want? Rating: 3 (of 5).

Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #2: Even more awesome than the first issue, and Ponticelli is drawing the heck out of this. I don't care where this is going, I'm totally on board for the ride. Rating: 4 (of 5).

Green Lantern #2: Sinestro may be a fascist ass, but he does have a point about the way that Jordan uses the ring. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Grifter #2: For a comic with so much action, not a lot actually happened. Good thing that Cafu can draw fairly cinematic action scenes. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Legion Lost #2: We get a bit of the backstory as to how these Legionnaires came to be stranded in our time. Still decent, but I don't see how this will be stretched out for more than eight issues or so... Rating: 3 (of 5).

Mister Terrific #2: Well there goes my Eath-2 theory. Still not digging on Gugliotta's art, but I will admit that the 2-page spread in the 9th dimension looked pretty cool. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Resurrection Man #2: An all-around improvement on the first issue, and a very interesting cliffhanger. Rating: 3 (of 5).

The Shade #1: Good thing I decided to not worry about what is and isn't in the new DCU continuity, because otherwise this would give me a headache. Would ordinarily seem to be too much sex and violence, but Cully Hamner manages to keep everything under control. Rating: 3.5 (of 5).

Suicide Squad #2: Plenty of beheadings and people getting shot in the head; must be a DC book. This is a slight improvement on the first issue, but really there almost no way is could have been worse. (I"ll probably regret saying that...) Rating: 2 (of 5).

Superboy #2: Lost a bit of the charm of the first issue, but not yet a lost cause. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).


Ratings compared to the first issues: 2 improved; 10 stayed the same; 1 was worse; 1 was new.

DCnU Capsule Reviews, Week 5

After writing reviews for every single of DC's new #1 issues, I'm slowing down. But here are capsule reviews of last week's books:


Action Comics #2: The young Superman escapes the captivity of Lex Luthor and the Army. Different from last issue, but still keeping with the spirit. Unfortunately only 20 pages of comics for $4 (what is this, Marvel?) and uneven tag-team art make this not quite as good as the debut. Rating: 3.5 (of 5).

Animal Man #2: Moves away from super-hero stuff and more into the Vertigo-esque horror territory. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Batwing #2: Is it really a good idea to have your new hero character in traction for a great majority of his second issue, while other characters fight it out? Pretty much a train wreck, alas. Rating: 1.5 (of 5).

Detective Comics #2: An improvement over #1. Until we get another 'shocker' last page. Oh, and Bruce Wayne is something of a slut now. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Green Arrow #2: The art is still solid, and the story is a bit less annoying as the bad guys finally have a motivation (a stupid one, but at least it's there). Still mostly dull though. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Hawk and Dove #2: More of the same of what we got in the first issue. Not great, but neither the disaster you might think it is. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Justice League International #2: The team's origin mission continues, and things are not going well for our heroes. Solid story, nice art. If you like classic super-hero stories, this is a good book for you. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Men of War #2: Rock's new team faces a very powerful super-powered woman with red hair. Back-up continues to have nice art though the story bores. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

O.M.A.C. #2: A little more exposition, a lot more brightly covered pages of big guys beating the shot out of each other. And a last-page reveal of a character of whom you may have been wondering where he was in the new DCU. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Red Lanterns #2: What the heck was the point of this? Pretty much no connection to what was going on in the first issue. And no Dex-Starr. Rating: 1.5 (of 5).

Static Shock #2: See, I knew that severed limb from issue #1 was a ruse. Was this sister-clone thing something that had been established before? Rating: 3 (of 5).

Stormwatch #2: There's a lot going on. Which usually I like, but Cornell needs to slow things down just a bit and let us get to know the characters better. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Swamp Thing #2: Snyder finishes his establishment of the new status quo between Holland and Swampy, and does so without throwing way everything that came before. But there's a lot of exposition in the front half. Rating: 3 (of 5).

Ratings compared to the first issues: 1 improved; 6 stayed the same; 6 were worse.

Re-Ranking the DCnU Titles

Now that I've read and reviewed all of the first issues of DC's New 52, how do they stack up? Here's a handy index, ranking all of the titles with the rating I assigned.

Rating: 4
1. Action Comics (1)
2. Batwoman (3)

Rating: 3.5
3. Wonder Woman (11)
4. Superman (2)
5. Batman (17)
6. Animal Man (8)
7. Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. (4)
8. O.M.A.C. (27)
9. Stormwatch (21)
10. Aquaman (29)

Rating: 3
11. The Flash (30)
12. All Star Western (10)
12. I, Vampire (28)
14. Demon Knights (19)
15. Blue Beetle (13)
16. Superboy (43)
17. Swamp Thing (18)
18. Static Shock (9)
19. DC Universe Presents (32)
20. Green Lantern (14)
21. The Fury of Firestorm, the Nuclear Men (12)
22. Justice League Dark (33)
23. Legion of Super-Heroes (16)
24. Legion Lost (26)
25. Batgirl (7)
26. Justice League International (6)
27. Justice League (5)
28. Detective Comics (34)

Rating: 2.5
29. Mister Terrific (22)
30. Supergirl (23)
31. Captain Atom (42)
32. Batman and Robin (24)
33. Green Lantern: New Guardians (31)
34. Resurrection Man (35)
35. Grifter (40)
36. Red Lanterns (45)
37. Batwing (25)
38. Hawk and Dove (20)
39. Teen Titans (46)
40. Voodoo (36)
41. Men of War (39)
42. The Savage Hawkman (52)

Rating: 2
43. Batman: The Dark Knight (44)
44. Birds of Prey (48)
45. Nightwing (47)
46. Green Lantern Corps (15)
47. Green Arrow (51)
48. Blackhawks (38)
49. Suicide Squad (37)
50. Catwoman (41)

Rating: 1.5
51. Red Hood and the Outlaws (49)
52. Deathstroke (50)


The number in parentheses is the ranking I initially assigned based solely on the solicitations. As you can see, some titles were better than I expected, some the same, and some worse.

Were I to be making a decision about which titles to keep buying, I'd likely opt for those rating a 3 or higher. But, since DCBS had the same offer for the #2 & #3 issues that they had for the #1s, I went ahead and pre-ordered the whole package for October and November as well. So titles have the chance to turn things around, or conversely show that the first issue was just a fluke.

I'm not crazy enough to keep up writing individual reviews for all of the titles going forward; but I'll likely do a weekly capsule review post for the next couple of months. And now that I've gotten back into the swing of this reviewing business, hopefully I'll get around to writing reviews of some non-DC comics as well.

DCnU Reviews, Week 4: Superman

(Back in June when the new DCU titles were announced, I ranked all 52 titles on my likelihood of buying them. Only fair then to look back and see if my initial assessments hold up. My plan is to review each of the new titles as they come out.)

Superman #1
by George Pérez & Jesús Merino

Original Rank/Assessment: 2. (Definitely Yes) - I'm actually a bit apprehensive about the Superman reboot, like I am with every Superman reboot. But with Morrison & Perez at the helm, I'm fairly optimistic this time out. Plus, I've bought every issue of Superman since 1982, and I'm likely not stopping until I'm dead or it stops being published.

And thus we come to the end, the last of the New 52 number ones. I opened week 1 with Action Comics, so it seems fitting to close out week 4 with Superman.


This is pretty much what I would want out of a first issue of a new version of Superman: plenty of action with Superman being super, and an introduction to the supporting cast. As with Action Comics, we don't need an origin story; we basically know who Superman is, and despite some funny minor changes to his costume we still recognize this Superman as Superman. One of Pérez's skills as an artist is that he can make any super-hero costume look good, no matter how ridiculous it is!

Another of Pérez's skills is the ability to cram a page full of story without it seeming too crowded. There are an average of seven or eight panels per page in his layouts, compared to for example this week's Teen Titans which averages just half that (and you could probably read this month's Supergirl seven or eight times in the time it takes to read this one issue of Superman!). And with the extra five pages in this inaugural issue,  we get a lot of Superman story. Merino, no slouch of an artist himself, works admirably on Pérez's layouts, and I suspect that these next six issues will see him kick his art up to the next level via the experience.

One of the things I like is how the citizens of Metropolis react to Superman. They're not afraid of him—he's obviously saved the city too many times for that sort of silliness—but neither are they reliant on him. As the comic opens, it appears that Superman has been away for a while, and that this is not an odd occurrence. Superman is still something of a mystery to the City of Tomorrow. Clark Kent has settled in at the Daily Planet, but is not (yet?) a Pulitzer-winning front-page journalist. He is clearly in the shadow of an older and wiser Lois Lane, who is moving up in the world of Morgan Edge's media empire.

We've seen bits and pieces of Superman over the first month of the new DCU, but he is still something of a cipher. Even here is his own title we mostly see Superman through the eyes of others and have yet to get inside his head; even the newspaper 'voice-over' by Clark Kent is a detached objective view of the action. I look forward to seeing how Pérez and Morrison, working in tandem at opposite ends of Superman's career, flesh out the character over the coming months.

Rating: 3.5 (of 5).

DCnU Reviews, Week 4: Teen Titans; Voodoo

(Back in June when the new DCU titles were announced, I ranked all 52 titles on my likelihood of buying them. Only fair then to look back and see if my initial assessments hold up. My plan is to review each of the new titles as they come out.)

Teen Titans #1
by Scott Lobdell, Brett Booth & Norm Rapmund

Original Rank/Assessment: 46. (Definitely No) - Seems like for the last five years or so I've always been on the verge of dropping this title, but there was always another new creative team around the corner. But this looks to be the final straw.

After Lobdell's surprisingly good work on the new Superboy comic two weeks ago, I was cautiously optimistic about his Teen Titans; then after last week's Red Hood debacle, that optimism slipped away. His Teen Titans turns out somewhere between the two. Kid Flash and Wonder Girl resemble their previous versions in name only, so it maintains the pod-people aspect of Red Hood but without the elements that made that comic highly offensive. This is another get-the-band-together comic, but by the end of issue #1 the band isn't even even half formed yet. And it looks like this comic may be very tightly linked to Lobdell's Superboy, which could be bad news if knowledge of one is necessary to enjoy the other. The script leaves plenty of room for Booth to overdraw big panels of people who look like half-elves. All in all it could have been a lot worse, but it also could have been a lot better.

Rating: 2.5 (of 5)

Voodoo #1
by Ron Marz & Sami Basri

Original Rank/Assessment: 36 (Maybe/Provisional) - This will really depend on the execution by a solid but not exciting creative team.

It's really saying something when the comic about a bisexual alien stripper is not the most exploitative comic in DC's New 52 (but that something isn't exactly positive...) It's possible that Marz is going someplace interesting with the character: the guys that visit the strip club are not portrayed in a positive light; the female agent has the makings of a potentially interesting character; and by the end of the comic it appears that Pris/Voodoo is leaving stripping behind to continue her mission. Maybe Marz is just using the character's previous profession as a jumping-off point to something more interesting. All of that reasoning would be easier to swallow without Basri's cheesecake art. Still, we'll wait and see if issue #2 finds the comic crawling out of the slime-gutter or if it stays in exploitation land.

Rating: 2.5 (of 5).