For those just tuning in, DC relaunched their entire universe with 52 new #1 issues (both in print and with day-and-date digital editions) and The Big Three (Ian, Nuv and guest/hostage Mark Campbell) are running the gauntlet of reading/reviewing ALL OF ‘EM! Need to read the previous instalments? Follow the links below…
WEEK 3
Batman and Robin #1 by Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason
Mark: There wasn’t anything overly special about this book. It was better than Detective Comics, but it was no Batman. For the record, if we were the Batman books: Mark = Batman, Ian = B & R, Nuv = Detective.
Ian: There’s a bunch of new Batman books popping up this month, but in the end only one or two will end up on my pull list. This book looks great thanks to Patrick Gleason, but the father-and-son aspect of Tomasi’s story doesn’t really do it for me. Also: Nuv is a human catheter.
Nuv: Don’t truss ‘em, people! They’re just taking out their loveless childhoods on a good comic. Gleason’s a beast, and Tomasi does what my two partners in crime can’t: write well.
Batwoman #1 by J.H. Williams III, Haden Blackman and Amy Reeder
Mark: Meet the new Batwoman book… same as the old Batwoman run in Detective. Good stuff, but I’m not a big enough fan to get overly enthusiastic about it.
Ian: Everything about this book is perfect. ‘Nuff said.
Nuv: NOT NUFF SAID! I HAVEN’T SAID MY PIECE YET AND I WILL BE HEARD!!
Ian: You have something different to add?
Nuv: YEP!
Mark: Fine. What did you think?
Nuv: Everything about this book is perfect.
Deathstroke #1 by Kyle Higgins and Joe Bennet
Mark: Hey did you know Deathstroke is a badass? If you need a reminder, go read some old DC stuff and give this comic a miss. Also: skip the next two paragraphs.
Nuv: The costume is grade A, 90s Image-style bullshit. The comic itself is slightly better than NOT hitting Mark in the face with rocks. So: still kinda shitty.
Ian: Joe Bennett’s art is much better than average and Kyle Higgins has written a pretty fun opening issue with a cool twist. I don’t know what to say other than this book is pretty sweet and Nuv’s a rotting piece of garbage!
Demon Knights #1 by Paul Cornell, Diogenes Neves and Oclair Albert
Mark: So far in the New 52, the books that have really, really impressed me, have been the non-superhero titles. Demon Knights is no exception. A clever mix of long-lived, immortal, and historical characters with enough exposition for new readers; a great redesign of the Demon; an intriguing plot… this book had it all. The only thing that would make this book more prized to me is if I got to use it to papercut Nuv’s throat open.
Ian: I originally downloaded this because I was sure it would be as awful as Nuv’s breath. WRONG. Great art, story and action! Back to the shop for my own copy because this book was AWESOME. Bonus points for involving Madame Xanadu.
Nuv: BONUS bonus points for taking place in a time period where Ian is not alive. I usually hate fantasy as a genre, but the excellent DK is about to join the other exceptions to the rule: LOTR, old Conan and Game of Thrones. Also catalogued under fantasy: Mark getting an erection.
Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #1 by Jeff Lemire and Alberto Ponticelli
Nuv: F.U.C.K.Y.E.A.H.!!!
Mark: Yeah, it may be a Hellboy/BPRD rip, but it was fun. It’ll make a good trade.
Ian: This book features – in my opinion – the most original and dynamic pencil-work of any of the books I’ve read so far (with the exception of Batwoman, of course). I was initially also worried that the story would be a huge Hellboy rip-off but I should have known to have faith in Jeff Lemire who is one of the cleverest writers in comics today. Pulled! Forever!
Green Lantern #1 by Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke
Nuv: Geoff Johns finds his funny bone and Doug Mahnke murders eyeballs with his deadly art. This comic did a great job of reminding mofos why Green Lantern has risen up the ranks in recent years to sit comfortably as DC’s #3 hero, just behind Superman and Batman.
Mark: This comic did a great job of reminding me that I don’t give a good goddamn about Green Lantern anymore. I don’t think there was anything wrong with it, so if you’ve been a fan of Geoff Johns’ run, knock yourself out. Also, if your name is Nuv or Ian, do likewise.
Ian: I don’t think Geoff Johns got the memo that the entire DC line was supposed to be re-booted for new readers BUT REGARDLESS this is a good jump-on point. Everything you need to know is explained and the issue does manage to pop Hal Jordan back to square one. Pretty good!
Grifter #1 by Nathan Edmondson and CAFU
Ian: Kinda Twilight-Zoney, but there’s not really enough here to keep my attention for long. Although I do love a good con…
Nuv: I didn’t hate it. It had a bit of a Lost feel to it and the character even reminded me of Sawyer. Still, it never quite passed the “has potential” stage.
Mark: Oh no. That was just awful. I have to go re-read Wildcats Volume 2 and Wildcats 3.0 again now to wash this out of my soul.
Legion Lost #1 by Fabian Nicieza & Pete Woods
Mark: I prefer my Legion lost in the far reaches of space, not here on Earth in amongst the Justice League and Stormwatch and every other superteam we’ve got.
Ian: This is one of those books where, when you’re old and on your death bed, you look back and think “I wasted fifteen minutes reading Legion Lost #1. Oh, what I wouldn’t give for those fifteen minutes now…”
Nuv: If you thought Ian had been kicked in the nuts to death and then found out he was in fact NOT kicked in the nuts to death, you’d be pretty disappointed right? This was like that.
Mister Terrific #1 by Eric Wallace and Gianluca Gugliotta
Mark: There wasn’t much of anything that was terrific about this book.
Ian: This book is pretty good (as long as you don’t notice how Gugliotta draws necks.) But again there’s not much here to keep readers coming back. I can’t put my finger on exactly what is missing, but it’s SOMETHING.
Nuv: Gugliotta must’ve drawn your mom’s neck. Ew!
Red Lanterns #1 by Peter Milligan and Ed Benes
Nuv: This is like when Marvel kept trying to give Venom and Sabretooth their own series. Some characters just work better as villains/supporting characters and lose their luster when you see ‘em too much. Cue: Ian & Mark…
Ian: I know I made fun of this title back in June but any comic that starts off with a double page splash of a fucking RAGING kitty cat in a little lantern uniform gets my vote. And the main character Atrocitus is friggin’ sweet. Spoiler alert! It’s his cat. Awwww! In other cat-news – Mark is the type of cat that is the opposite of ‘penis’…
Mark: Yeah, the highlight of this issue was the aforementioned cat, Dex-Starr, scalping a dude. From there the book just seemed utterly pointless. I mean, how do you top that? Oh, I know – by scalping Ian in real life!
Resurrection Man #1 by Andy Lanning, Dan Abnett and Fernando Dagnino
Ian: The thing I like about this book is that it’s drawn like the comics from the 70’s and 80’s, but isn’t crappy like the comics from the 70’s and 80’s. I like the originality of the story AND the concept itself. Of all the books involving characters that are new to me, this is among the very few likely to make the pull-list.
Mark: It was a great number one. I just don’t have any interest in the character or the story.
Nuv: Very middle of the road. Something I wish Mark and Ian would be during rush hour.
Suicide Squad #1 by Adam Glass and Marco Rudy
Mark: Predictable. Disappointing. No, wait. Not disappointing. That implies I expected better from this book. I got pretty much what I was expecting.
Nuv: This wasn’t nearly as horrible as I thought it was going to be, but I still think Harley Quinn’s new look is dumb-as-Explosivo. Also, ‘sup, internet? In the real world NOBODY has a problem with a fat chick being replaced by a not-fat chick. Fuck is wrong with y’all?
Ian: A fun little issue of DC’s baddest and craziest, but for me this comic is ALL ABOUT King Shark. He gets the best lines “Meat! Meat! Meat!” and the fact that the cover made so many people (especially Mark) grumpy makes me love it all the more. Neat!
Superboy #1 by Scott Lobdell, R.B. Silva and Rob Lean
Ian: I dunno, the art’s interesting enough and if you like the character you’ll probably like the story too. I have a hard-wired bias against anything involving Lex Luthor, so this book is a definite “no” for me, but that was always gonna be the case so don’t let my opinion influence you on checking it out.
Nuv: Nobody ever does, chumpy. Superboy is a great read. Solid concept, tight and twisting script, fun art, some surprise easter egg choices for supporting cast, all wrapped up in a crazy-ass cover by the master of chaos, Eric Canete. Rad-gnarly to the max-treme bro-man!!
Mark: Damn. They had me right up to the last page. The concept was great… right up to the point where Lobdell intrinsically linked the book to Teen Titans. Kinda like how I’m great but now have the stink of these two assholes on me…
Nuv: Ha ha! You have the stink of two assholes on you!
Ian: Hahahaha! It’s ’cause you’re shitty!
Mark: I put in ear plugs many paragraphs ago. You shitheads are powerless.
Nuv & Ian: [in unison] Darth Vader-style NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
– The Big Three
